What better way to usher in Fall than with sweet and nourishing pumpkin spice body scrub!

If you haven't heard yet, Beanies & Weenies is releasing Fall gift baskets this Friday that include a crocheted basket, two fall colored crochet washcloths, and 4 ounces of handmade pumpkin spice body scrub! The best part about it is that it only costs $25! 

If you're thinking, "well, that's great and all, but what can I do with a sugar scrub?" then I'm here to enlighten you.

The 4th of July is right around the corner, and you know what that means! Summer is in full swing! Between trips to the pool or beach and time spent enjoying the warm weather, it is easy to get too busy to cook. And with everyone's favorite grilling holiday only a few days away, everyone wants to get out, enjoy some fireworks, and eat good food. If this sounds like you, I have the perfect recipe for you: burger sliders.

The time has come. The time of oppressive heat, puddles of sweat, and general misery is upon us. Summer is finally here. 

If you can't already tell, I'm not a big fan of summer, especially here in the south, due to all of the heat, sunlight, and sweating. I can tolerate the summer as long as I have an ice cold drink and a pool to swim in. 

What I also don't mind about summer, despite the heat, is the food. Barbecues are front and center this time of year and I am more than happy to brave the elements to be first in line for some good grilling. ​

One of my favorite things about birthdays is all the free things. And I'm not just talking about the presents. I'm talking about all the coupons and goodies you get from being a rewards member at your favorite stores and restaurants. So far, my favorite goodies have been a free scoop of ice cream and Baskin Robbins and free tater tots at Sonic. That coupon for Olive Garden is going to taste mighty good this weekend too. But one birthday reward has blow all the rest out of the water and that is my free gift from being a Sephora Beauty Insider.

May's Beauty Insider birthday gift at Sephora was this cute blush and lipstick combo from Tarte. Anyone who knows me know that I am definitely not going to sneeze at free makeup. In fact, I will more than likely do everything I can to get free makeupt. It was a no brainer to yes to the Tarte duo at the checkout counter, especially when I haven't tried any of their makeup before.

​This Tarte combo comes with an Amazonian clay 12-hour blush in the shade paaarty and a tartiest lip paint in the color birthday suit. Lipstick is my weakness. Actually, that's why I was in Sephora in the first place. I was buying my birthday lipstick. (I chose Stila stay all day liquid lipstick in perla, but that's a different story.) I was eager to get this Tarte freebie home and try it on.

This Tarte lip paint is fantastic! This lipstick has a cool mint smell and goes on like a dream. It felt so light on my lips. Not to mention, the shade is a dark dusty rose color that makes for the perfect nude lip. And the Tarte blush is a nice light pink color that didn't make my already rosy cheeks too rosy. I usually stay away from blush for this very reason, but I have a feeling I will be picking this one up often.

Let this blog post serve as a reminder to you that when your birthday rolls around, don't forget to check everywhere you are a rewards member with so you can get your free goodies too! Tarte is a great brand and if you haven't already, check out their makeup!

Things have been crazy for me these last few months. I have not had time to maintain my website like I should due to producing an awards show in Las Vegas, graduating, and turning 21, but now that things are winding down, prepare for a Beanies & Weenies like you've never seen before.

This past semester was rough. I was taking 17 credit hours worth of classes and working as an editor at ECU's student newspaper. On top of that, I was part of a specially chosen group of students who flew to Las Vegas at the end of April to attend the National Association of Broadcasters convention and produce the Best of Festival awards show for the Broadcast Educators Association. I have been a busy bee since February!

Now that graduation is over and my birthday has passed (I finally turned 21!), I plan on dedicating a lot more time into Beanies & Weenies and my freelance services. For starters, I plan on updating this website and posting many more blog posts with cool patterns and tutorials. I also plan crochet a giant inventory of goodies for Etsy, local markets, and maybe, just maybe, a few giveaways (shhhhh!). 

Anyway, that was my quick update. Check back later this week for what could be a fun crochet pattern or interesting DIY. I haven't decided yet.

Until then, check out these pictures to see what I've been up to for the last 3 months!

With the Super Bowl less than 24 hours away, chicken wings and dips are being prepared for chowing down during game day all across the country. If you are in search of a last-minute dish to take to a Super Bowl party or just one more item to add to your menu, I have just the recipe for you: homemade cheese fries.

Hello!

Sorry for the radio silence over the last month- I have been super busy starting a new semester and settling into my role as Arts & Entertainment Editor at my college newspaper. Somewhere in between all that, I found the time to make a short film and enter the Campus MovieFest contest at ECU!

I am so thrilled with the results. My movie was a campus finalist which means it was one of the top 16 at ECU out of 44 movies. Not to mention, I had the honor of followed the cutest movie star in the world around for 24 hours to film it.

Anyway, as I'm gearing up to share game day recipes and Valentine's Day crafts with you this upcoming week, check out my short film "Jim." It's about a savage beast that terrorizes one single apartment. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

I love a cold smoothie. When everything is so doggone hot during the summer, a frozen treat like this just hits the spot. One of my all time favorite flavors is strawberry banana. It's a classic. Over time, I have perfected my own strawberry banana smoothie recipe and even found a way to make it a complete, balanced breakfast for eating on the go.

Earlier in the year, I blogged about healthy smoothies for breakfast. This recipe is an extension of that. Essentially, what you need for a strawberry banana smoothie is, of course, strawberries, bananas, and milk, but I added a few things to make it my own.

One of the best parts about summer nights is spending it cooking around a fire, especially on a camping trip when you make this twist on a classic camping dessert: smores campfire cones. Smores are a classic crowd pleasing dessert. It has everything you could want in a camping dessert. Smores are crunchy, gooey, and sweet. Kids of all ages adore smores and making a smores campfire cone makes the experience even sweeter and a tad less messy. With Summer right around the corner, what more could you ask for

During my camping trip back in March, I came up with an easy hobo dinner recipe that incorporated everyone's favorite flavors. A hobo dinner is a wonderful meal to make while camping. They are generally mess-free, take little effort to put together, and are made individually so it requires very little dishes that need to be washed afterwards! That's an added benefit if you are going on a bare-bones camping trip.