Thrifty Tuesday - McDonald App Coupon

We don't usually get the normal round of flyers so when I found out that it's possible to save money without coupons but instead there's an app for that.  

In our technology savvy world, that is not a surprise.  When McDonalds App Coupon came out, I was drawn since McDonalds is not an expensive fast food restaurant to begin with.  Then add the discount coupon on the app and it's possible to save money.  Now what I didn't know is that the coupons do rotate and change every week.  

With the McDonalds Kiosks and McDonalds Coupon App, it's easy to order at the self serve kiosk and save money.  It's great for introverts like me who hate ordering in person and having to answer all of the questions.  The kiosk makes it much easier.  My coupon was for $1 off a breakfast combo so I ordered the sausage egg mcmuffin with hash browns and I splurged and upgraded my drink to a medium size of earl's grey tea with stevia.  There are customizations and options at the kiosk.  Have fun with it!  Comment and let us know what you ordered.  

Vancouver Event - Playland

Summer is here and Playland is a great place to spend a sunny afternoon for the whole family.  Playland in Vancouver is an amusement park and it has rides for all ages.  There are roller coasters for the little kids (which I prefer) as I find the wooden roller coaster too scary for me.  They also have the ferris wheel with the breathtaking views.  

It's a good idea to get an early start to Playland when there are fewer crowds and people.  Eat a big breakfast for you can enjoy the rides and fun without having to spend too much money on eating out.  There are all kinds of rides with lots of spinning, screaming, and gentler rides like the bumper cars.

Don't forget to bring a little cash so you can walk around the fun games sections to Whack a Mole (which is my favorite) or play darts, shoot guns, knock down bottles all for the hopes to win a prize.  This year the prize was the Skeleton Bunny!  

Check out Playland at their website:  https://www.pne.ca/playland/
Save money by buying online instead of at the gate or check out their special promotions.  

Thrifty Tuesday - Fatburger

I have to admit that I love saving money and using coupons.  So I have a problem.  I'm addicted to Groupon Vancouver this year.  It helps that a have a Groupon buddy, yes a friend who loves Groupon even more that I do.  One of the reasons I stopped with all group buying coupons for awhile is because I was addicted to buying them and then never redeemed them.  Now times have changed and I make sure that I make my appointments and use my groupons.  On occassion if I miss out, that's okay because the amount I paid never expires.  

One night I was heading downtown for an art workshop at Opus and I knew that I wouldn't have much time to eat dinner.  So when I saw the Fatburger Groupon for a burger, fries and drink for $9, it was perfect and I bought one right away.  Fatburger is a fast food joint with big juicy burgers.  It was easy to use the Groupon and I only had to pay the tax which was less than $1.45 or something like that.  Fatburger just outside Stadium skytrain station was packed because of a Canucks game the same night.  However since it's fast food, I was able to find a spot for one at the window and there is fast turnaround.  It tooks 10 minutes for me to get my meal which is pretty good because just look at that plump burger filled with toppings.  

Check out Groupon Vancouver at my referral link for Fatburger and other great deals.  Or come back to see #thriftytuesdays.  

Vancouver Restaurant - Rogue Ktichen and Wetbar Convention Center

Vancity Girlfriend's girl's night out can be impromptu and unplanned.  It was a surprisingly sunny afternoon so I ventured out to see Vancity Girlfriend Carolyn.  We went for a walk to enjoy the afternoon sunshine and got a bus to go to the heart of downtown Vancouver.  We couldn't wait to get off the bus and walk about.  Of course there are stores all around so we went to Payless Shoes on Granville Street to see how to use Carolyn's 20% off coupon.  She found a couple pairs of shoes for her family and got a good deal.  Then we walked down Robson Street to the large Sephora store.  I keep forgetting about that one.  It is huge.  I browsed and was in awe at how much selection the store had.  Carolyn, the beauty expert, found what she was looking for.  Then we continued on our adventure for a place to eat.  

