Julep Subscription Box Review

I'm sure if you are like me, you keep seeing all the ads for Julep everywhere. I decided to give it a try since the first box was free, I just had to pay $3.99 shipping. It came pretty quick compared to what I thought it would be like! The box was a nice pink box too, another nice bonus to me!

When I opened it up, it was still nicely packed and looked so pretty and professional! 

I received Julep Nail Color Jane, Julep Nail Color Sydney, Julep Freedom Polymer Top Coat, and a couple of nail buffers.

I am not too much of an orange person, but it was different and went on so smooth compared to the cheap nail polish I usually buy! I think the best thing about this is that I got colors I wouldn't have ever chosen for myself and they turned out to look pretty good!

I love glitter, who doesn't?! I wanted to see if it would look good on it's own but with this one, I think it was meant to be paired with the Jane nail polish.

Does it look red? Yes it does! It was kind of weird, in the house it was orange but if I went outside it was more of a redder color which was kind of neat to see!

This picture is a week later! (It looks more red because I had the windows open!) BUT other than it "wearing off" from where my nail was growing, it did NOT chip! I was so impressed! It looked great until I took it off! I am not used to a nail polish lasting like that!

I would DEFINITELY recommend Julep to try if you haven't yet! The first box is free with code HELLOYOU only pay $2.99 to $3.99 shipping which to me was worth it!

Also currently they are having a Julep Red Marker Sale! They have things starting at $1 with most of them being $2! Make sure you hurry and check it out! They will be adding things through the sale which ends Tomorrow, Friday June 13, 2104 at 11:59 PST so make sure to check it out ASAP!!!

Have you tried Julep before? What are your thoughts?

*Disclaimer: All thoughts and opinions are my own. I paid for my own box and am sharing my review with you. There may be affiliated links within the post

Wordless Wednesday - My First KC Royals Game!

What I'm Reading This Week

I figured since I am making it a goal to read more, I should share what I've read, currently reading, and in my summer reading bucket list. I love to read but sometimes I get carried away with it. like last night I went to bed at a decent time, but I didn't go to sleep until I finished my book at 2am! I need to learn to stop at the chapters! I find though that if I am reading, I'm not eating or watching tv or on the computer. So, as with everything I need to learn in moderation! We will see how this goes!

Last Week I Read:

• Candy Cane Murder by Joanne Fluke
• Carrot Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke

I Am Currently Reading:

• Cream Puff Murder by Joanne Fluke

Summer Reading Bucket List

Plum Pudding Murder by Joanne Fluke

Apple Turnover Murder by Joanne Fluke

Gingerbread Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke

Devil's Food Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke

Cinnamon Roll Murder by Joanne Fluke

Red Velvet Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke

Blackberry Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke

Lemon Tart by Josi Kilpack

Last Licks (A Sunny and Shadow Mystery) by Claire Donally

Divergent by Veronica Roth (Currently 12 holds at the library! It might be a bit!)

To Brie or Not To Brie, A Cheese Shop Mystery by Avery Aames

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

Wicked by Gregory Maguire

The Ex-Debutante by Linda Francis Lee

First-Degree Fudge by Christine DeSmet

Bran New Death by Victoria Hamilton

Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler

The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook

The Hollow by Jessica Verday and if I like it then

The Haunted by Jessica Verday

The Hidden by Jessica Verday

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

The Selection by Kiera Cass

Summer Reading Bucket List

With the beginning of summer and more time with the kids and outdoors, I figured I better put together a Summer Reading Bucket List for myself. I have tons of books, I just don't ever get to reading them like I should! Since I started making it a personal goal to read at least one book a week, the only logical thing now is to make a list! Our local library has an adult summer reading program as well as their children's so I signed up for that. Here are the books I want to read. Are there any on your list? Are there any I should add to mine?

Summer Reading Bucket List

Plum Pudding Murder by Joanne Fluke

Apple Turnover Murder by Joanne Fluke

Gingerbread Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke

Devil's Food Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke

Cinnamon Roll Murder by Joanne Fluke

Red Velvet Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke

Blackberry Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke

Lemon Tart by Josi Kilpack

Last Licks (A Sunny and Shadow Mystery) by Claire Donally

Divergent by Veronica Roth (Currently 12 holds at the library! It might be a bit!)

