 It’s officially the time of year I hate to leave the house! The most fabulous and festive event can be taking place and it will take everything in me to step outdoors to attend! I just hate the cold and if you add snow to the mix, unless I’m at a ski resort, no thank you!  Thankfully December is a fun month craft-wise! One peak at Pinterest and you will have more indoor entertainment ideas than days! One of my daughter & I’s favorites? Making Christmas Aromatherapy Play Doh! So fun to play with and it leaves the room you’re playing in smelling fantastic for days!  Ingredients: • 1 1/2 cups of flour • 1/2 cup salt • 2 teaspoons corn starch • 2 tablespoons oil (I use safflower, but you can use any oil) • 1 cup boiling water • 10 drops of cedarwood essential oil • 10 drops lavender essential oil • 10 drops vetiver essential oil • 10 drops ylang ylang essential oil • Gel food coloring in Christmas colors • Red and green craft glitter.  Add dry ingredients, flour, salt, corn starch, to a large bowl.  whisk together.  Add essential oils to dry ingredients.  Add water & oil. Mix well.  Take dough from bowl and knead on a hard, flat surface. Divide into 2 sections.  Add 1-2 drops of green coloring to first piece of dough and knead. Repeat until you get the color you want.  Add green glitter and knead into dough.  Repeat with other piece with the red color and glitter.  Store play dough in an airtight container or zip lock bag  Let’s Chat!Have you ever made homemade play doh?
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 I finally had the chance to see “Hamilton” Thursday!!! The battle to score two tickets was ridiculous! I had to enter a lotto system through the host theater and keep my fingers crossed my email address was even drawn to ATTEMPT to purchase tickets the day tickets were released. That’s right, the lotto didn’t guarantee anything, but the chance to be on the ticket site when tickets went on sale. Apparently having a lotto system and a 4 ticket purchase limit minimizes the chance of scalpers scoring tickets. Since I’m obsessed with musicals & try to not miss a show at Shea’s, I obviously entered multiple emails and lucky enough, one of the three emails was drawn! After the ticket site crashing multiple times, and having to wait about 15-20 minutes to even check out once my tickets were in my cart, I was lucky enough to score two balcony tickets for the December 6th show at Shea’s in Buffalo,NY. After all the drama to land tickets, I’m sure you are all wondering, was it worth it? Did It Live Up To The Hype? Or did all that political nonsense really lead to the ticket sales and the show was just “ok”? Keep on reading to find out!  PlotLike every other city, Buffalo played its part in the frenzy surrounding “Hamilton.” Legacy is the central theme of Hamilton which has landed this smashing hit 11 Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize! Basically, the musical chronicles the life of Alexander Hamilton, America’s first Treasury Secretary, set to a hip-hop backdrop. It sounds crazy, but it works because the show’s arsenal of effects is simply overwhelming. The lyrics drive the narrative, the rap gives energy to the lyrics, and the dancers double the effect by adding a visual complement to the pulsing soundscape.  “Hamilton" has everything: Love triangles, political intrigue, deadly duels and a petulant King George, played as a red-faced toddler on the verge of a tantrum. Perhaps the greatest gift is how touchingly familiar and human “Hamilton” makes the men and women who helped shape America seem! So unlike the cold faces under powdered wigs in portrait galleries & our dollar bills.They were ordinary people who, against all odds, fought against the whims of a king to achieve not only a legacy, but greatness together! That's history worth remembering.  OpinionI get it! The hype, the reviews that include words like "phenomenon," "revolutionary" and "thrilling." The crazy ticket sales and the lotto systems for a chance to score them. After seeing Thursday night's performance at Shea’s,I get it! The show is a non-stop, electric spectacle that hits the gas immediately and doesn't take its foot off the pedal until the final curtain call. There's no dialogue, only song-after-song, rap battle after rap battle. You find yourself desperately trying to process every word before it speeds on to the next, while being captivated by the choreography that turns a simple stage with a rotating center into a front-row seat to history. The incredible structure of the show makes it feel effortless, even though I couldn't stop thinking about how much effort has to be made in order for it to have that effect. You also find yourself forgetting you're watching the story of one of the country's founding fathers and become fixated on the story of a man battling the weight of his own pressure for greatness, while trying to fight the demons and temptations waiting to derail him along the way. What Lin-Manuel Miranda did to a fascinating chapter in our history books is truly awe-inspiring. Taking the complexities of war, a developing nation and the interesting characters who inspired it all and telling their story through hip-hop, rap and yes, 21st century humor and lingo, takes "Hamilton" from a musical to a full-blown experience. If you have the chance to see “Hamilton”, do it! I promise it’s worth all the ticket hassle! I would do it all over in a heartbeat.  Let’s Chat!Have you had the chance to see Hamilton? What’s your favorite musical?
