Gift Chocolate This Year With Harbor Sweets

Disclaimer: I provided samples in order to facilitate this post, however, all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Yikes! It's been a long time since I wrote last! It's been so so crazy around here.  Between David hitting midterms and me reaching the end of the trimester at school, I've been so focused on everything else. Plus we've been spending weekends doing the fun holiday stuff that ges along with the end of the year! Anyone else feel like there is just too much to do this month? I think every single weekend is booked up already... our yearly vacation to P-Town, an event at Foxwoods, The Nutcracker, my mom's 50th birthday, and a dance performance! I'm already exhausted.

I am super excited though because most of my holiday shopping is already done.  The kids gifts are bought (don't worry, I'll be sharing what they're getting plus I'll have great ideas for your kids later this week!), my husband is done (don't worry, I've got you covered there too!), and my family members are just about done. I love giving great gifts and I really think about them for months so I know that I'm getting something they really want.

My biggest concern this year is all the "extras" that I don't really know what to get them: Emma's teachers, her dance instructors, Tyler's speech clinicians and therapists, the mail lady, you know, the list that seems to grow more every year? I'm super excited to share that I have found a wonderful, meaningful gift that is cost effective for all those extra people... and it gives back to a great cause!

Gather is a flight of six dark chocolate flavors, each infused with wildflower honey and packaged in a beautiful gold honeycomb-shaped box. In addition to it being ridiculously delicious, a portion of sales goes to the Pollinator Partnership, a non-profit that educates and advocates best honeybee protection practices. The best part is that a 6-piece box is $12.50 and 12-piece box is only $18.50. Each piece is delicious, but my personal favorite was the cashew caramel. Yum!

Let's be honest, you're spending $15-$20 on a gift for your kids' teachers, your dance instructors, your co-worker, your neighbor, and all those other last minutes people, and this is a much better gift that you know will be eaten and at the same time, you're giving back to help save the bees.

And since I love them so much, I'm giving you a discount code GATHER4FUN to save 10% off your order!

If delicious, honey-infused candy isn't your thing, Harbor Sweets offers lots of alternatives, including their signature Sloops, which are delicious almond butter crunch shaped sailboats with white chocolate floating in dark chocolate, and their assorted Nordic boxes that include things like Marblehead Mints (dark chocolate delicately flavored with peppermint crunch), Sweet Shells (dark chocolate with a hint of orange crunch), Sand Dollars (creamy butter caramel with a pecan in dark chocolate), Barque Sarah (solid milk chocolate with whole toasted almonds), Friendship Sweets (rich, solid dark chocolate), and, of course, more Sweet Sloops!

With so many delicious options, holiday shopping can be done with just a few clicks. Now the question is, which do I get?

Let me know who you plan on gifting delicious Harbor Sweets chocolates to this holiday season!

xo, Heather

The NEW Redesigned LÍLLÉbaby CarryOn Toddler Carrier!

Hooray for a newly redesigned LÍLLÉbaby CarryOn carrier! I love LÍLLÉbaby, and honestly, it's not a secret.  Between older posts, like when we went to Disney and got to try out the Essentials carrier, and instagram posts, like Daddy wearing at Ikea, littles wearing littles, a sleepy boy at Disney, and a regular Target trip, I promise you've seen my LÍLLÉbaby Carriers before!

While both of my kids still fit in the LÍLLÉbaby COMPLETE carriers, we've really been grabbing our toddler-sized CarryOns more lately. You can see a comparison of the COMPLETE and CarryOn here, but Lillebaby took all of the feedback they received from their customers and redesigned their CarryOn!



It's easy to see in the above picture how different the fit is! The Donuts and Sprinkles carrier is the newly designed one and you can see that it is not quite as wide and a bit taller than the older model CarryOn. The CarryOn's deeper seat and tall torso (tallest one available) are specifically designed to secure and support children size 2t pants and taller. The new panel is 20.5" designed to support even larger children.

