Little Bitty SpiceCakes

2012-09-02T11:52:00.001-07:00

We had a great time of fellowship yesterday. Christian and Esther are preparing for baby Juday to arrive and I feel honored to be a part of celebrating with them! We had lots of help from ladies from church. The party was fabulous! Here are some of the awesome details photographed by my friend Audra.

This is a blessing/prayer tree. We asked people to write a blessing, prayer or word of advice for the new parents on a leaf made from bible pages. Loved this! I'm thinking of doing a Thanksgiving one.

The lights in the background turned out super cute. Just string lights with cupcake wrappers. Cheap and cute!

Our friend Jessica made this awesome diaper cake!!!! And we made lion and elephant cupcakes to match the rest of the party. Toppers made out of Marshmallow fondant.

If anyone has seen the sandpaper t shirt art on pinterest. It works really well. We did that on onesies.

It was a great day!!! Can't wait to meet you baby Judah!

Candi

Homemade Almond Flour

2010-08-16T11:09:00.000-07:00

First you have to make almond milk, you do this by taking whole organic almonds and soaking them over night in water, the next day rinse them well. Then put them in a blender with a little water, you can put as much or as little as you like. The more you put the thinner it will be, the less you put it will be creamier etc. Blend then push through a fine mesh strainer or a nut bag. Then to make the flour you put your pulp in the dehydrator. Let it dehydrate until dry, it will look clumpy. After dry, put in a coffee grinder and grind. And its done! You can use it in replace of flour. Way better for you.

Upcoming CSN review

2010-07-18T13:05:00.000-07:00

I just love CSN. This will be my second review for them and i can't say enough good things about this company. They sell anything you could need. One thing i was surprised to find there is a huge selection of educational supplies. Including my favorite Learning resources.

CSN Stores carries just about anything and everything you need! CSN Stores has over 200 different stores to choose from and over 1 million items, including beautiful dining room tables , and cookware. They offer competitive pricing that you can't find on other retail online stores.

Keep an eye out in the next couple of weeks for a new review sponsored by CSN Stores

Red Velvet Cheesecake with wipped Cream Almond Topping

2010-07-17T23:43:00.001-07:00

This cake is so good! I first had it at Cheesecake Factory and knew it could be created at home. And it can, for a fraction of the price!

Ingredients:

Cheesecake:

3 8-oz pkgs cream cheese - room temperature

1-1/3 cups sugar

3 Tbs cornstarch

1 Tbs vanilla

3 eggs

2/3 cup heavy cream

Red Velvet Cake

2 Tbs butter - softened

2 Tbs shortening

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder

1 oz red food coloring (a small bottle)

1 cup + 2 Tbs flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 tsp baking soda

1-1/2 tsp white vinegar

1/2 tsp vanilla

Cream Cheese Icing

8 oz pkg cream cheese - softened

3-1/2 to 4 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

Spray two 9” round cake pans generously with PAM. Trace bottoms of pans onto parchment paper, cut out, and place in bottom of pans. Set aside.

For the cheesecake: Cream together cream cheese, sugar, and cornstarch with mixer. Add eggs and vanilla - beating until smooth. Add cream & beat in just until combined - don’t overmix. Pour into one of prepared pans. Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour and 15 minutes - watching closely near end of baking time. Cool at room temperature, then place in refrigerator for about 2 hours. Run knife around outer edge, tapping pan to remove cheesecake onto the palm of your hand. Set in refrigerator until cold.

For the cake: Cream butter, shortening, and sugar. Add egg, then mix in cocoa and food coloring. Scrape bowl with a COLORED spatula (as you can see, I used RED so it wouldn’t stain) Add flour and salt, then buttermilk - beating well. Sprinkle baking soda over batter, then pour vinegar and vanilla over the top. You’ll see it foam slightly. Fold into batter until well mixed. Pour batter into the other prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes, or until it tests done. Cool, then remove cake from pan. Using large serrated knife, cut this layer in half when cold.

