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Shopping at CSN Stores

October 15, 2010 Leave a Comment
I love checking all the great items at CSN Stores. With over 200 stores, it’s even to find just about everything your looking for, from console tables to curtains, from handbags to baby bedding.
They’ve become my go-to site to look for kitchen and pet items.  And now I’m also finding all kinds of wall art and houseware items that I’d love to have, including nursery decor!  (No, there’s no baby announcement yet, but it can’t hurt to look!)  Be on the look out for an upcoming product review from CSN Stores!

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Filed Under: product review

Friday Favorites – Week 34

October 14, 2010 11 Comments

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Happy Friday everyone! And thanks for stopping by this week!  While your here, I invite you to enter my blogiversary giveaway. The prize pack includes a Presto Cool Touch Griddle!

Also, I’m happy to report that I really enjoyed last week’s thumbnail linky event, so we’re definitely keeping it in place!  And I’m pleased to say that we had the most links yet! Thanks everyone for linking up your posts, and thanks to everyone who voiced your opinions in the comments section!

This week’s Friday Favorites is sponsored by Curtsay Designs, your go-to place for crochet hats & headbands.  I’m also hosting a giveaway for Curtsay Designs this week. I’d love for you to check it out!
Now for this week’s picks!  If you’re featured, I’d love for you to take a featured button for you blog!
Pottery Barn Inspired Halloween Luminaries from Not Just Decorating

Pumpkin Pie Mousse from Easy To Be Gluten Free

Butternut Squash Bread from The Delshad Duo

Some “Mummy” Loves You from The Dating Divas

I can’t wait to see your posts for this week! Link up your direct URLs below!  Please include my blog link or button somewhere on your site so that your readers can find our party!

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Filed Under: Friday Favorites

Halloween Treat Box

October 13, 2010 6 Comments
We were grocery shopping the other day when my husband picked up a big box of cupcakes. This was the same weekend that I broke out all the Halloween decorations for outside.  I find that if we don’t keep snacks like cookies and cakes out on the counter, they will  be forgotten in the cabinet and will eventually have to be thrown out. I was deciding which bowl or jar to the put the cupcakes in  I got inspired to create this cute little treat box. 
To make your own treat box, just take any box or other container you find around the house.  Then get a couple of coordinating scrapbook papers. ( I purchased the packet which included 8 sheets of Halloween paper from the Dollar Tree! I actually bought it a year or two ago and had totally forgotten about it.  Big surprise when I started hunting through my paper drawers!)
Next cut your paper to fit your box.  Since I’m not the craftiest person in the world I find it helps a lot to trace the shapes you need with a pen or pencil.  For this particular project I found it easier to cut each side individually but whenever possible, I try to wrap the paper around the item I’m decoupaging.
Finally apply mod podge to the back of your paper and stick the paper to your container.  Make sure it goes on smooth.  If you’re using a cardboard box like I did, you could alternatively use a glue stick.  After you’ve completely covered your container, you can finish all the project by giving it another light coat of mod podge.
After it dries, your ready to fill the box with your favorite Halloween treats!

I’m sharing my project at these crafty linky parties.

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Filed Under: crafts, fall, Halloween

Nutrition Tips from Dairy Makes Sense and a Blogiversary Giveaway

October 11, 2010 226 Comments

I’m excited to tell you that today marks 3 years since I first started this blog. Yay! (Go Me!)  Thanks to everyone who comes by each week to read!
A couple of weeks ago, I just so happened to get an offer to host another giveaway for the Midwest Dairy Association. (You may remember the prize pack they offered us back in March featuring Cusinart.)  As I thought about a post for today, I could think of nothing better than to share this important information and giveaway with you guys!  Enjoy!
Knowing that the beginning of the school year can be a hectic time, the Midwest Dairy Council has a few tips designed not only to save time, but also help ensure that kids take on the day with a healthy and balanced breakfast:
o Set out cereal boxes and bowls the night before, add milk in the morning, and enjoy
o Divide mini pretzels, nuts, and dried fruit into baggies the night before to sprinkle over yogurt
o Bake a fresh batch of muffins with your kids over the weekend to grab on the way to school
o Stock up on self-serve options such as individual flavored milks and granola bars
o Heat nutrient-rich leftovers for a quick, non-traditional breakfast
o If kids don’t have time to eat at home, take advantage of school breakfast programs

We’ve all heard that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” – and skipping breakfast can mean going a total of 15-17 hours without food. In fact, children who skip breakfast don’t typically make up the nutrients they miss at other meals throughout the day.

