Sugar Bit Giveaway

Once upon a time, I had a baby girl and then I spent my entire life savings on her clothing.  Ok, so not really, but how much fun is it to shop for a baby girl?  I mean, there are so many adorable options out there.  Don't get me wrong, boys clothes are awesome too, but there's just something about the variety of girls clothes, all the pretty colors, the details and the patterns.  And don't even get me started on the accessories!    

Luckily, one of my very favorite bloggers just so happened to open up the most adorable (and affordable) online children's boutique right around the time I found out I was having a girl.  I mean, what are the chances?  :)  I think fate had a hand in making sure that Mim would be the most well-dressed baby on the blog.  Sugar Bit has been our go-to place this past year for the most adorable dresses, the softest pajamas, the cutest accessories, and the hottest swimwear.  

If you follow me on Instagram, you probably already know that I'm beyond obsessed with a brand called Kickee Pants.  I won't get into my deep passionate love affair with this company right now (because I've already done that profusely here and all that gushing gets quite embarrassing), but suffice it to say that this brand changed the way I shop and how I dress my kids.  I am now a Kickee addict.  Mim has lived in Kickee her entire life and Mac refuses to wear anything but Kickee to bed.  We have the pajamas, coveralls, onesies, boxers, footies, dresses, shirts, shorts, undies, hoodies, leggings and polos.  They're coming out with crib sheets and headbands soon and I'm about to lose my mind over it.  I completely blame Sugar Bit for this addiction, but I am also SO incredibly glad they carry this brand.  My love runs deep.

Sugar Bit has also turned me into a huge fan of some other adorable brands, like Haute Baby, Hatley, Pink Chicken, Joules, Kissy Kissy, Mud Pie, Babiators, Toobydoo, Silkberry, RuffleButts and Zutano.  You can be assured that anything Natasha stocks in her store is adorable and well-made.  And even better, the stuff in the shop is affordable.  I don't know about you, but my kids are hard on clothes and while I'll spend a bit more to get good quality stuff that will last, I don't want to spend a small fortune on things they'll outgrow in a minute.  Plus, Sugar Bit has fantastic sales all the time (follow them on social media for updates).  For example, right now all swimwear is 40% off, everything smocked from Mom&Me is just $26 and their summer inventory is greatly discounted to make way for fall stuff.  They also just got some adorable pieces from the new Kickee Pants Fall 1 line (feathers and raindrops and blackbirds, oh my!).  

So....what's my point about all this gushing?  Well, because I love you and I know that you love deals and adorable clothes as much as I do (and because Natasha is the bomb), I have TWO fun surprises for you: a discount code to use RIGHT NOW through the end of the month to get 15% off your order (SUGAR15) and a giveaway where one lucky reader will win a $75 gift certificate to Sugar Bit! 

Use the Rafflecopter below to be entered in the giveaway for the $75 gift certificate.

Use the code SUGAR15 right now to get ANYTHING you want from Sugar Bit -
be sure to shop the new fall stuff and the amazing summer sale going on.  

I promise, you will not be disappointed.

(And get some Kickee Pants, while you're there - they'll change your life.)

A few of my favorite things available on the Sugar Bit site right now! 

Go forth and shop! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*This post is not sponsored - this is out of my pocket (as are all of the clothes featured here) because I appreciate you reading and because I want to show some love to a favorite shop, favorite brand and favorite blogger.  #shopsmall #bloggersunite

*I also have tons of really cute things from Sugar Bit for Mac (they have awesome boy clothes), but I just couldn't help myself with just how much baby Mim has grown up in these photos.  Less than a week until she turns one.  Hold me. 

Honey Balsamic Chicken with Roasted Summer Tomatoes

Well well...it has been a while since I did a recipe post.  Makes sense, I guess, because it's been a while since I made a decent dinner, yet alone one worth blogging about.  I mean, I can place a pretty mean Chinese delivery order, but that's not necessarily blog-worthy.  It's just that dinnertime is HARD.  I don't know what it is about dinnertime that makes children lose their damn minds, but 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. is hands-down the most stressful, chaotic and insane time of the day for everyone at our house.  Is it like that for you too or are we alone in our misery?  I think it's a combination of a number of factors: (1) Ryan and I are getting home from work and the kids are extra excited to see us and want our full attention; (2) they have extra energy because they just woke up from their naps; (3) we're trying to get food cut, chopped, prepped and cooked (with hot burners and sharp knives) and the kids are not involved and want to go outside; (4) everyone is hungry and crabby and short on patience; and (5) my kids are crazy.  It's no wonder that this is also the time of night that the cocktails start flowing...you may call it happy hour, but we call it survival.

So, obviously I'm all about any recipe that is quick, easy, healthy and tastes good.  It's really hard to find one that fits all of those categories, so this recipe is a keeper.  It's only a few ingredients (most of which you'll have on hand), requires no vegetable chopping (that's for you, Jessica), takes only 15 minutes to make (start to finish) and is healthy, light and delicious.  I am not kidding, you guys.  This is like the holy grail of weeknight entrees.  And it's perfect for summer.  Mainly because you can easily adapt this to cook entirely on the grill (so you don't heat up the house) and if you know anyone with a garden, they are going to be giving tomatoes away by the bucket-load really soon.  Plus, it's really light and refreshing and can be paired easily with a salad or some mixed veggies for a full meal.  This is a winner, I'm telling you.   

