Friday, May 28, 2010

Follow Friday





Welcome Everyone visiting from Follow Friday!! I am so happy that you are stopping by. A little bit of everything goes into The Squeaky Grocery Cart. I currently have 1 giveaway
a GLEE GUM Make Your Own Candy Kithttp://thesqueakygrocerycart.blogspot.com/2010/05/glee-gum-make-your-own-candy-kit-review.html Please enter!

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Wedding Dress Blog Tour




Unfortunately, my scanner is not working. So I had to take pictures of my wedding pictures. Sorry for the blurry pictures.



I bought my dress, in July of 2003. I got married in March, 2004. It was actually the first one that I tried on. I tried on others, but it was the one I came back to. It is hard to see in the pictures, but it has this beautiful beading on the bodice. I loved how simple and elegant the dress was.

My favorite memory from my wedding is my flower girl and ring bearer. We had given skittles to the Best Man and Maid of Honor. They were in charge of slipping Skittles to the kids to keep them from getting restless. It worked ok,until my little flower girl sat on the stage playing with leftover pedals. Then she decided to lay down behind me. My little ring bearer decided scoot down the steps behind us. I didn't realize all of this was going on behind us, until I saw my pictures.

I still have my dress. I actually get it out, every year around our anniversary to see if I can still wear it. So far, so good. I couldn't imagine selling it or getting rid of it. It is special to me.

If you want to join in the Wedding Dress Blog Tour, visit Shasher's Life

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

BOGO Minor League Baseball Tickets



Kraft is sponsoring a BOGO Minor League Baseball ticket promotion. Bring a Kraft singles wrapper, purchase 1 ticket at the box off, and get a free ticket. Offer is valid at every Tuesday game from now until September 7th. For more information, visit
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/events/kraft_landing_2010.jsp

Snuggie Madness!

Raise your hand if you own a Snuggie? lol I love the Snuggies. I think they are hilarious. The one lone old man sitting on the bench shivering in the cold, while the rest of stand is warm in their Snuggies. The acting cracks me up!


When we camped out at Target on Black Friday, there were several people in line sporting their favorite animal print Snuggie. Last year, for birthday's I decided that I would get my family members "As Seen On TV" birthday gifts. My sister was the lucky recipient of a Sea Foam Green Snuggie. I had grander plans for her Snuggie, I got it air brushed with some sort of beach scene, for that extra touch of campiness.
My son wanted one of the kid sized Snuggies for Christmas last year. He loves it!

Now, you can take your Snuggie love to the beach! Have you seen these? Beach Towel Snuggies! Visit Snuggie's facebook page and enter to win one of their new Snuggie Beach Towels. They are giving away 10 for the next 10 weeks. If any fans of the Grocery Cart win, I would love to see pictures!!!

Earth Fare Coupon- Free Ketchup for Memorial Day





Earth Fare Coupon- Free Ketchup for Memorial Day! Plus 2 coupons, Save $2 per pound on New York Strip and save $2 per pound on Scoop Your Own Shrimp (frozen/cooked)http://www.earthfare.com/HealthySavings/EmailCoupon_3.aspx

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

GEEK PRIDE DAY!

Today, May 25 is a day that will long live in the hearts of geeks! On this day, in 1977, the Earth moved, the skies wept, and a little movie called Star Wars opened. I was 2 years old at the time and ever since, I have had a deep love for all things Star Wars. But, I also have an appreciation for the sci-fi genre in general.

Geek Pride Day originated in Spain. In addition, it falls on the anniversary of the original Star Wars film. In 2008, Geek Pride Day came to America and in 2009, Canada. http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=231355998949&ref=mf Check out these reason to let your Geek Pride fly http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2010/05/5-reasons-to-be-proud-on-geek-pride-day/

So in honor of Geek Pride Day, I thought I would share a little of my geekiness! In our home, Star Wars is golden. I think there is something Star Wars in EVERY room of our house. R2-D2 is one of my favorite and most collected. I have no idea how many R2-D2s I own. The range in size from 1/2 inch to life sized. These are a few of my favorite Star Wars, R2-D2 items.

