National Geographic

Note: I am participating in a compensated campaign as a Denny’s Ambassador. All opinions in my posts are entirely honest and are mine and my family’s.

With a family of five, we all have quite different tastes, so it can be difficult to find a restaurant that we all really enjoy. One thing we all agree on? Breakfast is pretty much the best meal ever.

Denny’s, then, is pretty much the ideal place for us to eat. Not only are they known for their breakfast meals, there are so. many. options. Seriously, our picky child had a hard time deciding what to order because so many things looked good to him.  Of course, they serve more than breakfast, but that’s our favorite!

Mother’s Day weekend my mom was in town visiting and we decided to all go to Denny’s after the boys’ baseball game on that Saturday morning. They had really worked up an appetite so it was perfect timing.

If you have small children, you know that the quality of a kids’ menu can make or break the restaurant experience. If it’s a fun menu, it’ll keep them occupied and happy until the food arrives. Denny’s has partnered with National Geographic to create a menu that is engaging and educational, and it was a hit!

We were really impressed with just how many items there were for the kids to pick from, and I love the format – even non-reading kids can easily see what they want since the menu is filled with pictures.

The boys both picked the chocolate chip pancake breakfast with bacon on the side. The breakfast kids’ meals are just $3.29 each, and lunch or dinner items are $3.59 – so affordable.

Another highlight of eating at Denny’s for all three kids was the cupcake cups we got with their drinks. Baby E can’t say much yet, but she let us know loud and clear that she loved her cup and we were not to take it away from her!

As a side note, the cups are great to drink from but they also make really nice storage, too – we took ours home, cleaned them out and they’re perfect for storing small toys, or “treasures” as our kids would say.

And, because I love to share a good deal, be sure and visit Denny’s on a Kids Eat Free Night! The Eat Free offer is available on Tuesdays at participating locations from 4 pm – 10 pm; you get two free kids meals with the purchase of an adult entrée of $4.00 or more! We will definitely be taking advantage of that on a regular basis.

I asked the kids each a little about their thoughts on the Denny’s kids’ menus in this video below – be sure and stick around until the end for an original “Denny’s song” by our 5-year-old. :)

Just so you know it’s not just the kids’ food that’s delicious, check out my amazing peanut butter, banana & chocolate chip french toast, and my mom’s awesome avocado BLT:

Head on over to your local Denny’s today – your kids will thank you! And be sure and stay connected with Denny’s by following them on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest! I’ll look forward to bringing you more about all the latest and greatest Denny’s happenings here, too, as a Denny’s Ambassador!

Having never traveled outside of the United States, I don’t have a collection of treasures collected from around the world. NOVICA helps me bridge the gap between my Texas town and the rest of the world – it puts products made by artisans in other countries right at my fingertips. From their site:

We want to give artists and artisans around the world a global platform to express their true artistic talents and to spur their creativity. And, we want to provide you with access to unique, hard-to-find items at great values that only the Internet infrastructure can allow.

At the deepest essence of our philosophy, we want to create a bridge between you and the many talented artisans across the globe.

We want you to know about who you’re buying from. We want you to feel that attachment to the product and to the hands that created it.

In the spirit of the Internet, let us bring you together.

NOVICA. The World is Your Market.

I got the chance to review products from NOVICA. I had a really hard time deciding what to pick because there was just so much to pick from! They have a wide variety of sterling silver jewelry that is just gorgeous, and I loved a lot of the home decor items too. I finally ended up choosing two things. The first is a leather wrap bracelet from Bali. It came beautifully wrapped:

and had two cards with it – one explaining the product, and another handwritten by the artisan:

Here’s the bracelet – I love the design, and it’s really well-made!

I also reviewed a bag from Thailand. Its packaging was just as pretty:

And it came with the two cards as well:

The bag has vibrant colors, and the design was created using a batik technique.

I love that I got to read about each of the artisans that created my items, as opposed to something mass-produced. On NOVICA’s mission page you can read about some of the artisan’s lives that have been changed by selling their items through the site.

NOVICA has a new program where people can host at-home parties that both support artisans and allow them to earn credits toward products. The site for the program, NOVICA Live, also shares information on how to become a consultant and go around showcasing handcrafted products.

I’d highly recommend shopping at NOVICA – you’ll find unique gifts for friends and family, and you’ll be supporting an artisan around the world at the same time. You can “like” NOVICA on Facebook and follow them on Twitter to keep up with their latest news.