ABC! (The Autumn Blog Challenge.

Yup. I decided I wanted to do the Autumn Blog Challenge. Too bad it started on the first. Guess I have some catching up to do.

September 1 - Why have you decided to participate in The Autumn Blog Challenge (The ABC)?

I enjoy a good challenge! (And I always loved those little about me survey things. Duh.)

September 2 -  What is your favorite thing about Autumn?

I'm looking forward to soups. All soups.

Oh, and maybe falling leaves and chilly weather. That kinda thing.

September 3 - What toys do you remember playing with as a child.

Ha! I had so many toys, I couldn't list all that I remember here. My favorites consisted of Mr. Bunny, PeeWee and various dolls. Aaaaand my TMNT action figures.

I was an awesome little girl.

September 4 - Have you ever met a celebrity?  If not, which one would you like to meet?

Alf. He counts, right?

September 5 - Write about your favorite play or concert you've attended.

Deathcab for Cutie has been my longtime favorite concert. Mostly because I love concerts with comfy seating.

I love comfy seating.

September 10 - What was your favorite subject in school?

English. Though I'm fairly certain most of my former English teachers would have heart attack if they read my blog sometimes. ;)

Whew!  Tomorrow I'll get up prompts 6-9 and the 11th.

So until then, Happy Monday!

6 Things Sunday. Desserts.

I don't know what it is about the end of summer time that makes me crave sugar.

Okay... That is giving me a lot of credit.  I crave sugar 97.3% of the time.  But it's worse at the end of summer.  Seriously.

So today I'm giving you the best 6 Things Sunday ever.

6 Dessert Recipes That Make Me Glad I'm Not Dieting. 

Chef in Training

1. Oreo Truffle Brownies.

No explanation is needed as to why I want to make this.  Fortunately, it looks simple enough for a busy mom to make!

The Girl Who Ate Everything

2. Cake Batter Muddy Buddies

Move over, Chex Mix.  Move over, boring Muddy Buddies. This recipe looks perfect for a kids party snack. (Or late night snack for mama.)

Sugar Cooking

3. Pretzel Cookies with Chocolate Peanut Butter Chips

I want to make these... like, now.

So, How's it Taste?

4. Knock You Naked Brownies.

Apparently, these are so good that they nearly knock your clothes off.  Um, I'm game.

Minimalist Baker 

5. Oreo Pancakes.

Okay, this technically isn't a dessert. It's a breakfast. But it looks good enough to be dessert... And it's for breakfast. Why would I argue about so much sweetness to start off the day?

Baked Perfection

6. Apple Cupcakes with Caramel

Nothing welcomes in fall better than apples.  And caramel.  Especially when it's in cupcake form. 

There you have it.  Six recipes that will contribute to my eventual battle with the scale. Instead of diving right in, though, I'm going to light my Chocolate Truffle Diamond Candle. Maybe that'll hold my cravings at bay.

Speaking of which, have you entered the Diamond Candle Giveaway?  If not, get yer bottom over to the Diamond Candle Giveaway and ENTER! I'm giving one lucky reader a Watermelon Wedge Candle.  Woohoo for giveaways! (I even made it easy... Just click underlined text to get there!)

Until next time, Happy Sunday!

Diamond Candles. A Review.

I like that title.  It makes this sound ridiculously important.

Okay, so I've been after a Diamond Candle for a while.  In case you don't know what this amazingly girly product is, it's a 100% Natural Soy Candle with a ring hidden inside.

Awesome, right?  I'm thinking this is a no fail gift for most guys to get their significant others.  Candles, rings... can you really go wrong?  Not to mention it's almost like grown up lady girl (Thanks, Mr. Man, for the new term for women.) Cracker Jacks.

And lucky me, I got my hands on a few to try.

So this particular candle is Carnival Candy.  When I opened the jar, I was not thrilled.  The smell was almost too sweet.  However, I lit it and continued on.

(And the pics above are crappy. I took them at night, aka with the worst lighting ever.  But then again, who burns candles during the day?  Okay, Okay... most people will and do.  Whatever.)

See that little gold circle?  Behind that is the ring.  It wasn't too far down, thank goodness.  And surprise, surprise! That too sweet candle smells AMAZING lit.  Seriously.  My house smelled like delicious cotton candy while this baby was burning.

 A few hours later and some foil started to show! Woohoo!  So the ring is protected from the soy wax by a pouch of foil.  And a little plastic pouch as well.

I wouldn't be telling the truth if I said I didn't want to dig.  I wanted to dig.  But I resisted and waited.  Eventually I was able to pluck the little foil packet out with a pair of tweezers.

I was going to use my fingers cause I'm airheaded like that.  Luckily, I noticed that the candle says to use something OTHER than your fingers for removal or I'd have ended up with an awesome burn.

Thanks for the reminder, Diamond Candle.

Wanna know what I got?  Wanna???

Yessss!

I was expected something big.  And gaudy.  Turns out I got lucky with this pretty little number.  It almost fits perfectly and it's simple enough for me to wear without looking like a weirdo.

Guess what? I'm. Hooked. And after trying the Chocolate Truffle and Sunwashed, I can tell you that even if you're not that into jewelry, these candles are awesome for the scents alone. And at $24.95, it's not a bad gift for that certain someone you don't know what to buy for.  Everyone likes candles, right?

And guess what else? Because I love you all, I'm going to do something fun today.

I'm giving this away...

One Watermelon Wedge scented Diamond Candle.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Enter, enter!  But don't forget to head over to DiamondCandles.com to check out their awesome selection.  And they really are awesome.  Just ask their 17K+ Fans on Facebook.

Until next time, Happy Saturday!

Who needs to buy new stuff?

Hey, everyone!  Did you miss me?

So I took a break from blogging.  Turns out there's a lot to do the last week of summer vacation.  But summer vacation is officially over and so is my break time.

As much as I'm going to miss having the kiddos here to play all day, I am looking forward to falling leaves and pumpkin pies.

Okay, mostly pumpkin pies.

So you want to know what I did last week?  If you follow me on Facebook, you know I took on a big project.  Today is the BIG reveal.

A while back, Jon picked up this huge entertainment cabinet set.  The price was right, it was in great condition so he brought it home.  And since then, it's sat around the house being kind of useless.  Until last week.  I finally came up with the perfect idea for the most annoying piece.

This is most annoying piece. It's the part of the set that a TV is supposed to go in.  Maybe it looks better with the doors open.

Ack! No!  It doesn't even have shelves in there!  So beyond the cutout back and the brassy hardware, this cabinet is just not... right.  It's big and masculine(ish?) and just too heavy.

Would you believe some paint and creativity would completely transform this?

Hello, Spiffy new computer hutch!  Remember when I said I had ideas for my work area?  Turns out this was it... And here I thought I was going to have to scour craigslist for something.

I'm so in love with this.  Paint and new MDF for the back really made this.  The crystal handles pulled it together.

I covered the back with fabric and I love how that came out.  Super easy and it really adds interest to the cabinet.

Special thanks to Jon for all his help.  Especially the slide out keyboard shelf!  I'm currently working at the hutch and this is the first time a keyboard shelf has been where it needs to be for me to type comfortably.

One more time, because I am in love with the difference!  Wooo!

Now I have 800 other pieces of furniture that I want to make over.

Until next time, Happy Thursday!