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Family Reviews Style

My Family’s Favorite Ice Cream

Daddy Blogger

Men's lifestyle blogger  Daddy Blogger Men's lifestyle blogger Men's lifestyle blogger
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

Reviews Style

My 5 Minute Grey Cover-Up

Cremo Company Hair & Beard Dye

Cremo Company Hair & Beard Dye Cremo Company Hair & Beard Dye Cremo Company Hair & Beard Dye Cremo Company Hair & Beard Dye Cremo Company Hair & Beard Dye Cremo Company Hair & Beard Dye Cremo Company Hair & Beard Dye Men's Lifestyle Blogger

This year is the first year that I’m starting to really feel older. I’m turning 40 in September and I’m starting to notice my body changing. Aches and pains just don’t go away like they used to, it feels harder to stay in shape, and my appearance is changing. Wrinkles are starting to be more prominent and the greys continue to come in! Just like I have a diet and skincare regimen to prevent wrinkles and unwanted weight gain, I also started a regimen to keep the grey away.

There’s nothing wrong with aging, but that doesn’t mean that if there are things that are changing that you’re not happy with, and you have the ability to change them, that you shouldn’t. I partnered up with Cremo to try out and share with you how their Hair & Beard Dye works!

Most of my grey hair is in my beard, and the few greys that I do have on my head I actually don’t mind as much. For some reason the greys in my beard seem to have a mind of their own LOL They’re more coarse, they don’t tame as easily and they tend to make my beard look less cleaned up and more chaotic, so I had to find a simple solution for these guys. The best thing about the Cremo Hair & Beard Dye is how easy and quick it is to use. You literally just clip on the applicator, shake it, apply, wait 5 minutes, and rinse! There’s no mixing, no need for gloves, and it’s just all around super easy. I find that for any of my grooming routines if it’s not convenient, then I’m not going to follow through with it. For my beard, I just painted the foam on with the included brush, and that was it. The bottle comes with enough so that there is a bunch left over so I can just keep reusing it as necessary. They also have a bunch of different colors to choose from to find your best color match. I used the #10 Deep Brown Color and it was perfect.

I’m so glad I got to try this product out because again, it was so quick and easy. I really dig the results and even my wife, who thought she liked the grey hairs, thought it looked better after it was dyed. I definitely looked younger and by covering up the greys my beard as whole just looked more cleaned up and almost as if it was freshly trimmed – but it wasn’t, it just now had a nice even color tone, that aided in that groomed up look!

Reviews Style

Trimming Down for Summer

Men's Lifestyle Blogger

Men's Lifestyle Blogger Panasonic Precision Wet/Dry Beard & Hair Trimmer Review Panasonic Precision Wet/Dry Beard & Hair Trimmer Review Panasonic Precision Wet/Dry Beard & Hair Trimmer Review Panasonic Precision Wet/Dry Beard & Hair Trimmer Review

Over the past few months, I’ve been growing out my beard. I tend to do that a lot during the winter months, and it was coming in quite nicely if I do say so myself! I think I tend to get bored with the scruff, so I grow it in to switch up my look, and then eventually I get bored of the beard, so I end up shaving it back down.

With the warmer weather right around the corner, it was finally time to shave it down. Sometimes I feel like the full beard makes me look heavy in the face and honestly, once it gets this long, it just feels so itchy to me. Not sure how all those guys with super long beards do it! I recently partnered up with Panasonic to try out their Panasonic Precision Wet/Dry Beard & Hair Trimmer – EG-GB42, and it couldn’t have come at a better time since I recently dropped my other trimmer and shattered it…and, I’ve been itching (literally) to shave my beard down for some time now.

The trimmer cut really well and honestly, my favorite part might be the all-in-one adjustable clip. You can just turn the dial to adjust the length of the cut, and you don’t need to worry about swapping out different clips for different lengths, and in my case, losing them – because I would always misplace mine! It also makes storing the trimmer so much easier, since there are less pieces required. Come to think of it, this might be the perfect trimmer for travel as well! You can use it on either wet or dry hair, it’s compact and not too bulky, and again, it doesn’t require all of those different sized attachments. Normally my wife wouldn’t approve of me leaving my trimmer out because she hates clutter LOL, but because of its black, sleek design I just leave it plugged into its charging dock on the wall, and it’s so convenient. I love it!

