Summer Fun with Kids Fashion: Chooze Shoes

 *I was sent a pair of shoes for my review, all opinions of this product are completely my own.

Creativity and uniqueness are encouraged in our house. I am a mom who is not concerned if everything matches, I think mismatching is a fashion statement in itself. My son seems to have inherited my outside the box style and I love that. I have found a company that also feels the same way about choosing to be different with style. Chooze is a company that purposely mismatches its shoes and other items to foster uniqueness in kids. I think the idea is awesome!

This summer my family created a Summer To Do list and one of our items is plant a container garden. We want to have the choice to put in our own soil mixture and plant foods that are organic. Plus how fun is it to eat food you have grown yourself. My son is in charge of watering the plants each day and it has given him a confidence in watching something he nurtures grow. Just like the choice he made with his shoes, to have ones that do not match give him the confidence to wear something unconventional. A kid at the park mentioned his shoes did not match and he smiled so big and said "I know, I love them". The kid smiled back and they both took off running to playing.

I consider myself well informed about kids shoes. I know that flexibility and lightweight are key to shoes for little feet. I would definitely say these shoes are good for both of those. Many casual slip on shoes on the market are too stiff and heavy for kids. Its like they are adult shoes just made smaller. Chooze shoes are made for kids being lightweight and having the flexibility needed for playing at the park and going out and about. They also have an anti microbial removable padded insole and 100% vegan materials. Your child can be comfy and fashionable all summer long by giving them the choice to have Chooze.

The box the shoes come in are called art boxes that are made of recycled cardboard. Your child can color the pictures and designs on the box to make it uniquely there own. My son has decided his will be the new box he stores his crayons and markers in. I look forward to the other summer adventures we will have as we do more of our Summer To Do list and my son will be rocking his cool "Space" shoes as he calls them.

You can order Chooze shoes online directly from them or Nordstrom also carries them. Following them on Facebook and Instagram you can see the newest products and sales. They have just introduced backpacks, lunch boxes and this Fall, leggings.

Starting Summer Fun With My Recipe For Dr Pepper® Cherry Chocolate Cake

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and it's advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #ShareFunshine #CollectiveBias

My grandchildren have officially started their summer vacations and that is something to celebrate around our house. No more school or schedules, or the many trips in the car everyday to get everyone where they need to be.

That's pretty exciting and we are all looking forward to having a great summer this year. So, to kick off the start to our summer of fun, I baked a cake. I love baking, and I've been hearing so much about baking with soft drinks that I decided to use one of my favorites, Dr Pepper® Cherry.

Well, I'm not exaggerating when I say this cake is absolutely, fabulously delicious!! My daughter and I both looked at each other in shock when we first tasted it. The chocolate is so intensified, with the hint of cherry in it, and I just love it. This recipe is a keeper, and I'll be making it again soon for a family member's birthday that is coming up.

Summertime fun means buying our favorite treats and drinks to have on hand. While I was shopping at Walmart, I thought I would surprise everyone with some  SNICKERS® Ice Cream Bars, Dr Pepper® Cherry, M&M's® Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches, and some Skittles®.

If you'd like a chance to win a $100 Walmart e-gift card, be sure and enter the contest below. What a fun shopping trip that would be if you won!



Share a Little Funshine Sweepstakes

I enjoy making cakes for birthdays, holidays, and other occasions. I do think it's very much worth the effort of making a cake from scratch.

My grandchildren were super excited that I was making a cake to celebrate the start of their summer vacation, and I know I'm making a memory with them. Even though they are young, I know they won't forget this amazing cake and the day I made it for them.

This recipe is pretty easy to follow, but I do have a couple of things I want to emphasize. First, make sure you use a high quality cocoa powder because the chocolate flavor is so intense and you want it to be the best it can be.

Only let the Dr Pepper Cherry, cocoa powder, butter and sugar get hot enough to melt the butter, you don't want it to get too hot or boil. It has to cool down so that the eggs can be added, and you don't want the eggs to cook in a hot mixture.

And I did use canned frosting for this cake, which tasted great on it. With three little ones asking over and over when the cake was going to be done, I was happy to skip having to take the time to make frosting.

Recipe for Dr Pepper Cherry Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

 2 cups Dr Pepper Cherry
1 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs

2 containers white frosting
1 jar Maraschino cherries, rinsed and dried
white sugar sprinkles (optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease or use cooking spray on two 9-inch round cake pans.
In a medium saucepan, heat the Dr Pepper, cocoa powder, and butter over medium heat until the butter is melted. Add the sugars and whisk until dissolved. Remove from the heat and let cool. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together.
In a small bowl, whisk the eggs until just beaten, then whisk them into the cooled cocoa mixture until combined. Gently fold the flour mixture into the cocoa mixture. The batter will be slightly lumpy–do not overbeat, as it could cause the cake to be tough.
Pour the batter evenly into the prepared cake pans. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pans about 30 minutes, then carefully run a thin spatula around the edges, then invert the cake onto a cake plate.
Frost layers, then put the cherries on top of the finished cake. Sprinkle with white sugar sprinkles if desired.

