Cookie Bars, Daily Life and Cozy Mystery Books

Hello there! I'd like to share a recipe with you today. I've made chocolate chip cookie bars before, but I've always made them in either a pizza pan or a 13x9 pan. When I found a recipe using a 15x10 jelly roll pan, I had to try it too. 

Don't they look scrumptious? They were thin, because of the shallow pan and I loved that. 

Here's a link to the recipe I used:

ORIGINAL NESTLE TOLL HOUSE CHOCOLATE CHIP PAN COOKIE RECIPE

While we're in the kitchen, I'll share this pic of Holly Joaquin right after she ate her allotted two treats a day...

She always looks like she wants more. :) 

I took this pic the other day right after I cleaned the house and was just about to reward myself with a cup of coffee...

I love enjoying a cup of coffee and a good book with a clean house in the background. 

Speaking of books, I've been devouring several cozy mysteries lately and thought I'd share. 

I'm pretty much splitting my time between these four series:

The Darling Deli Series by Patti Benning and Summer Prescott Books:

*Right now, you can get books 1, 2, and 3 in The Darling Deli Series on Amazon (Kindle version) for only .99¢!!!

The Killer Cookie Series by Patti Benning:

The Sweet Cove Mysteries by J A Whiting:

The Frosted Love Series by Carol Durand and Summer Prescott:

The "Darling Deli Series" by Patti Benning and Summer Prescott Books and "The Killer Cookie Series" also by Patti Benning are so good! Click HERE for a link to both of these and to purchase them on Amazon. I'm already on book 14 of the Darling Deli series and book 4 of the Killer Cookie series. 

Y'all know I'm a big fan of "cozy mysteries" and these really deliver. They both contain lot of small town happenings, recipes, quirky neighbors, and wonderful descriptions of their quaint home towns. You can read more about each series in the link above. 

I can't get enough of the "Sweet Cove Mystery Series" by J A Whiting. Click HERE to read more about it and purchase on Amazon. I'm on book 7 of this series and can't seem to put them down. What I love about this one is all the small town charm. There's a bakery and a candy shop, historic homes and gardens, and lots of interesting characters. 

I'm also really really enjoying the Frosted Love Series by Carol Durand and Summer Prescott. Click HERE to read more about this series or purchase it on Amazon. I love that this one revolves around the life of Missy who owns a muffin and cupcake shop in Louisiana. I'm on book 15 in this series. 


In each one of these books there is usually a murder, but because these are "cozies" there's not a lot of blood and gore and they always keep you guessing as to who the killer is. They all draw you in with the small town charm, sweet treats and a good old fashioned mystery.

And I simply can't talk about cozy mysteries without mentioning the one who started it all for me...Southern Sisters Mysteries by Anne George I loved this series! Probably my favorite cozy to date. I've read the whole series at least twice. :) 

I've posted this link before, but in case you missed it, I'll post it again. This is the Fantastic Fiction site:

https://www.fantasticfiction.com/

It has all the info you could want on any book or series. You can search by author or title. I love that I can search an author and it will list all the series by that author. It also lists all the books in any particular series in order with links to purchase the books on Amazon. 

All these books I talked about today are available on Amazon and range from .99 cents to about $3.99 on Kindle and sometimes they offer the first in the series for free!

Here are links to past posts I've done on my favorite Cozy Mysteries: 

COZY MYSTERY BOOKS

 COZY MYSTERY BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

 COZY MYSTERIES

Hope y'all enjoy your day! 

~Lisa

Sno Balls, Cupcakes and Trixie

Hello! How is everyone? School is almost out! We made it through prom and senior banquet but we still have so much to do. I'm hosting a banquet at my house for my son's film class, there's graduation practice, more banquets, and then of course, the graduation ceremony. Oh, and the graduation party at our house. Whew!

So let's relax a bit and talk sweet treats. I saw this ice cream at the store and couldn't resist...

