Super Easy Homemade Almond Joy Treats

This will be the new family favorite! It's so quick and simple to throw together. If you like the yummy coconut taste of Almond Joy, then you will love these!

1c packed sweetened coconut flakes
1/2c coconut oil
1tsp vanilla
1/2c chocolate chips
1/4c sliced almonds

First melt the oil, then combine with flakes. Spread into sprayed glass dish (8x8 or 9x9 is fine), compressing down. Melt chocolate chips in microwave, then drizzle and spread over the coconut. Sprinkle almonds on top evenly, then place in fridge for an hour to set!

Easy Tuscan Soup, and Meal Prepping

I was able to get some Italian sausages on sale recently, so then I got online to look for an easy healthy recipe to use them in. I pieced a couple different recipes together, and this is what I came up with! It was delicious, and the whole family loved it. Most of the ingredients would already be in your pantry.

1lb Italian sausage, cooked/crumbled
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can cannelini beans
16oz frozen spinach
3c chicken broth
1/2c orzo (optional)

Add all ingredients into large saucepan over medium Heat. Do not drain the canned items. Bring to a boil, and simmer on low for about 20 minutes. If you like, you can add orzo and simmer for another 10 minutes before serving.


I've also recently begun meal prepping for my weekly lunches to take to work. It saves me a lot of time and definitely encourages me to eat healthier food through the day.

House Hunting!

Today we began our journey to find a house! We are officially on the hunt for an old Victorian house with land. That is most of the reason we moved to this area. We lined up two different houses today out in the country (on the same road, only 2 miles from each other) and left the boys with a babysitter so that we could focus.

They are both in the Youngstown/Porter/Ransomville area of NW New York, about 40 minutes from where we live now. The distance is important to us because we would love for Nick to be able to keep his awesome job (that he just got another raise at!).

This is the first house we viewed in Youngstown:

• $119,000
• 1952 sqft
• Built in 1895
• 0.77 acres
• 4 bed 2 bath

The outside was nice. There was a detached 1 car garage, as well as a small shed. There was an above ground pool with a deck, and a small pond. Inside was more disappointing. It didn't look taken care of very well. The floors were all covered with cheap looking wood and vinyl laminate with hardwood in only 3 of the bedrooms. Almost every wall was covered with painted over wallpaper, or very thick texture. The basement was disgusting. You had to stoop over to walk thru it, and there were cobwebs hanging everywhere like garland. The electric boxes looked ancient and had some exposed wires.

The next house was 2 miles east in Ransomville:

• $109,000
• 2024 sqft
• Built in 1830
• 1.2 acres
• 4 bed 2 bath
• Currently a 2 family home

I know it's hard to tell what is what from the pictures. Since it is a 2 family home, there are 2 kitchens so that would obviously need to be converted. One of the realtors with us is actually a contractor as well, so he was able to give us a lot of ideas and tips for what we could do with the space. The basement in this house was very old feeling, but much more clean and tidy. The boiler and water heater looked to be in good shape. It had a 2 car detached garage and a walkout basement.

We actually much preferred the second house. The inside kind of looks like a hot mess, but we are looking for an old house with lots of history, in the country, with good bones. We want to customize it and fix it up how WE want it since this will be the house we spend the rest of our lives in. We have a lot of negotiating power because of the work that it needs, and the fact that it has been on the market for over 6 months.

We are mulling over everything and heavily weighing our options. We may go see the second house again next weekend for a closer look at certain things. Meanwhile I am checking for new listings every day! Wish us luck.

Wet n Wild 1 Step Wonder Gel Polish 7 Day Review

One of the things I wanted for Christmas was some good gel polish to use at home. And being the frugal Shopper that I am, the first thing I did was look for coupons online. Unfortunately I couldn't find any, so I looked at reviews of affordable drugstore gel polish to decide which one I should try. The Sally Hansen gel polish actually had poor reviews, and users are not happy with the durability. The next brand I looked up was this one, Wet n Wild. It had good reviews, and users said that it lasted several days with no chips. So I went to the store and looked at it, and I was happy to see that the price was less than $5 for a bottle, and there were several colors to choose from. It says that you don't need a base coat or topcoat, so that's what I did for my first application to try it out. If it goes well, I will definitely be getting more colors!

Day 1

No base coat, no top coat. 2 coats of polish

Day 2

After washing dishes, taking a shower, and normal activities

Day 3

After washing dishes and cleaning. No chips persay, just a bit of wear along some edges. Still amazing for no topcoat! 

Day 4

After a shower and scrubbing dishes. A couple small chips along the edges. A bit more wear. Still in decent shape, but I think I'll touch up the edges to freshen up and stretch out my wear a little longer.

Day 5

Even after a touch up on the tips, I still had wearing on the edges at the end of the day after chores and lots of cooking.

Day 6

Several more chips on my dominant hand.

Day 7

So definitely lots more wear and chips, mainly on my right hand.

My opinion after 1 week with this new polish is that overall I like it. Sure it got some chips after a few days, but they were only on a couple nails that got the most use. And I did not have to use a base or top coat so that saved me a lot of time waiting for it to dry. I like the wide bristle brush, and I like the opaque coverage of the color. I actually bought another color of it, and I'll be using it next week! 

I recommend getting this polish--it's less than $5 and no top coat needed so less down time. Try it out!