Thrift Store Find

Totally funky I know, but I couldn't resist.

Okay first, I go to the thrift store on half off day with baby. I stopped by Starbucks on the way. I get there and there were no parking spaces. Parked far away in another parking lot and carried my 20 lb baby and my Starbucks. Get inside, no shopping carts left. So I didn't get to dig thru and find good stuff this time. But I did buy curtains for my new office redo (pics soon). And I bought this crazy 70's recipe box for $1.50. It has such classic recipes as...

Leg of Lamb with Anchovy Sauce

Chicken Livers and Eggs

Mousse of Chicken Livers

Prune Whip

Savory Salmon Tuna Loaf

Molded Shrimp Salad (the pic is going to give me nightmares)

I picked a few recipes I can use. I thought it would at least make just a good storage container for recipes.

This recipe box is called "McCall's Great American Recipe Card Collection"

this can be seen at http://romantichome.blogspot.com/

Versatile Blogger Award

I'm late, I'm late :o) I meant to finish this last week.

I was awareded the Versatile Blogger Award from

http://www.agracefulllife.blogspot.com/  thank you thank you thank you!

So, the rules for accepting this award are as follows:



Thank and link back to who gave you the award.


Share 7 things about yourself.


Pass it along to 15 blogs you’ve recently discovered and enjoy.


Leave your recipients a note, telling them about the award.
 
7 Things About Myself
 
1. Even though I'm the queen of garage sales and thrift stores, I could never buy cups, bowls, plates or silverware because I have issues with germs.
 
2. I like crappy reality tv and I hate myself for it lol
 
3. I dislike horror movies.
 
4. I use to want 7 kids (key word, "use" to).
 
5. I would love if I could go to the gym everyday.
 
6. I love to walk alone with my mp3 player blaring.
 
7. I hate winter
 
Okay now the blogs I am awarding:
ahem
 
1. The Knowlton Nest
 
2. Mommy's Kitchen

3. Mennonite Girls Can Cook
 
4. A Spicy Boy, A Cat and My Fat Ass
 
5. A Whisk and a Prayer
 
6. Aspiring Homemaker
 
7. Closer To Lucy
 
8. Colie's Kitchen
 
9. Crazy Daisy
 
10. Food and Thrift Finds
 
11. I Wash...You Dry
 
12. My Completely Awesome Blog
 
13. Prairie Story
 
14. Nutrionist Reviews
 
15. UR Baking Me Crazy

CSN Giveaway CLOSED

So if you remember we talked about the awesome coffee tables that CSN Stores offer.

I had never even see anything like this coffee table. I had decided since I have a toddler toddling around that maybe a round coffee table would be more safe. The basement area is going to be her play area.

When I first posted that we were going to have a CSN Giveaway, it was special for reaching 200 followers. Now we are at over 300! Woot woot! Thanks everyone. What a great way to celebrate a milestone like that with a wonderful giveaway with a wonderful company.

We are going to do this giveaway a little different

WIN $35 Gift Code To CSN Stores

Mandatory Entry:




1. Must be a public follower of my blog and leave your email address.


Extra Entries


The fun part, lets go shopping!


2. Go to AllCoffeeTables.com and use this left side search options and leave a link of what coffee table you would want; glass, marble, wrought iron, or wood.


3. Under "browse by brand" tell me which brand you like best.


4. Go to CSN Stores and tell me what you would get with your $35 gift code.


5. Follow CSN Stores on Twitter


6. Like CSN Stores on Facebook


7. Follow CSN Stores Blog


8. Follow me on Twitter


9. Blog about this giveaway


10. Add my blog to your blog roll and leave me link (I want to check out your blog and will follow)

Giveaway is open to US and Canada residents. Giveaway ends Oct. 7, 2010

Tropical Traditions No Bake Blonde Coconut Macaroons

No Bake Blonde Coconut Macaroons

Don't forget to enter the giveaway for Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil

GIVEAWAY

And check out my other giveaways

Tracy Anderson 30 Day Method

Flowerz In Her Hair

Lipo In A Box

This recipe can be seen at http://beautyandbedlam.com/

My Start of a Collection and WINNER

This piece of furniture came from IKEA. It was a baby changing table and then once you are done with the changing table part, you remove it and it's a bookshelf, or in my case a way to display my junk.

