CSN Stores Review

I was recently contacted by CSN Stores and asked to review one of their products. I chose this frying pan. I LOVE IT!!! It's big, it's non-stick, oh and did I mention that it's big??? :)

It's a 14" Farberware skillet. I've been meaning to get a picture of this baby in action, which is why this review is so late in coming, but I keep forgetting to get out the camera come dinner time. 
I cooked 8 pork chops at once and 4 pounds of ground beef at once! The ground beef did great...the pork chops I had to move around since there was uneven browning. It was just around the very edges of the pan that it didn't get as hot, but I wasn't really surprised by that since the pan is larger than my burners. I've had the smaller version of this pan for years and love it, so I'm really looking forward to being able to use this pan for many years to come! 
If you cook for a crowd on a regular basis, I highly recommend this pan! 

Gourd Windchime

I got this idea from the Michaels website over a year ago, but it is no longer there. As soon as I saw it, I thought of my mom. So I went down to the craft store to get the supplies and was shocked at how much the gourd cost! Well a few weeks later, I happened to be at Michaels and the gourd was on super sale (I think I only paid $2 or $3 for it!) so I got one and put it in the closet until just a few days ago. I made this for my mom for her birthday last week.

It is kind of hard to see from the picture, but the windchime part at the bottom is sticks of bamboo that I painted. After painting the three sticks of bamboo (from an existing windchime) I attached them to the bottom of the gourd using the screw hooks they came with. To get the hooks into the gourd I stuck a push pin in to create a pilot hole.Then I printed out a fancy M on the computer and cut it out with an xacto knife creating a stencil (word of advice: if you are going to do this, paint the initial before you screw in the bamboo!). I traced it with pencil, since my stencil wouldn't lay flush with the gourd, and then painted it, drilled two holes in the top and laced some wire and ribbon through to hand it by. 

Also linked to The Idea Room

Tasty Thursdays #3 - Fall Recipes

I would love to see your favorite Fall recipes! Here is one of mine...

*photo from Make It & Love It

Pumpkin Sausage Pasta found via Make It & Love It last year.

Shirt Dress

I'm sure by now you've probably all seen at least one version of a shirt dress. Well this is mine. It is a combination of several tutorials I've seen floating around the web.
It's perfect for dancing like a princess...

or feeding the birds.

A view of the back:

 And when asked for a pretty smile, this is what I got:

Not quite what I had in mind, but it made me laugh. :)

Let me know if you're interested in a tutorial for my take on the shirt dress and I can put one together!

Tasty Tuesdays - Crockpot Fiesta Chicken

Looking for a super easy, delicious Mexican dish to serve for dinner tonight? Then you've got to try the Easy Crockpot Fiesta Chicken from The Girl Who Ate Everything.

We used this chicken mixture as burrito filling and as quesadilla filling. It was delicious!

Tasty Thursdays #2 - Linky Edition

Here is one of my favorites. I adapted this from a Betty Crocker cookbook that I got for my wedding. In the cookbook it is called something along the lines of "Rustic Vegetable Baguette" but in my house we call them "avocado subs".
The picture isn't the greatest...it's from a few years ago before I really started blogging.

Ingredients:
Sub rolls - one for each person you intend to feed
Italian dressing - approximately 1 tablespoon per sub roll, enough to cover one side of the bread
Cheese - we like colby-jack, cheddar, or Mexican blend
Roma Tomatoes - 3 or 4 slices per sub
Avocados - I like a lot of avocado, so we use one medium avocado for every 2 subs, but you could use less

1. Slice tomatoes
2. Smash avocado...in the food processor works great, or you can just scoop the flesh out into a sandwich bag and smash it in your hands...it's super fast and easy cleanup!
3. Slice sub rolls lengthwise
4. Spread Italian dressing on one side of each roll
5. Sprinkle cheese on the other side of each roll, just enough to cover the bread
6. Broil until the cheese is melty and bubbly
7. Lay tomatoes on one side of subs and spread the avocado on the other. I find it works best to put the tomatoes on top of the cheese and spread the avocado onto the dressing side.
8. Eat and enjoy!!!

Let's see some more of your recipes!!!

