Pumpkin Bread

I have been wanting to try a new idea out where I try a new pin from Pinterest every Friday. Today I made Pumpkin Bread. It was the simplest recipe and It came out super delicious. Even the kids loved it. I got the recipe from Pinterest HERE. I highly recommend! And this pin is a must re-pin and also a must re-make recipe!

Bread Maker Sandwich Bread

I have a few ways I save each week and one of those ways is by baking sandwich bread in my bread maker. We would much rather eat this bread than eating the processed sandwich bread at the store. For only a few minutes of my time I get a great tasting and way cheaper loaf of bread that will last us all week.

I have tried a bunch of different recipes and this has been my favorite so far. Its a nice soft loaf. You probably have everything but the yeast in your pantry already!

Makes a 1.5lb loaf

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups lukewarm milk
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Directions:

1. Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order suggested by the manufacturer.
2. Select Basic or White Bread setting, and press Start. When done, place on wire rack for at least 10 minutes before slicing.

* If you do not have a bread maker*

Use kitchen aid with dough hook. Add warm milk, sugar and yeast. Let sit for 10 minuets to activate. Then add rest of ingredients. Mix for about 5 minuets. You may need to add more flour (it depends on weather and temp in your kitchen) just watch it if it seems really wet after 5 minuets add it 1/4 cup at a time till its nice and firm and kneads pretty easily. Cover let rise for 25 - 30 minuets. Punch down and put into sprayed bread pan. Cover and let rise again for about 10 minuets. Take cover off and preheat oven to 350 let rise final 15 minuets uncovered while oven is heating up. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minuets or until top is light golden brown. *** If you do not have a Kitchen Aid, mix with a non metal spoon or by hand and non reactive bowl. Knead on a well floured surface.

I let cool completely on a wire rack and then slice and store in a ziplock. I keep the heels of the bread in the bag as it helps keep the bread fresh all week. 

Elf on The Shelf

Elf on The Shelf is one of my favorite holiday time traditions! He appears the day after Thanksgiving and stays till Christmas Eve night. Sometimes he makes a guest appearance for special occasions like the first day of school or Birthdays. And he can send down reminders for good behavior if he notices really bad behavior.  He causes mischief and watches over the kids behavior. He moves every night after good behavior. For bad behavior he stays put or sends a note. And if he is touched he loses his magic and can not move to report to Santa. 

Here are some pictures of what our elf has done. His name is Elfie and my kids love him and are already talking about seeing him again!

Follow the link below for more Ideas!

How to Create a Christmas Fund Day 4

Sorry this has take a few days longer than I wanted but I had a lot going on personally. The least of it was Ants! I hate Ants! So for the last few days I was cleaning out cabinets, so naturally once I got every thing out of my cabinets I decided to purge and rearrange everything. Now I finally have time to write this last Christmas Fund article. But more importantly I have an organized, clean and ant free kitchen!

Sticking to your budget and shopping. This may sound easy but it is not for some people. Understand my methods work for my family. These are starting points or suggestions for you. Every family is not the same. Use what works for you. 

After a few years or trial and error I feel we have a pretty good system down when it comes to gift buying. I first sit down with Mike and figure out our budget. I count all the extras I have made throughout the year. I include any gift cards I may have earned and put aside. I also include the money I earned from selling our old stuff. Then we look at how much more we want to spend if we need to. Once we decide on our budget of the total amount of money we are going to spend,  I write a list of every person who needs a gift. I then look at that list and decide who I can make homemade gifts for. Does your child's teachers need a $15 gift each or will some baked goods work?(I will be making and baking a few items soon and will hopefully have some posts on them here.) I then take anyone I have decided a home made gift will work for off of my list. Next I write my final "to buy for" list and I write next to each name the amount I am going to spend on their gift. Each amount should not be the same. You will probably spend more on your children than anyone else. Make sure your amounts all add up to the amount you want to spend or less. 

Once you have your list its time to start shopping. I shop early and often. I shop almost year round for Christmas and Birthdays. By shopping early I tend to spend less. I only purchase an item when its an amazing deal and I am almost sure it will not go on sale cheaper during the holiday shopping season. I also keep in mind if I have the space to store the items I am purchasing. I have a wall in our walk-in closet under our hanging clothes that I have dedicated to the gift pile. If the item does not fit in that location it does not get bought. 

