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Nate’s New Winter Gear!

Posted on November 21, 2020

This blog is Sponsored by Zappos but all styling, photography, and opinion are my own 🙂 Lately it seems like every year Nate gets a new jacket and snow pants. I wish I was still growing so I could get new gear every year LOL, and this was the first year he picked out all the pieces all by himself!

We were on the Zappos website and were showing Nate the pieces he could choose from and I couldn’t believe he picked out the same ones I was imagining for him. The boy’s got style! He went with the Reimatec Winter Jacket Kaarto in navy, the Reimatec Winter Pants in Marine Blue and the Reima Thermal Set in Melange Grey.

We love shopping on Zappos because we can shop for the entire family at once, and we love their 365 day return policy! I just recently learned that if you’re an Amazon Prime member, which I am, you can also qualify for free expedited shipping, earning points and other exclusive benefits! So when we recently ordered, we of course connected our Prime account to get those Zappos perks!

Nate chose the Reimatec Winter Jacket because he loved the galaxy print. We do too! But we also love that it’s waterproof and a detachable hood because honestly sometimes he wants it and other times he doesn’t! 🙂 Since blue is Nate’s favorite color I knew he was going to choose the Reimatec Winter Pants in that marine blue. It’s such a cool color! We love that they have the suspenders to keep them up while he’s playing or skiing, and they also have an elastic waistband with velcro which is perfect, because Nate is on the skinnier side, so I love that we can cinch them so they fit his little bod better 🙂

Besides the new jacket and snow pants that we got from Zappos, we always get him new thermals. We get him new ones every year, and this year we went with these from Reima. We obviously need them for skiing, but they are just so good to have for layering when it’s super cold out. Whether it’s for outdoor sports, outdoor play, when we go cut down our Christmas tree, or just when we’re outside for extended periods during the winter months, we always make sure Nate’s toasty. They’re super comfy too just to sleep in in the colder months!

Now that Nate’s all set with his new Reima gear from Zappos, now we just need the snow! Check out all the Reima products on Zappos, they have such cute winter pieces for kids! Besides the pieces that Nate got, their winter overalls are so cool! We might have to get him a pair of those as well 🙂

The Most Important Thing I Learned from my Financial Advisor

Posted on August 24, 2020

There’s never really a bad time to start thinking about your future and getting your finances in order. Obviously it’s better to start earlier rather than later in life, and I’m happy my wife and I really started taking initiative when we did. I’ve always been a decent saver, but I’m also a pretty good spender LOL. I partnered up with Northwestern Mutual to share my experience meeting with one of their financial advisors, and I must say, in the few meetings we had, I learned a lot and accomplished a lot!

Before our initial meeting, my wife and I worked on filling out a spreadsheet that our advisor gave us. We input all of our expenses, as well as our income. At this step it’s definitely best to try and be as detailed as possible. It’s crazy how much you spend in a month when you add up everything outside of monthly bills as well! You have to think about it all – food, gas, entertainment, dining out, family activities, etc. – boy does it add up! When you have your first meeting with your advisor, they break it all down for you, and let you know what you have left at the end of each month and/or year. We also discussed our financial goals and if we were planning on making any big purchases such as a home, car, wedding, etc. I don’t know why, but previously when I thought about monthly expenses I really only thought about monthly bills, but that’s only a portion of it, you have to think about where all your money is going each month! It’s really good to get you thinking about it and getting it all down on a spreadsheet as a visual.

For us, our main objective of our meeting was to know how we were doing financially. We wanted to make an investment and do some home improvements but we were nervous to spend the money if we weren’t in a good place financially. I mean, we felt like we were in a good place, but we really wanted a professional financial advisor to confirm what we were feeling because we really didn’t know. So that’s why we were so excited to have our first meeting with Northwestern Mutual. We wanted to accomplish certain goals, but needed a little guidance and confirmation. Finances are usually a weird thing to talk about and get advice on from other people, so being able to talk to a professional who we knew was going to keep everything confidential and work with us to make the best possible financial decisions definitely made us feel more comfortable.

