CLEAN HOUSE Part 2

Ok - so it has been longer than 30 days.  I really shouldn't put a time frame on these types of things.  But here is an update to my daughter's messy room.  This part will be done in a 3 part series.

Big G Retro GiveAway #MyBlogSpark

Don't you just love everyday items that get repackaged in retro packaging?  Well I do!  In my mind I would love to display it. It is beautiful and colorful.  So I was super excited when I heard that the Big G Cereals was bringing back their retro packaging to 5 of their cereals.



These are all available in Target.  I had so much fun with my daughter trying to spot the boxes.  How cute is that Cinnamon Toast Crunch box??  What gave it away was the "Save $5" coupon picture right on the front of the box.  

To help celebrate the event, Big G has team up with Hasbro®, offering a $5 coupon on Clue® Vintage, Scrabble® Vintage, Parcheesi® Vintage or Risk® Vintage board games at Target!  This is a huge savings and a great way to add games to your family game night collection.    So head to Target and use this $1 off 2 General Mills cereals to pick up some retro Big G Cereal and then use your $5 coupon to snag yourself a vintage game!

Or be one lucky Living Changerously reader and you can win:

• 2 boxes of participating Big G Retro cereal
• $10 Target gift card
• 1 Hasbro Parcheesi® Deluxe Vintage board game 

Disclosure: The prize pack, information, and giveaway have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark.  All Opinions are completely my own.

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Clean House (my first Vlog)

Here is my first attempt at a Vlog post and the first in a series called 30 days to a clean house.

Safe Haven Movie Review

At the end of January I was invited to both attend a pre-screening for the movie Safe Haven, opening nationwide on Valentine's Day, and to interview Nicholas Sparks (author of  bestsellers such as The Notebook, The Lucky One and Dear John), Josh Duhamel and Julianne Hough.

I have previously enjoyed Nicholas Spark's previous movie adaptations so I was excited to see Safe Haven.  Who doesn't like a good romance, right?   I hadn't read the book before seeing the movie so I assumed it was similar to the other Spark's movies. Much to my pleasant surprise, it was more than a romance it was a romance and a thriller all in one.  A perfect combination, in my humble opinion.

Me and my friend, as well as most of the theatre, jumped out of our seat at several parts. The casting was phenomenal from the amazing chemistry between Josh and Julianne to the super scary performance of David Lyons (Revolution).  Personally I enjoyed the twist at the end (you have to see it for your self) and didn't see it coming!  And I really loved the relationship between Julianne's character, Kate, and Josh's daughter in the movie, Lexi.  Plus the actress who played Lexi, Mimi Kirkland, really made you laugh and cry.

L to R: Nicholas Sparks, me, Josh Duhamel, Julianne Hough

The next day I was invited to meet and interview Josh Duhamel, Julianne Hough and Nicholas Sparks during their press junket in the Twin Cities.  I was joined by four other local bloggers and we all got to ask the trio about the movie, acting and a tiny but of personal stuff.

I asked two questions and the others got to ask either one or two additional questions each.  Here are just some of the questions we got to ask:

"How do you dig deeper into a character, How do you go beyond what Nicholas wrote in the page?"

Julianne:  I went and visited some female shelters and some therapists I actually know and personal experiences and friends experiences, people that I talk to.

Josh: For me, I wanted to get inside of the head of a guy trying to raise two kids on his own and what it's like to loose a loved one and having to raise kids.  I spoke to my therapist and couple of other people who have dealt with stuff like this.  A friend of mine....I actually was apprehensive to ask him to come [to the screening] because his wife just died of cancer like a month and a half ago and he has two twin boys and he is going through what this character was and I just talked to him, how are you?  How are you dealing with all of this and all that stuff is important to me because for the kids, I wanted to have a real specific relationship with them because to me my relationship with the kids are just as important as my relationship with her [Kate].  And I had 2 weeks before the shooting just sitting on the beach in North Carolina writing, reading and boogie boarding just thinking about it and absorbing this little town that we were in and getting to really live this character before we even started shooting it.

"How is being in movies and entertainment, in the industry, changed from your original expectations from before you got in?
Josh: It's not nearly as glamorous as it seems. It is a lot harder work than I think people realize. You know, the movie making and everything is nothing. It's this, it's the interviews. That was a joke. It's not as glamorous as it seems, but at the same time there is something, you know,  I always wanted a kind of outlet - creatively because that was the only thing I was ever good at, whether it was writing, or drawing, or anything art related. If it involved crunching numbers, I couldn't do it.  But, I never knew what this would bring and I think you have expectations, you dream about what it will be. Nobody leaves this business without being very humbled and I've had a lot of humbling experiences in this business too. It's easy to fall into certain traps and you learn as you go that at the end of the day it's just about, its literally the reason I love it is because I get to be creative. Other than that, my life hasn't really changed that much. After coming full circle, you first think it's going to be premieres but at the end of the day you its like you said, you just literally find someone you love and do what anyone else does and live a regular life.  I just love doing it.  Does that make sense?...

Julianne: I don't know. The one thing that I've just always wanted to be is an entertainer in general, be an actress, a dancer, a singer. And You think it is glamorous, you think you go to the parties and the premieres and everything. I remember somebody telling me you are going , you will get to that point where it noe becomes work and I was like, "that's not true, this is incredible."  And its true and now it's like, I love doing the actual creative process, but sometimes the life that comes with it does become work and you just want to go home and play with your dogs and cook and do those things. So, having to be constantly on and happy, like everybody has a rough day. That's a little different. But, not to say that I don't love being on and being around people, I do love that, I do love that.  Its now to everybody's not mysterious in the entertainment world, every body's so accessible, its almost like to keep up you gotta be accessible and there is alot more that comes with that.  That's more of a serious side, but I do love what I do and it's so worth everything.

Josh: I wonder if there's too much accessibility with all the Twitter and stuff? I'm constantly going back and forth. Like because I have a Twitter account. You wonder...

Julianne: If you take it out though, you're not keeping up.

Josh: There's a fine line between staying in the game and becoming overly accessible and becaue part of what  - people aren't going to be hungry for it if they get everything they want.  So you have to maintain some air of mystery but you still have to be accessible

"Julianne, towards the end, those sceens were very scary. Was that hard to play?  How did you prep for that?"

Julianne: I don't want to say that it wasn't hard to play, but it was really fun because I'm a very active, athletic person so to do these fight scenes was so much fun for me. It's like choreography for dancing. You have your certain routine, your fight routine, plus David  is probably like on of my closest and best friends now because of the movie so there was a safety there with him. We'd be laughing at like hysterically between takes and get it going again. Yea, so I enjoyed it. But then in it, the athleticism part I enjoyed  but being in it, it's a hard thing to experience and go through.  I very fortunate that I liked the guy and he liked me. We also had a great director -where you could be vulnerable and not exposed. It was good. yeah

"Are you as romantic in real life as you are in the books that you write?"

Nicholas: Yes, sure, try to be. My wife likes romantic things. "Happy wife, happy life", those rules. You do those things.

Safe Haven opens in theatres on Valentines Day!

**DISCLOSURE: This post is not sponsored.  All opinions expressed in this post of the movie are my own and the interview was transcribed by myself based on the questions asked and answers given.**

GUAC BOWL 2013

It all began so innocently.  I conversation at a party during BlogHer'12.  Me and Wholly Guacamole's Head Guac Squad Squawker.  I told her I love Wholly Guacamole but my husband prefers to make his own.  We then started thinking wouldn't it be fun to do a taste test - Wholly Guacamole vs. my husband.  Then it got serious.  The head Squawker became serious and thought it would be a fabulous idea. 

A few months go by and I don't hear anything but one day, out of the blue, Head Squawker emails asking if I was still up for it - oh yeah I was.

But when would be the best time to have this little taste test? During the Super Bowl - of course.  Thus the Guac Bowl was born.

Wholly Guacamole sent me a cooler full of their amazing guacamoles, salsas and avocados.  For the taste test, I used the Home style and Spicy varieties of the guacamole.  Hubby also made a regular and spicy variety.

Wholly Guacamole Home style is in bowl A and Spicy in bowl B.  Hubby's are regular in bowl C and Spicy in bowl D

So we did a blind taste test.  What was good is that they all looked about the same.  And our guests really enjoyed tasting all the different flavors.

 

So here are the results:

MILD

Wholly Guacamole  = 2 votes

Hubby's = 4 votes

SPICY

Wholly Guacamole = 1 vote

Hubby's = 5 votes

One factor that I didn't think about that actually played a role was temperature of the guacamoles.  The Wholly Guacamole was cold.  It was in the refrigerator right up until tasting where Hubby's was made right before and at room temperature.

Some of the other comments were that Wholly Guacamole's Home style was very creamy and smooth which was appealing to some while others preferred the chunkier texture of Hubby's.

Wholly Guacamole's Spicy was very spicy and one commented that it was "almost over the top".

It was agreed by everyone that Wholly Guacamole's guacamole is perfect when you don't have time or desire to make your own.  That is tasted great but in the end they preferred the homemade guacs because all the flavors came through.

** Disclaimer: Wholly Guacamole products were provided to me by Wholly Guacamole.  All opinions expressed in this post are completely my own.**

Del Monte Southwestern Tomato Kick-Off & GIVEAWAY

Del Monte has introduced two new Southwestern-style Petite Cut Diced Tomato varieties and I was so excited to try them both.

First I used the Petite Cut Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies in a Roasted Vegetable Soup.  This is the easiest soup you will ever make and it is so delicious. It is also so versatile - you can really use most any vegetable you like in it.

Roasted Vegetable Soup

1-2 Bell Peppers quartered I used both green and red)

1 red onion cut up

1 Can Del Monte Petite Cut Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies

5 cloves garlic

3 Roma Tomatoes Halved

2 Carrots chopped

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Put all of the vegetables in a large bowl and drizzle olive oil over the vegetable and toss to coat.

Place all of the vegetables on a lined baking sheet (I line mine with a Silpat.)

Sprinkle with salt and pepper

Bake at 400 until all the vegetables are soft and nice and roasted.

Put all the vegetables back in the large bowl and using an immersion blender - blend all the vegetables to your desired consistency (I like mine with a very small chunk - basically a step above smooth)

Serve immediately.  You can garnish with slices of Avocado or a dollop of sour cream.

Optional: Add in Thyme, oregano,  basil or red pepper flakes.

This also makes a great tomato sauce.

My whole family loved it.  I especially loved it because I was able to use up a lot of vegetables that I needed to before I couldn't use them anymore.  I also loved this recipe because I didn't have to use all fresh tomatoes because in the winter they just don't taste as good and Del Monte Canned tomatoes (plus their fruits and vegetables) contain the same essential nutrients as fresh.

I plan on using the Petite Cut with Chipolte Chilies this weekend for one of my Super Bowl Snacks.  I want to try making a Frittata / quiche cup.  Basically taking eggs, cheese, the Del Monte tomatoes, garlic and some bacon and putting it into muffin tins and baking.  I thought it would be a great game day snack.

For some additional inspiration on recipes and game day snacks, check out Del Monte on Pinterest.
But wait - they are also having a sweepstakes that I know I am entering!

Here is how to get started:


• Follow the Del Monte Brand on Pinterest

• Create a Pinterest board named “Del Monte Southwestern Tomato Kick-Off”

• Pin at least two (2) Del Monte Tomato Recipes from the “Del Monte Southwestern Tomato Kick-Off” Pinterest board and at least two (2) football entertaining ideas

• Register your Pinterest board to the Del Monte page from January 21st through February 15th to be entered into the Del Monte® Southwestern Tomato Kick-Off Sweepstakes program

• Get ready for a chance to win one of the many prizes available, including an ultimate entertainment package with a Sony® 55” LED TV, Bose® home theater system and Sony® Blu-ray player (ARV $4,779.00 USD).

Now for the GIVEAWAY.  Del Monte is offering one Living Changerously reader a gift pack that will contain:
• (1) Del Monte® Petite Cut® Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies


• (1) Del Monte® Petite Cut® Diced Tomatoes with Chipotle Chilies

• $25 Visa gift card

How can you win?


  a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Disclaimer:The Del Monte products, information and two gift packs have been provided by Del Monte.  The recipe and opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Product Review: Paper Culture Invitations

I love planning parties.  If I could do it for a living I would.  It would be my dream.  But it is not meant to be for me (at least not at this point in my life).  So when I have he chance to plan a party, like for my kids birthdays I get giddy.  I try not to go overboard.  I really do. But I do like to have unique parties and ones that haven't been done before - at least not in my child's circle.  I love every detail, from planning the location and activity of the event to the invitations to the cake / cupcakes to the favors.

This year for my daughter's birthday I didn't go with your standard 8 pack of invites.  I used Paper Culture's website and designed my own invitation using one of their many designs.

This is what I chose.  The theme for the party was a pretend sleep-over (that is where the little girls come in their pajamas and do everything you would do at a sleep over  - except actually sleep over - genius - right??)  I loved the ice cream and the little kids at the bottom.  And I was able to put all the party details on the front and information about the logistics of the party on the back.  That was my single favorite feature.  Otherwise I would have had to either hand write it all on a standard invite or insert a printed note.  Not very nice.

The Paper Culture website was extremely easy to use.   You just choose the type of card you want from the different categories: Holiday, Baby Shower, Baby Announcement, Birthdays, Events... and then you pick your design.  Once that is chosen  - you click personalize and fill in your information.  It really couldn't be any easier. 

When you get your cards, you will notice that the card itself is printed on really nice, heavy paper.  Looking on the back it states that is "100% Post Consumer Recycled Paper / Every Order Plants a Tree".  How cool is that?

If you are looking for some other unique gifts or products - Last year I ordered Paper Culture's Bamboo Wall Art.  I had one of our family pictures printed on the Bamboo wood.  It came out fantastic and is so unique.  The quality is incredible and it has become a great conversation piece in our home. 

*Disclaimer: The invitations were provided to me by Paper Culture.  All opinions expressed are completely my own.