Phoenix Mom Blog

Photo Credit: Lionsgate

I remember it was 2 days before my senior prom; I was preoccupied with senioritis, finals, and impending graduation. I don’t remember much, but I do remember that it was notoriously known as the worst oil spill in U.S history. I oddly don’t remember hearing that anyone had died on the Deepwater Horizon; unfortunately it wasn’t the focus of the news at that time. In the early morning hours of April 20^th, 2010 fiery explosions overcame the Deepwater Horizon.

The movie focuses around Mike Williams, Mr. Jimmy, and Andrea Fleytas and also BP’s employees.

Photo Credit: Lionsgate

This movie is very intense and some upsetting moments. While watching the film, I tried to wrap my mind around the fact that this actually happened to real people. However, on the other side seeing the bravery and heroism of the crew on the rig was humbling. Seeing men and women putting their own lives on the line for the best of the crew, was a gut wrenching as you were reminded that some would never return home.

The characters in this film were portrayed well, and you could easily pick and choose whom the ‘heroes’ and the ‘villains’ were in this film. I highly recommend watching real life footage of the trial that occurred after the tragedy, they did their homework to portray the real people who lived through that day.

If you do see this film, I highly recommend watching it in theaters. Enjoying it on the big screen is extremely impactful, and the sheer monstrosity of that kind of disaster cannot be fully experienced on your home TV.

Thanks to our contributor Autumn for this awesome review!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of Deepwater Horizon Movie. All opinions are our own.

arizona restaurant week

Have you heard of Arizona Restaurant Week? It’s a great way to try out some amazing dishes and dining destinations without breaking the bank!

The fun has already begun but you still have time participate. Checkout the huge list of restaurants that are offering 3 courses for $33 or $44.

Be sure to make reservations and let your taste buds be dazzled!

Let me preface this post by saying that I’ve only eaten pork chops a few time, I’ve never cooked a pork chop and I’ve never really been a fan until I tried the new Honey Lavender Grilled Pork Chop from Mimi’s Cafe!

When I was asked to head to Mimi’s Cafe and try out the new Honey Lavender Grilled Pork Chop I was really excited. The flavor combination sounded incredible and I love to try dishes that I don’t normally cook myself.

First of all, let me tell you why this amazing new dish is on the Mimi’s Cafe menu. Mimi’s decided to hold a contest and let their guests develop a featured fall dish. The contest was lead by guest judge Ellise Pierce who authored “COWGIRL CHEF: Cooking with a French Accent” and CowgirlChef.com.

The original recipe for Honey Lavender Grilled Pork Chops was submitted by Michael Watz of Evanston, Illinois. Watz and his wife won an exciting trip to France, where the Mimi’s parent company, groups Le Duff, is based.

The pork chop is lightly glazed with honey, herbs de Provence and lavender. The salad that they paired it with is perfection! It’s a mixed green salad with green apples, cranberries, goat cheese, toasted walnuts and roasted potato croutons tossed with balsamic dressing. Yes, you did read that correctly. The salad contains roasted potato croutons that cooked just right and seasoned wonderfully. It gives a fun dimension to the salad and gives new meaning to a meat and potatoes dish.

Now back to me and my lack of experience eating and cooking pork chops. When you order this dish the first thing you will notice is the amazing aroma when it is placed before you. And yes, I automatically closed my eyes to really experience the aroma. When you finally open your eyes to look at wheat your about to eat, the color and presentation will prepare you even more for what you are about to taste.

All I can say is love at first bite! The pork chop was so tender and juicy, not dry at all. I was surprised and delighted by how well it was it cooked and the flavors that were dancing across my tongue.

Please keep in mind that this is a limited time only dish so you will need to head into Mimi’s sooner rather than later to try out the pork chop for yourself!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of Mimi’s Cafe. All opinions are my own.

How would you like the convenience of having air filters delivered right to your door? Well, it can totally happen thanks to Your Filter Club! And even better, they’ve provided a special code for Phoenix Mom Blog readers to use and receive their first order FREE!