During our meetings, our Northwestern Mutual Financial Advisor spoke to us about different kinds of life insurance, college savings for Nate, possible ways to invest, and why it’s so important to not just have money sitting in a bank account depreciating in value and to make your money work for you. This was honestly one of the biggest take-aways for us and really blew our mind! We thought we were doing the right thing by trying to stack up as much money as possible and just have it safely sitting in savings. Little did we know, it would be way more wise and beneficial to keep it in a money market, investment, or a life insurance policy. We are always so nervous about losing our hard earned money, so we didn’t want to touch it, but by trying to be safe and keep it in a savings account, that’s exactly what we were doing. That’s my free little tidbit for today! 🙂 You’ll have to meet with your own Northwestern Mutual Financial Advisor to review your personal finances and see what works best for you. Since we do like to stay on the safer side, we are currently just trying to keep enough in our savings to keep ourselves afloat for a year, which is actually still 6 months more than suggested, but we still feel better being cautious and moving the rest of our money somewhere more beneficial!

We left our meeting with our advisor feeling really good. She had confirmed that the steps we had taken up until this point were good and we were in a good financial place considering all of our expenses. With our discussion she confirmed that we would be able to make some home improvements and some investments. From that meeting until now, we really feel like we accomplished a lot! We ended up buying a new bedroom set (which we have wanted for years now), we opened up a 529 college savings plan for Nate, my wife and I both got life insurance, we made a monetary investment, and we finally moved forward with our front deck project that is now just about complete and that we are totally in love with! We spend so much more time in the front of our house now and feel guilt-free about spending the money on the project, because we know we are making the right moves with our finances!

Now that we’re in August of this crazy year we’re having, and despite the pandemic, we’ve accomplished a lot. Now it’s time to get back to saving for a bit, and then we’ll revisit our next round of goals at our next Northwestern Mutual meeting. Hopefully the next home improvement will be our siding 🙂

I really recommend anyone to set up a meeting with one of their advisors. It’s a smart move to let a professional tell you what you could be doing better to get the most out of your hard-earned money. Even from just the few meetings I had, I feel much more knowledgeable on the potential of financial growth and definitely now know that just having money sit in a savings account is not a wise financial decision. #ad

This blog post was sponsored by Northwestern Mutual

Family Reviews Style

My Family’s Favorite Ice Cream

Posted on August 2, 2020

When it comes to sweets, my family doesn’t play around…we love them! And it’s no surprise that ice cream is one of our absolute favorite things to eat. We all seem to have very different taste when it comes to ice cream, but my wife and son are more likely to agree on a flavor. They usually go for the classics, but I’m more likely to want something a little different!

I love ice cream so much that when I pop one of those pints open it’s honestly so hard for me to stop – I usually end up finishing it in one sitting, or come pretty close LOL don’t judge! Halo Top Creamery is one of my go-to ice cream brands. Besides their great flavor options, the fact that they are all 370 calories or less per pint is amazing! It’s a light ice cream, and you would never even know it. This way I can finish the entire pint if I desire 🙂 and only have a third amount of the calories than I would with another brand. I just don’t feel as guilty eating the entire pint when it’s my Halo Top!

We recently introduced Nate to the brand and I was nervous at first, because he’s super particular with his ice cream and usually only eats 1 or 2 specific flavors and brands, but the first day he tried it he loved it. He liked how creamy and smooth it was, and I must agree…something about Halo Top’s ice cream is just creamier and I love that. His favorite flavor so far is the Cookies & Cream, mine is the Jelly Donut flavor, and my wife loves the Sea Salt Caramel. We each tend to always grab our fave flavors but then end up sharing once we’re snacking at home.

Since I entered my thirties, I’ve definitely noticed that I can’t just eat junk as much as I used to like when I was younger, and it’s much harder to keep the weight off if I’m not watching what I eat and working out during the week. But it’s a struggle! It’s hard to constantly keep that clean-eating routine all week, and then you have that mid-week day (especially during the hot summer), when you just want a cold, yummy treat. I mean how can I deprive myself from ice cream after coming home from a hard day’s work?! I’ll come home, go for a dip in the pool, then be outside playing with Nate and he finally says to me “Daddy, let’s have some ice cream!” That’s when the internal struggle begins. Should I? Shouldn’t I? Should I just wait for the weekend when I’m allowed to have my sweets and snacks? It’s no fun having to think this way, so I decided there should be a fine balance with everything and I was going to stop “shoulding” myself. With Halo Top Creamery the answer’s easy. I have the ice cream with my boy and enjoy my summer day! Whether I eat a few spoonfuls or the entire pint I honestly do not feel guilty about it at all, and it’s so darn good and it hits the spot and fulfills that weekday craving of mine!