Our plan was to go to AllStar Wings and Ribs and from the outside the stars and stripes were there, but we could also see that it was dark and empty.  There was no need to go any further.  That restaurant was closed.  

We were thinking of Red Robin, but I didn't have any coupons so then we decided to continue walking to the Convention Center.  There we landed at Rogue Kitchen and Wetbar Convention Center.  It was great because after all that walking we were ready for a drink and dinner.  Unfortunately we missed Happy Hour, but we didn't miss the drink special which was Bellinis for $5.49.

Rogue Ktichen and Wetbar Bellinis

  
For dinner we decided to share the fries x 3 (who can resist poutine, bacon and gorgonzola, and truffle oil with parmesan) and the Tempesta pizza with chili prawns.  What a winning combination!  I was impressed that Rogue Kitchen and Wetbar was able to split our bill to share the food and my portion with 1 bellini and dinner came out to $25 (including 15% tip) so I'm going to be taking note of this and going out with Vancity Girlfriend Carolyn more often!  It was a great night catching up!  

Rogue Kitchen and Wetbar Temptesta Pizza

This wasn't our first time at Rogue Kitchen and Wetbar, check out our Vancity Girlfriend Art Gallery and Rogue Date Night from 2015:  http://vancitygirlfriends.blogspot.ca/2015/07/girls-night-out-vancouver-art-gallery.html

Throwback Thursday: The Breakfast Buffet at the River Rock Casino Resort

This week I'm going to share the good breakfast deal at The River Rock Casino Resort and that would be the breakfast buffet at The Buffet.  

Even if you are not a gambler it is a good idea to still get an Encore card because it can save you a few dollars at The Buffet.  Encore cards are free and you just need a piece of ID to register usually at the casino customer service.  I already had my Encore card and was ready to save.

The breakfast buffet is from 6:30am - 10:30am so it is a morning buffet.  It is also cheaper because of this and is only $19.95 or $17.96 with an Encore card.  At the breakfast buffet they have coffee or tea and the assortment of juices.  They had an omlette station and fresh egg station, sausages, bacon, hash browns and your traditional Canadian breakfast.  They also had the Asian style breakfast with dim sum, rice rolls, and congee.  That is truly what I liked best.  The variety of the breakfast food.  Normally you have to choose between one or the other.  In this case there was no fighting over what type of breakfast joint to go to.  Everyone wins.  Being Chinese Canadian I had two plates and ate the best of both worlds.  I had my Asian style breakfast and then the Canadian breakfast for dessert!  It is perfect for getting together with picky eaters because everyone can go back and have whatever they want and it spend time together.  

An added bonus is that the daytime view of The Buffet at the River Rock Casino Resort is quite beautiful even on a cloudy day it is possible to see the boats moored on the water.    

Thrifty Tuesday: McKenzie Cafe at Simon Fraser University

Happy New Year!  University students are preparing to return for another semester of studies.  At Simon Fraser University (SFU), McKenzie Cafe at the AQ is a great place to go when there is not have time for breakfast at home.  McKenzie Cafe opens at 7:30am before the classes start.  TheClassic Breakfast is a filling breakfast for a reasonable cost.  It consists of eggs of your choice (the chefs crack the eggs and cook it in front of you), choice of sausage or bacon, hash browns, and toast (your choice of white or whole wheat).  All of this is under $6.  Universities often have good deals and cheap eats because they are serving the students.  Poor students who have student loans and won't eat unless it's for cheap.  The rest of us can take advantage of that.  

  

Vancouver Restaurant - Kobe Japanese Steakhouse

Hello Vancity Girlfriends,

I have a few friends who I try to meet once a month for a mini-reunion and we usually go out to a restaurant close by in Burnaby.  This time was different, we wanted to use a coupon since I love my Entertainment Book and Groupons.  I asked my friend what type of food he wanted to eat, he replied Japanese food.  

