A Product Favorite -Sally Hansen Salon Effects

Sally Hansen doesn't know who I am, nor does she know that I really like one of her products, Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nails. This product allows you to have nail effects that you only used to see in salons. These are nails that have a patterned effect or in our case, glitter. We have tried them before and had a good expereience with them both times. They are easy to apply and are much like stickers. Don't be fooled though. These nails will last for ten days as the box suggests and will not show any wear or chips like other polishes. It takes only moments to apply them and the colors and styles are very popular with teens.

For all of the colors and styles, look here:
http://sallyhansen.com/products/nails/nail-color/salon-effects-real-nail-polish-strips

It's a Wrap - The Weekend Comes to a Close

It has been a busy weekend filled with the right amount of to-do's, activities, and family fun.  Paige had her dance recital on Sunday and she did a wonderful job.  I'll be sharing those pictures later in the week.  We wanted to squeeze every last drop out of the weekend so we went to the Waterpark tonight for a picnic dinner.  It is our family favorite summer picnic dinner to have Hawaiian bread sandwiches, chips and fresh fruit followed by dippin dots ice cream.  It was the true start to our summer vacation.

 



Three Sisters


I hope everyone had a restful holiday weekend and they are ready for the week ahead. For us it is the crazy busy last week of school!

A Recipe: Don's Favorite Apple Cake

Despite tornado warnings and taking shelter at a local elementary school safe room, I was able to bake a cake this evening which I consider no small feat. Luckily, we are all fine but our hearts go out to those who have lost loved ones and property in the devastating storms across the country this week.  As I write this post, they are evacuating the Rangers Ballpark because of a tornado outbreak in the area.  The weather radar is unlike any I have ever seen in Texas.  There is rotation in several areas at once with heavy hail throughout local counties. 

We have a lot to be thankful for tonight. 

Don's Favorite Apple Cake
1 cup of oil
2 eggs
2 cups of sugar
2 cups of flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups of grated apples (Granny Smith's work well)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix oil, sugar and eggs.  Add flour, soda, apples and then vanilla.  Pour into a greased bundt pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes.  Do not open the oven for the first 30 minutes or the cake will fall.  Cool for 1 - 2 hours and serve.

A Product Favorite - Blue Agave Sweetener

The makers of Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Blue Agave have no idea who I am nor do they probably care but this is one product that I tried only once and I was hooked.  Initially, I was looking for a substitute for my husband who uses honey in his coffee each morning.  I liked the idea that it was a low glycemic sweetener but I never thought about using it myself.  That was until I tried a little in my tea one evening and then I poured a little on my plain yogurt.  It was delicious.  I love that it isn't as thick as honey and it is very versatile.  It can be used as a glaze on fruit, as a syrup on pancakes and a little goes a very long way.  I hope to start trying baking with it and using it in even more recipes.  As a general rule, 3 parts agave is equal to 4 parts of sugar.  Have you ever tried Agave and if so, what recipes have you used it in?

This particular brand of Agave was purchased at Costco.

Weekend Gardening, Crafting and Celebrating

I was inspired this weekend to get out in the garden and add a little color to my very green world by my sister, Becky, who has an amazing blog:  http://findingmygarden.blogspot.com/  She lives in a different part of the country but her flowers, plants and the knowledge she has of them is incredible.  The flowers in the pictures above are all from my backyard but I can't tell the name of any of them.  I pick my plants because I like the way they look which usually means that they don't last long in the heat of the long Texas summers.  I have started to buy more perennials and more drought resisitant plants which has helped but I have a long way to go before I can keep flowers alive into August or even July.  However, now they are all in bloom and I will enjoy them while I can.  Some of these actually came back from last year, just don't ask me to name them.

Yesterday was also my husband and my 22nd Wedding  Anniversary!  The gift for your 22nd is Copper.  We didn't realize that was what we were buying each other until Thursday night when our Air Conditioner sputtered its last breath and the gift of copper (a new A/C unit) was given.  We also went to dinner last night at Tim Love's new restaurant, The Love Shack, which is very different from his original restaurant in Fort Worth, Lonesome Dove.  It was a fun night and his website is here:  http://www.loveburgershack.com/ 

I also did a little crafting this weekend so I will be posting the latest wreath on Monday so stay tuned for that. 

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

I Spy......

Small items around the house - sorry for the lighting in this photo

My poem which is below

The filled jar

I got this idea of "I Spy" from the Magic Onion which can be found here:  http://themagiconions.blogspot.com/2009/05/eye-spy-jar.html

I adapted it for my kids who are older. I found small objects that were lying around the house and filled a mason jar with them items as well as rice, leaving enough room for the contents to move. I then made an explanation sheet and a guessing sheet and left them on a table in our entryway. I let them find the game on their own.  We will see who guesses the correct amount of objects in the jar at the end of the weekend.

The explanation says the following:

I Spy
I won’t tell my secret but revealed in this jar,
A number of items found near and far.

Record the number of things there you find,
In your head, on your hand or even in your mind.

You may lift, you may shake but never do cheat,
as the winner will get a prize for their feat.

Work as a team or work on your own,
you may even rely on a friend, via the phone.


I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! 

