Sunday, September 30, 2012

Halloween Candy Review: Caramel Apple Milky Ways!

A month or so before Halloween candy even started coming out - I clipped a coupon for Milky Ways.  They were advertising their new flavor for the fall: Caramel Apple!  I love caramel apples and thought I'd store the coupon away for when the Halloween candy hit the shelves.

When Target first started stocking their shelves, I stalked up and down the aisle and came across the Caramel Apple Milk Ways, bought two bags, used my happy coupon and headed home.  
I wasn't quite sure what to expect for the taste - some things can taste really fakey and then there things that taste like those lollypops...I LOVE those lollypops that come out each fall, ya know the ones.  The Candy Apple ones that are the green apple lolly covered in caramel with the green wrappers.  The ones that most everyone who has tastebuds loves and hoards because they are delicious.  
That is what these tasted like!  Little bite sized morsels of caramel apple goodness wrapped in a chocolate blanket!  I like that they are small enough to satisfy the craving when it hits you and that you don't feel guilty when you eat 2...or 3 5 at a time!  

I figured that there were some cooking savvy people out there who had already whipped up something delicious with these little guys and my searching produced the following things - I think I need to head back to the store to pick up a few more bags because all of the recipes look AMAZING and perfect for fall!

Caramel Apple Milky Way Cupcakes by Java Cupcake
Caramel Apple Spice Milky Way Cookies by The Domestic Rebel
Caramel Apple & Chocolate Muffins by Lil' Luna
Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars by BrewCru Life

Now, put these on your list and let me know if you try one of the recipes above!  I'd love to know how they turn out!

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Whimsy Woodsy for Winston!

Weeks back I mentioned that our nursery theme was what is proudly displayed above: Whimsy Woodsy for Winston!  Without further ado, here is the final product!
This is the crib side of the room and I adore everything about it!  I knew from early on that I wanted the colors to be grey, orange and green.  Can I just tell you how hard it was to find a grey crib?  But we were successful and are pleased with it and the other matching accessories.  Excuse the empty grey frame, it is a PIP {Project in Progress} and will, fingers crossed, be finished before he arrives.  The lamp in the left corner was a DIY combined effort between Benjamin and myself complete with a foot pedal for easy on and off.  The hollow log is indeed a hollowed out tree from Hungary that Mom and I found on our girls weekend to Dallas.  It will serve as a catch all for toys, pillows and our Boppy.  We also found the bedding on that trip at a sweet store called Baby Bliss.  And to round it out, a little boy's woodsy room just needed a bear rug!  I can't wait to take pictures of Winston curled up on his rug as he grows!  Our pebble rug completes the floor and is super soft.  Lulu has claimed it as her favorite thing in the room!
The window treatment was another DIY where Benjamin and I combined our powers and I'm pleased with the way it adds a finishing touch above the changing station.  Lots of dirty diapers to be changed here while trying to avoid the "streams" that may come flowing!
Our little rocking corner complete with the wisbone rocker and a comfy blanket to curl up in!
The theme is present on every wall, especially the one that has the bright orange deer with antlers mounted to it!  Another DIY along with the little sign for Winston's routine, encouraging him to be amazing!

We are pretty tickled with the way that everything turned out and fits with our original theme.  A huge thanks goes Mom for going on shopping excursions with me and to Hubby for being so willing and eager to help create what was needed to fill in the gaps!  

Now all we need is a Winston...

Wire Bracelet Success!

Last week I came across a how to on making an adorable wire bracelet and thought it looked simple enough to do.  I pinned it on my "make me" board and moved on with my day.  The Friday of that week was my 9/80 Friday off so, I headed to Michael's and gathered the very few supplies: 16 gauge gold filled wire.  The other items needed {pliers and a cup} were already in my arsenal at home!

The directions are located at I Spy DIY and are very easy to follow.  After creating the heart bracelet, I thought to myself, "How fun would it be to have a heart and the name of the one that I love?!"  So, I decided to try bending a name in the wire.  And I'm pretty pleased with the way that it turned out!
I have worn them all week with the slew of other bracelets that I wear and they have been super cute additions to my arm!  Now Benjamin is not the only wire bender in the house!

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

September Bark Box!

