This year I headed to Blissdom again to met and learn with hundreds of other bloggers. I had an AMAZING time this year and felt like I met people I never thought I would meet and met bloggers that I know I won't forget.

Top Ten Things I Loved at Blissdom This Year:

1. I got to meet those bloggers that I've always wanted to meet: The Pleated Poppy and The Small Things Blog (you know THE PINTEREST HAIR GIRL!!)

2. I met several new awesome bloggers:  All In A Day, Sequins To Sippy Cups and Mama and Baby Love are just a few! (Stay tuned for more!)

3. There were tons of great sponsors: Simple Human, Famous Footwear, GoGo Squeez

4. I had wonderful fun roomies: Once A Month Mom, Family Fun Mom and Woke Up Crazy

5. The Lorax Party and "meeting"  Dr. Seuss' friend the Lorax. Just look how cute he is!

6. It was a relaxing time away from everyday life.

7. I learned so much from the sessions and speakers.

8. A fun road trip in a luxurious Acura MDX.

9. Chocolate croissants at breakfast. Seriously these are my favorite thing to eat!

10. All the great swag including my super comfy Dr Scholls shoes from Famous Footwear to boxes of GoGo Squeez applesauce.

I'm linking up at Many Little Blessings' Top Ten Tuesday.

I might be a day behind and new at starting this but here it goes. Since I figure that I'm planning my meals and we always eat every week anyway it really isn't a stretch to do the Menu Plan Monday.

Monday: Chicken Noodle soup- I had no recipe, I kinda threw together what sounded good. Very professional I know.

Tuesday: Slow Cooker Orange Chicken

Wednesday: Dinner out

Thursday: Chicken Pita- On our way home from Blissdom on Sunday we stopped at this SUPER cute restaurant called Sky Blue Cafe. We all wanted to try everything on the menu but decided the clever thing to do was to check out their menu and try to recreate the dishes.

Friday: Pizza Night

That's what I have planned for this week. What are you planning on making this week?

I'm linking up over at  I’m an Organizing Junkie.

The one question I get asked the most when I meet my fabulous readers is "how do you find all your deals?" We are changing things up here a bit at Deals For Dayton (I also have a secret side thing I'm working on that I'll let you know more about down the road) and I want to help all of you find all the super awesome deals and events too. Now you soon will be the one that all your friends ask, "how do you find all the deals and events?"

We have all heard the old Chinese proverb, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime" so get ready for our new series- Teach a Man To Fish!

It's time for some Valentine's Day sweetness in your kiddos or sweeties lunch. These lunches are so cute that it might even earn you an extra hug or kiss.

I like how this super simple and cute heart sandwich is the fun of a thumbprint cookie in a sandwich. All it takes is a cookie cutter and some fun sprinkles on a standard peanut butter and jelly.

Who doesn't love to receive a love letter? You can make a simple love letter sandwich with only 3 pieces of bread and a rolling pin. For the heart shape "seal" one the letter you can use even a heart sticker if you don't have anything else heart shaped foodwise.

If your Valentine is a little too old for a cutesy heart lunch I really love this monster love themed sandwich. It requires a little more effort but it's SUPER cute

I'm so excited that Blissdom is coming in a few weeks! In case you didn't know I'll be heading to Blissdom at Opryland again this year. Even if you aren't heading to Blissdom you can still give your input on my outfits for this year just skip to the bottom.

Last year I was a Blissdom newbie and had no idea what to bring or wear. WHAT DO I WEAR TO BLISSDOM?! I didn't want to be over-dresssed or under-dressed. Was I was gonna be too hot, or too cold? What should I bring?! So this year I decided to use everyone's favorite new sites Pinterest and Polyvore and come up with some cute outfits out of what clothing that I already own. I realized that this was also a fun way to keep a visual packing list of what I'm bringing and make sure that I don't forget anything. But I could also help out some other Blissdom newbies or anyone else needing some outfit help this year.

So what are some of my tips on what to wear to Blissdom?

Session Time

Basics- Basics like tee shirts, tanks and long sleeve tops are great especially since most likely you will be layering your outfit.

Layers- Don't you hat how it can seem like it's cold in a room one second then two seconds later the room becomes full of people and you're dying from heat exhaustion. So layers will save the day! Plus cardigan layers make it easy to bring a few basic items and add versatility to any outfit.