For the frosting: Beat cream cheese and butter together until fluffy. Add sugar and salt, then cream & vanilla. Continue to beat until smooth and it forms peaks. Set aside.

To assemble cake:

Place first half of cake layer onto serving plate (be sure to remove parchment paper from the bottom!) Protect outer edges with waxed paper if desired. Spread generously with a layer of frosting. Carefully slice cheesecake in half in the same way as the red velvet layer, placing one half on top of red velvet cake & frosting. Add another layer of frosting. Repeat layers. Spread frosting carefully around outer edge of cake - being careful not to ‘drag’ red velvet crumbs with the knife (as you can see, I wasn’t careful enough...) Now frost top of cake. Using remaining frosting, place in pastry bag with decorative tip. Pipe edge on top and bottom. *Note: This frosting contains butter, which can soften and melt in your warm little hand (as you can see from my handiwork below...) Work quickly, or it can make the frosting start to droop. Store in refrigerator & serve with a dollop of cream if desired.

Thank You For posting this amazing recipe!!!

You have to make this salad!

2010-07-06T14:27:00.000-07:00

OK i wish i would have taken a pic of this salad, but i didn't have time i was too busy scarfing it down! That's a pretty picture isn't it?! Any way i found the recipe on this blog, so i can't take credit for it. Seriously people try it, it is so so good! Here's the recipe

Ingredients:
hearts of romaine ( I used iceberg, because that's what my husband brought back for me)
1 can corn ( I used frozen and put it under the broiler to roast it a little)
1 can black beans
15 grape tomatoes, halved
2-3 cooked chicken breasts, cubed or shredded ( i put my chicken in the crock pot w/ the bbq sauce and when it was done put it in the fridge to cool. I also have some picky eaters who do not eat salads so i served the chicken on buns for them and they loved it.

favorite BBQ sauce (I used famous daves sweet and sassy)
mozzarella cheese
I also added avacado

1 packet prepared Hidden Valley Ranch dressing (1 cup mayo/ 1 cup milk)
½ bunch chopped cilantro
1 clove garlic, minced
juice of 1 lime, or 2 Tbsp.

Directions:
Place lettuce in a serving bowl. Layer with corn, black beans, and tomatoes. Mix cooked chicken in BBQ sauce and top over salad. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over top.
Place ranch dressing, cilantro, lime juice and minced garlic in a blender or food processor and mix well. Drizzle over salad.

So much to say, but can't.....

2010-06-28T13:47:00.000-07:00

So i haven't been blogging lately. Actually i hate it. I've just realized this. I think i hate it because really i have a lot i want to say, but in the position I'm in i can't. Thing's have been irratating me lately. People, things, places, stuff. People remember to pray for your Pastor's, their wives, elder's. It can be a lonely calling. People think you have it all together.......guess what WE don't. We are just like you. We get our feeling's hurt, we sin. We pray and need prayer. Mark Driscoll says it well..............

Leadership Is Lonely (Part 1)

Mark Driscoll

Preaching Pastor at Mars Hill Church

Leadership Is Lonely series: Click | View Series

Leadership is lonely. Anyone who disagrees is likely not a leader.

By definition, a leader is out ahead of his or her team, seeing, experiencing, and learning things before everyone else. On one hand, this causes great excitement and enthusiasm because the opportunity to learn and pioneer is incredibly invigorating. On the other hand, however, the distance between a leader and his or her team is incredibly lonely, even to the point of becoming debilitating.

The more successful a leader becomes, the more extreme the joys and sorrows of leadership become. In extreme cases, the results are akin to being bipolar, with intense mood swings when stress and pressure turn the cracks in our character into fault lines.

For those who are leaders, the question is, what should we do when we find ourselves out ahead of our team? Recently, God has convicted me of sin in my own life and leadership. Specifically, he has graciously revealed to me ways in which I have patterns of sinful response to the feeling of loneliness that accompanies leadership. I am sharing this in hopes of helping other leaders and the people they lead.