I feel like the little voice in my head telling me “you should be doing this” or “you should be doing that” appears far too often. Besides my mid-week ice cream cravings, I’ll get the guilt of feeling like I should be doing yard work instead of enjoying the pool, or I should be cleaning the house and being productive instead of enjoying a lazy morning in bed, or Nate should really have dinner first before he has some ice cream. I was happy to be a part of the Halo Top Creamery “StopShouldingYouself” campaign and throw that little voice in my head out the window! LOL And in doing so I’ve come to learn that if I do just what I feel like doing in that moment, life is that much more enjoyable. I’ll get to the yard work eventually – I always do. The house will get cleaned when I’m in the mood to clean, and if Nate wants a little Halo Top before dinner, so what, what’s the difference what order he eats his food in as long as he eats it?!

When you stop “shoulding” yourself I feel like you can actually be more productive and these little moments of the unexpected can make life that much more exciting and enjoyable. Plus, when I’m actually in the mood to do yard work (and there are times when I am in the mood!) then I’m more likely to not be so miserable doing it and the entire project gets done, instead of starting something when I’m just not feeling it. It actually in-turn makes me more productive when I do things on my own internal time and when I’m ready and in the mood! Like right now, it’s lunch time and I should probably have my grilled chicken that I made for lunch, but it’s 90 degrees out and all I want to do is go sit on my back deck for 20 minutes and have some spoonfuls of my wife’s Halo Top Sea Salt Caramel! LOL So I’m going to! #stopshouldingyourself

Family Reviews

Nate’s 1st Online Course With iD Tech

Posted on June 11, 2020

I cannot believe that the school year is just about over. It’s been a crazy past few months with everything that’s been going on, in addition to figuring out and adjusting to this home-schooling life, but we did it, and summer is just about here!

Every other year Nate has gone to a sports camp part-time during the summer, but with the uncertainty of his camp opening, and us not really even feeling comfortable sending him anywhere this year, we decided to sign him up for an online summer camp course through iD Tech Virtual Tech Camps. Even though he’s only 7 he has such an interest in gaming, YouTube, coding, and already tells us that he wants to either be a professional gamer or computer programmer, so we’ve always wanted to find a course that he could take to further his knowledge.

We looked into local schools but never found any nearby, and the idea of driving an hour or more each day for an online course just seemed unreasonable. We never even thought of an online course for him until recently! We signed him up for the Minecraft World Designer Virtual Tech Camp with iD Tech. It’s for ages 7-9 and everything is done online. As soon as we asked him if we wanted to take an online course about Minecraft he was sold! His eyes lit up and he was so excited to start. He kept asking us when does it start, when does it start. LOL

His class is for a week and we were able to choose the time slot that works best for us, so we’re doing it at 4pm during the week. We absolutely LOVE the fact that the class is small and there’s only about 5 kids in it, which really lets the instructor devote his attention to all of them equally. Nate prefers it that way too. I’ve seen him on online meetings with his school before, and he always seems to participate more and seems more into it when there is less people and it’s not a big group of kids trying to speak over each other. So the iD Tech course is perfect for him!

He just logs on and does his thing. Honestly, not sure we could even help him if we wanted to because I don’t know much about Minecraft at all and just looking at it seems confusing! LOL It’s so cute how he watches his instructor on the screen so intently and then raises his little hand and waits patiently to be called on so he can ask his question or give his opinion on something. I love seeing him participate – it’s so cute!

Nate absolutely loves his virtual tech course! Just yesterday he asked me if he had his Minecraft course today and when I told him he did, he whispers to himself “YES!”. Then he continued watching the clock anxious for it to begin. It really makes me proud as to how into it he is! And watching him speak up and participate with all his little Minecraft terminology and talking about coordinates and negative numbers – it’s just so impressive!

Nate really enjoys his Minecraft World Designer course that I just know we’re going to have to sign him up for the next one to expand his knowledge. I really love that this game teaches commands, coding and really gets you thinking. I mean, I asked Nate what he learned on his first day and his answer was “it inspires him to think more”. All I can say is WOW and I love that he’s enjoying learning through gaming and this course!

