Spread Joy This Holiday & Get a Brighter, Whiter Smile with Crest 3D White Whitestrips

With Christmas literally right around the corner, I'm doing everything I can to prepare for the holiday! From packing bags and boxes full of presents so we can send and deliver it all to our friends and family to whipping up batches of delicious holiday goodies in the kitchen, I've been having a good time getting in the spirit of the season.

While I'm joyous about all the holiday fun, I feel like I need to share something... We took pictures for our Christmas cards earlier this month and here's the good news: the photos turned out adorable and I'll be sharing them soon. But there's also some bad news: I noticed something about our smiles I didn't like... I'm not going to blame it on any one thing, but maybe our espresso habit and our love for red wine have something to do with it... I really hate to say it type it, but our teeth were looking pretty yellow and that's just not okay! Eeeek!

After realizing we had a "situation", I couldn't let me or the hubs head home to see family with our teeth looking funky... I mean, really, who wants to be that couple in their family photos? Not us!

So I had to take steps to whiten our teeth immediately, I decided to check out Crest Whitestrips and when I saw that I could eliminate YEARS of stains within an hour with Crest 3D White Whitestrips 1-Hour Express Teeth Whitening Kit, I knew we were in business and that out smiles would soon be brighter! These little Whitestrips whiten teeth faster than ever and with the advanced no-slip grip you can even talk and drink water while you are whitening your teeth... Plus, you don't have to worry about crazy chemicals because Crest Whitestrips only use the ingredients your trusted dentist uses!

I know all of this is great, but the best part about our teeth whitening experience is the fact that my husband taught me how to play chess while we whitened our teeth. It's always nice to learn something new from him and he never ceases to amaze me, I guess I'm pretty lucky to call this man & his smile mine.

You can see our official results with Crest Whitestrips below:

 

After we whitened our teeth, we both were feeling pretty fancy so we dressed up in our Christmas finest and decided to do some Christmas shopping... You better believe I was smiling at everyone we crossed paths with because when you have noticeably whiter teeth, it's easy to flash a friendly smile!

Are you wanting to whiten your teeth like we did? I've got some awesome news! Crest 3D White Whitestrips 1-Hour Express Teeth Whitening Kit is offering a limited time deal - if you buy one kit at walmart.com, you'll get the second kit completely free!

So tell me, do you have special plans this holiday? Would having a brighter, whiter smile make you a little merrier this time of year? Tell me all about it in the comments below!

The Cutest Christmas Breakfast - Reindeer Doughnuts

Can you believe Christmas is almost here already? With only 10 days left until the official day, I've been crafting up all kinds of delicious recipes and working on fun gifts and DIY projects galore.

Today I decided to take a break from it all, at least for a little bit, and I "made" a super fun and INCREDIBLY simple little breakfast in celebration!

While this would've been a way more impressive recipe had I actually made the ingredients, combining the two was totally my idea and it turned out pretty stinkin' adorable! If you want to surprise your sweetie with something adorable on Christmas morning or you and your kids want to leave something different and unique for Santa, I think this little reindeer doughnut is perfect!

What do you need to make these cuties?

Doughnuts
Reindeer Peeps
Toothpicks

Chocolate chips
Coconut and White Sixlets, optional

These little reindeer doughnuts are too cute not to share with you, but the "recipe" or "tutorial" is super simple! 

You'll begin by placing a toothpick in the Reindeer peep and placing the other end in the doughnut, next you'll add a little chocolate chip tail... Sprinkle a little coconut "snow" on the plate and it's time to eat!

Want to make your doughnut even more fun? Add sprinkles or something else fun & winter-y, simple little recipes like these are fun for the kids to help you make & waking up to a treat like this on Christmas morning makes your holiday breakfast even more spectacular!

Serve with a glass of milk & ENJOY!

The Most Unique Gift for Everyone on Your List!

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

With only a few weeks left until Christmas, most of us are in a rush to finishing shopping for everyone on our lists... some may even be close to finishing your Christmas shopping! While I wish I was among the latter, I tend to always be the former... every single year. With so many loving people to buy for on both sides of our family, we are still getting presents organized and making sure that each and every person in our life gets a gift they really love.

While the little kids in our family will love the items we've bought them this year... we're still squaring away almost all of the presents for the adults! While we love our family members dearly, most of them already have everything they need or want! I suppose we're blessed like that... and I'm not complaining, but it really does make gift giving/buying a difficult experience. I bet you have people in your life that tend to be a little troublesome to gift items to as well...