Lillebaby shortened the straps for a closer fit, which you can see here. The newly redesigned CarryOn is the light gray!  You'll also notice that the waist band is more curved. The wider waistband supports larger children and  makes it easier on you. I carried my 5 year old, who is 40 lbs, in it on a walk this weekend with no back pain!



Lillebaby's breathable mesh is perfect for all weather, whether it's a hot day in Florida, or a with a  few layers during a cold day in New England.

The newly redesigned Carry On still offers all the things you love about the Original CarryOn as well!

The LÍLLÉbaby CarryOn Airflow Features:

• Two-way adjustable straps with Perfect Fit Adjusters for near-limitless fit customization
• Three comfortable, ergonomic carrying positions - front, hip, and back.
• Straps may be worn crossed or backpack style.
• 100% cotton border on the torso for added support and durability.
• Our soft, moldable 3D mesh for maximum air circulation and breathability
• Adorable new patterns and color options
• Accommodates children 20 - 60lbs, size 2T pants and taller

It's already love for us and our newly redesigned LÍLLÉbaby CarryOn. I mean, seriously, who doesn't love donuts!?

Did I mention they are launching TODAY? You can head over to Lillebaby's website and grab one now, for only $150!

Be sure to let me know if you grab a Donuts and Sprinkles one, or one of the other gorgeous patterns!

xo, Heather

Fairies in Our House!

Five is such a magical age.  Everything is awe inspiring and anything is possible.  Emmalee has been in love with fairies this summer. We love to sit on our front porch and look for lightening bugs.  She is convinced they are fairies she can make magic wishes to.  Her wishes are always the cutest; wishes like "I wish we could watch fairies forever" and "I wish I had a fairy for my very own", adorable right?

I was super excited when I had the opportunity to meet The Irish Fairy Door Company at Blogger Bash a couple of weeks ago and even more thrilled when they asked Emmalee if she wanted an Irish Fairy Door to set up in her own room!

The Irish Fairy Door is amazing and there are so many door styles and add ons like wall art and garden accessories! You can purchase them on their website, or through my affiliate link on Amazon.

The first step is to set up your Irish Fairy Door, and leave the key by it.  Then you log onto the computer and enter your special code, letting the fairies know that you are ready for them.  When the key has disappeared, a fairy has moved in! Emmalee was so excited to set it up but in her logical little mind, she couldn't understand where the fairy's door led to, since her mind, there was no actual house.  We talked about magic and how it is hidden and only fairies could see it, and while she was excited after understanding, she was sad she didn't have a fairy house to watch the fairies in.

Thankfully, there's another company that can give Emmalee even more fairies in her life! Dreamland Fairy offers a paint your own fairy home and an adorable, plush 6" Fairy!

You can buy the items from their website or through my affiliate link on Amazon.  I love that Dreamland Fairy allows Emma to believe in the magic of fairies, but also let's her be creative through art and pretend play with the fairy doll.

Both fairy products offer hours of imaginative play and cost under $25! The fairy doll is only $9! At such a great price point, it's easy to get both!

I can't wait to see Emma' face in the morning when she sees that the fairy has moved in!

xo, Heather

More Toys from #BBNYC Blogger Bash

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, I may be compensated for purchases made through these links. For more information, click here. 

Last week, okay, maybe more than a week ago, I shared some of our favorite toys from Blogger Bash. But then we got more mail and the kids wanted to share even more of their favorite things that have arrived! Emma asked if she could make videos so this post is full of Emma and Tyler videos!

First Up: Squinkie Do Drops

These are the cutest little toys! I love the Clubhouse and love that we can add new sets to the bigger playset. The kids love them and they provide for hours of imaginative play.

Next: Weebles!

Do you remember Weebles? The old, "Weebles wobble but they don't fall down"?! They're back and updated and adorable! Jazwares has just taken them over and a whole new line will be coming out this Fall!

Next: Super Wings

These are definitely Tyler's newest favorite! He's been carrying them around everywhere and everything is flying around on them, just like the Weebles in this video.

