fun times...

Natasha and I were having fun in the playroom at church!
Love those kiddos!
:)

in other news...
today was my LAST first day of college!!!
it still feels like I just started yesterday!
it's gone by sooooo fast!

shopping success!

today's shopping trip was a success!

I got a new top and dress!

along with some hoop earrings.

all for a grand total of $56!

:)

I LOVE FIRST DATES!

I know I am not exactly typical when I say that I love first dates. Most people are extremely nervous, but I always have so much fun! I don't get nervous and I am not shy at all. I think it is really nice to just meet someone new and find out all kinds of stuff about them.

I have been on 3 dates and the guys were all completely different.

I don't want to jinx anything, but I had a really great time with one in particular so I really hope we can do something again soon.

so, there's an update about my life lately...
:)

Gardein Review

Gardein was kind enough to send me some coupons to try and review their products on my blog.

Here is some information from their website:

"gardein™ is a wonderful and healthy alternative to animal protein and it's eco-friendly. i love to work with gardein™ because it's so versatile: you can grill, fry, sauté and even stuff gardein!

• looks, cooks and tastes like chicken or beef
• low fat, zero trans fats
• zero cholesterol
• good source of protein
• heat and serve in minutes
• 100% yield
• 1-year shelf life
• meat, egg and dairy free

Chick’n Filets – 8/10 – they were super easy to cook, and tasted alright, but it wasn’t my favorite meal. I have never eaten vegetarian chicken before, so I don’t have anything to compare it to. But, I really liked that this had 19 grams of protein per serving!!!

Chick’n Scallopini – 10/10 Sooooo good and flavorful! I liked this a lot more than the Chick’n Filets, the seasoning made all the difference! :) This had 14 grams of protein in ONE piece! wahoo!!

Thank you Gardein for letting me try and review your products!

Visit their website at http://www.gardein.com/index.php and try some for yourself!
:)

What a sweet note!

On Sunday, another worker, Mrs. Debbie gave me a sweet surprise...I was babysitting on Saturday when they had a meeting for childcare volunteers, so she got me a cup and wrote a sweet note to me inside...

That was so sweet of her! I am really blessed to be part of such a wonderful church!
I LOVE GRACE COMMUNITY!!!
:)

Taste of Nature Review

Taste of Nature was kind enough to send me their bars to try and review on my blog.


Here is a little info about them from their website...
"Respecting the imperatives of nature and not adding undesirable ingredients, results in not only the best tasting bars ever, but also results in better health. It is widely recognized that organic foods are higher in nutrient content. Our bars are a source of energy, fibre, protein, essential fatty acids, omega 3 fatty acids, and a host of vitamins, minerals and trace elements naturally found in organic foods."


Nova Scotia Blueberry Fields – 10/10 you can taste all the different kinds of nuts. It is light and crunchy and the blueberries add a lovely sweetness to each bite!

I didn't take pictures of the rest of the bars because they all look the same except for the color on the package, haha...

Canadian Maple Forest – 10/10 – this reminded me of pancakes! HOLY COW! YUMMY! It was like a bar dipped in maple syrup! Mmm!

Niagara apple country.. 10/10 - tasted like apple cinnamon oatmeal. Yummy!

Mediterranean pistachio passion 10/10- very tropical flavoring. Fruity and delicious!

Himalayan goji summit 10/10! Goji berries were sweet and the nuts added a savory taste at the same time..yum!

California almond valley 9/10 - I wasnt a fan of the sesame seeds, but I loved the crunchy almonds and raisins!

Persian pomegranite garden 10/10. Sweet. Yummy. There were little crispies throughout!

Argentina peanut plains 10/10. Peanuts galore! Yum! The agave nectar added the perfect amount of sweetness..

Visit their website at http://www.tasteofnature.ca/

and try some for yourself! I promise you won't be disappointed!

Thank you Taste of Nature for letting me review your bars :)

Friday Favs...

I have had an absolute BLAST this summer! I don't want it to end!!!

But, I am ready to get my SENIOR YEAR of college started too!
:)

So, I decided to take a look back at all my favorite memories of the summer...

Going to Cali to see Megan and hangout with her super fun family!

Going bowling with my girl, Krissy!

Going to get our nails done with Myrtle and her friend, Brilee, for her birthday!

Eating this SUPER YUMMY ice cream!

Buying my new car!

Fun game nights with my friends at my condo!

Getting paid to do this... :)

Hanging out with my girl, Courtney!

Letting birds sit on my head at the Zoo! haha


MY FAVORITE SONG OF THE SUMMER...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qzhngp7jh8
Brad Paisley & Carrie Underwood's song, "Remind Me"
I loveeeeeeeeee it!


So...what were some of your favorite things of the summer?

HOT DATE...

Tonight, I had a HOT DATE with Ben AND Jerry!
;)

This new flavor, Creme Brulee, is SOOOOOOOO GOOD!!!

I love love love caramel, and this flavor was caramel-icious!

Sweet Custard Icecream with a Caramelized Sugar Swirl

I accompanied my hot date with the hilarious movie,
Big Mama's Like Father Like Son.

GREAT THURSDAY NIGHT!

Daddy-Daughter Date

Today, I hung out with my brother at his apartment. Okay, we hungout at his apartment's pool...
It was lovely!
Gettin' my tan on!

