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Back to the routine and it feels so good…

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Did I just reveal my type A personality? In my defense, it wasn’t always crossing off to do’s on my check lists. Being a mom of three has a way of shifting those gears for you, am I right?

In any case, “routine”, I kinda love it! Summer is dwindling down and even though I’m not ready to let it go, back to school time is inching closer and closer. Getting back into our daily routine is growing in appeal. Early bed times, hayyy!

However, we do have two and a half weeks left of this freedom, and when we’re not laying out by the beach we’re doing our back to school prepping. JCPenney has been a favorite stop for us! Have you guys been in there lately? The Arizona line is insane. So many “I NEED THIS IN MY LIFE” pieces. I was able to find so many goodies for the kids and I walked out of there with some fun things for me too, because why not?!

Liam’s look: pocket t shirt/ shorts.

Phoenix’s look: button up shirt / denim jeans

Avenleigh’s dress

Can I just say, I’m still in shock that I was able to find SUCH great items and keep within our budget. That’s huge. Mom’s you know that is worth the awkward happy dance! Seriously, I even found them great denim coats.

Her jacket is currently sold out- but you can find similar styles here

I’m sorry but I’m obsessed with the fringe on Avenleigh’s jacket AND the fringe is totally detachable- major win there! Also, Phoenix’s jacket is soo rad! Just give me all the denim everything! I’m THAT person.

And for me, I had some luck with the Arizona brand as well! I’m really loving this cold shoulder top, you guys. It can be worn as a cropped top too!

Also, these jeans! Aren’t they fun?? They’re by a.n.a- they’re stretchy and super comfortable.

If you haven’t quite started on your back-to-school shopping yet (even if you have, ha) make sure to take a peek in JCPenney’s. You’ll save so much and walk out with items you REALLY love! True story guys, I’ve already experienced it.

Squeeze in those beach while you can!

XOXO, terri

This blog post is sponsored by JCPenney. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

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BTS with Famous Footwear

Image ~ ~ terri mchugh ~ 3 Comments

It’s happening. Summer is slowly winding down. When you walk into stores now, you’re greeted by those back-to-school essentials. While, I’m mourning the slow fade of those summer days. I am excited for the kids to start their new school year. Especially with our youngest headed to kindergarten! AH! Seriously can’t believe that time is already here. She couldn’t be more stoked about it. We recently took a trip to Famous Footwear to find some shoes for that first day of school. Avenleigh couldn’t wait to pick out her own style.

I had a proud mom moment when she went straight or the glittery converse sneakers. I’ve done my job here, guys, ha! They are the cutest sneakers too. I love the material. They’re easy to wipe clean.

We had so much fun going up and down the aisles at famous footwear.  Picking out shoes for ALL of us, because the deals. WOW. Just talking about their expectations of their first day back to school. Wondering if their bff’s would be in their same class this year. It was such a sweet experience. These are the moments I remember when I think about my childhood. Back to school shopping with my mom was always my favorite. It’ so wild when it comes full circle!

When you do that BTS shopping this year, seriously, make a stop at Famous Footwear. I’m not even close to exaggerating the deals they have going on right now. We walked out with name brand shoes for each one of us and paid half the price! I even asked the girl to repeat our total because I couldn’t believe it. True story.  There’s a style for everyone- from NIKE to VANS, they’ve got it!

Happy shoe hunting!

XOXO, terri

This blog post is sponsored by Famous Footwear. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

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2018 road trip to Sandbridge (Virginia Beach)

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I know I say this every year “I’m so ready for summer break!”, but this year, I was especially ready. So far it has not disappointed and we already have a vacation under our belt. Not a bad way to kick off summer! So, I thought I would share some highlights of our trip to Sandbridge Virginia Beach. We have been planning family trips to Sandbridge since before the kids were born! Needless to say, it’s a favorite.

Since we tend to take a lot of road trips as it is; keeping our vehicle in good shape to hit the road, is super important to us as a family. Luckily for us, Firestone Complete Auto Care has sweet deals and of course, we jumped all over that! Make sure to check out AND download your own Firestone Complete Auto Care coupon.

I think we’ve got this packing for 5 gig down to a science! Isn’t it funny how we turn into experts after a few trial & errors? I guess we don’t need all of those extra swimsuits (said no one ever). HA!

Our trip to Sandbridge was one we had been waiting for since last year! We come together with family and stay at the most amazing beach rental every time. If you’re a local, you know its the thing to do out there!

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We do it all for the pool. Want to know something funny? We were walking distance from the beach and we spent all week pool side. Can you blame us though? We did venture out to the cutest (and yummiest) local ice cream shop, so it wasn’t a total loss!

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The highlight of our trip had to be watching our three kiddos swimming on their own by the end of the week. They never left the water, so it was bound to happen!

