CSN Stores and Platform Beds

My husband and I have recently been considering getting some new bedroom furniture. I have been looking for a platform bed.

CSN is one of my favorite online sites. They have over 200 online stores where you can find everything from a platform bed to fantastic fitness equipment to cookware!

I absolutely love this platform bed from the Paula Deen Home Collections

Python Printable Games Review

If you are looking to add a little extra fun to your next party, check out Python Printable Games.

They offer a wide variety of printable activities for all age groups. You pay a low price for each game you download, then you are able to print as many copies as you need. Most games are priced at $6.95 and packages are $14.95 and $19.95.
The great part is that you get your game files in an instant download, so you don't have to pay and wait for your item to ship.

I have selected several activities that I think will add little extra excitement to our Halloween festivities. I really loved the Pin the Head on the Monster game



There is also a Halloween Scavenger Hunt that sounds like a lot of fun.

This would be a great resource for teachers or youth group leaders. Visit the Python Printable Games website to see all they have to offer. If you sign up for their newsletter, they are currently offering a free gift.

Disclosure: I was sent a complementary package of printables for the purpose of this review. I was not compensated in anyway. All opinions expressed in this post are my own.
This Product Was a Free Giveaway

RecipeNut Website Launch and Giveaway!!

My mom reads and collects cookbooks like they are novels. I know that she owns books dating back to at least the 60's, maybe older. Not to mention the countless magazine clippings and recipe cards. Her favorite recipes are the most tattered. I try to write down my favorites, but I often find myself looking online and bookmarking my favorites.


RecipeNut.com is a one-of-kind website that allows you to personally collect and manage all of your recipes, even those you find on other websites. A social network for “RecipeNuts,”. The site enables users to identify and follow other users with similar dish, cuisine and ingredient preferences, rate and review recipes and share their favorites via Facebook, Twitter and e-mail.

In conjunction with the site launch, RecipeNut is asking Facebook fans to share their favorite recipes and the stories behind them for a chance at nearly $2,000 in prizes. The contest kicks off at http://www.facebook.com/RecipeNut on September 27th and entries will be accepted through October 11th. Simply fan or “like” the page, submit a name and description of your favorite family recipe and the story behind it as well as an image of the note card or page that it’s printed on. Ten finalists will be selected and fans can vote for or “like” the entry they think best exemplifies a truly treasured recipe. The winners will be announced on the RecipeNut Facebook page on October 25th.


Hormel Foods is one of the sponsors of RecipeNut.com. They have graciously offered one of my readers a RecipeNut.com prize package. The prize package will contain the pictured items.


Mandatory Entry:

Leave a comment telling me one of the following: What your favorite family recipe is that uses a Hormel product? or How do you plan to use RecipeNut.com?


Additional Entries:

Become a fan of RecipeNut on Facebook.
Follow The Squeaky Grocery Cart with GFC

Follow The Squeaky Grocery Cart on Facebook.

Follow The Squeaky Grocery Cart on Twitter

This contest will end October 11, 2010. The winner will be chosen at random.

disclosure: I was also given a prize package for this review. I did not receive any monetary compensation and any opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Terrific Tailgating and Sunday Follows

One of my all time favorite appetizers is Jalapeno Poppers. I love the fried ones, with a crispy outer crust, soft melted cream cheese, and peppery flavor. For this recipe, you will use your grill and you wont miss the crispy deep fried crust.

Ingredients:

1 cup fat-free cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup finely chopped seeded tomato
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
16 jalapeño peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded (about 1 1/2 pounds)
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro


1. Prepare grill to medium-high heat.

2. Combine first 6 ingredients in a bowl, stirring well. Spoon about 2 teaspoons cheese mixture into each pepper half. Place pepper halves, cheese side up, on grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill peppers 5 minutes or until bottoms of peppers are charred and cheese mixture is lightly browned. Carefully place peppers on a serving platter. Sprinkle with cilantro.

Aspire Photo Challenge, B&W

PHOTO REMOVED

Today, is National One Hit Wonder Day!??

Today is National One Hit Wonder Day! Who knew there was a day? What's your all time favorite one hit wonder? I found a great One Hit Wonder list


I have to say that I really love A-Ha "Take On Me". I always loved that video.

Some of my other favorite Wonders:

Jack Wagner, Frisco from General Hospital. He has been on other shows and is currently on Bold and The Beautiful, but he will forever be Frisco. All I Need

Tony Basil Oh Mickey, your so fine!! Mickey

and how about the lovely and talented Right Said Fred. That's right they were too sexy for music. I'm Too Sexy


Rock on and belt out your favorite One Hit Wonders today!!

