Julie

Summer Vacation Memories with MiMedia

May 14, 2016 By Julie 1 Comment

One more month until summer vacation! While I most definitely enjoy the days when my kids are in school, I always look forward to the time each year when we are finally able to spend moments together without the worry of clocks or deadlines. If you know anything about me at all, then you’ll know that I thoroughly enjoy travel adventures with my kids. Summer is our “on the go” playground for exploring new places and learning about life outside of the classroom. This year we’ll be driving up to Minneapolis, down to Hilton Head, over to Nashville and around to Ocean City, Maryland. I may also throw in a mountain filled camping trip or two for good measure.

Of course, adventure always equals memories. How do you store your memories? Mine have recently found a new home with MiMedia.

If you haven’t checked out their new cloud based storage site yet then you’re missing out. There is so much to love about this system. A few of my top picks include:

Storage for ALL your needs in one spot including photos, videos, music and documents. Soon you’ll be able to to store SMS and contacts as well!
No need to worry about whether you have an iphone or an Android; it works with all formats.
Really, REALLY easy to use. Add instantly from all your social media outlets, desktop, phone etc. Organization is a breeze as well.
Desktop to Phone to Laptop to Tablet. It’s everywhere you are and it integrates seamlessly between platforms.
Safety and Security. I love that I don’t need to worry about who’s seeing my memories or using them for their own financial gain. Think Facebook. Enough said. MiMedia has the highest level of encryption and security available on the market today. You control who you invite to share your memories with. Your friends and family can have access for free (with an invitation from you) and you feel safe knowing exactly who you’re bringing into your space.

Before MiMedia I was using Apple’s Cloud and, for a short time, Dropbox. Neither served my needs as completely or were as easy to use. Honestly, I need simple and comprehensive or I won’t stay with it. That’s just me. This works for my digital world and hopefully it will work for yours too. If you’d like to give it a try, I have a couple options to help out with the task at hand.

First up, I’ve been given a handy dandy promotional code to share with you all. When you decide to sign up for MiMedia, simply enter THEMOTHERHOOD (not case sensitive) into the promotional code space and receive special promotions and information on contests, as well as exclusive access to try new features through a designated opt-in program.

Second and even better, one lucky reader has the chance to win a free year of storage! Up for grabs is a one year, 500Gb plan (an $85 value!). Simply enter into the rafflecopter drawing below for your chance at grabbing some awesome cloud storage. Good luck!

The winner is Kimberly G.! Congrats!! 🙂

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Note: This is a sponsored post from MiMedia. While I was compensated for my time, all thoughts and opinions, as always, are my own.

Navigating the World of CSA’s

April 23, 2016 By Julie 1 Comment

In case you’ve never heard of the term CSA before, it stands for Community Supported Agriculture. The idea is that a farmer can sell a share of his expected crops to a person within the local community. That person, in turn, receives a weekly box of what the farmer grows in exchange for payment and, in some cases, a set amount of volunteer hours on the farm. CSA’s have been around since the 1980’s but have only become commonplace in the last decade or so.

As CSA’s become more popular across the country, local companies have begun “sprouting up” in an effort to streamline the process and make quality local produce, meat, eggs and specialty products more available to the people in their communities.

The Produce Box is one such organization in the city of Charlotte where I live. They take on the work of coordinating with local farmers and artisans and I sign up through them for a weekly box of goodies. There are several benefits to using a company such as The Produce Box vs. a traditional CSA:

Because they work with a larger number of farmers and artisans, your selection of goods is much greater than it would be if you were working with a single farm.
In most cases, everything you purchase is delivered directly to your door so there is no need to travel and pick up your weekly box.
You have the ability to skip a week if needed and you only pay from week to week instead of one large payment up front at the start of the growing season.
You are still getting the benefits of supporting local agriculture in your community and keeping the family farm alive and thriving.

For two Thursdays (my delivery day) I set out a cooler and waited for my spoils to arrive. Here are a sampling of the goodies that showed up on my doorstep:

In addition, I received a sheet detailing all the products in my delivery, which farm they came from, when to eat them for best quality and a recipe or serving suggestion for each. Yes, you will pay a tiny bit more than in traditional grocery stores but in exchange you have the bonus of front door delivery and the peace of mind that you’re helping to support your local community.

If you live in North Carolina and think The Produce Box might be something you’d like to support, head over and check out their web page for more information. If you’re outside of North Carolina, try running a Google search for local produce delivery and see what companies pop up. You can also check out Local Harvest for a list or more traditional CSA’s in your area.

Note: While The Produce Box provided me with a credit to try out their service for two weeks, it should be noted that all opinions in this post, as always, are my own.

How to make a Jewelry Wall Board

April 15, 2016 By Julie 1 Comment

I must admit, I am not a very organized person. I have things, stuff and junk everywhere. My husband, on the other hand, likes our belongings to be cataloged and in their place. I’ll find boxes sprouting up around the house at any given moment especially designed to collect such clutter. When I see a new one appear, I know it’s a subtle hint to get my “organization” on….

Lemon Almond Cookies

April 7, 2016 By Julie 2 Comments

I adore spring. It’s not just the warmer weather I find appealing, but the gentle rousing of nature as it begins to wake up and once again come back to life.

Here in Charlotte it begins with the Bradford Pears. You get up one morning and walk through your neighborhood to notice that suddenly, as if on cue, the trees have the most beautiful white flowers budding from their branches. This in itself is a glorious site, but then it gets better. A handful of days later you walk down that same street, but now the leaves are pushing their way past the flowers causing a gentle rain of petals that my kids liken to a “first of the season” snowfall….

Adventures in Camping

March 30, 2016 By Julie 1 Comment

Camping with kids. I liken it to running a marathon. There’s a lot of prep and a ton of work, but in the end you’re always glad you did it. We’ve been camping with the boys for years now and I’m beginning to feel like a bit of a seasoned veteran.

If you’ve never camped with your kids before but think you might want to give it a go, here are a few things that can help you along:

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Banana Chocolate Chip Cake

March 19, 2016 By Julie 1 Comment

Thank goodness it’s Saturday. Let’s be honest, it’s been a long, tiring week. I don’t know about you, but I always struggle with the first week of the “spring forward” time change. Yes, I enjoy the longer daylight hours and yes, I delight in the warmer weather, but the loss of one of my precious hours of sleep? Now that’s a tough pill to swallow….