If you’re looking for a new trimmer to try out, click here and try my fave!

This post is in collaboration with @GroomedByPanasonic however all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Family Home Reviews

Indoor Freshness With Miracle-Gro

Miracle-Gro® Twelve™ Indoor Growing System Review

Miracle-Gro® Twelve™ Indoor Growing System Review Miracle-Gro® Twelve™ Indoor Growing System Review Miracle-Gro® Twelve™ Indoor Growing System Review Miracle-Gro® Twelve™ Indoor Growing System Review Miracle-Gro® Twelve™ Indoor Growing System Review Miracle-Gro® Twelve™ Indoor Growing System Review Miracle-Gro® Twelve™ Indoor Growing System Review Miracle-Gro® Twelve™ Indoor Growing System Review Miracle-Gro® Twelve™ Indoor Growing System Review

Growing up in Brooklyn and always living in an apartment I never thought I would be able to have my own garden. When my wife and I finally bought a house in the suburbs I thought that was finally my opportunity to have one. However, whenever it came down to talking about actually having a garden in our backyard, it just seemed like way too much work, and not feasible with our NY seasons and the limited time that I’d actually be able to grow produce. Not to mention, with all the time I spend working and wanting to make sure I spend as much quality time with my family as I can, I learned very quickly I was probably not going to get that garden that I’ve always wanted.

I thought about just growing herbs and putting them by the window but my wife was not thrilled with that idea either. Not to mention, we don’t get a ton of natural sunlight in our house and also don’t have the greenest thumbs around…even though we are such plant lovers in my house!

So…when I finally got the chance to get a MiracleGro® Twelve™ Indoor Growing System I was super excited! Right out of the box the system was pretty simple to set up. I just downloaded the app and followed the step by step instructions. It really was just a couple of screws to get it together. I immediately started growing garden lettuce as a seedling, which again I learned by just following the instructions on the app and it showed me how to put the seedling in the system. After all of your seedlings are planted, that’s pretty much it! The app told me when the water got low and when I needed to add food. Besides that, there was nothing left to do until it was time to harvest! How do you know when it’s time? You guessed it…the app will tell you! It was so cool watching the seedling start out small and over time get fuller and quicker than I expected. Nate and I loved taking a peek together to check on our growing lettuce as the days went by.

Once it was time to harvest, it really was so cool and fun being able to just pick my lettuce right from my living room! Nate helped me out and he got a kick out of it too. Right now, Nate’s not a huge veggie eater, but I’m hoping with our new system, and him being able to grow his own, it will make it a little more fun and make Nate more likely to want to eat them! Since I try to stick to the clean-eating during the week, I decided to make buffalo shrimp lettuce tacos with my newly grown lettuce. I’m always on the hunt for healthy new recipes so I can’t believe I’ve never tried this one before. They were sooooo good! Recipe down below!

After I harvested all of my lettuce, I decided to try mint and sage next…you know, for those weekend mojitos. 🙂 I’m thinking I will probably use the system more for herbs because I use them more frequently when cooking. I love eating healthy and always use different herbs in my meals. But honestly, there is nothing worse than when you get to the supermarket and find that the mint and cilantro or other herbs just don’t look fresh or they’re out of stock completely! Happens to me more so than not. So, I just went to the app, changed what I was growing and it gave me step by step instructions on how to clean the system to prep for my new growing period. Whenever you change plants, it tells you to clean the system and start fresh. This only took me about 15 minutes and again was super easy.

