Blog Archive

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Snickerdoodle Muddy Buddies


When my hubby turned 30 I got him tickets to the Blackhawks and Avalanche hockey game.  We drove to Denver and had such a blast.  On the roadtrip, I made my favorite snack, muddy buddies.  As we were driving we were talking about different kinds of muddy buddies that I have made on the blog.  I really am obsessed.  And then it came to me, Snickerdoodle Muddy Buddies!  These were so simple to make and I think that they became my favorite version.  It reminded me of a snickerdoodle while I was eating them and they were fantastic and addicting!
Rating: 5 stars  Difficulty of Recipe: 2 stars

Snickerdoodle Muddy Buddies

  • 5 cups chex mix cereal
  • 12 oz bag white chocolate chips
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
1.  Measure out 5 cups chex cereal and set aside in large bowl.  
2.  Mix together the cinnamon and powdered sugar.  Put into a gallon size bag and set aside.
3.  Melt the white chocolate in the microwave stirring after every 30 seconds.
4.  Pour the melted chocolate over the chex cereal and mix with a wooden spoon until cereal is well coated with the chocolate.
5.  Scoop the coated cereal into the gallon sized ziplock and shake until coated with the powdered sugar.  Enjoy!

Monday, June 3, 2013

Time to Sparkle Link Party #12

Welcome to another week of our party!  Just so you know the switch to wordpress and my new blog design is happening this week!   So if you are following me through Google Friend Connect, please follow me through facebook, pinterest, twitter, or email.  I love all of my fans and don't want to lose any of you!  I will let you know when the change is happening because my site will be down, but I can't WAIT for you to see my new design!  And the best part is that the recipes will be printable! 

I am also celebrating my blog anniversary the week of June 10th with all of you!  So stay tuned for an awesome giveaway with all of my favorite things and awesome bloggers to guest post!  It will be a fun week that you won't want to miss!  :)

Time to Sparkle Tuesday Link Party
Welcome to Time to Sparkle Tuesday Link Party, where you can find all the newest creative ideas from around the web! Stop by every Tuesday, link up your posts, and check out what others are sharing! You'll discover some amazing new blogs and find inspiration for projects, recipes, and more! This party is hosted by four lovely ladies, so your projects will be shared on ALL FOUR blogs! 
Each week we will pick our favorite links as features, and share them on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest! 
- Make sure to follow our Time to Sparkle Pinterest Board to see all the amazing features! -
Let's see what your hosts have been up to this week:
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Here are the fabulous features from last week's party chosen by Alyssa from The Recipe Critic:

Grab a button if you've been featured!
The Recipe Critic
Time to Sparkle Tuesday Link Party
Now let's party! It's Time to Sparkle!
The Recipe Critic

LASIK Surgery Giveaway


Lasik graphic (1)



*The giveaway is being provided by Davis Vision and Cade's surgery was provided for him*
Today is the opportunity of a lifetime. I've teamed up with a group of incredible bloggers, Favorite Family Recipes, Sweet Treats and More, The Recipe Critic, Baking with Blondie, Something Swanky, Taste and Tell, Your Cup of Cake, Brassy Apple, 365 Days of Slowcooking and Life of a Passeri to give away LASIK eye surgery worth $4800 to one lucky winner! Just scroll to the bottom of the post to enter! But, wait that's not all, I wanted this giveaway to not just be something fun, but something that could truly be a blessing to the winner and then we decided, well couldn't we help everyone out? So, even if you don't win you'll be sent an exclusive discount from Davis Vision and all of us so that we can take the burden of how expensive surgery can be and make it more affordable for everyone!   

I got to experience first hand how incredible Davis Vision Center is.  I met up with all of the bloggers and Carrian, who blogs at Oh Sweet Basil, was completely surprising her hubby with the surgery.  He had no idea that he was getting it done!  We all were dying with excitement for her to finally tell him that he was receiving the surgery!
Davis Vision for lasik surgery ohsweetbasil.com
    1. Dr. Davis has performed over 25,000 vision correction procedures
    2. Every person has seen an improvement in vision.
    3. Advanced Blade Free LASIK can have outcomes as good as 20/15
    4. Dr. Davis has several options available because everyone has different eyes.
    5. Some who weren't candidates in the past are now candidates due to technology advancements.
    6. Dr. Davis also performs ICL and cataract surgery.
    7. Dr. Davis helped develop the technology that is used in LASIK as an electrical engineer in the 1980's
    8. Care Credit is available to patients who qualify, (0% interest is never a bad thing)
    9. Dr Davis and his staff are kind, and more concerned with the patient and what a great privilege it is to change their life through corrected vision than prices, gimmicks etc. (This was a really big deal for us)
    10. Lasik is performed with the intralase laser which means that the surgery is less complicated, lower risk and easier to recover from versus the blade procedure. Plus it only takes 10-15 minutes to do it!!

