Holiday Gift Guide + SB Giveaway

Raise your hand if you couldn't wait for Black Friday to begin your Holiday shopping (my hand is raised high). Raise your hand if you'd like to get started on said shopping but perhaps need a few suggestions as well as a few pretty spectacular deals (my hand is still raised). Raise your hand if you'd like to do most of your Holiday shopping from the comfort of your own home (guess whose hand is still raised?). And, raise your hand if you'd like to do said shopping with a piping hot RED cup filled with your favorite beverage from Starbucks (yep, my hand is still up there).

I'm all for supporting small and independent businesses. Lucky for me - and YOU - I was fortunate to team up with some pretty amazing women who have kindly agreed to share their goodies, and some pretty sweet discounts to accompany those goodies, which you won't find anywhere else. There's also a nice little giveaway to go along with all this shopping…

Let's get to it:

The Mango Mermaid
These hand crafted items are swoon worthy. I literally want every anchor and sail boat. 

 

Those anchors would make the most amazing Christmas ornaments!

Until tomorrow (Friday, November 14), you can receive 10% off your purchase PLUS FREE SHIPPING when you mention MACKE MONOLOGUES in your order. 

InstaGram @themangomermaid

Chloe & Isabel Jewelry // Alisa Link 
Just go ahead and give me all the jewelry. There isn't a single piece I don't want. 

Dear Santa, Just go ahead and send me all the sparklies.

Until Thanksgiving Day Alisa is offering FREE birthstone earrings and FREE SHIPPING on orders over $100. To redeem the discount Alisa will contact buyers once orders are placed.

Online boutique

Facebook

bybmg 
The hand stamped pendants are amazing, and the brush roll up bag is the cutest re-use out of Toms bags. We have a roll up bag and it is PERFECT for our paint brushes!

We have the brush roll and it is perfect for our arts and crafts paint brushes. Pair the bag with some paint brushes, washable paint, and paper and viola, a perfect gift for any art-lover.
Those hand stamped pendants would be great for any mom or grandma!

Until December 20 Becky is offering FREE SHIPPING! Just use the code: MIGHTYMACKE at checkout to redeem. 

Etsy shop

InstaGram @bybmg

Blog

Facebook

Mary Kay // Ashley Clark, consultant
For as long as I can remember Mary Kay has been my skin care and make-up of choice. The 3-in-1 cleanser is the only product I'll use to wash my face, and if you see any make-up on my face it's Mary Kay.

Until December 10 Ashley is offering 15% off ALL products PLUS FREE SHIPPING! Use the code : MACKE14 to redeem the discount. Please note: the cost and discount will not show up at checkout. Ashley will email you your total with discounts applied. 

Consultant website

Facebook

Ruffles With Love
Tell me these aren't the cutest workout tank tops in all the land? I have a handful of Ruffles With Love tanks, and there are about 50 more I'd love to add to my collection (hint, hint, Scott). 

So many choices! Love 'em ALL!

Until December 15 you can receive 15% off your purchase. Be sure to use the code : MACKE15 at checkout to redeem your discount. 

Shop RWL Online

InstaGram @ruffleswithlove

Facebook

Twitter @rufflesandstuff

Two Girls Craft Shoppe
The custom made banners are the cutest, and would make any party decor complete. And the hand knitted baby beanies? Adorable is an understatement. 

Those banners and garland strands! Yes, please.
Those little knitted hats? I die.

Until December 1 you can receive 20% off your orders! Use the code : MACKEHOLIDAY at checkout to redeem.

Etsy shop

InstaGram @twogirlscraftshoppe

Email : twogirlscraftshoppe@gmail.com

GingerTees
The #iheartmycity tees would complete any stylish little ones wardrobe. Marcus doesn't know it, but one of these will be gracing his closet soon. 

Babies, toddler, fitted tess - all shirts are custom made!
I'll take an Iowa, a Kansas, an Iowa + Kansas = Cali, and throw in the United States for good measure. Please and thank you.

Today only, you can get your tees for $10, and that's with shipping! Just head over to @gingertees and email Amy your custom order, it's as simple as that!

InstaGram @gingertees

Email : amy22hopper@yahoo.com

Fleurty Bands
Calling any person with fly away hair! These bands are for you. They're cute, they're stylish, and they don't slip. Get them in your life, ASAP!

