Photos: Gift Exchanges

I take part in several internet gift exchanges and I've mentioned them before. (Remember all those dog toys and toys for Rory?) Here are some recent gifts I received. The necklace from China was actually ordered by someone in the states from Amazon. :P

Review: Movie: Trick 'R Treat

Trick 'R Treat is my quintessential Halloween movie. It's even set on Halloween. It's also really scary (to me) and full of gore. It also has Anna Paquin before she was Sookie in True Blood.

One of my favorite things about really old films is that there is usually more than one story line we are following. This movie also does that. We have several intriguing story lines that area all set to freak you out.

One of the more main characters is the creature in this poster. He is a bit like a creepy doll and the size of a small child.

Another story line has to do with a bus of mentally handicapped kids that had been killed years ago on Halloween in their costumes, by their bus driver.

We also have a creepy principal as well as several other nefarious characters.

One of the reasons for the multiple story lines is that fact that Trick 'R Treat was actually a comic before it was a movie.

I have never read the comic, but I've heard it is much more scary and gross than the movie. If you want to read it let me know what you think.

What is your traditional Halloween movie? Anything new striking your fancy? Did I you find a new movie that you are interested in watching?

Baking: Cream Cheese Pancakes

The recipe for these keto friendly pancakes is pretty simple. For every ounce of cream cheese use an egg.. I made the whole block of cream cheese but reduced the number of eggs I used by two. The batter spreads really then. I ended up stacking my second batch. Also this IHOP sugar free syrup tastes super awesome and I can totally have it. 

Beauty: Spray Tan Part 1

Thanks to Groupon, I recently tried something I never thought I would do. Spray Tan! I will say this I didn't hate it. Lydia found the groupon on line and wanted to try it for her birthday. It was only about $15 so I said, well why not.

 It was a little more complicated than I thought. For a mystic tan you have to put a blending cream on your feet and hands. There is a giant step by step poster for what you should do before you hop into the spray tan machine (which is about the size of a shower.) The groupon let us do 2 spray tans and Lydia found out that the tanning salon offered your first time for free! We had a total of 3 spray tans.

The first time I went I didn't use enough blending cream. My hands and feet had the ompa loopa orange effect that you expect/ fear with a spray tan.

My second time went much better. I got a lot of nonspecific compliments. People could not tell what was different but knew that I looked nicer.

This is a before shot of my leg, day of.

This is the after shot. Notice how there isn't a HUGE difference? That's because you can't see most of the result till the NEXT day. You also can't shower for the first 4 hours.

Next time I spray tan (hopefully the 27th), I am going to take a ton of photos of my results and offer up a day before, hour before, and what to expect.
Be on the look out for that.

Photos: Isaac turns 1!

Review: Movie: The Uninvited

The Uninvited sounds like a movie about a haunting. You expect ghost throwing things and that sort of thing, but this movie isn't doing what you expect. The main character comes home after being in a mental institution. Her dad has married her new step mom and her sisters shares the main characters dislike.

Suddenly and sporadically things start to get strange. This pattern begins to pick up and as your brain tries to figure out what is going on, you're thrown a curve ball. LOVE IT! 

Baking: Roast Turkey

I'd been talking about it and finally roasted the turkey I bought. I cooked it at around 375 for 3 hours. It was mostly thawed but I ran it under cold water just to make sure then I:

1) Rubbed it with olive oil

2) Sprinkled it with salt, pepper, and italian seasoning

3) Placed it in a turkey bag, bone side up.

Inside the ribcage I placed a 1/2 stick of butter and added extra salt, pepper and italian seasoning. After the first hour, I flipped it. For the THIRD hour I took it out of the bag so it could brown, but I left all the drippings in the pan. 

What is your method/ recipe for roasting turkeys? I hope to make another one soon and would love some advice. 

Photos: Gaming: Pokemon

I accomplished this for the first time recently on Pokemon Pearl. Andrew has been letting me play on his DS. 

Review: Movie: The Ward

This is one of my new favorite thrillers. The main character is brought into a psych ward with a few other girls in it. One by one they start to disapeare. As the main character tries to pull together facts and plan an escape.  The other girls in the word either work against her and with her. She learns their dark secret and soon finds her self in the middle of an unexpected plot!

I wasn't initially impressed with the film, but as the characters expanded I suddenly couldn't pull my eyes away. The ending had me standing up, yelling at my TV. I even let out a surprised little scream. Currently this flick is streaming on Netflix. Have you seen it?

Health: Back to -12lbs

The last few weeks have included

1) A lot of traveling

2) A lot of family

3) A lot of cheating

It tasted good but I had such mixed feelings. 

This week I really pushed to NOT cheat. Hopefully this will continue through the weekend. After several weeks of here and there weight I'm finally back down to -12 lbs. It feels fantastic. 

Recently my friend Rachel gave me a massive pile of her too big jeans ... most of which are too small for me, but some of them are close. Which feels amazing. can't wait till I can ACTUALLY  wear them!

I bought groceries today including a massive turkey breast. I can't wait to roast it!  

Photos: Jessica's Bridal Shower

Back when summer was nearly here and my hair was a bright red, I took part in my friend, Jessica's, bridal shower. It was so much fun.  Kat, her maid of honor, did a fantastic job organizing it. We also went to an art walk and to Lotawata Creek (a place I'd only heard of, but never been to). It was a super fun weekend filled with good friends. I ended up taking such an extended summer blog break that I never got around to sharing these with you. (Wedding photos to come!)

