Welcome to Thursday Fashion Files!Welcome to Thursday Fashion Files with Jill at Doused in Pink and Carrie at Curly Crafty Mom! We are excited to have you here and would love to have you link up one of your latest outfits with us.We are …
Archives for August 2017
Currently {August 2017}
I’m back today with my August Currently post. I always enjoy updating y’all on my life happenings. Currently…Amara Interior Blog AwardsI was recently nominated for the Amara Interior Blog Awards under the Best Craft Blog category. I would love f…
Back to School Glasses Made Easy with JCPenney
Thank you JCPenney Optical for sponsoring this post. Visit your local JCPenney Optical to find your perfect frames!My kids go back to school on Wednesday. It is hard to believe that the summer came and went already. There is a lot to do befor…
The Creative Corner Link Up Party & Weekly Recap – 08/13/17
Welcome back to our DIY/Craft Link Up Party! Thank you for stopping by every week!
Today’s Feature is Roasted Tomato Salad by Brooklyn Farm Girl.
Weekly Recap:
Does anyone else have surprise lilies in their yard? They pop up unexpectedly with flowers and are such a nice surprise! We had our last visit to the zoo last week. We are zoo members and we got there three times this summer. This time we were on the look out cheetahs, but sadly they weren’t out.
Last week was my birthday and I received a lot of nice gifts. My mom gave me a 4 pack of my absolute favorite drink right now and my blogging friend Lauren sent me a huge box of sweet surprises in the mail.
On my birthday we had brunch with my parents at The Shack. It was really good. I had a burrito topped with queso cheese. Yum!
Has anyone else tried this yogurt? I love the lemon flavor! I picked up the coconut flavor to try next. I love that it is in a glass jar! We also made homemade ice cream this week. It was truly delicious, but also an amazing number of calories!
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Check out what my fellow bloggers have been up to and don’t forget to check out my feature for this week as well.
Ready to share what has been motivating you this past week? Link up a recent post of yours that motivates you to create or just be awesome! Our goal is for this link up to focus on craft, DIY, & home posts so please try to remember that when linking up.
- Limit three links per week and remember to link directly to your post, not your blog.
- Do not link stores, giveaways, or other link parties.
- Be sure to hop around some of the other posts that have been linked up to share the love and get motivated by what others have been up to.
- **By adding your links, you are stating that you have the proper licensing/rights to the images in your blog posts.**
Each week, your hosts will choose a post to feature from the previous week. If you want a chance at being featured, you must follow all of the hosts in someway. By linking up, you agree to let each host share your photo and link back to your site, as well as receive a weekly e-mail letting you know when the party is live. We will never give your e-mail or info to anyone, nor will we spam you! The Creative Corner link party goes live Sunday 6pm PST and ends Thursday at 5pm PST. I’d love for you to grab The Creative Corner button in my sidebar to put on your own blog if you want to help spread the love!
Subscribe to our mailing list
Now hop over to all the other cohost’s blogs and see what caught their eye this week. You just might be featured there too! Don’t forget to grab this button if you’ve been featured.
I’ve created a monthly newsletter for this blog and I would LOVE for you to join my mailing list! I plan to add topics to the newsletter that aren’t on the blog, including a blog tip of the month, an oldie but goodie (I’ll share one of my old posts that was popular), a featured blogger of the month AND more! You can subscribe by entering your email address in below and hitting ‘Subscribe’!
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Disney Recap – Epcot
Today I’m sharing another Disney recap, this time it is our visit to Epcot. We spent a lot of time in the World Showcase with the kids, dined at Akershus for the first time and Nathan was tall enough for Test Track. It was a great day! Check out a…
Thursday Fashion Files Link Up #122 – White and Gold, My Two Favorite Colors!
Welcome to Thursday Fashion Files!Welcome to Thursday Fashion Files with Jill at Doused in Pink and Carrie at Curly Crafty Mom! We are excited to have you here and would love to have you link up one of your latest outfits with us.We are …
5 Easy Picnic Snack Ideas
Walmart carries several Dannon® Danimals® Yogurt Smoothies Strawberry Explosion® 12 packs and we picked up one at our last shopping trip. My kids love Danimals and I picked them up for my daughters lunch for her dance camp last week. However, we keep them around the house for many different summer occasions, too.
5 Easy Picnic Snack Ideas
Now I’ll share with you 5 Easy Picnic Snack Ideas that you may have around the house already. I am sure this will also prompt you to think of some other quick and easy ideas of what you can pack along in your picnic basket.
First, you’ll want to pack some sort of meat or protein item. I almost always stop by the meat section in the grocery store and pick up some freshly sliced summer sausage this time of year. You could also wrap up thin slices of turkey, or shredded roasted chicken. I also packed along some peanuts.
Second, I usually pack along some fruit. I try to bring what is in season, such as fresh sliced peaches, watermelon, etc.
