A Colorful Affair: Adult Coloring Party

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Sometimes you just need to sit down with your girlfriends, mimosa in hand, and color! And that’s just what I did last week at the adult coloring party I hosted with the help of our sponsor, Prismacolor Premier®. Read on to see how easy it is to host an adult coloring party with your friends!

A Colorful Affair Adult Coloring Party

Over the past few months, the only thing I’ve heard a handful of my friends talk about is adult coloring. No, not adults coloring. But adult coloring books with beautiful intricate designs and themes for grown-ups to sit down and color with. With this craze comes a little bit of sanity for those who hop on board. It’s been confirmed that those who sit down to enjoy a few minutes of coloring each day have actually found that they’re less stressed!

A Colorful Affair Adult Coloring Party coloring books and pensA Colorful Affair Adult Coloring Party coloring pens and pencils

Since so many of my girlfriends have expressed an interest in adult coloring books, I was pleased to host this adult coloring party for a few local blogger friends with the help of Prismacolor Premier® products last week. It was a wonderful morning filled with great conversation, good food, and relaxing coloring for all. I don’t remember the last time I sat down to color but I’ll be doing it a lot more frequently now that I’m hooked!

A Colorful Affair Adult Coloring Party food spreadA Colorful Affair Adult Coloring Party with brunch foodA Colorful Affair Adult Coloring Party fruit and cheese tree

Tips for Hosting An Adult Coloring Party

1. Fun and Easy Food

Egg Bake + Cinnamon Pecan Pullapart Bread + Fruit and Cheese Tree

When I host get-togethers for the girls I always have one homemade item, and then the rest store bought. Not only does it make things easier on me as I get ready for things but it also allows me to focus more on the guests the day of because I’m not running around trying to finish up making this or that.

For this event, I chose to make a delicious egg bake with bacon, cheddar, and broccoli. I picked up a cinnamon pecan pull apart bread from the store and made a festive fruit and cheese tree with cubed cheese and grapes. The tree was very easy to make. I added two mandarin oranges to the top as a tree topper and the bottom as a tree stump and then added pretzel crisps to the last layer to use with the cheese for snacking.

The egg bake and pull apart bread were served on the main buffet spread and the fruit and cheese tree was set out on the dining room table so we could munch as we colored. Who doesn’t love to munch along as they color and visit?

A Colorful Affair Adult Coloring Party mimosa barA Colorful Affair Adult Coloring Party with mimosasA Colorful Affair Adult Coloring Party mimosa bar name tagsA Colorful Affair Adult Coloring Party mimosas

2. Drink Options

Mimosa Bar

Mimosa bars are perfect for morning get-togethers! They pair perfectly with the breakfast foods I was serving and guests can choose to either pour a mimosa or just drink the juice. For this simple mimosa bar, I grabbed a few glass juice carafes and some champagne glasses.

I paired together orange juice and cranberry juice to bring more color to the spread. As for the champagne, I grabbed my favorite local almond champagne. And some non-alcoholic sparkling grape juice for the non-drinkers.

Grab a few gift tags and Prismacolor Premier markers to make name tags for the drinks!

Hot Cocoa Bar

Another great addition to any brunch or evening event during the winter months is a hot cocoa bar. It adds a little sweetness and some warmth to the event. Plus there are so many fun additions and toppings one can add to their hot cocoa to make it personalized to their taste. Grab a pot of coffee to add to the mix so guests can make mochas too!

I chose to use my single serve coffee machine and some hot cocoa cups I had, however, I’ve also made a delicious batch of slow cooker hot chocolate in the past with this recipe for a little adult fun.  I’ve also passed out these cute hot cocoa snowmen as gifts and favors at parties before.