To Brie or Not To Brie, A Cheese Shop Mystery by Avery Aames

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

Wicked by Gregory Maguire

The Ex-Debutante by Linda Francis Lee

First-Degree Fudge by Christine DeSmet

Bran New Death by Victoria Hamilton

Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler

The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook

The Hollow by Jessica Verday and if I like it then

The Haunted by Jessica Verday

The Hidden by Jessica Verday

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

The Selection by Kiera Cass

What Are You Reading?

I figure since I am going to make it a goal to read one book a week, I will also try to write a review of that book. My issue? I want to know what books you are reading! I am almost done with my Hannah Swensen mystery series by Joanne Fluke so I am looking for other suggestions on what to read! So please comment  away with what you are reading!

Black and White Cookie Recipe AKA Awesomeness!

So, I have been hooked on this wonderful series written by Joanne Fluke. It is the Hannah Swensen's Mysteries. They are great little "cozy murder mystery" books that I just love to read! They all have wonderful recipes in them and it is so hard to read the book without wanting to stop and make the recipe! She has also released a Lake Eden Cookbook which has all the recipes in it and also includes some new ones never published! One recipe I have now made 3 times in the last week is her Black and White cookies! They taste like a brownie and a cookie all in one. They also remind me a bit like a chocolate crinkle! They are wonderful and you will just have to make them yourself! Good luck not having the whole family eat them all before you are done! Good thing it makes about 5-6 dozen!

Joanne Fluke's Black and Whites

DO NOT PREHEAT OVEN! DOUGH MUCH CHILL BEFORE BAKING!

2 cups Chocolate Chips (12 oz package)

3/4 cup Butter ( 1 1/2 sticks)

2 cups Brown Sugar

4 Eggs

2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

2 Teaspoons Baking Powder

1 Teaspoon Salt

2 Cups Flour (not sifted, packed down!)

1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar in a bowl for later

Melt the chocolate chips and butter in a large bowl in the microwave. It took about 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Mix in the brown sugar and let it cool. (I did about 10-20 minutes) 

Add in the eggs, one at a time, until mixed well.

Mix in the vanilla extract, baking powder, and salt.

Add the flour one cup at a time until well mixed.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put into the fridge for at least 4 hrs. (Overnight is even better!)

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Roll into 1-2 inch dough balls. This will get a bit messy but well worth it! Drop the dough balls into the powder sugar and coat them well. 

Place them onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for 12 to 14 minutes. Don't worry about pressing them down, they will flatten as they cook!

Move to a wire rack after 1-2 minutes after pulling them out of the oven. 

Grab a nice big glass of milk and try not to eat them all!

ENJOY!

Do You Bake? Oh La La Garlic Bread Seasoning Review

*This post is not compensated in any way. I bought the product, loved it so much that I wanted to share it with you! All thoughts and opinions are my own*



My friend Amanda has been sharing many pictures of a new business she sells for called Do You Bake?. I kept seeing the food and drooling. All of the items are 100% natural and they do not us preservatives or additives in any of the items. That made it seem even better to try!

For Christmas, my husband let me buy a few things to try. One of them was the Oh La La Garlic Bread Seasoning. I was hooked the minute I saw the picture and had to buy it! Even better is that there is NO SALT added in the seasoning mix!! I love the garlic spread I can find at the local grocery store, but it is so packed with so much things I can't even pronounce! Not to mention how expensive it can be. It comes in a bottle just like most seasonings you can buy at the store.

You open it up and the smell just takes you away! It smells SOOOOO good!!! Then all you got to do is add about 2 tablespoons for every 1/2 teaspoon of the seasoning.

So simple! I like my things a bit more garlicy so I did add a bit extra but not too much!

After mixing it, it just slide off the spatula like it was meant to be! To make garlic bread sticks in our house, we usually shop the clearance bread at the store or go to the local bread outlet store and get hot dog buns. They make for some AMAZING bread sticks!