For leaders and those who love them and can help them see their own sin, especially their spouse, the following self-assessment statements may prove helpful in diagnosing sinful responses to the loneliness of leadership:

I feel that God has abandoned me to an impossible task and have begun to question his goodness.
I become annoyed by my team because they do not understand me or the difficulties I face as their leader.
I wish someone would just tell me what to do, give me permission to not do so much, and sort out the complexity of my life.
I am annoyed by others because I believe they are stupid, lazy, slowing me down, and simply unwilling and/or unable to keep up with me and all the work I have to do.
I question if anyone really loves me and secretly think that almost everyone is simply using me.

Does this sound familiar? Many leaders, in an effort to appear more spiritual than they are, think these things in their mind and feel them in their heart even if they don’t say them with their mouth. Is there hope? Yes, and we’ll explore that in the next blog post.

What should leaders do when they find themselves out ahead of their team, in over their head, and lonely, tired, frustrated, and bewildered?

I am coming out of a season covered by this exact cloud and, as a result of time in Scripture, prayer, and coaching from an older Christian business leader whom God has used on more than one occasion to speak wisdom into my life, I am finding the following steps to be invaluable to lonely leaders.

1. Accept that leadership is lonely.

There will never be a time when there is not distance between you and those you lead. We find that many of God’s leaders, including Jesus himself, spent much time in lonely places and living lonely lives. Even leaders surrounded by crowds need to accept that leadership is lonely because those crowds usually include fans and foes but few friends. Because leaders build community, oftentimes they find themselves on the outside looking in when it comes to having true peers and true community.

2. Use silence and solitude to write down what you need.

Rather than being frustrated because no one understands you, knows your needs, looks out for you, or helps you, use your energy to write down exactly what you need. You are truly the only person who really knows what you need. Personally, I carry a Moleskine with me at all times and make note of things I need in order to be healthier and more productive. This can include anything from a good place to Sabbath, a decent vacation, and the right technology, to staff help, exercise, dietary changes, and so on. Too often leaders do not practice sufficient times of silence and solitude when such times can be invaluable to working on their life rather than staying at the office and continue working in it until they become angry, unhealthy, depressed, and burned out.

3. Pray for God to go before you act.

Most leaders are doers and pushers. This means our first instinct when an opportunity or an obstacle arises is to do more and push our team to do more. Instead, the first thing we should do is pray. The past few days I have decided to write down the list of things I need to do, people I need to meet with, and situations I need to involve myself in. Rather than picking up the phone, sending an email, or taking action, I have decided to wait twenty-four hours on any non-emergency issue and sincerely and specifically pray for God to go before me to move other people to meet the need or for God to take care of it himself. I have been able to check more than half of the items off my to do list by doing nothing but praying, as God has faithfully revealed himself to care more about my ministry than I do.

4. Emotionally wait for your team to catch up.

Don’t default to other-centered contempt and assume everyone else is stupid, lazy, unspiritual, unloving, selfish, and incompetent (though admittedly some may be). Don’t default to self-centered contempt and assume that you have failed as a leader because you are lonely and wallow in the bottomless pit of introspection and self-condemnation. Instead, prayerfully and patiently wait for your team to catch up. Give them time to see what you see, feel what you feel, and know what you know.

5. Teach your team.

Don’t verbally process your feelings out loud with your team, lash out in anger, or cry out in despair. Instead, use your times of silence and solitude to jot down your thoughts and needs as an act of journaling to God, get your heart lined up with God in prayer, and then lovingly pastor your team by teaching them to see what you see, feel what you feel, and know what you know so that together you can do what you need to do by being who you need to be.

6. As a last resort, use a sanctified shove.

Sometimes, when the previous five steps have been followed, there simply needs to be a sanctified shove to get people focused on their task and faithful to it.

