Halloween Scrooge

I'm not a fan of Halloween. I hate all things scary. Just watching the previews for scary movies gives me nightmares. Driving in our neighborhood scares me with all the spiders and such decorating every yard.

 Last year on Halloween, it took me over an hour to drive from the front entrance of my neighborhood to my house. ONE HOUR! There were multiple hayrides down the middle of the streets (people...hayrides are for fields and back roads. Not neighborhoods.)

I was so excited when I checked my email and had a new email from the HOA saying no unauthorized vehicles pulling hayrides through the streets are allowed. Policemen will be issuing citations. Then at the end it said....Trucks pulling trailers are okay. Ummm..no they're not.

In addition to the slow moving 4-wheelers and hayrides we experienced last year, there were kids everywhere. I don't understand the parents that allows their kids to run free at such a young age. I was so paranoid I was going to hit a kid. They were darting between cars with no adult in sight.

To make me seem even more Scroogy, I will not be handing candy out (again this year). You have to sit at the end of your driveway in our neighborhood if you want to hand out candy. It is way too cold out there!

Bah hum bug!

Friday Letters

Today, I'm linking up with Ashley over at Adventures of Newlyweds for Friday Letters.

I don't know why, but the thought of this reminds me of Jimmy Fallon's thank you notes..unfortunately, my version will be much less hilarious.

Dear Groupon,

Thanks for always hooking me in with your enticing deal only to find out the offer is only valid in locations way far away from me. Not cool.

Dear MS State/Alabama game,

Hurry up and be over already. I'm sick of all the drama. But I am excited to see you live tomorrow so I can see what all the hype about this stadium is about!

Dear Pest Control Man,

Thanks for finding all the mouse, rat, and squirrel droppings in my attic this morning. I'm pretty sure I won't be able to sleep tonight knowing what is actually living upstairs.

Dear Weather,

Please go away. You're making me want to go take a nap with all your dreariness. This doesn't make for a productive gal!

Dear Weekend,

I hope we have lots of fun together :)

Pinterest Project Link Up

Today, I'm linking up with Beautiful Mess to bring you....

Cool, right? I'm all the time pinning things left and right and wondering if I will actually ever try that recipe, hairstyle, craft project, etc....(and normally, I don't try any of the above) But, when I do actually try something out, I think it's good to tell about it so someone learns from the mistakes you made. And lemme tell you...I made some mistakes. ha!

So, we've all seen the precious burlap door hangers all over pinterest.

When you click the link on the majority of the pictures, it takes you to etsy. Yeah..I like to spend money on clothes, not on other people's craft projects. But I never thought I could pull off anything as cute as Miss Etsy's burlap doorhanger.

Until one of Rodney's sweet family members encouraged me at Christmas to go ahead and try one. She told me about her crafting spree she had been on for Christmas gifts and how it really isn't that hard to make.

So, I went for it.

And here are the results...

Here is the link I used for the basis of my instructions. I did a little tweaking though.

I did NOT use staples. It was really awkward putting staples through the burlap. I used hot glue (be careful! the glue can come through the burlap's tiny holes and burn you!) and I feel like it sealed it better.

I also think it works better if you paint before you stuff and glue the shape shut. I like having a flat surface to work with. It's like trying to color with crayon when you have your coloring paper laying on your lap---bad idea.

I think it's pretty evident that mr. cross wasn't my proudest crafty moment. He's not exactly "symmetrical." Whatever.

Here's what I learned that I think may be useful if you try to make one too. I decided to stuff mine with grocery bags as she used in the linked instructions above (I know some people buy pillow stuffing, but I hated to spend more money than was necessary if I already have bags laying around.).  Be careful when doing this because you can kinda see through the burlap. Any designs your bag may have (target symbol, etc) will probably show through.

I would suggest not to freehand the shape (bad idea evidenced by the weird looking cross) but I guess not all people are as bad at drawing as I am. I should have used the freezer paper as a template like the instructions suggested. Live and learn...

Oh..and learn how to do better bows than my puny pink bow on the heart burly.

So mine weren't as pretty as Miss Etsy's, but I think with a little practice, I could get pretty darn close!

Brush with Blog Fame

Anyone who loves a good laugh in the blog world knows about Raven over at Don't Quote the Raven. 

