shop my twitter pal's going out of biz sale

I wanted to let you all know about a great shop on Etsy that is closing up for the time being and having an amazing sale, with nothing over 9.99. Hellcat Vintage is run by a hilarious gal named Cindy, who I have come to thoroughly enjoy tweeting with (you should still follow @hellcatvintage, regardless of the store being open). 

To this day, the only tweet I have ever marked as favorite was courtesy of Cindy, after a scenario when Etsy told me they removed one of my listings due to copyright infringement on Dr. Seuss. It was a vintage Florida tee, so you can imagine my confusion over what that had to do with Dr. Seuss. After some emailing back and forth they realized they made a mistake and that my listing was not the number they were talking about, but not before @hellcatvintage tweeted about Green Eggs and Sand.

She just seems like a great gal and her store pics are awesome, not to mention her great merchandise. I am sad to see her close up shop, but hopefully she will be pulled back in the vintage world in the future. Best of luck to you, lady!

Here are some sweet items you can grab during the sale:

So, go peruse her shop and help her go out of Etsy with a fat wallet!

tunage: sweet 90s goodness

I know yesterday was all about tunage, but I'm on a roll with blog posts today, so why not add another?

Love me some 90s Jakob Dylan:



Do you ever get the feeling that being Bob Dylan's son helped him become famous, but also hurt the band's chances at being taken seriously for a long period of time after the success of One Headlight? I do and what a shame, because they're one of the best rock bands in the past 20 years. Also, the dude has an amazing voice, especially live. Siiigh.

Let's Talk Straight Talk

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Straight Talk for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I love the idea of having more money in the bank with Straight Talk because I cut my cell phone bill in half. They have a great plan which can reduce your bill in half! Just imagine the amount of money you could save switching to Straight Talk and think of all the awesome stuff you could buy with your saved money. A new watch would be finally be mine! Do I have you hook, line and sinker?

Let me tell you some more...

There are no contracts, no surprise bills and no credit checks. Great nationwide coverage and excellent reception/connectivity. Finally, Straight Talk only uses trusted phone manufacturers like LG, Motorola, Kyocera, Nokia and Samsung.

They have other plans, but I love the idea of the unlimited monthly service which is only $45, and includes calls, text, picture messaging, and web. And, 411 calls are included at no extra charge. Awesome, right? Straight Talk International Long Distance Service is a flexible prepaid calling service that enables you to make international calls from your home, cell or office phone at low rates. With these plans, you'd have plenty of minutes to call Mom or to call a friend.

Reconditioned phones are available from $10.00 with camera, mp3 player, mobile web access, and blue-tooth capability. Great way to be green with a new to you phone. They have sweet smart phones; touch screen phones, and app capable phones with features like voice navigation, camera, video recorder, music player, instant messaging, and Bluetooth®. These phones truly have everything you need.

<iframe width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/RKPihLfELWo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Recipe Wednesday: Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

Danielle is back with another mouth watering recipe! Learn more about her below, after you check out this amazing recipe, of course!

When my husband was in the NFL I used to bake all kinds of things for their offensive meetings. These cookies were by far the most popular and I still get requests to this day from the guys for them... In fact, that's where this batch went to! They're really easy to make, although they do take a bit of time because there's three different phases to them and they have to set between each one, but they're well worth the effort. The creamy and sweet peanut butter filling gets sandwiched in between two crunchy peanut butter cookies and then the whole thing gets dipped and drizzled in chocolate.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 stick unsalted butter (at room temperature)

1 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter (divided)

1 cup granular sugar

1 large egg (at room temperature)

1/4 cup confectioner's sugar

8 oz. semisweet Baker's Chocolate

Any time I am baking I like to get out every single ingredient I'm going to need for the recipe, no matter how many or how few there are. That way not only am I ready to go once I start, I know I have everything that I'm going to need. There's nothing worse than being right in the middle of a recipe and realizing you're missing an ingredient.

