Archives for 2011

My Christmas Home Tour

December 14, 2011 8 Comments

Only 2 days for Holly Bloggy Christmas! On Wednesday we shared Christmas Crafts at Just Sew Sassy, and for day 4 we are sharing our Christmas Decor at Shabby Creek Cottage. And then on Friday I’ll be hosting a Christmas Edition of my Friday Favorites Party!
For my decor, I like things that are bright and colorful, and I like to create an elaborate display using simple and inexpensive things like Christmas Balls and Cone Trees from the Dollar Tree, as well as Christmas Wreaths and arrangements.

The center of the display consists of a ball wreath and some rainbow garland. Then the shelf is covered is some snowflake fabric, and on top of it is a “colored mirror tree,” two glasses of colored balls, and two green-sequin trees, and more rainbow garland.

Besides the wreath, one of my favorite parts of this display are the vintage trees on each side. My mom gave me these a while back, and as much as I liked them, I had no idea what I’d do with them. But as I started working on my display, I knew these balls would be a perfect addition to these little trees and the display!

Each year I hang our stockings from my display case in our living room. As you can see we have a couple of “Good Cats” for Santa to visit!

And then each year I’ve done something different to the top. This year I added a green runner, some red and gold trees (all were dollar store finds), and a flower arrangement. And the red and white “garland” up top is actually two garland-candy canes!

Moving on to the kitchen…I have to admit I really didn’t do much in the kitchen this year, and I definitely didn’t do anything new, so I’m going to cheat a little bit, and just share a few of my photos from last year,since it’s the same stuff.

Everyone always seems to love my little kitchen tree filled with cute little utensils. It’s probably the most unique part of my tour each year!

And once again this year, I added my little Christmas countdown and some cute cards to the fridge.

And here’s the dining rom table. We have a bright, fun, vinyl table cloth featuring snowmen, and then for the center piece I have an array of items:

And finally here’s our tree featuring a combination of Mouse ornaments, Candy Ornaments, and a rainbow of colors!

Hope you enjoyed my tour!! Please come back here and link up all your Christmas ideas for Friday Favorites.

Disclosure: I am sharing my holiday home decor and cleaning tips for the chance to win prizes from The SITS Girls and Great Cleaners.

I’m linking up at Tidy Mom and these parties.

Filed Under: Christmas, decorating, Holly Bloggy Christmas Bash

Applebee’s Gift Card Giveaway

December 14, 2011 1 Comment

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Gift Card Weekend for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

My husband and I are celebrating our five year wedding anniversary next week! We met in college, and while dating we’d go to Applebee’s at least once a week for half price appetizers! Each week we’d look forward to eating boneless buffalo wings and loaded nachos. Good times!

We don’t get to go as often as we used to, but we are planning a little trip to Applebee’s next week to celebrate our anniversary!

If you love Applebee’s like we do, then you’ll definitely want to enter this giveaway from Gilbert the Gift Card Machine. They are giving away more than 100 gift cards each week from a variety of retailers (including Applebee’s), leading up to Gift Card Weekend.

Gift Card Weekend is a once-a-year event where participating retail partners give featured offers for gift cards purchased during the holiday season and redeemed from January 6 – 8, 2012. So, if you’re a gift giver, increase the value of your gift by purchasing gift cards from participating retail partners. These featured offers will be available to your gift recipient for redemption during Gift Card Weekend, January 6 – 8, 2012.

December 10-18 they will be giving away $25 Applebee’s Gift Cards. To win the gift cards from Applebee’s and other great places like Subway, Bass Proshop, JCPenney, Regal Cinemas, Lowe’s and more, just go over to Facebook and like Gift Card Weekend.

It’s that simple! And when you share this with your Facebook friends and followers, you’ll earn an extra chance to win for every “like” that you influence!