I can assure you from much personal experience that doing this process in reverse does not work in any way or for anyone.

Winner of Tiffin Giveaway!

2010-06-11T17:10:00.000-07:00

#20 was rachel!!!!! She one my last giveaway.....seriously I want her luck with winning things! I think she may pay random.org......LOL

Sage's 11th Bday!!!

2010-06-04T15:50:00.000-07:00

Winner Of Orglamix makeup is........

2010-06-01T10:00:00.001-07:00

#2 Rachel

I will email you now congrats! Winner chosen through random.org

I cant figure out how to capture the random pic, does anyone know how to do this?

Feta and Veggie Salad

2010-05-31T22:43:00.000-07:00

This was SO good! The kids and hubby all liked it. We served it with grilled pita bread. My husband and kids ate the pasta, I didn't add pasta to mine for calorie reasons:) Here's the recipe.

1 cucumber diced up
2 bell peppers (whatever color you want) diced
3 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 bunch green onions, sliced
6 ounces feta
S&P
1 tsp oregano

Add all ingredients to the bowl and toss. I served ours with lemon slices to squeeze on top. I also added some Himalayan Pink salt from trader's.

For the pasta

I bag spiral pasta cooked, set aside to cool
1 bottle of creamy Feta dressing from trader Joe's, I've also just used organic Italian dressing.

that's it. Put the veggies on top the pasta if you want. If your trying to loose weight leave the pasta out. So good. This would also be a good meal for the pool, picnic, or outing. Hope you like it.

Donut holes, The raw way! Delish!

2010-05-31T15:09:00.000-07:00

Recipe

2 C Brazil Nuts (trader joes )
1/2 C Oat bran ( I got mine at trader joe's
1 C oats ( I used my almond pulp this time)
1/3 C Coconut Oil
1/3 C Maple Syrup (I used honey) you could even use agave

Chop Brazil nuts in food processor until fine. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Combine wet ingredients, mix together and then add to the wet ingredients. Stir. Squeeze into balls. Roll in organic sugar and cinnamon mixture and refrigerate.

Topping:

1/3 C organic sugar
1 1/2 t. Cinnamon

I got this recipe from here, but i changed it up a lot. It was really good. Turtle LOVED it! Actually all the kids did except 1.

Winner of Peter Rabbit Fruit Pouches!!!

2010-05-31T09:47:00.000-07:00

from random.org

sweetpea08 said...: My son would love the apple & grape (or the Strawberry & banana...really he would love them all)
I follow your blog
rachel_demille@yahoo.com; May 22, 2010 1:34 PM

Rachel I am emailing you now. Congrats!

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. Prov. 16:3

2010-05-31T08:49:00.000-07:00

Day 3 is going good. The only way I am still going strong and not caving into temptation, is with Prayer. Praise God, that I've made it to day 3! You may laugh at that and think "it's only been 3 days", but if you know my addiction with coffee, several times a day, you would be amazed. So yes, I am praising Him for day 3. Thank you Lord!
I still love the almond milk! I've added the pulp already into lots of things. I made the kids pancakes yesterday and added the pulp into that along with almond milk in place of dairy or water, and they loved it!
We made green smoothies last night for dinner for My husband and myself and they were sooo good! The kids wanted to try it to and asked me to make more. So here's the recipe. This one isn't so green in color, which is probably why my kids liked it. This is what Sage said

"Mom I like this smoothie, but not the green one you made this morning" hehe, little does he know!

OK

1 1/2 cups pineapple I used fresh
...3-4 cups organic baby spinach some people use frozen
1 whole banana
about 1 or 1 1/2 cups blueberries( I used the frozen ones from Trader's)
1/2 cup to 1 cup of water, just enough to where it starts blending up in the blender without getting stuck.

if you don't use any frozen fruit in this put a little ice so its cold.
enjoy! they LOVED it!