Preheat oven to 350° and line two baking sheets with Silpat mats or parchment paper. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the butter, 1/2 cup of the peanut butter, the sugar and the egg. Slowly add in the flour mixture until the cookie dough forms.

Scoop out 1 tablespoon size balls of the dough and put about 9 on each sheet. If you don't care if the cookies look perfect, then just flatten the dough balls a little with your palm before baking. If you want smooth cookies that are more uniform in size then press the dough balls into a 2 inch ring mold. Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes until lightly golden brown, let cool on a wire rack.

While the cookies are cooling, make the filling by mixing the confectioner's sugar with the remaining 3/4 cup of peanut butter. I put the filling in a piping bag with a star tip, but again if you don't care what they look like you can just fill them using a spatula. I like to take the cookies, pair them up and lay the pairs bottom side up on a baking sheet. Then I put the filling on one cookie and press the other one over it making it a sandwich. 

Stick the baking sheet in the fridge to help the filling set up a bit (otherwise the top cookie will just slide off of the bottom one). While those are chilling, cut up the chocolate and set up a double boiler. You can make your own double boiler by filling a medium saucepan with about 2 inches of water and setting a heatproof bowl on top of it, then put on medium high heat. Put the chocolate in the double boiler and melt, stirring constantly until smooth. Dip about a quarter of each "sandwich" in the melted chocolate, let the excess drip off and set on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Use the rest of the chocolate to drizzle over the entire cookie. Let set in the fridge for at least an hour before serving. 

Let's find out more about Danielle(a beautiful gal, who is an old pal of mine from high school):

I'm Danielle from Buffalo, NY. I live in Hamburg with my husband Christian and two miniature pinschers, Weezy and Sebastian. I started baking when I was young, mostly with my grandmother around the holidays. My love and skills for it grew as I got older, turning into a full-time passion when my husband was in the NFL. I started baking cookies for the team for Christmas, which soon turned in to all year round requests for treats! In the last couple years I've become obsessed with all things French cuisine an have started cooking much more, but baking will always be where my heart is!

Recipe Wednesday: Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Anne is back with a sweet treat this week!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

This recipe is a great Fall treat!  It's super moist and easy to make.  I love to make a double batch and give some to friends and family.  The funny thing is, I hate pumpkin pie but I love this bread and I guess we can thank chocolate for solving my taste bud blues.

1 2/3 cup unsifted flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup water

2 large eggs

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine all ingredients (except chocolate chips) in a large mixing bowl and beat on medium speed until well mixed.

Stir in chocolate chips.

Pour into 1 large greased loaf pan. Bake 1 1/2 hours @ 300 degrees

Pour into 8 mini greased loaf pans.  Bake 35-45 minutes @ 300 degrees

Place mini pans on baking sheet.

*** Use three bananas for banana bread instead of pumpkin

*** Can add oatmeal and nuts for fun!

My beautiful guest blogger, Anne and her hubs, Joe. 

Anne, also known as Pickles, is currently "living it up" in Utah for the next month, while her hubby does a rotation for med school. She is all about cooking, baking, and just finished her program to become a dental hygienist. She's an outdoors kinda gal and is pretty sweet at recreational sports. Also, she refers to babies as "it" quite often and her kryptonite is a yellow traffic light. Can you tell she's one of my best friends? She is:) Plus, she was one of my roommates at Geneseo State University. College shout out, what?

Getting stuck on this season of True Blood

Guest post written by Rebekah Brown

I've loved True Blood for a few years now. I guess you could say I was a later adopter. I had too many friends telling me that I needed to watch it that I just couldn't stand it anymore and decided to give it a try. Well, all of my friends were right and I loved it! But I might say that this season of True Blood could be my favorite one yet. I always knew that there was something between Eric and Sookie and now we can see it start to blossom!

I was looking for some Eric and Sookie spoilers for the rest of the season a few nights ago and as I was doing that I ran across the site clearwirelessinternet.com. I was wanting a replacement for my home internet service anyway, so I switched over to that one.

