Freebie Friday!

Welcome to another edition of Freebie Friday, where I tell you what free samples and full sized products I received in the mail and how you can get them too. Someone asked me why I do a 'Freebie Friday" each week, so I'll tell you.

A while back I listed all the free samples and wins that I had received that previous year and so many people didn't believe that I could have gotten so many free things. So I decided to prove it by taking a picture every week and sharing the sites that I found the links to the freebies at. So now you too can get great free samples coming to your mailbox each week.

  You can find links to great samples at Hey It's Free and Freebie Shark.

This week I received:

Dark Legacy by Christine Feehan (ARC) for a guest review at I Smell Sheep
Sundown Naturals B12 Gummies sample
Palmers Cocoa Butter Sunscreen Sample
Dragon Fall by Katie MacAlister and a swag bag. I won in a giveaway at Angel's Guilty Pleasures blog

A $5 Amazon gift card from Crowdtap


Did you receive any freebies this week?

Review: Target Beauty Box- May

So this is the Target Beauty Box for May. It was a Mother's Day themed box and this is what was in the box. 

Nexxus Shampoo & Conditioner- 1 each, .3 oz

ACURE Pore-Minimizing Red Clay Mask- 1 oz

Nubian Heritage Bath Bombs- 2 ct

Wet n Wild MegaLast Liquid Lipstick- .24 oz

Vichy Pore-Purifying Clay Mask- .23 oz

Nexxus Vitall 8-in-1 Masque- 1.5 oz

Guess Dare Fragrance for Women- .04 oz

Soap & Glory Flake Away Body Polish- 1.69 oz

This box was only $10 and it said it was worth $32 if you bought everything separately. Not a bad value. I gave my daughter a couple of these things like the bath bombs and the liquid lipstick because she likes bath bombs and the lipstick wasn't a color I liked. I usually give her what ever I won't use so it works out well for both of us. Each month Target releases a new Target Beauty Box but supplies are limited and it's first come first serve until they run out. I posted a link to it on my blog when this one went live, I hope a few of you were able to get it

I love getting the little trial size bottles of shampoo and conditioner to try out because you just never know when you'll find one that you love. I've also been getting a lot of the clay masks and using them and they are great for making your skin feel soft. I really liked the fragrance sample that came in this box but I think I'll be sticking with the Honeysuckle body spray that I usually buy. All in all for $10 this was a great box of samples to try. 

Have you tried a beauty box yet?

Favorite Picture of the Week

If you have an electric tart warmer and love all the different scents of wax cubes that you can get. I had been ordering them from Target or Amazon and I've been paying $4-5 for each pack of them. But my daughter found them at Walmart for just $1 each and she bought be a few for Mother's Day. I loved them and they had really nice fragrances to them so I ordered a few more from Walmart. The Darkest Sandalwood has turned out to be one of my all time favorites. 

Do you use a wax tart warmer? Here's a picture of mine. 

Recipe: Fried Zucchini and Vegie Saute

What you'll need: 

2 Carrots, shredded

6 Brussel sprouts, thinly sliced

3 Large broccoli stems, trimmed and shredded

1 Cup thinly sliced cabbage

1 Medium zucchini, cut into 8 spears

1 Package Deep Fry batter

1 Cup of oil

2 TBSP Butter

1/4 Cup Chicken or Vegetable broth

1/4 tsp. Salt

1/4 tsp. Pepper

1/4 tsp. Cumin

1/4 tsp. Chili powder

What to do: 

Prepare your deep fry batter according to package directions or you can prepare your own. Heat oil in a small deep pan and deep fry your battered zucchini spears for 5-7 minutes or until golden brown. Remove zucchini and set aside on a paper towel. 

In a saute pan heat butter and add all of the shredded vegetables (Except for the cabbage) to the pan. Saute on mediun heat for 6 minutes and then add chicken broth and spices. Continue to saute until the liquid is gone. Serve with deep fried zucchini spears and cole slaw. You can find the recipe for the cole slaw here. 

