A Perfect Fall Day with Jax & Annie('s)

Disclaimer: I am a member of Influenster and received free products in exchange for this review. All thoughts and opinions are 100% mine. 

Today my baby turns 22-months-old... where, oh where has the time gone?! And why, oh why am I not posting his 22-month update today?! Ugh! I will write it up and post it Monday -- I promise!

Anyway, it is FINALLY starting to feel like fall in Colorado -- in fact, yesterday was the perfect fall day that was complete with cool temperatures, the sound of rain hitting the windows throughout the day, and the smell of fresh baked cookies wafting through our home...

Next week, Jackson will be hosting his first ever Halloween cookie decorating party for some of his friends, so I we decided to do all of our baking on this dreary day. We I had so much fun rolling the dough, cutting, and baking the cookies while Jackson played with/ate his little pile of homemade cookie dough. **I'd be lying if I said I wasn't paranoid about him getting sick, but I figured that eating raw cookie dough is a right of passage in every childhood, so I let him eat a little bit...**

Once we finished baking/packaging/freezing our cookies, it was time for lunch -- and what better lunch on a chilly fall day than a hot bowl of chicken noodle soup? But do you know what's even better than chicken noodle soup? 

Annie's Organic Star & Chicken Soup, of course! 

In our house, soup lunch = no shirt

I have always been a huge fan of Annie's organic products (I mean, how can you go wrong with a name like that?), but had never tried their soups before -- game. changer. Annie's Organic Star & Chicken Soup is WAY better than any of the condensed soups I've ever had and it even had my picky toddler coming back for more! Aside from the name and amazing flavor, I love Annie's because it is made with only organic chicken and never with any artificial flavors, synthetic colors, preservatives, or MSG. 

Soooo, it's official: Annie's is the new favorite soup of Annie! If you have yet to try them, do yourself a favor and stock up on your next grocery run -- you will not be disappointed. 

After lunch, it was time to venture out into the rain to do a little Halloween party shopping, popcorn eating, and choo-choo playing at a nearby shopping center.

After seeing this at Dollar Tree, I'm ready to scrap the Halloween cookies and bake up some Christmas treats for Thursday! 

Our weekly tradition: popcorn and lemonades at Target.

Choo-choos -- his current favorite! 

I am so glad I get to stay home with Jackson and take him on our fun little "dates" throughout the week -- I am also incredibly excited to finally see fall make its grand entrance! We've been waiting for you, old friend.

Bring on the layers!

Save Money, Save Smiles

I was compensated for this post with product and/or payment; however, opinions are 100% mine and as always, I would never recommend something to my readers that I wouldn't use myself.

To the Class of 2015:

You've worked your tails off these past 4 years and now you're here -- high school graduation! Congratulations!! 

The gowns have been ordered, invitations sent, and overly priced prom dresses put away, never to be worn again (or was that just me?). Now what? College? Work? Traveling the world in order to find yourself? Whatever it may be, the world is yours!

My lovely cousin and me at my graduation! Also, remind me to sometime tell you the story about how my mom insisted on trimming my bangs the week of graduation.. 

If you do what I did and head off to college right after high school, enjoy! Trust me; you have lots of hard work and all-night study sessions headed your way, but you will also make some of your best memories and friends. College can be such a stressful time for several reasons (leaving home, classes, trying to maintain your social life, etc.) but your friends at Campus Book Rentals are here to ease the financial burden of buying pricey textbooks. 

Why rent your textbooks from Campus Book Rentals? 

Well..

• save 40-90% off of bookstore prices
• free shipping both ways
• can highlight in the textbooks
• flexible renting periods
• named "One of America's Most Promising Companies" by Forbes Magazine, ranked #17 on the Inc 500 List in 2012, and our CEO just won the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year

Still not sold? 

What if I told you that renting your books from Campus Book Rentals could save a life? That's right! For every book you rent, Campus Book Rentals will donate to Operation Smile, an international children's medical charity that performs safe, effective cleft lip and cleft palate surgery, and delivers postoperative and ongoing medical therapies to children in low and middle income countries.

via Operation Smile: Every three minutes a child is born with a cleft. A child with a cleft has twice the odds of dying before their first birthday. Children with cleft conditions who survive may have difficulty eating, speaking, hearing or breathing properly. In some places, they are shunned and rejected. And in too many cases, their parents can't afford the surgeries they need to live a productive life.

How does Campus Book Rentals work?

I know you're sold so what are you waiting for?! Check out Campus Book Rentals and start saving money today! 

Bloominous DIY Flowers

I was compensated for this post with product and/or payment; however, opinions are 100% mine and as always, I would never recommend something to my readers that I wouldn't use myself.

Psst.. Can I let you in on a little secret?

Weddings are expensive. 

Like, really, really expensive. 

