HD Beauty Review and Giveaway—Win $125 for a Holiday Facial

December 5, 2016 by Laura Lohr 15 Comments

hd-beauty-melanie-trehan-san-diego-28 — This is the lovely Melanie, of HD Beauty. This cozy and comfortable room is where I had my facial.

“My passion, education, and experience in the aesthetics industry spans 15+ years and my equipment that I utilize in my treatment room is the best(highest quality, manufacturing, and result oriented) on the market today! With a variety of non-invasive result oriented facial treatments under one roof- my customized and result-oriented treatments are second to none! My space is exclusive and intimate!”

I recently visited HD Beauty for a relaxing and heavenly facial. Melanie Trehan, Master Esthetician was my technician and I have to say she really knows her stuff! Between product knowledge and knowing how to customize my skincare, specifically for my needs using the best skin tightener and other great products.

lalicious-1 — Sugar Peppermint scrub, by Lalicious. Just in time for the holidays! It smells divine!

HD Beauty is located in Rancho Bernardo, locally in San Diego. My appointment started out with a quick chat with Melanie about what my concerns or problem areas were. I have been learning to get to know my problem areas a little more since I turned 40. I have some dark spots on my cheeks and my forehead from the relentless sun worship I participated in during my teens and 20’s. Melanie knew exactly what to do to help to lighten the spots. I was so impressed with how much lighter the spots on my cheeks are and how baby soft my skin is now! What a huge difference! While they are still there, they have faded considerably.

There's an assortment of holiday products to try. Your skin will thank you! — There’s an assortment of holiday products to try. Your skin will thank you! I’m not sure what is in the colorful foil, but they look delicious!

What I loved about my treatment was that Melanie let me know exactly what she was doing. She walked me through every step. She showed me which products she used after my facial and let me know what each product did. There are a few things I can add to my skin care regime and I am excited to get started.

Chocolate Truffle Exfoliator. I must have this! You had me at chocolate!

The truth is, when I was in my 20’s and even in my 30’s, I didn’t take care of my skin. I had beautiful skin, but I always complained about the little things. Now that I’m in my 40’s, I see how important it is to take care of my skin. I started getting into a routine only recently and I’ve already seen a huge improvement with the care I’ve been giving my skin. Melanie assured me that it is never too late to get to start a skin care routine.

Isn't this box beautiful? I think I need to do some exfoliating! — Isn’t this box beautiful? I think I need to do some exfoliating!

The dry weather has been punishing my skin, plus I run outdoors, which means I am in the sun a lot. I am working hard to try to give my skin the nourishment that it so needs. If you’re like me, there’s really never a bad time to have a facial! If you are needing to rejuvenate your skin, relax, and pamper yourself, this gift certificate is going to be just what you need around the holidays.

These sound good enough to eat!

You can enter to win the $125 gift certificate in the link below. If you’re interested in giving gift cards to her spa for the holidays for a special someone in your life, you can find out more information on the website: http://theskincareboutique.com/gifts/

My facial was complimentary, in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Legoland Brick or Treat Halloween Birthday

October 28, 2016 by Laura Lohr 2 Comments

We were invited to Legoland for the Brick or Treat event they have every year. We’ve always wanted to go, but this was the first year we got a chance to go. We got to celebrate Allie’s birthday at Legoland and she was over the moon! Her birthday falls just after Halloween, which means she usually has had a Halloween-themed birthday almost every year. This year, she invited three friends to Legoland for her birthday and they had such a blast! They walked their legs off and rode every ride they possibly could!

legolandgirlscostumes2 — Here they were, waiting patiently for their turn on stage for the costume contest. So cute!

Legoland puts on quite a party every Saturday in the month of October. Their Brick or Treat is great fun for kids of all ages and their entertainment is top-notch! We got candy, entered a costume contest, rode rides, went to the waterpark, attended a dance party, got our fortune told by Legoland’s own Great Bricktini (he was hilarious!). There are arts and crafts, the boat ride is turned into a Ghost Cruise Adventure, there are people walking around on stilts, and so much fun that we didn’t get to do everything we wanted. Our day was fun-filled and the weather was absolutely PERFECT! San Diego weather is always PERFECT!

legolandgirlsninjago2 — Ninjago, before costumes!

