Free $10 gift card with $50 Target purchase!

If you are planning to make some purchases at Target , print a Target coupon for a free $10 Target gift card with any $50 in-store purchase.  Happy shopping!

Thanksgiving recap with pictures!

We had an action packed Thanksgiving weekend with our family! Wednesday night Poppa Jim (Slim Jim Poppa K) arrived in State College just in time for dinner. The girls had a great time having some one on one time playing and showing off for Poppa :)

Poppa Jim, Caitlin, DaDa and Fiona

Our little family

Thanksgiving started out as a lazy morning at home and then we all head over to my parents around 12:30. We drank wine, ate way too much food, laughed a lot and the girls refused to nap among the excitement.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Knowles twins!

Nana (Ryan's mom) came and stayed the weekend, since she couldn't make it for Thanksgiving. I'm almost done Christmas shopping, the tree is up, house decorated and we are full speed ahead to Christmas! :)

What I am Thankful for...

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone is able to spend quality time with their family today!

 I totally feel for the people that work in retail over this holiday. I can't believe that most stores are opening at midnight and some even open on Thanksgiving! Before the girls were born, I was in the retail business. I was the Senior Executive Merchandising Manager for Macy's and as of that time, I was working until 11:00PM the night before Thanksgiving to prepare for the sale, was exhausted through Thanksgiving and back to work at 3:00AM on Friday to be ready for 5:00AM opening. It's so much worse now that they are opening at midnight since I know it takes at least 2 hours to be ready to open meaning their Thanksgiving is being robbed from them. Sorry for the rant! I just really feel for these hardworking associates and managers this holiday season!

I have so much to be thankful for this year. It's astounding to me how very blessed I am! Here's a short list-

-My patient, caring and hardworking husband and that his tenacity allows me to stay at home with my girls and not work outside the home.

-Of course, my beautiful, funny, smart and adventurous toddlers. They have made everything in my life better, I can't imagine life without them! 

-The fortune of good health. Myself and my family have been blessed with good health and that is something to be very thankful for. 

-My mom, dad, sister and brother-in-law. I'm so thankful that we are so close and we are ale to visit often. I'm so blessed they are in my life and love my girls so much.

-That I am going to be an aunt!! I'm thankful that my sister and JR are expecting a baby in May!

- For my renewed faith and spirituality. I have been feeling a lot more driven in my faith and have felt a renewed energy with prayer. My hunt for a new church is on!

-A comfy house that is warm, filled with fabulous food and lots of love. I may complain and I want more space, more bathrooms, ect... but I am so blessed for what we have right now.

I could go on and on but I will spare you! I hope you count your blessings today too, Happy Thanksgiving!

Best Chili Yet!

I have tried MANY chili recipes and haven't found 'the one' until I stumbled upon this one. I am a vegetarian (pescitarian actually, I occasionally eat fish and shellfish) so finding a recipe with tons of flavor that didn't include meat and was hearty enough to fulfill my carnivore husband has been a challenge.

Cooking Light

Chunky Vegetarian Chili

Here is the link to the recipe!

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

• 2 cups chopped onion 
• 1/2 cup chopped yellow bell pepper 
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper 
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 
• 2 (16-ounce) cans stewed tomatoes, undrained 
• 2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained 
• 1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained 
• 1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained 
• -After chopping the peppers, onion and garlic, heat oil in a dutch oven over meduim/high heat.

-Add the peppers, onion and garlic; saute for 5 minutes or until tender.

-Add beans, tomatoes, brown sugar and spices.

-Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer for 30 minutes.
-Add additional salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!

I tried it as the recipe states and after adding a little more salt, it was perfect! My husband has the idea of adding Morningstar farm crumbles (faux ground beef made of soy protein) so I added a 1/2 cups of the crumbles and wow, it was fantastic!

Nutritional Information

Amount per serving

• Calories: 257
• Calories from fat: 9%
• Fat: 2.7g
• Saturated fat: 0.3g
• Monounsaturated fat: 0.5g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 1.2g
• Protein: 12.8g
• Carbohydrate: 48.8g
• Fiber: 14.2g
• Cholesterol: 0.0mg
• Iron: 4.5mg
• Sodium: 876mg
• Calcium: 150mg

Thanks to Cooking Light for this recipe!

Land's End sale!

If you'd like to score some Christmas gifts with an extra 30% off and FREE shipping (with $50 purchase), landsend.com is your place!  Just use coupon code DRUMSTICK plus pin 1121. I love ordering from Land's End when they have their free shipping deals! You can also return any of your Land's End purchases to your local Sears so if something doesn't work out, you don't have to pay for return shipping. 


Here is one great example of this sale, for one of those hard to shop for men on your shopping list.

This Men's Classic Squall Parka is regularly priced at $119.50 + $10.95 shipping. With the current sale and coupon code, this can be shipped to your door for $48.97!


Here's another for the ladies on your list.

This Women's Blissful Knits Draped Cardigan is regularly priced at $29.50 + $5.95 shipping. With the current sale and coupon code, this can be shipped to your door for $11.85!

Happy shopping and safe travels for all of those traveling today and tomorrow!

Croissant french toast

This is the current favorite breakfast in our house. We eat super healthy breakfasts normally, but once ever week or two I make this for a treat. We have always been french toast fans but after trying croissants instead of bread, we can't go back :)


Croissant French Toast- 3 servings
*Croissants- 3- a few days old is best, or cut them in half and leave them uncovered over night
*Eggs- 4-5 eggs
*Milk- 1/4 cup
*Vanilla- 1T


Wisk to together the eggs, milk and vanilla in a long, shallow dish. If not already cut, cut the croissants length-wise and soak the croissants in the egg mixture. I usually let them sit 30 seconds per side, varying the time depending on how dried out the croissants are. 


On a griddle or pan heat to medium/high and melt 1/2t in pan. Cook croissants until golden brown on both sides. Serve with powdered sugar and syrup.


Enjoy!

Where did this week go?! & Starbucks deal!

This week has absolutely flown by! We had a major computer crash on Tuesday in which we are still recovering from. Luckily we retrieved almost everything we lost, including hundreds of Ryan's work files. Wednesday Ryan worked a super long day, gone from 8 AM until 10 PM and Fiona started getting a cold. Luckily, Fiona is feeling a little better and the weekend is upon us :) 

Making masterpieces this morning

So, today through Sunday (11/18-11/20) from 2-5 PM, where you can buy 1 Holiday Drink and get one free!  You’ll be able to choose from Peppermint Mocha (or new Skinny Peppermint Mocha), Caramel Brulée Latte, Gingerbread Latte or the longest-running holiday favorite, the Eggnog Latte!  This sounds the the perfect afternoon treat! 


I will be doing my 'recipe of the week' tomorrow morning since I have been a total slacker. It's not a new recipe for me but one of my favorites for breakfast, stay tuned!