A Colorful Affair Adult Coloring Party hot cocoa barA Colorful Affair Adult Coloring Party hot cocoa bar toppingsA Colorful Affair Adult Coloring Party hot cocoa bar and coffee station

3. Adult Coloring Books + Colored Pencils

And, of course, for the star of the event, adult coloring books are a must! Each guest should have either a few adult coloring print-outs or a coloring book of their own to enjoy during the event. Pair with Prismacolor Premier coloring pencils and you have the perfect outlet for moms to relax, de-stress and re-energize during the often-stressful holiday season.

In the living room and the dining room table I put a few coloring books out with packs of Prismacolor Premier colored pencils. I also used a roll of butcher paper as table runners for both the coffee table and dining room table so guests could doodle and find out what colors they wanted to use.

Coloring together allows friends, families and co-workers an opportunity to take a moment together to reflect and reenergize, sparking creativity and inducing productivity. It’s a relaxing way to reconnect with each other. We enjoyed chatting around the table about work, life, and everything else in between.

A Colorful Affair Adult Coloring Party coloring with prismacolor pencilsA Colorful Affair Adult Coloring Party coloring in the lines

What do you love to do when you get together with your girlfriends?

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Prismacolor Premier®.

Seeing Myself Through My Daughter’s Eyes

Seeing Myself Through My Daughter's Eyes

This past weekend I headed up to Temecula, a short 45 minutes north of San Diego, to attend Bloggy Boot Camp with the SITS Girls. While I learned a lot about the business side of blogging, networking, etc., I also learned far more beyond blogging.

In addition to the great tidbits about the latest social media platforms (::cough, cough:: SnapChat?? No, maybe it’s Periscope…), Tiffany Romero of the SITS Girls shared ways to simply be a better person.

Now I’m totally going to paraphrase this because I’m no good at exact quotes but when Tiffany suggested that we stop and think of our daughters in our shoes. Then look at what our daughters are doing and tell them what they need to do – more sleep, less work, exercise and eat right, never give up – basically giving myself the advice I would give my daugther should she be in my shoes. And this opened my eyes a bit more to how I’m living my life.

After Women Get Social last year, also put on by the SITS Girls, I had taken away quite a bit that I actually put into action. I made office hours, I hired a Virtual Assistant. Heck… I even hired my house keeper back after a long break without her (and my friends thank me every time they come over and have to use our guest bathroom that is also my son’s bathroom). But there were a few things I hadn’t been doing and now I need to start working on weaving those into my life.

I also want to start considering what my daughters see when they watch me. I want to be more cognizant and aware of how I’m living my life and make sure that I’m living the life I want to live and being the person I want to be. But I also want to portray that to my daughters So that instead of just a frazzled, crazy woman who’s over-extended herself in an effort to do everything, they’re seeing a dedicated, hard working woman who loves to support those around her.

I have stopped saying negative things about my appearance and myself in front of her. When I weigh myself in the morning I smile even when I want to cry. And when I’m trying on clothes I make sure to critique the fit of the clothes, not the look of my body in the clothes. Because she’s watching… she’s watching everything.

And it’s only a matter of time until she starts to look at herself in that mirror. It’s only a matter of time until she’s over-extending and wondering why she feels like she’s the only one drowning. Until she realizes that she’s not alone. And it’s ok to feel that way.

Oh, and the photo above? I had my daughter take it. I’m going to have her take a lot more photos of me too…

5 Tips for Creating a Family Table at Meal Time

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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Barilla, but opinions are my own.

5 Tips for Creating a Family Table at Meal Time

When my son was a toddler I thought he was the pickiest eater. Then I started to realize that he wasn’t picky, he was just a kid. So I started to focus more on creating a family table at meal time and truly allowing him (and now my daughter) to experience food differently.

With the changes we’ve put in place I not only have kids who eat dinner, even if it’s just one part of dinner, we also now have a place to sit and talk about our day as a family. Mealtime now sometimes leads to playtime afterwards when the conversation doesn’t stop and the kids request either a game or movie night after we eat.

