Lovely Candy Co. Non-GMO, HFCS Free Treats!

Abby H.

The Lovely Candy Company makes premium, consciously crafted candies for consumers looking for indulgent treats which offer the best ingredients available.

Lovely candies are all natural, certified gluten free, tested non-GMO, certified kosher and contain no high fructose corn syrup or artificial ingredients. They have Chewy Caramels, Fudgee Rolls(think a better Tootsie Roll), Fruit Chews with real fruit pieces, and Gluten-Free Licorice. A great treat for you and a fantastic treat for the whole family.

Live Life Lovely! Get your Lovely Candy for the Holidays TODAY! www.lovelycandyco.com

I’ll be posting a review in the next few weeks! I can’t wait to share these yummy candies with my friends and family!

Samples and Coupons from Club Olay!

Abby H.

Who doesn’t love free samples!!J oin Club Olay and they’ll  help you take care of your skin through expert beauty advice, award winning products and money-saving offers!

 

 

Save money with exclusive coupons
Get inspired with useful tips & ideas
Learn about free samples & New Products!

Schoola: Two Deals- Two Ways to Save!

Abby H.

16_Nov_COZY_Blog 11_17Nov_woobox-blogpostRight now Schoola has two ways for you to save big!

Now through 11/22/15, save30% off sitewide with code COZY30.

This code can be used as many times as you’d like up until 11/22. You can combine it with referral credit, but not with other coupon codes!

Looking for another way to save? Sign up for their email newsletter to hear about Black Friday deals and holiday steals. You’ll get a $5 coupon code to use right away. Already get our newsletter? No worries, you can still sign up to get the deal.

Wanna spread the love of Schoola? The Give $20, Get $20 deal is back!
When you share your unique Schoola referral link with a friend, they get $20 to spend on their first order. As soon as they make their first purchase, you get $20 in credit.

We’re doing our next batch of tie dying on Thursday morning, and thanks to Schoola’s amazing sales and prices, I’ve been able to amass 16 shirts and onsies in various sizes and styles to tie dye!

I’d love to see what you’ve scored from Schoola!

 

 

Organizing your home on the cheap….

Abby H.

We have a lot of craft supplies. Henry and I do a craft 3-4 times a week. Plus we also paint, color, and draw.

Our Craft supplies were getting out of control.. I mean, check this out:

IMG_1907 IMG_1908Yeah, It was sorta contained by two crates that weren’t the same size. They didn’t stack up and that bugged me. Plus we had a mish mash of family binder plus small craft totes on the desk. It was just cluttered and insane.

I’ve been wanted to get it a little more organized for a while, but organizational stuff can be expensive. Have you ever been to the Container Store? OY VEY!

I had organizing in the back of my mind when I got an email from Shop Your Way Rewards letting me know I had $5 in points for K-Mart. When I logged on to Shop Your Way Rewards, there was a pop up for a new sweepstakes where you can win up to $50,000 in points. I decided to play and I won $10 in points (usable at Sears and K-Mart).

Armed with my $15 in points, I started shopping. I found this great storage chest from Bintopia, and coordinating baskets. I checked my Shop Your Way Coupons and found 15% off anything in the home coupon!

I picked up three of the bins and two of the chests, and my mess became corralled:

IMG_1909 IMG_1911The best part is that one of the chests is only half full, so if we come in to more craft supplies, we can stash them safely. Right now  I have Christmas gifts for family stowed away in there.

I saved money by picking up at the store. After coupons and point redemption, I only paid $8.00. And I shopped through TopCashBack, so I earned 4% cashback!

The original mismatched crates have been relegated to Henry’s room, where they will hold misc. toys.

The Solution for cleaning up Legos…..

Abby H.

lego parts

We play with Legos a lot, and that means that there are legos EVERYWHERE. I looked online to see what other moms do to combat the land mine field that stray pieces turn into late at night.

I found this Lego sack on Amazon, but I didn’t have any Amazon Credit, so I decided to improvise.

I pulled out a top sheet. Because, really, how many of us use topsheets on our kids beds? In fact, this top sheet was once part of a set that belonged to hubs as a child. The fitted sheet has long since passed on, but the top sheet lives on, since we never use it on the bed.

IMG_1931I poured out the box of Legos onto the sheet. After we played and built for a few hours, I gathered up the corners, so all of the legos were snug in the center of the sheet and deposited the sheet full of Legos into our 12 gallon plastic tote (like this one). It is the tote that has housed the Legos for a while.

Now when it’s time to play, all we have to do is lift out the bundle, lay it on the floor and spread out the sheet.

IMG_1932I am so glad that I no longer have to chase around stray pieces, and there are no more late night swearing sessions when we step on one in a darkened room.

Special Schoola Promo- Earn $11 in Credit!

Abby H.

06_Nov_11_promo_Blog

The mail man just brought us another bag of goodies from Schoola yesterday! I’m loving the high quality clothes I can get for the kids (and myself) for such low prices. And it gives me warm fuzzies that I’m helping schools at the same time!

Today only,when you spend $11 or more you’ll receive $11 to spend on Schoola. Credit codes are sent on 12/1 and limited 1 per person. For a limited time we have free shipping with no minimum site wide and  $20 referral credit rewards for you and anyone you refer!

