Mommy's Wish List

Memorial Day Shopping: print retail coupons here.

noreply@blogger.com (Lea Ann Stundins) — Fri, 24 May 2013 14:07:00 +0000

Aeropostale - $10 off $50 Exp 5/31
Banana Republic Factory Store - 10% off $100+ purchase Exp 5/27
Carter's - Facebook Exclusive 15% - 20% off purchase Exp 5/29
Chico's Outlet Coupon - 10% Off Already Reduced Clearance Items Exp 5/28
Goody's - Various Coupons
Hobby Lobby - 40% off regular priced item Exp 5/25
Kirkland's - $10 off $50 Exp 5/27
Kohl's - $5 off $25 Exp 5/23
Lord & Taylor - 15% - 20% off purchase Exp 5/27
Macy's - 10% -15% off purchase Exp 5/27
Michael's - 40% off regular priced item Exp 5/25
Office Depot - $20 off $100 Exp 5/27
Old Navy - Facebook Exclusive 10% off purchase Exp 6/5
Party City - $5 off Custom Banner Exp 6/2
Party City - $10 off $60 Exp 5/24
Sherwin Williams Coupon - $10 Off $50 Purchase Exp 6/30
Tanger - Facebook Exclusive Coupon Book Exp 5/31
Target - Various Coupons
Toys R Us - 20% off regular priced item Exp 5/25
ULTA - 20% off single item Exp 6/1
Walgreens - Various Coupons in the May Coupon Books (found in-store)
Yankee Candle - $10 off $25 Exp 5/24
Yankee Candle - $15 off $35 Exp 6/2

Thanks, Anna!

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How to bring your garden inside: 4 party decor tips from Southern Living.

noreply@blogger.com (Lea Ann Stundins) — Thu, 23 May 2013 14:06:00 +0000

How to use flowers from your garden inside your home.

Two weeks ago, I learned how to make a container garden for your porch or patio from Southern Living Plants' expert Carmen Johnston, and I wanted to share four easy tips she taught me. I always love our outside garden this time of year, and wish the insides of my house could be just as pretty.

I can put clipped flowers in a vase. That's easy...but what are some other ways to bring the feeling of my summer garden inside?

Salvia Swizzel Sticks
Clip a few stalks of salvia, and drop them in a pretty drink, like sparkling cranberry or other sparkling juice. Serving them in a champagne glass, even on a regular day, makes you feel like a pretty princess.

Verbena Napkin Rings
Roll your cloth napkins, and add a clipping of verbena tied with a bit of ribbon, raffia, or string.

Cut Flower Cake Topper
Add clipped flowers to the top of a plain white cake. So easy, and so pretty. Cut the stems very short and push them down into the frosting. Try the famous Southern Living White Cake recipe or take a short-cut and get one at your local grocery store's bakery!

Floating Flowers Candle Holder
Carmen found this neat Extra Large Hurricane Candle Holder at Target. The tray for the candle is a good 6 inches from the bottom, so it appears to "float" inside the glass. We filled the bottom of the glass jar with water and pushed the flower clippings down into the water. Then we added the tray, and the candle. This made a beautiful centerpiece.

Southern Living Plants:
Find out more about what kinds of plants to put into your garden if you live in the south (like me), and Carmen will give tips on different kinds of container gardens, with all kinds of how-to videos. She's such a doll, and I really loved learning more about plants and how to decorate with them.

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Mommy's Wish List Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Southern Living Plants.

Join the Pretty Muddy Mud Run for a dirty, good time.

noreply@blogger.com (Lea Ann Stundins) — Wed, 22 May 2013 14:07:00 +0000

A little dirt never stopped a girl.

Join the Pretty Muddy Mud Run, ladies, and test your metal thru 5K worth of mud, obstacles, and the great outdoors. The Pretty Muddy Mud Run, sponsored by Old Navy, is coming to Dallas on June 1st, and Sacramento on June 29th.

This women-only race boasts these crazy obstacles to go thru with your friends, from a mud-pit, foam tunnel and water slide, to climbing, crawling, and racing thru mud, nets, and even beach balls.

Photo Source: Pretty Muddy

The end of the race features an Old Navy fashion show featuring their new Active Gear line. The super cool Active Gear from Old Navy has compression pieces like tanks, shorts, and jackets. The affordable Active Gear line also includes yoga wear and Go Dry Activewear with moisture-wicking Go Dry fabric. I'd race in these Wide Leg Yoga Capris and pink Go Dry t-shirt, although both would certainly be mud-colored by the end!

Pretty Muddy works with non-profit partners for each race to raise funds for charities like Alex's Lemonade Stand, Project Sole, and Susan G. Komen. You can see pictures of past races here and get a good idea of what the whole dirty day is like.

Where Dallas:
The Dallas race will be held June 1st, at Skyline Ranch: 1801 E Wheatland Rd Dallas, TX 75241

Where else?
There are even more races scheduled in other cities the rest of the year. Find your participating city here.

You can get a $10 discount (thanks Old Navy!) when you register for the Dallas Pretty Muddy Race by using the code BLOGON at check-out on their registration page here.

So, who's up for a run thru the mud? *whee*

Find out about more fun Events here.

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Mommy's Wish List Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Old Navy.

Sonic serves half price shakes all summer.

noreply@blogger.com (Lea Ann Stundins) — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:04:00 +0000

Sonic Shakes Half Price?
Yes please! Again this summer, the lovely and talented Sonic roller skaters will bring a Real Ice Cream Milk Shake to your car for HALF PRICE after 8pm any night of the week. Says so here.