Note on the broccoli stems. I know most people just throw the stems away but if you trim that hard outside bit off, you're left with a very juicy, tasty piece of broccoli stem and it's really good for stir fry or vegetable saute or if you're like me, just eating raw. 

Happy Raturday!

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"Why yes, I would like broccolis for lunch"

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"Today I'll be making a birfday cake. That's why I wearing my birfday hat."

*Picture courtesy of Poppy's Mischief*

"I'm planting yogie seeds. Mom said they don't grow that way but I don't believe her."

Recipe: Zucchini Carrot Bake

You will need: 

2 zucchini, shredded

1 carrot, shredded

2 large cauliflower florets, shredded

1 green onion, chopped

1/2 cup marinara sauce, divided

1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

2 eggs

What to do:

Spray an 8x8 inch square baking dish with cooking spray or lightly oil. Add shredded zucchini to a dish cloth and squeeze as much water out as possible.

In a large bowl combine, shredded zucchini, shredded cauliflower, shredded carrots, green onion, 1 TBSP of shredded cheddar cheese, 1 TBSP marinara sauce, salt, pepper and eggs until well mixed. Press into the bottom of the baking dish and bake on 400 for 30 minutes. 

Add remaining marinara sauce and cheese to the top of the baked vegetables and return to oven for an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving. 

You guys, this was so good. I couldn't find a recipe online that had everything that I wanted so I made my own. That's right, this is a Mary original. 

Favorite Video of the Week

I found this video on youtube that shows all the different ways rats are like tiny dogs with hands.

Freebie Friday!

Welcome to another edition of Freebie Friday, where I tell you what free samples and full sized products I received in the mail and how you can get them too. Someone asked me why I do a 'Freebie Friday" each week, so I'll tell you.

A while back I listed all the free samples and wins that I had received that previous year and so many people didn't believe that I could have gotten so many free things. So I decided to prove it by taking a picture every week and sharing the sites that I found the links to the freebies at. So now you too can get great free samples coming to your mailbox each week.

  You can find links to great samples at Hey It's Free and Freebie Shark.

This week I received so much that I couldn't fit it all in one picture without it coming out blurry!

So picture #1

Samples of Dove Shampoo and Conditioner
Sample of Chanel No 5 perfume
A coupon for a free Dove antiperspirant
2 samples of Natural Calm drink mix

Picture #2

(From PinchMe)
Scotch Brite lint roller
Shea Moisture Hand and Body Lotion
Pure Leaf Green Tea Sample
Coupon for a free 7.4 lb bag of Purina One dry dog food
Sample of Purina One dog food

An Adult coloring book I won in a fb group. You can find her books for sale on her fb page.

A $5 Amazon gift card from Crowdtap

Did you receive any freebies this week?

This one of the pages inside the Adult Coloring Book. If you look closely towards the top, you can see...*motherfucker* Bwahahaha

Review: Single White Vampire by Lynsay Sands

Book Description

The third book in her phenomenal Argeneau vampire series, Single White Vampire by the incomparable Lynsay Sands is an unadulterated delight! This paranormal romance classic follows the romantic adventures of a dark and handsome immortal who writes paranormal romances, and who’d love to sink his teeth into his sexy new editor. When it comes to red hot vampire love stories, New York Times and USA Today bestseller Lynsay Sands is Queen of the Night!

My Review

Lucern (Luc) Argeneau is a recluse writer and vampire. His vampire novels are now classified as Paranormal Romance and his fans are quite feisty and want to see more of him or at the very least get a response to the many letters they have been sending him. His editor is at her wits end because he won't agree to do interviews, go to book signings and barely replies to her many emails. 

So when Kate, his new editor shows up on his doorstep out of the blue, he's more than a little miffed and surprised. But if he thinks he's gonna get rid of her quickly, he sure has another thing coming. It was at this point in the book that I knew this was going to be an awesomely funny read and I wasn't disappointed. 

