PlateJoy

Posted on July 28, 2018 by

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this post is sponsored by PlateJoy all thoughts and opinions are my own.


Have you ever found yourself in a new relationship, and date night consists of dining out or going for dessert. You’re in the relationship for a few months and you’re still eating out, because let’s face it you’re both tired after a long day of work. Then one day one of you says why don’t we make something at home, but what? That’s what I was going through. My boyfriend can eat whatever he wants without gaining an ounce, and I so much as look at a slice of pizza and I’ve put on five pounds. After me denying eating out we decided to start doing some cooking at his place.

Now the hard part comes in:
What do we have that we can use?
What should we make?
What do we need from the grocery store?
Can we make something healthy that he will like too?
Is there an app for this?



The good news, there is an app for that and it’s called PlateJoy. PlateJoy is a personalized meal planning app that makes healthy eating easy and delicious. When I started the app it had me take a lifestyle quiz that asked about my tastes, family size schedule, health goals and more. Once I answered the questions I received my custom-designed meal plan…



The app generates a shopping list based on what is needed for the upcoming week, the list even gives you the option to choose what you already have in your kitchen.



Below are some thoughts on this app.
1. It makes starting a new lifestyle plan easy.
2. Very accommodating – low-carb, vegan, paleo, weight loss and more.
3. Helps you figure out the type of cooking that works for your household.
4. Even shows you how to accommodate just one.
5. Gives you recipes that work with your schedule.
6. Plenty of options.
7. You can change the exact number of meals each week.
8. Digital pantry keeps track of what you have.
9.  Helps you cut down on waste.
10. Access your plan on the go.

If you would like to try the app use code EricaTerry to get $10 off any plan on PlateJoy.

Restaurant Review: Applebee\’s & IHOP Combo Restaurant

Posted on July 25, 2018 by

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The GMRENCEN partnered with me for this experience. All opinions expressed in this piece are my own.

Detroit has one of the best foodie scenes around and it just got cooler with the addition of the first-ever Applebee\’s & IHOP combo restaurant. When you walk in the atmosphere is relaxed there is the IHOP Express Bar, buffet area, dining space, 21 and up lounge and of course the bar area. I will admit the infusion of both restaurants together had me thinking they were nuts, but after going and trying things out I was definitely very impressed.

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Did you know?
• Breakfast is served all day long.
• IHOP has an express bar that will get you in and out quickly
• The Buffet is designed to get people in the city in and out of the restaurant quickly and easily.
• With different food combinations offered daily to keep things fresh and new this is definitely a place you want to add to your list. The buffet area has community seating for a friendly dining experience.
• Meeting room has an entire wall dedicated to a dry erase board, which makes your meetings even easier to host. 

 

We started the evening with the Boneless Wings as our appetizer. The wings are crispy breaded pieces of boneless chicken tossed in your choice of Classic Hot Buffalo sauce, Honey BBQ sauce or Sweet Asian chile sauce. We went with the Sweet Asian chile sauce, and it did not disappoint. These boneless wings had just the right amount of kick.

Drinks
As you may or may not know I do not drink…. at all. However my date for the evening does and he gave two of their signature cocktails a try. Rye Not? start your evening with high quality Manhattan, which I was told was the best Manhattan he has ever tasted. He also tried the Poloma de Fresa which he enjoyed as well. What’s really nice is they have a variety of local beers and liquors that they serve showing they’re really dedicated to Detroit. All the cocktails are spirit forward, therefore each one lets the ingredients do the talking.

 

Main courses
I ordered the Cedar Grilled Lemon Chicken which is cedar-seasoned grilled chicken on cranberry-pecan rice and quinoa with Granny Smith apple relish and lemon vinaigrette. This was one of the healthier options on the menu, and came in at just 600 calories and 43 grams of protein. This dish was definitely delicious, and packed with a ton of flavor which sometimes is lacked in healthier food options.

He ordered a Half Rack of Double-Glazed Baby Back Ribs. Slow-cooked to fall-off-the-bone tenderness and slathered in your choice of Spicy Texas BBQ sauce or Honey BBQ sauce (he went with spicy Texas). The verdict, these ribs were really good and did fall off the bone.

Dessert
One thing I really like about A is he always wants dessert, and even if he doesn’t he can be talked into it. One thing we have in common is we both have a thing for sprinkles (obv I do more than he does, but it works). Instead of going for a traditional dessert we took it to the next level and ordered the Cupcake Pancakes off the IHOP portion of the menu. The Cupcake Pancakes come as a stack of four buttermilk pancakes that are filled with festive rainbow sprinkles and topped with cupcake icing, more sprinkles and of course whipped cream. The pancakes tasted just like a cupcake, and while they are insanely sweet they are so good. If you are a confetti cake, sprinkles on ice cream and everywhere else lover I cannot recommend these pancakes enough.

