DIY Little Critters Tic Tac Toe Board

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SweeterTogether #CollectiveBias

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love Summer something fierce! The pool days, the warm nights, the backyard BBQs... it's all just perfection to me. Our neighborhood gets really fun in the Summertime with kiddos running around and backyard hangouts every evening. Since so many of my neighbors have little ones, I decided to get a little crafty one Saturday and make a DIY Little Critters Tic Tac Toe board! Tic Tac Toe is one of those simple games even the smallest youngsters can grasp, and the "little critter" play pieces make it a backyard favorite! 

Instead of "X's" and "O's", I opted for ladybugs and bumble bees. It's whimsical and way cooler to a tyke than boring old letters. If you're interested in making something similar, here's how to do it!

Start by gathering your supplies. I used:

A square board (can be purchased at any craft store, or in my case, found in the garage)

Paint for the board and play pieces

9 garden stones

Black permanent marker

Paint brush (I used a foam brush, but a regular paintbrush will work too)

Ruler

First, paint your board. Since I was operating off of the "little critters" theme, I chose to go with a kelly green to resemble grass. 

Next, take your ruler and permanent marker and draw the tic-tac-toe grid. 

Now for the fun part: paint your critters! Take 9 stones (one for each square), and paint half with one design and half with another. I chose to go with ladybugs and bumble bees.

I didn't want to make them look "perfect". Let's face it, I couldn't even if I wanted to! I like that they look like a child made them. I think it adds a little more whimsy and fun! If you have little ones, this is a great activity to let them help with too.

I really love how it came out, and the neighborhood kids do too! To further try to secure my position as "the tiny humans' favorite neighbor", I also brought along a go-to for backyard BBQs... ice cream! I found two new flavors of EDY's® Ice Cream based on my favorite candy bars and snatched them right up! I grabbed Nestle Butterfinger® Peanut Butter Cups and Baby Ruth® and man did those kids dig in! Parents enjoyed too and reveled in the fact that these ice creams are made with no artificial colors or flavors. 

Ice cream and Little Critters Tic-Tac-Toe... a winning combination indeed. To create this combo for your next backyard hangout, head to Walmart and look for EDY's Ice Cream in the frozen section. There will also be demos during the month of June at select Walmarts. Click here to see if your store is on the list!

What is your favorite Summer activity?

Mocktails By The Pool

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #NewWayToSparkle #CollectiveBias

Summer is upon us, yall. Can I get an amen?! If you know me or have been around this blog for a while, you know I am a summer girl through and through. I crave sunshine something fierce! With summer comes the pool, the beach, and tropical drinks that taste delicious. Yes, please!

In honor of my favorite time of year, today I am sharing a fun new mocktail that will be perfect for those long and glorious days by the pool. This simple recipe for Sparkling Pineapple Splash can be made on the fly and enjoyed time and time again!

The ingredient list is refreshingly simple, just like the drink. You need a pineapple, and you need Tropical Pineapple Dasani Sparkling Water. Good news for all sparkling water lovers: Dasani is relaunching favorite flavors in new Dasani Sparkling cans at Target! These sleek, vibrant cans will get you right into the summer spirit. 

Dasani Sparkling is a healthier yet flavorful beverage option. Some of those fruity drinks can be so high in sugar and calories, which is definitely not what I want while I am bikini-clad and poolside. Healthier is better in my mind!

To make this Sparkling Pineapple Splash, chop up your pineapple and set aside a can of Tropical Pineapple Dasani Sparkling Water. Place one small pineapple cube in the bottom of your glass and pour in a splash of Tropical Pineapple Dasani Sparkling Water. Muddle together and top it off with the rest of your Tropical Pineapple Dasani Sparkling Water. The pineapple pieces float to the top to create a very pretty mocktail! 

Garnish with another pineapple cube, and that's it! Your mocktail is ready to enjoy immediately, and your prep time was less than 5 minutes start to finish. Winning!

Pool season is almost here! Grab a mocktail, a good book, and jump right in! I'm not the only one in our house that is ready for swimming season. Jenny is ready to rock and roll and get her summer swim on.

Stop by your local Target and look for the new, sleek Dasani Sparkling Water cans. Target currently has promo pricing of 3 boxes for $9 plus 5% off using your Cartwheel app (valid though 5/14/16). Check it out!

Find more refreshing and fun ideas using Dasani Sparkling Water here. Don't forget to also add the Cartwheel offer through 5/14/16!