This time around, I started with a young starter plant that’s already been growing in soil, and again, the app gives you the steps you need to do so. Once you plant the herbs you are pretty much on autopilot until it’s time to harvest. Besides having fresh herbs right at my fingertips, to be able to use in all of my recipes, there’s nothing better than walking past the system and getting the scent of that fresh mint! We put the system in our living room right next to our favorite chair and love hearing the running water in the background. The LED light also works as a great night light. It just sets a whole new vibe in our house amongst all of our other plant decor and we love it!

Since I’ve had the system, I’ve grown lettuce, kale, mint and sage and my entire family absolutely loves it! My grandfather, who has an outdoor garden in Arizona was so intrigued when I was telling him about it, he was asking how he could get one for his house LOL Now I officially have my fridge, my stove, and my MiracleGro® Twelve™ Indoor Growing System all synced up to my phone…so crazy & convenient that it is now all connected!

BUFFALO SHRIMP LETTUCE WRAPS
Ingredients (Makes 6 tacos)
• 1 lb raw peeled + cleaned frozen shrimp (thawed)
• 1/3 cup Buffalo Sauce
• 2 tsp oil or butter for sautéing
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 6-12 leaves of lettuce leaves

Toppings
• shredded carrots
• chopped red bell pepper
• chopped or sliced jalapeño pepper
• pickled carrots or pickled jalapeños
• shredded cabbage or slaw
• chopped red onion
• chopped green onion
• fresh cilantro
• crushed red pepper flakes
• extra red hot sauce for drizzling

Instructions
1. Set defrosted shrimp in fridge, covered, while you prep your tacos
2. Wash lettuce & chop your choice of veggies from the topping list
3. Heat a large pan or skillet to medium-high heat with 2 tsp of butter or oil and sauté your shrimp. Season with paprika, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper. Cook on each side for about 2 minutes until shrimp curl and become opaque. The cook time will depend on the heat setting you choose and the size of your shrimp
4. Add buffalo sauce to pan and mix to coat while the pan is still hot
5. Add shrimp to the tacos whole or chopped
6. Pile the shrimp on your lettuce and top with your choice of taco toppings

Family Reviews Style

Back-2-School (denim) Blues

Old Navy Father & Son Outfit

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This time of year is always so confusing for me because I have so many mixed emotions. I’m bummed summer is almost over and the days are slowly starting to get shorter and darker, and I’m also kind of sad that Nate will be going back to school. I know a lot of parents are always ready for their kids to go back, but I like knowing he’s home. I like the fact that he can miss a day of sports camp if he feels like it, or if we take him somewhere fun, and it’s also nice for him to be able to just have a relaxing day at home with his Nanny. I think I just dread the rigid school routine for him! But, I’m also excited for fall. It’s always such a fun time of year together getting to go apple picking, pumpkin picking, and let’s not forget apple cider donuts LOL. But before fall, I guess the best part of the end of summer is getting to go back-to-school shopping and the start of football season!

Nate is now old enough where he actually gets into the back-to-school shopping spirit…and of course has become a football fanatic, so heading to Old Navy is the perfect place for us both to get some new looks and some sports tees! Old Navy’s 24/7 denim is the perfect jean to wear whenever I’m with Nate. They’re a great looking denim, and have that super-stretch technology to them, perfect for the random play sessions we always tend to have whenever we’re out. Nate is finally starting to appreciate clothes and definitely likes to pick out some unique pieces, but his favorite is usually anything that has to do with sports! And like any smart man, comfort is most important to him.

I have always been a sucker for varsity style shirts. It might be due to the fact that I know my wife thinks I look sexy in them. Her words, not mine! LOL But hey, if the misses likes it, I would be a fool not to wear something she likes me in. They are perfect for adding a little something to a super casual and comfortable outfit to help elevate the look. I went with the Coast to Coast Varsity Style Graphic Tee. I dig the graphics and love the blue color! To color-match with daddy, Nate went with the Carolina Tar Heels Graphic Tee. I might’ve pushed Nate towards this tee because I think the baby blue is one of my favorite colors and as long as it had to do with sports, Nate was in! Matching our blue sporty tees with our 24/7 denim was a cool way to coordinate together without going too matchy, matchy this time around. Don’t get me wrong, I love twinning with Nate, but sometimes I think he’d rather not LOL He’s getting too cool for school this kid!