Princess Aurora Costume Super Center Review

It is that time of year, my kids are excited about Halloween just around the corner. I usually start around August asking my children if they have any ideas of what they would like to be for Halloween. Of course, the answers change from day to day. We like to look at costumes online to give us some ideas.

This year, my little girl has been going through a huge Disney princess phase. I was thrilled to work with CostumeSuperCenter.com. They offer so many Disney costumes to choose from. My little girl selected a Sleeping Beauty costume.

I am really pleased with the fit, since my daughter is small, most costumes are usually too big. This one fits well some room to grow. The length for her was just a little long, but that was easily fixed.

The bodice of the dress is a soft velvety like fabric with rose details and sheer sleeves. The skirt is made of a lighter pink. It is polyester and have hand wash care instructions. The dress came with a tiara. The tiara has beads and feather embellishments.

My daughter has absolutely loved this costume. She loves to wear it around the house, has wanted to sleep in it, and worn it out to a few princess tea parties. If you are looking for costumes with great details and reasonable prices, then I would highly recommend that you check out Costumesupercenter.com. You will find a wide variety of costumes, that will make all of your little trick or treaters happy.


disclosure: I was provided with a costume for review. The opinions expressed in this post are my own. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this post.

Apple Farm Field Trip

Today was my son's first Kindergarten field trip. We headed out to a local apple farm for the children to pick apples, walk a corn maze, and have a hay ride. For the first days of Fall, 90 degree weather does not get you in the mood for apples.

The apples at the farm were HUGE! I think the most any of the kids actually got in their bags was 5.

After a nice picnic lunch in the shade. We went out into the corn maze, which the kids really seemed to love. After a few wrong turns, we found our way out and went off to check out the petting zoo.

There were goats, some baby chicks, a pig names Wilbur, and a little calf named Bubba.

I think that my son had a great day visiting the farm. He was so excited after his trip. This evening, we whipped up an apple pie with an oatmeal crumb topping. YUMM

apple picking

Today my son is going on his first kindergarten field trip. He is so excited and I have to admit, so am I. We are going to be visiting a local apple farm. I will have to post more about our apple picking adventure later today. I am still trying to get in the swing of things just been so busy lately

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

1. Miniature I had a hard time with miniature this week. Then I found this vintage Barbie pool from the 80's at the Goodwill. I had one of these when I was younger, so when I saw this I could not pass it up.


2. Water Droplet



3. Bedhead


4. Colorful


5. Eyes

Terrific Tailgating: Ultimate Turtle Brownies and Sunday Follows

Alright, so you have stuffed yourself on all of the wonderful food while tailgating. Your BBQ nachos and hot wings have put you into a near food coma, but you still want something a little sweet.

For tailgating desserts, I love to serve things like brownies or cupcakes. Why? They are easy to make, compact, and easy to travel with.

I recently found 2 amazing brownie recipes in the Betty Crocker Fall Baking book. I can't resist those little books sitting by the check out in the grocery store. I really love the ones about holiday baking. This one is well worth it! There are some great ideas for Halloween.

The Ultimate Turtle Brownie is awesome. It has gooey carmel, salty pecans, and chocolate!

1 Box Betty Crocker Brownie mix
water, vegetable oil, and egg called for on brownie mix package.

36 caramels, unwrapped

3 tablespoons of whipping cream

1 1/3 cups semisweet chocolate chunks

2/3 cups chopped pecans

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray bottom and sides of 9 inch square pan with baking spray with flour. Make brownie batter as directed on box, using water, oil, and egg. Spread half of the batter in the pan. Bake for 18 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a large microwave safe bowl, microwave caramels and whipping cream uncovered on high for 2-3 minutes. stirring occasionally, until smooth.

3. Pour caramel over partially baked brownies; spread to within 1/4 inch of the edge. Sprinkle with 2/3 cup of chocolate chunks and 1/3 cup pecans. Drop the remaining brownie batter by small spoonfuls onto caramel layer. Sprinkle with remaining 2/3 cup chocolate chunks and 1/3 cup pecans.

4. Bake 34-37 minutes longer or until center is almost set. Cool 1 hour. Cover, refrigerate 1 hour. Cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. Store covered and serve at room temperature.


I made these brownies on Friday for a party we were hosting. They were devoured. Give them a try, you will not be disappointed.

Book Review: A Homemade Christmas by Tina Barseghian

I am excited with the approaching Holiday season. I am looking forward to doing more holiday baking and crafting with my children this year. I love making presents for family and friends. To me it is deeply personal and has more meaning then anything I could purchase.

A Homemade Christmas by Tina Barseghian is a great resource to help spark your creativity. The crafts and recipes are simple and work with every skill level, many being extremely kid friendly.

