style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Disclaimer: I’m thrilled to be partnering with Market Street to highlight features, deals and more each month! #MarketStreetTX
I might not like to shop for clothes, but grocery shopping is a whole “other ballgame.” As long as I’m without a kid to speed me through the process, I like to take the whole thing in; a sensory experience from the moment the sliding doors open welcoming me in to want to touch, smell, eat and of course, BUY everything I can get my hands on.
I am blessed there are so many innovative grocers in my area, but one of the ones that is near and dear to my heart is Market Street. Growing up in my small hometown, United was the only grocery store in town. At one time my mom worked there, my friends worked there and of course, many holidays were first celebrated with a couple of runs to United. However, just like me, United has grown up, added more stores and brands including Market Street, the experiential marketplace that allows customers to touch, feel, smell and taste their household needs, but still with that hometown hospitality it’s always had.
Continuing to celebrate that local pride, Market Street will host the BEST OF TEXAS, JULY 12 AND 13, 11 am – 5 pm throughout the store. To support Texas growers and suppliers who share our dedication to excellence, the stores will be sampling a huge number of Texas products, so it’s an ideal time to come in and shop! Of course, Market Street always features Texas products like wine, beer, beef and produce. You can see the extensive list of sampling opportunities on the website, but the Olli Wild Boar Salame, Llano Wine & Mom’s Strawberry Cake are high on my target list!
If you’ve never shopped Market Street before, make sure to sign up for their Rewards Program to save on the Texas grown watermelon and cantaloupes you’ll be buying. A completely digital program, coupons are automatically loaded to your account and all you need to do is type in your phone number and you save on the items you buy most! Even the kids receive a free cupcake or piece of fruit on their birthday! Get started on saving money by signing up today!
There’s no reason to be bored this summer – even if you’re on a budget! Check out these fun activities you can do with the family, with friends, for date night or even by yourself!
Saturdays in July enjoy jazz on Saturdays in Addison Circle Park.
MOVIE TIME
Also, a part of Addison’s Summer Series, Cinema in the Circle, Saturdays in August bring your picnic basket to the park with your blanket and your loved ones to watch movies.
Ideal for kids 5-12, the first Saturday of the month from 9-12 you can learn some fun activities at Home Depot like how to build a bug house! Make sure you register though because these often are sold out!
Of course, the need few days they’ll be fireworks all over DFW, but if you can’t join the party or rather avoid the crowds, you can always join the free fireworks displays at Lake Grapevine from the Gaylord Texan hotel around dark each Friday.
Photo from Visit Grapevine Facebook Page
Visit MamaChallenge.com for more fun ways to enjoy DFW this summer on the cheap!
Thanks for following MamaChallenge.com! Today on WFAA Good Morning Texas I’ve put together some simple treats that taste delicious and can cool you down in the heat of the summer! Scroll down to see the video and the cutest sous chef in the world!
Make even water a fun treat with rainbow ice cubes and fruit!
RAINBOW ICE CUBES
Ice Cube Tray
Water
Food coloring
Fill ice trays with a few drops of food coloring. Freeze until ice (overnight). Put in a glass and allow to melt for the colors to make a rainbow.
NUTELLA COOL WHIP ICE CREAM POPSICLES
From 52 Kitchen Adventures blog
1 c. Cool Whip
½ c. milk
3 Tbsp. Nutella
Blend and freeze in popsicle molds.
Bananas can be the base and you can add what you want for instant ice cream.
(BANANA) MINT CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM
Ripe frozen bananas
3-4 drops of mint oil, flavoring
½ cup of chocolate chips
Blend bananas until smooth. Then add oil and chocolate chips and blend just until smooth.
This is such a simple snack, but guests of the Joule drool over this grape snack.
FROZEN GRAPES
2 c Red Grapes, rinsed and stemmed (or a mix of any variety of grapes)
¼ c sugar
Place grapes in a gallon-size plastic resealable bag with sugar.
Seal and shake bag to coat grapes.
Empty grapes onto a paper towel to air-dry.
Place grapes on a baking pan and allow to freeze for 2-3 hours. Serve.
When a trip to Napa isn’t in the schedule or the budget, but you really need to get away to do something fun with the girls, I highly recommend Grapevine Wine Tours. I experienced the fun of the Grapevine Wine Tour complimentary for purposes of this review. I enjoyed every moment of it and I had no idea it was just a few minutes from home!