Between his being hungry because his bags of blood end up on the floor or go missing and Kate not knowing what's really going on because she has no idea that he's based his books on his family...real life vampires. This book had me laughing so many times. Luc might have a lot of experience with more than 600 years of life behind him but he never experienced anything like whirlwind Kate and just being around her brings out more of the man he should have been instead of the grumpy curmudgeon that he had been. He might have become bored with life but with Kate around, the one thing he'll never be is bored. 

I loved this one. I love it when a book can make me laugh and have a great story with great characters. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

On a side note: I'd like to wish my daughter a very happy birthday. She turns 26 today. My, how time fly's. 

Favorite Picture of the Week

Last month my daughter, grandson (Logan) and Logan's dad took a drive to Kingman Arizona and the Hoover Dam. This is what the terrain in Kingman Arizona looks like. Lots of desert, rocks, and small brush/bushes.

They stopped to take a look at some of the trains and Logan had fun climbing on them. 

This one was huge. Those are the wheels on the train. Even my daughter couldn't believe how big it was. 

They visited the Hoover Dam and saw the bypass bridge that was built in 2010. And do you see where those people are standing? That is the viewing area along the dam, you can see the water that's being held back by the dam and you can look down and see the dam itself. As you can imagine, people have come here to jump to their deaths. 

This was taken on the Hoover Dam. The view is pretty spectacular and that's Lake Mead that you see there. 

Remember back when I said you could see the dam from the viewing area? Well, here ya go. 

As you can see, when your standing on the dam in the viewing area, there's not much stopping you from being able to jump over and off the dam. That's Logan standing in the viewing area. It's really something to see though, I've been to it a few times. 

Recipe: Broccoli Salad

What you'll need: 

3 cups raw broccoli, cut into small pieces

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 green onion, diced

1 cup cucumber, chopped

1 cup grapes, cut in half

1 celery stalk, diced

1TBSP mayonnaise

3 TBSP lemon juice

1TBSP of your favorite salad dressing

1/4 tsp. salt

What to do: 

In a small bowl mix together, lemon juice, salt, salad dressing and mayonnaise. Set aside. 

In a large bowl add all the other ingredients and toss. Pour the mixed dressing over the salad and toss until everything is well coated. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours before serving. 

I used a brand new dressing that I received in my DegustaBox which was a Cilantro Lime dressing and it went really well mixed with the other ingredients and on this salad. 

I've never had a raw broccoli salad before and wasn't sure that all of this elements would taste good together but it was really good.

There's really no end to the amount of things you could add to this. I think I'll add some roasted sunflower seeds to this next time I make it.

Now if you're not a fan of broccoli, there are a lot of other salads that you can make. I also make a seafood salad and you can find that recipe here. This goes with just about anything else that I make and Ken loves it so that's a plus for me. 

Happy Raturday!

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"Today we'll be doing a little baking." 

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"It's crepe time...ooh lala"

Review: The Devil in Disguise by Cynthia Eden

Book Description

Luke Thorne loves having one hell of a good time. As the ruler of every dark creature to walk the earth, he certainly has more than a bit of a bad side. He lives for danger and isn’t the type to lose his heart—mostly because he doesn’t have one. Then she walks into his life.

Mina James is seduction in the flesh, a perfect temptation that the devil himself couldn’t pass up. Too late, Luke realizes he’s let a real siren into his life, a woman who is bent on using his dark powers to free herself from hidden enemies. Since Luke isn’t the type of man to be used, he should walk away from her, but…something about Mina draws him close.

Soon he’s realizing that she isn’t who she appears to be. Not dark and cold, but burning red hot. Mina is a woman fighting for her life—and the Lord of the Dark suddenly finds himself in an unlikely role…hero. Luke isn’t going to let her enemies destroy Mina. He will fight heaven and hell to keep her. But in the end, the secrets they both carry may just rip apart a love that should never have been…

There are Bad Things in the world…very, very bad. Are you ready for them?

My Review

So twin boys are born some time ago, one was destined to be good and he protects the humans and light paranormals. The other one was destined to be bad, Luke Thorne is the bad twin. He is the ruler of all the dark paranormals that walk the Earth and they fear him because of some of the things he's done. 

