Cyber Monday Specials!

It's the Monday after Thanksgiving which can only mean one thing...It's Cyber Monday! Are you ready for this...Christmas is less than a month away. Can you believer it? Have you started your shopping yet? I have not and I need to get with it!

I have some great Scentsy specials for Cyber Monday going on right now. If you are interested send me an email at wicksdontmakescents@gmail.com . My Cyber Monday Specials will expire on November 30th.

In addition to my specials, Scentsy still has their Buddy Holiday special going on right now. Buy 1 Buddy get the other Buddy FREE! (Lenny the Lamb and Wellington the Duck are not included in this special). You get to pick out 1 Scent Pak and Scentsy will pick out the other Scent Pak for you. Buddies are incredibly soft and will look great under your Christmas tree!

Fall Fun at Walden Farm

We love our church. We love our church family. We love all the family activities the church offers. We are very lucky to have the Walden families (brothers Robert and Raymond) as members of our church. Not just because of their leadership as elders but also because they own Walden Pumpkin Farm. Every year on a Sunday night the entire church goes to Walden Farm for fun, food, and fellowship. There is the corn maze, the pumpkin farm, hayrides, hot dogs, drinks, dessert, animals, slides, and more. The amazing part is it is free for us.

This was our first year to take Molly and we all had a blast. Molly loves being outside so this was right up her alley. We started out at the pumpkins.

After we spent time in the pumpkins we decided to head over to the slide. Molly loves to slide! Keith took Molly down the slide first.

Then it was my turn with Molly.

After the slide, we decided to take advantage of the surroundings so we took pictures.

After the meltdown, we headed back down the hill but made a pit-stop for a few more pictures.

We had to find out how tall was Molly this fall. It looks like she is about 2 1/4 feet tall. Tracey helped me with the picture. Since we were close to the chickens, Keith had to take a detour and missed this part of the farm. Tracey had to "hold" Molly in place so I could take the picture. Once Molly realized Tracey was doing her best to hide from the camera, Molly had to see what was behind her.

After Molly realized there was someone behind her, Molly never turned around for another picture. Oh well.

We met back up with Keith for the hayride. We knew Molly would love the hayride because she loves the wind in her face.

After the hayrides it was time for dinner and time to go home.  It was such a wonderful evening to spend the afternoon and evening with our church family.



Molly and her buddy Robert Walden



Wicks Don't Make Scents

Have you met Tom? If not then let me introduce you to him. Tom is Scentsy's October Warmer of the Month. Tom is a full-feathered turkey that glows from within when lit. He also has distressed edges to give him a beautiful worn look to his classic detailing. Tom will look great with your Thanksgiving decorations. There's no doubt Tom will become a mainstay for your fall decor. If ordered during the month of October, you will receive a 10% discount.  If you would like to make Tom a part of your family just click on the Scentsy button on the right hand side of the blog.

Feel free to email me at WicksDontMakeScents@gmail.com

Mom's Potato Salad

One of my all time favorite foods that my mom makes is her potato salad (my favorite is the turkey she makes on Thanksgiving).  It is always requested at all holidays and family gatherings. I was craving her potato salad the other day so I called her to get the recipe and the response I got from my mom was "Oh, I don't have a recipe. I just wing it." So, after a little coaxing I got some sort of "recipe" from her. It's super easy and you can adjust it to your taste which works out great since there really isn't a recipe.

Mom's Potato Salad
Red Potatoes (they are more firm when cooked and will not fall apart when stirring unlike other types)
Jar of Pimentos
Onions
Green Bell Pepper
Mayonnaise (just enough to mix everything together - maybe a cup)
Mustard (just enough to give the salad a little color - maybe a tablespoon)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Wash, peel, and cube the potatoes. Boil the potatoes until you can stick a fork in them. Do not boil until they are soft because you need the potatoes to be a little firm  (because when you stir everything together you want potato salad not mashed potato salad). Drain the potatoes and let them cool for a little bit. Add all the ingredients to you liking. Stir. Enjoy!

Scentsy

I took the plunge a few weeks ago and joined the Scentsy family as a consultant. Feel free to visit my website. A few weeks in to this new adventure and I can  honestly say I'm glad I made the decision to sell Scentsy. I joined during the perfect season...right as Scentsy was rolling out their 2012 Holiday Collection. Ah! The holidays! Scentsy even has aa Buddy Holiday!