By eating at home, around a table, we’ve come to realize the importance of meal time and creating a family table. [Read more…]

Ergobaby 360 Carrier featured at Baby Bloggy Boot Camp

I recently checked out the new Ergobaby 360 carrier at Baby Bloggy Boot Camp. This post is written by me on behalf of Liz Lange and Ergobaby. Product was provided.

Ergobaby 360 Carrier featured at Baby Bloggy Bootcamp

Two things I absolutely love are babywearing and blogging. So when these two came together at Baby Bloggy Boot Camp hosted by the SITS Girls I knew I wanted to attend. Since I was already attending Women Get Social, coming in a few hours early wouldn’t be a big deal. Plus I got a sneak peek at the new Ergo 360 baby carrier and some other amazing products.

Baby Bloggy Boot Camp (#BabyBBC) was an informative mini blog conference that featured sessions on creating compelling content for moms, sponsored content tips and authentic story-telling. Each session was lead by bloggers in-the-know about what brands want and what readers want to see.

And in those 3 hours I learned a lot about how I can improve my own brand (this blog) and really deliver what my readers want to see. I’ve already seen an amazing change in how I view my blog and how I approach each and every post I share. [Read more…]

White Party Cake with Strawberries Recipe + Baking Tips

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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of PAM Cooking Spray.

white party cake with strawberries

My baby is turning 3 tomorrow. 3 years old! How did that happen? In celebration of her birthday we baked together and made her a delicious white party cake with pink strawberry frosting. It’s a trial run for the cake I’m making for her party on Sunday and I think it’s a winner!

Every year I bake my kids a cake or cupcakes for their birthday party. We end up having both cake and cupcakes but I try and make one of them. And without fail I’m baking the night before the party and always have to re-do everything because my cakes stuck to the pan. Well not this year. I busted out my secret weapon: Baking PAM Cooking Spray. Not only is it the perfect non-stick spray, it also has flour in it so my baked goods come out perfectly every time.

The kids are slightly disappointed because they don’t get to eat up all of the cake crumbles from the broken cakes that I’ve just about ruined. But I’m happy because a cake that slides right out of the pan means less work and stress for me!

[Read more…]

How to Properly Care for Kids with a Fever

This sponsored post about how to care for kids with a fever is brought to you by Pediacare.

Ever wake up in the middle of the night to crying kids with a fever? They are upset, don’t feel good and just want to be comforted? Well I’ve been there. And trying to give the right dose of acetaminophen to reduce the fever and offer relief can sometimes be a pain.

Not knowing the right dosage, having to turn on a light and wake everyone up, and worst of all, having an upset child not want to take their medicine. Well now with the Squeezable Single Dose Packets by PediaCare®, giving medicine is a heck of a lot easier!

That’s right! The geniuses over at PediaCare have created a single dose packet that’s simple and easy to use. A no-brainer! And Dr. David Hill, father, pediatrician and author of Dad to Dad: Parenting like a Pro, agrees that this is the perfect solution to all of our medication problems!

how to properly care for kids with a fever [Read more…]

10 Minute Dinners with Success® Rice

This awesome 10 Minute Dinners recipe and post is sponsored by Success® Rice

10 Minute Dinners Lemon Garlic Shrimp

While I love to cook and get enjoyment out of feeding my family delicious meals there are some nights when I just don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. So I’ve come up with a few 10 minute meals to turn to on those nights I’m just too tired to cook a lot.

Luckily I don’t have to compromise flavor or nutrition when I make these 10 minute meals. I just use simple pantry staples like Success® Rice and whatever else I might have on hand to create different variations of similar dishes.

Last night we were in need of a 10 minute meal and I turned to my freezer and pantry. And that’s where Garlic Lemon Shrimp over Rice was created.

I pulled out the Success® Rice I had purchased on my last trip to the grocery store, some onions, garlic, lemons, cooking sherry, cornstarch and frozen shrimp, and got to making dinner. 10 minutes later dinner was served!

[Read more…]



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