Feeling Fresh & Confident This Holiday Season

This post is sponsored by Summer’s Eve®, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love the holiday season even though it tends to make me something of a crazy woman, it's just such a busy time of the year! Already my schedule is pretty busy: caring for 7 pets, driving kids back-and-forth, keeping an eye on my mom’s medications and doctor visits plus trying to keep my business going so we can have a roof over our heads. Once the holidays arrive, I also have to add Santa's helper to the list as well as holiday events planner, meaning that I have to plan as many holiday events and experiences into my families already bulging schedule.

But that's exactly what makes the holidays memorable, all those moments when I can look over at my kids and see the happiness that each effort has delivered. It might have taken a two-hour drive and 5 bathroom stops to get to our favorite LA spot, but seeing the smiles in their eyes as they spot the enormous Christmas tree we visit each year makes it all worthwhile.

And - because my December is super busy, the last thing that I have time to worry about is staying fresh through the many hours and activities in a day. With Summer’s Eve® Cleansing Wash and Cleansing Cloths as part of my routine, I know that I can start my morning on a fresh note that will last until I close my eyes each and every single night.

As the trusted leader in feminine care, Summer’s Eve® is known for developing personal care products that are gynecologist and dermatologist-tested for safety and help women feel fresh every day. Summer’s Eve® Cleansing Wash always has a spot in my shower and it’s a product that’s passed on through the generations.

Why Summer’s Eve® Cleansing Wash? As women, our bodies tend to experience not so fresh moments.. It could be that it’s that time of the month, or maybe you hit that gym hard and sweat yourself crazy each day, or maybe you’re just chasing six kids in a mall full of shoppers, all those things can lead to a less than fresh feeling.

The external vaginal area has a large concentration of sweat glands of anywhere on the body. So, it's nothing to be embarrassed about, especially when we can easily remedy the situation. Using regular soap in this sensitive area and that can throw off the pH balance, leave residue and cause irritations. Summer’s Eve® Cleansing Wash is safe and gentle wash that caters to one of your body’s most-sensitive areas and helps rinse away odor-causing bacteria. It is specifically designed for the external vaginal area to remove odor-causing bacteria while providing gentle cleansing and freshening.

But of course those moments of needing extra refreshment don't just come when we're at home close to a shower, a lot of those moments come when we're busy living life. That's where the convenience of Summer’s Eve® Cleansing Cloths comes in. It's like having the Cleansing Wash with you every step of your long day and because they are super-discreet, you can pop into a restroom and take care of any emergency freshening, pronto.

Again, this is another product that I always have in my bag to share with my girls are we are out and about. These Cloths are especially wonderful during period time, as they offer a super quick refreshment at that time of the month. Summer’s Eve® Cleansing Cloths provide an easy and discreet way to feel confidently fresh. The cloths are lightly fragranced and quickly wipe away odor-causing bacteria – whenever, wherever.

Summer’s Eve® Cleansing Wash and Cleansing Wipes are a must-have during this incredibly busy holiday season, when I really need to feel fresh and confident. With a bottle of the Cleansing Wash in my shower, Cleansing Cloths in my bag, or both when I am traveling, I know that my personal freshness is covered. After-all , who has time to worry about smelling bad or feeling icky? Not me!

Less Cooking & More Eating This Holiday Season

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

As the holiday season pushes on I am ever grateful for my local Walmart and the fact that I live only blocks away from it. It's so convenient for me year-round but especially during the super-busy holiday season. So whether I am running late and have nothing to make for dinner, or we have a holiday event like a get together, posada or Dia de Los Reyes gathering, I know I can run in and grab what I need to get the crew feed, fast and easy.

One of our favorites, that always happens to live in our freezer is STOUFFER'S® Party Size Lasagna. This has seriously been a favorite of ours for years and it's a great option for those busy nights during the holiday season when I would rather be enjoying time with loved ones instead of cooking. Find STOUFFER'S® Party Size Lasagna in the freezer aisle at Walmart.

This party sized lasagna is delicious, and the best part is that it's ready to go, just throw it in the oven. While it's cooking you can prepare a salad, some garlic bread, or a yummy Mexican fruit salad that I am sharing below.

This is one of my favorite recipes ever: it's a great way to incorporate fruit into a meal, it's sinfully delicious and it allows me to bring a little piece of my heritage to the dinner table. Bionicos originated in Guadalajara, Mexico, where I lived as a child and where my family continues to live in Mexico.