For the third item I like to bring a salad or vegetable. Since, tomatoes are so juicy and ripe this time of year, I decided to slice some cherry tomatoes I had in half and I used some fresh basil from my mason jar herb garden. I also added some slices of mozzarella cheese that I had in my cheese drawer in my fridge (yes, I have an entire drawer devoted just to cheese). If you have other types of lettuce, you could pack those topped with fresh veggies such as cherry tomatoes, carrots, colorful diced peppers, etc.
For item four, I like to pack something sweet and savory. You might have something you recently baked, or a package of cookies around the house. I happened to have some thin crispy cookies that I decided to pack along for our picnic.
The fifth item is our Danimals smoothies in Strawberry Explosion. Note: you WILL need to bring an ice pack or two to keep these fresh and cool in your picnic bag/cooler.
I always bring along some short plastic glasses to pour the Danimals into and then I garnish them with a strawberry. This helps prevent ‘tips’ and ‘spills’ and my kids just love to dunk the fresh strawberry into the smoothie and eat it.
My kids love the great taste of Danimals and I love the on the go convenience of their products and great nutrition. Danimals dairy products provide kids with a good source of calcium and vitamin D to help kids build strong bones and regulate muscle function.
Don’t forget a large picnic blanket, soft and cozy pillows, water and your favorite book! Enjoy and you can thank me later. 🙂
Gym Bag Essentials for Middle Schoolers
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #TomsOfMaineSmile #LuminousWhites #CollectiveBias
My son is going into his first year of middle school next year and the teacher warned us that they will need to pack deodorant with them in their gym bag. This may also be the year that he will need to get braces, so good oral hygiene is important for him, too. Today I’m sharing some Gym Bag Essentials for Middle Schoolers, including natural Tom’s of Maine® Original Care Deodorant and Tom’s of Maine® Antiplaque & Whitening Toothpaste.
Shopping at Whole Foods
I went with my son to Whole Foods Market to pick up a fresh bar of Tom’s of Maine® Original Care Deodorant. I love that Whole Foods has a variety of Tom’s of Maine® products for the entire family. His teacher has asked that we use an unscented variety and I was glad that Tom’s of Maine® offers an unscented deodorant.
We also picked up Tom’s of Maine® Antiplaque & Whitening Toothpaste for him. With him possibly getting braces this year, I know he’ll need to up his oral hygiene game and I’d like him to keep toothpaste and a toothbrush on hand for when he needs it.
You can save $1.00 on Tom’s of Maine® toothpaste right now with Ibotta. This offer is good for any size or variety of Tom’s of Maine® toothpaste.
Gym Bag Essentials for Middle Schoolers
First, you will need a cinch sack. I find that this is easiest, especially since they can tuck it into the main pouch of their school bag. You’ll want to include the Tom’s of Maine® deodorant and toothpaste. For the toothbrush, I usually include one of the free ones from their dentist in a plastic bag… or you could get them a fold up travel toothbrush.
Next, you’ll want to be sure to include a refillable water bottle. I love this insulated one that is a glass bottle. My middle schooler loves lip balm and this can also be used if they have something rubbing the wrong way and they need to apply it to prevent irritation. I also like to include a healthy snack, such as a piece of fruit. I wrap it in a plastic bag, so it doesn’t touch everything else in the bag.
Lastly, I include a face wipe, sweat towel and if you have a girl you’ll want to include a headband and hair ties.
Don’t forget their gym uniform and shorts!
Some other items you may want to include, but that I didn’t include here are: ear buds, lock for a locker and extra socks.
Tom’s of Maine® is a trusted name in natural for over 47 years. Their products are made with no artificial colors, flavors, fragrances or preservatives, nor are they tested on animals. Even better, all of their packaging is recyclable through TerraCycle®. Visit www.tomsofmaine.com/terracycle to learn how. I also love that 10% of their profits go to human and environmental goodness.
Tom’s of Maine® has a Green your School for the Greater Good Program going on right now.
By choosing Tom’s of Maine®, you’re helping to create a $1,000,000 fund to help make schools more sustainable through DonorsChoose.org.
How the Green Your School for the Greater Good Program Works:
Imagine – Teachers identify ways they can educate their students about green initiatives
Submit – Teachers submit their classroom projects and supply requests through DonorsChoose.org.
Fund – Every project is automatically matched by the Tom’s of Maine® Green Your School Fund. The remaining amount can be funded by anyone at any amount they choose, until the full project amount has been reached
Receive – Once projects are fully funded, supplies are delivered to straight to schools.
Find out more information at GreenSchoolFund.com.
Are you in back to school mode? Which Tom’s of Maine® products do you use? Be sure to save on Tom’s of Maine® deodorant HERE.
The Creative Corner Link Up Party & Weekly Recap – 08/06/17
Welcome back to our DIY/Craft Link Up Party! Thank you for stopping by every week!
Today’s Feature is DIY Board and Batten by Repurpose and Upcycle.
Weekly Recap:
This weekend we celebrated my birthday with family and friends. It was a lot of fun. 🙂
We had a signature cocktail, which was a Rose lemonade and even a cupcake tower from Jilly’s with monogrammed cupcakes. I have been reflecting on the last 10 years and all that has happened in them… It is amazing how much can change in 10 years and I’ve also been wondering about what will change in the next 10 years. Life is beautiful, yet can be hard sometimes, too. I just try to make the most of it and to learn and grow each day along the way. My 30’s were some of the best days of my life, but also some of the hardest. Although, I feel as though I know a lot more than I did in my 20’s! I think I am finally ready for my 40’s, although I’ve been wanting to avoid the thought for quite some time. People either tell me that it is the new 20’s or that it’s on the other side. I think somedays I believe the first one and other days I believe the second one. I guess it depends on what mood I am in! 😉 Shay on Mix and Match Mama was just talking about blogging for 10 years in THIS post and just how much has changed in her life in that time. It really got me thinking about just how long 10 years is and how so many changes do happen. Such a beautiful post by her… if you don’t follow her blog, you should. Her blog is one of my faves.
Ok, enough about my birthday party. We also did a lot of other things last week! Last Sunday, Brian’s cousin Alan and his new wife Hannah came in town to go to a Cardinals game with us. We also had dinner at Cooperhawk’s. It was a great time!
Autumn had dance camp for 3 full days this last week. She learned a lot! She will be starting choreography summer classes on Monday.
While Autumn was in dance camp, I got some one on one time with Nathan! He spent one day at my parents house, we went to Whole Foods and bowling and we also visited the Missouri Botanical Gardens. Nathan said it was some of his favorite days this summer, hanging with me! Aw!
When Autumn was done with camp, we decided to do something fun with my parents. We went to the Soulard Market and also out to lunch at Joanies Pizza in Soulard. It was a lot of fun. I brought home so much fresh produce, fresh baked bread, desserts and even flowers for my party. Such a fun day! We need to make this a summer tradition!
Now the kids are on their LAST week (plus 2 bonus days) of school. Crazy. I am really sad about it. How did the summer go by so fast?!
The DIY Mommy Blog | Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter | Google+ | Instagram | Bloglovin’
Curly Crafty Mom Blog | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | Twitter | Bloglovin’
Homestead 128 Blog | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | Twitter | Bloglovin’
The Southern Couture Blog | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | Twitter | Google+ | Bloglovin’
Joy In Our Home Blog | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | Twitter | Google + | Bloglovin
Mom Home Guide Blog | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | Twitter | Google+ | Bloglovin’
Check out what my fellow bloggers have been up to and don’t forget to check out my feature for this week as well.
Ready to share what has been motivating you this past week? Link up a recent post of yours that motivates you to create or just be awesome! Our goal is for this link up to focus on craft, DIY, & home posts so please try to remember that when linking up.
- Limit three links per week and remember to link directly to your post, not your blog.
- Do not link stores, giveaways, or other link parties.
- Be sure to hop around some of the other posts that have been linked up to share the love and get motivated by what others have been up to.
- **By adding your links, you are stating that you have the proper licensing/rights to the images in your blog posts.**
Each week, your hosts will choose a post to feature from the previous week. If you want a chance at being featured, you must follow all of the hosts in someway. By linking up, you agree to let each host share your photo and link back to your site, as well as receive a weekly e-mail letting you know when the party is live. We will never give your e-mail or info to anyone, nor will we spam you! The Creative Corner link party goes live Sunday 6pm PST and ends Thursday at 5pm PST. I’d love for you to grab The Creative Corner button in my sidebar to put on your own blog if you want to help spread the love!
Subscribe to our mailing list
Now hop over to all the other cohost’s blogs and see what caught their eye this week. You just might be featured there too! Don’t forget to grab this button if you’ve been featured.
I’ve created a monthly newsletter for this blog and I would LOVE for you to join my mailing list! I plan to add topics to the newsletter that aren’t on the blog, including a blog tip of the month, an oldie but goodie (I’ll share one of my old posts that was popular), a featured blogger of the month AND more! You can subscribe by entering your email address in below and hitting ‘Subscribe’!
Subscribe to Mailing List
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Disney Recap – Animal Kingdom & Pandora
We’ve made it to Friday! I’ve been a little sad each time we wrap up a week lately, because I know my little ones will be going back to school soon. In a week and 2 days! Gulp. Looking back at our Disney trip makes me realize how fast this summer flew …
Thursday Fashion Files Link Up #121 – Stripes and Pom Poms
Welcome to Thursday Fashion Files!Welcome to Thursday Fashion Files with Jill at Doused in Pink and Carrie at Curly Crafty Mom! We are excited to have you here and would love to have you link up one of your latest outfits with us.We are …
12 Months of Goals – August
Last year I set 3 goals every month for myself and I accomplished a lot! This year, I wanted to down play it even more and just set ONE goal for myself. However, with just one goal each month I hope to devote more time to it. You can find an update on …