The Gift of JOY: With Hasbro Joy For All

This post was sponsored by Hasbro’s Joy For All brand  as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central. All opinions expressed in my post are my own.

This is truly my favorite time of year.  I remember as a little girl waiting anxiously Christmas Eve night for the next morning to come.  I would eventually nod off from the excitement & thrill of the day.  As I’ve grown older it’s less about the presents and more about being with family & watching the joy in my own child’s eyes.

I want to tell you about a special person in our lives, Terence’s Grandma.  She’s the sweetest person.  I’ve had the joy of knowing her over the past 15 years and now that she’s in an assisted living home, it’s our turn to take care of her.  You see, it doesn’t have to be something big to make someone’s day.  Just a hug, phone call, or a visit makes all the difference.  The truth is that we can’t be there all the time and unfortunately a lot of people are left alone when they get older without any family or visitors at all….this breaks my heart.

Hasbro has come out with a great new “toy” for seniors called Joy For All.  I let Connor babysit the cat (we named her Chloe) & the dog (we named him Max) until he could give them to his Great-Grandma.  He absolutely LOVED them!  They are so realistic it’s CRAZY!  Hasbro has always been a great toy brand, and now they are striving to bring happiness to our beloved Grandmas and grandpa’s.

We went to visit Great-Grandma last weekend and brought her Chloe and Max.  She just adored them.  I can tell they are going to be well-loved at their new home.

HASBRO’S JOY FOR ALL™ Companion Pets have a unique two-way interaction that can help bring fun, joy, and companionship to our aging loved ones.  Joy For All Companion Pets can be powered off, on, and can also be muted at night.  They respond to built in sensors from motion and touch.  Batteries are also included so you can give it to your loved one right away!

The Joy for All Pup was Connor’s favorite because he is really wanting a dog this Christmas.  The Pup barks and turns his head when you talk to him.  He opens and closes his eyes.  Also, when you place your hand on his back you can feel a calming heartbeat.  It’s the most realistic dog…without the maintenance I have ever seen!

The Joy for All Cat is so adorable.  It’s fluffy fur is so soft and cuddly.  The cat purrs and meows.  It will even open and close its eyes too 🙂

We are so thankful for our new furry friends.  Grandma’s nursing home is going to use them for all the residents as a therapy tool.  I’m sure they will all love Max and Chloe just as much as we did.

Head to JoyForAll.com to purchase your very own JOY FOR ALL COMPANION PET today and use JOY2016 for 10% off your purchase!

Here is a sweet video of Great-Grandma and Chloe.  You can see how much she really loved her.  Instead of giving Grandma a robe or a pair of slippers this year….give her the gift of companionship.  Hasbro’s Joy For All is truly the best gift ever if you have someone living in a home.

Follow Joy For All on Instagram & Twitter for the latest!

Here is Grandma a week later…her nurse sent us a wonderful picture of her visiting
with the Joy for All Pup.  Seems like she is enjoying it so very much!

Dinner Delivered by #Chefd + Enter to WIN!

This post is sponsored by Chef’d.  All opinions are my own.

This season has been so busy y’all.  I just finished up all my Christmas sessions for the year and praise the Lord I can finally relax.  I’m a Wife & Mom, I blog, I also work part time for a wonderful Dentist, and I do photography on the weekends.  My days are crazy busy and a lot of the time I’m just trying to hold everything together the best I can.

Chef’d invited me to try a couple of menu options from their website and to say I was a little excited was an understatement.  I absolutely abhor the question “What is for dinner???”  It’s something I constantly struggle with.  I’m not the best cook, I like to cook on occasion…but overall I genuinely struggle with meal planning during the week.

Chef’d comes delivered right to your door step!  Like a magical fairy that answers your prayers and delivers fresh food over night…SURPRISE!  Chef’d is the first and only online meal kit marketplace with no membership or subscription fees; you order the recipes you want, when you want them, and all of the fresh, pre-portioned ingredients will arrive at your door within 48 hours.


All items are carefully packed and organized.