The book is divided into 5 topics. Greetings, Trimmings, Cooking, Giving, and Celebrating. I love that the tips and projects in this book are practical. You do not need exotic ingredients for the recipes or hard to find craft supplies. Many of the projects can be made in a small amount of time. This is beneficial because we all get caught up in the holiday rush.

I am looking forward to making the Homemade Snowglobes with my children. I think this is a project that they will enjoy. If you are interested in holiday crafts and baking, you will certainly enjoy this book.


Book Information:

A Homemade Christmas:Creative Ideas for an Earth-Friendly, Frugal, Festive Holiday by Tina Barseghian
ISBN-13: 978-0-373-89222-8
$14.95 U.S/ $17.95 CAN trade paperback
Publisher: Harlequin, a division of Harlequin Enterprise Limited

Keeping the flies away

Lately, we have been doing a lot of outdoor entertaining. That means my back door has been open. Unwelcome visitors found their way into my home. I hate flies!

I heard this tip about keeping flies out of the house, so I thought I would give it a try. What you do is, take a large baggie and put just a little bit of water in it. Then place a penny inside and hang it in your doorway. This will prevent flies from coming inside.

I thought it was crazy but all I can say is it works!!

My theory is that maybe the flies think it is a spider sitting in a web. I don't know but if anyone does know the science behind it, I would love to know more.

Saturday Hops!

Welcome Weekend Hoppers! This week has been a crazy one. I haven't had the opportunity post much this week, so I am trying to make for it today.

Last night, we hosted a Star Wars : The Clone Wars season premiere party. I think everyone had a great time. Please check out that post. Lots of great pictures.

I am also trying to start a small Etsy store with hand painted clothing and shoes. So I have a couple of posts about that up as well.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend.

Star Wars: Clone Wars HouseParty!!

Last night was the season premiere of Star Wars: The Clone Wars! Which, of course is huge in our house. We were selected by HouseParty.com to host a Hasbro Clone Wars Houseparty. If you are not familiar with House Party, check out their website. It is a lot of fun.

This house party had an amazing party package. Hasbro sent 10 assorted Clone Wars action figures, tattoos, coupons, game codes, and a game mat for a new card game. Needless to say, when the box arrived my kids were all over it!

We had a great group of friends over. We also encouraged everyone to come dressed up! Since we are Star Wars costumers, of course we pulled out our gear.
My husband slipped on his Vader costume for the evening. We also had a tusken, General Grievious and Goldie come over.


Utinni is my little jawa baby. Anytime we do a Star Wars event, I try to bring Utinni along, as a mascot of sorts. Utinni got a tattoo last night in honor of the premiere.







We had a ton of food! and our table definitely reflected a Star Wars theme. Sliders, hot wings, homemade pizza rolls, chips and dip, cupcakes and brownies were all part of the menu.









I think everyone was stuffed and the show was great!! I personally was excited to see Shaak Ti making her first appearance in The Clone Wars cartoon. I, of course, am extremely partial to her. If you have seen some of my other posts, Shaak Ti is one of my Star Wars costumes that I wear for events. I can't wait for Hasbro to make a new Shaak Ti figure.

I think all of the children who attended the party had a great time! They were thrilled with all of their goodies.


disclosure: I was provided with a party package by HouseParty.com. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this post. The opinions expressed in this post are my own and were in way influenced by HouseParty or Hasbro.

Blog Award

I would like to thank Surviving a Teacher's Salary and Mommies 2 Cents for giving me a One Lovely Blog Award.


I am always very appreciative when others enjoy my blog. This has been a new adventure for me. I am still learning a great deal about blogging. Please be sure to visit both of these wonderful blogs.

The rules for accepting this award are:
1. Accept the award. Post it on your blog with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.
2. Pay it forward to 15 other bloggers that you have newly discovered.

3. Contact those blog owners and let them know they've been chosen.
So, here are 15 more great bloggers that I love, check them out:
Be Positive Mom
Random Ramblings of a Stay at Home Mom
Walking the Off-Beaten Path
Thrift Core

I am still working on my list. I will update it asap.

Crazy Weeks

Do you ever have those weeks and in some cases, the whole month, where you just have too many things going at one time?
Actually, the last 2 weeks have been that way for me.

I am going to be working part time, at least temporarily. My little girl is doing half day preschool now. I am so excited for her, because she has needed other children to play with.

I am trying to launch an new Etsy Store and Facebook fan page for my hand painted shoes.

I took just a basic pair of Keds style tennis shoes and customized them with different hand painted designs.










These are two of my newest designs. If anyone is interested, please fan my facebook page or email me at lulubeanspainted@aol.com. I will do custom designs for girls or boys.




