This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #PickyAboutProduce #CollectiveBias If you're picky about produce, you're not alone. I don't just buy produce anywhere, and neither should you. I buy produce at the store I know is just as picky as I am. Here's where you should buy your produce and 5 tips to get your kids [and entire family] to eat more fresh produce too! Living in a small town in East Tennessee definitely has its advantages and sometimes disadvantages too. While we only have 2 main grocery stores in town because of a lower population, you get to know those stores really well... and the employees too. While sometimes it's great to have lots of choices, it's even better to know exactly what you'll find when you visit your favorite grocery store in … [Read more...]
THE Snack You Need to Try Today
This post was sponsored by Blue Diamond® as part of an Influencer Activation and all opinions expressed in my post are my own. Do you crave salty and sweet? Crunchy and soft? Spicy and tart? Blue Diamond Almonds & Fruit are the snack that you need to try today. No matter your paired snack cravings, these bags have you covered! It's over. I've done the work. I've found it. THE ultimate snack for us Moms. Ok, Dads can enjoy too, but I'm currently hiding my bags of Blue Diamond Almonds & Fruit so they are mine, all mine. Now that my girls are back in school, my snacks no longer consist of finishing off what they didn't eat at lunch. It's time for a snack for ME and the new combinations from Blue Diamond are definitely one of my current favorites. They pair perfectly with your favorite non-cartoon binge-worthy … [Read more...]
Mini Meatball Subs – Perfect Size for Little Hands and Lunch Boxes
This post was sponsored by King’s Hawaiian as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own. These mini meatball subs are the perfect weeknight dinner and meal for the lunch box. Think outside the sandwich and pack a delicious, savory meal for your kids for their school lunch. We're just a couple weeks into packing school lunches and I'm sharing one of my girls' favorites. They've both told me that when they open up their bento boxes at lunch and these adorable sized Mini Meatball Subs are inside, they do a little happy dance! While the girls are fine with eating school lunches, I prefer to pack their lunch because I know just what type of nutrition they are getting throughout the day. I can also watch to see how much they're eating [or talking] during lunch … [Read more...]
3 Reasons It’s time to Upgrade Your Kitchen Appliances
This post has been sponsored by Best Buy. All opinions are my own. It seems as I get older, my priorities in life are definitely changing. In fact, last year on my birthday we had a delivery of one of the BEST presents I've ever received... a refrigerator delivered from Best Buy! Not only was it the very first refrigerator I've ever gotten to buy [at 36 years old], because when we bought both our houses they came with an older one], but it was delivered and set up without a fight between my husband and me! Woohoo! If you've been married anytime at all, and your Type A like both me and my husband, that delivery and set up is one of the most golden parts of the appliance purchase. No fighting over putting a shelf in wrong, no fussing about not lifting high enough... ok, you get it. But how do you know when it's time to … [Read more...]
Celebrate Back to School with a Movie and School Supplies
This post is sponsored by 3M. All opinions are my own. Back to school time can seem overwhelming and not-so-much-fun at a glance, but in our house we celebrate this yearly occasion with school shopping, a fun family party, and this year - a movie thanks to Post-it® and Scotch™ products! Staying organized when things are about to get super busy is my biggest priority during back to school time. Not only do we have all of our regular activities that continued throughout the summer - gymnastics, piano lessons - but we'll start adding school choir, homework, and more to the list! It's important for me to keep all of that on track and I do just that with a command center in our kitchen. We recently did a huge renovation and turned our dated kitchen and dining room into a farmhouse kitchen so I DIY-ed my calendar and command center to match … [Read more...]
5 Tips for a Better Snack Station for Kids
This post is sponsored by General Mills. All opinions are my own. It's my favorite part of back to school, but can also be one of the most stressful parts of back to school... packing lunches and snacks. While we saw our share of lunches and snack times during summer, back to school lunches and snacks are just different, right? Getting anything together on school mornings adds a level of frustration and stress, so the better prepared you are for it all, the smoother school mornings go. This definitely includes snacks and school lunches so today I'm sharing my top 5 tips with you to build a better snack station for kids. Keep your snack cabinet organized. Organization, especially in the kitchen, just makes my heart and eyes happy. It's one room in the house where I like things to be kept up and clean. It's much easier to see when … [Read more...]
That Time My Kids Were in a Dollywood Commercial [and Met Dolly!]
