CSN Stores

I've recently learned about a website that has over 200 online stores called CSN. My sister had told me about all the different products that they have available, but I just recently checked it out and she was right! They have everything you could think of. Whether it be a traditional oriental rug for your living room or a cute modern bar stool for your kitchen, you'll find whatever you're looking for at CSN Stores.

I was on the site the other day, and found a sewing machine that I have been browsing around for and not able to find elsewhere. I'm so excited to see what else they have that I might need!

Bad Breath?

What Causes Bad Breath?

I recently received a sample of Smart Mouth mouthwash. Here is some interesting facts I found on their website about bad breath.
The creation of bad breath is a natural and ongoing process in our mouths each day. There are millions of germs in our mouths which break down protein particles that are always present in our saliva. This results in the production of foul smelling sulfur gas. This gas is what we perceive as embarrassing bad breath.
Though the problem is virtually universal (100% of the population has experienced the problem daily in the form of morning breath, and at least 10% suffer from a more serious bad breath problem)
I never knew that bad breath was actually sulfur gas. How weird. Anyways I tried this mouthwash the night I got it.  I knew it was different as soon as I started swishing.  It feels different in your mouth, it did not burn my mouth like most mouthwashes do. My mouth definitely felt fresher.  With just one use I noticed that in the morning I did not have to run to the sink to brush as soon as I got out of bed.  ( don't worry, I still brushed my teeth)  Here is how it works

 SmartMouth is the only mouthwash that uses a patented zinc-ion technology to not only freshen your breath at the time of use, but to keep bad breath from coming back for 12 hours. The unique two-bottle, two-pump formula means that you activate SmartMouth each time you use it, giving you maximum strength and freshness every time you swish.
You actually mix the two solutions right before you swish.  It kinda feels like you have a chemical reaction going on in your mouth, well I guess you do.  But it's a good kind of reaction, not one that leaves you eyebrowless, or anything like that.  If you struggle with bad breath you should give this stuff a try.   

Ducan Hines Decadent cake mix

       
Apple Caramel cake. Doesn't it sound delicious! It was.  The best "boxed cake" I have tasted.  It wasn't your normal, same old, same old.  To me it tasted like a homemade coffee cake with freshly melted caramels and just peeled apples in it.  It was simple enough to make, but you could definitely not tell it was"boxed cake".   It was also great with the Ducan Hines vanilla glaze.  Poured over the apple caramel cake it tasted more like a rich icing, superb!  You must try it.    (maybe it was sweeter because one of my little sweeties helped me)

CLINTON ST. BAKING COMPANY

Love it, love it!  I love this cookbook.  It is full of delicious looking recipes.  I love how it has full page color photos of the dishes, plus step by step picture guide on certain recipes.  If not for being on Weight Watchers right now I would have already dove into this one. However, I am planning on making the Pumpkin Cheesecake for Thanksgiving and am very excited to see how it turns out! 20 thumbs up!!

Simple Times(Crafts for Poor People)

More like crafts for sick minded people!  Actually half of the book wasn't even crafts at all.  It was the most outrageous, ridiculous book I have ever seen.  Very deceiving.  I was excited to receive it, I love crafts, at first glance through it I discovered it was not at all what it said.  It had a whole section on what they called fornicrafting. Complete with disgusting pictures.  There was no total nudity but still completly unacceptable.  I can't go on enough about how outraged I was with this book.  20 thumbs down!!!!

James Beard's American Cookery

What a cookbook! You have never seen a big cookbook until you have seen this one. I mean this is like the mother of all cookbooks.  Well it even says on the front cover "The Bible of American Cooking"  Just the index of the recipes is 31 pages small print!  I believe it has over 1500 recipes. I am a cookbook collector, so I love having lots of them to choose from, but honestly if your not, this is the only one you will ever need.  It has tips and instructions on how to cook everything.  It is also cool how it gives a you a history lesson of the particular ingredient that the chapter is about.  Did you know that the "Vegetable dinner" came into fashion after WWI.  When we received finer produce than ever before.  This book is full of useful information, a great addition to any one's kitchen.

Does anyone do breakfast anymore?

