Snack Station {Halloween}

Hello, happy Friday and happy kickoff to Halloween weekend!  I know, I know I’m rarely on here but I finally got a light under my butt to post.  I guess what really inspired me to do so is this really cute snack station I set up for my kids decked out in Halloween décor.  We already have a snack station in our kitchen but this one is just too cute to not share with y’all. Look at what this mama did for her kiddos (and herself). 

I guess you can say what started this whole décor area is that I bought a spider-web cake stand from Target (dollar spot area) a few weeks ago and I was determined to use it and not just wait for when I baked a cake.  And since it’s a spider-web I knew I had to put it to use somehow before Halloween.  Well I always have small mandarins for the kids to snack on and the whole idea grew from there.  First, I thought I would just stack on the oranges then it hit me that I could draw them like jack-o-lanterns like I’ve seen many times before.  Ta-da!

I knew my daughter would love it and she is actually the one that drew all of those cute faces.  I mean look at her designs. Too cute! My son is now a cool 13 year old so I didn't think he would be as excited but he said it was pretty awesome and "it was so lit." Holla.

I also used this spider candy dish for their fruit snacks.  I got it from Kohl's a couple of years ago (after Halloween clearance).

And this is a candle holder I got on clearance a few years ago as well.  Hobby Lobby I think? I stuck a few of Ghirardelli chocolates in there because why not?

Here is a different angle of the snack station.

To the far left is a sugar skull that I (in a decent attempt) decorated at a local bake supply store.  I love that place!  I have it sitting on my food scale and next to it is a vase (similar to this one) I filled with candy corn and stuck in some Halloween sprays I got from Michael's.

That's it.  I wanted it to make it cute and fun while still having all of their go-to snacks in easy reach and I think I accomplished it.  Now I need to think of a Thanksgiving/Fall and Christmas set-up.  Happy Halloween!

Foodie Friday: My First Real Starbucks Coffee?

Okay so maybe my title is misleading or incorrect but hear me out.  I'm not a regular coffee drinker.  Not the kind that wakes up needing coffee every single morning.  You can say that I'm a seasonal coffee aficionado.  I like to drink coffee once the seasons change and the weather is cooler and crisp.  I drink it for warmth and comfort.  Once the Texas heat is back (which can sometimes be year round) I go back to cooler drinks.  And when I do drink coffee, I like it with half and half (not the yucky powder stuff), sugar and it's got to be decaf. Gasp! 

Why decaf?  Well when I was pregnant with my first child, my doctor said that she would prefer for me to drink decaf on the occasions I did have a cup or two.  I did as she asked and guess what?  I can't go back to regular coffee because I kinda get the shakes and I don't like it.  So decaf it is and it doesn't bother me because I don't need it to wake up.  Like I said, I drink it for warmth and comfort.  Coffee snobs have poked fun at me and asked me what was the point in drinking decaf if I was not going to enjoy the real stuff.  Meh, whatevs. I flip my hair and say, "at least I woke up like this."  I kid, I kid.

So earlier this week I found this on my desk.

My sweet co-worker surprised with my very own white chocolate mocha grande in a venti cup with extra whip.  For you Starbucks virgins, did that name/description/order confuse or intimidate you a bit?  It did me.  The reason I rarely go into a Starbucks is because I don't know how to order the fancy schmancy one pump two stuff and much less in a venti!  What?!  And is mocha a type of coffee?  Oy.

My co-worker had the exact same drink the day before and I told her that McDonald's decaf coffee is my jam but I have no clue how to order at Starbucks because all of that lingo is Greek to me.  She told me what she was having, I said it sounded delicious, she offered me a sip and I loved it.  She then told me what it was and I was like, "yeah I'm not going to remember any of that and I ain't looking like no fool in there."  She laughed and wrote it down for me on a little post-it note (seen in pic above).  

So tomorrow morning while my daughter is at ballet class, I'm going to walk down to the nearest Starbucks and with my big girl panties on I am going to order my very own fancy schmancy cup of joe with cheat sheet in hand.  I'll throw in a hair flip too.  :)

Slacker Mom = Tasty Cookie {recipe link}

Huh?  Confusing title, I know, but it turned out to be true for me the night before my daughter’s Valentine class party.  You see, I totally slacked this year for Valentine’s Day.  No home décor, no crafts, no cute and fun treats for my kids to give to their friends or teachers.  Nada.  So when I realized on Thursday night (February 12^th) that I had not done a thing for my daughter to take to school I panicked at the disco, y’all.  And when I say it was Thursday night I mean it was like 9:35 p.m.  Slacker mom.  Especially since I made it a point to watch Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal (no slacking there!).  Side note: I get my kids ready for bed on Thursday evenings during commericals. #dontjudge #youdoittoo

So like I said, I was in a panic and quickly decided that I would make sugar cookies and put them in little sandwich baggies with curled red ribbon.  Easy enough BUT it was already late and although that is a simple recipe I did not want to take the time to soften the butter and I changed my mind about bagging them all nice and pretty.  It took a nano second to scratch that idea.  I then remembered that I had a box of devil’s food cake mix and that I had a seen a recipe for cookies on the back of the box.  Boom!  Here is what I had less than an hour later.

