MOVING TO A NEW LOCATION

Ok, I am sure you are probably already aware of this, but if you don't know, I have changed blog hosts! I am now located at www.olivegypsy.wordpress.com

Come on over and click the subscribe button and show me some Love! :)

Lynn's Fried Rice Recipe

This is a repost of the fried rice recipe from my previous blog. It's here by special request.. enjoy! Cook it up. I promise, it doesn't disappoint. ;)

My mother-in-law, Lynn (or Lola), makes the best fried rice. Everyone that eats her rice always wants the recipe, so here it is! It is so delicious, you won't believe how easy it is to make.

First you start out with cooled rice. She usually makes hers in a rice maker the day before. She uses Mahatma rice. There is a difference in good Mahatma rice versus an off brand of rice, she will tell you! Then you break apart the rice so that there aren't any clumps. She says to break it apart by hand; I don't know why but this is just how things are done and I don't question it. :)

Get a skillet going over medium heat, and add some oil and chopped garlic.
Now... I know this is going to be hard to believe, but you have to add SPAM! *gasp* Don't worry, I am an avid Spam hater, and I ate this rice up like it was going out of style...and THEN found out she used Spam. I survived, and so will you. You will like it, I promise. The Spam adds the saltiness you need for the perfect fried rice. So, suck it up, and try it.



Next, you add your rice. The important thing to remember with the rice is to fold it over. If you do too much stirring, your rice gets mushy. Give it time to get a little of the fried texture on the bottom of the rice, then fold it over.

Now you need to add some soy sauce. I do not have a measurement.. just until the rice is a little brown.

You need about this much. It's an exact science, as you can see.

Mix it all together by folding it over until it looks like this. You won't get every grain of rice brown. It's okay to see some white rice.

Now, add your frozen carrots and peas; however much you want.

Lynn. She's pretty..and she can cook. :)

YUM-O! This is the perfect fried rice! She adds a scrambled egg sometimes too. When you do that, you just push the rice to the side, add a tad of oil (just enough so the egg won't stick to the pan), and crack the egg directly into the pan. Then scramble it up and mix it with the rice. You can also add chicken to the rice. She's even made this stuff for breakfast with bacon added to it. At first, it was a little weird for me, but who would turn down bacon fried rice?? Hello!

Addison loves Fried Rice. "Mommy loves rice, she eats rice everyday," is what she told her teachers today at MDO. I assure you that even though it looks like it, that is NOT true, even though this stuff is good enough to eat every day. Try it out and see if you like it!

--Amber

Nothing says "I Love You" like a Ring Pop & Pizza!

Chris and I actually celebrated our Valentine's Day last night. Mr. Social wanted to make sure and miss the crazy crowds, plus my parents were willing to watch the girls last night. :) We went to our favorite restaurant.... Applebee's of course, and then we went to see the movie Safehouse with Denzel. (I thought it was a fantastic movie, btw. Very suspenseful.)

So it is a low-key V-day over here. We are hanging out with Mamaw today, instead of our usual Friday visit. She bought the girls some little Valentine's heart candies, so they are as happy as can be. (And they are actually playing Cinderella as we speak... and Mamaw is the Fairy Godmother. Needless to say, the girls are LOVING it.)

I bought the girls some Princess Ring Pops, and they are happy little campers. AND.. since they are only 2 &4, they don't have anywhere to actually go to make Valentine's cards, so instead we are going to hit the clearance rack tomorrow and snag some cheap valentines. We are going to stock up. It's the best time to get little cards to color to keep them occupied, PLUS all of the little stickers. MK is the sticker queen. I frequently have to "de-sticker" my house, but as long as they have fun!

AND...we are going to go get a heart-shaped pizza today from Papa Murphy's. I will take any excuse I can get to have pizza! Just remember, nothing says "I Love You" like a Ring Pop and a Heart shaped pizza!

Happy Valentine's Day!

How to Make Your Own Laundry Soap

I will have to admit, I was just like you probably are right now. I can sense your skepticism. Make your own laundry soap...enough for 1 YEAR?! Unheard of! Ridiculous! It has to be a SCAM! Right?!

Wrong.

It really is a legit deal. I made some, and I am LOVING it. It's super convenient, and to be honest with you, I feel like my clothes are softer..and cleaner! (Probably thanks to the Oxi-Clean, I am guessing.)

AND, you only use 1-2 TABLESPOONS per load. (2 TBSP if it is a large load, or extremely soiled.) That just goes to show you how much "filler" is in commercial laundry soaps.

