I hope you all will be having or attending a fun party this weekend! I’m super excited for my pal, Lauren, who is getting married on Saturday. I have seen some of her diy projects and, as usual, they are pretty special. I already know I have my eye on a pipe cleaner crown that she made as a photo booth prop…I better take a large purse. Have a great weekend!
photo credit: Kai Neville Studio
Anyone else have too much fun this weekend? My husband recently started working with a brand new sunglass company, IVI Vision. They had their launch party on Saturday night in the Hollywood Hills. Needless to say there was a lot of prep before and recovery after so there was no blogging this weekend. I hope you all had an amazing Mother’s Day and have a wonderful week!
Image Source: @IVIVision
Do you all remember The Mother Company (see a previous post I did here)? They make those great videos with Ruby? That talk about feelings? If you have no idea what I am talking about then you need to go check it out. They are an awesome company that help you to teach and experience the emotions that your kids are expressing. But they are also holding a contest on their Facebook page. And I entered the above photo and called it ‘No Nap Groucho.’ Please go vote for it here! I would get to go to the spa if I won. How dreamy does that sound?! Thanks guys! Oh and the contest ends, like, today. So hurry!!!!!
Happy Mother’s Day!!
Here is a Mother’s Day Gift idea for you. If my mom, mother-in-law or any grandmothers are reading, please stop immediately. Because this is what you are getting. This is my newest favorite lotion and it’s by J.R. Watkins. I’m sure you have seen this line carried at Target and may have even known about it before then. It’s been around, like, forever. I remember it from elementary school because my bff’s last name was Watkins and I used to always think her long lost relatives company.
This Lemon Cream Hand Cream is ridonk! As with my life, everything goes back to either desserts or rap music. This lotion, that I have been using nightly for over a week now, smells like lemon creme cookies! It smells SO good! I really want to eat it. And I probably could because it is all natural with shea and cocoa butters and oils to help protect and heal hands. I really like the texture. My oldest son started an extreme case of eczema at around 7 months old which caused me to try an abnormal amount of different lotions. This lotion is thick, without being heavy and soaks in to the skin really quickly. And it smells SO good, have I mentioned that already? I use lotion on my hands and heels every night due to excessive dryness (overshare much) so I’m looking forward to trying the salve. It is more greasy, like a thicker version of vaseline and takes longer to sink in to the skin. So I’m pretty sure if I put it on my feet and tried to walk to my kitchen it might look like I stepped on a banana peel. So I think I’ll add that to my bedtime routine. There are other varieties of these products as well, which is why I think they make the perfect Mother’s Day gift idea.
Just toss the products in a clear cello bag and jazz it up with some yarn. Boom. Mother’s Day Gift. You’re welcome.
J. R. Watkins also has a blog called, Clear Conscience, where they talk about their products, their company, their employees (I LOVE that they do that!) and it is a perfect way to learn more about what makes them so special.
Follow J.R. Watkins on Facebook and Twitter.
*I was sent some products to try out but all these opinions are mine!
Who wants to come with me? Stripes and florals just go so well together.
Photo Source: Antonia Steyn
Well, I’ma stuff my face to a funky beat” - The Fat Boys ’All you Can Eat’
Have you seen this? If you like rap and food, like I do, you are going to love this. I was recently pretty devastated when I found out that someone already has my rap name, Snaxx. Good thing I haven’t started my rap career. Yet. Boom.
Click over to watch the video!
Fresh out of college I started an internship in Los Angeles. But I lived in Anaheim. For those of you that aren’t local the two cities are not that far apart. But you add in crazy morning traffic and it can take you anywhere from 45 minutes to 3 hours. You just never know. And so you have to plan ahead. It was on these long, stop and start commutes that I began drinking coffee. The monotony of the freeway made me want to nod off. So my mom would fill a travel mug of coffee for me, since I didn’t even know how to make it, and off I would go. Over the years I’ve stopped and started drinking morning coffee numerous times. But lately I have been thinking about my morning coffee a lot. And I’m realizing that I REALLY enjoy it! Like, thinking about it the night before and stuff. It got me thinking. Is it really about the coffee? My morning coffee routine has evolved over the course of my kid’s lives. At this point, thanks in part to my kid’s ages, coffee time has come back to being a leisure moment for me. The only time of the day that I get to sit down at the computer and check my fave blogs (Hank and Hunt, A Fabulous Fete, Design Love Fest, You Are My Fave, Creature Comforts… in case you were wondering my dailies) and on most days get 20-30 minutes of being still and inspired. But I truly have grown to enjoy coffee as well. About 9 months ago, my mom surprised me with a Keurig. I know! Best mom ever! She loved hers and just knew that I would love it too but I didn’t want to spend the money on myself. So she bought me one, for no reason. We’ve been exploring the K-Cup options ever since. It has been fun trying out different flavors and figuring out what I look for in a coffee. I like a full, dark blend with my spiced Vanilla Sugar. I also realized that since this morning time is important to me, I’m not going to buy the cheapest coffee that I can. I’m going to really enjoy what I’m drinking.
What do you REALLY enjoy that you are surprised by? What does your coffee routine look like?
*I was sent a month’s supply of K-Cups from Starbucks. All opinions are mine. I was not expecting to like them as much as I do. The French Roast Dark is my fave. There is no denying, Starbucks makes a great cup of coffee.
How yummy does this banana oat smoothie look? I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I totally just had to look up how to spell banana. All I could hear while writing it was Gwen’s voice spelling it but I heard far too many n’s. Dang. How am I going to be able to help my kid’s with their homework if I can’t even spell banana?
