See's Candies now open in Penn Square Mall, OKC

The other week my daughter and I had the honor of attending a pre Grand Opening event at the See's Candy in the Penn Square Mall.  As soon as I stepped foot into the store I may or may not have done an inner squee. The saying "just like a kid in a candy store" stands true for adults too you know. There's something about stepping into a See's Candies store and smelling the chocolate (oh my gosh the chocolate) and seeing the classic black and white tiled floors that brings out the inner child in every one. As if they knew what we were all thinking we were given a chance to take a peek behind the counter, and get this, we did packing races! Lets just say I now know how to efficiently (not speedily) pack a 12 count chocolate caramel marshmallow box of candies.   It was a lot of fun watching everyone try to figure out how exactly to get the little papers that the candies sit in separated with one hand AND not touch any of the candy with your hands, it was a fun process but also educational in learning that they don't actually touch the candies and that they actually inspect each box to make sure it is up to their standards before it can be sent out to be sold.

While there we got the opportunity to learn more about the company and let me tell you they are a company deep with history. I knew See's was a company with many years behind them but knowing there was a story to those years makes it makes it all that much more special. Here are a few interesting tidbits I learned during our visit:

1. See's sells over 26 million pounds of candy every year!
2. In addition to the 26 million that they sell they give away approximately 1 million pounds in samples.
3. Every single person who walks through the door has the option to receive one sample of candy.
4. The first See's Candies shop was opened in 1921 in Southern California.
5. They have two factories in California. One in Burbank (which I have driven by so neat) and one in San Francisco.
6. See's Candies was started by Charles See the son of Mary See who's picture hangs in every See's Candies store.
7. They still make a few of Mary See's original recipes from when she first started baking such as the fudge.
8. See's uses no added preservatives in their candies.
9. They now offer Gluten Free options.
10. The LollyPops are made in a different factory then the chocolate candies so that along with the chocolate drops are the only candies that they can guarantee are allergy friendly.
11. The chocolate drops is the same chocolate that they cover their candies with.
12. See's employees are AWESOME! Seriously they pour their heart and soul into their job and love not only what they do but the company they work for.
13. And my favorite little tidbit they shared was that the scene in I Love Lucy, you all know which one I'm talking about right? The one where she's in the candy shop trying to keep up with packaging the candy along the assembly line and she get's so overwhelmed in the classic Lucy fashion that she starts shoving her face with chocolates? Yeah that one! It was filmed in the Southern California facility.

Okay so I learned a little bit more then just a couple of things but it was all so fascinating to me I just soaked it all in. I've always been a See's fan. I still remember going into a See's store as a little girl and walking out with a chocolate LollyPop in hand. I want to personally thank Adam, Jermaine, Diana and See's for allowing my daughter and I to take a peek inside the magic behind your wonderful company. 

Weekly Meal Plan 07/28

I am attempting to jump back into this (again) and what better way then at full speed? Might not work for some but unless I jump in like this I will fall right back off the wagon. So fingers crossed I last longer then a month this time!

I am still piecing together which meal we should have on which day but this is the menu I've come up with so far.

Lemon Blueberry Muffins
Onion Mushroom & Leek Fritatta 
Veggie Paella
Mushroom Pasta
Fish Tacos 
Some type of chicken dish that I haven't decided on yet
Chicken Tortilla Soup

My grocery list is pretty long for these meals because my fridge is pretty bare right now so I don't have anything on hand. I've been sick and cooking has been the last thing on my mind, same with shopping. So tomorrow will also be a restock shopping kind of day, yippee.

Grocery List:
Eggs
Cheese (I only buy reduced fat sharp cheddar. Still the great taste with half the fat. I should be in commercials.)
Cream Cheese
Onions
Zucchinis
Red Bell Pepper
Leeks
Tomatoes
Lemons 
Blueberries
Mushrooms (a bunch!)
Spinach
Cannellini Beans
Cabbage
Lime 
Avocado
Sugar
Whole Wheat Flour
Penne Pasta (I get the veggie kind, gotta sneak as many veggies in as I can)
Milk
Salt Free Chips
Sour Cream
Salsa
Soft Corn Tortillas
Whole Roasted Chicken
Lettuce

I think that's about it plus a few odds and ends like bread, salad dressing, beets, hearts of palm, coffee creamer and fruit, can't forget the fruit!

The nice thing about the fish tacos and the soup is that they share a lot of the same ingredients so that cuts down on the cost a bit and my husband already purchased fish so I wont need to purchase any more of that. FYI fish out here is 1) very expensive and 2) the selection sucks. If you are lucky enough to have a Trader Joe's near you I highly recommend checking their fish selection out. They are very reasonably priced and have a very decent selection.
Do you plan out your weekly meals? Tell me, what does your weekly menu look like?