A nutritious breakfast (which may include milk, cheese or yogurt) is a great source of key nutrients, including calcium. A healthy breakfast has also been linked to sustained energy levels throughout the school day, improved attendance, higher math and reading scores, increased creativity and an improved memory.

Win it! To help you and your family get off to a good start each morning, Midwest Dairy is offering one Simply Sweet Home reader, a giveaway bundle with the following items:
  •  A Cool Touch Griddle (valued at $30.00), plus handy kitchen tools
  •  Dairy Makes Sense recipe cards, including a fall favorite, Pumpkin Pancakes.
  • Reusable Dairy Makes Sense insulated grocery bag — perfect for stocking up on milk, cheese and yogurt at the grocery store.

Mandatory Entry:  To win, you must be a follower of my blog.  Then visit Dairy Makes Sense and leave me a comment, telling me a recipe at their website that you’d like to try. Deadline: Oct 26

Extra Entries: Leave separate comments for each entry!
-1 if you follow Simply Sweet Home on Twitter.
-2 for subscribing to Simply Sweet Home via email.
-2 for “liking” Simply Sweet Home on facebook.
-1 for subscribing to my RSS feeds through Feedburner.
-1 if you have my button on your blog.
-1 for sharing this giveaway on Twitter or Facebook.  (Sample Tweet: I want to win a Presto Cool Touch Griddle and other prizes from Dairy Make Sense! http://bit.ly/c1E4lz  @SimplySweetHome  #giveaway) (Limit one entry per day.)

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Disclosure: For hosting this giveaway, I received an insultated shopping bag and other goodies.

Filed Under: Giveaways

Creamy Swiss Chicken Bake

October 10, 2010 10 Comments
We eat a lot of chicken at our house, so I’m always looking for ways to change it up with different flavors.   This recipe brings a lot of great flavors together using only a few ingredients.  And it proves once again, what an amazing invention stuffing mix is!  It’s also hot and creamy, which makes it the perfect comfort food for a cool fall evening.

Don’t forget to come by tomorrow and enter my 3-yr blogiversary giveaway!

Recipe for Creamy Swiss Chicken Bake:
Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
8 Swiss cheese slices
1 (10.5 oz) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup white wine or apple juice
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 cup herb seasoned stuffing mix, crushed
cheddar cheese (this wasn’t in the original recipe but I added it on top)
Directions: Spray a 13×9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Place chicken breasts in bottom of prepared pan. Cover with cheese slices. In a small bowl, combine the soup and white wine or apple juice; mix well. Pour or spoon mixture over chicken. In a separate small bowl, combine the melted butter and stuffing mix; sprinkle over soup mixture. Bake at 325 degrees F for 35 to 40 minutes or until meat is no longer pink. Makes 4 servings.

Linking up this week at these fabulous parties.

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Filed Under: casseroles and quick meals, Recipe of the Week, recipes

Curtsay Designs Giveaway

October 8, 2010 69 Comments

This week’s featured giveaway is from Curtsay Designs.  This lovely shop is owned by Lindsay, and it features adorable crochet hats, head bands, and other items.
All hats at Curtsay Designs are made with 100% cotton yarn and are made to order to specifically fit your child! The hats are high quality and come in a variety of bright and beautiful colors and designs, and many are embellished with the cutest crochet flowers!
Lindsay also offers the crochet flowers as a separate item.  Each crochet flower has a clip, making it perfect to place on a hat, a headband, in your child’s hair, or on another item. And these come in a number of colors and sizes.

As I visited Curtsay Designs this week, I fell in love with a few new items that I didn’t see on my last visit.  I’m talking about these adorable animal hats pictured below.  Aren’t these the cutest?  I can’t decide if I like the elephant, the frog, or the bear best.  What do you think?
And Curtsay Designs also has some adorable headbands featuring these lovely crochet flowers! What little girl wouldn’t love one of these?
Win it! Lindsay at Curtsay Designs is offering a $10 gift certificate for her shop to one Simply Sweet Home reader!
Giveaway Closed.  Congrats to Michele of Creative Writings 101.

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Filed Under: Giveaways

Gypsy Lane Designs

October 7, 2010 7 Comments

I’m excited to introduce you to my newest sponsor Gypsy Lane Designs.  This shop is owned by Rachel, an artist and art teacher.

Gypsy Lane Designs features fresh, bright & beautiful artwork for Baby & Home.  And it’s the perfect place to pick up unique & personalized gifts, including custom name paintings and name blocks, for baby showers & birthdays.
Gypsy Lane also specializes in custom paintings of pets. (We can’t forget to celebrate the furry little ones in our lives!)