Right now Scentsy is running an incredible deal on their Scentsy Buddy. It's buy 1 get 1 FREE! Yes, I said free but it is only while supplies last! You get to pick the 2 Buddies you want and 1 Scent Pak. Scentsy will pick the 2nd Scent Pak. Pooki the Polar Bear and Scentsy Baby Buddy are excluded from this event.  Shop here for the Buddy Holiday!

What's a Scentsy Buddy? It's a cute stuffed animal that has a zippered "pocket" on the back for you to insert a Scent Pak. They make great Christmas gifts and baby shower gifts. My mom gave me Lenny the Lamb with the Newborn Nursery Scent Pak when I was pregnant with Molly. I keep Lenny on the shelf in Molly's room and her room smells so nice! Look here for the Buddy Holiday!

If you decorate for Halloween we have a few warmers that you might want to help set the tone!

If you enjoy Christmas we also have a few warmers you might like as well.


Use a piece of chalk to write how many days till Christmas. The kids will love counting down till Christmas.

These are just a few of our warmers we have for the holiday season. If you want to see the full collection you can view it here!

Molly and Mommy Time

While Keith was in Holland (yes, as in wooden shoes and windmills), Molly and I had lots of Molly and Mommy time. It was great. We went shopping one day and ended up at Target (not that a trip to Target is unusual for us). I thought it was time Molly sat in the shopping cart instead of in her carrier. She was excited when I told her she could ride in the shopping cart like a big girl.

After she got over the excitement, she decided she needed to take things easy, lay back, and prop her feet up.  Baby girl had her "lean" going on in Target. The only thing she was missing was a low rider shopping cart, some 22s for the cart, and some curb feelers.



Molly is so funny. She's really starting to develop her own personality and I love it. She makes me laugh every day.

Here she is resting on Jack (we named the bear Jack for Jack Nicklaus who apparently has the nickname "the golden bear"...who knew). Santa brought Molly the bear last year for Christmas.

Cast-iron Skillet Care

Most cooks (or those that love antiques and history) have a cast-iron skillet passed down to them from someone in their family. I am no exception. As a wedding present, my great aunt gave me my great grandmother's cast-iron skillet. The neat story behind this skillet is my great grandmother's brother-in-law (her sister's husband) made the skillet and gave it to my great grandmother as a wedding present.

Southern Living had a great article a few months back on how to take care of your cast-iron skillet and how to season it. I thought I would share it with you.

Cast-iron skillets will eventually lose its nice black sheen as well as being nonstick. So, here's how to season your skillet and make it shine.

Season Cast-iron Skillet
1. Scrub skillet well in HOT soapy water.
2. Dry thoroughly.
3. Spread a thin layer of melted shortening or vegetable oil over the skillet.
4. Place it upside down on a middle oven rack at 375 degrees. (Place foil on a lower rack to catch drips)
5. Bake 1 hour; let cool in the oven.


For day-to-day TLC, clean cast-iron skillet under hot water only. Do not use soap! Dry your skillet before storing.

You are probably wondering if you aren't suppose to use soap how in the world do you clean the skillet. You can use a stiff brush under running water while the skillet is still warm (but cool enough to touch). Kosher salt is a great scrubbing item for baked on food.

Top picture is before I seasoned the skillet and the bottom picture is after I seasoned it.

Before

After

Weight Watchers Wednesday

One of the reasons I love Weight Watchers is they make it so easy for me. The website is just a plethora of information. I love going to the "shop" where I can buy snacks you can't buy in the store. It also has a section for kitchen tools.

One of my favorite things I bought from the store is the Easy Measure Serving Set. I use these spoons all the time. They are sleek and stylish (as stylist as a serving spoon can be) which makes them easy to use when entertaining because my guests don't know the serving spoons are one of my Weight Watchers tools. These spoons have really helped me to learn the correct portion sizes.

The set comes in 3 sizes: 1 cup spoon, 1/2 cup spoon, and 1/4 cup ladle.

(yes, the picture is from weightwatchers.com)

Good Luck Kyndall

Good Luck Kyndall, Miss Scenic City, at the 2012 Miss Tennessee Scholarship Pageant this week.

The pageant is this week in Jackson, TN at the Carl Perkins Civic Center. Preliminaries are Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday with the final competition on Saturday. The pageant starts at 8:00 pm CST each evening. If you aren't able to make it to Jackson you can watch the pageant live on EPlusTV6.

Good Luck Miss Scenic City!

Happy Flag Day From Molly!