I'm not 100% happy with the arrangement and or items on it. But it's a work in progress as I pick up new things on my 2nd hand shopping. Some of it is Longaberger pottery I picked up at garage sales, or leftover from when I use to sell it. The silver stand on the bottom came from the Salvation Army for $1. Of course it's not real silver though. On the other bottom shelf is an Anchor Hocking glass 13x9 dish with a silver colored dish holder.

I will have to play around with arrangement more and hopefully will find some more new, cool items to display!

PAPERLICIOUS MOMAGER CARDS WINNER IS....

Shauna said...


I am a brand new follower :)

Lipo In A Box GIVEAWAY

I keep it realz.

The first picture is me. Jealous? Just kidding. The second picture is. I wanted to show what this black tank top looks like on someone who has been pregnant 5 times lol.

Can I just say I love this company.

Lipo In A Box has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show and QVC. This patented design makes you look slimmer and is comfortable to wear. The company was founded by Connie Elder who donates part of the proceeds to her innovative products (Lipo In A Box, Underology, and Go 2 Bras) to domestic violence shelters and breast cancer research.

Now for my review.

The reason why I picked this item to review is I have alot of jackets and cardigans that require a tank top underneath. It seems like my tank tops never hold up well, and can make the whole outfit look frumpy. So I thought with this tank top not only would I look slimmer, but more put together with a nice high quality tank top underneath my cardigans.

It came nicley packaged with information about the company and really nice color catalogue. The tank top came with an undergarment bag to wash it in. On the outside of the bag, the directions said to step into the tank top to put it on. So I did. I'm not going to lie, it takes a little effort to put the tank top on but it's well worth it.

It's comfortable.

It really is.

You know how you have those beautiful shoes that you love to wear to special occassions but you know you can only wear them for 2 hours before you want to cut your feet off? Or maybe you have a body shaper that helps make you look slimmer but is very uncomfortable to wear and you are always adjusting it? This tank did not bother me. I could wear it all day comfortably.


I knew it made you look slimmer so I was worried that it would make my breasts look smaller, but oddly enough it doesn't. It's made so that you don't have to wear a bra with it, but I am wearing one in the picture. I'm very pleased with this item and can't wait to wear it out. I'm going to see if my friends or family members ask me if I lost weight:o)


Buy It

Lipo In A Box is offering 15% off anything, good for 30 days from this post.


Win It

One lucky reader will win #46635 Long Tank.


Mandatory Entry


Must be a follower of my blog. Go to Lipo In A Box and sign up for the newsletter (bottom left side) leave me your email address in comment.

Extra Entries


1. Like Lipo In A Box on Facebook (2 entries)

2. Post giveaway as your facebook status

3. Follow Lipo In A Box on Twitter (2 entries)

4. Tweet this giveaway

5. Follow Lipo In A Box's Blog

6. Visit Lipo In A Box and tell me another item you would like to have

7. Follow me on Twitter

8. Add my blog to your blog roll and leave me link (2 entries)

9. Blog about this giveaway (2 entries)

10. Go to Underology or Go2Bras and tell me another item that you would love to have

11. Go outside and scream at the top of your lungs that you love Lipo In A Box (just seeing if you are paying attention)

Good Luck. Open to US only please. Giveaway ends Oct. 4, 2010. Winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email or I will pick new winner.


To read more about Connie

I was sent the tank top for review. I received no compensation for this post and all opinions in this post are my own. I was not required to post a positive review.

Costume Discounters Review

As you can tell, my baby loves Halloween. She just loves dressing up lol. The top picture is last Halloween. We called her costume, "The Angry Ladybug". This year she is going as "The Angry Bunny". Just think of the possibilites for next Halloween. She could be...

