Everyone has a family heirloom, right? For some people it may be grandma’s old rocking chair or grandpa’s favorite foot stool. These are priceless, timeless pieces that seem to always fit into our heart and homes.

Above: A memorial candle I had in honor of my granny at my wedding. That candle is now an heirloom in our family; it’s in my mom’s possession.

The priceless heirloom that I have in my possession is my grandma’s collection of costume jewelry. My granny was born in the 1920’s, so her collection is very vintage and chic. I remember when I was younger I loved to sit with her and try on all of the jewels. I felt like a princess of sorts with all that bling. And honestly, I just don’t see that kind of jewelry anymore, unfortunately.

Above: Me looking like a princess…as usual!

My mom gave me the collection after my grandma passed away in 2006, and I have it tucked away safe and sound. However, I thought I should display some of it, so I am officially inspired to do a DIY project. I know traditional heirlooms tend to be antique furniture pieces or family quilts, etc. but really I think any item that is treasured deserves the designation as an heirloom. DIY projects can help bring these heirlooms to life. In my case, my grandma’s vintage jewelry has inspired me to create a piece of art that I’ll enjoy for many years to come.

Above: My mom, my granny and me. :)

You can see the  priceless value of a dining table/heirloom in the YouTube video below by True Value. Warning—it’s a tear jerker, but I really want you to watch this video. It’s good! I got all misty eyed during the video, but it’s a good reminder of the power of DIY and the True Value of life—those we love. Family heirlooms can keep memories alive, and I think that’s what most of us want to do to honor those we love. I look forward to sharing with you my finished DIY project honoring my granny and her love of fabulously gorgeous baubles.

Video by True Value

So in honor of keeping memories and heirlooms alive, both in our hearts and homes, True Value is sponsoring a $50 gift card giveaway on my blog to help with your project. You can enter below on Rafflecopter, and there are several ways you can enter. Good luck! True Value is also hosting a Pin to Win Sweepstakes--You can find more information about that over here. Two exciting contests for you to be able to enter. Contest is open from now until July 22, 2013 at 12 am CST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I am also being provided with a $50 gift card in exchange for a post/giveaway promoting the True Value brand and their Pinterest contest.

I was sent a pretty awesome kit from Nivea as part of the #NIVEAIndulgence challenge. What is that? Basically, for 10 consecutive days, I replaced my usual body wash/soap products with the NIVEA products I was sent to see if my skin felt any different, etc. The kit also included a scented candle, plush bathrobe, and a $50 gift card to Bed, Bath & Beyond to help create my own little bathroom oasis. I was like, “Count me in!” I usually try to just hurry up and get in and out of the shower, so I tried really hard to just unwind and enjoy a spa like experience for 10 days.

Boy was it worth it! As you can see above, I was sent NIVEA Touch of Smoothness (moisturizing body wash) and NIVEA Touch of Renewal (lathering body scrub). I used both during the challenge, and a dollop’s worth on my blue loofah proved to be plenty. I’ll review them both individually:

NIVEA Touch of Smoothness:

• The scent is AWESOME! It’s clean, fresh, and a welcome deviation from my usual floral-esque body wash choices.
• Left me feeling very soft and moisturized in really rough spots like my elbows/knees.
• No oily feeling afterward.
• Suds up really nicely.

NIVEA Touch of Renewal:

• Smells clean and refreshing.
• Has little microbeads that help exfoliate. I wish there were more of them! :( I really think more microbeads would take this to another level.
• I’ve found when using scrubs I tend to have to use more product—not the case here. Lathers up really well and I felt smooth and clean afterwards.
• Of the 2 products, this one probably felt a bit more “spa” like, but I still think I prefer the other body wash just a tad. Both are great though!

Overall, using the 2 products left me feeling clean, soft, moisturized and pampered. And taking this time for myself also helped a lot after stressful days. If I forgot to put on lotion, I was still not ashy/dry on my elbows like usual, so I do think these products helped my skin soak up the NIVEA goodness. My favorite thing other than the cosmetic perks of nicer/smoother skin is the scent. It’s clean and simple. Love it!

To complete my bathroom oasis, I used the $50 gift card to Bed, Bath & Beyond to purchase a Bluetooth iHome speaker so I could blast my tunes while I am in the shower.

My husband uses it a lot too, and we love how sleek the white speaker looks on our marble countertops. I feel like I am in a fancy hotel bathroom every time I take a shower. My other favorite part of my bathroom oasis is my shower itself. It’s a semi-circle and the door slides on a track.

I’ve had this shower for almost a year, and I cannot get enough of it. It’s so modern!

