Treat Yourself Tuesday # 6

I am linking up with Becky over at Olives 'n' Wine for a Treat Yourself Tuesday. You can treat yourself in a number of ways such as buying yourself a little treat or clothing item, or even something like a day relaxing at the beach! Here is what I treated myself to recently.

A new look for my potted porch plant. Okay, maybe this isn't a treat to some people, but it was definitely a face lift for my porch, therefore, I consider it a treat! I found an old trestle (I think this is the correct word) laying around the backyard so I cleaned it up and had my hubby cut it down a bit. Then I painted it and 'Wala'! Now my plant might actually grow.

I ordered some more of these bad boys... They are so addicting and good! Great healthy on the go meal alternative.

I checked the lulu lemon website (awful idea, never again) Monday morning and saw this shirt went on sale. Since I had eyed it earlier this month, I had to get it.

And AdvoCare recently announced a new summer promotional Spark flavor so you better believe I ordered a box of these as soon as possible! The green apple spark is definitely one of my favorite flavors now and I'm really hoping that I can buy these in canisters sometime soon.... please advocare?! =)

That's it for me..... Have a great Tuesday everyone & make sure to treat yourself to something nice every once in awhile!

What's on the Menu # 3

Happy Monday everyone. Don't you just love Monday's? I sure don't.... especially after this past weekend that was full of junk food! I had Chick Fil A, Papa John's, and In N Out..... need I say more?

I'm in a much needed detox mode this week....who's with me? Here is what's on the menu this week for dinners.... All of these recipes are Advocare Friendly.... HEALTHY & CLEAN! =)

Monday: Sweet & Sour Chicken: I haven't tried this one before but it looks really good! My boys are napping now so after I'm done blogging, I am going to start marinating the chicken. I will serve the chicken over brown rice.

Tuesday: Zucchini Ravioli w/Ground Turkey & Spinach: Again, I haven't tried this one before (my husband is going to be so happy that I'm making new meal options!) but it caught my eye!

Wednesday: Leftovers. Mason has a swim class at 4:30 on Wednesday's so I will probably not feel like making a gourmet meal - leftovers it is!

Thursday: Andrew has a hockey game around dinner time so the kids and I will have some brown rice pasta with a clean marinara sauce before we go watch daddy play. Quick and easy!

Friday: Turkey Burgers w/ Grilled Veggies: Veggies on the BBQ are amazing!!! We have turkey burgers a lot around our house. To season our burgers, I use a little of the following: salt, pepper, lemon pepper, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce!

Saturday: Not 100% sure yet depending on our weekend plans, but if we are around the house, I will make a chicken stir fry..... this recipe is amazing! And if we aren't home, I will have the healthiest option available =)

Sunday: Lemon Garlic Chicken Bake: I haven't tried this recipe yet but I love lemon and garlic so it has to be tasty. I will serve this with some veggie - broccoli probably.

I hope everyone enjoys their week and makes healthy eating choices! =)

June 2014 Stitch Fix Review # 3

It's that time of the month again.... STITCH FIX!! To say I'm addicted is an understatement. This fix that I received looked a lot better than what it turned out to be..... a little disappointing. If you want to read about how Stitch Fix works, head over to my first Stitch Fix post which explains the process in detail. If you want to create your style profile and get started now click here!

When I opened the box, I saw right away that I got a statement necklace, what I had requested!

[one] Bay to Baubles Mumford Beaded Ombre Collar Necklace. This necklace was too chunky and bulky for me. I also wasn't fond of the color and style. It's definitely not a necklace I would feel comfortable wearing on a daily basis, which is what I had requested. 

Verdict: Sent Back 

[two] Under Skies Jasmine Pleat Detail Floral Print Blouse. I loved the floral print and vibrant colors of this shirt. Since the weather has been so hot lately, I was so happy it was a tank top! This looks great with skinny jeans, or you could wear it with darker jean shorts for a more casual summer look. My only complaint about this shirt would be that the fit of the top is sort of "blah", meaning the front just goes straight down. It was too cute to pass up though! 

Verdict: Kept 

[three] Pomelo Lana Lace Detail V-Neck Tank. I was excited that I got another tank top however this top is not my style. I loved the lace idea of the top, however, the detail of the lace was a little to fancy looking for my liking (if that even makes sense). Cute idea though. 

