Sharing my top five favorite beautycounter products and why I love using them in my routine. Their Black Friday promo is happening now; you can check out the goods here, and read on for a lil sneaky giveaway. 

Hi friends! How are ya? I hope you’re having a lovely morning so far! I have my last day of 1:1 calls and podcast interviews and then tomorrow is more low-key leading up to the holiday. I’d love to hear what you’re doing to celebrate Thanksgiving this year!

For today’s post, I wanted to share my current top five Beautycounter products. I haven’t posted much about Beautycounter this year, but I’ve still been working with the brand behind the scenes and it continues to be an incredible aspect of my online business. I love their products and mission, and now that Liv is getting older (and constantly scoping out my makeup drawer lol), I’m happy to know that these products are designed with safety and sustainability in mind.

Here are some of the things I love if you’re looking to treat yourself with their Black Friday promo. It’s 20% off sitewide, free shipping on orders over $50, and with orders over $150, you can choose a free gift from three options. All of the details are here!

My top five Beautycounter products (and why I love them)

(Skirt is here // similar sweater here)

Statement Maker Satin Lipstick

This continues to be my go-to lipstick. I have at least 8 of these scattered in my purses and in my makeup drawer. Captivating is my top color; it’s the perfect pinky n

The Best Cheese Ball I Ever Had

I had no idea that an easy cheese ball recipe could be this good. Last year I had the best cheese ball I ever had and now I get to share how crazy easy this appetizer is!

Our neighbor, Michelle thought up the most genius idea, she cancelled neighbor gifts at Christmas. Can we all have a moment of cheering for Michelle? Now, I’m not against neighbor gifts, but I don’t know that I’m for pouring out all of that extra stress for a bunch of cookies the neighbors throw away. Don’t worry, I’m going to tie it all together so you know what it has to do with The Best Cheese Ball I Ever Had. 

We were so impressed with not just Michelle, but how the neighbors responded. Michelle sent out a big letter announcing that instead of doing neighbor gifts, what if we donated to a cause. Everyone could come visit at a little Christmas gathering at her house, bring a donation for a family in need or a reputable charity and visit with each other, which is more of what Christmas is about.

Oh it was such a success!! So much money earned, and we stuffed our faces, I mean, we all got into the Christmas spirit so much more!

What is a Good Cheese Ball Recipe?

Another dear friend, Angie was there. I casually walked over to her and seeing the food said, “oh what is a good cheese ball recipe? I’m never as in love as I want to be.” And there we were, standing at the food table, shoveling crackers with the best cheese ball I ever had into our mouths. I finally said, “my gosh, who made this?!!!” And Angie says, “Oh, I did.”

What?! How have I never tasted of this goodness before and how could she stand there so nonchalant?! I mean, it looked like a classic cheese ball recipe, but something about it was different.

Look, I’ve had some pretty good cheese balls in my day. Our BBQ Bacon Cheese Ball and German Chocolate Cheese Ball are pretty dang amazing, but now I am sitting here making a humble pie because Angie’s is the best cheese ball I ever had!

Secret Ingredients in the the Best Cheese Ball

I think it’s the secret, artery clogging ingredient that you all are going to use and not complain a lick about because it’s just that worth it.

Kraft Old English Jarred Cheese.

Yes, it’s cheese in a jar. I’ve linked to it so you can see what to look for.

No, it probably isn’t real cheese. I can’t fight you on that one. Can you pretend it is? Just this once?

The rest of the ingredients are the norm, but I’ll do you a favor and give a quick overview because I love seeing a quick list of ingredients.

Read more

Sharing a combination row and strength workout that you can do at home or take to your next gym workout. Our favorite rower for our home gym is here!

Hi friends! Happy Monday! How’s the morning going so far? I hope you had a great weekend. We finished decorating (just need the tree!), had an amazing dinner at Vivace, and got together with some friends. It’s also been rainy here and lovely. I hope you had a great weekend, too!

For today’s post, I wanted to pay a tribute to a fitness tool that we’ve added to our home gym and that we absolutely LOVE: the Aviron! (<— that it my affiliate link and they’re having a Black Friday promo right now! It’s their only sale so far this entire year.) You can check out my full review of Aviron here. Since we added it to our routine, it’s been so amazing to have for at-home rowing workouts, especially since we can stream Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, and play games. I watched half of Les Miserables while getting in an excellent cardio workout.

My all-time favorite way to use the rower is for combo strength and cardio. I’ll do sprints or drills on the rower and alternate with total body strength training moves. It’s also amazing that you can use the seat almost like a Pilates reformer; I’ll often use it for sliding side lunges and pikes.