And we're not talkin' just chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla here. Check out 25 super-duper crazy amazing flavors here. No coupon needed, they're just nice like that.

I'm sure, like me and Luka, you try to find as many ways as possible to incorporate ice cream into your daily diet in the hot, hot summer.

50¢ Corn Dogs for Last Day of School.
May 23rd, corn dogs will be .50¢ all day at Sonic, says the Sonic Facebook page. Yippee! Even though we don't get out until June 11th, we're happy to eat 50¢ corn dogs.

Get more deals at Sonic.
And, join the Sonic Cruisers email club here if you haven't done so already to get the scoop first on deals like this one next time.

Find your nearest Sonic here. Sonic has 3500 locations nationwide, and they're all participating.

Find more recent Dine on a Dime restaurant articles, so you can eat out for less at your favorite places.

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Mini Sombrero Taco Salads.

noreply@blogger.com (Lea Ann Stundins) — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:09:00 +0000

These fun Mini Sombrero Taco Salads are Texas-themed appetizers, healthified by the dietitians at HEB, are economical to make, and fun to serve at your next party.

For a collection of other Appetizers recipes, visit my Pinterest Boards for ideas here. These would be excellent and easy to take to a summer party (which is what I made them for), or for family game night where everyone can top them with their favorite toppings.

I needed a cute appetizer to take to a party.
This weekend marked the end of soccer season, so there was a big soccer team (and families) party. Everyone was tasked with bringing a fun side dish, as our neighborhood usually does. We are a big ol' potluck-trapped-in-the-50s type place.

I had just gotten the HEB My Texas Table cookbook, and thought there might just be a perfect recipe in there to make for the party. This cute little cookbook has 100 Family Favorites (Texas Style recipes for sure) and all are done light by the HEB Registered Dietitians.

This cookbook, and the HEB My Good News newsletter are part of their Ready, Set, Cook Challenge this spring. The challenge is to cook your family dinners in a little more healthy way at least one more time per week than you are now. If you sign up for My Good News, you'll even have access to a menu plan with recipes in it, which is super helpful.

Cooking one more meal a week really is a challenge for me, since I went back to work a couple months ago. And since the sports practices and games are also killing everyone's ability to cook and eat dinner together, fast food gets very attractive around 7:30pm.

But we're trying.

Like with this recipe. Not a family meal, but we cooked. Then, we took it to a neighborhood party to share. That counts as a big family meal! I was surprised how easy this was to put together, and that I had all of this in my house already. No weird ingredients. I hope you like it as much as we did.

Mini Sombrero Taco Salads
Original Ingredients:
Non-Stick Cooking Spray
24 Corn Tortillas
2 tsp Olive Oil
1/4 cup diced red onion
1 lb lean ground beef
1 small can green chilies
2 tsp cumin
1 can fat-free refried beans
1/4 head of lettuce, shredded

I added:
1 roma tomato, chopped in little pieces
1/4 cup shredded cheddar

Chipotle Ranch Salad Dressing:
1/4 cup ranch dressing
1 TBSP Chipotle Sauce (I used Lawry's Chipotle Marinade)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.

Spray two 12-cup muffin tins with cooking spray. Cut a slit in your tortillas from the center out to one edge. Spray both sides of each, and form into a little cone. Set each cone in one of the muffin cup spaces.

Bake your cones for 10 minutes til they're crispy. Take them out and let them cool.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet for 2 minutes on medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and onion, and sauté two minutes. Add ground beef, green chilies and cumin. Saute 10 minutes, or until meat is cooked through and no longer pink.

Open the beans and place them in a microwave-safe bowl, and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir til smooth. Prepare the salad dressing by whisking together the ranch dressing and chipotle sauce.

Chop up tomatoes and lettuce. Fill each tortilla "sombrero" with 1 spoonful of beans, then 1 spoonful of the hamburger mixture. Then top with the chopped up lettuce, shredded cheese, and chopped up tomatoes. Drizzle the Chipotle Ranch Salad Dressing on top of each.

DONE.

Looks pretty darn cute. Tastes amazing. Not so expensive to buy the ingredients, and it's been healthified. Kids will have fun, too, topping their little sombrero with ingredients they like: sour cream, guacamole, kernels of corn, use your imagination. And, everyone thinks you're a genius on Instagram.

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Mommy's Wish List Disclosure: This post was sponsored by HEB.

Use restaurant coupons to dine out for less.

noreply@blogger.com (Lea Ann Stundins) — Sun, 19 May 2013 21:14:00 +0000

Luka likes the nachos at Joe T. Garcia's in Fort Worth.

It doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg to eat out. We like to use Groupons and other daily deals, as well as coupons and specials when we go to our favorite restaurants.

