Saturday, December 31, 2011

Hello 2012!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!


I'm not one to look back on what happened throughout the year, just looking forward to what's to come. I hope everyone has a great start to 2012! Please be safe, and I'll see you in the new year!

Jen

Friday, December 30, 2011

Review : Doodle Speaker!

Back in October I entered a giveaway that ASHLEY P. & ASHLEY B. came together and offered. It was for a Doodle Speaker and custom design by Ashley B.

I was very surprised to find out that I won. I NEVER win ANYTHING! Over in the shop, Ashley had many to choose from and all were so cute, I couldn't just choose one. But sadly, I had to. You could choose designs with your initials, your name, and even with your own picture.



The shipping was super fast! I actually had forgotten to keep a watchful eye out and it almost got thrown in the trash (I guess I can blame the UPS guy for that one, thanks for setting it in a non-noticeable place right next to my trash cans!) When it arrived, I was literally fighting my husband for it. He just HAD to try it before I did. Before he snagged it, I did see that you had the option of powering it up by battery or by usb cord. That was very convenient considering I rarely have batteries. And the design was too cute to boot! Exactly what I saw online while ordering, right down to the shade of purple!

Now I did not know what to expect on the actual speaker, to be honest. When I hooked it all up I seriously was blown away. My iPod isn't all that loud and this speaker was what I was planning on using to "enhance" my music/videos. You could hear it loud and clear from the living room to my room across the house. Instantly I fell in love. Have a listen for yourself! (I apologize for all the moving)



All in all I absolutely love love love this! It's personalized, compact and the sound is incredible. Definitely a great gift for anybody.

Go check them out over at Ashley's (fancy-designs.net) Zazzle shop along with her iPhone cases, announcements and much more!

Thank you to Ashley(x2) for a great product.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Writer's Workshop

THE PROMPT
Draw a picture that represents one of your most recent tweets & share it with us.



Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Happy Birthday.

With the year coming to an end and January right around the corner it gets a little rough for those in my family.

One Christmas Eve, my grandfather was not himself. My mother ended up calling the ambulance and they took him to a nearby hospital. After several tests, we found out he was in the 4th stage of prostate cancer. He stayed in the hospital and soon was transferred to a nursing home. Towards the end of January 2005, he died.

Every 8th day of July, we remember him on his birthday. I would like to dedicate this video to him, letting him know we are all fighting for "more birthdays".



To anyone who has lost someone to this horrific battle and to those who are still fighting, this is for you as well. You & yours are in my thoughts as we come to a new year. Stay strong, live on.

This post is sponsored by American Cancer Society.

Friday, December 23, 2011

So PINTERESTING + Recipe

The most easiest, creative way to cook cinnamon rolls?!


SNAGGED FROM PINTEREST


In the WAFFLE IRON! I saw this on pinterest and gave the computer screen the "are you joking me?" look. I tried this out two days ago. I am not even kidding you, that was the fastest I've ever seen ANY cinnamon roll cooked. LOVE it. My kids loved the fact they got a waffle that was a cinnamon roll. And I'm serious! SO EASY! Heat up your waffle iron, place the cinnamon rolls, close the lid and viola!

Also, while on pinterest. I found a recipe for a BUTTERFINGER PIE I love me some butterfingers, but did not have any on hand. So I had to come up with something. Then I had this bright idea ... I have tons of candy canes .. let's use that!

So here, my friends, is a Candy Cane pie!! So good!

CANDY CANE PIE
12oz of Whipped Cream
8oz of Cream Cheese
8 Candy Canes, crushed
Premade pie crust



How easy is this you say?

All you do is mix the ingredients, add it to the crust, smooth it out and let it chill.


YOU'RE DONE!!!


Now a confession! When I ate the first piece, and I was biting into candy canes, every other bite, I thought "oh great!" :/ BUT after I left it in the fridge over night, the candy cane bits had pretty much dissolved and I had me a peppermint-y yummy pie without all the chunks.

So tell me what will your Christmas breakfast and dessert consist of!? ;)

Friday, December 16, 2011

Project Pinterest #2 - White Chicken Chili


Recipe @ heatovento350
PIC SNAGGED FROM PINTEREST


Have I said how much my husband loves soups? When I first saw this, the beans caught my eye at first. Then the avocado and from there I knew I had to make this.