Plus, we are hosting 2 HouseParty events. Star Wars The Clone Wars premiere party is tomorrow. Then Saturday, we are doing a Capri Sun water party. lol I am still not sure what we are eating for our parties.
It just seems like I don't have time to blog. Which is really making me sad, because I really love to blog. I am trying to work out a schedule for everything. I have not abandoned my cart

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

Unfortunately my pictures were rushed this week. I am not really pleased with them, but hopefully this week will be better.




1. Wish/Dream
I wish I had more time to draw. This is a drawing that I have been working for a couple of months now.





2. Clean



3. Currency
My weekly tip.






4. Pair


5. Square

Wholly Wholesome Bake At Home Cherry Pie Review

I love to bake! But, sometimes I just don't have the time to bake the way I would like to. I was excited about the opportunity to try Wholly Wholesome products.

Wholly Wholesome Baked Goods are made without: Artificial Flavors, Colors, Preservatives or Additives • Hydrogenated Fats, Oils or Trans Fatty Acids • Conventionally Refined Sugars or Synthetic Sweeteners • Bleached or Bromated Flours • Irradiated Ingredients

There I was in Whole Foods trying to decide which item to try. I had a hard time deciding. But, I finally selected the Cherry pie.


The ingredients are: Cherries, Organic Wheat Flour, Organic Cane Sugar, Vegetable Oil (Palm Oil, Soybean Oil), Water, Rice Starch, Organic Whole Wheat Flour, Sea Salt.
That is an amazingly short list of ingredients for a pre-made pie!

The baking instructions are easy to follow and in under a hour, you a have a delicious freshly baked pie.

I have to admit that I am generally not a fan of pre-made pies. For me personally, the crust usually tastes and has the texture of cardboard. But, Wholly Wholesome really changed my mind.

The crust was buttery and flaky. The crust really has an amazing flavor and there is no butter in it! The filling was amazing as well! Cherry pie is one of my favorite types of pie. But sometimes it can be overly sweet. The Wholly Wholesome filling had just the right amount of sweetness and tartness. It really tasted like fresh cherries.


I loved it, and my family loved it as well. We gobbled it up!

I definitely would consider buying more Wholly Wholesome products. Wholly Wholesome baked products would be a great item to keep in your freezer. Just in case you need a quick dessert, especially with the holidays just around the corner.


disclosure: I received a free pie for the purpose of this review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this post. The opinions expressed in this post are my own.

My guacamole recipe is featured in a video segment

A few days ago, I announced that I was the winner of a guacamole recipe contest. My recipe is being featured on Uncle Matt's Organic website.

There is a video how to segment sharing the recipe. Please check it out!

Stressful Week

I have been so busy the last couple of days that I have not gotten to post much at all. Some of my dearest friends had a death in their family this week. My thoughts and prayers have been with them.

Also, I have started a new "business". I am making custom painted shoes and clothing for children. I am hoping that this will be a way to make some extra money to pay for preschool. I am going to make a new facebook page for that, as well as an Etsy Store.

I am hoping this evening that I will be able to post more Tailgating ideas and several reviews.

Hand Painted Shoes

I recently started painting some shoes for my daughter. I thought it would be fun to do something for Halloween.




This is my first test pair, which I am pleased with. I am going to try to sell a few through a local shop. But if anyone is interested, please email me at thesqueakycart@aol.com The shoes are $20, plus shipping and I can customize them to anything you need.

I am planning on opening an Etsy store very soon.

Halloween Hair Barettes for Sale!

These are leftovers from some I made last year. I have limited quantities of these. I will be making some more in a few days. If anyone is interested in purchasing them, please email me at thesqueakycart@aol.com

All designs are $6 shipped.


I have 2 bats available: 1 purple, 1 green (not pictured)



Trick or Treat Pumpkin ( only have 1)



Polka Dot Pumpkin (2 available)

Labor Day!

I am participating in this link up over a 5 Minutes for Mom. The question being asked is concerning Labor Day plans and/or traditions?

We really have never had any plans for Labor Day, even growing up. Growing up in the South, we always started school in August. It was always just a nice day off. We would usually do some sort of cooking out, but that was pretty much it.

My husband has the BBQ bug bad! Saturday, we were looking at meat smokers. I think he has found one for around $230 that he would be happy with. He has been trying out different types of smoking woods. This week's experiment has been Cherry wood. He also has been experimenting with spices, to create his own meat rub.

So far, we have smoked ribs, chicken breast,







and
chicken wings.

He is making plans to smoke a pork butt and beef brisket. He also has been researching different types of BBQ sauces. He has plans to start making his own sauce.

For Labor Day, The grill master will be manning the grill for 6 hours, while 2 racks of ribs smoke. If I were to win a years supply of ketchup, it would be put to good use, making BBQ sauce.