 Welcome to the zoo! I'm Melissa, a mom who's truly living the life of Riley. I've been blessed with a wonderful husband, an absolutely amazing daughter, a happy home, a successful work life and much more! Thanks for taking a break from your journey to learn more about mine.
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Source: Patrick Owsley Cartoon Art :credits-caption:
Holy New Year Batman! What an amazing giveaway I've got for you!
One winner is going to have the good fortune to win all three of the following beauty products, which are sure to start 2013 off on the right foot.
Read more about these three fantastic products and then enter to win below:
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Now that Mommy Living the Life of Riley! is busy doing some awesome product giveaways, I really appreciate all of the many places out there in the blogosphere that allow me to publicize them! So, why not do the same thing here for my readers? Well, yippie-ki-yay because starting now, I am! So, come along little dogie and list all your giveaway linkys here! This list will keep going all week long.
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Make sure to check out all of the terrific giveaways I've got going on right now, which are listed to the left on my sidebar!
Please list your giveaways in the following format:
BLOG NAME - GIVEAWAY NAME - (EXPIRATION DATE)
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Source: Supermarket Guru :credits-caption:
By now you know which foods are healthy and which are not. Fruits and veggies should be snack staples, while Doritos and Red Bull really shouldn't be part of your daily intake. Though you have a handle on where and what to buy, your new year's resolution to eat healthier seemingly conflicts with your other goal to spend less money.
According to the USDA Economic Research Service, the average cost of fresh fruits and vegetables will increase between 3.5 and 4 percent in 2013. Not surprisingly, that's higher than the estimated increase for sugar and sweets.
Despite these projections, healthy food doesn't have to put a huge dent in your bank account. Follow these 13 strategies for smarter health food shopping on a budget.
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This post brought to you by No nonsense. All opinions are 100% mine.
One thing that's always been true about me is that I'm a perpetual extrovert. Even as a kid, I reveled in standing out from the crowd. This lack of shyness has even carried over into my wardrobe because I seem to gravitate to pops of eye-catching colors and patterns. When I was in school, I took the time to carefully craft my outfits and let my true fashion sense shine through each day, but now that I'm a mom, I admit to finding myself in the proverbial fashion rut. Well, not this year...
This frumpy mom is starting back down the road to fabulous and to illustrate my particular style, I crafted a collage showing a close version of what I'll be rocking at the bus stop and grocery store this year! The pops of color in this particular outfit come from a fashionable scarf and colorful No nonsense leggings. No nonsense has a terrific variety of colors and patterns to choose from to accentuate any style and what's more, their selections are always extremely affordable. Since No nonsense tights and leggings are available at food & drug stores as well as mass retail stores, it's super convenient to pick up a pair to take your latest mom fashion creation to the next level.
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There are two things that I never tire of shopping for and those things are jewelry and home decor. In both cases, I always tend to gravitate toward the most unique items, for I really want to make a statement with the way my home looks as well as with my own appearance.
NOVICA wants to indulge everyone's quest for the unique and they have combed the world to find skilled artisans specializing in handmade jewelry, hand carved furniture and unique gifts. Their selection of jewelry and fine furnishings for the home was so immense, that I shopped online for over two hours, but finally chose the following two items to show you!
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Woo hoo! I'm officially into Day 3 of the South Beach Diet Phase One and I have to admit that this diet is pretty challenging for me so far. The first full day I was a total wreck! I tried not to drink any coffee at all (which I always begin my day with) because I also pour a ton of cream and sugar in it. Unfortunately, this made me feel worse and so I did my best to drink a cup of coffee, black, which was pretty gross too.
Honestly though, I think I felt so bad because my body was actually detoxing from the horrible foods I've been living on for so long. Now that I'm on Day 3, I'm beginning to feel a little better and I even have moments where I feel quite good. The hard part for me is finding unique, yet healthy ways to feel full, without all of the cooking and preparation for each and every meal.
My go-to breakfast is definitely a veggie omelet of one kind or another and I've become quite fond of turkey wraps too for lunch. I've also discovered that I like drinking vegetable juice cocktail, like V-8. Honestly, I'm quite surprised that the veggie dishes I've been eating are as yummy as they are. I've always avoided vegetables like the plague and see now just how silly I've been all these years. They're not near as bad as I've made them out to be, which is a pleasant surprise.
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