You can check out the Super Wings tv show on Sprout and there are a ton of new Super Wings toys coming out soon so be sure to come back and check out our Holiday Gift Guide when it's up!

Another older toy that is coming back out are Sing-a-ma-lings! We had a couple a couple years back and I love that they're back out again!

How cute?!

Emmalee is loving The Irish Fairy Door. She's a big fan of fairies and magic anyways, so I'm excited to get the door set up for her!

And our final new favorite toy are Lincoln Logs! Emmalee was thrilled when they came in the mail and she started rambling on about how she has them at school, and what she likes to make, and was building a tree fort within minutes! 

I love how these toys all inspire my children to think imaginatively! I mean, they grabbed all sorts of toys, like Pikachu, Twozies, Gemlins, Paw Patrol, Shopkins, and Palace Pets to hang out in their Lincoln Log club house!

Which toy is your favorite?

And be sure to follow Emma's advice and thumbs up or subscribe to our NEW Youtube channel!

xo, Heather

Top Toys at Toy Fair 2016

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, I may be compensated for purchases made through these links. For more information, click here. 

Toy Fair in a day.... whirlwind is an understatement.
I absolutely could have spent 3 full days there but was able to see a lot in the one day that I did attend.

First off, how cool is it that I was accepted as press for Toy Fair? I am a very little blog so getting an acceptance for something like that is crazy to me! Thanks for reading this little piece of my life and getting me there!

There will be multiple posts over the course of the month for all the amazing things I saw but I wanted to start with the top toys I saw, things I fell in love with immediately.  In no particular order, a few of my favorite toys from Toy fair last weekend:


1. Fimo Clay

Any one else grow up playing with Fimo? I am so excited about the "rebirth" of Fimo, launching kid play kits complete with scenes for interactive play- they even have glitter polymer clay! I can promise that the Easter Bunny will be leaving some Fimo clay for Emma!

2. Yookidoo Water Toys

These things are adorable! The systems have spray hoses, googly eyes, and pipes that run water from the tub and since they use the water already in the tub, I don't need to keep the water running or worry about an overflow. I'm already dreaming of how easy it will be to wash the kids' hair with this adorable sprayer set! All the sets Amazon sells can be found here.

3. Comfy Critters hooded blankets

These are ridiculously adorable, and soft! It's a wearable, hooded blanket and it even has little hand flaps! Right now you can purchase a handful of designs, including a unicorn!, but a little birdie told me licensed characters like The Hungry Caterpillar, SpongeBob, Paw Patrol, and the Ninja Turtles will be gracing shelves soon...

4. Little Cosmetics

This was maybe the only booth the entire time that made me literally stop in my tracks.  I was on the phone with Dave and actually said "I need to go, right now" and hung up! Ha.  Emma is so obsessed with my make up and while I don't really mind, there is always the fear that she'll grab eye liner or lipstick and it will be a much bigger mess than just her overly pink cheeks.
Not only do these look real, but they feel real! I was amazed when I touched the "powder" compact and nothing came off on my finger!I'm torn between buying her the Sweetheart set, the Essentials Set, or the Beauty Set (all available on Amazon).

5. Floof and Bag O Dirt

Have you played with kinetic sand before? It is super cool. Bag O Dirt is similar to the kinetic sand but is much more "boy" oriented with a mini tractor trucks and big bug accessory kits.  My kids would love it and it's dirt I'm okay with having in the house!

The real show stopper from them was the Floof! It feels like marshmallow and clay had a baby. I could have stood there all day playing with it, it was so stress relieving. Neither will be released until later in the year but I promise I'll let you know when you can get your own!

6. Goldie Blox

I met Goldie Blox last summer at Blogger Bash and I fell in love. STEM activities targeted for girls.
The understanding of gears, pullys, and construction really helps develop little brains! I loved the parade float that was shown on Thanksgiving, but can't wait for even more sets to be released.

7. Green Tones

I spent waaaay too long at the Green Tones booth, literally just playing music! The instruments are all made out of wood and are adorable.  I really loved the baby bear shaker and the beginner drum set. You can find most of them right on Amazon.

