Meatballs.

Health food isn't always yummy, but let me tell you about this fabulous, delightful, yummy meal that will blow your socks off! Click here for the yummiest Spaghetti and Meatball Dinner. Seriously try it. And then comment once you've cooked it.

Housewife Tip: I substitute the three varieties of meat with 1 lbs ground turkey, and I add 1-2 minced garlic cloves. I also save half of the mixture and make two patties and refrigerate over night. The next night I cook the turkey patties on a non-stick skillet with a little olive oil, and bada-boom bada-bing scrumptious turkey burgers.

Thank You Very Much "O" Magazine.

A recent issue of "O" magazine featured some amazing cakes from some of the most fabulous pastry chef's around the country. In the index of the magazine, readers like myself, were delighted to find the recipes for these cakes. Since I don't subscribe to the magazine, and was just reading it while on the treadmill at the gym I tore out the recipe for a Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, by none other than the Cake Boss himself Buddy Valastro. Well today I had nothing better to do - since being locked inside my house with the A/C pumping because of the 110 degree heat index - so I took this recipe for a spin.

And let me tell you ladies, it is simply divine. Get your hands on this recipe as soon as you can by clicking here. It's worth the calories! I made the recipe into cupcakes instead of a cake so I can take the little cupcakes to a baby shower I am going to tomorrow. Another helpful Housewife tip: if you enjoy baking, go for it! Indulge every now and then, just don't keep the stuff in your house for more than a day or two - give it to a friend or neighbors.

Wear Hair.

Be sure to check out my other blog:

http://wearhair.wordpress.com/

Motivation.

"Gratitude results in Motivation." Wise wise words.

Better Together.

One of the primary purposes of marriage is companionship. Companionship builds intimacy and creates a deeper bond between a husband and wife. According to resources from the Family Life, Weekend to Remember, companionship is built through:

1. Communication: Sharing openly & Listening Carefully

2. Tenderness: Giving creative expressions of affection, showing love through physical affection

3. Spending Time Together: Sharing mutual interest & reviving the lost art of dating

Today I am going to concentrate on #3. Spending time together. Spending time together is experienced through enjoying mutual interest and dating. Sometimes in the busyness of our lives, and living with someone day in and day out we can over look the simple fact that we have not spent actual quality time with that person. Yes, we've seen them in passing, but have we actually broken out of the routine of the day to do something enjoyable together (that doesn't include sitting on the couch and turning on The Office)?

My husband and I have taken up tennis. Neither one of us are great players, but it's something we enjoy together. We also like to take walks together after dinner, and explore our neighborhood. Setting up a weekly date night is also something we have started to do, to ensure that we get that one on one time we need.

If you are thinking "My husband and I don't really enjoy anything together and neither of us our the tennis type" here are some other ideas to get you started;

hiking (click here for local trails)

camping (click here for camp sites)

bike ride (click her for local bike trails)

travel (click here for budget travel)

golf (find a course by clicking here)

dancing (find dance lessons near you!)

evening strolls

home projects

cooking

working out (Jillian Michael's 30 day Shred DVD is so fun to do together)

volunteering (click here to find volunteering opportunities in your area)

hobbies (model air planes anyone?)

bible study (click here for more information)

tennis (find local tennis courts)

board games (try bananagrams, it's so fun)

card games (click here to learn how to play my favorite Spite & Malice)

Book Review: Cooking for Two

One of the best gifts I have ever received was a love for cooking from my "Luli" (Grandmother). When I got married I was more of a baker than a cook, I loved to make muffins, cakes, pies, you name it! My first Thanksgiving as a "Mrs." I was put in charge of all the holiday deserts. I made my first pecan pie, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin pie and a key lime pie.

Cooking intimidated me at first because it didn't have all the rules and boundaries like baking. There was only technique, that I didn't have, and it seemed more "feeling" then "knowing". My husband was so natural when he cooked, and loved to use spices where I preferred simple salt and pepper on anything and everything. He encouraged me to be adventurous and at first I bit his head off for it, complaining that he did not like my "simple" cooking. But things soon changed when Cook's Illustrated (also known as America's Test Kitchen) was introduced into my life.

My husband used Cook's Illustrated to register us for all our appliances, and all our cook books are Cook's Illustrated (America's Test Kitchen). Their publications are simply amazing, and after using it it's almost gut wrenching to use any other cook book because it doesn't explain and teach the way ATK does. I have made everything from enchilada's to homemade pasta noodles. The Cooking for Two is a wonderful edition that is just what it says, recipes for two. The other great thing is they test dozens of recipes per recipe, so for example they will make tons of apple pies, taste test them and cook them different ways to see what way is the best way to make apple pie, then they explain how they did it. You learn technique and also why to do something, there is even trouble shooting in the books. One of my most exciting times of my week is meal planning and cooking something new, and it's all thanks to my wonderful husband and these wonderful cookbooks we have. Next week I am trying a slow cooking curried chicken recipe, I am stoked!

See for yourself

"What do you do all day?"

One of the most frequent questions I get asked when I inform someone that I don't "work", and that I am a "stay-at-home" is, "What do you do all day?"

So here is your answer:

8:00 am My husband makes me breakfast in bed

8:30 am I fall back asleep while my husband goes to work

9:30 am My maid comes over, cleans the house and makes me a snack while I watch soaps

11:00 am Lay out by the pool & read Twilight & catch up with my "fren-emies"

2:00 pm Receive my daily pre-lunch full body message & facial

3:30 pm Late Lunch at the spa! Nothing better!