My morning routine includes reading her new blog post word for word, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to give my opinion on Donald Trump's big announcment today. (Turns out my guess was incorrect--oh well!)

But she picked me as best of the best. I felt like the cool kid just asked me to sit at her lunchroom table. Seriously? One of the funniest bloggers ever and you picked my one-liner as a funny? Needless to say, I loved my little surprise shoutout this morning and am a giddy little kid right now. (Yeah..I totally realize this isn't a big deal, but in a day full of tax returns and fixed assets, you have to have something to lighten the mood.)



Chicken Enchiladas

Pinterest has inspired me again! One night this past weekend, I cooked chicken enchiladas and they were delish!

Another super super easy recipe that tastes amazing.

I don't usually order enchiladas when we go to Mexican restaurants because I don't like the red sauce that comes on them, but this recipe is made from a sour cream based white sauce.

 My only tweak to the recipe is that I didn't use as much cheese as it called for. I only used 2 cups intead of 4, but this is just personal preference.

These are SUPER filling, rich and heavy, so we were glad we had only fixed pinto beans. We thought about having Mexican rice as well, but there's no way we could have eaten it all.

The leftovers also tasted good tonight for dinner. :)

Undomestic Goddess

Today's blog post title is inspired by this book...

Which is an accurate depiction of my domestic abilities..as in...they're pretty much nonexistent.

So when I randomly decided to make two different recipes from my pinterest board last night, I didn't have very high hopes for the quality of the food.

This recipe was for Garlic Chicken which turned out AMAZING! It was also incredibly easy! This recipe will definitely be repeating itself in my kitchen very soon. The brown sugar mixed with the garlic makes a nice taste combination. I love a recipe that doesn't have many ingredients and doesn't take long to prepare..and this definitely fits the bill!

My second recipe was crunchy baked okra. This recipe definitely won't be repeated anytime soon. I guess I should have followed the instructions a little more closely. First of all, I like specific measurements. It calls for a bag of frozen cut okra. Well...there are a million different sizes. For some reason, I picked up the family size bag, but I don't think that was what the recipe intended. I had to use two pans instead of one because I had so much okra. Also, I don't have parchment paper, so I used aluminum foil. I don't know if that was a mistake or not, but the okra kind of stuck to the foil. I had to do some manipulating to get them unstuck. Finally, I got irritated with separating all the okra (the recipe says that they shouldn't touch while baking). I didn't really feel like separating a whole family size bag of okra, so I kind of skipped that part. It must have been an important part of the process because Rodney asked me if the recipe was called "okra clumps." The kind of mushed together and didn't really get crispy since they weren't exposed individually. This may be a recipe for a night when I have more time and am not feeling so lazy. :) 

Oh well...live and learn.



Skin Care Obsession

Well..Snooki is back again with some beauty news for you today.

I must share my new obsession with everyone. I have always had fairly oily skin that would break out every now and then but nothing too crazy. I recently splurged and got a Clarisonic Mia and am seriously hooked!

This is the one that I bought. There are cheaper versions out there, but I have a hard time saying no to anything that's hot pink.

My skin has never felt so smooth and clean! I would highly recommend this purchase to anyone looking for a better skin care routine. Ladies (and gentleman--if you're into this kind of thing)...add this to your Christmas list. I promise you won't be disappointed.



Right on Target

I'm well aware that me writing a post on beauty is much like Snooki giving fashion tips. More often than not, I take the easy way out and do as little as possible when putting on makeup, fixing my hair, etc. Just because I'm lazy when it comes to beauty products doesn't mean I don't sometimes find good buys. Well, I've discovered some amazingly cheap lipgloss that I think everyone should know about. Target sells a brand named e.l.f., and their stuff is so beautiful and CHEAP! I got the matte lip color in natural ($3) and paired it with the luscious liquid lipstick in baby lips ($1).

And while we're on the subject...did you know that you can get a Target DEBIT card??

I'm pretty much forbidden for opening up credit cards without approval from hot rod. (Would you like to open a Banana Republic card today? You can save 25% on your total! Well, yes ma'am I would love to save 25%! Sign me up!) But this is a debit card which links directly to your checking account. You have a PIN number just like a normal bank debit card. 5% off all purchases (which isn't a lot, but it's better than nothing!) and free shipping online no matter the order amount.

I just love target :)