Tea For Two-sday ~ Teacup Tales Linky Next week

Welcome to Tea For Two-sday! Sit right down with that cup of tea and dream with me of pretty teacups all in a row!

I have shared my Teacup Tales with you a few times before:

Green & Gold

Painted Purple

Pretty Posies

Blue Twins

Next Two-sday, October 6, it's your turn to share a Teacup Tale! Anytime from now through next Tuesday, write your post about teacups and come back Oct. 6 to link it up right here! Your Tales don't have to be just like mine - share about teacups you like, teacups you've had, teacups you wish you had, teacup crafts, etc. And if you don't have a blog, then share about your teacups in the comments that day!

I can't wait to hear all about your teacups! I'll even remind you before next Two-sday! Have a lovely Tea For Two-sday!

P.S. Have you entered my Paperspring giveaway? One winner will get to choose $60 of Paperspring products like digital art cards or personalized stationery and all readers can get a code for 15% off!

Making My Home Sing ~ Homemade Peanut Butter

Another Monday - another chance to join in with Mom's The Word so we can make our homes sing!

I'm trying to make my home sing by taking on new homemaking projects each week. This past week I decided to attempt homemade peanut butter! I used this simple peanut butter recipe from Grocery Cart Challenge. Gail has lots of great homemade frugal recipes over there and this one sounded easy enough.

I gathered up my ingredients, making sure to buy the peanuts from the bulk bins to really keep the cost down.

Next I processed in my food processor. It took a lot longer than I expected to get a fairly smooth texture. It's not perfectly smooth, but close enough for us!

Here it is in the jar, ready for the refrigerator. It does firm up a little more after being chilled.

I thought the taste and texture was similar to the natural peanut butter we usually buy. Gail's recipe called for up to 2 tablespoons of honey; I used just under 1 tablespoon of Agave Nectar and that was plenty sweet for us. Hubby and I could even handle it with no sweetener - yum!! I was really surprised at how simple it was to make peanut butter - I will continue!

This week I'm not sure I'll be taking on any special projects as my Dad is arriving today for a visit and will probably stay until Friday. Visiting with family will be what makes my home sing this week!

How are you making your home sing? Stop by Mom's The Word to see how others are making their homes sing.

Have a wonderful Monday!! See you tomorrow for Tea For Two-sday!

I'm also linking this up to Do It Yourself Day at A Soft Place to Land. There are so many great projects linked up for you to check out!

Book Review ~ Bird

My friend Jill from the blog Frugal Plus does a lot of book reviews (and giveaways, so you need to stop by!). She received the photography book Bird by Andrew Zuckerman to review. Patricia from Chronicle Books decided to let me review Jill's extra copy. Thank you Patricia!

This book is very large (12"x 12") and heavy. It's definitely a coffee table type book. It contains Andrew Zuckerman's photographs of birds. But these photos are different - they have been turned into works of art. Andrew photographed the birds in front of white backgrounds with very bright lights and very fast photo speeds. The result is simply stunning!

Here's a little info about the book from Chronicle Books:

Bird -- Turning his camera to the world of birds, Andrew Zuckerman has created a new body of work showcasing more than 200 stunning photographs of nearly 75 different species. These winged creatures—from exotic parrots to everyday sparrows, and endangered penguins to woody owls—are captured with Zuckerman's painstaking perspective against a stark white background to reveal the vivid colors, textures, and personalities of each subject in extraordinary and exquisite detail. The ultimate art book for ornithologists and nature enthusiasts alike, Bird is a volume of sublime beauty.

I was amazed by the great detail in colors and textures of the birds and enjoyed looking through the book. It gives you the kind of close-up look at these birds that you could never get in nature. My 10-yr. old son was fascinated by the book and amazed at how colorful the birds are. The other thing we liked was that at the end, it tells you about all of the different birds so you can identify them.

Bird would not only be a fabulous gift for a bird-lover or photography-lover, but could also be a wonderful addition to a school library or classroom. The photos in the book really are a work of art and I'm glad I had the chance to see them!

