Diane's Vintage Zest!

Spicy Chorizo Cornbread Stuffing

A spicy spin on my Cornbread Stuffing that EVERYONE loves!

Sweet Potato Souffle for Thanksgiving

One of my most popular recipes EVER, and just in time for Thanksgiving!

DIY Painted Photo Backdrops

Super easy backdrops for your photo, plus a few tips!

Golden Sweet Corn Bread Mini Muffins

A sweet spin on traditional cornbread!

Easy Sweet Potato Pie (without a crust!)

The easiest (and healthiest) pumpkin pie recipe ever!

DIY Coffee Grounds Scrub

Hello!

I have obviously been sharing lots of goodies on the blog every day, but the last time I shared an easy DIY with you was almost 5 months ago!  What?!?!  Yep, it was my monogrammed glass cookie jar idea, but it wasn't even a tutorial.  The last time I shared a non-sewing tutorial was last May: my Nautical-Inspired Odds & Ends Jars.

Well, I would love to share something that is not jar-related with you all now: my DIY coffee grounds scrub!




Just to let you know, I use this all year round, but I think it would be a fun little Valentine's gift to make, give, and receive!

You might notice that I virtually put a cute little label on the jar using PicMonkey, because honestly I did not make a label for the jar in real life...  this batch is for myself!  You get the idea of how it would look cute in a jar, with a nice little label and a bow or two, perhaps!  :)

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I have seen recipes for coffee ground scrubs that claim to decrease cellulite, but honestly I just use this to smooth rough patches of skin.  It works great!  Also, I have never used it on my face, because that skin is far more delicate, and it would probably be more harmful than helpful.

With that, here is the "recipe" to making your own Coffee Grounds Scrub!


Coffee Grounds Scrub
A Vintage Zest original

Do Tell Tuesday #9 with Features, Co-Host & GIVEAWAY!

I am so excited that you can be here my favorite day of the week!  Today is extra special because I have a fun giveaway!  Click here for the full rundown on how to participate in the party and...


Welcome to Do Tell Tuesday!




Today is exciting because we have a guest co-host today and she is a lovely member of my sewing group Stitch Once, Rip Twice!
Say hello to MammaNene!


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I'm MammaNene, an italian mom of a almost 5 years little girl. I love to sew and share free patterns and tutorials on SergerPepper.com, my blog. I'm obsessed with refashion, most of my sewing projects are made with old clothes os curtains, bed sheets... Oh, and I'm Pinterest addicted, yes, I am!
Hugs from Italy :)


Visit MammaNene, say hello, and checkout her new Sheer Top pattern!

Blog  //  Google+  //  Facebook  //  Twitter  //  Instagram  //  Pinterest  //  Bloglovin'




Recently seen on Vintage Zest...


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Easy Veggie "Pasta"

Tip: Blend Green Smoothies without Green Leafy Bits (or an expensive blender!)

Weekly Wrap-Up: Food & Basketball!



Ditmas Kitchen & Cocktails on The Episodic Eater!

Mad About Plaid Challenge wrap-up

p.o.p. Candy feature & GIVEAWAY!



All of us hosts and guest host pick our own features, and we all share the most viewed link too.  Last week's party had so many inspiring projects out there!  If you are all ready to see the features, here we go!


(Finally) Getting a New Phone with the Lowest Priced Unlimited Plans!

Disclosure #ad #FamilyMobileSaves #shop #cbias


As you can tell from the first picture in the post, someone is getting a new phone!  Who is that person?  Me!  I was on the search for a new phone and a new plan because my old phone drained battery like crazy and we received some bad news that my man's work is no longer offering a discount to our current wireless provider.  Oh man!  It would have been a pain to search around, but I had done quite a bit of research looking for my niece's phone, so I knew that Walmart Family Mobile's phones and plans were just what I was looking for!  I wanted an unlimited talk, text and data/web plan with an affordable phone, and now I'm happy to have my brand spanking new phone!





Once we decided that I needed my new phone ASAP, we headed to Walmart!


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I remember this display!  I checked out the phones, and practically all of their phones were under $100, which is perfect considering that a more expensive phone would not have fit into my budget.  At first, my guy offered to buy the phone as my Valentine's Day present, but I wanted an extra treat so I gifted it to myself!  I chose the One Touch Evolve from Alcatel, which I bought at an awesome price!

*Update* I ended up choosing the T-Mobile Concord phone, which is awesome and priced even better!!!

Favorite Breakfast #5: Easy Green Smoothie!