If you don’t think I am a total loser and are still around, let me tell you about my new favorite breakfast. It is a banana oat smoothie. I eat about 3 bananas a year, on average. They are not my favorite fruit by any means. But something about this recipe made me want to try it. And I’ve been trying to get off the ‘Tarts. Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tarts have always been my weakness and I attribute many a cellulite dimple to them. This smoothie is delicious and super satisfying. AND I have found that I make it when I need something sweet at other times of the day and feel so much better about that choice then when I eat a whole bag of Trader Joe’s Kettle Corn.
The excuse I used to tell myself was that I just don’t have time to put breakfast together in the morning and I have to grab something quick. But if you make it a priority, it quickly becomes part of the routine and you can make it in no time at all. There is little to no prep and as you get comfortable with your measurements you can put it together even more quickly. As I am a terrible judge of well, most guess-timations, I will continue to use a measuring cup to make sure I am not adding unneccessary calories. This recipe is modified a bit from this one on the Martha Stewart page (which was acting all wonky when I was trying to link to it but I think we all know where to find her if you want to see the real recipe). Here is what you will need:
1 bananananananana
1/4 cup oatmeal (uncooked – not quick cooking)
1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1/2 cup vanilla soymilk
a squeeze of honey (to taste – I don’t like things very sweet so I sometimes don’t even put it in)
dash or two of cinnamon
Add it all to the blender and get to whirring. The banana does not need to be chopped up, but you should break it up in to at least 3 pieces so that it will blend well. I chose to use soymilk instead of regular milk because (spoiler alert – it’s about to get gross) it makes me extra phlegmy. But I don’t like the tang of soy yogurt so that it why I use cow’s milk yogurt in it. Quite possibly, a dumb substitution but I can tolerate and enjoy it this way, so there.
And why should cocktails have all the fun. Add some pizzazz to your banana oat smoothie and drink up! I have also made several variations of this smoothie to change it up. I’ve added unsweetened cocoa powder – delicious! I’ve swapped the soymilk for orange juice and added a dash of vanilla – hello creamsicle. I’ve also added strawberries to change-up the flavor and added other spices, like nutmeg, for a match made in heaven. Depending on how long you blend it, your oatmeal will either be pretty darn smooth or a little bit more chewy. I find that this smoothie keeps me full and I feel good about what I am putting in my body. Then I only have the rest of the day to worry about screwing up my diet. Believe me. I can be the world’s worst eater. We’re talking cupcakes for breakfast, lunch and snack with a grilled cheese dinner. Not THAT’S bananas.
This weekend I got to have a pre-Mother’s day Champagne Brunch at Knott’s Berry Farm. I took my fellow mommy friend, Carole, along to enjoy a kid-free meal with me (you must excuse her funny face. Mere moments before this was taken there was an incident. I’m just going to leave it at that. But gosh dang, I wish this was a video and not a still photo :). I am no stranger to the Champagne Brunch at Knott’s. My husband’s family lives in Buena Park and we meet up at the brunch to celebrate special occasions. This time was different, though. I only had to worry about making a plate (or four) for myself.
The Knott’s Berry Farm Mother’s Day Champagne Brunch features an expanded menu with over 60 items, including this delicious roast beef. There truly is something for everyone from Mexican food, Ms. Knott’s Famous Fried Chicken and breakfast staples such as custom omelettes, waffles with strawberries and delightful smoked breakfast meats.
By now you must know that I have a wicked sweet tooth. This was my favorite part of the brunch. The desserts! That carrot cake was SO tasty and the peach cobbler?!?! Insane! This is the perfect place to bring mom for Mother’s Day Brunch. Hours for brunch on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 13th, are 9 am – 4 pm. Adults are $29.95, Seniors are $22.95 and Kids are $16.95. BUT! if you mention the “mom blogger event” when making your reservation, you’ll get 10% off (for Mother’s Day Brunch only). Call 714-220-5055 to make reservations.
It had been awhile since I had walked through the shops outside the front of the park. Carole and I strolled through, because we could since we were kid free! These shops are great because you don’t have to pay for park admission to shop there. There is 3 hour free parking right across the street which makes it super convenient (unless you can find a spot right in front! – SCORE!) I found Boysenberry Punch concentrate in the Marketplace that I bought for my boys. Have you ever had this stuff? SO good and TOTALLY a Knott’s thing. Word on the street is you can make a mean Boysenberry Martini with it too…I’ll keep you posted.
And there are great party resources to be found outside of Knott’s! I already mentioned in my previous post that you can order custom cakes from their super talented bakers, but did you know that they have an amazing candy shop?! Perfect for all your candy buffet and favor needs. Not only do they have tons of colors, but they have the super fun candy that is hard to find like chocolate rocks and stones!
I am super grateful to Knott’s for giving me a few hours off of mom duty this weekend. It was much-needed! And I didn’t eat for the rest of the day thanks to all the delicious food I overate.
*I was given a free brunch and $25 voucher for the shops. The opinions are mine. As was the heartburn. Just kidding. 
And rest. All my parties are over!! They were all so much fun and turned out really well. I can’t wait to share all the details with you! Luckily Dez and Tam were there to capture both! Here is a quick sneak of the Lego heart necklaces I gave to the girls who came out for my son’s 6th birthday party. And in HUGE news, I think my niece thinks I’m cool now! We bonded over our love of neon colors and by party’s end, she asked her mother if I could throw her next party!!!!!!! I’m sure that probably didn’t go over too well considering her mom is a fellow party lover (and started this blog with me!) So fingers crossed, I will finally get to plan girly party like I’ve always wanted! Have a great week everyone!
