An Easter Tradition: DIY See's Candies Snack Bar + a Giveaway!

Today's discussion is brought to you by See's Candies,
regardless all opinions expressed below are my own.

Easter is almost here and that means I've been ogling all the adorable bunny items in every store I visit... and it also means that the "Easter Bunny" will be visiting my house soon. For now, though, I decided to play the Easter Bunny in our home and set up a scrumptious little candy snack bar with See's Candies during our most recent weekend brunch.

With so many delicious candies, it's easy to see why I chose to include all See's delectable delights in my snack bar. From Sugar Coated Sour Bunnies to Dark Chocolate Raspberry filled Springtime Truffles, I've decided to incorporate See's into my Easter tradition every year from now on! I'm so excited to celebrate Easter the very same way next year, with a special new member of our family. Getting to see the joy Easter brings from a child's point of view will make this tradition that much more amazing... but I'll be honest and share that this year I've thoroughly enjoyed getting to snack on delicious candy and other brunch-time favorites!

To celebrate Easter in style our little candy snack bar had to include all of the best American-made See's Easter candies with some flair added to the table.

As I mentioned, there were Springtime Truffles and Sour Bunnies, as well as Rocky Road Eggs, Chocolate Butter Eggs with Walnuts, Milk Chocolate and Dark Chocolate Bunnies of all sizes, Jelly Beans, and even a giant Easter Treasure egg!

Everyone was able to find something to treat their sweet tooth after brunch and it was marvelous. I decided to spruce up the table some with some colorful Easter eggs and a pretty little Easter basket, paired with a couple of cake plates to really show off the delicious candy snack bar options. The last important addition to the table was a colorful springtime plate and napkins set, now my table was ready for guests to enjoy and you can prepare your dessert table this easily too!

Whether you are looking for the perfect over-sized Chocolate Bunny to add into your little one's Easter basket or you want to surprise your sweetheart with a giant Easter Treasure Egg, See's has everything you'll need! Want to treat yourself (or someone you love) to something delicious without having to spend a dime?

Enter to win a $15 See's Candies Gift Card giveaway with the giveaway tools form below:

Entry-Form

A Celebration for The Choice by Nicholas Sparks: A Book Club Favorite! {NOW in Theaters: February 5th}

This post was sponsored by Lionsgate as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central. I received complimentary products to facilitate my review.

I know I can't be the only girl in the world that gets lost in a book; getting swept away with the characters and their story line, letting my imagination and vivid storytelling take me away to another place. So it comes as no surprise that I've been lost lately in The Choice, by Nicholas Sparks. The man has a gift for writing and I always appreciate reading the dreamy, romantic novels he produces, but this book is one of my favorites.

Spending time with my feet in the sand and hearing the ocean breeze rolling in, while reading a love story with unexpected, yet brilliant twists has been how I passed my time recently... and maybe a few afternoons cuddled up on the couch too. I've enjoyed having the chance to read the book and now I'm making the choice to go see The Choice in theaters, TOMORROW (February 5th).

To celebrate the occasion, I had a few of my besties over to do a little gossiping about our favorite parts of the book. I guess you could say we're officially a "book club" since we spent most of the day snacking on some delicious foods, and dare I say, we even took the time to treat ourselves to mani-pedis while chit-chatting about The Choice! There's really nothing better than pampering yourself while sharing your thoughts!

I don't want to spoil the movie (and/or book) for you, but this story is about a fun, feisty medical student named Gabby who moves in next door to a total ladies man, Travis. From there, they get swept away in an unexpected, whirlwind of a romance neither even thought possible. The thing is, Travis doesn't believe in long-term commitment and, well as hard as it is to admit, Gabby is already in it for the long haul... or she thought she was, until she met Travis.

The Choice is one of those novels that takes your heart on a journey and I think it's definitely a must-read for any book club involving hopeless romantics! After you complete the book, you'll definitely want to compare it to the movie so I suggest you check out which theater you can catch it in nearby you... or if you're more of the movie-going type of crowd, add The Choice to your must-see list & check out the preview for the movie today:

So will you make the choice to go see The Choice this weekend or are you going to wait until you've read the book first/ I know I'll be sitting front and center to see this book come to the big screen, there really is nothing better than a love story by Nicholas Sparks... but any girl with a heart knows that!

