Be Awesome Link Party #2 and Last Week's Features!

Hello friends! 

I hope you are having a great week so far and looking forward to the holidays coming up!

Thank you so much for linking up last week to our very first Be Awesome Link Party!

The BE AWESOME party hostesses were so inspired by all of the beautiful posts linked up!

You are all so talented and I am amazed by all of the incredible projects that I saw!

Remember, if you want to be featured, please link back to our party!

Here are just some of the projects that caught my eye this week!

Outdoor Serving Station From Little Brags

Hosepipe Wreath from The Crafty Gardener

Outdoor Chandelier by Little Brags

Folkart Chalk Picture by Harbour Breeze Home

Healthy Frozen Mocha by Mommy Moment

And here are some of the projects our hostesses created this week:

 From L  to R:

Pomegranate Mojito Mocktail by Sober Julie

Canadian Caesar Cocktail by This Lil' Piglet

The Hacked Greyhound Martini by Suburble

How To Transform A Table with Mod Podge by Fynes Designs

Skillet S'more Brownies by Satori Designs for Living

Fangirling at the Poppytalk Launch by Sew Creative

Front Porch Makeover Reveal by A Pretty Life in the Suburbs

And I shared this recipe for Chex Trail Mix Bars....perfect for camping or hiking trips!

And now we are ready for you to SHARE your awesomeness!

Before we get started, here are a few PARTY RULES:

1. Please link to a specific post, not your home page.

2. Please link up your own work/creativity/projects only.
3. Please link back to this party with a text link in your post.
4. No links to promote giveaways, link parties or shops.
5. This party starts Monday @6pm EST & ends Wednesday night.
6.. By entering a link, you're giving us permission to feature an image on our blogs or Facebook pages. Proper credit & links will always be given.

Let's Party!:
 

An InLinkz Link-up

Delicious Curry Pasta Salad

I can never go wrong when I offer up my family some sort of pasta side dish for dinner. Everyone loves them, hot or cold, and they never take more than 15 minutes to make. And I also love how versatile they are in terms of adding different ingredients, spices and flavours. This summer, we are experimenting with many of the delicious flavors that Pataks Sauces can bring to a dish. My husband, especially, is always stirring a little of Patak's Sauces into this or that while he is cooking. Adding delicious sauces is how you take pasta from boring to bold...and this Curry Pasta Salad is full of punchy flavor and pairs perfectly with any meat or veggies on the grill.

Although you can use any pasta, a large pasta like this pasta holds sauce nicely and is great to bite into for a meal. I flavored this dish with Patak's Mild Curry Paste, but you could absolutely use Patak's Hot Curry Paste if you prefer an extra strong spicy taste.

Delicious Curry Pasta Salad

{serves 6-7 as a side dish}

6 cups cooked pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup diced tomatoes {canned or fresh}
1/2 cup thinly sliced red pepper
1/2 cup sliced black olives
1/2 cup feta cheese
1 heaping tablespoon Patak's Mild Curry Paste
Salt & Pepper to taste
Garnish with finely chopped cilantro, if desired

To make:
1. In a frying pan, add a little olive oil and curry paste. Cook for a 2-3 minutes to allow spices to reach full flavor. Set aside and let cool.
2. Mix pasta with olive oil and curry paste until coated well.
3. Add tomatoes, red pepper, olives & feta cheese. Stir until mixed.
4. Add salt & pepper to taste. Serve or refrigerate until serving time.

Pasta salads are also a wonderful choice to take to a summer potluck, and they pack well in a cooler for travel too. We love pasta salads as a side dish for dinner, but they also are great for packed lunches too. And if you are looking for some more dishes where you can stir in a little India, don't forget to check out some over amazing recipes that I have made with these sauces that are perfect for summer!

Grilled Chicken Panini with Curry Mayo

 Grilled Curry & Lime Pork Kabobs

 Grilled Curry Pork Burgers

 Spicy Lentil Salad

And don't forget to check out my 'Indian Food To Love' Board on Pinterest...it's full of delicious ideas!

Disclosure: I am part of Patak's Ambassador program with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

This post is linked to:
Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons,  Tidy Mom,  Weekend Re-Treat Linky Party,  Tatertots and Jello, Link Party Palooza, Monday Funday, Under The Table & Dreaming, It's Overflowing, Block Party, The Scoop, Time To Sparkle,

Chex Trail Mix Bars

When summer comes, we like to hit the road for day trips, fishing trips or camping trips and all those other things that the season is all about. We are always up for any adventure that gets us outside to enjoy the gorgeous weather.

And it seems that we are always in needs of snacks to keep us fueled for whatever the day brings. 