 I also stay on budget by keeping track of what I have bought. When I buy an item I write it down and how much it was. I keep a list of every holiday purchase in a notebook. When It comes time to really get that list together its easier since I have it written down already. If I happen to buy a gift that is perfect for someone other than my children while shopping early I make sure to write down what I have bought, who it is for, and how much I spent. This way when I make my list during holiday shopping time and I write that name down on my to buy for list I can immediately cross them off the list. And I don't forget I already got them a gift and buy a second for them. 

Don't be afraid to spend less on a person than you planned to. Just because you find an item you want to buy for a specific person and you find it on sale does not mean you need to spend more. What I do is write down how much I spent and move on. Frequently I will add up our totals and see where I am at and if any adjustments are needed.

When I am done shopping I double check my list with my items to make sure I did not miss anyone or any item. I then add up my total to make sure I did not mis calculate anything. If I have money left over it goes into my savings for next years spending. If I am over I take a look at what I have and see if I can return anything or if there is another way I can make up that money easily. I usually end up trying to sell a few items or spend some extra time on swagbucks to make up the extra.

Hope these tips make for a less stressful holiday shopping experience for you!

Crockpot Baked Potato Soup.

Soup weather is here! I love it. Its my favorite time of the year. I also love my crockpot. If you know me you know more than likely if I am making dinner the crockpot is involved. So I am always on the lookout for good crockpot recipes to add to my book. I got this one from a friend on here on Facebook.

This is what I did it was super simple and everyone loved it. My little even asked for seconds and he's the hardest to please.

Crockpot Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients: 
1 32 oz bag of frozen hash brown (the potato squares not shredded) 
I used 2 lbs of skinned diced and frozen potatoes I had in my freezer. If using fresh potatoes freeze first. It stands up better in the crockpot 
1 32 oz box of chicken stock. 
I used some I made and froze(I always have chicken broth on hand)
1 10 oz can of cream of chicken soup
1 pkg of bacon divided
1 8 oz package of cream cheese at room temp.
Shredded cheese and chives for garnish. 

Instructions:
Spray crock with non stick spray 
Half cook and dice most of your bacon you want this soft not crunchy.   Leaving enough in the package to cook for garnish later
Pour potatoes, chicken broth, cream of chicken and bacon all in crock. Lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Stir and cover. Cook on low for 8 hours.
One hour before serving add in cream cheese and stir. At this point mine needed to be mashed to make it thick and creamy since I used fresh potatoes. I used an emersion blender because I am lazy and its my favorite kitchen tool so any excuse to use it I will. 
Before serving cook rest of bacon all the way through.
Top with shredded cheese, chives, and bacon.

Halloween Bark

This was so simple to make and its so good! 

I found a bunch of different ideas on Pinterest and decided to make a mix of my own. Here was my main inspiration.

This is what I did. It came out tasting like a delicious cookies and cream bar on crack! 

Ingredients: 1 bag of Wilton marshmallow white chocolate melts.

8 Oreo cookies quartered

1 handful pretzel pieces

1/2 bag of candy corn mix (The kind with the big pumpkins in it) 

*cut the big pumpkins in half length wise for easy eating

  sprinkles of your choice.

Instructions: Line a 9x13 pan or a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Melt chocolate according to instructions. I used a double boiler. While chocolate is starting to melt put in the pan the quartered Oreos and all crumbs along with the pretzels and candy corn make sure all ingredients are spread out and flat. Once chocolate is melted pour over ingredients in pan scraping all chocolate out of bowl with rubber spatula. Mix all ingredients with rubber spatula and make an even layer, it may not reach the end of your pan just make sure its an evenish layer.  Sprinkle with sprinkles, I used some chocolate, some birthday and some green sugar sprinkle I had left in my baking box. Let sit to harden about 2 hours or 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Once cooled break into pieces and enjoy! 

