This past Saturday I attended my first ever (that I can remember) Minnesota Blogger Bash. It was at Zywiec’s Haunting Experience on Highway 61 in Cottage Grove. Man was it a good time! I am not required to write about The Haunting Experience on Highway 61 nor am I required to mention any other sponsors that were there, but it was so fun I feel like I need to share! Please be sure to read my "things you should know" at the end of this post and enter the giveaway for tickets for you to go see The Haunting Experience for yourself! The evening started off with some socialization with fellow bloggers and pampering by Spalon Montage Woodbury. I got a much needed massage and if you look closely at our pictures, you'll see that the girls and I got colorful hair extensions! We also tasted Zywiec's famous pork chops with seasoning made just for them. I highly recommend getting at least one while you are there! Next we got a lights-on, behind the scenes tour of the haunted houses. … [Read more...]
DIY Lava Lamp Experiment
Nutty came home from school a few days ago all excited about a science experiment she did at school that day. She wanted to show me and Tottie a DIY Lava Lamp and thought it was perfect for my blog too. So...without further ado, her is Nutty showing you how to make a lava lamp... Don't worry, if you can't view the video, here's the written instructions... You'll need: A glass jar or vase Water Food coloring Cooking oil (such as vegetable oil or olive oil) Salt 1) Fill the jar 1/2 to 3/4 full with water 2) Add oil so that it forms a thick layer on top 3) Add about 3 drops of food coloring. If the coloring gets stuck in the vegetable oil, swirl the jar until it drops or pop the food coloring bubbles with a tooth pick. I'm not sure why you can't add the food coloring before the oil but Nutty was insistent that you have to add it after the oil. 4) After the food coloring disperses through the water, pour salt into the jar and watch the lava lamp! *PLEASE … [Read more...]
Fresh Thyme Farmers Market opens in Bloomington MN
I received compensation in exchange for helping to promote Fresh Thyme's Grand Opening. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Fresh Thyme Farmers Market opened it's first Minnesota store in Bloomington this morning. The doors opened at 6:45 am and from the gossip I overheard at the store this afternoon, it has been a steady crowd ever since. If you can call a grocery store pretty, that's what I'd call Fresh Thyme Farmers Market. The colors of the store are bright and the atmosphere was fun. Which ever isle you walked down there was someone there to help or answer questions. I'm not sure if its just because today is the Grand Opening, but I really hope they keep that level of service! What makes Fresh Thyme so special? Well, let's go to their website for answers... At Fresh Thyme Farmers Markets we believe you shouldn’t have to give away the farm to feed your body nutritious food. We’re on a mission to improve the way our communities eat by offering fresh and healthy … [Read more...]
How To Make Origami Paper Poppers
A few weeks ago my daughter and her best friend told me they wanted to start making YouTube video tutorials. After much debate (and coaching from me), they decided that their first tutorial would be origami paper poppers. Below you'll see their debut video but first I need to introduce you to Kiki and Ree. Most of you know my oldest daughter as"Nutty", the nickname I gave her shortly after birth because she was such a peanut. For her video tutorials, Nutty wanted a more "grown up" name so she chose "Kiki". Her best friend decided on "Ree" because it's fairly close to her real life nickname. Kiki and Ree hope to some day have their own YouTube channel but for now they are "ugh, stuck," as Nutty says, on my channel. I decided that it wasn't worth it to create an entire channel if they are only going to make one or two videos. If this is really something that they (and I, because I have to edit and upload) really do continue then I will let them have their own channel. For now, … [Read more...]
Princess Wednesdays at Hard Rock MOA
Last Wednesday the girls and I were given the opportunity (thanks to Twin Cities Kids Club) to have lunch with a few characters from Ever After High as part of Princess Wednesdays at Hard Rock MOA. It was a lunch my girls will not soon forget! In partnership with Twin Cities Kids Club and Tiny Divas Princess Party, the Hard Rock Cafe at the Mall of America hosts lunch with princesses on select Wednesdays. Past lunches have included the general Disney princesses, the Frozen sisters, and now the characters from Ever After High. I'd say Princess Wednesdays at Hard Rock MOA are perfect for ages 7 and younger. That being said, my 9 year old was THRILLED to meet Madeline Hatter! She loves the Ever After High books. The only complaint about the lunch that Nutty had was that Apple White didn't show up. Otherwise, despite me thinking she'd get bored, she actually had fun. Tottie, being 6, got really into the games and show. If it weren't for her shyness she would have been … [Read more...]
Floating Ball Activity
I saw this floating ball activity on Pinterest a few months ago and thought my girls might think it was fun. The instructions on how to make/do this activity can be found on All For The Boys. For our circle we traced a CD and for our ball we used tin foil. To be honest, my girls were not as impressed with the floating ball activity as I thought they would be. Playing with it lasted all of maybe 10 minutes before they got bored with it and gave up. I'm not sure if they just plain ole didn't like it or if they thought it was too hard. I gave it a try and it is DEFINITELY harder than it looks! Unless you have a strong yet steady breath, the ball ends up either falling out of the cone more often than staying in or it just moved around inside the cone instead of hovering over it. I'm guessing that's really the whole point of the floating ball activity but my girls thought it was "lame". Maybe had it been bit easier we would have gotten more positive feedback. Oh … [Read more...]
