Nutella Lovers...You MUST Try Reese's Spread!

So I realize I haven't blogged in forever but I've had lots of life changes happen since my last post, things I would not like to relive. 
However, all that aside, I was recently offered a complimentary Reese's Peanut Butter Chocolate spread to try thanks to VoxBox and Influenster! I'm a huge fan of Nutella and really, it takes all my willpower not to grab a jar and eat at least half in a single sitting, same is the case with this yummy Reese's spread! It basically tasted like a liquified Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, which is heavenly, to me.

The card included in the box offered some suggestions on what to pair it with and while I used a couple of them, I wanted to branch out and try some of my own too. I'm nowhere near done trying pairings but I'm so happy with this spread already!

First I tried it on some honey wheat bread, which I loved, of course. Probably the simplest pairing and a good way to sneak in some chocolate at breakfast!

The next day I tried it on my Greek yogurt in the morning and it was also amazing. If you don't normally like the somewhat sour flavor Greek yogurt tends to have, mix in a little of this and voila! 

The picture on the jar of spread shows it paired with a green apple, but I only had red apples here, so I tried it with one of those. Of course, it tasted delicious, though I'm sure it would taste amazing against the tart taste of the green apples as well. That's definitely next on my radar. 

 Lastly (so far), I tried a spoonful in my mug of hot chocolate, which, when melted, gave it a smooth, creamy flavor with a hint of peanut butter flavor! I'm for sure trying this again soon!

Thank you again to Influenster for giving me the chance to try this yummy spread!

Cadbury Screme Eggs, Spooky!

If you're like me, you love the delicious though ever-decreasing-in-size candies at Easter that are Cadbury Creme Eggs! Unfortunately, they don't store well throughout the summer and though I've tried freezing a couple for later, they just don't taste as good as they do when they're fresh. So imagine  my excitement when a friend posted about finding a new type about a month ago, the Screme Egg! Ever since I saw her post, I've been scouring the stores searching for them and I finally found them at CVS about a week ago.
I only bought one because I didn't know how it would taste and I can happily report that it tastes exactly the same. The only difference is that (to me) they seem a bit smaller than the Easter version and they've replaced the orange "yolk" with green.

These also tend to be a bit pricier than the Easter version too, those are usually 2 or 4 for a certain price, I've seen these Screme Eggs priced at CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid at .99 cents to $1.29 apiece.

P.S. My nail polish just happened to match...it's called Glowstick by Fergie for Wet n'Wild!

DIY Katy Perry Candy Buttons Costume!

As I've written in past posts, last year I went to a Katy Perry concert. So when it came time to find a costume for Halloween, I knew just what I should be, but picking just ONE outfit out of all the fun costumes she wears was pretty hard! All the packaged Katy costumes were pretty pricey and I wanted something I could get more than one use out of. I'll note where to get the same or similar items at the end of the post so you can put your costume together too!
I wanted this look:

So I ended up getting a petticoat tutu from the Leg Avenue brand, this is especially useful because you can decorate it up any way you want. I got some colored sheets of sticky glitter foam from Michael's, then cut them into circles and sewed them on with a couple of stitches since the sticky backs weren't enough to hold them on.

And voila, there's the main part of your costume! Now you just need to add a blue wig, sparkly shoes and fun candy accessories and you're done!

Here was the final product the way I wore it:

And here are the sources for my main items!

*White Petticoat tutu: Party City
*Colored glitter foam sheets: Michael's or most any craft store
*Headband: Katy Perry Web store (not necessary but held my wig on nicely!)
*Candy Buttons Jewelry: I made my own and wrote a post about it last year, seen HERE.
*Glitter Heels: I wore silver sequin ones from Rampage, style name: Greer
*Blue Wig: I got mine from a random store here quite cheap but Party City has them and I've also seen them on eBay.

A note about the tutu petticoat, the tank top part is rather thin so I added another white tank top under it. I also suggest a pair of white bike/running shorts under the tutu as it's quite short.

I hope this helps you come up with a totally Katy costume for Halloween or other fun events!

Candy Button Resin Necklace Project!

If you're a DIY-er like me, you're always seeing inspiration everywhere. I'm going as Katy Perry for Halloween this year, probably my most involved costume yet. I'm altering my costume (I got a white tutu and am putting sparkly dots on it) and making my jewelry. So if you want to make your own candy button jewelry too, here's how I did it!

Get your Candy Buttons (the kind on the white paper) and clean them up a bit, as they have a tendency to take some of the paper with them when you pop them off.
You'll want to seal the candies so they don't disintegrate in the resin and the color doesn't bleed. In an area with lots of ventilation, spray them with at least two coats of an acrylic spray, I used Krylon. Let dry between coats.



They'll move around a bit but make sure they're coated well!



Make sure they're completely dry, mix up your resin (I use Castin Craft's clear epoxy) and only fill your molds about 1/4 of the way full, just enough to cover the candies. Put your candies in the resin the way you want them. I wanted them to look just like the real thing so I went with the pink/yellow/blue situation. Let cure for as long as required, most require a day to cure.




