March Chitchat

It’s time for March Chitchat and I have lots of fun things to share with you from this past month. While out running errands yesterday I was excited to find that Starbucks Cascara Cold Foam Cold Brew has returned! Babes, this has been my favorite iced coffee since last summer. I’m hopelessly addicted.

Today we are talking about:

• Loving my Air-Fryer
• Shopping for a new car
• Cotton Candy
• Thrive Blogging Conference
• Mia

Grab your favorite drink, settle in with me for a few and let’s talk about this month.

NINJA AIR-FRYER

This is one of those appliances that I was mulling over for some time. Did I want to store it? Would I really use it all that often? It has been great! It’s awesome being able to throw a handful of fries in there, probably all to often and they are done in 5-6 minutes. Chicken comes out really tender and crispy. I went with the Ninja Air Fryer because we have some other appliances in this brand and have been very happy with them. This does not disappoint.

LEASING A CAR

Car shopping. As much as I like leasing, I must admit it’s always a relief when the process is over. I lease a new vehicle every three years. Here’s why:

• I don’t drive that many miles in a year
• Like the new car smell *smile*
• No maintenance to worry about
• Get to pick something new every 3 years
• It’s more cost effective if you want to be in a newer car

Mr. Tom and I were able to go to the Auto Show in our area and check out all the new cars. That helped narrow things down a lot. You can sit in them and check the cars out pretty well with the exception of driving them. We narrowed it down to about 5.

Now the fun part…do all the research on the internet. Check prices, all the options & how much you want your payment to be. Start emailing the dealers (don’t give them your phone number unless you want your phone blowing up) and be very specific about what you want. Including all options, color, miles per year, how much you want to put down (if any) and how many years to lease. Then wait for the emails to start rolling in. I play them against each other. NEVER tell them what you want your payment to be. Once you have it down to a few cars, have the prices in hand…time for the fun part…Test drive!

After narrowing them down to 2, I still played the 2 dealers against each other to get the price BELOW what we walked in anticipating. As you can see, the Jeep Grand Cherokee was the winner for these features:

• 4×4 with a dial for snow, mud, sand & rock
• Android/Apple play
• Air-ride suspension
• Heated & cooled seats + heated steering wheel (important living in cold country)

If I can answer any questions for you…let me know!

COTTON CANDY

Confession…I LOVE COTTON CANDY. It is a weakness of mine that Mr. Tom does not share so that means more for me! When we visited Keg & Case Market a few weekends ago I was so excited to find Spinning Wylde. They have over 40 flavors and I mean FULL of flavor. I was happy with just plain ole spin sugar, but now?! Gimme all the flavors.

THRIVE CONFERENCE

At the beginning of the month I was able to go to the Annual Thrive Blogging Conference that was held in Austin, TX this year. I have to tell you this is my daughter, Bree Pair. The founder and owner of Thrive. If you are a seasoned blogger, just getting started or thinking about it…this is a great conference to get to. I learned so much this year that I had to take a week when I got home to process and the teaching never stops! She has podcasts and so much training available online AND recently is now on Spotify. Such a wealth of knowledge and YES, I am so proud of her and it’s so much fun to learn from your kid. Besides, isn’t she beautiful?! pssst…her and her amazing husband recently located near us and I am the happiest Mom in the world right now.

MIA

This little baby runs the house and that is big shoes paws to fill. She is the sweetest little muffin, yes there are lots of names for her. We got her when she was 8 weeks old and is 4 now. She is a Bichon-Poo…so half poodle and half bichon. I have heard that mixed breeds were smart and easy to train and I’ll tell ya, she was potty trained to a bell hanging on the back door in 8 days.  I know that sounds impossible, but scouts honor this little smarty pants had it down. She loves being outside and is very excited for Spring!

Be strong when you are weak. Be brave when you are scared. Be humble when you are victorious. Be badass everyday.

Cheers!  ~Cindy