Tuesday in Pictures

I seem to have caught a cold/flu-like illness so I am a little under the weather today.  I thought I would show some of my recent favorites in photos. Many are from our trips to the ocean, either Florida or Hawaii. I can almost hear the surf as it hits the shore and looking at the photos makes me feel better. Happy Tuesday!

Take Me Out To The Ballpark........

Today we spent a beautiful day at the Ballpark in Arlington where we watched the Texas Rangers lose to the Anaheim Angels, 3-2.  Despite the loss, it was a warm day, the food was good and a great time was had by everyone!

We managed to eat our way through the ballpark.  We had wings, garlic fries, nachos and ice cream.  What a combo!  I hope everyone is having a great weekend and don't forget to "Play Ball!"

Teacup rings

We have a new store in our area, Charming Charlies.
http://www.charmingcharlie.com/home.

To say that I am overwhelmed each time I enter the store is an understatement. The store has jewelry, clothing, shoes, hats, and really any accessory a girl could ever hope for but it's also arranged in color coded sections.  I actually have to limit my time in the store to 30 minutes or I get light headed from looking at everything.  It is a lot to take in.  Recently though, I purchased the most adorable and playful teacup ring at the store.  That rings makes me happy.   Maybe it's because I like tea and maybe I just want to play dress up but it made me think that there must be other teacup rings out there so I began looking online and here is what I found.   They are everywhere......

  This teacup ring with a bird can be found here:  http://www.etsy.com/listing/23272586/bluebird-in-the-teacup-adjustable-ring?ref=sr_list_1&ga_search_query=tea+cup+ring&ga_search_type=tag_title&ga_page=&min=&max=&order=

Check out her fairy door necklace as well, it's wonderful !:    http://www.etsy.com/listing/73071082/fairy-door-necklace


   This one can be found here:   http://www.etsy.com/listing/37825541/teacup-ring?ref=sr_gallery_4&ga_search_query=tea+cup+ring&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=2&order=&includes%5B0%5D=tags&includes%5B1%5D=title

And this one at the same Etsy store, with tea inside: 



And then there is this one: 

  I love the colors.  It can be found here:  http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&op=listing&product_id=1852919

So can this one: 



This is my ring from Charming Charlies.

 

Happy Thursday everyone!

It's National Eat What You Want Day....Who knew?

It's Wednesday, the week is halfway over.  More importantly, it is National Eat What You Want Day!  Who knew such a day existed?  I would hate to upset the National Day of people and I'm all for a day of eating whatever I fancy so I thought I would share my perfect day of food, in pictures. 

This actually is what I had for breakfast.  It's my summer breakfast (hey it's officially hot here in Texas so that counts). Winters I have oatmeal with cranberries because it's warm and wintry.  But warmer weather means a cold breakfast.  I like to have plain 0% Fage Greek yogurt with frozen mixed berries and a drop or two of agave nectar.  Delicious, creamy, fresh and wonderful.  I have also been known to have it for dessert as well.

Because it is Wednesday, that means it is office lunch day.  Each Wednesday my whole office goes to lunch together and we rotate on picking a spot to eat.  Today is actually my day to pick so I am picking a place that has an amazing salad bar.  I get the same things on it each time I go. I am apparently a creature of habit.   Spinach as a salad bed, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, green bell peppers, one hard boiled egg, feta cheese, black olives, cottage cheese as a dressing and a side of hummus with wheat crackers.  Yum.

                                             

And Dinner.  It's actually my favorite meal of the day.  I am having a family favorite tonight, chicken curry with rice.  It is my Mom's recipe and my whole family loves it. I often pull it out when someone is not feeling well or it is a little chilly outside.  We are expecting a big storm this evening and Don has been under the weather so I know this will be the perfect dinner.

                                               

And dessert.  I have to go with my current favorite right now which is frozen yogurt.  (See a pattern here?)  Our town has recently seen 5 frozen yogurt establishments open in the last year and they are all really delicious.  My personal favorite is original tart with gummy bears.  It's the perfect end to a perfect food day.

                                                            

What would you eat on your Eat What You Want Day?

A Product: OPI Black Shatter

If you aren't into pretty toes or if the sight of them is not your thing, this is not the post for you.  On the other hand, if you like nail polish, and obviously we do, then this is a great new product on the market that can be used with any nail polish you already own.  OPI has no idea who I am nor do they have a clue that I like their polish.  With that being said, they have a new line of shatter polishes that you can buy in black or silver.  I happened upon a bottle of black shatter while getting my hair cut last week and I used the girls toes to experiment with the colors.  Don't judge the grubby toes or the accuracy of the paint job.  (The girls had just finished with cheer and gymnastics and they were waiting to take showers) 



Brooke's toes before with a gold polish



Brooke's toes with black shatter

The first color polish is painted on the toe and then after allowing it to dry, you paint the shatter polish on top. The polish then cracks and allows the original color to come through for the shattered appearance.


Paige's toes before with purple polish



Paige's toes with black shatter




Ally's toes before with blue polish



Ally's blurry toes with black shatter

We agreed that we liked the brighter polishes better than the darker ones under the black shatter.  The shatter happens within seconds and is a neat way to make almost an animal print on the toes.  It's a neat way to change up the polishes that you already have on hand.