Enter to Win a Dell Inspiron Laptop and #UpgradeWithIntel!

 This post is for my participation in the Intel Program and Sponsored by Lunchbox.

Are you searching for a new laptop? Maybe you're a fellow blogger wanting to stay up-to-date with the latest technology or a business woman wanting to keep her clients satisfied with quick responses from a laptop with no lag time? No matter the situation, your hunt for the perfect laptop is over.

I found an awesome deal on a Dell Inspiron 15.6" laptop from Walmart and I just can't help but share the news with you... This machine is superb, with a 15.6" LED-backlit touchscreen and HD quality resolution! Packed full of features, I'm certain this is the computer you need in your life and now is the best time to upgrade with Intel!

Want some extra awesome news about the Dell Inspiron 15.6" laptop? You have the chance to WIN one of these beasts! Who doesn't want the chance to score something so awesome in a contest?!

Don't miss your chance to win a fancy Dell laptop! Click here (or the banner above) for the opportunity to share, in 400 characters or less, how a Dell Inspiron 15.6" laptop would make your life more amazing!

It's that easy to get your name in the pool to win the laptop! Please keep in mind,  only one entry per email, per person, you can find the complete terms & conditions on the site!

I really hope you win, you will love the chance to upgrade with Intel! After dealing with a few unreliable laptops, I decided to choose an Intel driven machine and I'm so glad I did, I love my new laptop! Are you ready to fall in love with your new laptop? Whether you decide to treat yourself to one or enter the contest, you won't be disappointed with the Dell Inspiron 15.6" laptop from Intel!

Enhance Your Photography with Adobe Creative Cloud

The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free.

I love taking pictures, of everything from the view out a plane window on a red eye flight to the intricate plating of my dish at a posh restaurant, I'm always pulling out my phone or my camera and snapping a quick photo to share with others.

Some may say it's best to live in the moment and not take pictures, while I understand that mindset - part of living in the moment for me is taking pictures. I love being able to document the exact moment I'm experiencing. Whether it's talking with my niece about how she recently turned two or a long walk on the beach with my hubby, these are moments I want to remember forever - therefore I want to capture them via a lens, as well as my memory.

The issue with always wanting to snag a picture, as some of you fellow photo enthusiasts may know, is that the quality of the photo isn't always great straight off the camera. Sometimes you have to adjust the lighting, play with the contrast, or even use some serious editing skills to remove or add something into a picture. I've always been a big fan of using Photoshop to complete these edits, it's the best editing software on the market. Notice Chrissy Teigen and Pippa on a stroll on their way to hang out with me below - this picture wouldn't be possible without Photoshop!

I use the Creative Cloud, specifically Photoshop for almost every single photo I share. I don't always do serious edits - sometimes I just want to add my logo to the corner of a photo, which is easy to do once you create a brush! If you're a small business, a blog, an internet celebrity, or anyone that just wants to stake claim on your photo, you should be adding just a little watermark to make sure your content is claimed as yours! Want to make a logo brush and add it to all of your photos?

First you'll need to download Adobe Creative Cloud so you can have access to Photoshop and Lightroom, which retails $119 for an entire year subscription!

Next you'll open your logo in Photoshop.

Then click on edit > define brush preset.

Name the brush whatever you prefer.

Use your logo on any and all photos you share, now they'll never end up used without your permission. I circled the use of my logo below, just to display it as an example - the red line obviously won't be there when you choose your brush from the brush options!

And that's it... Photoshop is that easy to use, just a few steps and you're already a professional with watermarked photos! With so many abilities, Adobe Creative Cloud is the ideal way to create and access your vision from any device, anywhere.

Retouching, manipulating, transforming in just about any way you can imagine- it's all at your finger tips with Photoshop and Lightroom, that's why I love Adobe so much! It helps me create what I want so easily, allowing my imagination and creativity to truly flow!

Plus, you can organize, edit & share images from anywhere: on your computer, on the web, on your tablet and on your cell phone! Another reason to love the Creative Cloud, you can make an edit or flag a favorite in one place and it's automatically updated everywhere else through Adobe CreativeSync technology.