Davis Vision for lasik surgery ohsweetbasil.com

We all got to learn about the state of the art equipment that they use and took a tour of the facility.  It completely amazes me that the procedure only takes 10 minutes!  10 minutes to change someones life!  I was planning on it being an all night affair and got a babysitter for the entire night.  :)  As we were touring the facility, one of the nurses, Robyn suggested someone get into the booties, hat etc so we could see what a patient looks like. All of us girls quickly said, "Not me!" so Cade had to do it. When he came back Carrian finally told him HE was going to get the laser eye surgery!
Davis Vision for lasik surgery ohsweetbasil.com
(This was the moment we told him he was getting LASIK right then and there)
Carrian said, "Well Cade, we're actually here to watch you get your surgery done!" He of course said, "What? haha, yeah right!" And we all chimed in, "No, really. You're getting LASIK right now!!" Best. Moment. Ever. He started laughing, we all started laughing, and then he teared up and we all did.
Davis Vision for lasik surgery ohsweetbasil.com
Next thing you know everyone is drying their tears and Cade walked into surgery. Within minutes they had his eyes numbed and the surgery began. We waited out in the room chatting and eating snacks.  They had it on a TV screen to watch the entire procedure being done.
This was Cade right out of surgery and already he had noticed a difference in his vision!  This is so amazing to me!
Davis Vision for lasik surgery ohsweetbasil.com
When he got home he had to put eye drops in every 30 minutes to keep them moist, and 4 times a day his two eye drop prescriptions. Oh, and they put awesome little goggle things on him that he wears to bed every night for almost a week.  Cade felt no pain, and although his eyes did feel a little dry at times he was perfect. The next morning he woke up and headed in for a post operation appointment. He was already at 20/15 (which is better than 20/20!) and the best part, it only gets better/sharper every day. The next morning he kept saying, "Holy crap, I can see you (Carrian)! Holy crap I just read that paper from here!!!" Isn't that amazing?  Here is a picture of Cade the next morning at his appointment.
Davis Vision for lasik surgery ohsweetbasil.com

My hubby has dreamed of getting this done and I feel so much more comfortable and confident after experiencing this that Davis Vision Center is the one to do the job!

And now it's your chance to have the surprise/experience of a lifetime! Enter the giveaway below and not only will you receive a special discount just in case you don't win, but if you do you'll receive a $4800 surgery for free!!!

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Spaghetti with Parsley Pesto


I loved the way my basil pesto turned out so I was excited to try something different with making parsley pesto.  Using a flat leaf parsley makes the sauce balanced so that you can really taste the nuts, olive oil and parmesan.  This sauce was great with the spaghetti, but is so versatile that you can spoon it over grilled veggies, or spread over a sandwich.  Loved the flavor it gave to this spaghetti and it made it a great side!
Rating: 4 stars  Difficulty of Recipe: 3 stars

Spaghetti with Parsley Pesto

  • 1 lb spaghetti
  • 1/2 cup unsalted, roasted almonds
  • 4 cups (packed) fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
  • 3/4 cup chopped fresh chives
  • 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
  • freshly ground pepper
  • kosher salt
1.  Cook pasta in a large pot until al dente.  Rinse the noodles very well in cold water so that they no longer stick together.  Reserve 2 cups pasta cooking liquid.
2.  Pulse the almonds in a food processor until smooth.  Add parsley, chives, oil and parmesan.  Process until smooth.  Season the pesto with salt and pepper.
3.  Toss pasta and pesto in large bowl.  Add the reserved pasta cooking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls until saucy.  Season with additional salt pepper and sprinkle the top with parmesan.  Cover and chill pesto until ready to serve.
Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit

Snickerdoodle Muddy Buddies

When my hubby turned 30 I got him tickets to the Blackhawks and Avalanche hockey game.  We drove to Denver and had such a blast.  On the roa...