Trader Joes Tuesday... A Giveaway!!!

This week I am doing my very first ever giveaway. Now, I know not all of my readers have the luxury of living near a Trader Joes. So when I say that these are way better tasting than Oreo's your probably going... "Uh huh. Sure. Whatever."

But I am not lying.

They are divine.

So, I decided to ship them to one very lucky reader for them to experience the awesomeness. Just leave me a comment telling me how you will use your Candy Cane Joe-Joes. The giveaway will end on Sunday December 12th.

Wow. Just wow.

For the last two years and four months I have run an online game. The Harry Potter Knit/Crochet House Cup on Ravelry started with just over 100 players and now the group has grown to just shy of 2,000 and a student populations of 700. It takes over 60 people to run it. And a lot of my time.

I stepped down this weekend as Headmistress. I want more time to be able to blog, do some videos and of course actually PLAY the game that I started. It was a difficult choice but I am excited about the opportunities that are coming up for me.

So, now that I have more free time... let's fill it up! LOL.

Fabric Decal Wall Art VIDEO Tutorial

Oh yes my friends. Another video tutorial. This one is for us renters who can't paint or apply vinyl. (Vinyl takes the paint off my walls!) It's simple. You cut out fabric in whatever shape you want and using a cornstarch and water solution you slap it on the wall. I love how mine turned out. Now it's time to move the computer over to that wall and finish up my room!




And sorry for the night/day filming. The baby was less than cooperative this time around. And I got tired. See my tired eyes? Yeah. Aren't those pretty?

A goal for December! (Ok, I have more than one goal.)

First off. Sorry for the missing Trader Joes Tuesday. It's coming! The baby has been ultra fussy. Come to find out the generic gigantic bag of tater tots I got on sale last week contain gluten. Huh. The ones at Trader Joes don't and neither do the ones at Fred Meyer. What a sad lesson to learn. And James and I are super sleep deprived.

We also have some footage of a super awesome craft tutorial that we hope to wrap up today so I can edit and upload it. Hopefully. See above paragraph. Here's a sneak peak.

And in December I have a HUGE goal of blogging every.single.day. And crafting/creating/making at least one gift a day until Christmas/Birthday Extravaganza begins. I swear there are about 10 birthdays in December/January in my family. It's nuts!

Starting with my baby. Who turns a year old on the 6th. Don't ask me where the year has gone. I couldn't possibly tell you.

Trader Joes Tuesday- Pancakes!

I usually make my pancakes from scratch. But since going Gluten/Dairy free that is no longer fun for me. So a few months ago James brought home the Buttermilk Pancake Mix from Trader Joes. I whipped some up the next morning and my kids chowed them down. So I snuck a piece. Sure enough it tastes exactly like my homemade from scratch ones.

They are super easy to make. You just need a griddle, some Pam, an egg (I made a double batch), water, mixing bowl, whisk and spatula.

Add water and eggs to the mix and whisk.

This batter is too thick. For great pancakes your batter should be the consistancy of a yummy milkshake.

Just right! Now time to get them on the griddle.

Here's a tip for when to turn them. See those little bubbles. When they start popping lift up the edge and peek at the bottom. They should be ready to turn.

When they are done put them on a plate and add peanut butter and syrup! (Trust me, it's good.)

My most favorite pancake tip of all (especially if you have to cut up a lot) is to use a pizza cutter. I also use the pizza cutter to cut up sandwhiches. (I have more than one kid. LOL.)

Now, if I was smart I would have had my husband bring home some a frozen fruit medley so I could make a yummy fruit compote for the top. Maybe next time!

Snow Angel Video Tutorial

To continue my video tutorial series here is a fun one I did for a friend. Hope you like it Bells!

A Restart On Old Habits.

I have gotten out of the habit of couponing. My old system just wasn't working for me anymore. I really wanted to try the binder/baseball card holder system but since I'm doing the Dave Ramsey thing I don't have a lot of extra cash. My good friend Erin sent me her binder/baseball card system and I got it in the mail a few days ago.

The binder itself is pretty awesome. Loads of places for pens/scissors/small calculator. But do you see that huge pile of coupons? That will take some time to cut out.

See how I have this organized? It's broken up a lot more than my previous system. Also, I can take my binder with me so should I see something on sale I can just flip and see if I have a coupon. Sometimes stores don't always advertise all their sales. I hate it when I go to buy something... see that it's on sale and THEN remember that I have a coupon for it. At home.

If you don't see me for a few days it's probably because I am still cutting out coupons. :)