The weather in Tampa this week has been amazing and spring isn't far away! Last weekend was the perfect weekend for our family to check out the Florida State Fair. The fair opened on Feb 9th and runs through Feb 20th with special events every day of the week. There's something about a state fair that brings out your inner youth. Growing up in Georgia the state fair was a pretty big deal. I haven't been to a big fair since before the kids were born and I'm not sure that anything will ever top the size of a fair as a child. Things always seem smaller as an adult, even when they are as big as the Florida State Fair. I lost count of the number of ferris wheels that they had at the fair, I think I saw 4 full size ferris wheels and we ended up on 3 of them! It's a great way to take in the massive size of the fair and help your kids overcome any fear of heights they may have. If you plan on riding rides, be sure to get an all-day armband for unlimited fair rides. It's ... [ Read More ]
Tips for Saving Money on Organic Foods
This post is written through a partnership with Sprouts Farmers Market. I've made this confession before, but I don't always buy organic foods. Shopping organically can be expensive and most families just can't afford the extra expense to buy only organic foods. While we could probably afford more than what we spend on groceries, it's very hard to commit to spending THAT much more every time we shop. I'm very excited to see all the money saving options that Sprouts is bringing to the Tampa area for organic, natural, and non-GMO groceries. Grand Opening Specials The Grand Opening of Sprouts in Carrollwood is next week and shoppers have several options to save money. Sprouts will be opening at 7 a.m. on Wednesday, February 22nd and the first 200 shoppers in line will get a coupon for 20 percent off their entire purchase. That's a huge savings for anyone who's up early enough to stand in line that morning. Sprouts will be serving coffee and muffins to everyone in line before the ... [ Read More ]
Shop Fresh, Shop Local, and Shop Small
This post is written through a partnership with Sprouts Farmers Market. What does it mean to "shop local?" In today's "Amazon" world everyone is migrating to instant gratification and wanting to order everything online, knowing that it will be delivered tomorrow. The meaning of shopping local is changing. Small businesses are closing their doors. Buildings are sitting vacant for longer. They can't compete with the Amazon-lifestyle. I'm pretty sure the only places I've shopped locally within the last month has been our grocery store, craft store, and drugstore. Aside from that anything that we need we usually order online and have it delivered to our house. However, I'm not much of a shopper so our needs are pretty limited. I don't think I'll ever start grocery shopping online. That would require me to have a set meal plan and use a grocery list to know exactly what I need days in advance. No more stopping by the grocery store on the way home to grab a few things for ... [ Read More ]
Blogger Secret 101: Life is not always picture perfect!
This post is sponsored through a partnership with Stonyfield Yogurt company and their YoGetters Blogger program. Can I tell you a secret (or ten) about blogging and parenting? I don't always make elaborate meals like what you see on my blog or Instagram, I don't always have a clean home, and my kids don't always have the best packed lunches. I am a crazy mom who works full time on top of all the regular mom duties. My average day starts at 7am when my alarm goes off and I have an hour to get both kids (and myself) presentable to the world for school. There are lots of days when we sleep in and snuggle instead of having a perfectly pressed school uniform and perfect hair. Wrinkles are like dust bunnies; both welcome in our home! We usually rush off to school with some jelly sandwiches (because peanut butter is banned at our school) with some chips and whatever else my kids throw in their lunchboxes. On a good day I'll catch them taking fruit, yogurt or Stonyfield ... [ Read More ]
Chocolate Cookie Butter Balls & More Recipe Fun with Sprouts Brand
The recipes in this post are brought to you through a partnership with Sprouts Farmers Markets. About a week ago a huge box of goodies arrived from Sprouts Farmers Market full of pantry staples from their private label. My box arrived on a day when we were running all over town and it sat in the trunk of our Jeep until about 10pm. We had errands to run after school, then we had our Girl Scout meeting, ran by son up to a youth group meeting, grabbed a quick dinner with some friends, back to get my son and finally home to get both kids ready for bed. It was such an exhausting day, but my kids really wanted to help me open the box. This was the box that never ended, the goodies were packed deep in the box. It was a fun box to open. Lots of spice, some sweet heaven in a jar (i.e. Cookie Butter), and a few essentials that will stock our pantry for a while. We (almost) immediately opened the jar of Cookie Butter for a quick snack before heading off to bed! If you missed my ... [ Read More ]
How to Make a Snapchat Geofilter for Your Next Party