It says "Marshmallow ice cream with chocolate cake pieces and a whipped coconut swirl."

Sno Ball ice cream? Yes, please. It was really good too! 

I've been craving white cupcakes with fluffy vanilla frosting for a long time now and finally made some the other day...

Here are the frostings I used...

We love the Fluffy Marshmallow frosting! 

Obviously I decided to make a few strawberry ones too. :) 

Here's another cake mix tip. I always add two teaspoons of almond extract to my white cake mixes.

Adds a little extra flavor that I love. 

And last but not least, y'all remember my mom's "twins" right? Well, Miss Trixie struck a pose the other day...

"Jack, draw me like one of your French girls." Lol! #titanicmovie

Hope that made you laugh!

~Lisa 

A Hair Tip and Decor Pics

I have a little of everything for you today. I know I haven't shared home decor pics in awhile, so I thought I'd share a few, just to make me feel like I still have a "home decor" blog. :) 

I mentioned my bee skep on IG recently and got a lot of DM's asking what that was, so I shared this pic...

I still can't believe I got it on clearance at Hob Lob for less than $2! One of my favorite clearance finds ever. 

I put my new $5 "dollar spot" cake stand to good use on my kitchen buffet...

A different view of my living room...

Here's a tip for you, especially if you have frizzy hair like me. My hair is naturally curly, but not "pretty curly." It's more like "frizzy curly." Like it can't decide if it wants to be curly or not, so it just settles on frizz. I've talked about my favorite frizz fighters before and these remain my all time favorites...

Suave avocado and olive oil shampoo and conditioner.

Suave sleek anti frizz smooth and shine cream.

Okay, before I give you my tip, let me back up and tell you how I figured this out. I color my hair at home (for $6, thank you very much) and the color kit comes with a tube of deep conditioner that you're supposed to use immediately after coloring, and then once a week to keep your hair protected and soft. 

We all know that a major contributor to frizz is dry hair. The only thing about this deep conditioner is that it doesn't work as well as my Suave avocado and olive oil conditioner for controlling frizz. I hated how my hair looked the day after I used the deep conditioner because of its lack of frizz control. In fact, I pretty much only used the deep conditioner the day I colored my hair and skipped out on using it once a week, like they recommend. 

Then it finally dawned on me that I could still use my favorite Suave conditioner AFTER I used the one that comes with my hair color. That way, I would still get the "deep conditioning" from the one, and the frizz control from the other. I tried it recently the day I colored my hair. I colored my hair, then washed it (with a tiny bit of shampoo because I know you're not really supposed to wash it immediately, but I can't stand the thought of not washing my hair) and then I used the deep conditioner tube that came with my coloring kit. I left that on for a few minutes, then rinsed it out and then applied my Suave conditioner and left it on for a few minutes before rinsing it out. 

Y'all...that did the trick! My hair was so soft and practically FRIZZ FREE!!! Conditioning it twice in a row really worked! I still use the deep conditioner once a week, followed by my regular conditioner, but on all the other days, I just condition twice with my Suave conditioner. Then after towel drying, I use my Suave Frizz control cream, then blow dry.

Let's do a little comparison, shall we? First up is a recent pic I posted of my new necklace and earrings, but look at my hair. See the frizz? How can you not, huh? Lol! This was on a particularly bad frizz day and I had been outside where it was very windy. I should have fixed my hair a little before taking a pic, but I was counting on y'all focusing on my jewelry, not my hair. Ha! 

And below is after double conditioning...

Apparently "double conditioning" is a real "thing." Have y'all heard of doing this? I've never heard the term double conditioning and thought I was so smart to come up with it. It wasn't until I googled it that I found out I wasn't the first to try this. Ha ha!

One person said the best hair advice they ever got came from the movie "The Blind Side." It was when the mom told the daughter not to double condition her hair when she was in the shower because they were in a hurry. Who knew? I've seen that movie, but totally missed that little gem. :) 

With all that conditioning, I also use this clarifying shampoo every 1-2 weeks to avoid product build up...

