BFF's

Friends are special, you all know that.  My friends are no different.  I'm so lucky to have four best friends.  It all began in college - you know, where most great stories begin.

I was moving in to my dorm on a Saturday morning when a girl, draped in a grey blanket, came stumbling in to my room.  "Please tell me you have some Tylenol", she said.  She was clearly feeling the night before and I was her only chance at feeling better.  Luckily, I did have some, and we were instantly best friends.

A few weeks later, while at a party, I hurt my knee and had to wear my leg in a brace for 6 weeks. (I'm seeing a trend here - after all, University of Iowa was named one of top party schools.  No shame here).  I no longer could hop up in to my loft bed.  Katie remembered "the girl down the hall" had a ladder, and maybe I could ask to borrow it.  Hobbling in to Lindsay's room was the beginning of our incredible friendship.

Diane and Katie went to high school together, and although she didn't live in our dorm, we saw her a lot.  She and I ended up being roommates for the remainder of college.  All of my college memories include her, and all of them are great stories for another day!

Cara, the "baby" of our group, is two years younger so we didn't meet her until we were Juniors.  She pledged Katie's sorority and instantly became a part of "us".

We are all very fortunate to live in the Chicago area.  We get together monthly for Dinner Club - where we eat, drink, reminisce and talk about life.  Between us we have 30 years of marriage and 8 kids.  We've been together for 14 years.  I wouldn't know what to do without them and am so incredibly grateful to have each in my life.

Today I am linking up with Emily from Ember Grey for Grateful Heart Monday.  What are you grateful for today?

Subscription Sunday - Love with Food

By now, it should come as no surprise that I love subscription boxes.  With two littles, I don't often have time to go shopping - so the fact that these little boxes full of surprises show up on my doorstep makes me happier than opening a new bottle of wine.  (Ok, maybe wine makes me happier some days!)

I went on a subscription box binge last month, googling different options.  I had clothing, makeup and treats covered but wanted something for snacks and other foods.  Along came Love with Food.  Not only do you get a box of organic or all natural snacks every month for $10, but for every box sold they donate a meal to book banks such as Feeding America Network.  It's the Toms of food!

 

 

One Potato Two Potato: Sweet Potato Flavor.  Loved these!  Sweet, not too salty, and my favorite part - still crunchy without feeling and tasting greasy/oily.  There are other flavors, I'm excited to try those too.

 

Tarallino Snacks: These were good - not heavy, tasted like a breadstick.  E stole most of these, so I was only able to taste a few!

 

J&M Foods - Key Lime Cookies: I love key lime.  Really really love.  These cookies did not disappoint!  Light but full of flavor.

 

Le Caramel - Sea Salt Caramels: I normally don't like adding salty to my sweet, but these were not overwhelming.  A tasty little treat.

 

Thoughtful Food Granola: I ate this plain, although I think it was meant to be more like a cereal.  Great flavor - even though I don't normally like raisins.

 

Revolution Tea: I'm not a big hot tea fan.  Ok, not a fan at all.  I'll probably give these to someone who does like it.

 

Organic Flavrz: Water enhancer - it was so good and tasty!  I was worried it would be sweet tasting, but it's not overwhelming.  Another product I will be looking for.

 

The Spice Lab: Hickory Smoked and Italian Black Truffle salts.  To be honest, I'm not sure what to do with these.  I sometimes cook, but follow recipes closely so I don't know when I would use these.  Ideas?

 

Overall, I was pleased with my first Love with Food box and can't wait for the next one.  What boxes do you subscribe to?  Tell me what I'm missing out on!

 

*Clicking the links will take you to my referral page.  If you decide to subscribe, I will get referral points. Thank you :)

Friday Favorites - Blog Posts

Happy Friday Everyone!  We made it.  Today I am sharing you with my favorite posts from other bloggers this week.  Every day my Bloglovin' feed is full of great content.  Here are just a few of this weeks' faves:

1.  "28 Things No 20 Something Wants to Hear" by Taylor The Daily Tay.  I mostly liked this post because I was there not so long ago, and remember thinking the exact same things.  The best part?  I'm past (most) of these!  Reading this list made me laugh - and picture the person who said the exact same thing to me.

2.  "Grateful Heart Monday" by Emily at Ember Grey.  Emily wrote a beautiful message about kindness, a tribute to her grandfather.  Also read The Road to Saying Goodbye, about her grandfather.  This was so beautifully written that I had to stop and dry my eyes more than a few times.

3.  "Every Now and Then" by Anne at Love the Here and Now.  Anne reminds us that sometimes, "more is more", and to really enjoy the moments with loved ones.  Plus, she always has a great quote for her posts, and this one did not disappoint.

4.  "Chicken Finger..." by Elisabeth at My Cup of Sparkle.  Want to read about a horrible first date?  Here it is!  This post seriously had me cracking up, but also feeling bad for Elisabeth at the same time, what a charmer!

5.  "Couponing for Dummies" by Amanda at Notes from a Newlywed.  I love saving money and Amanda's tips were spot on!  I've been on the Target kick for awhile now, but learned a few new tricks that I've already started using - like Ibotta and online survey sites that reward you!

I'm linking up with Amanda at Meet at the Barre for Friday Favorites.  Have an awesome weekend everyone!

Mean Girls

I wish I were talking about Lindsay Lohan's best movie.  But unfortunately, I am talking about real life mean girls.

via Google Images

Picture this - The girls and I were at a park last week with two of my friends and their children.  E was running around, going down the slides, just being a kid.  Two girls showed up that were probably about 5-6 years old (E is 4).  She began trying to get their attention, playing near them, asking what their names were.  I was so proud of her for going out of her way to play with other girls - she is usually so shy around new people!  So I went back to talking to my friends. 

When I looked back over, maybe one minute later, I see E laying on her stomach with her head down and her hands over her head.  I then see one of the girls keep getting close to her, whispering something in her ear.  Then the two girls would laugh and run away.  This happened about five times - the whole time I was straining to hear what was being said.  When it didn't stop, I casually walked over to ask what they were playing.  (Still trying to look on the bright side, maybe it was a game?!)  When I walked up, I heard the girl say "You are dog poo!"  To my daughter, who is four!!

It took everything in my power to not scream at these girls and scoop up E in to the safety of my arms.  I calmly said "Well that's not very nice, is it?" and asked E if she wanted to play with my daughter's friend, after which she got up and obliged.  Meanwhile, the girls' nannies were sitting on a bench chatting, oblivious to what was happening.

Sadly, it gets worse.  The one girl (clearly the instigator) came up to E ten-ish minutes later and spat on her.  I could hardly believe it!  I lost it.  I sternly told the girls that they needed to be nice and it was not appropriate to treat others that way.  It broke my heart. 

Is this really what is happening in our world?  Five year olds being outright mean to other girls?  I know that bullying happens, but I really wasn't prepared for it to happen this early.  How do I protect her?  How do I teach her that even if this happens, it has nothing to do with how special and loving she is?  And most importantly - for her never to recreate what she has experienced and treat others with kindness, always?

Today I am linking up with Anne from Love the Here and Now and her co-host, Kerri from hey Kerri for Wednesday Wishes.  Today, my wish is this:  For children to be kind to each other.  It seems so simple, but sadly is so complex.



via Google Images