5 Things We Are Excited About This Summer

So I'm a summer person. Let me just put that out in the open. I thrive when the sun is shining and the winter snow is far, far away. This past Virginia winter rocked my little world, so to feel that wonderful sunshine again is heavenly. It's been 80s/90s these past few weeks which are my ideal temperatures. I know that is crazy hot for some, but I think it feels wonderful. Parker and I were talking the other day about how excited we are for summer and what we are most looking forward to. Here's what made our top 5...
1. Pool Days Our new house has a community pool, and we are already talking about endless days by the pool. We haven't even moved in yet. Antsy, much? There is something spectacular about going on a run and then jumping in the pool after. 

Family pool time last summer in Texas!

We prefer the pool but will definitely have a few beach days this summer!

2. Tennis and Golf These are the two sports we keep talking about lately. We are so excited to play tennis together! I played in high school but haven't played in almost a year, so I am itching to get back out there. Parker loves golf, and I enjoy walking 9 with him or being the cart girl. I can't play golf to save my life. I'll blame it on never being taught, but I really don't know if that would help.
3. Family Visits Summer is busy season, but it's also the season we get to host family! We are hosting Parker's grandparents and my parents this month and absolutely cannot wait. We love showing people our life out here and just soaking up that quality time. 

Flashback to last summer when four generations took on Virginia! (I was 5 weeks pregnant with Taylor Grace in this picture)

 4. Moving 
This will be our 5th move in four years of marriage, but we are so anxious to move already. I don't know if it is the most exciting move because we were over the moon for the Pensacola and Texas moves, but it's definitely a contender. We can't believe we are about to own a home. I don't think we are old enough for this, but bring it on!
5. Being Active (Running and Walking) I take the pups on at least one walk a day, and I love seeing how much more they are enjoying their walks now that it's warm out. They love walks regardless, but neither of them liked the cold. Parker and I are also getting into running again and it feels so. darn. good. I'm the weirdo who likes running in the heat. There is nothing that makes you feel like you got a killer workout quite like sweating your rear end off. I blame Texas for this mindset. 

Outdoor dates are my favorite dates

On an unrelated note, happiest of anniversaries to my amazing, loving parents. Thankful for you and your wonderful marriage. 

It's Been Real, Summer 2014

I know we still have a few more weeks before Fall officially begins, but it has made its debut in my mind. I've already made a batch of pumpkin bread for the neighbors and pumpkin muffins for us to munch on, and I am browsing my Fall Pinterest boards for anything having to do with pumpkins or apples. There is something sort of magical about Fall, so I am happy to kiss the summer goodbye. Looking back though, it's been a pretty darn good summer. I feel like so much has happened in such a short amount of time, so I thought I would highlight some of our favorite memories from summer 2014.

Let's see here. We kicked summer off with a little kayaking in our Corpus Christi backyard. Gah, take me back! We loved that place and miss it daily. Despite Parker's phone disappearing into the deep blue, kayaking was a blast and the perfect activity to kick summer into high gear. 

My family came into town for what was supposed to be Parker's winging, but the Navy had different plans. They usually do, I'm finding out. We took the weekend as a gift to spend time with my family, and that's exactly what it was. Padre Island (right outside of Corpus Christi) is the beach my family took annual vacations to growing up, so having everyone there was nostalgia overload. We got our beach fix too!

Twin sister and me reliving the golden years

And then of course, it was finally time for the winging! That day was easily the highlight of the summer. Seeing Parker earn those wings and pinning them on his chest is something I hope I never forget. It was such a perfect day to get to celebrate his accomplishment. We also got to spend time with Parker's family that weekend. It was our last weekend in Corpus Christi, TX, and it sure was a good one.

And then, life happened in overdrive. Parker and I moved to Virginia, signed a lease on the first house we saw, and he immediately went to SERE school. I then flew back to Texas to be there for the movers and drove with my mom back to Virginia. This all happened in a matter of a couple of weeks. Talk about nuts. Road tripping with my mom was so. much. fun. We had a blast, and I would happily drive 22 hours with her any day of the week. Mother-daughter bonding at its finest! She stayed in Virginia for a few days to explore the city with me and keep me sane while Parker was going through the SERE stuff. 

We celebrated 3 years of marriage... apart. That's military life for you! Being married to this handsome guy is basically the best. Three years down, forever to go!

