family movie night with Pop Secret.

[this post is sponsored by Pop Secret;

all buttery fingers and opinions are 100% mine.]

this summer is all about spending time with family and friends. like many of you, i'm sure, one of our favorite things to have is movie night. we bring out all the pillows and blankets and enjoy our favorite Pop Secret popcorn and snacks.

however, there is nothing worse than the lingering smell of burned popcorn! (well, what's worse is if that was your last bag!) no matter how many windows you open or how many fans you turn on, you won't get rid of the smell. say goodbye to burned popcorn with the Pop Secret Perfect Pop app. this easy-to-use app listens to the pops, waiting for the precise moment to let you know when your popcorn is perfect. no more relying on the popcorn button or guessing how many seconds in between pops. with the Perfect Pop app, you can spend more time enjoying your movie than worrying about your popcorn.

have you tried the Perfect Pop app?

how Perfect Pop app works:

with your iphone, ipad, or ipod touch, download Pop Secret Perfect Popcorn app from the app store.

(it's optimized for iphone 5, but it worked fine on my 4s)

put your favorite family movie night popcorn in the microwave and enter the suggested time on the packaging. turn up the volume, point speaker towards microwave, and keep within three (3) feet.

start the microwave, then start the app.

learn fun facts as well as see what's happening inside your bag of popcorn!

Perfect Pop app listens to the pops and lets you know when your bag of popcorn is just right.

what movies are you watching this summer?

these are my oldies but goodies picks:

- dirty dancing

- legally blonde (1 or 2)

- sweet home alabama

- charlie's angels: full throttle

the kids have been loving:

- cloudy with a chance of meatballs

- frogs & toads: max's magical journey (netflix)

- despicable me

- nim's island

download the Perfect Pop app here:

it's About Time.

this post was sponsored by Universal Pictures through their partnership with POPSUGAR. i was compensated to write a post about About Time; all opinions are my own.


we experience things in life, big and small, that we'll remember forever. sometimes it's as innocent as our first childhood pet or first kiss, or sometimes it's life-changing events such as getting married or the death of a loved one. while i've had many favorite moments in time (vacations, buying my first car, graduating), the most obvious life-changing moment in my life was having kids. and life has never been the same.

as a single mom, life gets overwhelming, and it's frustrating trying to do it all. i wonder how things might be now if i did things differently. i even catch myself thinking,
"if i could only go back in time."

but what if i did? would i get the results i was hoping for? maybe, but then i would have erased all the other ups and downs that made my family what we are today. crazy, chaotic, critical, loud, but spontaneous, supportive and loving....and i wouldn't change any of that. and that's what Tim realizes in the movie, About Time, that life's imperfections are what make
it extraordinary.

this november, the creator of Love Actually returns with his most personal and memorable film of all, About Time. About Time tells the story of a young man whose gift allows him to go back and relive any moment of his life. but instead of making every moment perfect, he learns that life and love are most extraordinary
when you embrace all of their imperfections.

on november 8, 2013, get ready to fall in love
all over again...with About Time.

about the movie:
at the age of 21, Tim Lake (Domhall Gleeson) discovers he can travel in time...
the night after another unsatisfactory new year party, Tim's father (Bill Nighy) tells his son that the men in his family have always had the ability to travel through time. Tim can't change history, but he can change what happens and has happened in his own life - so he decides to make his world a better place...by getting a girlfriend. turns out that it's not as easy as you might think.

Tim finally meets the beautiful but insecure Mary (Rachel McAdams). they fall in love, then an unfortunate time-travel incident means he's never met her at all. so they meet for the first time again...and again...but finally, after a lot of cunning time traveling, he wins her heart.

Tim then uses his power to create the perfect romantic proposal, to save his wedding from the worst best-man speeches and to save his best friend from professional disaster. but as his unusual life progresses, Tim finds out that his unique gift can't save him from the sorrows and ups and downs that affect families everywhere.

About Time is a comedy about love and time travel, which discovers that, in the end, making the most of life may not need time travel at all.

if you took a minute to reflect on your life up until this moment, would you be able to say it was perfect? do you have life-changing events that you would like to change or relive?

weekend in photos.

it was the first weekend of summer for the minis, and we definitely took advantage of it. it included the movies,

the beach, and lots of good eats.

with the minis on summer break, things are expected to get busy around here. i apologize in advance for any interruptions in outfit posts. you may see a sponsored post or two to fill the voids, but i assure you more giveaways, and a fun collaboration i'm working on with a few bloggers. and in case i forgot to mention it, check out this post on sunny days & starry nights to see what i'm currently craving.

took mini-she and my nephew to the movies.

if you saw iron man 3, what are your thoughts?

burger, fries, and a chocolate shake upgrade.

headed to the beach for work & play.

the surf instructor took mini-he out to catch a few waves.

soaking up the sun.

panoramic view of the beach.

next stop? shave ice at my favorite general store.

strawberry + li hing mui and pineapple...

both with ice cream and snow caps.

and...

...yep. i'm paying for it now.

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enter here.