Celebrate The Minions Movie with Minion-ade Banana Lemonade Recipe + a Free Printable

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MinionsAtTarget #CollectiveBias

If you're a kid at heart, like me, or a mom to a wonderful little fun-loving minion, then you are probably just as excited about the release of Minions on disc as I am! After Despicable Me and Despicable Me 2, I fell in love with the cute little yellow helpers (or trouble makers, in some cases) and I couldn't wait to watch the goofy little guys and see what they were up to on their own adventures. I won't spoil any of the movie details, but I will say I love Kevin and Minions gets 5 stars and two thumbs up from me!

Since I love to celebrate everything, you probably aren't surprised to find out that I had a couple of "minions" join me to watch the Minions movie from the comfort of my own home! I actually made a fun little date night out of the whole thing and it turned out fabulously with mason jars decorated like minons filled with a delicious banana minionade (lemonade) recipe and beautiful flowers setting next to the entertainment center... it's the little things in life, am I right?

Do you want to make some minion friends as well? These easy to decorate cups are made with this free printable and a small piece of tape! I measured my minion goggles and eyes to fit around a mason jar but you can easily shorten the goggle straps for each cup in your house! These are such an awesome way to treat your friends and family to something delicious while watching Minions!

So go ahead and pull out your scissors and a pitcher for the minionade, we're about to get messy and it's going to be fun! Are you ready to get ba-na-nas about lemonade like a minion would? Then let's get started on a recipe any minion would love!

You will need:

3-4 Lemons
1 cup sugar
3-4 cups hot water
1/2 tsp banana extract

You'll want to begin by printing off this adorable free printable so you can make your own minions! Cut each set of goggles out and attach with tape to mason jars. While working on this project begin heating 4 cups of water in a tea kettle or large pot.

While your water is on the stove top, you'll want to begin juicing the lemons. Simply squeeze 3-4 lemons, chopped in half, into the pitcher with a strainer over the top.

Once the lemons have been completely juiced, remove the strainer from the top of the pitcher and add in sugar, little bits at a time and stirring each time you add more in!

By this time, your water is likely warm so begin slowly pouring the water and stirring it in about 1/2 cup to a cup at a time. Stir mixture until completely combined.

Add 1/2 tsp of banana extract and stir for just a little longer!

Add handfuls of ice and lemon slices in the mixture and garnish cups with a lemon, if you'd like!

Serve in the minion themed mason jars, with some dried banana chips, and ENJOY!

The best part about our kid-at-heart themed night is the fact that we were able to score everything we needed on one of my regular weekly trips to Target. From the Market Pantry banana chips to my Target Exclusive Minions Metal Pak Deluxe set (that also scored me a free $5 gift card + bonus footage that is only available on the Target copy), they had it all!

Since I've shared this adorable free printable to give your minions the goggles they deserve and a delicious recipe for banana minionade, I feel I should also tell you that you don't want to miss your chance to get your hands on even more adorable minion fun! From the perfect minion-esque attire to little books and toys fit for any minion-loving kid, Target offers a little bit of everything Minions and you're bound to fall in love with it all! So head on over and collect everything you'll need for your Minions movie night!

How to Watch TV Everywhere + a Delicious Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Mushrooms Recipe

Ever have one of those days when all you want to do is eat some delicious snack food, lounge in bed, and binge watch your favorite show?

Well, I felt exactly like that this weekend and while I could've added a TV to our bedroom on Black Friday, I'm not really the type to go all "This is Sparta!" for electronics at big box stores to save a few bucks... and well, it's not really a necessity anymore with NBC TVEverywhere.

What's NBC TVEverywhere? It's tv-on-the-go for those of us who are too busy to catch our favorite shows on cable. From shows like The Voice to Heroes Reborn, I was able to get my fix on all my favorites from the comfort of my bed with a plate of delicious bacon stuffed mushrooms and a pint of ice cream to snack on... I think this is how "adulting" works, right?

It's your turn to pair NBC TVEverywhere with this delicious recipe and a laptop. Click here to start your favorite show while you prep this delicious recipe:

Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients:

1/2 lb baby Portabella, stems removed and cleaned
1 8oz package neufchatel cheese
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
1 package of bacon

Green Onion
a dash of oregano, garlic powder, and basil
toothpicks

The prep for this recipe is SO easy. You'll begin by preheating the oven to 375 degrees. Then you'll heat the neufchatel until it's soft enough to stir, for me that takes about 20-30 seconds.

