Graze Time

Yes, it's time for another box of graze deliciousness! Normally I try to extend my boxes so I receive them only every two months or so. But this time while I'm on maternity leave, I've kept it on its normal monthly schedule. After all, if there's a time you want snacks delivered to you, this would have to be it.
This was actually the first time I received a snack I had already tried. Not only that, but two of the options were repeats. They were ones I enjoyed before, and enjoyed again, but it did take away some of the novelty. Rather than write about these snacks again, you can instead read my initial impressions of the My Thai and Fruit and Seed Flapjack options.
As for the new snacks, first up was Tutti Frutti which contained pineapple, cherry raisins, blueberry cranberries, and raisins.
My favorite part of this box were the pineapple pieces, which unfortunately weren't many. I actually ate the entire box, even though I'm not actually a big raisin fan.
Next up was Twist of Black Pepper Popping Corn. I found the black pepper flavor to be quite subtle, which was interesting since you can very clearly see the pepper on the kernels. Also, my hands were covered in black pepper by the end. The taste did grow on you, but I would have liked it to be a bit stronger from the start.
Overall, not my favorite box, especially with only two new snacks. But even so I love getting these boxes and can't imagine stopping my subscription anytime soon.

If you want to try out graze you can sign up here to get your 1st and 5th box free! This post is not sponsored by Graze, however if you sign up using my referral link I'll receive $1 off my next box. All opinions expressed are my own.

Project 365: Days 21 Through 28

Last weeks daily photos may not have made it to the blog, but they're still happening. At least I've been able to stay on top of something!
January 21, 2015 - 21/365: Cloth Diapers Drying. We're actually doing really well with cloth diapers. I don't have a huge stash, so we just wear them in the day to be able to wash them every other day. But so far I'm a really big fan of them. The boy, not so much, but we'll see if he comes around eventually.
January 22, 2015 - 22/365: Oreos Before Bed.
January 23, 2015 - 23/35: Lazy Chicken Lasagna. This was really only a jar of pasta sauce, a rotisserie chicken, a bag of spinach, pasta, and cheese. Not the most amazing dinner, but for how simple it was, it's pretty awesome.
January 24, 2015 - 24/365: Winter Themed Bookshelves in the Nursery.
January 25, 2015 - 25/365: Last Sunday I decided I needed a trip out of the house, so went to Target while the boy watched Elley during one of her naps. First I stopped in the Starbucks in Target for a caramel brulee latte and chocolate croissant. Then wandered the aisles picking of snacks for the week. Pretty crazy that I'm already to the point where a trip to Target by myself is an amazing escape!
January 26, 2015 - 26/365: One of those Target purchases, this cinnamon bagel and Starbucks Salted Caramel Hot Cocoa.
January 27, 2015 - 27/365: I also bought these pumpkin pie poptarts. There were on sale since pumpkin season is over, but still don't expire for another year. Considering I missed most of pumpkin season with gestational diabetes, these were almost heaven sent!
January 28, 2015 - 28/365: The Face of a Baby After a Full Night's Sleep. Seriously! The night before we put her to bed after eating at 7:30 and she slept till 6:30. I even woke the boy up around 4 since I couldn't believe she was still sleeping. It's only happened once since then, but still, looks like we have pretty much an awesome baby!

January in Review

I actually feel like January went by pretty slowly. Of course it could be that I spent most of the month in our house with our new daughter. But it's officially only the first full month she's been here, and I'm sure once she gets a little older time is really going to feel like it flies by.

In January...
...We kicked off the month and year, spending the day with my in-laws and had black eyed peas for lunch. There was also the traditional boiled cabbage, which I avoided since I'm not a huge fan of it.
...My BFF, and now my daughter's godmother, came to visit for a long weekend.
...I baked a cinnamon roll bundt cake for the BCS national championship game.
...The boy also cooked a ton, most of which you can see in my Project 365 posts, but my favorite of them were these maple syrup glazed sliders.

...I posted reviews of 5 books.
The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
The Seduction of the Crimson Rose by Lauren Willig
Breastfeeding Made Simple by Nancy Mohrbacher and Kathleen Kendall-Tackett
The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Bennan, & Maureen Johnson
Home Again by Mariah Stewart
Of them all, my favorite would be The Seduction of the Crimson Rose.

...5 years ago, in 2010, I posted about mine and the boy's trip to Disneyland,
and 2 years after that, in 2012, I posted about our family vacation to Disney World.
What were some of your highlights from this past January?

Mailbox Monday (105)

I have an exciting week of books to share in today's Mailbox Monday post!
From Paperback Swap
The Betrayal of the Blood Lily by Lauren Willig
The next in the Pink Carnation series! I think what I'm most excited for with this is that it takes place in India.

From Goodreads
She Weeps Each Time You're Born by Quan Barry
This is a historical fiction that takes place in Vietnam. I've read very little about Vietnam, but what I have read I've really enjoyed. Hopefully this one joins that opinion.

Remember by Eileen Cook
This is a YA dystopian. It seems to be similar to the idea behind Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a movie that I loved, so I have high hopes for this.