First thing you want to do is roast the tomatoes.  Combine the tomatoes, honey, balsamic and olive oil together in a bowl and then roast the tomato mixture in the oven or on the grill.  I'm kinda ballparking the measurements of the tomato mixture below - I usually wing it and throw in as much as I want of each, depending on how I'm feeling. If you're using balsamic dressing, you can cut back on the olive oil.  If you're using straight balsamic vinegar, add the full amount below.  Feel free to add more honey, if you like a sweeter mixture.  And play with it, if you want - add some garlic, throw in some fresh basil leaves, add a little lemon juice.  Whatever.  But make sure to roast the tomato mixture in the oven or on the grill - the roasting gives the mixture such a richer flavor.  You can cook the tomatoes in a skillet if you need to, but you lose a bit of that smoky, roasted goodness.  Cook until the tomato skins burst and they're all wrinkled (10-15 minutes).  Stir once if you want. 

While your tomatoes are roasting, throw the chicken breasts in a skillet or on the grill to cook.  I usually pound them out before cooking so they're not so thick that they take 45 minutes to cook.  Ain't no one got time for that.  All you need is a little salt and pepper for seasoning.  I love cooking the chicken in a cast iron pan with a little bit of olive oil, just to get a little bit of a crispy texture on the chicken, but you can cook it however you want.  Bake it, saute it, grill it...doesn't matter.  Cooking the chicken is the easy part.  And then when it's done, spoon the tomato mixture right on top!  THAT'S IT.  IT'S DONE.  And it's perfection.  At this point (if you just had to mess with it...like I always have to do with any recipe), you could also drizzle some of that balsamic glaze (I love that stuff...and that's NOT an affiliate link or anything) on the chicken or top with a slice of fresh mozzarella.  Mmmmm...

Ingredients:

2 pints grape tomatoes

2 tablespoons honey

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing (or 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar)

2 teaspoons salt, divided

4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves 

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees (or use BBQ grill)

2. Combine tomatoes, honey, olive oil and balsamic in a small bowl; place tomato mixture on a foil-lined cookie sheet (or create foil pouch for grill). 

3. Bake tomato mixture at 450° (or put on grill) for about 10 minutes or until tomato skins burst and/or wrinkle. Transfer mixture to a bowl, scraping juices into bowl. Stir 1 teaspoon salt into mixture.

4. Sprinkle chicken evenly with 1 teaspoon salt and the black pepper.

5. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken to pan (coated with non-stick spray) or on grill until cooked throughout (165 degrees). 

6. Place chicken on individual plates and spoon tomato mixture evenly over chicken.  Enjoy!

 So, I hope you try this!  

I hope you love it as much as I do.  

And I hope it helps makes you dinnertime slightly less insane.  

No promises. 

Last Days of Summer Fun

I am in some serious denial that summer is nearly over and it's already back-to-school season. Everywhere I look there are notebooks, pens, highlighters and lunchboxes. WHY?!! Every year it seems like summer gets shorter and shorter as we try to pack more and more activities into a few fleeting weeks. This is the first summer since I went down to 80% at work, so it's the first time I'm getting to participate in more of the day-to-day fun with the kids.  Last summer I was so busy taking care of a newborn that I didn't get to do much. And the summer before that, Mac was too little to do all the really fun things and what we could do we were cramming into weekends, along with everyone else on the planet. I'm so grateful to have some time this summer to do things with the kids that I've been waiting for...like teaching Mac how to catch lightening bugs and letting Mim play in the sprinklers.  

I made a Summer Bucket List of all the fun things I wanted to do with the kids before Mac starts nursery school again in the fall...except that Mother Nature has been trying to ruin my summer plans with all this rain. We've had an exceptionally wet, dreary and cold summer this year.  I feel like maybe it's rained nearly everyday for four solid months.  Every time we make plans to do something fun, it rains.  Every time there's an event we want to attend, it's cancelled because of rain. We've definitely hit up some fun indoor places, but that's not exactly what summer's all about.  Last week we finally had a little (and by little, I mean like one hour) break in the rain so we ran outside to take a walk around the neighborhood.  

As everyone knows, Mac is OBSESSED with worms and bugs, so it was the perfect time to look for worms on the sidewalk and crickets in the yard.  We seem to have an unbelievably stupid worm population on our street that think they can cross sidewalks with ease without dying up (wrong) and an unbelievable number of little black crickets that live in the grass median in between the street and the sidewalk that think they can live there in peace without being caught by a wild preschooler (also wrong).  Just taking a few steps in this grassy area will kick up dozens of crickets that Mac loves to catch on the pavement.  Well, most of the time he catches them, but sometimes he accidentally kills them so that they might be "just a little bit dead." Finesse is not his strong suit.  

