[National S'mores Day Blog Hop] Frozen S'mores Cups

Happy National S'mores Day! I'll be honest, before Whitney emailed me about this holiday, I had no idea that it even existed... which is a great shame! Luckily she educated me and this blog hop was born. I'm super excited to share one of my new favorite s'mores recipes with you today : frozen s'mores cups!

It was actually really hard to narrow it down to which recipe I wanted to make and share because there are SO MANY good ones. In fact, I've already shared one of my very favorite s'mores recipes EVER here (s'mores brownies!).

I thought about sharing that recipe again because it is seriously THAT GOOD, but I decided to share something new instead. I searched and searched and searched Pinterest and I narrowed it down to s'mores cookie bars, s'mores cinnamon rolls, s'mores dip, and the frozen s'mores cups. The frozen s'mores cups ended up winning and I'd like to share that recipe with you today.

Original Recipe from Creations by Kara : found here (and is printable!)

Ingredients

Crust:
14 whole graham crackers (about 1 1/2 cups crumbs)
1/2 cup melted butter
Layer 1:
1/2 cup chopped chocolate (milk or semi-sweet)
1/4 cup cream
Layer 2:
1 cup marshmallow creme
Layer 3:
1 1/3 cups milk
1/2 cup instant chocolate pudding mix
Layer 4:
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Chocolate chips for garnish (optional)

Instructions
1. For crust, finely crush the graham crackers to make about 1 1/2 cups crumbs. Add the melted butter mix well. Set aside about 3 tablespoons for garnish. Press remaining crumbs into the bottoms and up the sides of 12 muffin cups. Place in the freezer.

2. Melt the 1/2 cup chocolate and the 1/4 cup cream in a glass bowl in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds till smooth. Cool slightly, then divide between the 12 crusts. Freeze for 15-20 minutes or till set.

3. Spread about 1 tablespoon of marshmallow cream on top of each chocolate layer.
Whisk together the milk and chocolate pudding mix till smooth; pour over the marshmallow creme. Freeze for 2-3 hours, or till firm.

4. Remove from freezer about 10 minutes before serving. Use the edge of a plastic knife to loosen the cups, then they should just pop out. If you need to, you can tip the pan sideways and run hot water over the bottom to loosen them.

5. Just before serving, whip the cream till soft peaks form. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar and continue beating till stiff peaks form. Pipe onto the frozen cups. Garnish with the reserved crumbs and chocolate chips.

A couple things to note :
- I didn't make my own whip cream. I used store bought.
- I completely forgot to add the graham cracker sprinkles on top before taking a picture. But don't make the same mistake! It really adds a lot to the flavor, so make sure you add them before you eat them!
- I thought there could never be such a thing as too much marshmallow but... I think I might have put too much marshmallow. Mine didn't turn out nearly as pretty as the originals did, BUT they were delicious even though they were super messy.


Now hop around and check out the other s'mores recipes! I know I will be!

byBMG Peanut Butter S'mores Bars

Chasin' Mason Frozen S'mores Cups

Foxy's Domestic Side S'mores Brownies

Living on Cloud Nine S'mores Cheesecake Cups

Our Pretty Little Girls S'mores Bars

Sweet Turtle Soup S'mores Shake

Work it Mommy S'mores Popcorn

X-tremely V S'mores Martini and S'mores Pretzel Bars

And if you need even more s'mores ideas (I mean, can you ever really have enough?), check out my s'mores Pinterest board here!

Happy Eating!

Playing Fashion Blogger, the Perfect Shirt Extender, + a Giveaway!

While I'm far from it, every once in a while, I like to play fashion blogger. I know I'm no where near fashion blogger status because (1) ALL of my poses are the exact same and (2) my wardrobe is so boring and (3) I'm a terrible model!

With that introduction, aren't you excited to see what I have to say today?

HA!

But in all reality, yes, I am no fashion blogger BUT I do love to share a good deal or a service I love (I'm looking at you, Stitch Fix!). Today, I want to share a shop with you that I've abolustely fallen in love with -- Classic Dianne. From the very first time I heard Vanessa talk about these shirt extenders, I was in love. I quickly entered her giveaway and to my surprise, I won! I was SO excited. I had already been eyeing which one I wanted to buy if I didn't win and to my surprise, I was able to pick one out for myself, free of charge.