We started our day at the waterpark. It was a perfect day to sun ourselves, ride the slides, float down the lazy river, or hang out in the wave pool. The park is lush and beautiful, with plenty of spots to spread out and enjoy an afternoon nap on a lounge chair, or whatever you like. Mr. Bear and I were so impressed with how nice and well-maintained the entire park is. Everything is clean and comfortable. We enjoyed a delicious caesar salad and a burger for lunch. It was perfect!

After the costume contest, they rode Ninjago again. So much fun!

The girls are 11 and they were able to roam the park without supervision. We ran into them a few times and they were building boats out of legos at one of the stations set up for the kiddos. They played in the wave pool for a while. We spent a few hours at the waterpark with our Park Hopper passes, then they were ready to hit the Legoland park.

The costume contest was AWESOME! There were so many really cool costumes. The girls dressed up as Pokemon characters and they were so cute! The costume contest has INCREDIBLE prizes, including park hopper passes to Legoland and a stay at Legoland Hotel! Woohoo! The girls didn’t win, but they had a blast and all the costumes were so cute!

The park rides remained open long after the park was set to close. The girls got to ride all of the rides they wanted to and some of them more than once. As we were leaving the park, I ran into my sister-in-law, who was there with my adorable nephew, dressed as a Ninja Turtle. Oh, too much cute!

Thank you Legoland for making Allie’s 11th birthday so very special!

This is the LAST weekend for Brick or Treat until next Halloween. You’re not going to want to miss out on the fun! Legoland park and the Sea Life Aquarium are open from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Legoland Waterpark is open 12 p.m. until 5 p.m., and this is the LAST weekend!

Have you ever been to Brick or Treat? What would be your MUST DO this year at Legoland?

For exclusive savings and more information, visit www.BRICKORTREAT.com or call 760-918-5346.

My Trip to NOW® Headquarters PLUS a HUGE Giveaway of NOW® Products

August 10, 2016 by Laura Lohr 53 Comments

These wonderful gift bags were waiting for me when I arrived! They’re jam packed full of greatness! You could win all the goodies, too! Enter below!

Now® provided my travel to their headquarters, in exchange for my honest feedback. All opinions are mine.

I just got back a few days ago from a trip of a lifetime! It was my first time in the Midwest and I have to say, I fell in love with all things Midwest! From Chicago pizza to the Indiana Dunes to Indianapolis—what a fabulous time! One of my most favorite things and the main purpose of my trip was visiting Now® Foods headquarters in Bloomingdale, Illinois. I had an amazing time with a select group of bloggers and the NOW® Foods people, touring the headquarters, learning about the company, what they stand for, and enjoying some quality products that I love so much.

All of us bloggers after the tour. Can you spot me?

I LOVE this picture! Photo credit to Sarah Gilbert of The Flourish Movement www.theflourishmovement.com/

I’m excited to share that NOW® is generously sponsoring a giveaway and you can win all the goodies that I got while I was at the NOW® headquarters! It’s more than $500 worth of goodies, including supplements, essential oils, sweetener, probiotics, a diffuser, and SO MUCH MORE! (Find out details at the end of this post!)

Here’s a peak inside of what you can win! So much awesome! Good luck!

I have been enjoying a variety of products from Now® Foods for a number of years, but had no idea they have been around since 1968 and that they are STILL family owned by the Richard family, just as they were 48 years later!

Here I am, on the NOW tour. Don't I look fancy in my hat, glasses, and lab coat?! — Here I am, on the NOW tour. Don’t I look fancy in my hat, glasses, and lab coat? Dressing up was half the fun! The tour was so interesting! I learned so much!

I’m so impressed with Now® Foods commitment with quality, health, wellness, and the people that make their more than 1,400 products possible. What I didn’t know was that all of the NOW® family food brands are non-GMO and how committed they are to assuring their products are the highest quality, at the best possible cost.

This is a glimpse inside one of the quality assurance testing labs within the headquarters. They regularly and randomly test products. This is a busy place!

The first morning after we had arrived, we started our day with some early yoga. Ahhhhh! It was perfect! After we were relaxed and got our exercise in, we made some DIY essential oil soap and essential oil yoga mat disinfectant with NOW essential oils. It was so much fun! We got some delicious snacks that are to die for. I think I’m in love with the honey roasted pecans and the dried tropical fruit dices. Nom. Nom. Nom. How awesome to get to sample all the goodies!

NOW_goodies — I NEED the recipe for these! They were made out of magic and rainbows! So good! It was a protein, post-workout snack and they were delicious! When I get the recipe, I’ll be sure to share it!