The Angry Lamb

or

The Angry Cow

I love dressing kids up for Halloween. But I have felt like alot of the stores don't carry quality costumes and the selection is always lacking. Every year I would caravan to all the stores trying to appease my children and to find the right costume and right sizes.

For some reason I had never thought to buy costumes online. I contacted Costume Discounters for a possible review and they said yes. I go to the website and was shocked at the prices. The prices are just as cheap as places like Target or Walmart and in alot of cases cheaper. No more driving around to 10 stores trying to get the right costumes and sizes for your kids. One stop shopping at an easy to navigate website is the way to go.

We obviously chose the infant bunny costume. This costume is totally a bargain at less than $23. I could have never found this nice of a costume for that price anywhere else. We live in an area where one year the weather on Trick or Treat night is 70 degrees and the next year it could be 40 degrees. I got this costume in case it's a little on the chilly side. It's made thick and comfy. It comes with gloves that are the bunny hands. It is made very nice and my order came super fast.

Costume Discounters stand by their prices and offer extreme value for their customers. If you find the identical costume elsewhere on the internet, they will match the costume price, PLUS take off an additional 20%! Costume Discounters offers free 2 day delivery on orders $70 or more.

I love the selection of the infant costumes.

The kids costumes are very original and high quality.

I will order from Costume Discounters again. Store bought costumes are not always good quality and the Halloween speciality stores around here are very high priced. I'm glad I found an alternative. The kids can easily navigate the website to find their perfect costume. Now only if they could come up with a way to make my baby less angry in her costumes ;o)

I received this costume free to review. I was not paid for this review and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Alfredo Noodles, Rosemary Rolls and Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake

Alfredo Sauce

2 cups of whipping cream

1 stick of butter

2 tablespoons of cream cheese

whisk in a saucepan until everything is melted and mixed. Add 1/2 cup parmesan cheese and 1 teaspoon of garlic powder. Simmer for about 15 mins whisking frequently. Salt and pepper to season.

I served with mini bowtie noodles.

Rosemary Rolls

1 tablespoon of sugar

1 cup of warm water

1 tablespoon of yeast

Proof, then add 1 teaspoon of salt, add 1 tablespoon of rosemary, 1 tablespoon of butter and 2.5 cups of flour. Mix together and then knead for 10 mins. Place in well oiled bowl and allow to sit for one hour.

Punch down, knead a little bit more. Shape into rolls and place in greased round pan. Sprinkle more rosemary on top and bake at 350 for around 10 mins. Top with butter (herbed butter would be really good, or garlic butter).

Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake, came from Finding Joy in My Kitchen

can be seen at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam

and A Prairie Story

Fall Decorating

Has anyone got out the fall decorations? I did. I left the Halloween decorations in the basement but brought up anything that was autumn-y.

I bought those cute leaf placemats at Walmart for $3 a piece. It killed me to spend $12 on placemats since I'm the garage sale/thrift store queen. But I loved them. They have other colors too.

I still haven't painted the fireplace and I still don't like it red. I'm just so busy and have been working on other home projects. My husband thinks if I paint it white it will not stand out since the walls are cream colored. I say, who cares what he thinks. He is a man. He wanted to paint stripes on our master bath walls and even paint every other blade on the ceiling fan. If I listened to him, our living room would be decorated with posters of cars and Tarheels logos painted on the walls.

My fireplace mantle is a work in progress. Can't seem to decide how I want to decorate it. So here's what I decided. When I go thrift shopping or go to garage sales, if I see home decor items I like for $1 or less I just buy it. Even if I have no idea where to put it, or it doesn't match anywhere in my house. Then I can frequently change things out without spending alot of money. If I never use something I can just sell it in my own garage sale for what I paid for it, and not be out any money. That amber colored candle holder on the mantle is something that I never thought I would put on the fireplace since it's red and doesn't quite match. But with all the autumn decorations, it looks nice. Once the fall decor is gone, I will move it to my master bath. I paid $1 for it as well as for the candle stick on the end. If I paint the fireplace white, I will probably spray paint the star a different color. Just don't know what color yet.

