First of Many to Come {GIVE AWAY closed}

Hey Everyone! I was going to wait until tomorrow but I just couldn't handle it. I'm too excited for this giveaway-- because its the first of many to come! yay!
And today is a day to celebrate because I just hit 60 followers! Yay!
So here goes!

So Jasmine from Sparrow Nest Designs 

is offering to give away this beautiful ring.. 

I've featured Sparrow Nest Designs on here before

She has some really great jewelry.. Check out her stuff here & here are a few of my favorites:

Cassidy Yellow Gift Set (Ring & Earrings)

The Hopeless Romantic Necklace

Elegant Mint Lotus Necklace

Hannah Hair Pin Trio

Love Necklace in Brass

How to Enter this giveaway:

You can enter up to three times... Here's how:

1. Click FOLLOW on the left side of the page

Leave a comment on this post and let me know you are following

2. Click [LIKE] on the Its just called Spicy Facebook page on the right column of the blog, 

Leave a comment on this post and let me know you like my Facebook page

3. Go to Sparrow Nest Designs here, 

Leave a comment on this post letting me know your favorite item

The winner will be determined by True Random Number Generator the day before Thanksgiving.. So check back on November 23 to see who won!

Thanks for stoppin' by:

xoxo Jen.

Linkin up with some great blogs:

Cherished Bliss

Vintage Wannabe

Sugar Bee Crafts

The Kurtz Korner

Cherished Bliss

Hey Y'all! Today I have another Guest post from Ashley over at Cherished Bliss
She's pretty great so here she is...
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Hey everyone! I'm Ashley and I blog over at Cherished Bliss

We won't tell anyone, but this picture is before I had either of my kids! I really don't have any pictures of myself (that are good) but I swear I look the same... especially since this is a head shot ; ) 

I am so excited to be over here today helping Jenna out while she's busy with grad school! 

I recently moved and well... I've never really had a house where I've decorated with what I want to decorate with, and the world of blogging has really opened up my eyes to transforming pieces of furniture and decor! I never went to garage sales, but here I am.. taking things out of peoples trash now! You can find some pretty awesome stuff, and with a coat of paint, it's like brand new! 

Anyways, since I don't have an endless budget to decorate my house, or a budget at all for that matter, I have really been trying to use what I have with a few garage sale things thrown in here and there. 

So you ask? How do you completely change color schemes without buying new stuff? 

SPRAY PAINT, SPRAY PAINT, and some more SPRAY PAINT!

I recently bough this little rust covered bird cage at a garage sale. 

The picture makes it look better than it really was. It was dirty, gross, and blackish from probably never being cleaned, not to mention the rust. But there was still something pretty about it so I introduced this little guy to my spray paint! 

How I spray painted it

- First I primed the bird cage with spray paint primer (love it)! It covered up all the rust and gave me a nice even coat to start with!

-Next I used this really whimsical aqua color (which I will use in my craft room) but it was a little bright and cheery for the color scheme I have in mind for my new living room SO after I sprayed the aqua on, I sprayed on a few REALLY REALLY light coats of white until I got it looking the way I wanted. 

That's it! A whole new color!! 

I am currently spray painting pretty much everything I have to change the color of my house and the only cost is the spray paint, which is right up my alley!

So grab something old and ugly and spray a little color on it for a fresh look in your room!

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Thanks again for having me over Jenna! It was a blast! 

I'd love to have you stop by my blog and check out a few of my other tutorials.

I will have a lot of new ones coming up over the next few weeks as we enter my favorite time of year,  Christmas

and as I re decorate my house. 

You can also find a weekly link party on my blog. I'd love for you to stop by and share whatever you have been working on!

 -------------------------------------------------------------------------Thanks for sharing Ashley! 
Also, wanted to let everyone know that sometime between Wednesday and Friday, I will be posting our first {give away} so follow if you are not already and get excited! :)Thanks for stoppin' by everyone,

xoxo Jen.

Mock Starbucks Frappuccino Recipe

I've done it.. I've made my own Mock Mocha frap similar to Starbucks... maybe better... just sayin :)

First let me give you my Coffee tour...

This is my new coffee maker.. I love it. I love that it is RED! Noland & I have got some gifts already in preparation for our wedding.. He's not really in the kitchen much so he's letting me decorate it with RED... loves it. I also got these adorable stack-able coffee cups found at World Market (thanks Gloria) 

So the key to making the frap: I first made some coffee... 

Here's what else you need:

Sugar, Milk, Vanilla, Chocolate chips (or Chocolate Syrup)

and a hand blender.. I don't even own a regular blender yet but I'm already a huge advocate of the hand blender.. it mixes better than any blender I have ever used.

So here's the scoop. I used to work at a Starbucks.. it was actually in a Barnes & Nobles cafe. We made our frappucinos using a coffee, milk & sugar base that Starbucks had already mixed together and then would add the flavoring and ice. 

