Post-Valentine’s Day Fun

While Valentine’s Day itself was pretty uneventful, I cooked up a plan with some fun with some ladies on Saturday afternoon to celebrate the holiday a little more.  What’s funny is that I’ve never really been into Valentine’s Day, but I think all the sweet treats have lured me in this year… they’re just too cute!

With the same group of ladies who I got together with for tea last month, I planned an event centered around the Valentine’s Day holiday.  Afterall, everyone deserves to have a Valentine… and I thought it was a great idea for a get-together + gift exchange.

I spent Friday night getting my gift together for the exchange.  I had found some fun Pink Hot Chocolate at Sur La Table and paired that with a cute mug from Target.  I added in chick flick – - Valentine’s Day (of course), and voila!  My gift was born!

Oh wait!  What is that cute bag of goodies on the left, you ask???  Well, it wouldn’t be a gift from NTTC if it didn’t have a little something homemade. I did a spin on the Easter Pretzel Hugs I made for my grandpa last year… and transformed them into a REALLY yummy V-Day version made with Dove hearts and pink, red, and white M&Ms.  BEYOND DELISH!

The event kicked off at the mall, where we had plans to see a movie.  Since Nicholas Sparks had released his latest book-turned-movie on Valentine’s Day, that’s what we planned to see.  And, even better… the matinee was only $5!  The best!

AND… also amazing, the movie theater had a HEALTHY snack option!  Seriously!  Have you seen these?

Inside this box was the following:  Chiquita Fruit Chips (No Sugar Added), Popcorners Kettle Corn Chips, an Odwalla Trail Mix bar, and a 20 oz. Dasani water!  The price tag was a little steep at $7, but what great options… and I had snacks to bring home as well!  This DEFINITELY makes me want to choose AMC theaters in the future.  So nice to see theaters starting to cater to healthy folks like us!

Now that I’ve told you about my snacks… Let me tell you about the movie!

I adore Nicholas Sparks novels.  I just do.  They’re cheesy and romantic, but they tug at the heart strings and make me cry every time.  I REALLY thought I would make it through Safe Haven without the waterworks starting… but oh no, good ol’ Nick got me again.

I just loved the couple in the story.  They had great chemistry and they were pretty cute.  Seeing Josh Duhamel’s abs a few times during the movie were also a plus, and even allowed me to forgive him for his 80′s haircut and the ‘stache he was rocking at the beginning of the movie.  Julianna Hough was perfect as Katie, and beared a strange resemblance to Lindsay Lohan.  I never would have guessed that… but just another observation during the movie.

Overall, it was a sweet story.  A little cheesy at times, but definitely worth seeing… Go with the girls though.  Leave your man at home.  (He’ll appreciate that I just said that, trust me!)  I definitely recommend the book, too… you can’t go wrong with Sparks.  As my dad says, he’s a fantastic story teller.

The lovely ladies who joined me for the movie… I took the pic, so I’m not pictured as a result.

After the movie, we moved to the food court area to exchange presents!  I set a $15 limit for each present, and the ladies got really creative with what they put together.

I ended up picking my friend Alyssa’s bag, and got a mani/pedi kit, a cute nail file, and some Essie polish!  LOVE!  Considering that my nails looked a hot mess on Saturday, it was the PERFECT gift!  Thanks, Alyssa!

I finished up my Saturday with a trip to the Apple store to give my MacBook a little TLC and some quick shopping at H&M before I headed home.

How was your weekend?  Have you seen Safe Haven yet?

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Six New Products for Friday

The beginning of the year is always a great time to try new products.  It seems like everyone is releasing something new for those of us watching what we’re eating.  I found a few that I really liked that I wanted to share….

Skinny Cow Divine Filled Chocolates

I love these snacks!  Made by our friends who make the yummy ice cream sandwiches, Skinny Cow has a new line of peanut butter and chocolate and caramel and chocolate candies.  Inside the package, you get THREE of these chocolates for 130 calories.

In my house, these did NOT last long… they became an insistent snack, calling to me from the pantry.  Buy these at your own risk!  They’re that good!

Thai Kitchen Yellow Curry 10-Minute Simmer Sauce

I actually bought this product when I was back in Baltimore for Fitbloggin last September, but I only tried it for the first time this week!

It was SO easy to make a quick dinner with this sauce.  You simply bring the sauce to a boil, then add raw chicken and let it simmer for 10 minutes.  The coconut milk in the sauce makes the chicken REALLY tender and delicious.  I added a LOT of spinach and a little onion to round out the dish.

Brad’s Raw Leafy Kale Chips

I found these bad boys at Whole Foods Market.  They were on sale, and I was in the mood for a snack.  They practically leapt into my basket as a result!

The name was SO stinkin’ cute… I knew which one I wanted to buy.  ”Vampire Killer” was listed as a garlicky version, and I was instantly sold.  These were crunchy and chip-like.  I’d recommend portioning them out as soon as you get them home so that you eat them gradually… they’re REALLY good!

Pop Secret Popping Corn

Wait… popcorn is my product find?  That’s such old news…

Well, it isn’t when you cook it in this fun microwave popper that I got for my birthday!  It’s so easy to make this way, and it lacks all the excess sodium and fat.  I seasoned the popcorn with a little bit of spices.  Uh-mazing.

This was my first take, when I completely overfilled it.  That popcorn was packed in there tightly, but still delish!  To get your own popper like this, click here.

Vann’s Truffle Salt

Ladies and Gentleman, this product is why you read my blog.  I am completely honored to introduce you to the most amazing seasoning I’ve purchased in a long time.   You’ve probably picked up on my truffle obsession by now… and I’m hopeful that you’ve even tried my Fig-Prosciutto Pizza or my Baked Parmesan-Truffle Fries….

I know.  I die for truffle… I can’t even begin to tell you how deliciously fragrant this salt is.  To date, I’ve only eaten it on steamed green beans.  I may or may not have opened it to smell it about 20 times since I bought it.

Wow… what an awesome find.  Found this guy at TJ Maxx, but I know that they sell it at Williams-Sonoma and Sur La Table, too.  Find some.

Pop Chips Katy’s Kettle Corn Chips

After seeing this chip pop up on Instagram for weeks, I finally spotted it in a Colorado retail store.  And, to make it even better…. SuperTarget was handing out these cute little bags from Katy Perry herself.

True story:  I’m not a kettle corn fan, but I LOVED these Pop Chips.  They’ve got a sweet and salty thing going on that you REALLY can’t miss.  If you can find them in snack sized containers like this one, I recommend it…

 Have you tried any delicious new products this year?  

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