If you would like more info on this fascinating book, stop by Chronicle Books. Also, Jill at Frugal Plus will be reviewing the book later this week and she just might be having a giveaway - so keep your eyes open!

The Nutella Challenge: Nutella Popcorn

Yay - it's Chocolate Friday!! Welcome! Grab something chocolatey to celebrate! And did you already enter my Paperspring giveaway and get your discount? Don't forget!

Today I'm sharing with you my creation for the second month of The Nutella Challenge at bell' alimento! I've said before that creating a recipe scares me so this is a true challenge for me! I think I came up with something that you'll enjoy - simple and yummy - Nutella Popcorn.

First, pop up some popcorn and lightly salt.

Then, carefully melt the white chocolate chips in the microwave and mix in the Nutella. Remember to take pictures *before* you transfer contents from a bowl! :)

Coat the popcorn with the melted mixture. Honestly, it worked best to mix it with my hands. Then spread it all out on top of wax paper to set up - hopefully in a cool place.

The coating on the popcorn will still be slightly soft, but if you refrigerate a bit, it will help. Or you could just eat it right away and not worry about it.

Nutella Popcorn

8 cups popped popcorn
1 bag (2 cups) white chocolate chips
1/3 cup Nutella

Melt white chocolate chips according to package instructions - either on stove or in microwave. After they are melted and smooth, stir in Nutella and mix thoroughly. Pour onto popped popcorn and mix until all pieces are well coated. Spread onto wax paper in a cool place to set up. Refrigerate if needed to harden coating a little more. Eat!

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That's my creation for this time! 100% of people surveyed liked this popcorn - that means that hubby, son, and I all liked it! :) Be sure to check out Paula's Nutella Challenge creation at bell' alimento and see all the other yummy Nutella recipes linked up there.

Got a chocolate post to share? I'm sure you can find something in those archives or whip up a new post in no time and bring it back to link up with MckLinky below. Thank you in advance for sharing all that chocolate with me! :)

P.S. I'm sharing this recipe for Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam! Go there for more yummy recipe ideas!

A Paperspring Giveaway For You

**Giveaway now closed.**

I hope you are having a great day! I'm about to make it a little better with a giveaway!

Have you heard of Paperspring.com? Not only do they have fresh ideas on paper, but they have free shipping on all orders and great customer service. They offer different kinds of cards, stationery, announcements, invitations, and something called Sticky Stock.

I got to try out a couple different products and I can say they are high quality. First, I ordered some cute little personalized stationery. I put: Lisa says, "Stop and smell the chocolates!" - at the top. You can get in a nice card stock, but I wanted to try the Sticky Stock. The best way I can describe it is like a really thin sheet of clingy vinyl. You can even have photos printed on it. I can write on it just like paper, but then I can stick it anywhere and it will stay put! Brilliant!

Look, I can stick it on the refrigerator:

I can stick it on a cabinet:

I can stick it on my laptop screen:

Wait, that is not a good example. No, no, I don't like that one at all - I don't recommend it for that use - LOL!

I also had a few Christmas cards made using Paperspring's Digital Name Art. I used my blog name and they turned out SO cute - I know you are wishing I would send you one - LOL! You can personalize the inside or leave them blank.

See? All kinds of fun stuff over at Paperspring! And they have generously offered to give one of my fabulous readers $60 worth of Paperspring product!!! Woo Hoo!!

To enter, go over to Paperspring.com, then come back here and leave a comment telling what product(s) you would like to try if you won. For one additional entry, follow @paperspring on Twitter and/or fan paperspring on facebook (even if you do both - it's one bonus entry) and then leave me a comment letting me know. One wonderful random commenter will win - the giveaway will stay open until 10PM PST Wednesday 9/30 and the winner will be announced on 10/1.

BUT WAIT - there's more! You are already a winner because Paperspring is giving my readers a discount of 15% off any product!! Just use code "stop4C15" and it's good through 12/31/09! So you could even get yourself some fabulous Christmas cards!