Then, later on, I had a DADDY-DAUGHTER dinner date!
It's been a while since my dad and I have hungout, so I treated him to Logan's.
Look at my chicken...it was in the shape of a heart!
HOW SWEET!!
:)


Has your chicken ever come in a cool shape?

Patience & Planning

PATIENCE AND PLANNING.

I use these 2 P words quite frequently when it comes to grocery shopping.

I plan by searching through coupons and pick out coupons for stuff that I would normally buy.

A trick that I have come to LOVE is taking advantage of Kroger's matching policy. Any coupon you have up to 50 CENTS, Kroger will take off that same amount automatically. If you have a Kroger Plus Card, if you don't, you should really get one...It's FREE!

Example:
I got BOTH of these bars for ABSOLUTELY FREE!!!
I had two coupons for 50 cents off a bar.
Then, Kroger added another 50 cents off automatically.
and the bars were on sale for $1 each!

Patience came into play because I waited to use them until I saw that they were on sale for $1 each, and snagged them for FREE!!
whoop whoop!!!


Do you have any more tips for saving money???

I FINALLY TACKLED THE CLOSET

This morning, all I did was clean. Clean clean clean!

and, I'm proud to say...I finally tackled the closet.

I got rid of all the junk that I don't need or use anymore.

What a relief!

:)

Do you feel better after a good cleaning session?

Special Discount for Erin Baker's cookies!!!

Remember when I reviewed those DELICIOUS and NUTRITIOUS cookies?

Well, you should try them too!!!

Erin Baker’s Wholesome Baked Goods is having an awesome Back to School Promotion of FREE SHIPPING on orders $25 or more all next week (Aug 22-28th)*!

We wanted to let our fellow blogging community know about this promotion so that you are able to give your followers that are interested in Erin Baker’s a heads up!

In order to receive Free Shipping on your next online order please enter this code at time of check out: BGB2S at www.erinbakers.com

:)

BW3's

Yesterday, my cousin came to visit! She stayed at my place with me so we had lots of GIRL TALK! I made us dinner, we painted our nails, and just talked the night away!

Then, today, we met up with my mom, brother, and dad and ate at BW3's (aka..Buffalo Wild Wings) DOES ANYBODY KNOW WHY THEY CALL IT BW3's?? I don't get it...I only see 2 W's! hahahah

I ordered the Spinach Artichoke Chicken Flatbread.

OH MY WORD. It was DELICIOUS!
:)

Afterwards, the girls went to see "The Help" at the movie theater.
What a great movie!


What movie have you seen recently that you really enjoyed?

Sensible Portions Review

Sensible Portions sent me some coupons to try and review 2 of their products.

I chose Apple Straws and Veggie Chips.

Apple Straws
10/10
This was such an interesting snack! I've never had anything like it before. The straws were crunchy and sweet with a hint of cinnamon! I love apples, so I really enjoyed these!

Veggie Chips
10/10
These tasted like potato chips! They were really tasty! They had three different flavors, Tomato, Spinach, and Potato. Yummy!

I love that Sensible Portions are healthier than regular snacks and taste BETTER!
:)

Thank you Sensible Portions for letting me try and review your products!

Visit their website HERE

The Simply Bar Review

The Simply Bar company sent me the Cinnamon flavor to try and review.

They have lots of other flavors that you can try and buy on their website: www.thesimplybar.com



Cinnamon

7/10

It had the texture of rice krispies, which I liked, but there was a chalky protein aftertaste. I did like that there was 16g of protein in it though!

Thank you Simply Bar for letting me try this
:)

NEW GIVEAWAY WINNER!!!

The previous winner never gave me their address info, so I used random.org again to pick a new winner and number 6 won!

Beth@naturallyyoursbeth said...

I think I would most love to try the caramel ones and it may or may not require dipping them into almond butter ;)

Congrats, Beth!

Send me your info and the apple chips will be on their way soon!
:)

NEW GOODIES!!! :)

I am starting another new book, since I finished Karen Kingsbury's newest book, Learning, in TWO DAYS! It was soooooo good. I literally CANNOT wait for the next book in the series to come out! It's gonna be MONTHS before it does though! BOO!!!

So, in the meantime, I picked up a few of Danielle Steel's books to keep me occupied...

I saw these at Target and just HAD to get them! I immediately popped in a piece of the Apple Pie and OH MY GOSH, it tastes just like it! YUM YUM!

Later on, I tried the Cherry Limeade and it reminded me of the slushie from Sonic. MMMM!!!

I went shopping on TAX FREE WEEKEND and found this shirt. It was originally $36, but it was on sale, and I had a $10 off coupon to Kohls, so I ended up paying just $14 for it!!!
WHOOP WHOOP!!!


I had to get my nails done with a French tip for Ashley's wedding, and this is my first time ever getting them done that way! haha

:)

What new things have come into your life lately?

Christmas in August?

My friend Katie is moving and she was cleaning out her closet and GAVE me all this stuff! That was so super sweet of her! I got 2 dresses, 2 skirts, 1 pair of shorts, and 1 long pair of khakis!
THANK YOU SO MUCH KATIE!!!
I felt like it was Christmas in August! haha

Anna and I

I babysat two kids that I watch all the time in the playroom at church on Monday. They were super sweet! We played WIPEOUT on the Wii - SO MUCH FUN! Then, they played in the kiddie pool for a while, and finally we had a dance party! haha

Clayton and I



I am having such a blast this summer! I don't want it to end!!!!!
:)