Yes its true that some people could consider how much I adore Lulu a little over the top.  I had mentioned earlier how we were making special efforts to make sure that she adjusts well to the changes that are about to come her way.  Well, today was the day that the September BarkBox arrived at the our home and I was so thrilled!  Lulu and I took the box outside and opened it up to see what goodies were inside
Lulu gets the small dog box because, well, she's a small dog!  The surprises inside of the box did not disappoint!  Along with a card explaining the products and the products themselves, we also received $10 off of an order at wag.com.
Now for the good stuff:
1. Zukes:  We received three different flavors of the Z-bones designed for dogs to clean their teeth and freshen their breaths!  Benjamin also gave this a thumbs up!  
2. LA Fresh WAG Wipes:  One travel pack of the wash-and-go wipes to help keep loved ones clean and conditioned.  I am looking forward to trying this as Lulu tends to have grass allergies, so this may help keep those pesky itchys at bay between her weekly baths!
3. Barkworthies:  Another chew!  This one however is made from grass-fed Angus beef.... Oooo la la!
4. Whole Life Pet treats: We received a full sized bag of freeze dried sweet potato snacks and a mini bag of freeze dried chicken bites.  Lulu has devoured the chicken already and LOVED it!  What piqued my interest most about this item is that one: it was freeze dried and two: both items were less than 1% crude fat - which is a good thing for me to keep in mind for Mom and Dad's Jingle love!
5. A Hurley toy!: BarkBox must've heard that Lulu LOVES water and loves to swim!  This fun toy is tossable, chewable, and floatable!  We will be using this the next time we are in the pool for sure!

In trying to be a "responsible" parent, I have had to refrain from allowing Lulu to try every single item that we received today!  I look forward to spoiling her with the contents of our Bark Box over the weeks to come.  I like that all of the brands were new to me, broadening the variety of snacks for my little treat monster.  

Overall, Lulu and I are very pleased with the surprises inside and give it two thumbs paws up!  I very much look forward to the next month's goodie box and the new finds it will hold in store for us!
If you'd like to sign up for a Bark Box subscription for your sweet fur baby, click on this link here and receive $5 off of your first subscription!

This message was approve by Lulu Belle Cozad.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Winston's Rockin' Wishbone Rocker!

I mentioned a few weeks ago that Benjamin had been working on a rocking chair for Winston's room!  When we discovered that we were going to be having a baby, Benjamin decided that he wanted to make something for the room.  Discussions of a crib were had, but we decided on a rocking chair as we we envisioned that it would become a staple piece of furniture in our home.  It would be a place where we would sit with our sweet babies and treasure the quiet {and not so quiet} moments in our hearts.  

When looking for a design, almost everything that Benjamin came across was very bulky or quite old fashioned looking which wasn't what we had in mind.  Then he Google searched "modern rocking chair" and we came across a chair designed and created by Toby Howes

Benjamin thought this would be the perfect thing to make.   All we had to go by was a short description on his website and this picture.  Armed with the photo, his own blueprints, and 32 board feet of American walnut and hard maple, Benjamin headed into the wood shop to start creating.  Each weekend that we had available, he was out in the garage cutting, building, sanding, and finishing the chair.  We are guessing that in total it took him about 100 hours give or take to complete his work of art.  And to me, it truly is a work of art wrapped up in love.  Without further ado - the finished product!
 I love the way wishbone look of the arms and the seat along with the way that the walnut is pressed between the maple for a pop of color in the chair.  Benjamin created the form for the curved pieces and then glued together the 6 layers of wood to create the edges of the seat, arms and rocker.  He meticulously calculated each cut he had to make in order for there to be perfect joinery without any screws.

The time, care and love that he put into making sure the seat would hold weight and be flush without any gaps was astounding to me.  He has made other pieces of furniture before, but this beautiful creation is a true labor of love.
The chair has found his home in the corner of Winston's room and I have already rocked in it, holding sweet Lulu while she has fallen asleep.  When I sit in this chair, handcrafted by the love of my life, my little heart gets overwhelmed at how he so desired to create something that would become a legacy piece for our family.  And more importantly, that it come to fruition in a magnificent fashion.  

On It's Way!!

Almost every other day or so I tell Lulu that she has a surprise package on the way to her.  So imagine the buildup of excitement when I saw this email in my inbox today!

It's truly on it's way!!  Hurry, BarkBox, hurry!!

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Halloween Candy Review: Cadbury Screme Eggs!

Welcome to a new segment on Crazy Cozads where I will unveil the awesomeness of the new Halloween candy for this season!  Here's the first one:

Friends!  I cannot begin to tell you how excited I was when I saw a post on our friend, Tally's facebook about the possibility of Cadbury Screme Eggs coming to the US for this Halloween season!  I love Cadbury Creme eggs!  Like love them!!  Also imagine my excitement when I rounded the corner at Target to see THIS:
I am fairly certain that a squeal escaped from my lips while I did a little jig in the middle of the aisle!  I of course followed that up with texts to both my Mom and Benjamin!  Then came the dilemma.  How many do I buy?  It wouldn't be right of me to buy the whole display, nope ...I needed to leave some for the other folks who would also be elated about this fall time candy debut!  So, I grabbed a handful and headed away from the display eager to get home to enjoy my first screme egg!
 Don't they look absolutely glorious in their fabulous purple and green wrapping?!  
So I unwrapped one and it looked the same as the original Cadbury Creme egg. 
Then the inside!  Instead of the normal yellow yoke filling, there was a bright green filling that oozed from the middle of the white center!  The creme had definitely gone GREEN!!  If you are a Cadbury Creme egg fan, then this treat is perfect for you!  So head to Target, grab yourself a handful... or two and celebrate the beginning of fall and the Halloween candy season!  If you need a good dentist after eating all of this year's candy...let me know, we can recommend a few good ones!

