Lemonade Mouth Party

My youngest requested a Disney’s lemonade Mouth Party. I was excited because he was stepping outside the box of Star Wars or Superhero’s, however unlike many other Disney movies or shows there is NO Lemonade Mouth party supplies in stores or online. So I had to get real creative!

Here is a copy of the invitee. PLEASE feel free to copy and use for yourself.

I got so many complements on this, everyone loved it and thought it was so creative!  

I went a on hunt to find creative centerpieces and anything else Lemonade Mouth Colors.

I started at Garden Ridge and wasn’t disappointed. I bought pinwheels, terracotta pots, Styrofoam and yellow tissue paper.

I painted the pots a glossy fire engine red, printed Lemonade mouth logos, cut black guitars out and assembled the final product!

 

Every party I do adult party favors and child party favors. The children get a collection of random items in a bag and adults get some sort of food. Cookies, Suckers, one year I did Sanders fudge. This year it was cookies.

 

And the cake. I had high hopes for this cake. In my mind it was much grander and creative. I wanted a spiral piano but my spiral didn’t wrap all the way around and because I took my little old time decorating this cake, there was no time to remake or start over. 

 

BE HEARD. BE PROUD. BE STRONG. and Make some noise!

Suave Keratin Treatment

 

First let’s start with the disclaimer: I was NOT paid for this review, I was not provided products for this review, I paid with my own money. Even if I was paid or product was given to me, you’d still get a honest review. On the side of the box is a “is this product right for me” read it and make sure it is!

Second: I did lose what seemed like a large amount of hair while applying this product. However given that I was brushing my wet hair for almost 20 mins, I guess it could be normal. Another thought is I have heard a few people complain that it thinned their hair out and they lost hair with Keratin treatments. The product is designed to cut curl and frizz, therefore it leaves you with much smoother thinner hair. In my first round of Keratin treatment I was left with, what some might say thinner hair. I would say smoother, sleeker hair. I am not a professional Hair dresser but I do have 1300 hours of hair school under my belt so I do know a thing or two about hair! Why I did didn’t finish those last 200 hours is another blog post for a raining sad day!

To see before pictures, and for a full comparison of this product and the salon version please read my Salon version review. Smooth as Ice and Smooth as Ice part two

Here is my hair air dried, this picture was taken some time ago but I can assure you this is my normal hair the day I applied this product.

BTW- sorry about the over load of my fat face!  

 

Here is a recent picture of my hair blow dried.

 

So I read the directions several times. I didn’t want to miss a thing or make a mistake, as much as I joke I’m going to shave my hair. It’s not really something I want! The entire process from start to finish took about an hour and a half. I do say it would have been much more enjoyable had I had a friend help me apply the product, but I was excited to try it and couldn’t wait for the extra set of hands.

After my hour and a half process this is what I looked like.

My hair was very smooth and straight. Part of the process is adding heat to your hair. You HAVE to blow dry and or flat iron it to seal in the keratin or you just wasted time and money.

Next you can’t wash or pull your hair back for 48-72 hours… This is not fun and the worst part for me.

Day one (24 hours after treatment)

My hair was still very straight and soft.

Day two (48 hours after treatment)

No picture, sorry I’m not a fan of pictures of myself!

Day three (about 64 hours after treatment, 3 nights of sleeping on hair)

Washing my hair…………

Air drying my hair……….

Results of air dried hair.

I have too say I was impressed.  The results were very similar to the salon Keratin treatment. But….. YEP we have a but. It was short lived. It has been over a week and I find that my hair is stringy and not as soft as it was before this treatment. If I blow dry it it does stay straight though out the day and night, but again it feels not as soft, the other think is the treatment strips your color, so as of today I have multi tone hair, my roots are part black and grey, the rest is copper color. Which on some people that works, but for me I like my hair dark! I also found that my Jewish side curls haven’t gone anywhere. I still have them and this treatment did nothing for them or the kinks on my front hair line.

So my final results are LET THE PROFESSINALS in a salon do the real Keratin treatment. It last much longer and makes your hair as smooth as silk.

 

I am giving this product 3 out 5 Lilacs. I ranked it a little higher because the cost was only $50, for the Treatment, special shampoo, dry shampoo, conditioner and styling products.

