Kid-friendly cereal and candy “sushi”

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. Kid-friendly cereal sushi ideas and images are mine alone. #StockUpWithPost #CerealAnytime #CollectiveBias My kids love helping in the kitchen, so I love thinking up creative snacks that they will be excited to make and eat with me. I was trying to think of … Read more

Potluck star: Jalapeño and lime black bean dip

I hope you enjoy this sponsored post on behalf of Bush’s Beans.  As always, all opinions are 100% my own. Having a large family living in close proximity is truly amazing. The kids have built-in best friends, I am never lacking for friends to hang out with or to help with kiddos, and when we all … Read more

Fit frozen desserts from Arctic Zero

Wouldn’t you love to have dessert any time you like without sabotaging your healthy diet? It’s actually possible with Arctic Zero frozen desserts. Now you can enjoy all the flavor and sweetness you love without all the fat and calories – yes, really. Handcrafted from premium ingredients, including organic cane sugar, low-calorie monk fruit concentrate … Read more

Summer loving with Entenmann’s Little Bites

Entenmann’s® Little Bites® provided us with information, coupons to redeem product, and a gift card so that we could try the new muffins and share our thoughts with our readers. As always, all thoughts and opinions are 100% our own and do not reflect the opinions of Entenmann’s® Little Bites®. Summer days are the best. … Read more

10 tips for summertime snacking on the go

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #PrepFreeProtein #CollectiveBiasLorissa's Kitchen platedOne thing we are adamant about with our kids is that they grow up in an active family. With so many beautiful places to visit right near us, we make it a point to go biking, hiking, and exploring whenever possible. Our kiddos are well-traveled little adventurers at this point, and after the long winter we had, we're all excited to get out and play.

With summer weather slowly arriving in the Pacific Northwest, we’ve been taking every opportunity to get outside and enjoy every last minute of the sunshine. I love being out in nature and being active as a family, but I hate that that sometimes means eating out more than I would like. So, I've started packing healthy snacks with us for our adventures that help us keep fueled up without weighing us down. 

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Where we were: the first Dick’s Drive-In Seattle

Dicks BurgersIf you are looking for a burger in Seattle, you will probably hear Dick's Drive-In as one of the first suggestions. That's because Dick's Drive-In has been a staple in Seattle since the summer of 1953, when then 29-year old Dick Spady opened the first Dick's Drive-In.

The first restaurant was located on N.E. 45th Street in Seattle's Wallingford neighborhood not far from the University of Washington, and quickly became a success. A second drive-in was built on Capitol Hill in 1955, followed by Holman Road in 1960, Lake City in 1963, and Queen Anne in 1974, always keeping the restaurant's growth within the Seattle area.

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10 tips for planning a simply perfect bicycle picnic

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #AquafinaSparkling #CollectiveBias One of hubby’s and my very first dates was a picnic almost 20 years ago. Since that day, we have picnicked our way through 9 countries and countless cities, and we’ve made it a point to … Read more

Olive Garden copycat Zuppa Toscano recipe

I love soup, especially when it’s cold and grey. And, of all the soups I’ve ever tried, my favorite is the Zuppa Toscano from Olive Garden. I’ve been working on perfecting my Olive Garden copycat Zuppa Toscano for over a year now and I love the result. It’s even better than the actual restaurant recipe, … Read more

DIY bead storage and beading board for bracelet and necklace making

As a member of the Chick-fil-A mom panel, we were given coupons to try their new Chicken Tortilla Soup and then challenged to make a fun DIY with their soup containers. Some of the moms did some amazing upcycling projects and created luminaries, succulent wall planters, play instruments, and all sorts of super crafty things, but I went practical. As soon as I saw the containers, I realized they would make the perfect DIY bead storage container. Chick Fil A bead containerNow, I know that doesn't sound exciting because basically I repurposed something that stored soup and used it to store beads, but stay with me.  Chick Fil A bracelet elasticI've been redoing our art supplies now that the kiddos are able to craft more on their own and this has involved a ton of organizing. I was previously the only one using the crafting supplies and therefore knew where everything was stored. But, now that they can craft on their own, I needed to give them their own storage system so anyone can find whatever they need and then know where to put it back when they are finished.

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