Even if you don't have an invitation calligrapher, designer silk gown, or a stellar Frank Sinatra cover artist performing at your reception, the numerous expenses can add up really quickly -- and you shouldn't have to throw away your dream wedding plans just because you can't afford it.

That's where my friends at Bloominous come in. 

Bloominous is your partner who understands easy (and afforable!) DIY flowers. What makes them so special? Well..

• The DIY experts at Bloominous design collections that are not only beautiful, but also really easy to arrange.
• The flowers come straight from the farm, ensuring your stems are fresh and cut-to-order.
• Included step-by-step pictorials make it easy to build a beautiful piece in just 15min.
• Bloominous de-thorns and proportions your flowers to save you time.
• Packages carefully packed and ship by Air to ensure freshness.

Pretty cool, huh?

The concept for Bloominous actually came about when one of the co-founders was getting married and experienced first hand the high cost of wedding flowers. After a year of research and design, Bloominous was born (you can read the whole story here) -- this just goes to show that they know first hand what goes into budgeting a wedding!

Confession: I'm not a DIYer (I've said it before and I'll say it again -- I have no talent when it comes to creating things.. except for cute babies, of course) so I was extremely nervous about the process. Folks; I was pleasantly surprised! 

My flowers were shipped on Thursday and arrived Friday morning via FedEx (I got a little too excited and opened the package before taking a picture.. oops!). 

The contents of the box (the Party Pop collection) 

The box comes complete with ribbons and pins to make your own bouquet! 

As you can see, the box came with stunning roses, instructions, flower food packet, and bouquet adornments. Brandon and I were both amazed at how fresh the flowers were (considering they'd been shipped over night) and how they managed to perk up even more after they were watered!

I was super nervous about trimming the roses incorrectly so my hot cameraman (AKA my hubby) stepped in to save the day!

I really cannot say enough good things about my Bloominous bouquet! They are truly the highest quality and most fragrant flowers I have ever had -- I really wish they'd been around when Brandon and I were married! If you're looking for incredible wedding flowers (or just high quality flowers in general), you need to give Bloominous a try! 

My beautiful Bloominous flowers make me want to renew my vows to Brandon (because that's what most people do after 27 months of marriage.. right?)! 

Giving Back With #WalmartGrocery

As a participant in the Walmart Grocery to Go program, I’ve received a personal invite and payment for my time and efforts in creating this post. As always, all opinions are my own and were in no way influenced by Social Chorus or Walmart.

The holiday season is always such a special time--the festive lights, family gatherings, and holiday cheer make for wonderful memories and make us think about all of the blessings in our lives. Becoming a mom has really put things into perspective for me and has taught me to enjoy the little things and to never take anything for granted; we have an incredible God who loves us, a roof over our heads, food in the refrigerator, clothes on our backs, amazing family & friends, and good health. 

As far as I'm concerned, we have it all (and then some). 

This really got me thinking about people who may be going through hard times right now and what we could do as a family to help. 

That's where my friends at Walmart come in.

I talked last month about how Walmart Grocery To Go delivered several of my Thanksgiving groceries right to my front door.. but did you know that they deliver more than just groceries? That's right folks; no need to ever leave the house again for toiletries, electronics, or laundry detergent--a friendly Walmart Grocery To Go will bring your order to you!

I'm beginning to get super spoiled by @walmart's #walmarttogo--I can sit back, relax, order my groceries online, and have a friendly person deliver my order straight to my door! #winning #sp

A video posted by anjoyabel (@anjoyabel) on Dec 12, 2014 at 12:07pm PST

Pretty cool, right? (P.S. Noah has delivered my last two orders and is always so friendly and helpful!)

Our church has an awesome program where it will actually deliver food and necessities to families in need so I decided to check out their website and go from there; the website recommended donating nonperishable food items and also listed other needs like toiletries and baby essentials. After talking with Brandon, we decided to go ahead and purchase some of the latter.

No need to adjust your screens--Walmart Grocery To Go even delivers diapers!

Take advantage of Walmart's Every Day Low Prices and save time; just shop and pay online to purchase products in stock at a Walmart store near you, choose a delivery date, and your order will be delivered right to you! To see if you're in Walmart Grocery To Go delivery area, be sure to check out their website. You can also use this link to get $15 off your first purchase!

Now that's what I call saving money and living better.

Thank you to Walmart & Social Chorus for asking me to participate in this program and give back to the community! 

Jackson's 1st Birthday Sneak Peek (& a $110 Gift Card GIVEAWAY!!)

My sweet little boy turns one two weeks from today.. *sigh*

..it's probably a good thing I've been planning his birthday party since he was one month old!

If you follow me on Pinterest, you may have seen my board chock full of ideas for Jackson's Winter Wonderland themed 1st birthday party--I'm so excited to see it coming to life and just have to share a sneak preview with you all today!

