Various Uses For Vaseline

I always have a container of Vaseline in my bedside table drawer, I use the Vaseline with Shea Butter in it which I buy from The Dollar Tree. I use it for a couple different things:

• I have always had extremely dry hands so every night I rub some Vaseline on them and really work it into my cuticles, it is a great moisturizer. When I wake up my hands are silky smooth, it works amazingly.
• I also put Vaseline on my cuticles before I paint my nails so if I get any polish on my skin it doesn't stick.
• Before I dye my hair I put Vaseline on my skin around my hair line so if I get dye on my skin it wont dye my face.
• When I cant find my chap stick, my son has a habit of taking, hiding and destroying all my chap stick tubes, I just rub a little Vaseline on my lips and its instant relief.
• If I feel really creative I like to make my own colored flavored lip gloss by mixing Kool-Aid and Vaseline together.
• My son has some pretty bad Eczema which makes his skin super dry as it heals so I like to rub a bit of Vaseline on his dry Eczema and his dry skin disappears making him feel better right away.

I love Vaseline, it works so well for so many different things and it is beyond affordable.

Pint Size Pizza

After a long tiring day the last thing I want to do is stand in the kitchen for ages cooking dinner. That is why these pizza rolls are one of my favorite things to make. They take no time to prepare and only minutes to cook. They are also one of my favorite things to eat!

I use pizza sauce, sliced pepperoni, one tube of 8 crescent rolls and 4 mozzarella string cheese.

I lay out all 8 crescent rolls onto a baking sheet then spread some pizza sauce on them.

I then add a couple slices of pepperoni.

I cut each string cheese in half then place them on top of the pepperoni.

I pull each edge over the cheese and connect them, then I roll up the crescent roll like you normally would.

I pinch each edge together locking all the yummy goodness inside.

Then I bake them using the directions on the crescent roll package.

These mini pizzas are so so good!

Fantasy Football Draft Party

Like I said in my Football Nails post my Fantasy Football Draft was last Saturday and I had a couple of my friends who are in the league over for a little draft party. I made a big crock pot full of chili which I found the recipe for here http://www.mccormick.com/Recipes/Main-Dish/McCormick-Chili.aspx. I did however double up the meat and used two cans of diced tomatoes with the juice. I also used a can of pinto beans, light kidney beans, dark kidney beans, black beans and a can of chili beans. It made just enough to feed 11 people. I baked biscuits to serve as a side. For dessert I made some football cup cakes:

I used Pillsbury Devil's Food cake mix, silver cup cake liners, vanilla frosting and a zip lock bag.

As the cup cakes were cooking, I fallowed the directions on the back of the box, I filled the zip lock bag with the vanilla frosting then cut the tip off the bag making a small hole.

After the cup cakes cooled I piped the football laces and lines on them using the zip lock bag full of frosting.

Yum Yum

Since all of us drink the same beer we always end up playing the "is this my drink" game every time we get together so as a fun extra I bought us different colored koozies and painted our favorite team logos on them.

I looked each logo up on Google Images then drew them onto the Koozies with a pen. I then went over my drawing with puff paint and added our names. Everyone loved them!

Shirt To Scarf

I am a scarf fanatic so when I saw this DIY I had to try it! It was so easy to make, cost me nothing and is super cute. My mom loved it so much that I made one for her too.

All I used was an old stained shirt that was just sitting in the back of my closet and some scissors.

I decided how long I wanted the fringe to be, added about 6 inches then cut the shirt.

I then cut long fringe pieces through both side's of the shirt.

I cut the seam off each fringe.

I then pulled down each piece individually.

Here is the finished fringe scarf!

Doubled up around my neck, this would be a cute look if you are wearing a sweater or jacket.

Football Nails

My fantasy football draft is tomorrow so I am having a couple of friends from the league over for a little draft party and being the person that I am I wanted to paint my nails appropriately!

All I used was Revlon's Foxy and Sally Hansen's Nail Art Pen in White.

I applied 2 coats of Revlon's Foxy on all my nails.

Then drew football laces on my ring finger nail with the Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen. I just wanted the design on one nail but putting it on all your nails would be super cute too.

My mini football nail!

