I've got the Magic in me!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Orlando Magic for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

There is no doubt that I'm a huge fan of the Orlando Magic. 

I'm probably a broken record at this point, but I grew up in Orlando and my love for the Magic dates back to the days when Shaq, Penny and Horace graced the court. Do goggles sitting above Lake Ivanhoe ring a bell to any of you?

A few years back, Orlando invested a pretty penny into a gorgeous new stadium and I fully intend to get as much use out of it as possible. I mean, it has a rooftop bars overlooking the gorgeous Orlando skyline, a play area for the kiddos and basketball. If you're not into the basketball portion, there is still plenty for you to enjoy. Halftime never fails to disappoint with performances from the Magic Dancers and non-stop contests. Not to mention, who doesn't love watching the kiss cam make its way around the audience? Admittedly, that's always one of my favorite times of the night. Don't act shock, basketball fan or not,  I'm still a sappy girl that loves the cuteness that is PDA. 

Whatever you think you know when it comes to sporting even pricing, forget it. There is an amazing deal honoring the 25th Anniversary season that I had to share with you.  Every Wednesday home game for Orlando Magic features a pre-game Happy Hour at 'Ronas & 'Ritas. Not only do you get the amazing views overlooking Orlando, but now they throw in live music from 5:30-7:00 and drink specials starting at $3. You have plenty of time to unwind after the work day before hitting the game to cheer on your favorite team. And as you can see below, that's exactly what my co-workers and I did in December. 

Just when you think this can't get any better, it does. The Mid-Week Magic Happy Hour gives you admission to the game, 1 hot dog or pretzel and 1 beer or soft drink. They've seriously covered every base (insert basketball reference instead). Not to worry, you didn't miss out on this yet. There are still 3 Wednesday games remaining for you to take advantage of this awesome opportunity.

April 2 - Magic vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

April 9 - Magic vs. Brooklyn Nets

April 16 -  Magic vs. Indiana Pacers

You can view Orlando Magic ticket Information to plan your next fun night out!

Get Inspiralized!

The girls in my office are going crazy over the Spiral Vegetable Slicer that turns your normal ol' veggies into noodles of yum-ness. Before buying another kitchen tool that would never be used, I wanted to try these things that they call "zoodles."

I hate to admit it but most veggies don't do it for me. I've never been the healthiest eater, but I think this little tool is going to change the game for me. I've tried Zucchini a few times in the past but have never been a fan - that is, until I tried it spiralized.
(Shout out to my lovely co-worker, Jill, for bringing me some)

Now I'm been scouring Pinterest to find recipes.
You can't tell me these all don't look amazing.. & healthy to boot!

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I've been Inspiralized. Case closed.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Carton Smart for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

With the weather fluctuating daily here in the South, it's nice to have a go-to Chicken Noodle Soup recipe that is sure to be delicious, as well as quick to prepare. I'm a creature of habit. Deviating from my normal routine is rarely something I do, especially when it comes to food. I know what I like and I make no apologies for it.

BUT, as I explained yesterday, I'm taking steps to become healthier in the New Year. I'd also like to learn more about how I can help the environment. Recently, I learned that a simple change I could make when grocery shopping is to Become Carton Smart. All you do is buy foods in cartons rather than cans. And then I realized that I've been doing this for awhile in the boxed wine department. 
Amiright, Whitney? ;)

Recently, I received some Pacific Foods products to try out. They are a brand committed to doing 
the right thing for you, for the environment, and for their employees, which is the type of 
company I love to stand behind.

Today, I'm going to share with you my homemade Chicken Noodle Soup recipe by
 subsituting the Pacific Foods Chick Stock that I was sent.

Other than chicken stock, you only need 4 additional ingredients. 

1. Rotisserie Chicken - let someone else do the work for you and buy a rotisserie chicken. It makes cooking SO much easier. 

2. Egg Noodles - I used medium, but I don't think size matters.

3. Pacific Foods Chicken Stock - I used 3 cartons

4. Carrots - cut up

5. Celery

Here's what you do:

1. Add the chicken stock to the pot and add 3 cups of water, bring to a boil.  

2. Once it's boiling, add the noodles, carrots and celery. 

4. After the noodles, carrots and celery are soft, add pieces of chicken.

5. Add some Parslay Flakes & Pepper to taste

Voila! you've got yourself some healthy Chicken Noodle Soup!