But like I was saying, before I knew I won the giveaway, I had been eyeing the extenders. You see. I HATE it when my shirts are too short. I've not purchased or purchased and later retuned MANY shirts because of the length. I've even started buying some shirts in the tall size JUST for the extra length. And speaking of extra length, if you've been following my blog or following me on Instagram for any length of time, you may notice that I LOVE layering. Like I'm obsessed. I pretty much cannot wear any shirt without layering. Yes, even when it's 100 degrees outside.

black lace shirt extender

I really can't describe it but I just feel so much more put together with the layered look. The outfit on the left just looks like it's missing something and I love how the shirt extender just gives the outfit that little extra bit of something with not only layering but the lacey-ness also. I also think just the little bit of lace sticking out of the bottom gives the outfit that little extra something to make it a little bit more fancy than just a t-shirt and shorts, while still being casual at the same time.

My favorite part of the shirt extender is that it is worn around your waist. I love the fact that this makes it totally customizable for each individual person. While the extenders come in one length, the fact that you can pull it up a bit or roll the waist band lets just a little bit of lace peek out or let's you fully show off the lace in all it's glory. In the first picture, I had pulled it up a bit so it wasn't quite so long with my shorts. However, if I was wearing pants, I would have pulled it all the way down around my hips where my pants lay. Then in the second picture, I pulled it down a bit to show another option and to show where it should fall.

scalloped lace dress extender

The dress extender also fits around your waist which I found to be perfect. I didn't need to pull it up or roll the waistband because the extender fit perfectly. This dress or should I say "dress" I have literally NEVER worn as a dress because I feel like it's too short for me. I'm pretty self conscious when it comes to the length of dresses and have only worn this "dress" as a tunic with leggings. And now? Now I can't wait for fall in order to be able to wear 3/4 sleeves without sweating to death and to show off the cute white extender underneath!

These shirt and dress extenders have given new life to half the items in my closet. I am such a clothing hoarder because I love something, even if I haven't worn it in forever because "something is wrong with it". I literally haven't worn this pink shirt in forever and now I want to wear it everyday to show off the lacey extension underneath.

But don't be sold at my word... try them out for yourself! I'm SUPER excited to be able to offer a free shirt extender to one of my readers! I know you will love it as much as I do. All you have to do is enter on the rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway is open to US residents only. All entries will be verified. Giveaway runs from Tuesday, August 9, 2016 at 12:00am PST to Saturday, August 13, 2016 at 11:59pm PST. Winner will be notified by me on Sunday, August 14, 2016.

Can't wait to see if you won? (Did I mention I wish I could win my own giveaway? Because I REALLY want to get this black and white stripped asymmetrical extender, this asymmetrical floral extender, and this off white asymmetrical extender for myself!)
Use coupon code chasinmason to receive 15% off from August 9, 2016 to August 31, 2016!

A huge thank you to Classic Dianne for the free shirt and dress extenders and for the generous giveaway and coupon code. All opinions and bad modeling poses are my own.

An InLinkz Link-up

Fri-YAY!

Hey, hey Fri-YAY! I'm so happy it's finally Friday. This week has been a doozy. On Monday morning, Mason came down with some sort of stomach bug. I ended up going to work late and Seth stayed with Mason who ended up feeling better as the day went on. Then Tuesday, I thought we were all doing well until halfway through the day when I started to feel terrible. And sure enough, so did Seth. BUT come Thursday, we were all on the up and up and everyone was back to their normal selves. THANK GOODNESS. So, needless to say, this week has been a complete waste of a week and I am even more behind on life than I was before. But hey, it's the weekend, no time for worries! Let's get to my extra random five for today.


ONE.
The Four Seasons Beverly Hills.

Last weekend I went to THE most beautiful wedding that I've ever been to - mine included. It was at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills and was the most gorgeous setting for a wedding. It started at 6pm which was the perfect time where it was still warm but not too warm and thankfully the hotel shielded us from the direct sun. I've never seen so many beautiful flowers before in my life. The food was excellent, the band was amazing, and there was a fun photo booth and a FULL open bar. Enough said.

Oh, and I'm preeeeeetty sure that Kym Johnson and Robert Herjavec got married there the next day. Guess I should have forked out the $400 to stay the night at the hotel -- I could have seen so many celebrities!


TWO.
PicMonkey and Canva App.

I recently saw that there was a PicMonkey and Canva app for the iPhone (maybe Android too but I have an iPhone and didn't check that?). I downloaded them since they were free, but haven't used them yet. Has anyone tried them? Like? Dislike? Do they work well?


THREE.
National S'mores Day.