And y'all know the little trick of spraying a little hair spray into the palm of your hand and then patting down any stray hair frizzies, right? That works wonders as well and doesn't leave your hair all sticky like an all over hair spray job would do. 

So tell me, do you double condition? 

~Lisa 

A Backyard Visitor, A Few Funnies and a Hilarious Product (that really works!)

First things first and before I forget, I want to give you a little jury duty tip...I had jury duty recently. It's almost an hour away for me but thanks to my super smart Aunt's advice, I called the courthouse before I left to make sure they were still holding jury duty that day. And you know what??? They said it was cancelled for the rest of the day because all the cases had already been worked out! So glad I called first before making a two hour round trip drive! They said if I still wanted my $6 check, I would have to come in. Umm...no thank you. :) They said I didn't have to do anything and could throw away my jury summons. Thank goodness! I was so grateful. My summons wasn't until 12:30, so I guess that's why they already had everything worked out. Yippee! So my tip is to always call first, especially if you have a later time, to see if it's been cancelled for the day. :) 

So onto other things...I stepped out onto the patio the other day to find this little fellow...

Look to the left...see it in the grass? 

Here's a closer look...

Isn't he cute? Anyway,  I call him Claude. :) Not sure where he came from or why he was visiting us, but he stayed awhile, then meandered over to the back garden by the bridge and disappeared into the bushes. 

In other news, I've been seeing lots of funny posts on IG lately. Hope these give you a laugh...

I laughed so hard at the one below! That would totally be me! Lol!

I honestly don't know what I would do! Ha!

I still remember how hard these were to separate. 


This next one was hilarious too. I've had to put a few outfits in their place like this before...

Hope these gave you a laugh! :) 

One more thing...I debated whether I should post about this next product. The 12 year old in me laughs every time I think of it, but you know what? It works! Like, it really works. ;) 

 I present to you...Poo-Pourri!

Okay y'all, this is cracking me up! (pun totally intended) I've been hearing about this product for ages, but was hesitant to buy it. Then I was in line at The Container Store recently and the girl in front of me was inquiring about it and the sales clerk told her they can't keep it in stock, it sells out so quickly. That got me interested. :) 

For those of you that don't know, Poo-Pourri is a product that you spray in the potty BEFORE you go and there will be absolutely no odor afterwards. Hee hee! Just shake it up (because the product does separate a little) and spritz a little in the potty and you're good to go. Two sprays seems to be plenty. I got the lavender vanilla scent on Amazon and y'all, this really does work. ;) 

I got the 8 ounce bottle for about $20 and poured some into smaller clear spray bottles (that I bought for $1 at Walmart in the travel container section) That way, I can have one in each bathroom and just refill as necessary from the big bottle. 

Above is my smaller spray bottle I got at Walmart. They do sell smaller size bottles of Poo-Pourri for travel, etc. but I don't think they're refillable. I didn't want to have to be purchasing new bottles all the time, so this seemed more economical. 

So tell me, have any of you tried this? It's okay if you want to comment anonymously. Lol!


~Lisa

More Cardigans and a Recipe

Hello there! The last time I shared some cardigans I bought, I heard from a lot of you that were looking for the same thing (lightweight that can be worn year round, even in hot climates) Several of you got in on that deal, so I'm back today to share another great lightweight cardi. 

This one is from Old Navy. I ordered mine online, but they're in the stores too. They're going fast though, so don't delay if you want one (or four, like me) Lol.

Here's a link to them online at Old Navy...

Relaxed Open Front Long Cardi

Relaxed open front long cardi at Old Navy

It retails for $34.94, but if you use the code THANKYOU right now (through May 14th) I think you'll get 30% off, but don't quote me on that. 