One of our favorite things to do after dinner was take a walk by the beach access near Little Pier. The boys would shoot around the basketball for a while, and the rest of us would work our way to the beach playground.

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It was such a sweet week together! There was even a surprise family visit and the kiddos had a chance to see their cousins. It’s moments like these that remind me how important these road trips really are. Creating these memories, year after year means everything to us. Keeping our vehicles ready for the road is always going to be top priority because it means keeping our family traditions alive and well. Make sure to check out AND download your own Firestone Complete Auto Care coupon from Firestone. Believe me its soo worth it!

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Happy Summer!!

XOXO, terri

Places to Eat

Sandbridge Sugar Shack

Pungo Pizza & Ice Cream

Crazy Good Donuts & Ice Cream

Things to Do

Surfboard/Kayak/Paddle Board Rentals

Powered Paragliding

Pier Fishing

Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge

Can a girl just get some support?

Image ~ ~ terri mchugh ~ Leave a comment

My weekday usually starts at 6:45 in the morning. In the process of getting ready (for what always seems like an eternal day), I make sure my outfit can be flexible enough to handle life with three kiddos. Ideally that means comfort but that reality is hard to come by most of the time. Which brings me to my next point…

Bras. Kind of a necessary evil, am I right? Raise your hands if you’ve spent years trying to find that “perfect” bra? I have. I can say with confidence that I have been wearing the wrong size and style for an excruciating long time. To say that my favorite part of the day is when the bra finally comes off, is an understatement.

Just recently, I heard of Natori and was blown away by the beauty and art behind this company. It’s more a lifestyle than just specific products, which is really refreshing to see as a consumer. To be honest, I was completely ready to burn a few of my bras, so trying these out, was definitely a treat!

It felt like christmas when they arrived! I couldn’t believe how luxurious they felt! I mean, quality, ladies!

Natori Flora Bra

AND I nailed the size, it fit like a glove!! I seriously cannot believe how much I ended up loving these bras. How comfortable they felt and were seamless underneath my clothing. No bulges, or textures poking through. It was like second skin.

I gave these a good test run too. I went all day, played hard, and really gave it a chance to prove its support. By the end of the day, I was still impressed, and not in any kind of pain.

Featured here is the Feathers Bra

As mom’s we need all the support we can get and that includes what’s under our clothes! No one has time to be uncomfortable when trying to get through the day, right? For me, it could make or break my mood. Just saying. Give these a look and see what you think.  The beauty behind Natori is that they design bras with YOU in mind, there is a bra for every shape and size. As someone who has been there and personally worn them, they are WORTH your time!

Just think… a future where you don’t have to rush home to yank off the bra!

XOXO, terri

Thank you Natori for kindly sponsoring this post. All opinions and thoughts expressed are my own.

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‘Cook Better Food More Often’

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Raise your hand if you’re bored to tears with the weekly meal planning? Ok, I almost had to laugh…’meal planning’? What is that life? I usually whip up whatever is convenient and easy to make. Preferably, not coming out of a box! But hey, no judgment here if that’s your thing.

I want to jump on the healthy mom bandwagon as much as the next girl, but keeping it real here, that’s not our reality on most days. However, that is seriously about to change all thanks to Hestan Cue

Never heard of it? No worries, I was in the dark too! But oh my gosh, you’re going to be so happy you stumbled across this blog post in a few minutes.

Ok, so nowadays, everything has pretty much become a “smart” version of its plain former self. Smart phones, smart cars, freaking smart fridges (I REALLY want one of those btw). So why stop there? How about a smart cooking system? Yep, someone thought of it. It’s real. Take a look at my new bff (my dishwasher has now been demoted from that status) she’s a beaut!

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So, before you think this is just another kitchen gadget… let me teach you how this smart cooking system is actually your COACH in the kitchen!

But first…

What makes it smart?

The Hestan Cue smart induction burner connects you to your cooking through bluetooth. The smart module receives heating instructions from the Cue mobile app which I seriously get a kick out of! Fortunately for my fam, no fear of scorching our dinner anytime soon, ha! You can have complete confidence because Cue automatically controls the vital variables; like cooking time and temp, as you proceed through the recipe.

 

How many of you struggle while following recipes? Wishing you could actually see it go down step by step. That’s where this amazing Cue app comes into play. The app provides you with video guided recipes. Which by the way, are recipes that have been created by Michelin-star chefs, so yeah, there’s that! These videos literally walk you through each step. So even if you’ve never julienned an apple, you’ll see exactly how to do so. THAT is freaking cool, right?!

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I was so giddy to use it for the first time. The kids couldn’t wait to try out the salmon. Quite literally couldn’t wait, I had to shoo them out of the kitchen about ten times!

 

Honestly, I felt like I needed to be on TopChef for a second. Pretty sure I elevated my cooking skills. This is what I meant by having a coach in the kitchen! You feel trained to do the job on your own. So great!

