Hailey's Helpful Hints

  Two things I love: margaritas and the crock pot (or slow cooker). Oh wait - chicken too! This Make it Monday post combines all three of those to make Margarita Chicken. And guess what? Your kids can not only eat it, they will love it too! No worries - there is no tequila in the recipe. Thanks to Red Tricycle , I found this versatile, low fat chicken recipe from Crockpot Gourmet  that you can serve over brown rice, couscous, quinoa or over a bed of greens with veggies and a citrus vinaigrette. But let's talk crock pot though first. Four problems I see with the crock pot - 1) People don't use it enough. Hello....it's soooo easy. Throw in the ingredients (no thawing necessary), walk away and come back 4-8 hrs later to a homemade meal. Now why are you complaining about dinner again?!?!? 2) People think you have to be a "mom with kids" to use a crock pot. If you're single or a couple, just buy yourself a Food Saver and vacuum seal the lef...

  As we eagerly anticipate the season of fun and frivolity, it's time to prep our closets with some of summer's biggest fashion trends. Thanks to Glamour's online fashion section (author- Avery Matera ), here are 11 summer fashion Do's and Don'ts: DO go girly with a white lace top You can dress up a white lace top with a skirt and heels or dress it down with denim shorts and sandals. Even try pairing it with moto boots and a leather jacket to turn the feminine piece into something more edgy.   DON'T underestimate the power of a T-shirt dress The throw-on-and-go T-shirt dress is perfect for summer. Wear yours from day to night by transitioning into slightly fancier footwear and some fun accessories. Bonus: T-shirt dresses are easy to travel with - they rarely wrinkle and don't have to be dry-cleaned! DO try a new sunglass silhouette Whether it's round, cat-eye, oversize, or aviator, try a sunglass shape you've never tried bef...

The Beauty Dilemma: Your fingernails and toenails have an icky yellowish tint. I can't remember the last time my toenails weren't painted so you can only imagine how freaked out I got when I took off the polish to discover my toenails had this funky yellow tint. After ruling out "Yellow Nail Syndrome" (yes it's a real but rare condition) or a fungus infection, my prolonged wear of nail polish is to blame. While dark-color nail polish may be incredibly trendy and a summertime must, consistent wear can leave your natural nails looking like they’ve been permanently dyed a scary shade of sunflower. So what now? The solution: To restore your nail beds to their natural nude hue, mix a few drops of fresh lemon juice with 1/4 cup of hydrogen peroxide in a plastic bowl. Completely saturate a few cotton balls in the mixture and rub your fingernails and toenails until the stain is removed. Moving forward, be sure to double up on your base coats!

Gosh it's been forever since I've done a Sweet Sunday post. Lance had a runny nose this morning so I stayed home from church, went on a nice power walk and figured since I have a minute while Barney streams on the tv, I'll post a dessert for you to try this week. Saw these Jello Cookies on Pinterest and meant to post before 4th of July so you could do red, white and blue cookies but that clearly did not happen. Lots on my plate lately hence the lack of posts. Seriously though - who would have thought to put jello in cookies?!? What a fun bright and colorful cookie for summer. If you're brave enough to bring the kid's to the grocery store, you can make this a fun outing to pick out their special jello color/flavor. Another fun thing is the batter is moldable like playdough. Wash up their hands, whip up the batter and let them create sculptures while the oven heats up like they did over at I Heart Naptime blog ... ~Jello Cookies~ Yields: 2 dozen | Prep: 20 min | Cook...

Bury your feed in the sand and your head in a book as you kick back and relax this 4th of July weekend. If you've already made your way through Fifty Shades of Grey or found that it's not your thing, here are a few others that will grab your attention and keep you reading all summer long:  Need comic relief? Girl Walks Into a Bar . The debut book from the former Saturday Night Live cast member Rachel Dratch, is a hilarious midlife memoir about laugh out loud adventures, the unexpected joys of dating and becoming a mother when she least expected it at age 44. A look into how unpredictable and beautiful life can be. Amazon reviews: 4.5/5 stars. 44 reviews. Love compelling characters? The Chaperone . In Laura Moriarty's historically based novel, you'll meet the irreverent Louise Brooks, who at age 15 - a few years before achieving fame as an actress - teaches her caregiver, Cora Carlisle, to live life to the fullest. The Chaperone is the enthralling story of two women...