Friday Favorites – Week 308 – With Hot Chocolate Recipes

Greetings! Welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Favorites. Before we get to this week’s party, I have a quick note. You may recall that we published an application last week to apply to be a Friday Favorites Co-Hostess.  If you applied, thank you so much!  We have some great bloggers who have applied, and so I’m still looking over all the applicants.  So if you applied, please watch your inbox for an email from me very soon!

Now on to this week’s party!  This week we have some delicious hot chocolate recipes! Hope you enjoy!

Friday Favorites Link Party

Hosted by:

Simply Sweet Home
Twitter | Facebook | Google + | Pinterest | Instagram

MustLoveHome

Twitter | Facebook | Google + | Pinterest | Instagram

The Chunky Chef

Twitter | Facebook | Google + | Pinterest [Read more…]

Vanilla Hot Chocolate and a Valentine’s Day Hot Chocolate Party

Valentines Day Hot Chocolate Party

Today you are in for a treat…literally!  With the winter season in full swing and Valentine’s Day right around the corner, it is the perfect time to have a Hot Chocolate Party!  Hot Chocolate is a delicious winter time drink, and thus, it is the perfect menu item to put at the centerpiece of a winter gathering for kids or adults.  Today I’m going to show you some simple ideas and tips for putting together a fun and sweet hot chocolate party! [Read more…]

Friday Favorites – Week 301 – With New Year’s Foods + My Thoughts for the New Year

Happy New Year!  And welcome to our last party of 2015 and our first party of 2016.  Woohoo!  In honor of the new year, today I’ve got some foods that are perfect for your New Year’s celebrations!

But  first I have a few thoughts on the new year and what’s to come.  First off, I want to say thanks to everyone who’s linked up here at any time during 2015.  Whether you’ve come by each week or just a time or two, your visits are much appreciated!

Secondly, although I’m proud of the work I did on my blog in 2015, and I feel I accomplished a lot, I have to admit that I feel like I slacked a bit on parties this year.  My husband was in the hospital last spring, and I had to help him in his recovery time.  And then we also had a number of household projects to tackle and other things that came up.  Long story-short, even thought I managed to get a party post up each week, I felt like some of them were just “thrown together” and I didn’t get to visit you guys and comment nearly as much as I would like.  BUT I promise I will be getting back on track with that in the new year, as well as some other things that I feel I’ve “slacked on.”

Now in honor of me “not slacking” I am planning some posts for January, which will be on setting goals and getting things done in the new year.  In fact, my words for 2016 are “simplify” and “focus,” which I will be posting about this weekend.  So you can expect to see a lot of posts on my blog this year that revolve around these two things, especially “simplify” because simplicity is at the heart of my blog, hence the name “SIMPLY Sweet Home.”  So if you love simple solutions or feel you just want to get back to the basics of life and homemaking, please join me here in 2016.  And as always, I invite you to subscribe to my feeds and allow along on all my social media pages!

And last but not least, you can expect to see a bigger and better party this year!  Soon I will be posting a call for new party hostesses, and anyone who’s interested in being a Friday Favorites host will be welcome to apply.  And I’m also doing a little brainstorming with the current hostesses to see what we can do to make the party better.  If you have any ideas for me, or if you may be interested in being a hostess, feel free to email me.  Cheers! [Read more…]

16 Favorite Foods of 2015

16 Favorite Foods of 2015

At the end of each year I like to look back and revisit some of my old posts, and one thing I always like to do is share a round up of some of my favorite food posts from the year.  Everything looks delicious, if I do say so myself, so I had to hard time picking these out, but finally I came up with 16 goodies!  I have everything from breakfast to dinner, snacks, appetizers, and of course, dessert.  Hope you find something here that you’d like to try for yourself in 2016!  Cheers! [Read more…]

15 Holiday Gifts for Coffee Drinkers

15 Gifts for Coffee Drinkers

Are you done with your holiday shopping?  I just love holiday gift giving, and I love it even better when you can give a gift that you KNOW someone will love.