We are making lots of nutritious snacks for the kids today. One is called donut holes. All raw. I will post pics and the recipe later. I hope they like it. I would love to hear your ideas, if anyone has or is doing a raw diet. Any recipes you can't live without?

Green Smoothie Day 1 Not bad!

2010-05-30T12:50:00.000-07:00

This was Day 1 of my green smoothies! It wasn't bad. I thought it was going to be horrible, it wasn't. OK so here's what I did

1 1/2 c. Organic Spinach
1/2 c. strawberries
1/2 c. red grapes
1/2 c. pineapple (fresh)
1/2 c. water (next time I will use 1/2 of ice instead of the water)

put it all in the blender and blend! That's it. I'm on my way to better health already! And BTW this is very filling! My daughter wanted some and drank about 1 cup of it and loved it! Here are some sites on green smoothies and why they are healthy for you. If anyone has any recipes they love please send them my way!

Lemon Coconut Candy

2010-05-30T00:25:00.000-07:00

Quick Lemon Coconut Candy

Prepared by Sarah Shilhavy

I just ordered this great product online today and I can't wait to make these! I will let you know how they turn out. Here's the recipe

1 cup coconut cream concentrate
1/2 cup raw honey
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
Juice of 1 lemon
Dried coconut flakes, toasted if desired
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional

Mix the first 4-5 ingredients together until well mixed and smooth. Form into balls, roll them in the coconut flakes and refrigerate or freeze. You can also put them in candy molds without the coconut flakes to get a different look. They will harden when refrigerated.

Recipe submitted by Alice, Las Crescenta, C

Yummy Live Granola Recipe coming in Segments! It's live, it takes a few days!

2010-05-29T23:00:00.000-07:00

Here are the cast of characters for this yummy Live granola. Here's some info on why we should sprout. We are totally new to this so any info you have is appreciated!

Nutritional value of sprouts
A great deal of nutrients are available when a seed sprouts as the sprout must have enough energy and nutrients to transform it from the seed into a baby plant that can then feed itself and be self sufficient. This means that when sprouting occurs the plant is at its nutritional peak. Many believe that weight for weight, sprouts have the highest nutritional content of any food type. Sprouts contain both vitamins, minerals, proteins and fibre, as an example Alfafa sprouts contain iron, magnesium, all 8 of the essential amino-acids, chlorophyll, vitamin A, vitamin B2, vitamin C, vitamin D, fibre and more….

In this day and age of processed and convenience foods it is of great comfort that sprouts do not contain any artificially added chemicals, additives, preservatives, E numbers etc. Sprouts are eaten in their natural form, when a sprout is at its optimal growth point it simply needs to be rinsed in water to make it ready for eating. This means that sprouts are a valuable toxin free food source.

Taken from the Happy Juicer website

I have a new love.....Almond MIlk. It's replacing my half 'n'half!

2010-05-29T11:15:00.000-07:00

I have done a lot of research and tried to find something, anything that has nutritional value(but still tastes good) to replace my addiction for half n half. I have done it!! Almond milk. Seriously people. I had my doubts, I've tried everything and this hits the spot for dairy. But unlike Dairy this has an amazing amount of nutrient value. I'm not saying dairy doesn't have any nutrients but let's look at some facts about almonds milk

Nutrient Facts for almond milk

Health Benefits of Almond Milk

Almond milk is rich in Vitamin E, a known antioxidant, and thus, is believed to good for those undergoing detoxification programs.
Almond milk contains high levels of unsaturated fat and has been associated with lower risk of heart attack.
Almond milk has been found to contain little to no saturated fat and no cholesterol, making it extremely good for those suffering from high cholesterol problem.
Almond milk does not contain lactose. This makes it easily digestible and the perfect alternative for those suffering from lactose-intolerance.
Owing to the absence of saturated fats and presence of unsaturated fats, almond milk can be said to be good for those trying to lose weight.

