Hillshire Snacks

As a wife and mom I often find myself so busy with the day-to-day needs of running my household, caring for my daughter, and putting healthy meal options on the table for her and my husband that I neglect to care for myself in the same high standard that I care for them. In a rush to get out the door in the morning, I’m lucky if I grab more than a handful of dry cereal. Lunch looks a lot like leftover cold pizza (or nothing!), and my snacking options are usually similar to what my toddlers eating…we’ve all fallen victim to those little orange fish crackers, haven’t we?! I’ve spent hours online researching the best organic squeeze pouches, and pinned hundreds of “quick and healthy snacks” to make for my daughter, but MY snacks always seem to either pack a punch of sugars in exchange for protein, or they lack protein all together and leave me hungry and grabbing for another gut busting bag of goodies.

Why is meat, which is typically synonymous with protein, missing from the snack aisle? Why are all the most common protein snacks resembling something more like a candy bar? Why are snacks always dehydrated, a carb, and never found in the refrigerated section of the supermarket?Thanks to Hillshire, that’s no longer the case.

hillshire packaging 2

I’m so excited to be sharing this new, unique snack that I was recently introduced to. Hillshire has created snacking options that are both convenient, affordable, and delicious! Both of the snacks I tried offered more than 15g of protein and were less than $2.79. I grabbed both of these at my local Super Target, and chose between 8 available varieties, all offering at least 15g of protein per serving. They are all perfectly portioned, and great for at-home or on-the-go.

hillshire packaging

The peppered salami “small plate” was the standout for me, and if it came in a “large plate” size I’d be calling it dinner 3 out of every 7 nights. Y’all, it was so good. The crackers were thick cut, and the salami was perfectly peppered and offered a nice heat. My husband and I opened both snacks and taste tested together, and literally found ourselves trying to speed eat before the other person hogged it all. :-)

hillshire snack

hillshire meat & cheese

chicken

The chicken snack felt like much more of a snack to me. The portion size felt significantly smaller and is something I would grab if I wasn’t feeling overly hungry but needed a quick boost of energy to keep me going for the day. I would however pack this along with some bib lettuce, shredded carrots, and other veggies and make lettuce wraps for a healthy and easy lunch option. The mango habanero sauce was mmmhmmmm, and took me completely by surprise. It’s slightly sweet, leaves a good heat on the back of your tongue, and left me wanting to dip anything else I could find in it. My 3 year old would eat these every single day, and you moms know that’s really saying something!

chicken & dip

These snacks don’t make me feel guilty, break the bank, or require any of my precious time in prep or clean up, and the “cherry on top” is how delicious they are and how much protein they offer. They’ve become a staple in my home, and I absolutely give them my stamp of approval and recommend you give them a whirl if you’ve been searching for a better snack too!

Hillshire is hosting a huge giveaway and all you have to do to enter is tweet them @hillshiresnacks using hashtag #UNIQUEWAY and share something you do like no one else. There’s over 70 weekly prizes, some of which are vouchers for these snacks!

XO – Samantha

*As always, my opinions are my own, and I would honestly tell you if these snacks tasted horrible – they don’t, they’re the bomb – but I’m required to disclose a relationship between myself and Hillshire. This could include Hillshire providing me w/content, product, access or other forms of payment. *

Small Shop Love: Love Is Free

Good Morning! Thank you all for your kind words yesterday, and support while my husband underwent a minor procedure. Many of you have been asking what it was for, and although I’m not yet ready to answer questions, I will in a few weeks. To be quite honest, I can’t answer many questions because we still don’t know ourselves what’s going on, and yesterdays procedure was to hopefully clear up some of those unknowns for us. We live a very honest, open-book lifestyle, so you can bet that this won’t be the last time you hear me talk about it all…within his comfort level, of course. :-)

On with todays fun! I want to introduce you to my newest sponsor, Love Is Free! Shannon, the owner and creative mind behind the company, is a mom to her beautiful daughter Angelina who inspires her to create unique and modern children’s wear. Shannon is working to bring a childrens moccasin line to her shop in the coming weeks as well!