Thanks to the #NIVEAIndulgence challenge, I have pampered myself into softer, smoother skin that feels great to the touch. Although every time I get into my bathrobe, I fall asleep. It’s so plush and luxe. I’ve never had a bathrobe before and now I look for excuses to put it on. All the time. Also, I’ve created a #NIVEAIndulgence Pinterest board about things that I think of when I think of indulgence. I dream of indulgent things like spa days, facial treatments, expensive shoes, luxurious naps, tasty food, and exotic destinations. What do you dream of when you think about indulgence?

Well, I want you to indulge and pamper yourself like I got to, so I’m giving away a #NIVEAIndulgence kit like I received!

You’ll get:

• 2 NIVEA products
• Scented candle
• Plush bathrobe
• $50 Bed, Bath & Beyond gift card
• Total value: $150

You can enter below using Rafflecopter. The contest is open from June 29 until July 10. Must be in the US and 18+ to enter/win.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The content and opinions on this blog are purely those of the author and do not reflect the views of Beiersdorf Inc., or any of its affiliates. The author has been compensated with free products as part of the author’s participation in this promotion. Even though the author of this blog receives compensation for the posts or advertisements, the author will always provide his or her honest opinion, finding, belief, or experience on those products. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question. In addition, the author is professionally and/or personally acquainted with the manufacturer of the products being reviewed. Any results described by the author may not be typical of what consumers should generally expect. Lastly, the author of the blog is not responsible for any comments made in comment section of this blog.

At Walgreens, my husband and I are usually there for only one of 3 reasons.

1.) There’s a make-up sale. (Ok, that’s more me than my hubby.)

2.) We have a Redbox movie to return.

3.) Butter cake.

You see, Walgreens makes this delicious, pre-packaged butter cake that is irresistible. It’s flaky, sweet, buttery and about $1.29 each or you can buy 2 for $2.

Let’s face it…we buy 4.

Did I also mention my weight loss has sucked the past few months? Yeah. Wonder why.

Then I saw a recipe in Better Homes & Gardens’ May 2013 issue for gooey butter bars. They look JUST LIKE the morsels of awesomeness we love from Walgreens. Then I read the nutritional information- one 9x13 pan makes 24 bars for 209 calories each. Now, I’m no math whiz, but those would be some tiny squares. Even the cakes from Walgreens are like a 3x3” square for 220 calories.

So, I did what Monica does best. I found a way to lighten it up while still retaining that gooey, buttery, melt in your mouth flavor.

My recipe makes 15 decently sized squares for about 220 calories a piece (with strawberry topping), and you likely have all the ingredients at home already. To make it a bit more dessert-esque without a ton of calories, I made a strawberry topping for it. The end result is a buttery, flaky, shortbread like bar that is simple, sweet, tasty and perfect with a glass of iced tea. A southern treat for sure.

Here’s what you need (recipe adapted from Better Homes & Gardens’ May 2013 issue):

Crust:

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1.5 cups of flour
• 1/2 cup of butter

Bars:

• 2/3 cup softened butter
• 1.25 cups of Splenda for baking
• 1/4 light corn syrup
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup flour
• 2/3 cup half and half

Strawberry Topping:

• 8 oz of sliced strawberries
• 1/4 cup of Splenda

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. To make the crust, you combine the flour and sugar together. Then, using a pastry blender or your clean, dry hands, incorporate the butter until it’s all nice and finely crumbled together. Get a 9x13 pan lined with parchment paper, and pat your crust down.

Now for the bars, beat the softened butter with a hand mixer for about 30 seconds. Gradually add in the Splenda. Once that’s all mixed well, add in the corn syrup, egg, and vanilla extract. Alternately add in the flour and half and half and continue beating it all together. Your mixture may look a bit thick and curdled, which is ok. Carefully spoon the mixture over the crust and pop in the oven for about 30 minutes.

While that’s baking, put your sliced strawberries in a sauce pan with the Splenda. Simmer on medium until the strawberries and Splenda reduce to a nice topping consistency. If you like your sauce a little more saucey, add in about a tbsp of water. I chilled my topping in the freezer for about 15 minutes while my bars cooled.

Once your bars are cool, cut into 15 squares, top with some strawberries and enjoy!

My favorite part about this is definitely the crust, but even more so, the topping! The sauce seeps into the butter bar and it’s heaven on a plate.

The flavor profiles are amazing. Butter, strawberries, and a flaky crust. Delish! Plus, by swapping some of the sugar for Splenda, we get to eat a bit more and save calories. I’m all for that.

Sigh. I can’t wait to whip up another batch of these. Who needs Walgreens, right?

This is a simple treat that is sure to please anyone. Maybe you’ll try it out this summer at a BBQ or something.

And while we’re cutting calories and trying to be healthy this summer, I thought I’d mention Diet To Go’s Summer Shape-Up sweepstakes on Facebook. You can enter to win one month of meals. You can read official rules right here. Good luck!

