Veteran's Day with Ritter Sport Chocolate!

This weekend I had a pretty cool opportunity to host a chocolate party! If you know me, you know there couldn't possibly be anything I'd love more than to have a night dedicated to trying out a bunch of chocolate. As it was also Veteran's Day, we got to use this as an opportunity to also think about all the men and women over the years who have served so selflessly, and to appreciate what their sacrifices have done to give us the lies we lead each day. When we think about it, literally every day of our lives is impacted by what our veterans have worked for, and continue working for still. The fact that we have so many freedoms, and the choice to do what we want with our lives, would not be possible otherwise. I, like most people, have many people in my family line who have served in various capacities, and I love the chance to specifically honor them and set aside a day to fully appreciate them each year. This year I actually managed to both find AND remember to wear my poppy! Most American's don't understand the significance of the poppy, so I love the chance to explain when others see me wearing it and ask about it. The poppy is a common symbol of reverence to commemorate veterans, usually in Britain/Canada, in reference to the poem "In Flanders Fields". The poem was written by a Canadian doctor after seeing tons of the beautiful red flowers growing out of the wreckage in the battle fields of WWI. They are very popular in Canada and we always wore them for Veteran's Day (or as we call it, Remembrance Day). It is a beautiful reminder of the delicacy of human life, and those who lost theirs so that we might enjoy ours.

So, thanks to a generous opportunity from #Tryazon and #RitterSportChocolate, I was given (a LOT) of free samples in order to host a fantastic gathering. The most fun bit was putting on our "fancy people" personas to conduct a blind taste test of their different varieties! Honestly, most of us didn't do so hot when left completely to our own devices, we got a little closer when we allowed ourselves to sift through the flavors on the table and use those to pick out some options. I don't think any of us had ever even tasted Marzipan before! But it was super fun, even for those who were way off with our guesses! Overwhelming consensus: strawberry creme was our favorite to try, and they were ALL delicious.

Unfortunately, the 2 servicemen I'd had in mind when applying to host this party, were unable to attend (I mean, one of them is 80-something years old and always going off on his little projects to the deer lease without telling anyone, so I shouldn't have been surprised!), but we still enjoyed the chance to reflect on how much all their service has impacted our daily lives. It was fun to take a bunch of the mini squares samples and create little signs as a "shout-out" to their hard work, and the kids got involved by coloring their own signs - pictures thanking all the veterans.

It was a fun afternoon for us to get together with some family, and to try some really yummy chocolate. I've seen Ritter Sport chocolate many times in the grocery store, but I never realized how quality the product actually is and how delicious the (many) varieties are! I mean cornflakes in chocolate sounds odd, but it was actually sooo good! Everybody got to take lots of chocolate home, and I'll definitely be buying more for myself in the future.

The spread!

This "rally sign" was our attempt to honor the many veterans who go on to serve in the police force afterwards. Thought we unfortunately didn't have any white "minis", we wanted to represent both the American Flag, and the Blue Line that indicates support for our Police forces!

These displays are our re-creation of the Medal of Honor. The left has some dark-wrappered "minis" to try and bring out the colors of the medal, but I don't know which is better...hmm.

The Famous poppy, along with the phrase "Lest We Forget" (again, used more in Britain/Canada), reminding us to be ever-conscious of what others gave for us.

Kind of hard to tell, but this one was supposed to be dog tags!

Tank, Airplane (Fighter? Bomber? Scout? Who knows..), & Submarine

My Poppy ♡

Rituals Try-a-Box

Okay, if you know me at all, you know I am NOT high-maintenance. Like, at all. When it comes to beauty, fashion, whatever, I'm pretty low-key. And I basically never indulge myself with 'luxury' items like fancy soaps or whatever - they just seem so overpriced for something that does the same job as whatever I got on sale at Walmart!

Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't like to be pampered, or have nice stuff. It's just usually so low on my list of priorities, that those little niceties usually get lost along the way. (For example, shaving. I LOVE the way my legs feel right after, but let's be honest.... wait, let's not be too honest here. You don't wanna know how infrequently I really do shave. ;) Suffice it to say, I save a lot of money on razors every year!)

Back to the topic at hand! I, like any girl, like a chance to feel fancy or pampered every once in a while, so I was super pumped when I got a chance from Tryazon to try a new line of skincare products for free!! They sent me a gift set from Rituals, which makes a bunch of different products - from candles, to makeup, to 'soulwear' (what I would classify as comfy Saturday clothes!). You can check out all their stuff here: www.rituals.com

The company aims to produce luxury products, without those high-end prices. A lot of the products on the site I still wouldn't pay those prices for (because I am ridiculously cheap!) but the price for the gift set I got is actually extremely reasonable - only $28! It contains smaller-sized bottles of 4 products in their new 'Rituals of Sakura' line. There is a foaming shower gel, shower oil, body scrub, and body cream.

Rituals of Sakura is focused on appreciating more of the little moments in each day, and taking time to slow down and focus on small luxuries - like a nice, foaming body wash in a hot shower! All of the products have a super nice, not-too-powerful cherry blossom scent (it smells amazing) and they really all do feel like luxury products. It was definitely nicer than whatever things I've been used to using. I have really enjoyed trying all the products out. My favorite is definitely the body scrub - I've been using it all over for a gentle exfoliation, followed up with the body cream. I do prefer lotions, as cream is kind of too thick for me, but it is still a really nice product. The shower gel lathers up really nicely and makes my skin smell nice and clean! (Who doesn't love the smell of cherry blossoms?!) Finally the shower oil - I do find it has an odd color; it looks a bit like olive oil. But it's nice in the shower and doesn't leave any residue or make my skin feel sticky afterwards.