While we love these members of our family, it's no fun playing the guessing game while at the store trying to find presents... That's why we're going to be giving a few of the tough-to-buy-for adults in our family gift cards this year - more specifically personalized photo book gift cards from TheGiftCardShop.com! Everyone loves a gift that includes photos of their family and these easy to make photobooks are adorable and so very thoughtful!

The first person I surprised with a photobook and a gift card for the holiday season is someone I love very much, my own mother. She loves my niece, as much if not a million times more than she loves my sister and I, so it comes as no surprise that I made her photobook about my precious little niece!

The best part of this FREE photobook is that I was able to personalize each photo by pulling them all from my facebook and instagram pictures and then I added my own captions, making the story line of the book about how much we love and appreciate her! The book plays music and scrolls through pages, as if it were actually sitting in front of the recipient - such a cool experience! Plus, to show a little extra appreciation, I was able to surprise her with a $25 gift card to Olive Garden through TheGiftCardShop.com! The perfect little gift to remind her that I'm thinking about her!

It was so easy getting my mom one of her favorite gifts this year, seeing pictures of our family's precious memories flash on her screen and then rewarding her with a gift card to one of our favorite places to go together - it is literally the perfect gift! And... now that I know about TheGiftCardShop.com, gift giving just got even easier for all the adults on our list.

Are you wanting to surprise someone with a gift card but you've been told before that it isn't a thoughtful gift? Well, that is NOT an accurate statement - at least not for my generation! According to a new national study on gift giving from Millennials gift cards take 1st place in gift giving, expert Jason Dorsey and The Center for Generational Kinetics found that nearly 50% of consumers chose gift cards over physical gifts of the same value.

So tell me, who on your list will you surprise with a unique photobook and gift card from TheGiftCardShop.com first? Once you've gifted your photobook, don't miss your chance to win big - share your photobook using the hashtag #TGCS & tag TheGiftCardShop on Facebook to be entered to win a $200 gift card!

Sweet as Sugar & as Naughty as Egg Nog Holiday Cookie Recipe with SPLENDA®!

Today's discussion is sponsored by SPLENDA®.

One of my favorite parts of celebrating the holiday season is all the sweets involved. From chocolate covered everything to super sweet sugar cookies, I'm loving being able to share the spirit of the holidays with delicious dessert recipes! While I love real sugar, I know that my body holds onto it forever and ever, so I try to limit myself... luckily, that's where SPLENDA® comes into the picture.

I know you've heard of SPLENDA® whether you've had it in your coffee or tried it in a recipe - it's a brand we all know and love and the cookie recipe I'm sharing today is one inspired by the brand.
The original recipe (found here) is actually really easy to follow but since I like to mix things up, I added my own little touch to the cookies - adding a delicious Egg Nog icing and instead of baking them with real flour, I opted to make my cookies gluten-free with coconut flour!

If you want a cookie that'll leave you wanting more, these are the Sweet as Sugar & as Naughty as Egg Nog cookies you've been looking for! If Santa wants something a little different this year, these are definitely the cookies to make for him!

Ingredients:

Cookies:
    1 cup unsalted butter, softened    
1 cup SPLENDA® Sugar Blend
2 large eggs    
2 teaspoons vanilla extract    
3 cups coconut flour   
1 teaspoon baking powder    
½ teaspoon salt



Icing:
1/4 cup vanilla egg nog

3 cups confectioners sugar

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
a few pinches of cinnamon

You'll start this recipe by preheating the oven to 325 degrees, then begin beating the butter at a low speed in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer until it has a creamy texture. Gradually adding the SPLENDA® Sugar Blend, mixing it well.

Next you'll add the eggs into the mix, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Following the original recipes directions, now is the time to stir in vanilla.

Next you'll combine the coconut flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate mixing bowl.

Slowly add flour mixture to SPLENDA® sugar blend, beating until completed blended.

Form dough into balls and flatten slightly or place into a silcone mold.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until slightly browned.

Remove from oven and let cool, while the cookies are cooling you can prep the icing.

Mix the butter and vanilla eggnog on low with an electric mixer. Adding confectioners sugar about a cup at a time to the mixture and mixing until smooth each time. Spoon into a piping bag and chill in refrigerator for a few minutes.

Once the cookies have completely cooled, add icing, and little sprinkles or candies!

Enjoy!

While the Sweet as Sugar and as Naughty as Eggnog Cookies are delicious, there are so many amazing Sweet Swaps™ Recipe ideas found here and you can easily get a bag of SPLENDA® from Walmart to get baking right away! Which recipe do you want to make first?