After that's completed, you'll mix in the spices, mozzarella cheese, and garlic. Once it's thoroughly combined, you'll want to place a heaping teaspoon of the cheese mixture into each mushroom cap.

Next you'll want to wrap about a half of piece of bacon around each mushroom cap, depending on the size and secure the bacon with a toothpick down the center. Bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese looks slightly browned and the bacon looks delicious!

ENJOY!

While the recipe bakes fairly quickly, I suggest you cozy up in bed with your laptop while you wait! I also suggest you check out an episode of Chicago PD... it's so good and the story line will leave you wanting more and more - just like this recipe!

So tell me, out of all of the NBC TV Everywhere shows, which one will you binge watch first? Log in and watch now!

DIY "Inside Out" Inspired Bookmarks with Pom Pom Memory Orbs

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #InsideOutMovieNight #CollectiveBias

I'll be the first to admit, I'm a total kid at heart. I love cartoons and I often discuss my favorite Disney flicks on my blog, but today I want to talk about one of my all time favorite cartoon movies - Inside Out. If you've seen it, then you know why I love the movie so much!

With humor and discussions about some of the harder lessons to learn in life all tied into one precious little movie, it's easy to see why it's such a favorite across the nation - especially in our house! My nieces and nephews all seem to be pretty big fans of Inside Out as well, so when I heard it was coming out on video I knew that we had to add a copy of it to our library.

Luckily, I just happened to be wandering around Target on the day it was released and into my cart it went; along with all the "essentials" that I decided I needed while I was browsing the aisles - like a new book, snack foods, a couple knick-knacks for our living room, a cozy blanket to snuggle up with, and some new clothes... Target does it to me every single time, I know I'm not the only one!

Regardless of my "anger" toward my inability to control my shopping addiction while at Target, I was excited to see they not only had Inside Out for sale, but on sale! SCORE, I love finding a bargain! Plus, I noticed that my copy is better since I bought it at Target! Why is it better? Inside Out DVDs and Blu-Rays purchased at Target include 20 minutes of exclusive bonus content and deleted scenes! How cool is that?

After filling my cart full of all kinds of goodies, I knew it was time to head home and start coming up with a craft I could do while watching the movie... because let's face it, I'm one of those people that's constantly fidgeting so I figured I might as well multi-task while watching one of my favorite flicks!

Since I had the new movie, a new book and a new fuzzy blanket, I turned to them for inspiration and I instantly knew that I needed some super colorful, fun, and funky bookmarks themed after my favorite movie - a mixture of all 3 of my new favorite items!

Making these little pom pom Inside Out bookmarks isn't hard at all, follow this DIY tutorial and you'll be able to express your emotions every single time you open a book.

First we'll start with making the pom-poms.... You'll wrap a piece of yarn, repeatedly around your pointer and middle finger, leaving a little tail in between those fingers.

Once you have your fingers throughly surrounded with yarn, you'll want to tie the two lose ends into a lose knot. Then use a short string to tie around both sides of the yarn, making it into a little donut like ball of sorts.

Once your donut ball is made, you'll want to cut evenly through each little piece of yarn. Allowing it to turn into a "poof". Go ahead and cut off excess yarn and your poofy little pom-poms are ready! I actually left ONE piece of yarn longer so that I could easily tape my pom pom to my bookmark, I suggest you do the same for easier assembly!

Next you'll want to print this FREE printable on cardstock, then cut each word out with a pair of scissors.

Attach your pom-pom to the top of each word with a piece of tape and your bookmarks are ready to use! It's that simple!

Now that I've shared how I made my super cute Inside Out emotion inspired bookmarks, I'd love to hear your opinion on the movie? Are you a huge fan of "Joy" and her crew or does the movie "Disgust" you? Tell me all about your favorite character in the movie and your favorite scene, I can't wait to hear which emotion you feel you can relate to the most!

DIY Painting Inspired by MARVEL's The Avengers: Age of Ultron

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #AvengersUnite #CollectiveBias

When I heard that MARVEL's The Avengers: Age of Ultron is now out on disc, I knew I had to go out and buy a copy ASAP. See, if you didn't already know, we are pretty big fans of The Avengers in this house.