Only a few short miles from the DFW Airport, many people are astonished at all the fun things to do inn Grapevine, Texas. One of my favorite places, there’s lots to do for visitors to Dallas-Fort Worth as well as the locals who live here. I’ve been here for more than a decade and had never heard of the Grapevine Wine Tours. With a name like Grapevine, you know that wine is part of the recipe for fun, so I was eager to hop aboard the GWT bus and see how the experience stacked up – especially next to my own Napa Valley experience.
The wine tour bus was clean, comfortable and full of hospitality as we met with our lovely tour guide, a cold bottle of water and a little bit of history before we came to our first destination for the evening: Homestead Winery.
Close to the Main Street downtown area, you’ll find Homestead. I’ve been to this area a million times (no lie) and had never seen this adorable restored home that housed our first tasting.
Raising our first glass of the evening, we were able to enjoy pours of several varieties from Homestead’s own wines produced and bottled in Ivanhoe, Texas. While I enjoyed several samples, the one I love the most was actually our first glass, the Bois’ d Arc, a medium-bodied red table wine.
I liked it so much I purchased a bottle as well to take home to enjoy. However, the crowd pleaser was definitely a chocolate wine that had several of the girls making purchases before boarding the bus for our next destination: Delaney Vineyards.
I had actually been to Delaney Vineyards before as it’s a landmark for several beautiful Grapevine events like the Vineyard 5K Run in September, but I had never had a chance to tour the facility and the grounds.
Delaney has been in production since 1996 and the Grapevine winery, along with its main vineyard in Lamesa, Texas, have been producing several award-winning Texas wines including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Petit Verdot, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Franc.
Honestly, after going through my photos from the evening, I had a hard time distinguishing my vineyard photos from Napa and the ones I took in Grapevine. As we walked the grounds we learned more about the wine-making process, from the vine, to the barrel and to my wine glass as well as the history of Delaney Vineyards.
Of course, no vineyard tour would be complete without a tasting! So we sat down to enjoy a few samples and catch up for a little while before boarding the bus for our last stop.
As part of our tour, we selected two wineries and dinner . However, depending on your needs and time of day preference, you choose to do a lunch tour; either four hour tour includes three wine tastings in Grapevine. However, if you find yourself in Dallas, they actually have a Dallas wine tour there as well!
Our last stop before heading back after was the main course of the evening; a three-course private dinner at Winewood Grill and another tasting opportunity. After such a great evening of hanging out with the girls, experiencing such beautiful scenery, and of course, savoring the wine, I knew I’d be doing this again the next time the girls were looking for something fun to do!
Ranging from $79.50 for lunch – $89.50 for dinner, the Grapevine Wine Tours operate twice daily. Perfect for girls’ night out, date night or just a great way to experience Grapevine, the GWT are an excellent options for any itinerary for the adults and can be experienced again and again.
Disclaimer: I received a lovely gift card to lure me away from my online shopping to experience Grand Prairie Premium Outlets. I’ve been back several times to shop on my own dime and spent even more! Take a look at what keeps me going again and again.
I’m a big fan of online shopping. I mean big fan. I click, I look, I click again and in a few days, it’s mine. And for the most part, I can send it back if it doesn’t work. So why would I go shopping at the mall?
We’ll honestly, it was totally as a challenge from the Grand Prairie Premium Outlets and considering this is mama challenge.com, I had to take it. That, and a reason to go shopping by myself without my children, is totally worth the opportunity to at least try to check out a nearby shopping center (like a stones throw away from home) that I never go to and see what it had to offer.
After I opened up the map, I realized this challenge might be fun. All my favorite shops, no kids and a little money to spend, I was ready to do something completely off the to-do list, go looking at handbags at Michael Kors. AHHH…
I was in love with them all and since I know the prices for MK bags like the back of my hand, I had found some great deals on handbags from this season. The green one caught my eye, but considering I was just starting, there was no reason I needed to blow my budget all in one spot…
Never one to ever pass up the holy trinity known as Gap, Banana Republic or Old Navy, I made b-line to the Banana Republic OUTLET (even better!) Most of the styles that I saw looked just like the e-mail blast I was sent from BR that morning, so I was even more happy that the prices weren’t. Notice the nautical theme on the table? So summer 2014 and at 50% I could get on trend at half the cost!
Of course, a little trip to Gap OUTLET was also on the must-do list! I only spent $82 and look at what all I got…but even more impressive, was my savings – $95.99! Woo-hoo! And I still had money left!
And the savings don’t stop there! I highly suggest getting on the GPPO VIP Club and check out all the savings you can rack up like on the Promotions page, VIP coupon book and a whole lot of other amazing savings!
Best of all, I was so satisfied by my few hours of shopping and great wins, that I had only hit up a few stores and hadn’t even made it to my favorite kid shops like The Children’s Place and more! Another shopping trip for me and way better deals than I could find online!