If there ever was a national food holiday that was perfect for me, it is this. I'm so excited to announce that I'm partnering with some other bloggers next week to bring you some AMAZING s'mores recipes on national s'mores day. Stay tuned. You won't want to miss these!


FOUR.
Instagram Stories vs Snapchat.

Yep, I said it. I'm already kind of over it, but I have to say... I'm not sure I like the Instagram stories. I don't quite know how to explain it correctly but I always felt like Instagram was more of a "highlight reel" and snapchat was more of "real life". Not that my Instagram feed is drastically different than my life or anything and I honestly really do think I am the same "online" as I am in person, but I will be honest, my Instagram photos are edited. I do brighten the colors to make them look better. But... on snapchat? Not so much. You've got the flower crown and the pretty filter to try to help, but really I don't use them much. I usually just post silly little things about Mason dancing or saying something cute or causing havoc at the post office. Nothing exciting, but nothing edited or filtered either. And you know, sometimes I even go on a little rant about people not putting their shopping carts back (my pet peeve!). I've kept my snapchat name pretty quiet and really only my blog friends and my real life friends and family know my name and follow me there. I feel like it's more private and personal, and maybe that's just how I've kept it, but there's something about Instagram stories that seems so... public. And I know you can filter who sees your stories and such, but I feel like I am already so far behind on everything that I don't have time to carefully select who can see what I've snapped. So, for now, I think I will refrain, unless there's something really good I need to share. But I'm dying to hear... what do you all think?? Are you loving this new Instagram feature??


FIVE.
Olympics.

If you need me tonight, you can find me sitting on my couch watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. I LOVE the Olympics! I've been asking when the Olympics start all summer so I'm totally excited they're finally on!

Happy Weekending!

The Guys Behind the Blog // July Edition.

Last year, I found out through Crystal that Betsy from Heavens to Betsy had this super cool series called The Guys Behind the Blog. Unfortunately it was a little too late to join for March 2015 but I joined in April and have been ever since! While I do talk about Seth often, I don't really know if you all know him very well. Enter : this series. Every month Betsy has different prompts that the guys behind the blog answer.

This month Laura Jean and Betsy chose to let us, the readers, chose what questions we wanted to ask our husbands. We got to do this once before and I found it pretty easy to come up with questions. This month, I had to get a little more creative.

Here are the questions :

1 // I know your preferred drinks at Starbucks are either a hot, black coffee or an iced, black coffee or a cold brew coffee. BUT, if you HAD to choose one drink to get that wasn't any of those, what would it be?
An iced Americano.
I feel like that's cheating.
It is totally cheating, but I like my coffee to be black, bitter, and strong!

2 // What are 3 vacation spots in the United States that you would like to go to at some point in your life (besides a tour of every baseball stadium)?
Laughing. Thanks for narrowing it down!
You're welcome.
I'd like to go to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to see the Steelers play at Heinz Field. I'd also like to go to Denver and to see Colorado. And, finally I'd like to go to Kansas City, Missouri for the barbecue. And the beer!

3 // What is your favorite Disney/Pixar movie?
I really like both Planes movies, but that's because I know how much Mason likes them. And I really like all the Toy Story movies. But if I had to choose, I'd choose the Planes movies.
Which one is your favorite?
Planes : Fire and Rescue

4 // What country do you most want to travel to and why?
I've definitely had the opportunity to travel and see a bunch of countries in my lifetime, but the one place that I've really wanted to go to my whole life is Australia. It just seems like a really cool country in which there are lots of different things to see while you're there. Just... the flight is too long.

5 // I know you are not a big dessert fan... but if you had to choose, what is your favorite dessert food?
Cheesecake. Or Boston Creme Pie.
Wow, there was no hesitation!
Can I have Boston Creme Pie Cheesecake now?

And there you have it! Thanks for playing along again Seth! 

Foodie for a Year : August [a quick weeknight recipe]

Welcome to Foodie for a Year : August! Today we are sharing a quick weeknight recipe. I feel almost silly sharing this recipe with you today because it is seriously SO EASY.

Tortellini Pasta Salad!

Recipe

(Made up by me!)

1 box of tortellini

1 package of salami

1 can of olives

2 roma tomatoes

1/2 of a cucumber

Small container of roasted red peppers (optional but delicious)

1 bottle of your favorite Italian dressing

1. Boil water and cook tortellini per the box's instructions.

2. While tortellini is cooking, cut up all your toppings.

3. Drain water from tortellini, put back in the pot you cooked it in, and then add toppings on top. Mix around a bit. Add Italian dressing. Mix again.

