445 posts by Amanda

January 13, 2015

Homemade Spinach Mac and Cheese

Posted by Amanda in January, January Carousel, Recipes

It is no secret that my kids are obsessed with pasta. Mac and cheese to be exact, but they do not discriminate when it comes to pasta. They will eat it anyway, shape or form. I have tried to make it a bit more nutritious like when I add cauliflower to the boxed kind but decided to push the envelope this week and try homemade spinach mac n’ cheese. Success! 1 out 2 enjoyed it thoroughly. A great way to add some iron and pump up plain mac and cheese. I will continue to try and push this on the…

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January 12, 2015

5 Hair Must Haves

Posted by Amanda in January, January Carousel

So my hair may start looking like I have strands of tinsel in it, but that is no reason to neglect you locks. Ladies, maintaining our hair should be high on our list of priorities. If you hair is healthy, it will look it’s best, even when it’s not styled. All it takes is the right tools, products and just a little TLC. I wanted to share with you my 5 hair must haves that everyone should have in their hair care arsenal. Hair Dryer The right tools will do wonders for you! Investing some good money into a great blow…

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December 29, 2014

Palm Beach Zoo: South Florida’s Hidden Gem

Posted by Amanda in December

Disclaimer: I was provided tickets to the zoo in exchange for a review and giveaway. All thoughts and opinions are my own as always! I am little hesitant to even tell you all what I’m about tell you. Selfishly, I don’t want to let the best kept secret of South Florida out of the bag! But, I am not that much of a creep, so I am going to fill you in on the amazingness that is the Palm Beach Zoo. Starting as just a petting zoo back in the 1950’s, the Palm Beach Zoo has flourished and grown to be…

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December 23, 2014

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Posted by Amanda in December, Recipes

Typically, we don’t do a ton of baking in our household. We leave that up to my mom who has it mastered down to a science. I sometimes may give off the vibe that I do not bake, but there is not one Christmas that goes by that I don’t make cookies! I recently started making Chocolate Crinkle Cookies because they were my absolute favorite cookie growing up. I used to love to help my mom bake and these were ones she would let me take the reigns on. Now that I have two daughters of my own, I like…

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December 22, 2014

Holiday Gift Guide For Girls

Posted by Amanda in December, Shopping

I can not believe Christmas will be here in just a mere 3 days. Uh, what the heck happened to 2014? My 3 year old has been telling us what she wants from Santa for over a month now – I guess I better finish my shopping. These gifts aren’t going to buy themselves! I have compiled the hottest holiday gift guide for girls to help you out with your shopping. So if you are stumped, any one of these gifts would be a home run! Best part about it, you can get them all at Toys R Us. Hottest Holiday Gift Guide…

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December 18, 2014

One Stop Holiday Shopping at BJ’s Wholesale Club

Posted by Amanda in December, Shopping

BJ’s Wholesale is the place to be this holiday season! Your time is very valuable around the holidays and the last thing you need to be doing is going from store to store getting everything you need. The grocery store for food, the mall and toy store for gifts, the local Christmas tree tent or Home Depot for a tree – I am getting exhausted just writing this! Forget that holiday rat race and head to BJ’s Wholesale Club. This place has everything – and I mean EVERYTHING you need for the holidays all under their big old roof. I…

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December 17, 2014

Hanukkah Round Up

Posted by Amanda in December, Recipes

Hanukkah is officially here! For the next 8 days and nights, The Festival of Light is upon us. That means some great east, lots of candles, presents and of course, family! My husband is Jewish but coincidentally never really celebrated Hanukkah. After we got married, I thought we should start celebrating Hanukkah for our kids sake. So there I was, 6 months pregnant planning my very first Hanukkah dinner. I made matzoh ball soup, stuffed cabbage and latkes (aka potato pancakes). We lit the menorah, ate like champs and exchanged little presents. It was everything a non-Jewish girl thought it…

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December 16, 2014

Rustic Chicken Recipe

Posted by Amanda in December, Recipes

We are a chicken family. I’m telling you, we eat so much we may start clucking soon and I’m totally okay with that. My husband and I share a love for cooking and eating, so it’s not rare for him to jump into the kitchen on any given night to try out a recipe he found. Not long ago, he did just this and thinking about it is making my mouth water. He reluctantly told me he was watching Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa and saw her make a delicious roasted rustic chicken with croutons. The way he was raving about…

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December 11, 2014

Trader Joe’s Mandarin Orange Chicken

Posted by Amanda in December, Shopping

I do not hide my addiction to Trader Joe’s and frankly, I have an unhealthy obsession with going there. Lucky for us, the closest TJ’s is no more than 15 minutes away. We were trekking to Wellington (which is about a 45 minute trip) to do some TJ’s shopping and we couldn’t be happier with the newest location in Boca Raton. They really have such amazing deals and some of the best kept secrets that only TJ’s can offer up. I read on a blog that one of the items that was a must try at Trader Joe’s was their Mandarin…

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