Tasty Dog Treats

I love to spoil our dogs but dog treats can get expensive, especially when you are trying to spoil 3 big dogs, so I started making them myself. All the ingredients are very affordable and I'm pretty sure the treats I make are healthier for our dogs then the ones I used to buy from the stores. Our son loves to feed them to our dogs and our dogs love to eat them! Here is what I do:

I use 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1 cup old-fashioned oats, 1/2 cup apple sauce, 1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, a banana and a star cookie cutter.

In a big bowl I mushed up the banana then added the other ingredients one at a time kneading the dough after each addition. After the dough was well kneaded I rolled it out on my counter that I had spread some flour on then used the star cookie cutter to cut the treats out of the dough. This dough will make about 4 dozen treats so you will need to knead the dough and roll it out again a couple times.

I placed the stars I had cut onto a cookie sheet then baked them in a 350 degree oven for 12 minutes, until the edges browned.

A little over 4 dozen little yummy star doggie treats!

True Blood Themed Night

I just recently discovered HBO's True Blood, I am so late to the party I know, and I have totally fallen in love with it! I invited my friend over to watch the new True Blood episode last night, she is also a big fan of the show, and I thought it would be fun to make us True Blood themed dinner, dessert and drinks. Here is everything I made:

Since the show takes place in Bon Temps Louisiana I made Jambalaya in my crock pot for dinner. I cut 4 chicken breasts into cubes, sliced a package of Cajun style andouille sausage, chopped an onion, chopped a green bell pepper and chopped 3 stalks of celery. I threw it all into the crock pot then added 2 cans (28oz) of diced tomatoes with the juice, 1 cup chicken broth, 2 teaspoons oregano, 2 teaspoons parsley, 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning , 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper and 1/2 a teaspoon of thyme. I mixed it all together then cooked it on low for 8 hours.

I made some corn bread muffins as a side

I served the Jambalaya over brown rice and we had ice water mixed with red Mio to drink with our dinner.

For dessert I made Vampire Bite cup cakes using a Devil's Food cake batter, vanilla frosting and red food coloring

I baked the cupcakes, spread the vanilla frosting on them then used a couple drops of the red food coloring to make the blood streams.

I made blood dripped wine glasses to serve our drinks in while we watched the show. I boiled 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup corn syrup, 1/2 cup water and red food coloring together. I let it boil for a couple minutes then turned off the heat, once it stopped bubbling I dipped the rim of the wine glasses into the pot then turned the glass over and let the fake blood drip down the sides of the glass. I left it on the counter to cool and harden. (After you are done with the wine glasses hold them under hot water and the fake blood will melt away.)

I served Kahlua's Vanilla White Russian in the blood dripped wine glasses and I also used Cherry Pucker as a shot of vampire blood.

Cheers!

If you and your friends are True Blood fans like my friends and I are it might be nice to have them over next weekend for your own True Blood themed night, its the season finally!

Tank To Tote

I LoVe bags, they are my guilty pleasure, so when I figured out how to make some myself I was hooked! Now on my almost weekly trip to Goowill I always look through the tank tops trying to find a cute tank that I can turn into a super cute tote. This is one of my most recent creations!

This is the tank I chose, I liked it because of its pockets

I flipped the tank inside out then aliened the seams

I then sewed the seams together, I did this a couple times to make it more secure since its a tote and I will be putting some heavy stuff in it. I don't want the bottom to pop open

I took off one of the straps and a button, the opposite button to the strap I removed, then buttoned the remaining strap to the remaining button

Here is the finished product!

The Best Chicken Bake

This chicken bake recipe is one of my favorites, I craved these when I was pregnant! I now have my husband and son hooked on them too. Here is what you will need:

Pizza crust, chopped green onions, chopped cooked bacon, grilled chicken (I cut the chicken and marinated it over night in Caesar dressing), Parmesan cheese, Mozzarella cheese and Caesar dressing

I laid out the pizza crust onto a baking sheet then cut it in half and spread some Caesar dressing on both halves

Then on half of each pizza crust I put on the chicken, mozzarella cheese, green onion and bacon

I then folded both of the pizza crusts in half, pulling the top over all the ingredients, and rolled the edges together so everything was sealed tightly inside. I brushed some more Caesar dressing on the top of each bake then sprinkled on some Parmesan cheese

I baked them in the oven which was set at 425 degrees for 10 minutes and vuala, your chicken bake is done

For a little zing I like to dip mine in mustard. Makes me hungry just looking at it!

