Disclosure: I received the following product free for review purposes. All experience and opinions are my own. Yours may differ.

So I’m cutting back on dairy (trying to go off of it, but that is proving to be VERY hard). My nursing baby has a sensitive tummy and can’t seem to handle dairy. So, I went on a hunt to find dairy free products, and what did I find? Coconut Bliss ice cream! YAY!

Coconut Bliss is an amazing treat with coconut milk being the star ingredient! It is sweetened using agave sryup which is much lower on the glycemic index so it doesn’t cause a sugar rush followed by a sugar crush. Research has shown that coconut oil may help maintain healthy cholesterol and support the cardiovascular system. It may help you lost weight!! Coconut milk also contains lauric acid which may promote a healthy immune system. Coconut Bliss is vegan and soy and Gluten free! This treat suits many dietary lifestyles!

The flavors were few to choose from at my local grocery store, but I still found a couple that sounded yummy! I got Naked Coconut and Chocolate Hazelnut Fudge.

The Naked Coconut featured a smooth, mild coconut taste with some coconut flakes mixed in. I’m a textury person so I have a hard time with the flakes being in the ice cream, but I love the flavor.

The Chocolate Hazelnut Fudge is super delicious! It has a fudgy swirl throughout the ice cream with little hazelnuts scattered throughout. I used to not appreciate hazelnuts until I went to Europe and now I LOVE them! This is really rich ice cream so I can only eat a little at a time, but that is good also. My time at the gym appreciates that! hehe

The container of Coconut Bliss explains that for the best flavor to let the ice cream sit out for 5-10 minutes before eating. I agree with this! If you try to eat it before it is softened it is really crystaly and not a uniform creamy experience. Once it is softened it is just as smooth and creamy and “normal” ice cream.

I really enjoyed our two kind of coconut bliss. My husband didn’t care for the Naked Coconut, but he liked the Chocolate Hazelnut Fudge. I am excited to search other grocery stores to find more flavors to try. It is nice to be ale to indulge in some yummy ice cream but know I’m not doing it at my baby’s expense.

Thanks so much to Coconut Bliss for sending the free coupons for me and my family to enjoy and to share with all of you! You can find Coconut Bliss on Facebook and Twitter @LunaandLarrys. Have you ever tried Coconut Bliss?

This is also another cake from Birthday Cakes for Kids and is great for carving and shaping.

Courtesy of healthywithfries.blogspot.com

Welcome to the Walmart Gift Card Giveaway! Enter to win this $10 Walmart Gift Card. Open to US residents ages 18+. Giveaway run from May 22 – June 4. Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It’s always fun to get a first look at new movies that are coming out soon! We don’t get to go to the movie theater a lot, so I especially LOVE these sneak peeks!

Also, enter the Delivery Man Sweestpakes!
https://www.facebook.com/DeliveryManMovie/app_205085179639363

Enter for a chance to deliver the perfect Father’s Day gift to your dad. Share your funniest photos of your father via Twitter and Instagram for a chance to win a 50′ TV and other great prizes!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Arby’s. All opinions are 100% mine.

I recently saw a commercial on TV for the new Arby’s King Hawaiian sandwiches. There are two new sandwiches to choose from when you visit an Arby’s. They are Arby’s KING’S HAWAIIAN roast beef sandwich that comes with an extra helping of freshly sliced roast beef, piled high on a soft and slightly sweet KING’S HAWAIIAN bun and an Arby’s KING’S HAWAIIAN Roast Beef & Swiss sandwich has the same extra helping of roast beef and KING’S HAWAIIAN bun, topped with Swiss cheese, crunchy pickles and creamy Dijon spread. Why not skip making dinner tonight and head to Arby’s to try these news sandwiches?

To celebrate this  partnership of deliciousness, Arby’s is sponsoring a Hawaiian Getaway sweepstakes for a chance to surf in paradise! The grand prize winner will receive a round trip for two with four nights stay in Honolulu, HI. Plus a premium group lesson at one of the island’s premier surf schools, Hawaiian Fire. I know I was recently in Hawaii, but I’m ready to go back! For more details about the sweepstakes and to enter visit the Arby’s Hawaiian Getaway Sweepstakes. Contest ends May 26 so HURRY!