I made the Mediterranean Penne with Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Parmesan Zucchini.  Your kit comes with a step by step instruction sheet for each recipe as well.

There is still some slicing, dicing, and baking to do, but everything is pre-measured and ready to go.  Just like on those cooking shows I watch on TV.

Me and my little helper 🙂

Yummy…and FRESH!  The zucchini and pasta were so good!

We really enjoyed our menu items from Chef’d and will definitely be trying some more dishes.  You can customize meal plans and even shop based on dietary restrictions.

This is a great gift idea for the foodie in your life!  Why not give the gift of a great meal with a Chef’d gift card?

Or you can WIN ONE RIGHT NOW!

Please enter using the Entry Form Below:

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Learn Your Camera with the Best Buy Camera Experience-Christmas Photo Edition

This is a sponsored post. All opinions are completely my own based on my experience.

‘Tis the season for your annual Christmas card photo.  I know because this is my busiest time of year as a photographer and my weekends are FILLED with photo shoots right now.  You all know how much I love photos.  They are my memories and I love to look back on them fondly from time to time.

For all of those who ask, I own this camera body and love it: Nikon D750 FX-format Digital SLR Camera Body

One of my very favorite Christmas shoots this year:  Hot Cocoa Booth Pictures 

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This time of year I also find myself racing to the mailbox to see if we recieved any Christmas cards from friends and family.  I enjoy seeing the beautiful family photos and how kids have grown.  One of the most common questions I get as a photographer is “How do I use my DSLR camera?” or “How do I shoot in manual mode?”  Last weekend I had the opportunity to visit Best Buy and check out their new Best Buy Camera Experience Shop.  This is a great class if you are learning how to use your camera- it doesn’t matter if you shoot Nikon, Canon, Sony, or whatever…all your questions will be answered.  And the best part is the class is TOTALLY FREE PEOPLE!!!

Best Buy offers the Best Buy Camera Experience Shop on the first Saturday of every month.  There are three in the Dallas area.  Find your classes HERE.

I have been using a DSLR camera for around 6-7 years now, but I will tell you this…I’m constantly learning something NEW!  So I was excited to attend this class with a couple of my friends and talk about one of my favorite subjects- PHOTOGRAPHY!

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Our instructor, Kenneth, did a great job and really engaged with each person.  After the class the employees were very helpful at answering all our questions.

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You will be given a workbook so you can follow along with your instructor.  This is great so you can take it home and refer to it while shooting later on.

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After the instructor finishes talking about the material you will break up into small groups, depending on what kind of camera you have.  There you will get to ask questions to your heart’s content.  It was fun to discuss photos and ideas, no matter what level photographer you are.

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Best Buy also offers a wide variety of cameras and accessories.  I’m constantly losing my lens caps…ha! dsc_7744

From filters, batteries, lens caps, tripods, cleaning kits, and all your camera needs…Best Buy’s got you covered.dsc_7747

I’m super excited for those Christmas cards to start rolling in 🙂  You’ll never regret taking too many photos.  That’s my philosophy anyway.  If you have a DSLR that’s been sitting on the shelf, dust that sucker off and get to Best Buy so you can start making those amazing memories!

Renovation Reality & Pinterest Dreams

As most of you know we moved into our new home about a month ago.  So far we are loving it!  We knew we wanted to stay in a certain area and stuck to our guns when it came to that and I’m so glad we did.  We did look outside of this area, but we kept coming back and hoping and praying something would turn up in our desired location.

Connor got to trick-or-treat in our new neighborhood last night 🙂

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We moved into an apartment during the summer of 2015, only to renew the lease two more times.  It was over a year long process of searching in DFW for the perfect home. To be honest I thought we would never find our home.

I truly believe we found the perfect place thanks to a lot of hard work and a great team!

We have done some renovation projects to our new house, and we still have a lot more we’d like to do.  That’s the thing about houses…it never really ends!  We painted the kitchen and living room a bright white and it made such a difference.  We made changes that included paint, lighting, fireplace, and a few other cosmetic details.

