I have to admit, I am a bit of a foodie. I love cooking, but I also love heading out on the town to experience a fabulous meal that I don't have to prepare-or clean up after. Thankfully, the NE Ohio area is actually a hot spot for food, and has a ton of great restaurants to choose from. 

Recently, we heard about something new at Romano's Macaroni Grill, and couldn't wait to see what all the buzz was about. They have a new, Chef's Favorites Menu that has come highly recommended, so we decided to head on over to their Fairlawn/Akron location to check it out. 

As a homeschooling family, we're always looking for ways to spark creativity in our kiddos. You see, while reading, writing, and arithmetic are all important things to learn, I truly believe that the arts are what tie everything together. The arts are what allow creativity to flow and allow amazing ideas and inventions to be born.

Recently, I received a nice e-mail from a little girl named Sarah Porter. Sarah is the 11 year old CEO of a new brand called Instructions Not Included. (You can find Sarah on Instagram!) Sarah has created a kit filled to the top with over 500 craft supplies. Her kit does not include instructions, which allows the customer to use their creativity and imagination. 

How cool is that?! 

Of course I love supporting young entrepreneurs, so I gladly accepted Sarah's offer to send us her kit to check out for ourselves. We received our package quickly, and couldn't wait to get started. 

This year is just flying past. It is hard to believe that it is already time to think
about your spring wardrobe, but it is. If you are anything like me you will want to carry on wearing some of your winter clothes. At least during the early part of spring when it can still be quite cold. To help you to do this I thought I would write about incorporating your winter ankle boots into your spring look.

I know that retailers like Fashion World have sold millions of pairs of these
stylish boots, during 2018. So, the chances are you have at least one pair sitting in your wardrobe, right now.

Blend those colors
Ankle boots can work with maxi skirts and dresses. But, they are generally best worn with trousers or jeans. When you go shopping for these items of clothing take the time to think about how they will look with the ankle boots that you already own.

This year, we are relatively lucky because the winter white trend dovetails
nicely into this spring’s powdery color palette. So, the boots that you wore with your whites will usually look as good with a pair of light pink, tan or cream trousers. This year’s washed out jean trend also helps you out. That shade will look good when worn with practically any color of ankle boot.

Consider waterproofing your boots
If your boots are not waterproof, consider spraying them to solve this problem. Pretty soon the snow and ice will be replaced by rain, which heightens the risk of your getting your feet wet.

Where to find more wardrobe transitioning tips
If you want more winter to spring wardrobe transition tips you can find some
really great ones by visiting this page.

SS19 boot trends
If your ankle boots have seen better days, it is well worth considering treating
yourself to a new pair. The vast majority of the bigger retailers now stock this
style of boot year round. Right now, there are some fantastic new trends
emerging.

Cowboy boots
It looks like last year’s starter trend of cowboy boots is really going to take off this spring. That is great news because this versatile and hardwearing style of footwear works for most women. Plus, of course, they are super comfortable and easy to walk in.

Mesh boots
Perhaps the most interesting trend is the mesh footwear one. It is something we have not really seen before. A pair of mesh boots would make an interesting addition to any woman’s wardrobe. The black ones look especially classy, although you may struggle a bit to get them to fit in with this season’s very light color palette.

Use the right accessories to help you with the transition
There is no doubt that the right accessories are essential for completing your
look. The right earrings, necklaces and bracelets make it far easier to transition your winter clothes into your summer wardrobe. If you want some advice about which pieces to choose, you can find it here in a post that I wrote about spring jewelry.

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The month of February is considered a romantic month thanks to Valentine’s Day. However, romance and staying healthy is a year long love affair. What better way to “Say I Love You” than with the natural and healthy benefits of
Superior Source Vitamins?

One way I love myself all year long is by making sure I always maintain a healthy diet, and include supplements for the areas that may be lacking. My favorites come from Superior Source, since they're literally painless to take! 

​Superior Source Vitamins are MicroLingual® with “Under the Tongue Technology” that works fast, and are quickly absorbed into the body, dissolving in seconds. Did you know that...by swallowing supplements, as much as 50% of the potency is lost in the high acid environment of the stomach? With Superior Source, this is no longer a problem! 

What Makes Superior Source Vitamins Unique:
​
-No pills to swallow–dissolves in seconds
​-GMO FREE and Sugar FREE
-90% smaller than regular vitamins
-No binders, fillers, dyes or preservatives
-Only 3 clean ingredients
-Over 180 vitamins to choose

15% OFF ALL PRI products
Blogger Viewers Receive 15% Discount Code on www.ShopPRI: Luv15
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The month of February is considered a romantic month thanks to Valentine’s Day. However, our sweet tooth is a yearlong love affair. What better way to say “I Love You” than with the sweetness and health benefits of Manuka Honey. PRI has a wonderful variety of Manuka products from New Zealand. Spread it on toast, eat it out of the jar or honey sticks; kids will love the Manuka Lollipops and the caramels just melt in your mouth! Great for snacks, parties or to share with friends. PRI’s Manuka snacks are certain to put a smile on anyone’s face.

New Zealand is one of the last bastions of purity as an environmentally protected and GMO Free region with the cleanest oceans on the globe. Case in point, Manuka is the gold standard for honey and is produced exclusively
in New Zealand from bees and flowers that are environmentally protected. Enjoy these safe and soothing products every day and feel great eating them! No artificial flavors, colors, no corn syrup or refined sugars and
NO preservatives.

​Pacific Resources International has been delivering Manuka Honey beauty and health products to Americans for over 25 years. (This includes candy and treats!) Manuka is the gold standard for honey and is produced exclusively in New Zealand from bees and flowers that are environmentally protected. Enjoy these safe and soothing products every day and feel great using them!

I am a HUGE fan of PRI, and of Manuka Honey in general. Domestic honey has been in the news lately, and not for very good reasons. Thankfully, I don't have to worry about my Manuka Honey, since it comes directly from beautiful New Zealand, and is completely pure and clean. 

If your loved one, or someone in your family and friends is going to be a bride, it is already exciting news for you. Being a part of the bridal tribe do send butterflies in your tummies. The preparations, and helping the bride to prep up for her big day makes you feel special and honored for the fact that someone considers you important enough to be an important part of the most important day of her life. The excitement shoots up exponentially if the bride picks up your little princess to be her flower girl. This is an experience that your daughter is going to love and will be a memory to cherish for a lifetime. Flowers girls are the cutest part of a wedding tradition. If there is anyone who enjoys all the limelight other than the bride, it has to be
the flower girl.

While the thought of dressing up your munchkin as a flower girl is very exciting, mommies are often in for paranoia because they do not know how to go about it and that too without breaking their bank account. Here are a few tips that will you pick one without any
hassle.

Set a Budget
Flower Girl Dresses are much more expensive than your regular wear, however, there are ways to cut down how much you will be spending on the dress. It important that you decide a budget first so that you know how many minutes you need to set aside. When deciding your budget, research about different options in the market and check the price trends so that you can
have some realistic numbers on paper.

Plan Early
Early planning can be a blessing because it is the best way to cut down your spending. A time window of 8 to 12 months is an excellent way to find cheap flower girl dresses since you will have a chance to benefit from various seasonal sales and promotions that happen in a year. I will also allow you enough time to save up on a monthly basis. Another advantage is that you
can get your girl a customized dress and will not have to rely on the read-made ones.

Colour and Style
When picking up the color and style of your girl's dress, it is important that you ask the bride for the input. In the end, it is her big day and the flower girl is meant to precede the bride as she walks down the aisle, therefore it is important that her insights are factored in. Some brides prefer flower girls to dress similar to the bride while others opt for following the overall aesthetics of the wedding theme. When picking up a style, also remember that your little munchkin might not be used to carry the flowy gown so choose something that she can carry comfortably without tripping over. Do factor in the weather conditions so that your kid doesn’t feel too hot or too cold. Avoid fabrics that are too heavy or itchy or else she will be in distress.

If you know me in "real life", you're probably well aware of the fact that I am a huge advocate for Medical Cannabis, CBD products, and replacing traditional products with eco-friendlier, sustainable hemp products as well. 

I find many ways to incorporate hemp into my lifestyle, from hemp derived clothing, paper, and personal care products to nutritional supplements to lotions, potions, and more. Hemp is an incredibly versatile plant, and one that offers many benefits not only for the environment, but for our overall wellness, too. 

Recently, I was looking for safe, effective ways to combat monthly cramps of the....female variety, if you get my drift. After I had my youngest son, I had a tubal ligation. Since having the procedure, my monthly cycle has become significantly more brutal. I came across information regarding CBD Living and their CBD Suppositories, and I was instantly both grossed out and curious....

CBD for period cramps? Inserted....there? (These are inserted either vaginally or rectally.) After I got past the initial ick factor, I thought about it....And it actually makes a great deal of sense. 

In the Cleveland, Ohio area, we have some really brutal winters. (-40 wind chills, anyone? 2 feet of snow in 2 days? Anyone?) So when Puxatawny Phil indicated we're in for an early spring, I couldn't help but get my hopes up, if only a little bit. 

While our winters are perilous and gloomy, Ohio springs and summers are gorgeous. One thing I love doing is heading out to the nature trails or to the Cleveland Metroparks to explore with my family. Whether it's a quick hike to the Mary Campbell Cave at the Gorge, a trip to the Virginia Kendall Ledges, or a picnic lunch at Squire's Castle, we're always on the go. 

I can't wait to go on our next adventure, but this time with my brand new Granite 25 Backpack from the awesome folks at AMERICAN SHIELD. They specialize in high quality, luxurious fashion backpacks that are as stylish as they are functional. These are rugged yet elegant, and suitable for even the most outdoorsy among us. 

Imagine a perforated towel so absorbent and durable that each sheet can be hand-rinsed up to 100 times! Or a roll of aroma-free 2-ply bath tissues that are at once irresistibly soft and surprisingly strong. Or perhaps a collection of sponges, brushes and floor wipes that clean far better and last far longer than their conventional counterparts.
​
And then imagine not only making all of these highly-innovative products with rayon from bamboo, but showing your love of pandas by only using a type of bamboo that everybody’s favorite furry friends in China never consume.
​
Welcome to NatureZway (www.naturezway.com), a rapidly-growing line of eco-friendly cleaning products made of bamboo and other renewable materials that were created specifically to combine superior all-natural quality and affordable pricing as never before.

Bamboo Rules! Most commonly native to warm and moist tropical environments in the Pacific Asia region (though also found in South and Central America, Mexico and even the Southeastern United States), bamboo
is one of nature’s greatest gifts to the planet, not to mention many of its two
and four-legged residents!

In addition to being a vital source of food for pandas and other animals and
a highly durable material for construction, bamboo (part of the grass family
with some species growing 3 feet in one day!) is easily renewable and matures in only three years; takes up less land space and requires less water than trees; grows without the need for pesticides; reduces soil erosion and
greenhouse gases; and captures more CO2 from the atmosphere than trees
or cotton. 

Committed to offering consumers a welcome alternative to chemical -based cleaning products that are anything but clean themselves, NatureZway manufactures a wide array of items designed to protect people and the planet.