Old Navy Sample & Share!!!

Yes!!  I was finally picked to do a Old Navy sample and share from Crowdtap.com!!!  I joined Crowdtap.com just about a year ago, and have enjoyed the benefits of being a member!  

I have gone with a friend on several sample and share trips to Old Navy, for workout clothes, shoes, skirts, tanks, tees, the list goes on...  So when I got an email saying there was a dress one coming up, I I immediately went online and applied for this opportunity.  The next day, I was chosen to have the sample & share!  I was so excited!  Its my first!!

I patiently awaited for my coupons for free dresses to come in the mail.  While I was waiting, I was thinking about who I would take with me!  I chose to take my sister in law, she was really excited to, because I had told her about all the times I went with my friend when she got her sample & shares!  

 Once the coupons arrived, we planned our shopping trip!  The day was nice, but on our way over to Spokane, it started pouring, hard...  I had the wipers as fast as they could, still could barely see.   But as we pulled into the parking lot of Old Navy, the rain cleared, and we saw a beautiful rainbow! 

We went in the store, and picked out our dresses to try on, and had fun!

 We both loved the black and white striped dress.  And goes perfect for the theme of a party I'm throwing for my sister in law's birthday in a week!  Diner style :)  We picked out our favorite, and went to the register to pay.  I always love when they scan the coupons and the cashier's are always like "whoa, that's a great coupon!  How do you get these?"  And I always tell them about crowdtap!

BBQ, Grill Mates style! (McCormick that is)

As a member of Crowdtap, there are special perks you can apply for.  I just so happened to get the McCormick Grill-Mates hosted BBQ!  I was so excited to get to work on recipes once I was chosen as a host!  The hardest part was waiting for my kit to come in the mail... 

 But once I received it, I got ideas in my head on what I was going to make!  After I set the date, and sent the invites on Facebook, I read the booklet they sent me for more ideas on recipes.

This is me at the grill in the lovely apron they sent, it has nice deep pockets, and the tie is adjustable!  I love it!

The Night Before...

I cut chicken tenders into skewer sized pieces.  I put half of the chicken in a Mojito Lime marinade, and the other half in the Spiced Herb and Brandy marinade.  I added shrimp to the Baja Citrus marinade.

 I made some turkey burger sliders with the Molasses Bacon seasoning, and some hamburger sliders with the McCormick Hamburger seasoning.

I put a roast in the crock-pot with some of the Montreal Steak Seasoning, and a can of beer, and some of their Brown Sugar Bourbon BBQ Sauce.. (yea, I know, kind of defeats the BBQ purpose, but I didn't know how else to use the sauce!) 

 Before serving, I used kitchen scissors to shred the beef, and added more of the BBQ sauce.  Everyone RAVED about how yummy it was!!

The Day Of... 

I got up extra early(not intentionally) and did some baking.  I made a Jell-o Poke Cake, and some cookies.  I did some last minute shopping, like picking up an extra bag of slider buns, I found pretzel buns at Costco, and some fruit for drinks.  I also made some jell-o shots.

As guests started arriving, they asked if I needed any help.  My sister in law is amazing at making wine drinks, so I put her in charge of a wine punch.  Which was a bottle of wine, some peach schnapps, white grape peach juice, some cut up apples, peaches, nectarines, kiwi, and fresh picked blackberries, and some 7-up.  My friend's mom sat right in front of the punch bowl, and stayed there all night.  She said she'd have it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  The fruit was an added bonus!

When my father in law arrived, he started the grill and made the kids some hot dogs.  I figured the kids wouldn't appreciate the other stuff as much as a hot dog, they proved me wrong though...  I piled the meat on a platter, and we went out and started grilling...

As the meat finished, we pulled it off the skewers, and took it inside for the guests to try!  My friend's mom was taking it off the plate as I brought it in the kitchen, she was starving.

 As people got their food, there was silence.  Except for the mmmm's and yum's heard from around the kitchen.  People went back for seconds and thirds.  Everyone kept saying how delicious the chicken was, and the BBQ beef.  The sliders were good too, for the turkey I made the pineapple aioli that came in the recipe booklet.  So GOOD!!

After everyone had eaten, and rested their bellies a little, they were ready for dessert.  And more meat.  I had a GREAT turnout and really hope for more opportunities like this in the future!!!

Hello! It's Rikki!!

My name is Rikki, and this is my first blog.

I am a mother, and wife.  I love my family, they are my life.  My husband and I both work full time, and rarely get to see each other, except on weekends.  I work days, he works nights.  We have three children, two teenage girls and a little boy. 

 If you know me, you know I love to cook, bake, and garden.  I still have much to learn about gardening...  The cooking and baking, I pretty much have down.  There has been only one dish I made, that my husband and I did NOT like...  Too bad we can't remember what it was so I know to not make it again...

I have been baking since I was in about the 4th grade, making up my own recipes and all, and my parents saying how good it was.  I liked it, but hey, I was 8 or 9..

This summer has been full of gatherings of family and friends, from birthday parties, holidays, camping, and BBQ's, it has been fun trying out new recipes for them.

Part of my reason for starting a blog is Crowdtap.  Crowdtap is a website that I joined just over a year ago, that does product testing, and hosted parties, and sample shares!  I was recently chosen to host a McCormick Grill-Mates BBQ! (separate blog to come)

  That's probably enough of my rambling for one morning...  I need to start on cleaning up from last nights shin dig!!