Marvel Universe Live: 2 Hours of Non-Stop Action For Fans

Last Friday we drove up to the Moda Center to see Marvel Universe Live. We took Noah’s best bud with him since he hasn’t had the opportunity to hang out with friends as much as the girls have. I knew it would be a performance that they would like, but I wasn’t sure how much the rest of the family would be entertained.

Zootopia Makes for a Fun Family Movie Night

Last Monday I took the kids to a preview of Zootopia. We don't go see many movies all together because the kids all have such a big age gap (7 years between Anika and Noah) so we don't all find movies that really entertain the whole family. Zootopia pretty much accomplishes it.

Zootopia is Walt Disney Animation Studio's 55th animated feature. The movie is set in a different time where animals are all modern and civilized. Judy Hopps is a rabbit who grew up on a carrot farm and had always dreamed of becoming a cop in the city of Zootopia. Problem was, no rabbit had ever become a cop before.

My First Time at a Monster Jam®

Last weekend we did something that for some might seem a little unusual for Valentine’s weekend - we went as a family to see Monster Jam®.

Make a Family Memory: See Kung Fu Panda 3

Kung Fu Panda 3 hits theaters today, but my family and I were lucky enough to snag an invitation to a local red carpet premiere a couple of weeks ago and excitedly went to the theater to watch it before it was released.

We have always been a fan of the Kung Fu Panda movies, so naturally the kids were very excited to see movie number 3. I went mostly for the kids at first, with no idea that I would end up loving this animated feature so much!

Living Locally: Shrek the Musical

A couple of weekends ago I took the family up to the Northwest Children’s Theater in Portland to see Shrek the Musical. I occasionally contribute online as a reviewer for a local parent magazine and website, The PDX Kids Calendar, and they sent me to the show to check it out for their viewers.

Gearing Up for Back to School Travel

Hey everyone! It seems like forever since I said hello on here! After we went camping on the coast for a few days the kids started school and then I flew down to California for a blogging conference. I got home last night and finally sat down to write out everyone’s schedules for the next month – mainly Anika and Noah’s soccer schedules.

Anika was placed on a competitive soccer team this year, so we’re traveling a bit farther than I’m used to for games. Half of her games this season are in the Portland area, and depending on the traffic it could end up being an h and hour and a half one way – and that’s quite a bit of time in the car on top of everything else! I think I’ll pretty much be on the go for the next eight weeks. J

Living Locally: Wicked at The Keller Auditorium

Last night I had a girl’s night out with one of my friends and we drove up to the Keller Auditorium and saw Wicked for the first time. Over the years I’ve heard the name “Wicked” here and there, and friends have told me before that “you just HAVE to see it”.  Not knowing the exact story-line I knew that it had something to do with the witches from the Wizard of Oz, but I didn’t know just how in depth the story was.

Brancott Estate Flight Song Wine

“I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Brancott Estate Flight Song. I received product samples and a promotional item to thank me for my participation.”

This week has been filled with so much celebrating that even though I’m completely exhausted (and the week is just beginning!) I’m so happy and grateful for such a wonderful start to the New Year!  

I know it doesn't look like it with all of my food related posts, but I have been attempting to eat better lately, and have been eating a salad every day and I have cut my alcohol consumption way down. But with that being said I can’t completely eliminate my favorite wine and cocktails, and I want to share one of my new favorite wines with you today! 

Brancott Estate Offered to send me a couple of bottles of their Flight Song wines which are 20% lower in calories than comparable wines for me to review, and of course I couldn’t resist!  Wayne and I tried their Pinot Grigio and Savignion Blanc this past week and I must admit at first I was a little skeptical but was pleasantly surprised! With how much I liked them.

The Pinot Grigio was my favorite of the two – it was very light and refreshing, I nibbled on raspberries and strawberries with it, but I think it could be paired with many different foods since the flavors were balanced so well. I would definitely buy this wine – and not only because it has 20% less calories vs. most other Pinot Grigios out there, but that definitely is a perk! J

Though Sauvignon Blanc is not normally my first wine of choice, Brancott’s is made very well.  It has lots of flavor and punchy aromatics you would expect from a normal good Sauvignon Blanc, but saves you a bunch of calories – so you can have that second glass without the guilt!

