The Oh So Famous... Publix Cake

Since the beginning of March, I think, Publix has had a new cake to me as their cake of the month. It is a little pricey at a total $21 after taxes. Sold at $19.99, which they advertise as $5 off of the original price. It is delicious and just amazing. Can you guess what it is yet? If you guessed their Chantilly Cake you are so right.

Now just let your mouth water over that beauty. Oh my goodness it is wonderful! Alright the cake is a basic yellow cake, and as you can see in the picture it is in three layers with fruit between the layers. 

The fruit is just strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries in a glaze. The glaze has a tangy flavor. The cake is frosted with a light whipped cream icing that is just good by itself! 

This was a very good decision to try. If you are debating on trying the cake for the first time, it is so worth it! (Disclaimer: Publix did not ask me to review the cake or pay me to review the cake.)

If you do try it, let me know what you think by commenting below!

Happy Blogging,
Jessica (:

Escapades before St. Patties Day!

Everyone loves a great deal or the feeling of saving some real bucks. I know I absolutely get to the point of ecstatic when I get a good deal! After moving to a new town, you have to find the good thrift stores and bargain stores. I mean if you want to spend a billion dollar, by all means go for it. I hate spending money, but I do love shopping. I have had to learn to be thrifty very early.

The store I would like to tell you about today is a new store to me, its called "Dirt Cheap."

Let me just tell you how wonder full this place is... I love this place. They have some wonderful products and they can be super cheap. I have been to this store multiple times, but I found some super good deals the day before St. Patrick's Day. It was just fantastic.

Okay these T-shirts are the cutest things ever. The green T-shirt is a quarter sleeve length t-shirt from Talbots. The price marked in the store was $9. When I look at that I am like "Meh." BUT the shirt was 80% off. Now the shirt is a whoppin' $1.80. Even at the thrift store that price is hard to beat! 

The Orange short sleeve striped shirt is a ... The shirt was originally marked for $5. With it being marked 60% off, the total cost is a whoppin' $2.

The last shirt is a three quarter sleeve length t-shirt from Talbots. The price marked in the store was $9. With the 80%
off, the shirt is now a whoppin' $1.80.

Just for these three name brand shirts I only spent t total of $5.60 before tax. But that isn't even the best part!

This shirt is a banana republic. Now I know you are thinking, "how do you find this at the bargain/thrift store?" Well let me tell you it takes time. Although it is so worth it. Alright I found this shirt on the rack with the banana republic tag on the shirt. Dirt cheap marked it at $20. I would have turned this down even if it does cost $50 retail. I just can't bring myself to pay $20 even at a bargain store. The shirt was marked 80% off of the $20 leaving the shirt costing $4. This made me really excited and I had to buy it. 

The last bargain I would like to share with you are my new jeans! These jeans are brand new and were marked $7. These unfortunately were not discounted off the $7, but I couldn't pass these up. They are so soft and they stretch which is fantastic! I love them. 

That is about it. I hope you are inspired to go searching for a great deal! If you know of a super awesome bargain store or a thrift store that you are in love with, please share in the comment section below. I love to find new places! 

Happy Blogging (: 

Jessica (Heather is still MIA unfortunately- makes me sad)

Easy HOMEMADE Biscuits

Alright, I know everyone is already freaking out because of the title, but it really can be done. I promise. Like I said before, I was with my nana and I learned a lot of new super east recipes. These biscuits are called "mayonnaise biscuits." Now don't turn your nose up. They taste amazing.

Ingredients:

1 cup of self rising flour (I prefer unbleached) 

¼ cup milk 

2 "heaping" TBS of mayonnaise (or 1 of mayonnaise and 1 of sour cream) 

Directions: 

1. preheat oven to 400 degrees 

2. Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl with a spoon. 

3. Drop by spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet 

4. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. 

This recipe makes 6 biscuits. Just enough to make for the family one morning. 

Impress your family with these delicious homemade biscuits. I was very impressed with how delicious they were! You can also take this recipe and add some garlic and cheese with some melted butter on top and have homemade "Red Lobster" biscuits! 

Let us know what you think about this recipe. Comment and tell us how you used the recipe! 

Happy Blogging (: 

Jessica (Heather is still away) ;(

Easy Banana Nut Bread

Happy St. Patricks day bloggers!!!

