Marshall's Finds

Last week, I enjoyed a 90 minute exfoliating massage as a way to finish up my final weeks of summer. Justin bought it for me as a gift before school was out, and I kept putting off using it. I was happy to use it on a summer day, because I wasn't rushing to get there or leave. I could just let my body and mind relax. When it was done, the masseuse told me I should walk around at some of the stores next door because after a massage you are in a sleepy state. She said it is not safe to drive right away.

So I wandered over to Marshall's, which is a discount store that sells mostly clothing items. While in the store, I stumbled upon the small food section and found some gluten free food items. Each item was one or two dollars off of the suggested price that I would probably pay at Whole Foods or Central Market. These are the gluten free food items that I bought: cake mix, pizza mix, chips, and candy.

I wasn't overly impressed with either of these two candy items when I tried them. (And I love fruity chewy candy!) The worms only came in three flavors which if I remember correctly were lemon, grape, and tangerine. What a random combination? The gummy bears just didn't measure up to my standards either. I don't know if since I bought them at Marshall's that they were harder than normal, but they weren't squishy and gummy enough for me (if that even makes sense!)

I love these Dude Ranch flavored Late July chips! I normally buy them at Whole Foods for 2.99 for these smaller sized bag. These were only 1.99, which I was ecstatic to find this deal. The ranch flavor is so addicting that you eat this bag much faster than is intended. I guess I'm lucky they only had two bags in this flavor, because I don't need to have a stock pile of quick eating chips in the house.

It was exciting to find gluten free foods at a discounted price. I will have to remember to keep Marshall's and similar stores in mind for the future. I'll post about one of the cake mixes soon. I still need to try the other cupcake mix and the pizza mix. Hopefully I'll get to them soon. I have a couple ideas in mind, so we'll see...

Sour Lovers

When I first moved to Texas 4 years ago, I sounded like a broken record at the grocery store. I'd say, "This product is cheaper at Meijer. Meijer has a wider variety. I miss Meijer." When I was in Michigan during the month of July, I had to find time to wander around Meijer. It was then that I came across Gimbal's Sour Lovers. (I'm sure they probably sell these in Texas too, but I haven't seen them here. I've seen the Cherry Lovers at the BX before, but never the sour heart candy.) 

Look at all these delicious flavors! I liked them all but my favorites where Georgia Peach, Bing Cherry, and Fuji Apple.

Gimbal's candies are free of 8 major allergens, which is awesome. Plus, they don't use high-fructose corn syrup.

 The heart shape is so cute too.

Easter Basket, Cakes & More

My husband is so thoughtful and kind. We have a tradition of making and hiding Easter baskets for each other. He hid one for me before he was deployed! I was talking to him on Skype a few nights ago and he told me to look for it upstairs. I'm the worst and finding baskets, but I found it hidden in the linen closet. He's that good at hiding that it was hidden there for a whole month. 

I also had a fabulous weekend in Wisconsin with my family. I surprised my mom and dad with the help of my sisters. Both my parents and my uncle all turned 60 in March or April, so we celebrated that on Good Friday. 

Here they are with their cake. Also note Jett photo bombed the picture.

The sheet birthday cake was from Costco, which of course was not GF so Kristen bought a gluten free one for us. She bought it from a bakery in Chicago that specializes in GF products.

It was moist and delicious. There was no after taste and it was very filling. Every time I had a piece I could barely finish it; it must have been from all the big meals I ate.

Speaking of big meals, on Friday my grandma and grandpa had my cousins, aunts, and uncles over for fish. Kristen again was awesome and brought some fish for us that was gluten free. We picked up some waffle fries and prepared our own GF meal. I really enjoyed the fish and didn't remember to take a picture until I only had one piece left. (We did almost have to share mine, but I won't go there. Let's just say there was a spilling disaster.)

Saturday I was able to spend time at the park with my adorable niece and nephew. I had two coats (and looked super stylish) because I wasn't sure how cold I would be. My Texas blood has thinned out and even 55 can feel cold to me. (You can sort of see my Peeps shirt underneath.)

I snapped a few pictures of my family balancing across a zig-zag shape of planks, my mom is seen below. Even my grandpa tried to cross. It was comical but fun to watch everyone try.

Easter with my three sisters...loved seeing each one of them!

After several attempts we got a picture with Jett and Maren somewhat looking at the camera. This one includes the whole fam (of course minus my hubby) + grandma & grandpa.

The only bad part of my trip was that my flight was canceled yesterday! I couldn't get one rescheduled until today. Luckily I didn't have to work today otherwise I would have been way more upset. My sister, Kristen, was a life saver again and let me stay with her in Chicago last night so I could fly out from there instead of Milwaukee. There were more flight options from Chicago, so I'd be able to get home sooner to pick up my Vana!

My baby is always so sleepy when I pick her up after a weekend of boarding.

