Awesome Biscuits!

Recipe from Shelby of Sweet and Cozy
Thanks so much for this great recipe, Shelby!

Awesome Biscuits!
Use for cinnamon buns, cheese biscuits, etc.

4 cups flour (half whole wheat is good)
4 tsp baking powder
2 Tbs sugar
½ tsp salt
1 cup butter
1 ½ cup milk

Oven to 350 F. Mix dry ingredients together. Cut in butter until crumbly. Add milk and mix well.
Roll out on floured surface. Dough should be sticky, just add enough flour to handle.

For cinnamon buns: brush with melted butter and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll up and cut 1 inch slices.
For biscuits: add grated cheese before milk. Cut with cookie cutter.

Brush more butter on top if desired.
Don’t put them too close on the baking sheet, they will expand.
Bake for 10 – 15 mins, depending on oven.

Tuesday Time Saving Tip - Three box method

Hello it's AngelaSpots with another Tuesday time saving tip. Have you ever heard of the three box method? When cleaning use three boxes. One labelled sell, one to donate and one to discard. Be ruthless and declutter your life. You'll thank me for it.

Monday's a cool day! Meet Jane with Jacarandadesigns

Hello everyone! This week I would like to introduce you to Jane from Jacaranda designs. If you’ve been searching for an elegant piece of jewelry to wear on those special occasions or if you just feel like wearing something elegant and flattering, look no more!

- Who are you?
Jane Garnett
- Where do you live? Oakville, Ontario, Canada (just west of Toronto)
- What do you do? I left the IT industry a few years ago after 20 years and decided to focus on my family and my creativity!

- How many kids? And husbands/partners? I'm married with two young boys

- And so you have a shop…:
o What’s its name? Jacaranda Designs
o What do you sell? Jewelry and hair accessories

o But how on earth do you find time!?! It's hard. I don't get much done in the summer but the rest of the year I try and schedule my time while the boys are at school and assign one day a week to photographing items for my shop. If I didn't plan ahead, I'd never get anything done!

- Favorite book The Life of Pi
- Favorite movie Pride and Prejudice
- Favorite song/ band/ singer Human League, Alex Cuba, Dire Straits, Amy Winehouse (there's too many!)
- Favorite dish Any kind of curry!
- Favorite hobby Making jewelry
- Favorite time of the day 10 am - by that time I've done some chores and ready to start on work but first I have my relaxing cup of tea!
- Favorite time of the night hmmm - not much of a night owl - I'd have to say 9-10 pm when the boys are in bed and I finally get to chat with my hubby
- Favorite part of the body my cheekbones… they're very high and pronounced.


- Favorite color Soft blue
- Favorite Sesame st. character Not growing up in North America I never watched Sesame Street but I saw a few shows when my boys were younger and I'd have to say I like the guy in the garbage but couldn't tell you his name - bad, huh?

Tuesday Time Saving Tip - Are you ready for the holidays?

Hello it's AngelaSpots with another Tuesday time saving tip. Are you ready for Christmas or any other festival you celebrate in the next few months? Have you started your shopping? Planning for parties? What are you going to wear?

For those of you with Etsy shops are you ready for the Christmas rush? Do you have as many things possible made and listed? Enough packaging supplies? Will you be doing craft shows?

I know the holidays feel a million years away but they'll be here before you know it. Save yourself time and frustration by getting ready now and avoiding rushing around at the last minute.

Now get shopping! use the search word "busymomsteam" on www.Etsy.com to see some of the great things our team has for sale.

Thursday Deal Finder!

Today’s Thursday Deal Finder is from Grace Hester Designs. Please email any deals to grace[at!]gracehesterdesigns.com to be published here.

Today’s deal finder is more of a resource and melting pot of deals. Retailers who have online presence often have online-only deals or parallel promotions in stores and online. RetailMeNot.com allows you to search by retailer for some of the available coupon codes or deals going on at the store. Sure there are many similar sites doing the same thing but RetailMeNot.com is definitely my top favorite in terms of keeping their information updated and being one of the sites that has the best coverage of the available deals out there.

So next time, before you shop online, hop on over to RetailMeNot.com to see if there is a coupon you can use to save some money on your purchase.

Death By Chocolate!