Well, I did find a few good Eric and Sookie spoilers, although I don't want to spoil anything here! This new True Blood season has taken quite the different direction. But I like changes and after what we found out about Bill and the Queen last season, I didn't want him with Sookie any more.

tunage tuesday: jamie cullum covers rihanna

I love hearing a song that I forgot about, especially one that I quite like a lot. I was at the store today and heard the following:




I love when a cover is better than the original. Yup.

need a watch? try Show Off City.

I have been rather obsessed with the need for a new watch lately, so when I came across the chance to write about Show Off City, of course, I had to take it. They sell some seriously glam watches for both men and women.

As I said, the watches are mega glam, since they cater to customers in the recording industry, but a girl can definitely dream. How about this lovely Joe Rodeo watch right here:

That hot, little number will set you back over $6,000. I think I will put it on my wishlist for the day when I become a multi-millionaire. First stop? Show Off City.

For more great watches check out showoffcity.com.

*This post was brought to you by your friends at Show Off City.

ohhh, tumblr

I don't have a tumblr page, but I gathered from various friends that do, that it was down yesterday. Why does this matter to me?

On Friday, one of the lovely Etsy admins sent me a message saying the following would be on the Etsy Vintage Tumblr on Saturday:

Not sure if the little guy will ever make it to the page now that the theme of hot dogs is probably over, but alas, it went with a perfect day of me losing my credit card, Amy Winehouse (pretty much the only female singer I have really enjoyed in recent years) dying, and my attendance at a super awkward wedding shower of a gal that used to be my best friend who now doesn't even speak to me. Great day!

And I got to see lots of women with plastic surgery wearing extremely age inappropriate outfits at the shower, such as this lady who is just too old to be wearing a pleated mini skirt/exposed bra straps(sorry, but true):

I would almost feel too old to wear that outfit...and I am 26.

I have resolved that this week can only go up from here!

Recipe Wednesday: Goat Cheese, Walnut and Cranberry Canapes

 Last week, Danielle garnered praise for her delicious Brie En Croute. This week, something just as delectable.

GOAT CHEESE, WALNUT AND CRANBERRY CANAPES

This recipe is great because it's easily split in half or even doubled in order to accommodate the number of people it needs to serve. It's nice and light, which makes it perfect for a summer appetizer. The tartness of the cranberries and the lemony taste of the thyme go perfectly with the creamy goat cheese, and the walnuts add a perfect crunch.

Serves 8 (makes 24 pieces)

* 3/4 cup walnuts
* 4 tsp of olive oil (divided)
* 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
* salt & pepper for seasoning
* 1 french baguette
* 8 ounces goat cheese, softened
* 2 tbsp water
* 1/2 cup dried cranberries
* 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme, plus more for garnish

Preheat oven to 375 ˚ F.

Toss the walnuts with 1 teaspoon olive oil and the cinnamon, season with salt and pepper. Scatter onto rimmed baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 4-6 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Cut the baguette into 24 thin slices. The easiest way I've come up with to do this is to cut the entire baguette in half, then cut each half in half again... making 4 even quarters. Since you need 24 slices total, you know you need 6 slices from each quarter. This way you know you're going to get the right number of slices and that they'll all be relatively the same size. Spread the baguettes onto your baking sheet and brush with the remaining olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Bake until lightly toasted, 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, in a medium sized bowl, stir together the goat cheese and water until smooth. Stir in the dried cranberries and chopped thyme. Spread the goat cheese topping evenly on the toasted baguette slices and top each with the toasted walnuts and a sprinkle of thyme leaves.

Recipe Wednesday: Tzatziki

Last week, Anne brought you some Bangin' Bean Salsa. This week, a delicious dip.

Tzatziki (Greek dipping sauce)

Had this for the first time in Greece and was obsessed.  It is a great summer dip good on Gyros or for snacking with bread, french fries, and pitas.  Most restaurants cheat when they make it and use sour cream instead of Greek yogurt!  A good Greek yogurt for it is FAGE.  I hope you enjoy this dip as much as I do!