Ben & Jerry's Coupon - Buy 1 Get 1 Free Small or Large Cup or Cone (exp: 5/31/2013)
Bob Evans Coupon - Buy 1 Get 1 Free Breakfast Entree WYB 2 Beverages (exp: 5/24/2013)
Boston Market Coupon - Free Large Side WYB Family Meal (exp: 5/20/2013)
Bruegger's Coupon - $2.99 Bagel Egg Sandwich (exp: 5/23/2013)
Buca di Beppo Coupon - $10 Off $20 Purchase (exp: 5/27/2013)
Chevy's Coupon - $10 Off $30 Purchase (exp: 6/15/2013)
Chili's Coupon - Free Appetizer or Dessert with Entree Purchase (exp: 5/23/2013)
Jack's Coupons Buy 1 Big Jack Combo Get 1 Free (exp: 6/3/2013)
Marie Callenders Coupons Buy 1 Entree Get 1 50% Off WYB 2 Drinks (exp: 5/30/2013)
McDonald's Coupons $1 Egg White Delight McMuffin (exp: 6/20/2013)
Mimis Cafe Coupon - $5 Off $15 Lunch or Dinner Purchase (exp: 5/23/2013)
Outback Steakhouse Coupon - $8 Off 2 Dinner Entrees (exp: 5/21/2013)
Quiznos Coupon - $2.99 Small Chicken Fajita Sub (exp: 5/22/2013)
Seattles Best Coffee Coupon - FREE Frozen Caramel Candy Latte (exp: 5/21/2013)
Souplantation & Sweet Tomatoes Coupon - 20% Off Entire Check (exp: 5/23/2013)
Starbucks Coupon - $2 Off Starbucks Refreshers (exp: 5/21/2013)

Thanks for some of these, Rachel.

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Starbucks: half price Frappuccino.

noreply@blogger.com (Lea Ann Stundins) — Sat, 04 May 2013 14:16:00 +0000

My brain.

Starbucks is bringing back the super-popular Frappuccino Happy Hour today thru May 12th. Between 3pm and 5pm everyday, Frappuccinos are half price.

Find more great recent deals in Shopping Intelligence. And, check out the Master List of Daily Deal Sites so you don't miss a hot one.

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Pier 1: Spring 2013 color trends and putting your backyard together.

noreply@blogger.com (Lea Ann Stundins) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 14:06:00 +0000

This spring, you'll find colorful, exotic pieces for your backyard at Pier 1. The Santa Barbara Collection and the Banyan Bay Collections are two of my favorites, and they especially feature more colors than you've ever seen at Pier 1. Pillows and other textiles flaunt peacock and flower motifs reminiscent of exotic locales like India.

I recently got a sneak peak at all the spring collections and unique offerings from Pier 1. And with the warm weather, I'm working on cleaning up my backyard and getting ready for another fun season of living outdoors. This year, we've added an outdoor rug, cushions to the deck benches, and a gardening cart with wheels. Our garden is in, and the hammock is ready. Now for the details...

You can see the Spring Collection sneak peak from Pier 1 here. Find the entire collection of new spring trends for entertaining in and outdoors in the Sunny Side Up Inspiration catalog here. I loved all the melamine and ceramic outdoor dinnerware. Melamine is especially handy with kids (it's plastic!) and the colorful patterns make my summer drinks seem more joyful. Try a stem of salvia clipped from your garden as a pretty swizzle stick in your backyard party drink.

Blogger friend Nony models the new Pier 1 statement swingsan.

Look for statement pieces for your garden or patio, like the centerpiece wicker swingsan to start your patio's transformation. Add a rug, a side table, and some container gardens. Using pieces from Pier 1 that are made from weather hearty fabrics, you can create a cozy outdoor living space you'll want to live in. Get more inspiration from Pier 1's Pinterest boards here.

Getting deals at Pier 1.
Go to Pier 1's Facebook page here, "like 'em" and find out what today's Pier 1 Daily Dealy coupon is for. Print it, take it to your local store and get THE DEAL. They'll have daily dealy coupons to print from now until July 22nd. Coupons have ranged from $10 off $40 to free gifts with purchase (like scent diffusers and bags.)

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Barnes & Noble: Free book from summer reading program.

noreply@blogger.com (Lea Ann Stundins) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:01:00 +0000

Quinn read Fahrenheit 451 until it fell apart.

Barnes & Noble gives kids a free book, just for reading over the summer. Thru their Imagination's Destination Summer Reading Program, your kids get one free book of their choice. This is an easy way to add to your home library, in addition to finding discount books at used book stores, checking them out at your local library, or downloading free public domain novels for Kindle.

Who: Barnes & Noble

What: Imagination's Destination summer reading program for children grades 1-6. Details here.

When: May 21st thru September 3rd.

Where: Find your nearest Barnes & Noble here.

How: Kids can earn ONE book from Barnes & Noble when they read 8 books of their choice over the summer and submit the list to Barnes & Noble in the form of a Journal.

BONUS: It's available in English (pages 1 & 2 of Passport) and Spanish (pages 3 & 4).

Find more free Events here.

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Shot At Life celebrates World Immunization Week.

noreply@blogger.com (Lea Ann Stundins) — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 17:23:00 +0000

Shot At Life can save a child every 20 seconds.

This week marks the first anniversary of the non-profit organization Shot At Life. It is World Immunization Week, and Shot At Life makes it their mission to bring immunization access to the 1 in 5 children around the world who currently do not have access.

Many of us take immunizations for granted as a part of our children's well-care. But so many children around the world get sick, miss school, and even lose their lives to preventable disease. Many regular moms like me are championing this cause for Shot At Life. To celebrate their first year, Shot At Life is featuring some of their Shot At Life Champions on blogs like mine.

Champions receive training in media, advocacy, and event planning to become effective ambassadors for Shot At Life. Champions lead a grassroots movement in their community teaching the importance of global vaccines, organizing events to raise funds for United Nations programs, and meeting with Congress to encourage them to expand access to vaccines globally.

