Lindsay, Author at Laughing Lindsay

The Smores Cookbook by Susan Whetzel

August 21, 2013 By Lindsay 88 Comments

Right before I attended the Mixed Conference last year, I learned of a fellow southwestern Virginia blogger. Her name is Susan Whetzel and she blogs at She’s Becoming Doughmesstic (which is a lovely food blog that makes me jealous of her skills). She was actually one of the conference founders, but I didn’t get a chance to really chat with her much during the conference. Nonetheless, I could tell she was really nice and I was thrilled when I learned that she had written The Smores Cookbook. It just came out this summer and I’m happy to tell you more about it.

Smores Cookbook

It’s kind of sad, kind of funny. Susan lives about 1.5 hours away from me. However, I had to go to Chicago to see her again. Haha! While I was in Chicago, I was lucky enough to be able to attend Susan’s The Smores Cookbook event at the Hard Rock Chicago. You probably saw me Tweeting about all of the chocolate-y goodness on Saturday night since Hershey’s was kind enough to sponsor the little get together. Long story short, I won a very nice s’mores gift basket and Susan gave me 2 signed copies of her new book! Yay! So, I’m going to keep 1 for myself and I’m giving the other away to a lucky reader.

In case you aren’t already hooked just by hearing that it’s called The Smores Cookbook and need more info, let me fill you in. The Smores Cookbook features all kinds of s’mores recipes. Think of things like S’mores Chocolate Bread Pudding, Crock-Pot S’mores Brownies, Chocolate Graham Pancakes, and S’mores Eclairs. Yum! My mouth waters just thinking about those delightful dishes. Every recipe in the book is fairly straight-forward and is accompanied by a delicious-looking picture. Oh, and the foreword is written by Chef Duff Goldman of Charm City Cakes. So, the book obviously has his stamp of approval (as well as mine).

Susan has created countless ways for us to re-imagine the classic s’mores. One of my favorite chapters in the book is all about drinks. There’s a S’mores Milkshake, S’more-tini, S’mores Frappuccino, and S’mores Hot Chocolate. It just so happens that I have the perfect mug for the last one (I purchased this cup back at Christmas time without even knowing it would come in handy for a post)…

Like I said, it worked out well. So, are you as excited about The Smores Cookbook as I am? I hope you want to support Susan in this new endeavor by purchasing her book.

Blog Conference Roommate Gifts: A List of Ideas

July 22, 2013 By Lindsay 4 Comments

When I first went to Reviewer’s Retreat, I was surprised to discover that people exchange gifts at blogging conferences. All of my fabulous roomies gave me a small token to remember them by. Sadly, since I didn’t know about this idea, I didn’t take them one. However, after that, I’ve been better prepared. I promised myself I wouldn’t show up and feel awkward when everyone else is exchanging gifts again. I proudly took these beauties to Reviewer’s Retreat a few weeks ago and felt accomplished. Now, I’ve got some goodies for my BlogHer roommates as well. However, I’m not going to show you a picture of those just yet. So, here are my ideas for blog conference roommmate gifts.

Conference Roommate Gifts

Here is a list of items that I either gave as blog conference roommate gifts already or will give to mine this week at BlogHer. When looking for conference roommmate gifts, I try to go with things I think people might forget to bring and will need or things I think are neat and useful (based on the conference).

Pedicure kit or at least a nail file, you don’t want to shake hands with someone who has a hangnail.
Lint Roller (pictured above) – I got some fabulous travel sized ones at Target for about $1.
Lip Balm (also in the picture) – I picked up some great green apple Chapstick for each of the roomies at RevRet. They were a hit. In fact, my roommate Kayla mentioned it in her what to take to a blog conference post. I know that conference rooms can dry out your skin. So, these are great for those instances.
Gum – for fresh breath.
Mixed CD – Now, this one I’ve never actually done. However, I think it’s a great idea if you already know your roommate. It can be the soundtrack to your weekend.
Notebook and pen for taking notes.
Card – I actually added one to each of the bags after I took the picture. It was a great way to personalize the gifts as I wrote something just for each roommate.
Hand Sanitizer – I loved the travel-sized Purell Hand Sanitizer I reviewed earlier this summer. So, I actually gave some to my roomies.
Tissues – I also gave the roommates a travel size package of Kleenex tissues. They are great for when you end up sitting next to the air conditioner in a session.
Snacks – Sometimes, a granola bar is the perfect thing for a quick snack between sessions.
Hand lotion – this is for the same reason as the lip balm.
Hole puncher and binder/book ring. This so people can collect business cards and keep them together. You simply punch a hole in the cards and put them on the ring. Then, you can keep them together easily.
Candle – because who doesn’t love a good scented candle?