Bionico (serves 4-6)
2-3 diced pears
2-3 diced apples
2 diced oranges
2 diced kiwis
1/2 cup of shredded coconut
1/2 cup of granola
1/4 cup of raisins
1/2 can of La Lechera Sweetened Condensed Milk

For this recipe I will use whatever fruits I find on sale at Walmart that week - there is usually quite a nice selection to pick from. Other fruits that are perfect in a bionico are: grapes, bananas, melon, watermelon, papaya, etc. Really, it's any fruit that is either in season, ripe or on sale.

All you have to do is wash and cut all of your selections and place into a large container.

If your kids have a favorite fruit, make sure to add some in! My granddaughter loves kiwis.

Once you have placed all of the diced fruit into a bowl/container, it's time to drizzle in the sweet condensed milk. I will use about 1/3 to 1/2 of a can, depending on how much fruit we have. I add enough to add some sweetness to the fruit but not completely overwhelm their flavors.

Plate into individual bowls.



And top generously with shredded coconut, granola and raisins.

Again, this recipe is super easy to personalize to your taste. If you would like to add walnuts, sliced almonds, even a drizzle of honey, you can!

I feel like the only thing we were missing were bananas but I didn't find any ripe ones, or else I would have added 2-3. We love bananas!

And, we are done. We now have a yummy Bionico to follow up the very filling and delicious STOUFFER'S® Lasagna. A perfect way to enjoy a desert that is sweet but not overly rich and full of everyone's favorite fruits.

For a healthier version of this dish I recommend replacing the sweetened condensed milk with greek yogurt and adding honey. It'll be just as delicious but you'll save yourself a lot of calories.

With STOUFFER'S® Party Size Lasagna I know that I can get a dish on the table that my family loves, without having to stress about being in the kitchen for hours. Instead, I open up a box of the lasagna, and during that hour and forty minutes that its cooking, I can prepare dessert, cook another side dish or simply spend it watching a holiday movie with my family.

STOUFFER'S® Party Size Lasagna helps me keep the holiday smiles coming without me having to spend hours and hours cooking. I recommend keeping it in mind for all of your upcoming posadas, family dinners and other holiday events. Find more STOUFFER'S® recipe inspirations HERE to get you through the holiday season and more.

Day Tripping to Palm Springs

This post is sponsored by Palm Springs but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

We've been living in the Inland Empire for over 8 years and had never visited Palm Springs before, even though we are only about 40 minutes away. But when recently we got to pay a visit as part of a collaboration with Visit Palm Springs, we had to jump at the chance. And even though we could have taken the entire family on this day trip - we decided to make a shopping day of it and leave all of the kids behind. 

It's not often that we get to spend a kid-free day and Palm Springs is actually a perfect destination for a really relaxing and fun adults-only day. We will be returning soon with the whole brood but we're super stoked to have gone on our lonesome this first time around, it really gave us the opportunity to cover a lot more ground and find some places we definitely want to revisit. Here is just a quick look at a few of our favorites spots so far, with tons of photos!

The Corridor: a specialty shopping center full of great little shops and an open courtyard. You can grab a coffee at koffi and sit in the courtyard, taking a breather and just enjoying the beautiful open space. There's tons of seating available and I love that it's a pooch-friendly space!

We definitely recommend checking out koffi for a delicious coffee experience. 

And then what had to be one of our favorite finds, Just Fabulous. This is a gift boutique that you will want to get lost in for hours, they just have so many things to look at and discover, I wanted some of everything. 

Books, art, greeting cards, Palm Springs mementos, you name it they have it. This is one of those shops that you can turn to when looking for a gift for that hard to shop for person in your life. It's also a great place to find that perfect coffee table book that's missing in your living room. 

And you must stop by if nothing else to check out all of the beautiful Christmas trees which are on display. There were so many fun colors, my favorite I think was the red which I couldn't get a photo of because the store was jam-packed. Plus, the ornaments are so fun!

The Corridor is going to be a must-have stop next time we're in Palm Springs, I highly suggest you mark it down for a visit on your next Palm Springs visit too. 

Now for what had to be our favorite store: Palm Springs Vinyl Records & Collectables. 

As fans of music and movies, we were so excited by this shop and by the selection. You can find everything from DVD's, tapes, records, movie prints and of course so many gift ideas.  

With a few birthdays and the holidays right around the corner, we were able to find some more unique gifts that we would not have found had we not stopped in here. This is definitely another store that we highly suggest marking down for your next Palm Springs visit.

We'd read about The Galleria on the drive up and could not wait to check it out. This cluster of small shops is located on North Palm Canyon Drive and includes ten of the most charming small shops, perfect for finding all kinds of treasures: art, furnishings, etc.