8. MoYou Nails

I am totally obsessed with this nail set! I almost walked by the booth because I thought "it's just another nail kit" but it is so cool. She gave me a french manicure in less than 5 minutes! It was crazy! With normal nail polish, it lasted 4 days, however the design on my accent nail is still perfect. Amazon offers lots of different sets that fit any budget. I want to grab them for Emma because of how easy it will be do decorate her nails!

9. Tech 4 Kids Squishy Pops, Fash-Ems, and Vinyl Figures

There were so many things at the Tech 4 Kids booth that Emmalee would just love. Her big favorite right now is the Squishy Pops. She received a handful of  them after Blogger Bash and after getting another from Toy Fair, we've already purchased 8 more blind balls to add to her collection! She also loves the Fash-Ems and Mash-Ems and will be obsessed with the new vinyl figures they'll be releasing later in the year.

10. Plan Toy

These are so cool because they are all natural, organic rubber wood and they use every single piece of the tree.  The wooden pieces are made from the trees (that are already being cut down and are easily replanted) and then they collect the wood shavings, press them together, and create even more items from them!

I love the little penguin in the boat but the sets range from small figures to full blown scenes, you can see more sets here. I'd be happy to spend my money on an amazing sustainable company!

The problem with all these amazing toys is that I want to buy them all! Which are your favorites?

Beech-Nut is #RealFoodForBabies

Disclaimer: “I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Beech-Nut. I received a free coupon to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation.”

When you are pregnant, you are the world's smartest mom, right? In our inexperience we say things like "Oh, I'll never let the baby sleep in my bed" or "I'm going to sleep train at 6 weeks"... little do we know...

My big thing was that I was going to make all of the Princess' food from scratch, using only organic produce. And then Dave lost his job and I was lucky to get a shower in some days so we went right to baby-led weaning and never even considered jarred food. With the Little Man, we both had good jobs, better schedules and I thought this would be my chance to make his delicious, organic, homemade pureed foods. Then I was just too busy. Things get crazy and some nights I was lucky to get dinner on the table by 6 pm, never mind having time to make homemade purees for the Little Man. 

Thankfully, Beech-Nut has introduced a new line of Organic purees so I can feel good giving my little man jarred food! It's nutritious and tasty without any artificial preservatives or ingredients. It's not just store bought baby food, it's real food that I would cook for my little guy with the convenience of not spending the time making it!

Beech-Nut's new organic line can be found at places like Babies R Us, Kroger, Wegman's,  Price Chopper, Wakefern, Walmart.com,  Winn-Dixie, BI-LO, Stop & Shop, Giant Carlisle, A&P, Pathmark, Albertsons, Hannaford, Raley’s, Meijer, Nugget Market, Diapers.com, Harris Teeter, Shaw's, ACME, Shoppers Food and Cub Foods. A full list of retailers can be found here if you're looking for some local to you!

At our trip to Babies R Us, we grabbed lots of fruits! We eat veggies with dinner every night but I often find our fruit selection is lacking so adding Beech-Nut Organic fruits as a snack for little man is perfect for us.  We grabbed a couple of "Just Pears" but they also had flavors like organic apple, raspberry & avocado, organic banana, cinnamon & granola and organic butternut squash, and black bean & cumin. 

The foods are made by Beech-Nut just like I would make them, with nothing else except for pears! There are no extra preservatives or excess water and the nutrients stay in the fruits and veggies for a delicious and nutritious snack! You can even see the USDA-certified organic seal right on the jar, which is an indication of GMO-free food!

Beech-Nut was even awarded Product of the Year in the baby category, which was selected by over 40,000 consumers nationwide!

I love that there is #RealFoodForBabies that is healthy, organic, and I can feel good about giving it to my Little Man. He clearly loves it too! 

You can find Beech-Nut on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

And Beech-Nut is being super amazing and giving away a coupon for your choice of a FREE Beech-Nut product! Just leave a comment below as your entry! I'll choose a winner on 5/21 at 5 pm EST! You'll have 24 hours to respond if you win!

