I Need a Crop-A-Dile!

I have decided that I really need a Crop-A-Dile. Watch all of the cools things this super product can do!!!!

Can't Wait For My Anthopologie Order

So a few months back, my bff Kim and I decided to make a trek out to the new shopping center called "The Fountains." It is the high-end shopping center with all of the stores that I couldn't afford to buy a piece of gum in, let alone a skirt. We had the kids with us and just started checking out all of the different stores in the center. We came across the store Anthropologie. Can you say HEAVEN?!!!! I have seen so many cool things from Anthropologie over the years and I had been dying to see the store. Let's just say, it's better than I anticipated it would be. The displays are awesome, the clothes are the best, but the prices suck! A pair of socks was about the only thing that I could afford in the store. I mean their sweaters are great, but I am certainly not paying $158.00 for one! So we meandered the store trying to look like we belonged in their, all the while trying to pacify the Scout who had already reached her shopping limit for the day and really did not want to go into one more store.

I had eyed this fantastic belt that was in the window display when we walked in and quickly went hunting for it. I assumed it was going to be like 1 bazillion dollars or something, but it turned out to be $48.00. They only had one though, and it wasn't in my size and the price was still a little too rich for my blood.

That belt has been on my brain everyday since I saw it calling to me in the store window. So you know what my beautiful friend Kim did? She bought me a gift card to Anthropologie for Christmas! Whoopee! So today I cashed in my card and bought myself the belt online. It will arrive in 5 - 7 days. He He. I really wanted to post a pic of my belt, but security conscious Anthropologie won't allow my computer to copy the pic, and didn't like it when I tried to make it into a link either. So here is the long link version.
http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/productdetail.jsp?_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&_dynSessConf=1952244073394693919&id=840225&parentid=ACC_BELTS_WAISTS&pushId=ACC_BELTS_WAISTS&popId=ACC_BELTS&sortProperties=&navCount=2&navAction=jump&fromCategoryPage=true&selectedProductSize=&selectedProductSize1=&color=bro&colorName=BROWN

My Cute Yard Bird

Have you seen my cute yard bird. I just wanted to share a picture of him! I think he has such personality. He is made out of all recycled parts and stands tall and proud while protecting our garden from its unwanted predators. I think you need one of these birds too! The price was fantastic! If you would like to order one of these fabulous guys for your yard and live in the Sacramento or surrounding areas, or don't mind driving to pick it up, please contact: sactowatt@aol.com.

Please type "Garden Bird" in the subject line! Sorry the cute kiddos are not included, but it does give you a good idea of how tall they stand. I am really thinking about getting another one so he has a buddy. Who needs gargoyles when you have yard birds?

Secret Indulgences

I know the picture looks kinda gross, but let me tell you how good these sweet potato french fries are that I made last night. They are so good, that I might even give up chocolate for them. What?!? Yes, they are that good. Here is how I made them:

I purchased two sweet potatoes (not the yams but the sweet potatoes) at the store. They are both sweet potatoes of sorts, but the ones that you want are white in the middle, not the orange. Sweet potatoes have been found to be one of the most nutritious vegetables out there. They are super high in fiber, beta carotene, Vitamin B6 and Vitamin C.

Peel them or leave the skins on whichever you prefer. I peeled them, because you know how kids get with skins or crusts left on anything.

Cut them however you prefer your fries. I cut them in about 1/2" layers and then cut them into skinny fries and laid them out on a cookie sheet.

Next, I drizzled a little bit of extra light virgin olive oil over the top. I learned with the oil that less is more - see oil in picture.

Sprinkle a little bit of salt and pepper over the top to your liking.

Pop them into a 450 degree pre-heated oven for fifteen minutes. After fifteen minutes use a spatula or tongs and flip them over and let them bake for another fifteen minutes. When you pull them out they should be pretty well done. If you want them a little more brown just pop them back in for a few more minutes.

They don't come out especially crispy, but Wowee, I ended up eating almost the whole cookie sheet.

While we are on the subject of secret indulgences, I have a confession to make - I snuck out of the house this afternoon while the hubby was still at home watching the kids play and cruised over to get my daily Starbucks vanilla latte and they had one of my favorite cookies of all time in the display case - Snickerdoodles!