Open to any and all suggestions :o)

Who Wants To Lose Weight (GIVEAWAY) CLOSED

and get in shape?

I do, I do? Do you? Well I may have just the thing.

I am giving away the book, "Tracy Andersons 30 Day Method".

What a great book to read and use before the holidays hit.

This book also includes a workout DVD!

Tracy utilizes smaller accessory muscles in her workouts to create and longer, leaner look. She also focuses on using muscles in a way that they are never bored. The book shows workout moves, meal plan, recipes and of course the DVD.

Does Tracy Anderson sound familiar to you? She is the fitness guru to the stars like Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Here is a sample recipe:

Wilted Spinach

Olive oil spray

1 clove of garlic, chopped

1/4 cup vegetable stock

4 cups spinach

Heat a saucepan over medium heat. Spray with olive oil. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add the stock and spinach and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Serve immediately.

WIN IT

Win a copy of this book for yourself. Do you want to try the 30 day challenge?

Mandatory Entry:

1. Be a follower of my blog

Extra Entries:

2. Follow me on twitter
3. Leave a comment, telling me what your favorite low cal snack is
4. Add me to your blog roll (2 entries)
5. Blog about this giveaway (3 entries)
6. Tweet about this giveaway and leave link in comment
7. Leave a comment telling me your favorite way to exercise (playing tennis, swimming, walks etc)

Contest ends Sept. 30, 2010. Open to US and Canada but no P.O. Boxes.
One per household

~My Giveaways~

Paperlicious Momager Cards (these are too cute)

Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil (Yummy)

Flowerz In Her Hair (beautiful!)

secretly I just wanted a reason to use this picture. weeeeeeee! weeeeeeee!

No Bake Chocolate Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1/4 cup Tropical Traditions coconut oil
1/4 cup of milk
1.5 cups of oats
1/4 cup of peanut butter
1/4 cup shredded coconut

Bring sugar, cocoa, oil and milk to a boil on medium heat. Once it's at a rolling boil, boil for 1 min. Remove from heat and stir in oats, pb and shredded coconut. Drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper and allow to set.

You can win your very own Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil here

Flowerz In Her Hair Review and Giveaway

I had been seeing the cutest baby headbands complete with little flowers everywhere lately. Especially on the show 19 Children and Counting. I thought they were so cute but honestly hadn't seen anything like that in the stores. So I contacted Flowerz In Her Hair for a possible review/giveaway and she said yes. Not only that but she sent more than I even asked for. What great customer service!

I love these products. The headband is beautifully made and they use high quality materials. As you can see the pink headband easily fits a baby. They also offer the other type of headband on my beautiful older model. The flowers clip onto the headbands. Or you can wear the headbands alone... or you can use the flowers alone.

There are so many possibilites. No need for hundreds of hair bows/bands that get lost. On my older child is the woven headband. This is way more beautiful in person. On the baby is a stretch crochet. I was sent a beautiful white flower too, but for some reason did not get a picture of it. It's beautiful! Honestly I had the baby in mind when ordering these, but my older girls LOVED these and immediately was putting them in their hair and matching them up with their outfits. They are perfect for babies, older children and teens would love the flower clips.

Check out the holiday collection (the Halloween bows are so cute)

BUY IT

Flowerz In Her Hair

Win It

Win $20 e-gift card to Flowerz In Her Hair

Mandatory Entry

Must be subscriber to my blog. Go to Flowerz In Her Hair and tell me what flower or headband you like best! Please leave email address in your response (only have to leave email once).