Christen Reiner

Christen Reiner, Shot At Life Champion advocate from Colorado.
Christen Reiner, a mom, blogger, and Girl Scout Troop leader, volunteered to be a Shot At Life Champion last year. She attended the 2012 Mom Congress, as the delegate from Colorado.

Christen told me that when Shot At Life presented at Mom Congress 2012, there wasn't a dry eye in the place, listening to the stories of moms walking miles and miles to make sure their kids had a shot at life via vaccinations.

She learned that these diseases were preventable, and children were dying from them. As moms, she thought we could all relate to doing anything we can to help our children. Christen at once knew she had to get involved. She signed up then and there to be a Champion, not even knowing what her plan was to help. And, she wanted her own kids to see the importance of helping on a global scale.

In addition to spreading the word about Shot At Life's mission, Christen got her Girl Scout Troop (Brownies, 7 & 8 years old) involved to raise funds for Shot At Life. This year's Girl Scout World Thinking Day's theme was reducing child mortality all over the world, and she thought that Shot At Life would be the perfect organization on which to focus their fund-raising efforts.

Talking to Kids about Shot At Life.
Christen and her Brownies looked at pictures of kids around the world who have benefited from receiving shots donated by people just like their troop. They talked about the things they wouldn't have a "shot" at if they were sick with diseases and illnesses that are preventable. They talked about how these kids are just like them...they like to play outside, be with their family and friends, and even like to eat treats just like they do. And, they even talked about how there are Girl Scout troops, just like theirs, in the countries that Shot At Life is trying to help.

They decided, as a troop, to raise money for these kids. The girls decided to donate $260 from their cookie sales to Shot At Life, saving one child for each girl in the troop! In addition, they held a "Shot At Treats" sale at their local school, from which all of the proceeds will be donated to Shot At Life.

Christen hopes to continue raising funds and awareness, and saving kids through Shot At Life. She also hopes that the girls in her Girl Scout Troop continue to want to be involved as well. Ultimately, Christen would like to see these preventable diseases eradicated in developing countries. No one should have to suffer unnecessarily, especially kids!

How you can support Shot At Life.
Shot At Life educates, connects and empowers Americans to champion vaccines as one of the most cost-effective ways to save the lives of children in developing countries. A national call to action for this global cause, the campaign rallies the American public, members of Congress, and civil society partners around the fact that together, we can save a child’s life every 20 seconds by expanding access to vaccines.

By encouraging Americans to learn about, advocate for, and donate vaccines, the United Nations Foundation’s Shot At Life campaign will decrease vaccine-preventable childhood deaths and give children a shot at a healthy life. To learn more, go to ShotAtLife.org.

Krispy Kreme: buy a dozen, get a dozen free.

noreply@blogger.com (Lea Ann Stundins) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 13:16:00 +0000

Buy a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts Sunday April 28th for your favorite HERO, and get another dozen free with a printable coupon. Coupon is here. Not every store may be participating, so make sure you call first to verify, and you can only do this on Sunday.

Late for a meeting today? Don't be the guy who shows up late. Be the guy who shows up late because he stopped to get donuts for everyone.

Then, join Friends of Krispy Kreme here, to make sure you're the first to know about this donutty deliciousness in the future.

Find your nearest Krispy Kreme here.

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GoGo-Ritas: Margaritas using GoGo squeeZ.

noreply@blogger.com (Lea Ann Stundins) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 14:01:00 +0000

A new way to look at applesauce!

For a collection of Five Minute Appetizer recipes to go along with this fun GoGo-Rita party drink, visit my Pinterest Board for ideas here. These would be great drinks for a brunch, shower, or dinner party. And, they're made with applesauce, so that counts as a serving of fruit!

GoGo-Ritas
When I visited Blissdom, a blogger conference, I was introduced to the GoGo squeeZ brand of applesauce (in those cute little squeeze pouches). Luka is absolutely in love, and has one in his lunch every day now. One day at the conference we were served GoGo-Ritas, which were a surprise we were not expecting from what we considered to be a kid's snack.

It was a good surprise.

I thought I'd share the recipe for these tasty applesauce margaritas with you, so you can enjoy them at home too.

This is how we usually use GoGo Squeez.

Ingredients for one GoGo-Rita:
1 cup of ice
1 oz tequila
1 oz apple brandy
1 pouch of GoGo squeeZ
1 oz sour mix
Cinnamon to sprinkle on top
Sugar to rim the glass
Apple Wedge for garnish

Directions which take 5 minutes:

Throw ice, tequila, brandy, GoGo squeeZ applesauce, and sour mix into the blender and blend well.

Pour into a sugar-rimmed glass. (dip rim of glass in water, then immediately into sugar to make a sugar-rimmed glass.)

Sprinkle Cinnamon on top, add apple wedge.

DONE.

Looks fancy. Tastes fancy. Took no time at all. Has a serving of fruit!

GoGo squeeZ is available nationally at Walmart, Target, Costco, Whole Foods, Kroger, Publix, Harris Teeter and most major retailers. Look here to find a retailer near you.

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Eileen Fisher: $25 off $50 printable coupon.

noreply@blogger.com (Lea Ann Stundins) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 14:08:00 +0000

Eileen Fisher who rarely has coupons, just sent me this one. Go here and get your $25 off $50 Eileen Fisher printable coupon to use in store now thru May 12th. You can also use code 541200 at check-out to get your discount when shopping on-line.

Strategies for getting Eileen Fisher for less.
I've found five more ways to get a deal on Eileen Fisher if this is your favorite brand. Read about those tips here.