While touring the plant, every inch and every step of the process of production focuses on quality assurance. Everything is sparkling clean. The technology they use to make sure they are providing consumers with the highest quality products was state-of-the-art, innovative, and unlike anything in the industry. Products are tested for purity, potency, and safety constantly. I learned that NOW donates the dust from their production to local farmers to put on their crops. How’s that for sustainability? So smart!

It was so pristine in the whole building! Every room is cleaned, top to bottom, including ceiling tiles between product productions.

They are always looking for ways to improve. I learned that their employees often volunteer to test products and are very involved in making the best products around. Scientists, chemists, microbiologists, are just some of the people involved in the quality control process. It was easy to see how important quality really is!

Quality assurance is top priority! They are so careful to prevent cross-contamination of products and make sure everything is just the way it’s supposed to be!

After touring the plant, we got to make these beautiful and delicious Mason jar salads. Plus, we did an oil tasting. Olive oil, avocado oil, sunflower oil….so many oils! Of course, the oils made amazing dressing for the salad, plus tasty seeds, dried fruit, and so much more to choose from!

I was pleasantly surprised by the oil tasting! I tried some things I’d never tried before! From left to right: liquid coconut oil, coconut oil, organic sunflower oil, avocado oil, organic extra virgin olive oil, organic canola oil, rice bran oil, organic virgin pumpkin seed oil, organic extra virgin olive oil, macadamia nut oil, almond oil, butter-infused coconut oil, garlic-infused coconut oil. The infused ones were my favorite!

I had to borrow someone else's salad for the photo. I clearly need some help making my Mason jar pretty. What it wasn't in pretty, it was phenomenal in taste! Mmmmm. — I had to borrow someone else’s salad for the photo. I clearly need some help making my Mason jar pretty. What it wasn’t in pretty, it was phenomenal in taste! Mmmmm. Look how colorful the one on the right is, with pecans, quinoa, feta cheese, almonds, cranberries, and all sorts of NOW yumminess!

It was such a blast to learn more about Now® Foods! I already loved Now®, but they really knocked my socks off! I can’t wait to work with NOW® again and I LOVE their products even more now, knowing how much care that goes into their products! It’s really a stellar company that really seems to care about their customers, their employees, the environment, and “doing the right thing, because it’s the right thing to do,” as CEO Jim Emme so eloquently said at dinner the first night. I love their ingenuity, their authenticity, and everything they stand for. I’m so grateful to have been a part of this truly incredible experience!

Everyone was so passionate about their jobs, the products, and the company! We got to learn a little bit more about the food side of the company.

Visit www.NOWFoods.com to learn more about the company, their history, and their products.

You can connect with NOW at:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nowfoodsofficial
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nowfoods
Instagram: https://instagram.com/nowfoodsofficial/

Enter to win over $500 in amazing NOW® products!

Top 20 Back to School Healthy Snack Ideas

July 19, 2016 by Laura Lohr 3 Comments

This post was sponsored bya2 Milk® as part of an Ambassador Program for Influence Central. I received complimentary products to facilitate my review.

I cannot believe we’re already gearing up for another school year! It seems like summer just started! It’s that time to start thinking about doing homework and back to the daily routines. We haven’t even begun to think about getting that list of school supplies ready, but we’re already thinking about healthy ideas for lunches, healthy after school snacks, and after sports snacks. I’m going to share some of my favorite snack ideas for my kiddo. She’s a competitive swimmer and during the school year, we need to really think about great ways to fuel her growing body with good food that can be eaten on the run!

allie_smoothie_1200px — Allie is enjoying a smoothie made with a 1/2 cup of a2 Milk®, strawberries, blueberries, 1/2 cup of yogurt, 2 teaspoons of vanilla, and lots of ice!

One of our favorites is fruit smoothies. Especially when the weather is warm in Southern California, we LOVE our smoothies before school, after school, or after swim. Her swim coach always recommends a serving of milk or chocolate milk after swim practice. It’s a great way to get a quick protein and help replenish all the calories, nutrients, and it’s fantastic for recovery.

We previously used soy or almond milk, but we’ve recently discovered that a2 Milk® contains about 6 times the calcium as soy milk and 8 times more protein than almond milk. Additionally, a2 Milk® has more potassium than rice milk beverages. We love that we get all the nutrients for our little athlete and it doesn’t upset our stomachs the way regular milk used to.