Click here and use my code ERIC125 to get $125 off any Virtual Tech Camp! We’ll be using it on Nate’s next course 🙂

Family Home Reviews

Nate Made Me Breakfast in Bed!

Posted on May 22, 2020

This post has been sponsored by Tyson Foods, Inc. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Father’s Day is quickly approaching and it’s one of those holidays that always gets me super sentimental. My father passed away when I was 15, so every year that I get to celebrate with my son means a lot to me – and I’m sure every father feels the same way!

Read on to see how my son surprised me and made me feel so special by serving me Jimmy Dean® Frozen Sausage, Egg and Cheese Croissant Breakfast Sandwiches in bed! We’ve been shopping online for groceries more so than ever lately so Nate usually browses the ACME app with us to add anything special he wants for the week, so he made sure to secretly add these sandwiches with mommy without me seeing. Now that we’re using the ACME app to shop and get our groceries delivered, it was a lot easier for them to surprise me without us all being at the grocery store together. We love the “New Deals” section in the app – it’s so easy to see the new items on sale that we may not have necessarily had on our list, but are always willing to purchase at a good deal!

I was having one of those weeks where I felt overwhelmed. I was rushing around finishing work and projects, and I was even feeling busy at home on the weekends. I had said out loud, “I wish I could have one of those days where I don’t even leave the bed, and I can enjoy yummy food and watch movies all day.” Well, my son is very observant and takes in everything he hears. So this year, Nathan wanted to make me breakfast in bed!

It’s well known that I’m the cook in this family, so I think Nate was a little skeptical with the idea, since he knows mommy is not much of a cook LOL (she cleans, I cook) – and it works out just fine! He told me I could get dressed but not to leave the bedroom.

We eat plain croissants a lot in the house, especially in the mornings, and whenever we go out on the weekends, I usually stop for a sausage, egg and cheese at the deli. So when my wife and son saw these Jimmy Dean® Frozen Sausage, Egg and Cheese Croissant Breakfast Sandwiches at ACME, they knew they would be perfect for me, and perfect for them because they didn’t require any preparation or cooking! 🙂

I waited patiently upstairs while they prepared, and I could smell the warm croissants heating up—I had no idea what it was, but it smelled so good! Nate was so cute, barely being able to carry the tray with everything on it, but somehow he managed. It was complete with a little plant, pineapple juice (which I love) and salt, pepper, and ketchup; because he knows that’s what I always get on my egg sandwiches at the deli!

Up he came with the Jimmy Dean Sausage, Egg & Cheese Croissant sandwiches, and they were so good! I love how crispy the croissants got! Nathan had never actually tried eggs before and never even had an urge to, but I think because these sandwiches looked and smelled so good, he was enticed. Plus, he loves croissants, so that enticed him even more! He really surprised me by asking if he could have one. I was shocked. You know how kids are—if they think they don’t like something, even if they’ve never had it, that’s it, they don’t like it, end of conversation. But he wanted to try these, even though they had egg on them, so I was thrilled! To be honest, I feel like having a sausage, egg and cheese croissant is like a right of passage. I think I may have lived on them all throughout high school LOL. I was seriously so excited he wanted try them! First bite, and his eyes lit up. He loved them, and it made me so happy because now I have someone to enjoy them with! My wife on the other hand, wants nothing to do with eggs, so I never really end up making them as much as I would like to. But now that I know Nate is a fan of these Jimmy Dean Sausage, Egg & Cheese Croissant sandwiches, they will be stocked in our freezer at all times!

Thanks for my early Father’s Day surprise bud! Besides being so thoughtful, I’m happy we got to share that moment of you trying a new food for the first time and loving it just as much as I do. Happy early Father’s Day to all the dads out there!

Family Home Reviews

Hey Portal, Call the Grandparents

Posted on December 28, 2019

I love adding new technology into my house. So, when I was gifted the new Portal+ from Facebook, I was super excited! I’ve seen the Portal from Facebook commercials, but never realized how much I would love it until I actually started using it. What’s better than a device that makes it so easy to see loved ones and brings family and friends closer no matter where in the world we are. And that’s exactly what this Portal does!