I highly suggest you take a trip to Grand Prairie Premium Outlets (off 360 and 20) and check out the deals for yourself! All you have to lose is less money than shopping somewhere else!
style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I needed a little time to take a breather – from everything.
Unfortunately time and money keep me from taking off for a week to unwind. And while I love my family dearly, vacation means a little time without them, too. I mean let’s be honest, while family vacations may be memorable and absolutely necessary…for moms, especially, there’s nothing very relaxing about them. Or at least the ones we’ve taken. Ask any mom after she’s doing laundry from a trip to Disney World or a weeklong road trip. I promise if she doesn’t say she needs a vacation from the vacation, then she’s lying.
And after putting everyone’s priorities above her own all the time everyday, is it so wrong to just remind yourself what it is that makes you happy without wondering if it makes everyone else happy? I mean every choice you normally make starts off with thinking about the rest of the family’s schedule, food preferences, sleep cycles and in our case, what’s going to create less of a fight. But when you think about it, if all it takes is 24 hours for mom to be herself by herself to keep the sanity of the whole family at bay, then isn’t it worth it?
So off I go on my own vacation. Twenty-four whole hours to do anything I want, how I want, eat what I want, read what I want, do nothing if I want, without interruption (God willing.)
What to do, what to do, what to do.
Follow how mom spends her 24 vacation on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter!
You never know what will happen.
If you had 24 hours to do whatever you wanted, what would you do?
Anyone who knows me, knows I have a bad habit of Bravo! I don’t mean I applaud ferociously at anything, but late at night, when I’m hard at work on presentations, blog posts and more, I normally have my TV tuned to the Bravo network to check on my fellow Housewives or see what my buddy Andy is up to. That statement even makes me laugh. There’s nothing really fellow about any member of the Real Housewives franchise, but there are a few of the geographies that I do enjoy indulging in like a spoon in an entire pint of Ben & Jerry’s on a Sunday night. In the past I’ve enjoyed a little Heather Dubrow on the blog and this Friday I’ll kick off my weekend (well 24 hour vacation) with from Tamra Judge.
You know Tamra. In the past she’s been known to do a lot of things, but she’s been know to throw down and be the life of the party. So what a perfect way to start things off – with Tamra and a shot! Friday, June 20 Real Housewives of Orange County star, Tamra Judge, hosts a bottle signing and cocktail tasting event at the Colleyville Goody Goody Liquor store, 4701 Colleyville Blvd., Friday, June 20 from 5 to 8 p.m. in celebration of her partnership with the Cuca Fresca brand.
Don’t know what Cuca Fresca is? Me neither. From the press release: Cachaça is the world’s third most consumed spirit behind vodka and soju, and the Brazilian-based liquor is one of the fastest growing spirits category in the U.S. Tamra’s husband, Eddie Judge, discovered the spirit while traveling overseas, and introduced Tamra to it on one of their first vacations together. The couple was drawn to working with Cuca Fresca because of its premium taste and organic production methods.
So bring your $21 and come out and get a “shot” with Tamra (or at least get your bottle signed and use one of these recipes to enjoy a little Cuca Fresca!
Going to the movies can be expensive with the whole family in tow. So take advantage of these outdoor movie opportunities this summer across DFW – from Addison, Arlington, Fort Worth and Dallas, there are some great movies for the kids (and even date night option for some really recent films!
Movies Under the Moon at The Shops at Park Lane Movies Under the Moon is a fun, family-friendly event to see movies under the big sky at the big shopping center across from Northpark. Refreshments will be available for purchase, but don’t forget a blanket! June 20 – BRAVE June 27 – SPIDERMAN (Visitors with tall chairs will be asked to sit in the back.)