Here’s a workout that I’ve been enjoying lately! Give this at whirl at home or at your next gym session. As always, talk with a doctor before making any fitness or nutrition changes. Modify as needed and honor your body.

Row and strength combo workout

You’ll complete three rounds of each circuit, separating each circuit with a rowing drill that will increase your heart rate and give you an awesome sweat.

The exercises:

Rowing warmup 5-7 minutes

Take this time to set up proper form, focus on your breath, and get your mindset in the game for a great workout. Play a song that will pump you up!

Circuit 1:

Biceps curl to overhead press x 10

Starting Position: Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, holding dumbbells by your sides.

Biceps Curl: Curl the weights toward your shoulders, keeping elbows close to your body.

Overhead Press: Press the weights overhead, fully extending your arms.

Return: Lower the weights back to shoulder height, then down to the starting position.

Repetition: Complete 10 controlled curls and presses.

Goblet squat x 12

Hold a Dumbbell: Hold a dumbbell close to your chest with both hands.

Feet Placement: Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.

Squat Down: Lowe

Five years flew by in a little more than a heartbeat and we now have three teenagers in our home. My youngest son Nate turned 13 this year, which meant it was time for our family’s last “teen birthday trip.”

Sean and I have taken each of our boys on a special trip with just the three of us for their 13th birthdays. We visited San Francisco with our oldest son, Sam, and visited Denver with our middle son, Ben.

This time our destination was Pigeon Forge, TN and it did not disappoint. We found a great cabin to rent in Sevierville (complete with video game tables, air hockey, and a hot tub) and Nate declared it the best rental house ever.

We very much enjoyed exploring the area and thanks to your awesome suggestions via my newsletter request, we found a few unexpected things to do too. Hillbilly Golf in Gatlinburg was such a big win, we’d have gone back for another round if we’d had the time.

We stopped at the Tennessee visitor center as we crossed the state line and Nate picked up a bunch of brochures there for activities that caught his eye.

Read more

Texas Roadhouse Loaded Sweet Potato Copycat Recipe

Who doesn’t love that over the top Texas Roadhouse sweet potato?! Oh, Mama!! Check this copycat recipe out!!!!

Tender sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows, that signature Texas Roadhouse honey cinnamon butter, and a heavenly caramel sauce. These sweet potatoes are the best side dish for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or just a nice Sunday dinner.

Why do I love Texas Roadhouse so much? Is it the house salad with that thick dressing and those darn hard boiled eggs? Is it those rolls that I shovel into my mouth faster than I can say, “one more please!” Actually, I probably am the rolls because I definitely don’t like how loud it is. Cade would for sure, 100% say it’s the Texas Roadhouse Loaded Sweet Potato. Hence this post and my need to create a copycat recipe.

Ingredients for Texas Roadhouse Sweet Potato Recipe

• Sweet Potatoes
• Mini Marshmallows
• Honey Cinnamon Butter: butter, cinnamon, vanilla, and honey
• Caramel Sauce: butter, brown sugar, honey

The measurements for all the ingredients can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post. Keep scrolling for all the details!!

How to Make Texas Roadhouse Sweet Potatoes

First you’re going to start with the butter and I cannot emphasize enough, real butter is necessary. No margarine. Sorry. And if you’re like us you’ll want to make extra for soft rolls like our famous potato rolls or homemade rolls.

Then there’s the caramel sauce. I really think this is more a dessert than anything else, but we can all pretend I didn’t say that when you eat it with your big, juicy steak at dinner. The caramel sauce actually keeps really well and heck, you could eat that caramel over ice cream if you wanted!

But really, these sweet potatoes are the best because it’s honey cinnamon butter, caramel and lots of gooey marshmallows. I tell Cade over and over it’s more like dessert than a side dish, but he just gives me that little smile and dives in.

All you do is bake the sweet potatoes, and then top with the butter, marshmallows, and caramel sauce. Then you bake it a little longer to get those marshmallows roasted, and you’re done! You could even switch the oven to broil to toast them up really quickly. You’ll only need a minute or so on broil, so keep a close eye on them!

Are Sweet Potatoes Healthier than Regular Potatoes?

Both regular potatoes and sweet potatoes are an excellent source of fiber with a great nutritional punch.

Sweet potatoes have fewer calories and fewer carbs, but more sugar. Sweet potatoes are also higher in fiber.

Sweet potatoes are higher in vitamin A, providing 400% of daily