the last couple times ive made brownies ive made them a certain way, that just, words cannot describe how describe how gooey, and wonderful these are. and they are so simple to make, and not to mention, they are from a box. A BOX! the key to the perfect brownies... the amount of time you bake them for. 
oh and the total cost.. under 5$ so its a perfect price for this holiday season
box of mix -1.27$
chocolate chips - 1.98$
oil - 50¢
2 eggs - 75¢


heres my recipe for these little bites of heaven... 

Katelyn's Gooey Brownies

1 box duncan hines chew fudge brownies
2 eggs
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup oil
1 bag semi-sweet morsels
8'x8" glass pan

preheat oven to 350 degrees
spay pan with cooking spray. coat evenly
in a bowl combine all ingredients
add bag of morsels after all other ingredients have been combined well
pour into greased pan
place in oven for 30-33 minutes*
whatever is left in the bowl that you couldnt get out, or thats covering the spoon, lick it clean while waiting for brownies to bake


*note- brownies are done when the center is still a bit wiggly in the middle when you move the pan. but not too liquidy. they will firm up when the cool off.

these are to be served with a tall ice cold glass of milk! 

a few months ago i apply for a target debit card. best. decision. ever. its linked to my checking account so theres no fee, or anything. the best part about it is, i automatically save 5% when i use it. could it get any better? think again, it does! target has an app called cartwheel. its all coupons. and its things i actually buy, which is what is awesome! there are clothes, food, household essentials, home decor, seasonal items, and electronic goodies available! i love the cartwheel app. i try to tell everyone about it because its a little secret that i discovered to help save money. in just a month, i have saved over 30$ by using it, plus with my red card, ive saved over 20$ in 2 months. i love shopping at target, and this makes it even more fun! plus we have super targets here in texas so it makes grocery shopping easy!

anyone out there looking to save a few bucks, do this! every little bit here and there adds up fast! trust me!

as a fan of social media, i have been using it lately to test out new products and have tried to win freebies. i follow a company on instagram, flowebeauty, which is sold at walmart, but founded by the very talented, household actress, drew berrymore. every friday they do something called 'flowerfreebiefriday' and they give away a product to someone who has either retweeted or regramed the pic they posted. and I was the lucky winner a couple weeks ago! 

last week it finially came in the mail and i get to try it out. wasnt sure how i was going to like it because ive used the same eye-liner for 8 years. and it turns out this stuff is pretty cool. its like a markers. and you just draw it on. the only issue i have with it is that it seems to smear. like when i blink, thats when it smears. it could be also that i have a droopy eye-lid and thats half the problem, but i dont know. but i do suggest to anyone to try it. it goes on really easily. and me being the artist i am, i prefer this because it is like a marker. 

so thanks flowerbeauty for this awesome product!

this week my life changed completely. i went from a struggling college graduate working one part time job that gave me 13 hrs/wk to 4 jobs in a matter of 3 hours. but i must say, i was so thankful to be given a full-time job as a nanny for the most amazing family i could have ever asked for. 

when i first found out that there were 4 kids, two dogs and they all went to different schools and i was responsible for picking them all up, i must admit i was a bit worried, especially driving a big ol' truck while i wait for my car to be repaired in an area that i had been to many times before, but still learning the roads. but this week, probably couldn't have gone any better. turns out, picking all the kids up... is a breeze. cooking dinner for 4 picky eaters, easy. getting 4 kids to do their homework, eat dinner, take baths, read, and go to bed by 8:30... unbelievably easy. (i better knock on wood because next week will probably be completely different now)

tonight for dinner... after scrounging the kitchen to figure out what i have to work with, and considering stella doesn't like meat, i've decided to make nachos. i figured its easy to make, we pretty much already had a lot of it (just got a few extras like beans and chili verde from target). plus its friday and you gotta eat something fun on fridays right?!

when i told the kids i was making nachos, their eyes got so big and all four said "yay!" so i guess that means they like it right? it was so easy to make and the kids just ate it up. the recipe i kinda just, made up, is at the bottom if you're interested.

everything i used was from target, and i used my cartwheel app and my red card and paid a total of 6.83$ for everything! such a cheep, fun, and easy meal. got to love target!

after the kids ate it up (charlie told me every time he at a chip with a lot on it 'look at all the flavor!') the girls put on the footie pjs they just got and danced around the kitchen singing 'beans beans the magical fruit...' song for about 5 minutes after running off to the rooms to watch the show they are both currently obsessed with 'once upon a time'.

the best part about this meal tonight... easy cleanup! one pot to wash. i let the kids use paper plates because i knew it would be a tad bit messy (and it was). but it was such a success with the kids they asked for it again soon! (and when charlie said soon he followed with 'like next time you cook!') however, they did give me a list for next time...
use ground beef (even though stella is trying to be vegetarian she still wants beef haha)
jalapenos
tomatoes
more cheese

these kids are just too fun. i love this job and have had so much fun this week. cant wait to see what these kids do next. plus it was fun to break out my camera again and snap pics of everything. candids of the the kids are so fun. :)

nachos:

1 bag yellow corn tortilla chips
1 can refried beans
1 can black beans
1 small can chili verde
1 bag mexican style cheese
1 small tub sour cream

instructions:
preheat oven to 300 degrees
line skillit with bag of chips
scoop out refried beans onto chips, spread evenly
drain black beans and scatter ontop of refried beans
scatter chili verde ontop to form next layer
top off with bag of cheese
place in oven for 5-8 minutes or until cheese is evenly melted
let rest for 1 minute then serve! 

so a few weeks ago i stumbled across this website, bzzagent. i highly recommend everyone click on the link and go there right now (or after your finish reading this post haha.) anyway, this site is so awesome. you fill out surveys, and then you can join campaigns based on the results of the surveys. they team up with different companies that want to market their products to certain test groups so thats why they have you fill out surveys.

so a couple weeks ago i qualified for the covergirl© clean whipped foundation. and a week ago it came in the mail. 

inside the 'bzzkit' were coupons to hand out and a full-size jar of foundation to try out... for free! i must say, i love this foundation. i wasn't sure if i would like it or not because i have been using mary kay and was scared to go back to a drug store brand. however, this stuff is awesome. i have horrible skin to begin with, large pores and psoriasis so i wasn't sure how this would work. since its a 'whipped' foundation, its thicker, doesn't run like the mary kay stuff does that i had been using, and covers up so well. i don't need to use concealer with it either. it covers up my psoriasis so well. i use a brush to put it on and then set it with a powder foundation. my skin always looks so perfect now when i use this. im in love.

i seriously recommend this to anyone who's looking for a change in foundation! 

if you want more information of the product or bzzagent just send me a message. plus i still have a few coupons left if you'd like any to use to try out this awesome product!

So.... you've stumbled across this site. Either your a friend, family, or just somehow landed here. Welcome. If you know me personally, you know about the time I lived in Europe and kept a blog about my adventures, From Firenze with Love, and you met Burt, the yellow man that traveled the world with me and wrote about it weekly. This blog is different. Well, kinda. After moving to Dallas post college graduation, taking on a full-time job as a nanny, and living on my own for the first time, I decided to start a blog: about life, work, and all the helpful little things I discover and feel the need for other to know. 

So welcome aboard... and enjoy

Kate