While we were hunting down The Avengers: Age of Ultron on Blu-Ray, we ran into the costume section at Walmart! With every costume you can think of for so many different age groups, my hubby and I were like kids picking out candy! We saw all kinds of MARVEL character costumes at great prices but we finally decided that it'd be super fun to have Hubby dress up as the Hulk!

Once we chose a costume for him, we were on our way to the back of the store where we were able to buy a Blu-Ray 3D, DVD combo of The Avengers: Age of Ultron! We grabbed a few snacks on our way out the door and we were on our way home!

On the way home, I was having a closer look at the cover of the movie and I was inspired. Such great talent, such fun colors - I don't normally paint things like this, but I knew I had to let my creative juices flow... That's when my mind was made up, I wanted to make minimalist versions of "shields" for each of my favorite Marvel Characters!

Good news, though! Not only did I decide to paint a MARVEL inspired piece of art for my home, I know there are other Avengers fans out there so I decided to share a step-by-step painting tutorial! Now you can make a MARVEL's The Avengers: Age of Ultron shield painting of your own!

The first step is tracing a hexagon onto a canvas in pencil, with however many "shields" you want to make and maybe a few extra spots for color shields.

Once your hexagons are traced, it's time to start sketching the minimalist versions of each character.
I chose to work with Hulk, Vision, Captain America, Black Widow, Ultron, Iron Man, Thor, and Hawkeye - basically the best characters!

In case your wondering how I sketched each item, here's an example:

Once each character is roughly sketched, apply a background layer of paint. I went with silver, black, and white and blended slightly - allowing for a tonal, textured background.

After the background is painted, it's time to grab a smaller brush and work on the details of each character. Painting the simple Hulk sketch purple and green, making sure the Black Widow circle is painted around the logo, Captain America's shield needs to have a white star in the middle, etc. Slowly filling in each characters logo with the correct colors. Here's a collage of my step-by-step process...

Once the entire painting is filled with color, you'll want to outline each shield with white and/or silver and add little details with white and silver paint. Adding little lines to make things feel textured, like the outside of the hexagon shields.

Sign your name to the bottom of the painting and your creation is complete.

Now sit back and re-watch The Avengers: Age of Ultron and feel free to admire your artwork anytime you please! 

5 MUST SEE Educational Food Documentaries {Available on Netflix}

Knowing what you are putting into your body is so important! From the chemicals they treat your veggies with to the preservatives they put in the over-processed food that supermarkets label as healthy, there are hidden ingredients and underlying contaminates that you aren't aware of. I've been on a food documentary kick lately and today I'm sharing my favorite (and some of the most informative) food documentaries on Netflix.

First I'll start with one of my favorites, Forks over Knives. This documentary examines the idea behind a diet curing disease and illness, in depth. I love the knowledge that is shared in this documentary and if you are borderline pesca/vegetarian (like me), this movie may push you over the edge. I like this documentary because it's not obnoxious, just educational and helpful for those that may be unaware of how much our diet plays a role in our immune system and our natural healing capabilities.

Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead is another awesome educational movie. As you can imagine, this movie is about a man that is overweight, unhealthy, and honestly could pass at any moment due to his obesity. He embarks on a complete lifestyle change and the rest is history... or the movie. You can also catch Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead 2 on Netlfix as well.

GMO OMG is actually a movie I stumbled across while doing research for a speech I gave in class about the dangers of GMO's. I ate up every morsel of knowledge this movie shared and loved examining the facts they shared in this movie. I'll be honest with you, you'll be googling while watching this documentary because some of the knowledge they share will astound you.

Fed Up is another great documentary made to expose the food industry and how it plays a role in childhood obesity. While I'm all for a tasty treat, falsely advertising something unhealthy as something healthy and misleading consumers (especially children) is a huge no-no in my book, this movie exposes some big companies bad habits and shares the struggle young adults have as a whole with weight loss. I loved the people in this documentary and would recommend it to anyone.

Hungry For Change is another food industry bashing movie that you must-see. It's an eye-opener and will really change the way you look at processed foods. Exposing strategies and sharing industry secrets, this documentary will be one that you should definitely add to your queue right now so you can find out what's holding you back from the body you deserve.

The few movies they offer on Netflix are just a fraction of what's available to educate yourself on food. I'd love to know, have you seen any of these awesome documentaries or do you know of another food related movie that I must see? Tell me your thoughts in the comments below!