We all know one and probably love one….

You know what I am talking about, the “debbie downers” in our lives.

 

I was surprised to find out a friend is pregnant. She had about 30+ post of “Hey , congrats”, “WOW, that’s great” “you’ll be a great mom” and then enters debbie….. “Hey well I am getting a divorce” then and hour later she post “oh yea congrats”

 

REALLY! I MEAN REALLY!!!!! 

I’d love to hear about the “debbie’s” or “donny’s”  in your life.

Let's start over....

Well as you can see, I have created a new look and new name for the blog. I have a lot of idea and I need to get them out of my head and into yours. ;-) So I decided to give the blog yet ANOTHER make-over and create a new facebook page, for the blog. I know, I know.... The last thing I need is something else to fuel my A.D.D. but I love to share, so enjoy this awesome, crazy, hot mess of a ride with me!!!

Cherry Chip Cookies

Cherry Chips are making a come back, at least in this house they are.

I have this basic recipe, I have had it for sometime now and I wish I could credit who gave it to me because these are so YUMMY!. It’s hand written with no name and no credit, so if it belongs to you, let me know!

 

1 cup margarine

1 cup confectioners sugar

1 teaspoon PURE vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups sifted all- purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 cup cherry chips * in my neck of the woods, cherry chips are not easy to come by, the local bulk food store is the only place to find them other than online.

 

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F

On medium speed mix margarine, sugar and vanilla until combined, it will have a curdled look. Add sifted flour and baking soda, mix until well combined. Stir in oats and then cherry chips.

drop tablespoon sized balls, I use this…. 

Bake for about 10 minutes. Enjoy warm or cold but always with a glass of milk!

Cleaning up is fun to do!

I have many post to catch you all up on, even my personal blog is lacking updates. Now that the busy Holiday season is over and my family is returning to their regular scheduled “programing” I can get back to the basic's of blogging.

 

For my first post of 2012, I bring you organized chaos!!!

A few year ago I converted a small linen closet into my cake closet. I have over the years, cleaned it and reorganized it but this time I went in, all or nothing.

Here is before. As you can see, it’s a mess <blushing>.

 

After a trip to Meijer, a few hours of scrubbing and reassigning drawers, I have a fresh start for the new year.

I even have room to add extra stuff and a perfect spot for my new circuit cake.

 

On the subject of organizing… I wanted to share with you all how I store my ever growing collection of cookie cutters.

I also have a master list I keep in the kitchen of all cutter and which box I can find them in, so when I head down stairs I know which box I need.

 

Each box has a season, holiday or theme. and then the box is labeled with each cutter inside.

 

Now the one problem that causes the most headache….

CAKE PANS. I have yet to have found a solution to this problem and I am open to all suggestions!

The liquor bottles are there I.C.E. (in case of emergency) and once a week we have “emergencies”

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Create a cookie cutter- Product review

This post is long over due. For my son’s 6th birthday we hosted a bowling party for him and his friends. I ran into a little dilemma…I waited until 3 days before his event to make the cookies. I knew I was in need of a bowling pin cookie cutter and figured, I’d have no issue finding one at the local cake shop. WOW, was I wrong. We have about 5 “local” shops and no one carried a silly little bowling pin. And because I had to make about 5 dozen cookies, a cardboard temple was out of the question.  So I was convinced to to purchase this, Make your own cookie cutter kit. I was a bit skeptical but the other choice was hand cutting  120 cookies.

So I gathered my supplies and read the directions over and over!

*I printed a bowling pin from the computer.

 

 

First step, seems simple enough. You use a piece of tread to trace image. This is your guide for cutting the metal. The metal can be cut with standard scissors.

Next using the tools on the left side of picture you shape the image. This did take some time but I wanted it perfect.

After you have the image shaped, I used clamps to make the sticky tape adhere with a tight grip.  At this point you can allow it to sit for a few days or place in oven, I let it sit for a few hours then removed the clamp and placed in oven.

Once the cutter has cooled can start to cut the cookies.

I was very pleased with the results, and the simplicity of the project. I am curious to try again, the kit comes with plenty of extra metal and adhesive tape.

This product is HAPPY CAKE LADY APPROVED!