One of our favourite go-to homemade & healthy snacks are trail mix bars, which I make in a large 9x13 pan and cut into large pieces and wrap in wax paper. These bars are a delicious blend of crunchy, salty, and sweet and are also very addictive too! 

Chex cereal is the base for these crazy good bars. I love using Chex because it is gluten-free which means that my daughter, who is gluten-sensitive, can enjoy them as well. And with other healthy ingredients like dried fruit, they can also double as a breakfast or lunch if needed. They are easy to mix up and lend themselves well to a whole range additions such as hemp, chia seeds and almost healthy add in you like.

Chex Trail Mix Bars

{makes a 9 x13 pan}

3-4 cups Chex cereal

1 cup shredded coconut

1  1/2 cups muesli mix

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup craisins

1/2 cup chocolate chips

3/4 cup coconut oil

1. Butter a 9 x 13 pan. Set aside. In large pot, melt coconut oil completely. Add Chex cereal, coconut, muesli mix, raisins, craisins, and chocolate chips.

2.  Mix all ingredients gently until they are complete coated in melted coconut oil.

3. Pour into 9 x 13 pan and pat gently. Let cool completely. The coconut oil should return to a solid state and hold everything together. Cut into bars. Wrap in waxed paper if desired.

 These bars are a little crumbly, but that just makes them extra good to eat!

I really like to make a batch or two of these bars to take camping because they are really satisfying and fill up my busy fisherman when they are in a hurry to get out on the lake. 

Plus, when you make bars at home, you have complete control over the ingredients and know exactly what goes into them. Chex is a healthy alternative to use as a base for these bars, which is full of nutritious foods. And when kept in a covered container or tin, these bars hold up well and don't dry out easily...which is perfect for busy summer days!

If you are looking for more camping recipes, 

don't forget to check out my Pinterest board full of recipes  HERE.

Disclosure: I am part of the Summer With Chex Blogger Campaign with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

 

This post is linked to:
Kitchen Fun With My 3 Sons,  Tidy Mom,  Weekend Re-Treat Linky Party,  Tatertots and Jello, Link Party Palooza,  Monday Funday, Under The Table & Dreaming, It's Overflowing, Block Party, The Scoop, Time To Sparkle, The Party Bunch, 

My Flower Garden with Miracle Gro™ flower magic: Come See The Progress 6 Weeks In! #flowermagicCA

I have flowers! I have flowers! I have flowers!
Remember in April I shared with you a plan for a new gardening project  that my husband and I created together?And then I shared this post on May 12 about how I planted my new garden with the help of Miracle Gro™'s new flower magic. And two weeks after planting, I shared this progress report. and then at four weeks, I shared with you this report on how things were doing. I am so happy to announce that I have FLOWERS! Here is what my garden looks like 6 weeks after planting!
Beautiful little flowers! And ALL I did was SHAKE & WATER!

And as a reminder, six weeks ago it looked like this:

And now:

My  new flower garden has filled in very nicely with lots of healthy growth, and flowers are now appearing! With warmer weather here with lots of sunshine, I would normally be watching a flower garden very carefully for dryness,  but Miracle Gro™'s new flower magic has made things so easy  because the soil turns a light brown when it needs to be watered. This makes things super easy for me as it is easy to see when the garden needs moisture. 

And here is a collage of the updates so you can see the progress from planting day to this week:

And here's how I did it...I simply used this canister of Miracle Gro's flower magic and followed the directions. It's a flower seed mix  that includes flower seeds, fertilizer and coir {a super absorbent growing material}that shakes on a garden in minutes and blooms all summer long. I am testing it out and I will be reporting here every 2 weeks over a period of 2 months so you can see the progress for yourself.

Miracle-Gro flower magic™ comes in two mixes...a Multicolour Mix which includes up to 29 varieties of flower seeds,  and a Pink & White Mix which includes up to 16 varieties of flower seeds. It's available wherever you find Miracle-Gro gardening products and retails for  $15.99. 

I am using the Mulitcolour Mix for my new bed, and I have been excitedly watching the results!

Here's a recap of everything so far so you can see things in more detail!

How's how it looked on planting day on May 12:

And here's how it looked on May 26!

Here's how it looked on June 9:

And June 23:

I have loved watching the progress of my flower garden from planting day until now!

It has been the easiest garden to grow ever!

In two weeks,  I will be back to share the last progress report on the flower garden. 

Please come back in two weeks as I share the last update on the transformation of this bed!

You can follow the progress by keeping up-to-date with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by following #flowermagicCA

To learn more, visit www.miracle-gro.ca

Thank you so much for visiting! 

Disclosure: This post was generously sponsored by Miracle-Gro™. As always, I only partner with brands/products that I use and love in my own home. All opinions are my own.