Have a wonderful day and don't forget to come back tomorrow for Chocolate Friday!

Works-For-Me Wednesday: Dish Soap Drizzler

I love being inspired by other blogs to try something new or to be reminded of things I've forgotten about!

A while back, over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam - I saw this idea Jen had for keeping your dish soap in a pretty glass cruet. Lovely idea - makes it look so pretty. You could try the same by finding an inexpensive cruet at a yard sale or thrift store.

Jen's idea reminded me that years ago, my hubby's aunt started keeping her dish soap in a small decorated glass oil pourer/drizzler. It was such a cute idea! So I decided that I would do the same! But to be more frugal - I refused to buy a bottle and only used what I already had on hand. I had a large glass oil drizzler that I wasn't using. I transferred my dish soap into it and here it is:

It works great! A smaller one would be a little easier to handle, but would also have to be refilled more often. My hubby even likes this!

Turning my dull dish soap into delightful dish soap works for me! For more Works-For-Me-Wednesday ideas, stop by We Are THAT Family!

What can you do to make your dish doap more darling, dazzling, dramatic or delightful? :)

P.S. Be sure to stop by here tomorrow - there will be a great giveaway (and it's not dish soap or a bottle - LOL)! Woo Hoo!

Tea For Two-sday ~ Almond Baby Cakes Again

Happy Tea For Two-sday! Hope your week is off to a lovely start and that you have a cup of your favorite tea already in hand!

I decided to rerun a post from last year. This is such a yummy little recipe! These cakes go well with tea, but also for any occasion. Enjoy!

Originally published June 3, 2008:

I felt like sharing a recipe for something yummy to have with tea. I have made these little cakes for tea - you can decorate them to go with any theme. Everybody likes them!

Here they are at a recent tea party:

I was in a bit of a hurry with this batch; you can take your time and really create something cute. I have even arranged them on a plate and spelled out a message with one letter on each little cake. And the recipe makes a lot, so if you "mess up" any decorating, you can go ahead and eat your mistake!

I got the recipe from a Betty Crocker booklet.

Almond Baby Cakes

CAKE:
1 pkg. Supermoist white cake mix
1-1/4 cups water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon almond extract
3 egg whites

ALMOND GLAZE:
1 bag (2 lb.) powdered sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup corn syrup
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 to 3 teaspoons hot water

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease bottoms only of about 60 mini muffin cups with shortening or spray bottoms with cooking spray.

2. In large bowl, beat cake mix, 1-1/4 cups water, the oil, 1 teaspoon almond extract and egg whites with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups (about 1/2 full). (If using one pan, refrigerate batter while baking other cakes; wash pan before filling with additional batter.)

3. Bake 10 to 15 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

4. Place wire rack on cookie sheet or waxed paper to catch glaze drips. In 3-quart saucepan, stir powdered sugar, 1/2 cup water, the corn syrup and 2 teaspoons almond extract. Heat over low heat, stirring frequently, until sugar is dissolved; remove from heat. Stir in hot water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until glaze is pourable. Turn each baby cake on wire rack so top side is down. Pour about 1 tablespoon glaze over each baby cake, letting glaze coat the sides. Let stand 15 minutes.

5. Decorate any way you like with decorating icing. Store loosely covered at room temp.


Hope you get a chance to try these out!

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Have a lovely Tea For Two-sday!

Making My Home Sing ~ Master Grocery Shopping List

Welcome to another Making Your Home Sing Monday! Don't you just love the thought of starting a week with a singing home? Right now, my poor neglected home is singing "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" - LOL!

Last week, I tried making yogurt (by the way, made a second batch - still quite thin, but tasty) and this time I wanted to create a master grocery shopping list. This is something I've thought about for a long time. When I make a list, it takes a while and I don't always organize it just right to keep my grocery shopping simple.

I finally did it! This isn't a list that could be used by others since I have organized it according to the order I shop the aisles of my Winco store. I also listed items that I purchase most often for my family. You could certainly use the idea to create a list that works for you though!

