The OC OG is going to be a grandma!!

That's right! Vicki Gunvalson, the only original housewife left, The OC OG, the First Lady of Bravo, is going to be a grandma! Her daughter Brianna (one of my faves) is prego! Last week we saw her tell mama Vicki that she had eloped at a drive thru in Vegas. Hopefully this was much better news for her. Can't wait to see how she handles this. I have no doubt Brianna will be a great mother, but Vicki is going to drive her nuts.

Woohoo!!

Deal alert!! Nivea and giftcard deal.

Target has a deal this week on Nivea lotions. If you buy 3 (and the total of those 3 items is more than 5 dollars before coupons) you get a 5 dollar giftcard. This is what I did:

1- 1.7 oz extended moisture hand cream. $3.27

2- tins of cream. $0.87

Total before coupons $5.01 (generates 5 dollar giftcard at this point)

I used 1- $2 off any Nivea lotion coupon that came out a few weeks ago, but even if you don't have this coupon its a good deal. So my total was only $3.01 making it a 2 dollar moneymaker! Woohoo for free stuff!!

One month down.

So, we've been in Nashville for a month now and we are getting adjusted. It's been hot. But apparently it's only going to get worse, so... I might die. I used to hate when I would complain about heat in California and people would say "at least it's a dry heat." it would drive me NUTS... I totally get it now. Dry heat is so much better then humid, wet heat. So we have been staying indoors most of the time. Between the heat and the bugs, we can't hangout outside much yet. We did go to a pretty awesome park one day when it wasn't TOO hot. The locals call it dragon park. That's probably because it has a giant mosaic dragon statue that people climb all over. It really was quite beautiful. It also had some really nice playground areas and this cool tunnel the kids loved. And lots of shade. Thank god! It's on Blakemoore in Nashville across from Vanderbilt hospital if you are ever in the area with kiddos! I recommend it. But not when it's too hot.
Anyway, it's hot and the bugs are eating me alive, but I'm still liking it here. It's pretty and people are so nice and helpful. I've had 2 neighbors being us food, which I don't think I've ever had happen in Cali. And the thunderstorms are awesome. We had one today and the thunder was so loud, it sounded like cannons going off outside our door. To be honest I was terrified at the time, but since it happened a few hours ago, it's cool. And the lightening has been something else. Usually we just see flashes in the sky, but today we saw huge, actual bolts of lightening. It was way cool. Also, lightening bugs! They are fun to watch.
My inlaws are in town, and they stayed home with the kids last night and Brad and I got to go out for a while. It was nice and much needed. We saw Josh Turner, who was playing in the Opry Mills Mall parking lot for the grand reopening party for the mall! (that whole area was destroyed by the Nashville flood 2 years ago and just reopened.) And we went to Dave and Busters. It was a lot of fun! We played some games and had a drink. Nothing fancy, but it was fun.
Overall, we are doing well! The band is doing great, and has some pretty awesome things coming up! So stay tuned!

Best Ever.

Jurassic Park is hands down my favorite movie trilogy of all time. People find this weird and random. I don't understand why. They are just some of those movies that I HAVE to stop and watch whenever they are on. I have noticed that the first and third installments are on fairly regularly, but the second is very rare. I guess that one is just a little too far fetched. People like realistic stuff. Dinosaurs running a muck on a deserted island is one thing, but once you have a T-Rex terrorizing San Diego apparently you have crossed some kind of line. Even if Vince Vaughn is involved. So sadly, I don't get to see one very often.
I really need someone to start making a fourth installment. Seriously. It's been over a decade. The world is ready. And you can bet your bottom dollar that I will be first in line to see that. In high def and 3-D with today's graphic capabilities. Just imagine it... It would be epic. So, if someone could get on that, that would be awesome!
I have been asking the Hubs for the trilogy on DVD for a few years now, and I still don't have it. So I'm going to make it easy on him.. Mother's Day is coming up. Here is the link.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0057RCFQS/ref=redir_mdp_mobile?qid=1336197561&ref_=sr_1_1&s=dvd&sr=1-1
Thanks!

Brookies

I've got another recipe for y'all. ( <-----Check me out! I'm getting more and more southern by the day!) Today we made some delightful nuggets of goodness. I'm not exactly sure what to call these, but for now I will call them Brookies. Half cookie, half brownie, and REALLY simple, but super impressive.

Look how yummy they look!

 The original recipe that inspired these is here. (Have I mentioned how much I LOVE pinterest?) I really only made very minor changes.

Preheat oven to 350

Using a cupcake pan, smoosh down some refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough in first.  The kind of dough I used was already divided into cookies, and I used 2 cookies in each cup.

Next, I took a Werther's Original Caramel chew, and put in on top of the cookie dough.

The last step, is the brownie top! I used good ol' boxed brownie mix, but feel free to show me up, and whip some up from scratch. Spoon the brownie mix over the cookie dough, and caramel chews.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, blah, blah, blah. I'm sure you know the drill. Let them cool before you try to take them out of the pan. I was a little to anxious and had a couple crumble on me. They still taste good that way, but just don't look a pretty.

Finally, EAT! And if you make them while your Husband is at work, like I did, make sure you either save him some, or get rid of ALL evidence that they existed.  He might be upset that he didn't get any. Sorry, Brad!

Project Time! DIY chalkboard paint

This stuff is fun, and there are a million things that you could find to use it on. It's chalkboard paint! You can buy the stuff but I don't think it's cheap, and if you make it you can make it any color you want, and it's pretty dang easy!

All you need is
1 cup paint (the recipe I found called for latex, but I used acrylic)
2 tablespoons unsanded grout

I made this today

I used a piece of plywood for the base. I sanded it a little bit and then primed it with a spray paint primer.

While that was drying, I mixed the paint.

(Sorry some of these pictures are so blurry. I think I got spray paint on the lens of my phone)

When the primer dried, I sanded it again, then started painting away.

I gave it an hour or two to dry, and then lightly sanded it a third time. After that I used the side of a piece of chalk to color all over it, then erased it with a very slightly dampened cloth. This is supposedly supposed to "condition" it. Idk how important this step is, but Martha said to do it. And ever since she went to prison, I always listen to Martha.

Anyway, then I just decorated it with some buttons (I have a HUGE jar or buttons and am trying to use them somehow) and added a few clothespins to hold pictures or notes or mail or kids artwork or whatever.

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

As I promised..

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

1 3/4 Cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 salt
1 cup applesauce
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 vegetable oil
1 egg
3 packages (14 oz. each)
1/2 cup milk
2 1/4 cups chopped roasted peanuts (I actually used walnuts... because that's what I had on hand) 

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Whisk flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Combine applesauce, sugar, oil and egg in a large bowl. Add flour mixture; stir until blended. Spoon batter into a cupcake tin.

3. Bake 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into centers come out clean. Let cool completely when done baking.

4. Place unwrapped caramels and milk in large microwavable bowl; microwave on high 2 to 3 minutes or until melted and smooth, stirring after each minute.

5. Spoon caramel over cupcakes and top with nuts!

6. Get some milk and stuff your face!

I have two more cupcake recipes that I want to try soon. Pink Lemonade and Margarita! Stay tuned...