Tag Archives: #CollectiveBias

Discover The #WildSideOfFlavor With Jack Link’s

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.#WildSideOfFlavor #CollectiveBias
jack link's collage

Does your family love bold flavors? When they hear the word Jalapeño do they say, “BRING IT ON”? If your family is tired of flavorless sausage, Jacks Link’s can  satisfy their WILD SIDE. It is time for meat lovers to rejoice because Jack Link’s Wild Side Sausages are available at Walmart and come in great flavors like Original, Jalapeño, Cheddar and Bacon Jerky.

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Recently I was shopping in Walmart when I saw the Jack Link’s Wild Side Sausages in the Packaged Deli section. I picked up several packages. I knew my family would love them because they are crazy about bold, flavor-filled taste. I chose the Jalapeño, Cheddar and Bacon Jerky varieties. I really liked that they are high in protein, had no fillers or added MSG, no artificial flavors or colors and are made with premium cuts of beef & pork. I was happy to see they were also on rollback pricing and only $3.48 a package from now until Memorial Day! These sausages and brats are great by themselves or in a recipe!

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My family loves variety so I decided that we would make a great dinner of grilled Jack Link’s Wild Side sausage, peppers and onions sliders and grilled sausage and sausage, pepper and onion pizzas. I would serve them with a nice spring salad and fresh lemonade.

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The sausage cook up fast on the grill since they are fully cooked. To make the Sausage Pepper and Onion Sliders we first cut up 2 large onions.

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Next  we cut up red, orange and yellow peppers. You can use any type of peppers you want.

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We have a grill pan that is made for cooking vegetables on the grill, so  we used that to cook the onions and peppers. We put them in the pan,  added some olive oil and tossed them. Then we put the pan on the grill and kept a close eye, turning them every couple of minutes until they were done.

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We also had the sausage on the grill at the same time. The sausages were done first and inside we had coated different size pre-made pizza shells with olive oil.

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Then we added pizza sauce which we also bought pre-made.

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We added mozzarella cheese and then topped them with sliced  Jack Link’s sausage hot off the grill. We kept the kids small pizzas with just the sausage and added peppers and onions to the large pizza.

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Cooking pizza on the grill is fast and so you need to be watchful. My husband manned the grill while I made the salad. I also made the sausage, peppers and onions sliders.

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I cut large hero rolls in half and then stuffed them with sausage pepper and onions. We used all 3 kinds of sausage so that everyone can choose what they want.

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When you cut the sausage in slices or in half you can see whether it is cheddar or Jalapeño or Bacon Jerky so that is a plus.

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When the pizzas were ready it was time to dig in. We also made some homemade ice cold lemonade.

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Needless to say my family love this bold flavorful dinner, tons of variety and big on taste! It was something we will be doing again very soon. Has your family tried Jack Link’s Wild Side Sausage? I would love to know if you have and hear about your favorite recipe. Please let me know in the comments.


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How To Make Marshmallow Fondant & Decorate A Cake With It!

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MinionsMovieNight #CollectiveBias

minions movie watching collage

What was your family’s favorite movie from last summer?  If you are like us, it was  Minions © 2015 Universal Studios-all rights reserved . If you loved the movie like we did, then it’s time to celebrate, because Minions is coming to Blu-ray/DVD at Target on Tuesday, December 8th! We are super excited for this release and we are really ready to celebrate minion style.

If you want to celebrate with a great family movie night, Target is a perfect one-stop-shop for every thing you need to have an award-winning night! If you can’t wait, you can pre-order Minions online at Target and if you do, you will get a $5 Target gift card.  The Minions Metalpak Blu-ray/DVD-Deluxe is only available at Target and has 40 minutes of exclusive content! Pre-ordering is easy, just order online and pick it up at the store!

minions metalpak plain

 

You really get a great deal when you order the Target exclusive Minions Metalpak Blu-ray/DVD because you get bonus content not available anywhere else. You get a minions Party Planner that will help you create some fun party flair inspired by the minion movie. Have the perfect party with mask invitations, balloons, banners, cup sleeves and goody bags. Every party has to have yummy treats and recipes for frozen bananas, munch, cupcakes, cookies and cake pops are included. On to fun and games with a Pinata and Pin the Goggles. Finally get creative with balloons and bracelet arts and crafts!