Jeans or leggings- Think comfy but they also can be dressed up easily. Almost everyone there wears jeans or leggings. (See Dressy Casual Outfit if you need help deciding what wash of jeans to bring)

Comfy shoes- While I enjoy wearing heels, I'm a bit of a baby and can't stand to wear heels for more than a few hours. But with all the walking that you have to do around Opryland you will quickly realize that heels are better being held in your hands than on your feet (true story). Plus this is not the best time to try new shoes. I made that mistake last year. I bought a new pair of shoes and after about 15 mins my feet we killing me and I realized what a terrible idea brand new shoes at Blissdom can be - terrible!

Accessories- They are the perfect way to dress up any outfit. You can use a scarf to keep warm or add some pop to your outfit. A fun accessory can always add to any outfit and can make classic style clothing look stylish. Think earrings, necklaces, bracelets and other fun accessories! Plus most of us secretly want to be the person that everyone else wants to steal their wardrobe because they look so put together and accessorized.

Evening Fun

Dressy Casual Outfit- This is for the Thursday Night Official Kick-Off Reception. Most ladies are wearing dark wash jeans, leggings, sweater dresses, dressy tops. Think of what you might wear for a dressy Girls Night Out back at home. Plus wearing something cute but a little more comfortable will be easier for if you end up going to the Subagatory screening party after so that you don't have to run back to your room to change. (Side note-I really Subagatory and am kinda excited about the screening!!)

That cute dress you never wear- We all have that dress that we wore one time to a wedding or only on date night and wish that we had more chances to wear it. Blissdom's Friday Girls Night Out is the PERFECT chance to wear that dress!

Pajamas- On Saturday Night there is a Girls Night In "Hang" where you can be lazy and just lounge around in your PJs with all the new friends that you've made at Blissdom. So don't bring those pajama pants that you wouldn't be caught dead in.. ok? You can even wear your comfy lounge pants or sweatpants, just remember that there will be hundreds of other people there so just keep that in mind.

You Can Help Me!

Now all that being said. I would love your help picking out my outfits for Blissdom or even getting your opinion on them. Besides helping me out I hope that it gives you a better idea of some possible outfits that you can bring for yourself even. Everyone loves to have visuals to help out, especially when picking out what to wear. I have several Daywear and Evening Outfits on my Blissdom Outfit Pinboard. And it's just a few simple steps to help out:

1. Go to the Blissdom Outfit Board on Pinterest. If you are not on Pinterest just email me that you need an invite and I will take care of that.

2. "Like" up to 3 Day wear outfits and 1 Evening outfit that you like. Feel free to leave any comments too.

I'm so excited to get some outside opinions and help packing my bag this year! So go have fun and you might even find an outfit or two that you like for your own closet!

I'm linking up this week to The Pleated Poppy: What I Wore Wednesday and Real Momma, Real Style.

Where did January go? I can't believe how fast it's went and that it's almost Valentines Day already! So I've been thinking about what I could create for my sweeties. Then it hit me- who doesn't love a homemade coupon book?! I bet even my little boys will love to receive one. I remember making one for my hubby Mark when we were dating... I  think I still have it somewhere in the basement. But I remember how excited he was to get it and how much fun it was too see him smile as he read each coupon.

So to our faithful friend Pinterest I went and wandered around and found a really cute one on Mommy by day..Crafter by night's blog. She has a SUPER cute printable that you can even customize with your own coupons plus you can make one for every sweetheart in your life whether big or small. PLUS it's so tiny it's only 1x2 inches! How fun would be fun to hide it in a lunchbox, jacket pocket or even car cupholder?!

Be sure to head to Mommy by day.. Crafter by night and get her free printable. Or you can even follow my on Pinterest and see what other fun and crafty things I find. Don't have an invite? Let me know and I'll send you one.  Do you have a great inexpensive Valentine's Day gift that you love? Please feel free to share it with us!

From now until February 5 be sure to head to Young's Jersey Dairy for a chance to Moo your way to free food! 

Only the best Moos will be rewarded!

At the Golden Jersey Inn: A Moo of excellent nature will get you a free one dip sundae or any Mini Dessert with your meal!

At The Dairy Store: A superb Moo at The Dairy Store will get you an extra dip of any flavor of Young's Homemade Ice Cream on your ice cream treat!

