Bath & Body Works Semi-Annual Sale

Bath & Body Works is having their Semi-Annual Sale. I went last night with a friend (and without Connor). Here's my haul:

Back left: 2 Charmed Life Triple Moisture Body Creams, True Blue Spa Tahiti Sweetie Body Lotion, 2 Vanilla Berry Sorbet anti-bacterial soaps, Fresh Lime Basil foaming soap, 2 Vanilla Bean Noel Pocket Bacs

Back right: Rio Rumberry body lotion mini, Aruba Coconut body lotion mini, 2 Kitchen Lemon anti-bacterial soaps, Caribbean Escape anti-bacterial soap, Coconut Lime Verbena anti-bacterial soap

Front l-r: Black Raspberry Vanilla triple moisture body cream, purple bath poof, Sun Ripened Raspberry body lotion, Exotic Coconut body lotion, 2 pairs pink shea socks, Wallflowers 2 pk Creamy Nutmeg, Warm Vanilla Sugar triple moisture shower cream, blue bath poof

Total $59, retail $159. I had the $10 off $40 coupon, but she took off 15% instead, which worked out better. I had to ask for the socks. They found one bag in the back. They brought out boxes while we were there so we got to "help" and that's where I found the Vanilla Berry Sorbet and Fresh Lime Basil.

If you're not familiar with this sale, certain items are 50-75% off, some body creams/shower gels are $3, and other items are on sale. This sale runs until January 15th and coupons can be found online.

Remembering Grandma

Last Monday, my Grandma passed away. She was 91 years old and had been diagnosed with cancer in February. Her wake/service was on Thursday. We weren't quite sure what to tell Connor. We didn't want to tell him she was sleeping because he wakes Jon up on the weekends. I didn't want him to try to wake her up and get scared. He seemed to understand something was different. He was fairly well behaved. He didn't sit still for most of the pastor's talk, but that's ok because Grandma always said he didn't have a "sitter". When we left, he said "Bye Grandma, I love you." and laid his head on my shoulder and sighed.

This woman was incredible. She raised two children on her own after her husband passed, not an easy thing to do in the 60's. She raised me and was an excellent role model. I'm glad she lived long enough to see me graduate college, get married and start a family. She adored Connor and he adored her. We had a good relationship and I have no regrets.

I miss you and love you Grandma!

BabyCakes Cupcake Maker: Breakfast Sausage Muffins

Ok, so I'm on a roll with this Cupcake Maker!

I am always looking for different things to try for breakfast. I found this recipeon Betty Crocker and modified it a bit.

Sausage Mixture
3/4 lb ground pork breakfast sausage
(I used Bob Evans Maple Sausage)
4 oz diced fresh mushrooms
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Baking Mixture
1 cup Original Bisquick® mix
1 cup milk
4 eggs

In 10-inch skillet, cook sausage and mushrooms over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently, until sausage is no longer pink; drain. Cool 5 minutes; stir in salt, pepper and cheese.

In medium bowl, stir baking mixture ingredients with whisk or fork until blended. Spoon 1 1/2 tablespoon baking mixture into each muffin cup. Spoon 1 tablespoon of sausage mixture on top of baking mixture.

Bake in BabyCakes CupCake Maker for 5-7 minutes. Check with a toothpick. Carefully remove and let cool for a few minutes before serving.

I got almost 30 out of this mix. They aren't quite muffins, more like fluffy egg cups. They are tasty plain, or dipped in ketchup or maple syrup. I plan on freezing some of these for later.

* I did not put in the onions from the original recipe because 1. I didn't have any and 2. I didn't want to overload the cups. I bet the onion and maybe some green or red bell pepper would be good in these. Maybe even green chilis and a different sausage.

First Snow!

It's December 9th and we just had our first real snow. Unusual for this part of Northwest Indiana! We got just under an inch. This was the first time the girls had seen snow and it was hysterical! Normally, they are clucking at me once they hear me coming and then race out of the coop once the door opens. They were quiet this morning. When I opened the door, they started to come out, then quickly retreated :)

And they took turns looking outside. I was laughing too hard to put their ladder in place :)

Goldie was giving me funny looks...

And flew to my shoe...

Took a bold step onto the snow...

And back onto my other shoe...



Now this is quite unusual for this little girl. She is my flighty one. For her to sit on my shoe for 15 minutes was quite brave of her.

Then Ruby decided she wanted out. She started eyeing me too and I told her that I am NOT a perch and to not even think about it.

And flew to the sawhorse perch to survey the snow.

Finally, Lace came out and tried to push Goldie off my shoe. She wasn't in the sharing mood.

Lace discovered the scratch and mealworms, which brought the other two running.

They better get used to this! We're going to have much more!

Product Review: BabyCakes Cupcake Maker

I recently discovered an awesome blog Love From The Oven. She introduced me to the BabyCakes Cupcake Maker. I did some more research and just had to have one. And the Cake Pop Maker, but that review will come later, haven't tried it out yet.

I went to Meijer yesterday and picked up the Cupcake Maker, on sale for $24.99 and used Santa Bucks to get an additional $4 off. I had to try it out right away. Well, once the boy went down for a nap.

Isn't it cute? Pink!!

For the first batch, I used the directions on the booklet for a cake mix. It takes half a cake mix. I used Duncan Hines (I always use Duncan Hines) Dark Chocolate Fudge. I had never tried this flavor before. It made 23 adorable cupcakes. It's going to take some practice to get them out though. I just kind of rolled them out onto a towel, then carefully moved to a cooling rack. I used their vanilla buttercream recipe to fill and frost. Not the prettiest frosting job I've done, but I was tired and just wanted to get it done :)

For the second batch, I used two packages of Martha White's Blueberry Cheesecake Muffin mix. I. Love. These. The mini size is perfect. The two packages (well, pouches really) made about 24. The lighter ones weren't filled as much as the browned ones, so they didn't touch the top. Didn't affect the taste though! Most of these went into the freezer.

There are lots of other things you can do with this Cupcake Maker. You can do bread rolls, fruit pies, savory pies, cheesecake, brownies, all sorts of appetizers, and much much more.

Update: I made crescent rolls to go with tonight's dinner! I took a roll of Pillsbury crescent rolls, cut them into 10 discs and put them in the Cupcake Maker for about 6 minutes. Turned out really good!

(I don't know why Blogger is yet again turning pictures on their side. I can't figure out how to fix it...)

You can find your own BabyCakes Cupcake Maker at most major retailers or online at The BabyCakes Shop.


* I was not compensated in any way for this product review. I wanted to try this product and purchased it on my own.