With January over half over I’m proud to say that I even though I don’t see too much change, I do feel so much more better by increasing my veggies and being more active – plus I always make sure to have a hot bath once a week with a glass of wine while I catch up on my favorite reality shows – it’s my guilty pleasure that helps me wind down after a crazy week!

If you’d like to find out more information about Brancott’s Flight Song wines check out their website HERE.

~Melissa

Flowers in The Fall

Today was a pretty good day without too much running around. I did a little grocery shopping this morning, then my friend Jessica and her son came over for lunch and Noah and her son Gage played for a while while we chatted, then I tackled cleaning out our Expedition - I don't know why it still amazes me just how messy kids are...at least mine. We are heading down to southern Oregon this weekend for a few days to visit my family and have an early Thanksgiving, so I'm trying to get everything ready and packed for our little road trip.

So I've been meaning to share this for a while, but it's been busy and I just haven't taken the time to upload the photos until now. These were the beautiful flowers I received last month from The Bouqs Co. I don't normally write a lot of reviews on here, but when I was offered a gorgeous bouquet in exchange that I share some pretty pictures with you - um well I couldn't resist! The flowers were delivered to me on October 30th, but with Halloween and all of the parties that week, I didn't get to photographing my pretty display until a week later. Yes, these flowers are taken after a week of sitting on my kitchen table. There's a tad bit of darkening on the tips of the roses, but seriously? I was in love. 

 The flowers stayed on my table for two weeks before I finally said farewell to them. Two weeks of beauty in my house. I have always loved flowers, loved how delicate and intricate they are, and how they always seem to brighten and freshen up any home. With the short winter days now in full swing and the darkness creeping in by 5:00 pm, I really need something colorful to cheer me up and these definitely did the trick... plus what girl doesn't love flowers delivered - even if you ship them to yourself?? :) 

 The Bouqs Co. offer a bunch of different gorgeous fresh bouquets for you at a really good price too - they are shipped to you 2-4 days after being cut unlike many other places that send them after 10-14 days.

 Looking at this (the BBQ'n Bouquet) makes me want to jump and order another bouquet right now!! Do you keep flowers in your house during the winter?

~Melissa

^This post contains affiliate links. No compensation was received for my review. All opinions are of my own.^ 

Register with The Bouqs Co. & receive 15% Off your next order & FREE SHIPPING! Get your discount code and send gorgeous flowers today. Click here!

15 Reasons Why You Should Respect Your Feet (and excuses to have a pedicure!)

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

I have always been the kind of person that has to have painted toenails and a pretty pedicure for my feet. I'm that kind of girl that shows my feet off approximately oh, 49 weeks of the year in my flip flops. I only have a few exceptions, like snow, 5 degree weather, when I'm working, or when I'm exercising. 

Yes, I know I'm slightly weird. ;)

Even as a kid I can recall running around everywhere barefoot - quite the opposite from my sister, who always laced up to venture outside and play. I guess I've always been that dare-devil, care-free, wild-spirited girl all along.

Often times I will pay a visit to the salon and get a pedicure there, but sometimes I don't have the extra time or money to do that, and sometimes my feet start looking bad in between visits, so I like to pamper myself a little bit and give myself a pedicure at home. I like to do it after I've taken a bath or a shower, then I can put my bathrobe on and a face mask at the same time. I then will soak my feet in a foot bath, and then use my foot file to remove any extra dead skin off of my heels (I know, it's gross!) I then trim my nails and cuticles and finish up with some nail polish. I used to use a manual foot file, but last week I found a new gadget while I was shopping at Target. It's called a Pedi Perfect Electronic Foot File from Amopé, and it was in the foot care aisle. I bought it along with their Daily Moisturizer For Feet because it intrigued me so much. 

Let me tell ya, it was amazing! I will never go back to a manual foot file again! It was very easy to use, it even had batteries included. I even got brave and had Wayne soak his feet so I could try my new gadget out on his feet (which I think haven't seen a file in YEARS)...and it helped them so much! 

I believe we should all love and respect our feet - treat them good, and take care of them well. After all, they are a pretty important part of our body. In fact, so important that I've came up with 15 Reasons why you should respect your feet and treat them right!