The shop windows at The Galleria are just a treat for the senses. 

This was my favorite piece, which can be found right in the middle of the central atrium at The Galleria. Unfortunately, she is way over my price range.

I've already started noting down museums and attractions we have to check out plus a lot more locally owned stores that we want to stop at on our next trip. If you take a trip down soon I highlight suggest making a note of some of the places we've shared in this post, plus the Palm Springs Walk of Stars and maybe a few restaurants. Plan your next Palm Springs trip by using this handy guide to help you hit all the right spots! 

For the Holidays : Capirotada de Leche & Abuelitas Chocolate

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

Today I am excited to share some of my favorite products, both essentials not just in my everyday pantry, but absolute must-haves for the holiday season. Of course I am talking about NESTLÉ® LA LECHERA® Sweetened Condensed Milk and NESTLÉ® ABUELITA® Mexican Hot Chocolate - both of these products will bring even more joy to all of your holiday gatherings and they're also perfect for those days you're home just enjoying family.

Growing up in a Mexican household NESTLÉ® LA LECHERA® Sweetened Condensed Milk was one of those products that I can remember always seeing in my moms kitchen. In fact, anytime that we saw a can of NESTLÉ® LA LECHERA® we got really happy, because we knew that something really delicious was being planned. It could have been something as simple as pan tostado topped with NESTLÉ® LA LECHERA® or maybe mom was going to do some baking with it, but whatever it was going to be, we knew that it would be delicious.

La Lechera strives to aid moms in the kitchen with quality, consistency and creativity that you can use to bring your family together. La Lechera is the perfect ingredient to help you pamper your loved ones with delicious desserts that fit your busy lifestyle. It's tradition and quality are guaranteed to create unforgettable family bonding moments.

And probably even more special to us is NESTLÉ® ABUELITA Mexican Hot Chocolate, which is literally happiness in a mug. This, this is our hot chocolate. We're not a hot cocoa type of fam, even though we do enjoy a cup here, but honestly anytime we are craving the warmth of a delicious cup of hot chocolate, NESTLÉ® ABUELITA it is. There is just nothing like it.



Find NESTLÉ® LA LECHERA® Sweetened Condensed Milk​ and NESTLÉ® ABUELITA Mexican Hot Chocolate​ at your local Walmart.



Today I am going to share one of our favorite holiday dishes that pairs beautifully with Abuelita.

Capirotada de Leche (serves 4-6)
NESTLÉ® LA LECHERA® Sweetened Condensed Milk: 1 can
NESTLÉ® Carnation Evaporated Milk: 2 cans
French bread loaf: 1
Vanilla: 2 tbsp
Cinnamon sticks: 2​​
Mozzarella: 1 cup sliced

Bananas: 3 slices

Raisins" 1/2 cup

Shredded coconut: 1/2 cup

Directions:
Slice french bread into 1/2 inch slices and butter on both sides. We prefer to toast them on a skillet but you can also put them in the oven for a few minutes. Set those aside while we prepare the sauce.

Pre-heat oven to 350°
In a saucepan combine NESTLÉ® LA LECHERA® Sweetened Condensed Milk and NESTLÉ® Evaporated Milk, along with cinnamon sticks and vanilla. Allow this to simmer slowly while stirring frequently. Simmer until boiling with medium heat.

Now we will build our capirotada in a baking dish. Start by layering the bottom with the toasted French bread, then add a generous amount of sauce slowly, allowing a few minutes for the bread to really soak up as much of the sauce as possible.  Now add a generous layer of bananas, cheese and raisins. 

Once first layer is completed we will do the same thing again, layer french bread, soak generously with sauce, top with bananas, cheese raisins and shredded coconut. Take any remaining sauce and slowly top the entire dish.

Bake for 20 minutes covered with foil and an extra 10 minutes uncovered.

The really neat thing about capirotada is that you can personalize it to your liking. I have always preferred to add white cheese while others use yellow cheese. I just really love the taste of mozzarella with the sweetness of the sweet condensed milk and bananas. I don't add peanuts either but that's another ingredient that you will almost always find in this dish. 

My suggestion is to play around with the dish and eventually you will come up with a version that is perfect for you and yours. We love this slightly toasted, less mushy version of capirotada made with milk instead of water. 

And of course you can not forget to pair it with a delicious glass of NESTLÉ® ABUELITA!



Sweet perfection and a perfect holiday recipe.

