Review: "ClosetComplete" Velvet Hangers

I recently purchased these from Amazon.com and got a great deal on these hangers.

Back story:  This past spring, I purchased some of the black velvet hangers on sale at a local Michael's store ($7.99 plus a 40% off coupon, heyyyyy!).  They came in packs of 10, and honestly I fell in love with them.  I forget the brand, and was unable to find more when I decided I wanted to replace all of my hangers with these.  They hold well, are sturdy, but they are thin enough that they truly did free up space in my closet.  I have very small closets, and large amounts of clothing.  Not a good match.

After no luck of finding these hangers again at such a good price (and not being able to wait until spring for the stores to bring them back again), I searched amazon.com.  The ClosetComplete hangers looked like a REALLY great deal.  For a 50 pack of the black velvet hangers, it was only 29.90!  I ordered them right away and sat back and relaxed knowing that soon my closets will look so much better, and feel roomier (I broke down and did some donating recently too, so that should help).  Whatever, I'm pregnant, and looking at some of my old clothes kind of upsets me at the moment anyway.  Boooooo.

So last week I receive my hangers, and I am sooo excited.  To my dismay however, I open the box and find pieces of hanger falling out at me.  The actual hangy part of the hanger (haha, maybe I should say the metal hook?  I like hangy part better though.) was broken off of the black part!  To me, the packaging looked fine, so I'm assuming this is a product issue, not shipping.  Take a look:

Hangers, just hangin' out!.......  Really??  They weren't even IN the package with the rest of the hangers!

So they literally fell out when I opened the box.  I placed them how they are in the photo so you guys can understand where exactly they were broken, but they honestly were already out of the plastic.  That seems odd to me.

After doing my own research, I'm finding that quite a few other people have had the same problem.  I personally decided to take the loss (it was only two hangers anyway) and instead of returning the product, I kept the rest of the hangers to see how they'd hold up for me.  And I figured I'd be able to write a better review if I actually USED the hangers that weren't completely broken.

Hmm... 

So far, I have had no other issues.  They are holding fine, although I am nervous about hanging any coats or any heavy sweaters, so I've left those to the other hangers I had around.  I will try it though and get back to everyone on that.  I have heard that other people had issues with the velvet rubbing off onto the clothes too.  Personally, I haven't had that issue.  I even took my fingers and rubbed vigorously on the hanger to see if anything would come off, and unlike everyone else, I didn't see any "big clumps" of material rubbing off of the hangers.  So, who knows.  I hope they aren't hanging damp clothes on the hangers or something...

Overall, I'm pretty pleased with the hangers.  I do feel they are a little less durable than my original velvet space saving hangers, but I also feel that for just under $30, getting a 50 (err, well, 48) pack of these hangers is a pretty good deal.  The clothes in my closet are much more accessible and much less squashed in there now.

:-)

Apple Cinnamon Spice Cake Truffles!

Don't you hate when you hear someone say "That was my idea! I should have patented it when I thought of it!"  Well, I'm going to say it.  I have been making these "cake truffles", as I call them, for years.  Now it seems as if everyone is banking off of them.  :-P  Cake balls, cake pops, cake truffles, whatever you want to call them, are wonderful either way.  Personally, I love them because they are bite sized and the perfect amount of sweetness.  I don't have much of a sweet tooth.  If I go out for ice cream, I always get the 'kids size' because if I eat anything more than that, I feel sick.  Cake truffles are perfect because you have better control over how much you eat.  You can eat just one, or you can eat a few to equal what a normal piece of cake would be anyway.  Maybe I just have a weird thing for "bite sized" treats...  I tend to make all of my cupcakes and muffins in the mini size as well.

Anyway, I thought I would share my most recent baking success with you all.  They were a pretty big hit in my household, so maybe they will be in yours as well.  You can always change things around to fit your own taste or diet (peanut allergies, anyone?) so play around with it and see what happens.

You will need:
Spice Cake Mix (your own or a box is fine!)
Cream Cheese Frosting (1 can)
White (vanilla) Candy Melts (I used Wilton brand, purchased at Michael's craft store)
Apple Sauce / Dried Apples (to taste)
Cinnamon (to taste)
Walnut Pieces (to taste)
Shortening or Vegetable Oil to thin candy coating if needed


1.  To make these tasty treats, I started with my own spice cake recipe.  If you have a recipe of your own, use it, or you can even cheat and buy the boxed cake mix (no one will ever know). ;-)  With my spice cake recipe, I added about 1/2 cup apple sauce to the mix, and about 1/2 (or more) cup of dried apples cut into very very small pieces.  I also sprinkled about a teaspoon of extra cinnamon into the mix (loooove cinnamon!)  Bake it how you normally would, in a 13x9 pan.

