Archive for July, 2012

Tasty Tuesday: Breakfast Scones

Tuesday, July 31st, 2012

So this Tasty Tuesday recipe is bucking the trend for me.  1. It’s NOT vegan and 2. It’s NOT healthy…BUT it IS tasty! 🙂 I recently visited the most darling family owned bookstore/coffee house where I ordered a Soy Chai Tea Latte to keep me company while I browsed through the books. The owner tempted me with her fresh out of the oven homemade orange-cranberry scones and I simply could not resist. They smelled so delicious and proved to be the perfect compliment for my tea. I enjoyed my little treat while cruising shelf after shelf of gently used books. It was such a lovely way to enjoy a rainy afternoon!

Since that day I have been slightly obsessed with making scones. In fact I have made them each morning for the last 6 days; each day experimenting with a different flavor. So far orange-peach has been my favorite. I honestly don’t know how I got through 33 years of life never having made scones before. I guess I had NO idea they were so easy (granted I am cheating a little by using a pancake mix). For the past week waking up each morning to enjoy a freshly made scone (or two) with a hot cup of tea while reading my book has been completely heavenly. So wonderful that I wanted to share this super simple recipe with you!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of your favorite pancake mix (the kind that you only have to add water)

1/2 cup of your favorite milk (I have used coconut and almond)

Your choice of mix-ins. Some ideas include: cinnamon-apple, lemon poppy seed, mixed berry, orange cranberry, or chocolate chip. My favorite so far was the morning I made a batch of orange-peach scones with orange zest and a freshly chopped peach. They were so yummy!

sugar, for sprinkling on top

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400. Mix all ingredients together, including whatever mix-ins you are using. Kneed dough together with hands and flatten into a circle on floured surface. Cut into 8 triangles much like you would cut a pizza or a pie. Sprinkle each triangle with sugar. Bake on an un-greased cookie sheet for approximately 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Abandon the $4.00 per scone prices you find at the fancy coffee shop and make your own batch to enjoy by yourself…or better yet invite some girlfriends over for scones and tea! 🙂

What’s your favorite scone flavor? Would love some ideas of new flavors to try!

-Sarah

Product Review: Hippy Pits – All Natural Deodorant by Delish Naturals

Monday, July 30th, 2012

I have tried many several different brands of all natural deodorants mostly with disappointing results. While I don’t like the harsh and toxic ingredients found in many name brand deodorants, I also don’t want to be sweaty and/or stinky either. Usually I settle for harsh ingredients over stinky BO…BUT thanks to Hippy Pits All Natural Deodorant by Delish Naturals I may not have to settle any more! I have been using Hippy Pits for the last 2 weeks and am diggin’ it! 🙂

What I like about Hippy Pits:

  • The ingredients – Hippy Pits is free of all harsh, synthetic ingredients and full of soothing, natural ingredients. It is even free of baking soda. While baking soda is a common ingredient in many all natural deodorants, it can irritate the delicate underarm skin so it did not find it’s way into this refreshingly unique product. Just what exactly IS in Hippy Pits? Ingredients include beeswax, apricot kernel oil, sweet almond oil, arrowroot powder, cornstarch, silk amino acids, vitamin E, and essential oils.Oh how I love turning over a product and reading familiar words in the ingredient list!
  • The Scent – Hippy Pits comes in fresh and fun scents with names as clever as the product itself. All products are scented with essential oils. I have Daisy Chain which is made from Bergamot, Geranium & Lavender. Shortly after I put it on for the first time, my mom even commented that I smelled good and asked me what I was wearing. She totally cracked up laughing at my reply, “Um, Hippy Pits deodorant?” 🙂
  • Overall effectiveness – Okay this next part is a little embarrassing to admit, but because it provides valuable information about the effectiveness of the product I will share. I went four days without showering and relied exclusively on my Hippy Pits to keep me smelling fresh and clean. I was actually kind of surprised how well it worked during those four days. I even asked my hubby if I smelled funky and he assured me I was still cuddeable 😉 Hippy Pits also passed the running test for me. This is super important because I don’t often have the opportunity to shower after a run before heading out the door. I need to be confident my deodorant will do its job well so I can be in public post-run without scaring people away.

Stuff I wasn’t crazy about:

  • Left my pits feeling kind of “tacky” – If you are accustom to using a gel deodorant this may not be an issue for you. I however typically use a stick deodorant that is really dry so Hippy Pits felt kind of wet/tacky to me at first. I got use to the sensation over time but it was an adjustment.
  • Top does not close properly – This may be a funky glitch that is unique to my own particular stick of deodorant but for some reason the top of it will not close all the way. This does not interfere with or effect the product in any way…it just kind of bugs me. 🙂
  • Left kind of a sticky residue after on my clothing after I went running – One time after a particularly hard run in humid weather, I noticed the pits of my shirt had some sticky residue on them. Correction my hubby noticed and pointed it out to me. I think during my run some of the deodorant came off with my sweat and it stuck to my clothing. I ran several different times with this deodorant and this only happened the one time. My guess is that it was a combination of the intensity of the run, the weather, and the fabric of the particular shirt I was wearing? In any case it’s something I noted about using Hippy Pits.