And, Eileen Fisher has just launched their year-long GREEN EILEEN program. Bring your unwanted gently worn Eileen Fisher items to your local Eileen Fisher store, and they'll give you a tax donation receipt and a $5 gift certificate to use to buy a new Eileen Fisher item. Your old clothing will then be donated to support the Eileen Fisher Community Foundation causes for women and girls.

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7-Eleven: Free MiO.

noreply@blogger.com (Lea Ann Stundins) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 14:00:00 +0000

Visit your local 7-Eleven on Wednesday April 23rd, and get a free 1.62-ounce regular size MiO Energy Black Cherry. MiO is a liquid water enhancer that comes in a bunch of tasty flavors. This little bottle can add flavor to up to 18 (8 fl. ounce) servings.

Try it with sparkling or soda water for a bubbly spring party drink:

Get yours between 12:00 am to 11:59 pm at participating locations nationwide while supplies last. This promotion may not be at every 7-Eleven, so call ahead to make sure your local store is participating. Just bring the product up to the register and mention this promotion. The free offer is valid on MiO Energy Black Cherry only.

Did you know that 7-Eleven was the first to offer the "To Go" cup of coffee in 1964. Bless them for that too.

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Add 10 free country songs to your iTunes from People Magazine.

noreply@blogger.com (Lea Ann Stundins) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 14:23:00 +0000

This month's Country Playlist contributors (image via People Magazine)

Would you like 10 more free country songs to download into your iTunes? Check out the most recent "People Magazine Country Playlist". This free album of 10 country song downloads is available thru May 29th. Use the code FPXYA7EFLHE4 to download from iTunes. This playlist includes Kacey Musgraves, which I'm excited about:

Randy Houser Goodnight Kiss
Kacey Musgraves Step Off
Tate Stevens Power of a Love Song
The Henningsens American Beautiful
Greg Bates Fill In the Blank
The Mavericks Back in Your Arms Again
Holly Williams The Highway
Joel Crouse If You Want Some
Ashley Monroe Like a Rose

And, don't forget you can get your free iTunes song download of the week here. (Which probably ain't country.)

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Five minute appetizers: Spinach Artichoke Ham & Cheese Biscuits.

noreply@blogger.com (Lea Ann Stundins) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:10:00 +0000

For a collection of Five Minute Appetizers recipes, visit my Pinterest Board for ideas here. These would be excellent and easy for a brunch, shower, or Sunday breakfast.

Spinach Artichoke Ham & Cheese Biscuits
This morning I had a craving for something savory and fancy. I knew I had a few random things in my refrigerator that I could turn into one of those restaurant-quality biscuit sandwiches pretty quick. I love easy and fast appetizers, don't you?

Ingredients that I had on hand:
1 Roll of Biscuits (The Flaky Layers Kind, a store brand works just fine)
2 slices of ham lunchmeat
A piece of a block of Tillamook Monterey Jack Cheese
1 container of Spinach Artichoke dip from Aldi (it's cream cheese based with chunks of Spinach and Artichoke hearts inside.)
Italian Seasoning
Spray Butter (I Can't Believe it's Not Butter)
Grated Parmesan Cheese in the green can (again, store brand works fine for me)

I would guess that you could vary this throw-together recipe with whatever you have on-hand to make your own fancy breakfast biscuit. They key to tying things together this way is to melt cheese in there somewhere, and sprinkle seasoning on top. Don't have Italian Seasoning? Try Oregano or Basil or Herbs de Provence.

Directions which take 5 minutes:

Open the flaky layer biscuits and peel them each apart into 2 flatter biscuits. You're going to put your stuff inside then put it back together like a sandwich. You'll get 8 mini appetizer sandwiches from a can of 8 biscuits.

Spread a knife full of Spinach Artichoke dip (or whatever cream cheese based dip you have in your fridge) in the middle of each biscuit.

Cut your lunchmeat (I used ham) into 4 squares. Put one square on each biscuit.

Slice off some cheese (I used Monterey Jack) and put a slice on each biscuit.

Close up the biscuit sandwiches by putting the halves back together.

Spray the top of each biscuit sandwich with butter, and sprinkle Italian seasoning and Parmesan Cheese on top.

Bake at 350 for about 10 to 15 minutes until the biscuit bakes and the cheese melts.

DONE.

Looks fancy. Tastes fancy. Took no time at all. Everyone thinks you're a genius on Instagram.

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Zoës Kitchen supports school arts in 3 fun ways.

noreply@blogger.com (Lea Ann Stundins) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:06:00 +0000

Zoës tastes good, but they also have great taste!

Y'all already know that I support the arts in school. Alot. And I just found out that one of my favorite new restaurants, Zoës Kitchen, does too. Zoës Kitchen gives back to it's local communities in three unique ways, one of which was all over the walls of my local Zoës on my family's last visit:

Art at Zoës.
Each Zoës partners with a local elementary school or children's program to celebrate the creative and artistic spirit of children. You may see this creative spirit on the wall shelf at your local Zoës too. Local groups can apply to be a part of Zoës Kitchen Art Program here, where artwork is made at Zoës and is for sale to the public. Proceeds go back to the school or program to help fun more arts!

Fundraising events at Zoës.
Zoës can host your school's event, and create proceeds nights, where your community eats at Zoës and a portion of the sales that evening go back to your school. Or, they can create off-site catering options for your fundraising event, again with a portion of the proceeds going back to your school. Download their fundraiser application form here.