When I found this invite on Etsy, I knew it was "the one"--doesn't that little boy look like Jax?!

Treat boxes? Check. 1st Birthday Shirt? Check. Caffeine for Mom & Dad? Check.

It's no secret that I have a huge girl crush on Jenny Keller and her amazing dessert tables (particularly this Christmas themed one)--I know my table (and desserts) won't look nearly as amazing as Jennys do, but I'm going to give this dessert table fad the old college try for Jax's party! Wish me luck!

Speaking of desserts (and tables of dessert), I've already started baking and freezing different kinds of cookies and homemade treats for Jackson's guests to enjoy and take home with them! My original plan was to just serve sweets, hot chocolate, and adult beverages, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that not everyone likes snacking on sugar alone (hard to believe, I know!).

That's when I decided that it was time for Jackson and me to take a trip to our neighborhood Safeway to get ideas for other snacks to serve.

Yeah, yeah, I know this is still considered sweet but come. on. Peppermint flavored whipped cream?? PERFECT for our hot chocolate bar!

Cheese and crackers is such an easy, yet satisfying snack to serve.. only, which cheese(s) do we choose?!

It looks like our birthday boy has spoken.

You can't have a Christmas party without a little Eggnog!

These aren't for the party.. these are for me (come to mamma, Salted Caramel creamer..).

Since 1904, families have enjoyed rich, creamy dairy products from Lucerne^®. With so many choices like wholesome milk, tasty cheese and smooth butter, it's easy to see why it's been loved for generations.

Here are a few tasty recipes that I'll definitely be serving on my dessert table:

 Cheery Cheese Ball

Ingredients

• 2 cups Lucerne® shredded triple cheddar blend (yellow mild, yellow sharp and white Vermont cheddar)
• ¼ cup Lucerne Cream Cheese
• 2 roasted garlic cloves, smashed into a paste
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp chives, minced
• 2 tsp paprika
• Open Nature™ Flatbread Crackers
• Wine Syrup:
• 1 cup Headsnapper Radiant Red Wine
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar

Directions

1. To make Wine Syrup, add red wine and sugar to a medium saucepan and reduce slowly over medium heat until thick and syrupy, or it measures about a quarter of its original volume. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool to room temperature.
2. Combine cheeses, garlic, salt, pepper, and chives in a food processor. Pulse the ingredients until for 30 seconds or until softened and mixed, then form into a round ball using your hands.
3. To serve, sprinkle plate with paprika and drizzle with half of the Wine Syrup. Place “cheese ball” in center of plate, drizzle with remaining Wine Syrup and surround with crackers.

Zesty Holiday Dip

Ingredients

• 2 cups Lucerne Sour Cream
• 1 cup Safeway Kitchens Whole Green Chilies – Fire Roasted
• 2 cups waterfront BISTRO Fully Cooked Shrimp
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tbsp chopped chives

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. In a medium bowl mix together sour cream, chilies, fully cooked shrimp, salt, and pepper.
3. Pour mixture into an oven-safe casserole dish and bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until it begins to bubble around the edges.
4. Remove from oven and sprinkle with paprika and chives, then serve immediately with chips and flatbread crackers.

Cream Cheese Peppermint Dip

 Ingredients

• 8 oz Lucerne® Whipped Cream Cheese, softened
• ½ cup Lucerne Part Skim Ricotta Cheese
• ½ cup Safeway Kitchens Powdered Sugar
• ¼ tsp peppermint extract
• 6 Safeway Starlight Mints, crushed
• Suggestion: Chocolate-covered pretzels and graham crackers to serve with dip

Directions

1. Put cream cheese, ricotta, powdered sugar, and peppermint extract into a mixing bowl. Using a mixer, mix on high for 2 minutes.
2. Chill 30 minutes before serving.
3. Garnish with crushed peppermints and serve with chocolate-covered pretzels and graham crackers.

It all looks so yummy, huh?! For more fun holiday recipes (featuring Lucerne products) and ideas, be sure to follow Safeway on Pinterest! And to get your Christmas grocery shopping started, Safeway is generously giving away a $110 gift card to one of my readers!! To enter, just follow the Rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I was compensated for this post with product and/or payment; however, opinions are 100% mine and as always, I would never recommend something to my readers that I wouldn't use myself.

How to Host (Your First) Thanksgiving

As a participant in the Walmart Grocery to Go program, I’ve received a personal invite and payment for my time and efforts in creating this post. As always, all opinions are my own and were in no way influenced by Social Chorus or Walmart.

2014 has been a pretty big year for the Sandmeiers with new jobs, an out-of-state move, buying a house, starting a business, filming House Hunters, traveling, etc., but that is all nothing compared to what I'm taking on next week.. That's right, folks; I'm hosting Thanksgiving for the first time (*cue gasps*)!