The only things I did to this was I didn't mince the onions and jalapenos .. For one my chopper's broke (*tear*) and second I knew he'd like the chunkiness. Also, I just cooked this on the stove top. I love the concept of the crockpot but there are times when I get the inspiration to cook something (mainly something I find online) and definitely do not have the time for the slow cooker. Oh and used one can less of the beans, which in the end worked out pretty well with the onions and jalapeno chunks.

Husband has yet to come home so I can get an official yay or nay but from the little tastes I had (it had jalapeno!! not my cup of tea) I thought it wasn't that bad!! :) I could tell it was very hearty though! Can't wait to see what he says!

Monday, December 12, 2011

Oh the Holidays!

I love everything about the holidays. The lights, the music ... the FOOD! :) I especially love all of the movies and commercials that come out around this time of year. When I first saw this video, I seriously watched it about 4 times. I love the colors and the winter-y feel it gives. And for days after I seriously had been singing the song in my head (even in the shower!).



I couldn't get over how beautiful everything was in this video. Even made me teary-eyed. Could you imagine if at the end of this someone's loved one was in the middle of the courtyard/food court? Talk about a holiday surprise. After watching this I couldn't help picture a family sitting together around a fire with lights twinkling in the background and watching this video. Makes you feel all warm inside.

I hope this holiday season you're able to spend it with your loved ones. And more importantly are able to go "home for the holidays"!

I definitely suggest playing this video over and over. Oh and try to resist the urge to chassé around your house .. you know you want to! :)

Happy Holidays everyone!

This post is sponsored by T-Mobile.

Project Pinterest #1 - Pumpkin Dump Cake

As I said before, I wanted to make it a goal to try - if not all - most of the recipes I found on Pinterest. The recipes on there look so yummy and they make it look so easy.

I started my mission before Thanksgiving with one recipe.
Pumpkin Dump Cake
I love me some dump cake and pumpkin .. well bring it on!


Recipe @ cookiesandcups.com
PIC SNAGGED FROM PINTEREST


When I first tried this recipe, I did not have the pumpkin spice. I figured, and I kid you not, "It's only 3tsp, can't make that much of a difference." Well it did. I was disappointed because this was just bland and not all that great. That spice was definitely needed, because this cake was definitely missing that something and that spice was it!

Well come Thanksgiving, my mom, sister & I went to a family friend's place for dinner. She would rave on Facebook about how her dessert list would consist of everything Pinterest. I was so excited and I couldn't wait to see what she had. Oh no there it was! Pumpkin dump cake!! I had to try it to see just how different it was from mine (you know .. see how essential the spice was! lol) This was awesomeness in a little square. I loved it and was upset when it ran out.

So between then and now, I made sure to search high and low for the pumpkin spice. It apparently was in high demand this holiday season because I could not find it for nothing. The other day I finally made it THE WAY it was supposed to and oh my goodness! Delish!! And with Blue Bell's Homemade Vanilla ice cream and/or whipped cream *drool*

This is great for any day of the week. Not just for the holiday season. And learn from me .. don't skimp on the ingredients!

Friday, December 9, 2011

Grocery Shopping

So the beginning of the month I go out and buy my months worth of food. Although I would looove to be one of those people who can use coupons to get $1000 worth of food for like $100, I sadly am not. I do know that the price of food had to have gone up because my monthly "allowance" of food of 450 has gotten me NOTHING! I usually get the store brand/off brand vs the Nabisco, Pillsbury, etc. name brand only because a lot of the time I can get a whole lot more. But still, some days I can maximize my savings that way and I guess this month was just not my lucky month. I blame it on the holidays.

While surfing Pinterest, I found a pin talking about a "family's guide to $250/month to groceries" and HAD to check it out. Come to find out it was an E-Book that you can get for free if you post it in your blog.

Visit Budget101.com



I am willing to try anything at this point. Anything that can get my monthly budget to stretch the entire month.

You should too! The opportunity to spend LESS in the grocery store cannot pass ANYONE by!
 
Images by Freepik