I was very impressed by Rachel’s whimsical style–perfect for a child’s room, and I was intrigued by how Rachel came to develop her fabulous line of children’s artwork: “Gypsy Lane Designs began when I thought I would finally try my hand at creating paintings for the masses. My shop first housed mostly travel watercolors and custom pet portraits. As countless numbers of my friends have recently had babies, I began getting some requests for custom nursery work. My shop has organically grown into a haven of hand-painted and original designs for baby.
I have been having a blast creating personalized nursery designs for my Etsy customers. I love making my children’s designs beautiful, completely unique, whimsical and delicate. I find inspiration every day in my art classroom as I watch my student’s active imaginations. I absolutely love doing custom work and strive to make my custom artwork interactions as easy, fun and painless for you as possible.”

From cars, planes, and  animals, to flowers, butterflies, and princesses, Gypsy Lane Designs can make the perfect custom wall art for your child’s room that creates an atmosphere of whimsy and wonder every time your child walks in!

Connect with Gypsy Lane Designs
Rachel’s Blog: Gypsy Lane Designs

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Filed Under: Sponsors

Friday Favorites – Week 33

October 7, 2010 12 Comments

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I’m very excited about this week’s event.  The readers have spoken, and so this week we’ll be having our first thumbnail linky. Yay! Hope you enjoy the change!  I must tell you, I was over at the linky tools site today and saw a note that said they are upgrading their entire system, so if you encounter any problems linking up that is the reason.  And if you do have a problem, I ask you to be patient and try again. Thanks!

By the way, I invite you to come back here some time on Friday to enter my upcoming giveaway from Curtsay Designs.  Also, Monday is my blogiversary, and I’m going to have a terrific follower giveaway next week! (Here’s a hint about the prize: Kitchen)

On a side note, I’m excited to report that we got a new internet service provider this week.  We had a highspeed connection before, but the company we had it with was awful.  Hubby refers to it as “the worst thing I’ve ever been associated with.” Yeah, it was THAT bad! Needless to say, we were thrilled when we came to the end of our contract period, and we switched immediately.  And not only is the service better, but we ordered a much, MUCH faster connection. (Squeal!!)  I can’t believe how much faster it is!  All week I’ve been saying to my husband, “Now we’re playing with power!” (As you can tell, I’m very excited about this.) 
Anyway, now that I’m done with that rant, let’s check out this week’s featured posts.  Once again this week I have some amazing fall projects to share.  And once again, it was tough choosing.  You guys do such great work!  Every week I’m inspired by what I see!
Candy Corn Wreath from Jellybean Junkyard

Witch’s House – Halloween decor from What Allie’s Making Now
Gourmet Caramel Apples from Purple Chocolate Home
Thanksgiving Table Setting from A Kingly Affair
Fall Wreath Makeover from The Single Nester
Time to par-tay! Link up your posts below.   Link up your post url, not your blog link. Please include a link back to my blog or my Friday Favorites button somewhere on your blog so others can come to the party.

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Filed Under: Friday Favorites

Halloween Coffee Table and Coaster Craft

October 6, 2010 6 Comments
I finally got my Halloween stuff out this past weekend.  In the past I’ve only decorated outside, except for some fall garland over the cabinets in the kitchen, and some fall leaf window clings on our back door, but this year I decided to brighten up the indoors a bit.
I created this cute arrangement for our coffee table in the living room.  Usually I like to be very elaborate and “busy” with the decor, but in certain areas, I tend to keep it a little more minimalist.  One reason is because stuff can get in the way in certain places, and secondly my cats would be too tempted if I covered the tables with too much stuff.  In fact, in the photo below you’ll notice a small set of gray ears just to the left of the pumpkin. (That’s Rebel.  He loves to decorate, and his style is, well…very unique!)

Easy Table Cloth:
For the coffee table, I simply used a few yards of cute Halloween fabric– no sewing or crafting involved –and it’s much cheaper than any table runner you could buy.  Of course, the jack-o-lantern was added to the center.  I thought about getting a couple of smaller ones to go beside it, but here again, I’m keeping it simple.
Making Your Own Coasters:
And finally I made these cute little coasters just to have something else to set on the table.  For these, I simply took a couple of old coasters that we weren’t using.  Then I used them as a stencil to trace two circles and I cut them out.  For the next step, I’ve seen a lot of people using mod podge to stick the paper to the coaster, but since we won’t really be using these coasters, and since they’ll only be out for a month I came up with an idea to help me change up these coasters any time I want.