Despite all the rain, this summer has flown by in a whirlwind of activities.  We've already managed to do quite a few items on our bucket list and have plans to do more. But most days, I don't mind just hanging out with them without a lot of activities planned.  It's nice to get out of the house and have something to do, but it's also an adventure just hanging out with them on our street.  We love to visit our neighbors, go for bike rides, check out the local gardens, chase butterflies and follow the mail lady around.  We have our usual spots where we look for rolly-pollies, where we find smooth rocks, where we check on the baby birds in the nest.  We talk about moving to a house with a bigger yard and more land all the time, but honestly, with more space and privacy, I think we'll really miss our neighbors and all the adorable little neighborhood kids that have been some of Mac and Mim's first friends.   

We are also so grateful for this fun collaboration with Famous Footwear.  You may remember that we got to try some really fun shoes in the spring (post here) and were delighted to be able to work with such a great company again during their back to school campaign.  I may just be the last human on the face of the earth to buy a pair of the super comfy, always-classic Chuck Taylor Converse sneakers.  I don't exactly know what I was waiting for, but I'm so glad I finally pulled the trigger and got a pair of these awesome shoes.  They're slip-on, so comfortable and I've since worn them a dozen times because they go with EVERYTHING.  They're cute with jeans, with shorts, with dresses.  I can't wait to wear them into the fall.  And Mac picked out a pair of the most obnoxious, yet totally awesome light-up Skechers sneakers.  He is beyond obsessed with these shoes and has refused to wear anything else since I showed them to him.  And not only do they light up when he walks, they alternate between four different colors of his choosing.  These shoes may be the greatest thing that's ever happened to him.   These are the things of preschoolers dreams.  You can also check out Famous Footwear's #ohsofamous styling gallery to see how other (way more cool) moms and bloggers are styling their shoes. 

Are you guys staying dry this summer?

What's left to do on your summer bucket list?

*I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Happy Birthday Krispy Kreme

Did you all have any idea that Krispy Kreme Doughnuts turns 78 years old tomorrow?  

78 years!

I had no clue that this doughnut giant had been around for so long.  

Happy birthday, Krispy Kreme! 

In honor of the birthday bash, Krispy Kreme has a couple of new fun menu items that we got to check out. Now through the end of August, you can try the new birthday cake batter doughnut (with cake batter flavored filling and bright sprinkles) or the birthday cake chiller (a creamy cupcake flavored iced beverage).  

Or maybe if you're in the mood for something chocolate (like I always am), you could try the brownie batter doughnut, with a filling that tastes just like licking the beaters.  They're all amazing.  I know because I ate them ALL.  In the name of research.  This is dedication to my craft.  Seriously, sometimes this whole blogging gig is just too amazing to be true.  

Want to know who else is pretty excited about doughnuts?  

I'll give you two guesses...

What?  

Don't you all eat your doughnuts on the front porch in the rain too?

The funny thing is, I had this whole elaborate scenario in my heard about how I was going to surprise Mac with a Krispy Kreme doughnut.  He's only had a doughnut once (that I know of), and of course he loved it, so I made plans to meet up with some friends that all had kids his age and we'd have some fun park play time and a doughnut date.  I was going to get pictures of all the kids sitting at a picnic table, chowing down on doughnuts, with sprinkles stuck to their face and their sticky little fingers.  Adorable, right?

But then it started raining.  And raining.  And raining.  And it hasn't stopped raining for about 45 days (or at least it feels like that).  We've been trapped inside our house with no friends and no doughnuts.  Life has been hard, you guys. :)  

I finally just got so fed up with the rain that I hit the Krispy Kreme drive through on my way home from work and surprised Mac with a fun after-nap snack of a birthday cake batter doughnut.  So, instead of being the cool mom that set up the fun doughnut date with all his little buddies, I'm the mediocre mom that just lets her kid eat doughnuts on the front porch in the pouring down rain in his weird little green frog rain coat.  Know what?  I don't think Mac cared one bit.  That kid is the best. 

The doughnuts certainly did brighten our day!  Things have been so dreary and dismal around these parts lately, it was nice having a mid-week break with something fun, colorful and delicious.  We stood on the porch and sang "Happy Birthday" to Krispy Kreme while we chowed down and got drenched.  Mac kept asking me who "Kissy Kream" was, where were the candles and could we have another birthday party for him tomorrow?  Or after dinner?  Or both?  He also told me he can't wait until he turns 20 so he can doughnuts for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Okay...    

Needless to say, Mac was a big fan of the doughnuts.  He destroyed his and immediately asked for more (I said no and he cried).  I only ate three, which I think showed incredible restraint and willpower.  The brownie batter ones were to die for.  

And I'm not just rubbing it in that WE got doughnuts...there's good news for you, too!  Tomorrow is Krispy Kreme's 78th birthday, so if you purchase one dozen doughnuts tomorrow, you can get a dozen Original Glazed doughnuts for just 78 cents.  Did you hear that?  That's worth repeating...78 cents for a DOZEN doughnuts.  Run, don't walk to your nearest store. 

Any Krispy Kreme fans out there?

What would you do with an extra dozen doughnuts?

(I sent a dozen to summer camp with Mac this morning for the teachers who have to put up with my little wild child.)

*I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.