How to Build a Christmas Fund Day 3

Today I will discuss buying and selling items on Facebook.  By selling my unwanted or unused items I am able to earn a small but steady flow of income that I usually start saving around July. When Christmas shopping time comes around I have a good fund to get most of what we need. As with anything the more time and effort you put into it the more you will make. Selling items be it on Facebook, Craigslist or ebay can be real simple if you follow a few easy guidelines. Since I do not sell on ebay and rarely sell on Craigslist I will focus on Facebook selling. But most of these tips can be used on any of these places.

Gathering Your Items

Lets start with the fact that I hate clutter, I don't like things around that are not needed. I like clean open space. And living in an 1100 sq ft apartment with 2 kids, 2 dogs and 2 adults does not help with this mission. Things creep in all the time and this is how I can get rid of things guilt free. So I usually go through my home at least once a month to pull items that we no longer use or need. I clean out my kids clothes and toys. I go through my closet and laundry room. Things I pull to sell are clothes in great condition with no rip, tears or stains, toys that are not broken or missing pieces, books no longer being read, video games just sitting there and kitchen gadgets and items we either have more than one of or another item can do the same thing. 

I will take all those items I have and sort them into groups. Kids clothes, kids toys, adult clothes, electronics, and home goods(including kitchen gadgets). If anything needs a quick wipe down before I take a picture I take the time to do it now. I also make sure the clothes are as wrinkle free as possible. 

Photographing Your Items

Everyone goes by first impression. So start off with a great one with a good photo. Good lighting, a clean product, and no clutter surrounding your item is key. Also a clear picture is needed. Now with the smart phone cameras it is way easier to get a good photo. An example of a good photo is: 

The picture is of just the item, it is well lit and it is a clear photo. 

A bad picture would be 

It is very cluttered and you can't really see what is selling. Also it is not very clear. By simply taking the lamp and putting it on the ground with nothing around it and taking a photo would have made a better picture. 

Pricing

Pricing your items can be tricky. When doing so with kids clothes I usually price them to go. Think second hand store prices most of my kids clothing items are priced at $5 and below. The exception is if it still has tags, is a bigger item, or if it is in perfect condition. Other items I look them up and see what they are going for. I google my item or type it into ebay. You need to take into account the age of your item also. No one wants to spend current retail prices on a refrigerator that is 5 year plus old. Once you decide on a fair price its time to post your item. 

Writing the Add

When posting an item on a Facebook group you need to be aware of the groups rules. Some will require a pickup location be posted others only allow certain things to be posted. If I was posting the car above I would first make sure I am able to post it in the group I am trying to post it in. Then I would upload my picture and for the caption I would write: Spider Man Car with Spiderman figure. $10 CP pickup Newhall. The short sentence says what it is and whats included, how much I am asking, that it is cross posted(CP) on another site and that you can pickup in my town of Newhall. Notice I did not put my physical address or phone number or any other personal information on that post. Be very careful not to for obvious safety reasons.

Selling your Item

After your item is posted if someone wants it they will post interest. If they are trying to offer you a lower price you need to decide if you want to take a lower price or not. If I decide to take a lower price I usually private message(PM) the person and then on my original post let them know I did so. If I would like to keep my item the same price I will write on my original post that I am not accepting lower offers at the time. Remember to always be kind and courteous  No one wants to purchase things from someone they think is rude. Once someone decides they want your item at your price you then need to arrange pickup. It depends on the person and the item as to my pickup procedure. If I have sold to the person before or know them and am comfortable with giving my address to them, I am very selective of this, I will give them my address and leave the item out on my porch in a bag labeled with their name and how much they owe. They then place payment under my mat. I only do this for low ticket items. Any Item over $10 I keep with me inside and they have to knock to get the item. If I do not want to give out my address I have a Starbucks in a shopping strip down the street from me that is easily accessible to most people and has a big parking lot I will meet the person there to sell my item. When first starting out I suggest this option. Think safety first and always. Never meet at night alone or in an unpopulated area. If you are not comfortable leave and arrange a different place and time if possible. And lastly try to bring a friend, an older child, spouse, someone anyone so you are not alone. Once your item sells make sure to delete your posting. 

You may not receive interest in one of your items right away. This is ok. Just keep "bumping"your post up. You are able to do this a few different ways, check with your group as their rules on this. If your items don't sell in a few weeks consider lowering the price or donating the item. Sometimes if it is not season appropriate i.e. a swimsuit in December, I will remove that item save it in a bin in my garage I have specifically for this reason and repost it closer to summer. 