Yikes!  I could not find any Japanese food coupons in the Entertainment book except for teppanaki because it is more expensive.  I happened to stumble upon a Groupon for Kobe Japanese Steakhouse that was $69 for dinner for 2 people.  Even though there are 3 of us, I figured we could easily add another dinner to the mix.  I had Groupon credit so that was even better.  

We met downtown at Kobe Japanese Steakhouse.  My friend who arrived 30 minutes early was able to relax downstairs in the lounge.  When the whole party arrived we went upstairs to the restaurant where the chefs were set up with a grill in front of the customers and were doing their cooking show.  When you go for dinner at Kobe Steakhouse it is entertainment as well.  There was a couple celebrating a birthday at the same station as us so the chef made an onion birthday "cake" that was a "flame".  WOW!  The chef was a lot of fun and I was mesmerized just watching him cook the food and wondering what cooking trick he had up his sleeve next.

Now that being said, it is a noisy place so not the time to catch up on lengthy stories.  But if you want a dinner that has entertainment entwined all in one, then Kobe Japanese Steakhouse is the place to go.  I would totally buy a Groupon again after knowing the fabulous deal it was.  I loved the steak, tiger prawns, shrimp, and vegetables (the chicken was my least favorite).  Our Groupon had the Emperor's Feast so we got to try a little bit of everything.  Also we were able to split everything between the three of us which was nice.  

Shoppers Beauty Boutique - Favorite Drugstore Products

I've had a Shoppers Optimum card (which is free) for many years now and the points have added up.  Then I discovered that there are special "Spend Your Points" weekends where they give you extra money for your points but it only applies to beauty.  This is when you have to find a Shoppers Beauty Boutique that has all of the different name brand items.  

I had enough points for $100 worth of beauty products so take a look at some of my drugstore favourites that caught my eye and the freebies that came with them since it was bonus time.  

1.  Shiseido Extra Creamy Cleansing Foam - This is a nice gentle cleanser that I like to keep in the shower for my daily cleansing routine.  I love that you only need a small bit to have a nice clean lather.  

The bonus bag came with a cosmetic bag and inside included 5 trial size Shiseido products.  

*Shiseido Glow Enhancing Make Up Primer (10ml)
*Shiseido Ibuki Gentle Cleanser (30ml)
*Shiseido Ibuki Refining Moisturizer (15ml)
*Shiseido Ultimune Power Infusing Concentrate (10ml)
*Shiseido Ultimune Eye Infusing Concentrate (5ml)

2.  Biotherm Aquasource Moisturizer for Dry Skin - I like this daily moisturizer because even though it is for dry skin, it is very light.  

The bonus bag came with a Biotherm blue cosmetics bag with 3 sample products inside.

*Biotherm Aquasource Cocoon 48 hour Hydration Gel (for normal to dry skin and is supposed to keep your skin moisturized even if you break out a sweat) (15ml)
*Biotherm Aquasource Total Eye Revitalizer (3ml)
*Biotherm Life Planton Essence (30ml) - tried a sample of this before which was nice.  I find the full sized Planton products are too expensive.  

Those are two of my favorite drugstore skincare essentials and I love how I only need a little bit for each of them to last a long time, however, that was not enough for my points.  I still had $5 to spend so I decided to splurge and get a new eyeshadow pallette from Smashbox.  Yes, you can buy Smashbox at the Shoppers Beauty Boutique and get Shoppers Optimum points for doing so.

3.  Smashbox Cherry Smoke Eyeshadow Pallette - I love the colours that make your eyes pop and most importantly stay on for the day.  Loving this beauty treat so far.  Here's a Cherry Smoke Tutorial:  https://www.smashbox.com/video/index.tmpl?video=cherrysmokepalette

I've used up all of my Shoppers Optimum points so I'm sure it'll take me a year or two to get enough points for a "Spend Your Points" weekend but maybe I'll get some tips from Vancity Girlfriend Carolyn who says she buys almost everything at Shoppers Drug Mart just for the optimum points.  Even without the free points, it was lots of fun to shop at the beauty boutique.  

