Month: October 2013

Halloween 2013: Light Em Up with #StrideRite

“I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Stride Rite. I received products to facilitate my review and thank me for my participation.”

Connor boy is going as Nemo for Halloween this year. We found the perfect shoes to match his Halloween costume from StrideRite.  They are bright orange and they light up, which he LOVES!  He can’t stop stomping his feet all around and watching the lights flicker on & off.  It’s going to be great on Halloween night when it gets dark outside.  Not only are they super cute and comfy, but we can keep track of him and cars can see him walking by as well (Hopefully he won’t be running out in the streets…but he’s a 3-year-old and sometimes he gets excited!)D7K_6403 Stride Rite shoes are getting in the Halloween spirit with fun themed shoes! They are offering themed shoes around some of the season’s hottest costumes like Spider-Man, Captain America, Star Wars, Disney Princess and Minnie Mouse, and with a breadth of brands including Stride Rite, Sperry Top-Sider, Keds, Saucony and Jessica Simpson, Stride Rite has the shoe to complement any costume.D7K_6411We chose the Stride Rite Racer Lights™ by Stride Rite Velocity.  They come in 3 different colors & feature new speed light sensor technology.  Connor requests to wear these to school and that says something right there because he’s very picky about shoes.  He told me the other day that is new shoes make him run faster on the playground!  Ha ha!  D7K_6417

Halloween is always a fun night out with the kids, but it’s important to stay safe as well! Stride Rite has shoes that incorporate today’s latest light up technology so they are visible at night as your child runs from house to house.  This is my favorite time of year and I can’t wait to take Connor trick-or-treating!  I’m just as excited about his new light up shoes as he is and I’m also loving that he’s going to be a little bit safer lighting up the streets as well 🙂

What I Love About Fall

Fall colors and trick or treating….D7K_6014Going to the grocery store and seeing all the pumpkins on display… IMAG0427 Boo at the Zoo…october-35 Decorating my chalkboard for fall (Note to self those chalkboard pens don’t erase!!! Use regular chalk!)082512-7Friends since the wonder years coming to visit for the night 🙂sfrgeg A new Jonathan Adler sticky dry erase board. Love the frame of this for quick notes and to-do’s.syr
Having a full schedule ahead of photoshoots…I’m so excited and overjoyed to be able to photograph such sweet families and create memories. I’ll update my photo blog soon. I need to work on that more instead of putting it on the back burner 😛

What do you love about fall?

Friday Fives

1.  We are certainly ready for the trick-or-treaters.  At least that’s what I tell myself was the reason to buy a gallon of candy a couple weeks before Halloween.  D7K_5895

2.  I made margarhita pizza the other night.  It was so good and so easy!  I used Pioneer Woman’s recipe for marinated tomatoes.  Premade pizza crust brushed with pesto sauce.  Yummy in my tummy!D7K_5899

3.  This kid was sent home from school yesterday.  He barfed all over the playground.  Of course I was only at work for 30 mins and got the call.  We spent the rest of the day watching cartoons and napping.  He has a mean gag reflex.  Like seriously he would gag on a grain of salt.D7K_5909

4.  Getting ready to send out my mugs for the fall mug swap! Yay!  A few people emailed me so I’m swapping with whoever….just because I love yuns.  And coffee.  And getting mail.

D7K_59135.  We watched scared Shrekless and some Christmas cartoons because we are totally random like that.  He is feeling much better, I totally believe it’s because Christmas can make anyone feel better 😉

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Happy Friday!

(Here’s hoping we make it through the day and don’t need a barf bag!)

Link up with Lauren & Darci 

Why do I Mess with Stuff?

Dang it!  I started messing with the editor in WordPress….trying to change something and royally screwed it up.  I can never leave well enough alone! Blah!

Sorry for the weird appearance.  If you know how to fix this stuff please holler at me 😛  beckylbranch@gmail.com

So we had a great trip to AR.  Most of the trip was spent at my Nannie and Papa’s farm.  Terence had the brilliant idea to camp and we did…only to be sabotaged by cow moo-ing at 1 am.  We couldn’t stand it anymore so we went in the house.  I know….we sure are party poopers huh?  Those cows are so loud you have no idea!

We had a great visit with Nannie and got to hear her teach Sunday school.  She’s just the best person you’ll ever meet!

Here are some pictures of the trip…..in the mean time I’m trying to get my groove back around here 😉

D7K_5570The boys and Nana

D7K_5638 D7K_5687 Lindsey’s pictures

The boys on the 4-wheelerD7K_5819 Our tentD7K_5823 Nannie and the boys with mouths full of cookies!D7K_5845 Terence building our bonfire to roast s’moresD7K_5860 D7K_5861 D7K_5872Bon Bon and me

Twinkies forever.
1380671_10153331197795125_1298043866_n Another beautiful picture of my cousin Lindsey1391515_10153334095740125_2130362659_n 1391771_10151671314966022_1477791575_nWe love you all and thanks for having us!

Just a couple more months until Christmas YIPPEEEEEEEEE!!!!

Fall Into Cash $750 Giveaway!

FallIntoNewEnterWelcome to the $750 Fall Into Cash Giveaway!

I’ve joined forces with a great group of bloggers to bring you this fabulous giveaway.

One lucky person will win $500 cash and five others will win $50 cash!

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Ends at 11:59pm EST on October 27th, 2013.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

This giveaway was coordinated by Giveaway Promote.

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Wolf Brand Chili Frito Pie #1TexasChili

 This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Wolf Brand Chili.

adfdf (1 of 1)Nights are crazy at our house.  I don’t know about all of you, but my most dreaded question at the end of the day is “What’s for dinner?”  Just brainstorming what to come up with gives me a headache.  But, you know what…it doesn’t have to be that hard.  One of my favorite and easiest things to make for dinner is frito chili pie.  Everyone loves it and it’s hearty and filling.  Wolf Brand Chili heard their consumers loud and clear when they said they were craving a chili with a little more substance, so now Wolf Brand Chili is thicker and heartier than ever. Just the way we like it!  Wolf Brand Chili is bringing their famous chili to the Texas State Fair in Dallas!  We were at the Texas state fair in Dallas last weekend and let me tell ya there are a lot of Texas chili goers out there.

D7K_5879Wolf Brand Chili puts a true taste of Texas in every can. A Texas ranch cook and Lyman T. Davis developed the original Wolf Brand Chili recipe in 1895, and for over 100 years the Wolf Brand’s unique blend of seasonings and good hearty beef has delivered authentic chili taste. Wolf Brand Chili has always been great, and now it’s thicker and heartier, just the way Texans like it. D7K_5884Our frito chili pie toppings include:  cheese, fritos, sour cream, and topped with crisp green onions.  YUM.
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 Check out more great recipes using Wolf Brand Chili on Facebook.

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 Enter to win a Wolf Brand Chili kit valued at $100

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For terms and conditions visit HERE

Wolf Brand Chili is now thicker and heartier than ever, just the way that Texans like it! The new, thicker and heartier recipe can also be found every day on the shelves of your local grocery store. 

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Wolf Brand Chili.  For more information, visit http://www.wolfbrandchili.com or https://www.facebook.com/Wolf.Chili

Spicy Sausage Kale Soup #buy3save3 #PMedia

This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and Hillshire Brand Company but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #buy3save3  http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO

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One of my favorite soup recipes for the winter season is Spicy Sausage and Kale soup.  It’s warm, hearty, and a little bit spicy.  Last week I headed to my local Tom Thumb store and picked up some sausage links, kale, and onion, potatoes, and some other key ingredients for my soup.  Safeway stores has amazing deals with their buy 3 Save 3 on tons of products you know and love!

Ingredients

  • 1 pound hot Italian sausage links (I use Hillshire Farm® Lit’l Smokies® Cocktail Links because they save time)
  • 4 large russet potatoes, peeled, cut in half lengthwise, then sliced 1/4-inch thick (I microwave until 1/2 cooked to save time)
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 (14.5-ounce) cans chicken broth
  • 1 quart water
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 cups chopped fresh kale or Swiss chard
  • 1 cup heavy cream (or half/half to cut calories!)

Instructions

Start by sauteing onions in olive oil with garlic.

D7K_5407 D7K_5409Cut up sausage links into bite size pieces.  I use turkey because they are less fat, and they still have a great smoky flavor in the soup.
D7K_5411 Add kale.  It will reduce a LOT while cooking….so don’t be afraid by the enormous amount of green 🙂D7K_5412 D7K_5414While the onions, sausage, water, & chicken broth are cooking down I cut up the potatoes and cooked half way in the microwave to save cooking time.  Then add the potatoes to the soup mixture with the heavy cream.  Let simmer on low for another 15 minutes.  I season with salt and pepper add some parmesan to taste.  It’s so good!  It’s a quick, easy, filling recipe I don’t mind cooking after I get off work and can easily be prepared ahead.  It also keeps really well in the fridge.
D7K_5417Sign up for the Just for U” program to save $3 when you buy 3 Hillshire Farm products. You have to be signed up to get the 3 for 3 deals.  I love this recipe for cold winter nights.  You can check out more options for delicious recipes for ANY meal on the Hillshire Farm website as well.  Check out more recipe ideas and share your own on Facebook and Twitter.