Many of you have already spied a few of these outfits over on my Instagram, as well as on @shoploveisfree and have been asking where you can score these awesome items – now you know!

SLIF

Love Is Free Arrow Leggings (similar), Kate & James “Ello Love” Raglan, Carly Megan Shop Scarf, Old Navy Vest, Target Boots

SLIF2

Love is Free Black & Gold Arrow Headband, Carly Megan Bloomers, Little Big Dreamers Leg Warmers
SLIF3

Grey Ham NYC “Milk De La Milk” Tee, Leiroux Knit Shoes

SLIF4

Love Is Free Wild One Tee, Aruba Freshly Picked Moccs, Little Hip Squeaks Headband, Little Adi Co Harem Pants, Candy Kirby “Preppy Girl” Scarf
SLIF5

Love Is Free Curly Hair Tee, Love Is Free Grey/White Stripe Headband, Candy Kirby Leggings

SLIF6

Vonbon Scarf & Headband, Little Peeps Closet Skirt (detached from kitty cat “blouse”) SLIF7

Grey Stripe Headband

And this cutie loves her Love Is Free gear, and if you ask me, makes it look really stinkin’ cute!! She’s wearing the arrow leggings below, and the “Wild One” tee in the last photo.

SLIF10 SLIF11

SLIF12

SLIF13

SLIF14 Phew! I spent hours and hours pulling clothes, styling, and photographing all those outfits so you could see these rad pieces in action. Nothing’s worse than seeing clothes without any outfit inspiration, amiright?! Totally worth it if you enjoyed, and I hope you’ll go check out Love Is Free and support Shannon and her growing store.

XO – Samantha

Holding My Breathe

taylor

Please excuse my absence and lack of an actual post today…

My husband is undergoing a minor procedure and my little heart can’t hardly take it. I’m far more nervous and anxious than he is. He is just so much to us; Dad, Husband, bread-winner, jungle gym, fajita maker, photographer (hey, I can’t snap pics of my own outfits!), shoulder to cry on, cheerleader for everything Camryn & I do, cute baby maker (my favorite of his traits), do-er of dishes (this is quite possibly my 2nd favorite trait), and so so so much more! When it comes to my favorites, these two are tied.

So if you could, send him good thoughts today, and maybe a few my way too!! Tomorrow, when I’ve stopped holding my breathe, I’ll be back with a fun post for you. :-)

XO – Samantha

Bitty Bows

Happy Hump Day, Friends!

My daughter knocked us out with a flu-like bug this weekend, but I’m finally turning a corner and feeling human again, and I have a really fun shop (and maybe a giveaway ;-) ) to share with you today!

Welcome, Bitty Bow Shop!

Here’s what Alexis, the owner and creative mama behind Bitty Bows, had to say about Bitty Bow Shop:

“Bitty Bow Shop started when my baby girl was 2 months old. I had so much fun making headbands to match her outfits, that I decided to take the plunge on Etsy. I am so happy that I took a chance! It is so rewarding to see Bitty Bow Shops headbands and clips on precious little ladies all over the world. I was so excited when I sold my first headband on Etsy. A year later, I still get just as excited when someone purchases something that I create. All of my bows are handmade and because of that, each one is unique. I love using shabby flowers, fold over elastic, bright colors, and classic/whimsy color combinations. I’m a Behavior Analyst by day, Mama to Sophie, Wife, Crafting Addict and Instagram Lover. I would love for you to follow along @bittybowshop! I’m so thankful for this little shop!”

You guys know me, I love supporting creative, hardworking mamas, especially when their business was born out of their love for their baby! When I met Alexis, it was a no-brainer that I wanted to share her and her awesome shop with all of you. Here are a few of my favorite headbands that she offers:

How darling are all of those? Bitty Bow Shop offers a huge variety of headbands, bows, & clips, and they are all incredible priced ($6.50 or less for any of the above featured headbands). These would be especially beautiful for newborn photos. Alexis hadn’t opened Bitty Bows when my little lady was a baby, but I remember loving putting her in bows and playing dressup, and if Bitty Bows had existed at that time you can bet I would have been a customer sooner!

Just for fun, here’s Camryn rocking some bows as a baby…

babycamrynbow

babycamrynbow2

Gahhhhhh!! Have some babies, and buy some bows people. The cuteness factor just goes off the charts!!

Alexis is generously offering a $50 shop credit to one of you, so head on over to my Instagram to enter. No reposting necessary – entry is VERY easy.

A very special thank you to you, Alexis, for teaming up with me to put this post together and allowing me to host such an awesome giveaway!!

XO – Samantha

Small Shop Love: Hattan Home

I am so excited to introduce you all to a new shop that I’m loving – Hattan Home, an online boutique selling “treats for your home”. Let me let Lindsay, the owner, introduce herself (because I cannot possibly introduce her in a cuter way)!

Lindsay and I met on Instagram (I meet all the coolest people on IG) and she (very kindly!!) offered to send me a gift for my daughters room. Umm…yes, please!!

DSC_1331

DSC_1328

I can’t possibly be the only person who appreciates really beautiful packaging. Getting mail is always exciting, but when a big white box arrives full of crinkled confetti paper, a black & white spotted wrapped box inside, and the cutest cards, a girl gets a little more excited!! I feel like it’s those details and level of customer care that make me purchase from a store over and over again.

When I opened the box I found this darling Piggy Bank in Glass. There was absolutely no question that this piggy would never see pennies; a pig this cute needed a filling much more deserving, like jelly beans. :-) Camryn and I decided that every good little sisters room contained a big sister treat jar. All those diaper changes, lullabies, and tip toeing around while little sister naps should earn a big sister something good, amiright?!

glasspiggybank

glasspiggy2

glasspiggy4

How cute is his little snout plug? You can also see the slot on top for inserting coins…I dunno why you’d ever use him for coins though when he looks this cute filled with candy!!

He was so cute that as I continued moving things around, and re-styled Harpers nursery 100 times, he kept coming along for the ride. He is perfectly whimsical, and airy, and a great layering piece on shelves, coffee tables, or sitting perched atop a stack of books.

piggybank

I think I especially love him in front of this “Love Each Other” print! It’s the perfect reminder to Camryn to be a good big sister, and earn those jelly beans! If you’re eyeballing that gorgeous floral print, there will be more on that very soon!! ;-)

You can purchase your own (hand blown – whaaaat?!) glass piggy bank for just $24 at Hattan Home, along with tons and tons of other amazing home decor.

Thank you Lindsay!

XO – Samantha

Puddle Jumper

We had a little rain the last few days, and Camryn and I decided to put all those puddles in our yard to good use. What fun is being 3 if you’re not getting dirty? :-)

puddle jumper 4

Puddle Jumper

puddle Jumper2

puddle jumper5

puddlejumper3

DSC_0312

DSC_0314

DSC_0336

DSC_0238

DSC_0290

puddlejumper7 I love making these sweet memories with her, especially when I think of all the quality time that I won’t have just one-on-one with her in the coming months.

Her darling floral leggings are from Little Big Dreamers (available soon), and her boots are Hunter’s.

I hope your weekend was as full of fun and giggles as mine!!

XO – Samantha

Small Shop Love: FiFi Ruffles

I’m back with another small shop review for you – FiFi Riffles, a handmade boutique that was born after the birth of Kim’s first daughter Sophia (FiFi). After falling in love with designs by companies like Mud Pie, Kim decided to pursue her passion of owning her own retail space and creating a handmade line of girls clothing. In June 2013, Kim closed her brick and mortar store to focus her attention solely on raising FiFi and making her own line of clothing, as well as selling those items online on her website. Even in the few months that I’ve had the pleasure of working with Kim her designs and esthetics are changing, and it’s been so fun to watch her clothing evolve into what I consider more modern kid and less “ruffles”. She’s currently working on layering pieces for the fall/winter seasons, and separates, as you’ll see in my pictures.

My favorite item from her current collection is the black & white “paper bag skirt”, which you’ve probably already spotted all over my instagram feed. It literally goes with everything, and is so easy for Camryn to put on and off herself. It’s a staple, and did I mention it’s only TWELVE DOLLARS!! Run, don’t walk.

New Customers enjoy 20% off with coupon “Welcome20″

fifiruffles fifiruffles2 fifiruffles9

fifiruffles10

fifiruffles3 fifiruffles4 fifiruffles5

We are also loving this rusty orange scalloped infinity scarf (long enough for mama or layered on littles) for fall, priced at just $14. fifiruffles6

fifiruffles7

fifiruffles13

fifiruffles8 Kim also sent us this darling asymmetrical dress, which is so fun for transitioning from summer to fall by layering a simple sweater, belts, and boots.

fifidress I hope you’ll all go check out more of what Kim has to offer, and give her some love on Instagram. :-)

I’ve had a ton of interest in the brown boots Camryn is wearing – they are from Target, and I bought them during a back to school BOGO sale for $12. Craziness, I know. I wish I had bought them in every size because they are amazing!!

Hope you’re all having a great week! We’ve almost survived to see the weekend – Hallelujah! Camryn has skipped naps all week…I think she’s trying to torture me. Send tranquilizers!!!

XO – Samantha

We Love MiniMoc

 

You all know my love for handmade shops, and today I’m bringing you another great one to check out. Meet Minimoc, an ethically sourced, handmade moc company out of Vancouver. I met Amanda after seeing her mocs featured on a fellow bloggers Instagram account, and first fell in love with the color range she offered. I looked into minimoc and was so impressed with her story, and the obvious care she put into her mocs, and knew I had to try them out myself.

I chose the Robin’s Egg suede mocs in size 1 (they are teeny tiny and ADORABLE) for Harper’s first pair of mocs. I knew when the box arrived that they were going to be amazing because the packaging was so nice, and I was oh-so-right. They are velvety soft, a beautiful sea blue color, and incredibly high quality.
minimoc

minimoc2 All of the Minimoc moccasins feature a micro-suede sole for non-slip indoor and dry weather outdoor footwear. The sole is spongy, and soft, and is great for early walkers learning balance.

minimoc8 Every moccasin has an elastic opening which makes putting them on/off easy for young toddlers who must do everything themselves. (I know all about that!) The elastic opening also prevents the mocs from slipping off even the squirmiest of feet.

minimoc9 Aren’t they darling? Harper will be coming home from the hospital in these beauties. ;-) Here’s some fun outfit inspiration featuring Minimoc’s…

minimoc4 Sweater: H&M // Bloomers: J Crew // Purse: Target

minimoc3 Onesie: Target

minimoc7 Sweater: H&M // Lemons Shirt: Kate & James Shop // Bloomers: J Crew // Spotted Fabric: Caitlin Wilson Textiles

Amanda currently offers 22 colors of moccasins (I’ve got my eye on ‘Piglet’), as well as leather bows, bowties, and apparel. Her moccasins are competitively priced, and you can buy with the confidence that she is sourcing from reputable tanneries with fairly treated employees.

XO – Samantha

Photo Updates – The last 2 weeks.

Hello Lovelies!

I promised to update with pics from my last 2 weeks, so here goes!

Over the long weekend we took advantage of Camryn’s time off from school and went to San Antonio to a resort & spa and had ourselves a little “staycation”. They had a “river pool” that you could float around on, and Camryn was all about it. We had some cocktails (mocktails for the ladies) and lounged in the sun, ate s’mores in the evening, ran around on the golf course, and just had a nice couple of days as a family of 3.
vacay1

vacay6

vacay7 vacay8

vacay3

vacay5

Before leaving San Antonio, we hit the zoo. It was a mild 105 degrees out…even the animals were hiding underwater…

vacay9

Those aren’t rocks, they’re HIPPOS!

vacay11

Camryn and I were home for 3 days before getting back on the road to Louisiana. My mom has (very generously) been watching our yellow lab, Aly, for the last month and a half while we were traveling. She lives in North Carolina so we met halfways-ish in New Orleans to make the doggy drop/pick-up. My sister, Camryn, and I drove all the way to N.O. and back in 24 hours…my mom made an even longer trip, ALONE (she’s a rockstar), in 24 hours. We’re all a little insane. Before we left Camryn needed to be a cat, naturally. vacay12 Y’all know I didn’t leave without getting a beignet first. vacay13 Look at this happy girl!!! :-) She’s been missed terribly. We celebrated our BFF’s (dogs) birthday yesterday, and pulled out all the stops to wish her a very happy day. vacay23 Right before our trip to New Orleans, I started getting sick. Camryn had been sick a few days earlier (Thanks for that preschool!) and of course I caught it. I also started having horrible morning sickness again. I’m gonna go into labor still throwing up, I swear it. :-(
vacay14 vacay15

My husband surprised me with these little beauties a few days ago – each gold bar has one of our daughters names on it – Camryn & Harper. I’ve had a lot of interest in where he purchased these, and the answer is Nordstroms, and they are Moon & Lola brand, but don’t appear to be available anymore. Bip & Bop do an equally beautiful version. vacay17

I ordered this amazing shirt from my girl Charisse from Pixel Paper Hearts and finally got around to showing it to y’all on Instagram. It’s quickly become my favorite, and since I ordered a unisex medium, my husband steals it too. vacay16

vacay22

And what’s a post without a little bit of this cutie girl?! Some days I just look at her and think “how is it possible for you to be so damn cute? Neither your dad or I is even half that good looking!” vacay21 vacay19 And these two… Harper is a lucky girl to be coming into a world where these two exist, because their love is so incredible, I just know she’ll be smooshed between them someday and be one very happy and very loved little lady! vacay18 So there you have it, my last 2 weeks in a nutshell…all the eventful stuff at least. I have about 20 posts to put together for you guys of things I’ve been adding to my list. So many awesome new products that I’m dying to share, a few DIY’s, nursery updates, pregnancy updates, bump fashion, etc. Let’s see if I can get my s#!t together soon and do those. Ha!

There’s a pretty awesome giveaway happening on Instagram today that I’m a part of, so go check that out if you’re interested. 20 girl bosses, 20 awesome prizes, 20 winners. Does it get any better? Oh, and NO reposting or tagging. BOOM!

XO – Samantha

Sick Days

Via

You are sweet, sweet friends if you’re still here reading this little blog of mine after my disappearing act the last week. So much has happened…but mostly, I’ve been sick…again. Camryn brought home a cold the first week into preschool (I expected it) and of course I caught it. It has morphed from your simple stuffy nosed cold into a chest cold that makes me cough and talk like a 90 year old smoker. To make things even worse, my morning sickness has returned with a vengeance. *Cough – Throw Up – Cough* Oh, and did I mention my husband decided to get food poisoning? Yeah, thats currently happening. Let me be the first to say that the only thing worse than being terribly sick and pregnant is being sick, pregnant, and having your spouse be legitimately more sick so you’re stuck playing nurse in between bouts of sickness. He’s lucky I love him so fiercely.

So that my friends is why I’ve not been around, or sharing updates about our family “staycation” from last weekend, or my 24 hour trip to New Orleans this past weekend – I promise to share all those crazy details and photos just as soon as I can get my head out of the toilet.

I’ll be teaming up with some awesome shops in a few days for another Instagram giveaway, so stay tuned for that as well (look for the announcement on IG, as I’m not the main host).

XO – Samantha

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox

Join other followers: