New Sponsor Spotlight!

I am so excited to tell you all about our new sponsor, 

Izzy B Creations!

My friend Elizabeth started Izzy B Creations as a way to tap into her creative side while giving others SUPER cute clothing and accessories!  She specializes in pillow case dresses, adorable embellished flip flops, appliqued t-shirts and hairbows!  Elizabeth is an amazing woman with two adorable daughters who are her inspiration!  She has an etsy shop featuring a few of her items, but if you want something a little different, definitely convo with her - she's very accommodating!  Any item she sells is customizable with a large variety of fabrics and embellishments.  You will be extremely pleased with your order!

Izzy B Creations has offered to do a fantastic giveaway through Fabulously Domestic, so head on over and enter - you don't want to miss out on her fabulous creations!!

TABASCO - So much more than hot!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of TABASCO® Original Red. All opinions are 100% mine.

The Super Bowl is right around the corner - which for me means preparing LOTS of game food for my hubby and boys!  That's one of the days that we really splurge on our diets and eat lots of fun stuff.  Our menu always includes pizza, party mix, chips and dips, hot wings, and more.  

My hubby is a HUGE fan of TABASCO® Original Red; he seriously uses it on almost everything - eggs, casseroles, burritos, chicken, and especially pizza.  I have always been a little scared to try it - until last week.  Hubby finally convinced me that it's more than hot - it really has a good flavor.  I put some on my pizza and holy cow, I love it!  I usually just order the cheapest pizza I can find, and while it's ok I've always thought it needed something.  The TABASCO really brings out the flavor of the pepperoni and the sauce.  I don't think I'll ever go without it now.  When I went to the Pizza Perfected part of the website, I couldn't believe the ideas they have for pizza!  I'll have to try a couple of them and post again.  Especially the Pesto and Salad Pizzas!!!

For our Super Bowl Party, I'm also going to try some of the recipes I found on the Game-Day Party Menu.  This one is definitely on my menu now:

Hot & Spicy Party Mix

• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted 
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 
• 2 to 3 teaspoons Original TABASCO® brand Pepper Sauce
• 1 1/4 teaspoons seasoned salt 
• 8 cups of your favorite Chex^® brand cereals (corn, rice and/or wheat) 
• 1 cup mixed nuts 
• 1 cup pretzels 
• 1 cup bite-size cheese crackers 

Combine butter, Worcestershire sauce, TABASCO^®Sauce, and seasoned salt in a small bowl and mix well. Pour cereals, nuts, pretzels and cheese crackers into a large plastic zip-top bag. Pour butter mixture over cereal mixture inside Zipper Bag. Seal top of bag securely. Shake bag until all pieces are evenly coated.
To prepare in microwave oven:
Pour contents of bag into a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high 5 to 6 minutes, stirring thoroughly every 2 minutes and scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Spread on absorbent paper to cool. Store in airtight container.
To prepare in conventional oven:
Pour contents of bag into an open roasting pan. Bake in a 250°F oven for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool and store as directed above.

Makes 11 cups.

Note: Due to differences in microwave ovens, cooking time may need adjustment. These directions were developed using 625- to 700-watt ovens.

Nutritional information per serving: 242 calories, 5g protein, 29g carbohydrate, 12g fat, 1mg cholesterol, 655mg sodium

I also have a recipe for a great buffalo chicken dip - I'm thinking I'll substitute the TABASCO for the old sauce I used.  It'll add a lot more flavor that even the kids will like!  

So what about you?  Do you have any great recipes to share for the big game day?  

Real Homes, Real Messes, Real Life - I'm linking up!

Decor Chick is doing a link up today.  Real Homes, Real Messes, Real Life.

This is the kind of link up that makes me want to hide my head in the sand. lol  I am so nosey, that I can't WAIT to see other people's homes and what they think is messy.  But if I didn't provide my own pics, then I'd just feel guilty.  So here it is - and there is tons more, but I'm not ready to expose everything!

The living room - kids being lazy, toys, blankets and who knows what thrown around, bare mantel.  Ahh, home. 