UTA Summer Movie Series Opening up its campus to the community, UTA invites everyone to enjoy movies outdoors with complimentary popcorn Thursdays this summer. While some of the shows are family-friendly, it may be a perfect opportunity to spend the money on the sitter and save on the movie and refreshments. Specifics about location can be found on the website. JUNE 19 – BAD WORDS JUNE 26 – CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER JULY 10 – TRANSCENDENCE JULY 17 – BRICK MANSIONS JULY 24 – NEIGHBORS JULY 31 – THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 AUGUST 7 – MILLION DOLLAR ARM
Children’s Summer Series at Studio Movie Grill The Children’s Summer Series at Studio Movie Grill, sponsored by Aquafina, offers a budget friendly entertainment option for families, summer camps, and weekday programs to escape the summer heat to watch $2 screenings of recent, popular, children’s films. With a new film every week Monday – Friday at 11 am there is plenty of family fun to be had! JUNE 16 – 20 THE CROODS JUNE 23 – 27 EPIC JUNE 30 – JULY 4 TURBO JULY 7 – 11 RIO JULY 14 – 18 SHREK FOREVER AFTER JULY 21 – 25 CHARLOTTES WEB JULY 28 – AUGUST 1 KUNG FU PANDA 2 AUGUST 4 – 8 PUSS IN BOOTS AUGUST 11 – 15 MADAGASCAR 3 AUGUST 18 – 22 RUGRATS Movie
Sunset Cinema at the Amon Carter Museum Pack a picnic, grab some friends, and watch a movie on the lawn of the Amon Carter Museum on Thursdays in June & July. Lawn opens at 6 p.m. Lawn chairs, blankets, and coolers are welcome (lawn only). No glass bottles, alcohol, or pets please.No reservations are required. JUNE 26 – TOY STORY JULY 31 – CHICAGO Cinema in the (Addison) Circle Pack up your family, friends, and a blanket and enjoy some of your favorite adventure flicks under the Addison night sky! Cinema in the Circle offers free outdoor movies on a big screen every Saturday in August, right in the middle of Beckert Park! AUGUST 2 – NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM AUGUST 9 – X-MEN AUGUST 16 – JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH AUGUST 23 – BATMAN (1966) AUGUST 30 – FANTASTIC 4
Everyone wants ’em, but how can you get the best legs for summer? Take a look at these tips from me on Good Morning Texas! (I still can’t believe I wore shorts on TV!) Affiliate links may be included.
1. Fit Legs (Exercise) Just a little bit goes a long ways to create a great leg. Calf raises. Squats while you blowdry your hair. Take the stairs. Go to ToneItUp.com. Or Skinny Mom. Love both of these sites – and they are full of ideas for helping you get a great looking leg. Or here in Dallas, you can get a serious leg work out that’s lots of fun with FLYWHEEL! With two spinning locations – Highland Park and Plano, you’ll be rocking and rolling with awesome legs and a workout that can be compared!
2. Exfoliate // Fresh Brown Sugar Body Polish Smooth legs start with exfoliation! This gentle moisturizing scrub is perfect for getting rid of those pesky bumps from ingrown hairs, razor burn, or dry skin. The scrub is make from pure brown sugar blended with the world’s finest oils so it’s all natural and has a lovely scent. Use this product two to three times a week for soft, radiant skin. 3. Moisturize // Sephora Collection Nourishing Body Butter This buttery smooth moisturizer will leave legs soft and nourished. The non-greasy texture contains shea butter extract and Hydrosenn+ for an added boost of deep hydration. It’s available in nine delicious scents like Mango, Coconut, and Cotton Flower. The delicate scent contains a unique extract to de-stress your senses and promises an instant inner lift so you’ll look and feel beautiful! 4. Tint/Cover //
St. Tropez Self Tan Now that you have the right tools, you need the perfect self-tanner to give your legs an airbrushed, natural looking glow. Self-tanner helps slim the appearance of your legs and hides imperfections like vericose veins and sun spots. The unique non-greasy formula is ultra-hydrating and easy to use for a beautiful, streak-free finish that lasts up to 10 days. This product is great for all skin tones and ages and features a 100 percent natural fragrance so you don’t have that tell-tale self-tanner aroma. Rodan Fields Tanning Foam Protecting skin from the sun is a must, but that doesn’t mean you can’t achieve a sun-kissed glow the healthy way. The lightweight, oil-free, mess-free sunless tanning foam applies easily and dries quickly. The effective dual-active formula ensures even, natural-looking color without exposure to the harmful UVA and UVB rays. It contains Rodan + Fields’ RF-Dcell technology, which is derived from dormant narcissus bulb extract, to “quench” the rate of cell hyper-proliferation and extend the duration of the sunless tan. Antioxidant vitamins A, C and E protect skin from free radical damage. Click here for tips from Dr. Katie Rodan and Dr. Kathy Fields on achieving best results.
My friend Candess is amazing inside and out and will be able to give you great service with a smile!
