New Years Eve

New Years Eve is fast approaching!

What are your plans?

We go to our friends party every year, and every year its a diffrent theme... The theme this year is Cowboys and Indians!

My husband is going as a cowboy and I am going as an Indian

Here is a picture of my outfit I made:

I will have to post pictures of everyones outfits at the party... only i don't have a camera so they wont be the best quality of pictures   :o)

Merry Christmas

Hope everyone had a great christmas! 

What was your favorite gift you either gave or received?

Thrifty momma tips hasbo giveaway!

In the spirit of Christmas I want to make one lucky reader's day by giving them a $100 Gift Card to purchase items at Hasbro Toys On Line. http://www.hasbrotoyshop.com/ I received this one a couple of weeks ago and was thinking about using it for my kids. But honestly I got thinking today as I wrote my Demento Bunny Smiles post that my kids have enough toys and I would rather share this with someone who can really use it. $100 can buy some gorgeous Christmas presents. Hasbro makes some amazing toys, including great games, super hero figures, Tea Cup Pups, Operation and My Little Pony to name a few. Baby Alive seen above is a big hit and on a lot of lists this year. Littlest Pet Shop is always popular.

Visit thriftymommastips to enter!

Wilton Giveaway

Visit Momspotted

Whether you’re hosting or simply attending, Wilton Cookie Exchange will help you bring excitement and fun to the party. From creative invitations and table decorations to cookie designs unlike any others, this is the book you need to make the day merry. The Wilton Cookie Exchange contains:

More than 150 easy and exciting holiday cookie decorating ideas in 6 favorite seasonal shapes—Snowflakes, Trees, Stars, Ornaments, Gingerbread Boys and Spritz.

Classics holiday cookie recipes such as gingerbread and shortbread and tempting new tastes such as Butterscotch Chocolate Pecan Bars, Peppermint Ribbon Cookies and Almond Snowballs. Some of the best recipes were shared by Wilton employees in our Family Favorite Cookie Contest—they’ll become favorites with your family as well.

Tips on hosting your own cookie exchange – Wilton Cookie Exchange will help you coordinate every detail. Our Exchange Basics section is a blueprint for a successful event. It’s filled with suggestion for creating fun, informative invitations, setting ground rules for guests, packaging cookies to look their most festive and more. There’s even a week-by-week checklist for organizing your cookie exchange without stress.

Kitchen-tested steps for perfectly baked, taste-tempting and colorfully decorated holiday cookies.

A cookie exchange can make the season brighter for everyone. Use Wilton Cookie Exchange as your guide to make it a holiday event you’ll look forward to year after year.

Scentsy Review and Giveaway!

Scentsy Wickless Candles Review

Scentsy is the coolest thing I have ever found! I no long use candles in my house, I threw them all away!

Scentsy consist of beautiful warmers that warm scented paraffin wax.  Now these are not the typical ‘wax tart’ burners that use a tea light to melt the wax; these warmers us a low watt light bulb to melt the paraffin.  You can actually stick our fingers in the melted paraffin and it wont burn you!  Scentsy also has other great products including Scent Circles, Travel Tins, Scent Paks, Room Spray, Anti-Bacterial Fragrance Foam, and Adorable Scentsy Buddies.



Scentsy Buddy



The warmers come in 3 sized:

Plug In

Mid-Sized

Full Sized

The scents come in the form of bars; which include 8 small cubes



bars



I place my full sized warmer in my dining room with 2 cubes of the Christmas Cottage scent, and you can smell it through my living room, dining room, and kitchen area!  Each bar last roughly 2-4 weeks depending on how many cubes you use at once and how often you burn you paraffin.

After the smell dissipates you can loosen the paraffin (when its solid) with a butter knife and pop it out and throw it away.  But if you just want to change the scent you can melt the paraffin in your warmer and simply pour it back into the package and it reforms the cubes! Then just wipe the excess out with a paper towel and you are ready for a new scent!  It is that easy!

Because I LOVE my Scentsy warmers I am hosting a giveaway for $20.00 Scentsy Gift Certificate.

Mandatory first entry:

Visit the Scentsy website: http://sarah-kristi.scentsy.us and tell me what your favorite warmer and/or scent is.

Additional entries: (post separate comments for each entry)

1. Follow my blog ( and tell me you do)
2. Post my button on your blog (add link to your blog in the comments)
3. follow me on twitter (post a link to your twitter)
4. Post Giveaway on your blog (post link to your blog)
5. Post Giveaway on your twitter ( post link to your twitter)
6. Post giveaway on your facebook (post link to your post)
7. Purchase off of the posted Scentsy website http://sarah-kristi.scentsy.us (you get 1 entry for each item purchased!)
8. Vist the website and sign up for the Scentys newsletter

Giveaway closes Tuesday December 14^th at 12:00 (midnight) EST

The winner will be chosen with a random picker and has 48 hours to contact me via email to claim prize.

The $20.00 Scentsy Gift Certificate must be redeemed through the Scentsy consultants email which will be given to the winner and the gift certificate is good till 1/31/11

Thanks!