Bottom line: my only real complaint about the products has been that the gift-sized bottles have really, REALLY small printing on the labels and they are super hard to read!! But other than that I'm loving my little luxurious moments in the shower (it helps me forget about the 2 screaming kids at my feet, anyway). @ritualsusa #ritualsusa #shareyourslowdown #tryazon

Looks fancy!!

Gotta get those soles ready for summer!!

No plastic scrub beads - yay environment!

S'mores Party!!

I got another chance to try out some new products from Tryazon! Although we had some people cancel at the last-minute with some other crazy things going on this weekend, we were able to still have a fun time with those of us who came. Plus this was so easy and fun, we might have to have another party with those who didn't make it!

I was so happy when I got the e-mail saying they'd chosen me to be a party host for this, because I was super excited about this baby-sized, indoor s'mores maker! They sent me a free new one to try out (as well as a second to give away at the party!). Don't tell me that Dan and I are the only ones who've used their gas stove to make s'mores when a random craving hits....?! I know you've done it! Sterno's new S'mores Maker Jr to the rescue!! I'm super lazy, but this thing really couldn't have been easier. It literally took less than 1 minute to set up and light, then we were ready to start roasting! I don't know what the stuff inside the can is, but I just put a match to it, and it lit up immediately and was a fantastic little heat source. (Good thing for the safety screen as well, because we had a couple fascinated toddlers who might have gotten some nasty burns otherwise!!).

Then it was time for S'mores! This product comes with 2 little roasting sticks that can actually be taken back apart once your done, to store nicely in the box (rather than just being a permanent set-up that you then have to store the sticks someone else - AKA lose!). I do wish it came with more than 2 though. If it's just you and hubby having a late-night snack that's fine, but if you've got friends/kids joining, you're going to have to use plain skewers or something (maybe a fork, like Dan and I did back in our dating days. 🍴Ya work with what ya got, am I right?). For this party, I actually opened up the other box to use the 2 that came in there, and we all just shared those 4. It was fine, but I'd definitely love to have at least 4 in the package. So, along with the S'mores maker, Tryazon also sent us some free marshmallows from a company called "Plush Puffs". Apparently these are not really new, but I had never heard of them. They are gourmet, hand-made marshmallows that come in a bunch of fun flavors. I have to say I was a little less-than-impressed when I opened them up. I was super excited when I was reading about them, but the actual product didn't *quite* deliver in my opinion.
          *Pro: true to the claims, they ARE super soft. And they are super delicious. I got the Caramel Swirl and Vanilla Bean flavors in my party pack, and both were tasty. I really really liked the Vanilla.
          *Con: The softness meant they were also prone to stickiness, and a lot of mine were stuck together. Some I had to set aside for my kids to just eat because they were all mashed and wouldn't work for roasting. Speaking of roasting, these marshmallows are probably not your best bet. They did carmelize nicely, but they mostly just kind of melted and mine was falling apart and coming off my stick as I tried to put it on my s'more.
          *Bottom line: good flavors, probably best for use in other pan-type desserts where they'll be cooked in the oven and it's okay if they're super melty/don't hold together (like a regular marshmallow will do even after roasting). I probably wouldn't buy them on my own, but if I had a chance I'd love to try some other flavors.

All in all, it was a fun little event - the kiddos definitely loved being able to have a "fire" and cook marshmallows INSIDE. 😮And we got to try out different flavors, with different chocolates. Safe to say, after the long winter 'break' I've rekindled my love for the always-delicious S'more - just in time for summer! With how compact and easy this S'mores Maker Jr is, I'm either in a lot of trouble, or my life just got infinitely more awesome! 🍫🔥🐷

I'm back...?!

Hey Guys!

I logged onto here and holy crap - I haven't written a single post single Lexi's birth story! My second baby is now 1.5years old -- behind much?! Ah well. I'm back. Kinda. We'll see how things go. I just wanted to post quick about a fun night we just had at the Brumwell house - pizza party!

Say what? Maggie hosted a party? With actual people, at her house, that she had to talk to??? I know, I know, insane. But I got an opportunity through a group called Tryazon to check out some new products from a company called Sagaform (Scandinavian Lifestyle Design, I actually kinda love so many of the products I saw online!!) so why not?! A good chance for me to stretch my boundaries, no?

We invited a few families over, which means a ton of kids so it was a little chaotic. Eight adults and 11 kids under the age of 8/9! But it was a ton of fun. We set out a bunch of different toppings and pizza crusts, then had everyone go down the line and make their own pizza! The kids of course were all much more interested in just going crazy all being together, but it was fun for the adults to be creative and make something exactly for your tastes. And, we all got to sit around and chat while the kids completely entertained themselves  - it was almost like a night off! ;)

While browsing Kroger recently I even found some Italian soft drinks on sale that were a perfect companion to our little "Italian" theme. I also made some little trivia games for people to try winning prizes - some of the Sagaform products I received. That was fun and we learned that we really do not know much about herbs/spices! But it was a good time and everyone got to go home with a fun new kitchen utensil.

Check out my favorite of the goodies below! It's a fantastic little herb pot that has a hole on the side specifically for watering so that the plants can soak up water right from the bottom, which I guess helps them grow better than pouring on top! It's small, simple, cute... right up my alley!