Follow Flowerz In Her Hair Blog (2 entries)

Like Flowerz In Her Hair on Facebook (2 entries)

Follow Flowerz In Her Hair on Twitter (2 entries)

Follow Retro Housewife Remix on Twitter

Enter one of my other giveaways (one entry for each giveaway)

Subscribe to my blog

Add me to your blog roll

Blog about this giveaway (3 entries)

Tweet this giveaway (2 entries)

Share on Facebook (leave link) (2 entries)

Good Luck, Open only to US residents! Contest ends Oct. 3, 2010.

Easy Lunchbox Winner and Homemade Deodorant Recipe

Easy Lunchbox Winner is....






Libby's Library

An email has been sent and winner has 48 hours to claim prize via email, or new winner will be picked.

All Natural Deodorant

1/4 cup of cornstarch
1/4 cup of baking soda
2 tablespoons of coconut oil

Mix together. Add essential oils if you want (lavender would be good). You may even be able to scoop all this together and throw into an old deodorant container.

check out post below and enter the Tropical Traditions coconut oil giveaway!

Tropical Traditions Virgin Coconut Oil Review and Giveaway! CLOSED

I have been dying to try this coconut oil. I had seen many reviews for this oil on other blogs. I kept entering the giveaways but never won lol. Luckily Tropical Traditions felt pity for me and sent me one to review and a chance for you to win the same!

Now you may be surprised by the calories in coconut oil. Don't worry. Coconut oil is a healthy fat (like natural peanut butter, avacodo etc). There are many health benefits to coconut oil.

The picture above is my attempt at making something with the coconut oil. I used my Cake Mix Cookies recipe.

First of all, just making these cookies I was treated to a wonderful scent. Usually cookies smell good while baking and fresh out of the oven. Using the coconut oil, the wonderful smell was immediate!

After I used the measuring cup to pour the oil into the mixing bowl, I scraped the oil out of it and applied it to my arms, hands and elbows. Did you know this is wonderful for your skin as well? I even have an all natural deodorant recipe to share using this oil. Beauty treatment while cooking, if only it could always be that way ;o)

I noticed the dough was easier to work with as opposed to when I used vegetable oil. It held together nicely. So instead of dropping teaspoonsful, I rolled into balls, placed on cookie sheet and then gently flattened. This made for more rounded and uniform cookies.

After they came out of the oven, my kids went crazy for them. All I had was plain yellow cake mix, so the oil added a very faint flavor. The flavor is not too strong though that I would worry about mixing coconut oil with another flavor. It's not overpowering, and very complimentary to any flavor. My kids LOVED them. And honestly, I don't think I want to go back to making my cake mix cookies with vegetable oil now. It's just not the same.

I was very low on groceries (I still haven't gone to the store) so I was limited on what I made. The above was just a plain yellow cake mix that I sprinkled a little brown sugar on top before baking. I thought it would have tasted great with a pineapple cake mix though! Then the cookies could have been kinda like a pineapple upside down flavor. Honestly the kids didn't mind at all. My 3rd child ate like 8 of them lol. They were so soft, and turned out perfect.

Buy It

Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil

Win It: 1 32 oz Jar of Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil

Mandatory Entry: Go to the Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil page above and tell me something you learned about the oil and be sure to leave your email address. Must be a follower of my blog please.

Extra Entries
1. Go to Tropical Traditons free coconut recipe website and tell me a recipe you would love to try (2 entries)
2. Be a subscriber to my blog
3. Subscribe to Tropical Traditions sales newsletter. They have sales and promotions all the time you don't want to miss out on! (3 entries)
4. Follow Tropical Traditions on Twitter (2 entries)
5. Follow me on Twitter
6. Like Tropical Traditions on Facebook
7. Watch Tropical Traditions video and tell me something you learned (3 entries)
8. Add my blog to your blog roll (2 entries)

Giveaway ends Oct 1, 2010. Opent o US residents. Good luck :o)
Check back through the week I will feature more recipes using Tropical Traditions Coconut oil!
Disclaimer: I received this product free to review. I was not paid for my review and was not required to write a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Vintage Cookbook

From 1955. It must have been the cookbook that came with an Osterizer Blender. I love the picture of the ladies in the test kitchen.