So go on over to Gift Card Weekend, like their page, share it, and then come back throughout the day to see if you’re a winner!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Christmas Pillow Box Tutorial

December 13, 2011 7 Comments

On Tuesday we shared our Christmas Recipes with Nikki at Chef in Training. And on Wednesday, Day 3, of our Holly Bloggy Christmas Event we are sharing Christmas crafts over at Just Sew Sassy! The craft party also includes a great giveaway from AliLilly, so head on over there and link up your posts!
I have to admit that I’ve had almost no time for making anything lately. But hopefully I’ll have a little more creative time in the next couple of weeks. But today for the party, I’ve got some Christmas favor boxes (or pillow boxes) to share with you.

These are really great to put candies like peppermints or Hershey Kisses in. Just place them in a basket and hand them out as your party guests leave. Or place them on the table next to each person’s place. And depending on what size you use, they’re also great for children’s party favors, grab bags, and small gifts. I’ve also used these to put my handmade jewelry in!

Pillow Box Tutorial:

What You Need:

Card Stock

Wrapping Paper

Glue Stick

Tape

Scissors

Directions: First choose some festive wrapping papers. For small boxes, paper with smaller patterns works best.

Take a piece of wrapping paper, and use glue stick to cover a piece of card stock with the paper. (If you’d like the insides of your boxes to have designs too, you can add paper to each side, but that’s not necessary.) Now you’ve got some festive material for your pillow boxes!

If you have a Cricut or Silhouette machine, you can easily cut out your pillow boxes using that. But if you’re like me, and you don’t have one, then you’ll have to cut these out by hand.

To do this, you’ll need a template like this:

You can find a printable version here. Or you can go to Google, and just search for “Pillow Box Template,” and you’ll find others.

After you print out your template, cut it out, and then use it to trace the pillow box on to the plain side of the cardstock. (Don’t worry about tracing the fold lines)

After you’ve got the pillow box cut out, fold it long ways (like a book), down the middle, as shown below:

Photo Credit

At this point I used tape to make a seam from the two sides.

Next just fold in the flaps on each end, and you’ve got a pillow box! You can also add names tags, bows, or other embellishments if you have to fancy it up!

If you’re just now joining us there’s still plenty of time to link up at Monday and Tuesday’s parties!
And you can also join the Christmas Decor Party on Thursday at The Shabby Creek Cottage, featuring a giveaway from Good Neighbors Candle Co.

And on Friday I’ll be hosting a special Holly Bloggy Christmas Edition of my Friday Favorites event here at Simply Sweet Home with a giveaway from Amy Cornwell.

I’m linking up at Tidy Mom and these parties.

Filed Under: Christmas, crafts

Morton Safe-T-Pet Review & Giveaway

December 13, 2011 10 Comments

Winter can be hazardous for people living in cold-weather regions – and for our four-legged friends. To help keep pets safe this winter, Morton Salt’s Safe-T-Pet® brand ice melt and the ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) announced a public service campaign that kicks off on the first day of winter, Dec. 22, with “National Keep Pets Safe in Winter Day.”

The purpose of the campaign, which runs through January 2012, is to share important pet safety tips with as many pet owners as possible to help reduce winter weather-related pet injuries and fatalities. These tips can be found on Morton’s website and Facebook.

Here are just a few tips to keep in mind:

Using pet-friendly (salt free and chloride free) ice melters such as Morton® Safe-T-Pet®.
Keeping anti-freeze high on shelves in sealed containers and quickly cleaning any spills/leakage.
Limiting outdoor time for pets when temperatures drop below freezing.
Checking warm spots on cars, such as hoods, where animals might seek shelter from the cold.
Keeping pets on a leash, especially dogs, which can become disoriented or lost when once familiar surroundings are covered in ice and snow; and
Making sure pets are wearing identification tags and proper outerwear as needed.

Help ASPCA with One Click

The Simply Sweet Home Cats are proud supporters of the ASPCA..

As part of this campaign, Morton is making a $20,000 donation to the ASPCA to help continue its life-saving work and provide resources to pet owners on pet wellness.

And when you “like” Morton’s Facebook page from Oct. 1 through Jan. 31, 2012, Morton will donate $1 to the ASPCA, up to $55,000. This additional funding from Morton will be used by the ASPCA to raise awareness about the importance of proper winter pet care and safety.