 

Disney's PLANES new clips released

Disney just released three brand new short clips for the movie PLANES which is set to hit theaters on August 9th! These clips are a lifesaver for my kiddos since every time we see the commercial my youngest says to me "Hey Mama that's the movie you talk about, can we watch again"? THe replay button is an awesome feature LOL

Bulldog Shamed

Dusty Meets El Chupacabra 

Strut Jetstream 

You can also check out their YouTube page for all types of videos related to the movie! They even have tutorials for making paper airplanes http://www.youtube.com/RacingSportsNetwork

Disney’s PLANES on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DisneyPlanes

Disney’s PLANES on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DisneyPictures

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire new posters & Trailer

The 75th Hunger Games Quarter Quell has been declared!

 

On the 16th of July it was officially announced on Lionsgates Facebook page that every quarter century, the Capitol honors the anniversary of its victors over the districts with a special edition of The Games. For the first time in history the favorite Victors, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark will return as this years Tributes.

 

In honor of Lionsgates big announcement they released new Quarter Quell character posters for the wildly anticipated sequel, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire! Here is a sneak peak of a few of the posters that were released.

 

 




And because I know you've been waiting for it, here is a brand spanking new trailer for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

 

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire opens in theaters nationwide November 22, 2013! I know I was late the the Hunger Games club but I am making up for lost time here. I cannot wait to see this movie. I especially love seeing Donald Sutherland as such an evil conniving man which is not his usual forte. 

You can also keep up with all the recent information for the movie on these social sites.

Official Facebook Page: facebook.com/thehungergamesmovie & https://www.facebook.com/TheCapitolPN

Official Twitter Page: https://twitter.com/TheHungerGames & www.twitter.com/thecapitolPN 

Official Google+ Page: https://plus.google.com/+TheHungerGamesM...

Official Pinterest Page:http://pinterest.com/hungergamesfilm/

Official Hunger Games Explorer Site: http://www.thehungergamesexplorer.com/us/

Disney Planes Printable's

If your kids are as obsessed with PLANES as mine are you'll want to follow on Facebook to keep up on all the happenings and the website has a lot of fun things for the little's to do. But in the mean time here are a few printable for you to keep your kiddos busy until the movie comes out. 

If you can't get them to print directly from the images below you can download them from here. I also have a PLANES Paper Airplane pdf if you'd like to print that out for your kiddos as well.

All materials featured above were provided by Disney. 

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

I give to you Captain America: The Winter Soldier new teaser poster. I know I know I am so mean only showing you a poster but when I got this in my email I totally squeed because dude this mean Captain America will be back! Yes I am a total fan girl of Captain America, hello Chris Evans YUM!

Okay enough gushing. The new poster above shows the famous Captain America shield with scratches on it, paint chipped off, is that blood on there? Either way the infamous shield is noticeably beaten up. Can this mean that there may be a darker tone to the sequel? That may be the case as from what I can tell about the movie is that Steve Rogers struggles to embrace his role in the new modern world of today. Together with Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), they battle a powerful and dark enemy.  The Winter Soldier, an assassin who just so happens to be his best friend Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) who has been brain washed.

So much we still don't know, but one fact we do....April 4th 2014 Captain America will open in theaters and you can bet your bottom dollar I.WILL.BE.THERE!

CAPTAIN AMERICA on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CaptainAmericaMovie

CAPTAIN AMERICA on Twitter @CaptainAmerica 

Boy Meets Girl

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by The Blogger Connection.

I love hoodies. I may or may not have at least six of them in my closet right now, and that's not counting the one's in my coat closet or my husbands that I steal borrow. Most of my hoodies are back from my punk rock days so they've seen better days. Still totally wearable but a little rough around the edges. Finding an edgy, stylish yet contemporary look is not as easy as you would think. Until now. Stacy Igel, the designer behind Boy Meets Girl captures the innocent spark between a boy and girl perfectly with these vintage cameos. The rest is up to you. You can personalize the Boy Meets Girl hoodies however you like, whether it be a monogram of your initials or you wedding date. It can even be embroidered on to the cozy hooded sweatshirts.

Some fun examples for Personalized Hoodies:

• Wedding/Bridal Gifts....Groom and Bride or Shakle and Chain (haha I added that one)

• Graduation Gifts....Yale Alumna and UofM Alumna

• Sorority Events....Mr. ZBT and Mrs. AXO

• For the house divided....Sooners and Longhorns

• Single and Fabulous....TBD and Me

• The social media savvy girl....@you and @me

• The pop culture obsessed....Peeta and Katniss

Or if you slightly twisted like myself and have not so nice but totally fitting nicknames for your significant others you could use those. I would share our pet names but I'll keep this pg so I don't scare anyone. But seriously how cute is this hoodie? It has all the classic elements to a hoodie AND with the boy and girl silhouette. My favorite is the black and pink because well, they're my favorite colors. 

If you'd like to check out Boy Meets Girl on Facebook you can find them here, Twitter over here and of course their website right here. 

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by The Blogger Connection. I was provided with a product in exchange for this post. All opinions included in this post are my own.