IMG_1884
Here is Birdie is a dress that I got from Schoola!

 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies! (Egg Free)

Abby H.
Screen Shot 2015-11-11 at 8.33.28 AM
Yummy pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

I had a can of pumpkin open the other day and I decided to make cookies. Part of the show that hubs is in has a scene where all the characters eat cookies on stage. They had been eating Madeline’s, which are super tasty, but high in calories.

So I opted to bake something a little lower in calories. I also made the cookies quite small (1 tablespoon, instead of two), to cut down on calories.  I added pumpkin instead of the eggs and some of the fat to lower the calories and add fiber and fruit.

In keeping with the spirit of using up what we have in the house, I also used only brown sugar, as we were out of white sugar.Lil’ Man was a big helper- He added the chocolate chips and helped scoop the dough onto the cookie sheets. He’s going to be a Master Chef yet!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 c butter (or use vegan margarine if vegan), room temp
  • 1 15 oz can of pumpkin
  • 1 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 1 1/2 c flour (I used AP, but feel free to use wheat or even 1 for 1 gluten free)
  • 3/4 c. almond meal
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
  • dash salt
  • 2 c. chocolate chips

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a large bowl, cream the first 4 ingredients until smooth using a hand mixer on medium.
  3. Add remaining 4 ingredients until a soft dough forms, using hand mixer on low, or by hand with large wooden spoon.
  4. Stir in chocolate chips.
  5. Drop spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets. Bake for 9-13 minutes.

Makes 3-4 dozen cookies.

Variations: This recipe is east to make as vegan, just sub out butter for the solid fat of your choice. To make GF, sub in GF flour of your choice.  To make it nut free, omit the almond meal and increase the amount of flour to 2 cups.

 

Change is in the air at Checkout 51

Abby H.

Screen Shot 2015-11-09 at 7.00.53 AMI’ve written about Checkout51 before, it’s a rebate app that saves you money on groceries.

Well, they’ve merged withNews America Marketing, the brand behind SmartSource, and according to their press release email, “we’ve been working on some big things for your offer list.” What does that mean, exactly? I’m not too sure, but I’ll keep my eyes open and we’ll see.

Hopefully it means better offers, or an option for paypal as a pay out. Right now you have to cash out and wait for a check.

Obol – The Champion of Breakfast Bowls

Abby H.

Hubs got one of these awesome Obol bowls a few years ago for Xmas, and they are super awesome! I can’t wait to get one and let Lil’ Man try it out!

Cereal Never Gets Soggy (important if you have kids and never get to finish anything in 1 sitting)!

Obol “The Original Crispy Bowl” made in the USA is the favorite for cereal
lovers around the world. Inspired by a playground slide, its Spiral Slide Design
changed the mundane cereal bowl into an everyday kitchen sensation. The
pleasure of eating cereal at the table, while watching TV or even is bed is easy,
just Swoop n Scoop!

Crispy cereal…your way, your pace.

Save 10% at obol.co Signup for instant discount code.

 

#obolco

New Recipe: Artichoke Bruschetta Casserole!

Abby H.

Artichoke Bruschetta CasseroleI’m on a new recipe kick right now. I don’t often get inspiration from Pinterest recipes because they are either things we don’t eat, or are overly complicated or cutesy. Instead I draw ideas from cookbooks, magazines, stuff I see at the grocery store while  I cruise the aisles,  and Buzzfeed’s Tasty Videos that are all over Facebook.  I was jonseing for Olive Gardens now defunct Spinach Artichoke dip the other day, so imagine my surprise when I stepped foot into my local 99 Cents Only…

IMG_1755I found a jar of this Bruschetta at 99 Cents Only the other day and small jar of Artichoke dip. I knew I had to take them home and concoct something delicious!

I set to work in the kitchen to find some other ingredients that would pair well to I could whip up something fabu for a meatless meal. I pulled out a bag of frozen spinach and cheese to compliment the flavors of the dips.

 

 

IMG_1754We had a spaghetti Squash on the counter, so in order to keep the dish healthier and full of veggies and fiber, I opted to bake up the squash and use it instead of the traditional noddles or pasta in a casserole. If you’ve never cooked with spaghetti squash, I posted a tutorial here.

After rummaging through the freezer and fridge, I assembled the ingredients and got working! There is no photo of the finished product because it got eaten up quickly.

 

Artichoke Bruschetta Casserole

Directions:

  1. Clean and bake the spaghetti squash. For info on how that’s done, check out the tutorial here.
  2. While the squash is baking, mix together the two dips in a large mixing bowl.
  3. Add the spinach and half of each cheese. Stir until completely mixed.
  4. Prepare a 9×9 glass pan with spray release.
  5. Place all of the spaghetti squash shreds/”noodles” in the bottom of the baking dish, and smooth down to create an even layer.
  6. Pour the dip mixture over the top and smooth to evenly cover the squash.
  7. Top with the remaining cheeses.
  8. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes or until the cheese has started to brown and bubble.

This dish is gluten free and vegetarian. To make it vegan, use dairy-free cheese! If you HAVE to have meat, this would be great with grilled chicken, or Italian sausages mixed in or served along side.

This recipe serves 2 as a main dish or 4 as a side dish.