16 oz. (2 cups) Plain Greek Yogurt

4 to 10 Cloves of Garlic finely chopped

1/2 cup diced or grated cucumber (Kirby or "English") (pat dry with paper towel to remove excess water)

1 tbsp Olive Oil

2 tsp Lemon Juice

Combine oil and lemon juice in medium mixing bowl

Fold yogurt in slowly, mixing thoroughly. 

Add garlic, according to taste. 

Add in cucumbers.  Stir everything up. 

Can add 1 tbsp mint or dill for more flavor. 

Serve chilled with chicken, french fries or pitas.

Note* The longer it's refrigerated the stronger the garlic taste.

Have a recipe you'd like to submit? Check out how guest blogging works on BBV and learn about sweet prizes you can win right here.

Tunage Tuesday: Goo Goo Dolls "Iris"

I don't care what you think, this song is one of the best tunes ever written.

Yes. I went there.

And don't you dare speak of the Goo Goo Dolls with the same snarky attitude as one would speak of Nickelback. Not even CLOSE. 

The MEGA Mid Summer Giveaway! - CLOSED Winner #121

It may be a scorcher outside, but do you know what is cool? Free stuff.

Not just one free thing, but how about 7 free things? This is a giveaway for a prize pack with a value of over 100 dollars. Yup, that is pretty cool. Even cooler? You could win another one over at A Wild Tonic. You could win both prize packs and have over $250 in prizes. So, let's get right down to it. Here is what you can win on BBV's giveaway(click on each pic to visit the sponsor's store):

Vintage 1970s Love Beads Necklace from Tialey Vintage ($20 value)

**NOTE: You can use the code BLOG711 for 10% off your purchase at Tialey Vintage during this giveaway**

Climbing Leaves Blue Suede Necklace from Miss Fluff ($20 value)

Vintage Pin Set from Vintage Eye Fashion (value $24)

$15 Store Credit to Jaclyn 1423 (value $15)

$20 Store Credit to Hemlines Vintage (value $20)

Vintage Purple and Gold Necklace from Vivibell (value $18)

$20 Store Credit to Waistland Vintage (value $20)

How to win :

Mandatory Entry: This entry must be completed before any other entry. You must check out the form below and complete every task listed. Once you have completed the tasks, comment that you did so. This prize pack is worth over a hundred dollars, so yes, you must complete EVERY step listed on that form and we will check once the giveaway has ended.

Really want to win? Extra entries you can complete after the mandatory entry is done:

• Check out each of the sponsor stores and leave a comment below with your favorite item from each shop and a link to that item: Waistland, Hemlines, Vintage Eye Fashion, Tialey Vintage, Jaclyn1423, Vivibell, and Miss Fluff. (One entry for each shop)  

• Tweet about this contest daily and leave a new comment for each tweet. (Up to 5x's per day) The tweet should look like this: #Win A MEGA Prize Pack valued at over $100 via @bbvintage #giveaway http://t.co/O7skdzS

• Post this contest to your blog or Facebook page and leave the link. (One for either) 

• Follow the sponsors or myself/A Wild Tonic on Twitter: @MissFluff_ @TialeyVintage @VintageEye @Waistland @Jaclyn1423 @bbvintage @awildtonic and leave a comment for each. (One entry for each)

• Become a fan of Jaclyn1423 or  BBV on Facebook and leave a comment for each. (One entry for each)

•  Follow the blogs Miss Fluff or A Wild Tonic and leave a comment for each. (One entry for each)

You have to leave separate comments for each entry. In other words, if you become a follower and tweet about the contest at the same time, leave one comment saying you're following and another saying that you tweeted it. Also, be sure to leave your email address in your comment. Thanks!

That simple! This contest is open to readers WORLDWIDE. Yes. You read that correctly. 

This contest will run until August 15th. After that a winner will be chosen using a random number generator over at random.org. The winner will be the person with the comment of the corresponding number. I will then contact the person via the email left in your comments. If no answer is received in 48 hours a new winner will be chosen.