The Bad & The Good

Justin has officially been gone for one month. I've become used to a new routine with just Iivana and me. However, there are times when you're living by yourself and you could really use some help! For instance, yesterday I struggled to open some flavored water. I twisted and twisted until my hand was red. I was trying to turn the cap off for a couple minutes, which led to frustration. So I did what any other person would do, grabbed a tool!

Even with the pliers, I struggled. I tore up the cap with scrapes and even removed some of the plastic. When I finally did open the top, all the shaking caused it to explode out all over my counter. Oh well, I was victorious and opened up my drink.

Despite times where I feel frustrated, I definitely felt the love this weekend. My hubby sent me some beautiful flowers. They were delivered right after I woke up on Saturday morning; it couldn't have been planned better. Not only are the flowers pretty, they smell sweet and the vase is neat!

Iivana and I also received a package from Justin's parents for Easter. Iivana got a new bunny toy and a new bone.

She had fun with the bunny toy...

I received an awesome Peeps shirt and of course some Peeps.

I think it is cute and I am excited to wear my new shirt.

Plus, Peeps are gluten free. I like to eat them when they're stale (weird I know), so I may save them for a while.

Melting Art

I came across crayon art on Pinterest. I thought it was a unique concept, however I also thought they could look a little kiddish and well...we don't have kids. (Unless you count the monster below.)

After more searching, I saw a couple different versions where people created flowers by flipping the crayons upside down. I think the original idea came from etsy...if you're not into making crafts but like the idea just search "crayon art" on etsy for a range of options. The screenshot below was my inspiration for my second Pinterest project.

When we were at Michael's over the weekend, we picked up some more crafts. Justin found flowers made of a wicker-type string. I also picked up the biggest box of crayons I could find. Justin and I both used 40% off coupons on the flowers and crayons! We also needed a 5-pack of canvases (only $14); I figured I could find some more things to make on the other four.

First I pulled out all the green shaded crayons but soon found myself with a dilemma. There were not enough green crayons to fit across the bottom and I wanted to make it that night. My choices were to use green, brown, and yellow hues or use other colors that weren't real stem colors of flowers. I debated and decided to give the other colors a try. I figured if it didn't look good with the flowers, then I could take the art to school. I chose 3 colors: green, blue, and pink because I had 3 flowers. With the flowers being brown, I thought the contrast could work. I used a glue gun to align all the crayons and decided to hide the Crayola logo.

Then I covered a corner of the room with newspaper and put the crayons on the top, so gravity could help. Hot wax can and will fly if you're not careful.

I used a hair dryer, several sites suggested using it or a heat gun. I held the dryer over different sections until the wax started to drip. The hair dryer made it a little difficult to control the drips near the crayons; it seemed to blow lots of the colors together and I had trouble making defined lines. If I wanted a certain drip line to continue further, I simply held the dryer near the section until it began to move more.

I kept going, so there wouldn't be as much white space.

If you know me, you know I love chewy candy and I found these brand new Sour Patch Kids Berries at HEB. From reading the label and research online, I concluded they were GF. I snacked on some while I worked on my project and thought they matched my art well.

These were so delicious. I'm not sure of the exact flavors but know for sure there was a blue raspberry. I'm thinking maybe strawberry, cherry, and blackberry...but don't quote me.

I placed the flowers before I glued them to decide if I liked the final product. Although it didn't turn out as originally planned, I was happy with the results.

It hangs on the stairwell.

I think it fits perfectly with the other pictures, which by the way were mostly created by family members. The bottom left abstract piece was painted by Justin's grandmother. The flower picture above that was a wedding gift from a second cousin who also created it. The middle picture of two flowers was taken on our second anniversary of passion flowers in Fredericksburg and made into canvas art thanks to a Groupon. The "I will always love you" sign was bought on etsy for our third anniversary because it quotes our song. I think the wall is unique to us and we have a couple more ideas to expand it.

I'm trying to be a little more creative with my camera shots.

3-D art

Candy Cane Tootsie Pops

We did a little Christmas shopping tonight and I spotted a favorite Christmas candy of mine. I know it's not a real candy cane, but in my opinion these are better than candy canes because there's Tootsie roll in the middle.

Produced in a facility that does not use gluten! (Must be the same one as Sour Dots.)

Almost looks like it should belong on the tree.

I know some people might think the combination of mint and Tootsie roll doesn't go together, but you only get both flavors if you bite it at the end. Even if you do chomp in, it's like mint chocolate. I'm a candy lover and these holiday suckers make my season bright.

Happy Halloween

Ready for trick-or-treaters.

London broil roast with mashed potatoes and corn - a hearty meal for a perfect fall night.

Ghostly Pines red wine with fall colored peanut butter M & Ms.

Backup bags ready.

Full bowl of full sized candy bars for the neighbor kids. (Some gluten free and some gluten-full candy.)

 Uncle Sam reporting for duty.

Lady Liberty a.k.a according to one small girl...Barbie.

And Minnie Mouse!