Nutritional Facts about Almond Milk

Almond milk is rich in protein and omega fatty acids.
Almonds milk does not contain cholesterol and saturated fats
Almonds milk has high levels of vitamin E and unsaturated fats
Almond milk contains minerals such as zinc, magnesium, potassium, calcium and iron.
8 oz (237ml) of almond milk contains 70 calories, 2gm protein, 10gm carbohydrates and 2.5 gm fat: 2.5g
Almond milk has zero fiber.

That's a lot of good stuff!!! I've done some research on which is better to do store bought or homemade.... it looks like some of the almond milks out there in stores have alot of sugar in them. Which i am trying to stay away from. So homemade it is! Here's how I did it.

1 1/2 cups all natural or organic whole almonds.

enough water to cover the almonds.
put almonds in jar, cover with water, let sit over night.
next day, put almonds in blender with 3 cups purified water and blend.
strain, I used my reusable coffee filter to strain and a wooden spoon to make sure I got all of the milk out of the almond puree.
store in fridge.
I am going to save my pulp that was strained and put it in oatmeal, cakes, muffins. Whatever. If you have any ideas or recipes please give them to me.

Rice milk? Anyone.........

2010-05-27T22:30:00.000-07:00

So I watched this video on milk last night about milk and how we shouldn't drink it at all. It freaked me out a little. I'm not going to get crazy and ban milk from my family's diet, but I want to try and consume less dairy. Dairy has always been a struggle for me. I know that I am addicted to it. I probably drink on my own, at least 1 big container of half n half a week in my coffee.. CRAZY, huh? I've been trying to use Coconut Creamer, and it is really good. I am making some changes, but they need to be more drastic. So any help or tips on how to quit the dairy all together would be awesome!
So I bought Rice milk tonight, has anyone ever used this? I'm going to try and substitute my family's milk for this in cereal and oatmeal and stuff like that and see if they like it. I will report back. Does anyone have any good recipes they use for this? After researching this more tonight I've found that almond milk is actually alot healthier, I am going to make that next week. It looks really good! Here's a recipe I found for it. I found it one The Happyfoodie Blog

"A sweet and delicious fresh milk with the elegant essence of vanilla"

1 cup soaked raw almonds (soaked 4-8 hours)
4 cups filtered water
Pinch of sun-dried sea salt
1 T non-alcohol vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean (optional)
3 T raw honey or maple syrup (or 3 soft dates, pitted)

In a blender, at medium, then high speed, blend soaked almonds, water, and sea salt until smooth. Pour through a strainer (or use a nut bag) to separate pulp. Pour liquid back in the the blender and blend in vanilla extract and bean (if using) and sweetener until smooth.

Human beings should not drink milk from a cow. It's that simple. So many illnesses and afflictions in children (and adults for that matter) could be cured if they would just cut out milk and milk products. There are tons of doctors, organizations, websites, etc...that will tell you the same thing, so you can do your own research. Here is one to get you started. Almond milk is a delicious alternative to cow's milk. Once you make your own...you'll never go back! It's so creamy and delicious. Perfect for dipping cookies, baking with, or drink it plain. Yum!

Here's some more cool info I found out about almonds which makes me want to substitute with it even more!

Almond milk is a milky drink made from ground almonds. Truth be told, it's much more almond than milk, as it contains absolutely no cholesterol or lactose. It can, however, be used to replace real dairy milk in many recipes.

Being able to use almond milk in place of dairy milk provides quite a few benefits. Besides opening the menu up for the lactose intolerant, it also removes the ever-problematic cholesterol from the equation.

Almonds alone have been hailed as a "super food" due to their high concentration of vitamins (especially the all-important Vitamin E), antioxidants, protein, and minerals such as zinc, magnesium, potassium, iron - and calcium. In fact, an eight-ounce glass or dairy milk contains 300 milligrams of calcium. Eight ounces of whole almonds - the overwhelming ingredient in almond milk - contains almost 550 milligrams of calcium.