Of course when summer rolls around, I can't forget about our sweet dog, Chewy. He is very much a member of the family and deserves his own favorites, too.

I like buying him Pedigree Dentastix® Original and Pedigree Dentastix® Beef Flavor, for a treat he loves that also helps with his oral care.

Of course he can't have cake, but he can have a Dentastix® once a day to keep him happy and ready to jump in the car for some summer adventure.

The kids loved the cake, and I scored big Nana points because of how delicious it turned out. My five year old grandson, Liam, will start all-day kindergarten in the fall, and it's sort of bittersweet. They aren't babies anymore, and it's just as hard to see time passing with them as it was with seeing my children growing up.

So I want this summer to be filled with lots of spontaneous fun, family days, games, and favorite things to eat. And this cake got us off to a great start!!

You can find Dr Pepper® Cherry, M&M's® Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches, SNICKERS® Ice Cream Bars, Skittles®, Pedigree Dentastix®, and more, all at your local Walmart.

 Click here to receive instant savings on M&M's®, SNICKERS® Ice Cream Bars, Dr Pepper® Cherry, Skittles®, Pedigree Dentastix®! Download the Blippar app from your Apple or Android store to scan your package and receive exclusive content.

I'd love to hear your favorite ideas for making summer FUN!

Copycat Starbucks Lemon Bread Recipe

Lemon is one of my favorite dessert flavors, whether I'm eating out or making one at home. There's just something so good about the tangy fresh flavor of lemons that I really love.

My mom was a champion at making lemon meringue pie, but for some reason I've never made one. It's on my list of recipes to try this year, and of course I'll share it here.

When I'm at Starbucks, I'll often grab a little something to go with my coffee, usually a muffin or slice of something yummy. One of my absolute favorite treats there is the lemon bread. It's so good, always moist and lemony.

I really enjoy making quick breads and pound cakes so I decided to try to make a copycat version of Starbucks Lemon Bread. Nailed it, because this lemon loaf tastes just as delicious as the coffee giant's does.

It's really so, so good and goes great with coffee, tea or a cold glass of milk. My family really loved this recipe and it was all gone pretty quickly. I plan on making another loaf to take to a school picnic, and some for beach picnics this summer.


Recipe for Copycat Starbucks Lemon Bread

Ingredients:


 3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream or Greek yogurt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons lemon zest
 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

For Glaze:

1 cup confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 9x5-inch with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, add the eggs, sugar, sour cream, and whisk vigorously until smooth and combined.
3. Drizzle in the oil while whisking to combine.
4. Add the lemon zest, lemon extract, and whisk to combine.
5. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and stir until just combined, don't over mix. Batter will be lumpy.
6. Turn the batter out into prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula. Bake for about 40 - 45 minutes, or until top is domed, set, and toothpick inserted in the center crack comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs but no batter.
7. Allow loaf to cool in pan on top of a wire rack for 20 minutes before turning out onto rack to cool completely before glazing.

I also like giving loafs of quick bread as gifts, and tired with pretty paper and a ribbon, they make wonderful end of the school year presents. It's a thoughtful way to show your appreciation for teachers, office staff, or someone special at your child's school. And I don't know anyone who doesn't love food gifts.

Summer BBQ with Jarlsberg Cheese and Contest

*I received complimentary items to facilitate my review, all opinions are 100% my own.

This year my family and I have made a Summer To Do List. One of our activities is BBQ at the lake. We picked National Hamburger Day to kick off our start to our list. We went to our local grocery store to look for a cheese we have not tried, Jarlsberg. They are having an Extraordinary Grilling Contest and we were happy to help spread the word by having our own BBQ day using their products.

I love cheese added to food and eaten by itself as a snack. I like a variety of types from blue cheese, swiss cheese, goat cheese and many more. I like the cheese to have a distinct flavor and add a unique quality to the everyday foods I make. For our hamburgers I selected Jarlsberg lite pre-sliced cheese for ease of use outdoors and fewer calories. The cheese added a sweet nutty flavor to our hamburgers and the way the BBQ sauce was squishing out the little cheese holes was perfection. There were no leftovers at this BBQ!

 Jarlsberg® Cheese Extraordinary Grilling Contest.  Jarlsberg® Cheese is giving away a professional grill week starting May 23, 2015  and running through August 31, 2015.

Since summer is the perfect time to enjoy a great burger on the grill, Jarlsberg® Cheese is celebrating the no-fuss season with the season’s perfect contest. Topping your favorite burger, chicken or grilled vegetables with a variety of flavors from Jarlsberg® Cheese has never been easier.  Jarlsberg® Cheese,  Jarlsberg® LiteCheese and Jarlsberg® Smoked Cheese add flavor to any grilled recipe and is available nation-wide.

