Its a Hero

starbucks

Our Summer in Pictures

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Guys – something amazing happened this Summer — we had fun — and I stepped a bit away from this here blog. I did, however, start posting all kinds of photos to my Instagram stories as a way of ‘photo-blogging’ my way through the summer months!

In case you aren’t following me on Instagram (which, why aren’t you!?), here’s our Summer in Insta-stories:

 
























 



I worked out a LOT.







We visited the farmers market often.






Adventures at the zoo!


We spent a lot of time eating samples at Costco.






My children had a blast at the YMCA — both while I was working and while they
(well, specifically, Ari, was in swim lessons!).







We went to Kentucky to visit my parents.














We celebrated my nephews first birthday!





We took a BIG family vacay to Hilton Head!


































Basically, all of these pictures and I’m all “OMG I can’t believe it’s nearly September!” And now we have exactly ONE WEEK left of Summer break before our new school year starts. I’m absolutely going to make the most of this week and get one more ‘hurrah’ outta Summer! 😉

Summer 2017 — you kinda rocked. 

breaking free from this rut.

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I’m in a rut. I mean, I’ve got my routine: wake up, take Ari to the sitter, work, run on lunch, work, pick up Ari, come home and feed Ari, put Ari to bed, eat dinner, take a shower, and hang out for like 30 minutes before I finally go to bed. It’s familiar. And most days, it’s fine.

But it can also lead to feeling like I’m in a bit of a rut; or a bit of a funk.

So this weekend my goal is to break free from my funky mood!

And here’s how I’m going to do it — 

yoga 1. Yoga.
It’s been a few weeks since I was able to make it to a yoga class.
But I’ve already got it on my schedule for Sunday!

cleveland flea holiday

2. The Cleveland Flea.
Yep, the holiday Cleveland Flea is here!
Ari and I are going to meet up with my cousin to spend some time browsing (and perhaps buying)
some awesome handmade & local gifts!

3. Date Night. Or afternoon, really.
So Chad and I are officially going to go on a date Sunday afternoon —
without Babycakes! I’t’s been a long time, longer than I’d like, since we’ve gone on a date together.
Things have been so busy lately

4. Make Our House Feel Like The Holidays.
Which really means lighting some winter-y candles and laying around in big comfy sweaters. 🙂

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5. Take Myself On A Coffee Date.
With my laptop in tow; A warm, holiday latte; and blogs.

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6. Start Planning.
Everyone knows the holidays are hectic. I’m trying to minimize stressors over the next several weeks;
to eliminate potential anxiety, by putting it all on paper.
I’m hoping this includes at least some meal-planning, which I despise, but is necessary.

{ Getting Crafty // Pumpkin Spice Creamer }

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As a frequent patron of Starbucks [once or twice a day is frequent, right? Ha!] I know that with Baby L’s pending arrival, my trips out of the house will be… limited. So when I found a link to a recipe via Pinterest for Pumpkin Spice Creamer, I knew I’d died and gone to coffee heaven!

 

Pumpkin Spice Creamer
adapted from Next To Heaven.

Ingredients:

1 Cup of Whole Milk
1 Cup of Heavy Whipping Cream
4 Tablespoons of pumpkin
1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice
4 Tablespoons of Ohio Maple Syrup
1 teaspoon of Trader Joe’s Sugar, Chocolate, and Coffee Bean Grinder
1 teaspoon of vanilla

Directions:

Whisk together the milk, cream, pumpkin, maple syrup, and pumpkin pie spice together in a saucepan over medium heat. It will take a while to get steamy, but when it does, add in the vanilla and immediately remove it from the heat.

Use a cheesecloth to strain the mixture into a bowl. Once the mixture cools, transfer to a mason jar or other container of your choice!

I am in love with this creamer! So far, I’ve used it in hot chocolate and my Starbucks k-cups! Fantastic little {easy} treat!

Now if only Baby L knew that his mama was ready for his arrival…

{ Giveaway Winner Announcement #3 }

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I didn’t intend to be so absent from my blog — and life — for the last few weeks. I’ve been a bit behind on the giveaway announcement and shipping of won items! Things are getting better. I promise!

So I’ll be sure to get everyone’s winnings out soon!

The winner of the Philosophy Shower Gel is…

Comment # 20! Congrats, Amanda D!

The winner of the Bumble & Bumble prize pack is…

Comment # 15! Congrats, Nancy!

The winner of the Starbucks Tumbler is…

Comment # 14! Congrats, Krystyn!

The winner of the Sephora Favorites Glitz & Glam package is…

Comment # 12! Congrats, Cristin!

The winner of the Starbucks Gift Card — the final giveaway — is…

Comment # 5! Congrats, Valorie!

Giveaway # 14: Starbucks Gift Card *closed*

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Wow! Already the last day of my 2-straight weeks of giveaways!

And what would my 2-weeks of giveaways be if there weren’t a total of three Starbucks items in it?!

Yeah my addiction to Starbucks runs deep.

Win it: $10 Gift Card to Starbucks

Special Edition Gift Card. My suggestion?
Register this bad boy online, become a gold member and get tons of awesome perks,
including a free drink every 15-drinks!
(which for some — ahem, me — is like, every two weeks!)

Rules:

– Must leave individual comments on this post for each entry.
– Open to US Residents only {sorry Canadian friends!}
– Giveaway open until Saturday, February 4th at 11:59 PM EST.
– Winner will be chosen via random.org and will be announced on this blog thereafter.
– Winner will be individually contacted via email & has 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.

Details for first entry: Subscribe to itsahero.com via RSS feed; come back to this post and leave a comment telling me you’ve done so. {1 time entry into this giveaway}

Details for second entry: Follow me on twitter; come back to this post and leave a comment telling me you’ve done so. {1 time entry into this giveaway}


Details for third entry: Tweet the following:

Enter @itsahero’s @Starbucks Gift Card giveaway here: https://itsahero.com/?p=1938

then come back and comment on this post telling me you’ve done so {1 tweet per day = 1 entry per day}

Details for fourth entry: “Like” ItsAHero.com on Facebook; then come back to this post and leave me a comment telling me you’ve done so.

Note: I was in no way compensated for this giveaway.  I was not asked to promote Starbucks in any way. All opinions herein are honest and mine.

Giveaway # 12: Starbucks Ceramic Traveler Tumbler *closed*

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It’s Giveaway Day 12!

Umm, are you surprised it’s another Starbucks giveaway?! Cause you shouldn’t be! 🙂
This mug is my absolute favorite!

Win it: Starbucks Double Wall Ceramic Tumbler, 12 oz. ($10.95 value)


Rules:

– Must leave individual comments on this post for each entry.
– Open to US Residents only {sorry Canadian friends!}
– Giveaway open until Friday, February 3rd at 11:59 PM EST.
– Winner will be chosen via random.org and will be announced on this blog thereafter.
– Winner will be individually contacted via email & has 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.

Details for first entry: Subscribe to itsahero.com via RSS feed; come back to this post and leave a comment telling me you’ve done so. {1 time entry into this giveaway}

Details for second entry: Follow me on twitter; come back to this post and leave a comment telling me you’ve done so. {1 time entry into this giveaway}

Details for third entry: Tweet the following:

Enter @itsahero’s Starbucks Ceramic Traveler Tumbler giveaway here: https://itsahero.com/?p=1885

then come back and comment on this post telling me you’ve done so {1 tweet per day = 1 entry per day}

Details for fourth entry: “Like” ItsAHero.com on Facebook; then come back to this post and leave me a comment telling me you’ve done so.

 

Note: I was in no way compensated for this giveaway.  I was not asked to promote Starbucks in any way. All opinions herein are honest and mine.