I listed each aisle with items I buy most often in the order that I see them and added some blanks to write in other items I might need. I put it in columns and kept it small so that I could print 2 on 1 page. I should clarify - that would be "we" since my hubby helped me do this in a spreadsheet. My hubs gets a good discount at Kinko's so it makes more sense to make copies than use up printer ink. But to further frugalize (that should be a word, I think) it, I'll be doing 2-sided copies. I'll have to remember not to throw away my list so I can use the other side! I will circle the items I need and write in the extras.

I haven't officially tested the list yet. I'm hoping to today. I'll make my list and shop to see if I need to make any adjustments before copying a bunch of them. I figure this will save me at least 10 minutes during list-making and at least 5 minutes in the store while trying to figure out what I need. That doesn't sound like a lot of time, but it does add up. And the even bigger benefit for me is that it makes the whole grocery-shopping thing (menu, list, shopping, putting away) seem just a little easier - mentally. That makes me much more likely to accomplish it in a more timely manner!

I think I'll take on making homemade peanut butter next. That sounds more fun than coming up with some sort of rotating menu plan. :)

Before I can test this list out though, I must do the GOBS of dishes waiting and get my kitchen cleaned up and singing a happy tune!

What are you doing this week or today to make your home sing? Go check out Making Your Home Sing Monday for a great card file cleaning system idea and see ideas linked up from others!

Have a great Monday! See you tomorrow for Tea for Two-sday!

Oh, and in case you were wondering - I am still planning on doing a Fall Fruits Week, but I'll do it in October. I'll keep you updated as we get closer, but it will include recipes with pumpkin, apples, pears, cranberries and chocolate along with opportunities to link up and giveaways! Our homes will be singing Fall songs!

Would You Like Chocolate With That? ~ Chocolate Review

Welcome to Chocolate Friday!! Woo Hoo - made it through another week (or almost!)! I declare that you shall reward yourselves with chocolate!

Instead of a recipe today, I actually have a chocolate review! Have you heard of blogging for chocolate? Well, I did get one shipment of chocolate to review but the UPS man caused it to have a meltdown. Please observe a moment of silence for my melted truffles...............thank you. Don't worry - I'll get more chocolate!

But wait - I DID get more chocolate - from a fellow blogger and friend that lives nearby! She offered to SHARE - yes, SHARE her chocolate shipment with me so we could do a joint review! Big thanks to Jill from Frugal Plus!! She rocks! By the way, you should check out Frugal Plus for tons of coupons, deals, samples, reviews and giveaways!

Anyway, Jill came over the other day with chocolate in hand (See? You love her already!) and we had some tea and tasted the chocolates. The chocolate came from Chocolate.com and included 4 different flavors of Swoonbeams organic dark chocolate bark.

The first flavor we tried was the Cherry Dark Bark - the cherry flavor was strong, but it overpowered the chocolate a bit.

Next we tried the Orange-Ginger Dark Bark - this chocolate was a little smoother texture, but the ginger flavor was strong. If you like candied ginger - you might like it!

Then we tried the Cranberry & Cacao Nibs Dark Bark - this had a good cranberry flavor, not overpowering and the cacao nibs added a nice little crunch to the texture.

Lastly, we tried the Peppermint Dark Bark - this was my favorite! The peppermint was nice and crunchy and mixed well with the chocolate. Yum! Definitely the best of the 4!

The chocolate bark did not have quite as dark of a flavor as I expected for dark chocolate, but it was organic fair trade chocolate which is a nice plus! Overall, the bark is good. I would recommend the Peppermint flavor or the Cranberry flavor as my favorites!

Here's Jill enjoying her chocolate!

And here's me - with my mouth full of chocolate, of course!

Thank you www.chocolate.com for sending delicious chocolate to blog about and thank you Jill for sharing!!

This concludes my chocolate review today. You can check out Jill's review on her blog. Two reviews for the price of one - LOL!