We wanted to make something really special to show how excited we are for the Minions movie release. We decided to make a minions cake. In doing so we made our own marshmallow fondant for the first time. I was a little nervous before we started but found it was very easy and taste so much better than store-bought fondant. I was in Target recently and picked up their Market Pantry Powdered Sugar to use in our marshmallow fondant recipe.

market pantry sugar

My husband was a huge help and we had a great time doing this together. In case you want to try it, just follow the step by step tutorial below.

PicMonkey Collage minion cake hero

The ingredients you need to make the fondant are one 16 ounce package of mini-marshmallows, 2 Tbsp. of water, 2 pounds of confectioner’s sugar and some vegetable shortening for your hands and work surface. Our counters are quartz and they are excellent for rolling and kneading directly on. Find out if your surfaces are suitable or use a board.

ingredients

Place the marshmallows in a microwave safe bowl and put the 2 Tbsp. of water over them. Toss a little bit and put in the microwave for 30 seconds, remove and stir. You will see little change after 30 seconds but it is important to work in 30 second increments.

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You will keep repeating the process of microwaving and then stirring the marshmallows until they are all melted with no lumps.

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Marshmallow fondant keep cooking

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Marshmallow Fondant stirring

Next you will add in your confectioner’s sugar a little bit at a time. When you have a consistency that is hard to stir in the bowl you will turn it out onto your work surface you have coated with vegetable shortening. You will also need to coat your hands.

Marshmallow Fondant Crisco

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Fondant Sugar Knead

Next you will knead the fondant and get it blended together with the sugar, you will need to add more sugar until you can stretch it for about 2 inches before it breaks.

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marshmallow fondant kneading

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After you have kneaded it to the right consistency you need to wrap in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator at least 12 hours.

Fondant Away

In the meantime, I used a yellow cake mix to make two 9″ round cake layers.

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Next, we need to make the buttercream chocolate frosting. So you will need 2 sticks of butter, I let my soften at room temperature. You will also need 4 cups of confectioner’s sugar, 3/4 cup of good cocoa powder, 2 tsp. of pure vanilla extract, and 2 tbsp. of milk. You mix all of the frosting ingredients except the milk in a mixer and add the milk a little bit at a time to get to the desired consistency.

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When the layers have cooled, you are going to frost the cake as you would for a regular layer cake.  Level the layers so your cake is as even as possible. Keep the frosting as smooth as you can. You can store the cake in the refrigerator to allow it to crust.

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cake frost

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When your fondant has been chilled enough, take it out and plan your colors. I needed a little white, a little blue, a little gray, a little black and a lot of yellow. So I cut small pieces and left the largest piece for the yellow. I have learned that the best kinds of colors that mix easily and completely are gel colors.

fondant

We happened to have a minions cutter that was made for sandwiches that worked well for the eyes and goggles. If you do not have something like this you can use round cookie cutters and improvise.  We cut out the white eyes first.

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Then we did the gray goggles. You color the fondant by adding a little bit of gel color and folding the fondant on top of the gel and kneading it until well blended. The gel color works best and I saw that first hand because we used it for every thing but the blue. The blue was a lot harder to color and did not blend as well using traditional liquid food coloring.

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We made black and I shaped some hair, my husband shaped the eyeballs and I did the mouth. Then on to the yellow. My husband was a real help in all this and did most of the fondant work while I took the pictures. To get the right amount of fondant to cover the cake, you need to measure across your cake and then the height of each side. The total will be how large your fondant will need to be.