I bought this at a garage sale that had so many amazing things. And everything had great prices. I just had very little money with me, and I don't want my husband to plan a thrift/garage sale intervention on me.

I paid $1 for this gem.

This can be seen at Coastal Charm and Apron Thrift Girl :o)

Today's Funny

In a matter of minutes

The damage was done. She opened up her Gerber Graduate Puffs, fed some to the dog and poured the rest on the floor. I grab the can she moves off to the drawer and takes everything out and then moves to the magazine rack and throws the magazines out. I couldn't keep up! Where's my coffee today?

Special Offer from Overstock

Last year I had bought a juicer from OVERSTOCK.COM. I poured over reviews from all the major websites trying to carefully pick the model and brand. Then once that was chosen, I was on the hunt for the best price. Overstock was the lowest price, so I put in my order and waited patiently for it to arrive. I didn't have to wait long. It came way faster than I expected. Great service (and low shipping).

I was checking out coffee makers. Yes I went from healthy juicing to drinking coffee, don't judge me. I have been hesitant to buy coffee maker because you know, I was not a coffee drinker. I just drank instant coffee every morning. But that doesn't mean anything. I might be drinking a grande pumpkin spice latte with an extra shot of expresso right now, but that still doesn't mean I'm a coffee drinker.

Okay I am.

Maybe it's time to buy a coffee maker. Stop drinking instant, and enter the world of gourmet coffee.

The picture of the coffee maker at the top of this post is this one Cuisinart Coffee Maker

It caught my eye, or maybe it was just the words "self cleaning" that did.

Or the Keurig would be nice. I don't mind that it brews a single cup, because that is usually all I drink and my husband doesn't drink coffee.

Here is a Keurig


For my readers, Overstock.com has been so gracious as to offer us a 10% discount code!

121728
good on all overstock.com purchases





all the ideas and opinions expressed are my own. No monetary compensation was received for doing this post, however I was provided with a discount code.

I Have Low Entry Giveaways Ending Soon

Paperlicious Giveaway for Momager Cards

14 entries, ends 9/24/10

http://retrohousewiferemix.blogspot.com/2010/09/paperlicious-review-and-giveaway.html

Easy Lunchbox System

79 comments, ends 9/14

http://retrohousewiferemix.blogspot.com/2010/08/back-to-school-lunch-boxes.html

Upcoming Giveaways:

35$ CSN Giftcard

Nordic Naturals

Happy Baby Foods

Flowerz In Her Hair

Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil

Costume Discounters

and a special offer from http://www.overstock.com/

Don't forget to check back!

Friday Blog Hops

Welcome New Followers!

Social Parade on Friday

Fabulous Follow Friday

Friday Blog Hop

Bee Funny Friday Follow

Follow Me Chickadee Fridays

Fun Follow Friday

Boost My Blog Friday


Sorry, could not get codes to work today. Check out all these blog hops, lots of great blogs to follow.

Cake Mix Cookies

This is my go to cookie recipe.

Especially for school parties and functions.

It's made with cake mix. So it is cheap and the possibilities are endless. Usually for Valentine's Day parties I use red velvet cake mix and strawberry cake mix to make pink and red cookies. Christmas time you can add in red and green m&m's. Halloween you can make these dark chocolate cookies, maybe with peanut butter chips. My son's class loves when I take the lemon cake mix and add in lemon extract.



1 box of cake mix (unprepared)

2 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil



that is it. Mix and put teaspoonful on a cookie sheet bake 8-10 min at 350.



For the above cookies I used Devil's Food cake mix and chocolate chips.

The key to these cookies is taking them out of oven before they are fully cooked and let them continue cooking on the cookie sheet. These cookies should be soft (and they stay soft too).


Tip: Stock up on cake mixes when they go on sale for .99 cents or less. Lots of recipes call for cake mixes. Some of the most frequently called for cake mixes are spice cake, yellow cake, chocolate cake and white cake mix.