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Now, wouldn't you like to follow Jill's example of chocolatey generosity? You can! Just link up your chocolate post today with MckLinky below. It can be a new post or an old archived post - it doesn't matter as long as it's chocolate; we're all friends here! Share the chocolate by sharing your chocolate posts!!

Have a fantastic chocolate-filled Friday!!

Laugh With (Or At) Lisa ~ The Favored Child?

Well I think I'll get you to laugh today - either because you actually think I'm mildly amusing or because you are so glad that you haven't just made a complete fool out of yourself like the poor girl in this vlog! LOL!

I wanted to try a little "comedy" vlog for fun and that way I can link it up tomorrow for my friend Kim's Friday Funnies (unless of course it completely bombs which could very well be the case and then I will have to find Friday Fools to link up to!) **I'm not sure it's really funny enough, but Kim said to go ahead and link it up - I guess you can be the judge of whether it should be a Friday Funny or should have been a Friday Amusing To Some! :)

My sister claims that I'm the "Favored Child" but I think I can convince you that it's just not true. Hope you enjoy! You can also watch my video over at www.newbaby.com!

You think I have issues from my childhood? Why would you say that???

Happy Thursday! Come back tomorrow for Chocolate Friday and bring your chocolate posts to link up!!

Works-For-Me Wednesday: 12 Books In 12 Months

I used to be a really good reader - I practically ate books! Once I had my son, that all changed. I felt that I didn't have time to read. And then somewhere along the way, I lost the ability to focus on a book long enough to get through it without having to read several parts over. Chapters of the Bible, short devotionals, magazine articles, and blog posts have been my main reading. I can count on one hand the number of actual books that I have read from beginning to end in the past year!

I need to discipline myself to get back into reading. I just need to "practice" and to set aside the time to read and I'll be able to get back into it. My friend Charlotte posted that she was going to do 12 books in 12 months. I really like that idea and feel that it's very doable. I think it's an idea that could really work for me so I decided to do it too. I wanted to use 4 books that would help me in my Christian walk, 4 books that would help me in my homemaker skills, and 4 books just for literary entertainment. I also decided that all 12 books HAD to be books already sitting around in my house! Here's what I came up with:

• Passionate Housewives Desperate For God by Jennie Chancey and Stacy McDonald - I have already started reading this one and do think it has some excellent advice in it. I hope to finish by the end of this month.

• Cooking Essentials from The Cooking Club of America, along with Christmas From The Heart of the Home by Susan Branch and Holiday Snacks & Appetizers and Other Christmas Fun - I combined these 3 since one wouldn't equal a full regular book. The Cooking Essentials book has lots of great info on spices, equipment, and techniques which will help me in the kitchen and the other 2 will give me good ideas to start planning Christmas foods and gifts.

• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - Just wanted to read my favorite book again. I haven't read it in years.

• The Attributes of God by Arthur W. Pink - A book I probably should have read before now. Hubby highly recommended it.

• The Complete Guide to Getting and Staying Organized by Karen Ehman - I expect that all my organizing problems will be solved as soon as I read this book - LOL! Well at least I can get some good ideas to implement. :)

• A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens - I've never actually read this book, so figured this would be a good time!

• The Church In History by B.K. Kuiper - This is more of a textbook, but it will help me to understand the timeline of when everything took place.

• Designing Your Home On A Budget by Emilie Barnes and Yoli Brogger - I hope this will give me some more ideas of how I can make my home comfortable and cozy.

• Night of the Grizzlies by Jack Olsen - OK - you're thinking, "What???" I know. It baffles my husband also. It's the true story of a grizzly attack that happened in 1967 in Glacier National Park. I am rather fascinated by grizzlies and the fact that people don't always seem to understand how ferocious they are - and this took place in my home state which interests me too.

• Knowing God by J.I. Packer - Another good book that I really should have read long before now and it's on my son's school's Junior High reading list. Might be nice if I actually read it before him!

• Speed Cleaning 101 by Laura Dellutri - I hope to pick up a couple of good tips or be reminded of things I've forgotten.

• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott - A literary treat for me! I love this story!