So. Many. Choices! Over 100 bands to choose from. I'm eyeing the "Will Run For Wine"!

Until November 30 readers will receive a 10% discount on all orders. Use the code : MACKE14 at check out to redeem.

InstaGram @fleurtybands

Etsy shop

Email : fleurtybands@gmail.com

Gosh, if you didn't find something for SOMEONE, or EVERYONE or maybe even yourself (I won't tell if you do a little shopping for you, too)…

One last thing, you wouldn't want to go shopping without a RED cup in hand. Be sure to enter the world's easiest raffle for a chance to snag $10 to Starbucks!
Raffle rules:

Contest runs Thursday, November 13 (12:00AM) to Thursday, November 20 (12:00AM).

Winner will be drawn, at random, by Rafflecopter.com.

Winner will be contacted via email, and has 24 hours to claim his/her prize.

If winner does not claim prize within 24 hours, a second drawing will be held.

Must be a US resident.

Must be 18 years or older to win.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Creamy Chicken Tacos

The Crock Pot has been working over time in my house. I'm kind of over having to fully think out a meal, prep it, and then correctly execute it. And, since it's FINALLY sort of starting to feel like Fall around here nothing can top a Crock Pot full of deliciousness come dinner time.

I'm always on the hunt for new recipes, and lately we've been kind of in a rut with the same meals on repeat. We love us some tacos, and have been feasting on our traditional Crock Pot Chicken Tacos pretty much weekly. When I saw this version it was an obvious must try.

After the first bite it was clear we'd be having this on the regular.

If you're looking for something easy, something to mix up your nightly routine, I'd highly recommend this one.

Creamy Chicken Tacos
serves 4-6

What You'll Need

4-5 boneless chicken breast
1 - 15oz can black beans
1 - 15oz can corn
8oz favorite salsa
1 - 8oz pkg cream cheese

How You'll Make It
Drain and rinse black beans.
Drain corn.
Place frozen chicken breast in crock pot.
Add beans, corn, and salsa atop chicken.
Cook in crock pot on high for 3-4 hours, or on low 5-6 hours (or until chicken is cooked).
Shred chicken.
Add cream cheese. Cook for an additional 30 minutes.
Stir all ingredients.
Place in taco shells, top with favorite toppings (cilantro, onion, lettuce, cheese, etc.).

Not only is this awesome in taco form, it'd be great in a burrito, or even something a little simpler, like chip dip.

Enjoy!

Recipe Source

Family Pics // Fall Bucket List

Every Fall I round up my family, stuff them in to clothes they probably wouldn't choose on their own accord (I'm not the only wife/mom who does that, right?!), and I have them say 'cheese' for roughly an hour. 

This Fall was no different.

Though family pictures are generally about the most stressful thing in the whole world (any other moms/wives feels this way?!), the pictures are kind of a must. Not only do they document us, right now, they're taken by someone other than me - I'm in front of the camera for once! - AND, they also double as our family Christmas card. So many birds, one stone. So, the family pics are a must for my Fall Bucket List.

I was incredibly worried how our pictures would turn out. They were scheduled for 2PM, which just so happened to be smack dab in the middle of nap. So much could go wrong…

The day of pictures I woke up and it was raining pouring. Neat. It NEVER rains in LA.

Thankfully, nap time happened earlier than usual and the rain ended well before our session. The rain left the skies partly cloudy and the temps cool enough to actually warrant our fall-like clothes. Wins all around.

The first 15 minutes were a little iffy, as Marcus was waking up and warming up to the whole picture taking process.

Given our rough and super clingy start I was concerned our session would be a total flop.

We even climbed trees to try and get a smile.

After that first 15 minutes it was as if a switch had been flipped, the mood shifted, and the rest of the session went off without a hitch. I'm still trying to figure out how that happened… 

So many 'cheeses' from the little man.

Like father, like son.

My guys.
I'm one lucky momma and wife.

My heart exposed in pictures.

My best buddy and me.

Celebrating a successful shoot.

And, I didn't even include our Christmas-card-worthy pics! Those will be coming, you know, when we send out our Christmas cards. 

Are you still checking items off your Fall Bucket List, too? Be sure to link up (below) with Stephanie, Elizabeth, and me, and share what you've been up to!

   Desirée // Macke Monologues       Stephanie // Wife Mommy Me        Elizabeth // Chasin' Mason

Happy Marcus Monday!