See Zoës Kitchen menu for all the tasty healthful options they have. You'll really feel good about serving their food to your kids.

Zoës wants to share the good food with your school community.

Zoës Kitchen Gift Cards.
Zoës is happy to donate gift cards to local school silent or live auctions and fund-raisers. You can apply for that program here. I don't know if I've ever seen a restaurant so involved and supportive of their local community and kid's arts, as well as standing behind their mission of serving healthy food to kids and families.

They're really an convergence of so many things important to me, I just had to share this program with you.

Why arts education is important to me.
We put a major importance on art at my house. After all, I did go to art school. I've been in an art career my whole adult life. We take our children to free art museums, theater, concerts, and galleries on a regular basis.

Quinn and Luka both take art classes, not only at school, but outside of school at our neighborhood art center, Oil & Cotton. I pay for that with change I find in the sofa. Luka just got his first piece of art in our local elementary kid's art show, Dia De Los Ninos. So we loved the little kid art being celebrated at Zoës Kitchen.

Get more treats from Zoës Kitchen.
Download the new Zoës Kitchen app here. Find out the nutrition content of menu items, order for pick-up and free treats on every visit!

Join the Zoës Zealots zmail club here to be in the know about Zoës menu and special offers.

Find your nearest Zoe's here. They are located in AL, AZ, FL, GA, KY, LA, MD, NC, NJ, OK, PA, SC, TN, TX, and VA.

Subscribe to Mommy's Wish List for arts news, fun events for kids, and great places to eat..

Mommy's Wish List Disclosure: Zoës Kitchen invited me to an event to learn more about them.

Kids bowl free all summer!

noreply@blogger.com (Lea Ann Stundins) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 14:00:00 +0000

BFFs Luis and Luka and their HULK ball.

We are so excited that the national Kids Bowl Free program will be offered again this year, and it starts now. There are bowling centers participating across the nation, in almost every state. Kids everywhere can spend the summer bowling, which is a great way to play together as a family. It's also the best way to beat the heat. Dallas: Plano Superbowl, Red Bird Lanes in Duncanville, and Strikz Entertainment in Frisco are participating.

What is Kids Bowl Free?
Kids get to bowl 2 games for free EVERY DAY all summer long. You can sign up to 6 kids to bowl free on your account.

Each bowling center participating has their own age eligibility rules, and you'll need to sign up either at your local center, or on-line if they offer that option. Here's all the details.

Me at my agency's holiday bowling party this year.

A deal for parents too.
If you want to bowl WITH your kids, they've made it affordable for parents too: you can purchase a family pass for $24.95 that is good for up to 4 adults to bowl 2 games every day all summer long with their free kids. (Or if you have an older kid that isn't covered by the free bowling, this will cover them.)

*Remember, this pass doesn't include shoe rental, so if you're going to bowl a lot, I'd suggest buying some bowling shoes. I got some for Luka, since he and daddy go bowling almost every week. You can find bowling shoes for everyone in your family on Amazon for around $25 each. If you choose to buy shoes thru my Amazon link, you'll be supporting this blog at no additional cost to you.

Find your nearest participating center here. Center participating are located in AL, AZ, CA, CT, DE, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, LA, MA, MD, MI, MN, MS, NC, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VT, WA and WI. And even Canada!

Find more free Events here.

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Mommy's Wish List Disclosure: KidsBowlFree is hosting my family this summer in their program, to make it easier for me to share it with you.

Home Depot: free Southern Living Plants Container Gardening Workshops.

noreply@blogger.com (Lea Ann Stundins) — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 14:05:00 +0000

My front porch container garden.

Ready to learn how to make a container garden for your porch or patio? Maybe you'd like one for an inside table for a shower or party. Or as a gift for the end of the hear for your child's teacher. Container gardens are much easier to put together and take care of than taking on your entire yard. And with a few tips from an expert like Southern Living Plants' Carmen Johnston, you can make one for yourself.

It took me a few years to figure out a good way to pick and arrange plants in a container. I have books, and friends who are horticulturalists to help me. And, I love going to gardening workshops (for free) at Home Depot. This Saturday, Carmen Johnston from Southern Living Plants will be at Home Depot on Skillman in Dallas for a free workshop on Container Gardens at 10:30am. I'll be there, will you join me?

My thematic color this spring is blue.

Every spring I replant my front porch containers, and a few other containers around my yard with a thematic color I let one of the boys pick. Last spring the color was pink, and we choose everything pink we could find at Home Depot. And, a few of last fall's begonias (with pinkish tinged leaves) came up again voluntarily, so they added to the variety of textures and pink colors we found.

My pink Hawthorne shrub that comes back every spring.

I find to keep myself from getting overwhelmed with all the choices, I stick with one color. Then, I know that everything I pick will go together. I also aim for a variety of textures. Some fluffy grasses, some leaves with a frosty look to them, some flowers with wide leaves, some with tiny leaves. And always a variety of heights. I like to have one vine plant to cascade over the front of the container as well.

This spring, Quinn choose blue as our theme. We have many blue and purple flowers, and even some non-flowering plants and grasses that the green is a bit on the blueish side, to add some variety. You can find flowers for your needs, shade vs sun, and what area of the country you live in using Southern Living's Plant Finder here.

What you'll learn from Carmen:
Not only will Carmen be in Dallas this Saturday at the Home Depot, you can see her in Tennessee and Georgia too, on a Celebrate Spring Southern Living Plants tour here. Carmen will give tips on different kinds of container gardens, like making a beautiful tablescape for your dining room, a quick and easy snip-n-clip bouquet, and simple ways to decorate front and back porches.