Here's what I love about these cardis...they're very lightweight which is perfect for Houston weather. They're long, which makes them great for wearing with leggings or the Old Navy Pixie Pants I'm so crazy about. And they have an open front, so there's no buttons to mess with. I got one in all four colors...black, grey, orange, and the navy/cream stripe shown above.

I also wanted to share this quick pasta salad recipe I made up the other weekend. 

It's very plain, but that's what I was going for with this one. All the ingredients you'll need are pictured above. Pasta, tomatoes, parm, red onion, and Olive Garden dressing...

Here's the best part, just add as much or as little of everything! Easy peasy!

It was so good, and of course I had to serve it with Mary B's thin biscuits. 

Thanks for stopping by!

~Lisa

Personalized Baby and Children Brand by Jennifer Ann Style

I found the cutest site recently. It's a personalized baby and children brand by Jennifer Ann Style. 

These items are so cute! They recently made an appearance on "Bobbie's Buzz" on The Today Show. They have bibs, onesies, dresses, headwraps, blankets, etc. printed with the child's name all over the fabric! Genius!

These dresses are so adorable! What I love is that these can be worn as a dress one year, then as they grow, it can be worn as a tunic with leggings! Love clothes that can grow with your child like that. 

These bibs are so sweet and would make a perfect baby shower gift. 

 Click HERE to enter the site so you can view all the personalized items. Look how sweet this one is with the flowers...

These onesies are just darling!

How about this blanket?

They even sell combo sets like this...

Is this the cutest group of girls you've ever seen, or what? 

I love this one for the 4th of July...

And headwraps! So adorable!

And the best part...if you enter the coupon code "TexasDecor" at check out, you'll get a 10% discount on your order!!! 

This is truly just a site I came across and knew you'd love it as much as I did. I enjoy sharing new products with you and couldn't wait to do this post. :) 

Y'all be sure to check out Jennifer Ann Style. They have so many darling things for boys, girls, babies and kids. Thanks for stopping by!

~Lisa

Even More Walmart Finds...

So as I mentioned earlier, I had to return the Tencel pj's from Target. They were so comfy, but they just didn't fit right. So...I got $65 back from that return and that meant I could then spend $65 on other stuff and it would be like I didn't spend any at all, right? Right??? Hee hee! I mean, I did get $65 back, so technically if I spent $65 on new stuff, it would be like it was free. Oh how a woman's mind works when it comes to shopping. ;) 

So with that money burning a hole in my pocket, I went to...Walmart. Of course I did.

First up, I got this cute little swing dress. These are only $7.88, y'all! I got them in these three colors below...

Sorry for the wonky pic. I really need to quit taking pics in my bathroom. The lighting is terrible.

Here's a pic from the Whoa Wait Walmart IG account...

Isn't she cute? Be sure to follow them @whoawaitwalmart on Instagram to hear about all the good deals! This is how I found out about these.

Here I am in the black one and a close up of the jewelry I wore with it. I love how you can dress these up with statement jewelry and a cardi. 

These are very loose fitting and oh so comfy. Below, I'm in the green stripe. See how I made good use of my Target clearance Bauble Bar tassel earrings? Oh and that necklace was only $1.50 from my local HEB grocery store. They have an entire line of cute necklaces and bracelets for $1.50 each. 

Next up, I'm in the black stripe...

Here's the rest of what I got...My grand total was $65...EXACTLY what I got back after returning the pj's, thank you very much. Am I good, or am I good? :)  

The burgundy and black cardis are very thin and perfect for summer. Or year round in Texas. They were $11 on clearance in the Junior's section. 

See the blue and grey striped tanks? The last time I was there, they were out of those colors in my size, but this time they were fully stocked, so I quickly grabbed them. They're only $4.94.

Here's a close up:

Oh, and my fringe cardi seen here...

It's on clearance for $11 right now too and it comes in two patterns. 

I hope you enjoyed this latest edition of "Lisa's bargain deals at Walmart." :) 

Thanks for stopping by!

~Lisa