4:30 pm Go on a quick spending spree

7:00 pm Meet my hubby for dinner at an over priced Northern Virginia Restaurant

Sike. This isn't The Real Housewives of D.C. people. Let's be honest running a home takes time, effort and, I would argue to do it well, talent. I don't need to argue my point to much here because houses don't stay clean by themselves, food doesn't get cooked by a witch named Samantha, and children don't take care of themselves. Okay I don't have kids yet, but I am in "training". I will say it again, household management is a lost art. It's funny to me the women who have smirked at this - because they themselves had stay at home Mom's - and I'm not talking Mom's who stayed home because they didn't have a choice but because they loved it!

Sorry, I have to wash my hair.

A true "wash and go" hair cut.

I hate washing my hair, I have to confess. It's not the getting it clean part I don't like it's the aftermath of having to blow dry long thick hair that leaves me sweaty and cranky. On top of that it usually takes so long that I blow a fuse! I actually only wash my hair every three to four days, but even when I wash it I literally have to dedicate anywhere between 30 - 45 minutes to dry and style it. It's a hassle. Grant-it I haven't had long hair in over two years and it is just getting to that point of painful dry sessions. I cut my hair off three years ago and I loved it! I had such freedom. I had an adorable pixie cut, and I could wash my hair everyday which was a new thing for me. So in light of this complaining I have already prematurely decided that I am chopping my hair off when I have kids. I refuse to have bad hair when I'm a Mom, and I can't see having 45 minutes to blow dry my hair or much less have the energy to do so! So problem solved. It's going so my sanity will stay! Plus, it's a great cut!

Beauty Product Review: Mascara Picks

Okay ladies so I got two picks for you today! My friends are always asking me what I use on my eyes and what is the best mascara! As much as I love being a Domestic Diva, part of that is getting dressed up and looking my best every day! So I'm gonna be adding some product reviews of beauty products into the blog along with the household product reviews! (Not in the same posts though! One thing at a time!)



My first all-time pic is Dior "Diorshow" Waterproof Mascara. If you have a problem with mascara creeping down your face all day and getting those lovely little dark smudges on your under-eye this will solve your problems. You can opt for the Non-waterproof if you wear contacts but just make sure you wear a really good heavy duty under-eye concealer that will "hold the line" so to speak. The secret to not getting those smudges, and sweating off your eye makeup is "waterproof". Also I am totally obsessed with the big brush applicator it is amazing. The key to big gorgeous eyelashes is application, application, application! Apply this stuff like it's the last time you will ever use mascara. I would estimate that I do at least 4 - 5 coats per eye, it sounds like a lot but it looks great! You can purchase this online at Sephora.com, at your local Macy's or Dillard's counter. This bad ace mascara will run you $24.00 before tax, but I promise you it is worth every penny. It lasts me about 3 months and I use it like crazy!


And the runner up is.... Bad gal Lash by Benefit. Again this mascara has a great applicator and like Dior doesn't leave your eye lashes feeling like you put clay on them. It thickens, lengthens and separates! The down size is that it is NOT waterproof. They do have a waterproof version, but the applicator is not up to par with the original Bad Gal Lash applicator. And like I said it's all about application when it comes to mascara - and that is why the lash brush matters so much! The benefit (ha-ha, no pun intended) with this mascara is you can actually buy it in a smaller size for only $9 at Sephora, it's called "A Little Bit Bad Gal Lash" which is just too adorable. The regular size will only run you $19 vs. the $24 for Dior, so if you are on a budget this is the mascara for you! Again the regular size should last you about 3 months.

You are not alone.

Found this picture on a google search for "housewife".

God Bless America

Thank you to every man, woman and family that sacrificed so we could be free and

live in a country that's governement is in place to protect our life, liberty & pursuit of happiness.

"GOD BLESS AMERICA! LAND THAT I LOVE !

STAND BESIDE HER! AND GUIDE HER!"

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. - Abraham Lincoln (Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863)

Stir things up.

"The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down."

Proverbs 14:1-3

Want to stir up something tasty & good? click here for the Forth of July Blueberry Cobbler from The Pioneer Woman!

Product Review: Bar Keepers Friend

If you have All-Clad this product is for you. If you have any pots or pains that are not non-stick this product is for you! Bar Keepers Friend is basically a buffer that will restore your pots and pans to that brand new shine they had before you ever used them. With a little water and elbow grease this stuff works wonders. I am not kidding. My husband and I cooked steaks in an All-Clad pan because at the time we didn't have the proper non-stick skillet to sear the steaks in. We thought we had ruined the pan, so we took it into a local Sur La Table and this is the product that was recommended. I haven't looked back since. It is great for cleaning stove tops and grease pans too. Just make sure to use a gentle sponge or even a paper towel when rubbing it in because your pans will scratch.

Tacky Tanning.

Tanning is not "in Vogue" anymore ladies. If you are still going to tanning beds you need to stop, as it is now proven to be just as stupid and cancerous as smoking cigarettes. At twenty-three I have had five moles removed in the past two years, one of them was pre-cancerous and it was on my chest. My Mom had a basil cell mole in the same place, both of our moles were from tanning beds.

If you aren't convinced here is an excerpt from a US Today article titled "Tanning beds now listed among top cancer risks" :

"A new analysis of about 20 studies concludes the risk of skin cancer jumps by 75% when people start using tanning beds before age 30. Experts also found that all types of ultraviolet radiation caused worrying mutations in mice, proof the radiation is carcinogenic. Previously, only one type of ultraviolet radiation was thought to be lethal.

The new classification means tanning beds and other sources of ultraviolet radiation are definite causes of cancer, alongside tobacco, the hepatitis B virus and chimney sweeping, among others.

The research was published online in the medical journalLancet Oncology on Wednesday, by experts at the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, the cancer arm of theWorld Health Organization."