Here for some puppy cuteness? Meet Olive and Bernadette.

We love our woolly bullies...even when they flooded our house!

4th of July Blog Hop



Sexy Nerd and I will be celebrating with grilled steak (cooked for us by one of our favorite Albuquerque restaurants, Scalo) followed by an evening on our patio, guarding our house against any stray fireworks set off by riffraff neighbors. Whenever we hear an explosion, we'll shake our imaginary canes and grumble that we hope they blew off a finger.

Isn't it nice when two old souls find each other? Think how bad we'll be once we hit our mid-thirties!

Have a great 4th of July weekend, everyone.

Reader-Favorites:

Chemical Peel Before & After

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This article has been updated! My new chemical peel post, which includes pricing, Jessner peel before and after photos, product recommendations, and a helpful timeline for scheduling your treatments, is at the bottom. My original Jessner peel post (one of the most popular on my site of all time) is at the beginning. Chemical Peel Before & After Since posting my chemical peel photos, detailing the stages of the process, and writing my chemical peel blog review back in 2013, I've had quite a few Jessner peels (my favorite) and TCA peels. However, I've saved a ton of money over the past 6 months by doing my own chemical peels at home.  At my last professional peel, I made a note of the product being used and did some research when I got home. I was able to buy the exact same one,  Dermalure Jessner Solution Acid Peel 14% , from Amazon for less than the cost of a single peel.  (2/23/19 Update: I've switched to  Dermalure 30% TCA Peel  for my at-home treatments.
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10 Canned Cinnamon Roll Hacks

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You're in for a treat. Today I'm sharing my best canned cinnamon roll hacks and improvements for turning store-bought cinnamon rolls, like the Pillsbury Grands ones or even the store brand, into something special.  Dry cinnamon rolls? No thank you. They need to be OOEY and GOOEY. That's just Cinnamon Roll 101. All of these ideas make Pillsbury canned cinnamon rolls company-worthy and delicious. These are also great for taking homemade cinnamon rolls up a notch, but what a pain that is. With these better-than-homemade canned cinnamon roll hacks, you'll never bother to bake them from scratch again. Test out some of these ideas tomorrow. Won't it be nice to dig into a mouthwatering cinnamon roll for breakfast? You can't get a better start to your day than that. Canned Cinnamon Roll Hacks Hack #1:  Always cover your pan. For some reason, the directions almost never say to bake your cinnamon rolls covered. This is the secret to soft, doughy rolls like at C
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Moderna VS Pfizer: All You Can Do Is Laugh

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I received my second COVID vaccine on January 25th. It went much better than my first dose . ( Read all about it here. ) In New Mexico, we were randomly assigned a vaccination site with no input on which brand vaccine we were receiving. After being vaccinated the first time, it was revealed that I'd received the Pfizer.  It's not a big deal - I'd happily sign up for either brand just to get closer to a post-COVID world. (Come to think of it, that's exactly what I did.) Still, it seems I lucked out by receiving the Pfizer.  Moderna VS Pfizer This is just anecdotal evidence, so feel free to roll your eyes at me, but everyone I know who received the Pfizer vaccine has been perfectly fine after both doses and everyone I know who received the Moderna vaccine has gotten sick after one of the doses.  It's merely anecdotal...except I'm in the healthcare field, so I'm basing this on lots of people, including dentists and pharmacists. I follow a professional message b
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Cake Mix Pancakes

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When making Cake Mix pancakes , the scrumptious possibilities are endless. Red Velvet cake mix pancakes. Chocolate cake mix pancakes. Butter Pecan cake mix pancakes. Funfetti cake mix pancakes. (Yes, Funfetti cake mix pancakes!) With this 2-ingredient recipe, you can turn your favorite cake mix into your favorite pancakes. Cake Mix Pancakes Personally, I think my funny napkin is the icing on the (pan)cake. It's Sunday morning and you're planning to do all the things today - scrub those grody baseboards, polish your quartz countertop that was supposed to be low maintenance but actually isn't at all, sort through the disaster that is the freezer.  While on your superhuman kick, you think I'm going to make my family pancakes for breakfast. Not just any pancakes - the best pancakes ever. I may even serve them as breakfast in bed! Yeah, you're awesome sauce.  But oh no! You're out of eggs. No pancakes today, right? I was once like you (minus
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Hello Fresh (Complaints)

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Update Since posting my Hello Fresh complaints yesterday, here is a message I have received: "I did order from HelloFresh previously and was not charged what I was originally told (or thought I was told). Also, the food from them was anything but fresh and they refused to do a refund, only doing credit - even for the overcharges! So basically I ended up being out of money thanks to them." Original Post Hello, my bloggy friends. I have a HelloFresh complaint and believe they are pulling a scam. Yours truly came *this close* to falling for it.  Maybe scam is too harsh of a word. Sneaky? You can decide for yourself. Hello Fresh Why I Think Hello Fresh is Dishonest/Misleading: An ad from HelloFresh appeared in my Facebook feed. (I'll post it here if it appears again. I keep scrolling and scrolling, searching so you can see it.) The offer sounded too good to be true, so I read through the comments.  People were asking questions and the ad moderator was reply
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Shabby Apple Coupon and Dress Giveaway

