March Madness

We have been so busy this month that I have forgotten how to even use a computer!  Our poor little Thurman has been battle a cough for almost a month now.  Long story short, it has taken many vets, all different types of medication and LOTS of $$ to get this dog back in good health.

I think he is finally starting to feel better!! He is a video update from Thurman:

He was very afraid of his "chicken" toy for a little bit and now it doesn't have a head.  I guess Thurman won that battle.

In other news, my big brother and his beautiful wife, Christina welcomed their baby boy into the world on March 11th!  I am an Aunt again and it is the best feeling in the world!  He is the cutest little baby with the longest lashes and I cannot wait to meet him!! We are going home in May to meet both our new niece and nephew.  

Currently, I am counting down the days seconds until my sister, brother-in-law and nephew get here next week!! I have literally been waiting for this week since well ... November, the last time I saw my nephew.  Being an Aunt is truly one of the best blessings I have received in my life.  

I promise to blog more in April, March just "marched" right away from me (Sorry, I couldn't resist).  I do have FOUR new Charleston restaurants to talk about in my next post! 

Have a great week! 

Candle Making

I have been itching to make anything and everything that I usually buy!! If it is over-priced and I can make it, I want to! Candles, cleaning products, the possibilities are endless.

Today I want to share how I made my first homemade candles, but first lets talk about how much I am saving by doing this.  I love going to yankee candle and trying to justify spending $50 on 2 candles.  Here is what I spent to make 20 candles!  All ordered on Amazon.com:

10oz bag of soy wax flakes - $9.99
50 Candle Wicks - $8.99
Lavender & Beach Linen Scents - $15.98
Pouring Pot (optional) - 9.79
Mason Jars - FREE, I already owned, but you can get them at Target or Hobby Lobby

Grand Total: $44.72

That is $2.24 a candle, not $25 for a candle.  Yes it is a little more work than walking into the store and buying some candles, but it is a lot less work on your bank account!! 

Now for the tutorial:
(when I made my first two, I didn't receive the pouring pot in the mail yet so I just used a double burning and pyrex measuring cup.)  Also, I realized I didn't have a wooden spoon to use for this, so I used the end of a spatula to stir.

Set up candle jar on a trivet with candle wick in it.
(if it isn't standing up straight, don't worry we will fix it later)

Use double burning or pouring pot to melt the wax flakes

Stir while the wax is melting

Add scent to melted wax

If you used a double burning,  pour the melted wax into the pyrex measuring cup.  If you are using the pouring pot you can just poor the melted wax right into the mason jar.

I was having trouble keeping the wick up, so I used some chop sticks to hold it in place
while the wax dried ( I will be stocking up on chop sticks every time I eat sushi now!).

Once the wax has completely dried, you can decorate your new candle
however you wish!

Once I get all my candles decorated, I will share a picture later this week.  Hope you enjoyed and make some candles of your own!!

Favorite Recipe Friday!

One of the items on our 2013 bucket list was to try a new recipe once a week.  Well... we haven't done that yet, but I do have one of our favorite healthy recipes to share:

Shrimp over Green Beans

sorry the picture isn't great!

This recipe replaces pasta with green beans and is so good!  Pasta may sound better, but I promise you that you don't miss it at all in this! 

Ingredients:
1-1 1/2 pounds of uncooked shrimp (peeled, deveined and no tails)
16oz-18oz fresh green beans 
1/3 cup of olive oil
1 bunch of fresh basil (sometimes  I just use dried)
2-3 tomatoes - diced into small pieces 
1 tbs of chopped garlic
1/2-1 cup of freshly grated pecorino romano cheese 

Directions: 
Cook the green beans in about a 1/3 of a cup of water bring to a boil and lower heat to a simmer cook until desired firmness or softness.  Add garlic, chopped tomatoes, basil and cleaned shrimp to heated pan of olive oil, cook until shrimp is pink and firm sprinkle with 1/4cup of the cheese, drain the beans and put in a serving bowl pour the shrimp mixture over the beans and sprinkle more cheese. 

We like to enjoy this recipe with a nice bottle of wine.  

Do you have any good recipes for us to try?
Please Share!