Ever wonder what it's like to be in a Dollywood commercial or even meet Dolly herself? My girls did BOTH on a rainy Saturday in May and here's what happened! If you know me at all, you know my heart was bursting with pride when I got an email asking if my girls would be interested in being extras in a commercial to be filmed at Dollywood. Believe it or not, I DID ask them if they wanted to do it before I replied "YES YES YES!" You see, I've been a Dollywood super fan since I was a little girl. My family has always grown up going to Dollywood, I've been a Dollywood season passholder since I can remember, and my girls love it as much as I do. In fact, ask any of the 3 of us girls in the family where our favorite place in the world is and you'll likely hear the same response "the beach and Dollywood"! So, when the girls were asked … [Read more...]
DIY Daily Shower Spray for No Scrub Cleaning!
If you loathe cleaning showers as much as I do, you're going to love this DIY daily cleaning spray. Keep your shower clean with a daily spray and no scrubbing. The best part, you can make it yourself with no dangerous chemicals and just a few dollars! This post is in partnership with NOW®. All opinions are my own. Can I share a dirty secret with you? My shower. There, I said it. I know my shower isn't clean. How do I know? Well, I look at it and look at others, like at hotels, and yes, I know it's not as clean as it should be. Now, don't get me wrong. It's not filthy and gross, but there's a problem there for sure, but perhaps it isn't all my fault. It turns out we have hard water and I had no idea. But build-up is definitely there if I don't regularly clean the shower. And remember that dirty secret? It doesn't … [Read more...]
Have Young Children? Don’t Miss These Hidden Hazards in Your Home
This post was sponsored by Window Covering Safety Council as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own. Did you know that June is National Safety Month? It's a great time to go through your house and be sure everything in your home is working well and safe for your entire family. When I became pregnant, like most new parents, safety was at the forefront of my mind. It's amazing how priorities shift when you have children and safety tops that list. I remember Rob and I went around and "baby-proofed" the house before Sophia could even crawl because we were so concerned with keeping her safe! While we went around our home and looked for obvious dangers and corrected them, I also did a lot of research in case there were items and risks that I might … [Read more...]
Everything You Need to Know About Wildwood Grove – Dollywood’s Biggest Expansion Ever
Have you visited Dollywood lately? If you have, you've likely seen my new favorite part of the park AND the biggest expansion in Dollywood history... Wildwood Grove! Here I'm breaking down all the rides, things to do, foods to eat, and fun to be had in this amazing, new area of the amusement park! A few weeks ago, I had the amazing experience to see the brand new addition to Dollywood, Wildwood Grove on the day it opened to the public. This area of the park is the biggest expansion in Dollywood history. In fact, the 6 acre 2019 expansion cost more than the original purchase of Dollywood back in 1986! Want to learn more about Dollywood? Visit here to get all the details! Actually, this wasn't my very first time walking around Wildwood Grove. I was there back in mid-March and the area was, well, let's just say a little less colorful … [Read more...]
Everything You Want to Know About Lottie Dolls + Lottie Dolls Review
If your kids love pretend play, they're going to love Lottie Dolls. A line of pretend play dolls that are the perfect size for little hands and inspire leadership, invention, adventure, and creativity! Check out this Lottie Dolls review to learn more. When Lottie Dolls recently contacted the girls and I about experiencing their dolls and products recently, I was honestly intrigued. I actually hadn't heard of Lottie Dolls until that email came and quickly went to Google to look up Lottie Dolls reviews. I quickly learned that these dolls weren't just any dolls, they were characters that inspired adventure and creativity so I immediately said yes. The girls were each able to pick out which doll they wanted. I wasn't surprised at all by their choices. My adventure, dinosaur loving Sophia quickly chose Lottie Doll Fossil Hunter and … [Read more...]
Ditch the Plastic Bottles, Live Sustainable this Summer
This post is sponsored by Brita but the content and opinions expressed here are my own. If you've been around this blog any time, you know that I'm all about easy, small steps to a better life. Why? Because when you take small steps to a more eco-friendly lifestyle, you're more likely to sustain those steps. If you try to go totally waste-free in every room of your house when you are used to having 2 cans of trash a week... you're probably not going to be successful. But if you try to go waste-free in one room at a time, with an end goal of total waste-free in one year, you're more likely to hit those goals. That's why when people ask me what's my number 1 tip for going green, they are almost always underwhelmed. But then I explain that reasoning - small steps make big changes in the future - and they get it. And one of the first tips … [Read more...]