Crafts

Lunching Awesome with Applegate HALF TIME™ Lunch Kits

0 · Oct 3, 2014 ·

You know, let’s face it. Life is busy. I don’t know why it needs to be this way… it just is. There are times when I feel I’m running around trying to keep things together, when in reality, I’m barely treading water. Now that we are back in school, it’s even worse. You wake up in the morning and hit the floor running. Getting the kiddos ready in the morning whether for school, daycare or just for the day is NOT for the faint of heart. I know in our house we are making sure that homework is finished, backpacks are packed and don’t even get me started on lunches. I know that lunch should be a no brainer, but quite frankly… it’s not. It’s not easy to come up with fresh, fun new ideas everyday that are healthy and still satisfying for the kiddos. I’ve never been a huge fan over overly processed foods so, that excludes most of the prepackaged, quick and easy lunch options. That is until three of our favorite organic heroes joined forces to create the Applegate HALF TIME™ Lunch Kit!

This is the next best option when you need something quick, so you can run out the door in a flash. The nice thing is that the food options with this pack are all-natural and organic. They have three options…

HALF TIME™ Ham & Cheese, HALF TIME™ Bologna & Cheese along with HALF TIME™ Turkey & Cheese. Applegate, the go to source for natural and Organic meats, asked two of their favorite organic friends, Stoneyfield™ Yogurt and Annies® Snacks over for a fun playdate to create a quick, on the go lunch option packed full of products that you know and trust.

Did you know that Applegate is one of the few all-natural, organic meat companies out there. They source their product very carefully, hand picking from some of the top organic meat family farms out there. Each one of their farms has committed to a safe and healthy way to take care of their livestock. Here are the Applegate meat standards…

Pretty cool if you ask me. Both of the other companies involved with this play date are equally committed to all-natural, organic sources for their products as well. We’ve been a huge fan of Stoneyfield Farms™ Yogurt sticks and when Gage opened his Time Out™ lunch kit, that was the first thing he picked…

Here’s the rest of his lunch…

He’s a bit of a picky eater and it’s not always easy to find a healthy on-the-go option. He will actually eat everything in this kit so it’s a sure-fire win in both of our books!

Looking for some more lunch time options? Follow Applegate on Facebook and Instagram for lunch ideas and great coupons! Let’s commit to lunching awesome and healthier this school year with Applegate! Click here for a great coupon to use to stock up on Applegate HALF TIME™ kits for your kiddos!

Want to win an Applegate HALF TIME™ Prize pack? Enter the giveaway below.

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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Applegate via Burst Media. The opinions and text are all mine.

The Party Bunch Link Party Has Moved to Saturday

0 · Oct 3, 2014 · Leave a Comment

Not to throw everyone for a loop, but The Party Bunch link party has moved to Saturday. It’s at the same time, same blogs, just one day later. We hope that you will still take the time to come and party with us on the TRUE party day… SATURDAY!! See you tomorrow with all kinds of goodies.

Top 5 Reasons Why I LOVE SNAP Conference

0 · Sep 30, 2014 · 3 Comments

+ SNAP Conference + Tickets go on sale October 1st @ 9:00 am + Click HERE to purchase your tickets + Go quick, they sell out FAST!

Raise your hand if you’ve attending a blog conference. Now… raise your hand if you’ve attended SNAP Conference!

If you have been in the past, you know why SNAP is special. If you haven’t, here’s a little glimpse into what the SNAP Magic is all about. First we get…

SNAP is packed full, I mean PACKED FULL of meaty classes. You aren’t going to leave SNAP and feel like you’ve only scratched the surface. The SNAP team, lead by Tauni Everett, is dedicated to delivering top notch classes that will push you to become your best self. Whether that is the best blogger, the best handmade business, the best social media maven… no matter what your niche, you will return home from SNAP filled with tips and tools to help take your business to the next level.

More than anything, SNAP is about making connections. Meeting other like minded individuals who share they same passions you do. When you feel that energy for the first time, you will GET why it’s important to attend events like SNAP. I will hands down say… The only reason why I am where I am today is because of attending blog conferences like SNAP.

Now, if you’ve been to other blog conferences, you’ll know that the magic at SNAP is a little different then your average conference. The creative community just oozes positive vibes, we love to see others succeed and more than anything we love to build each other up. THAT is the magic of SNAP!

You love them, and honestly, they love you to! Your favorite brands are at SNAP and they adore getting to know the people they love working with. What better way to get to know the people and the products you love, then to meet them face-to-face. At SNAP you will get to do just that!

Not only do you get to meet the brands, you have an opportunity to have hands-on training with their latest products. That is priceless!!

And then there are…

No one, I mean NO ONE parties like we do at SNAP! Every night we have a fun event whether it be a pajama party with 400 of your favorite friends, to a massive dance party to cap of the conference. You will party like you were back in college and it will make you feel ALIVE!!

I come away from SNAP feeling AAAAMAZING! I feel like I’m ready to tackle the world. I feel like I MATTER, and that is sometimes a feeling that is hard to come by. I feel empowered to take on all of the challenges in my life and be the best person I can possibly be. That to me is worth it’s weight in gold!