The R2-D2 aquarium. Home of Bubbles and Nemo


The R2-D2 rolling cooler, Great for parties!


Shire of R2. This is one of my shelves dedicated to R2.


But my favorite R2 unit of all, is my custom built R2-AL. This is a project that my husband and I have been working on for almost 2 years now. That's me in my Endor Leia costume. Yes, we dress up too.


What are you loving today on GEEK PRIDE DAY!

William Sonoma Has Star Wars cookie cutters!

William Sonoma is one of those stores that I love to visit. I could spend hours in there daydreaming of all the gourmet meals I could prepare. Then I snap back to reality! Now, they have a line of some of my favorite things. William Sonoma has a new exclusive line of Star Wars themed items. I know these items will be on the top of my Christmas wish list.

First, is the set of 4 cookie cutters. These are new exclusives to William Sonoma. The set of 4 cutters includes: Darth Vader, Yoda, Stormtrooper, and Boba Fett. The cutters are equipped with a spring loaded stamp to help add more detail to the cookies. The set is $19.95
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/star-wars-cookie-cutter/?pkey=x|4|1||4|star%20wars%20cookie%20cutters||0&cm_src=SCH

William Sonoma is also featuring Star Wars Pancake Molds, the set of 4 is also 19.95


http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/star-wars-pancake-mold/?cm_src=rel

and these adorable child sized aprons. You can get it personalized for your young baking Jedis. Plain is $19.95 or Personalized for $24.95

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/personalized-kids-star-wars-apron/?pkey=x|4|1||4|star%20wars||0&cm_src=SCH

Follow Me Back Tuesday

Photobucket


Thanks for visiting The Squeaky Grocery Cart! If you want to get in on the fun,
Follow Me Back Tuesday is hosted by Survey Junkie, Little Yaya's, Review Retreat & Boobies,Babies And A Blog..

How It Works:

Follow ALL of the Hostesses (leave us a comment so we can follow you back)

1. Add your blog to the list (only have to add once)
2. Grab our button & the link code to post on your blog
3. Start to follow as many blogs as you would like (make sure you leave a comment so they can follow you back)
4. And when you receive a comment from a new follower return the favor & follow them back

It's Easy!

New Code will be available Every Tuesday at 12:00 AM Est. on all 4 Hostess' Blogs

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Rainbow Cakes

HappyDay


This is a super simple cupcake idea and there are lots of ways to do this.
I just used a white cake mix, instead of making from scratch. You can do either, but the end results are pretty and your kids will love them! :)

Here are the ingredients that we used:


We mixed the cake mix according to the box directions. Then divided into 5 bowls. Coloring each bowl a different color.


After each bowl was colored, we began to layer the batter in the muffin cups. My helpers want to eat the cake batter, but we finally got all of the colors layered on top of each other.



Bake according to box directions



The inside is a swirled rainbow. You can frost them if you want to or just leave them as rainbows.


This is one of those cooking activities that gives you the opportunity teach multiple lessons. This is a great lesson on color and color mixing. It also gives you the opportunity to talk about the science of a rainbow. Not to mention the wealth of practical life experience that your child will learn from cooking.

Give this a try and enjoy the cupcakes!



This recipe is linked to Crazy Daisy Tuesday Taste

Cupcake Mania!


 Cupcake  /ˈkÊŒpËŒkeɪk/ Show Spelled[kuhp-keyk]
–noun
1.
a small cake, the size of an individual portion, baked in a cup-shaped mold.


Who doesn't love cupcakes? They are perfect! Just enough cake and frosting, to give your sweet tooth satisfaction. And, the possibilities for cupcakes are endless.

My kids love them, which is why we probably bake them about once a month. I am going to start a new segment on The Squeaky Grocery Cart, called CUPCAKE MANIA! It will feature new recipes that we come across, ideas for decorating, and just cupcake fun!