HOW IT WORKS

It only takes three easy steps to get started. I love the convenience of ordering once and letting Your Filter Club take care of the rest. No need to load the kids up in the hot car and head to the home improvement store. Shop once from the convenience of home and let someone else worry about sending them straight to you. They don’t offer installation, though. We are on our own for that one!

Choose Your Filter – 3 filters to choose from so you get exactly what you want!
Choose How Often You Receive Your Filters – Most manufactures recommend changing filters every 30 days.
Choose The Number of Filters You Want – Every house is different, mine takes four air filters.

FIRST ORDER FREE!

Once you’ve chosen the filters you want and how many, be sure to use code PHXMOM at checkout. The discount code is only good on your first order and you will receive your first order FREE along with complimentary shipping. This deal is good nation wide so be sure to share with anyone you think might be interested!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of Your Filter Club. All opinions and experiences are my own.

Welcome to that time of year where everyone is going crazy over pumpkin flavored anything. I’m not a huge fan of pumpkin so I came up with these Candy Corn Parfaits. They are layered perfectly with brownies, pudding, whipped cream and candy corn.

Most cooks will find this recipe quite versatile. You will find that the parfaits can be made in individual cups, like I have done. Or, it can be made into one large trifle that would be perfect for taking to a party!

Candy Corn Parfaits

CANDY CORN PARFAITS INGREDIENTS:

brownie mix
package of pudding, your choice of flavors
tub of whipped topping defrosted
candy corn

Candy Corn Parfaits

CANDY CORN PARFAITS DIRECTIONS:

Prepare brownies according to directions on box
When brownies are done, prepare the pudding mix. The instant pudding is easiest but of course I grabbed the cook & serve. I will pay better attention next time I go to the store. Also, you could choose a variety of flavors. I used butterscotch. If you are a pumpkin freak, you may be able to find pumpkin flavored pudding
When brownies have cooled, crumble them in the pan.
Layer in your cups or large trifle bowl – brownie, pudding, whipped topping, candy corn. Repeat as many layers as you can but it’s always best to have the candy corn on top!

I hope you enjoy this dessert. My boys loved it and it was so easy to make.

Fall will be here before we know it and I love to decorate. I’m just not into all of the traditional orange. I decided to be a little untraditional and go for a copper and white decor. I couldn’t find anything at the store that I really liked so here is my DIY tutorial.

What I used:

Plain papier mache pumpkin that I purchased at Hobby Lobby for 40% off. Yay me!
White spray paint
Round paint sponges
Copper paint (or any fun color you choose)

The process was really quite simple. I am far from crafty so I would say this is definitely a beginner level craft!

I started off by spray painting the pumpkin outside. Of course it was a little windy that day so I got a little messy. When the pumpkin was dry I used the three different sized sponges to make a random pattern with the copper paint. And that is pretty much it. I did add some twine to the stem that I had laying around.

I love how it came out! The white and copper are a perfect combination and it really stands out. In total this project only cost me about $8. The pumpkin was $6, the sponges were $2, and I already had the spray paint and copper paint.

Rita’s Ice Flight

Next time you head to Rita’s, don’t worry about choosing just one flavor. Don’t worry about ordering four, because with the Ice Flights you can do just that!

I know I’m a creature of habit and I usually order the same thing whenever I am at Rita’s. My boys are a different story. They can never make up their mind and they want to sample every flavor. As a mom, I’m loving the Ice Flights. It makes ordering so much easier and my boys can’t wait to come up with fun flavor combinations.

My oldest ate his so quickly and he was so happy with his Ice Flight that I didn’t even get a chance to snap a picture. How dare he! My boys know how I love to take pictures of food. I know I can’t be the only mom that does this.

Well, my youngest knew to sit and wait patiently until I could get over to the table and document this momentous occasion. He chose Pear, Cotton Candy, Cherry and Sour Patch Kids.

We found three problems with the Ice Flight:

Which flavor to start with
Do you eat one at a time
Do you put a little of each flavor on the spoon at once

Have you tried an Ice Flight yet? Have you been able to answer these tough questions? Please let me know. We’ve been arguing about it at our house for days! Okay not really 🙂

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of Rita’s Ice. All opinions are my own.