 Tis the season of all the holiday treats!!! Honestly, I’m not that big of a dessert gal! People always ask how I’m so skinny when I eat 24/7 and I like to joke it’s because I skip out on dessert! I know it’s odd and I should totally lose my basic bitch card for this one, but chocolate really isn’t my thing and I’ve had a fear of milk since I was a toddler, so ice cream has always been a no-no! Cookies however, cookies are my guilty pleasure, especially sugar cookies! I know, milk is in cookies, but you can’t see or taste it!!! So I like to pretend that milk isn’t involved in the creation process. Since cookies are my favorite holiday treat and Dunkaroos were a childhood favorite of mine since sugar cookies were involved, I thought it would be fun to make Christmas Dunkaroo Dip!!!!  Ingredients• 1 box white cake mix • 8 oz cream cheese • 1 tub whipped topping • ⅔ cup milk • 1 tsp vanilla • ½ tsp McCormick cake batter flavoring • Sprinkles  1. In a bowl, add cake mix, cream cheese and whipped topping. 2. Beat until smooth.  3. Pour in milk and beat with a hand mixer again.  4. Add in your cake batter extract and for an extra dose cake cakey-ness the cake batter flavoring.  5. Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with Christmas sprinkles.  6. Serve with things such as strawberries, gingerbread men, animal crackers, graham crackers, etc.
This post was sponsored by NABISCO as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.
‘Tis’ the season of holiday parties!!!!! I don’t know about you, but when I’m in charge of hosting anything, I make sure I’m the hostess with the mostest by serving up the best drinks & snacks!! You will always be known as a fantastic hostess if your guest are always stuffed full of deliciousness!
That is why I thought I would share with you several Easy Peasy Holiday Party Snacks made by Chef Levi! Serve any of these snacks and I’m sure your party will be known as the yummy party this holiday season!! Nothing better than having beyond satisfied guests!!!
•Lox of Dill – Triscuit, Pickle, Cream Cheese, Lox, Fresh Dill
• Garden Herb – Triscuit, Brushetta, Mozarella, Balsamic Drizzle • BBQ Apple – Triscuit, Apple, Gouda, Chicken, BBQ Mustard • Turkey Cranberry – Triscuit, Cream Cheese, Turkey, Cranberry, Fresh Dill
Can you just imagine how pretty Turkey Cranberry would look sitting on a snack buffet covered in holiday decor?!?! Not only does it look beyond festive,it looks beyond delicious as well!!
I’m totally obsessed with using Triscuit crackers for all of my holiday party snacking needs because not only are they are a NON GMO food, Triscuit is baked with 100% Whole Grain Wheat!!! You can pick up your box of Triscuit crackers & all of the other ingredients needed to create your Easy Peasy Holiday Snacks at your local Walmart! Also, don’t forget to head on over to the Triscuit Content Hub to check out other several other delicious recipes you might want to include this holiday season!!!! Which recipe will you be making for your holiday party? Sweepstakes Time!!!
Wouldn’t it be nice to WIN something this holiday season?!?! Especially something that you can actually use like a Walmart Gidt Card?!?!