In this first CUPCAKE MANIA post, I am going to share some pictures of cupcakes we made in the past!

These are supposed to be R2-D2 cupcakes, you can kind of see it! I had some extra "helpers" so they turned out a little sketchy, but you get the idea.


These are some Halloween themed cupcakes I entered in the county fair.

Friday, May 21, 2010

FollowMeFridays




Welcome Everyone visiting from Follow Friday!! I am so happy that you are stopping by. A little bit of everything goes into The Squeaky Grocery Cart. I currently have 2 giveaway, first,
a GLEE GUM Make Your Own Candy Kit http://thesqueakygrocerycart.blogspot.com/2010/05/glee-gum-make-your-own-candy-kit-review.html

and secondly, If you are expecting or know someone who is experiencing morning sickness, check out my B-natals review and giveaway.



GLEE Gum- Make Your Own Candy Kit Review and GIVEAWAY!!!


My kids love to cook! So we spend a lot of time together in the kitchen. Cooking with kids is a great way to teach math, science, language, and an understanding of cultures. I am always looking for simple recipes or kits that will inspire my children's interest in cooking.

GLEE Gum has these wonderful Make Your Own Kits. There are 3 kits to choose from : Make Your Own Chocolate, Make Your Own Gum, and Make Your Own Gummies. These activity kits are all-natural, educational, and eco-friendly. Each kit comes with pre-packaged ingredients and easy-to-follow instructions. The kits are recommended for everyone aged 8 and up.


There is a great story that comes with the kit. The Gummie kit tells the story of a young girl in the Philippines. Her father was a fisherman, but he was unable to fish because of the decreasing fish population. To earn money, the family starts a seaweed farm. The seaweed grows quickly and is sustainable. Most people only think of seaweed as an edible item in salad or sushi. But actually, seaweed (carrageenan and agar) are found in toothpaste, cottage cheese, dog food, pudding, salad dressing, and even sandwich meat.

In the Make Your Own Gummie kit, you use 2 types of seaweed. One is powdered and the other is dry. I was very surprised when I found them in the gummie kit. It was an unexpected ingredient!

Most gummie candies are made with gelatin. Seaweed does pretty much the same thing as gelatin, but in this case, it is also helping thousands of people in the Philippines. I really appreciated how these kits help children become aware of other parts of the world. It really gives them the opportunity to see how we are all global citizens. One person has an effect on another.

My kids were hugely excited about making their own gummies! Well, my 5 year old was. My 2 year old wasn't into the making process, she mainly just wanted to eat gummies. Adult supervision is needed, because you will be heating some of the ingredients.

Everything is prepackaged and labeled. So, we laid out our kit and got to work.


The first step is place the dried seaweed in some water to soak.

The next step is make your own candy molds. Candy makers use cornstarch to make their own molds. The corn starch can be reused over and over, when you make new gummies and it is bio-degradable. We choose to use a Lego man to make our impressions for our molds.


After your molds are finished, you mix the powdered seaweed with water, add the dried seaweed, and heat until the mixture foams. You can use either the microwave or stove top. We chose to use the microwave. Once that is mixed, remove the dried seaweed.

Stir in the flavor/coloring packet to the hot mixture. Heat for another minute.


Then it's time to pour the gummie mixture into your molds. I took over this part of process. you have to work slowly, so you don't pour too much into the molds.

Once, you have the molds filled, place in them in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes. You have the option of giving them a sour coating or just plain. We opted to make ours sour!


My kids loved them!


To me, the taste was a little different compared to a regular gummie. But it was not unpleasant. We made 3 small batches of gummies. The kit says that it makes the equivalent of 15 gummy candies, and I would say that is about right. The great thing about seaweed is that it is thermally reversible, which gelatin is not. So don't worry if you don't use all of your gummie mix in the first batch. Just reheat it for a minute and it's ready to go.

Clean is easy and there is minimal mess involved. Something every busy mother hopes for!