Don't they just look amazing?!

I could have easily made the whole pack of hot dog buns (16 total when pulled apart) with the stick of butter and the seasoning. But instead, I saved 3 buns for tomorrow for lunch time. Knowing what exactly is in my spread is wonderful! Even better the price it will save me! We hardly ever use up the tub from the store before it is bad. With this, I just need a stick of butter! The bottle should make about 9 batches of bread sticks for my family. That's about $10 compared to $3 for the tub at the store!

Again, amazing especially with my Italian Stuffed Shells!

Make sure you go to Do You Bake? and take a look around! There is more there than just seasoning! They also have different kinds of beer breads, cookies, dips and cheeseballs, and even doggie treats for your little fur babies!! They seem to add new items and have specials all the time. If you have any questions, feel free to email Amanda! She is very knowledgeable of the products. If she doesn't know the answer, she can find it fast!  You can also go and like her facebook page Slim Pickens Studio! She will run contests from time to time and sometimes posts specials you can only get through her!

New Year To A New Me!

Yup, I am DONE making excuses. I say this every year and I mean it every year. This year, it's different. I have done a lot in the last year, the good (doing 6 5Ks!), the bad (A week in the hospital with pneumonia is the top of my list!) and the new beginnings of a new chapter of my life (turning *eek* 30!) In reflecting, I have tried and tried this last week to sit down and make a list of goals for all over my life. I have not been doing it like I should of course! So now instead, I will just put it out there for all to see. Hopefully this will keep me even more accountable. I hope I can look back at the end of 2014 and say WOW, look where I have come!

My Blog Goals For 2014:

• Make My Blog More Successful
• Post More Recipes On The Blog
• Makes More Posts A Week And NOT Skip A Week!
• Start Posting On My Weight Loss Journey More Frequently
• Make The "Geek" Post More Often

My Personal Goals For 2014:

• Set Up An Emergency Fund
• Be More Frugal In Finances
• Eat At Home Often!
• Work On Weight Loss/Getting My Life Back In Order
• Go To Colorado For Vacation (hey, the mountains are calling!)

The Geek's Goals For 2014: (As Interpreted Through Me)

• Get Into Better Shape
• Get Tons of Certifications For Computer Thingys (This is like half a page of his stuff and so this is what I see compared to what he has written out!!! LOL)

The Kid's Goals For 2014:

• Potty Train The Lil Dude
• Sweetheart To Go To Princess' School
• Princess To Read And Go To First Grade

Happy New Year To You! 2014 Is Going To Be A Great Year! How Are You Celebrating? Are You Setting Any Goals?

Monday Freezer Meal Recipe- Spaghetti Sauce

I have been trying to think of ways to get myself to keep getting posts up. One thought is to have a post scheduled for a certain day of the week and then hopefully I will keep up with it. I have decided that I am going to try and do Freezer Meal recipe on Monday! I like making freezer meals and I think it would help me to make one once a week so that way we would have food in the freezer so it would be less likely for me to make the excuse to go out to eat!

Hopefully I will be able to take the pictures and process all out for you too but it depends on 1) If I remember and 2) If I don't have complete help from all three of my kiddos! This week, I am going to share one that can be used and made very easily, Spaghetti Sauce! I love using it to make stuffed shells, which I will share next week!

First the wonderful pictures, THEN I'll tell you how to do it all :)

Spaghetti Sauce
Adapted from Once A Month Cooking Family Favorites By Mimi Wilson and Mary Beth Lagerborg

1 onion, chopped
1 lb mild Italian Sausage
1 6-oz can tomato paste, then fill half full with warm water, stir then dump it in
1 28-oz crushed tomato in puree
1 cup tomato sauce (if you don't have any or forget it, just add a bit extra water)
2 tsp chopped or minced garlic (add more if you like the flavor!)
2 bay leaves (I crush them up so that they are harder to find when eating if you don't take them out)
1 tbl sugar
2 tsp fennel seeds
1-3 tsp Italian seasoning
2 tbl fresh parsley, finely chopped (this can be omitted too if you don't have it or forget)
1 tsp salt
2-4 1-quart freezer bags

To Make:
1) Start by browning the sausage in a large pot.
2) While it's cooking, chop up the onion, then add it to the sausage
3) When done, drain then put back on stove
4) Add in all the other ingredients and stir.
5) Bring to a boil.
6) Lower the heat and simmer for 30 mins while partly covered.
7) Allow the sauce to cool.
8) LABEL your 1 quart freezer bags.
9) Fill the bags as full as you think you will need
10) Put into the freezer

To Thaw:
Put a 1 quart bag of spaghetti sauce in the fridge overnight.
Heat thoroughly and serve!