I had some magnet strips with adhesive on the back.  And I just took my scissors and cut a very small piece of magnet off, and stuck it to the coaster.  Then I cut off another small piece and stuck in on to the paper.  Put the paper and the old coaster together, and you’ve instantly got a new coaster!  And after the holiday, you can either throw the paper away or save it for next year.  Meanwhile you can create a new set for the next holiday.

Next week I’ll be sharing a Halloween mod podge project that I did over the weekend and another table decoration, so please come back and see!

This week I’m linking up to these craft & decor parties, plus over at My Blessed Life and Tater Tots and Jello for the Celebrating Autumn event, and Susie QT Pies Scraps for Life for the Halloween Tricks N Treats Party!

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Filed Under: crafts, decorating, fall, Halloween

Golden Path Alchemy Review

October 4, 2010 1 Comment
I just love trying new skincare products!  Just recently I had the opportunity to try some organic skincare products from Golden Path Alchemy.  This company has a variety of products for the face and body, including cleansers, masks, toners, and moisturizers.  And they have several product lines, based on your skin type.  These lines include: Awaken, Purify, Refine, Renew, and Illuminate.  Because I have combination skin, I got to try a product from the Illumniate, Purify, and Refine lines.
I was most intrigued by the Illuminate Cleansing Grains because I’ve never tried a product like this before.  This product is made from natural ingredients, including almond meal, barley, wheat germ and frankincense,  all of which are rich in nutrients, vitamins, and other elements that are the keys to healthy skin.  They work to exfoilate the skin while nourishing it and reversing the signs of aging. 
The product is made to deeply cleanse, while lifting and lightening sun damaged or hyper-pigmented skin.  I love this product because it makes it very easy for you to convert your gentle cleanser into an exfoiliating scrub, simply by adding a tiny amount of grains to a little cleanser.  Alternatively you can also use the grains alone with water, which is very convenient.  I also loved this product because it left my skin feeling soft and refreshed.
I also had a chance to try the Purify Serum. The blend of ingredients in the Purify Serum is made to “clear and harmonize impure skin.”  What I love about the the Purify Serum is that it offers this great mix of ingredients that not only cleanse and clear up the skin but also regulate the production of oil and even more importantly, it aids in the healing of blemishes and supports regeneration. 
It features Jojoba, which breaks down and regulates the production of oils on the skin that can clog pores and cause acne, while it reduces wrinkles and the signs of aging.  Meanwhile, an analgesic and antiseptic called Manuka improves circulation, cleanses, and soothes while supporting skin regeneration.  And finally the balancing, calming and antibacterial properties of Lavender help the skin to heal and prevent scarring, while clearing redness and reducing inflammation and pain associated with acne-prone skin.
I’ve tried a lot of different astringents, creams, and other topical acne medicines, but many of these burn the skin when applied. Others overdry the skin.  And a lot of them are are not made to be applied before leaving the house.  And most importantly, I would say that most of them to do not have ingredients to help support healing and skin regeneration. I’m very pleased that these problems do not exist with the Purify Serum.
And last but not least I got to try the Refine Healing Herbal Serum.  This is a potent moisturizing herbal serum made of 15 healing herbs infused into aloe vera gel to balance and soothe sensitive skin as well as nurture all skin types. I’m sure you’ve used aloe vera gel at some point in your life. I know I’ve used it a lot to treat sunburns, and I’ve also used it in my own homemade facials.  What I didn’t know until I visited Golden Path Alchemy is that the aloe vera, apart from its anti-inflammatory properties, actually brings oxygen to the cells and stimulates the synthesis of collagen and elastin fibers reducing signs of aging skin.
Additionally the product includes Calendula, an antibacterial immunostimulant, which can also help in the healing the skin by stimulating the production of collagen and minimizing scarring.  And finally Schisandra, a traditional Chinese beauty elixir, astringes and rejuvenates the skin making it soft, supple, moist and radiant.
Just like the Purify Serum, I love that this a multi-purpose product, namely that it has properties to moisturize and rejuvenate the skin.  Having combination skin, I’m always switching back and forth between different skin care products, and I love that this product offers something for everyone regardless of skin type, and it’s something I think I could use anytime.
Ways to Connect:
Check out all the great products at Golden Path Alchemy

If you love holistic, handmare, herbal skin care products, you should definitely stop by Golden Path Alchemy and find the skincare line that right for you!

 
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Disclosure: I received free products from Golden Path Alchemy.  I was not paid to write this review.  The opinions are my own.
Filed Under: product review
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