PS-Have a new business that you want to promote? Have an old business that seems a bit stagnant? Just wanting some close-to-free publicity? Contact me at bluebutterflyvintage [at] yahoo.com to talk about sponsoring a giveaway on BBV. I will send you some fancy stats. Yes. Fancy.


A note for The Man: Sponsors are providing this prize for BBV for promotional purposes. I am not being paid for this promotion.

Movie Mondays: Closer

Last week, I told you about my love for bleak, British movies. Closer is probably my favorite movie OF.ALL.TIME. Mega bleak and mega British.

Here are two of my favorite scenes featuring Clive Owen, who completely makes this movie. So awesomely evil.

Please note, there is some seriously R-rated language. Do not watch these at work, in front of children, or if you cannot handle f-bombs/c-bombs. You have been warned...proceed:

A Secret Fort

Back in the day when I was a wee child, my best mate (and next door neighbor) and I would try to make our own little forts in the woods behind our house. It was a ton of fun and I loved the idea of having a secret hideout. It seemed so mysterious of us. This past week my Mom and I made a seriously awesome one for my nieces in the back corner of our yard. It is pretty sweet and you can't see it from the road, making it mega secret.

First, she went and cleared out an area, probably about ten feet in diameter. Then we went to the dollar store to stock up on decor (high quality, of course!) and filled the fort up with old chairs, a rug, side tables, and a picnic table that were going to go to the transfer station, but have found a new lease on life in the fort!

Decor includes paper lanterns, a hula girl cutout to greet you at the entrance, wind chimes that say Faith (we really aren't religious, but all four of my nieces LOVE chimes and how can you pass up a dollar store set?), a pink flamingo, flag, Lisa Frank (throwback to the 90s) banner, and those spinny things(scientific term) that look pretty when the wind blows.

So, you wanna see some more pics?

The fort is so awesome, that I am pretty sure I will find myself venturing up to perhaps do some writing up there. Yes. I am quite jealous!

And you can do it, too. It took little time and since we were able to re-use a bunch of old kiddo furniture we had, it cost under 15 dollars.

It was a pretty huge success, as all four nieces spent Thursday over here and a good 5 hours playing up in the new fort or as the twins liked calling it, The Girls' Club. My niece, Lily, summed it up best by telling my mom that it was the best day she ever had, proving that with a little time and imagination you can create an awesome memory for the little ones in your life.

New Giveaway & Coupon Code: Seraya Sunshine - Closed Winner #29

Tired of the summer heat, already? How about a new giveaway to keep ya cool? This giveaway is sponsored by Seraya Sunshine, which is an adorable Etsy store that features some sweet handmade goods for women and for the little ones in your life, as well. Continue reading to see how you can save 15% on your purchase for the next two weeks and how you can win a $15 store credit.

My favorite item for gals would have to be this sweet ruby rosette necklace:

And my fave for the lil ones would be this adorable sailboat onesie:

 Unbelievably cute, right? 

So here are two awesome pieces of info on Seraya Sunshine: First, Shazia (the lovely gal who runs the store) is offering BBV readers 15% off on orders placed through July 29th with the coupon code bbv15. Second, you can win a $15 store credit to Seraya Sunshine.

How to win a $15 store credit:
Mandatory Entry: This entry must be completed before any other entry. You must be a follower of this blog via GFC, then head over to Seraya Sunshine and come back with a comment on your favorite item from her wonderful store. You have to do both of those things and leave ONE comment.

Really want to win? Extra entries:

• Heart her shop on Etsy. (One entry)  

• Tweet about this contest daily and leave a new comment for each tweet. (Up to 5x's per day) The tweet should look like this: #Win A $15 Store Credit to Seraya Sunshine via @bbvintage  http://t.co/B1uBMBm #giveaway #handmade

• Leave a comment on any non contest post on this blog and leave a comment saying which post. (Up to 3 additional entries)

• Post this contest to your blog or Facebook page and leave the link. (One for either) 

• If you use Stumble Upon, then stumble this page and leave a message with the time of said Stumble. (Three entries for one Stumble)

• Follow @shaziabaker or @bbvintage (or both!) on Twitter and leave a comment. (One entry for each)

• Become a fan of Seraya Sunshine or BBV (or both) on Facebook and leave a comment. (One entry for each)

You have to leave separate comments for each entry. In other words, if you become a follower and tweet about the contest at the same time, leave one comment saying you're following and another saying that you tweeted it. Also, be sure to leave your email address in your comment. Thanks!