My youngest turned eight a few weeks ago and insisted on having a YouTube themed birthday party. It's hard to make a party "YouTube" themed without incorporating a few other social media outlets as well. My daughter and her friends are addicted to Snapchat filters and share silly pictures of themselves all weekend. It's absolutely hilarious to see some of their silly snaps back and forth. What does a YouTube birthday party look like??? Great question and one that I had to create on my own with her suggestions. We had a selfie station, took a "Try not to laugh" challenge, and opened mystery boxes. Plus there were lots of emojis and YouTube was playing in the background all day. Confessions and Rules: Yes, my eight year old has an iPhone. Yes, she is on Snapchat. Yes, we monitor her account and she's only allowed to share snaps with her friends and family. No, she's not allowed to post to her story or friend anyone she doesn't know. ...and both of my kids have YouTube ... [ Read More ]
7 Tips to Teach Kids About Savings and Debt
This post is series in a partnership with Florida Prepaid College Plans My kids are both getting older and it's never too early to teach them how to be responsible with money. I can say that my parents did their best, but they struggled a LOT with money when I was a kid. They never really let us know just how much they struggled (no parent wants their kids to worry) but looking back I know just how hard it was for them. If there's one thing my parents did teach me it was that when you work hard you will be rewarded. They encouraged us to save and stay out of debt but that didn't prevent me from digging myself into debt during college to achieve my own goals. I worked most of my college years full-time and took a little longer to get through college. I racked up some pretty hefty debt along the way to pay for college, books, and all those "essentials" you need living on your own. I paid the minimums on my credit cards just to avoid the late fees and was maxed out on most of them. ... [ Read More ]
Sprouts Farmers Market coming to Carrollwood
This post is written through a partnership with Sprouts Farmers Market. It doesn't take long for the news to spread when something new is headed to your neighborhood. Several months ago some friends circulated a post on Facebook about a new farmers market grocery store that was going in down the street from us. The building has been under construction for months and there are no signs out front yet. Fast forward to December of last year when one of their communication specialists reached out to me about working on an upcoming campaign to announce the store to the Tampa Bay area. I was very curious to know if this was the same store I had heard about earlier in the year. Is Sprouts Farmers Market coming to Tampa Bay?? Is there really going to be a new place for me to shop locally for natural and organic foods...without having to drive 20+ minutes to "the other guys?" Yes!!!! Sprouts Farmers Market is opening several stores in the Florida area in 2017; including Tampa! The ... [ Read More ]
Ringling Bros Circus – the End of an Era
The final performances of the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus are going on this week in Tampa. It's a bittersweet ending to the Greatest Show on Earth. It's been 146 years since the circus has been coming to towns across the United States. It was a much different time when the circus began and the performances have changed a lot with the times. Today's performances are more about the entertainers than the animals; especially since they announced the retirement of their elephants for this final season. I'm not here to debate whether or not animals should be used in the circus; but rather to look back at the memories that I have from my childhood on the circus. My parents are from a different generation and for them the circus was a huge deal. They would save up their money each year so that they could take my brother and I to the circus when it came to town. It was a big deal for us to go into the city and watch the three rings filled with clowns and performers. It ... [ Read More ]
Thank You Stonyfield Yogurt from an Unknown Family at Publix
This post is sponsored by Stonyfield Yogurt. Dear Stonyfield Yogurt, Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to teach my teenager how to Pay it Forward. I have been blessed to be a Stonyfield YoGetter Blogger for several years and you've given me so much more than delicious organic yogurt. This month you gave me a $50 Visa Gift Card to use any way that I like to "Pay it Forward." There were no rules and no restrictions on how or when we used the gift card. Tonight my son and I made a quick trip to the local Publix store to pick up dinner for the night. On the way to the store I asked him if he knew what it meant to Pay it Forward. He hadn't really ever heard the term before but loved my plan and was excited to help me out. We walked into Publix and purchased a $50 Gift Certificate. I was hoping the store would be busier than it was, but it was a very quiet night in the store. We didn't need much for dinner so we had time to walk through the store. I was ... [ Read More ]