Here are the details… SNAP 2015 is April 23-25 in Salt Lake City at the Little America Hotel.

Tickets go on sale, Wednesday, October 1st at 9:00 am.

Click HERE to purchase your tickets!

Set your alarms… you need to be there quick! Tickets sell out super fast, so you don’t want to snooze!

I hope to see each and every one of you at SNAP in April 2015!

Photo Credit + All of these photos were taken from the SNAP Facebook Page and are the official property of SNAP Conference. I wish I could credit the photographer, but I can’t seem to remember or find any details. I will keep looking and update this when possible. +

Disclaimer + I am an affiliate marketer for SNAP conference +

Tech Talk + Getting Organized with my ASUS Tablet

0 · Sep 29, 2014 · Leave a Comment

#spon: I’m required to disclose a relationship between our site and Intel. This could include the Intel Corporation providing us w/content, product, access or other forms of payment.

Ugh, let’s just all agree… Life is getting complicated! Many of you know, I have four kiddos, one in each level of school. High School, Middle School, Elementary and Pre-School. (Yea, that’s a story for another day.) Maybe if I had been more organized I would have thought about the spacing a bit more. Not that Mother Nature always cooperates. Needless to say… I could have an entire kitchen wall full of flow-charts, schedules and simple algorithms to try and keep our lives organized. And then… we would inevitably, miss something! That is until I started using my ASUS Intel Tablets to get organized!

I would have to admit, I have a bit of a fruity obsession when it comes to tech gear, so I was a little skeptical. Never would I have thought that I could still integrate all of our family communication devices and stay on top of our crazy life. We have!

For the sake of simplicity… I keep things simple for this post. You don’t need to see all of our craziness. Here are some of my favorite features on the ASUS.

First, it’s simple to add all of your favorite apps. I have everything that I have used on other devices so I felt right at home. The ASUS Intel tablet has aaaamazing graphics, especially for a tablet at this price point. It’s $123 on Amazon!

I put together a weekly menu for the family using the calendar app, linked to our family Google account. That way… no one has to ask, “What’s for dinner?”

Then, I use my Target app to create a shopping list using my menu…

PERFECT!! Now, no matter who goes shopping, my husband or I, we have all the info we need right at our finger tips using the ASUS tablet.

We can even pull up the Target Cartwheel app and find even more goodies there, right on the ASUS.

All in all, I’ve really enjoyed this ASUS Intel Tablets and would recommend it to anyone in the market for a great tablet experience.

I Am Brave and Beautiful

0 · Sep 29, 2014 · 22 Comments

I am Brave and Beautiful – a beauty movement that is sweeping the globe. Colbie Caillat started it with her recent song and video called TRY. My blogging friend Megan of Brassy Apple wanted to push this movement along and invited women from all over to share what they looked like without make up and I joined in!! Colbie’s song says, “Take your make up off. Let your hair down… Look into the mirror at yourself, Do you like you? Cause I like you… “

Megan and her friend Cobi of Peacefrom6pieces have been the team behind this whole project. Their worldwide vision included creating their own video inspired by the song TRY. The talent of Robbins Creative made it possible for them to pull it off. You have to click play and see the beauty and bravery displayed and you might even recognize a few faces in there.

Me along with 101+ other blogging women from different backgrounds, religions, ethnicities, ages, shapes and sizes have decided to be Brave and Beautiful! You can join in this movement too by sharing what you look like without makeup on. You don’t need a blog either! Just tag your photo with #IamBraveAndBeautiful on Instgram and search the hashtag to see who else has joined in. ALSO, if you tag it with a second hashtag – #ColbieTRY we just might be able to get Colbie Caillat’s attention since she was the inspiration behind it all!

Are you brave and beautiful? I am, here I go!

Both of these photos are “selfies” taken with my iPhone. It’s amazing what you can do even with just your phones these days. Throw on some filters and you are a whole new person. Smooth skin, eyes that pop, filters that hide everything that you find ugly. It’s the same with your make-up. I tend to hind behind my make-up. I’ve never be terribly comfortable with how I look and my make-up was my shield. A way to have a little bit of control over how I present myself out in the world. This whole idea of taking down the shield and putting everything out there has been hard and yet so good for me.

I know that deep down, I am beautiful inside and out. I know that I am a daughter of a loving Heavenly Father who has helped me see who I am and what I can become regardless of my physical appearance. He sees behind that mask and everyday he encourages me to step out from behind those walls, to look out beyond myself, love who I am and what I am striving to become. With that comes confidence to face the world, and nothing is more beautiful than a confident woman!

Don’t stop here. Get clicking around – its a blog hop! Below are more brave and beautiful women bearing more than their natural beauty. They each have a little bit of their heart to share with you. Some get very personal. Some share stories. For some this was very hard to do yet they gathered their courage and did it anyway. We hope as you click around (and YES pin these different posts!) you will feel the importance of it, the empowering effect it has and that it encourages you in some way.