Various Uses For Vinegar

Vinegar.....I cant stand the way it smells but I love how versatile it is. There is always a large bottle of vinegar under the kitchen sink because I use it for so many different things around the house. 

• We have hard water so our dishes would come out of the dishwasher with a gross chalky film on them until I stated adding a splash of vinegar to the dish washer before each load and now our dishes are shinny clean. 
• I also use it to clean out my coffee maker. I put about a cup of vinegar into the water section of the coffee maker then start the brewing process. After it's done running all the vinegar through I fill the water section with water and let it run to get all the vinegar out, I do this step twice. 
• A bit of vinegar is great at getting that annoying sticky residue from price tags off almost everything.
•  The winters here are pretty cold and snowy and my car windows love to ice over, I used to spend about 15 minutes chipping away at the ice before I could leave. Then I discovered a great de-icer made from vinegar and water. Now every winter I mix 2/3 cup vinegar and 1/3 cup water into a spray bottle so when my windows freeze up I spray it on and the ice melts away.
• It is a great way to clean the oven window. I pour vinegar onto the window inside of the oven, enough to cover the whole window, let it sit for 10-15 minutes then I wipe it clean with a sponge. 
• You can also use it as a drain cleaner and declogger. I pour 1/2 a cup baking soda down the drain then follow that up with a cup of vinegar. After its done bubbling I turn on the hot water for a bit and the clog is gone. 
• I also like to use it to clean the shower heads. Having hard water causes calcification on our shower heads so I put 1/3 cup baking soda and a cup vinegar into a large Ziploc bag. I place the shower head into the liquid and let it sit over night. If you have a shower head that is attached to the wall you can use a twist tie to secure the bag onto the shower head. 

 These are the ways I use vinegar around the house but there are a ton of other ways to use it and it is pretty dang cheap so to me vinegar is just down right awesome!

Candy Card

My husbands birthday was a couple weeks ago and instead of getting him a traditional card that he would of thrown into a drawer after he read it I decided to make him a fun card, one that he could actually enjoy after reading. So I went onto Google and looked up candy bar cards under images and found a fun poem that used candy for some of the words. Its a sweet treat for your sweet toothed sweetie!

The poem: "To my BabyRuth, Life is a Symphony on your birthday! And to my Big Hunk I just want to say...please don't Snickers at my silly rhyme and we'll celebrate with a Whoppers of a time! I wouldn't trade you for 100 Grand because your a Skor and my best friend. You probably think this card is funny, but I'll always be your Hot Tamales. So lets have Mounds of fun today and have a Whatchamacallit of a birthday! Love you to Reese's Pieces! Love your AirHeads"

I used a thick piece of poster board, a black Sharpie, heavy duty tape and lots of candy: BabyRuth, Symphony, Big Hunk, Snickers, Whoppers, 100 Grand, Skor, Hot Tamales, Mounds, Whatchamacallit, Reese's Pieces and an AirHead

I then wrote the poem on the board. I wrote one line at a time taping the candy where it was supposed to go as I wrote so I knew where to write the next line. Some of the candy was bigger then the others and I didn't want a sentence running into the wrong candy

Team USA All The Way

My family has spent every night parked on the couch cheering on all the Olympians since the 2012 Olympics started. So to show my support and love for the games I decided to give my nails a patriotic Olympic make over.

I used Sally Hansen's White Out, Sinful Colors Ciao Bella, Stop Nail's Color Nail Pen in red and Sally Hansen's Nail Art Pen in white

I painted two coats of Ciao Bella on all my nails except the nail on my middle finger which I painted with two coats of White Out

I then drew red lines with the red Color Nail Pen over the White Out

Then using the white Nail Art Pen I drew the Olympic circles on my ring finger nail and painted a blue line over the White Out and red stripes on my middle nail with the Ciao Bella blue

Yea USA!