Morton’s Safe-T-Pet Ice Melt – I was happy to receive a review pack of items, which included the Morton Ice Melt. Since we had two big rounds of snow last year and are expecting another cold winter in 2012, I’m sure this will come in handy.

Our kitty cats are happy little indoor cats, but we can still use the ice melts, and I know our Neighbor Dogs, Buddy and Barney, who often frequent our yard, will be happy to know we have the Safe-T-Pet Ice Melt.

Other deicers form a liquid brine, often containing chlorides that can irritate pet’s paws and if ingested, irritate the pet’s stomach. The Morton’s product contains a chloride-free organic compound called Urea, making it a non-toxic, non-irritating alternative to salt based ice melters. The product is also less corrosive to metals and concrete.

Giveaway! One Simply Sweet Home reader win a Morton Safe-T-Pet Prize Pack, which includes the following:
– One Jug Morton Safe-T-Pet Ice Melt
-Fleece Blanket
-Ice Scraper
-Retractable leash
-Dog Paw Shaped USB
-ID Tags
-Sharpie
-Shopping Bag

How to enter: Use the Rafflecopter form below below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received a review pack like the one that is being given away. However, I received no other compensation. The opinions posted are my own.

Filed Under: Giveaways, Pets, product review

Homemade Cookie Mix in a Jar and Frosted Chocolate Drops

December 12, 2011 12 Comments

This week I’ve got a recipe for you that also makes a fun and easy homemade gift. By the way, don’t forget that all this week, my blog friends and I are hosting Holly Bloggy Christmas, where you can link up your Christmas ideas and win prizes!
I’ll be linking this post up at the Homemade Gift Party on Monday at tatertots and jello and the Recipe Party on Tuesday at Chef in Training. By the way, the parties also feature fun giveaways from Twisted Sugar Twine and Sweet Kiwi Crochet.

First of all, we have to make our cookie mix. I actually learned about this mix last year when I did a promotion with Crisco’s Cookie Central. The cookie mix is really quick and easy to make, and it can be used to make a variety of Christmas cookies.
Recipe for Homemade Cookie Mix
Ingredients:8 cups Pillsbury BEST® All Purpose Flour

4 cups sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

3 teaspoons salt

2 2/3 sticks Crisco® Baking Sticks Butter Flavor All-Vegetable Shortening

Directions: COMBINE flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a very large bowl. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. STORE in airtight container in freezer up to six months.

Bake these cookies and place in containers for Christmas gift giving. Or give a jar of the cookie mix as a gift, and include a copy of the following recipe!
Recipe for Frosted Chocolate Drops:Ingredients:

2 ¼ cups Homemade Cookie Mix

2 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tablespoon Crisco® Pure Vegetable Oil

1 large egg

1 ⁄3 cup milk

½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

½ cup chopped walnuts

1 (16 oz.) container frosting

Directions:HEAT oven to 375ºF.COMBINE Homemade Cookie Mix, sugar and cocoa in large mixing bowl until blended. Add oil, egg and milk. Beat with electric mixer on low until combined. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart on baking sheet.BAKE 7 to 9 minutes or until done. Cool completely on cooling rack. Frost cookies and top with additional chopped nuts, if desired.

For a fun printable copy of this and other recipes that you can make with the cookie mix, visit Crisco Holiday Recipes.

Please check out all of this week’s parties!!
On Wednesday we share crafts at Just Sew Sassy, and on Thursday we share our decor at The Shabby Creek Cottage.

And come back here at the end of the week and link up for Friday Favorites!

I’m linking up at Tidy Mom and these parties.

Filed Under: cookies and candy, Recipe of the Week

Marzetti Simply Dressed Salad Dressing Review

December 11, 2011 Leave a Comment

If you follow me long enough, you’ll learn that we go through a lot of Ranch dressing in our household. We mostly use it as a dip for chicken tenders and other appetizers. But we also love it on a salad, and I’ve also started making a lot of ranch flavored dishes and casseroles, so we go through the stuff pretty quickly!

I was really excited several weeks ago when I found out that I’d have a chance to review some Marzetti Simply Dressed Salad Dressing. They have a variety of great flavors including Caesar and Blue Cheese, but I, of cousre, went with the Ranch!