Saving your Cash.

Since I only accept payment in cash this is easy. I take it and put it in a really cute piggy bank I have hidden, mostly because if I see it I will want to take the money out and spend it, in my room. I keep it there until it is time to start buying Birthday or Christmas presents. At that time I usually have a few hundred saved up and can afford some nice gifts. 

Selling your items may take some time to initially start up. But once you are set up and get in a rhythm its a pretty quick and easy way to earn some extra cash!

How to Build a Christmas Fund Day 2

Today in How to Build a Christmas Fund We will be talking about CrowdTap. CrowdTap is the site I spend the least of my time on but I usually earn more from them than any other site. I visit once or twice a day during the week depending on how much time I have. And in about 10 minutes a visit I can rack up some serious points. 

A few things I like about CrowdTap are, that the site is very easy to navigate, the content is geared towards you, the more you use it the better the content is, and I can get rewarded every month for simply answering questions. I also like that you are not penalized for skipping a question or share opportunity, you just simply do not earn those points. They also stress charity and ask every member to sign up for one. I choose the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. 

A few things I dislike are, some of the challenges take a lot of time for little reward I tend to skip these, when you enter a sample and share it takes a very long time to know if you will receive it or not, and it asks you to share to social media a lot, I also skip a bunch of those share opportunities.  

How CrowdTap works

CrowdTap in their own words is the Leading Social Influence Marketing Platform (SaaS), making it easy for marketers to inspire a crowd of consumers to create quality content, drive unmatched social activity and provide real-time insights. - See more at: CrowdTap Blog 

When you log on and create an account you will be asked a few demographic questions. Make sure to answer properly you can not resubmit these after approval for 3 months. You will choose a charity which you do not need to donate any money to. A lot of the time CrowdTap will match a percentage of winnings and donate to your charity for you. You will need to connect social media sites Facebook and Twitter if you have them. Once your profile is set up you are good to go! 

Points

For every 100 points per brand you are entered in a prize drawing at the end of every calendar month. These points add up quickly.

Quick Hits 

Quickhits are simple questions with answers to select you simply answer the questions and move on. Each is worth anywhere from 10 to 30 points. Some questions may have you look at a product and then answer a question, others will simply be a question. While still others will want you to share to social media, you do not have to do this if you do not want to just simply hit skip. If you are uncomfortable with any question you can always hit skip, you are not penalized for skipping a question or task you just simply do not receive those points. 

Tasks/Challenges

There are plenty of tasks on CrowdTap also ranging in points from 50 - 1500. Some include taking a picture of things and submitting it to CrowdTap. Others are simple text tasks where you submit anywhere from a word to a few sentences after viewing a product or blog. Some will ask you to do things and submit a video or photo of you doing this action. Again you are not penalized for not doing a task you simply do not receive those points.

Moderated Discussions and Sample Shares 

A moderated discussion is a series of questions posted to a form like setting and many different CrowdTappers discuss. You are awarded points for your answers and comments. Again if you do not feel comfortable discussing the topic or simply do not have the time you are not penalized for skipping it. A sample and share is exactly how it sounds. You receive a product to sample and then you share how you feel about it. There may be questions or tasks to answer and do. Also you will be asked to share your experience on social media. It is important to follow through on these or you may not qualify for future campaigns. 

Brands/Prizes

CrowdTap is separated in different brands. Some are common house hold brands others are general companies who do brand research and still others are new up and coming brands. Each brand has its own set of questions, tasks, and discussions. You can win gift cards each month for each brand. For every 100 points per brand you are entered into a pool and they pick people from there to win so the more points the more chances. If you are in the Top 100 CrowdTappers in that particular brand you have a very big chance of winning something bigger. The most common prize is a $5 Amazon gift card. Others include gift cards to Walmart, CVS and other major retailers across the country. 

Example for maybe 10 minutes a day in the Month of September not even every day I was able to win $20 in Amazon Gift cards and $5 for Walmart/Sam's Club. 