Want to Craft That Wednesday - Tin Can Windsock

How cute is this tin can windsock from Under the Table and Dreaming!

I love this flag version...but the possibilities are endless for how you could decorate it!

Tasty Tuesdays - Muffles

Muffle (muhf-uhl) - Noun 1.the delicious baby of a waffle and a muffin 2.muffin batter baked in a waffle iron.

My sister told me about muffles a few months ago and we made some recently, so I thought I'd post about it. Muffles are super easy to make. Take your favorite muffin batter and instead of putting it into a muffin tin and baking in the oven, get out your waffle iron and cook it in there! The taste is the same as when baked as a muffin, but the texture is different. It isn't quite the same as either a muffin or a waffle...it is just kind of it's own thing. And it is delicious!

Tired of the same old blueberry muffins/waffles/muffles/pancakes??? Sometimes I add in a bit of cinnamon and other times I add in chopped up white chocolate chips and coconut! YUM! You should seriously try that combination.

Tasty Thursdays #1 - Linky Edition

Cheddar-cornmeal Waffle BLT's

This is a great take on a blt...but I recommend you follow the recipe! I tried to use a boxed cornbread instead of making them from scratch and the waffles kept falling apart! Oh well, live and learn.
Cheddar-cornmeal Waffle BLT's from Taste Buds.

What are you loving to make in the kitchen lately? Let's see those recipes!
The link will be open until Monday evening...if you want me to lengthen or shorten the time frame allotted for the linky party let me know! Also I would love to know if you have any requests/suggestions for themes for future linky parties.

Want to Craft That Wednesday - Cozy Cone Motel

Yep, two in one day...my folders are that out of control!

Cozy Cone Motel from One More Moore.

There aren't any instructions for this...but it can't be that hard to figure out.

Want to Craft That Wednesday - Scrabble Magnet Board

Part of the reason I created this blog was to put links to ideas I want to try. It's time to start doing that again, because my bookmarks folders are getting super out of control!

Scrabble Magnet Board from The Twice Remembered Cottage

Scrabble isn't really my cup of tea (I'm not great with words) but I love this idea. It actually makes me think of a few of my siblings.

Tasty Tuesdays - Caramel Brownies

I have a goal to post more often on this blog, since I feel that I've neglected it a bit over the summer. A new recurring post I plan to have is "Tasty Tuesdays" & "Tasty Thursdays - Your Recipes". On Tuesdays I will post a recipe I tried recently (or the link to where you can find it) and my honest thoughts. Thursdays will be linky parties where you can upload your recipes. I would like to have Tuesday's recipes be one of the Thursday links, so start digging through your recipe boxes for things you would like to share with us!

Caramel Brownies 
*Warning: a spoon may be required*
 
The recipe and photo are courtsey of Kristan from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen. This is one of my new favorite food blogs. I've tried several of her recipes and LOVED them all and her posts are hilarious!

Caramel Brownies

I didn't make the brownies from scratch like in the recipe...I just used a boxed brownie mix and they turned out great. They were a little goopy though, so instead of pretty squares like Kristan had I got a big ol' mess (hence the warning at the top). These were a huge hit at family dinner on Sunday and I'll definitely be making them again!

Another CSN Stores Review coming soon!

Are you in need of some new Corelle dinnerware?

     

How about a new frying pan? 

I'm super excited to be getting one of these items in the mail soon to review for CSN Stores. Have you checked them out yet? If not, go do it...now! :)

Ribbon Embellished Kitchen Towels

My brother-in-law got married at the beginning of the month. Between airfare, a dress & a tux (luckily we didn't have to rent a car or hotel) it cost us a pretty penny to attend. So I needed a nice, cute & affordable gift to give. I saw these flour sack towels at target for super cheap. They came in a four pack but were twice the size of regular kitchen towel...so I cut them in half! Then I added holiday-ish ribbons to each of them.

Valentine's Day

St. Patrick's Day

Easter/Spring

4th of July (and my favorite)

Halloween

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Mommy & Me Aprons

For my sister's birthday I made her an apron...with matching ones for her two daughters. The girls' aprons even have their initials appliqued on the pockets. I used some old jeans and some fabric from my stash, so it only cost me my time! Apparently they turned out pretty good, because one of my sister's friends asked me to make some for her and her daughter. Hopefully I will remember to get a better picture of the "mommy" apron before I send them off this week.