How many people are overwhelmed at the thought of baking a bread? Is it just me? I just feel like it is a super hard task to bake a good banana nut bread, but it can be very easy!
While visiting my nana this weekend, I was taught some super easy recipes. One was her super easy banana nut bread. What is the best thing about it? It is made with a cake mix! (Shhhh.... don't tell anyone)

Ingredients:

 

1 "Dunken Hines" Butter Golden Cake Mix
1 sick of butter (room temperature)
4 eggs (room temperature)
1 tsp of vanilla
½ cup of milk
1 ½ cups of mashed ripened bananas (about 3-4 bananas)
1 cup of chopped pecans (or more)

Glaze:
2 cups of powdered sugar
milk (use enough, small amounts at a time) to make a thin glaze
Food coloring (optional)

***It is very important that all ingredients are at room temperature when baking***

Directions:

1. preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix together in a stand mixer or a large bowl the first 5 ingredients
           -Be sure not to over mix the batter because tough banana nut bread is not delicious
3. Mash the bandanas
4. Add the bananas and the chopped pecans to the mixture and fold in by hand until they are       distributed
5. Prepare the pan(s) you wish you bake your bread in (You want to butter or spray the pan and then dust all sides with flour or sugar. We used sugar to test it out.)
6. Pour the batter evenly between each pan
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes. (Be sure to check your bread with a toothpick in the center before removing from the oven. When you check the bread the toothpick should be inserted in the center of the loaf and should come out CLEAN.)
8. Place the loafs of a wire rack to cool!
9. If you desire to glaze the loafs, you can use the recipe above, then place your desired glaze on top
10. Grab a glass of milk and enjoy!

This recipe makes enough batter for two standard loafs. We decided to make one standard loaf and use the left over to make 4 mini-loafs. 

While banana nut bread is super delicious, as we all know, but two full loafs is more than enough. We decided to share our small loafs with the local fire department. They always enjoy a nice treat for their hard work! If you do share your bread, be sure to make known that the bread does have nuts! If you don't people might go nuts! Another option is the freeze your left over bread. This is a good option so that you always have some. The best way to keep bread in the freezer is to wrap it with plastic wrap and then with aluminum foil. This will keep up to 3 months in the freezer!

To thaw the bread just take it out, unwrap it, and pop it in the microwave on defrost or in the toaster oven.

I hope you enjoy this super easy recipe! Please comment below and tell us what you think!

Happy Blogging (:
Jessica (Heather is out of town on spring break) ;(

Product review

I don't know about everyone else but cooking rice can be a pain. There is always something going wrong, and don't even get started with sticky rice. How do you even begin? Well, search no more. Someone heard our cries. The product we will be reviewing today you have seen in our recent post "InnovASIAN" supper.

This rice is like a gift from the good Lord above, especially people on the go. This rice stays frozen until you are ready to pop it in the microwave. With the word microwave in the last sentence, I can hear you know "What do you mean rice in the microwave?" Well keep an open mind. This rice is super easy and fool proof to cook. All you do is microwave it. What more can you ask for? The best part of this product is not the ease, although it is a great plus, but it is the taste and the quality of the product! The taste of the product is super fantastic and it is actually a sticky rice. It will also stay, cooked, in the refrigerator for 1-2 days. It is just as good the second day as it is the first day, although it isn't as sticky. 

We did pick this up at the local Win-Dixie. It was $... Worth every penny. Will definitely repurchase this product again. 

Just as a disclaimer, this company has not asked us to review the product or paid us to review the product. We want you to know what you are buying before you buy something that we recommend. We will also start reviewing most of the new products that we try! 

Thank you for eating with us! Let us know what you think of this post and the product! Comment below and tell us how you use the rice or other products you want us to try and review!

Happy Blogging, 

Heather and Jessica 

Wall Hanging Strategies

Alright so a couple of days ago we posted about our new wall hanging creation. If you remember, we were at a loss on how to hang the sucker. Asking around, we got three suggestions.

                      1. Hang it from hooks with fishing line
                      2. Use long nails and rest it on the nails
                      3. Use one hook and use ribbon to tie it up

The committee, Heather and Jessica, decided that the best option for stability was the multiple hooks and fishing line.

At our local Walmart we picked up the fishing line for 1 whole dollar and the hooks. The picture to the right is where we left off from our last post.

 Using a tape measure we measured the approximation of the center of the wall and where the hooks should go. After deciding placement, we used a nail to make a hole because the hooks are screw hooks. This helps the screw hook smoothly go into the wall with less hassle. Then, we measured the approximation for where the fishing line needed to go. When tying the line, we used a "triple loopy loop" if you ask heather. Basically what we did was loop it around your finger and then put the end through the loop. (pull to tighten) We also did this three times for stability. When all the sting was assembled on the wood, we hung the wood from the hooks!

 Unfortunately the ribbon we used for the letters was acting all jankey. If you can tell in the picture above, you can't make out the word "hope." This was very upsetting, but with some hot glue this was all better. We just hot glued two pieces of yarn to the letters (one on each side of the letter). It was actually a very easy fix!