Now for your final resin step, you can do this in many ways. You can use more clear resin in the last layer and put glitter in it, sprinkles, whatever you want! I used a resin type that cures white, just because I wanted it to look like the candies were on the white paper tape.
Additionally, I wanted some sparkle, so I used a glittery varnish over the piece.




And just because I wanted something fun on my own piece, I put little crystal hearts on the chain and made myself a ring too!




You can make these your own in so many ways, so as long as you have time (and the patience!), you can make tons of fun, unique pieces!

P.S., if you don't have the patience, I have one made up for you to buy in my Etsy shop!
http://www.etsy.com/listing/84580068/sweet-tooth-candi-button-resin-necklace

Sprinkles Galore

Because I love all things sprinkled and delicious, I was taken by the blog theBERRY's post which includes 34 (!!!) pictures of sprinkle-y confections today.
Here's one of my favorites but let's not kid ourselves, I love so many of them it's hard to choose.
Click the picture below to be taken to the colorful, delectable post. Be prepared to crave something sweet afterwards!

Dancing Gummi Bears!

Sometimes I find an adorable picture or something and want to post it somewhere. Way back when, I'd post it on Myspace (ah, memories) and my page was like a photo album of cute graphics. Nowadays, I don't have anywhere to post those things; facebook? No...especially since you can't see moving pictures and that's the whole point! I can't print them out...twitter? Nope.
Then I remember that I have a blog lol. So this is a really random post, but I wanted to share this adorable dancing gummi bear picture. I love all things candy and cute and this fits perfectly!



And the link for future reference:
http://picsauce.com/post/5946602506/gettin-jiggy-with-it

Skinny Cow Sweets...You'd Never Know They're Low Calorie!

I cannot, for the life of me, give up sweets! I've tried and I just can't, I get irritable and annoyed. Peanut buttery chocolate candies are my absolute favorite; I found some peanut butter chocolate truffles at Costco awhile back that are so insanely delicious, it has taken me a lot of restraint not to finish the container already.
So rather than eliminate sweets altogether, I either eat a favorite, regular treat and just limit my portions (i.e. one cupcake for the day, then no other sweets), or I have something low calorie yet still yummy, like a Skinny Cow product!
I've tried quite a few of the varieties, I particularly like the Chocolate Truffle Bars or the Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sandwiches. And their new candy (Heavenly Crisps and Dreamy Clusters) is amazing as well. Basically, I haven't found a single treat that I don't like and I'm quite picky about how I want my sweets to taste (i.e., can't stand grocery store cupcakes around here, as the frosting is way too sweet.)

I think my only complaint, which I really had to think about for awhile because I couldn't come up with anything, is that the ice cream goodies are pricey. Around here, they're about $6 a box, so I try to get them when they're on sale, which is rare. But they're super yummy and taste like full-calorie treats!

Some of the ice cream treats:



And the new candies!:

Katy Perry Concert? Okay!

A friend has been wanting to go the Katy Perry concert, her sisters are going but when they offered her tickets awhile back, she didn't want to go. Well, she changed her mind and needed a companion, so I'll be going! I'm not a huge fan but I know it'll be fun seeing all of Katy's costume changes. All the crazy cute food clothing and accessories she has worn are things I'd love to wear but don't have the guts to do it!
The concert isn't until August but I know I'll have fun figuring out what to wear myself. I'll definitely be making some jewelry pieces, obviously something fun with sprinkles inside!
I was looking around on ebay for different ideas and came across this seller with this adorable costume! If I had the nerve and some money to blow, I would SO wear this because it's too cute.



If you want to purchase it yourself, just follow the link!
http://cgi.ebay.com/WOW-Katy-Perry-California-Gurls-Candy-Dress-Costume-/150593663922?pt=UK_Women_s_Dresses&hash=item231014f3b2

Easy Oreo Truffles, Easy AND Delicious!

Last Christmas, I made these truffles and they went FAST. The recipe is insanely easy and makes a decent batch, depending on how large you make them. I would suggest no larger than the recipe states, 1" balls, as they are rich. I've made these myself this weekend so below the photo from the Kraft foods website is my own photo. Also, please see my notes under the recipe to make it a little easier for you.


Easy Oreo Truffles

Ingredients
1 pkg (8 oz.) cream cheese
1 pkg Oreo cookies, finely crushed (about 4 1/4 cups), divided
2 pkg. (8 squares each) Baker's Semi Sweet Chocolate, melted


Instructions
Mix cream cheese and 3 cups cookie crumbs until well blended
Shape into 48 (1 inch) balls. Dip in melted chocolate; place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs.
Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.


My notes:
1- Upon crushing the cookies, I suggest placing a few cookies in a large zippered baggie and crushing them with a rolling pin. You will want to crush a few at a time because in my experience, it's a little to hard to try to crush them all at once and you need really fine pieces.
2- It's much easier to mix the cookie crumbs and the cream cheese with your hands (yes you'll be sticky, just have paper towels handy) and then scoop out the balls with a melon baller.
3- While dipping the balls, you can use 2 forks to roll them around in the chocolate and coat them better. This way, it's also easier to remove them from the chocolate and place them on the baking sheet.





After making them this weekend, here are my own!




Enjoy!