Check out GLEE Gum's store locator to find these products near you or enter to win a Make Your Own Gummie Kit.

Mandatory Entry:

Become a follower of The Squeaky Grocery Cart and leave a comment saying you are a follower. Please be sure to include your email address.

Additional Entries:
1. Become a Fan of The Squeaky Grocery Cart on Facebook, or leave a comment saying you are a fan already.

2. Become a Fan of GLEE Gum on Facebook.

3. Follow thesqueakycart on Twitter or leave a comment saying you are already a follower.

Leave a separate comment for each and please include your email. The winner will be chosen at random, using Random.org. The contest will end on June 4, 2010.

Disclosure: GLEE Gum provided me with a Make Your Own Gummies kit to test and an additional one to give away. The opinions expressed in this review are my own and in no way were they influenced by GLEE Gum.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Does your teddy bear need a vacation?

This is an interesting article I found on AOL today. http://www.parentdish.com/2010/05/19/teddy-bear-need-a-vacation-send-him-on-a-luxury-trip-while-you/?icid=main|main|dl3|link4|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.parentdish.com%2F2010%2F05%2F19%2Fteddy-bear-need-a-vacation-send-him-on-a-luxury-trip-while-you%2F

Uli Mana Raw Chocolates

When you offer someone something vegan, a lot of times you get one of 2 reactions. One of shock and disgust or one of curiosity. There are a lot of people who don't understand what a vegan diet is. Most of the time, those are the people who ask, "what do you eat?" I eat Uli Mana for one thing!

When I was first introduced to Uli Mana chocolates, I have to say I was a little unsure, but curious. My curiosity was rewarded with an amazing chocolate experience! The Hemp Brownies are an incredibly unique flavor. Truffles that melt in your mouth. The taste of raw chocolate is decadent, but not overpoweringly sweet. To some people, I could see where it could be considered an acquired taste. But, to a dark chocolate lover, they are Heavenly.

I have to say that my favorite product is the Chia Moon Drops! Made with the following ingredients: Organic Dates, Organic Cashews, Organic Chia Seeds, Organic Cacao Powder, Organic Coconut Oil, Organic Coconut Shreds, Organic Agave, Organic Vanilla Beans, and Celtic Sea Salt®.

I have never been a huge fan of dates, but Uli Mana has converted me. There is just something special about the Chia Moon Drops. It is a chewy texture, with a little crunch from the coconut and cashew. It is one of those foods that you just want to savor. They are very satisfying as a snack or a treat, Chia Moon Drops will fill that sweet craving.

Please visit the Uli Mana website
I really would encourage everyone to give Uli Mana products a try. Vegan or not, I think you will be pleasantly surprised by their products.

Birthday Freebies




One of my Facebook fans asked the following question, " Okay, our entire office staff has birthdays in June and I KNOW that you all have some great freebies to tell me about that we can use!!! Give me the some ideas!!!!"

If you sign up with the following restaurants you can get free stuff on or during your birthday month. Please keep in mind that some of these offers may have expired or vary by location.

Red Robin, you can get free burgers on your birthday.

Jack in the Box is free birthday dessert.

Moe's Southwestern Grill you can get a free burrito for your birthday

Panera Bread - Join MyPanera and you will receive a surprise for signing up as well as birthday gift, bonus coupons and special offers and free samples.

Ruby Tuesday's- Join the so connected club and include your birthday and get a coupon for a free hand crafted burger on your birthday plus more great offers throughout the year.

Souper Salad- Join the e-club and get a free meal on your birthday.

Starbucks- Join for various rewards including a free drink on your birthday.

TGI Fridays- Sign up for their Give Me More Stripes club, get a free appetizer or dessert just for joining. Plus get a freebie on your birthday.

Baskin Robins- Sign up for the Birthday Club to receive a free 2.5 oz. scoop on your birthday.

Del Taco- Get two free soft tacos now and a free premium milkshake on your birthday.