Mina is a Siren, she needs something that Luke has and in order to get it, she uses her voice to persuade him to take her back to his island. But before she can get what she came for, she's running or rather swimming for her life. 

There's a lot going on in this book and since this is book 1 in this series, I'm glad I started with this book. I put the next 5 books in my wishlist because I liked this one so much. 

There's a shady agency that's been kidnapping paranormals and making them do, not so good things for them. The guy in charge of this agency is obsessed with Mina and wants her back and while he's got a few tricks up his sleeve, he doesn't realize who he's up against to get her back. 

I really liked seeing both brothers and seeing that just because something has been prophesized, doesn't mean that things can't be changed by ones own actions. I'm really looking forward to reading Leo's book and seeing how the other brother turns out. 

The secondary characters in this book were just as interesting as the main characters. They all had great back stories and I wanted to get to know more about them. There was more than one twist in this book that I totally didn't see coming but I will say that if you like shifters, vampires, dragons, mermaids, sirens or freaky tattoos that take on their own life...you'll like this book. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Favorite Video of the Week

This week I thought I would share another of my favorite songs.

Freebie Friday!

Welcome to another edition of Freebie Friday, where I tell you what free samples and full sized products I received in the mail and how you can get them too. Someone asked me why I do a 'Freebie Friday" each week, so I'll tell you.

A while back I listed all the free samples and wins that I had received that previous year and so many people didn't believe that I could have gotten so many free things. So I decided to prove it by taking a picture every week and sharing the sites that I found the links to the freebies at. So now you too can get great free samples coming to your mailbox each week.

  You can find links to great samples at Hey It's Free and Freebie Shark.

This week I received:

Sample of Beneful dog food
A coupon for a free box of Sandwich Bros 4 or 6 count box
A $25 Starbucks gift card from e-Rewards surveys

I also received a box of samples from Samplesource which contained:
Rephresh vaginal moisturizer
Breathe Right nose strips

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Review: DegustaBox- June

DegustaBox is a monthly subscription box filled with food and drink products. The price for the box is $19.99 a month.  

You do not get to pick any of the products you get, it's a surprise each month. But they say each box contains 10-15 items and each box is worth at least $30. I like trying boxes like this because they usually contain products that I've never tried or haven't seen before. 

In this box was...

Navitas Naturals snack bar

Briannas Cilantro Lime Dressing

Ritz Crisp Thins Crackers

Hodgson Mills Apple Cinnamon Muffin Mix

Brooklyn Organics Ginger Ale

Julian's Recipe Lemon Waffle Thins

PopCorners Bean Crisps

Entenman's Mini Apple Pie Snacks

Bibigo BBQ Sauce

Sir Kensington's Ketchup

Viter Energy Caffeinated Mints

Sir Kensington's Yellow Mustard

Bibigo sample of Sweet and Hot Sauce

Now this month's box was a huge success. We've tried everything and it was all a big hit. I didn't like using the BBQ sauce as a bbq sauce so I used it as a marinade instead. It just wasn't really thick enough to be a good bbq sauce. 

The bean crisps and lemon waffle thins are really good and I shared some with my grandson when he came over and he loved them. I also loved the Cilantro Lime dressing. If you been seeing some of my food posts, you already know that I use quite a lot of cilantro and lemon. Lemons and limes are very interchangeable to me so I can use both for the same thing. I was quite happy with this month's box.

The Ginger Ale drink was awful though. Ken and I both tried it and after just one sip we were both ready to throw it away. 

Now here's a treat for you. If this box looks like something you'd like, you can use code MARYK-ACB and get your first box half off. That's a big box of food for only $10! and you can cancel anytime. So if you're interested, go to the DegustaBox site and sign up and don't forget to use my code to get your first box for just $10. 

Favorite Picture of the Week

I walked outside with the dog and saw that my neighbors had a new pet. At first I wasn't sure what it was.