As soon as I opened the box I couldn’t believe the size of the screen – it was much larger than I expected and I love the way it stands up on it’s own and also allows the screen to swivel from a vertical to horizontal orientation. It has a sleek yet sturdy feeling to it. Portal from Facebook is so easy to use with the large touch screen or you can do things like start or answer a video call with “Hey Portal”! It also comes with Alexa built-in so you can start off your commands with “Alexa…” as well. Obviously, the coolest feature is definitely using Portal to make video calls by utilizing your Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp contacts and allowing you to have instant face to face calls with them, hands-free.

It’s so amazing…you don’t even have to stop doing what you’re doing in the house because you can initiate the calls with voice commands, and then the camera will actually keep you centered in frame as you move around the room. If there’s more than one person in the room, it will widen the lens to include everyone or zoom in and focus on the person speaking. With the size and quality of the screen it really almost makes it seem like the person you’re video calling is actually in the room with you!

Besides the video-calling feature, Nate is also able to watch his favorite Youtube videos on it, we’re able to stream music with different apps, and it also has a digital picture frame feature, which I’ve actually always wanted for our house! You can display photos from your Facebook and Instagram, or upload photos to your Portal devices directly from your smartphone’s camera roll. We have so many pictures that just sit on our phones, that it’s nice to finally be able to see them featured somewhere in our house. The speaker quality of Portal really surprised us. It’s really clear and goes louder than you would think a device like this would be able to. We love it so much and love having it in our kitchen. We always seem to find ourselves saying “Hey Portal, play some Christmas music” and dancing or spinning around in the kitchen – so it’s perfect.

Portal from Facebook is available in Portal+ (the device we went with!), Portal, Portal Mini, and then Portal TV. Portal offers a 10″ HD display and Portal Mini offers a 8″ HD display video calling experience and both offer the built-in Alexa as well. Portal TV allows video calling on the biggest screen in your home! The smart camera hooks up to your TV and instantly makes it feel like the ones you’re speaking to are right there in your home with you. We felt like our GG’s were with us on the Portal+, so I can’t even imagine what it must feel like if their loving faces were up there on our 60″! Portal TV is a great way for families to stay connected. When speaking with a loved one through the phone, with no visual connection you still feel like you’re miles apart, but as soon as you see those faces come through, the call no longer feels distant and instead it feels like they’re right there with you.

This is such an awesome gift idea for a relative or friend who you don’t get to normally see as much as you’d like. We love being able to video call Nate’s great-grandparents in Arizona and my sister in Maryland. Before Portal from Facebook, I feel like I’d catch myself saying “Wow, I haven’t seen the grandparents in months” Now, even though it may not be in person, I don’t have that same feeling of not seeing them in a while. It’s just a different kind of closer feeling and connection you get when actually seeing the person you’re speaking to, rather than just talking on the phone. The fact that you don’t even need to be near the device or touch it and still be able to make your call and see the person you’re calling, has me already making the switch from my regular smart phone to the Portal from Facebook. This household loves it!

This post is in collaboration with @PortalfromFacebook. #PortalPartner #PortalFromFacebook #FeelThere #Portal

All images were created by, me.

Family Reviews

Nobody Doesn’t Like SaraLee :)

Posted on December 22, 2019

This time of year is really the most magical time of year! Right from Thanksgiving, up until New Year’s it’s filled with so much fun, activities and family time and I absolutely love it! With that said, it’s also the busiest time of year. Between work, shopping, fun time with the family, and all the holiday parties, we’re barely left with any spare time. As much as I enjoy baking, especially with my son Nate because he loves to bake, when it gets this hectic and our time is limited, I just rely on the fan favorite Sara Lee Desserts!

Sara Lee is just that brand that you remember when you were younger. Your grandparents had it, your parents bought it, and now I’m buying it for my family. Besides being so good, it just makes you feel cozy. I love the ease of being able to have a delicious cake or pie anytime I want but without the hassle, time and mess. The best thing about it is that I can grab it from my local grocery store and just keep it frozen until it’s time to enjoy. I myself usually always go for the Dutch Apple Pie or a cheesecake. Nothing’s better than warm apple pie with a scoop of french vanilla ice cream….mmmmm so good! My mother-in-law is the one that actually got me hooked on their cheesecake! The first time we had it together she would always talk about how it reminded her of her childhood and that her mother used to always buy it for them as a kid. Even though it wasn’t my childhood, it felt nostalgic for me too.