So here is what I did to make this similar {homemade goodness}:

1. Made some coffee... at least enough for 1 or 2 cups. I use Eight O'Clock- French Roast coffee.. It can be picked up at your local grocery store.. but you could use any coffee.

2. I poured 5oz of coffee in the blender cup:

3. Add about 1/2 cup of milk, 3 spoonfuls of sugar, some chocolate chips about 1/4 cup (you can be more generous if you wish), 1 teaspoon of vanilla

4. Fill with about 1 1/2 or 2 cups of Ice

5. Blend with the Hand Blender

Here is what you end up with.. Now pour into a Starbucks-esque tumbler cup and you can pretend you are really there...

That's all for today. This was truly delicious and I hope you all can go make your own or experiment and make this better... Let me know what you think! & Thanks for stoppin by!

xoxo Jen.

Linking Up: 

Saturday Craft Day

Lovely Crafty Home Weekend

Show & Tell 

DIY Show Off

Craft Envy

Think Pink Sundays

I Heart Naptime

Young & Crafty

Polish the Stars

Beneath the Rowan Tree

Keeping it Simple

Craft O Maniac

Skip to My lou

Sew Can Do

Polly want a Crafter

Dittle Dattle

The Girl Creative

Embellishing Life

Boogieboard Cottage

Guest Post: Montgomery Zoo

Hey Everyone! I know its been a while... Well today we are blessed with a GUEST POST from Kinsi over at Anima Kinsi  She's great so go check out her blog or leave some love here! :)

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Hey, all you ZooZooReview lovers! 

Kinsi here, guest-blogging on behalf of the beautiful Jenna (and her zoo partner-in-crime, Noland).  To tell you the truth, I’ve been hoping to do this for a while now.  My zoo partner-in-crime (husband Nick) took me to a pretty sweet place back on October 23, 2010, to be exact. 

As the name suggests, the Montgomery Zoo is located in the city of Montgomery, Alabama.  We happened to be there for some training for my Air Force hubs.  This zoo is settled on 40 acres, all landscaped and at the time, decorated for Halloween.  The decorations ranged from bats in trees, Halloween-y cartoon characters that the kids will surely love, and the occasional smattering of blood and guts.  Ew.

Note: there is a military discount.  We’re an Air Force family (thanks to Nick), and we often forget to ask about that sort of thing.  So if you’re that type too, you’re welcome for the reminder!

(Some of the tiles and brick as you enter the zoo, and a nod to our family moniker.)

Exhibits are well-planned, and for the most part, give animals plenty of room to roam.  One of the things that visitors will appreciate is the ease of visibility that each exhibit affords.  I can’t think of a single exhibit where we couldn’t spot the featured animal.  Part of that might have been the beautiful fall weather: why wouldn’t those animals want to be out and about when the sun is shining and the breeze is blowing?

(Baby white tigers.  Check out those eyes!)

(Indian Rhino.  My husband being a troublemaker probably said something like, 

“Aw, look, sweetie- it’s just like you!”)

(Baby and Momma elephants.  See what a nice day it was?)

 (Another baby and mommy.  Howler monkeys, I think.)

(Peacocks, free to roam.)

 (A bison: one of our personal favorites.)

 (Cougar.  He was a lot of fun: swimming and playing with toys in his exhibit.)

(Bald eagles.  Every American hero’s favorite ;-)

(Everyone loves an otter! I know Jenna does, ‘cuz she’s featured them here before.)

There are even some paddleboats available for rental within the zoo grounds.  They were out of commission for the fall/winter, but if you come in the spring or summer, you can reserve one of these sparkly beauties for yourself!

 There is also a museum on the zoo grounds, the Mann Wildlife Learning Museum.  Rumor has it there’s a BIG animal (taxidermied) on display there that was taken with a bow and arrow: something outdoorsy guys (like my hubs) might appreciate.  There are also touch exhibits and live sea life.  The museum can be accessed at an extra cost.  We did not take advantage of it, but even without, we enjoyed this place a bunch!

(A big ol’ python in the reptile house.)

 (A cutie chameleon.)

(I love capybaras! They’re so cute.)

(As native Floridians, we’ve gotta take a picture of the flamingos.)

(…and the alligator, too!)

 (Emporer Tamarins.)

(Jaguar.)

(Nick made friends with a green parrot before we left.)

There is also a great display where you can feed the giraffes, as well as plenty of zoo favorites not pictured here: lions, zebras, several kinds of gazelles, orangutans and more!

Disappointments: It was a given that there would be a military discount, since Montgomery is home to Maxwell AFB.  We can’t lie though; a dollar off of a $10 dollar ticket is a little underwhelming. The Halloween decorations were a fun addition, except for the times when they got a little too gruesome (bloody car wreck, anybody?).  Also, some of the exhibits in the back of the zoo aren’t as picturesque as the ones up front.  See the pic of the flamingos for reference.