If you’ve never seen Marzetti Simply Dressed Salad Dressing in your local store, it may be because you’re looking in the wrong place. Unlike other salad dressings, the Marzetti products are found in the refrigerated sections. (I found mine right next to the salad mix.) It’s refrigerated, because unlike other products, Marzetti dressings do not contain preservatives and other additives that other dressings contain.

The dressing is made with natural ingredients including extra virgin olive oil and sea salt. It contains omega-3 ALA and no artificial flavors or colors.

Before I tell you my thoughts I have to say that as someone who loves ranch dressing, I’m quite picky about it. Often my decision about whether or not to order a salad at a restaurant is based upon whether I like the dressing. (I know from a healthy, nutrition-loving standpoint that sounds terrible, but it’s true.)

Here’s a couple of examples of my pickiness: I don’t usually like the low fat dressings, and ever since I started making my own dressings at home via a mix, I’ve stopped buying the bottled dressings altogether.

But I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the ranch from Marzetti!

Immediately upon opening this dressing, you will fall in love with it’s aroma. It smells just like something that was just freshly made! And it has a great taste to match this fresh tasting smell. It’s very creamy, and it packs a very strong, punch of flavor!

For our first try of this product, I made some Buffalo Joe’s. (Basically Buffalo Flavored Sloppy Joes.) We put a little dressing in the mix and also used it as a topping. And it was super delicious!

I’m also looking forward to using this over the holidays as a dip for crackers, veggies, and appetizers! As you shop for you Christmas and New Year’s Eve groceries, you should consider adding Marzetti Simply Dressed Salad Dressing to your list too!

Disclosure: I was one of the bloggers selected by T. Marzetti Company and Clever Girls Collective to host a Marzetti Simply Dressed review. They provided me with product to test myself and compensation for my time. However, my opinions are entirely my own.

Filed Under: product review

Friday Favorites – Week 93

December 8, 2011 10 Comments

Welcome to another fun edition of Friday Favorites! Don’t forget that next week I’ll be having a special Christmas edition of Friday Favorites, as part of my Holly Bloggy Christmas celebration.
The special Holly Bloggy edition will include a special giveaway from jewelry artist Amy Cornwell. And I’ll be doing a double feature of your posts next week and the following week!
So link up your favorite Christmas ideas today, so I can feature you for next week’s party! And of course, plan to link up more of your holiday ideas next week! (If you celebrate Hanukkah or another holiday, you are more than welcome to link up those ideas as well!)
Check out my Holly Bloggy Christmas announcement post for more details on all of next week’s festivities!

Hope you enjoy this week’s features!

Glittered Christmas Lightbulbs from My Projects and Finds

Cranberry Salad from South Bay Studio

Healthy Almond Joy Bars from Whole New Mom

Cork Trees from Pondered Primed Perfect

Join the party! Link up your posts below!

Filed Under: Friday Favorites

Christmas Ball Wreath and Display

December 8, 2011 15 Comments

The last couple of years I’ve been in love with everyone’s ball wreaths! I considered making my own, but when I saw this one at Target for just $20, I decided to just buy it.

To be honest, I’m sure if I’d try to make my own, it wouldn’t have come out nearly as nice. And I know I would have spent more than $20 just on the balls alone!

And I’m so excited to show you how I decided to use it!

I already had a wreath that lights up to go on the front door, so I decided to hang this one in our living room over our new entertainment center. It made the perfect center piece for what I’m calling my “Rainbow Christmas Display.”

So what do you think? I’m sure it may be a little bright for some, but all the colors and shine make me happy!

I’m linking up at Tidy Mom and these parties.

Filed Under: Christmas, decorating, Wreaths

The Black Shard – Book Review

December 7, 2011 Leave a Comment

If you’ve followed my blog for a while you may remember the book review I did last year for The Magic Warble, the fun fantasy novel by Victoria Simcox that follows in the tradition of books like The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis.

This holiday season Simcox is back with a new book The Black Shard, the sequel to The Magic Warble!

