Introducing Herbal Essences Naked Collection Volume Kit and a $50 Walmart Gift Card Giveaway12/19/2013 Disclosure: The Walmart gift card and information have been provided by Herbal Essences.  I just ordered the new Herbal Essences Naked Collection Volume Kit from Walmart and it was so easy, as you can see in my video. I can't wait to try my new Herbal Essences Naked Collection Volume Kit. Naked Volume Shampoo & Conditioner - Restores hair’s natural body. - Made with zero heavy residues, dyes, and parabens. - Light weight shampoo provides a clean luscious bounce. - Conditioner keeps hair detangled, nourished, and maintains full volume. Naked Volume Dry Shampoo - Great for days when you don’t have time to wash your hair. - Refreshes your look for lightweight, clean hair — even on days when you don’t wash. - The natural tapioca formula absorbs excess oil and transforms lifeless, oily hair into fresh hair. - Delights senses with the crisp essence of citrus and mint. - How to use: Gently spray on and work into roots, brush out as desired. Naked Volumizing Souffle - Weightless, volumizing styler gives you a lift for fullness that lasts. - Delights the senses with a boost of grapefruit and mint. - How to use: Gently work mousse through wet hair for volume. The Volume collection lets you bare your softest hair! It has an invigorating blend of white grapefruit and mint extracts. It contains zero dyes to leave your hair naturally clean and full of irresistible volume. It is available online and will be available in store the week of January 6th. Enter to win a $50 Walmart Gift Card! Disclosure: The Walmart gift card and information have been provided by Herbal Essences.
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I am preparing to host a Christmas Cookie Decorating Play-date and have been trying to decorate and organize a little more. Today I decided I would make a Christmas Card holder out of ribbon over one of the door frames. Usually our cards are lined up on the piano and fall down and eventually become a big mess.
This was so easy to do. It might have taken 10-15 minutes tops. Supplies needed: A lot of ribbon, I am guessing 15-20 yards depending on the size of your door frame and if you make bows or not. I have a 50 yard roll of brown ribbon with Christmas trees printed on it that I bought at Sam's Club on clearance years ago. You will also need clear thumbtacks to hang the ribbon and paperclips or clothespins to clip the cards onto the ribbon. I have some nice clear clips that worked perfectly for attaching the cards. This was super easy to do, but I did have the help of my husband who is a pretty good bow maker from his years of teaching floral design in his horticulture program. I simply tacked the ribbon to the molding, then tacked up the bows. Then I clipped the cards onto the ribbon. I think it looks so pretty and now we can really enjoy our Christmas cards. It was such a bonus too that I didn't have to trek out in our deep snow and fight the Christmas shopping crowds to find the supplies. I had everything on hand. 
No, I am not so on the ball that I have already made Christmas candy this year. I wish I was. I am actually feeling a little behind and still have some decorating and lots of cooking to do. At least the tree is up and full of star wars and star trek ornaments and homemade ornaments that the kids made in previous years. I let the boys decorate the tree last week and it looks cute with its mis-matched ornaments. I took these pictures last year with the intention of writing a blog post then. (...One year later)
We made some simple homemade candy for neighbor and teacher gifts. These are really easy to make and package into cute little gifts. 
You can use almond bark or chocolate. Melt in a double boiler or in the microwave in short increments (stirring in-between) Melting discs work well too. There are often melting directions on the package.
These homemade candies are so easy to make. You just dip stuff in chocolate and let it dry on wax paper. Chocolate covered pretzels are one of our favorites.
Last year, we dipped marshmallows and the boys loved them.
Then dip in sprinkles...
Or crushed peppermint candy
Then let dry on wax paper.
Make peppermint bark by spreading white chocolate on waxed paper then sprinkling the chocolate with crushed peppermint. When it dries, break it into pieces.
Peppermint bark is always a favorite.
You can make your candy look festive with colored sugar sprinkles and edible glitter.
Turtles are easy to make too. Just microwave caramels for a few seconds. I think I microwaved these for 7-8 seconds. Then push a pecan into each softened caramel.
Dip in melted chocolate to make turtles. We also love nuts dipped in chocolate for nut clusters, caramels and coconut. Dried berries would be good too.
Use candy molds to make chocolate suckers or festive chocolate shapes. After pouring chocolate into the molds, freeze until firm. Then pop out of the molds.
If gifting your chocolates, wrap in plastic or waxed paper or use containers and tins to package your handmade treats.
These are the best gifts - homemade Christmas treats. Or savor them at home with your friends and family as you make lasting Christmas memories.
Linking up at Best Mom Advice, Share the Wealth
Disclosure: The Crayola product, gift card, information, and additional gift pack have been provided by Crayola. However, any opinions are honest and are my own.  We received these Crayola products to make some Holiday crafts and have had such fun crafting as a family. My husband who is pretty artistic made some pretty cool decorations and the boys got really creative too. The boys made all kinds of things out of Model Magic this afternoon. There is quite a collection of small ornaments and creatures drying in the kitchen.  My husband made this Noel ornament last night with Model Magic. It is drying now, but will look lovely on the tree.   My very creative husband also made this charming homemade wrapping paper with Crayola Slick Sticks on poster paper.  I added some Glitter Glue to some of the embellishments after wrapping this package. I love the subtle sparkle. So have fun and get crafty this holiday. Enjoy crafting together as a family. Check out the Crayola Holiday Crafts Pinterest Board for more ideas. Enter to win a Crayola Holiday Crafts Gift Pack:
Disclosure: The Crayola product, gift card, information, and additional gift pack have been provided by Crayola. However, any opinions are honest and are my own.