This holiday season stop by your local Walmart to pick up some  NESTLÉ® ABUELITA and NESTLÉ® LA LECHERA® Sweetened Condensed Milk for your holiday recipes, make it easy by using the Add To Cart option below!

POWER THEIR POSSIBILITIES

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and Purina. All opinions are mine alone. #FuelTheirPotential #CollectiveBias

Shop the post by clicking the photo below.

If there is one thing that makes me happy it would be being a cat mom, especially to our three black cats. Originally from a liter of four, these cats have been with us since they were born and it's been a pleasure to watch them grow up into these incredibly beautiful black cats, each with their own personality. 

As they've grown their needs have changed and we've had to make changes to not just how we care for them but how we feed them too. In today's post I will be sharing how we power our cats possibilities by meeting their needs as they get older.

CHANGE YOUR CATS DIET ACCORDING TO THEIR NUTRITIONAL, HEALTH NEEDS

We've always stuck to the Purina brand but now that the cats are older they have run into digestive  issues plus we've had to monitor their weight because they love to eat but no longer run around and burn as many calories as they used to. While we love to see them enjoy their food and eat to their hearts content, we don't want to have overweight cats. Just like humans, overweight cats are more susceptible to illnesses and disorders like diabetes and arthritis. 

This is where making the change to Purina Pro Plan PRIME PLUS Chicken & Rice Formula Adult 7+ Dry Cat Food has come in. Prime Plus™ Cat food hits all the marks when it comes to meeting our cats personal needs:

• With a proprietary blend proven to improve and extend the life of cats age 7 and older (Findings based on cats exclusively fed a complete diet with the proprietary blend vs. cats fed the complete and balanced diet alone.)

• Backed by a 9-year study
• It also improves digestive health, helps maintain lean body mass and it supports a strong immune system 

Something else that is incredibly important is that the love to eat it. While these cats are not super picky eaters, we have run into a few foods that they do not like, at all. But from the very first time all three of them tried Purina Pro Plan PRIME PLUS Chicken & Rice Formula, they loved it. 

Just like children, it does zero good to feed a cat a food that's good for them if they are not going to  actually eat it, so the fact that they love this is fantastic. Yay for no added stress of having to force them to eat their meals. they love this stuff!

SHOP AT PETSMART FOR ALL YOUR PET NEEDS

PetSmart continues to be the #1 source for our cat shopping needs as they have everything we need for them. Here you can find everything from new bedding (something we change out every few months), collars (which they lose almost immediately) and other pet necessities like shampoo, flea/tick care, etc. PetSmart always has some sort of deal going so I shop for their needs as the deals come through and find I can save quite a bit of money.

Right now you can get a $10 PetSmart gift card when you spend $40 on Purina Pro Plan. (Make purchases from 10/15/18 –11/24/18. Upload receipt by 12/1/18.) *The Offer will be fulfilled within 8–10 weeks from the submission date. Learn more about this offer HERE. 

GIVE YOUR CATS THEIR OWN PERSONAL SPACE

While cats will be pretty friendly with each other, for the most part, they still need their own personal space. Our three black cats are not the only cats in the family, about a year after getting them we have fostered and adopted other cats and that meant that they had to learn how to share their home. 

It was definitely a challenge to mix a family of three with a family of five brand new kittens, but somehow we've managed it. And one of the main ways that we were successful is by making sure that they all have their own areas for those moments when they want to sleep or just want to be alone. Believe me, cats can be as moody as teenagers and they need a place that's just theirs. 

 TREAT THEM TO THEIR FAVORITE SNACK

Our family is big into snacking and so do our pets. Our cats love wet food so we always have some cans around to complement their dry food, or when they've been extra good they can get their own full can.  Pro Plan® Prime Plus™ has several varieties of wet food you can purchase in variety packs to give your cats their favorite treat as often as you like. 

GIVE THEM PLENTY OF LOVE & ATTENTION

Cats are not as needy as dogs but they still love to be paid attention to. Not all cats love to be held, but they do love a good scratch and they love to hang out in whatever room we have gathered in.

So we take a cue from them and either hold them or completely leave them alone. Out of our three only Blue has ever been a fan of being held, and even now that she's super big she still allows us to hold her just like when she was a kitten.

Having cats as part of my family is truly one of my greatest joys, I love my cats. It's been very special for us to watch them grow from these tiny bear looking kittens into these big panther-like cats, and I can't wait to see them live the rest of their lives out as best as possible. 

Visit the Pro Plan® Prime Plus™ Hub to see how other pet parents are empowering their pets possibilities.