Once you download the Creative Cloud, you'll have access to so many more programs than you can imagine. Not only can you create amazing work, you can showcase your work, organize images in web galleries or share them on your favorite social site! Adobe Slate mobile app is the best way to craft visual stories and animated videos and you can use the Adobe Voice mobile app to add your own voice for narration.

Are you ready to gain access to your Creative Cloud? Find the plan that's best for you here. I'd love to hear what you would create with Photoshop and/or Lightroom, tell me all about it in the comments below!

Keep Your Home Safe & Super Connected with Canary, Netgear, and Sling TV from Best Buy!

The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free.

Keeping your home safe is always a priority, right? Well, a little birdie told me about a new home security system that anyone can use, you just need wi-fi and a cell phone and you are able to keep an eye on your place 24/7.

The Canary Indoor Wireless High-Definition All-in-One Home Security Device keeps your place safe and sound with a motion detection sensor, a 90+ dB siren, and home health technology that monitors the air quality, temperature, and humidity! So many cool features packed into one tiny little device, the techie side of me is overflowing with delight!

But the awesome thing about the Canary system is the fact that you don't have to be a techie to set this baby up. Just place the Canary in a central location in your home, connect it to wi-fi, and your home is protected and your able to view it all from your cell phone... it's that easy!

The best part about the Canary is the ability to notify authorities within seconds of an alert of something peculiar, plus you're able to sound a siren if necessary! No need to pay a security company to monitor your home, when you can monitor it yourself!

Whether you want to check in on your nanny during a long-weekend away or you want to keep an eye out for a known neighborhood nuisance, this little birdie is the best investment for someone wanting to keep a close eye on their home.

You're connected home needs a router to keep up with all the action, so you'll want to invest in the Netgear Nighthawk DST Router and DST Adapter! With Geek Squad included in the purchase, your guaranteed a reliable set up and no worries about malfunctions because they've got you covered. Other than having geek squad on your side to make your connection better, the DST adapter actually stands for "Dead Spot Terminator" and will kill those pesky zones of your house that don't get the wi-fi connection they deserve! Get ready to connect to the internet like you never have before with this Nighthawk Router and DST adapter!

With all this inter-connectivity, you'll want to try out the new service everyone is talking about - Sling TV. You're able to watch your favorite shows at home (or on the go) without worrying about equipment or set up fees. Watch what you want, when you want, on the device you want, and pay for the channels you want at a great price. Enjoy TV from many popular channels including ESPN, A&E, AMC, HGTV, and more for just $20 a month... Sling TV is like cable, but better! Click here to give it a try!

Now that I've shared how we keep our home safe and super connected, I'd love to hear what you would do with a Canary if you had one in your home...? Would you snoop in on the dogs while you were out on the town or would you keep an eye on the backyard to make sure the neighborhood cats stay out of your garden? The possibilities with the Canary are endless and with an internet connection provided by the Nighthawk Router you are guaranteed a reliable source of wi-fi!

5 Items Every Couple Should Add to Their Best Buy Wedding Registry

The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free.

Weddings are always so much fun. Celebrating the joy of a couple combining their lives, there's really nothing else like seeing a couple so madly in love share something so special in front of all of their friends and family. Laughter, tears of joy, good times, even better music, even more amazing friends, and hopefully some mind-blowingly fantastic wedding cake - we all love weddings for one reason or another!

Whether your the type of bride that wants to plan every last little detail and go a little Bridezilla on her wedding party or the type of bride that hires a wedding planner and just sits back and enjoys the day, you're going to want to take control when it comes to the wedding registry. I'm not saying that your future husband shouldn't be able to help add things to the list, but I think you should probably get final say... After all - happy wife, happy life, right?
We had a wedding registry all set up and we received some amazing gifts for our wedding day way back in 2008, but I really wish I would've known that Best Buy offered a wedding registry service! We could've added things to our list that we really needed and/or wanted and I bet most of those items would still be with us today. We received a lot of things that we thought we needed, towels, plate sets, the norm... We were thankful for those items but most of them have been donated or just simply used until they couldn't be used anymore. Had we had the chance to register for appliances and electronics, amongst the other items Best Buy carries, we'd most likely still have everything we received. Think of registering at Best Buy as investment of sorts...