2.  After letting the cake cool for a little, crumble it up into a bowl.  Any large pieces can be broken up as you go along.  You can work with the whole cake, or you can cut it into quarters and start there.  Using the whole cake will yield about 48 cake truffles I believe.  If you have the time and patience, go for it!  I do not however, and I usually end up only using a quarter of the cake and freezing the rest for later use.

3.  Add about half or slightly more of the icing to the cake mix and mix all together until it's blended and ready to roll into balls.  I like to mix in a little extra cinnamon in this step too (ok, so I may have a problem).  Remember that if you're using less cake, you have to use less icing too!  You want them to still have a "cakey" consistency.

4.  You can use a melon scoop or your hands to roll the mix into balls about the size of quarters or so.  Drop each ball onto some wax paper and place in the fridge for about an hour, or pop in the freezer for 15-20 minutes.

5.  Melt the candies as directed and make sure you are using a bowl deep enough to drop the cake truffles in, and have them be covered by the coating.  Once the cake truffles are cooled enough, you can begin placing them, one at a time, into the candy coating and rolling them around to make sure the entire ball is covered.  (Tip:  I like to use tooth picks so that I don't have weird fork marks anywhere, and kind of roll them around in the candy coating.  I also only take a few of the balls out of the fridge/freezer at a time so that they don't start to warm up too much.  The cooler they are, the faster the coating will harden.  I'm all about saving some time...)

6.  Drop the covered cake pieces onto the wax paper again and have your walnuts ready to sprinkle on the top BEFORE the coating begins to harden.  If the cake pieces are still very cool, the coating will harden fast so you have to basically add the nuts immediately as you place them on the wax paper, and then continue on.  (Another tip:  If the coating begins to thicken in the bowl, add a small amount of shortening or vegetable oil to thin the coating out again.  Add and mix until it's back to the consistency you need... it should drizzle right off of a spoon)

7.  After this, you're done!  Let them sit so that the coating can fully harden, and then eat away.  I used the entire cake this time, and all of the cake truffles were gone in about 3 days.  I'm not sure if that says much since I live with men (hubby and son) and all food tends to go fast, but it seems pretty quick to me!

Enjoy!

YUM!

Pregnancy update

31 weeks!!!

So, I had a check up today and so far everything still looks great.  A little back story...  I have a high risk pregnancy due to a cardiac condition that was diagnosed a few years ago.  I am followed by a high risk ob/gyn at a local hospital that is well known for being one of the best in cardiology as well as maternal fetal medicine.  Due to my unique condition, I'm currently one of the top followed patients there.  I have been seen every two weeks, and occasionally weekly at the hospital.  During my visits, I go through the normal process that most pregnant women go through (weight check, blood pressure check, etc.), but I also have to talk about my condition and how it affects my daily living as well as having a growth scan of the baby.  I was placed on bed rest at only 18 weeks and had to leave my job working with children in an arts and crafts setting, and working retail part-time.  It's kind of a good thing because I honestly couldn't do it any more at that point anyway.  I was having early contractions and everyone was not only worried about my cardiac health, but the babies health at that point too since I was having so many contractions while I was working.  Unfortunately, an echocardiogram done in April did show a small decrease in my cardiac function, compared to an echo that I had done just a few months prior.

Since I am on daily medication for my heart, I also have sonograms every week or two weeks to check the babies growth.  So far, he has been exactly on target!  (oh, and yes, I found out I was having a boy around the 16th week I believe :)  Today, we saw him open his eyes during the sonogram, watched him practice breathing (how amazing!) and found that his arms and legs are actually measuring at almost 33 weeks gestation.  Looks like he's gonna be tall like his mama!  He is in a breech position, and has been for the last month.

I was having some issues with my heart for the last 3 weeks or so where my palpitations seem to be getting stronger and more frequent.  I also experienced a little more weakness and dizziness than usual.  I was sent to the cardiac center of the hospital to have a holter monitor placed on me, and the results were not yet in today so I'm not sure if anything showed up or not, but I'm staying positive.  Honestly, I don't mind the holter monitor because the maximum amount of time they usually keep those on you is 3 days, and I was only prescribed 24 hours with this one.  I have however, had to wear several event monitors which were more of a pain because those I had to wear for a few months at a time.  No fun.

All in all, it was a good day.  It's always pleasant to get to see my baby and know he's doing well inside of me.  Time for some sleep, and I'll be blogging again soon!

MamaFab

To show off the belly or not?

Now that summer is officially in full gear, and I'm not quite big enough to be mistaken for a beached whale yet, the dilemma of maternity swimsuits is here. I can't seem to find any one-piece or even tankini swimsuits that aren't completely cheesy looking. If I go to splash in the kiddy pool with my 6 year old in our backyard or lounge on the hammock, I wear my original, pre-pregnancy bikinis. I can do this in our backyard... but at the beach? I'm not sure if people will find it offensive or even inappropriate. Although my swimsuits are two pieces, they aren't trashy! Keeping that in mind, I do still worry about getting dirty looks if I go to the beach and wear a two piece with my bump sticking out.