Thrift Store Finds

I went to the Salvation Army. Got the candlestick for $1.

The wall stickers were .35 cents a pack! You can use these things other than just on the wall.

Dip bowl and knife, brand new with spreader $1

I also bought a Justice dress for my daughter, a photo album, party invitations

I'm still looking for a wall hanging for my office redo (will post pics)

Chicken Alfredo Pizza

The Pizza Dough

Take a large bowl and put 2 cups of warm water and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, stir. Add 2 tablespoons of active dry yeast (or quick rise yeast).
Let this stand at least 5 minutes.
Add dash of salt, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, italian seasonings (whatever you want, any combo...rosemary, basil etc)
Add in 5 cups of flour. Mix well. Knead. Place in well oiled bowl and cover. Let sit at least an hour.
Punch down, knead again.

Preheat oven to 450. Sprinkle corn meal, a little salt and pepper on pizza pan. Roll out your pizza dough and place on pizza pan. Place sauce and toppings and bake around 10 mins (check it every so often, take out when the crust looks golden)

The Chicken Alfredo Part

Marinate chicken breast in italian dressing for several hours
Cut chicken into pieces and saute in a pan with olive oil and chopped garlic

Place alfredo sauce (I used jar for pizza), then chicken and then mozzarella cheese on pizza dough.

This is sooo good. Sometimes I add a salty seasoning to the outer crust of the pizza (mix garlic salt and some italian seasonings).

Can be seen at www.prairiestory.com

Upcoming Giveaway with CSN Stores

I was looking at the coffee tables. We are re-doing our finished basement to make it look, well less like a basement.

http://www.allcoffeetables.com/

Our living room has a coffee table like the one above. You can lift the "table" part to it up so that you can work more comfortably on bills, homework or working on your laptop.

It's very easy to browse their selection. I clicked on "storage space" and was immediately able to see many options. I like this one

http://www.allcoffeetables.com/Hokku-Designs-Ojmf-Trvbsf-DU-BVF1202.html

It's modern and offers storage space. Which is something I lack in my current furniture.

I was also able to browse by selecting the tabletop I wanted. I had considered maybe granite or marble considering we seem to be so rough on wood.

I liked this option

http://www.allcoffeetables.com/filters/Marble-Granite-l441-c14757-A3724~9663-A3725~9672.html

So I wanted to do something special for reaching 200 followers. I was contacted by www.csnstores.com to do a giveaway for my readers. One lucky reader will win a $35 giftcard to CSN Stores. Lucky you!

CSN Stores has thousands of products from baby items to cookware. The company has been really good to us bloggers so next time you need to make a purchase check them out! The prices are great and the selection is amazing. They have an easy to navigate website, which is saying something considering how much stock they have.

So check out http://www.csnstores.com/ and check back in a few days!

Dinner Ideas

Sometimes I like to think of twists to regular dinners we have.

Of course like most people tacos are on our weekly menu quite frequently. Here is a twist.

Instead of buying soft or hard taco shells I got the tostados. I just had a ton of stuff out and everyone could make their own.

This was a throw together dinner from the pantry so I had:

Can of tomatoes with jalapenos

White Rice

Corn

Taco meat (I used Morningstar Farms soy crumbles and added some taco seasonings, onions and green peppers)

and the ususal stuff; sour cream, peppers, taco sauce, shredded cheese etc. I would have loved to had some black beans and cilantro.

What do you like on your tacos?

can be seen at

http://www.gethealthycheap.com/2010/10/family-food-fridays-1015.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:%20GettinHealthystillCheap%20(Gettin'%20Healthy....Still%20Cheap...)

How Often Do You Mess Up Recipes?

Quite frequently for me!

I really need to concentrate to cook. My kitchen is a zoo though, so sometimes I make one rash decision or I don't read the recipe well and I mess up. It's become even harder with the baby following me into the kitchen getting into stuff while I cook. She is at that age where you have to constantly watch her.

