Here’s six reasons that I LOVE thrift store shopping at Deseret Industries and why you should, too!

KIDS GROW FAST! I swear that it wasn’t long ago that Lily was this size.

I blinked my eyes and now Lily is almost 10!

PS – Both of those outfits are second-hand. I’m a long time thrifter!

All three of my children inherited their Daddy’s height so they never stay in one size for long. It’s not uncommon for me to buy shoes online and have them arrive already too small. Thus, I am a deal shopper! Clearance racks, outlet sales, yard sales, and my favorite this year – Deseret Industries! I can score new or almost new clothes for $1-$5. Makes me not feel as bad when they outgrew them so quickly!

I CAN DONATE AND GIVE BACK! We fill up bags to donate to Deseret Industries at least once a month. From toys to furniture to clothes, it’s nice to be able to give things we are done with a second life with someone else. I love that what I donate helps with humanitarian worldwide and local needs

HELPS THE COMMUNITY. When I toured the Springville DI earlier this month, I was touched by the stories of those who had been helped by Deseret Industries.  Now only do individuals gain retail experience, but they also receive career and technical education. Through Deseret Industries, many are able to get back on their feet and provide for their families.  The Springville DI will provide 100+ jobs to those in the community. That’s a win-win! Every employee I came into contact with during the grand opening was so kind and helpful.

THE ELEMENT OF SURPRISE. It’s like a treasure hunt at Deseret Industries – you never know what you are going to get! I went to the grand opening with maternity clothes on my mind, but came away with bags and bags of $1 baby girl clothing. Many still new with tags!

SCORE SEASONAL ITEMS. Deseret Industries is perfect for seasonal items. Check out the DARLING Halloween costumes that we got this year. 

And lastly …. THE LOCATION! Thrilled that a Deseret Industries has opened up just 10 minutes away from me. The Springville Deseret Industries is celebrating their grand opening all weekend long. Here’s some of the fun that you can expect!

Fri., Oct. 28:

10 a.m. – Doors open; Music and free balloons all day; Tote bags given to first 500
7 – 8 p.m. – James the Mormon (outdoor mini-concert, includes meet & greet)

Sat., Oct. 29:
10 a.m. – Doors open; Music and free balloons all day; Tote bags given to first 500
9:30 – 10:30 a.m. – Photos with Cosmo the Cougar

See more of the fun items I scored during my shopping trip in my Facebook LIVE post here. 

This post was sponsored by Deseret Industries. All opinions and awesome deals are my own. 

The post Six Reasons to Shop at Deseret Industries this Weekend! appeared first on KeepMovingForwardWithMe.

Summer is almost upon us and that means we are all getting our yards ready for entertaining! When it comes to your yard, don’t you want what is best for it? I know I do!

That is why I look for ways I can be eco-friendly while still giving my yard the TLC it really needs. I first discovered Ecoscraps at the Get Messy Get Clean Festival at Thanksgiving Point last year. Their play tables made from recycled materials were a huge hit with my kids. We had a lot of fun and learned more about how we can be more sustainable. Read more about it here. 

Because of this fun experience with Ecoscraps, I am excited to be joining with my blogger friends to let you know a little more about Ecoscraps compost.

Ecoscraps compost is a mixture of decomposed organic materials like food waste, branches, leaves and grass clippings. It is used in garden soil to promote healthy, sustained plant growth. What makes Ecoscraps Organic Compost so awesome is the added benefit of food waste.

Each bag of Ecoscraps Compost contains up to 50 lbs. of recycled food waste. Food waste that would normally be sent to landfills but instead is reused to fortify your soil! Ecoscraps Compost is an all-natural organic soil amendment that contains no poop or synthetic chemicals.

Benefits of Using Ecoscraps in Your Garden Include:

• Increases organic material
• Improves soil structure
• Moisture retaining

In addition to using it in your garden, you can use Ecoscraps in planters too! Brittanie from Simplistically Living recently made these Color Block Wooden Planters and used Ecoscraps in them. Aren’t they so cool?

You can head to Walmart to find Ecoscraps and get your garden looking and feeling great.

Let’s Have Some Fun – A Giveaway!

Ecoscraps knows you will love their products so they are giving one lucky winner a $100 Walmart Gift Card to help get the yard of their dreams started!

Entering is simple. Use the Rafflecopter widget below. Giveaway ends 6/6/16. Giveaway open to US Residents only.