Another reason to register at Best Buy is their "group gift" option. Your guests can choose an amount they wish to contribute and you'll receive an e-gift card instead of a random gift you didn't really want... Hello to another reason to smile big on your wedding day! Whether you want to register for new appliances and ask all your guests to group gift the items to you or you want to add every DVD you've ever wanted, you can put whatever your heart desires on your wedding registry and your friends can be sure the gift they're giving you is perfect for you!

Today I'm going to share 5 items that every couple should have on their wedding registry... After being married for nearly 7 years (in December), I think I have a pretty good idea of what you will and won't need.

Find The Perfect Gift with Best Buy Gift Ideas + Wish Lists!

The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free.

There's just something so special about celebrating birthdays with my loved ones! Ranging from making a cross country trip to attend my adorable niece's 2nd birthday party to planning a kayaking adventure for my husband's upcoming birthday, I'm all about doing things in a big way to help celebrate the people I love so dearly and their date of birth! I don't just like to just go on epic adventures for birthdays though, I'm also all about giving epic gifts; but as you may know, sometimes that gets hard, especially with a quirky family & group of friends!

So when I heard about Best Buy's Online Gift Experience making online shopping for everyone a little bit easier, I knew I had to check it out. They've made gift giving a breeze, with lists of great birthday items categorized and easy to shop for ‘Him’, ‘Her’, ‘Kids’, and ‘Teens’. Plus, if you are shopping by price point, they even offer lists of gifts in a range of prices from under $25 all the way up to $250+! With gifts like heart rate monitors and coffee machines to fondue sets and the best romantic comedies to date, you are bound to find something for everyone!

Maybe your shopping for the super sophisticated techie in your life that has everything already...? Best Buy even has a category for that person! You can shop their top tech gifts and find the perfect present or send a gift card via mail or e-mail and let the techie in your life find the best birthday gift ever for themselves; the choice is yours and I'm sure the gift will be much appreciated either way!

That's the thing about Best Buy, everyone can find something they just have to get their hands on!  Now that I've shared why Best Buy is the best place to shop for any birthday celebration, I'd love to know what you will be adding to your Best Buy wish list?

Go ahead and make a list of all the epic techie stuff you need and let me know what you want the most in the comments below! I may be making my wish list currently; after all, my birthday is only 5 months and 3 weeks away! *snicker*

5 Easy Steps to Perfect Your Instagram Feed + Gain Real, Engaged Followers Quickly!

I absolutely love social media. From Pinterest-inspired DIY projects to Facebook contests, the world of social media has provided me with a web of amazing things. One platform that really stands out in a creative sense is Instagram, I love how inspired I can get after flipping through some amazing feeds and I really love when I can inspire others with my own feed.

So that's what I've been working on lately, trying to "perfect" my Instagram feed in a sense. You may have noticed this if you follow me (ahemmmmm, if you don't follow me then you probably should, so just go ahead and click here). I'm trying new things out, using creative new ways to enhance my images and just really trying to make sure that I put my best foot forward on that platform, I even changed my profile and updated my profile picture.

Then I realized, there's lots of Instagrammers out there trying to gain a following as well. We all love sharing photos on Insta, that's why we use it, right? Well, today I want to share five steps to perfect your Instagram feed and gain real, engaged followers quickly.

Step 1 -  Get a Clear Focus + Establish Your Aesthetic: This step is a combined step because both parts of it are so easy to accomplish. Getting a clear focus for your Instagram profile over all will help you establish a following and guide you on your photo taking journey, but in this case I'm talking about choosing what the focus of your camera is on. All you have to do to adjust the focus and hopefully make your subject more vivid and clear is touch where the subject is located. Now, on to establish your focus on your actual profile, this is establishing your aesthetic and is so important! Whether you want to establish yourself as a pupparazzi for your new puppy and only post pictures of your pooch or serve up only fitting room fashion photos, it's up to you. Personally, I post about a little bit of everything but my food, fashion, and fitness posts seem to be the most popular.