PF Changs- Free dessert for birthday.

REMINDER- Chic-fil-A's Spicy Chicken Reservation


Visit Chic-fil-A's website starting tomorrow, May 21 (5/21) to reserve a FREE new Spicy
Chicken Sandwich tasting. Each branch is reserving a limited amount of
sandwiches to give away, reserve it early!! I can't wait to try one of these!!

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

South of France: Spa Natural Samples

http://www.sofspa.com/sn_samples.html

follow the link to request a free sample kit from Spa Naturals. Your sampler will look like the set pictured.

Kraft First Taste Coupons



Are you a member of Kraft First Taste? If you are already a member, sign into your account and see if you have any offers. There is a possibility of 6 new coupons for free items. Log in and check out 'My Offers'

Coupons include:
Package of Kool-aid Fun Fizz Drink Drops (up to $2.49),
Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh Shaved Meats (up to $4.50)
Ritz Crackerfuls Filled Crackers (up to $3.49)
Kraft 100 Calorie Packs (up to $3.29)
Kraft Homestyle Deluxe Macaroni & Cheese Dinner (up to $3.99)
Digiorno Deep Dish Pizza (up to $3.30).


This website has been crazy with everyone trying to get these coupons. Give it some time, the site is incredibly slow.

Lane Bryant 40% off sale

Lane Bryant has 40% off almost everything in store and online(excludes Spanx, gift cards, and previous purchases) through 5/23! Online code: 000403696
For every $50 you spend, you earn $25 Real Women Dollars. If you shop online, flat rate shipping is $7.

Coupons- Welch's, Kelloggs, and more

Check out Coupons.com and use the zip code 90210

$1 off Kraft 100 calorie packs

$1/2 Horizon Organic large dozen eggs

$1 off Welch's grape juice 64 oz/96 oz

.55 off Cherrios

.55 off Cinnamon Toast Crunch

$1 off 3 Bacardi Mixers

Free Limeade at Taco Bell



Print this coupon to get a free Limeade Sparkler at Taco Bell! Taco Bell is offering a coupon for a FREE Limeade Sparkler to 500,000 people. This offer is good through July 11, 2010 until the 500,000 limit has been met.


http://www.tacobell.com/promo/limeade-coupon

Earth Fare Coupon- Free Hamburgers



Get 2 free handmade hamburgers with the purchase of 2 handmade hamburgers!
http://www.earthfare.com/HealthySavings/EmailCoupon_1.aspx

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

New Costumes! Ahsoka Tano

We are huge Star Wars fans and Star Wars costumers. We made Clone Wars style costumes for our children this summer to wear to a Sci-Fi convention. The costumes will be doing double duty for Halloween. Our daughter is Ahsoka and her brother is going to be Anakin.




We have already purchased and cut fabric to sew her costume. We picked the fabric up at Hobby Lobby. It is hard to tell from this picture, but the fabric is more of redish color with a suede like texture. I purchased 1 yard for roughly $4. She will have a tube top,skirt, and gauntlets. I also got her a pair of leggins at Target for $3.99



We are using Crayola Mold Magic to sculpt the head tails. I choose that material because it air dries and is lightweight. A large tub like is one, I purchased at Michael's for $12. It is regularly priced $19.99, but watch for those 40% off coupons. It took 2 containers to sculpt the head, so $24 total.


I allowed the head piece to dry around 48-72 hours before painting. I painted it with the blue stripes.

I made a simple skirt and tube top just like the characters. This costume was made for a Sci-Fi convention in the summer. For Halloween, I am going to purchase a long sleeve orange t-shirt and sew the top on to it. That will help eliminate the body paint and keep her warm.

I purchased a belt at the Goodwill and used craft foam to complete the outfit. The boots were purchased from Target.com on clearance, but will work great for this winter. The lightsaber is a Master Replica Yoda lightsader.
Overall, I was very pleased with the finished product. The hardest part was sculpting the head. I will be making some slight changes for Halloween.