Win It! Homemade Holiday Feast Giveaway Prize

3 Kids and Us and KitchenAid want to make your holiday wish come true and offer you the chance to win a brand new KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer in your choice of over 20 colors, valued at $349.99!

Enter the KitchenAid Stand Mixer Giveaway  and check out the Homemade Holiday Feast recipesthat show all the ways the KitchenAid Stand Mixer and attachments can be used to create unique family dishes and save you counter space with one appliance that can be converted to meet your every need.

Rayovac and PaperJams Giveaway

Rayovac wants to power your holidays with fun new contest. To enter, just visit the Mom Rocks the Holidays with Rayovac (link underlined words to http://www.facebook.com/Rayovac#!/Rayovac?v=app_102844599787096) contest tab on Facebook, like them and tell them how you or your mom makes the holidays rock for a chance to win the Grand Prize of $1,000 cash! There will be 3 Grand Prize winners and 20 Runner Up winners will take home a Paper Jamz guitar, amp, drum kit, guitar strap, and two Rayovac Alkaline AAA 24 packs of batteries.
Also, be sure to visit Mommy Goggles ‘Moms Rock the Holidays with Rayovac & Paper Jamz Giveaway!‘ (link underlined words to http://www.mommygoggles.com/moms-rock-the-holidays-rayovac-paper-jamz/) where you can win 1 of 5 Mom Rocks the Holiday prize packs that include a $50 Visa Gift Card, Paper Jamz guitar and Rayovac Alkaline AAA 24 pack of batteries.
Disclosure – Followers who promote the Rayovac Mom Rocks the Holidays Sweepstakes may receive gifts from Rayovac.

Turkey

I made my very first turkey today and it turned out GREAT!  It was supper moist and full of flavor.  And we have enough left overs for the whole week! (bonus!!) 

So now that thanksgiving is officially over... now starts the Christmas season!

Who went Black Friday shopping??  Did you get any great deals?
I Decided not to go shopping during Black Friday. It is usually super busy and packed so I didn't go this year... but everyone I talked to said that there were crowds but not like the past years. 
Oh well... I think im going to do online shopping this year and skip the stores all together! I tend to spend more when I go to the stores :o)

Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

I will be feasting all day today! I have Thanksgiving at noon with my family at my aunts house, then off to my husbands family Thanksgiving at 4.  I will definitly be in a food coma by the end of the day.


My turkey update...
I cleaned the turkey last night and rubbed the Dry Brine all over it. I used Kosher Salt, Thyme, Rosemary, and Poultry Seasoning. I stuck it in a large plastic oven bag and sealed it up tight.  We will see tomorrow morning if it is working! :)

Have a great day everyone!

PR policies

I haven't yet figured out how to add tabs, but here is my PR policies:

Review and Giveaway policies.

Review Policy:

I showcase the best products and services on my blog that I know my readers will enjoy. I also love gadgets and love trying out all the new technology.

Once I have received a product, I will email you within 4 days and give you a date that I will post the review. I post reviews generally  within 2 weeks of receiving the product

*** Items will never be re-sold.

Contact me at smalltowngirl_sarah@yahoo.com if you would like for me to host a review for you and I can give you all my information.

My site is angled toward promoting companies/products and I do not post negative reviews. I write my reviews honestly and if I feel you may not be happy with my review, I will email you the review before I post it.

How to Sponsorer a Giveaway:

Giveaways help increase the exposure of your product and is highly recommended. Standard run time for my giveaways is 2 weeks. I also advertise my giveaways on facebook and twitter.
I will need the following for a giveaway:

1.       Company/Product Logo or any pictures you would like in the post if not available on your site

2.       Shipping limitations? US Only, US and Canada Only, Worldwide

3.       Item(s) to be reviewed

I request that you mail the winner their prize directly. After contest has ended, I verify the winner, and receive their information; I will then email you with their name and mailing address.

Any questions can be sent to smalltowngirl_sarah@yahoo.com

Thank You!

JCPenny Liz Claiborne $100 gift card giveaway

I just entered the $100 JCPenney Liz Claiborne Fall collection Giveaway #MommyGoggles! http://bit.ly/gH9ZST
Enter here at:
http://www.mommygoggles.com/

Almost Turkey Time!

Thanksgiving is almost here! And the countdown to Black Friday and Cyber Monday is on!

We got our turkey yesterday!! So excited to try and make my first turkey. I looked up all kinds of different recipes and it looks like a lot of them use a ‘brine’. Most use a water based brine but I don’t have the room in my fridge for a giant tub of salt water. So… I stumbled across a dry brine; which I am going to attempt. Here is the recipe I found on www.ehow.com:



Instructions
1.Remove the wrapping from the turkey. If it is a fresh turkey, remove the neck and organs. If you have a frozen turkey, rinse it off to start the defrosting process, then pat dry.

2.Make the turkey brine. You will need 1 tablespoon of Kosher salt per 5 pounds of turkey. If desired, you can add 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, 1 tablespoon fresh sage, 1 tablespoon of fresh grated lemon zest and 2 teaspoons of ground pepper.