1. They get you from place to place everyday.

2. Each foot has 26 bones in it - for a grand total of 52 in a pair. That's a quarter of your entire body's bones!

3. Most likely if you'e a lady, your poor tootsies get tortured in some kind of a high heel. 

4. Respect them because of their uniqueness. No two feet are alike, and it's rare that both of yours are even the same size!

5. Sometimes back pain actually originates from foot problems. 

6. They keep us moving - on average 10,000 steps a day!

7. Your pair of feet have 66 joints in them.

8. They hold up a lot of pressure when you stand on them - up to 4 times your weight when you run.

9. Your feet mirror your health. Often times conditions like diabetes, arthritis and nerve disorders show up in your feet first.

10. They are pretty popular, even Socrates quoted them: "When our feet hurt, we hurt all over."

11. Your feet feel so much better when they are soft and taken care of...who wants that scratchy feeling when you put your socks on?

12. They sweat - a lot. (that's probably why I prefer mine to be open to air). Each foot has something like 250,000 sweat glands, and when we wear shoes all of the time we inhibit the process of sweating. 

13. They each leave a special footprint. Like our hands, no two foot prints are alike. How cool is that?

14. The skin on the soles of your feet is the thickest part of skin on your body

15. They aren't just for walking - they're handy too. I don't know about you, but my feet are also useful for picking up random things off the ground. Why not?

 Check out the new Pedi Perfect Electronic Foot File and Daily Moisturizer from Amopé, and let me know what you think! There's also a couple of deals happening at Target, so make sure you check them out before you go!

• Target gift card offer: 11/9 - 11/22 purchase one Pedi Perfect and receive a $5 Target gift card
• Cartwheel offer: 11/2 - 11/22 for 10% off: http://cartwheel.target.com/offer/20183

Thanks #CollectiveBias and #RespectURFeet for letting me share my fun tips today!

~Melissa

Disney on Ice

Full Disclosure: I received complimentary tickets to see #DisneyonIce - no other compensation was given. All opinions are my own. 

Warning: there is a lot of pictures in this post, but if you know me, that's not too unusual, right? :) Sunday we attended the last Disney on Ice show here in Portland. It was there "Celebrations" show and the kids and we all thoroughly enjoyed the show. There were SO many different characters - you never knew who was going to appear next! 

The show took you through various celebrations that we all love, beginning with birthdays. 

Afterwards Mickey transformed the performance into the classic Fantasia, where brooms came out and did a fun choreographed dance, complete with glowing brooms that came down from the roof of the stage. 

The next celebration that was highlighted was Halloween. A prop was brought out and Jack from the Nightmare Before Christmas came out and gigantic spider webs dropped down - my kids gasped in awe. Multiple villains took center stage during the performance, including Jafar, Captain Hook, Cruella de Vil and even Maleficent herself.

Valentine's Day and love took over after, Minnie Mouse had The Fairy Godmother help her find her prince charming, and many of everyone's favorite princesses had solo skating performances with their princes, and showed the audience just how well they could ice skate as they twirled and carried them in the air. 

 After each solo performance Mickey came out dressed in his finest and long flowing streams of royal material dropped out of the air and flowed as everyone skated together. The end of the performance finished with The Fair Godmother Bippity-Boppity-Boo-ing the audience with a sparkling firework. 

After an intermission the show returned with Summer and vacations, and skits were performed with a luau - with Lilo and Stitch, a Brazilian celebration, some Louisiana fun with Tiana, and a pretty dance Chinese dance with Mulan. During the Luau a ring of fire lit on the ice and my kids couldn't believe their eyes.

The final stop for the Disney on Ice Celebrations was every one's favorite holiday - Christmas!  Mickey, Minnie, Daisy, Donald, Pluto, and Santa Goofy were all surprised with a visit from all of the favorite characters from Toy Story!

All of the characters came out to skate to a final song and fireworks lit - and many happy kids (and adults) had smiles plastered on their faces. 

If you've never been to a Disney on Ice show, I would highly recommend it! It was a first for my family and we will definitely be back the next performance that comes to town!

~Melissa