I am sitting here waiting on my oldest daughter to finish getting ready for school. She missed the bus(my fault) so I thought well, I will have time to make her a good breakfast before we go.  Wrong answer.  The conversation went like this.
Me: What do you want for breakfast?
Charity:
Me: Do you want eggs? An omelet? toast?
Charity:
Me: oatmeal? bagel? Waffel
Charity:
Me: Sausage, egg, cheese biscuit??
Charity: Cereal
Ugh?  I'm thinking to myself was that even an option.  Nooo. I purposly didn't mention it. She (as my husband would say) eats cereal like it's going out of style.  I say she gets that from her grandmother who would eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner if she could.  Me, I am a breakfast lover! If we are going out of town somewhere and I am calling to make reservations at a hotel, the first thing I ask is "Do you serve breakfast"  It is a  real deal breaker for me. No breakfast no stay.  Seriously at our last hotel visit, a couple of weeks ago, I set my alarm, got showered, dressed and went to breakfast.  I was alone!  No one was down there! Finally, about 5 min before closing, (as I was making bowls of cereal to take back to the room for my children), a young man came down.  He looked over everything once or twice and then guess what  he went for. Yep that's right, the fruit loops!  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy cereal as much as the next girl, but I am very appreciative of a good hot meal (especially one I didn't have to cook :) Anyways, I found a few tidbits of information on this subject I thought you might enjoy.
So it's time for  DID    U    KNOW.
Did u know that breakfast cereals are the third most popular items sold at grocery stores, after sodas and milk.
Did u know that homes where children live munch about 47 boxes of cereal in a year.
Did u know that most homes have an average of 4 boxes in their cupboards right now.
Did u know that the first breakfast cereal made in the United States "Granula" had to soak overnight so it wouldn't crack your teeth!
Well, now you Know :)  I'm off to pour some cereal!!


        

Free 8 x 10 photo canvas

Look what I found :}
http://www.canvaspeople.com/special-offer?utm_source=HO_CP&utm_medium=Affil&utm_campaign=promo
You can get the 8 x 10 size free or apply the $55 toward one of the bigger sizes.  Just pay the shipping which was $14.99 for the 8 x 10.  A great deal!!!

The smell of Fall:)

Fall Is my favorite time of the year.  And I smell it in the air!!!
Here is one of my favorite fall recipes:

Cinnamon Honey Bars :
-2 cups all purpose flour
-1 cup sugar
-1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
-1 tsp baking soda
-3/4 cup oil
1/4+2 tbs honey
1 beaten egg
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp melted butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp hot water
           Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease pan. In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon and soda.  Add the oil, 1/4 cup honey and the egg.  Stir well.  Stir in the walnuts.  Press into pan and bake for 22 min. In a small bowl combine the powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, hot water and 2 tbsp honey.  Cool bars completely then put in the icing.

From the apron pocket...

Just a quick tidbit I wanted to share.  When everything seems crazy, and your completely exhausted and there are a million more things to do just remember, these encouraging words I heard the other day.
"The days are long but the years are short"  so lets try to "Enjoy the Journey"

Todays Apron...

Tornado cleanup day!  Today must be a short quick note, for I have put on my apron.... My tornado clean up apron. Obviously while we were away a massive tornado swept through this house at full speed, strewing laundry all over the bathroom, floor, the bedroom floors, and yes there is even some in the kitchen floor. It flooded the sink with dishes,  and covered the floor in what appears to be crumbs(no idea where they came from) It is truly a disaster! So for now I must go.  What will tomorrows apron be?.......

Todays Apron...

Today's Apron, is one of inspiration.  I have been wanting to start my blogging journey for quite some time, but as always a moms work is never done. I recently gave birth to princess number 3. The older girls, Charity(7) & Lilly (4) had a daddy day today, spending the day outside with dad, which left little Aubree Joy and I the day to ourselves. At this point in her life Aubree doesn't require much of me.  As long as I am here to feed her, change her, and rock her, she is as happy as a clam.  So whats a mom to do with all this free time,( in between nursing sessions, and pooping marathons)  Well I put on my apron. I did some laundry,blahh. Then I made some lunch,   then swept the floor. (I am a very messy cook.)   As I was wearing my apron around I started thinking about all the different things that I use my apron for. It's been a cooking apron, baking apron, gardening apron. It's been used for craft projects and sewing, laundry and everything in between. Yeah I could have a separate one for each occasion, but I am perfectly contented with my special little apron.  It's like us moms, it too must take on different roles at different times to meet the needs of our families.  It's somewhat magical... So today as I was wearing mine, It became an inspiration apron, and led me to finally accomplishing this goal.  So, here it is the beging of a new journey. What will tomorrows apron be...