And just for kicks, if you have a Screme Egg sighting in your area, post a comment!  I'd love to see where they pop up at.

Confirmed sighting: Pearland, TX: Target

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Ecclesia: New Home

Last week Ecclesia held it's first round of services in their new location at 1100 Elder!  When we first started attending Ecclesia, they were purchasing the building, land, street and parking lot with plans to start doing a ton of the remodeling by themselves as a way to cost effectively revamp the old paper warehouse into a collaborative worship environment.

Although there is still work to be done, the space is amazing: open and functional with massive blank walls for displaying artwork!  There are larger dedicated children's areas and Benjamin and I can't wait for Winston to enjoy it!  There are moving walls, concrete floors, and beautiful old windows.  

Since it was the first night, Smilebooth was set up for snapping photos and providing a cute take home for folks who participated.  
We have started attending the Saturday service because it's a little less crowded and we figured that it might be the best time to take WAC when he arrives, but that has yet to be seen!  This week, in helping us continue the celebration of what God has provided, David Crowder will be leading worship!

And yes, that is an armadillo on my arm...he's from Kate Spade and he has been one of my favorite accessories this summer!  He makes a very good conceal-carry purse, just saying.

Friday, September 14, 2012

Face Lift!

Hello Friends!

It's been a while since the astetics of our happy blog home have been updated and with the newbie on the way, our faithful first for a header was not going to cut it.  Therefore, Crazy Cozads is undergoing a face lift!

I had such a fun time, along with Hubby's help, designing our new header!  I am pleased as punch with the way that the little icons representing our family turned out.  More subtle changes will be coming in the next weeks or so, but I just couldn't wait to unveil the happy new header!

Please feel free to let me know what you think about our new look!

Sara

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Give-a-way on Sadie + Stella

I don't know about you, but I always get a jolly out of the chance to win cute, funky accents for my home.  And that is exactly what is going down today over at Sadie + Stella!


Let's pause and take a moment to look at how cute the logo is!

Back to the give-a-way:  You get a chance to enter to win a fabulous Jonathan Adler vase that is called boy/girl and is absolutely precious PLUS a sweet elephant pillow!  It's quite simple to enter and I think that you should take a moment or two to do so.  Just click the link below and start entering for your chance at becoming a winner!

I promise not to be bitter if you, friend, happen to win over me because of the sweet tip that I have provided you with this morning.  You're welcome.




Tuesday, September 4, 2012

GAPTAP: Training for a 5K

The people who know me best will tell you that I am quick to say the only way I would be caught running voluntarily is if I were being chased by a large ferocious animal.  I have never really been one for exercise or sticking to a workout routine.  Although I did participate dance all growing up (and loved it!) and played tennis in high school (and enjoyed it!), that doesn't make me overly athletic.  My mom and I have distinct memories of one of our family trips where we were hiking up the side of mountain and I stopped, plopped down against the rocks and loudly repeated over and over, "I'm tired!  I can't do this! I want to stop!  My feet hurt!  I'm just so tired!"  It's not that I can't do it - I mean, I've worked out before - it's just that it's not fun and I don't like it.  :)  

Well dearest reader, I am here to ask for your advice:  What program or app have you or someone you know used to get prepared to run a 5k?

Insert pause.
Yup.  
Now that you have picked yourselves up off the floor...here's the reason I'm asking:  Little Salem found a 5K fun run happening in December in Galveston that we have signed up for.  It's the Santa Hustle!  For registering we get a Santa shirt, beard and hat!!  Plus their will be carols and candy!!  And you best believe that Winston will be dressed up in some sort of outfit - whether that's a reindeer or an elf has yet to be decided!  All of us are going to participate and even though I know that walking it is an option, I'd still like to give running jogging a good effort. 

So again:  What program or app have you or someone you know used to get prepared to run a 5k?
Ready...set... go!

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Bump It: 35 Weeks

We are on the cusp of week 35 folks!  35 weeks down and five to go.  More than ever we are realizing how fast time flies...and how much Winston is growing inside!  We have our final sonogram on Friday to get his latest measurements and do all the checking that need to be done.  This will be the last time we "see" him until he makes his debut into the world!  Then start the weekly doctor's appointments.  I have a feeling that going to those appointments are when the reality of how close Winston's birth day really is will set in.