Hope everyone is proudly displaying their American flags today! Although, you should fly the American flag every day and not just on holidays.

Happy 6 Month Birthday Sweet Baby Molly!

Today my Sweet Baby Molly turns 6 months old. Where has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday I found out I was pregnant. Molly has brought so much joy, laughter, and light into our lives over the past 6 months.

Molly has 2 teeth. They both came in at the same time. We had no idea Molly had been teething until we actually saw the teeth. Molly never acted upset, fussy, uncomfortable, or in pain at all. She didn't even have messy dirty diapers, which we've been told usually goes along with teething.

Molly is also sitting up on her own and grabbing everything that is close to her. In addition to her 7oz bottles she's had carrots, green beans, pears, and peaches. Her favorite is carrots. (One night I was feeding Molly pears and carrots and my mom asked me what Molly was having for dinner and I tried to say "pears and carrots" but it came out as "parrots")

Molly continues to be a happy baby that smiles all the time. I couldn't have been blessed with a happier baby. I think I have the best baby around. I love her to the moon and back.

What a difference 6 months can make!

Weight Watchers Wednesday

One of the things I love about fall and winter is soup. I love soup and Weight Watchers has great soup recipes that are fairly low in points.

This past weekend I started craving soup. I went online to Weight watchers and found a tomato soup recipe. It turned out great. Serving size is 1 1/2 cups and is 3 points.

Fresh Cream of Tomato Soup
2 medium uncooked leeks, chopped (white parts only)
8 medium fresh tomatoes, cored and chop (about 3 pounds)
1 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
4 cups of vegetable broth
12 oz fat-free evaporated milk
1/4 Tbsp basil, fresh, chopped
1/8 tsp table salt or to taste
1/8 tsp black pepper or to taste

Coat a large saucepan with cooking spray and set pan over medium heat. Add leaks and sauté until soft (about 5 minutes). Add tomatoes, thyme and bay leaf; cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes break down, about 5 minutes.

Add broth and reduce heat to low; simmer, covered, 10 minutes. Remove from heat and remove bay leaf.

Purée tomato mixture in saucepan using an immersion blender (or working in batches you can use a blender; return purée to saucepan and set pan over low heat). Add milk and simmer for 1 minute to heat through. Remove from heat and stir in basil; season to taste with salt and pepper.

Happy Anniversary

This post is really late but I guess better late than never, right? On May 30th Keith and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary. Every year I tell him it's the diamond anniversary in hopes of getting diamonds but he never falls for it.
So, on a hot Saturday afternoon in Memphis, TN I got married to a wonderful man.

We were introduced by a mutual friend. We started talking in April, met in July, and were engaged in September. Our entire dating relationship was a long distance relationship. He lived in Georgia and I lived in Tennessee. After we were married Keith moved to Tennessee. So, here we are 3 years later, 2 new jobs, a new car, and a baby!

I loved our wedding cake. It was white cake with pineapple chunks with a pineapple filling. The baker didn't have it on her menu but she was going to add it since it was so good.

The Groom

The Bride

The cross I'm wearing was the cross my Granddaddy gave me Grandmother as a gift which she wore on her wedding. My mom also wore it on her wedding day as well.

This picture doesn't even begin to describe what a tangled mess this turned out to be but it was fun!

Chewbeads

Molly has two teeth and is working on a few more so she chews on everything. She really wishes that I would let her chew and pull my necklaces. Dont worry, I don't let her because I don't want her to break them and I they aren't soft so i know they won't feel good on her gums. I ran across this jewelry line the other day and Molly's wish has come true. It's called Chewbeads and they are fantastic!

Chewbeads are made with 100% silicone and they are soft on Molly's gums and her new teeth. I can clean the necklaces with the soap I use to clean Molly's bottles. They are also dishwasher safe. The best thing about ChewbeadsChewbeads is there isn't any BPA, PVC, Phthalates, Cadmium, or Lead in them. That makes this momma happy!

They have several different styles of necklaces to choose from as well as 2 styles of bracelets. I have 2 necklaces but I think a third might be in the near future.

June 6, 1944

Today, 68 years ago, brave young boys stormed the beaches of Normandy.

Today is the anniversary of D-Day.

I get chills when I think about the bravery and courage of the boys involved in D-Day (especially the first wave). Unless you were there, no one truly knows how horrifying that experience must have been. Please take a few minutes to remember the boys of D-Day, those that did not return home and those that did return home.

They truly were the greatest generation!