Living room BEFORE:

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Living room AFTER:

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I’ll share more with you on all the changes we made in another blog post.  Today I want to talk to you about home equity.  Although we’ve made some major improvements in our new home we do have a “wish list” that we still want to tackle in the future.  That list includes the bathrooms and maybe a mud room some day.  We’d like to put a barn door where the laundry room is.  It’s so fun to dream up how you envision your home in the years to come.

Capital One has some great home equity tools on their website.  If you are thinking of a remodel, but don’t know where to start I encourage you to take a look.  I’ve never been happier than investing in a home we know we are going to be in years to come.  It’s money well spent and I can’t wait to make all the memories and future visions come true.

Whether you’re remodeling your home or consolidating debt, Capital One is here to help with simply smarter tools that help you choose the right option for your situation. I know by using the right tools and having a plan we can save to make those dreams come to life.

By visiting capitalone.com/home-equity you can get a customized rate offer, an estimated loan amount, and even begin the application process.  There are no fees and no impact to your credit score either.  So when we are ready to replace those sea shell sinks in the bathroom we can start the process right away.13958064_840856172681733_2915495672524413337_o

The DFW area is booming right now, I can tell you that because it took us over a year and almost 30 STRONG offers on homes to figure that out.  It’s a battlefield out there y’all.  Be prepared to bring your A-game.  

Check out these Dallas Fort-Worth Survey Results:

  • The DFW real estate market is thriving. And with higher home prices and smaller supply available on the market, 58 percent of homeowners in DFW anticipate home improvement expenses in the next two years.
  • As DFW residents plan ahead for these projects, only 25 percent have taken out a home equity line of credit previously and nearly seven in ten (68 percent) admit to facing obstacles in obtaining a loan.
  • When asked to identify these specific challenges, 33 percent of respondents cited the amount of paperwork needed and 29 percent indicated not knowing exactly where they stood in the application process.
  • With these obstacles in mind and as residents go through the process for the first time, Capital One is here to help with simply smarter tools that empower DFW residents to take charge with the support they need on their own terms.

If you are in the market right now, or just want to make your Pinterest dreams come true, don’t forget to check Capital One.  You can see how much equity you have to play with right away & make your dreams a reality.

Here’s to many more memories to come…

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I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Dinner’s Ready with Reynold’s Heat & Heat

This post is sponsored by Reynolds™ but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

When I get home from a long day the LAST thing on my mind is “what’s for dinner?”  I’ve told y’all before I’m not the best cook.  I have a handful of go-to meals up my sleeve for the weeknights, but I would really like to start cooking more at home to save money.

I recently tried these new containers by Reynolds Disposable Heat & Eat.  These can be found at your local Walmart and are priced very reasonably.

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These Reynolds Disposable Heat & Eat containers are a great alternative to plastic and are made with natural plant fibers.  These are good for reheating dinners at home or work in the microwave too!

We had tacos for dinner last night.  I put our meat and beans in the Reynolds Disposable Heat & Eat containers and I had a taco salad for lunch today!  

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No more melting plastic in my microwave!
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Like my Mom always said “Waist not, want not”.  Next time you’re at Walmart check out the Reynolds Disposable Heat & Eat in the food container isle.  

GET YOUR $1.00 OFF COUPON HERE!

Ready for Fall with ChapStick® + Enter to WIN!

The ChapStick® product, information and gift have been provided by Pfizer Consumer Healthcare.

Well, as you all know we just moved into our new HOME!  Praise the Lord!

Our bodies are a bit tired and we are a little achy, but are super excited for this chapter in our lives and the memories to be made in our new house.  We are still unpacking and getting things in order.  I can’t wait to share all the things we’ve been doing to update the house.  I think it’s a lot of fun!  There are definitely great things about owning a new house like our last home, but the character in an older home, the mature trees in the yard, and little “fixes” make for a fun adventure!