Happy Birthday Cards

I enjoy making cards...I just wish I didn't make such a mess doing it! Anyway, here are a few birthday cards I've made. I really love the pink & green ones!

Sorry this one is sideways...I'm having trouble getting it to rotate properly.

My Sister's Craft Blog

My little sister recently started a craft blog! You should check it out and give her some words of encouragement since she is pretty new to this whole thing.
http://creatingis.blogspot.com/

And I've got several projects that I need to post this week, so check back in a day or two. :)

Polka Dot Pleated Sundress

A few weeks ago my little sister was getting rid of some old clothing and other random things, so I asked if I could look through her stash before she dropped it off at goodwill. I scored several shirts, a few skirts and a comforter. I have no need for a twin sized comforter, but I loved the fabric so I deconstructed it. I wanted to make either a skirt or a dress for Madie and as soon as I saw this tutorial for a pleated sundress on Crafterhours yesterday I got straight to work!

I did mine a little differently. I didn't do the growth pleat hem, instead I cut my lining fabric about 2 inches longer than the top fabric (since the polka dot fabric was a little bit see through it needed lined). I also added two bows to the middle of the bodice.

This was my first attempt at shirring something and it was WAY easier than I expected!

I LOVE IT! I'm pretty convinced that I need to try and make a matching one for myself.

Ruffle Butt Onesie

I used this tutorial from Crap I've Made to make a onesie for my friend who had her baby in April. I used a  red fabric with white polka dots and think it turned out super cute. Next time, I'll definitely set up the serger though!
Apparently I didn't get a picture of the actual ruffle butt part, but you can kind of see the ruffles peeking out from the side in this picture.

Super Delicious Chocolate Cake

Today is my older sister's birthday (happy birthday, Kristi) and when I asked her on Saturday what kind of cake/treat she wanted at her celebration yesterday she told me to surprise her. I immediately thought of two recipes and after further review of the ingredients I decided that this one sounded more like her. It's called Praline Turtle Cake from Ur Baking Me Crazy! I would post a picture of the one I made, except I just ate the last piece...yum! So here is a picture of Hannie's cake. She left out the pecans but I HIGHLY recommend you put them in.

I didn't exactly follow the recipe...I used a boxed cake mix with a cup of sour cream for added moistness instead of baking the cake from scratch. It was so good and I'm totally bummed that it's all gone now. However, I've been inspired by this recipe and if what I have in mind tastes as good and I think it's going to, I'll post the recipe and pics in the next few days. And even if my experiment doesn't work out, I'll definitely be making this cake again!!!

New Winner!

Since I never heard from Gabby, let's visit random.org again...

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:7Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Who is the new winner of the $40 CSN Stores gift certificate?

Lori, who said: "If I were to win, I'd buy some sort of Kitchen goodie :) Probably something fun like a waffle maker, or maybe more practical like bread pans. I've been wanting to make banana bread for some time now. "


Congrats Lori!

Happy 4th of July!!!

And the winner is...

The winner of the $40 CSN Stores gift certificate is...

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

18 

Timestamp: 2010-06-29 23:24:10 UTC

Who is lucky number 18?

Gabby who said..."I would put it towards a child size pink baby grand piano for my daughter. We've been looking at it for a while!"

Thank you to everyone else who entered...sorry that you can't all win.

Congrats Gabby! Contact me here by Thursday so I can get you your gift card!

FIRST GIVEAWAY!!!

***GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED***
I had always figured I would do my first giveaway when I reached 100 followers (since that seems to be how everyone else does it), but you guys are awesome! There were enough of you that checked out one of the over 200 online CSN Stores, that I was contacted to host a giveaway of a $40 gift card! Need a new sofa?

How about a grill?

Or maybe some new shoes?


How to enter:
- Leave a comment (with your email address) on this post telling me what you would use your $40 gift card on.
- Only one comment per person please.
- Open to residents of US & Canada only.
- The winner will be chosen through Random.org

Giveaway closes Monday, June 28th at Noon (PST)

Review: CHEF'S CHOICE INTERNATIONAL KRUMKAKES EXPRESS

How yummy does this look?! Can I just say that I'm so glad that I decided to get the KrumKakes Express to review. 