GIVEAWAY: One lucky reader will win a $25 Rita’s Gift card!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Citrus Berry Salad

One of the hottest healthy foods right now is Kale! So, I decided to make a refreshing Berry Citrus Salad! I love how this salad came together with the sweet, tart, crunchy and smokey flavors.

Here’s what I used:

Chopped Kale
Blueberries
Sliced Strawberries
Candied Walnuts
Grapefruit
Smoked Cheddar
Strawberry Vinaigrette Dressing (I used Bolthouse)

This salad is so good and it is so easy to put together. It would be perfect as a side dish at a party and if anyone tells you that don’t like Kale, make sure they give it a try. With all of the flavors profiles in this salad, the kale takes a back seat!

You could always change things up a bit and use raspberries or instead of a strawberry vinaigrette try a balsamic. The possibilities are endless.

We still have a few months before the cooler weather arrives so now is the perfect time for some awesome end of summer air conditioning deals! You do not want to have your AC unit die in this heat! I’ve heard some stories of this happening this summer and I can’t imagine how miserable that would be.

AC units are a big investment and so necessary here in Phoenix. Having them serviced and maintained is so important.

SMW Refrigeration and Heating is having some amazing end of summer deals!

System Being Charged With Freon For Repair

*Free ac repair diagnosis between 9am to 5pm

One of SMW’s Awesome Installs

*Free estimates for a new AC unit

*Maintenance check-up – 1st unit $39 and each additional unit only $20

With so many companies to choose from, how do you know you are making a good choice? I’m excited to tell you that SMW is family owned and operated, NATE certified, BPI certified, they have a good BBB rating and excellent reviews online! They are also Certified Trane Comfort Specialists; check out their repair, maintenance, and new AC unit page for more information!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of SMW Air Conditioning and Heating.

“If you must blink, do it now.” This is the first line in the movie, delivered by Kubo. This line sets us up for a whirl-wind story of a young boy named Kubo, a storyteller of the magical kind. Kubo is a kind-hearted and fun-loving boy who tells magnificent stories of a Samurai warrior and his battles. Kubo’s stories come to life as he narrates using his two-stringed instrument and origami paper. I was instantly captivated by this boy and his musical stories, the magic behind it and what was to come.

Kubo unknowingly unleashes more magic that soon takes him into another world, on a journey searching for magical items that will help him defeat his enemy and take him home. In this world he is protected by Monkey – an incarnation of a monkey charm he held as a boy. Monkey (Charlize Theron) is a no-nonsense character who is focused only on protecting Kubo. But we soon see that behind her seemingly hard-nosed ways she is a loving and quite witty creature.

Kubo and Monkey later discover Beetle – a large, bulky beetle who has the bravado of a warrior but has suffered memory loss from a sorcerer’s curse. Beetle (Matthew McConaughey) quickly became my favorite character in the movie with his pleasant and funny personality. The chemistry between Monkey and Beetle is quite entertaining and the two really make the movie. Between Monkey’s wit and dry humor and Beetles slap-stick style these two characters keep us laughing throughout the movie.

Through many battles and challenges Kubo learns the pain of betrayal and the value of family. He even learns forgiveness over hate – a difficult lesson to teach in an animated movie, but one that was done beautify.

The movie is enveloped in delightful music. The animation is superb. The story, however, felt long in the middle and seemed to drag out before getting to the meat of the story. I did feel that after the drag, there was a bit of a rush to wrap up the movie, making the ending feel a bit abrupt. The story line is also a little dark (think Tim Burton-like). That being said, it as a good movie to see and one that would be enjoyed by kids and adults.

Sara

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of the movie Kubo and the Two Strings.

Deepwater Horizon Movie Review

Arizona Restaurant Week!

Mimi’s Cafe: New Honey Lavender Grilled Pork Chop

Air Filters Delivered Right to Your Door!

Candy Corn Parfaits!

Hand Painted White & Copper Pumpkin

Pick 4 with Rita’s #IceFlights!

Citrus Berry Salad!

End of Summer Air Conditioning Deals!

Kubo and the Two Strings Review