Perfekt Body Perfection Gel This gel will make stockings in the summer obsolete! The formula contains Hyaluronic Microspheres that hydrate the skin and help firm, tone, and improve the look of skin’s elasticity and suppleness. It’s fast drying and glides on effortlessly to instantly perfect and enhance the appearance of the legs. I love that this is available in three different shades to suit all skin tones. Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs Makeup, Light Glow Leg makeup. Water resistant formula. Spray-on perfect legs in an instant! With Vitamin K to help cover & fade imperfections. Flawless, healthy-looking legs in an instant! Imagine the feeling of absolute freedom from pantyhose. Spray-on, water-resistant skin perfecting leg makeup stays fresh and natural-looking all day. This breakthrough formula is weightless, long-lasting, transfer resistant and optically slimming. Enriched with Vitamin K, it covers and helps fade freckles, veins and imperfections. Legs look gorgeous and feel soft, smooth and sexy. Bare legs are nice. Airbrush Legs are irresistible!
Marc Jacobs Beauty O! Mega Bronze – Perfect Tan Bronzer isn’t just for the face! Use a matte bronzer on your shins and top of the thighs to contour the legs so they look leaner and longer. The bronzer is formulated with micro-fine, jet-milled powder and advanced pigment technology, so it blends seamlessly onto your skin for a flawless, radiant-matte finish. I love the oversized palette – this bronzer will last you well beyond the summer! 5. The Perfect Shorts // Gap Summer Short There are many lengths that are trending this season, but the short, short short was not made for all women. However, there is a perfect length for all of us – and it isn’t pants. You want to make sure you try in all the shorts because it’s going to depend on where your waist line is and where the short is made to sit. Ideally the short you want is going to be as long as the widest part of your thigh and not hug it but be a fit leg. No cuffs or décor, just slim line and minimal to get the eye of the short and down your leg. 6. Create the Long Leg // Crocs Women’s A-Leigh Wedge Leather (my favorite) While we all wish we were born with model legs, it just isn’t that way for all of us. So you have to make it look like it is. So you want to create the illusion, by wearing a shoe with a little bit of a heel. I don’t like heels either, so I love the platform/espadrilles that are so trendy. Again they give the look you want without the discomfort of a heel. And check out these from Croc. Again, an attractive trendy leather show, with the insole of a Croc. I wore them around Italy and even after hours, I wasn’t complaining a bit. 7. Pretty Toes Means Pretty Legs // FORMULA X Nails Summer is the season to show off your toes, and these vibrant shades are the perfect finishing touch to radiant, glowing legs. There’s nothing more unattractive than looking at a foot that’s rough and toenails that haven’t been touched with paint since you remodeled the house. Consider it a necessary piece of business in the summer to get a pedicure and let some take off that dead skin and paint it up. If you are doing something at home. Dress your nails in a single shade for a classic summer pedi, or experiment with a complementary accent nail or design. The formula is also fast-drying allowing for a smooth, flawless finish in a flash.
Disclaimer: I received a promotional gift card to encourage my interest in this tasty new offering from Jamba Juice. The health benefits of juicing have been around for many years, but juicing has definitely gone trendy with traditional storefronts and online overnight web to door service. However, the big boys who have owned the space for years with the smoothie trend aren’t going away with their carrots between their legs. Jamba Juice just launched a new line of fresh juices this week in the Dallas market one of the limited areas to have the new offering across the US.
Juice blends include:
Apple-Ade
Purely Carrot™
Great Greens
Purely Orange™
Carrot Cayenne
Tropical Kick-Start™
Citrus Kick™
Veggie Harvest™
Garden Medley
Kale Orange Power
Orange Reviver
Orange Berry Antioxidant
Orange Carrot Twist™
Triple Revitalizer™
Tropical Greens™
Wheatgrass Shot
The new line of veggie-based juices platform incorporates high nutrient and whole foods including kale, beets, cucumbers, apples, oranges and chia seeds, blended into yummy juices you’ll want to drink. The juices area healthy alternative to other summer beverages and a tasty way to increase fruit and vegetable intake. The following stores in the Dallas area have the new fresh-squeezed juice: Southlake – 222 State St, Southlake, TX 76092 Sundance Square – 400 Main St, Fort Worth, TX 76102 Frankford – 18204 Preston Rd, Dallas, TX 75252 Shops at Legacy – 5700 Legacy Dr, Plano, TX 75024 Greenville – 5923 Greenville Ave, Dallas, TX 75206 Northwest Highway – 8421 Westchester Dr, Dallas, TX 75225 Las Colinas – 6440 N MacArthur Blvd, Irving, TX 75039 Watauga – 8450 Denton Hwy, Watauga, TX 76148 Hulen – 4801 Overton Ridge Blvd, Fort Worth, TX 76132 Spring Creek – 1201 E Spring Creek Pkwy, Plano, TX 75074 Flower Mound – 3180 FM 407, Highland Village, TX 75077 Camp Wisdom – 3040 Camp Wisdom Rd, Grand Prairie, TX 75052