They won’t accept just any MOO. Their staff will be the judge. They’re not looking for loudness, but listening for creativity, tonal ability, and heartfelt MOOs.

Limit one MOO per person per day. Not valid with any other offer.

Here's a question we received from a reader.

I'm looking for free or deeply discounted teacher appreciation ideas.  Thoughts??

-Krista

There seem to be several occasions throughout the year that can call for a teachers gift: first day of school, Christmas, Valentines Day, last day of school. So, here are a few of my favorite ideas..

Water Bottles

Water bottle and single serve drink packets (be sure to check out the original post for printables)

Cup and Starbursts (be sure to check out the original post for printables)

Water bottle and single serve drinks (be sure to check out the original post for printables)

Gift Card Ideas

Starbucks cup (of their favorite coffee shop) and gift card

Gift Card Snow Globe

Flower Gifts

Flower Pot Gift

Pencil Flowers

Be sure to check out my board on Pinterest for several more ideas.

ele Cake Co is celebrating 15 years! Today Wednesday, January 25 from 5:30-7:30pm they are having a celebration and all are invited. There will be free birthday cake, tasty treats, face painting, balloons, animals and more! Please note that this is only at their West Carrollton location.

I am bummed because we already have plans tonight.. otherwise I'd be there!

PLUS if you love ele Cake Co too, be sure to sign up for their birthday club- you will get a coupon for a free cupcake on your birthday. Yay!

UPDATE: This giveaway is now closed. Congrats to our winners.
YOU CAN VIEW OUR LIST OF GIVEAWAY WINNERS HERE.

Now you probably don't know this about me but, I'm not the biggest fan of exercise. It isn't that I don't see the value of exercise or that I don't enjoy the results of the work and effort that you put in.. it's just that I am not good at  taking the time to do it. But this year things are a little different. See I turned 30 (shhh) last year and it's our 10 year wedding anniversary this September. So between my age catching up with me and the fact that my sweetie is taking me to a tropical beach for our anniversary I've come to grips that I PROBABLY should try and make a little effort this year.

Well, thanks to Purex and Jockey I recently received a bottle of the new Purex Crystals Tropical Splash Fabric Softener and a new Sports Bra from Jockey! I have never tried the Crystals fabric softener before and the thrifty part of me was thrilled to get a new sports bra too. Since I workout so little I had no idea about how to or how not to wash special moisture wicking fabrics correctly. Did you know that liquid fabric softeners contain softing oils, which prevent moisture wicking fabrics from working. Purex Crystals is an innovative freshening product that doesn't use oil for softening.

So with my new found knowledge and slightly sore exercise-lazy legs I took my workout clothes, sports bra and fabric softener to our washing machine. It was fairly simple process.

1- Insert dirty laundry

2- Add detergent to appropriate detergent place

3- Shake capful of Purex Crystals fabric softener on top of laundry

4- Wash and dry clothes

5- Smell awesome with no damage to your moisture wicking fabrics!

And my Jockey sports bra? It was really comfortable to wear and I felt like it provided very good support. I've never owned a sports bra this nice and I really liked it's great features like a Moisture-wicking fabric that helps keep you cool and dry, key pocket, breathable mesh panels and a soft elastic band for support.

So my review? Purex Crystals are a perfect fabric softener option for your workout clothes and especially for your towels (come on.. who doesn't love fresh smelling towels?!). The Jockey Sports Bra is super comfortable and breathable. You can even get one for yourself with this sweet 20% off code!

Now would you like a chance to win this awesome Jockey Sports Bra and a bottle of Purex Crystals? Or maybe you are critical about my review and want to try them for yourself... whatever your reason might be Deals For Dayton is giving away a Purex/Jockey prize pack to one lucky reader! This prize pack includes (1) Jockey Tech Terry Performance Sports Bra in your choice of size and (1) full-sized bottle of Purex Tropical Splash Crystals.

Main entry: What do use to wash your workout clothes? (Be sure to leave your comment on this post so that it gets counted)

This contest ends Monday, January 30, at midnight EST. We will use Random.org to pick our winner.

Disclosure: Jockey and Purex provided free samples of their products so I could review them. But this post and opinions are my own and not paid for or influenced by the item provided.