4 Blogs I Think You Should Know About

Hey y'all!   I am a blog FREAK.  I mean, I love to scroll through blog after blog and I'm also a bit of a Pinterest junkie.  I love finding out about new blogs that are about things I'm interested in.  It's always fun to find out about up & coming blogs that you might not have heard about before too, right?  Well, let me share some bloggers that I know personally & think that if you like my blog, you would probably like theirs too!  So, grab a cup of coffee (or tea) & ENJOY these crazy chicas!!

1)  The Busy Nothings

If you have followed this blog long, you may remember my friend Heidi who used to blog here.  Well, she has really developed her own blog a lot since then & she is kind of a big deal!!  She is seriously a gifted writer.  She blogs with a few other ladies & her blog covers a lot of territory.  It transparent, funny, soulful.  You WILL thank me later for this one ladies.  Follow The Busy Nothings on Twitter, Pinterest & Facebook.

ps:  You'll notice me in the last post

2)  Slightly Overcaffeinated

This blog is written by a friend of mine from college named Candy.  I loved her as soon as I met her.  She just got me.  There's nothing quite like that.  Reading her blog is like chatting with an old friend.  She is a stay-at-home-mama of 2 sweet girlies, she is a runner, she is hilarious, intelligent & transparent.    Follow Candy on Twitter, Pinterest & Facebook.

3)  Emily Out Loud

I have never actually met Emily, but she married an old friend of mine & we are online friends.  We share our hearts together, hold each other accountable, and inspire each other.  She is a passionate, Christian stay-at-home-mama of 2, and soon to be 3, kiddos.  It is her heart to be real and unashamed about her faith.  Her posts are challenging and inspiring.  Follow Emily on Pinterest & Facebook.

4)  SoFlo Home Design

This is my sister's blog!  You may remember her blogging here as well.  She is an Interior Designer in South Florida specializing in kitchen & bath.  She also maintains this super cute blog.  Follow her for design advice/tips! Follow Jamie on Twitter, Pinterest & Facebook.

There ya go!

Goodnight !!

New Emeals App

At the Presley home, we use a meal-planning service called Emeals.  

You may have heard of it?  We have used it for about 2 years & have been very happy with it.  It's pretty inexpensive, and you get a meal plan & shopping list every week that is customized to your family.  You can choose which store you like to shop at &  what type of food you want to buy (whole foods, gluten-free etc).

Well, now they are making it even easier with an iPhone app.  Here are a couple shots from my phone:

Your meal plan:

List of the week's meals to choose from:

Break Down of each recipe:

Shopping List:

This is pretty helpful & awesome, isn't it mamas?

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Disclaimer: I am an Emeals affiliate & do enjoy special benefits for that, but I chose do so because I have used & loved Emeals for the past couple of years.  Please know that my opinions are my own.

Confessional Friday

Today I'm linking up with A Blonde Ambition's Confessional Friday.  Came across her blog today & realized she is a fellow Northwest Arkansasan.  Super fun.  Anyhoo, herein lies my confession:

1)  I confess that I fed my kids chocolate cupcakes right before nap time.

2)  I confess that I have not had a haircut in like 6 months!

3)  I confess that I have seen every episode of Glee.  I. can't. stop. watching. it.

4)  I confess that I, currently, cannot fit into any of my size 2's.  --However, I am on day 3 of challenging myself to exceed my mileage on the eliptical each day.  Today I'm going to shoot for 2 1/2 miles (small potatoes I know, but I'm going to go ahead & give myself major props for not just taking a nap).

5)  I confess that I might have a shoe fetish.  See below:

Have a great weekend!! xoxox

Setting Fitness Goals with Walgreens New Steps with Balance Rewards

I am a Walgreens frequenter.  It started because our last house was right by a Walgreens and it was so easy just to shoot over there for everything we needed.  Mainly because, they had a little bit of everything.  You can also park by the door and it's not crazy crowded and you don't have to walk 3 miles to get to the back of the store.  That being said, I am also always looking for a way to save money; often creatively.  So now I'm doing their Balance Rewards program.  You earn points for every purchase which get you cash back.  You also get better prices on lots of items.  If you're a frequenter, it's a helpful program.

At the Presley household, we have been trying (since forever & especially lately) to maintain?  achieve?  strive toward? some level of fitness.  We want to be healthier & cuter.  We want to set a good example to our kids & have enough energy to keep up with them!  Whew!  We could use all the help we can get -for realz.  Enter the newest perk to Balance Rewards members.  It's called Steps, I'd like to call it extra motivation.    You sign up and start logging your weight, make goals, log your exercise & they give you a ton of Balance Rewards points for each entry; 20 pts per mile, or weigh-in.

It's super easy to get started.  I downloaded the free Walgreens app:

You can just set your goals right in the app:  

You earn badges along the way to encourage you:

It's pretty fun!!!

My goals were to try to be active each day.  Specifically, for me, that is to use the elliptical 20-30 minutes daily.  Also, to lose 10lbs!  I feel so much more energetic & happy when I weigh less & stay active.  Earning points for cash back is some extra motivation to get moving.  If going walking or running is your thing, you can hook up your fitness device to your Steps with Balance Rewards account!  Simplicity.

During my last trip to Walgreens I decided to pick up some African Mango supplements to assist me in my weight loss.  I had just recently read that it has a high-soluable fiber content &, if taken 30-60 minutes before meals can reduce appetite, lower cholesterol & triglycerides, reduce fat cell growth, boost the breakdown of fats, & improve blood sugar control.  All that is in here is mango & green tea.  No weird stuff.  All natural.  Couldn't hurt, right?

You can see pictures from my shopping trip in my Google+ album here.

  

They are also doing a Step Up to Win Instant Win & Sweepstakes right now!!

There are daily instant win prizes & you'll also be entered to win a trip to any Biggest Loser Resort!  Use the link above to enter.
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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 Walgreens #cbias #SocialFabric”

We Have a Winner!! Down Throw Pillow Giveaway

We have a winner to our Down Throw Pillow Giveaway!  Linda Ruamthong!!!  Woo hoo!!!

Energy Bites! Pin: NAILED!

Maybe you've seen these pinned on Pinterest: 

Energy Bites; kinda like no bake cookies, but a little healthier?  The pin led me to http://quickrecipes.pinapic.co

It was labeled: Admin.  Fun recipe though!  Super easy too; you just mix the ingredients together:

1 cup of dry oats
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla

It's really too thick to use a hand mixer, so I just kneaded it together with my hands.  It was pretty sticky.

I used a Pampered Chef Medium Scoop to put the little balls onto my cookie sheet.  After that, I put them in the fridge for 30 minutes or so.

Them came out tasting amazing!!  My kids loved them.