Metropolis at Metrotown - 50% Off Sale Items at Banana Republic

Dear Vancity Girlfriends,

This year my theme of the year is "Health & Fitness" so it's quite often that I'll find myself at Metrotown where it is dry and you can walk inside the mall and do window shopping at the same time.  When walked by Banana Republic and looked at the sales signs I was in disbelief.  50% off the already marked down sale price.  Then I went inside to take a look and tried on three different tops.  There's not much left in medium but a LOT of stock if you are a large or xtra large.  From my three tops that I tried on, I fell in love with one.  The last marked price on the top was $30 but when I got to the register to pay for it, the price dropped to $15 because they take 50% off on the sale items.

WOW!  What a steal!  I love the quality of Banana Republic but usually can't afford their regular priced items and their sale items are my "normal" so this SALE is worth window shopping for.  Remember it's "Final Sale" which means no refunds or exchanges.  

Hurry before all the good stuff gets sold!

http://metropolisatmetrotown.com/stores/banana-republic

Travel Tuesday: BC Ferries Savings Sale

Hello Vancity Girlfriends,

During the winter, it's promotion time at BC Ferries!  From November 16th - December 19th you can get 50% off standard vehicles for sailings from Monday-Thursday and Saturday which makes it $27.70 per vehicle per sailing instead of $55.  I know it's atrocious to think that inflation has brought travelling to the Vancouver Island to be such a luxery.  Or more likely it's bad budgeting of BC Ferries which may be increasing the fares.  I still remember the good old days when I first moved to Vancouver 15 years ago when I would travel back and forth at least once a month.  


Even though it's cold, rainy, and windy, BC Ferries are strong and can sail through the stormy seas and at half the cost, it's worth it to travel especially if you have family or work on the island.  If you travel on the first sailing, you can watch the blue horizons as the sun rises.  Sailing the seas on BC Ferries is quite scenic no matter what the weather is.  

Vancouver Event: Starbucks Holiday Share Event

Dear Vancity Girlfriends,

Christmas is in the air in November!  Starbucks Red Cups are back to bring holiday cheer to our festive drinks which includes my all time favourite Peppermint Mocha.  There's also Chestnut Praline Latte and Caramel Brulee Latte both of which I've never tried but I might now that it's Starbucks Holiday Share Event.

From November 12 - 15 from 2-5pm, if you buy one holiday drink, you get one free to share!  Now that's worth trying something new and you can add a snowman cookie to share.  

Find the details and the invitation here:  http://atstarbucks.tumblr.com/shareevent

Crafternoon: Hershey Kiss Roses

On a Sunday afternoon, I decided to turn it into crafternoon, unplug and create something new!  I found this craft idea on Pinterest and loved it because it is simple and easy to make.  You can make these for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, or for your Teacher's Gifts, or Gratitude Gifts.  You do not need a lot of materials to create something that is pretty and great for those chocolate lovers on your list.  

1)  Hershey Kisses

2)  Cellophane paper - since my kisses were pink, blue, and green, I had a transparent colour for the cellophane wrap

3)  Stem leaves

4)  Stem wire

5)  Floral tape

You can do variations of this with what you have but the idea is to basically take two hershey kisses and wrap them together so they look like rose buds.  Then you use the floral tape to add the stem and wrap it down the wire.  Voila, you have yourself a Hershey Kiss Rose.  

Shopping tip:  Check out your dollar stores, or if you want to shop it all at Michaels which is what I mostly did, then don't forget the online Michaels coupons.  