I may change out some of the books as I go, but that's my list for now. And I may add in books if I'm doing well - LOL! We'll see!

Do you read a lot? Is there a certain time of day that works best for you? Do you think this idea would work for you?

For more Works-For-Me Wednesdays ideas, stop by We Are THAT Family!

Have a fabulous Wednesday!

Tea For Two-sday ~ The Tea I Wanted But Didn't Get

Happy Tea For Two-sday everybody! Pick up your favorite teacup and let me pour you a cup of tea. Now you just relax for a few minutes!

Do you ever buy tea as an impulse purchase? Are you always seeing new flavors of tea that you would like to try? Well that is a tough thing for me. I want to try all sorts of tea flavors, however you may have seen before that I really don't need any tea for a while!

I've seen this tea flavor before. I saw it again the other night in Whole Foods and it was even on sale! Sigh - but I still don't actually need it. And even on sale, it's kind of a high price to pay just to try out a new flavor. Sounds yummy though!

Have you ever tried Mighty Leaf's Chocolate Mint Truffle tea? I'm sure someday I'll come up with extra fun money to buy it or a really good justification why I should spend that much on a few teabags - LOL!

How much are you willing to spend on a box or tin of teabags? Which reminds me - there was a tin of tea that was also too expensive, but the flavor was tempting me - Carmelized Pear!

Have a wonderful Two-sday and enjoy your cup of tea!

Making My Home Sing ~ The Homemade Yogurt Project

I'm joining up again with Nan from Mom's The Word for Making Your Home Sing Monday! You really should stop by her blog to read some great posts and to see what other people are doing to make their home sing!

Last week I said I wanted to make my home sing by taking on the making of homemade yogurt. Well, I did it! It didn't quite turn out according to plan, but we ate it all and I'll be making it again this week.

My friend (Thanks Katie!) had made this yogurt recipe recently and was successful. It's a crockpot yogurt recipe from the blog A Year of Slow Cooking (if you're looking for slow cooker recipes, it's the place to go!). If you look up the recipe, you'll also want to read the suggestions and ideas in the comments. My friend added unflavored gelatin to hers before it sat for 8 hours and it turned out thick and creamy. I decided to be rebellious (there's that streak again) and make it just the way it stated on the blog.

Here's the milk and yogurt (as a starter) that I used. I didn't mean to get nonfat yogurt - oh well.

I made the yogurt so that it sat overnight in the slow cooker with a towel wrapped around it. And in the morning? It smelled like yogurt and there were some parts that had solidified a bit. I probably shouldn't have stirred it all up at that point, but I did. That's when I realized that I had some sort of yogurt "soup."

Here's the yogurt after being chilled and ever so slightly thickened! I was told that I should try straining overnight through cheesecloth, but my hubs said not to bother. He was enjoying putting it in a glass, stirring in some jam, and drinking it. I put mine in a bowl with some agave sweetener, a splash of Trader Joe's vanilla, and ate it like a cold yogurt soup! It was yummy! And we finished off the last of it blended up with fresh peaches and raw sugar - mmmm.

I'm going to make it again this week. I will still be rebellious and not add anything to thicken as I want to see if I can improve it first. I believe that my slow cooker did not stay warm enough, so I will heat a bit longer, store it in an insulated bag and towels overnight, and let it sit a little longer. It can't get any thinner - LOL!

To continue improving my homemaking skills to make my home sing some more, I'll take on another project this week. I want to make a master grocery store list. I would like something that lets me circle the items I need and have it in the order I shop at Winco. I'll let you know what happens!

Are you trying anything new to make your home sing this week? Any yogurt improvement suggestions?

I'm also linking this up to Your Life, Your Blog at Real Life! Head over to read what others are up to and link up your own post from the previous week!

Have a fabulous Monday!