We feel good that we’re giving Allie something that provides the best for her. We learned that the A1 protein, found in other milk, is the cause of the stomach upset. That’s why with a2 Milk® we don’t have that experience, because a2 Milk® doesn’t contain the A1 protein. Now, we can enjoy smoothies, glasses of milk or chocolate milk at our leisure. Allie loves her snacks! Chocolate milk and smoothies are her favorites! The a2 Milk® Company™ has teamed up with East Coast and Midwest dairy farmers to expand the a2 herd, which means a2 Milk® will be here to stay for us, here in California! a2 Milk® is only made from a2 cows, which are carefully selected.

We’re always looking for the least processed snacks that we can put together quickly and can be taken on the go. We try to stick to healthy snacks, as much as possible. Once the school year starts, it seems like everything gets so busy! It’s helpful to prepare what we can in advance, but sometimes, we just need to grab things and quickly through them into a lunch bag! There’s so many great choices that are quick and easy!

Here’s some of our favorite QUICK after school snacks with a2 Milk®:

baby carrots, celery, or other veggies with hummus
apples
trail mix
smoothies made with strawberries, blueberries, 2 teaspoons of vanilla, 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 yogurt, ice are one of our very favorites! If you have a thermos, it can keep a smoothie cold for a long time and take it to go!
chocolate milk
hard boiled eggs (we make a batch on Sunday for the week)
peanut butter with crackers or pretzels
fruit salad in a mason jar. Take a look on Pinterest for some inspiring ideas!
fresh veggie salad in a mason jar. Take a look on Pinterest for some inspiring ideas!
tuna salad with crackers, tortilla, or pita
lettuce wraps with chicken or salmon
assorted raw nuts
dried fruit
cheese with salami or pepperoni
string cheese
yogurt—we like to add fresh or frozen berries or freshly cut apples to ours!
whole grain cereal
oatmeal
home cooked soup, such as chicken noodle or vegetable soup
peanut butter smeared on some apples

Connect with a2 Milk®:

a2 Milk® website: https://www.a2milk.com/

a2 Milk® Microsite: http://www.trya2milk.com

a2 Milk® Store Locator: https://a2milk.com/find/

a2 Milk® Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/a2milkUSA/

a2 Milk® Twitter: https://twitter.com/a2milk

milk2 — Find out facts about Lactose Intolerance: Lactose Intolerance Fact or Fiction

What’s your favorite after school snacks? What would you add to our list?

Pursuing My Passions, with a Little Help from Depend

July 18, 2016 by Laura Lohr 2 Comments

This post was sponsored by Depend as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central.

I have been running since high school. I may not be very fast, but I LOVE to run more than most anything! I also love to do boot camp, yoga, all sorts of aerobic exercises, including jumping jacks and burpees. After having my daughter, I was surprised to learn to my body didn’t exactly bounce back the way I expected. I was only 33 years old, but my body felt foreign to me in some ways. I had difficulty losing the weight, I had stretch marks, and one very embarrassing problem—bladder leakage. I didn’t realize at the time how common it was. In fact, 65 million American women AND MEN are affected by this issue.

I used to avoid exercises that required jumping up and down, like burpees, for example, or jumping jacks. I remember refusing to do them when I was at boot camp one morning, because I knew what the result might be. Fortunately, I discovered that other women have the same issue and began using the Depend FIT-FLEX Underwear when I exercise. I don’t know what a sneeze or set of strenuous exercise might bring. Now, I can be confident and do the activities I love to do. Depend uses something called, “Confidence Core Technology,” which means it’s fast absorbing and I don’t even notice I’m wearing it because it’s super comfortable and discreet. I can wear what I want when I’m working out and not worry about whether or not the underwear show. They’re so lightweight and with the flex-fit, they fit well.

You can go to www.Depend.com and request a free sample of their product and try them out. I’ve ordered them online through Amazon, for myself, which saves me the embarrassment of buying them at the store. They come discretely to your doorstep, hassle-free! There’s a few different styles to choose from, to fit your needs, whatever they are. They move with your body and for me, I don’t notice them at all!

It is an unfortunate result of childbirth that bladder leakage is something I know something about. The fortunate thing is that I don’t let it stop me from confidently enjoying my favorite passions—running, playing sports, jumping rope, doing yoga, doing bootcamp and Crossfit. I can be me, without having to worry about the little embarrassing things!