Rafflecopter code: a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: This blog is not responsible for prize fulfillment or shipment. I was not compensated to participate in this giveaway.

The post Get in the garden with Ecoscraps + $100 Walmart Giveaway appeared first on KeepMovingForwardWithMe.

Getting my family outside playing together and enjoying the sunshine is a top priority this summer. Our day at the Get Messy Get Clean Festival at Thanksgiving Point fit the bill perfectly.

Whether my children were creating and popping massive bubbles (you’ve got to see the video HERE) or planting an herb garden in pots they decorated themselves, they loved every minute and begged to stay longer. I had Annie’s cheddar bunnies and Justin’s almond butter packets to snack on, so I was happy to oblige!

What I loved most about the festival was the message that as a family you can get messy and get clean in a way that is healthy for your body, the planet, and even your pets!

Target brought together so many of my favorite brands – Mrs. Meyers, Justin’s, Ella’s Kitchen, KIND, Hyland’s, Annie’s, and Yes To – and introduced me to a few new ones as well – Ecoscraps, Paddy’s Bathroom, Freshpet, and Angie’s. All the brands believe products should be #madetomatter and that is something I can get behind as a mom.

Here are a few of the the things that we learned (or relearned!) at the festival that I am excited to make even more of a priority in our home.

1. Get in the garden. The Ecoscraps play tables made from recycled materials were a huge hit with my three year old. He dug in the tables for at least half an hour while his siblings were at the bounce houses.

Kyler is exactly the same way in our garden at home. Whether he is planting or harvesting, this boy loves to be in the dirt. Added bonus if he finds grasshoppers or roly poly bugs! Here’s my secret if you have picky eaters like me, they are much more likely to eat the fruits/veggies if they have grown them themselves! Plus this study is food for thought, playing in the dirt could help children be smarter – check it out.  Gardening is the perfect skill to teach your little ones.

2. Know what you are eating and where it comes from. This goes hand in hand with the gardening. Help your children make the food choices that are best for their bodies. At our house we adore Annie’s macaroni and cheese. It is a staple!

3. Start ’em young. Kids gravitate toward what they are used to. Start when they are young with habits that are good for their bodies and the environment. For example, my daughter loves eating what we call “Mac and Peas.” I make up a box of Annie’s White Shells and Cheddar and add frozen peas in while the noodles are cooking. She will not eat macaroni and cheese any other way now! Score for veggies!

4. Make it fun. Mary Poppins has it right – a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down! My kids loved the Mrs. Meyers hand-washing stations throughout the festival. Lemon Verbena and Lavender were the favorite hand soap scents from our family. When we are washing up, we like to sing the ABCs. It’s an easy way to know that we are washing long enough (and hopefully thoroughly enough, too!) Combining good-for-you products with sustainable habits and fun activities is a win for the whole family!

5. Do it together. My children watch EVERYTHING I do. And that means that they are often repeating the same actions. If I am out in the garden and enjoying the fresh air, my children are most likely right by my side. Whether it is blowing bubbles or visiting the local animal shelter, do it together and make healthy habits as a family! When my daughter was in kindergarten, we declared the school break our “summer of service.” We had a blast picking up litter on hiking trails and collecting pop cans to recycle.

This year was the first Get Messy Get Clean Festival by Target and I hope that there will be many more! Find out more about the Made to Matter brands here. 

This post is sponsored by the #GetMessyGetClean Festival. All opinions and fun are my own! 

The post Five Ways to Raise a Sustainable Family + #GetMessyGetClean Festival appeared first on KeepMovingForwardWithMe.

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

Let it Go. Let it Go! Have you heard that delightful song as much as I have this year? My daughter loves Frozen and so do her cousins! When we went to Walt Disney World, her cousin was lucky enough to score an Anna dress to take to the Bibbidi Boppity Boutique! Isn’t she a darling Anna? Something tells me that these costumes are going to be hot for Halloween this year! Excited to share some Frozen Hair Tutorials at the bottom of this post (skip to them if you just can’t wait) and also let you know about a FABULOUS sale on 8/28 on zulily that you cannot miss if you have a little Elsa or Anna wannabe! But first … these shoes.

Seriously. Adorable.