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When it was rolled to the right consistency we brushed a little water on the top and sides of the cake using a pastry brush. This helps the fondant stick and not slip.

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Next, drape the fondant in half over your rolling-pin.  Then carefully place it on top of the cake.  You smooth the top and as you go down the sides you don’t press down but up slightly and work to just smooth it all over your cake. When you have it smooth without wrinkles, you want to trim the bottom with a small pastry wheel or pizza cutter.  You can dust off the powdered sugar and then put the final fondant pieces on your cake. If you wet the back of them, it will help them stick.

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Lastly sit back and enjoy your minion cake before you cut into him to have something sweet to eat while you watch the movie. We felt bad cutting him, especially my 6 year old but in the end we knew we needed to. Everyone enjoyed our tasty minion cake.

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If you really want to have some fun with a lot of other Illumination Entertainment’s Minions movie fans there is a Twitter viewing part on December 11th from 7-9pm EST! You can RSVP at www.SoFabChats.com and follow along with the #MinionsMovieNight on Twitter!

Please let me know if you try this, I would love to hear how it comes out.


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Filed under Baking, Cooking, Family Fun, Kitchen, Recipes, Shoppertunity

#ad Make Dinnertime Fun with Tyson® Chicken Nuggets & The Peanuts Movie! #TysonMovieOffer

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #TysonMovieOffer #CollectiveBias

dipping with Tyson

As the mother of five, I am all too familiar with picky eaters. My eight-year-old is the pickiest of all my kids. At least the others are  good about trying different things. It can absolutely make dinner time a struggle. One thing he does like is chicken nuggets. So, I like to have some stocked up in our extra freezer. I was in Walmart the other day and was picking up some Tyson® Chicken Nuggets. I like Tyson because they are made with 100% all natural ingredients and white meat chicken.

I was really happy to see the bags had a sticker on them that said you could get a ticket to see The Peanuts Movie coming to theaters November 6th.  We love the Peanuts gang and this made the great resealable bags of regular and dino Tyson® Chicken Nuggets even more awesome.

walmart tyson in store

Tyson® Chicken Nuggets is partnering with The Peanuts Movie to help make your whole gang happy! Buy any two specially marked packages of Tyson Chicken Products or State Fair® Corn Dogs and you can receive a child’s movie ticket (up to $9 total value) to The Peanuts Movie!

chicken nuggets movie offer

I really like how easy it is to prepare the nuggets in the oven, microwave or my new favorite way in our air fryer. Then we just put out some crunchy veggies like celery and baby carrots with dipping sauces and we have dipping dinner. One of the dipping sauces we use is a kid-friendly Southwest Ranch Dip. The reason it is kid-friendly is that we leave the jalapeno peppers out of it. You can add them in if you like. The hot sauce still gives it a little kick.

Southwest ranch dip

Southwest Ranch dip recipe

This is such an easy dip to make and the kids can help all you do is whisk all the ingredients together and chill. However, if you are like us and you just can’t wait, you can serve it without chilling.

 

tyson shoppertunity

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Yummy, but you know the great thing about Tyson® Chicken Nuggets is that you can just make dinner or snacks so easy with dips that are already prepared. This is a real time saver. It will also let you put out a lot of variety when you serve Tyson® Chicken Nuggets as party or holiday appetizers or snacks. You can add a lot of dipping options to please all your guests.

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So tell me are you super excited about this Tyson offer to get a movie ticket to The Peanuts Movie? In the meantime check out the trailer for The Peanuts Movie HERE!

 


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Filed under Home, kids, Kitchen, Mommy Ramblings, Recipes, Shoppertunity

#SnackAndGo Treats To Make For Halloween!