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I’m SOO pleased with how dinner turned out! It was delicious. This Salmon recipe had me at brown buttered sauce. *Drool*

Please please please take a peek at this smart system. It is the greatest help around kitchen, and super versatile! I’m totally making some blueberry pancakes in the morning.

 

XOXO, terri
This blog post is sponsored by Hestan Cue. All thoughts and views are my own. 

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Top 5 ALDI Must Haves

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Top 5 ALDI Must Haves

This post is sponsored by ALDI. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

HELLO guys! All caps ‘hello’ because I’m feeling extra giddy about the delicious goodies I picked up at ALDI recently. Also, I need to tell you about my experience there, since I’ve never shopped at this grocery store before.

Right off the bat, I knew there was something unique about this grocery store, and not a weird kind of different, more like a ‘I’m really going to love this place’, different. I inserted my .25 cents into the slot, and took off with my cart (like I had done it for years, might I add, ha!). It’s a super easy way to save you money by cutting unnecessary store costs.

Walking into ALDI was that feeling a child gets when filling up their goodie bag at a candy store. Not. Even. Kidding. Right away I noticed the plethora of organic produce, the crazy affordable prices. I actually read the fine print on the labels to make sure I wasn’t reading the price wrong, haha, total newb!

I could see why the place was busy with customers. I just wish I had known about this place sooner!

Sooo, I came up with a small list of favorites that I thought you all might enjoy. I can’t help myself, guys, when I really love something, it’s just natural and effortless to pass along the information. So, in advance, you’re welcome! Because I KNOW you’ll flip for these goodies too.

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So, this is only about a tenth of what was in my cart, but they quickly became essentials when prepping meals!

The bread, the greens, and wine to go with my cheese… the motto of life, friends! Ha! Here are the five that made the top tier of favorites:

 

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This delicious 30 Miles Cabernet Sauvignon is the perfect, award-winning (!) red to accompany any meal, snack, dessert, what-evs! It’s so yummy! You would NOT believe the price, either! Completely affordable.

 

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For the greens, these guys are my staple super foods. I literally find a way to add spinach and avocados into every meal. I’m not even joking. You can find these in my smoothies, dips, breakfast, anything and everything. I just made the MOST mouthwatering gyros and I found a way to incorporate these greens. Stay tuned because I have a blog post dedicated to that recipe. Soo good!

I saved the VERY best for last because they need all of your special attention 🙂

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                                                       Say cheese!!

Ok, so first of all, I need to say, I have never enjoyed the taste of goat cheese. I know, I must be some kind of weirdo, but it’s true. It never really did it for me. I am a lover of all cheeses and have never come across a kind that I didn’t like, so it’s always bothered me that goat cheese hasn’t had much involvement in my life. HA! This changed after I tried Happy Farms Preferred goat cheese!! Ahh! I freaked a little. I tasted it over and over to make sure I wasn’t imagining it, just to make sure I was really getting a good mouthful. Guys, it’s soooo delicious. It has a cream cheese texture and I used it in making a sauce for the gyros. It was finger licking kind of good.

And Manchego, well that’s a no brainer! I use Manchego shavings over salads, pasta, baked egg in avocados. It’s just a very friendly cheese and melts well… so delicious in quesadillas!

Ok, so I know this is a top five list but this is an extra bonus item that I just couldn’t leave out 🙂

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Can I just say that Naan flatbread is a gift from above?! Because it is. Really. What can’t I make with this?? I use this to make pizza’s, sandwiches, just recently, gyros. It’s just the greatest. Keep this in your bread box, it’s a definite must have!

There you have it guys! My top 5 ALDI favorites! Get to your nearest ALDI asap, it will change your grocery shopping experience! The quality of food and the affordable prices are worth your time. Happy shopping!!

XOXO, terri

The Ana dress 

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Tell me you’ve heard of the LulaRoe takeover. I now know what ALL the fuss is about, guys. It’s not just the flattering styles either, it’s the material. It’s like butter. So flowy, and incredibly comfy. I thought I needed to give each piece it’s own blog post, so you can get to know them, individually, by name 🙂 
This week, I want you to meet the ‘Ana dress’. 


Kind of felt like a desert princess here, but that’s because this dress flows so beautifully. Every time I wear this, I have at least 5 people comment on how stunning it is AND ask where it’s from. 


I have a new romance with long dresses. They’re my absolute favorite go to, on any given day. 


This beauty does not break the bank either, which is comforting to all husbands alike. Haha! Also, one thing I have to mention which was a BIG selling point for me… I’m a tall girl, and finding the perfect lengthed long dress, is quite the struggle. This dress reached my ankles which is exactly what I wanted, I was SO excited. 

For more details on where to find this fun dress click here 
Up next on the LulaRoe files: Cassie 💛
Hope you all have a rad start to your week 

XOXO, terri