CSN Stores was great to work with. The order was processed quickly and shipping was reasonably fast (it wasn't slow, I was just so anxious that one week felt like FOREVER). 

The iron worked like a charm, once I figured out how much batter and what setting to put it on. The recommended heat setting to start with is a 2, but apparently I like mine crispy because I ended up putting it at 4.5 and I used twice as much batter as the instructions said to use. I guess technically this lovely piece of equipment is supposed to make Norwegian cookies that you fill with whipped cream or ganache but it works great for making waffle cones and bowls (plus I liked the fancy design better than the standard grid of a waffle cone).

I made a few of these to serve at my daughter's birthday party last month...

It has been so much fun to make my own ice cream cones. I've even started experimenting with different flavored cones, so look for those in the future. I love it, I'm so glad that I decided to get it and I think I'll be eating a lot of ice cream this summer!

Vegas Vacation

My family is going to Las Vegas in a couple of weeks. It's just my husband, me & our 2 year old daughter. We've never been there (unless you count sitting in a plane at the airport) and this will be our first family vacation with just the three of us. 

That being said, I'm posting to ask for your help. Have you been to Vegas? Is there anything that you recommend we do while there (we'll be driving up on a Monday and coming home on Thursday)? Is there anything you've done that was totally NOT worth the time/money? I'd love to know what you all think!

Thanks!

Hehehe, I'm so excited!

I finally decided what item I'm going review for CSN Stores! Check out this beauty!!!

Chef's Choice International KrumKakes Express - 8390000

I'm going to be making me some waffle cones! Please feel free to let me know if you have any recipes that I should try. :)

CSN Stores Product Review, Coming Soon

A tv stand & fireplace all in one? How awesome is this?! I found this while browsing for tv stands on one of over 200 CSN Stores. Have you heard of this place? If not you should definitely go check it out!

They seriously have everything you can think of! They've got a store for hammocks, kids toys, mirrors (and just about every other home decor item), and my personal favorite...cookware!
I'm on a mission to find the perfect addition to my collection of kitchen tools. Once I do I'll be sure to let you all know what I'm getting and what I think of it. I can't wait!
I'm not generally an indecisive person...but too many awesome choices!


*Full Disclosure: CSN Stores contacted me with this promotional opportunity. I am being compensated for my review concerning my personal experience with CSN Stores.

Birthday Ideas

My little girl is turning two in May. I have no idea what to do for her birthday party. Last year was Elmo themed. Here are the cake & cupcakes I made.



These ones looked better when I first made them. The frosting got too soft and so the eyes started to move around. At least now I know to keep things like this in the fridge!

My problem is that she isn't in to any one thing/character for more than a couple of weeks at a time. Right now she is on a Lion King kick, but that will probably be over before May gets here. She does like the Disney princesses, Ariel in particular, but she also likes Curious George. And she is really into colors right now. She loves to point out the colors she sees!

So basically I'm lacking direction and would love some input on where you all think I should go with this. Thanks!

Oh, and to get the fur look on the cupcakes I used what is called a "grass tip" and I think it is Wilton number 233. Super time consuming but way cool looking!

Soda Can Picture Frame

I bought a cheapy cheap unfinished wood frame for $1 at Michaels and after seeing this mirror decided my picture frame could do the trick. And in the spirit of Tab-ing, I of course used a can of Tab.I just cut the top and bottom off of a soda can and the cut a slit up the side so that I had a rectangle of aluminum. Then I cut that into *roughly* 3/4 inch squares. I felt no need for perfection in this area of the project. Hot pink acrylic paint & a little (or a lot) of hot glue later and I had a masterpiece.

But it didn't seem right to give an empty picture frame to my cousin who just so happens to be a new dad. So after the suggestion by my little sister, we printed a picture of his son to go in it...

After we photoshopped him snuggling a can of Tab, of course!

Everyone loved it!

Thanks sister for the photo idea. Thanks husband for your awesome photoshop skills!