4. Eat and enjoy!

And that's it! SO easy... even I could do it! (True story! I made this on Sunday night for Mason and I while Seth was at a soccer game.)

A few notes :

- I used to make this with plain, whole wheat penne pasta. I randomly decided to change it up and use tortellini a couple weeks ago and have never looked back. Either way is delicious though!

- I used roma tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes because that's what I had. But when I have cherry tomatoes, I use those because they are so easy to slice in half and throw in!

- The first few times I made this, I didn't add the roasted red peppers. I happened to be near Whole Foods and picked them up a couple weeks ago and I feel like it totally adds something delicious! I highly recommend the addition, but if you don't like the bite then leaving them out is perfectly fine too!

- After I mix it all around in the pot, I put it in a Tupperware and put it in the fridge for a bit. I personally like it to be cold when I eat it, but you could totally eat it right away too!

- I served the pasta salad with a side salad of spinach, tomato, and avocado. The dressing was olive oil, the most delicious balsamic glaze from Trader Joe's, and salt and pepper.

It's seriously such a delicious, light, easy, fast meal to make on a weeknight. It made a good amount of food, Mason loved it, and Seth and I had left overs for lunch the next day! I highly recommend it.

Don't forget to mark your calendars... our next Foodie for a Year link up is on October 4th! On October 4th, we'll be sharing a slow-cooker meal! I'm so excited for these recipes - my crock pot has become my new favorite kitchen gadget recently!

And in case you forgot to mark your calendars for the rest of the link ups :

Courtney, Jamie, Jamie, Sarah, Whitney, and I are excited that you want to share your favorite summer recipe with us! Don't forget to add your link below so we can check it out!

An InLinkz Link-up

Also link up and share your recipe with us for Tuesday Talk!

Beth at Our Pretty Little Girls | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram 

Liz at Chasin' Mason | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram

Jessica at Sweet Little Ones | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram
Ruthie at Rear. Release. Regroup. | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram

Stephanie at Wife Mommy Me | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram

Justine at Full Hands, Full Heart
Sarah at Abiding In Grace | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram

Becky at BYBMG | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram

Laura at Life Is Beautiful | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram

Christina at Waltzing In Beauty | Pinterest | Instagram
Meghan at The Adventure Starts Here | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram

Tina at Go Big or Go Home | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram

Whitney at Polka Dotty Place | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram

An InLinkz Link-up

Back to School 2016 + a Link Up!

It's that time of year again! Back to school.

Even though Mason technically didn't end school (he's been going all summer), there's just something special about heading into a new "school year season" that makes me reminisce about my days in school. This is a occasion that will be celebrated, photographed and blogged about like no other because my baby is one year older and is entering into his third (and final!) year of preschool. My sweet boy took the cutest school pictures the past couple years and I've already got his outfit all planned out for the ones this year. I didn't plan on buying any last year, but they turned out so, so cute, that I had to and I'm sure this year's will be no different.

And because I'm not the only Mama who loves documenting such moments, Stephanie, Meghan and I have brought back our Back to School link up for the second year, allowing Mamas to share all their back to school posts.

Details on the linkup

Starting today through September 15th, we are looking for posts that include first day of school photos, interviews and play by play recaps of the special day. Looking for photography ideas? Visit this Pinterest board that has 50 unique ideas! You better believe I plan on taking a thousand million pictures of Mason's first day and I'm not above bribery to hopefully take a few pictures of him with a cute sign. (cross your fingers!) He's also recently started talking more and I'm hoping to be able to fill out a little survey with his help this year. 

{Click here for original pin and printable}

Who Should Participate

Moms to little ones starting school, MOPS or Mothers' Day Out. We would love to celebrate this exciting time with you by you sharing your posts and pictures with us! Are you a teacher with insight to how the first day of school really goes? Or have tips for parents? Share those posts and photos too! 

Important Dates & Details

You have from today until September 15th to link up any all back to school posts. If your children start school after the 15th and you want to participate, let me know and I can move the closing date back so you can join in too. If you aren't a blogger and want to join in, use #2016B2S (B2S = back to school) when you share photos on Facebook and Instagram so we can check them out. Additionally, use that same hashtag to share any photos of your family preparing for the new school year along with any posts you may have including the topic "back to school". Grab our button and add it to your side bar, social media sites and posts to spread the school spirit this fall! 

An InLinkz Link-up