I can never have enough denim in my closet. I might have at least 10 different kinds of denim jackets, and I’m all for adding in another! I wore the Old Navy Denim Trucker Jacket (in light wash) over my tee. The trucker style denim has just a slightly tougher, more vintage vibe, than a regular denim and is a good way to change things up from a regular denim if you’re a denim jacket lover like myself. Nate paired his NCAA tee with the Color-Block Raglan Track Jacket (in light heather grey). What sucked us in on the track jacket was really the blue stripes on the end of the sleeves. These little details give the jacket that little bit of a vintage touch that we both like! The Karate Built-In Flex jeans has the perfect fit for Nate’s style. Since his legs are so skinny, it’s always hard to find a jean that fits his legs, so the slimmer the better. This way when hes running around like a mad man his pants aren’t flapping around, and they just look cool. Plus, that bit of stretch keeps it comfy for him just the way he likes!

Whenever we’re out and about shooting or running errands, we always like to find something or somewhere to surprise Nate with to reward him for his good behavior. This time we popped into the high school to have a little one on one, 2 hand touch. He got a kick out of being able to run around on the turf, juking daddy, while trying to make a touchdown. I swear, this kid’s spiral is so much better than mine!

Family Reviews Style

Father’s Day With Angels Envy

Angels Envy

Angels Envy Father's Day Ideas Father's Day Ideas Father's Day Ideas NY Menswear Blog Father's Day Ideas NY Menswear Blogger Angels Envy Angels Envy Angels Envy

Fathers come in many shapes and sizes. Sometimes they’re not even your biological father. I lost my father when I was at the young age of 15. I didn’t have my father around at the most important time in my life…when I was starting to become a man. After he passed, it wasn’t for another 4 years before I had another man/father figure as part of my life. Luckily, my mother has great taste in men and met my now stepfather, Joe.

It took me awhile to warm up to him and I couldn’t get past how much I missed my father. I think what really allowed me to begin to accept him as part of the family was that he never tried to take my father’s place, but just always treated my mother right and was always there for me if I ever needed him. He really just became a friend. My mother and Joe have been together for 20 years now, and he is someone I look up to, enjoy being around, and value as a friend. I know if I ever need anything he is there for me.

One of the many things we now bond over is our love for whiskey! At every special occasion when we get together, we usually take turns bringing a new bottle and sharing it with each other. Or, sometimes we don’t even need the special occasion, and just want to share our new bottle with each other LOL. This Father’s day we decided to get together and bond over some fishing and some Angels Envy. Joe is a man’s man and loves the outdoors. He likes hiking, fishing, and overall just any activity where he’s one with nature, so a day of fishing and whiskey was right up his alley. I knew as soon as I mentioned my plans for the day, his eyes would light up, and I was right. We had way too much fun! He loves telling bad jokes LOL and most of the time I have to give a fake chuckle after the punchline, but that day, he was on point with the jokes!

Even though no one caught a fish that day, we still enjoyed ourselves. Angels Envy is hand crafted in small batches, and I feel like small batch whiskey always seems to be my favorite. Maybe they’re able to concentrate on the details more when the whiskey is made in small batches. Angels Envy is super smooth, even when drinking it neat, and we had no burning sensation. It has a nice after taste, is not bitter, and has a sweet under-note which made us want to keep drinking more. A little fact for the whiskey fans out there – they actually lose 5% of the batch each year letting it age for typically 6 years. The end result is worth the loss though! They then finish off the aging process in a port wine cask for another 3-6 months. Overall, us whiskey guys over here are a fan! It is very enjoyable and has a nice maple-vanilla smell.

After our little fishing outing, my step father took the bottle but wouldn’t leave until we made plans for an encore the following weekend…same place, same time, and same bottle of our Angels Envy. If you’re looking for a new whiskey to try out, look for the pretty wings on the bottle!