A Fifty-Year Silence by Miranda Richmond Mouillot
This is a memoir about a girl whose grandparents were Holocaust survivors. She decides to investigate the reason why her grandparents marriage fell apart after the war.

Definitely an interesting mix of genres, don't you think? It's hard to pick the one I'm looking forward to most, but maybe The Betrayal of the Blood Lily followed by She Weeps Each Time You're Born.

Which one would you want to read first? And what did you find in your mailbox this week?

Home Sweet Home

Home Again by Mariah Stewart
Published: July 27, 2010 by Ballantine Books
Series: The Chesapeake Diaries #2

There's just something about these books. No, they aren't necessary very good, and yes, you know exactly what to expect... but still you can't help but enjoy yourself with them.

As to this book cliched characters, the girl is a movie star and the boy is a vet. Obviously you know from the start that they're going to wind up together, but you still keep reading just to see how it will happen.

Dallas, the movie star, had a son, Cody, and I think out of everything in the book I enjoyed reading about their relationship the best.

I find that I don't have a lot to say about this, because really there's not a lot to comment on. Although I can't wait to read the next one in the series which is I believe about the ice cream shop owner!

4/5

Disclosure: I was provided this book from the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own.

Today I'm linking up with Blonde Undercover Blonde for Book Club Friday!

Cinnamon Rolling

Almost two weeks ago now I teased that I'd be sharing a recipe. Well, it's finally time to reveal! Not too surprising considering most of the recipes I seem to make, it's a Mix and Match Mama Bundt Cake, more specifically a Cinnamon Roll Bundt Cake.

Cinnamon Roll Bundt Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake
1 box of white cake mix
2 small boxes of instant vanilla pudding
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups water
4 eggs
2 tablespoons cinnamon (divided) (The original recipe called for double this amount, but I only had enough for 2 tablespoons total. Actually it didn't feel like anything was missing with this amount, and it's likely what I'd add the next time I make this as well.)
1 cup brown sugar
For the Frosting
1 cups powdered sugar (I cut the amount of frosting in thirds since I've found Mix and Match Mama recipes tend to make far more frosting than I'd ever need... and I'm a frosting person!)
1 tablespoons milk

Directions
For the Cake
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix together cake mix, puddings, oil, water, eggs, and 1 tablespoon cinnamon. (I did find this to be a lot thicker than normal cake dough, which did make it quite a bit harder to mix together.)
2. Combine the second tablespoon of cinnamon and brown sugar.
3. In a prepped bundt cake pan, add in half of the cake batter.
4. Top with sugar mixture. (I would actually try to keep it away from the edges as much as possible since the places with too much filling didn't really want to come out of the pan.)
5. Add in the remaining cake batter to the pan.
6. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan.
7. Invert onto serving platter to finish cooling. (Again you can see how the cake didn't really want to exit the pan and wound up cracking. But that didn't change how delicious it was.)
For the Frosting
8. Mix together milk and sugar till desired consistency, adding slightly more milk or sugar if necessary. Pour over warm cake.
Despite the fact the cake fell apart, it would up being incredibly awesome. But even more exciting, I had a bit of company in the kitchen.
This officially makes it our first mother/daughter baking adventure of I'm sure many to come.

Do you have a lot of memories baking or cooking with your parents growing up?

Cinnamon Roll Bundt Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake
1 box of white cake mix
2 small boxes of instant vanilla pudding
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups water
4 eggs
2 tablespoons cinnamon (divided)
1 cup brown sugar
For the Frosting
1 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoons milk

Directions
For the Cake
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix together cake mix, puddings, oil, water, eggs, and 1 tablespoon cinnamon.
2. Combine the second tablespoon of cinnamon and brown sugar.
3. In a prepped bundt cake pan, add in half of the cake batter.
4. Top with sugar mixture.
5. Add in the remaining cake batter to the pan.
6. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan.
7. Invert onto serving platter to finish cooling.
8. Mix together milk and sugar till desired consistency, adding slightly more milk or sugar if necessary. Pour over warm cake.

Mailbox Monday (104)

I had planned on sharing these books last week for Mailbox Monday. Then I never found the time to actually get a post written. I guess having a newborn will do that to you. But this week, I've actually made it happen.
Gifted:
The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss
Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss
These books were all gifted to Elley from a family friend as a Christmas present. The one I'm most excited here would have to be The Cat in the Hat. And funny enough, I'm not sure if I actually remember ever reading Fox in Socks, but I guess that will be changing soon.

From Goodreads
Am I Pretty by Lindsey Jensen Berke
Reading this children's book about a girl who is told she can't play with a group of girls because she isn't pretty, I actually thought it was going to be a little cheesy. But I actually really appreciated where it wound up going. Plus I think the actual illustrations are pretty adorable as well.

Sisters of Shiloh by Kathy and Becky Hepinstall
For the only adult book of the bunch, is one about the Civil War. Like many others seem to be lately, this is about women who disguise themselves as men to fight in the war. I'm not sure why these books seem to be popular lately, but I'm excited to finally try one out.

What did you find in your mailbox this week?