My husband and I just love fantasy books for young adults and children, so we were really excited last year when we had the chance to read The Magic Warble, and I was thrilled when Victoria contacted me about reviewing The Black Shard.

The Black Shard, Victoria Simcox’s fast-paced, intricately woven sequel to The Magic Warble, takes Kristina Kingsly and her schoolmates back to Bernovem … and into a thrilling, often dangerous adventure.

Kristina’s stay at summer horse camp is horrible to say the least, and it’s all because Hester and Davina are there as well, making her life miserable. When Hester’s cruel prank goes terribly wrong, it’s actually what sends the three girls back to the magical land of Bernovem. In Bernovem, Kristina is very excited to see her former friend, Prince Werrien. When he invites her to sail with him on his ship to his homeland Tezerel, putting it simply, Kristina can’t refuse.

Reunited with her gnome, dwarf, animal, fairy friends … and best of all, Werrien, things seem like they couldn’t get any better for Kristina. But when Werrien becomes fascinated with an unusual seeing stone, the “Black Shard”, Kristina is haunted by a ghostlike old hag. Struggling against suspicion, guilt, illness, and ultimately the one who wants to possess her soul, Kristina will see it’s in her weakest moment that she will encounter more strength than she has ever known.

If you and your children are fans of Harry Potter and Narnia, you’ll love Simcox’s books! You’ll fall in love with Kristina and the rest of this fun cast of characters, and you’ll wish that you could take a trip to Bernovem!

Buy it! Be sure to include The Black Shard on your Christmas gift giving list this year! And if you haven’t read the first book in the series, The Magic Warble, add it to your list as well!

I’m linking up at Tidy Mom and these parties.

Filed Under: Christmas, product review

Caribou Coffee Review and Giveaway

December 6, 2011 15 Comments

With the cold fall and winter weather comes cravings for rich, hot beverages like coffee and hot chocolate. This holiday season Caribou Coffee brings you the most delicious holiday coffees and drinks. Take a break out of your Christmas shopping for a nice hot cup of joe. Or go by and purchase a holiday sampler or gift pack for the coffee lover on your list!

Visit Caribou Coffee online to see all of their great samplers and holiday gift options, including candy, ornaments, coffee tumblers and more! Also, check out Caribou Coffee on Facebook for holiday coupons and offers!

Caribou Coffee is also Making it Merry this holiday season with the launch of its Sweater Maker Facebook App, which allows consumers to dress their Facebook photos in festive holiday sweaters and share them through various social networks. www.merrysweater.com

For every sweater that’s virtually knitted on Caribou Coffee’s Sweater Maker Facebook App, a real one will be donated to someone in need.

I received a fun Holiday gift pack from Caribou Coffee (pictured below). Not only are their items fun, festive, and well made, but they’ve got an incredible Reindeer Blend for the holidays!

Here’s the description from their website: Our holiday favorite returns! This year’s 100% Rainforest Alliance certified Reindeer Blend brings together coffees from Central America combined with heavy-bodied and syrupy-rich flavors from the Indonesian archipelago – including a rare, two-year-aged Sumatra that gives a hint of caramel and a dash of spice.

Giveaway! One Simply Sweet Home reader will win a Caribou Coffee Holiday Gift Pack, which includes:

One bag of Reindeer Blend
One 24 oz Snowflake Coffee Cup with lid and straw
A Snowflake Knit Coffee Sleeve.
2011 Knit Mittens Christmas Ornament.
A $43 value!

To enter, use the Rafflecopter form below! Giveaway will be open for one week.

I’m linking up at Tidy Mom and these parties.

Filed Under: Christmas, Giveaways, product review

Archives for 2011

My Christmas Home Tour

Applebee’s Gift Card Giveaway

Christmas Pillow Box Tutorial

Morton Safe-T-Pet Review & Giveaway

Homemade Cookie Mix in a Jar and Frosted Chocolate Drops

Marzetti Simply Dressed Salad Dressing Review

Friday Favorites – Week 93

Christmas Ball Wreath and Display

The Black Shard – Book Review

Caribou Coffee Review and Giveaway

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Archives for 2011

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