On the top is this recipe

http://www.iamamoneymagnet.com/2010/08/strawberry-chess-cake-squares/

It is AWESOME, even though I messed up. Sorry about the terrible picture but the kids dug in before I even got a pretty picture lol.

I could not spread the strawberry mixture in a 13x9 pan. It was a sticky glop and I tried everything to spread it out right. I finally had to put it in a 8x8 pan and cook it FOREVER. Afterwards it hit me that I softened the butter, therefore making the mixture to soft (and unspreadable) so next time I will know not to soften the butter and we will see if that works. My kids loved this recipe. I have one child who is really picky and sometimes doesn't eat the desserts I make and even she loved this one. The kids told me it reminded them of a poptart. If you are on a diet you might want to not make this ;o)

The recipe on the bottom is

http://www.mommyskitchen.net/2010/08/blueberry-snack-cake-potluck-sunday.html

This one I did not beat the egg whites until the soft peak stage. I must've used too big of a bowl to beat the eggs so the hand mixer was hitting on the bowl and making an awful sound. I thought for sure the cake would not turn out but guess what, it did. So it must've been pretty fool proof for this fool to make it!

Both recipes were yummy! I love getting recipes from other mommy bloggers. I know they have made them and liked them and I like having pictures of what the finished product will look like.

What are some of your favorite recipe blogs?

Yoplait Winner and Special News

The Yoplait Prize Pack winner is Shonda.

To celebrate over 200 followers we will be having some special giveaways coming soon. I'm so excited! Thank you to all my new followers. You make this "job" fun :o)

So the cat this time decided to try out the playpen. I might as well throw a diaper on him and call it a day. At least I wouldn't have to clean out the litter box.

Paperlicious Review and Giveaway

Paperlicious Review

http://www.paperlicious.com/



Paperlicious, I even love the name. I think anything sounds better when you put a -licious on it. I love this website. They have eco-friendly stock and very affordable prices for invitations, momager cards, notes and luggage tags. I fell in love with the momager calling cards.


These are great to pass out to a:

teacher
a coach
friends
family members
when you meet a new mom at the park or library
babysitter
daycare
team mom
Church nursery

Now that school is in, does your child come home and say "Abby wants me to come over tomorrow?" And you are like "Who is Abby, the girl that ate the hand sanitizer last week?" You tell your child that you need to set a playdate up with the mom. This has happened numerous times to me. With these cards you can send one in for your child to give to their new friend at school and the mom will know you want to be in contact.

I ordered the cheetah print cards. I had my kids name printed on them, my website (shameless plug), my cell number and email address. After I got them I realized maybe I should have put my home address on there as well lol. Shows how technology has changed how we interact, my first thought was cell, email and my website ;o) All the more reason to have these cards to stay in contact with people you meet. You know, real human interaction!

I already gave one to my daughter's cheer coach and now I'm just waiting for the time that my youngest makes a new friend at the library or playground and I can go BAM! (remember In Living Colour) and pass one out. Oh yeah, I am going to look so put together. I hope that day my clothes will not have baby food stains and will actually match or my plan may backfire...hmmm.

Paperlicious says they have "Hip Invites and Notes" and I have to agree. I loved the designs. Very modern and stylish (or stylelicious?). It was SO hard to pick a design, but I had to go with cheetah print since my whole bathroom is done in cheetah print, tastefully of course *wink*.

Here is a link to paperlicious blog
www.paperliciousinvites.blogspot.com

Okay guys, you don't want to miss this giveaway. To enter: You must be a follower of my blog for any entries to count and you must include your email address!

Go to www.paperlicious.com/momager-calling-cards-105/

And tell me which momager calling cards you would pick if you won

EXTRA ENTRIES

1. Become a follower of Paperlicious Blog
2. Follow me on twitter #housewiferemix
3. Blog about this giveaway (2 extra entries)

Good luck, US residents only. Giveaway ends Sept. 24, 2010.