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*Update on 4/21/11* This giveaway is CLOSED ! Thank you to everyone who took the time to enter! I have a funny  Shabby Apple dress  story, plus photos of my all-time favorite Shabby Apple dress , the Baja (worn in the snow - I was freezing!). Thanks to everyone who voted for their favorite Shabby Apple dress! The results are clear - you love all the dresses, (no surprise there) but there's one in particular that makes your heart skip a beat.  Behold the ruffled, rusty-orange Cider: Cute, cute, cute! Haven't heard of them? Shabby Apple sells super-cute (obviously) women's dresses and little girls dresses. They even sell swimsuits and maternity dresses! There are a lot of things I like about the Shabby Apple website, most notably their Helping Women Worldwide page, which explains that "every $100 donation from Shabby Apple Dresses provides at least 20 women with access to financial services - and the chance to live a life without poverty." Not too shab
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Our Dream Home

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We've finally broken ground on our dream home ! Can you believe it? (You can follow our construction progress here , along with lots of construction drama - the neighbors building their fence on our property, discovering we'd placed our house on a bunch of expensive rocks, our concrete footings being destroyed by a freak hail storm, etc.) Even more surprising than finally building the house we've dreamed of for years, we actually managed to work a good chunk of our ridiculous wish list into the actual design. *Update* Construction is finished! It took longer than expected and cost more too (that's how construction works, right?), but we are finally living in our mountain dream home and it's even better than I'd hoped! Here is a photo of our new kitchen and living room.  Our Dream Home Believe it or not, our budget was meager. Really! My husband built the coffee table from an olive trunk and did the thin brick backsplash himself. Eventually, he's
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Grilled Stuffed Burrito

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SN will be quick to tell you that there are pros and cons of being married to a blogger. This Copycat   Taco Bell Grilled Stuffed Burrito recipe  (courtesy of an actual Taco Bell employee) is a perfect example. I know I'm getting my fast food chains mixed up here, but let's supersize it and make ours XXL! On the plus side, I love to cook up tasty new foods to post on my blog. He never seems to mind this part. Can we make Grilled Stuffed Burritos at home? Sure, why not. Taco Bell Grilled Stuffed Burrito Copycat (Waaay better than the fast food version - healthier, less expensive, and you don't risk ticking off the drive-thru girl.) On the other hand, I may occasionally give my husband something tasty to eat, like a hot-off-the-grill burrito... ...and then steal it away before he can take a bite.  Hey, I have to get photos for my blog, right?   SN should have known better than to try to eat his burrito before I was finished. Don't feel too b
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The Best Decorating Ideas and Dream Home Inspiration

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10 Most Popular Home Posts  If you only read 10 posts on my site, make it these: 1.  Stucco, Tile, and Maybe a Roof. Oh, and a Tractor! 2. Luxury Home Tour in Santa Fe, NM 3. Party Ideas from Your Antisocial Hostess With the Mostest 4. Kitchen and Dining Room Remodel - Before & After 5. 3 Bathroom Styles, 1 House 6. 6 Ways to Get Luxury Lighting on a Budget 7. Our $5,000 Master Bathroom Remodel 8. The Great Wallpaper Mural (In)Decision 9. 15 Decorating Ideas from the Summit County Parade of Homes 10.  Hilariously Bad Real Estate Photos - What NOT To Do When Selling Your House Decorating Ideas From Our New Home We love living in the New Mexico mountains. 1. White Kitchen with Brick Backsplash 2. Fun Powder Room in Spring 3. Rustic Holiday Decor 4. Kitchen with White Cabinets and Red Brick 5. Hallway Bathroom Reveal - Reclaimed Alligator Juniper Vanity 6. Overbudget? LOL 7. 3 Bathroom Styles, 1 House  (Rustic, Spa, and Glamorous) 8.  6 Ways
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Camp Blogaway Swag and GIVEAWAY

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There are many reasons to attend a blogging event like Camp Blogaway and many people would argue that the swag bag is not one of them. To these fuddy duddies, I give an enthusiastic "CHECK OUT MY SWAG!!"  Hey, I didn't wear pajamas 2 nights in a row for nothing. Let's begin with the Camp Blogaway swag successes: Spuddy Buddy! There was actually a trivia contest at camp where I could have won a life-sized Spuddy Buddy from the Idaho Potato Commission. I just don't know enough potato facts. Also, a 6 foot tall Spuddy Buddy sounds slightly creepy. I would have insisted on it sleeping in our bedroom just to mess with Sexy Nerd. The California Avocado Commission was also present. The insulated shopping bag, the high-quality avocado slicer, and, of course, the avocados - I loved everything about this! And the avocados led to a yummy new recipe, Avocado and Egg Salad . Whoever came up with this swag idea at Wilton was really thinking. It's everythi
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