Do you ever find yourself just buying gifts that require no thought at all?  Things like gift cards or general audience gifts that could be for anyone (or the “token gift” as I like to call it).  If so, then you should really reconsider your gift giving.  Whether you’re spending $5 or $50, it is the THOUGHT that counts.

Before buying another gift card or scented candle, think about what your gift recipient really loves.  What are their hobbies? What are they passionate about?  And if you don’t know the answers to these questions, then find the answer by asking another family member or friend, or even by checking out the person’s Facebook or other social media profiles. [Read more…]

Glucerna Coupon Deal from Walmart

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

Glucerna Shake

When you’re on the go, it is important as ever to get adequate nutrition and keep your blood sugar under control.  Ready-to-drink shakes like Glucerna are always on hand at my house for those days when I’m leaving the house and need to take something along to help keep me going.

Glucerna is the #1 Doctor recommended brand of nutritional products formulated for people with diabetes. It contains CARBSTEADY®, a blend of slow-digestible carbohydrates clinically proven to help minimize blood sugar spikes. With a variety of flavors, Glucerna shakes and bars help people with diabetes manage both their blood sugar spikes and hunger. Get $1 off any one (1) Glucerna product today!

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Almond Hot Chocolate

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

Hot Chocolate with Almond Milk

Do you struggle to live a healthy lifestyle?  It can be so difficult, especially during the fall months when so many fun holidays, festivities, and social events offer great foods that you can’t help but over indulge.  And if you’re thinking about starting a weight management program at this time, it can be nearly impossible!

But regardless of your lifestyle and diet, you can always take small baby steps toward healthier living!  Just make a few simple changes:  Choose a salad over a burger, make a sandwich at home instead of grabbing fast food, and drink an extra bottle of water a day and one less soda or coffee.

Products like Orgain Organic Protein Almond Milk®  make it easy to make a small change toward healthier living and better weight management. [Read more…]

Friday Favorites – Week 278 – With Refreshing Drinks

Hello everyone.  Thanks for stopping by for another linky party!  This week I’m continuing my summer themed features with a few refreshing drinks.  These are so pretty and colorful, and judging from the sound of them, I bet they are full of flavor too!  Hope you enjoy!

Friday Favorites Link Party

As always, I’d like to invite you to follow our lovely hostesses:

Simply Sweet Home
Twitter | Facebook | Google + | Pinterest | Instagram

MustLoveHome

Twitter | Facebook | Google + | Pinterest | Instagram

The Chunky Chef

Twitter | Facebook | Google + | Pinterest

[Read more…]

12 Orange Recipes

It’s been a while since I put together a round-up post, so here we go!  Today I’m featuring 12 yummy looking recipes featuring one of my favorite fruits and flavors: ORANGE!

Hope you enjoy this mouth-watering collection of 12 orange recipes!


12 Orange Recipes

[Read more…]

Orange Julius Smoothies with Carnation Breakfast Essentials

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #50YearsofBreakfast #CollectiveBias

Orange Julius Smoothies

We’ve all heard breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  I know I certainly feel more focused and am able to get more work done when I’ve had something to eat early in the day.  But sometimes when I first wake up, I’m just not really all that hungry, and I certainly don’t want to spend a lot of time cooking and dirtying up dishes unnecessarily…my solution to this dilemma is often Carnation Breakfast Essentials.

Carnation Breakfast Essentials

I’ve been drinking this stuff since my teen years.  It was always a great drink to take on my early morning commute to school, and it got me through many college lectures!  Back then I primarily bought the chocolate flavored and simply added it to milk, but now I love using the Carnation Breakfast Essentials as a base for shakes and smoothies.  By adding a simple ingredient or two, I’ve come up with some really yummy flavor combinations that make for a light, yet filling breakfast that any girl can enjoy. [Read more…]