Then it walked outside and I saw they now have a chicken. And when she called it to come back in, it ran back in the house. lol 

Recipe: Zucchini Mushroom Frittata

What you'll need: 

1 green onion, chopped

2 medium zucchini, shredded

1 cup thinly sliced fresh mushrooms

1 TBSP butter

4 eggs

1/3 cup milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

What to do:

In a large skillet, saute the green onion, zucchini and mushrooms in butter for 6 minutes, drain off any moisture. Transfer to an 8-in. square baking dish coated with cooking spray or a thin coating of oil. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese. 

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Pour over vegetable mixture. 

Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 20-25 minutes until set. Let stand for 10 minutes before trying to cut.

So I was finally able to make a Frittata and the eggs come didn't out over done. This was the 4th Frittata recipe I tried and this was going to be the last one if it came out badly. I just don't have the patience. lol But it was so good. I think I might have had the heat in the oven too high since most of the recipes I tried called for a 400 degree oven and this one wasn't that hot. I really hate scorched or over cooked eggs but this recipe came out really good. I couldn't find a ready made recipe that had all the ingredients in it that I wanted to I combined a couple and changed them to suit my tastes. This was a huge hit with both Ken and myself. 

Happy Raturday!

*Photo courtesy of Poppy's Mischief*

"We can fit a few more in here."

*Photo courtesy of @RamblingRatz*

" I use the spit shine method of washing to get a shiny coat. Thanks for asking."

*Photo courtesy of Mary Kirkland -Me*

"Happy birthday to me." 

*Photo courtesy of Mary Kirkland- Me*

"Gimme the bag. Give it to me."

Review: Addicted by Charlotte Stein

Book Description

Kit Connor has always led a safe, cautious life. But when Kit’s friend points out that her erotic writing lacks something, she decides to attend a Sexual Healing group to improve her knowledge.

Kit expects to find the gritty underbelly of sex, and instead finds louche, laidback, sex-loving Dillon Holt.

Dillon makes a suggestion to Kit: that he will tell tales of his sexual excess, and help her book get the realism it needs. She agrees, but hasn't the least idea of what she's getting into.

Dillon doesn't have simple advice in mind … he has lessons to teach her. Lessons on everything she's never dared to experience, from kink to real passion.

Now Kit is never sure: is Dillon the addict, or is she just addicted to him?

My Review

Kit is writing an erotic romance book and after she let her friend read it, the friend tells Kit that it need more realism. We the reader got to read what Kit had written and all I can say is her book needed a lot of something to make it readable because it was awful. 

Kit's friend tells her she should go to a Sexual Healing group and listen to some of the exploits the people in the group talk about to give her a better understanding of what her writing is missing and maybe help her find out why she feels the way she does about relationships. Kit meets Dillon in the group and sparks fly when they talk. He's a tall intimidating guy with a teddy bear interior and wants to get to know Kit better. He finds out about her writing and tells her he'll tell her all about his sexual exploits, and he has many since he's a sex addict. But things are not always as they appear.

These two were great together. She's a bit shy at first but things quickly heat up and these two really have fun together, which just made the sex scenes that much hotter. 

Things seem to be going really well until Kit realizes that Dillon backs away whenever she asks him anything personal about himself. It takes some time but Dillon finally tells her what she wants to know and a big secret is revealed. This story starts out really fun, at no point did I ever feel bored with the story and while it ends on a more serious note, that didn't take away from the story at all, if anything if made it even better because the characters seemed more real. 

I gave this story 4 out of 5 stars. 

Favorite Video of the Week

I love these Doodle videos. Hope you enjoy them too.

Freebie Friday!

Welcome to another edition of Freebie Friday, where I tell you what free samples and full sized products I received in the mail and how you can get them too. Someone asked me why I do a 'Freebie Friday" each week, so I'll tell you.

A while back I listed all the free samples and wins that I had received that previous year and so many people didn't believe that I could have gotten so many free things. So I decided to prove it by taking a picture every week and sharing the sites that I found the links to the freebies at. So now you too can get great free samples coming to your mailbox each week.