I looked around and made sure there was nobody watching and when the barista asked me if I would like to have anything else, I smiled and did a jig and said, "One Snickerdoodle Please." I really would have preferred to order the whole case, but one will have to do for today. I couldn't go home with my huge delicious cookie in hand (there would have been some hurt feelings and big lips mainly from my husband for not getting him one) so I decided to indulge even further and eat the whole thing in my car in the parking lot. It tasted so good especially with my iced vanilla latte. Even though it was like 100 degrees in my car, I enjoyed every second of it. Its amazing how secret little indulgences like these can make a person so happy. Tomorrow I meet my personal trainer Jenn and there will be no more secret indulgences for awhile. Just thought I would get that little confession off my chest. Man, that cookie was good!

Thank You Bouton Blue!

I just want to say a big THANK YOU to Stacey at Bouton Blue. I won her pay-it-forward contest. Yeah! I get to pick out something on her etsy shop and I am so excited. I have known Stacey since high school. Stacey and I have had many fun adventures together and I am so excited that she is also a Craft Mafia sister of mine. Stacey has the best vintage button rings around and she is an incredible knitter to boot. Please check out her etsy store and shop till you drop. Her button rings and knitted hats make great gifts or just a nice treat for yourself as well. You also might want to check out her great blog called Pill's Place. Thanks Stace!

You Make My Day!

Look at what I got awarded! This was so cool. Thank you Amy from Handmade and Homebaked for awarding me the "You Make My Day" award. I really appreciate it! She actually awarded me this last month and I embarrassingly have not payed-it-forward yet. Here are the rules for the "You Make My Day" award. You award this to blogs that inspire you and always bring a smile to your face. Once you award it. The awardee simply passes it on to five of their faves. This one is going to be hard. Have you seen how long my blog role is? They are really all my favorites, but I do have a few that make me grin when they have posted something new. Here they are in no particular order of greatness:
Sweet Jessie - I love reading this one and I am totally coveting the beautiful quilt that she made for her mom.

Bitter Betty - She always has cool WIP's and the cutest kitty that looks like my old Mrs. Cat.

Candice Carpenter- Because she has the best kits and scrapbooking savvy and I am hoping to one day be honored enough to take a class from her.

Kristen Beason Designs - Her designs include two of my favorite items - Halloween and Folk Art a great combo and an incredible artist to check out!

Nimmers Thoughts - Because she is my best buddy in the whole world and the coolest Mom on the block with her new blog!

Thank you all for having such wonderful blogs to read and for inspiring me in so many ways!

Method Tub & Tile Cleaner

I read quite a few blogs, mostly crafty ones, some mommy ones and some of just general fun. A lot of the blogs I read have very interesting topics. I love to learn about things that other people are into, so I thought I would try a couple of new things with my blog. It is the first of December and so a perfect day to start with some new stuff. I thought I would include a "products that I love" posting,

"books that I love" both adult and children's posting,

"places that I love" posting,

and "small business shout-outs."

Hopefully I can give everyone a heads up on some cool things to try out and maybe a little bit of free advertisement for these super cool businesses out there. So first things first....the product that I heart this month is Method tub and tile cleaner. This stuff is sooo cool. It not only removes all that yucky soap scum from your bathtub or shower, it also has a super yummy eucalyptus & mint scent. It makes the bathroom smell fantastic. I just found out about the Method line from watching Oprah where they were featuring small business that grew into multi-million dollar companies. The mommy that invented Method had a son that had really horrific asthma. They soon found out that his asthma was being triggered by everyday household cleaning products. She decided to try natural, chemical free ingredients to clean with and Method was the result. The product is non-toxic & biodegradable, naturally derived and never tested on animals. Our little Scout has really horrible asthma brought on by several different culprits and one of them is strong scents so I am always looking out for products that either are scent-free or have light scent that she can tolerate. The scent-free products are really hard to find, but Method makes several scent-free cleaning products including wipes and sprays. How cool is that! The best part is that they are sold at Target, our mainstay as far as shopping goes. The products are priced very low. The picture that I am displaying is a 28 fl oz bottle and it cost me approximately $3.00. You can check out their other awesome products at http://www.methodhome.com/