You Will Want To Make Every One Of These 5-Star Chili Recipes

Happy Fall Y'All! 

Waking up to crisp mornings, leaves falling at my feet and flocks of birds flying south, I can't help but be ready to get my chili-on! Just in case you were feeling the same, I thought I would share a few of the championship 5-star chili recipes I've saved to make this season. From vegetarian to meat lovers to eight-alarm, here are the best of the best.

30-Minute Chili. Yes, 30-minutes, total! With 5-minutes of prep and 25-minutes cook-time, this 30-minute chili from Southern Living had the reviewers swearing by it as their go-to for quick dinners and potlucks. Kid-approved, too!

This Blue Ribbon Chili recipe has over 2,200 reviews 95% are 5stars and ZERO one star. That means even the shittiest of chefs can pull this one off! Of course, it helps there's a video walkthrough. I'm totally giving this one a try. It's smooth chili, as opposed to the ultra-bean-y chili. (see above)

This 5-star 5-step chili recipe from, Betty Crocker, is super easy and ready in less than 2 hours!

This Vegetarian Chili with Avocado cream from Martha Stewert had the reviewers going wild.  One reviewer said, "I was so skeptical of this recipe - fennel and all that CELERY??? I was wrong. This is one of the best vegetarian chilis we've ever made."

Did you know there's an International Chili Society? Every year, ICS holds the world championship Chili-cookoff. Whether you like Texas Chili or 5-alarm, the ICS has a complete list of winner's and their championship Chili recipes. To see them all, click here! 

This Creamy White Chili from Taste of Home, makes it to the table in under an hour, has 552 5-star reviews and had one reviewer, a college student, singing it's praises. "I got this wonderful chili recipe from my sister-in-law, who made a big batch and served a crowd one night. It was a hit. Plus, it's easy and quick, which is helpful since I'm a college student. In all my years of 4-H cooking, I've never had another dish get so many compliments."

Why stop at 5-alarm? Epicurious is bringing out the fire department for their, Ding Dong 8-Alarm chili. Yes, EIGHT! How you wouldn't have to ice down your mouth and ass for 24 hours after a spoonful I don't know, but if this is your thing, or you hate someone and are going to their potluck, have a go at this insanity.

I remember my first turkey chili. When I found out it was made with turkey instead of beef, I was floored. I HAD NO IDEA! Truth be told, I pretty much only use turkey in my chili now. It's low-fat, heart healthy and NO ONE knows the difference. This 5-star turkey recipe is the clear winner with thousands of 5-star recipes. 

This weekend I'm making the turkey chili. Which is your favorite? 

I'm Seriously Sad For People Who Shop Online Without This...

Before I get started, I want to be very clear that this IS NOT a sponsored post in any way. I am not being paid to say a word about the following company, nor was I asked, prodded, threatened or forced to write this post. I am sharing the following information with you because I am seriously sad for people who shop online without this...

I am currently shopping my brains out online for an extended trip to Australia coming up soon. I have to buy clothes, gifts, travel crap and a bunch of other stuff. Rather than drive all over hells-half-acre to get the stuff, I'm shopping for it all online. Being an online shopping budget pro, I'm comparing prices and jumping between multiple websites. I'm also comparing cash back amounts for each retailer and available coupon code without having to do any extra steps.

How?

Ebates. 

Please, read these next words carefully, I swear them to be 100% true.

LOOK!  22k five-star reviews and 1.7 million users... This shit is legit!

From the Ebates website, I added the Ebates Safari and Chrome plugins with the click of a button, so every time I shop online, I am automatically prompted with how much cash back I will receive for shopping at that retailer.

Then, at Checkout, the plugin auto-runs multiple coupon codes looking for the best one. It's super cool to watch! 

In the end, I buy exactly what I want, save money with a coupon code that I didn't have to search for, AND get cash back-- paid into my PayPal on a quarterly basis. (Bank account optional)

I promise, EBATES the greatest thing ever for people who shop online! Shop as usual, get cash back and save money without having to do more than click two buttons. There's no need to go to the website while shopping or search for coupon codes, the plugin notifies Ebates your shopping at the particular store, so you don't have to!

Knowing what I know, there is absolutely no reason not to have Ebates on your browser. It's FREE MONEY! Sure, maybe there is tracking of your shopping preferences--I'm really not sure, because I don't give a shit. Everything does that already, even my credit card company.