The laundry room - all kinds of totally random items everywhere.  Our way-too-big collection of jackets.  I should probably just donate half of them - we are in Houston for goodness sakes!

Our master closet - UGH this looks worse than I thought in real life.  lol  I NEED to really spend some time in there sorting through my hubby's clothes.  To the right is other 2/3 of his clothes.  Yep, that tiny section to the far left and those few dresses in the back are mine.  I need to go shopping.

Monkey-man's room.  It actually doesn't look THIS bad today.  He went in and cleaned his room yesterday all by himself.  He just turned 3 - I think this may be a small miracle!

Luv Bug Magnets

This is the tutorial I shared over at Crystal's Craft Spot - I wanted to post it here, too for anyone who didn't happen to see it! 

I'd love to show you guys a little craft we just threw together with some items from our big craft box.  I'm sure the idea isn't new, but it's cute and fun!  AND, this is about the only time I've ever gotten my boys to use pink paint!

Luv Bug Magnets

You will need:

Clothes pins

Magnet strips

Paint

Glue

Ribbon

Googly Eyes

Pipe cleaners

Any other crafty items you like

Protect your work surface.  Paint clothes pins with craft paint.  Don't worry about it being perfect - mostly just cover the sides.  The rest will be covered with ribbon.

Let dry completely.  Glue ribbon to top of clothespin.

Now glue to the inside half of where you pinch.  

I just pushed the ribbon down in there with the tip of my scissors.

Now add any embellishments you like.  We used pipe cleaners, small pom poms and googly eyes.

Here are our little Luv Bugs hard at work!

Find me here:

Squeaky Clean

Ok, so I'm working on cleaning up - my office/craft/sewing room, my potty mouth, and yep - my blog appearance!  This will be a work in progress as I'm definitely NOT someone who knows my way around design, code, etc.  So bare with me.  If you have any ideas or tips for me, PLEASE feel free to comment or shoot me an email!  I'd love the help.  

In the meantime, to go with the theme of squeaky clean, how about some sure-to-embarrass pictures of my boys!

Man's Best Friend? Doubtful.

Last Thursday, as I was running around like a mad woman getting all five of us packed for a trip to Tulsa, my hubby called to tell me he rescued a puppy.  WHAT?!  1st, he's not the type to rescue any animal.  2nd, we were leaving town in 30 minutes.  And 3rd, I've told him a million times that we won't get a dog until the kids are grown - I just don't have time to devote to a dog.  He brought him home anyway.  

Over the course of our weekend out of town, the pup got loose.  A great friend was taking care of him for us, but a scared puppy in a new place is not a good combination.  So yesterday when we got back into town I had to rescue him again - this time from the animal shelter.  I'm thankful he was there, safe!  

The kids have named him Scruffy, because well, he IS scruffy.  They're real creative like that.  (Actually they named our kitten Princess Sophia Fluffy-Butt, so maybe they used all their pet-name-creativity for that.)  

He's a total mutt - some kind of terrier mix.  My sister in law actually has a dog that looks just like him and he's ugly as sin.  At least it won't be a surprise as he gets older!  

He's a very sweet pup - he loves to play with the ball, his silly piggy toy or pretty much anything you can throw.  He also thinks he's a lap dog.  Yesterday when I was walking him and a jogger was running towards us, he went NUTS barking and growling.  But normal walking people, he likes.  (No, sorry runners are not normal - who runs unless they are being chased?!)

The thing is, even though I didn't want a dog, and my hubby is the one that rescued him - who takes care of Scruffy?  Big surprise, huh?  Hubby seems to think the boys should take care of him.  And they will have their own responsibilities - The Chief takes him outside to potty, Con-man VOLUNTEERED to pick poop up???  And Monkey-man will feed him.  

Don't laugh, I'm under no illusions that those things will actually happen.  But I might be ok with it for this little guy.  I'm very happy to have someone who will make me go for walks, will protect me from crazy joggers, and will tilt his head all confused every time I whistle.

Find Me Over Here!

Today I'm super excited to be doing a guest post for Crystal over at Crystal's Craft Spot!  Come check out my quick little tutorial for some super cute 

Luv Bugs and show her some luv!