Brandon has to work his normal 11-7pm on Thanksgiving Day (before you start feeling too bad for him, know that his company is amazing and caters a Thanksgiving feast for it's employees--he's actually looking forward to working that day!) which means most of the food preparations are going to up to yours truly. Since this is Mr. Jax's first Thanksgiving and since I'll be hosting friends and family, I want the day to be perfect, which is why I've created this step-by-step fool proof guide to hosting Thanksgiving.

1.) Set the Scene
If your home is like ours, you don't have a whole lot of Thanksgiving decor (and maybe a little too much Christmas decor..). If this sounds like you, there's still time to make a change! Here are some adorable DIY Thanksgiving decor ideas that you can make this weekend:

How perfect are these FREE printables from The TomKat Studio?

These festive jars that I found on Craft River are so pretty (and inexpensive to make)!

A unique (and adorable) way to hold utensils from Baby Mama Juice

2.) Create the Menu

Before setting out on your grocery shopping adventures this weekend, try to sit down and prepare a menu; this will make life MUCH easier in the long run! Scour the internet for recipe ideas and unique sides, desserts, and appetizers to add a little pizzazz to your meal. Here are a few ideas to help get you started:

Roast Turkey with Spice Rub

Ginger Pumpkin Cookies

Spinach, Strawberry, & Feta Salad

3.) Grocery Shop Until You Drop!

Ah yes, here comes the part we all love the most: wasting precious gas while looking for a parking spot, fighting our way through crowds at the grocery store, and waiting in line for hours on end (okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration.. but you get my point!). 

As the mamma of an almost 11-month-old who isn't the biggest fan of grocery shopping (once his free cookie is eaten or dropped, he's over it), this is something that I dread. Instead of dealing with the headache of shopping/standing around comparing prices/entertaining the babe, I decided make a cup of hot chocolate, sit back, relax, and grocery shop from my phone. 

'Say what?!' you ask?

Thanks to Walmart Grocery To Go, I was able to make my list (and check it twice.. oops, wrong holiday!), browse the aisles of our local Walmart from my phone, and order everything I needed for our Thanksgiving feast.

Easy? Yes.

Fast? Mmm hmm.

Money saving? Umm, yeah!!

After selecting the items I needed (including a turkey, stuffing, fresh milk, dessert ingredients, etc.), I chose a time that worked best for me and submitted my order. That was it! The extremely friendly and helpful delivery drivers (Noah and another gentleman whose name escapes me.. sorry!) couldn't have been nicer or more accommodating.

I can definitely get used to this!

Okay, so we probably won't be needing the Hawaiian pizza for Thanksgiving but I'm showing y'all a few other great things I was able to buy!

I cannot recommend Walmart Grocery To Go enough! If you're looking for a less stressful Thanksgiving, I highly recommend you giving them a try. Register with Walmart Grocery To Go use my link to get $15 off your first order (that's ON TOP of Walmart's already unbeatable prices)!

Thanksgiving is less than a week away, you silly goose (err.. turkey?).. what are you waiting for??

A Moment for Meso

If you're a regular reader here at AOCC, you're probably expecting a story about Jackson, Bitsy, or some other Sandmeier household norm--but today, that is not the case.

Today's post is about mesothelioma.

If you're like me, the extent of your mesothelioma knowledge comes from commercials for asbestos exposure lawsuits. Needless to say, there's much more to it than just that and that's what we'll be discussing today.

Every year, over 3,000 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma and are only given an average of 10 months to live--this was the case for Cameron Von St. James' wife, Heather. Here's a bit of their story from Cameron:   

How beautiful is this family?? (Source)

My wife, Heather Von St. James is a rare mesothelioma cancer survivor who beat the odds 8 years ago when she was given only 15 months to live. Heather was diagnosed just three months after giving birth to our daughter Lily. After a life saving surgery that included the removal of her left lung, Heather is thriving more than ever! 

Heather has such an amazing story (and is an amazing woman for that matter) and beat the odds--here are a few facts to help educate you about mesothelioma and asbestos exposure:

• Asbestos exposure is the number one cause of occupational cancer in the US even more than 30 years after the peak of its use. 
• No amount of asbestos exposure is safe. 
• Symptoms may not appear until 30-60 years after initial exposure to asbestos. 
• Asbestos can be found in many older homes, schools, factories, and commercial buildings. 
• Men are four times more likely to be diagnosed with mesothelioma than women.

For more information about asbestos exposure, mesothelioma, Heather Von St. James, and other survivors, please visit the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance's website (www.mesothelioma.com). My hope in writing this post is to educate those who, like me, didn't know much about this terrible disease--what is something you learned about mesothelioma? Why did it surprise you?