"I and Love and You" Pet Food Giveaway

Thanks to I and love and you for providing samples for my pooches & for providing one lucky winner with a prize,
all opinions expressed below are my own.

Choosing the right food to feed my pups has been an experience, to say the least, with so many brands and so many ingredients in every brand - I feel overwhelmed a lot of times. Trying to decipher labels and decide what they really need in their food has been a learning process but I think we may have finally landed on a food that we all can agree on. I love my dogs a lot and they love me a lot, so "I and love and you" is the food I choose to make sure they are healthy, happy, and satiated.

With a picky and particular little poodle and a muscular mix of a dog that seems to have an aversion to most dog foods, we are constantly trying to convince them that dog food is actually made for them. Luckily we found "I and love and you". We all love it so much because it's a wholesome pet food formulated by holistic veterinarians with the highest standards and made with quality food ingredients, found right in the grocery store with our food!

Our particular poodle seems to have warmed up to I and Love and You and will nudge the bag when he's hungry and our little muscular mix scarfs her food down every time we fill up her bowl, so I think it's safe to say we have found the food for our pups.

I&L&Y's ingredients include the things I look for when choosing food for myself: grain-free, real meat as the first ingredient, prebiotics, probiotics, no artificial preservatives, flavors or colors... I choose to buy food like this to promote optimum health for my dogs and I've noticed they really seem to love the flavor! Plus with a formula made to make their tummy happy &to help them look more beautiful, what more could I ask for in a dog food?

Do you want to let your dog sample I and love and you? Maybe your little feline friend would like a taste of their cat food line? Enter to win a giveaway for an awesome sampler pack with the giveaway form below:

One lucky winner has the choice
between a dog box or a cat box!


Dog Box
(approx. $150 value) includes:
5lb Kibble - Red Meat Medley
1.5lb In the Raw - Raw Raw Beef Boom Ba
Nice Jerky - Venison + Lamb Jerky Bites
$100 in coupons (5 coupons with $20 value each)


Cat Box
(approx. $125 value) includes:
5lb Kibble - Poultry A Plenty     
2 cans - Chicken Lickin'
2 cans - Oh My Cod!
2 cans - Puurky Turkey
$100 in coupons (5 coupons with $20 value each)

Entry-Form

Now that I've shared our new doggie food and how much we love it, I'd love to hear all about your dogs (or cats) and why you think I & Love & You would be a good fit for your little furry friend!

The Perfect Holiday Treat: Chocolate Ice Cream Cone Cups wtih Egg Nog & Hot Chocolate! #ShareYourDelight

The holidays are quickly approaching, which can only mean one thing, I'm preparing desserts and tasty little treats a little more often and our house may or may not be covered in gold glitter, tinsel, and Christmas lights. I'm all about getting into the holiday spirit, whether that be giving thanks or spreading cheer - I love the joy and merriness surrounding this season.

While our house is full of reminders of our childhood and little bits of joy, our bellies are craving something familiar and delicious and that's where International Delight comes into the picture. Their delicious line of Egg Nog and Hot Chocolate are the perfect compliment to any winter celebration! With flavors that capture the holidays perfectly, I can't imagine a better drink to fill my cup with as I reminisce about Christmas' past.

While our cup runneth over with joy and delicious International Delight, this leads me to what I really want to share with you today. These tasty little cup alternatives are the BEST way to serve hot chocolate or egg nog to your friends and family, plus there's no dishes involved after the party because your guests can eat the cups!

These super simple to prepare ice cream cone cups are such a fun and inventive way to serve up something delicious to all of your party guests and if you feel so inclined they'd be the perfect little something to hand out to carolers as well! If you're in the giving spirit then I suggest you grab an apron and your best mixing bowl and let's get started!

For this super simple ice cream cone recipe you will need:

International Delight Hot Chocolate
International Delight Egg Nog (Classic and/or Vanilla)
2 cups milk chocolate chips
1 package of ice cream cones
sprinkles
whipped topping (optional)

To get this cup making party started, melt the chocolate chips as directed on package.

Fill each of the ice cream cones quickly with the melted chocolate, letting each one drip the excess for a few seconds but making sure there are NO HOLES in the chocolate coating.

Next you'll dip the chocolate covered cone directly into a small bowl of sprinkles and place it on a cookie tray with wax paper or foil, if possible.

That's it! Stick these adorable little cups into the refrigerator for a few hours (or in the freezer for a few minutes) until the chocolate has set and they are ready to serve!

Now's the fun part, choose your favorite International Delight product: Hot Chocolate, Dark Hot Chocolate, Vanilla Egg Nog or Classic Egg Nog! Fill each cup up with your beverage of choice within a few minutes of serving, make them a little prettier with a dash of whipped topping, and a pinch of sprinkles and you're all set to enjoy the best little treat you've ever tried!

Try not having a good time with a drink like this in your hands! From the rich flavors of the ID Egg Nog to the comforting taste of the Hot Chocolate, your family and friends are bound to be smiling from ear to ear as they sip on their favorite drink... and then eat their cup afterwards! That's what the holidays are really all about in my mind, spreading joy to everyone.

So now that I've shared a super fun way to get into the holiday spirit with everyone's favorite seasonal drinks, I think I should let you know something. If you visit InternationalDelight.com and share how ID helps you capture the holiday spirit you could win a $5,000 holiday brunch hosted by International Delight!

I guess I should also let you know, if you click over now, you can score a coupon - so what are you waiting for? It's time to get into the holiday spirit with International Delight!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of International Delight. The opinions and text are all mine.

Simple + So Delicious: Elevated Peanut Butter Ball Recipe

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

Creamy, with a little bit of crunch, covered in chocolate and coated with sprinkles... What's not to love about an elevated version of peanut butter balls? I've always had a thing for the delicious little pieces of heaven my grandmother tends to make only around the holidays. They are like gold in my family, we literally divide them into equal portions for each of us girls and we each take a bag home... They are that good!

But the thing is, my tastes have changed as I've gotten a little older and I was looking for something to give these balls a little more oomph... so today I'm sharing how I elevated one of my favorite recipes from good to amazeballs, with the help of Peter Pan Simply Ground Peanut Butter! Why is this peanut butter better than the others? It's the perfect mixture of creamy and crunchy, with a taste that you'll crave! Plus, it has no artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives!

I not only changed the recipe for the peanut butter balls by choosing a better peanut butter; I decided to add sprinkles, a fruit preserve drizzle, or a tiny pinch of coconut to my peanut butter balls as well. This recipe really is amazing and you can grab everything you'll need in one quick run to Walmart!

You will need:
1 jar of Peter Pan Simply Ground Peanut Butter

3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

1 stick salted butter
2 cups milk chocolate chips
1 tbsp shortening
Sprinkles, Shredded Coconut, Fruit Preserve or other "toppings"

You'll be happy to find out this recipe is super easy! You'll begin by mixing the peanut butter and butter together with a handheld mixer. Once combined start slowly adding in confectioners sugar, about 1/2 cup at a time.

Once all of the confectioners sugar is added into the bowl, continue mixing until the "dough" starts to form one giant ball. Place in your refrigerator for at least an hour, maybe longer if you live in warm climate like Florida. Now remove the giant peanut butter ball from the fridge and try to refrain from eating it! You'll want to start rolling about 1inch sized balls, placing them onto a wax covered cookie sheet.

Once all the dough is rolled, you'll want to place your peanut butter balls back into the fridge until they feel dense and chilled to the touch.

Once your PB balls fit this description, you'll want to begin melting your chocolate according to package directions - although, I will mention that I tend to add in 1 tbsp shortening to make it easier to coat the PB balls! Once the chocolate is melted, remove the PB balls from the fridge and place a toothpick in each one and begin dipping into the melted chocolate quickly.

Using a large spoon and drizzling chocolate with the other spoon seems to be the easiest way to coat a peanut butter ball... and here's a little tip to prevent a mess: holding the ball in the left hand, tap your left wrist with your right hand. This slight tapping motion is the only way to rid your peanut butter ball of access chocolate without making a mess, you can thank me for that later when your counter tops aren't covered in chocolate splatter!

Now quickly add sprinkles or coconut to the peanut butter balls of choice, drizzling a few with a room temperature fruit preserve as well.

Place back into the refrigerator for a few hours and they're ready to serve and so delicious!

It's that easy to get these amazing little treats ready for your next event. Whether you are looking for a way to treat your family this Thanksgiving or wanting to surprise your family with a homemade treat for Christmas, this super easy peanut butter ball recipe using Peter Pan Simply Ground Peanut Butter is the answer!

So tell me, what recipe will you add this creamy, yet slightly crunchy peanut butter to? I love anything that involves peanut butter so I can't wait to hear all about your delicious PB-inspired ideas! Don't forget to snag this coupon for 50 cents off your next jar of Peter Pan Simply Ground Peanut Butter!