The Lilac Linnet & Blogger Love v.26

Happy Friday friends!  Today, I'm very excited to share with you both my favorite posts from this week, and Llinos from The Lilac Linnet.  When I first "met" Llinos, I was really excited because she is from Wales - and my Dad's side of the family is (a teeny bit) Welsh.  I have always wanted to know more about that side of me and would love to take my Dad there someday.

Meet Llinos!

Where can we find you on a typical Saturday morning?

Don't look for me too early, because I'll be sleeping on!  But once I've had breakfast I will probably go out for a run and then come home to write a few blog posts or read my book for an hour.  My guinea pigs will be chatting away in the background while I enjoy my coffee.

What is your earliest memory?

I can remember being a toddler in the bath and screaming my head off while my parents desperately tried to clean me!  I have a deep rooted fear of water which still affects me today, but luckily bathtime is a lot less stressful these days.

Can you tell us a bit about the novel you are writing?
I would love to!  I have written 30,000 words of my first draft, and I am so excited.  My novel is about a young duchess who rules a magical land of mystery and mermaids.  She is mourning the death of her father and trying to become a strong leader, but she is haunted by her past and is facing marriage to a stranger.  Can she become the duchess that she was born to be?

You write about life in Wales - which most of your American readers probably haven't been.  What are some unique facts about Wales?

I love meeting American bloggers and readers and I recommend Wales as a destination!  Wales is a beautiful part of the UK, here are some facts:

-We have more castles per square mile than anywhere else in Europe.  

-We have a turbulent history and a wealth of legends including the stories of Arthur and his Knights. 

-We have our own language, and I speak it fluently.  

-Mount Everest is named after a Welshman, Sir George Everest.  

-There is a Welsh speaking community in Patagonia, Argentina.

Have you travelled to the US?  If so, where?  If not, where would you like to visit?

No I haven't!  That's why I enjoy reading US bloggers' blogs so much, it gives me a taste of the American life.  I love city breaks, so I would enjoy any of the famous cities; but I will say Washington DC because I'm a politics geek and I would love to see the Lincoln Memorial.

How do you pronounce your name, Llinos?

This is actually hard to explain... to make the 'll' sound, put your tongue to the back of your top teeth and blow.  Then 'inos' is pronounced 'eenos'.  'Llinos' is Welsh for linnet, hence my blog name. (How many of you tried this?  I don't think I'm saying it right...)

What is the best piece of blogging advice you have received?

It's definitely to write genuinely and authentically.  When you write a blog post which excites you, it's the best!

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This week I have quite a few favorite posts by others, so bear with me as they all deserve credit!  Let's get right to it...

"FitBit One Review" by A Diamond with Sapphires.  I have been wanting a FitBit, but honestly was a little overwhelmed with all of the options.  Ashlen did all of the research for me - including features of each model!

"Let's Save the Dogs" by The Daily Tay.  I love dogs.  I love helping dogs.  If I could rescue all of them, I would.  But I can't, so these shirts will help me do something.  20% of the proceeds goes back to help the puppies! Win/win.

"Top 10 Indoor Toddler Activities" by Wife, Mommy, Me.  It's winter.  And although I love winter, my children get a little restless.  Stephanie shares some great activities to do indoors.  Definitely using these soon!

"Ladylike" by Flowers in Your Hair.  Teaching my daughters how to polite doesn't mean that they need to lose their voice.  Nina's post spoke to me, especially since it is such a fine line.

"Blogging 101: Pocket" by Love the Here and Now.  I downloaded this app after Anne's post, and I love it!  I can easily go back and read all of the articles that I didn't have time for during the day.  

My co-host, Llinos and I would love to have you link up with us!  Just share at least one post by a blogger other than yourself, grab the button (here) and link up below!  Check out some of the other links to find new blogs!

An InLinkz Link-up

Nutella Oreo Cheesecake

Are any of you hungry just by seeing the title of this post?  I sort of want to apologize, because these little individual cheesecakes are so delicious, and so easy to make you will want to have them all of time! 

I'm all about individual servings, especially when having people over.  It just makes it easier for entertaining - prepare these beforehand, just pull them out of the fridge, and serve!

(Adapted from here)

Ingredients
2/3 c Nutella
2 tubs whipped topping (Cool-Whip or similar), 8 oz. each
1 tsp vanilla extract
12 Oreos, crushed
1/2 mini chocolate chips
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 package cream cheese, softened (8 oz.)
12-15 mini plastic cups (4-6 oz size)

Oops, you'll have Nutella and Oreos leftover.  Maybe that is done on purpose. (I'm sorry and you are welcome.)

In a bowl, mix together the crushed Oreos and melted butter.   Divide evenly between cups and press down.  The number of cups you use will vary on how thick you want the crust to be.

In a large bowl, using a mixer, combine the softened cream cheese, Nutella and vanilla extract until smooth.  Using a slower setting, add the whipped topping and mix until smooth.

Take the cream cheese mix and scoop it into a large ziploc bag.  (Take samples here, it's so delish!)

Cut a small corner section of the bag here, large enough so that you can squeeze it out. (about 1/2 inch up from the corner)  Begin filling your plastic cups, over the Oreo crust.  I used a circular motion, but any will do because next, use a spoon and smooth out the surface.

Add a scoop of whipped topping, and sprinkle with the chocolate chips.  Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

You could also use small glass cups if you have them, but I prefer the plastic so I can send extras home with my guests.  Apparently it's frowned upon to eat four of these in one day!

Enjoy!

A Day of Yes

source

 Back in July, I got an email inviting to pre-order tickets to Disney on Ice: Frozen.  E was (and still is) obsessed - isn't every child?  I purchased 10 tickets - my girlfriends and I were each going to take our oldest.  Time went by, I sort of forgot about it, then started seeing commercials and billboards all around Chicago for the upcoming show.  I hadn't told E about it yet, so I decided to make it a surprise.

On Friday, I gave her hints after she was convinced that the surprise was a balloon (if only I had known it would be so easy!) - "We are going somewhere!" and "Your friends will be there!".  I bought her the cutest little Anna and Elsa dress at Target, but didn't show her until we were about to leave.  At that point I also explained that we were going to see Frozen, with live characters.

She was so excited in the car, even though she didn't fully understand what we were doing.  The joy on her face once we got there is something I'll never forget.  She sat in her seat, staring at the ice in such amazement that it really made me take a step back and enjoy things through the eyes of a preschooler.  The best part was when she leaned over, cupped my face in her hands and said "Thanks for bringing me here, mommy!".  Pure bliss.

I decided to make the day all about us - mommy and daughter.  She wanted gummy bears, so I got her gummy bears.  I wanted a pretzel, so I got the pretzel.  While walking back to our seats from intermission, she saw the guy selling the ridiculously overpriced pieces of plastic Elsa wands and asked if she could have one.  I said yes.  Afterwards we went out to dinner and I didn't make her eat fruits or vegetables first.  You would think she had won the lottery!

The next day she couldn't stop talking about how she went to "Disney World" (again, if only I knew it was that easy!) or how she got to eat candy and hot dogs and not one vegetable, all while sharing her new wand with her little sister.  Although it has never happened before, and will be far and few between, our Day of Yes was exactly what we both needed.

I am so grateful for the time we spent together, I know that someday she will much more "important" things to do than to hang out with me, and although I like to think it's forever away, I know it isn't.  I wish all of you, whether you have littles or not, to just spend the day with someone that means everything to you, doing whatever comes your way.  Cherish your time together!

Although when she is grown, she might only remember "the really cool Elsa wand that lit up", I will forever remember watching her, watching Frozen on Ice.

Linking up with Emily for Grateful Heart Monday and Anne for Wednesday Wishes.

A Child of the 80's

Last week, I wrote about my favorite movies of the late 1980's.  Reminiscing about those led me to remembering the really amazing, sometimes questionable fashion choices I made when I was younger.  Granted, at that age most of my clothes and decisions on what to wear were inspired by my mother - but I always had an opinion on what we should be shopping for.  Just ask her, I remembering arguing at the mall about what we should buy for back to school when I was going into first grade!

Let's get right to it, list style.  (And don't judge me for my fashion sense during these decades, I know I wasn't alone!)

|| T-shirt ties.  Do you remember these?  A nice little way to tie up one side of your shirt.

||  Scrunchies.  The bigger, the better.  I had unruly hair that needed a beautiful piece of fabric to hold it together.  Which brings me to...

||  Permed Hair.  Three different times.  With bangs.  Be jealous.

||  Anything with NKOTB plastered all over it.  Shirts, socks, school supplies, sleeping bag, sheets.  Yes, sheets.  Joey was my first crush, afterall.

||  Reeboks.  Not just any Reeboks, but the puffy white high top ones.

||  Tight, I mean really tight jeans.  They were so tight that my sister had to help me get them off over my ankles.  I wish I was kidding.

||  Self-decorated Puffy Paint shirts.  Bonus points if they were made with a spinner.  Anyone else?

I could go on and on, but I think I've painted a pretty good picture of my fashion sense at ages 5-9 (with puffy paint).  I wish I lived closer to my parents so I could add amazing pictures to this post... but then again, maybe I'm thankful I don't!

Linking up with Amanda's List Yourself link up.