Spicy Minestrone Soup
September 30, 2014

Spicy Minestrone Soup

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.  #SauceOn #CollectiveBias Starting at the end of my pregnancy, I began to love soup. I never was such a fan before but for the last month or two, I have been wanting it like crazy. I recently had some great minestrone soup at an Italian restaurant and wanted to recreate a similar recipe at home. I recently picked up some El Yucateco Black Label Reserve chile habanero hot sauce and made a homemade spicy minestrone soup using it. The soup turned out excellent and I enjoyed the use of this flavorful hot sauce. This particular Black Label Reserve sauce is sold exclusively at Walmart. I was able to find it in the international section under hispanic foods. I was shocked that this sauce is actually black colored. I have never seen a hot sauce that was this color before. I think that it would be neat in a halloween recipe for this reason. I also tried the other hot sauces from

Luna Lullaby Review
September 29, 2014

Luna Lullaby Review

Luna Lullaby is a company that makes different products for baby including nursing pillows, blankets, tummy time pillows and more. They have the cutest patterns including chevron and damask which are my two very favorite patterns! The Lil Something pillow is great for on the go. It is small at only 20" and has a v-shape that can be used for nursing on the go. It can also be used for tummy time for baby. It has a soft, plush removable cover that can be washed which is nice in case baby spits up on the pillow. I think that this would be perfect to store in the car and use for nursing on a trip. I was sent this awesome chevron blanket to review. It is extremely soft and perfect for baby. I can't wait to lay her out on this blanket for some tummy time! From what I read, babies love different patterns and designs so I love that these may be visually stimulating to her eyes. The nursing pillows retail for $54 and come in all different colors and patterns. It creates the &

NAR Gourmet Review
September 28, 2014

NAR Gourmet Review

I love cooking with different vinegars and oils and recently had the opportunity to try out some delicious ones from NAR Gourmet . NAR Gourmet also sells ground spices, jams and other yummy food items. I was sent some olive oil, hazelnut oil, garlic olive oil and apple vinegar to try. The first recipe that I made with these oils was a dressing for my farmer's market fresh salad: -extra virgin olive oil -apple vinegar -oregano -black pepper -garlic powder I shook up all the ingredients and it made a delicious dressing. You can tell that the NAR Gourmet products are good quality as they had a lot of flavor. I was also sent some orange jam and raspberry jam to try. I really liked the raspberry jam which tasted very fresh and flavorful. It is awesome on an open faced peanut butter and jelly sandwhich- one of my biggest pregnancy cravings. Actually, I love these year round. Finally, I was able to try some NAR Gourmet spices including oregano, ground dried tomato and b

Adalyn Grace's Birth Story Part 2
September 27, 2014

Adalyn Grace's Birth Story Part 2

Where did we leave off? (See part 1 of Adalyn Grace's birth story ). I had just gotten sent home from St. John Hospital at 4 1/2 cm dilated due to not making any progress. We picked up our dogs from my parent's house and went home. I tried to lay down for a bit but was not able to sleep. At about 11 PM, I got into the bathtub. I had taken a benadryl to sleep per the doctor's recommendation and it was making me so drowsy. I almost fell asleep in the tub. I was in a lot of pain at this point and was doing anything I could to distract myself. I went into the basement where we have a couch and treadmill and walked a bit in 1/4 mile increments and sat down when I could. Sitting made me feel a lot worse though so I spent most of the time from midnight to 5 AM pacing back and forth in the basement. Troy came down at 5 AM and we talked for awhile. Before 6 AM, we went on a walk. Walking was about the only thing to help. Of course, I took my trusty dogs! When a contraction wou

Adalyn Grace's Birth Story Part 1
September 26, 2014

Adalyn Grace's Birth Story Part 1

As I announced , Adalyn Grace made her way into the world on September 20th! We are overjoyed with her and enjoying every moment being her parents. As I love to read birth stories, I wanted to share Adalyn's story with you all. Awesome pizza right before labor started! It all started on Thursday, September 18th after a day of lots of walking (6 miles total broken up into a few walks), spicy Thai food, pizza at my parent's house and a little procedure at the doctor's office. I was 1 1/2 cm dilated at this point and 50% effaced. Adalyn was 1 day overdue at this point. At 9 PM that night, some moderate cramping started. I fell asleep for an hour and then was up the rest of the entire night with contractions. I used a contraction timer app on my phone and found out that the contractions were 2-5 minutes apart lasting 30-45 sec. My pain was about a 3-4 at this point. I was shocked that they were so close together right from the beginning since from what I have read, t