Tell me : Why do YOU choose Organic?

"Contest entrants are only eligible to win once per sweepstake, per household as part of a campaign sponsored by Influence Central and must reside in the United States."

Lose Weight Eating McDonalds! #McDOpenDoorTour

Disclaimer: I was invited to attend a McDonald's Open-Door Tour and received compensation for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own!

I totally have your attention now don't I?! You can lose weight while ONLY eating McDonald's! I was a little leery of it when I heard as well, but was so excited to be invited to take a behind the scenes tour of a local McDonalds, that I jumped at the chance! My toddler loves "Old McDonald's" but with rumors of pink slime and meat patties that don't grow mold after 5 years, I've been apprehensive about bringing her.

Imagine my surprise when we walk into the kitchen and see fresh eggs being cracked on the grill!

It's so cool! I had no idea-- I really thought the eggs were the frozen pre-made eggs but that was not the case! Did you know you can even get egg whites? Yum!

After working in a sit down restaurant for 5 years, I was even more excited to see the supplier of the fresh produce was the same that used to deliver to Friendly's! Those are fresh, no preservative vegetables! Even the fridge set up shows that they are totally on par with their food handling skills, following FIFO (First In, First out) and shelving guidelines!

Additionally, we were told (and saw the packaging!) about the amaing companies who supply food for McDonalds: Dannon, McCain, Tyson, General Mills-- all brands I already trust inside my house!

I was already feeling so much better about bringing my little ones to a McDonald's for a meal. There's such a stigma about fast food and how bad and unhealthy it is, but that didn't seem to be the case.  All of the food was fresh and healthy!

One might even venture to say that you could lose weight while eating it? Gasp!

Enter John Cisna! Never heard of him? He was on the news a couple nights ago... google that!

He is a Science teacher from Iowa who was concerned about the results he saw in the movie Supersize Me. Of course, if the guy from Supersize Me was eating 3,000 calorie meals, he was going to gain weight! John wanted to see if it was possible to lose weight.

He got his students in on the project, using the McDonald's Meal Builder tool, and they came up with over 50 combinations of daily meals that could be consumed that were under 2,000 calories and satisfied the FDA's 15 required nutrients guidelines! Okay, well, except for salt.  But he compensated for the extra salt but adding more water to his diet to flush out the excess.

A normal day of eating for John would consist of 2 egg white delight sandwiches, fruit and maple oatmeal, and milk for breakfast, a Southwest Salad with a yogurt parfait and apple slices for lunch, and a meal off the value menu-- including french fries!

Oh, his workout regimen? 45 minutes of walking. That's it. Totally doable.

So did it work?

He lost 37 pounds, 7 inches off his waist, and dropped his cholesterol from 249 to 170! Yikes!

Amazing, right?!

And then John said "But this was an experiment, not a diet." It was done to teach critical thinking skills, and as a teacher, I loved that aspect of it. 

He wanted his students to not just believe what was told to them, but to think for themselves and to make decisions based on what they know is best.

This whole experiment proves that you make your own choices.

This is an 800 calorie breakfast  but I didn't finish a single item-- only sampled!-- but even if I had, it would just mean I'd need to scale back my lunch a bit!

McDonald's does not make people fat or unhealthy; the decisions people make while ordering McDonald's, or anywhere else, are what make them unhealthy or overweight. Making conscious decisions about what we put into our bodies is important, and after seeing the quality of what McDonald's is using in their kitchens, I won't feel guilty anymore about picking up drive thru or taking the princess out to celebrate!

 After visiting McDonald's and meeting John Cisna, I can can say it: I'm lovin' it.

Breathe Easier with Luma Comfort Humidifiers: HC12B Review

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post, however all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

We keep getting hit with more snow. Like I'm seriously over snow... I have been for at least 3 weeks. We have 'sprung ahead' and the Red Sox are playing in Florida... it should be Spring. 