Recipe from Jennifer of Geekling Designs.
Thanks so much for this great recipe, Jennifer! Sounds like an awesome way to die...(was that too morbid of me? )

"Death By Chocolate"

2 - pkg. Low-Fat Chocolate Mousse
1 - pkg. Low-Fat Brownie Mix
1 - tub Low-Fat Cool Whip
3 - bars Skor chocolate, chopped

Directions:

Prepare brownies according to directions. When cool, crumble into pieces. Prepare mousse according to directions. In large trifle bowl, put in 1/2 of the following: brownie pieces, mousse, cool whip, skor pieces. Repeat layers. Serves 12-24 (depending on serving size), and can be made ahead of time.

This recipe is from an old Weight Watchers magazine and is quite rich and tasty!

Tuesday Time Saving Tip - laundry basket round up

Hello it's AngelaSpots with another Tuesday time saving tip. What do you use laundry baskets for in your house? Here's another great idea. A toy and clutter round up. Take an (empty) laundry basket, toss in everything which doesn't belong in that room, then redistribute to the appropriate areas of the house. It'll only take a few minutes. What an easy way to keep your house clutter free.

Monday's a cool day - Meet Erica with EsThings

Good Monday everyone, this is Natacha from Pioupioukids. I am writing this post from France where I’m lucky to grasp the last warm days of summer before heading off to the southern hemisphere again. This week I’d like to introduce Erica from EsThings. Some of you might already be familiar with her work through the busymoms marketing blitz, if not, make sure you check it out!

• Who are you ?

I am a mother of 3, a wife of 1 and a full time employee. I am a high energy, sarcastic, loving, silly, serious, opinionated and good person who uses making things; sassy things, to get out the creative energy that is pent up. I am a type A personality all day long!

• Where do you live?

I live in GA about 40 miles north of Atlanta. It is a great community to raise your children in. I was born and raised in Buffalo, NY so I am a Yankee at heart.

• What do you do?

My career outside the home is actually in the waste industry. I love what I do and the company I do it with. The rest of my time and life is dedicated to my kids, husband and dogs. I am a taxi cab driver, cook, accountant, maid, doctor, nurse, artist, teacher, referee, advocate and whatever else needs done that day.

• How many kids? And husbands/partners?
  I have 3 wonderful children that range in age from 9-16. I have a husband I have been married to for almost 13 years and we have 3 dogs as well.
  

• And so you have a shop…:
• What’s its name?

EsThings. “Everything Sassy” It also stands for Erica and Sydney (my daughter)

• What do you sell?

Right now our focus is jewelry with some other items thrown in that are fun to make. Our first Christmas ornaments have been listed along with Christmas gift bags and Baby Tie Dye onsies. There will be other things listed along the way too.

• But how on earth do you find time!?!

I am not really sure. Most of it is done at night after everyone is in bed or at least calm, cool and collected. I really enjoy working on these items, it lets me be less analytical and freer with my expression… that is something I do not get to do at work and I look forward to doing it in this art form.

• Anything else you’d like to add…

I want to thank groups like the “Busy Moms of Etsy” for taking in us artists that just want to share the fun with others. I have enjoyed all of the conversations, suggestions and laughs along the way.
Please be sure to check the shop every now and then as I continue to add new jewelry and new items period. Once the creative juices are flowing you never know what will come out.

 Top 5 sports

- Football

- Basketball

- Football

- Basketball

- Football

 Top 5 holiday destinations (that I have never been too)

- Sydney, Australia

- Italy

- Hollywood California

- St. Thomas

- Whale Watching in Alaska

Easiest Peanut Butter Cookies...EVER!

Recipe from Crystal of Annie's Powder Room
Thanks so much for this great recipe, Crystal!


Easiest Peanut Butter Cookies...EVER!

• 1 cup of peanut butter
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 egg
• Mix together until sugar is incorporated
• Bake at 350 for 8-10 min.

Thats it! This is great for those who have wheat sensitivities as there is no flour!

Can't wait to try this, Crystal (or I can't wait to have my husband try it...)

Monday Interview- Meet Emily Hall w/ Emin Taos!

Happy Monday and happy Labor Day to everyone in the U.S! I'd love to introduce a new very talented friend, Emily! She has beautiful things and was just featured on the front page of Etsy!!