That simple! This contest is open to readers in the US and Canada.

This contest will run until August 15th. After that a winner will be chosen using a random number generator over at random.org. The winner will be the person with the comment of the corresponding number. I will then contact the person via the email left in your comments. If no answer is received in 48 hours a new winner will be chosen.


PS-Have a new business that you want to promote? Have an old business that seems a bit stagnant? Just wanting some close-to-free publicity? Contact me at bluebutterflyvintage [at] yahoo.com to talk about sponsoring a giveaway on BBV. I will send you some fancy stats. Yes. Fancy.


A note for The Man: Sponsor  is providing this prize for BBV for promotional purposes. I am not being paid for this promotion.

How To Thursdays: Re-Potting a Plant

 Today's How To comes from Gillian. Check out her info at the bottom of the page, of course after you've finished reading her sweet post.

How to: Re-pot a Plant

This is Edgar. Edgar has outgrown his pot.



Here are some tips on how to repot your plant friends when they outgrow their pots.

To start with, wait a few days after the last time you watered the plant to repot it --it's easier to re-pot a plant when the dirt is fairly dry.

Choose a new pot that is  just a few inches than the old one, because plants should only be repotted to a bigger sized pot gradually. I got this fancy one at Value Village --I think Edgar will enjoy his new home, don't you?



Pick the right kind of soil for your plant. Edgar is just a regular kind of plant, so I just used a bag of regular potting soil. Plants like geraniums and any kind of cactus (including things like aloe plants) will need a special type of soil.



Add dirt to the new pot, filling it about 1/3 of the way full.



Loosen the dirt in the old pot around the plant gradually-- I used a trowel to help.



Lift the plant out of the old pot --if the roots/dirt at the bottom are really packed and in the shape of the pot, use your fingers to loosen the dirt and loosen some of the roots.



Put the plant in the new pot.

FIll up the new pot with dirt, packing the dirt down loosely around the plant.

Give your friend a drink after all this hard work!



Edgar says thanks for his new home!



♥ Craftzilla

About the Author:

Gillian from Craftzilla Conquers the world
I'm Gillian, a 20-something crafter from Canada, and lover of all things crafty, reused and beautiful! I live in Ontario with my boyfriend and cute cocker spaniel-poodle mix pup Jesse. Craftzilla Conquers the world is a blog where I share fun tutorials, thrifted finds, recipes, snippets and photos from my life (I won't lie, there may be a lot of cute dog photos) as well as sneak peeks from my brand new Etsy shop, Craftzilla Conquers.

Blog: http://craftzillaconquerstheworld.blogspot.com
Etsy: http://craftzillaconquers.etsy.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/Craft_zilla

Recipe Wednesday: Bangin' Bean Salsa

Welcome to the second guest post of the day! This was written by Anne, also known as Pickles to her college roommates(I'm one of them). She loves getting all Martha when it comes to appetizers and makes some wicked Monster Cookies, too!

Bangin' Bean Salsa

This salsa is so good you will be eating it with a spoon out of the bowl!

Mix in a large bowl:

1 can Shoe Peg Corn (drained)

1 can Black-eyed Peas (drained and rinsed)

1 can Black Beans (drained and rinsed)

1/4 cup Chopped Red Onion

1 cup Chopped Celery

1/4 cup Jalapenos chopped

In a pan heat the following:

1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup Sugar

1/2 cup Olive Oil

Bring to boil while stirring (sugar dissolves into the oil), then turn off burner letting it cool.  Once cool pour over mixture.  Refrigerate before serving.