3Apply the dry brine to the turkey skin, making sure to evenly distribute it over the entire surface of the bird. Gently massage in the brine.

4.Place the turkey in a sealable plastic bag and place in the refrigerator for three full days. For a traditional Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, the brining should be started on Monday.

5.On the second day, massage the juices that have collected in the bag to redistribute the brine over the turkey.

6. On the third day, repeat the previous step if necessary. The turkey will have started to reabsorb the liquids in the bag.

7. At the end of the third day, remove the turkey from the bag. If you started with a frozen turkey, make sure to remove the neck and organs. To add even more flavor and to promote browning, rub the turkey with olive oil infused with fresh rosemary.

8. Roast the turkey. Start it at 450° for the first half hour and then reduce the temperature to 350° and finish roasting. Allow the turkey to rest for at least 10 minutes before carving.

Read more: How to Dry Brine a Turkey | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_5674358_dry-brine-turkey.html#ixzz167N5ytkz


I will keep you posted on the results. I’m cooking the turkey for Sunday so I will post pictures of how it is brining starting Wednesday!



And as for the Black Friday Ads and the Cyber Monday Sales, here are the cites I have found helpful!

http://www.cybermonday.com/

http://www.cyber-monday.org/

http://bfads.net/

http://www.blackfriday.info/

http://www.blackfridayads.com/

http://www.blackfriday2010.com/ads

http://www.black-friday.net/



ENJOY!!

Missing Pieces!

Ok… it is time to get back on the bandwagon before these holidays hit. I have no will power at all! :o)

I have been trying to keep up my work outs but I have kind of been lacking the past 2 weeks and then yesterday I decided to make my 4 pumpkin pies for thanksgiving. I WAS going to take 3 to Thanksgiving Day at my aunts house and have 1 for thanksgiving on Sunday at my house… however… the house smelled soooooo good I just couldn’t help my self and had to try my masterpiece! So, I may be only taking 2 and a half to Thanksgiving Day! Haha

Hopefully no one notices the missing pieces

help!

Ok Im new to this whole blog thing and I can usually pick up and figure things out quickly... However, im having a hard time figuring out how to put the html box under my button so people can copy it and add my button to thier blog? Can anyone help me??

.... Hopefully i get some followers soon who can answer my questions :o)
LOL!

Thanksgiving bargain!

So Excited! I just went to Krogers for groceries for Thanksgiving. Not the best idea to go on the weekend when everyone is out buying there groceries too, it was a mad house! BUT... They had great deals! I was able to get everything to make the turkey (we get one free from my husbands work so i only had to by the 'flavorings') Mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole (we can green beans so I didn't need to buy those and I had cream of mushroom on hand), Rolls, and 4 pumpkin pies with whipped cream. Here is the run down on their sales...
Kroger brand sour cream $1.00
Kroger brand french fried onions $2.50
Rynolds turkey cooking bag $1.99
Libbeys pumpkin pie filling $2.69
Kroger brand deep dish pie shells 2 count $2.19
Kroger poultry seasoning $1.99
Kroger Thyme $1.99
Kroger Rosemary $2.29
Kroger Whipped topping $0.88
Kroger brown and serve rolls 12count $1.00
Kroger Kosher Salt $1.25
Carnation evaporated milk $1.19 (I had a coupon for $0.50 off two and kroger double their coupons up to $0.99 so I got 2 cans for $1.38!)
Kroger jar gravy $0.89
Sweet onions $1.49 lb
Celery bunch $1.00
Kroger bag of potatoes $1.00
Blue bonnet stick butter $0.78

For everything I bought (40 items) I spent $52.78. That averages out to $1.32 an item with tax!
They had some great deals if you are brave enough to fight the crowds!!

Hello Everyone

Hello Everyone!
My name is Sarah. This is my first Blog. I wasn’t sure what to write about so I figured I would write about everything! :o) I am a little bit of a jack of all trades. . I work 2 jobs, one full time and one part time. I am also an independent consultant for SCENTSY Wickless Candles. If you have never heard of these, they are awesome and very addicting! :o) If you want to check them out you can visit my website http://sarah-kristi.scentsy.us
I’m from a small town in Ohio. I recently got married in June to a wonderful guy, Bill. He really is my rock; I’m not sure how I would get through the day without him, he knows how to make me laugh. We have two dogs, a black lab mix named Shelby and a boxer named Charlie. They are like having 2 three year olds in the house!
I fell victim to the holiday fever and put up all of my Christmas decorations. I love Christmas, so why not enjoy the decorations for 2 months! :o)
Even though I already put up all my Christmas decorations, I’m attempting to make my first Thanksgiving feast at my house! That should be interesting. I love to cook but I have never even helped make a Turkey before so hopefully beginners luck comes into play that day!
Well that’s all for now. I’m hoping to start getting some fun stuff on here for everyone. And I will keep you posted about my Thanksgiving adventure!