Who are you?
My name is Emily Hall and I created a jewelry design business called EminTaos to sell jewelry around town and on Etsy.

Where do you live?
I live in Taos, New Mexico. It's high desert (at 7500 feet) with mountains, rivers, aspen groves and sage mesas....and has four seasons! We live out on the mesa with amazing views of the surrounding mountains about 1.5 miles off the paved road in a great community of adobes and earthships (google it!).

What do you do?
I raise my child, feed and clean up after my family, do most of the chores, and squeeze every spare moment I have into making, photographing, and promoting my jewelry. I used to be a zoo keeper and a floral designer if you can believe it.
How many kids? Husband/partner?
My husband and I have one amazing 4 yr old right now and are trying for a second.
And so you have a shop:

What's it's name? EminTaos......(Emily in Taos!)
What do you sell? I sell unique earrings, necklaces, silk ribbon wraps with charms, deerskin bracelet wraps, rings, jewel wrapped hoops....and I am always coming up with a new design.
How do you find the time? I use the three days my child is in preschool as wisely as possible and gobble up any time during PBS mornings (Clifford, Seasame street, Super Readers....you know the rest) time on the weekends, and stay up till midnight most nights. I am a master multi-tasker, like all us moms. (why can't men do it too????)
Some of your favorite things?
Movie- LOTR triology the full 12 disc set! greatest movies ever made.
Color- sunset peach, coral, salmon, gold, bronze
Food- goat cheese pizza or my freshly made biscuits or scones dripping with butter and honey!
Kids book- I still love all of Richard Scarry's books.....I just had a great moment the other day reading what was my favorite part of What Do People Do All Day to my little girl
Time of day- Sundays 10-1pm
Cartoon Character- I'm very fond of all of Hayao Miyazaki movie heroines.....if you've never seen one of his movies, please go rent one tonight......start with Spirited Away!
Anything else you can think of you'd like to share :-) I am so happy to participate in a group full of amazing and talented women who constantly inspire me and remind me that I am doing the right thing for myself and my family. Hugs to you all!!!

Tuesday Time Saving Tip - Marinara sauce

Hello it's AngelaSpots with another Tuesday time saving tip. This one falls under the category of why didn't I think of this earlier?

The facts 1 - My 2 year old hates vegetables. 2 - The same 2 year old LOVES dip.

This past week I was putting a frozen pizza into the oven and trying to figure out what vegetables to serve with it. I often put out vegetables within reach of the kids when supper is cooking. All of us snack on healthy vegetables while we are waiting. Then I had an inspiration. Marinara sauce is basically tomato pasta sauce. I served it as a side with the pizza and it was a huge hit. Yeah for getting my vegetable hater to eat vegetables! Even better it was SUPER quick and easy.

How do you get your family to eat more vegetables?

Cheesiest Mac and Cheese Ever!

The other night I was really wanting some cheesy mac and cheese... I mentioned it to my husband, and he used this recipe to make a us an amazing meal!



In allrecipes, it's called "Mouses Macaroni and Cheese"

Prep: 15 Min
Cook time: 35 Min

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 cups milk
• 8 ounces American cheese, cubed
• 8 ounces processed cheese food (eg. Velveeta), cubed
• 1/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Butter a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. Bring a saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add macaroni, and cook until not quite done, about 6 minutes. Drain.
2. In a separate saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Blend in the flour, mustard powder, and pepper until smooth. Slowly stir in the milk, beating out any lumps. Add the American and processed cheeses, and stir constantly until the sauce is thick and smooth.
3. Drain noodles, and stir them into the cheese sauce. Transfer the mixture to the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle bread crumbs over the top.
4. Cover the dish, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until sauce is thick and bubbly.


Our twist to the recipe: My husband used toasted bread cut into pieces instead of the bread crumbs... He also used penne pasta and some cut up spaghetti noodles instead of the macaroni. Dee-lish!

Tuesday Time Saving Tip - Day of the Week Tags

AngelaSpots here with another Tuesday Time Saving Tip. Someone gave me this great link from Living Locurto . Click it and you'll find printable day of the week tags, perfect for organizing your and your family's wardrobe for the week. Other methods would be to using shelves or one of those hanging fabric shelves. Keeping mornings as simple as possible is a MUST in this busy household and quickly grabbing what everyone is wearing makes getting out the door that much easier.