The Perfect Stocking Stuffer - YummySnack Bars Wrapped with Santa and Rudolph FREE Printables {+ a giveaway!}

Christmas is just around the corner, which means it's time to start getting presents together! Lucky for you, I've teamed up with a huge group of bloggers and we're all giving away prizes that will be perfect to stuff into stockings this year!

This awesome giveaway hop is hosted by The Mommy Island  & The Kids Did It! Don't forget to enter to win all of the awesome giveaways in this hop, the more you enter - the better your chances of winning all kinds of amazing stocking stuffer items!

My prize in this stocking stuffer giveaway is epic (and delicious), YummySnack Bars are "better than candy bars"! With wholesome, real food ingredients like flaxseed, peanut butter, coconut, natural peanut butter, and cocoa - these bars are healthy, yet they still taste like your favorite candy bar!

All YummySnack Bars are gluten-free, which is a huge bonus in our home since hubby can't eat wheat! Plus, I'm happy to share they only have 8 grams of sugar and no starch, so I'm able to snack on a delicious "candy bar" with no guilt whatsoever!

High in fiber, with 100mg of omega 3s yet totally free of hydrogenated oils, trans fats, high-fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives of any kinds, YummySnack Bars are the definition of a the perfect treat without it being a cheat!

Available in a variety of different flavors to suit everyone's taste: Peppermint, Brownie, Coconut, Cookie Dough, Peanut Butter, and Chocolate. Which YummySnack bar do you want to try first? Enter to win the giveaway for a sampler pack of YummySnack Bars (4 of each of the six flavors - 24 bars total) using the form below:

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Disclaimer: I  received one or more of the products mentioned above to facilitate my review. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.This contest will run through November 30th at  11:59pm EST. Must be 18 years or older to win. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook, Twitter,etc. You understand that you are providing your information to Lauren Paints | a beautiful life and not to Facebook, I will not use your information other than to e-mail you a winning notification if you are the chosen winner. Enter using the Giveaway Tools form above. Void Where Prohibited. Please note that Lauren Paints | a beautiful life is not responsible for sponsors that do not fulfill their prizes.

Not only am I giving away a sampler box of these amazing snack bars, I want to share a few printables that you can use to add some cuteness to all the "candy bars" you giveaway this holiday season. With Rudolph and Santa in tow, we're guaranteed a good time so go ahead and fire up your printer and wrap these cuties around the YummySnack Bars you win from the giveaway above!

Grab the Rudolph printable here and the Santa printable here.

Cut out both of the candy bar wrappers, using a piece of decorative washi tape or just regular tape, attach the new wrapper to the YummySnack bar!

Now you're set to give an adorable gift that everyone will loving snacking on!

Want to find more adorable gifts to give as stocking stuffers? Be sure to enter all the giveaways below:

After you've taken time to enter all of the giveaways, be sure to check out the rest of my holiday gift guide for inspiration this holiday season!

Enter to win $100 AmEx Gift Card & Nominate Your Favorite Nurse for the #ThankYouNurses Awards!

This review was made possible by iConnect and Pampers. I was provided compensation to facilitate this post, but all opinions are 100% mine.

There are so many nurses in the world, doing so many good things...

More specifically, there are so many nurses that have touched my life, from my beautiful best friend from my childhood who's always known she wanted to be a nurse and now works her dream job to the nurse that helped my grandfather whenever he was moved into the hospice unit of the hospital. These nurses represent two completely different parts of my life, but their job duties and their ability to show empathy and care are exactly the same - both of these nurses are amazing people.

While both my childhood best friend and the lovely nurse that helped my family are amazing and I'm super thankful for both of them, I'm most thankful for the nurses that helped bring all of my beautiful nieces and nephews into the world! Those ladies (and gentlemen) were a huge part of changing my family and I'm forever thankful they were there to help make the delivery process smooth for all the little guys and gals that are part of our family.

Each and every one of those nurses touched my life in a way I'll never forget; each provided a service I'll never be able to thank them enough for. Those nurses are the one's who helped with the pain, eased the worry, and just provided genuine, heartfelt care to those I love. Nurses don't get enough credit for all the hard work they do, so I've teamed up with Pampers to invite you to share your story honoring a nurse from Labor & Delivery, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) or the Postpartum unit as part of the Thank You Nurses campaign. We want to hear stories about how these nurses helped make life easier and therefore everything was "#betterforbaby"!

Submit your nomination for the nurse that deserves to be recognized here by December 14th! What happens to the lucky nurses that win?