Skinnygirl Popcorn- A Lighter Twist
September 26, 2014

Skinnygirl Popcorn- A Lighter Twist

A review of Skinny Girl popcorn including nutrition and how it can make a great low-calorie snack. Buy Skinnygirl Popcorn here. I love popcorn! It is an easy to make snack that is fairly healthy and always a fun treat to have. Some brands of popcorn are high in calories and fat due to the excessive amounts of butter or sugar added. I recently had the opportunity to try the new Skinnygirl popcorn which is a low calorie popcorn. I tried both the lime and salt and butter and sea salt flavors. I couldn't wait to especially try the lime & salt flavor since I had never had one like that before. Skinnygirl Popcorn Review This product comes in a box of 10 mini bags that makes portion control so much easier than eating from a big bag which I loved. One cup of the popcorn has only 25 calories which is quite low. Skinnygirl popcorn has about 20% less calories than other brands of popcorn making it a great low-calorie snack. What I really like about this popcorn is that it

Welcome to the World Adalyn Grace!
September 25, 2014

Welcome to the World Adalyn Grace!

Our extremely amazing baby girl arrived Saturday September 20th at 12:33 PM weighing 7 lbs 0.5 oz. We are all doing amazing and are so in love with our girl. Birth story to come as time allows.  Follow me on social media ( Facebook ,  Twitter ,  Pinterest ,  Google+ ,  Instagram )  for lots of baby updates and pictures.  Hope you enjoy these pictures from the first couple of days as a family of three. Meeting Jaxen for the first time!

How to Save Money on Baby Items
September 25, 2014

How to Save Money on Baby Items

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.  #BabyDiapersSavings #CollectiveBias With our first baby due in just 2 days (written 9/15), I have done a lot of research on all different types of baby products. I like to have nice things but also am very frugal. We have done a lot to save on different baby products which I am excited to share with you. We decided to go the disposable diaper route with our baby and I have done lots of research to find the best deals on diapers . With as many diapers as babies go through, I wanted to be able to save as much money as possible on them.  Here are some of my tips for saving money on baby items: - Shop garage sales - I have had a blast shopping at garage sales for our baby. I have gotten adorable clothes from $0.25-$2 each. I have found really nice dresses, shoes, pajamas and more at sales. The key is to know your prices- some items are barely marked down in price for being qui

HelloFresh Review
September 24, 2014

HelloFresh Review

I first reviewed HelloFresh  about a year and half ago and fell in love with the service. HelloFresh is a meal service that sends you all of the ingredients to make a meal along with the recipes. I was sent the ingredients to make three different meals and my husband and I had an absolute blast making these recipes. Previous to using these types of services, Troy and I hardly cooked together. I was the one who did most of the cooking but since trying these out, a lot has changed. Troy has gotten a lot more confident in his cooking and we have enjoyed making many meals together. This is probably a different kind of idea for how to use the HelloFresh service but I think that it makes an amazing date night in. With a baby due ASAP (9 days!), Troy and I have loved making these meals together and hanging out while doing so. All three meals that we were sent to make were delicious and I will tell you about each of them. I chose the classic box to review which is for people who eat me

Here Comes Baby Part 4 Review
September 23, 2014

Here Comes Baby Part 4 Review

1. TsvitanaLove Etsy - As a dietitian and fruit lover, I fell in love with this adorable crochet fruit sey from the TsvitanaLove Etsy shop. She makes all different kinds of fruits and vegetables and they are awesome quality. I am super impressed. For right now since baby is too little to play with these, I have them up on her shelf for a display. They are made from cotton yarn and have a wool stuffing. I play to get her a play kitchen one day so this will be perfect for that. These would make a very fun gift and are really nice because they are handmade. I would definitely recommend this shop! 2. Lia Ashley Couture - I was recently sent the most adorable items from the Lia Ashley Couture Etsy shop. These are the perfect outfits for a newborn photo shoot! When our baby is born, we have a newborn photographer scheduled to capture some beautiful pictures of our baby. I can't wait! I chose the "fairy kisses newborn tutu set" for my review. It is available in all