What better way to enjoy the summer grill season than to win a free, professional grill, in the Jarlsberg®Cheese Extraordinary Grill Contest? Every week, Jarlsberg® Cheese will give away a professional grill to one winner. Entering is easy. Simply enter to win by filling out the Jarlsberg® Cheese Extraordinary Grilling Contest form on the Facebook/Jarlsberg USA site. You may enter one time every week, from May 23, 2015 through August 31, 2015. Each week one winner will be randomly selected, and be notified by email.

Jarlsberg^® Cheese is available nationwide in the deli grocery retailers and club stores. There is a Jarlsberg^®Cheese for every palate:

·         Jarlsberg® Cheese, is a mild, semi-soft skim cheese made from cow’s milk. Jarlsberg®  Cheese is famous for its characteristic mild, mellow and nutty flavor. 

·        Jarlsberg® Cheese Lite has the same great taste as regular Jarlsberg® Cheese  with 50% less fat and 30% fewer calories, than regular Swiss cheese.  

·    Jarlsberg® Hickory Smoked Cheese has a piquant smoky taste, and like most smoked foods has a darker, browner surface.  Jarlsberg® Hickory Smoked Cheese is cold smoked over smoldering, hickory chip embers, this Hickory smoked flavor will enhance your cold or hot foods, with its deep, smoky charms.

If you are looking for Recipe Ideas for your own Summer Adventures you can check out Jarlsberg Blog and Twitter.  Below is a recipe from Jarlsberg Cheese website that would be a delicious addition to any outdoor grilling adventure. 

Jarlsberg® Grilled Fig Pizza

Ingredients:

2 cups Shredded Jarlsberg® Cheese

 1 pound of dough (buy at your local pizzeria)

1 can crushed tomatoes

Olive oil spray

Toppings as desired

Figs – fresh and as many as you desire

Salt, pepper and basil to taste

1.    Before you light the grill, spray olive oil over grill, being sure to cover well. Once grill is hot,        gently lay the dough, stretched out already, on the grill.

2.     Cook for 3 minutes or until crust starts to brown slightly, then flip.

3.    In a separate bowl, mix crushed tomatoes, adding in salt, pepper and fresh basil to taste.

4.    Lay tomato mixture and Jarlsberg® Cheese on top of crust, and scatter some fresh, sliced figs.

5.    Cover for 4-5 minutes, until cheese is melted.

Use a large spatula to remove pizza from grill.

CanvasPop Review and Giveaway

         I was given a canvas for my review, but all opinions of this product are completely my own.

I really love Instagram, and I have a lot of fun playing with it. It's a great way to document everyday life for myself personally, and for the blog. But those photos are small and I never thought the images could be made larger and still look fabulous.

But then CanvasPop offered me the opportunity to do a review of a canvas and I jumped at the chance. I had seen their work online and always thought it was very distinctive, and high quality. So I selected one of my Instagram pictures, and you can see from the picture above, it turned out beautifully.

Tulips are my favorite flowers and I try to buy myself a bunch every week. It's my inexpensive little indulgence that makes me happy every time I see them on my desk. So putting them on canvas is special to me, and I just love how CanvasPop turned my color photo into black and white.

This is a 16X20 canvas print, made with the highest quality materials and great workmanship. I really was thrilled and amazed that they had taken a photo of mine and turned it into something so lovely. A friend commented on how much she liked it and I was proud to tell her that I was the photographer.

Besides doing Instagram prints, CanvasPop offers many different kinds of designs and services, including Facebook prints, photo collages, panoramic photo prints, custom framing, and so much more. Just go to their website to see all the amazing things they offer.

And when my print arrived, it was carefully packaged to keep it from getting damaged during transit. It was also ready to be hung from it's study wire on the back of it.

I love dealing with a company that offers exceptional customer service, a fabulous product, and that delivers it in record time. I love all these things about CanvasPop, and am recommending it to all my family and friends.

I'm totally excited to let you know that CanvasPop is giving away to one of our readers a 16X20 canvas print with a 0.75 inch frame and free shipping.

This is a great opportunity to turn one of your favorite photos into something that can last a lifetime and be loved for years to come.

They are also offering our readers a discount code, FRUGALFAMILYTREE35, that can be used for 35% off of an order until June 30th.

You can also check out their Twitter page and Instagram to see even more of the amazing photo services they offer and beautiful quality of their work.


GIVEAWAY



a Rafflecopter giveaway


*Limited to US residents 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts May 27, 2015 and ends on June 5, 2015 at 12:01 am PST. Winner will be emailed and has 48 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others. The sponsor is responsible for providing the prize. I was sent a product to review for this post.