Three finalists, one in each category (Labor & Delivery, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Postpartum), will be announced in March and the grand prize honoree will be announced in May. The three finalists will be honored with short documentary videos showcasing their unique and inspirational nursing stories. Each of the three finalists will receive a one-year membership to the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), attendance at the 2016 AWHONN Convention, Procter & Gamble care packages, and more. Get all the details on the prizes here.

Also, in honor of these nurse winners, three Pampers Swaddlers scholarships will be made available to help nurses from underrepresented groups complete their studies toward a Master of Science in Nursing degree.

Plus, here's a little something for you - get your hands on some awesome prizes at the upcoming twitter party on November 19th, beginning at 8/9c! Prizes for the twitter party range from diapers and wipes to $350 CASH! What will you win?

Not only do you have the chance to win a gift card during the twitter party celebrating the nurses that impacted your life, you can win one now as well! Enter to win a $100 AmEx gift card and a pack of Pampers simply by leaving me a comment letting me know all about your favorite nurse in your life... But don't forget to nominate your favorite nurse by clicking here as well. Use the giveaway tools form to verify you entered and to provide me with your e-mail address and we're set!

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This Year I'm Thankful for Vegetarian Holiday Meals with Gardein! #OMGardein

Are you a vegetarian or just trying to get more veggies in your life?

Did you know this Thanksgiving you can have your "turkey" and still follow a vegetarian diet?

I've got some good news for all my veggie-loving friends, I've made the perfect Thanksgiving meal - all vegetarian friendly and all absolutely mouth-wateringly delicious!

I've partnered with Gardien and today's meal is beyond delicious, you won't even be able to tell it's meatless... and that's why I love it!

Want some extra good news? Not only is this meal meatless, but you can make it so much quicker than the standard Thanksgiving Day foods. With a delicious, sweet n' savory green bean recipe, some super creamy and delicious mashed cauliflower, and an amazing Gardein Holiday Roast, what more could a vegetarian ask for on Thanksgiving Day?

Follow these simple recipes and grab a Gardein Holiday Roast the next time you are grocery shopping and enjoy a gourmet dinner full of garden delights from Gardein!

Everything you'll need for the feast:

Gardein Holiday Roast

1 head cauliflower
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped super fine
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon neufchatel cheese
salt & pepper to taste

1lb fresh green beans

2 cups pecan halves (lightly chopped)

2 TBS brown sugar

1 TBS sugar

4 TBS unsalted butter

2 cups raspberries
1/3 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

First you'll want to follow the directions on the box of your Gardein Holiday Roast, since this item takes the longest! It's the simplest preperation though, with a pan and an oven you can get this baking quickly!


Next we're going to start in on the mashed cauliflower. You'll want to break the head of cauliflower apart into flourets. Place a steamer insert into a saucepan and fill with water to just below where the steamer sits. Bring water to a boil. Add cauliflower, cover, and steam until tender, which typically takes about 10 minutes!

While the cauliflower is steaming, you can start the oil and chopped garlic in a small skillet at a medium heat. Let the garlic simmer for around 5 minutes, stirring regularly.

Now that everything is steaming and simmering, you should start to rinse and cut green beans. Bring water in another saucepan to a boil and place green beans into boiling water. Let green beans boil for 5 minutes, depending on desired consistency.

You'll want to boil the raspberries along with the sugar and water, letting the mixture sit on medium heat for about 20 minutes, strain out seeds, and serve.

Rinse the green beans with cold water and set aside. Now you'll want to remove the cauliflower from the steamer, placing half of it into a blender with the garlic oil mixture, grated Parmesan cheese, and neufchatel cheese. Mix until well blended, add in remainder of cauliflower, and continue blending until it resembles mashed potatoes. Remove from blender, mix in salt and pepper to taste and add a layer of shredded cheese.

Now let's focus on the green beans again... well, a delicious green bean addition anyways. Melt the butter in a pan on medium-high heat until it gets slightly "foamy". Add sugar and pecans, stirring on and off for the next 8 minutes. Turn down the heat to medium, add in the green beans, and toss. Let the mixture simmer for a few minutes, stirring regularly. Reduce heat even more and let simmer until ready to serve.

Now that your sides are done, your Gardein Holiday Roast should be finished baking any time now! You'll want to remove that deliciousness from the oven and serve everyone an amazing meal that they can be thankful for all year round!

Heat up the gravy packet included with the roast and serve each item in it's own pretty little container, set the table, and it's time to eat!

So vegetarians and veggie lovers, what's your favorite "holiday" treat? I'd love to hear all about it!

Small Business Owner? #PutaLabelOnIt with a DYMO LabelWriter® 450 Value Bundle Pack!