I am over the snow. I'm over the slush.

I'm over the 42 layers of clothing.

I'm over the ridiculous electricity bills.

I'm over the dry air that just makes me want to curl up in bed all day.

Humidifiers have been our best friends this winter; I swear it's the only reason we have survived this long without dry hacking coughs and red noses.

We have an amazing Luma Comfort Humidifier (HC12B) for our open concept living /dining room and kitchen.  It covers up to 650 square feet easily and the cool mist is perfect because little man does like to make his way over too it, so I'm not concerned about any type of steam burns.  

I also love that it runs for 45 hours on a tank.  Long gone are the days are refilling the water every 6-8 hours!

The best part is how chic is it! The vase design blends in seamlessly with most decors, and with it's almost silent operations, it's hard to tell it's a humidifier!

Here's a quick video from Luma Comfort to see how seamless and gorgeous these humidifiers are:

Our video isn't nearly as "professional", but I love being able to see how these things actually work in the home, instead of just on a stage. I apologize in advance for my small yelling children in the background!


As I mentioned before, it is a dream, an absolute dream.
The features make it better than any other humidifier we have ever used.

Features:

1. It is a cool mist humidifier. 
This is super important to me for a few reasons. With a small guy who is attempting walking, I know that even if he finds his way over to it, there is no way he'll hurt himself or burn himself because the steam is not hot. Also, cool mist humidifiers do not brred the bacteria that warm mist humidifiers can.  It's safer for our family.

2. It is almost silent.
For some thins isn't huge but for us, it's perfect! We have so much noise already between two kids, a cat, and a dog... another obnoxious whirring noise would not be okay. My refrigerator makes more noise!

3. It has an alarm!
I am yet to figure out if this alarm is for when it's tipped over or for when it's low on water (The husband believes it's the latter) but the dog ran right into it by it and knocked it off and it immediately let out a little beeping noise! As soon as I had it right side up again, the beeping stopped!
I thought it was a great function because it would minimize messes but the husband thinks it was letting me the water was low, you know, because it was on the floor, but when I put it upright it stopped beeping and I hadn't added any other water!
We haven't run the machine to empty yet so I'll be excited to find out!
And that leads me to my next feature...

4. It runs a single tank for 45 hours!
We haven't refilled the tank yet! And when I'm struggling to remember if I showered last night or this morning, one less thing to remember to have to do each day is great!

5. It has a remote!
Yes, a remote. My husband loves the remote and I do too! If we're watching tv in the living room and I notice it's not on, I don't even have to get up to turn it on! Super lazy? Yep. Super convenient? Oh ya.

Why buy ugly when you can buy a Luma Comfort Humidifier?
You can purchase one for less than $140 at Wayfair, Home Depot, and many other retailers!
Check out the other amazing products that Luma Comfort carries at their website and stay up to date at their Facebook page!

#DisneySide Princess Tea Party Turned 29th Birthday Party

"I received free products in order to host a DisneySide @Home Celebration. The opinions expressed here are my own. "

Ever feel like you're NOT supposed to do something? 

This party was it. We scheduled our party 3 separate times but our (not so) friend, SNOW showed up and ruined it each time! So we figured we love and celebrate Disney everyday so we would host a party when our family came to gather! Instead of it being the first weekend of February, we ended up having a #DisneySide @Home Celebration for my 29th birthday! How fun!

There is so much to this party that I'll be sharing posts little by little!
First up: the delivery!
We shared our unboxing when it first arrived: Disney sent us so much great stuff!

Literally, everything we needed for a Princess inspired tea party, complete with plates, napkins, tea, nail polish, treat cups, Palace Pets, Duff cake mix, and decorations!

We ended up with a pretty low key party because I flew home from Vegas the day before and was still exhausted but we had so much fun!

In addition to the amazing #DisneySide box we recieved, GoGo Squeez, Pirates Booty, and AquaBall all contributed snacks to the event!

It was such an amazing Princess Party and a great way to ring in 29 years old!
Thanks so much Disney!