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SnackAndGo #CollectiveBias

snack and go collage

Do you have a Halloween party coming up? Are you in charge of bringing in snacks for a Halloween class party? If so, I have a fun idea you might want to try. I was in Walmart recently and picked up some NABISCO Go-Paks!,  Snack Pack® puddings and Reddi-Wip. You might wonder why these three items? Well, did you know that Go-Paks! come in sturdy, plastic containers that are half full and perfect for adding mix-ins or other ingredients to create a super, special treat!

snack and go instore

Go-Paks! come in many varieties like TEDDY GRAHAMS, Mini NILLA wafers, Mini OREO Chocolate Sandwich cookies, CHIPS AHOY! Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies, NUTTER BUTTER Bites Sandwich Cookies, Mini OREO Golden Sandwich Cookies and more. Snack Pack® puddings are available in chocolate, vanilla, butterscotch, chocolate and vanilla mix and more.

snack pack

Another cool thing is that the containers themselves are great to decorate. You can even let the kids help!

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Some easy ways to dress up the containers for a Halloween, Halloween parties, classroom treats and more are:

  1. Pirates- Take a costume pirate eye patch and secure it to the container. This would make a great favor at a pirate theme birthday party too!
  2. Mummies-Wrap vanilla pudding cups with white net fabric securing the beginning and end with tape. Then, glue on some google eyes.
  3. Spiders-Take a pudding cup and 3 long sparkle craft sticks in any color you like. Next, just cut the craft sticks in half so you have 6 spider legs. Tape the legs to the back of the pudding cup and fold them around to the front. Add some google or sticker eyes.
  4. Bats-Cut out bat wings from black construction paper and tape to back of chocolate pudding cups. Add google or sticker eyes.
  5. Create Your Own-Cover Go-Paks! with sparkly paper and use it as a blank canvas to create monsters, funny faces and more. Decorate pudding cups with stickers to create funny faces.

There are endless possibilities. Kids will love them and love helping you make them!

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Then let them mix up a fun snack!  Some great combinations we found were big hits are the TEDDY GRAHAMS, Chocolate Pudding and  Mini Marshmallows topped with Reddi-Wip and some additional Teddy Grahams for a new take on the S’more. If you take Mini NILLA wafers Go-Pak! and mix with vanilla pudding and fresh sliced banana then top with Reddi-Wip and banana and more Mini Nilla wafers you have a banana cream pudding snack cup. Let kids pick and choose and mix up their own creations. They will love being able to create their own recipe.

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Save Now With This Coupon!

BUY ONE, GET ONE FREE NABISCO Go-Paks! Buy ONE (1) Snack Pack® Pudding and get ONE (1) FREE (up to $1.00) NABISCO Go-Paks! (2.25 oz. or larger) with Coupon-Click HERE To Get Coupon!

So what do you think? I would love to hear your thoughts and if you do try this, please let me know how it went in the comments.


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Meet Max-New “Clean Plate Club” Member #MyCatMyMuse

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MyCatMyMuse #CollectiveBias

clean plate club collage

Our cat Max is a member of the family and I know we’re not alone in feeling that way. Being a beloved four-legged family member, we want to give him the very best we can. This is especially try with nutrition.  The other day in Petsmart I saw Purina Muse® Natural Cat Food.  I have to say, I was intrigued. The flavors sounded great and the topper variety came in a clear container and did not look like any cat food I have ever seen.  I learned why I had not seen Purina Muse® anywhere else, it is only available at Petsmart.

petsmart store collage

I was amazed at the variety that was available. Purina Muse® was available in chowder, in broth with toppers, in gravy and paté.  All the recipes are made with real chicken and real fish like mackerel, salmon, tuna, sea bass and more. The food does not have any artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. The recipes are 100% complete and balanced for adult cats.  There are 30 delicious recipe and 24 grain-free varieties.  With  Muse® you don’t have to choose between natural nutrition and food that tastes great. Your cat can have both when you choose Purina Muse® Natural Cat Food. I picked up a selection of recipes and flavors and wondered how Max would like them.

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So the real test is what Max thinks right. Just like with kids if they won’t eat something that’s good for them it really doesn’t matter how good it is. I was so anxious to get Max’s feline opinion on things. My husband started making me nervous telling me that Max does not like wet food and did not think Max would give the food the four paws up I was looking for.

