Do Not Try This At Home!

Really, do not try this conditioner. It is horrible.  I bought this a week ago just to give it a try and I was not impressed at all. The shampoo is fine, but the conditioner is like using watered down Suave brand conditioner. It does not moisturize at all and leaves your hair feeling like you didn't even use conditioner in your hair. I will never buy this again. 

Has anyone else tried this conditioner?

-chelz

Things We Love Thursdays: Water Bottle Sippy Adapters

I think these Green Spout Water Bottle Adapters are one of the best inventions that no one has ever heard of!  It's a little adapter you can add to a regular old water bottle to turn it into a sippy cup. 

We first heard about these right before we went on a family trip to Disney World a few months ago.  We carried around on-the-go packets of Crystal Light, mixed it up it the bottles and the kids would drink all day long!  Perfect for keeping them hydrated.

I use these things ALL. THE. TIME!  They are perfect for trips to the park, car rides, around the house, etc.  They are small enough to stick in my purse just in case we're out and need to grab a drink.  Since they don't allow any air to escape it will sometimes cause the bottle to collapse on itself, but it's easy to just squeeze the tip and let the air back in.

What I Read: April

Without a doubt, The Fault in Our Stars was my favorite book this month!  Other than that, most of my books were just okay.  I'm really in need of a great can't-put-it-down, can't-stop-thinking-about-it-even-when-I'm-not-reading-it kind of book!


The Summoning (Darkest Powers, Book 1) by Kelley Armstrong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had a little bit of a hard time getting into the story and felt like it took a while for it to really get going. I also got annoyed at how long it took Chloe to accept the fact that she sees ghosts. I get that the author was trying to make it seem more realistic, but to me it just seemed to drag on. Other than that I really enjoyed this story. I liked the characters well enough and the ending was such a cliffhanger that I can't wait to find out more!!!!



The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was pure genius. It was heart-breaking, gut-wrenching, witty, smart. For the first half I had a giddy grin plastered to my face, falling in love with Hazel & Augustus and watching their relationship grow. For the second half I bawled my eyes out, sobbing so much at times I couldn't catch my breath. These characters were REAL to me. The situations they were in were REAL. Their every emotion and thought was REAL. I just can't put into words how I felt about this book but I am so glad I read it. It makes me want to be a better person and makes me more grateful for the trials I have in my life, that in comparison, they really aren't so tough after all.



The Awakening (Darkest Powers #2) by Kelley Armstrong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I thought this was pretty good. There were some things that got on my nerves a bit, like the constant references to "if this was a movie" and some things were a little .... gross (like bathroom references, throwing up, etc -- too much info for me!). Other than that I still enjoyed the story and couldn't put the book down. I hate that these books end in such huge cliffhangers though! Luckily I had the next one so I could start into it immediately. :)



The Reckoning (Darkest Powers #3) by Kelley Armstrong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I thought this was a really good ending to the series. Fast paced and things were resolved without being too "perfect." Overall with this series, I just never really fell in love with any of the characters and was never quite attached. But it was still a quick entertaining read and sometimes that's all you need. :)



Gregor And The Curse Of The Warmbloods (Underland Chronicles, Book 3) by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I didn't like this one quite as much as the other two. It seemed to drag in a few places and I had a hard time picking it up. But all in all, still good. 3.5 stars



Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Overall I enjoyed this book. It was a very interesting world the author created and I also liked the main characters. There were times that were edge-of-your-seat can't-book-the-book-down, and times that were very slow when i had to keep re-reading the same paragraph over and over. But all in all a good book.  3.5 stars



Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a very sad yet beautiful book. It gives me a heavy heart reading books like this and makes me grateful for what I have and the things I don't have to deal with that so many people did.

Sunday Best 4/29/12

Thanks so much to everyone who linked up last week.  We love seeing everyone's cute clothes, crafts, and treats!

Here are a couple favorites from last week:

I just love Lisa's black dress.  Very simple but very beautiful! 




















This bench makeover from Sassy Style is absolutely stunning!  I love the rustic feel to it and the colors are just beautiful. 















Aren't these chevron frames adorable?  I'm totally gonna make some of these for my daughter's room.  You can get the details from The Project Queen. 

RULES:

1. Link to a specific post on your blog.

2. Add the g*rated button to your post.

3. Make sure you check out other links to get ideas.  And no one would mind if you left a comment on their blog. :)

4. Follow g*rated.

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Frugal Friday: Dollar Store Car Oranizer

We recently took a long road trip with the kids and I found so many great ideas on Pinterest to keep the kids happy on the way.  One thing I loved was this idea to use a dollar store organizer on the back of the car seat to put the kids stuff in.  It worked perfectly for my kids!  They started out with some books, treats, markers, etc and as the trip went on they got some new things to keep them busy that they stored in this, too.  (I'll share some of my other travel ideas next week!)  Usually the kids' stuff ends up all over the car when we travel, but this helped so much to keep things in one place. 

Mini Muffins

I had wondered if it was possible to make Mini Muffins, baked in my grand daughters cupcake maker, and I found out how fast and easy it was. She was so excited to share and so proud of how many we got in a short time. They were eating them almost as fast as we were cooking them.... but then they just kept cooking too fast. We made their 2 favorite flavors and here are the recipes to share.

Lemon Poppy seed & Chocolate Chip Coconut Zucchini

We even tried Weight Watchers Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookie dough, and they  weren't too bad as muffins.

LEMON POPPY SEED MUFFINS  adapted from a recipe my friend found on the internet.

1 box lemon cake mix (or yellow cake mix with 2 tsp lemon juice added to the water)
1 c. boiling water
1/2 c. oil
1 sm. box instant vanilla pudding
4 eggs
1/3 c. poppy seeds

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix all ingredients together.

Fill muffin cups about half full. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.

 Makes approximately 3 dozen mini muffins

Chocolate Chocolate Zucchini Coconut Muffins -adapted from a Betty Crocker recipe

1 pkg. Devils Food chocolate cake mix 

1 tsp ground cinnamon

3 eggs

1/2 C vege oil

1 1/4 C water

1 C choc. chips

1/2 C flaked coconut  (optional)

1 C shredded zucchini ( I grate and freeze 1 Cup portions for future recipes in the winter)  

Preheat oven 350 deg. 

Spray muffin maker the first batch and not necessary for the rest. 

Combine cake mix & cinnamon & choc. chips. Add eggs, oil and water, blend. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed, then fold in zucchini.

Using a teaspoon fill cups 1/2 full and following the timing constructions on your little muffin cooker in approx 3-5 minutes you have muffins.

I'm sure you will like them as much as we do.

                                                                                                     -Buff-

WIWW- Casual Dressed up a Bit

There are days that I dont have to leave my house and I love those days. Here is what you might find me in on those days if I haven't climbed back into my jammies! If I do end up having to run a quick errand, I just dress it up a bit with a fun necklace and some colored shoes.





Top- Target
Cream Tank- Downeast
Jeans- not sure they are really old
Belt- F21
Shoes- Discount Shoe Factory
Necklace- Dollar Store

-chelz

Linked to: Rae Gun Ramblings, The Pleated Poppy, Real Momma, Rolled Up Pretty & Transatlantic Blonde