Mandii's Muse

 I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving! I can't believe that it has come and gone and we are well into the Christmas season! Here was a quick recap of my turkey day! My dad wanted to take some meals to a few of his customers, so on Wednesday I had a chiropractor appointment, and my mom stayed back and started prepping the food. She made a whole meal, but we were only going to eat the green bean casserole. My dad and I helped when we got home. On Thursday morning, we got the meals ready, and my dad went on to deliver them. Meanwhile my mom and I got ready. We loaded everything up we were supposed to take, and headed to my aunt and uncle's house.  We ate, had too much food as usual. We had the usual, turkey and chicken, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, stuffing, rolls, and corn. For dessert we had chocolate, pumpkin, and rice pies.  It was a nice day! How was your Thanksgiving? Did you end up in a food coma after dinner? Let me know in the co...

 I have been really babying my hair lately. I had "rona" 3 years ago and lost a lot of hair about 6 weeks after I recovered. Ever since then I have been trying to do my best to take good care of my hair. My mom got me a heatless curling set last Christmas and lately I have been using it all the time! I absolutely love the curls it produces, and I'm using less heat on my hair. Here are some of my tips that I've learned along the way. Start with damp hair. I will partially dry my hair until it is about 85% dry and roll my hair. You hair is more fragile when it is damp, so be careful.  The next day, you can finger comb through your curls. I add a little bit of hair oil on my hair. Especially on the ends, sometimes they can get a bit wonky when you tie the scrunchies on.  I add a little bit of Navy Haircare Pebble Beach texture spray, and hairspray to help hold the curls.  Sometimes I need to fix a curl, usually my front bang section. So I will use a hot tool on that. He...

 Here is a post I shared on this date many, many years ago!  https://mandiismuse.blogspot.com/2013/11/high-five-for-friday_15.html Friday I am going to do a heatless curls tutorial. I’ve been loving them lately, and finally found a technique that I love. I’m excited to share that with you! 

 This recipe is going to be perfect for Thanksgiving! It's called pumpkin butter, but there is no butter in it! It's very similar to apple butter, but equally delicious! I think this would be absolutely perfect on a Fall themed charcuterie board with pepitas, cheddar cheese, honey, and fancy crackers. Or on a piece of pastry wrapped brie cheese. Yum! This would also be great on an English muffin for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning. If you are attending Thanksgiving somewhere and want to have a hostess gift ready, this would be absolutely perfect! If you need some jars, lids, or labels, here are a few on Amazon !  I don't think you will be disappointed if you make this!

This summer I decided that I was going to make a new recipe every Thursday. A lot of times we can get in a rut with our cooking, and this helps us break out of it. I tried this recipe as my very first one and it was surprisingly delicious! My mom was hesitant at first because of the name, but she ended up really enjoying it.  The sauce was really easy, and I can totally see this being put over pulled chicken and make sliders out of it, or even sandwiches!  Apricot Chicken 1 cup apricot jam 1/4 cup diced onions 2 Tablespoons soy sauce 1 Tablespoon honey 1 Tablespoon dijon mustard 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar 1 teaspoon minced garlic 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (I left these out because my mom doesn't like spice, but they would be good in there!) 4-6 chicken breasts Put all ingredients in a saucepan and heat over medium heat until the jam is melted and heated through. I put my chicken breasts in a roast pan and spread the sauce over them. I put th...

 I think to start off, I am going to be blogging on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday's. I think that is a good schedule to start with that won't be overwhelming, and you readers won't get bored.  So in my time off in the blog world, I worked at a clothing boutique and absolutely fell in love with it! I found that it is something that I am really passionate about. I have learned so many tips and tricks while working there that I can't wait to share with you! I mean we also have lived through a worldwide pandemic. Add that to the list of things you never thought you would type! Haha! I have continued to cook and bake, take short little trips here and there. I truly do lead a very boring life. Haha!  If there are any topics you'd like me to cover, just let me know and I will try to see if I can cover them!  Don't forget you can follow the Mandii's Muse Facebook page here ! You can also follow the blog's Instagram page too! Maybe one day I can go live and we ca...