Any Interest In Freezer Meals Recipes/How Tos?

So, I have been doing Freezer Meals. I made about 20 meals this last time. They are so easy to do and then during the week I just have to make sure I put what I want in the fridge the night before, then pop it in the oven and about an hour later, we have a wonderful cooked meal. 

These are Stuffed Shells 

My question is, is there any interest from anyone for me to show you and tell you the recipes that I make? I am planning on another freezer meal day soon so I could take more detailed pictures and post recipes as I go along so that you would be able to make them yourself. If I get enough feedback, I will definitely make sure to document and share! Thanks!

An Experiment...

I keep seeing a picture going around on facebook. It says if you write to your favorite Disney characters, they will then send you an autographed 8x10. I have had it saved to do for a while, but never got around to it. This morning, someone had shared it again so I decided today is the DAY! They each picked their own character and we wrote the letter. Now they are in the mailbox, waiting for our wonderful mail man to take them to the post office for us! Hopefully we will get a response back! I'm a bit scared if they do, then they will want to write TONS of letters!! I will definitely update you all if/when they get a reply!

Glow Run Fun!

This weekend, I got to do another 5K! I convinced a friend to go with me since my other friend had a conflict. We arrived just in time to get a bit rained on but got to hang out inside the ice rink to stay dry. It sprinkled on and off and then finally downpoured on us the last little bit of the race, but WE DID IT!! It was her first race ever and I think I got her hooked now!

The Mass Amount Of People! There were over 4,300 people for all the fun!

Starting Line

Me, Goofing off! They had a lot of black light spots and music the whole course

Here, they had these huge black light tents! I was dancing and having fun!

Here is the finish line!

You can see the rain drops on me! But we finished and had a blast!

My friend is in a squat challenge for the month.....she hadn't done her squats for the day so instead she squatted and picked up a lot of glow sticks! Next year, I'm going to bring a sack to collect them in!

Yup! I was excited and a bit goofy!

And this is its resting place for now! Looks so good! Hopefully I can get my motivational board stronger and bigger to put it on there and make it look all awesome!

This is my motivational board so far! I am hoping to get another one to put next to it and have it be more permanent when we move to a different house!

Craft Time: Cupcake in a Jar

This past weekend, I got to make my sister in law's graduation cake. LOTS of fun! I got to thinking of something fun and different to do. We had a few pint mason jars so I decided to make cupcakes in a jar! Let me start off by saying, I made zebra cake and cupcakes :) When you cut into the cake, it actually did look like a zebra pattern! I was impressed! It was so much fun to make too, and the kids loved how messy it got!

Here is a picture of the cake before it went into the oven to bake!

Some instructions I have seen say to bake the cupcakes without the liners. I haven't ever had a good experience doing that so I figured since they are were all "zebra" the lines wouldn't be as visible :)

First, take off the cupcake liner and put the cupcake into the jar.

 Then you take your frosting and put a bit on top of the cupcake. Doesn't need to look perfect as it's the middle layer!

Because I was using the pint mason jars, putting two cupcakes into one jar was a bit too much. So I cut the cupcakes in half and put just one half into the jar on top of the frosting.

Next, I took my frosting and piped it onto the cupcake all "fancy" like! Then my daughter took the "zebra" sprinkles and put them on top!

Last to do was put the lid back on! For the tops, I took some cardstock and traced the top to get the circle to put on top with a stamp. You could do this with fabric or any other idea you can think of! You could also put a ribbon around the jar. The possibilities are endless!

Close up of the finished yummy project!