And as the title of this post says, they were tasty and I was pleasantly surprised.  ---> I may or may not be a cookie snob and prefer from-scratch recipes. J  I followed the recipe as stated on the Duncan Hines website except for two details.  It said to use ½ cup walnuts and ½ cup chocolate chips but since it was for Valentine party, I opted for mini red M&Ms. And of course I avoided the nuts just in case anyone in the class had a nut allergy.

The recipe was not on the box with the picture but it referred to their website.  I didn't understand why they wouldn't just slap it on the back of the box but it turns our there are a few cookie recipes to use for this cake mix.  Here is the one I used in case you too are having a slacker moment or whatever. J

Duncan Hines Fudge Cookie Recipe.

What about cookies for my son, you ask?  Um no.  He's in middle school now and they don't do that.  (Insert a middle schooler's voice and facial expression here).

Just a Little Cubicle Decor {Fall/Autumn}

Happy Hump Day!!  And depending what calendar you look at, it's the third day of Fall or the second day.  At least that is what confused me.  Anywho, I wanted to share a quick little autumn decor that I put up in my cubical at work.  Ain't it pretty??

The owl is from WalMart and the beautiful, golden leaves are from Hobby Lobby as well as the pumpkin pick (40% off).  And that's it for this post.  Just a short little showing of how I dressed up my little work area.  I plan to do more next week for Halloween but now I'm leaving it like this.  The owl is too pretty though so I'm going back to get one for my house.  And I'm off!

Beauty Talk: NYM Texturing Spray + Swisspers Blotting Paper

Happy Saturday!  And happy to be chatting with you all.  Finally.  Again.  

I wanted to talk about a couple of beauty items that I recently bought.  One at Ulta and the other at Walmart.  First off, Not Your Mother's Beach Babe Texturing Spray.  

OMG I love this stuff and I've had it less than a month.  And I only bought it because I had a Ulta coupon for $3.50 off $10.  I needed bobby pins and hair spray and then I saw the NYM products.  The packaging caught my shopping eye, I decided on two items and off I went.  The other NYM product I bought is the Beach Babe conditioner but I have yet to use it.  Okay so per the directions on the bottle, you spritz it in your dry or damp hair, style as you wish and you're done.  I only used my hands to style it. I worked it in and "crunched" my hair here and there and voila I had a little hotness on my head and I was digging it.  My hair naturally has a little oomph to it but this stuff really kicked it up a notch.  See?

Don't believe me?  Here's a pic of my hair with no product.  

So Not Your Mother's gets a big thumbs up from me on this one.  I most certainly plan to buy more products and give those a try.

Okay and now for the product that failed me and did not leave me with a shiny(less) happy feeling.  Let me just start off by saying that I have a very oily face.  In my teens I noticed that I had the common T-zone face but over the years and especially after my pregnancies, my face has gone full blown super oily.  I mean get the Ewings out here 'cause I'm sure they'll keep making their millions.  Ugh.  

For years I have been using Clean & Clear oil blotting sheets (they're blue) to wipe the oil off my face a couple of time of day.  I even use the store brands by CVS or HEB.  This past week I bought a completely new-to-me brand while at Walmart.  I went to grab the Clean & Clear per usual but they were all sold out and there was no store brand next to it.  So I look around and came across these Swisspers near the nail care section.  Out of desperation and short on time and I grabbed them and off I went.  I used them as soon as I got in the car and right away the blotting sheets began to tear and they tugged on my face.  What the what?  With the Clean & Clear (or store brands) I only needed to use 2-3 sheets at a time.  I've used about 5-6 sheets per use with Swisspers.  I even keep them layered to see if that will prevent them from tearing.  Nope.  

And they don't "soak" up the excess oil from my face like my little blue sheets.  Not.at.all.  I'm going back to the store to get my usual and I'll hold on to these for the occasional emergency.  Sorry, but I say save your money on this one if you've got oil rigs on yo face like me.  Anyone else not like these?