Social Parade Follow Friday Blog-Hop 5/28

2010-05-27T17:03:00.000-07:00

Social Parade Followers Friday Blog-Hop is a weekly link-up hosted by Smart and Trendy Moms . We created it for socializing and to get new followers, fans, subscribers, readers without feeling overwhelmed. Every week will be a new link-up that will focus on following blogs, getting new readers to your blog! We will have Wild Card week to focus on the other ways you engage people with your blog. Its about fun one follower,fan and reader at a time!

How it works-Follow this blog and Grab the link-up button and post It's a Social Parade!. Every Friday a new linky will be posted. You have to link up weekly.

To participate.
* Follow the blog in the first spot. I will follow all on the linky as time allows! All blogs participating must post about Social Parade every week.
* Link-up your blog post for "It's a Social Parade" that you made on your blog. See the F.A.Q and Updates for help
* Follow as many as you like commenting on their POST as you do so they can follow back!
* If you do not make a post and link that up, it is unlikely that someone will search around for a post to comment on.
DO NOT LINK TO THIS POST UNLESS YOU ARE PARTICIPATING IN SOCIAL PARADE-YOU MUST LINK TO YOUR POST ABOUT SOCIAL PARADE. For additional help see the F.A.Q and Updates Section

Win your own eco-friendly Tiffin box! Giveaway!

2010-05-27T11:16:00.001-07:00

I got my Tiffin in the mail yesterday, and LOVE it! I can't wait to use it. I reviewed the medium Tiffin. It's the perfect size I think for maybe 2-3 people. Actually after using this today I think 2 of this one would be a better fit for my family( We are a family of 6) I will be using mine a lot at the pool this summer. The kids loved using this today. I love that it is very sturdy, I bought a plastic one from target and can already see it breaking after a few uses. Plus plastic isn't a healthy material to use for your family's meals. Here's some info on why plastic is bad for us. Here is some info about the awesome containers! Taken from the website

Benefits of Happy Tiffins

Tiffin Lunch Box - Pyramid" width="350">

Features of the ultimate tiffin lunch box

Happy Tiffins are:

Reusable
Easy To Clean
Eco-Friendly
Beautifully-Functional
Long Lasting and
The Ultimate Lunchbox!

If you want to get away from plastic products and own a long lasting and durable container, then these ingeniously constructed latch tiffin lunch boxes lunch boxes and pyramid tiffin lunch boxes made of high quality stainless-steel are perfect alternative towards a clean green-living lifestyle for you and your family. Our tiffins are manufactured of food grade 202 stainless-steel and are 100% BPA-Free. If you would like to learn more about the history of the tiffin, view our links page.

Now Win it! To enter here are the things you need to do.

This Step is mandatory before any other entries count! Visit Happy Tiffin and look around. See what items you like and come back here and leave a comment on your favorite Happy Tiffin product and why you like it. I would love to hear how you would use a Tiffin if you had one!
if you just can't stand losing and would like to rack up some additional entries, listen up. You can earn ONE ADDITIONAL ENTRY EACH by:
Join Happy Tiffin's FaceBook Fan Page
Subscribe to my blog
Become a follower of little bitty spicecakes 5 xtra points!
Join Tiffin's Flickr group

linking to the giveaway from your blog or website
posting a link to the giveaway on Facebook
Tweeting about the giveaway

The giveaway ends June 10th and at that point the winner will be chosen through random.org

Organic or not? Does it really matter?

2010-05-25T23:49:00.000-07:00

We try to buy Organic if possible, but sometimes it's just too expensive. We are a family of 6. It's just hard to do all Organic. Any tips would be greatly appreciated on how to cut costs. OK so here is where my thinking has been over the last year. For some reason I thought that it really didn't matter if my produce was organic or not, as long as I wash off the pesticides why does it matter? Well my mind has been changed this week. I will NOT buy conventional produce again, because of this article. Please take the time to read this I am sure there are many more out there but for some reason this caught my eye.