1 10 inch Bundt Cake

1 10 inch round cake board, covered, or a large plate (I used my cake stand)

1 container (16 ounces) white frosting

Assorted animal shaped cookies

Decorator gel (optional)

Assorted candies and decors

Colored or striped drinking straws

Paper for carousel roof

1. Make cake according to recipe (this chocolate cake,or white cake is yummy!)
2. Place cake on prepared board
3. Tint frosting whatever color you wish. Frost cake.
4. Outline animal shaped cookies with decorator gel if desired. Sprinkle candies onto cake.
5. Place straws around cake. Place animal cookies next to straws. Place roof.

Instructions for roof: Cut out 7 1/2 inch circle from construction paper. Cut one slit from outer edge to center; take cut edges. For a two toned carousel roof cut another 7 1/2 inch circle from another color of construction paper. Cut into 8 wedges, glue alternating wedges onto first circle.

Download the cut files for the carousel roof below.

This chocolate cake is pretty good, but it is FANTASTIC for cutting and shaping into different shapes. I got this recipe from the book Birthday Cakes for Kids. I will be sharing several cakes from this book as well as several recipes for cakes, and frostings.

Courtesy of Dinnerwithjulie.com

Get ready for a tsunami of photos! Venice is the one place I NEEDED to go before I die. I was only there for 36 hours and it was a dream come true. I pinched myself several times to make sure it was really happening! So I have a million pictures I want to share!

In the summer of 2010 we (my parents and my immediate family) went to Vienna Austria for 3 weeks (that’s going to be a series of posts on its own!). My husband had to go for work training and so the rest of us jumped on board as well! I have loved Austria every since I saw The Sound of Music for the first time, so there was no way I wasn’t going! My parents hadn’t ever been to Europe so they wanted to join in all the fun, and I wanted help with my kids! Since we were going to be in Austria for so long we decided to use the weekends as a great opportunity for side trips to other nearby countries. Our second weekend there we rented a car (I have a fun adventure of renting a car in Germany for another post as well!) and drove the 6+ hours to Mestre Italy. It was an incredible drive through the Italian Alps. Old beautiful churches and homes on the hilltops were an amazing site. As we got closer to Mestre we started passing vineyard after vineyard, as well as cornfields (we lived in Kansas at the time so cornfields were normal to us. We joked about how at that moment we couldn’t tell Italy from Kansas.)

When we got to Mestre we parked the rental car in a parking lot across from the train station. We boarded a train for the about 7 minute ride to Venice. There is a long bridge that takes you from the mainland Italy over to Venice.

These are our first moments on the island of Venice! Since we had all of our luggage we wanted to find out hotel promptly. Our hotel was at the bottom of the Grand Canal and so we bought our Vaporetti (water bus) tickets and headed off down the Grand Canal!

I couldn’t stop taking pictures as we floated down the Grand Canal. I was amazed at how it looked exactly as it had on TV and in movies. I’m not sure why I was expecting something different. It was incredible. Words can’t describe my emotions and the joy I felt at being there. Going under the Rialto bridge was surreal (and a little disappointing, there was graffiti all over it!)

We were the second to last stop on the Vaporetti. The stop after ours was for the Piazza San Marcos… you know from movies like The Italian Job, Casino Royale, The Talented Mr. Ripley and many others. The lovely bridge in the left picture above is the bridge we had to cross to get to our hotel. It was so beautiful wandering the sidewalks of Venice in search of our hotel. The left picture above is right outside our hotel and the right picture above is on the Accademia bridge. Instead of talking the Vaporetti over to the Piazza San Marcos, we decided to walk. Even though it wasn’t that far, it was still a 20 minute walk. There were a lot of twists and turns and smaller bridges to cross. I was surprised we didn’t get lost because there are so many nooks and crannies around.

On our way to the Piazza San Marco there were a lot of restaurant choices. I wanted to eat on the Grand Canal so my husband and I kept going when my parents and my kids stopped to eat in the Piazza San Marcos. We eventually found a lovely Italian (LOL) restaurant. We shared some delicious bread and lasagna. It was crazy expensive. I wish now we would have just sprung for two or two different things. It was delicious!

The next morning we hopped on another Vaporetti and headed to the island of Murano, which is a district of Venice famous for it’s glass. While we were there we watch a glass artisan create that spectacular  horse from the glowing ball of hot glass in the middle picture. Check out the beautiful chandelier, that was in the warehouse where they were working. We also had a similar glass chandelier in our hotel room that was pink. It was incredible to watch them work. It was a very fast process also, it only took about 15-20 minutes to create that horse!And then all of the sudden it was time to say goodbye. The hours went too fast. We only saw a fraction of the city. I hope that I will be able to go back one day, but if not, I was very blessed to spend 36 glorious hours in Venice Italy.