Vancouver Event: Sephora VIB Rouge Event for November

Dear Vancity Girlfriends,

Way back in August when I went to my first Sephora VIB Rouge event, my last sentence was something like "I'll go back again."  I had the opportunity tonight!  Vancity Girfriend Carolyn texted me immediately after receiving her Sephora VIB invite but my response was not fast enough for us to get into the VIB Rouge event at the brand new Sephora Robson Street store downtown Vancouver.  We were lucky enough to be able to return to the Sephora VIB Rouge event at Pacific Center Mall also located downtown Vancouver.

When we arrived at 7pm there was already a small lineup and a large banner that said the store was closed for the private event.  They checked our names on the guest list and then we were given a Shashi Sephora bracelet upon entering the store with an offer of a shopping basket.  On a small table when we entered there were Godiva chocolate truffles, bottles of water, and cookies.  

Sephora Shopping time!  I love the fact that they closed the store this time and it seemed like a special event.  At a back table they were serving non-alcoholic drinks in wine and champagne classes so you could enjoy a Raspberry Mojito, Strawberrry Lemonade, or Orange Passionfruit as you shopped.  

There were staff who were doing make up lessons and tips, helping find products, and of course cashing out the customers as quickly as they could so the line up was never really much of one.  

The best part about shopping at Sephora Rouge VIB events is that you get to bring home a bag of samples with your purchase.  This time everyone received an extra 20% discount from their purchase.  I love saving money so with that in mind I bought Buxom Lip Gloss (Mwah) and Dior BB Creme in Beige with SPF30.  The helpful Sephora staff helped me with my colour match.  

I know that you are curious so, let's take a look inside my sample bag:

1.  Boscia Purifying Cleansing Gel

2.  Phyto Intense hydrating mask for dry hair

3.  L'eau D'Issey Eau de Toilette for Men

4.  Givenchy Mascara (4g)

5.  Bare Minerals BareSkin Pure Brightening Serum Foundation

6.  GlamGlow hydrating face mask

7.  Dior Dream Skin Anti Aging skincare

8.  Clarins Multi-Active Day early wrinkle correction cream

9.  Nude facial treatment oil

10. Philosophy Purity 3-in-1 cleanser for face and eyes

11.  First Aid Beauty (FAB) Ultra Repair Cream

12.  Living Proof Perfect Hair Day 5-in-1 styling treatment

13.  Living Proof Prime style extender hair primer

14.  Cartier Declaration essence

15.  Aerin Iris Meadow eau du parfum spray

Dior BB Creme, Buxom Lip Gloss

Save Money with the Entertainment Book Coupons

Dear Vancity Girlfriends,

I wanted to share how I save money and support my niece all at the same time.  Every year my niece's school does a fundraiser for the Entertainment Book and every year I buy one to support her and her school.   

The Entertainment Book Vancouver and the Fraser Valley is chocked full of coupons for restaurants, grocery stores, entertainment, spas, and more.  They have the coupons in the book as a traditional paper coupon, or you can register your Entertainment Book membership online for web and mobile coupons.  

I'm pretty old fashioned so I browse and use the paper coupons.  I bought the book this year for $30 which is pretty good since I always use the IGA coupons every month to save money on my local grocery store.  The IGA coupon is save $5 for a $50 purchase.  That alone pays for the cost of the Entertainment Book.

The Entertainment Book is sold at the end of October as the school fundraiser and the coupons are valid from the day you receive the book until the end of December 2015.  That's loads of time to use up coupons and the more coupons you use, the more money you save.

So what Entertainment Book coupons do I look forward to using?  
- IGA (save $5 for every $50 purchase)
- Neverland Tea (buy one high tea, get one high tea free to maximum $30)
- Las Margaritas Restaurant (buy one entree, get one entree free to max $15)
- Zennkai Hair Salon (save 20%off regular price of service to max $25)
- Graze Food and Drink (buy one menu item, get one free to a max $17)

And more...it is a great way to try new places and return to my favourites while saving money.  I can update on the Vancouver Restaurants as I go to them.  

Thank you for reading Vancity Girlfriends!  Come back again soon!