 

This post is linked to:
Monday Funday, Under The Table & Dreaming,

3 Helpful Tips For Packing Your Family For Air Travel This Summer

Gearing up for a family vacation? I know that once school ends, many families often have vacation plans that include air travel. I used to travel with my children every summer from Edmonton to Nova Scotia, and it takes considerable planning to get everyone ready to go. 

Traveling with family is no simple task. Getting everyone packed, organized, and ready to go through security with little fuss can present quite a challenge. Thankfully, the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) has a few pointers to help make your travel experience run smoothly.

1. Know how to carry-on

Children get hungry for snacks. You know this, and you want to be prepared. Solid foods such as apples, granola bars, or sandwiches can be packed in your carry-on for the plane ride. Any liquid food, such as yogurt, pudding, or peanut butter, must be in containers of 100 ml or less and placed in a clear, closed, resealable one-litre plastic bag. I always pack one bag of snacks for each of my children when we travel by air.

If you’re traveling with a baby, items such as baby food, breast milk, formula, water, and juice are exempt from the 100 ml limit and do not have to be placed in a plastic bag. However, you must declare these items to the screening officer for inspection.

Other personal items to keep the kids entertained, like iPods, tablets, and toys, can go in your child’s carry-on baggage. Just be sure to leave toys that look like weapons (e.g. water guns, toy grenades, etc.) at home. When my children were younger, I always made sure that they had a markers, a doodle book and a book to read for when they got tired of watching movies.

Here are the small sizes of cosmetics that I usually travel with. I simply empty these items out of my cosmetic bag and place these items into a clear, closed, resealable one-litre plastic bag so that I am ready for security.

2. Check wait times

Preparing for your departure is made easier with CATSA’s wait time calculator. Current wait times for major airports are measured at the screening queues and posted online. This provides extra convenience when planning your trip.

3. Breeze through security

Did you know there is a Family/Special needs lane? This lane is catered to passengers who need more time or help with their belongings to get through security. Check when you arrive if this lane is available.

Make sure your family wears clothing without snaps, metal buttons, or studs. Remove your shoes before going through the walk-through metal detector, and be sure to limit jewelry to small items such as earrings.

Keeping these 3 tips in mind when packing and getting ready will go a long way toward making your trip through security a lot easier. And as a busy mom, I really appreciate tips that will help make our trip less stressful and therefore more relaxing for me!

Additional travel tips can be found online at catsa.gc.ca or on Twitter (@catsa_gc).

Disclosure: This post was generously sponsored by CATSA. However, I only partner with brands/agencies that I feel have value to my readers.

This post is linked to:
Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons,  Tidy Mom,  Weekend Re-Treat Linky Party,  Tatertots and Jello, Link Party Palooza, Monday Funday,

Be Awesome Link Party! Come Link Up Your Projects!

Hello friends! 

Welcome to the Kick Off of the first ever BE AWESOME Link Party! We are a group of 8  Bloggers who have teamed up to bring you one AWESOME party where you can link up on one blog for your projects to be seen across ALL 8 blogs! How cool is that?!

We think it is going to be SUPER FUN!
We want to show off your talents, your creativity, your projects and we want YOU to
BE AWESOME!
And each hostess will do her own round of FEATURES, so be sure to visit everyone to see if you were featured!

Let me take a minute to introduce you to all 7 of my friends.

Meet my friend Virginia from Fynes Designs, who is so awesome that she can create things like this amazing painted outdoor dining set:

My friend Julie from Sober Julie, who is so awesome that she can create projects like this Mason Jar Chandelier!

My friend Crystal from Sew Creative, who is so awesome that she can create projects like this Mason Jar Pallet Herb Garden:

My friend Jo-Anna from A Pretty Life in the Suburbs, who is so awesome that she can create things like these Shirley Temple Popsicles:

My friend Tara from Suburble, who is so awesome that she can create things like this Art Cart:

My friend Stacey from This Lil` Piglet,  who is so awesome that she can create things like this Succulent Teacher Gift with Free Printable Tag.

My friend Shauna from Satori Design For Living, who is so awesome that she can create things like this Spring Front Porch:

And now it`s time for more AWESOME projects...yours!

Before we get started, here are a few PARTY RULES:

1. Please link to a specific post, not your home page.

2. Please link up your own work/creativity/projects only.
3. Please link back to this party with a text link in your post.
4. No links to promote giveaways, link parties or shops.
5. This party starts Monday @6pm EST & ends Wednesday night.
6.. By entering a link, you're giving us permission to feature an image on our blogs or Facebook pages. Proper credit & links will always be given.

Now let`s get this party started! 

An InLinkz Link-up

Thank you so much for linking up to our first party ever!