Verdict: Sent Back

[four] Renee C Tucker Printed Split-Back Tank. Again, I was so excited I got yet another tank and I LOVED this pattern. The back of the tank was awesome too! My complaint with this top was it fit a little too snug in the chest, was a little too short in the front, and went up too high on my neck...haha okay, I guess I'm making it sound like I really disliked this shirt..... Honestly though, I probably would have kept it if I had tons of money for clothes. 

Verdict: Sent Back 

[five] Under Skies Aiden Embroidered Hem Woven Top. NOT MY STYLE! Stitch Fix, what were you thinking? That's all I have to say about this shirt. Of course, this was the cheapest item in my fix, which I thought was totally bizarre and strange considering the amount of material on this shirt far surpassed all the fabric on my other tops combined. 

Verdict: Sent Back, fast!

Well, my overall opinion of Stitch Fix has changed slightly over the last three fixes I received. I love the idea of it and get so excited when my fix is being shipped, however, it's too expensive. All of the items I received were around $50-$60, which is way more than I would ever spent on an everyday shirt. I guess this is a great idea for rich women or women who like to spend money on clothes. They do seem to be great quality clothing items! I will most likely continue on this craze for awhile because it's so much fun, but maybe not monthly. =) 

For more fun reviews including my new Lipsense love and Fire n Ice blog post, follow me at https://www.whittneyhills.com

DIY Diaper Cake

I made my first diaper cake this past weekend..... CAKE - literally, it was easy! Since it was so easy, why not share a "how to" tutorial? Enjoy!

Supplies Needed:

• Anywhere from 45-60 diapers - depending on the size cake you want & spacing you use between your diapers: I used Pampers sensitive swaddlers since they have basically no print 
• Rubber bands (lots)
• Glue gun or double sided tape
• Optional: 14" round cardboard cake board to set cake on
• Decorating supplies

****You will notice below that my instructional pictures are using Huggies diapers. I made the cake with Huggies first, but then decided to use the Pampers because the cake looked 100x better with no designs on the diapers. 

Steps: 

1. Roll one diaper (printed "front" side facing inward) and rubber band it together. Repeat 2 more times for a total of 3 rolled diapers. These will be your "centers" for each of the cake layers.
    
   
   
    
   
2. Stack 5 diapers, one on top of the other, on the ground equal distance apart so they are layered on top of each other. 
   
   
   
3. Roll the first banded diaper over the stack and rubber band it together. Repeat this step approximately 5 or 6 times for the bottom base. 
• Note: On the last few rolls, my rubber bands broke so I tied two rubber bands together and wrapped it around the cake once. This held up perfectly fine.
  
  
  
  
  
  
4.  Repeat step # 3 for the middle and top cake layers. I did this step 3 times for the middle layer and once for the top layer. I used about 25-30 diapers for the bottle layer, 15-20 for the middle layer, and 5-10 for the top layer (all depends on the size you want and the count will also vary depending on the spacing between your diapers). 

   Once you have completed steps 1 through 4, you are done with building the diaper cake. At this point, you can do whatever you would like to design your cake! See below for steps on how I finished mine off.
   

   

   
   
   

5. Stack the cake tiers and cut ribbon appropriate lengths around each of the tiers. I used a glue gun to close the ribbon together. Repeat for each layer. 
   
6. Decorate with fun toys to match the baby shower theme. The cake I made was for an Under the Sea themed baby shower for a baby boy. If it is a gift, decorate with cute baby items such as shoes as a cake topper, pacifiers, bath toys, rattles, teethers, etc. 
   
   
   
   

You can even make a cake based around a theme. For example, below is a cake my friend Christina, over at Ito Floral, made for me when I had Owen. Since she knew we are huge LA Kings fans, she made a cake around that theme using those colors. It was awesome! Here are some pictures of it.

Also, if you would like, you can place the diaper cake on a cardboard cake board for a more "real" cake look! Also, to help keep the cake layers together, you can use a straw or two and feed it down the center of the cake. If you want to decorate the cake with flowers in the front of each of the layers, you can buy fake stemmed flowers and cut the stems off to hold the cake together and feed them down the center (rather than use the more flimsy straws). For my cake, I didn't use anything. 

I would love to hear feedback and see pictures of any diaper cakes you make!! 

Goodluck!