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

My blog name kind of gives this away, but sometimes I paint... what you may not know, is that I actually started this whole blog thing as part of my "social media plan for my art business". I did a ton of research on what some of my favorite artists were doing to increase their sales and one of the most mentioned ways to start selling your art was to start a blog where you shared your art work.

While I occasionally still share my art here on the blog, I'm so proud that this space has turned into SO much more than a place to discuss my art work and I'm so thankful for that as well, I'm also super thankful that my art has been selling so I'm lucky enough to be making a little bit of money from that as well!

With pieces of mine having been accepted into art galleries and people buying my art on etsy and at craft fairs, I'm realizing that I technically have two businesses - my blog and my art! I'm so blessed to make a living doing what I love, but I want to appear as professional as possible while working from my little office space.

That's why I've decided to upgrade my painting business. I decided to invest in a DYMO LabelWriter® 450 Value Bundle Pack! Why do I need a label writer? Because writing the name of the painting in permanent marker on the back of the canvas just isn't cutting it any more.

This new little toy has helped me organize my art and blogging supplies, professionally titled, priced, and addressed all of my outgoing pieces of art, and even helped me to address labels on invites I sent out recently!

It's awesome that this tiny little printer requires no ink at all! With the ability to print via thermal transfer, you'll never have to buy an ink cartridge for this little guy and he'll always print beautiful labels!

Another reason to fall in love with the DYMO LabelWriter 450 Value Bundle Pack is the fact that it comes with 4 label rolls, while still remaining competitively priced! I love having all of the options between the LW Appointment Card Labels, LW Shipping Labels, LW File Folder Labels and LW Multi-Purpose Labels - it's like my own little retail space with all of the options DYMO offers!

But honestly, the MAIN reason I shared the DYMO LabelWriter with you today is the fact that you can completely customize the labels! I loved that the software, that's included in the bundle, offers the ability to pull ANYTHING from your computer screen super simply and you can include that ON your label, or if you have a logo (like my painting/blog logo) you can simply upload a picture! Regardless of where the photo comes from - once you start printing, you realize that you can pretty much turn anything into a black and white label.

That's just what I did! I made my business logo for Lauren Paints into a return address on my packing labels, it is such a simple (and cute) way to show off my new professional packaging for my paintings!

Speaking of packaging my paintings, here's how I box up and send my art work all the way across the country without fail.

I use my DYMO LabelWriter to create address labels, as well as two title labels for each piece of art work (one to put on the back of the canvas and one to use on the outside of the packing paper), and lastly a fragile and "this side up" label as well. Once all of my labels are printed, I add in a shock absorbent packing material like shredded paper. I place the title sticker on the back of the art work and it's time to begin prepping the painting.

I wrap my artwork in a brown packing paper and envelop the packaging, making sure the paper is sealed with a tiny bit of tape. Then, I place the title label on the outside of the package.

Now it's time to place the painting gently inside the box and packing material. Placing the lid on the top of the box or closing the boxes flaps and taping thoroughly around the edges of the box.

Place the address label in the center of the box and the fragile/this side up label on the edge of the box.

Now it's time to print off the shipping label from a carrier or buy postage labels, using the DYMO to print those off and then it's time to send the painting on it's merry way!

Do you have an art business as well? Are you wanting to elevate your small business to the next level? I guarantee a simple to use, label writer is the perfect piece of technology to add to your office space! Eliminate the hassle of sheet labels on a regular desktop printer or embarrassing marker labels like my former labeling system for my art work...

If your business is larger or more established, I suggest you upgrade beyond the DYMO LabelWriter 450 Bundle and go with the LabelWriter 450 Turbo. The best way to get a feel for which label writer you want is to visit your local Staples store though! Be sure to check & see if these awesome DYMO printers nearby you with the product locator on their website found here!

Why would you want to upgrade to the LabelWriter 450 Turbo when the Labelwriter 450 does so much? Well, the Turbo is the way to go for a larger business, because it prints out up to 71 labels per minute, allowing you to focus on what really matters! The LabelWriter 450 Turbo takes the awesomeness that is the LabelWriter450 to another level! Plus you can print USPS-approved DYMO stamps postage directly from your laptop with the Turbo!

No matter which LabelWriter you decide to go with, be sure to go check back every week for Staples Daily Deals, so you have the chance to score a special deal on your favorite DYMO LabelWriter® products including DYMO LabelWriter® 450 Bundle, LabelWriter® 450 Turbo, and LabelWriter® 4XL Turbo!

Now that I've shared how I elevated my little art business to the next level, I'd love to hear any tips and/or tricks you have up your sleeve regarding small business operation?! Let me know all your money-making secrets in the comments below or tell me all about what you would put a label on!