Family pictures are in! Here's a peek at Marcus' outtakes.

Happy Monday!

I Swear It's Not Sponsored

Friday. Sweet, sweet Friday. This week seemed unnecessarily long. I blame Daylight Savings - the biggest joke to anyone who has children.

Anyway. Let's move on to the awesomeness of this week.

1. We got our vote on.

I know, it's old news by now. And, regardless of the whether or not you liked the outcome of the Midterms, I hope you got out and exercised one of your greatest rights and responsibilities as an American. People all over the world would LOVE the opportunity to vote, and we are so fortunate to actually be able to do so. The next round of voting takes place in two short years, mark your calendars!

2. These Cotton On tents.

I'm slightly obsessed. 

The tents are normally $39.95. Right now there's a huge sale, and the tents are $20. There's also an additional 30% off if you use the code :: M16TR37U That brings down the total to $14 (without shipping and tax)! You can bet I snagged the lower left tent and it will be opened Christmas morning by our resident toddler. (Note: this is not a sponsored post. I just love these tents, and the deal was too good to keep to myself!)

3. These nautical inspired driftwood pieces.

While we're talking Christmas gifts I just have to share these. Each piece is handmade by Stephanie, a high school classmate of mine. I absolutely adore every.single.thing. in her shop and foresee an anchor adorning my Christmas tree this year.

To see more of these awesome pieces check out her InstaGram store, @TheMangoMermaid. Stephanie is offering free shipping until November 14. AND, if you'd like free shipping PLUS an additional 10% off your purchase, head to InstaGram, check her out, repost your favorite product(s) on IG and tag @themangomermaid along with a friend (or two) who would love all that nautical goodness, too! (Note: again, not a sponsored post, just obsessed with these items and wanted to share.)

4. The Skimm.

Before having Marcus I couldn't get enough of the news. I'd go to several different news sites and read up on as much as I possibly could. Obviously I don't have that kind of time these days. The Skimm to the rescue. The Skimm pulls the main highlights from world news, breaks it down simply and quickly. If you aren't a Skimm subscriber be sure to sign up. It's totally free! To get to Skimming (it takes all of two seconds) just click HERE. (Again, you guessed it, not a sponsored post, just something I love and wanted to pass along!)

5. Family pics.

Last weekend we had family pics. I'll go into greater detail about all of that when I get the proofs back, but I think we're going to be pretty pleased with our pics. 

Have a great weekend!

A PSA for Dog Owners

Last week - Halloween, to be exact - I went for a run. It was a run that started like any other, except, being Halloween I thought to myself as I passed decorations of skeletons and ghosts, "This is going to be a spooktacular run!" Because, yes, I'm totally cheesy like that.

I was running in a neighborhood I run in often. It's nice. It's safe.

As I was rounding through a cul-de-sac I saw a gate open from someones backyard and a German Shepard came at me full force, barking like mad. Having a big dog of my own I understand big dogs have big barks. But, that didn't mean there wasn't fear, because, there most definitely was.

This dog continued to follow and bark at me for a few yards. Then it happened. He jumped up and bit my hip.

My run had gone from my cheesy "spooktacular" to seriously scary.

I was stunned. I held out my hand, which contained my pepper spray, and I almost gave the dog a dousing.

If you don't carry some sort of personal protective device when you walk or run you need to get one in your life ASAP!

What stopped me from spraying that dog was the fact that the dog owner's son (a kid no older than 15) was just standing there, watching this whole thing go down. That's when I shouted for the kid to get his dog and that I'd been bitten.

I don't know why, but I kept running. I was fuming and still slightly shocked. I stopped a couple of times to check the area I'd been bitten. Sure enough, there were certainly marks left from the dogs canines (how ironic).

This was taken about two days after the incident.

Before I wrapped up my run I went back to the house. The owner's - the adults of the house - needed to know that their dog had charged and bitten me.

A very civil conversation with the dog's owner took place. I informed the owner I wasn't going to report the incident. However, I suggested he keep his dog on a leash, and away from the door - considering it was Halloween, and small children would be at his door all night. I also suggested having the dog taken to a vet to try and figure out what caused the aggressive actions towards me. Had I been a child that bite wouldn't have happened on my hip, rather that bite would have been squarely on my face.