Step 2 - Follow The Light: This step is even easier than learning to focus your camera, all you have to do is "follow the light". What do I mean by this? Simply take your photos in natural light whenever possible. If you are photographing food, set it on a window ledge or on your patio table. If you are photographing people, I suggest taking pictures around twilight so it's still light out but you don't have to worry about squinty eyes or the like. No matter what you are taking pictures of, know one thing, it's going to look a thousand times better in natural lighting!

Step 3 - Use Hashtags Correctly: Using hashtags is an art form. Whether you think they are annoying or not, they actually serve a very real purpose and can connect you with other people and maybe even companies you love. Some of the hashtags that I've been loving lately include: #NothingisOrdinary | #ThatsDarling | #ABMlifeiscolorful | #LiveColorfully. If you are looking for more hashtag inspiration check out the Tags for Likes or other fun hashtag apps!

Step 4 - Be the follower you want to gain: This is a bit like the famous quote, be the change you wish to see in the world, adapted for Instagram. You want followers that are interactive, that comment and like your content, and that genuinely want to get to know you. You need to be that type of follower in return, like photos, comment, and follow like it's going out of style and you'll notice you'll get some love in return.

Step 5 - Stay Consistent But Stay True: If you browse some of the most followed 'grammers you'll notice that their photos stay consistent to their style. Whether they are a rainbow themed account or a mainly muted pastel based account, you'll notice that a lot of the best accounts seem to edit each and every photo in the same fashion and they typically post similar content everyday. While posting similar content seems to drive in more followers and likes, always stay true to you...

#Love is all you need. 💞💋 #valentinesday #sprayroses #nothingisordinary #my_365

A photo posted by Lauren Paints (@sunkissed_sweetheart) on Feb 14, 2015 at 9:54am PST

Now that I've shared some of my instagramming tips today, I'd love to make some insta-friends! Leave your username in the comments below, or you can always follow me on the gram (and let me know how you found me) and I'll follow you back!

Solve Unreliable Internet Connection Issues with a New NETGEAR Router

I'm so lucky to have recently become a NETGEAR ambassador, they so nicely provided me with this awesome router so that I could share my thoughts with you, all opinions expressed below are my own.

When working from home, having a bad internet connection is a little bit like trying to get up a creek without a paddle. My husband and I have spent the last several months suffering from a bad connection at our old house, we couldn't watch Netflix while I was working because it was too much for our poor little connection.

During the time we suffered from a horrible connection, we learned that the internet speed that your internet service provider supplies you with is an important part of having a good internet connection (obviously), but we also learned the other part of a good connection is more of a modern technology, the speed at which your router delivers your wi-fi connection.

It's as though fate stepped in and handed me what I had been asking for when NETGEAR chose me to become an ambassador for them. Then when they offered me a new router, the Nighthawk X4 Smart WiFi Router with the single fastest WiFi connection, up to 1.73Gbps, and a combined speed of 2.33Gbps. I just knew that my internet connection problems were history. Setting up my router was a breeze, I literally installed the antennas, plugged it into my modem and the wall, typed in a password, and I was connected!

I love that we can both be on our laptops, watching Netflix, while a friend is over constantly tweeting. It's the internet we've always dreamed of and it's truly because we finally stepped up our router game! I'm able to control the internet right from my laptop and even limit connections to certain devices, which I could see coming in handy as a parent! I know it may sound like I'm a little too excited about my internet, but after having such a horrible connection the past few months, it just feels good to be happy about my wi-fi speed!

My internet connection is no longer part of my daily work stress and I'm so thankful that I'm part of an awesome team of people that love NETGEAR as much as I do! I can't wait to share more about all the wonderful NETGEAR products on the market, I know they have some amazing stuff that you'll want to hear more about.