Follow Southern Living Plants on twitter here. Follow Home Depot on twitter here.

Find more free Events here.

Subscribe to Mommy's Wish List so you don't miss a way to make your life more beautiful.

Mommy's Wish List Disclosure: I was invited to attend Southern Living Plant's workshop and was compensated for my time to share it with you.

Family Handyman Magazine $5.28 for 1 year.

noreply@blogger.com (Lea Ann Stundins) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 15:02:00 +0000

This week on you can get the 1-year subscription to Family Handyman Magazine for the great price of $5.28. Use the code GETHANDY at check-out to make the price go down. Offer good while supplies last thru April 14th.

Want more magazine deals? You can see Best Deal Magazines Deal of the Day and find out even more great magazine subscription deals. AND, you can check out their Free Trade Publications section for free magazine subscriptions too.

My family's handyman Larry, and his handyman in training, Luka.

And if you choose to order this magazine thru this link, you'll be supporting this site at no additional cost to you. Thanks!

Find more great recent deals in Shopping Intelligence.

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Free Pinkberry Greek Yogurt.

noreply@blogger.com (Lea Ann Stundins) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 15:09:00 +0000

Get free Pinkberry Greek yogurt every Wednesday in April from 11am to 2pm. Details on their website here.

Sign up for their Pinkberry Groupies emails here.

Find your nearest Pinkberry here.

Find ALL the amazing Dine on a Dime deals here

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Michaels: 50% off art supplies coupon.

noreply@blogger.com (Lea Ann Stundins) — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 19:12:00 +0000

Luka and his DiCicco artwork in his first art show.

Head to Michael's with this coupon for 50% off one regularly priced item this week. They have everything you'd need to create a fantastic Kid's Art Project. This coupon is good thru Saturday April 13th.

And, if you're in Dallas, you can see artwork done by Luka and children of four Dallas ISD elementary schools in the Dia De Los Ninos art exhibit at the Oak Cliff Cultural Arts Center located at 223 W Jefferson Blvd in Oak Cliff Dallas, TX. The show will be up thru this Friday the 12th.

Recent Art Project Tutorials on Mommy's Wish List:
Crayon Cloisonne
Chagall's Circus Painting
I'll be posting a tutorial on creating a DiCicco style artwork either later this week or next. It's fun and easy, and uses foil to simulate his electronic screen style.

Or, use this coupon to help fill your favorite school art teachers supply wish list! And if you're the art teacher, remember that teachers always get 15% off at Michaels, see details on that program here.

Find out what other hot coupons I've blogged about here.

Subscribe to Mommy's Wish List so you don't miss a deal on artsy craftsy expensivey stuff.

Williams-Sonoma: free cooking and technique classes.

noreply@blogger.com (Lea Ann Stundins) — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 14:17:00 +0000

Visit your local Williams-Sonoma store and enjoy FREE Cooking Demonstrations and Techniques classes thru the end of April. This month they're featuring Spring Desserts, Pan Roasting, Earth Day Recipes, and how to use your VitaMix. Go here for the demonstration and technique current calendars of events, and you'll have to contact your local Williams-Sonoma store for confirmed times, as they vary from store to store. All you need to do is RSVP to be sure and save your spot.

What can you learn about and taste this month for FREE?
1. Pan Roasting: Sunday April 14
2. Earth Day in the Kitchen: Sunday April 21
3. VitaMix: Sunday April 28

Demonstrations
At select Williams-Sonoma stores, regularly scheduled demonstrations focus on seasonal foods and entertaining. (There is one almost every day!) All are led by culinary experts and offered at no charge. At my store, there's a chalkboard out front listing all the upcoming in-store demos.

Technique Classes
Williams-Sonoma offers hour-long technique classes at your local Williams-Sonoma store. Presented free of charge, each class is dedicated to a specific topic led by one of their culinary experts. Class size is limited, so be sure to reserve your space today. When you participate in a technique class, you'll receive a 10% off coupon to use in the store that day.

Artisan Markets
On different Saturdays, Williams-Sonoma will feature artisanal products with tastings and experiences in store, see the schedule for your store here.

Find more free Events here.

Subscribe to Mommy's Wish List so you don't miss the good eats.

Ellen's Southern Kitchen: my new favorite Sunday breakfast.

noreply@blogger.com (Lea Ann Stundins) — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 17:52:00 +0000

Ellen's Poached Eggs & Cheese Grits

This morning we went to Ellen's Southern Kitchen in the West End of Dallas for breakfast. We always have the hardest time finding places to eat breakfast on a Sunday morning, because we seem to eat breakfast early, like around 8am. And the rest of Dallas likes to eat brunch, and so most nicer breakfast restaurants don't open until 11am.

We'd eat brunch too, but for the small person that gets up at 6am every day. If I get to sleep until 6:30, I consider that late sleeping.

Ellen's opens at 7:30am. Every day. We got there at 8:30.

On top of that desirable time-slot, my husband bought a Groupon so our first visit there would cost less. We like to use Groupons and other daily deals to try new restaurants for the first time. And when you show up to eat really early in the morning, you get the restaurant to yourself. We like that too.

Inside, Ellen's feels like a country club's restaurant, or a place you'd eat in the French Quarter of New Orleans. It was welcoming and warm, and not pretentious at all. And there's a full bar, so have at it with the Mimosas and Bloody Mary's for breakfast, y'all.

