I'm alive...

I was MIA for a few days but I should have a pretty big post sometime this weekend with our basement makeover. We have a finished basement but it was really lacking in the decorating department. Stark white walls, wood paneled bar, no warmth at all. Not pretty. We worked all last weekend on it and are going to continue tonight - yes, that's our date night. The girls are at my parents, and we spend our free time painting and building. :)

So stay tuned, good stuff to come!

Happy November!

It's the first day of November and in honor of that, I share with you some November trivia!

1. November is one of 4 months in the Gregorian Calendar that has 30 days.
2. November comes from the Latin word root “novem”, which means nine. It was originally the 9th month in the Roman Calendar.
3. In Finland they call November “marraskuu” which translates as “month of the dead”.
4. November is National Beard Month.
5. The birthstone for November in Topaz (or Citrine depending on which chart you are looking at!)
6. World War I ended on the 11th day of the 11th month (November) at 11PM, in 1918.
7. On November 5th 1935, Parker Brothers introduced the game Monopoly to the world.
8. On November 13th 1952 the first press-on fingernails were sold.
9. November 17th is National Take A Hike Day.
10. The flower that represents November is the Chrysanthemum.

So there we have it! Hopefully you learned something you didn't know before. I'm a sucker for useless trivia.

Also, and probably most importantly, my daugher's 11th birthday is this month! I'm currently working on my decorating ideas and such for her party. She's inviting boys this year. Help us all!



Chili Cook-Off - 1st Place

Note - This is not a picture of my chili but it looks pretty darn close!

I just won my second chili cook off! I am beyond excited! The first time I won was at my oldest daughter's school (2009). And today I won my work's cook off! YIPPEE!!

I've never shared my recipe before but I thought I would today since it marks the second time this chili has won me first place. So here goes...

1lb maple sausage (I use Jimmy Dean)
1lb Italian sausage (you can use zesty or regular, I use Purnell Old Folks)
1lb regular sausage (I use Jimmy Dean)
1 - large onion - large dice
3 - cloves of garlic - fine dice
2 - 15oz cans of chili ready tomatoes
1 - 28oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 - 8oz can of tomato sauce
1 - 28 oz can of Chili beans - Red beans in mild sauce (I use Bush's)
1/2 t - garlic powder
1/2 t - onion powder
4 (heaping) T chili powder (I prefer Mexene brand)
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1/2 t ground cumin
1 t - red pepper flakes (crush in your palm to release flavor)
1 t - dried oregano (again crushed)
salt and pepper (I'd guesstimate that I use about 1 t of each)

1 - box of chicken stock (one with a flip top works best)

First, I brown all the meat in the order listed above, one at a time. While I'm browning my meat, I throw all of my remaining ingredients in my crockpot, except for the chicken stock. Once all of my meat has been browned, I add it all to the crock pot. The chili will be pretty thick at this point, and that's where I add in my chicken stock to thin it out a bit. Then I just cook it low and slow. Cook on low until the onions and garlic are soft.

And that's it! It always tastes even better the next day after the flavors have had time to hang out together. I'm a Southern girl so I fix spaghetti with mine. I don't put it in my chili pot but I do put some at the bottom of a bowl, spoon my chili on top and spinkle on some shredded cheddar cheese and Frank's Hot Sauce. YUM!


I honestly think the maple sausage is what makes it a winner. I was feeling adventurous one day and thought I would try maple to bring a hint of sweetness, and lucky for me it worked! This chili is on the spicy side but my girl can eat it so it's not too hot.

Let me know if you try it and how it turned out!

Happy Halloween!

I used to be a huge Halloween fan but as I get older, I'm more into the family orientented holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas. However, I still decided to "dress up" this year. Basically, I just slapped some make up on my face and called myself a zombie/dead pin up girl. haha...

I think I nailed the dead eyes look.

My shoes!

Have a great Halloween and be safe!

Adventures in Make Up

Make-Up is one of my most favorite things to shop for (outside of shoes, perfume, books and food...). Normally, I head to Sephora because you aren't limited to one specific brand and it's fun to browse and try out different things. However, not too long ago, I went back to MAC. Before we got a Sephora in our mall (now we have 3 I think), I used to go to MAC, but sometimes they are just a little too pricey for me.

So here's what I picked up:

Eyeshadow in Vanilla (for the brow bone)

Paint Pot in Constructivist for the lid and the lash line.

Eyeshadow - Dark Indulgence from their Semi-Precious Collection (it's no longer on their website, sad face) for the crease.

And here was the result

It probably wouldn't have killed me to clean up under my eyes a little but at this point, it had been a few hours.

I also put a little of the Constructivist on my eyebrows to darken them to my hair color. Don't go too crazy or you'll end looking a little too much like Groucho Marx.

Braids, Braids, Braids

Little known fact - I used to be a hairstylist. I graduated from hair school in 2004, got my cosmetology license...then moved to NY. My KY license expired and I never re-newed it. Sometimes I think of going back into it but for now, I'm content with doing my own hair and looking at pictures of hair I want. :) Braids have been a huge trend lately and like many other women, I love them! They are quick, easy and are more exciting than a plain ponytail.

Loving this! It's easy to hide mistakes in this kind of updo.



Her make up is gorgeous!



I thought for sure these were fake braids but nope! This is all her own hair (It's very long and seemingly has no layers)
Find the tutorial on Maiden Braids here: Maiden Braid Tutorial

This is cute and different from your average braid. Definitely will be trying this one out on the girls!

And of course one of the biggest braid trends right now - fishtail braid (A lot of people assume the fishtali braid is complicated - not so! Very simple to do!)

Now I just want to go home and play with my hair all day! :)

Weight Loss Tips

I found this article this morning that actually has a lot of clever tricks to help with healthy eating and a better diet.

10 Weight Loss Tips

I'm always on the look out for any tip or trick that will help me or encourage me. You never know what will work for you!