This is our finished product!!! 

It turned out to be so pretty and it is just the right size to add some flare into my oh so bare dining room! I hope you get inspired to create something beautiful! Comment below if you have other suggestions on how to hang things on the wall like this. We would also LOVE to hear about what you are creating! 

Happy Blogging, 

Heather and Jessica (:

The Oh So Famous "Not Basic Spaghetti"

We are huge fans of quick and easy meals and of course we pair it with an oh so crisp and fruity white wine.

If we can not find our favorite Luccio Moscato D'asiti, we go for our second favorite Barefoot Mascato, which is a whopping $7.62 at Winn-Diixie with your Winn-Dixie Card. If you want to be civil and on your better behavior, the Luccio is a better choice with a lower alcohol content and more fruity flavor, but if you are enjoying a night of relaxation and there is not need to impress anyone, a bottle of the Barefoot Moscato will treat you just right.

While spaghetti can be basic and sometimes boring, it is a great dish to add your own flare.

Ingredients:

1 pound of hamburger meat 

1 medium onion 

noodles (desired amount and kind) - we used whole wheat angle hair noodles 

1 jar of sauce (the sauce is the public brand) 

1 box of Pepperidge Farm Texas Toast (freezer section)

1 bag of lettuce 

Directions:

1. brown thawed meat in a skillet over medium
2. Jessica loves onions so, dice onion and add to meat before meat is completely cooked through that that the onions have time to cook.
3. Boil noodles for about 8-10 mins. (SALT WATER GENEROUSLY)
4. drain meat and add back to pan
5. add desired amount of sauce (you can have it meaty or saucy)
6. pop bread in a preheated oven (as directed on package)
7. drain noodles
8. If you desire to be healthy, throw together a simple salad
9. assemble spaghetti and eat!




We hope you enjoy putting your own touch to your "famous" spaghetti!
Happy Blogging,
Heather and Jessica (:

"innovASIAN" supper

In search of a new easy and quick recipe for a weeknight feast? Search no more. In all of about 20 minuets you can have a delicious and healthy meal for one or for the family!

Ingredients:

             

1 box of "innvASIAN" frozen sticky rice
chicken (amount to be desired-for two, we usually use 2 breast)
1bottle of "kikkoman Stir-Fry" sauce (We use the preservative free bottle for less sodium)
Salt and Pepper
And cookies for dessert!

Directions:

1. Heat a pan over medium heat with a small amount of extra virgin olive oil (or butter)
2. Dice chicken into bite size pieces and cook in pan over medium heat until golden
3. Follow preparation direction for the rice in the microwave (3 min on one side 2 min on the other)
4. Once chicken is cooked, add sauce to pan
5. after 5 minutes of heating and stirring, assemble on plates or bowls
6. Finish your meal and help yourself to the cookies (glass of milk suggested)

For best results, Spoon desired rice onto plate and add chicken and sauce on top! Enjoy (:

Happy Blogging,
Heather and Jessica

Wall Decorations- DIY

I just moved into a new apartment and had a bare back wall to my dining room. I am on a tight budget, being that I am a teacher, but I wanted something large to cover most of the back wall. After looking around at Wal-mart, Target, and other such places for their "low prices" we decided to go to Pinterest. Here is what we found...

This was the inspiration to the creative and crafty wall decoration and fabulous DIY project that consumed our next three days! So on the scavenger for some wood, I remembered that my mom had brought some beautiful, and I do mean beautiful, driftwood home from her vacation. This then became the base to my new wall decoration. Our next adventure was a trip to Hobby Lobby. Lets just say, we could spend all day there. We looked around for some inspiration, and we were led to the ribbon aisle. We found some beautiful glitter ribbon accompanied by a pink and teal combo. The ribbon we decided on were $3.99 a piece and the glittery ribbon was $4.99.Then we found the wooden letters which were $1.79 each (the letters came in packs of two). We are both suckers for glitter and we decided to glitter the wooden letters. We painted them first with black paint and then added the glitter which was a woppin' $2.99.  After much thought and consideration, the word "hope" won the contest. It was more of a debate, but who is judging? I wish we had a picture to show the wonderful products that we purchased from our local hobby lobby, but unfortunately both cameras were MIA. So this is a picture of the fist stages. 

Being that we both had to get up bright and early, we decided to call it quits after finding some sort of layout for the project. The more we thought about the wall, the more we decided we needed something else added to the piece. What more do you need than yarn to add some texture ($5.99)?

This project was super fun to put together and very easy to assemble. If your creative juices get to flowing by a piece of wood, go for it! You never know what you might come up with! 

Happy Blogging, 

Heather and Jessica (: 

P. S. More tips to come on how to hang heavy wall hangings :)