The moral of the story? If you're a dog owner keep your dogs on a leash if you're not in your own fenced yard. No matter how sweet, or docile, or calm you think your dog might be, there's a chance they could rush a person and bite them…

This isn't a post about not liking dogs. In fact, I love dogs. There's even a pony disguised as a dog who lives in my house.

See.

One more thing… If you're a dog owner, for the love of Kibbles and Bits, no matter how small your dog may be, please pick up those land-mines your dog leaves on the sidewalks and grassy strips lining said sidewalks. Seeing those piles, and often having to dance around them, is kind of obnoxious.

The Golden Gate

Gosh, it's already been two and a half weeks since our trip to San Francisco. How did that time just slip right by?

Anywho…

The trip to the City by the Bay was solely to watch some baseball. However, I made one request to make one touristy stop before it was time to head back home.

I simply could not leave San Francisco without at least a quick glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge.

So, after we packed up the few items we'd brought for our quick trip, we headed over to one of the most infamous bridges in America - possibly in the world.

We arrived to the viewing point pretty early, and there were very few other people around. Luckily, we were able to sweet talk a nice lady to take a quick snapshot of Scott and me.

The bridge was just.so.cool.
And, holy cow, the cables on that thing are huge.

Alcatraz could also be seen from our view point. I knew I'd be seeing the bridge. I honestly had no idea how close Alcatraz was, or how well we could actually see it.

 We made the obligatory pass across the bridge. Going northbound was free. Coming back across (southbound) was $6. SIX BUCKS! To go one way! Ridiculousness. But, we paid it. Because, Golden Gate Bridge. Duh.

Just before climbing back into our car we couldn't help but take a selfie. I mean, one can never have too many photos of a bridge as phenomenal as this one.

Twenty minutes at the bridge, no less than 20 photos of the bridge, and we were back on the road. Basically everything I needed to see and do in San Fran was accomplished in 24 hours. 

A Walk in the Park // Fall Bucket List

When I saw one of the Fall Bucket List suggestions was a nature walk my first thought was, "Psssh, there are no seasons here. A pretty fall-like nature walk can't possibly happen for us."

Then for chits and giggles I pulled up the calendar for the South Coast Botanical Garden, you know, just to see what it was all about. The place looked gorgeous, regardless of seasons or not.

When I saw that the third Tuesday of each month was free at the gardens AND Grandma Kathy would be in town I figured we'd give it a shot. I was also secretly picturing all these gorgeous photos that I'd take with Marcus frolicking around the gardens… (Ha. Ha. Ha.)

Upon arrival I was immediately awestruck by how big the gardens were, the gorgeousness of it all - even if there weren't tree leaves changing colors - the butterflies that flitted all over, and the fact that there was a designated area for the littles.

Marcus was naturally drawn to the water pump. And didn't want to leave it, like at all.

By some miracle we were able to pull Marcus away to explore a bit. I was even able to convince the little man to stop and smell the flowers.

A couple sniffs and Marcus was over it.

I thought for sure the plant "tunnel" would draw him in.

Nope. Grandma and Marcus made one pass through and that was that.

We did touch on a few other great features of the gardens, but Marcus wasn't really into any of it.

It was becoming blazingly obvious that my visions of picture perfect pictures were quickly dying.

What Marcus WAS interested in? The dirt path. And the dirt. And the rocks.

Apparently we came to the botanical gardens for the dirt.

We made a quick pass though a picturesque path (while eating goldfish).

I snapped a few obligatory pictures of flowers as we were on our way out the door.

And, I figured we'd give this little nature experience a second shot another time. Perhaps the third Tuesday of this month we'll try again.

While the nature walk didn't turn out as I had envisioned (how I managed to get any decent photos is beyond me) - what ever does with toddlers? - it was great to check out a new space, stretch our legs (kick rocks and throw dirt), and plan a return trip.

What items have been crossed off your Fall Bucket List lately? Be sure to link up below with Stephanie, Elizabeth, and me, and give us the skinny on your fall fun!

      Desirée // Macke Monologues       Stephanie // Wife Mommy Me       Elizabeth // Chasin' Mason

Happy Marcus Monday!

Ever tried hiking with a 2-year old? 

It won't be the fastest hike you ever take. 

 You'll discover more rocks and snails than you ever dreamed imaginable. And, you'll likely redirect around more cactus than you even knew existed. 

But, it will be worth it. Every single step.  

Happy Monday!