All in all a great product that I would reccomend trying out if you are in search of an all-natural, eco-friendly deodorant that smells nice AND is effective! 🙂

-Sarah

Sunday Funday Giveaway: Happy Pits – All Natural Deodorant by Delish Naturals

Sunday, July 29th, 2012

Let’s start with the name of this product…personally, I LOVE it! I think Hippy Pits is the PERFECT name for an all natural deodorant! It kind of makes me giggle every time I say it. 🙂

I have long searched for an all natural deodorant that is actually effective at keeping me smelling fresh and clean. I am happy to report that my search is complete! I put Happy Pits through the running test and the camping test…and it actually passed! I was a bit skeptical at first since I have not had much luck with other various all natural deodorants on the market. Visit back here tomorrow and I’ll tell you more about my experience with Happy Pits, including what I liked and did not like about it. In the meantime check out this awesome list of lovely all natural ingredients: beeswax, apricot kernel oil, sweet almond oil, arrowroot powder, cornstarch, silk amino acids, vitamin E, essential oils. I love when a skin care product is full of eco-friendly ingredients that I am familiar with and can easily pronounce! Hippy Pits comes in scents with clever names such as Therapy is the Pits (made with Tea Tree, Lavender, & Rosemary) and Daisy Chain (made with Bergamot, Geranium & Lavender).

Are you interested in trying Hippy Pits out for yourself? Then be sure to enter this week’s giveaway below for your chance to win a FREE stick of Happy Pits – All Natural Deodorant by Delish Naturals.

*Winner will be announced on Sunday, August 5. Winner will be notified via email and need to respond with shipping address within 48hours to claim their prize. Good luck everyone!

Sarah
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Video Product Review: Boba Baby Carrier – BobaAIR

Saturday, July 28th, 2012

Curious about the new BobaAir Baby Carrier by Boba? Look no further! I am stoked to share my thoughts about it with you! 🙂 The quickie review is that I give it two big thumbs up…in fact it’s now among my top choice favorite carriers. If you want more details about my first impressions and thoughts regarding the BobaAir, check out the video below.

Sarah

 

Fan Photo Friday: Furbabies!

Friday, July 27th, 2012

Recently my friend Michelle told me that during her pre-kid days she had pictures of her dog hanging in her office…and now she barely even takes pictures of her dog, let alone display them anywhere! My how things change once children enter into the family. BUT for today let’s honor our furbabies who for many of us were the very first “baby” we cared for. 🙂

Here is Michelle’s sweet family dog with an ouchie on her eye…poor girl! The other photo is of Michelle’s 3 adorable kidlets playing in the dog cage, lol!. Raise your hand if your kids like to play in the dog cage…I know mine do (see evidence below).

I swear I have toys for my boys, but the dog kennel, clothes line, and snowboard helmet are way more fun…

This is Jazmin’s then 6 month son and 11 year old old basset hound named Poe taking a nap together! Awwww! The bond between a boy and his dog is so special!

These cutie pies are Andrea’s two month old chihuahuas named Tallullah, Lola, and FeFe. She kept one and gave one to each of her sisters. Sounds like a perfectly sized litter! 🙂

Here’s what Melissa shared about this photo,  “This is our son Channing with our two dogs, Brixa the Great Dane, and Sergeant the Rottweiler.  He uses them as his own personal step stool, and play gym , lol.  They don’t ever seem to mind though!”.

Here’s a favorite picture of my two dogs Rex and Jonah snuggling together.

And similar to Jazmin’s photo, here’s my duo napping together. Abraham was so sleepy he fell asleep using Jonah as his pillow. Jonah patiently waited there while Abraham napped. 🙂

This picture was taken shortly after we adopted Rex. He was my very first dog so I had kind of special connection with him. One of the main reasons I wanted a dog was to have a running partner during my early morning runs. He was a great running partner for many years. He passed away earlier this year.

Thanks everyone who shared their furbaby photos with us! This week’s winner is Jazmin! Congrats Jazmin. 🙂 25 Milk Miles are headed your way…yahoo! 🙂

Ready for next week’s Fan Photo Friday assignment?  As most of you know Bonnie (co-owner of Moms Milk Boutique) is going to be meeting her baby very soon! In honor of Bonnie’s upcoming birth, let’s share photos of the very first moments we spent with our baby right after they were born. If you would like to share a picture of yourself holding your baby moments after birth, please send it to sarah@momsmilkboutique by midnight CST on Thursday, August 2. Then on Friday, August 3 we can ohhh and ahhh over all the sweet newborns! The winner will receive 25 Milk Miles.