Isn't it pretty?! I added a couple of scent boosters just for the heck of it, but that is completely optional. I am a "Couponer" and I ALWAYS have coupons for Downy Unstopables or Gain Fireworks, so I added them. I originally added the Gain Fireworks scent, which are the pink grains you see there. It was an okay scent, but I prefer a "clean" smell, so I opted to add the Downy Unstopables Fresh Scent. In hindsight, I probably would have just gone with the Downy instead, but I figured a little extra scent booster wouldn't hurt a thing, and it doesn't! :)

I also decided to drag out my trusty Silhouette Cameo (Seriously the BEST little machine I have ever had!), and I made a cute sign out of vinyl for the front.

OK, so here is what you will need:

1 Glass Apothecary jar. I used a 2 Gallon one. I found it at Wal-mart in the kitchen supply section.

Scent booster *Optional

Borax...what is Borax??! Heck if I know. I found this recipe on Being Creative Blog, and she added it. I am no chemist, so I decided to stick with her plan, for the most part.

3 bars of Fels-Naptha. (As you can see, Millions of Women insist on it. Who am I to argue?)

Now, here is a handy little tip: Get out your food processor and your GRATER attachment and GRATE the Fels-Naptha bars. THEN switch to your regular food processor blade to break down the soap shavings further. (Don't bother to add your scent booster to the processor. Those things are made out of steel apparently, and you will NOT be able to chop them up any more. Save yourself the time. They are small enough anyway.)

Baking Soda, because EVERYONE knows that baking soda cleans just about everything...and deodorizes too!

Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

Oxi-Clean because it SERIOUSLY does get the stains out. I swear by the spray stain remover. I tried that Totally Toddler Stain Remover spray when my kids were babies and quickly switched to Oxi-Clean. Billy Mays did know what he was talking about when it came to this stuff.

I found everything in the laundry aisle at Wal-Mart, with the exception of the apothecary jar, which was in the kitchen supplies. If you are really smart, you will get it at Hobby Lobby when they have it on sale, or they have their 40% Off coupon.

Now all you have to do is put it in your apothecary jar, and mix it up! (It is easiest if you layer it though, to make mixing easier.)

Aren't you frugal?! AND you don't have to even THINK about laundry soap for about a year!! Woohoo! Check out the HowDoesShe Blog as well. They did the financial breakdown for you, if you are interested. (HOWEVER, always remember to USE YOUR COUPONS if you want ultimate savings!)

Click the link below to print out a grocery list so you won't forget anything :)

Enjoy doing laundry with your super thrifty frugal self!

MYO Laundry Soap Grocery List

Printable Copy

1 Box of Borax (4 lb. 12 oz.) 1 Box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda (4 lb.) 1 Box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (3 lb. 7 oz.) 3 Bars of Fels-Naptha soap Oxi-Clean (try to get about 3.5 lbs. total ) 1 bottle of Downy Unstopables or Gain Fireworks Scent Booster (13.2 oz.) 1 Glass Apothecary Jar (2 Gallon) (And don't forget your vinyl and transfer tape if you are making a cute sign for the front!)

Iced Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits

This has to be one of my favorite things to eat in the whole world..and they are SO easy! I have been guilty of going through Whataburger's drive-thru just for some biscuits like these. To put it mildly, I was DEVASTATED when they stopped serving these! The only solution was to come up with a recipe, so here it is!

(By the way, I used buttermilk in my biscuits because I had some in my fridge, leftover from making homemade butter. I needed to use it up, so I added it to this recipe. Regular milk will be just fine in here!)

Iced Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits

Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS: 2 cups flour 1-1/2 tablespoons light browns sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1 cup buttermilk 1/2 stick butter 1/2 cup raisins 1/2 cup cinnamon chips DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly spray a baking dish with cooking spray. (I actually used two pans) Mix all ingredients well in a bowl. Pat out your mixture on a flat surface, leaving it about 3/4 inch thick. Use a biscuit cutter to cut biscuits. Place biscuits your oven-safe dish. Bake for about 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and top with icing (Note: I do not have an exact recipe for the icing. I just mix powdered sugar, vanilla, and a small amount of milk and whisk it until it looks right! I'd be lying to you if I gave you measurements! Just know that a little milk goes a LONG way. If I had to guess, I would say, 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, 1-2 tbsp milk. I should have measured this out while I was making this, but I forgot to!)

Granola Cups & Almond Date Balls

I guess I am in a baking kind of mood. This is a recipe 2 for 1 post! :) Not that either of these are actually "baking". However, I did stick them both in silicone baking cups, so I guess that makes it qualify. I made the granola cups for the girls for breakfast or snacks. I figured making them is a LOT less expensive than buying granola bars.. because these girls can go through some granola bars!

I also decided to make the Almond Date Balls in honor of Tamar (and because I had a huge box of Rice Krispy Cereal) :) I am reading a book right now that was recommended to me from a friend.