Now that I've shared my internet woes with you, I'd love to know if you have ever had a horrible internet connection experience at your house? If you are still suffering through bad wi-fi connection, are you looking to upgrade? I highly recommend checking out NETGEAR and everything they have to offer!

The Perfect Gift for Father's Day: Surprise Dad with a GoPro Hero+ LCD

The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free.

I've always thought videos captured with GoPro's are amazing, whether they are mounted to a helmet, a kayak, or a rooftop - you can capture so much with these tiny little cameras and now that they've come out with the GoPro Hero+ LCD, I know I definitely have to get my hands on one of these.

If you're looking for a way to WOW your Dad on Father's Day, grab a GoPro Hero+ LCD for him from Best Buy. He'll be able to capture all of his adventures in 1080p60 video and in 8MP pictures and relive them on the spot with an LCD touch display or play them for the family at a later date!

Imagine taking Dad on a camping trip and getting to record all of your adventures while hiking through the woods, these memories are so valuable to him (and you)!

This camera is fool proof and since it's water proof as well, Dad can literally take it anywhere and capture video of everything he loves. The GoPro Hero+ LCD isn't just made for Dad though, it's made for the family to use.

Next time Junior goes to camp, send him with a GoPro Hero+ LCD in tow and get a fun view of what his life is like while he's experiencing good times!

If Mom is the type to go skiing during the winter, maybe she can take turns with Dad documenting their skills on the slopes.

Maybe it's time for your daughter to head off to college? Send a GoPro Hero+ LCD with her to make sure she's able to record all of the outrageous fun she has through out the years, from float trips to spring break!

Whether it's a fairly calm adventure or a wild ride, let the GoPro Hero+ be in charge of  documenting your family memories perfectly! With built in wi-fi and the ability to connect via Bluetooth® to the GoPro App you have total camera control and the ability to easily share content on social media via your phone!

Want some awesome news? The Go Pro Hero+ LCD just arrived in over 400 Best Buy stores, so be sure to grab one for Dad! Plus, now through June 20th, you will receive a free 32GB Extreme Plus memory card with the purchase of a Hero+... or if you want to grab the GoPro Hero4 in black or silver, you'll receive a $50 Best Buy Gift Card with purchase! So what are you waiting for?

Capture Beautiful & Unique Photos with 3DRobotics Solo Smart Drone

The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free.

Have you heard the hype about drones lately? Specifically, have you heard about the Solo™ Drone by 3DR available at Best Buy? It's a "smart" drone capable of capturing whatever you want and navigated by a video-game style controller to go wherever you want. These fancy drones just arrived in over 400 Best Buy stores on June 8 and are the first-ever drone powered by two integrated Linux computers, making capturing the perfect shot easy!

Solo is designed for you and made to capture the memories and adventures of your life hand-in-hand with a GoPro. Documenting everything and allowing you to see the world in a whole new way, this is a gadget that everyone needs to capture each and every epic memory perfectly.

What makes this drone smart?

Let's start with the fact that Solo has the ability to shoot the most epic selfies, flying up and away but keeping the camera centered on your beautiful face, allowing it to expand into a beautiful aerial shot of your adventure. Can you imagine taking your Solo to the Grand Canyon or Vegas? Can you say the words "bucket list"?

Solo also has a follow mode in which you become the star of the show while Solo follows you wherever you go and captures your every move. If you've ever wanted to start your own reality/adventure show, I suggest grabbing one of these and shooting some footage today!

Not only can Solo play a part in making videos of you even more amazing, it's capable of shooting an iconic wrap around shot of any landmark. Making one of a kind memories, easily adjusted with the handy little controller. Solo can even control it's own flight, allowing you to always capture the perfect shot of any setting. Where will you take your Solo?

Get your hands on a Solo from Best Buy today! Want some awesome news? You'll receive a FREE Solo Smart Battery (RV: $149.99) with your purchase! Act quickly though, this offer is only valid through July 11th, 2015!