Overall, we thought the Montgomery Zoo will please kids and adults alike.  It was a great way to spend a Saturday morning!

Rating: 4/5 

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That's all for now, be sure to click follow if you are not one already and go check out Kinsi's blog at Anima Kinsi

♥ jen

Mallory's Musings

Hey Everybody! Well you all know That I've been pretty busy with grad school and wedding planning so today Mallory from Mallory's Musings was kind enough to guest post! So check out her blog & show some love..........................................................................................................
Hi, it's just called SPICY readers! I'm Mallory and I blog over at Mallory's Musings. This is my first guest post ever so I hope I don't screw it up. Today I am going to share a recipe from my Mother In-law. I've completely butchered it so it's technically not her recipe but based on it for San Francisco Pork Chops.

This was one of my husband's favorite dinners when he was growing up. Unfortunately I could only eat a bite the other night but that one bite alone was so good. I'm on a super strict diet at the moment but the hubs enjoyed it and he enjoyed all of the left overs he was able to bring to work.

San Francisco Pork
Ingredients:
4 boneless pork chops cut into strips
3 cloves of garlic- minced
1/4 cup vegetable oil plus a little more to cook garlic
1 cup beef stock
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp crushed red pepper
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
Extra Broad Egg Noodles- I use a little more than half the bag

Combined oil, stock, soy sauce, brown sugar and red pepper until sugar is completely dissolved. Add pork to this mixture and marinate for a few hours. If you are short on time then there is no need to marinate. I do because it gives the pork a little bit of extra flavor but I have made it without marinating it first and it still tastes great.

When your ready to cook your meal put a pot of water on to boil for the egg noodles. After your water is on put little bit of vegetable oil in a large pan and cook garlic for a minute or two on medium heat- being careful not to burn it. Remove pork from marinade and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.

Now you are going to add the rest of the marinade to the pan and bring to a boil. Once it hits a rolling boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 8 minutes or until pork is cooked through.

While the pork is simmering you also want to boil your noodles and make a roux with your butter and flour in a small sauce pan. I like to use a roux as a thickening agent for the sauce but you can also use corn starch. To make a roux you just melt the butter in a small sauce pan on medium low heat. When the butter is melted slowly mix in your flour until combined. Cook one to two minutes and then add to the sauce that the pork is cooking in.

Take caution when boiling egg noodles. You don't need to cook them as long as regular pasta. In fact if you do they will either turn to mush or all stick together. I have found that boiling them about 8 minutes is perfect but add or subtract time for amount of noodles.


When both your pork and your noodles are done, put your noodle in a large bowl and top with pork and sauce. It looks prettier when the sauce and pork is on top but it tastes best when it is all mixed up.

While writing this recipe out, it seemed a little complicated but it's really not. I just wanted to cover all my bases.
Enjoy!

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Thanks Mal! That looks awesome!

Also, wanted to mention, an adorable {give away} going on over Marie Tea

Linking up here: 

The Crafty Blog Stalker

Fireflies and Jellybeans

Somewhat Simple

Gluesticks

Thanks for stoppin by,

xoxo Jen.

Cheerio Muddy Buddies.. aka Puppy Chow.

Hey Everyone! 

So I got a great recipe that some of you may already know.. I was again craving something sweet.. You know me and my cravings.. The chocolate monster attacked me... Have you ever heard of Muddy Buddies or Puppy chow? Ok, well I love it too.. but I didn't have any Chex mix so I decided to experiment by using Cheerios! Here's the recipe.. although I kind of just eyed the ingredients instead of measuring

Ingredients:

Butter, Peanut butter, Confectioner's Sugar, Chocolate Chips and Cheerios Also,  a tupperware bowl with a lid would be helpful

Directions:

1. In a bowl combine about a cup of Chocolate chips, 1/2 cup of peanut butter and 1/2 cup of butter (I used 3 tablespoons and it worked just as well) Microwave for about a minute until melted and then mix all together until it looks like this:

2. In a larger Tupperware bowl with a lid, pour out about 9 cups of cheerios

3. Pour the chocolate pb mixture on top and mix up really well with a spoon.

at first it will look like this.. just keep mixing it all together until every cheerio has choc mix on it.

when its all mixed up.. it will look like this.. yum.

4. Then pour about 1 and 1/2 cups of confectioners sugar on top

5. Put the lid on the Bowl and SHAKE IT.. KEEP SHAKING for about 3 to 4 min

At the end.. it will look like this.... and it tastes so yummy!

Man O' man.. This really satisfied my cravings! Noland is not a huge fan cuz he is not a chocolate person like myself.. chocolate just really gets me. haha.

Anywho on a different note. I can't believe its NOVEMBER... 

Welp see y'all later. Thanks for stoppin' by:

xoxo Jen.

Found some new places to Link up to, Find me here:

Fireflies and Jellybeans

Somewhat Simple

Gluesticks

Frugalicious Me

The Crafty Blog Stalker

Everything Under the Moon