To Join CrowdTap visit: http://home.crowdtap.com 

If you are already a part of CrowdTap let me know if not and you join also let me know what you think!

Great Razor for Sensitive Skin

I was able to try the Gillette Venus Embrace Sensitive Razor and I love it. Shaving was like a whole new experience for me. I have very sensitive skin. So much so that I can't use perfumes or dyes in mostly anything that goes on my skin. When normally shaving I have learned to expect razor bumps and some sort of discomfort no matter the razor or shaving cream I use.

With the Gillette Venus Embrace Sensitive Razor I did not have the symptoms. While shaving I used my normal shaving cream and shaved like normal. It was the first time it did not sting or burn for me while shaving in a long time. I feel like the 5 blades on the razor made it a closer shave without giving me razor burn.

After using the Gillette Venus Embrace Sensitive Razor for about a month now I really do love it. I feel like I can shave more often than before. I also like that my underarms have way less redness and icky bumps to them. I would recommend this razor to anyone but especially to someone with sensitive skin.

You can check out all the specifics here : Gillette Venus Embrace Sensitive Razor

*I received this product as part of a campaign for Influenster all opinions and ideas are my own 

My Christmas Fund

Today I would like to talk about a Christmas fund. For me I have 2 younger children to buy for along with a pretty big extended family.  I usually start building it early in little ways. I take a little bit of time out of each day to do easy tasks that earn me money or gift cards. Starting early I am able to have a good fund set up when it comes to Christmas shopping. I also shop all year for Christmas to make that budget stretch as far as possible.

Some of the ways I increase our Christmas fun are by Swagbucks, CrowdTap and Selling things on Craigslist/Facebook.

Today I will expain Swagbucks.

Swagbucks is a search and win site along with tasks to earn points. For every 450 Swagbucks you earn you can redeem it for a $5 gift card to Amazon up to 4 times a month. Most other gift cards are 500 Swagbucks for $5 but there are PLENTY to choose from.

Once you sign up you can start earning in a number of different ways.

The first and easiest way is through search. You simply search through their search engine just like you would for Google. And randomly you will be awarded "swagbucks".  They can range from 2 -10 depending on the day. Fridays are the best day to search as they send out more then than any other day.  They also have Collectors Bills that you can find while searching. When they are running these bills if you find the whole set you will be awarded extra swagbucks.

Swagcodes is the second easiest way to earn.  If you decide to download their toolbar this is super easy!  They will release swagcodes randomly throughout the day. If you have the tool bar and are signed in it will alert you to a new swagcode and tell you where to find it. Usually in their blog, on their Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Its simply a code you copy and paste onto their site in the Swagcode box. You are then awarded your swagbucks. Fridays they send out more than normal.

Daily Tasks are 4 different tasks you can do every day to earn 5 swagbucks. These are Daily Crave in which you earn 1 swagbuck for watching two different videos or visiting two different website for 30 seconds each. Next it the toolbar, log into the toolbar daily for 1 swagbuck. Next is the daily poll, answer one quick question for one swagbuck. Lastly is the NOSO, no obligation special offer, you simply click through the stream of offers. No need to fill them out you can skip them all. At the end you will have to type in a short phrase and will receive 2 swagbucks.

Regular Tasks. These are found on your home page. Some of them are free others are shop and earn. These can take little time or a lot of time. I usually just stick to the free ones or the videos you can watch and earn. You can also take surveys. You must qualify for these surveys and they take time, but that time is rewarded by big swagbuck amounts.

Watch and Earn. You can watch videos based on your interest. You can watch them either on your computer or on your smartphone. On the computer you must watch 10 videos to receive 3 swagbucks, up to 150 swagbucks a day. You do not need to watch the videos fully usually only 2-3 seconds of the video, if an ad plays you must watch the entire ad. They do not play automatically you will need to go back and click the next video. On your smart phone they have a SwagbucksTV app. You download the app and play the videos. For every 5 videos you earn 2 swagbucks. These do play automatically so I usually turn it on when my phone is plugged in and just let them play while I am cleaning or doing anything around the house. This is my favorite way to earn swagbucks!

If your already a part of swagbucks what are your favorite ways to earn. If not try signing up here and letting me know what you think!

*links may contain affiliate or referral links.