Orglamix Review+Giveaway 3 ITEMS!!!

2010-05-23T11:35:00.001-07:00

I saw Orglamix on Etsy and I just had to review for them! I didn't know i would like it as much as i do! I tried it last night and fell in love. This product really is amazing. I had the chance to review the

Diamond- Pure Organic Mineral Sparkle
LOVED this!!! It really does look like the way the picture does, very sparkly! But not overly sparkly.

Menthe- Pure Organic Mineral Perfecting Corrector
This worked really well for me, I have rosacea and this covered it up completely.

Sapele Pure Organic Mineral Foundation

With so many colors to choose from, it is really hard to choose, I must have spent an hour last night just looking and trying to decide what I want to buy!

The next-generation of mineral makeup. All the colors you can’t live without, at prices you just won’t believe. At only 4.99 for most items!!!!

Zero Synthetic Ingredients! All Orglamix products are proudly formulated without: nano particles, bismuth oxychloride, synthetic dyes, petrochemicals or parabens. PETA approved. I GUARANTEE you will LOVE Orglamix, or your MONEY back.

★ Do you Like Orglamix?
http://www.facebook.com/orglamix

Orglamix has a money back guarantee so you really can't go wrong! Head on over to their etsy shop and take a look around...

Win It! One lucky reader will receive any three colors from the
following formulas: Pure Organic Mineral Eye, Blush, Glow, Foundation or Color Corrector from Orglamix.

To Enter: Simply visit http://www.etsy.com/shop/orglamix & pick out your favorite item, then leave me a comment telling me what you picked.

For additional entries:
--Become a fan of Orglamix on facebook.
--Follow Orglamix on twitter.
--Follow this blog. 5 Xtra points!
--Write a post and link back to this contest on your blog.
--Twitter about this giveaway
Rules:
--You MUST make a separate comment for each entry, or it wont count as separate
--An email address is required to enter. Leave it with every comment.
--The winner will be contacted via email and will have 3 days to reply before a new winner is chosen.
--Open to US only.
--Ends on June 1st 2010 winner will be chosen through random.org

Learning Resorces Pretend and Play Supermarket (Review)

2010-05-23T10:56:00.000-07:00

Learning Resources Pretend and Play Supermarket

CSN Stores sent me this great product to review and my kids LOVE it!

I really liked the play money that came with this set. It was more realistic than other play money. I asked my Daughter who is 9, what she liked about it and she said, " I really liked that it had an apron and a name tag, it's like your a real store worker." My daughter who is 5 said," It was fun and i liked being the shopper and I really liked the money."

I think this product would go really well with the whole set of Pretend Play grocery products they have. They have a cash register that I really want to get for the girls. They also carry a set of pretend checks that i think would be great for teaching them early on how to manage their money. I will be getting the whole set for them for school this year. I think it will be valuable for teaching them to handle money and count change. I can't say enough good things about learning resources all of the products they make are awesome! And CSN Stores offer them at really great prices! They have everything from toddler beds to cookware to homes decor accessories! Check them out you will not be disappointed!

Dont forget to enter, Low entry giveaway= better chance of winning!

2010-05-20T23:56:00.000-07:00

Dont forget to enter, its ending soon!

Friendly Friday

2010-05-20T22:34:00.001-07:00

The awesome bloggers at Thanks Mail Carrier, Frugal Novice and Healthy Home Blog have created a new place for us to link up on Fridays!
Friendly Friday!

Every Thursday night at 11PM a new linky will appear and the only rules are that you follow the 3 hosts and then just hop around and follow through Google Friends the blogs that you like and leave them a comment so they know to come check you out too! It's all about making some new friends!

If someone does comment on your blog- please be courteous and follow them back so this is beneficial to everyone involved!

Let's have some fun with this! And definately let the new hosts know how awesome they are for taking this on! :)

Can't wait to meet you all!