What’s your favorite summer treat?

My weight loss update is that I have no update. I seriously started off so well, and then I really struggled in March due to bronchitis. Then in April all hell broke loose in some areas of my life, so I was just trying to survive and weather the storm. Now in May, it’s been equally chaotic, and I’m just blessed that by some reason I haven’t gained it all back.

The most weight I had lost was 17 pounds, and right now I’m sitting at 14 pounds lost. In like 5 months.

Ugh that’s awful. I’ve been committed to keeping track of everything I eat, even if it’s unhealthy or over my calories, just to kind of keep myself cognizant of what I’m eating. I think in doing that, I was able to figure out the calories I can eat at to maintain my weight…that in itself is something, right?

And the icing on the cake (that I wish I was eating right now) is that I sprained my ankle not once, but twice in a less than 10 days. Because I’m just that cool. Yeah. And the most recent sprain was last Thursday, and I’m still hobbling around. Fun!

So stress + illness + injury= no weight loss. Ya know, in case you were wondering.

This week, I’ve really tried to get my calories back down to about 1800 calories since I’m not exercising, and by golly, I am trying to drink water. I have so much trouble with water, it’s odd. Bur diet pepsi? Oh boy can I chug those down fairly easy.

I’ve also let my blogging subside for awhile, but I miss it. I have so many in progress projects around the house that I hope to tackle this weekend so I can finally get back into a groove. I feel like in March, April and May, I’ve just let myself get too wrapped up in things that I shouldn’t be bringing home. I have a home, a husband, a life, and I've let recent things affect that.

Well not anymore. I want to be happy, I want to live the life I’ve always wanted to live, and I want to lose weight. In all likelihood, I will not lose the 90 pounds I wanted to lose this year, but hopefully in the months of June-December, I can lose another 30 pounds or so, and I’ll have to continue on this journey next year. And the year after that.

I guess my question to you lovely people is this:

1.) What can I do to still exercise even with a sore/sprained ankle? Besides walking…

2.) How do you balance your work/private life to stay happy?

I’d love your thoughts! I’ll be back soon with some exciting reviews and giveaways.

Love you all oodles.

-Monica

 

Hi everyone! So excited to reach out to all of you today to promote AT&T’s latest collaboration with Mexican Soccer Federation (Federación Mexicana de Fútbol, FMF), Major League Soccer (MLS) and U.S. Soccer. Soccer is a BIG DEAL in the Hispanic/Mexican community, and it’s wonderful when companies like AT&T help promote something positive and relevant to my culture. AT&T delivers exclusive content, access to games, and more for the fervent fans through all their screens and devices. AT&T is proud to connect thousands of fans to the most popular sport in the world.

Even better is that AT&T partnered with Jesse & Joy to create an original song that can be played at matches and events where the Mexican National Team will play. The song is upbeat, infectious, and very catchy—you can’t help but get in that competitive spirit.

For those of you who were lucky enough to attend Hispanicize this year, you got to see Jesse & Joy perform the song live. The song is titled “Corazón de Campeón”, which translates to Heart of a Champion. The song definitely describes the Mexican National Team, and all the other athletes around the world who compete in this elite sport. I’m psyched to cheer on the Mexican National Team as they try to qualify to play in the largest global soccer stage in 2014 (the World Cup is only held every 4 years, but at least it gives us all ample time to get pumped!) I don’t know if any of you watch soccer, but when you stop and think about how hard they have to train and how tiring it must be, I get inspired to do more. Be more. I’m always elated for the winners because they work hard for years, and then their hardwork pays off.

So, you can check out the song by Jesse & Joy on YouTube and you can also watch a video of their Hispanicize 2013 performance. It’ll make you want to shimmy your shoulders, for sure. AT&T has essentially helped create a soundtrack and victory song for all of us cheering on the Mexican National Team. It’s going to be our anthem, whether we win or lose, and it really helps build energy and spirit. Bravo AT&T!

As someone who works in marketing and public relations, I enjoy seeing large corporations partner with other organizations to promote something good. AT&T is showing their commitment to the Hispanic and Mexican communities by promoting/creating something we can all rally around in partnership with the Mexican Soccer Foundation and other soccer organizations. Companies that commit to doing things for minorities really mean a lot to me, especially when they’re positive campaigns and messages. I hope you’ll listen to the song, feel inspired, and maybe you can share the links with anyone else who might enjoy, too.

Let’s get excited about soccer! 2014 can’t come fast enough, can it? If you want to connect with AT&T Latino on Facebook, head on over to https://www.facebook.com/attlatino.

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Being Latino and AT&T Latino. All opinions, enthusiasm for soccer, etc. are my own.