'MIRROR MIRROR'- Contest

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Relativity Media has a new film, 'MIRROR MIRROR'  which is opening March 30, 2012.
The film is a family-friendly twist on the classic tale Snow White, and stars Julia Roberts and Lily Collins.

A quick summary of the Movie


One of the most beloved stories of all time is coming to life in the motion picture event, "Mirror Mirror".
A fresh and funny retelling of the Snow White legend, Mirror Mirror features breakout star Lily Collins
(The Blind Side) as Snow White, a princess in exile, and Oscar®-winner Julia Roberts as the evil Queen
who ruthlessly rules her captured kingdom.
Seven courageous rebel dwarfs join forces with Snow White as she fights to reclaim her birthright and win her Prince in this magical adventure comedy filled with The film also stars Armie Hammer (The Social Network) as the Prince and Nathan Lane (The Birdcage) jealousy, romance and betrayal that will capture the hearts and imaginations of audiences the world over as the hapless and bungling servant to the Queen.


*Giveaway Details*
What is the giveaway for? I can offer Five,  family four packs of tickets for the screening of MIRROR MIRROR in the areas of San Francisco , Sacramento and Santa Clara CA on March 28th.

Are you in the area? Want to see the movie? All you need to do is comment below and you could win! Again I can offer 5- family four packs of tickets. There will be 5 winners picked ! First 5 to comment will be picked, first come first serve. That's as easy as it gets! :)
Don't miss out!!


**Update**4 packs are reserved, I have 1  pack of 4 (four tickets) now up for grabs! 
people getting tickets-


 Jen- email me back
Man_of_Resin- confirmed
Melanie- email me back! 
Melissa- confrimed & Tickets are on their way


Please leave me your email or email me mburbage@sbcglobal.net

 

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"Can’t Wait" Sounds of South Africa from Grenadilla

We love music in this house. Music is a big part of our day, whether we are cleaning up, playing a game or reading a book there's some sort of music on. I even have music playing in the kitchen while I put together meals. My kids end up dancing along with me and singing with the music while they help bake.

I choose music of different styles so the kids are constantly being exposed to a wide variety. They enjoy pretty much all of it and can easily jump into a chorus in the middle of a store when they hear a song they like. My kids have even belted out a few tunes on our walks to school. The best time to listen to music? Just about any moment of the day!

Our new favorite album  is "Can't Wait" from Grenadilla (pronounce "gren-a-dill-a") The upbeat, fun and catchy songs bring sounds of South Africa right to our living room.

My kids can already sing the "Doodle Doodle Doodle Doodle Doo" song that makes you just want to jump in and dance.

After the first time we listened to the entire album I encouraged the kids to try and pick out the sounds they heard within the songs. They could name most all of the instruments, and we all learned a new one. The birdlike pennywhistle! I was excited when my older kids said it sounded like a flute, but wasn't. We all discovered some new sounds within "Can't Wait." It's great to encourage the kids to stop and listen, then enjoy what they are hearing. Music is an amazing teaching tool with all ages.

If you are Looking for some fun new music to expose the kids too,  you should check out "Can't Wait" from Grenadilla which came out earlier this month. You can check out some of the songs and enjoy them right now here.  Encourage the kids to get up and dance, make music part of your day and enjoy new sounds! For more information visit, grenadillasings.com

**Disclosure- I received the products mentioned above ,  in order to write an honest review. No monetary compensation was received for this post. I did not have to write a positive review, Any and all opinions are and will always be my own.* 

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Garden Update- Stormy weather beat down..

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So far this years summer garden has taken a beating. The squirrel oddly enough was only a small problem. This past week our area has been surrounded by non stop storms. Our yard had flooded and wind broke some trees again as it did last year. In the midst of this I lost 76 seedlings. My pea and beans are gone as well.  It's still early to start over for the summer garden but also it will be that much more difficult to stay on track.

Our weather chaos continued today, we lost power early this morning due to damage caused by the storm. It's still pretty windy and rain is on its merry way again. Spent most the day re-planting seeds and cleaning up the mess the storm left behind. It won't discourage me at all, in fact I have had to re-start several times over the last few years. A little wild weather and lost plants won't stop me!

There were survivors though, through all this craziness, most my winter plants made it through including Mustard.

This is the Mustard plant, below is a Large Leaf Mustard, or Mustard Greens. Both of which you can eat the leaves, but the above - Mustard, is the one you want for Mustard Seeds, the seeds you use in cooking. You can ground them up for ground mustard as well.