Is it too soon to be looking at clothes for school next year? If you are in the market for some adorable children’s clothing, Alex & Alexa has got you covered. They have some really cute clothes for babies on up.

About Our Sponsor

Alex & Alexa as founded in 2007 in London by husband and wide, Alex Theophanous and Alexa Till, with the aim to bring ‘The World’s Best Kids Brands’ to parents all in one place. It brings together prestigious fashion labels such as Dolce & Gabbana and Burberry, alongside more niche brands from all over the world, and sportswear from brands such as Nike and Puma. You can also purchase unique toys and gifts too, from Lego, Moulin Roty, Le Toy Van and more.

The Prizes

Terms: Voucher is only valid for full priced items from AlexandAlexa.com. It is not to be used in conjunction with other offers. Each code is valid for one use only. Valid until 08/03/2013. Enter the voucher code at the checkout.

The winner and a friend will each receive a $50 Alex and Alexa gift voucher.

Keep: $50 Alex and Alexa gift voucher

Share: $50 Alex and Alexa gift voucher

How to Enter

The Giveaway will open up on 5/21 12:01 am EST and Close on 5/24 at 11:59 pm EST.

Complete the mandatory entries on the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out and Enter our Other Giveaways

Side note…It’s not mandatory to enter all the giveaways at each blog. Those are just great bonus giveaways for you to enter.

Mission Giveaway started with Madame Deals and her $100 story where with $100 several people received the help they needed. We are on a mission to help people help each other! We have gathered a group of bloggers that want to make a difference. Together we are Mission Giveaway!

To ask about becoming a sponsor, please contact Stefanie at makingofamom@gmail.com for details. Take a look at our Media Kit to see what Mission Giveaway has to offer.

Are you a blogger that would like to participate in Mission Giveaway? Find out how you can join us.

Find our official Terms and Conditions on the Madame Deals Media page.

Disclaimer: I received the following products free for review purposes. All experiences and opinions are my own. Yours may differ.

It is hard to find a nursing bra that I love. I seem to be very picky when it comes to a nursing bra. The reason it is hard, in my opinion, is because of the nursing pads. I like to have a bra that provides a little cushion, but not too much because then that causes problems with the nursing pads. When I had the opportunity to receive a nursing bra and nursing pads from the Loving Moments nursing collection I was excited to try something new!

The bra pictures above is the seamless bralette nursing bra I received. I was very skeptical about liking it at first. The shape and style seemed weird to me and I didn’t think I would like it. Also, this bra has zero padding in it, so again I was worried about nursing pads with it. Disposable nursing pads (which is all I have ever used until I received the washable ones from Loving Moments) tend to crinkle and have jagged angles that would show through in a bra without padding. When I first tried it on I was surprised to find that it is really comfortable. In fact, it doesn’t feel like I am wearing a bra. (is that TMI?) It also worked pretty well with my disposable nursing pads. If I just rub things down once I have my shirt on, I can “iron” out all the creases and things are fine. When I wear the Loving Moments washable nursing pads everything is super smooth and it works perfectly.

The Loving Moments nursing pads are very soft. They are machine washable and you can dry them in the clothes dryer. They are contoured to fit your body better and made from  cotton and  polyester. Their fabric is such to help them stay in place in your nursing bra since there isn’t any stick pads on them like the disposable ones feature. Since my baby is almost 5 months old, my milk supply has regulated itself so I can use the pads for a couple days before needing to wash them. If I had these in the beginning when your body is crazy and trying to figure out how much milk you need, I think it would have been a pain to be constantly washing nursing pads (although you are doing baby laundry that often, so through them on in!) The package I received included 3 sets so even while washing one set I have others to wear.

Loving Moments by Leading Lady are quality products for an exception price. They are found only at Walmart and Walmart.com. Loving Moments is about more than just intimate apparel, they are a great resource for new Mom’s offering breastfeeding tips and more!

If you would like to connect on social media with Loving Moments you can like the Loving Moments Facebook page and follow @LeadingMomentsBr on twitter.

Loving Moments by Leading Lady is generously offering my readers a huge prize pack! 1 Winner will receive a Loving Moments nursing bra of your choice, a pack of washable nursing pads, 1 pack of newborn pampers and wipes! This giveaway is open to US resident ages 18+.  Entrants can only win 1 Loving Moments giveaway per year. The giveaway will run from May 20 – June 3.  The winner will be verified and emailed. Enter through the rafflecopter below! Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway