Mom Fashion: Custom Styling Option with eShakti #review

Are you ready for a new spring dress?  I know a lot of the country is still dealing with snow and the ensuing slushy mess, but here is Oregon we are finally seeing springtime weather. This weekend we are seeing 70' days. Spring cleaning and new dresses go hand in hand. Thankfully eShakti has an awesome collection of Spring Dresses that can be customized, changing the length of the dress, or a slightly different neckline, different sleeves, and even removing the embellishments for the dress. I received a customized Spring Dress to review and share our experiences.
Last spring I reviewed a dress for eShakti and everyone loved it. This year my family (husband and boys) are the only ones that have seen it so far. I am wearing it for Easter activities on Easter Sunday to show it off.
I decided to go accessory shopping to pick up a few things to go with the dress (sunglasses, bracelet, shoes, etc) without overpowering the dress.

This dress features chambray cotton, shirt dress styling, pleated skirt, elastic back waist, and side pockets. The original dress was knee length and had different sleeves. I had the dress lengthened and the keyhole tied sleeves added. I like the length of the dress and the shirt styling of the top. Since I am not a size 6 and I'm somewhere in the middle height wise, I'm having trouble getting totally comfortable in the waist length  (I'm finding that with just about everything this season though.)
I love how quickly the dresses are altered and shipped. When I received my dress the DHL driver who delivered it was running late and I was his last drop for the day, he was really nice about it being so late in the evening (something like 7:45 pm). I told him about the company and he said he would tell his girlfriend about it. I really love when the delivery drivers show some interest in the packages they are handling.

So as I'm sitting here typing this post, I comfortably wearing the dress (go for everyday living) and noticing a couple of the details in the styling; the gold buttons are actually buttonholes not just decoration (although I can't see using them since the elastic in the back makes it crazy easy to get in and out of), also the darts in the bust line of the dress are gentle enough in shaping that I don't feel crazy self conscience.
The color is a nice washes chambray rather than a dark denim which I appreciate and the chambray fabric is lightweight enough to not get crazy hot it.
This dress will be a fun addition even through the summer.
If you have never shopped with eShakti, their vintage style is fun, functional, and modest without seeming to old fashion, and since most of the the lengths can be altered you can adjust to fit your personality. New this season they even have a bridesmaid line of dress (many of those dresses can be worn after by just removing the underskirt).
Prices with eShakti are realistic not over the top; you can find dresses for under $75 easily. Lately, I've had trouble finding something I feel comfortable in that won't break the bank, so shopping with eShakti is a nice change.

Share a smile with Tyson #NuggetSmiles

Sometimes eating isn't fun, but sometimes it is a ton of fun. 

How to do you make a Nugget Smile?

 With a Tyson #NuggetSmiles Plate of course.

The next trick is to get the kids to smile as the eat off the fun plate!

You can get a #NuggetSmiles plate for free with specially marked packages of Tyson Chicken Nuggets. With 3 Proofs of purchase you can send away from a fun Nugget face plate! I was lucky enough to score a coupon from the local Sunday newspaper a few weeks ago to save $.75 off a bag of Tyson Chicken, makes the deal even better.

The boys weren't sure about the idea of making faces on a plate or even making faces out of their dinner. (They take dinner way too seriously!)

Anyway, we headed to our local Safeway store to pick up a few things, coupons in hands and a list this time.

Our Safeway store allows 4 coupons to be doubled up to $.50 additional off per coupon.

  

This isn't a healthy option by any means but I had a coupon for Diet Dr. Pepper and had a craving for it so bought 2 , 2 liter bottles

Bonus! We found the Tyson Chicken Nuggets on sale for only $4.99 a bag! They were easy to find in the store, they had their own end cap display in the meat section. Love when I find a deal on something fun to dinner.

We decided to have a little fun with dinner, Chicken Nugget silly salads!

Salad plus tomatoes plus Tyson Chicken Nuggets and a variety of other toppings creates fun for dinner!

The adults got in on the fun too! Salad greens for facial hair, tomato nose, and kalamata olive with yellow pepper eyes.

What kid doesn't like to play with his food? Chicken nuggets smile with a pickled beet nose, tomato eyes, and finished off with romain lettuce eye brows, looks like a happy dinner!

Check out the rest of our adventure with Chicken Nuggets in our Google Plus Album

With 3 proofs of purchase you can get your own #NuggetSmiles plate and have fun creating you own edible faces with nuggets and imagination.

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® . and Tyson #cbias #SocialFabric

What is your Dream Job? #31DayMarch

Dream Job?

 I'm going it! I love blogging! I love meeting new people, working with awesome brands, trying new products, seeing new films, sharing my opinion, reading other's thoughts. I really couldn't ask for a better job.

Join in the fun with Tiffany

What makes me Happy #31daymarch

What makes me happy?
Here is a short list:
a.baby belly laughs
b. seeing my boys get it during school
c. a successful dinner with new dishes
d. quiet time in church
e. snuggling with my boys
f. spending time with my husband.

Join in the fun with Tiffany

Favorite Quotes #31daymarch

A favorite quote, this is actually harder than I thought as I have many quotes that I treasure. As a Mom this one is one that sticks....

"Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself." from The Prophet by Kahill Gibran

I'm sure there are many people that will disagree with me, but this quote has meaning to me.

Join in the fun with Tiffany

Me plus 5 facts #31DayMarch

5 Random facts about Unvlmom

1. I shared my birthday with my grandfather. 1/3/74 to his 1/3/07 (it was a Thursday both years)

2. I was in the Chess club in elementary school.

3. I love to cook, but hate to do the dishes. 

4. Mom use to joke with me that I could smell a clearance rack a mile away, thankfully I haven't lost that sense. 

5. I love reading, especially spiritual works and historical romance.

Join in the fun with Tiffany

Does breakfast have to be an expensive rush? Not with #BreakfastSavings

 Breakfast can be the hardest meal to fix in a rush and on a budget, but it doesn't have to be thanks to Safeway and this week's promotion.

  I recently took my son to Safeway to pick up a couple breakfast items that will make our mornings smoother. Normally I would coupon match and spend time on Safeway's Just for U sight to rock the savings, this time it was right after homeschool co-op so all I had was the weekly circular. I love the side bar ads (underneath they show the $5 Friday deals that are always winners). This week (February 27- March 5, 2013) is an awesome Buy 4 Save $4 Rise and Shine Savings.  I knew we needed some breakfast stuff for my picky kiddo (he doesn't like eggs, doesn't like pancakes, not a huge milk drinker, etc..)  So with the circular in hand we headed into our local Safeway store 

 Thankfully we found Milk on sale as well as cereal bars, yogurt, cereal, and even some vegetarian bacon.

My awesome little helped loaded all the groceries onto the conveyor belt for the cashier, glad he was there to see exactly what was available and what he got since he is my picky eater. I was also glad he could see the prices and the value of those various items as we shopped the store.  I usually just type in my phone number as soon as the cashier starts my order, but since my guy was with me and I wanted him to see the values I waited until the last minute to put my number in. 

We started with just under $30 in groceries and ended up just under $20, when we got home he made me check for coupons I might have that could have saved us more, I found a couple valued at about $1.50 or so, next time.

Our quick shopping trip sure made this morning's breakfast easier and affordable, two things that make this homeschooling mama a lot happier.

 

With great deals and our pantry organization projects breakfast is now a lot less stressful.

You can check out more pictures from our breakfast journey on Google

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias®  and Safeway #cbias #SocialFabric
 

Mom fashion: new make up? #MagicBBCream

I tried out the new MAGIC Skin Beautifier  B.B. Cream from LOREAL Paris courtesy of SheSpeaks.  I don't use a lot of make-up, but I am always on the look out for something to use as a basic tone and something that will give me an even color with out looking obvious and without looking too caked one..

 L'OREAL's new MAGIC Skin Beautifier  B.B. Cream says it is a 4 in 1 product that primes, perfects, hydrates, and corrects. Retailing for $10.95 for a 1.0 FL. OZ.

Armed with the idea that this could realistically be the answer to my search , I used the product for a little over 2 weeks I tried the product.

Day one

Day 16

After 2 weeks I noticed my skin was drier than before causing the make to look caked on although skin an even color even my husband said it looked like I was wearing make-up which is not the goal. I want it to look natural.  I did find that the coverage of certain issue spots was effective while not making it obvious that I was trying to cover something up.  I've spent most of my make-up years searching for a good color and I have to say that L'OREAL provided a good color with this product, a basic color. I will continue to use MAGIC Skin Beautifier  B.B. Cream  on occasion but will be adding a stronger moisturizer before applying. 

For daily wear though,  I think I will stick to the my more basic option, a little moisturizer, lips and eyes and leave it at that. 

1 week later back to the basics, no foundation other than moisturizer

I received the above mentioned product in exchange for my honest opinion. All opinions are that of this blogger, no monetary compensation was received.

Steakhouse dinner at home

Lately if and when we have gone out to dinner, I have been less then impressed.
So I decided to do a steakhouse dinner at home.

Broccoli with cheese sauce, brown rice cooked in beef broth, and a Top Sirloin steak medium grilled on a hot BBQ topped with shitaki mushrooms and red onions in a balsamic reduction. It was pure heaven and since the broccoli and onions came from a gleaning project, the rice was given to us, etc.... the total meal for all 4 of use was less than $20. (steaks priced out at around $8.00) (beef broth was made from neck bone this past fall and stored in the pantry and the cheese sauce was a simple sauce of milk, butter and a small bit of cheese, not super heavy).

It had all the flavor of a steakhouse meal with out the huge price tag.

Valentine's Day

For the last 8 years my husband has brought home a card and a cute little stuffed animal for Valentine's Day. This year he stepped up and added a dozen red roses to the trip.  I'm pretty blessed to have him in my life.

It was a Meatless Monday

 Quick and easy was the key to this lunch.
I warmed up 2 Spicy Black Bean Burgers to create a simple healthy lunch wrap.

A layer of loosely chopped lettuce, a couple grape tomatoes, 2 Spicy Black Bean Burgers , a bit of crumbled feta cheese , and a squeeze of fresh lime.

A quick and easy lunch wrap. Next time I think I will chop up the burgers a bit before I add them to the wrap.

It was really that easy.



 I'm a BzzAgent and that I received a product sample, coupon, collateral or other special premium from BzzAgent.

Family Favorites: Enchiladas made simple

A couple of years ago I came across a recipe in a Sunday Coupon slick using Campbell's Cream of mushroom soup to make enchiladas, my family loved it. Since then I have modified the recipe and it has become a family favorite.

6 large tortillas
2 cups shredded chicken (I used frozen chicken I had packaged earlier this month from a rotisiery chicken I bought)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 cups grated  cheddar cheese  divided
1 small can green chilies (mild for family)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup salsa (I used homemade but you can use your favorite)
1 1/2 cups salsa or enchilada sauce

Nathan helped me make dinner tonight to show of the recipe

I love my old school grater especially for cheese. This bowl is the other half of the cheese from the recipe , it will be used for topping.

Combine everything except half the cheese and the salsa or enchilada sauce

Fill each tortilla with about 2/3 cup of filling, roll each into a long casserole pan (I think this is a 9 x 13)

I usually end up with 6 enchiladas, I will often double the batch and freeze one tray for later.

Top with salsa or enchilada sauce

Cover enchiladas with the other half shredded cheese.

Place in a 350' oven and bake for 20 minutes (mostly just to heat everything up and melt the cheese)

Each of the boys will eat 1 , Mike will eat 2 1/2 and I will eat 1 1/2. When the boys get older I'm sure it will be a double batch when I make them.

Serve with salad for a complete meal!

Enjoy!

Looking ahead to a Meatless Monday

Are you reading to go meatless on Monday?  Since we have a few days left this week and then the weekend, start thinking about all the fun meal options with a Meatless Monday.
Monday the boys and I will go meatless with MorningStar Farms Grillers. I am going for some spice with Spicy Black Bean Grillers.  My favorite way to make them up is to create a griller wrap with a soft tortilla , some salad, a little cheese and a griller warmed up and cut in half., top it all with some sour cream or ranch dressing and you are ready with an easy Meatless meal on Monday or any day of the week.

Stay tuned as I share our Meatless Monday with you next week  featuring Spicy Black Bean Burgers.

MORNINGSTAR FARMS® SPICY BLACK BEAN BURGERS

With black beans, roasted corn, brown rice, and chili peppers, these burgers definitely have a whoa-that-was-good-now-give-me-some-more kick to them.

• 120 calories, 4g fiber, 11g protein and 73% less fat*

*MorningStar Farms® Spicy Black Bean Burger (67g) contains 4g fat per serving, compared with regular ground beef (67g) containing 15g fat per serving.

***** I'm a BzzAgent and that I received a product sample, coupon, collateral or other special premium from BzzAgent.****

Be My Valentine Marriage Challenge ~Week 1

I am so excited to share this awesome Marriage Challenge from WomenLivingWell.org
Week 1 is simple Take the Initiative and praise your husband.
Courtney suggests simple things such as praise your husband in front of the kids, send him encouraging text messages, offer to say prayer at dinner and praise God for your wonderful husband, if your husband is on Facebook post a public praise on his wall or post a status update praising him.
After I thought about that a little more, I would like to suggest Twitter as another way to praise him publicly  While my husband is not on social media, I can still praise him on social media and on my blog.

I love this man, he has known me for more than 20 years, and stuck with me for the last 10 years of a crazy roller coaster ride we call marriage.

He was there beside me the entire time bringing our first child into this world.

He was beside me and acted as my voice when it came to bringing our second son into this world.

He holds me together when I seem to be falling apart at the seams and he lifts me up when I step out of my comfort zone knowing that it will bring us closer as a family.

He even tags along and drives so I can attend blogging events, I don't know many guys willing to go stand around and listen to a bunch of bloggers talk about food.