Yesterday I had all the windows open and it was a cool 68 degrees…it finally feels like FALL!  Woohoo!  My favorite season 🙂

I’m super excited to bust out those boots and scarves that have been sitting in storage.  I always get SUPER dry lips in the fall/winter months too.  It’s something that happens to me every single year.

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This year I’m fully stocked with ChapStick®, America’s favorite lip balm, and I’m ready for the cold fronts baby!  I keep one in my purse, in Connor’s backpack, and in my car.  I’m always prepared and ready for the chill.
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ChapStick® is available in so many varieties and flavors.  I just saw “Pumpkin Pie” flavor at the store the other day!  You can also purchase at Chapstick®’s new online store!  Healthy & happy lips are only a click away! (Please note: there is a minimum quantity requirement of 3 items in order to proceed with checkout.)

My personal favorite is a Classic Cherry.  Yum…Yum…

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Be ready for fall with ChapStick® – no matter what gets thrown your way!

ENTER TO WIN A CHAPSTICK LUNCHBOX FILLED WITH ChapStick® GOODIES!

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Recipients must be 18 years or older and reside in U.S.

Follow ChapStick® on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

It’s Football Time with KING’S HAWAIIAN! #GameTimeGrilling

This blog post was sponsored by KING’S HAWAIIAN® but the opinions are all my own.

It’s FOOTBALL time y’all!  We are big TCU fans in our house.  Of course I am torn between two families…my family in Arkansas are big Razorback fans, and my husband went to TCU.  Arkansas just played TCU and lost…. 🙁

There’s nothing like a fall weekend with friends and family eating good food and watching football.  It’s the obligatory thing to do on the weekends am I right?

So, we love our football…but we also love good FOOD!  Last weekend the boys were watching the game and I headed to HEB to make some yummy ham & cheese sliders.  This is definitely one of my go-to recipes for football and party food!hawaain

KING’S HAWAIIAN® rolls are great for lots of sandwiches, but this is our favorite!

HAM AND CHEESE MELTS:

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You can choose the original or go a little spicy with the Jalapeno rolls
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Cut the entire package in halfdsc_5509

Layer with ham

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Top with cheese 🙂

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Put the tops back on the KING’S HAWAIIAN® rollsdsc_5517

Spread the butter/mustard/poppy seed mixture on top!dsc_5519

And ENJOY like my precious boys here 🙂  They love watching football together…it gets a bit loud in there I must say!  Ha ha!
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KING’S HAWAIIAN® also has a fab new line of grilling sauces & we LOOOOVE to grill while the weather is still nice outside.  Here is my hubby cooking up some yumminess on the grill!  That’s the KING’S HAWAIIAN® Kona Coffee BBQ sauce!07042010-25

We try to cook at home during the week to help save and prepare our meals in advance.  These sauces make preparation easy and simple!

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Also, I was browsing in the Food Network Magazine this weekend and LOOK!!!  These cute little “spooky sliders” using KING’S HAWAIIAN® rolls are so adorable!  See recipes below:

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Happy Football season from our little Horned Frog to yours!

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RECIPE:

HAWAIIAN HAM AND CHEESE SLIDERS

INGREDIENTS

  • 3/4 cup melted Butter
  • 1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1 tsp Brown Sugar
  • 1 tbsp Poppy Seeds
  • 2 tsp Dried Minced Onion
  • 12 King’s Hawaiian Dinner Rolls
  • 9 oz thin sliced Deli Ham
  • 8 oz thin sliced Swiss Cheese

DIRECTIONS

  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with non-stick spray.
  • Combine butter, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, poppy seeds, and dried onion.
  • Slice the rolls to make sandwiches. Remove tops and set aside.
  • Place the bottom pieces into the prepared baking dish.
  • Layer the ham onto the rolls.
  • Top the ham with the Swiss cheese.
  • Place the tops of the rolls onto the sandwiches.
  • Brush or pour the liquid mixture evenly over the rolls.
  • Bake 20 minutes or until the rolls are lightly browned and cheese has melted.
  • Separate into individual sandwiches to serve.