The cute stripes…

And the polka dots…

Not only are these great for kids, but what a great idea for adults, as well.  Housewarming, grandparent gift, party favors, themed plates for your lake house, ranch house, out house!   The possibilities are endless.  What about Bridesmaid’s gifts, birth plates, patio plates.  I am getting really excited here.  The owner is a mother (of two boys, no less…There’s no wonder I like her product!) who is also an artist.  She merged her art with melamine and Voila!  These great personalizable plates were created. When you look at her website, be aware that each design comes in multiple color choices…just click the plate to see more choices of color, font, and personalization.

They are just fabulous.  Check her out.

White chocolate is my favorite and I added peanut butter chips and some Crispy Rice for a little crunch.  Oh Man!  It arrived in a cute plastic container with a cute little CHOCbite already taken out of the top of the bar.  This was divine.  When my mailman delivered it to my door, he knew it was chocolate from the return address and instructed me to, “Enjoy that bar, Penelope!”  Did I ever. 

Who wouldn’t love to receive a piece of chocolate in the mail?  This is such a great idea for a gift for any chocolate-lover in your life.  The packaging makes it even cuter.  If you aren’t sure exactly what masterpiece you would create, there is also a section of their favorite bars ready to order to make it simple.  Check out CHOCbite.  It’s a great new concept for the perfect make-your-own chocolate bar.  Delish!

Clean Eating is the gist of The Gracious Pantry.  It is created under the same principles as the Candida Diet:  Eat simple foods that are easy to digest.  By doing this, the energy previously used on digesting refined sugars and high-fat foods is free to move to places in your body that need healing (allergies/sinuses, painful joints, stomach issues).  The numbers of people I know with any of those problems is growing every day.   Stating the obvious, you would certainly lose weight by limiting or eliminating sugars and high fats.

After reading The Gracious Pantry, I am highly motivated to hop back on the wagon.  Tiffany has created a website that is a fabulous resource not only for great  “Clean” recipes, but also for how to get started from Step One.  She offers a list of items to have in order to stock your pantry with clean foods and she also clarifies exactly what needs to be eliminated and how to substitute for those ingredients in your recipes.  (What an amazing help!)  The list of recipes is long and are great to get you started.  She also blogs on favorite brands, which I have found to be extremely helpful when at the grocery store.  Knowing “legal” brands sure makes the grocery trip shorter rather than having to read every package you purchase.  On top of the great recipes she posts, she also has a store that points you in the right direction for tools and recipe books she uses in her kitchen.

Everyone has their own reason for wanting to start eating clean.  It could be like me…because I have to in order to keep my health, or for someone who wants to lose weight or just be take care of your body and be healthy.  I really like Tiffany’s advice in that you have to choose your own boundaries.  If you need a treat, will you allow yourself a treat once a week? once a month?  However often you choose, you need to set your own rules and stick to them.  This is not a diet, but a lifestyle change.  I can speak from experience that when you make up your mind to cut out processed foods and refined sugars, etc, your body will have never felt better.  Your energy will return, your body will heal and you will feel like a million bucks. 

Check out The Gracious Pantry and I would even encourage you to get her feed.  It will be great encouragement to receive good and healthy recipes to motivate you to eat clean and take care of your body!

 There are currently 18 locations in and around the Houston area.  We pass one on our way to Oklahoma about 45 minutes after we leave our house.  Because it is so close, we have never stopped there simply because at 45 minutes, the kids are finally settling in and getting quiet for our long ride home.  However, people love Buc-ees.  Friends from Houston make Buc-ees their first stop on a road trip north.  So, I had to find out what the fuss was all about.

I was alone and driving back home and decided to make a dash to Buc-ees.  First, there is no dash.  Buc-ees is amazing…cue the Wally World music.  At first notice, you see an impeccably clean and organized gas station despite the hundreds, and I mean hundreds of people filtering in and out.  As I walked around the store, I saw food and gifts of great varieties.

 The food.  Oh, the food….homemade fudge behind a deli bar with at least 50 choices of flavors.  The same goes for homemade beef jerky.  I am not a jerky girl, but the assortment and freshness of beef jerky made even me want to try it.

 They have fresh deli sandwiches, desserts, and the standard cokes, candy, etc.  But who sees that stuff when “fresh” is everywhere you turn?

The gifts…a baby section with darling clothes, toys and books…  A native Texan section with everything you can think of with a Texas flag or the state of Texas on it… A Texas College section with college paraphernalia and clothing.  There is even a cooking section with cookbooks and kitchen items…CUTE kitchen items.

Everyone that works there is friendly, dressed nice, have all their teeth and not covered in tats.  That is a rule for hire…no outward piercings, tats and no criminal history.  The people that work there are upstanding citizens and they appear to really enjoy their job. 

Next door to this amazing wonder store is the Outdoor Store. 

 In the Outdoor Store, they sell furniture, gifts, clothing, cookware…all of the rustic sort.

An outdoorsman’s kind of store.  Antlers are a-plenty.  I was amazed at what they had to offer and was thinking that I should of brought a U-Haul with me to the middle of nowhere on I-45!

After being at Buc-ees for at least an hour, I came home with a T-shirt for everyone in my family (we had to conform!), a few gifts, and a few pieces of Texas paraphernalia.  If you are anywhere near any of the Buc-ees locations, run, don’t walk.  It will certainly be one of the best potty stops you will make in the Houston area.  I can only hope that Buc-ees continues to grow and spread north…all the way to Oklahoma so I can make every stop a Buc-ees stop!