When I went to pick up my Sara Lee Dutch Apple Pie, I brought Nate with me, and he told me he wanted to try the All Butter Pound Cake this time. Normally his favorite one to grab is always the Chocolate Creme Pie but since we already had some left of this one from our last trip, he decided he wanted to try something new! I was really excited because I feel like the pound cake is one of the most underrated cakes there is. It doesn’t get the street cred it deserves.

Honestly, the fact that it doesn’t have all the frosting and sprinkles is what makes it so good! The flavor just speaks for itself and you can dress it up anyway you like! I couldn’t believe this was the first time both my wife and son were trying pound cake! They both love plain, buttery treats, so I couldn’t believe they had never had it before. This time around we kept it kind of simple with just some whipped cream and I was shocked at how much Nate was loving it.

I mean this kid has around 4 brownie sundaes a week LOL, so he knows his desserts! I wasn’t sure if he was going to tell me it was a little plain but all he kept saying was “can I have another piece?” LOL I always knew I loved their pound cake, so I was happy that Nate and my wife agreed with me. He did say he was curious about what other things we could add to it for next time, but that’s what makes pound cake so good…you can keep it plain or switch it up anyway you want. Even as I’m writing this, it shocks me that this was a cake was ever even frozen! It’s easy to forget because it’s so good.

With the Christmas music playing, tree lights on, Nate running around with his little Elfie in hand, my wife wrapping gifts, and our Sara Lee Desserts about to be served, I just love this time of year so much. It was so great sharing Nate’s first Sara Lee Pound Cake experience with him. Just sitting at the counter together with silly conversations over our Sara Lee pound cake and pie had me feeling the same way my mother-in-law was speaking about her childhood with her parents. We’re continuing the traditions over here with Sara Lee Desserts!

If you’re like us and running around with little time to bake this year, check out the SaraLee Desserts in the frozen foods aisle at your local grocery store. Everybody doesn’t like something, but nobody doesn’t like SaraLee! 🙂

Family Reviews Style

How We Show Our #GiantsPride With NFL Shop!

Posted on December 8, 2019

This time of year is Magical and it’s definitely my family’s favorite time of year. Not only because it’s holiday season, but also because it’s FOOTBALL Season! I honestly look forward to Sunday all week long just so I can watch my NY Giants take the field. Now granted they stink right now…LOL, but that does not stop us from supporting our team!

We teamed up with the NFL Shop to combine my two faves: getting cozy and football! These New York Giants Holiday Pajama Sets are perfect for snuggling up on the couch, with snacks, cuddles and football…especially this time of year as we’re quickly approaching the countdown to Christmas! I really love how we can rock our team colors and logo but also feel that festive holiday spirit all at the same time. For me, it’s seriously the best of both worlds!

Like most football-loving families, we have our traditions and that includes snacks, being silly, cheering for our team, and of course comfy clothes…and these NFL Shop NY Giants PJ’s couldn’t be more perfect! When Nate and I aren’t snuggling mommy, and on commercial breaks, we’re busy practicing our football moves and pretty much acting like maniacs LOL. I just love this time of year with the fam! Oh, and you didn’t think we’d forget our little Simba did you? Even your family pet can get in on the holiday spirit and show support for your fave team, with a cute little onesie! 🙂 Nate loved that we were all able to match and it felt kind of special to me too. Football Sunday alone is a good bonding day, but when the happy, festive emotions are heightened with fun & matchy matchy pj sets, it just takes the gitty mood to the next level! Ahhh, love my little family of mine!

Check out the NFL Shop to get your family’s fave team PJ sets!

Family Reviews Style

My Go-to Jacket Brand & An Exciting Announcement!

Posted on November 12, 2019

A leather coat is one of those essential pieces that everyone should own. There’s so many different styles of leather jackets you can always find the perfect jacket no matter what your style is. When it comes to leather, quality to me, is one of the most important aspects in picking the right brand to go with. These jackets are an investment and if you treat them right they will be with you forever and are well worth it!

Growing up I was always into military style pieces. My father worked at the docks in Brooklyn and we always visited Army/Navy stores together when I was younger. I think that’s probably what really ignited my love for the armed forces kind of vibe. Unfortunately, I was never able to own a leather jacket growing up, so I knew that once I was in a position to get my own, it would have to be a quality leather!