After looking around on the web for this, I came across a website that showed a ton of celebrities wearing bikinis while pregnant. Personally, I'm proud of my baby belly and I actually think it's cute! I don't mind the way I look in my bikini. I think if I was bigger it might be different, but right now I'm at the stage where I am obviously pregnant, but not huuuge yet.

Check this out!
"10 Celeb Moms Who've Rocked a Bikini While Pregnant"

Credit: lilsugar.com

What does everyone else think about a pregnant lady in a bikini? I'd like to hear your opinions!

A summer favorite!

Happy belated 4th to everyone!  Since we were outside for a long period of time on Monday waiting for the fireworks, this product was really handy, and using it made me feel that I should write a quick blog about it since I love it so much.  This is definitely one of my favorite items at the moment.  I'm very happy to pass the info on this along, especially if anyone reading this has never heard of it, or was thinking about purchasing something similar but has yet to.

Bite Blocker Insect Repellent!!!

One word for this stuff:  AMAZING.  Let me start off by reminding everyone that I am pregnant, and because of my increase in blood volume, I smell extra yummy to mosquitos.  I have always had a problem with mosquito bites anyway, but I'm especially tasty to them now in my pregnancy.  My 6 year old also has my "sweet blood", I suppose, because they immediately swarm us both anytime we try to play outdoors.  I try to stay as chemical free as possible with products I use on my kids (and myself), and I believe it's extra important while pregnant.  As soon as we (my husband and I) found out that we were expecting, it was like he would come home every day with another item that he hoped I would substitute for something else I was using, to benefit or reduce chemical exposure to our unborn baby.  I've tried other "natural" or "herbal" insect repellents before, so I'm always skeptical, but this one really exceeded my expectations.  This stuff truly works.

We picked ours up from our local natural foods store for a little less than $10, so I'm sure you can find it near you as well or you can purchase it through Amazon (links below) for possibly a little less than we got it.  The only problem I have with this stuff is that the smell is REALLY strong.  REALLY.... really strong.  My 6 year old says it smells like chocolate, and I guess I smell a hint of chocolate as well, but whatever it is, it's not very pleasing to me at the moment.  He doesn't mind, and my husband doesn't mind the smell, although they do agree that it's a strong scent regardless.  Again, my problem with the smell could simply be because my pregnant sense of smell is out of control right now (I even hate the smell of my deodorant now, the same brand I've been using for years and love), but I would still say to give it a try.  It works SO great that I'm able to ignore (or maybe I've become accustomed to) the smell knowing that we are well protected, naturally.  We all just make sure to take a nice quick shower after using it anyway to avoid bringing the smell into our beds at night and rolling around in chocolate-y smelling bed sheets.

It is made from natural oils, and warns to keep away from eyes and mouth because of irritation possibilities.  It also says to not spray on the hands of children.  This makes sense with anything really because we all know as much as we teach them not to, children always tend to find a reason to put their little hands in or near their mouth anyway.  Lasts for up to 8 hours and can be reapplied as much as needed.  I LOVE this stuff!  I've used deet products before that wouldn't keep the bugs away as much as this does.  It is an "insect repellent", so I'm not sure what other insects it works against and how well, but I know it keeps the mosquitos far, far away from us.  I hope it works just as well against ticks, because I really dislike those little buggers too.

Is there a natural or herbal insect repellent (or any product really) that any of you are completely satisfied with as well?  Pass on the info in the comments section for everyone, or feel free to message me and maybe I'll check it out and write my own review on it.

To purchase Bite Blocker:

MamaFab♥

Oh, dear heartburn...

So I'm still awake and unable to sleep (1am), hubby is working his overnight shift and the little one is obviously already asleep.  I'm currently in my third trimester of my second pregnancy, and as many of you know, this is the time when the body aches really come on strong, and indigestion / heartburn is at its worst.  Natural remedies for heartburn, please??  Anyone??  Tums don't work for me, and I prefer not to take meds usually anyway unless it's really really necessary.  Doc said Zantac is also fine, but meh... I suppose I'll stick it out for now until I see smoke coming from my throat.  This is a minor (and temporary) discomfort for me, not a life or death situation.

Buuuuut.... I just read about "The Miracle Ball Method for Pregnancy" and I'm interested in trying it out.  Has anyone used this and had success?  Did it help with any of these terrible side-effects wonderful joys of pregnancy? I thought of this because I remembered that I had read somewhere that it is meant to help with indigestion as well as all of the other common complaints of pregnancy, and helps with regaining your shape after delivery as well.  If anyone has used this, please let me know whether you loved or hated it!  I will probably still purchase it because I'm stubborn and tend to want to "see for myself" with these types of things, but opinions would be helpful!  If and when I purchase it and use it, I will update with my personal review for those of you who were also curious about it.  I'm going to go searching and compare prices now...