It's been a long time since I posted giveaway winners, so here is a long list.
Hoopersize winner: #230 Kristina Skyslicer the Allosaurus winner: #505 Carolsue Magna Color winner: #1195 Eg Imagine I Can toy winner: #205 Tee Congratulations and thank you for entering my giveaways. 
I stopped in CVS today to pick up a prescription and discovered lots of Burt's Bees products at 75% off. These would make great stocking stuffers and teacher's gifts. I also bought some kid's shampoo at 50% off and cocoa butter sticks at 75% off. I'm sure clearance items vary from store to store, but it is worth checking out. I also noticed lots of haircare items were 50% off.
It's been around a week since I made this Target shopping trip. (I didn't have time to post it sooner, but most of the printable coupons are still available.) I used a lot of coupons saving over $35 and even scoring some free items. I thought I would share so others might be able to get some good deals too.
Total spent = $66.56 Total saved with coupons = $35.55 5 Steps to Help You Eat Clean (Guest Post)
There’s a growing movement of healthy-minded individuals who have said ENOUGH to the frozen meals and drive-thru dinners and are making a conscious decision to eat clean. Clean eating is process of consuming foods that are in their whole, unprocessed, natural state—free of chemicals and preservatives. But if the microwave has become your best friend, the thought of eating clean may seem a bit daunting. Here are some steps you can take to start eating cleaner. 1. Buy locally grown fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamins and essential nutrients and should be a main staple in your daily diet. Buying local produce not only supports your community, it also helps to ensure your fruits and vegetables are fresh and free of chemicals. Many communities hold farmers markets for merchants to sell their locally-grown produce. To find a farmers market near you visit http://www.localharvest.org/farmers-markets/ Another way to get local produce is with Community Supported Agriculture or CSA. With a CSA farmers offer “shares” (typically a box of vegetables or other farm products) to consumers. The box is delivered to your home, or picked up from the farm. To find a CSA near you visit http://www.localharvest.org/csa/ 2. Buy meats from a butcher or farmer. When you buy meat from your supermarket, oftentimes it has been processed with antibiotics, hormones, and a host of chemicals. Going to a standalone butcher’s shop can help ensure you’re getting a fresher, cleaner, healthier cut of meat. Another option for fresh meat is to buy meat directly from a farmer. This doesn’t mean that a cow carcass will show up at your door. When you buy meat from a farmer, they will cut it up, just as a butcher would. Most farms allow you to buy a portion of a cow, or the entire cow. That’s probably a lot of meat for one family, so you can go in with some friends and buy the cow together, splitting the meat. To find a farm in your area visit http://www.eatwild.com/products/ 3. Pick whole grains over refined grains. Refined grains, such as white rice or white flour, have been processed and stripped of their beneficial nutrients. That’s hardly their natural state. Good sources of whole grains are brown rice and quinoa. 4. Hydrate with water. When eating clean, water should be your primary beverage source. Avoid sodas and juices which are loaded with sugar, artificial sweeteners, and chemicals. 5. Ditch the processed foods. Processed meats and frozen dinners are neither whole nor in their natural state. They are filled with sodium, preservatives, and chemicals to enhance their taste and prolong their life. To eat clean, you need to get rid of the processed foods in your diet. Changes in one’s diet are never easy. It’s best to take one step at a time instead of jumping all in at once. But over time, eating clean will become easier, and your body will thank you for it. This article is written by + Stu Lieberman the writer for Nutri-Health.com, an online High Quality Supplement and Health Store. Assisting people and helping them find quality supplements and health products online is what Stu has been doing for over 2 years. Nutri-Health.com carries Digestive Supplements to Probiotics to Joint Health. This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of VinoVinti for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine. I am certainly not a wine connoisseur, but I do enjoy a sweet red or a smooth white. We always have several bottles of wine in the house for cooking and to compliment a meal on occassion. I use wine to enhance recipes often and love the richness it adds to a meal. Did you know that there is a product than can improve the way you enjoy wine? VinoVinti removes excess carbon dioxide from wine, improving the flavor and adding years of smoothness in seconds. Faster than decanting and more effective than aeration, VinoVinti is sure to become your favorite wine accessory. Why use Vino Vinti?
To learn more about Vino Vinti, watch this video. And for fun watch this one. Visit the VinoVinti store to complete your Holiday shopping. VinoVinti would make a great Christmas present for the wine enthusiasts on your list. Both practical and fun, VinoVinti is a great gift idea. You can visit VinoVinti on Facebook too. 
It’s Customer Appreciation Month at Subway. Every day in December you can get either a 6-inch Cold Cut Combo, or a 6-inch Meatball Marinara for only $2!
(Check to see if your local Subway is participating.) We had a delicious Subway lunch today for only $2 a person. Can't beat that. You can also enter to win a $20, $50, or $100 Subway gift card through December 12th on facebook. Thanks for sharing Money Saving Mom. |
Welcome to Home Ec @ HomeHi, I'm Faith, a former Family and Consumer Science teacher turned work at home Mom blogger. I love God, my family, and food. You can usually find me in the kitchen preparing family friendly, homemade recipes and taking lots of pictures.   
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