Large Leaf Mustard Greens

 

Mustard plant before it goes to seed



Once the plant goes to flower you wait till the seed pods grow. They will be almost 3 inches long, and will simply dry out sooner or later. Once they do, snip it off and open it up to collect the yellow mustard seeds. Since we had no power today I couldn't charge my camera, but the seed pods look just like this picture I took of some flowers. Same idea behind collection.

Crazy week I'm telling you! Always an adventure around here :)

If you keep up with my garden each week I'd like to have you head over to Mellissa, over at Something Like Life . Mellissa will be joining me in weekly garden updates, and you can track the crazy stuff that happens in each of our backyards. Last year Mellissa ended up growing a tomato out of a water bottle, it was pretty neat, you won't want to miss our weekly updates There's always stuff happening and who knows you may pick up some neat tips along the way! She's got some cute Cornish chicks that area already causing her some trouble !

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Sweet Treat Friday - I put Spinach in the Frosting!

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Oh yes, yes I did!
I put Spinach juice in sweet creamy white frosting and made my kids eat it. You know what? They LOVED it! Even after I told them what they just ate. Besides who would turn a cupcake down? I won't, that's for sure.

Natural food colorings are easier than you think. I found this one through Pinterest awhile ago and just so happened to need to today. We don't eat foods or drinks that come with any food coloring, or at least for the most part. Using everyday vegetables you can add coloring to cakes, even frosting or baked goods. The great post about using these items can be found here on Itsy Bitsy Foodies. The post is for adding it to the cake batter, but I applied the same idea to the frosting, perfect results.

Yumm

I used a basic White Creamy Frosting recipe then added 1 tablespoon of Spinach juice at a time till it started to take on the color I needed. More white powdered sugar was needed to off set the liquid but it came out perfect. Even better, my kids seriously had no idea there was even the hint of a vegetable in their treat today. Not a single complaint ;-)

Creamy White Frosting (From better Homes and Gardens)
Ingredients

1 cup shortening
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon extract (you can use Orange, almond or lemon, I just used french vanilla)
4 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
3-4 tablespoons milk
*If coloring use 1 tablespoons Spinach Juice at a time. Mix/beat well between additions unti it becomes the color you want.
*more powdered sugar if it becomes too watery.

Directions.
Beat shortening , vanilla and extract with electric mixer. Slowly add half the powdered sugar in beating well between additions. Add milk, one tablespoon at a time in between adding the remaining sugar. If coloring add in one tablespoon of the spinach juice and beat well till mixed, add more till it becomes the color you want, Add and adjust the powdered sugar till the frosting is to your liking, if needed.


 The frosting doesn't taste like spinach, though I bet if you kept adding it in to make it darker it would have more effect on the flavor.
  With the added juice it really leveled the sweetness of the frosting so in my opinion it came amazingly well. I would love to try the other vegetable juices in baked items to see how they stand up.

Have a Happy St. Patrick's Day !
 

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Chocolate Inspirations, Easter Chocolates!

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 I love Chocolate Inspirations, they have something for everyone .With Easter is right around the corner, you should check out their All natural & gluten free Artisan Confections & Gourmet Vegan Confections that would be a perfect way to say Happy Easter! They have a brand new section just for Easter, here are some items that are available.

Gourmet Chocolate  Easter Bunnies

$12.00 

Large Gourmet Dark Chocolate Easter Bunny -Vegan & Gluten Free
$12.00

1/2 lb Award Winning Easter English Toffee Gift Box- $15.50

                                      

  Easter Gift Boxes – Available in ½ lb, 1 lb & 2 lb Sizes

Give Something Extraordinary Give Chocolate Inspirations!

 

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Wordless Wednesday - What do you See?

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EcoSTORE USA "GET ON THE SHELF" Contest

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EcoSTORE USA has entrered in to the Walmart "GET ON THE SHELF" contest. With your support from voting for our video we want you to help us bring non-toxic, healthy products to the shelves of Walmart stores!
It's easy to vote, simply click this button    and vote for EcoSTORE USA Voting ends April 3rd

EcoSTORE USA products provide safe, healthy alternatives to everyday brands, while at the same time featuring outstanding performance and value for the dollar.

 On February 1st, 2012, EcoSTORE USA permanently reduced their pricing from 25-50% depending upon the product. No waiting for a sale on their fabulous line of Household, Personal Care and Baby products. Also, all ecoSTORE USA products are plant and mineral based and free of toxic ingredients. That is why we like to say No Nasty ChemicalsTM.

What are you waiting for? Go vote to get them!


 

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