You have the chance to win one of six $50 Walmart Gift Cards or one $200 Walmart Gift Card! All you need to do is follow the directions below to create social media actions to enter for your chance to win between November 19th through December 19th. I-C will randomly select seven winners from all program entries and will facilitate fulfillment of the winning prizes.  And just like that another Bath & Body Works Candle Day has come and gone! Crazy that it’s already December!!! December is my favorite time of year to shop for myself, so I make sure to get all of my holiday gift shopping finished BEFORE Thanksgiving! That way I can take advantage of all those fabulous deals that show up in my inbox daily without a guilty conscience!!! I’m happy to report that 99% of my shopping was completed way before Thanksgiving, so this Bath & Body Works Candle Day, I was able to splurge on every last thing that I wanted guilt free! Listed below are the candles I scooped up during the sale, in the order of how fabulous they ended up smelling for me once at home! No idea what Bath & Body Works Candle Day is? Make sure to check out my last post so you can take advantage of the next Bath & Body Works Sale!!!  CHERY FROSTFRAGRANCE ~ White Cherry, Orange, Juniper with Essential Oils OPINION ~ I am shocked to say this candle is tied for my number one spot on my favorites list!!! Cherry Frost & In The Stars were the most powerful scented candles I purchased in my Bath & Body Works Candle Day Haul! If you love cherry, you will be obsessed with this candle!!! Plus, can we talk about how cute the packaging is?!?! Ahhhhh I love the whole girly Christmas vibe Bath & Body Works went with this season!!!!! Honestly, I purchased this candle for packaging reasons, so that’s why I was shocked that this candle smelled the best! So wasn’t expecting that!!!  IN THE STARSFRAGRANCE ~ Make every moment glow with an addictive fragrance that radiates from start to finish like the stars above. In The Stars is a warm, sparkling blend of starflower, sandalwood musk, sugared tangelo, white agarwood & radiant amber. OPINION ~ I LOVE THIS CANDLE!!!! The scent is super powerful!!! Smells like an expensive perfume, which makes this the perfect candle to burn while getting ready for those Christmas parties!!!! I really wish I would have picked a few more of these up to add to several gift baskets I have made for a few girlfriends! A total steal for only $8.95!  CHAMPAGNE TOASTFRAGRANCE ~ Bubbly Champagne, Sparkling Berries, Juicy Tangerine with Essential Oils. OPINION ~ Champagne & Cranberry, the candle below, are tied for the middle spots on my favorite candle list! I was pretty excited about this candle since I’m champagne obsessed, but at the same time didn’t have my hopes up since most champagne and wine scents tend to be disappointing . This past fall Bath & Body Works had a Champagne Apple & Honey Lotion and I wasn’t too impressed. All I smelled was Apple! Now the Champagne Toast Candle? Bravo Bath & Body Works!!!! Still not as powerful Champagne-wise as us bubbly lovers would like, but it’s a huge step in the right direction!!! Love that I bought this candle!!!! It will definitely make for a great conversation piece when guest come over!  FROSTED CRANBERRYFRAGRANCE ~ Iced Cranberries, Blonde Woods, Red Apple with Essential Oils. OPINION~ Frosted Cranberry smells exactly what what you would expect! That’s always a good thing when spending big bucks on candles. You could totally buy this candle at full price and feel you got your money’s worth!!! I love cranberry, especially around Christmas time, so I was glad I picked this candle up!!! Plus, the packaging is pretty fab itself!!! Girly Christmas galore!!!!  TWISTED PEPPERMINTFRAGRANCE ~ This is what Christmas smells like: Cool Peppermint, Sugared Snow, Vanilla Buttercream, Hint of Musk with Essential Oils OPINION ~ This was honestly the candle I was most excited to pick up!!! It looks exactly what I imagine girly Christmas to look like! It was the first candle I lit up and boy was I disappointed! For $8.95, it didn’t smell bad. It did smell delicious, but considering this is a $24.99 candle on a normal day. Boo! The scent was on the weak side for a Bath & Body Works Candle since most of their candles are pretty powerful scent wise. Glad I didn’t pay full price.I feel this was a candle that deserved that $8.95 price tag!  FREE CANDLE HOLDER!!That’s right! I said FREE Candle Holder!! If you receive Bath & Body Works coupons in the mail, then you know there is a free gift coupon in the December mailer!!! I obviously took advantage of the free gift during the Bath & Body Works Candle Day Sale! This holder was $12.95 & the coupon was for anything under $13. Pretty fabulous candle holder if you ask me! Glad I was one of the crazies at the Bath & Body Works door when they opened so I could actually scoop one of these babies up! I bet they were gone pretty quickly during the sale since I’m sure a ton of shoppers were taking advantage of that free gift coupon!  Let’s Chat!Did you take advantage of the Bath & Body Works Candle Day Sale?
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welcomeCourtneyLynne is former model turned mommy & wifey! When not blogging all things foodie, fashion, travel, mom life & straight up fabulousness to the masses, she can be found chasing her toddler around in 6in stilettos & laughing at her own jokes her glass of wine told her to tell. Categories
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