Not only is Ellen's beautiful inside, it's kid-friendly.

Ellen's Food is hearty, rich, and very Southern:
Grits rule. That's the tagline on the Ellen's Southern Kitchen menu, and they're not kidding. They like cheese grits so much, you can get them all day long, not just for breakfast. Look for lots of bacon, greens, cheese, and butter. My husband fell in love with the Eggs on Chili.

Luka was dazzled by the fancy hot chocolate they made for him. And he ordered "just one big pancake" which was not a menu item specifically, and they were happy to accommodate his request. Many of the breakfast entrees let kids order the "Kid's Portion" version of the adult favorite.

Ellen's is located at 1718 N Market Street (corner of Market and Corbin, across the street from TGIFridays) in the West End in Dallas. You can park on the street at a parking meter in front of TGIFriday's, which are now pay-by-credit-card swipe meters instead of accepting coins. At 8:00 in the morning on a Sunday, you'll have your choice of spots, it's a ghost town down there. Although open at 7:30am, Ellen's will start filling in around 9:30am.

Our biggest surprise? It costs no more to eat at Ellen's for our family, than it does to eat at Denny's or IHOP. The food is great, AND you get a lovely, relaxing ambiance that a chain restaurant with booths just can't deliver.

Find ALL the amazing Dine on a Dime restaurants I've written about here.

Subscribe to Mommy's Wish List so you don't miss breakfast.

Sage Mushroom Breakfast Bake.

noreply@blogger.com (Lea Ann Stundins) — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 14:06:00 +0000

Sage Mushroom Breakfast Bake.

We started Easter Sunday with this delicious brunch casserole. Using the insides of the eggs we made Cascarones with, (plus a few more goodies) we concocted a giant breakfast dish that the Stundins family usually calls "Big Dog" when we have our holiday get-togethers.

I don't know if that's because they all eat it like big dogs, or it's a big dog of a dish, or it's named after all the big dogs that everyone brings to the Stundins family reunions. (You know, the ones we try to keep from eating the Big Dog. And I'm talkin' to you Hercules, Pearl, Duke, Tilia, et al)

But it's really, really good. Especially if you live in Des Moines and can get Taco John's Potato Oles to layer on top of it. But we can't get those here in Texas. *sigh* So I've modified it to items that I had readily in my pantry, freezer, refrigerator, and garden.

In this recipe I used Eggland's Best Eggs for two reasons: they sent me some to try and I'm up for a good recipe challenge, and it is again another attempt to hide more nutrition in the food I'm cooking. Did you know that compared to regular eggs, Eggland's Best Eggs have 10 times more vitamin E, double omega-3’s, twice the vitamin D, 3 times more B12, 25% less saturated fat, and 38% more lutein. That's worth an extra dollar or two, right?

This casserole is SO BIG, we'll be having it for breakfast all week. And I was so excited to be able to use some fresh Sage which we just harvested out of our herb garden yesterday.

You find this and other recipes that I like to call "Gold Plated" on my Gold Plated pinterest board here. This is my board of random solid gold deliciousness.

Sage Mushroom Breakfast Bake (Makes enough for 8 HUGE servings)
Ingredients:
1 roll of breakfast sausage (I like the kind with sage flavor)
1 dozen eggs + 4 more (I used Eggland's Best Eggs)
1/4 cup milk
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup of shredded monterey jack cheese
1 can of Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/4 teaspoon powdered sage (or cup up a handful of fresh sage leaves)
1/4 teaspoon powdered thyme
1 bag of frozen hash brown shredded potatoes (thawed out)
1 stick of butter
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon Lawry's season salt
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 piece of bread, torn up in to little pieces
PAM (sprayed on your glass baking pan, size around 8 x 12)

Directions:
Cook sausage according to package directions in a skillet. Chop it up so it looks like ground meat. (I soak up the extra grease with paper towels after it's cooked.)

Preheat your oven. I sprayed the inside of my glass pan with Pam to prevent stuff sticking to the sides.

In a second skillet cook the hash browns with the stick of butter, onion salt, salt, and pepper, until they are golden and a little crispy.

Once the sausage is cooked, dump in the mushroom soup, thyme, and sage. Cook for another 5 minutes. While that's happening, tear up one piece of bread.

Layer the hashbrowns in the whole bottom of your glass pan, and then sprinkle the torn up bread on top of them.

Next, sprinkle your sausage and mushroom soup mixture on top of that, then your shredded cheddar on top of that.

Then whip all 16 eggs together with the milk, and pour it over the whole mixture. Top with the cup of shredded monterey jack cheese. Then, sprinkle the top of everything with the Lawry's seasoned salt.

Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Take the foil off and bake for another 15 minutes, so it browns a bit on top. We served ours with cut up cherry tomatoes on top, as you can see from the first picture.

I really think the cream of mushroom soup is what makes this taste different and better than other breakfast casseroles I've made. This is my own recipe, but you can find other tasty Eggland's Best Eggs recipes like Breakfast Burritos and Sunny Side Breakfast Pizza on their website here. Eggland's Best Eggs are available at your local grocery store. You can find them on Facebook here, and on twitter here.

Subscribe to Mommy's Wish List and see what other creative stuff my family eats like Spanikopita, Armadillo Potatoes, Crockpot BLTs and Macaroni & Cheese Cupcakes.

Mommy's Wish List Disclosure: Eggland's Best Eggs provided their product, information, and kitchen utensils to my family for recipe development and review.

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