10 ways to enjoy the Holidays with your Love

 December is a time to enjoy your family and appreciate the time and memories you have with them. I love this festive time of year. Sparkly lights line window displays as the crackling of "All I want for Christmas" plays in the distance. You know what else the Holiday season is good for? Mistletoe! Yeah, you read that right. For years I dreamed of a day I would meet "THE ONE" and settle down. Those days have come and now after four years of marriage, I keep the spark alive especially during the BUSY Holiday season. Grab some egg nog and read 10 ways to enjoy the Holidays with your Love!

This post was in collaboration with Adam & Eve. All opinions expressed are my own.

10. Place some mistletoe in someone you loves stocking. I would recommend one of these playful stockings! 

9. Play in the Snow together. Sounds silly especially if you are NOT with the kids but trust me laughing together can be so irresistibly passionate. 

8. Wrap gifts together. Pretty easy to do considering and let me tell you it can truly make you appreciate each others families as you sift through what you got each of them.

Holiday Penguin School Treats

 Every year my son has a Christmas party at school. Come to think of it every Holiday they tend to have a fun party the kids enjoy before they go on a school break. This year was rather interesting coming up with something homemade he could hand out to his class mates without breaking the bank. I also wanted something he could craft himself rather then leave it to dear old Mom who already has a Santa list a mile long of things to get done! 

We came up with Holiday Penguin School Treats for his classmates!

These are SUPER easy to make!!

What you will need:

Sandwich bags

Construction paper (black & White)

Scissors ( I also used a creative cut pair)

Glue

Orange marker

Google eyes ( found those at Dollar tree)

Treats (We used sugar free peppermints)

12 Reasons Netflix makes the Best Holiday Gift

I did this last year and think it is such a great idea I wanted to do it again this year! 12 reasons, I think, Netflix makes the best holiday gift for everyone on your Shopping list.

12. For your World Wanderers, Netflix make it easy for you to watch your favorite shows and movie while traveling! Enjoy 5 Netflix Shows to Watch While Traveling!

11. For Marvel/Comic Fans: 25+ Super Hero Shows and Movies.

10. Disney Fans got a HUGE surprise when they added several new movies on Netflix: 15+ Disney Classics.

Wondering around the Chautauqua Institue

 Winter has officially fallen here in Western New York. About 41 inches of that white fluffy stuff to be exact! I live near the lake, lake effect snow is NO joke! Our driveway took about an hour to shovel, salt and dig out our vehicles. Because it gets so cold here we really need appropriate Winter attire. This year I have been sporting this Women's Pure Soft Jacket!

 As we enjoyed the community covered in snow I realized just how important my jacket would become! It's cold outside especially by the lake with gusts of snow and ice.

Recipe: Chicken Wing Dip

It is always a great time to gather with friends and family. We love hosting people over for dinner at our home or hosting a game night. When I serve dinner for several people I love including finger foods including dip. They are easy to make, easy to clean up and even kids love them! 

Enjoy one of my personal favorites, Chicken Wing dip!

I received a free product to facilitate my review. I was not required to write a positive review . The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations

What you will need:

Hot sauce ( I use Franks)

Chicken Brest ( I use the can kind)

Shredded Cheese

Sour cream or Cream Cheese (whipped kind)
Organic Tessemae Creamy Ranch dressing 

(Tessemae’s uses only clean, simple, real ingredients)

Recipe: Holiday Cranberry Spritzer

The Holiday season is a great time to gather with friends and family members. We enjoy great gatherings filled with fun cocktails and games! Today I want to share a great Cranberry Spritzer we had at our last Game night party! 

What you will need: 

Wine ( I used a Acrobat Dry wine) 

Sparkling juice (any flavor will do) 

Cape Cod Select Premium Frozen Cranberries ( I had frozen them prior to help keep the beverage cold) 

Limes

I received a free product to facilitate my review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.

 Slice up the limes. I do not squeeze them but you are more then welcome too!

Recipe: An Apple Pie Love Story

 Often time people say I am hard to shop for. Now, personally I do not think this is the case but I've never had to shop for myself ;). This year I asked for anything Kitchen related. I personally enjoy cooking and love all things food related! The little things like a new oven mitt get me rather excited!! Having said that, I was rather surprised when this Thoughtfully Baking box came to my door.  They included in my box, two mini ceramic pie dishes that can be served straight from the oven to the table. Measuring spoons, Blue Ribbon apple pie spice and Blue Ribbon pie crust mix. There's an oven mitt, haha!

 I received a free product to facilitate my review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.

After convincing some of my fellow Moms to come over and enjoy a fun game night I decided to give this baking kit a try. I chopped up a few apples and added the Apple Spice per the instructions provided in my box.

 Mixed the ingredients from the Crust packet as also directed. Knead, rolled out and cut my crust to lay nicely in the pans. Now most people cover their apple pies completely but we traditionally weave ours. You will see what I mean in just a minute!

Game night with the Mouth Guard Challenge

 We have always enjoyed a good game night. Actually games are a large part of our lives. Waiting for school to start, pull out some cards and play a quick game. Have a bunch of friends over, pull out a game and enjoy some light competition as our children play. After a long work week I think we all needed some fun in our household. I posted we were having a game night on Facebook and started cleaning out house. Browsing the interwebs I came across this fun game, Mouth Guard Challenge. I knew after a few festive beverages my friends and family might just like to unwind and have a spot of fun together playing this!

I was provided a free game to try out and review. All opinions of the game are my own.

 First off it comes with "Mouth Guards". Much like the game name would suggest but perhaps looking at them in the packaging does them no justice. Once you put one of these bad boys in your mouth holy crow you have to have some serious poker faces not to bust out laughing at one another.

Enjoyed Orange Beach, AL in my Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring

Often times my job sends me to areas of the world I have never been. After recieving the email I was going to be one of the judges World Food Championship  in Alabama excitement filled my body. I was going to be a food judge!! EEK, taste delicious food = dream job!! Where on earth was Orange Beach, Alabama and how was I going to get there? I quickly Googled the location and found an airport to fly into. After booking my flight I arranged a rental and started packing my bags. After a 2 hour flight I arrived at the rental place completely unaware how my trip would unfold. Often times, I do not research much about an area when I am working because I do not want a preconceived notion. When they handed me the Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring keys I about fell over!

I was given a complimentary rental for my trip. All opinons are my own.
Back home in New York, I drive a 4-wheel drive Chevy pick up that let's just say: "it has seen better days". The Mazda was completely out of my element in such a grand special way. Leather seats greeted my restless aching "just got off a stuffy airplane" body with comfort. By the time I drove out of the parking lot and onto the wonderfully wooded roads, I felt like I had drove this car for years.