Parker returned from SERE, and we began our new lives in our new state. The movers lost and damaged our household goods, so we escaped the stress by watching the fireworks on Virginia Beach. They put on quite the show! I remember being so thrown off by how cold we were. Cold in July, what?! We aren't in Texas anymore, Toto.

Life took a big turn when Darla came back to live with us. We rescued her in Pensacola and are now watching her while her mom is away serving our country. She's such a sweet pup, but if I'm being perfectly honest, she has been a huge adjustment. I was so used to life with just Parker and Jenny, so my world was kind of rocked when we added Darla to the mix. She has, and still is, teaching me patience. A lot of patience. She's so sweet though, and we have learned her quirks and adapted into a new family of four.

Jenny is such a good big sister

We took a little trip to Colonial Williamsburg to celebrate our anniversary, and it was just what the doctor ordered. A weekend of uninterrupted togetherness is pretty fantastic these days, and Williamsburg has so much neat history.

We found out Parker is going to fly the... C-2! He got his first choice, and we are both still over the moon about it!

For the first time, we have a guest bedroom in our home. Parker did such a great job building the bed, and we loved getting to decorate the new space. 

One of my all-time favorite moments this summer of my life was getting to surprise my twin sister at her graduation from nursing school. I flew into Texas, and she had no idea. She cried, I cried... it was perfect. Another top moment of my life that I will remember forever.

Last but definitely not least, we hosted some of my family in our new home in Virginia! We loved showing them around the base, visiting Williamsburg and doing some damage at the outlet malls, and eating all the food in Norfolk. Seriously, I think we ate it all.

Good grief Charlie Brown. If you made it through that, you are a trooper. We had one eventful summer. I want to remember it all! Life's an adventure, and I'm loving this stage of it.

Rodan + Fields Sunless Tanner Review and Giveaway

I absolutely love summer and always have. One of my biggest hesitations about moving to Virginia is the long, cold winters they have up there. I'm from Texas, yall, where the sun is in no short supply. I used to lay out in the sun for hours during the summer. I loved the heat, and I loved the golden tone it brought to my skin. 

That said, I kinda wish I could go back and slap my 14 year old self for being so careless in the sun. The summer sun is a beautiful thing, but it's also a dangerous thing. I didn't mind getting sunburned because it would "just turn into a tan a couple of days later". My mother lectured us over and over again about wearing sunscreen, and I didn't listen. Now that I am an adult with a hint of rationality unlike the teenage version of myself, I am hearing her message. Skin cancer runs in my family, and I have a good shot of getting it if I keep up my old habits. 

Gone are the days that I want to lay under the rays for hours on end with SPF 4 on. Let's be real, that doesn't do diddly squat. My health comes first. So, I turned to sunless tanners. I've used quite a few sunless tanners. They all seem to have two things in common. They stink to the high heavens, and they leave your skin looking like a pumpkin. I love the concept of a sunless tanner, but I'm not about the orange thing. If I am going to pay for a sunless tanner, I want it to actually look natural. Enter Rodan + Fields.

Lacie with Rodan + Fields is one of the sweetest girls on the planet. She is my sorority sister from college (my newly engaged sorority sister at that!), and it was so good to connect with her again! She was kind enough to send me a sunless tanner from the Essentials line, and I really cannot say enough positive things about how well it worked. One thing I really liked about this tanner is that it's a foam. It didn't get my hands messy or stick around like lotion does. I applied it, it absorbed, and I went on with my day. Parker thought I was nuts for saying I could see results in the first 10 minutes, but I promise I could! I applied just before bed, and when I woke up, it was evident my legs were a few shades darker. I plan to do a full body application now that I have the hang of it for Parker's winging in a few weeks.

 Check out the before and after, and see for yourself! I apologize for the slightly awkward pictures of my legs. I'm not a leg model over here.

Isn't that amazing?! I think this sunless tanner gives my legs a noticeably darker appearance without being over the top. I want to look natural, and I think this product accomplished that for me. 

This sunless tanner did have an odor to it, but I would say it was less intense than the off the shelf brands I have tried. My tan lasted about 4 days, which is what I expected. Lacie was a pleasure to work with, and I highly recommend her to anyone. Another reason she is amazing? She is giving away a free R+F sunless tanner to one Anchors Aweigh reader!!

You don't want to miss this giveaway, so enter below! Good luck!

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