Overall the experience at the restaurant was A+

Crazy Sexy Confident Challenge

Posted on July 24, 2018 by

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As females I believe most of us have some sort of confidence issue, myself included. Lately, I have been fighting with A for no real reason at all. It started to really weigh on our relationship and I knew that things needed to change or I would lose him – I mean honestly who wants to fight. That being said I started to work on certain things immediately so I wouldn’t lose the person that means the most to me. One of the things that it boiled down to was confidence, with my past I was in a routine of when someone does X you get Y outcome, but with A it was different and how things should be. When he said X it was meant and X was the outcome. I had to retrain myself how to be confident enough to know if he invites me somewhere he wants me to go and it’s not a pity invite in hopes that I will say no. I would like to be able to spend time with him and his family, and continue to be included in things. After saying ‘no’ to a lot of things I can only hope that he will continue to include me as there will be no more ‘no’ it’s going to be a ‘yes’, because I want all the experiences and memories I can possibly have with him.
After a lot of research and talking to various sources I was given a personal confidence challenge. This challenge would help me get into a new routine, and leave my negative thinking that the past has caused me behind. Studies show that it takes 21 days to start a new habit or break an old one. So of course, as you might have guessed this challenge is 21 days long. As of Wednesday I will have completed the challenge, and I’ll be honest day one was brutal for me… it took me 2 hours (not even kidding) to do my list. Even though I am not finished with the challenge I am seeing a definite positive effect. While the challenge ends for me Wednesday I am also going to start from the beginning again with you today. So ladies, are you ready to get crazy sexy confident with me?

Crazy Sexy Confident Challenge
Day 1: Write 20 things you like about yourself.
Day 2: Write positive affirmations on sticky notes and stick them to the mirrors in your home.
Day 3: What is a positive habit you want to begin this month
Day 4: Introduce yourself to three people you don’t know.
Day 5: Work on accepting compliments rather than denying them.
Day 6: Fix your posture and remember to stand tall.
Day 7: What is something you need to start saying yes to?
Day 8: Take a selfie and post it on social media.
Day 9: Write down 5 things you will do to care for yourself.
Day 10: What is something you love about your body?
Day 11: How would you describe yourself to a stranger?
Day 12: What do you need to forgive yourself for?
Day 13: Name 5 things you’re really good at?
Day 14: Host a get together
Day 15: What current labels do you assign yourself?
Day 16: Assign yourself 10 positive labels.
Day 17: Write down 10 things you’re in awe of today.
Day 18: What is something you love about your personality?
Day 19: Write down 5 things you’re thankful for
Day 20: Try a new workout class.
Day 21: Wear that bathing suit.
Day 22: Take a sexy photo to show your newfound crazy sexy confident glow.

Rockin\’ on the Riverfront: Uncle Kracker

Posted on July 23, 2018 by

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The GMRENCEN partnered with me for this experience. All opinions expressed in this piece are my own.


Detroit, are you ready to rock on the riverfront? Friday nights in the D are lit, with rocking music from 7:30pm-10:00pm on the Riverfront in front of the GM RenCen. The best part it’s FREE….yes, completely free. The 2018 Rockin\’ on the Riverfront is presented by Chevrolet and features an amazing line up of rocking bands. On Friday, we checked out Michigan native Uncle Kracker, and let me tell you he did not disappoint. He played some oldies, a newbie and of course the favorites including All Summer Long. It was really nice to sit along the riverfront and enjoy a great show. What’s really neat is there are plenty of vendors selling food, drinks and all the glowing goodies you can imagine. Rockin’ on the Riverfront is a great way for couples, families, friends and more to spend the evening together listening to some good music. If you’re interested in checking out a show there is still plenty of time for you to spend a Friday night Rockin\’ on the Riverfront.

July 27 – John Kay and Steppenwolf
August 3 – Starship featuring Mickey Thomas
August 10 – Survivor
August 17 – War

Here is a peek at how we spent our Friday night….
We began our evening with dinner at the first-ever Applebee\’s & IHOP combo restaurant.
Check back Wednesday for a full restaurant review.


Prior to the show we took a walk along the gorgeous riverfront, waved \”hi\” to Canada and enjoyed spending time getting lost in the \”woodland\” area of the state park.

Then it was time for the show to start, and we were ready to rock. Thank you so much to the GMRENCEN for a fun Friday night in the D.


Zoya Fall 2018: Element

Posted on July 20, 2018 by

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this is a sponsored post, all opinions are my own.


Are you thinking about fall yet? If you’re not, you should be, while I want to make sure I get the most out of summer I also want to make sure I get first dibs on this falls hottest trends. Zoya just released their fall 2018 collection ELEMENT that features 12 new colors. I have noticed that as fall releases come out mauves, reds, purples and pinks are making a dominant statement. All of the colors I used two coats with.

Rumor is a pink/mauve color with a frost meets shimmer finish. It definitely shows brushstrokes, but I think it adds a lot of dimension. I really loved this hue.
Jenna is a muted rose pink crème.
Ruthie is a crème based berry rose shade.
Maryann is a rose pink shimmer.
Donnie is a purplish red crème.
Maeve is a grape pop purple crème.
Kendra is a deep red crème.
Alyssa is a cranberry red crème.
Rachel is a vampy red crème.
Leighton is a blackened purple – close to OPI Lincoln Park After Dark but better
Devin is a blue/gray with multicolored shimmer with a foil finish (gorgeous in the sun)

Gardener is a pinkish periwinkle shimmer with a foil finish. Going to pair this with Maize (yellow) for University of Michigan games.

I was a little underwhelmed with this collection, not because I hate the colors I actually really love them. For me personally when it comes to fall I love vampy colors which makes Leighton and Rachel my favorites of the collection.

What do you think of this collection?

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