Lineage of Grace by Francine Rivers.

Product Description

2009 Retailer's Choice Award winner!
In this compilation of the five books in the best-selling Lineage of Grace series by Francine Rivers, we meet the five women whom God chose—Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary. Each was faced with extraordinary—even scandalous—challenges. Each took great personal risk to fulfill her calling. Each was destined to play a key role in the lineage of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World.

This book is actually only about $9 on the Kindle and it's one download for all 5 books. Lineage of Grace is a book with all of them combined into one. So far, I am really enjoying it!

Anyway, Tamar's name in Hebrew means "Date Palm"....so it made me think of making something with dates. See how no matter what I do, the thought of food just creeps in there??! :) I actually made my grandmother's recipe, but her recipe called for pecans, not almonds. I had almonds on hand so that's what I used, and they turned out FABULOUS.

My recommendation is to make some of these Almond Date Balls and download the book on your Kindle or iPad and RELAX! It's a good combo. :)

Granola Cups

Printable recipe

INGREDIENTS

2.5 cups of quick oats

1/2 cup rice krispy cereal

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3 tablespoons of ground flax seed

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

• Mix everything together in a large mixing bowl, except for chocolate chips.
• Once everything is well incorporated, mix in your chocolate chips.
• Spoon mixture into your silicone baking cups.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.
• Let cool, and enjoy!

Almond Date Balls

Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS

1/2 stick of butter

8 oz. package of dates

1 cup brown sugar

2 Tablespoons Karo syrup/.

1 cup finely chopped almonds

3 cups of Rice Krispy cereal

Powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS

• Mix all ingredients, except for the rice cereal in a saucepan on the stove.
• Cook for 3 minutes.
• Remove from heat and transfer to a large mixing bowl and add the 3 cups of Rice Krispy Cereal.
• Mix everything together well and let cool a little so it will not burn your hands.
• Once cooled, roll mixture into balls
• Roll in powdered sugar.

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Birchbox January 2012

What is in this month's Birchbox??

I am loving Birchbox!! :) This gives me a chance to try out some new products without spending tons of money! I have to say that I am loving this polish! I have had several compliments on it. If you are interested, check out the link above. Sign up to get your beauty fix.

---Amber

Salted Caramel Sauce

Earlier this year, I had surgery to remove my wisdom teeth. I decided not to have the anesthesia since it costs more, and let's just say that if I had to do it over again... drug me up! Maybe I am a wimp, but it was HORRIBLE. I decided I would rather go through labor again. (Although, I am sure that if I were actually in labor, I would be thinking I'd rather have the wisdom tooth extraction.)

Anyway, while I was laid up in bed, I realized that we had the cooking channel for free that week. WOOHOO! I caught an episode of Kelsey Nixon's show called "Kelsey's Essentials", and she made salted caramel sauce. And even though I was in pain, throwing up, and bleeding.. I still wanted to make salted caramel sauce. SO, I finally did! I used her recipe as a base, and made a couple of changes. (More salt and butter....what?! In my defense, the butter that I bought came in 4 TBSP sections, so I was lazy and threw it all in.) Had I known how easy this really was, or how delicious, I would have made it sooner.

I've been adding a bit to my coffee in the morning, with a splash of creamer. It takes the place of sugar...just tastier! You can do whatever you want to with this. It makes a great topper for ice cream or cheesecake, or whatever your heart desires! :)

Salted Caramel Sauce Printable Recipe INGREDIENTS 1 cup sugar 1/4 cup water 3/4 cup heavy cream 4 tablespoons unsalted butter 1-1/4 teaspoons kosher salt DIRECTIONS In a saucepan, combine the sugar and water. Bring the mixture to a slow boil without stirring.(While your sugar mixture is on the stove get all of your other ingredients measured and ready to add.) Continue to boil the sugar water (about 5-6 minutes) until it reaches an amber color. Remove mixture from heat and carefully whisk in the heavy cream. The mixture will harden for a few seconds and bubble up, but continue to whisk until everything is smooth. Stir in the butter and salt. Transfer to a mason jar and enjoy!

Birchbox December 2011

So have you guys heard of Birchbox yet? I am all over this! I LOVE trying out new products, but don't want to waste my money on a full-size product that I might not like, so this is the solution: A Birchbox! "Four to five hand-picked deluxe samples delivered to your door for $10 per month." Free Shipping.

Here is what was included in December's Birchbox.

I am excited to try this stuff! I am LOVING That perfume too! The box also included a $20 off a $75 purchase from Birchbox. (Birchbox sells full sized products too, so if you really like something, you can order it!)

So if you are a beauty product guru, this might be something for you!