I have been on a mission to pay attention to my eating habits and continue my gym habit of six days per week, and it has been going strong one month later!

Today, I am sharing my version of a green smoothie that I first saw on Aida Mollenkamp's blog a couple of months ago and was intrigued but didn't immediately try it.  However, when I saw her sipping on it in this post, I was on a mission to try it!

After a few minor tweaks, I am totally hooked on my new morning routine and my guy is actually a huge fan of the smoothies too!




So you might want to know what this tastes like.  It is actually really, really delicious!  Sometimes, I have a hard time finding that happy medium between a wheatgrass shot and a milkshake, but this is just right for me!

I will include a few changes that you can try to increase the greens, the sweetness, or the fullness factor, as well as a few ideas to decrease the calories, if that is what you focus on.



Easy Green Smoothie
Slightly Adapted from Aida Mollenkamp

Sunday Synopsis & A Surprise Feature!

Happy Sunday!

I hope you are face deep in some delicious food right now and getting ready to watch some football.  I know I am!  I'm whipping up my Big Game Chili, and I just found out that it was featured on Smart & Final's latest e-mail.  Nice!




Lastly, here are last week's posts in case you missed any.  :)

p.o.p. Candy feature & GIVEAWAY plus a special promo!

I'm so happy to have one of my personal favorites for today's Shop Small Saturday Showcase feature! I was lucky enough to try p.o.p. Candy a few years ago during one of the Patchwork events and I have been hooked ever since!  While interviewing them, I found out that they have been featured on Oprah, Woman's Day magazine, and so many other places.  I'm in good company!

Also, they are offering one of you lucky readers the chance to win one of their Crazy 8 packs, so you can sample 8 different flavors.  Nice!  Or you could be a really great friend to 7 people, keeping one for yourself!  Let's get to Rachel & Billy's interview and stay tuned for the giveaway at the end of the post.

P.S. - This is an awesome Valentine's gift for anyone... hint, hint!




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Tell me a little bit about yourself!

We are a hub-and-wife team that, amazingly, got married *after* starting p.o.p. candy co. six years ago.  Billy has been in the food production for -- let's just say it -- most of his life.  (He's pretty bonafide!)  Rachel is a former restaurant owner, though her training has been in the nonprofit world, so when we started p.o.p., integrating a philosophy and mission statement into what we're doing came naturally.  Great food and building community is what we're about.


Where did the name of your shop come from?

This one's easy.  We wanted to ground p.o.p. in the Santa Monica community, since we'd been enjoying life and our neighbors here for some time.  Billy came to Rachel with a short list of Santa Monica places and areas -- both present and historic -- and Pacific Ocean Park was at the top of the list.  POP" (pronounced "P-O-P") was an amusement park that stood on Lick Pier at the end of Ocean Park Boulevard in Santa Monica from 1958 to 1967. It was designed to compete with Disneyland, and customers who visited it remember it FONDLY.  It really was something special and intrinsic to Santa Monica's past.   We believe in the cultural significance of POP and Licks Pier, and the pleasure they brought to SoCal and the local beach culture.   p.o.p. candy co. is a nod (but not named after) POP.


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Why did you start making goods for p.o.p. candy?

Our butter crunch started as holiday gifts for family and friends.  They looked forward to getting it every year and, after one entrepreneur friend of Rachel's repeated -- something sternly -- a couple of years in a row, "You really need to be selling this stuff.  No ... really," we decided to take the leap when an opportunity to test the waters at a local farmers market arose.  We sold out and were offered a vendor spot the first day.  


What is your favorite item?

Our favorite p.o.p. flavors?  It would be too easy to say that it's usually our last creation, right?!  RACHEL:  You could drop me on an island with salty-sweet p.o.p. mix.  Tell me I'd just have that and coconuts to eat for the rest of my days and I'd be fine.  (Okay, maybe with some Fire Pistachio too.)   BILL:  For me, it's brown sugar & cinnamon and pecan. Those two flavors always knock me out whenever I try them.  


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What is your most popular item?

Depends on where we're selling.  Rosemary Almond, Fire Pistachio, Brown Sugar & Cinnamon, C-C-Curry sell out at every indie craft show.  On the other hand, pecan causes the ridiculously high number of eye-rolls.  Truly -- we hear this often, but one customer said it best:  "OMG. My favorite flavor is the last one I tasted!"


Where do you get the inspiration for your products and flavors?

Anywhere.  Many different sources.  Customer suggestions.  Food we love.  Drinks we love.  Be on the lookout for Old Fashioned p.o.p. in 2014.   

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