Cookie's Kids Valentine's Day Styles #CBias

Yesterday, I took Selah and Cainan out for a photo shoot in their new Valentine's Day outfits from CookiesKids.com.  They've always been close and had a lot of fun being silly together.

I had the opportunity to visit CookiesKids.com for the first time last week and was impressed.  I'm planning to go back and purchase several things for the kids when our tax returns come in.

Cookie's Kids is celebrating their 40th year of business.  What started in 1972 as a toy shop in Queens has grown to a retail (Cookie's Kids have seven stores in the NYC area in Bronx, Brooklyn and Jamaica) and online business that offers clothing, shoes, accessories, school uniforms, and, yes, toys.

Besides all the great clothes I spent a very long time perusing the other night, something that I thought was really cool about their site was this Alva Kids sizing app.  I had the option of entering in my kids' body type information, as well as measurements, and it gave me an appropriate size recommendation.  What a great tool!  For more about my shopping experience, browse through my Google+ album.

I was really impressed by the prices I saw on the site.  For instance, this 4-piece vest set is only $19.99!  CookiesKids.com has a great selection of boys suits, as well as nice dress shirt sets like this one I bought for Cainan:

He's so proud of the way he looks in it that he's worn it to three functions so far!

When I was shopping for their clothes, I wanted to find things that went well together so we could get some cute pictures.

CookiesKids.com's large selection of girls dresses makes it hard to choose just one, but my favorite of all is this one I bought Selah:

It is so elegant and feminine.  It reminds me of something from the Titanic.  Just beautiful!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Visit Cookie's Kids on Facebook and Twitter.
#CookiesKids

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I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and CookiesKids.com.  All opinions are honest and are my own.  #CBias #SocialFabric

Delicious Pairings with Starbucks and Walmart

Yesterday, I invited a few family members to a little book party I put together.  I had the opportunity to sample Starbucks' Willow Blonde Blend coffee, and Walmart's Lemon Sliced Loaf Cake, and wanted to see what the others thought about them.

My husband and I both frequent our town's Starbucks retail store and he regularly drinks Starbucks brand coffee at home.  He prefers flavored coffees like carmel and vanilla. I was curious what he'd think of the Willow Blonde Blend, as it features complimentary notes of citrus flavor.  I wondered if he, as well as my other guests, would be able to pick up on them with the addition of the Lemon Sliced Loaf Cake---a citrus-flavored treat.

Before the party, I shopped for the coffee at Walmart.  They have a special display in the bakery section featuring certain coffees that are meant to compliment the flavors found in some of Walmart's baked items.  I didn't have a hard time finding the display, but it was up a little high.  I think I would have preferred it at eye-level since there are several things to read on it.  I knew where to find the cake as I'd seen it before when shopping, but never would have thought to pair it with the coffee.  It was three aisles over from this display so the intended pairing wasn't obvious.

Jamie brews a great pot of coffee!

When it was time for me to try the coffee and cake, I was surprised by the bold flavor of the coffee.  I assumed, as did my guests later on, that a "blonde" blend would be lighter in flavor.  Instead, it was surprisingly rich.  We were not at all disappointed by the quality of the coffee.  One of my guests later commented on the lack of bitter aftertaste that she was used to in other coffees she'd tried.  Starbucks proved, once again, to be our favorite brand.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed by the lemon cake.  The lemon flavor in the cake was barely detectable, which made it difficult to pick out the citrus notes in the coffee.  The cake had more of a buttery flavor and was fairly dry---even though it looked moist in the package.

My guests were also not able to detect the citrus notes in the coffee.  We all agreed the cake changed it's taste, making it lighter and sweeter.  We found ourselves wishing we had something with a stronger lemon flavor to try out.  Since we knew the citrus flavors were there in the coffee, we were curious to experience them!  

After our taste-testing experiment, we took turns sharing book reviews.  Mom talked about a story of a princess that she's enjoying and I received applause for finishing Little Women.

We all really enjoyed our time together, sharing good books and treats.  Maybe we'll pick another #DeliciousPairings combination a couple months from now and do it again!

For more information visit: 
Starbucks on Twitter and Facebook
Walmart on Twitter and Facebook

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™.  All opinions are honest and are my own. #cbias #SocialFabric

Linking with:
Tea Time Tuesday @ Rose Chintz Cottage 
Teach Me Tuesday @ Growing Home
Titus 2sdays @ The Time Warp Wife  
Tabletop Tuesday @ A Stroll Through Life
Courtship Connection
Whole Hearted Home Wednesday
Wise Woman Linkup @ A Wise Woman Builds Her Home  
Inspire Me Wednesday @ Mama Buzz
Whatcha Work Up Wednesday  

Strengthened by the Service of Others

"He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength." 
                                       ~Isaiah 40:29

Yesterday morning I felt weak.

The demands of homemaking and mothering have been weighing heavy since I had Brenna six weeks ago and I just didn't think I could handle the day planned for me.  When I did get the opportunity to glance up at the clock after what seemed like hours of morning duties, I realized it was only 8:00 a.m.!  The thought of such a long day ahead was overwhelming.

Jamie and I have lived in Eastern Oregon almost our entire lives.  A few years ago, we had the opportunity to spend about 18 months in the Seattle area.  When we had to move back to Oregon, it was a huge disappointment and we've all been living in a little bit of a depression ever since.

One blessing about the move, however, is that we've been able to live within a couple blocks of my mom.  She is, of all our family, the most involved in our lives, and often takes the kids for a day of fun at Grandma's.

What a relief and a blessing it was to be able to ask her to take the eight oldest for the day.  It was humbling to ask for that day of rest but the baby and I needed it badly and I am able to handle today a lot better than I would have otherwise.

God does give us strength when we ask for it.  Often times, it comes through the blessed service of the people He's placed around us.

Thank you, Mom, for loving your family by serving them.  I have a lot to learn from you!

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This article was published in the 99th edition of The Christian Home Magazine.