Please, GET EBATES! It's free, takes a minute to set up and that's it. All that's left is to bank cashback and use the coupon codes. (Think: Extra money for the holidays.)

DO THIS! And don't just sign up, add the browser plugin so you don't have to do any extra crap while shopping!

Get $10 CASH just for signing up click, HERE!

Desperate to overhaul your kitchen? Try this... (Before and after photos!)

I have spent countless hours working on home renovation projects. The hallway stair job took three or four weeks, the small little hallway took two weeks. Everything has been labor intensive and taken days to complete.

Then I painted my kitchen.

In three days.

It was hands-down the easiest renovation project I have done to date. And my mind is absolutely melting over the fact that it is the biggest, best, most amazing, feel-good Home Renovation transformation yet.

I just can't get over it. It has been the most amazing process redoing my kitchen.

All I did was paint the cabinets and change the hardware. That's it. But it, somehow, changed everything! The way I feel about my kitchen. The way it looks. The size of it. Everything. 

If you follow me on Instagram, then you know, I painted the corner of my kitchen first. Not only did I fall in love instantly, the Aussie did too! He looked at me and said, It looks good! Go ahead, paint the bloody kitchen. 

Then I said, well... I kind of wanted to try something...

I saw a kitchen on Pinterest that was half gray and half white. I loved it. And, had to try it.

Only, I had a gallon of blue-silver-grey paint on hand.

Over the next three days, I took every door and drawer off and painted and painted. Then, painted some more. When it got dark, I moved the party inside. I was determined to finish over the weekend. I also left everything in the cupboards. I just the contents of each shelf as far back as I could.

Thanks to free one-day Amazon Prime delivery, I was able to order 50 cabinet knobs (2 packs of 25) for $47, and have them at my door Saturday afternoon.

                                                           
I couldn't believe how well everything came together.

Then, while at Target in between coats of paint, I nearly died when the most perfect rugs were on clearance for under $10.  I bought 2! They are puuuuuuurrrrrrrrrfect!

NOTE: You may notice a different floor from the before photo. That photo was taken the day we first saw the house. The floor was thought to be asbestos, so we did the most environmentally friendly thing possible, cover it.
My mom walked in and gasped. Then said, This isn't even the same kitchen. It's like it's brand new! 

That's exactly how I felt. It's this new fun space with endless possibilities. It took me two years, but now I love and embrace my little kitchen. Most of all, I love that I took a chance on the two colors. While, I am not too sure about it, every time I look at my kitchen, my heart smiles.



I'm not bothered by the horrible countertops or being closed in. For the first time in two years, I love my kitchen! And all it took was a weekend, three coats of paint and the balls to try something different.

I cannot recommend enough doing this if you hate your kitchen. Take the leap, it is SO worth it!

How To Make The Perfect Invitation Every Single Time

**Today I'm partnering with Basic Invite to show how easy it is to make an invitation online- And so much cheaper, too!  All opinions are my own.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been asked by a couple of my good friends and a neighbor to help them create custom invitations. My friends think I'm some sort of design whiz the way I make graphics for the blog. The truth is, there are a couple of great (free) online programs that make it super easy for me to make whatever they need. And since I'm telling my secrets, here's another dirty one, I often just do it myself because it's faster for me to make the invitation then sit down and show someone how.

I realize that's not helping either one of us, really. So, below is my Invitation cheatsheet for making beautiful invitations every single time. (Note: I use Basic Invite because it has way more options than any other online stationary creator, and you can order an exact sample of the invite before you buy!)

STEP ONE: Imagine the perfect invitation in your head. The sky is the limit! What is the perfect theme, color, font, images, size... How many do you need? Do you need thank you cards, too? Do you need a formal Sweet Sixteen invitation with matching thank you cards, RSVP cards, direction cards... 



STEP 2: Go to Basic Invite and design it. With over 180 different colors to choose from and a ridiculous amount of templates, themes and fonts to choose from, and the ability to upload your own photos, you can create the perfect invite in five minutes! There is no learning curve, zero. It's that easy.

If you need a little inspiration, there is a birthday invitation maker with loads of premade templates to choose from.  

 

In addition to the virtually unlimited color combinations, themes and designs available on the Basic Invite website, I love how you can get an entire matching set with the click of a button. This is such a money saver for wedding invites and formal parties. TIP: Save money by making a double-sided card where possible--saves on postage, too!