These are a few of my favorite things...

I figured I would do a quick post about a few of my favorite things right now. :)

1. Flour and Sugar Glass Canisters.

I bought these canisters and "improved" them by using my Silhouette! So much fun, and I L.O.V.E. these :) They look fabulous on my counter, plus I have a large container to hold ALL of my flour and sugar in now. Before I had these, I had flour and sugar in a few different containers because I had nothing big enough to hold it all.

If you are interested in buying a set of these, you can email me at abarber1029@yahoo.com

2. NAKED 2 Palette!!

This is AWESOME. You guys know I loved the Naked palette by Urban Decay, and now they have a follow up one. I think I may even like it better than the first one! Love the colors, love the packaging, love the fact that they threw in a double-ended brush this time. It also came with a small Lip Junkie Lip gloss in Naked--It's great, I just forgot to add it in the pic. Yes, I bought these the MINUTE they came out. I think they are already on back order, but keep checking the website!

http://www.urbandecay.com/

3. mark. Cosmetics makeup bags.

I have all three of these. The gold one is really big which works great for travel, and the small one is what I use in my purse to hold a lip gloss, mascara, and powder. I probably use the mid-sized purple one the most though. It is just the perfect size.

www.mymarkstore.com/abarber

4. Lip gloss.

Cutest packaging ever. Thanks mark.! :)

www.mymarkstore.com/abarber

5. Shea Cashmere Shower Cream and Body Cream

Smells dreamy and is the perfect formula for moisturizing; not too greasy.

www.bathandbodyworks.com

6. Softsoap Wintermint Party body wash.

You can get this stuff at Wal-Mart. Smells just like peppermint, and is very refreshing!

7. Starbucks Salted Caramel Hot Cocoa mix.

Need I say more?? Other than you can get this at Wal-Mart in the Christmas Gift section.

8. Comfort & Joy Scentsy bar.

"Combine the anticipated with the unexpected. Spicy, familiar woods marry with surprising white florals, pure citrus, and just a nibble of gingerbread for a winter fragrance that’s anything but ordinary."

To me, this smells very fresh and clean. Love it. Makes my house smell like I have been cleaning, when we all know I have been blogging instead.

www.amberbarber.scensty.us

Try these out...all of them, or just a few! :)

30 Sucks Pajama Party

My best friend recently turned 30 and to celebrate, we had a "30 Sucks Pajama Party". There were strict instructions to not bring your children! When you turn 30, you at least deserve a little grown-up time without being interrupted with the constant barrage of "Mama, Mama, Mama". However, our "grown-up" time was thought to be best spent by having a sleepover. A throw-back to remembering our younger days, if you will. :) It was very cliche. We even watched "13-going on 30". (Well, at least I did. By the time we got to the movie, the term "Sleepover" was taken literally by most.)

30 really doesn't suck, but we really wanted to make some sucker center pieces for the tables. Cute huh?! (At least I don't imagine it really sucks. I will soon find out.) We also had cereal boxes for breakfast since it WAS a sleepover.

Here is the set up :) We gathered here in my Studio. I love this room by the way. This is my space: the place where I work, craft, chit-chat with friends, etc. I am working on turning it into a "Coffee Shop" themed place, little by little.

And the Birthday Girl's favorite cupcake (according to her husband) is a Pumpkin Cupcake. I decided to make Pumpkin Spiced Latte Cupcakes with Whipped Cream Icing. I found the recipe here. I stuck with the recipe for the most part. I nixed the espresso powder and used instant coffee granules, added more sugar (why not?!), and a cream cheese filling. Now the icing job is lacking on all accounts, but that is what happens when you are impatient and won't go to Hobby Lobby to buy a large Wilton decorator tip. All that matters was the cupcakes were delish :)

HA-Here is the Birthday Girl, Cassidy. I was trying to leave her nameless, in case she cared, however .... (Sorry, I don't photo shop.)

We got wild and crazy with a game of Phase 10 :)

This was my sly way of seeing all of the cards everyone had....haha! :)

We set up an air mattress in the living room and the kids were all too happy to play on it in the morning. :) Here is MK enjoying her cereal while sitting on it.

And here is my other little sweetie. She spent the night with a friend of ours..and had a WONDERFUL time! (Thanks again HOLLY!)

And yes, Holly is the coolest; she even paints fingernails whatever color you want...and that includes EVERY color. :)

I would say that Cassidy's turning 30 was pretty anticlimactic, but that's how we want to keep it! I mean, 30 isn't the end-all. Martha Stewart didn't become "Martha" until she was 41... so we have plenty of time to accomplish what we want to, Lord willing. :)

Happy 30th Birthday Cassidy! Love ya :)