Let's Talk About Emotions with Inside Out Cupcakes

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #InsideOutEmotions #CollectiveBias

Stop for a moment and tell me, how are you feeling today? Are you full of joy? Feeling a little sadness? Possibly even a little red in the face from anger after a tough day? Maybe it's hard to translate how you are feeling at this very moment?

If you really think about it, we have some super complex emotions, so if you are having trouble I don't blame you. Some of us cry when we are happy, a lot of people smile a joyful grin when they are embarrassed, and some people even laugh when they are angry, translating those mixed signals into words is so very difficult at times.

Emotions are a difficult thing to discuss; when we are children we can't quite put our feelings into words and once we are older we are told to keep composure. While it's nice to keep your emotions at bay in some situations, here's some news for the adults holding it all in all the time and the kids learning to express themselves: all emotions are normal and it's healthy for us to express ourselves.

While I'm not an expert on the expression of emotions, I will be the first to admit I wear my heart on my sleeve. I am passionate and feel everything deeply so not sharing how I'm feeling is abnormal for me. 

After seeing Inside Out recently, I'm a huge fan of the movie and just have to share my joy! I love that the characters in the movie make relating our emotions to situations so incredibly easy. It's like a guide book for kids to learn to express themselves in an emotionally healthy way, while still having plenty of humor for adults to get a real chuckle.

In celebration of all the joy I'm feeling about Inside Out, I decided to make a rainbow of Inside Out cupcakes, sharing all of my emotions through baking! I made yellow cupcakes for Joy, blue cupcakes for Sadness, red cupcakes for Anger, purple cupcakes for Fear, and green cupcakes for Disgust! They all each had their own little twist but were made with the same delicious, cake batter recipe.

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup oil (vegetable, canola or extra light olive oil)

1/2 cup almond milk with a pinch of lemon juice added (or buttermilk)

Gel food coloring in yellow, blue, red, purple, and green

Frosting:

1 stick of butter
1 tbsp vanilla

3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

1 tbsp of almond milk

 *This recipe yields about 12 cupcakes, I made two batches so I could make plenty of each color.*

Directions-

You'll want to begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Stir together with whisk, and set aside.

In a separate bowl, add eggs and beat with mixer for about 10 seconds.  Add sugar and continue to beat on medium speed about 40 seconds, now add the vanilla and oil, beat for an additional 10 seconds or so.

Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add about a fourth of the flour mixture.  Add about a fourth of the milk, then add another fourth of the flour and another fourth of the milk and so on.  Beat until just combined.

Pour batter into 5 bowls and add desired amount of food coloring. I added a pinch of coconut and lime to the disgust cupcakes, 1 tbsp of cocoa to the anger cupcakes, 1 tsp of lemon extract to the joy cupcakes, and left the fear and sadness cupcakes just plain ol' vanilla for those that like that type of thing. These additions are totally optional but add some fun flavor varities to the cupcakes.

Then pour into a muffin pan prepared with silicone liners or directly into a silicone baking pan.  Fill approximately 2/3 full.

Place in oven and bake for 12-14 minutes. We ate some Inside Out fruit snacks while we waited for our cupcakes... Remove all the cupcakes from the oven once you can stick a toothpick (or fork) into the center and it comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for a minute or two, then remove cupcakes from pan and finish cooling on a wire rack.

While your cupcakes are cooling, you can start on your frosting prep! Combine the butter, vanilla, confectioners sugar, and almond milk in a large mixing bowl and mix on high for about a minute or until the frosting is smooth in consistency. Separate the frosting into five bowls again and add desired amount of food coloring and flavors, if you desire.

Once your cupcakes are completely cooled, cut each one in half and add a thick spoonful of frosting to each "top" of the cupcake and place the bottom on top. You want the inside of your cupcake to be the outside, hence their name "Inside Out" cupcakes! 

Add Sprinkles, if you wish and these little emotional cupcakes are ready to serve!

Enjoy!

These Inside Out Cupcakes are like little cupcake sandwiches and are absolutely delicious. The perfect colorful addition to a conversation about emotions or a very happy celebration of any sort! 

Now that I've shared my delicious (and emotional) Inside Out cupcake recipe, I'd love to hear which cupcake you think best represents how you feel on a daily basis...? I'd also love to hear if you've seen Inside Out or if you plan to see this adorable movie? If you want to celebrate seeing the movie in style with all the fun emotions, you can find all kinds of cute plush animals, toys, and more at Walmart!