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As soon as I put the bowl of Natural Tuna & Shrimp Recipe in Gravy down Max dove right in and would not look up for any pictures. He was in feline Heaven and my husband could not believe the way he loved it! Purina Muse® made Max a member of the “Clean Plate Club”! It looks like we have a new cat food. Natural has never been so delicious.

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I am thrilled that Max loves a food I feel great giving him. If you have a special Kitty or kitties in your life and care about natural nutrition you should put Muse® to the test with their clean plate guarantee.

Money Saving Coupon-Free Cat Food

I want to share a special coupon for Purina Muse® Natural Cat Food when you BUY 3  you get 3 FREE with this COUPON at Petsmart! I hope you give it a try with your cat and if you do, please let me know if they’re a new member of the “Clean Plate Club” like Max!

 


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Filed under Coupon, Pets, Saving Money, Shoppertunity

How I Created A Nursery That’s A Jungle Of Fun-#MagicBabyMoments

 

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.
#MagicBabyMoments #CollectiveBias

#MagicBabyMoments Collage

Living on a lake in a resort town, we do a lot of entertaining, especially in the summer. When you factor that we have 2 large homes on this lake, we get our share of company. Having five kids, we have loads of baby and kid gear,  so if someone forgets any baby gear or accessories, we have extras.  We decided it would be a good idea to help our guests out and make things as easy as possible when traveling with baby. We have a large home with many bedrooms so we thought about creating a nursery in one of the guest spaces.

The youngest 2 of our five kids were super close in age and both in cribs at the same time, so we had all the major pieces.  We decided to set up a crib and create a nursery space that will be a welcome relief to our visiting family with babies and toddlers.  We think it will be a huge relief to them  not having to stuff more oversized baby gear in their car or van when visiting.

I was in Walmart the other day and saw their Disney Baby bedding collection.  It was literally flying off the shelves it was so popular.  I spoke with an associate who told me that was why it seemed sparse.  I was lucky to find an adorable Disney Baby Lion King Jungle Fun, 3 Piece Bedding Set that would look great and was unisex. The set has accents of tan, aqua, ivory, green and brown that give me lots of decorating and painting options.

lion king in store aisle

I also picked up a coordinating super soft plush Disney Baby Lion King Jungle Fun Plush Blanket and Knit Beanie. The 3 piece crib set includes a dust ruffle, crib sheet and comforter.  Everything is affordably priced and perfect for a brand new nursery or as an easy way to update an existing one.

lion king collage in store

Heading home I could not wait to deck out the crib with the new bedding.  I was impressed with the quality of the set. For such a small price, I didn’t expect it to be so nice. What a pleasant surprise to unpack the items and find the great quality. The darling appliqued comforter is a large 42″ by 33″, the fabric is a 100% polyester microfiber that feels great. The three pieces are easy to care for and are machine washable and dryable. The comforter is so nice and has one cub with a velvety feel that little ones will just love.

lion king crib idea

Lion King Bedding

lion king bedding back

The coordinating Lion King plush blanket is super soft and comes with a knit beanie with cute playful ears in a golden shade of yellow great for boys or girls.  The blanket is 30″ by 40″ and is machine washable and dryable for easy care which I love.  It will be easy to freshen the bedding between our little guests.

Lion King blanket cap

Lion king crib

Lion King Dust Ruffle

Lion King blanket Sheet Crib Bedding Disney

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I am in the process of going through and adding all the Lion King accents we have like the Pumba and Timon.  I have all of the characters in plush, even figurines. I am going to add to a cute little shelf I just painted aqua and will hang on the wall.  I still have a lot I want to do like paint the walls a shade of green and bring the changing table in too! I am a perfectionist so I want everything perfect but decided to just get going and get the biggest piece in and work around that.  I will update when it’s all finished.

Lion King Nursery

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Lion King Nursery 1

 I think the Disney Baby Lion King Jungle Fun 3 Piece Crib Bedding  Set and blanket with cap make an adorable theme for this new guest nursery.  What do you think?  Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments


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Filed under Baby, Baby Gear, Disney, DIY, Family, Family Fun, Home, Home & Garden, Home Improvement, Shoppertunity

How I #ShareItForward With A Delicious Coca-Cola Float

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #ShareItForward #CollectiveBias

Coca Cola Floats-#ShareItForward

It’s nearly the end of the school year.  In New York we are finally experiencing warmer temperatures, even though we had a few days recently with frost warnings.  The unofficial start of summer is in full swing and there is no better time to kick back and share something refreshing with someone special.

 

I was in Sam’s Club recently and they were holding a demo where they were giving customers a full can of Coca Cola, mine said Superstar!

#ShareItForward-Coke-Coca-Cola-Sams-Club-In-Store-Demo

Past the demo set up on the shelves were 32 and 35 can packs of Coca Cola. I picked up a 35 can pack at a super low price.  These large packs are perfect for all the upcoming celebrations that are happening in the next few weeks like Father’s Day, Graduation Parties, Family BBQs and more! I love that the cans have names of people you can share them with like Bestie, Grillmaster, Friend, Better Half, Dreamer, Bro, Sis, Soulmate etc.

 

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Looking at the names on the cans gave me some great ideas of how I could share them with special people in my life. I thought a great way to surprise my hubby with something special would be to make Coca Cola floats.  Coke and ice cream floats are so easy to make. We used vanilla and chocolate ice cream to make ours.

My husband said the floats with the vanilla ice cream were good but the chocolate ice cream and Coca Cola floats were beyond delicious! I made a printable that went along with the can and the float idea. Super simple it said, “To My Better Half”, just like the can and then had a picture of a boat and said, “You Float My Boat.”  He thought it was really cute and loved the whole idea, especially the refreshing ice cream Coke floats.

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Another idea I had was to share the refreshing beverage with a good friend and one of my children’s teachers. Pairing them with a Coca Cola glass and custom printed gift tag I made, I put them in a red gift bag and a theme gift was in the bag! It was a simple yet special gift to say thank you for all they’ve done.

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If you have big celebrations coming up or you want to celebrate hubby for Father’s Day or just because, give a gift to a teacher or friend, the large 32 can or 35 can packs are a great buy and perfect to have on hand. Let me know if you do try one or both of these ideas or one of your own. Please let me know what you did, and share it in the comments. I love to read your experiences. For even more inspiration out how others #ShareItForward HERE!

Coke

 

 


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How SNICKERS® Almond Bars Bring “ME” Back #WhenImHungry

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.

#WhenImHungry #CollectiveBias

Snickers-I'm Not ME When I am hungry

I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to actually feel temps that are spring-like. After the winter that never wanted to end with bone chilling temps for more days than I care to remember, I am rejoicing! I got to a point I started to think we were moving away from the sun. I know it sounds funny, but in my lifetime in the northeast I have never experienced a winter with months where we did not climb out of the single digits. So with the first few spring- like days we are taking full advantage and first on the agenda was bike riding. My little ones have missed that so much! Riding around the lake takes a lot of energy and as the mom of active kids, I can’t let hunger zap my energy or make me irritable.

When I am hungry, I’m not myself. I get impatient, frustrated and cranky. Not too much fun to be around. The thing is that hunger can just sneak up on you at any time. It’s essential that I have a way  to quickly take the edge off my hunger and continue with our activities. The other day I was in Family Dollar and saw they had packages of SNICKERS®Almond and SNICKERS®Peanut Butter Squares.

Snickers Collage

I thought the SNICKERS® Almond Bars would be perfect to have when I need a little something to stop the hungry feeling both physically and emotionally. SNICKERS® Almond has the perfect mix of almonds, chewy caramel, nougat and rich chocolate to satisfy my hunger. Best of all the bars are easy to tuck into a bike basket or bag so I’m  prepared for the hungries any time they strike.

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Out biking yesterday, my young ones were tearing it up riding around and around the lake. They were really expending lots of energy and mom and dad were keeping up and racing our little daredevils. Halfway around one of the countless loops we biked, we needed something to curb the hungry feeling, fast. We pulled our bikes over and I opened the bag of  SNICKERS® Almond bars.  They hit the spot and after a quick refueling, we were back on the road and were riding until dusk.

 

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The bars are packed with almonds and so satisfying. SNICKERS®  is having a “Who are you when you’re hungry?” contest!  You can enter the SNICKERS® “Who are you when you’re hungry?” contest by uploading a personal photo or video from your Computer, Facebook, Instagram or use the SNICKERS® Meme Generator to create something new! Voting begins at Noon on 5/11/15 and ends at 11:59:59AM ET on 7/15/15. Check out great SNICKERS® recipes and fun stories on the SNICKERS® social hub.

If you are looking for a great treat to curb your hungries when you are out hiking, biking, walking, gardening or more, check out SNICKERS® Almond Bars or Peanut Butter Squares. Have you tried SNICKERS® Almond bars?  If so, I would love to hear what you think.

 


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How I Save Money Using My Unlimited Data Plan #MyDataMyWay

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and Walmart Family Mobile. All opinions are mine alone. #MyDataMyWay #CollectiveBias

10 ways I use unlimited data

 

We’re a very high-tech family and love the way technology has enhanced our lives.  I’ve been working from home for the last 8 years thanks to technology!  Technology opened the doors to so many opportunities for me!  Using the latest technology can help us do the things we do well even better!  I’ve always been a savvy shopper, but the data/web service on my smartphone lets me save like a superstar! One of my favorite apps is a price matching app that lets me scan a barcode on any item, then it shows me prices at other stores.  Most stores today will price match competitors, all you have to do is show them at the register. I have saved hundreds of dollars using this app.

The Price Matching App not only saves me money, it saves me time.  I don’t have to worry that something will be less expensive in another store, I know right away and can get the same price. No more driving around, wasting gas going from store to store. Now, I just load the item in my cart and get the lowest price at the checkout!

Another thing I use my data plan for is inspiration.  I’ll look up a recipe while I’m at the store, check the ingredients and know if I need to pick up anything. Last weekend I was on a road trip and checked the weather before heading home because it was snowing where I was. Data/Web service is perfect when traveling and unfamiliar with the area, we can pull up the local restaurants and attractions, get GPS directions to guide us and even pull up the latest episode of a podcast to listen to while driving.

Having all of this at my fingertips is great, but don’t learn about data overage charges the hard way.  If you don’t have a sufficient data plan, you’ll be charged when you go over and those overage charges can be brutal.

I was in Walmart the other day and saw their Family Mobile has the Lowest Priced Unlimited Plans. It’s just $29.88* a month (on the first line) for Unlimited Talk, Text & Data/Web service which includes up to 500 MB of 4G LTE data. I was impressed!  Could not pass up a deal like that so I checked out their phones and really liked the Alcatel Fierce 2.

walmart Collage

The Android smartphone is packed with features like 4G connection speeds, 5 inch touchscreen display and best of all no contract!  This plan saves our family big money! Given the winter we had that’s still here even though it’s spring, we just may take our savings for a quick getaway somewhere warmer!  Off to research some destinations on my new phone!  Let me know how you use your data/web service and what you think of the lowest priced unlimited plans from Walmart Family Mobile.

Walmart Family Mobile Unlimited

 

alcatel fierce 2 smartphone front

Alcatel OneTouch

Walmart family mobile 4

 

*Disclaimer: All prices for phones and plans included in this post are accurate as of the date of posting; however, these prices are subject to change. Please check HERE  or your local Walmart for current pricing.

 


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How We Made A Unique Coat Tree From Cut Timber For Free #BringingInnovation

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BringingInnovation #CollectiveBias

green coat tree collage

I care deeply about the Earth, I love to repurpose things and use the natural resources around us.  It’s funny, even though our house has many closets, my children and husband leave their coats and back packs all over our kitchen chairs.  This drives me crazy! Since closets and wall racks did not work, I thought maybe a coat tree placed in the side hall would. The coat tree would be prominent,  they could easily hang their coats, hats and backpacks as they walked by.  I choose my battles and would rather have the coats on a coat tree in the side hall than on my kitchen chairs.

When I started researching coat trees, all I saw were flimsy or unattractive designs.  I looked further and found some really unique coat trees made out of TREES!  Can you imagine?  After seeing that and living on acres of wooded property…I think you can imagine my thoughts.  I called out to my husband  and showed him my idea, he was all for it. We couldn’t have picked a better time, many trees were recently cut by the town because they were too close to electric wires.  We gathered our tree supplies and started the process of assembly.

For the base my husband split a large log in half. Then he used a chainsaw and chisel to make a hole in the top of the base for the tree trunk.  He also hollowed out the underside of the log right beneath the hole on the top.  Hollowing the bottom made it possible to get the screw/bolt used to attach the trunk to the base, deeper into the trunk. We wanted to make sure the base was very safe and secure.

Tree Rack 9

Tree-Rack-

Tree Rack 8

Tree Rack 5

 

 

We also put wood glue around the base before attaching it.  Then my husband cut the “hooks” from long lengths of tree branches. After that he drilled holes in the tree trunk for them.  He put wood glue on the base of the branch hooks, then placed them in the holes and knocked them into place with a 2 pound sledge-hammer.  Right now, we have three branch hooks on the bottom for the little kids and three on the top for adults but we plan to add a few more.

Tree Rack 6

Tree Rack 7

 

As soon as this New York winter, err I mean spring, wants to give us some seasonable weather, we’re going to take the coat tree outside and seal and protect it with marine varnish.  I will update when it is finished with the final pictures.

 

Tree Rack 3

We are really impressed with our unique coat tree and have more projects in mind that we will share with you in the upcoming weeks.   We’re happy  we can utilize the natural resources on our property to make something we need.  In the end we have something we’re proud of and best of all is made in the USA by us!

The coat tree is super sturdy and far better than anything we could purchase. I wish we could make everything we need, but there are some things we can’t.  Batteries for our remotes, kid’s toys, clocks, and more are something we can’t harvest outside. Last weekend I was shopping at Walmart and saw new Energizer® EcoAdvanced AA Batteries and picked some up.  They’re right in the normal battery aisle in the photo department. EcoAdvanced AA batteries are the longest lasting and best performing Energizer® Alkaline ever!  Equally impressive EcoAdvanced AA and AAA batteries are the first in the world to be with a percentage of recycled batteries. You can stock up on them too, because they hold up to 12 years in storage.

walmart store image collage

Performance is very important to me, I work from home and rely on the battery in my computer mouse. If  I’m in the middle of a webinar or conference, I can’t afford to have the battery die when trying to change a slide (I hate touchpads). I need performance I can depend on. Energizer® EcoAdvanced Batteries give me peace of mind knowing I have that! This is another step  Energizer® is taking on their journey to bring performance and responsibility to the world – that’s positivenergy!™  I’m thrilled at these steps forward and love the guilt-free benefit I can count on in the longest lasting Energizer® alkaline!

Tree Rack 4

You know what else I love?  Coat free kitchen chairs around my table! Yippee for small but gratifying victories! Speaking of victories you can enter the “GuiltFreeEnergy” Giveaway below for your chance to win  $1,000 in Gift Cards!

GuiltFreeEnergy Giveaway – $1,000 in Gift Cards

I hope you will let me know what you think about our project and share with me what you’re doing to make our Earth a little greener!


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