My sister-in-law and I did some shopping before our big trip to help keep the costs down. One of my favorite places to score deals on Disney merchandise is zulily. I scored this adorable swimsuit and cover-up for under $25! The savings for the Frozen sale are just as amazing – up to 60 percent off! Save those extra pennies for my next Disney vacation! (PS – if you are getting ready to book your 2016 Southern California vacations – check out Get Away Today for amazing deals! Use my special code – KMFWM – to get $10 off your vacation package!)

Let’s get a closer look at the adorableness. I also picked up swimwear for my boys as well from zulily.

Love saving on adorable vacation wear! So here are the details for the zulily Frozen sale TOMORROW (Thursday, August 28). We’ve got 8 weeks until Halloween so it is time to get shopping! Not to mention perfect the goodies from this Frozen sale are perfect for Christmas presents or getting ahead of time for your trips. The sale will have apparel, toys, and gear – everything on your little princesses list! So click on this link and get to shopping! To get you and your little one in the spirit of the sale, zulily has put together some special tutorials on how to create the magical updos and braids of Anna and Elsa. Better get practicing so you have it perfected by the time the dresses arrive!

Happy Braiding!  

Who do your children want to be for Halloween this year?

Are you dressing up? Who are you going to be?

Tell the truth, how much of your Christmas shopping do you have done?

The post Frozen Hair Tutorials + a Frozen Sale! appeared first on KeepMovingForwardWithMe.

Black Friday is over, but are you ready for Cyber Monday tomorrow? I’ll be the first to admit that I have done the majority of my shopping online this year. With young children at home it is so much easier to have my Christmas gifts delivered right to the front door! Now to figure out where to store all these boxes from curious eyes.

Coupons.com has put together this fab guide to Cyber Monday with some great trips. I also need to mention that 12/2 is the last day to enter their giveaway for 5 $500 Amazon.com Gift Cards.  Now that would make for some awesome cyber shopping, right?

Are you shopping in store or online this year? Or both!

What is on your children’s Christmas wish list this year?

What stores have had the best online sale?

The post Cyber Monday appeared first on KeepMovingForwardWithMe.

This year I traveled up from Orem at the beginning of October for a blogger’s night out courtesy of My Craft Channel.  We were treated to the delightful antics of Lucinda the Witch and a special presentation from puzzle folk-artist Eric Dowdle.  After that we were unleashed on Gardner Village. Oh how I love to browse and shop to my heart’s content in such a picturesque setting.

I wanted to take this dazzling skeleton from Down to Earth home with me. Before I started coming to Gardner Village’s WitchFest, Halloween was losing it’s sparkle for me and seemed more appealing to the candy-munching kiddies. Gardner Village will definitely renew your Halloween spirit while still providing fun for the younger set. From the petting zoo to the witch scavenger hunt – your children will have plenty to do while you engage in a little retail therapy.

My visits to Gardner Village have convinced me that my entire home needs to be decked out for Halloween from the bed spread to the children’s toys. Shopping at Gardner Village definitely takes Halloween decorating to the next level!

In the midst of the seasonal shopping, you can always find classic gems as well. I want to outfit all of my children entirely from the fabulous finds at Spoiled Rotten. I have yet to stop in Spoiled Rotten and not come out with something I love for my children. From home decor to toys to fashion – Gardner Village has something to satisfy everyone’s tastes. What I love most about the shops at Gardner Village are the unique and high-quality products. Seriously a shopper’s dream!

Gardner Village Witchfest continues through the 31st so be sure to stop by soon! I will be making one last trip with my family. Be sure to catch the Elves at Gardner Village who will start appearing on November 22nd and stay through Christmas!

I did not receive monetary compensation for this post, but I am grateful for my swag bag from Riley Blake, Eric Dowdle, Miss Mustard Seed, My Craft Channel, and Gardner Village.

You can find out more about Gardner Village and My Craft Channel via their web-sites and social media channels:

Websites – www.gardnervillage.com  mycraftchannel.com

Blogs – http://www.gardnervillageblog./com  http://mycraftchannelblog./blogspot.com/

Facebook – facebook.com/gardnervillage  facebook.com/mycraftchannel

Instagram – @gardnervillage @mycraftchannel

Pinterest – @gardnervillage  @mycraftchannel

Have you been to Gardner Village?

What are your favorite Halloween decorations?

The post Gardner Village Witchfest appeared first on KeepMovingForwardWithMe.