Review: Movie: Attack the Block

This movie was a big surprise. My boyfriend wanted to watch it back in January and, even thought it's from across the ocean, we were able to find it at a red box.

The only complaint that I have is the language barrier. The UK slang really threw me off. I had a hard time keeping up every once in awhile, but I didn't miss anything important.

It also has Nick Frost, who you may recognize from flicks like Shawn of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and Paul.

The monsters are also really cool. They are the blackest black except for their teeth!

This is a great movie for Halloween. We watched it twice!


This is DEFINITELY on my Halloween Must See List. 

DIY: Easy Laundry Detergent

Now I've made laundry detergent before. You might remember this post. Looking back it was a TON of work (even if it made me feel like a mad scientist). This so simple. I bought a grater that sits on top of a bowl (so much easier than a potato peeler). One bar of soap took me about 15 minutes. Then you add one cup of borax and one cup of washing soda. I put it all in a mason jar and shook it up. Now I can do laundry with just ONE TABLESPOON. 

A big problem with my first post was that after I made it, it settled. It was really chunky and hard to use. Also finding a container that fit my needs was kind of difficult. The mason jars look nice and this mix can't change consistency too much. If you like this post feel free to  

Baking: Dog Treats

With Halloween and Christmas on the horizon, I'd like to make you look a little lower to your pet! (Unless you have very large pets.) You may remember the gift exchange I mentioned. In one of the photos you can see a plastic container well it contains these heart shaped puppy treats. They were supper easy to make and Andrew's parents dog Tar LOVED them (and so did his sisters dog!). I already had all the ingredients that I needed. This is the recipe that I used.

Make sure to read the instructions before you start tossing stuff in a a bowl. The oats need to soak with the water and butter.

If you decide to cook these up for your favorite pooch let me know! Also feel free to  !!

Photos: Gift Exchange

I made a few of these gifts myself. Including a toy rocket and some dog treats. 

Review: Movie: Dale and Tucker vs Evil

Tis the season for scary movies, but this movie turned the idea of your typical teen scary movie and turns it on it's head. It gives the villains point of view, but in this case the villains are just misunderstood. None of the evil they are doing is intentional. It all kind of just happens around them. They are just as freaked out as everyone else. At first I thought this movie was going to be really cheesy, but it's actually really amazing!

Have you seen it? What did you think?

It's on my Halloween Must See List! 

Baking: Tomato Basil Butter

Recognize this picture? Well I also used these roasted tomatoes to make home made ketchup. It's insanely simple. Roast tomatos, buy butter, and basil.

Then bend until smooth.

Can it and enjoy on everything :P I have used this to cook salmon in and also to make a sandwich with bacon and spinach. This butter made it seem more BLT like since I'm not a fan of eating tomatoes. It's so good I think you should

Halloween Must See List

With October starting tomorrow,  I couldn't help but list a few of my FAVORITE scary movies. I've linked the ones that are published (or will be published). Enjoy and expect to see some great scary movie reviews coming up. (If I think of some that aren't on the list I'll add them).

Trick R Treat
The Others
Jennifer's Body
The Birds
The Woman in Black
Attack the Block
Shawn of the Dead
Dale and Tucker vs Evil
Hide and Seek
White Noise
The Uninvited
Insidious
The Ward

Scary movies do things that most other movies don't. They show off that true black that you were focused on when you bought your TV set, they are quiet and then suddenly very loud (I always keep my remote near by), and they always drop massive hints in the story set up.

I find myself drawn to stories that include a psych ward. They have the best twists! Was it all a dream? Is she just crazy? Did we ever leave the ward? Aside from that it includes a disassociation factor. Having never spent time in a psych ward, the movie may be scary but it doesn't leave me scared for hours. I avoid movies set in apartments, houses, or with other familiar situations. The "it could happen to anyone" factor is great for character development, but terrible for a second shifter whoes most awake hours are in the middle of the night.

What are your favorites and why did they stick with you?

Beauty: Feeling Fall

Could it feel more like fall outside? Probably not. I pulled together this look. My eyeshadow is a little hard to see but is both yellow and orange. In my hair is a feather piece from Forever 21 that I picked up for under $3 recently. It's a little hard to see but I am also wearing a brown shirt and my brown toms with some blue jeans. 

How have you been getting into fall?

Photos: 1 Year Anniversary

Andrew and I finally got to celebrate our one year anniversary (which was closer to the beginning of the month. We headed up to Belleville. Andrew was driving so I played some pokemon (because I'm such an adult.) Andrew and I also went to the mall. I got a teavanna drink and Andrew bought his first teavanna tea! 

The next day we went to a crepe place as well as the melting pot. Andrew wasn't too sure about the melting pot, but once we got the meat cooking he was hooked. For desert we had Cookies and Cream Marshmallow dream. The waitress made some liquid fire and toasted the marshmallow. It was crazy and SO delicious! you can go just for cheese or desert which I would definitely recommend.  

For our last day we said good bye to Jen, Luke, Lydia, and Chewie. We found some cute little places to snack at in the city. I found a place that makes chai popcorn as well as cinnamon roll butter cake. Our GPS had a senior moment as it told us to turn onto "road." Yes, thank you gps. Andrew and I had to get our sushi and panda express fix. If you see all those dresses we also stopped by the disney store and I wished I could buy them all and they would fit, but I'm not a 10 year old so it just couldn't be. It was a great weekend and I got to see tons of great friends! (I was excited to see how Jessica's new house was shaping up!) Andrew and I had tons of fun! What kinds of things are MUST do things in Saint Louis for you?