Would You Like Chocolate With That? ~ Chocolate Chip Shortbreads

Happy Chocolate Friday!! Another week survived; another chocolate reward - LOL! I really do hope that all of you have had a great week! If not, then you just go ahead and help yourself to an extra piece of chocolate. :)

I found this recipe in a magazine a few years ago. It really is easy, though you have to be careful of how crumbly it is! Also, since it uses unsalted butter, it has a milder butter flavor that you might not be used to. Still yummy and better for you without all that salt! (Go ahead, use your red pen to mark all my grammatical errors in these sentences!)

Chocolate Chip Shortbreads

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate mini chips

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Have a baking sheet ready.

2. Mix flour and 1/4 cup granulated sugar in a medium bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender (or rub in with fingertips) until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in mini chips.

3. Gently press crumbs together to form a dough (heat from your hand will help this happen). Place on baking sheet; pat into an 8-in. disk. With a sharp knife, score into 16 wedges, cutting about halfway through dough. Prick wedges twice with a fork.

4. Bake 25 minutes, or until shortbread looks dry and golden at edges. Immediately cut through score lines. Cool 5 minutes on baking sheet before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Can be stored airtight at room temperature up to 3 days.

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Yum! You might even have the ingredients now - try it out for a Friday treat! I should disclose that my son didn't really like these, BUT he also doesn't like chocolate which ruins all credibility. :)

Now it's your turn to link up a chocolate post with MckLinky below! I know you want to!! You can write one or go dig one out of your archives! And actually, even if you linked an old one up months ago - link it up again, especially since mean old Mr. Linky lost all of those old links! I make it soooo easy to share the chocolate!

I'm also linking this up to Tasty Tuesday over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam! You must go check out Jen's vlog about quick freezer meals and see all the other yummy posts linked up!

Have a fabulous day!

Giveaway Winner & Other Giveaways To Enter

Wow - I can hardly handle the originality and creativity of that blog post title - LOL! Good morning friends! First, I just want to say that I really enjoyed all of your comments yesterday! Glad you said what you felt like sayin'! :)

I suppose you want to know the winner of the Life Verse necklace! It was the last person to enter - that was the random number picked! Isn't that cool?! The winner is...

Nancye

Congrats Nancye!!

Now, now - I don't want the rest of you being sad for the rest of the day. The least I can do is share several giveaways around the blogosphere! Go and enter! This is not a comprehensive list by any means! If you know of a great giveaway that I didn't mention or are having one, leave the info in the comments!

~ Blessed Beyond Imagination: My friend Kathy is having a giveaway for the cutest measuring cups EVER SEEN!! You can go look, but no need to enter 'cause I really want to win these - LOL!

~ 5 Minutes For Mom: They are having a 10 Days of Disney Video Tour and giving away 10 gift bags full of stuff - worth over $200 each! Wow!

~ Keeping The Kingdom First: My friend Alyssa is giving away a Lunch Builder Prize Package - not only does it include an ipod Shuffle, but it also includes a $65 Walmart gift card! I'm sure you could find a use for that!

~ Reviewsings (Musings of a Housewife): Jo-Lynne has a great package of Sun & Earth natural cleaning products to give away! You get 4 different products (along with 1 refill) to try!

~ The Inspired Room: Melissa has so much lovely Fall stuff, including several examples of using gilded items for decoration. She actually has a gilding kit to give away! Now you can try it out!

~ Frugal Creativity: Melissa often has giveaways and this is a very cool one! It's for a PUR Flavor Options Pitcher! Not only does it filter the water, it gives you the option to add flavor to your glass of water - too cool!

~ Really Working From Home: Marilee is celebrating the Grand Opening of her site with LOTS of items to giveaway! I'm sure you'll find something you like!

~ Frugal Plus: My new friend Jill along with Shawn Ann have lots of giveaways regularly. Just stop by and look at the top of the right side bar. All the giveaways are listed right there for you! There are currently 11 - wow!

See all the fun you can have?! Again, these are only a few of the giveaways out there that I happened across while hopping around. Feel free to let us all know about more!

Have a fabulous day and be sure to stop back here tomorrow for Chocolate Friday! Bring your old or new chocolate posts with you so you can link them up and share the chocolate!