  You can find links to great samples at Hey It's Free and Freebie Shark.

This week I received:

A sample of La Roche Posay double repair moisturizer
A coupon for a free bottle of Nestea Iced Tea
A $5 Amazon gift card from Crowdtap
And I won an ebook from a giveaway over at The Reading Addict So what book did I win you may be asking? Behind The Mask- A Superhero Anthology

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Recipe: Marinated Chicken with Slaw and Avocado Corn Salsa

What You'll Need: 

1 Chicken Thigh

2 TBSP Cilantro

2 TBSP Lemon juice

1/4 tsp. salt

2 TBSP Olive oil

Add cilantro, lemon juice, chicken thigh, olive oil and salt to a Ziplock baggie. Let marinate for at least an hour.

Heat pan and add chicken thigh, cook on medium heat until cooked through. Pair with Avocado Corn Salsa and Cole Slaw. 

Avocado Corn Salsa Recipe:

You Will Need:

1 Ear of fresh corn, cooked and cut off the cob

1 tsp. Frank's Hot Sauce

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro 

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 avocado, diced

What To Do:

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. 

My Cole Slaw Recipe: 

You'll Need:

 3 cups shredded cabbage

1 shredded carrot

2-3 TBSP mayonnaise

1tsp. sugar

1 tsp. mustard

Salt and pepper

Mix everything together, cover and let sit in the fridge overnight before serving.

As promised here's one of the dishes I paired the cole slaw and salsa with. I thought it was super tasty. It looks a lot like the other chicken dish I shared but the slaw and salsa are a little different. 

Favorite Picture of the Week

My daughter has a new little friend. It's a hornet in acrylic and she has this ugly bastard on her keychain. I think she brought it over just to freak me the hell out. Mission accomplished. *shudders*

Recipe: Stuffed Zucchini

What you'll need: 

1 medium zucchini

3 large fresh mushrooms, finely chopped

1 green onion, finely chopped

2 teaspoons white onion, finely chopped

1 tablespoon butter

2 TBSP chicken or vegetable broth

salt and pepper to taste

2 teaspoons grated Cheddar cheese

What to do: 

Cut zucchini in half lengthwise. Scoop out pulp, leaving a 1/4-in. shell. 

Add butter, diced mushrooms, white onion and green onion to saute pan. Chop zucchini pulp and add to other vegetables in saute pan. Saute vegetables for 5 minutes or until tender. Add broth, salt and pepper, simmer 3 minutes or until broth is gone.

Place zucchini shells in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes. Remove zucchini shells from water and fill shells with mushroom mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake in a 400F oven for 10 minutes. 

 Of course if you don't like mushrooms you can pretty much add anything you want to stuff zucchini. 

Would you try this?

Happy Raturday!

*Photo courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"I'll just have a small sip, mmkay?"

*Photo courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"You come back later, nap time now."

*Photo courtesy of MrRat395*

"What do you mean you ran out of yogies? How could you just let that happen?"

*Photo courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"Today I'll be showing you the rat way of making a chocolate cake."

*Photo courtesy of @rosemariehierma*

"Oh, Hai."

Recipe: Marinated Chicken with Avocado Salsa

This was definitely a keeper and that avocado salsa would be good on so many things. 

You will need: 

2 Chicken Tenders or 1 Chicken Breast

2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

Add cilantro, lemon juice, olive oil and salt to a ziplock baggie. Add chicken to baggie and marinate for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. 

 Heat a small pan on medium heat and add marinated chicken to pan, cook on Med. heat until cooked through. 

Salsa:

1 chopped tomato 

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 avocado, peeled and finely chopped

Add all ingredients to a bowl, mix well and set aside in refrigerator until ready to serve over cooked chicken.

Cole Slaw:

1/2 cup of shredded cabbage

1TBSP Mayonnaise

Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and let sit in the fridge for at least an hour before serving. 

Enjoy!

Cole slaw can be made so many different ways and sometimes I do add shredded carrots to mine but I like it really simple too.