STEP 3: Pick a complementary envelope and address them. NOTE: Through Basic Invite, you can choose from 40 different envelope colors, then send a shoutout to your attendees on social media asking for their addresses. Basic Invite captures the address, and address the envelopes for free! (Most orders are eligible for free white peel-and-seal envelopes.) #Love

I don't care what the occasion is, Basic Invite has a card, in your price range that is perfect. Friends and family of First Time Mom and Dad can save 15% off their purchase at checkout using the coupon code: 15FF51

4 Valentine's Day DIY Dollar Store Party Decorations

Last year, I started a partnership with Rustoleum that has been nothing but amazing fun. The first campaign I worked on was the, Blogger Valentine's Day Decoration Challenge. I'm proud to say, one of my ideas was featured! Since the project ended after Valentine's Day, I decided to hold off on posting the ideas until this year. I'm so excited to finally share them, I present Dollar Tree Valentine's Day Party DIY Decorations.

I started by envisioning what a fun Valentine's day party table would look like. I saw lots of bowls of candy and vases of flowers. I went to the Dollar Tree and bought everything I could think of to bring the table to life.

4 glass bowls

1 glass vase

2 bunches of silk-ish flowers

1 box of metallic tattoos

1 bag of foam hearts

1 bag of chocolate hearts. (Ok one more but I ate that one.)

Below are the things I made...

Valentine's Day Flower Vase

Step one: Paint the vase. I held the vase and sprayed all around it first, bottom, too. The paint dries in minutes. I set the vase down in the box and finished the top with a few passes of the paint and let it dry.

Step 2: Once dry, I picked up the Vase the way shown above and sprayed a few LIGHT passes of the pink glitter spray paint to LIGHTLY coat the vase. I tossed in the flowers and boom, done!

Next,  I did the candy bowl. This was super fun and ultra easy! I stuck the foam hearts to the glass bowl, spacing about an inch apart, then spray painted the glass bowl by sticking it upside down in a large box, and painting all around it. 

Once the paint dried, I peeled off the foam hearts and filled the bowl with candy. SO CUTE!!!

At this point, I was on a roll! I painted a bowl all gold and pulled out the metallic tattoos. This was as easy as following the directions on the box. I ended up tattooing a second bowl too!

Next, polka-dots because, why not?  Same as the foam hearts, I stuck dots all over the bowl and hosed it in gold paint! 

Chevron? Absolutely!

As you can see, the possibilities are endless. I should have done a few bowls in just pink glitter, but I LOVED the gold. It dried super fast, too. You can get the Rustoleum Mirror Effect paint anywhere Rustoleum is sold, it comes in a bunch of awesome metallic colors, too!

How To Order Girl Scout Cookies Online + Donate A Box To The Troops @GirlScouts

My name is April, I have a serious Samoa problem and no plans to get help. 

That would be dumb. 

I can eat those tasty little rings of gooey goodness by the box for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I also may have a borderline Thin Mint and Tagalong addiction.

In other related news, IT'S GIRL SCOUT COOKIE SEASON!!!

Every year, I order a box (or four) of our favorites. On delivery day, I open one of each box and as a family, we DESTROY them. Because one box at a time is no way to live.

Last year, when I posted the above photo on my social media channels, I had a few comments about how, "I love those, but can't get them out where I live." Being a city girl, with a Girl Scout booth on every corner, I never thought about living a life without Samoas. That would suck. 

Thankfully, for those of you currently living a life without Samoas, the Girl Scouts of America finally got it together and offer online ordering. I was honestly surprised when my girlfriend, mother of two Girl Scouts, told me online ordering is a new thing since last year. Crazy.  

Now you can order Girl Scout cookies online and have them shipped directly to you. You can donate a box of Girl Scout cookies to our troops, too! I donated two. It felt really good.

I also learned the reason those sweet little faces sell the crap out of the cookies is so they can go on a big trip with their troop. 

My friend's youngest daughters is trying to go to Savannah, Ga. Her goal is to sell 210 boxes. 



The oldest daughter is trying to earn a trip to a YES Program at Disney. She only needs to sell a mere 450 boxes.



That is so insane to me! Then again, if I could afford to buy 450 boxes, I would. I'd eat every damn one, too. SO FRIGGIN' GOOD! 

Sorry, I digress. 

To have Girl Scout cookies delivered to your door and send a few boxes to the troops, click the order form below. (It takes you to the Girl Scouts Of America, Girl Scout Cookie Order Form.)