Cockpit USA is one of my all time favorite outerwear brands! Not only are they top quality, but I love that when I style them, their jackets just have this bit of edge to them that I like. Now their edge doesn’t come from trying to be edgy, but it actually just comes from staying authentic to iconic American civilian and military design. Cockpit USA has been around for over 40 years, and they continue to make jackets that are suitable for pilots and guys like us that want bad ass jackets – like some of the styles I’m rocking here. Whether it’s a bomber, sheepskin, leather, textile or a varsity jacket, they are definitely one of those brands, that just delivers such sick pieces with that top-notch quality that I love. I also love that they make kids jackets as well. When we visited the Cockpit showroom not too long ago, it was one of the rare times that I saw Nate actually get excited about a jacket! He loved the camo & leather bomber so we had to get them!

I currently own 4 Cockpit jackets and Nate owns 3! I linked the ones that are still available here:
Aces & Eights Flight Jacket
M51 DMZ Fishtail Shell
Kids Top Gun G-1 Jacket
Kids Camouflage Field Jacket

Whenever I wear any of my Cockpit jackets, they pretty much just make the outfit. I usually keep it simple underneath and let the jacket be that statement piece on top. Whenever I share a look on my Instagram page (@BlueCollarPrep) featuring one, I always get such positive feedback and so much love for them. I cannot wait to get my hands on one of their sheepskin jackets! They are just so top-level, and the sexiness and quality is on point. I seriously need one!

With such a love for this brand, I was super excited when they had an interest in my beanies from my brand BLUE. They’ll be carrying a few select colors of ours on their website: camel, gold & neon orange! Check them out here! I’ve actually worn each of these colors with one of their jackets at some point and definitely agree these will fit perfectly in with the vibe of their brand. I couldn’t be more excited that such an iconic brand, that is one of my all-time faves, will be offering the BlueCollarPrep Watch Cap to their dedicated customers & featuring Nate and I in their Joint Forces collection.

If you’re in the market for a quality jacket that you want to elevate your looks, and have that quality that will allow the piece to last forever, Cockpit USA is a brand to check out. I’ve always been a fan, and now my son is as well! Make sure to pick up one of my Watch Caps before you complete the purchase and tag my brand @Not.The.Color.Blue on IG if you rock it!

Family Reviews

Undercover Nuggets

Posted on September 10, 2019

This post has been sponsored by Tyson Foods, Inc. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I’m constantly striving to live a healthier lifestyle and find new foods to buy that will help and actually taste good. My family loves to eat but unfortunately, we tend to forget about the vegetables. During the week, there are very few meals that Nate and I can share because trying to get a 7 year old or a picky wife to eat healthy with me is no easy task! So, it’s sad to say, getting my son to learn how to eat healthy has been a struggle for me. I know I’m not the only one out there because I remember my mother trying to get me to eat my veggies and let’s be honest, what kid is really into it?

That’s why I’m so happy I was introduced to these new Raised & Rooted™ Nuggets that we got from our local ACME. They’re crafted with pea protein and are a great way to feed my family with a familiar flavor. Instead of meat, they are a plant-based alternative. They are the perfect way to get Nate to eat some more vegetables! I mean, who doesn’t like nuggets?! The Raised & Rooted™ Nuggets honestly taste just like regular chicken nuggets! I was shocked that right out of the oven, they were as crispy as dropping them in a fryer—and nuggets are always better crispy. Nate is big into nuggets and couldn’t wait to try these. He loved the crunch and loved the flavor. We never told Nathan they weren’t chicken, and he still doesn’t have any idea that he’s eating a pea-based nugget. 🙂 Plus, after trying them, he told me these were his favorite “chicken” nuggets. Score! So happy I found another way to sneak some veggies into Nate’s diet.

Now, I can finally sit down with Nate and have a meal where we are both eating the same food. And I can also get my protein and fiber. Plus, I don’t have to spend hours cooking it up. I can just grab a bag from the frozen foods aisle when we do our weekly shopping at ACME. We love ACME. I love using their mobile app, and I feel like I always seem to find and get the best deals whenever we shop there. If you’re looking for ways to switch up your current diet by adding in some more veggies, I highly recommend these. My kid still thinks he’s eating “chicken.” Try them now at your local ACME and save!

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