Follow #CartonSmart on Pinterest or Tweet @CartonSmart for 
more information about how you can be Carton Smart!

Starting Fresh

The New Year is the perfect time get life tasks back on track. Whether it be figuring out a budget, meal planning, commit to cleaning more, spending more time with family or friends you never see, etc... There is always something we can improve on. 

I, for one, can improve on ALL of those things. As a whole, I need to slow down and appreciate things more. I'm constantly on the go and it really takes a toll on my bank account, my health and, most importantly, my sanity. 

1. Budgeting - this is an area where I really need to get it together. I've been on a spending spree for months and it needs to stop. I'm spending far too much money on eating out, drinking and shopping. 

Turning off notification emails from Mint.com probably didn't help either. When I'm doing bad with money, I hate reminders. I need to get back into using Mint so I can actually see where all my money is going.

This isn't my account, just a preview of how awesome Mint is for those of you who haven't heard of it :)

2. Meal Planning - Planning meals ahead of time sorta piggy backs off of budgeting. Mainly because I spend the majority of my paycheck on dining out. Planning meals for the week ahead of time, grocery shopping and cooking dinner at home is a sure way to soften the blow to my credit card bill every month. Not to mention, it helps me from going to the closest fast food joint and scarfing down a ball of grease. If you're anything like me, cute lists always help when it comes to meal planning. This new one I found today matching my planner so it's a double win!

3. Working out - this girl needs to get up in the gym and work on my fitness. For awhile I was really good about making time for the gym. I could attempt to blame it on the fact that my gym is primarily older people and it's hard to get into some of the classes when they are blasting 60s music that I've never heard of, but that's no excuse. I need to go consistently in order to find an instructor that works for me. That, or switch gyms. My excuses will not work on myself anymore! 

4. Slow down -  More than anything, I need to slow down. I don't need to go to every party or night out. Sometimes all I need is to stay home, do my laundry and catch up on my shows. If I had to pick something that bothers me the most lately, it's my lack of having time to myself to do the things I enjoy doing, such as relaxing with a glass of vino and watching trash tv. Oh, Bravo how I miss thee!

Here's to being happier and healthier in 2014!

One day I'll be a better blogger..

Time to play my favorite game that takes place every 3 months, catch up!

One of my new years resolutions should have been to keep up with my blog, but I'm even late with making a list of resolutions. Sense a pattern?

Over the past month, I took a few road trips that allowed me to explore the cities of South Florida, Charleston, Asheville & Nashville. More details on everything I did while on vacation will come in a later post. I got to do so many new things and I'm excited to share!

I also spent the month of December taking my sweet nephew to all of my favorite places that get me him in the Holiday spirit. Luckily, Orlando has a lot of locations that will do just that.

Check out my Instagram to see what else I've been up to :)

Make any room in your house a TV room!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bright House Networks for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

You may remember a few months back (you know, when I was actually a blogger) I mentioned that I made the decision to move home while we waited for a closing date for "our" house. After a serious of unfortunate events we never ended up getting the house. A few months have passed since my house hopes were shattered.  During that time, my life has drastically changed, which made me realize that losing the house was actually a blessing in disguise. Long story short, I'm still shacking up at the parentals until the holidays are over and I can get serious about searching for new abode.

Living at my Mom's house at the age of 27 is obviously not ideal for many reasons.  Getting us to agree on one TV show has next to impossible. And since I've been too lazy to set up the TV in my room, I'm thankful to have Bright House TV to keep me company. Lets face it, nobody comes between me and my Real Housewives!

With Bright House TV, you can Make Any Room a TV Room! BHTV allows customers to view many of the channels they receive as part of their cable TV service through Bright House Networks on their iPad, iPhone, Android device or computer. What that means is that I can start my guilty pleasure of reality TV in the living room and when I'm exhasuted, I can pull it up on my iPad to finish the show in the comfort of my own bed before passing out. 

Bright House TV currently has 250 channels with more being added every month. Did I mention this is a free service that comes with your cable TV service if you are already with Bright House? All you have to do is be within the range of your home's wireless network. 

All the information you need to know is located in the BHTV’s FAQ. To get started, simply download the app and let the fun begin!

The best kind of Christmas card!

If you haven't seen this video from this extremely talented family, you're in for a real treat. 

Basically, I want to be in this family. Since Penn got a vasectomy, adoption is their only option and I'm available! ; )