Thanks to the awesome advice given from the first GAPTAP on hospital bags, Benjamin and I feel like we are ready to tackle making that list this week.  We will also be attending our Parent Readiness class at The Pavilion.  We are getting psyched up to be able to conquer swaddling!

Benjamin continues to work diligently on the rocking chair, which I am proud to report is in it's finishing stages!  He has done a fantastic job creating this special piece without any official blueprints.  It can hold the weight of a person and yes, it even rocks!  He has poured hours of love into this chair and I can't wait to see the first time he and Winston rock in it together.  Such sweet milestones to look forward to!

I continue to sleep very soundly at night only getting up to use the restroom and then I plop successfully back to sleep.  I am thankful for this rare blessing.  I continue to find myself napping for a little while when I get home from work to rejuvenate me for the rest of the evening.  My left foot continues to look puffy on most days except for when I have it elevated or have been snuggled up under the covers on on the couch resting.  There are some days when I feel like a bruise has resided over the entire surface of my body from the aching that I'll feel in my muscles.  Even on those days, I try to be thankful for the little human that is growing, bouncing, hiccuping, and I'd like to think, dancing inside!  
We continue to be in awe of the love and support that we receive from those around us in the anticipation of Winston's arrival.  It's hard to imagine what life will be like with him, and yet I'm trying to take mental snapshots along the way, treasuring the quiet moments.  For five years, Benjamin and I have been making memories and going on adventures as the two of us.  Then we added Lulu and she joined our crazy little family.  Now that Winston is on the way, we are ready for the new adventures that we will be going on!  Our prayers are that we can be molded into parents who will raise a Winston who is comfortable in his own skin, pursuing the passions that God places inside of him as well as seeking after Him and desiring to know Him fully. 
How excited we are getting to meet our little WAC!

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Houston Restaurant Week 2012

My dad has said before that you could eat out every day in Houston and never eat at the same restaurant twice.  True fact.  There are over 5,000 options in Houston covering every genre of food known to man.  One thing that my parents taught my brother and I was an appreciation for trying new places to eat and types of food as well.  

That's what I love about Houston Restaurant Weeks.  It's a great way to try new places and give back to the community because $5 of each dinner sold is donated to the Houston Food Bank.  Plus you get to eat some yummy grub in the meantime!  If you didn't get a chance to participate this year, make sure to mark your calendars for next August!!  If you live in the Dallas area - they also have this same opportunity benefiting the North Texas Food Bank.

We tried quite a few new places this year.

Del Frisco's is located in the Galleria mall by Cheesecake Factory.  For as many times as I have been to the Galleria, I had really never noticed Del Frisco's being there.  But thanks to the Bailey's and HRW, we ventured someplace new and found it delicious!  I love a good steak.  And yes, I love my steak well done.  I know, I know - somewhere someone is reading this and gasped a little bit thinking, "For shame."  My philosophy is that if a place can cook my steak well done without burning it - then it's a worthwhile place.  And Del Frisco's made that cut!  We also tried their jalepeno bacon macaroni and cheese - delicious!  It's one of the things that they are "known" for and it did not disappoint!  Together with the company, the whole dining experience was delightful!

Since Benjamin and I had never been to Pappas Brothers Steakhouse, we decided to give it a go.  While the steak was again, cooked to my liking and very flavorful with the mushroom glaze on the top, Benjamin and I both agreed that it wasn't a place that would likely replace any of our other favorite steakhouse establishments as there wasn't anything overly "wowing" about the atmosphere or the food. Still, a good evening with friends!  

Our executive pastor at The Heights in Dallas always talked about how Prego in Houston was his favorite Italian restaurant of all time.  Seeing it on the HRW list as an option, we decided to go for it and Benjamin's parents joined us for the experience.  The ambiance was delightful with live music and an intimate setting.  The food was indeed delectable as I ate the Pollo Parmigiano and it was hands down the best chicken parmesan I have ever eaten!  And for Benjamin to agree - that's saying something!  The sides were just as amazing and their tiramisu was heavenly!  Definitely a place to return to!

Last year at HRW, Salem asked me to go try a new place with her and agreeing, we ventured out to Haven.  This year, we went back as a sister tradition and enjoyed yet another delicious menu from the chefs at Haven.  Their salads have never disappointed as the flavors they put together are quite robust.  Salem ordered the soup and was quite pleased with it as well.  Our main dishes were also quite yummy and so I anticipate our going back next year for Round 3!

For Benjamin and I, going out to eat and trying new restaurants is just as much about having a fun night out to spend with the people we love as it is trying new dishes and seeing if there are new places that we might want to call a favorite.  For us it's about the conversations had and the memories made.  

Did you participate in Restaurant Week?  And if so, where did you go and what did you think?
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