Here’s the lowdown.  First, it’s organic food.  We don’t eat all organic foods, but we have certainly made strides in that direction.  For my precious baby, that is most of what he gets.  It just feels better knowing he’s getting the good stuff.  Second, the flavors are different and amazing.  My son’s favorite by a mile is “Pumpkin Banana.”  Super foods to boot!  He is a good eater and has been, but when he sees the package of this baby food coming, he goes nuts!  He kicks, he jumps and he squeals.  He. Loves. It.  It’s amazing how he already recognizes packages.

Finally, the most amazing part is the packaging.  Yes, the packaging was created with Mom’s in mind!  They are actually pouches so they squish and fit in a diaper bag on the go…no squishing OUT and spilling everywhere.  Each pouch has a screwtop lid.  Why didn’t anyone think of this before?  If baby doesn’t want anymore, you simply screw the lid back on and that’s it!  No huge mess…at all.  So, get ready for it.  The top of the pouch is actually straw-like.  The first time I even saw one of these babies was IN the grocery store as a mother was squeezing the food in to her babies mouth.  My son sees the package and grabs it and sucks it like a straw.  Talk about neat and tidy.  Before he knew how to even to this, I loved it, as I could very easily squeeze a bit on the spoon (typically at my older son’s T-Ball games) and there was no sticky mess to clean up.

Moms, ladies, friends of moms and friends of ladies.  I know it sounds crazy to give baby food as a gift, but I guarantee you that your mommy friends will love it and love you for it.  If it is not in your grocery store, you can buy it by boxes of 6  HERE and HERE.  Trust me.  Your child will love it. Even more so, Mommies will love this.

The Pioneer Woman’s

Bake at 350 has the CUTEST cookies I have ever seen.  She is clearly an artist with A LOT of patience.  My level of commitment to icing a cookie would be much more of a “slap it on” kind of a job than her beautiful artwork.  The great part is, she ships those cookies anywhere you are!  However, she is one popular girl, so do plan ahead and get your order in ahead of time.  I typically think a week in advance…I would start thinking a month.  Her cookies are adorable, plus she has some great treats she throws in every once in awhile to make with kids.  She is definitely a kid-friendly blogger.  Check her out.  Add her to your Blog Roll, Blog Reader…you won’t be disappointed in Bridget at Bake at 350.  I love it!

I have boys, so I was first drawn to these…

I absolutely love Hostess cupcakes, so check these out…and they have the creamy middle!!

Pickles and ice cream for the baby shower…how cute is that?

You are guaranteed to swoon over every cookie you find.  Not to mention, if you want something special, all you gotta do is ask!  The girl is creative and I think it’s possible that she can do absolutely anything…

For those of you who don’t know, I have been on a drastic diet…the Candida Diet.  I eliminated all refined sugars, yeast, gluten, salt, caffeine, and spices from my diet in order to help my body take some time to heal its many symptoms.  As hard as it was, it worked like a charm.  I haven’t felt so good in a VERY long time….Here’s Wynne for Wynnesdays…

Paul and I have seen the benefits of Penny’s “Candida Diet” and although we are not following it exactly, we are doing our best at eliminating sugar and processed foods from our family’s diet.  In doing so, we have had to search for new snack ideas.  Paul found this really tastey hummus dip at Reasor’s here in Tulsa.  It is made by Wild Garden  and is all natural, has no preservatives and less than 1g of sugar.  We tried the Jalepeno flavor which is hot, but oh so yummy!  They also have Roasted Garlic, Sun Dried Tomato and Traditional flavors.  We dipped a little Bible Bread (an all natural, sugar free cracker) into it and had a really good treat.  The website has a full list of retailers that carry it like Kroger, HEB, Whole Foods and World Market.   Or, you can order from Amazon HERE.   Try it, you will like it!

Yummy!  I love Hummus and it is certainly a great and healthy option for snacking!  Thanks, Wynne…

Wynne’s Day…

For Christmas a few years ago, our mom gave Penelope and I these really cool pineapple corers.  This nifty little contraption will cut the yummy portion of your pineapple and take the center core out… all with a twist of the wrist!  The coolest part is that it also preserves the “shell” of the pineapple perfectly so you can use it as a center piece…fill with fruit or a giant drink and little umbrella and voila! Perfectly cut pineapple and center piece all at once! 

Thanks, Wynne.  This pineapple corer might be one of the most clever inventions yet!  We love pineapples in our house and I no longer dread cutting it up…This baby works and the results are a stack of perfectly cut rings of pineapples.  I feel like a professional chef!  If I can do it, anybody can…you should definitely buy this inexpensive contraption.  You will be amazed!

While these are darling (and featured on The Today Show), you will find SO MUCH MORE at Edible Gifts that you will want to sink your teeth in to.  Especially if you are still on a yeast and sugar free diet, like me.  UGH!  You enjoy and eat one for me!  Click the link below to explore their yummy site!

Check out these Chile Grills. I received a Chile Grill as a gift last year and used it all summer long.  I grew jalapenos in my garden and this was the yummiest way to cook them on the grill.   Chile Grills  are heavy duty iron and will readily stand up to long-time use over the heat from a grill.   The big bonus is that they come in lots of sizes and shapes.  You can get a plain square, chili-shaped or the shape of your state!  They even have huge ones if you are grilling for a crowd.  Each comes with a recipe card with ideas on different ways to grill your chile’s…The cream cheesestuffed jalapenos with bacon on top is my favorite!   This is a great idea for the griller on your list and certainly for the chile-lover, as well!

Yummy!  What a clever gift for the griller who has it all!  See Penelope’s Store  for other shapes…Thanks, Wynne!