So, what do you think of my list of ideas for blog conference roommate gifts? Would you be happy to have received any of these items? What do you like to give/receive as roommate gifts?

Vera Bradley Beach 2013 Summer Tote Bag Towel and Sarong

July 9, 2013 By Lindsay 2 Comments

When one of my favorite brands reached out to me the other week for a post and giveaway, I got very excited. I recently received free Vera Bradley Beach 2013 summer gear, including a tote bag, towel, and sarong. In addition to receiving my own, Vera Bradley sent another set for me to giveaway to one lucky reader. Keep reading for your chance to win some fabulous Vera Bradley Beach 2013 summer stuff!

Vera Bradley Beach 2013

Now that the 4th of July has come and gone, it doesn’t mean that summer is over yet. In fact, there’s still plenty of time for a quick trip to the beach or pool. That means it’s a great time to pick up some of the can’t be missed deals on Vera Bradley Beach 2013 items. For instance, look at the fabulous towel I received above. I’m still loving the Viva la Vera Bradley patterned towel I received back in 2011. Now, I have this beautiful Plum Crazy one to go along with it. I think the deep purple is very pretty. Plus, I can already attest to the high quality of their towels since my older one is still holding up nicely.

Another item on sale right now, is their small mesh tote. Since it comes in the same great pattern, it matches my towel perfectly. I can now feel very stylish as I carry my items down to the local pool with my nice towel. Plus, there’s no mistaking which bag is mine now since I can easily spot this pattern. The tote is a good size for carrying several items in without being too bulky. It’s definitely ideal for a quick few hours away trip.

Lastly, I received my first sarong from the Vera Bradley Beach 2013 showcase. It can be used to cover you up in different ways. It would be perfect to put on at the beach as you walk back to your room. It’s very light-weight and won’t take up much room in your bag. In fact, mine is actually folded up and is inside the bag in the pictures above. How’s that for space friendly.

You can now get all of these Vera Bradley Beach 2013 items 50% off on their site! So, hurry over now to get the best selection and stock up if you can. Additionally, one very lucky reader will win each of these items in the Go Wild print.

WIN!

One Laughing Lindsay reader will win a towel, small mesh tote bag, and sarong in Go Wild from Vera Bradley.

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS CLOSED!

Disclosure: I received the three items for free and Vera Bradley is providing the winner’s items as well. No compensation was received.

My First Father’s Day without Dad: Here’s to Hoping for the Best

June 15, 2013 By Lindsay 6 Comments

It’s hard to believe that my dad has been gone for six months now. I think about him everyday. I wrote a couple of weeks back that grieving the loss of my father is still hard and that I was dreading my first Father’s Day without dad. Tomorrow is finally the big day and I’m still dreading it.

Father’s Day without Dad

I’ve also mentioned in the past that I’ve found it very hard to find any motivation to do anything lately. You can see my lack of motivation to post by seeing the timestamp on this post. It’s after 2 pm on a Saturday and here I sit writing this post. I always have my posts ready to go for the weekend by Thursday or Friday at the latest. However, I got a post done for Friday on Thursday and then quit. It’s so easy to try and find something on social media to distract me that I haven’t done a whole lot of blogging at any one time here lately. I think that’s because I’m literally trying to distract myself from missing my dad. I’ve been told that the first year without a loved one is the hardest. So, I’m hoping that the following father’s day without dad get easier.

I’ve been dreading this weekend for a month now. Today hasn’t been as hard as I anticipated, but it’s still early yet. I’m hoping I don’t break down soon. Tomorrow, I don’t plan to go out and about. I hope that by being with loved ones, I can cope with the loss on my own. It doesn’t mean that I won’t miss dad or it won’t be hard. I just don’t think I could handle going out and seeing everyone else celebrating the day with their dad.

So, if you’ve lost your dad, how do you handle father’s day without dad? Do you ignore the day or do you do something in remembrance of him?

How to Take Notes While Traveling With Help from Post-it Mobile

June 13, 2013 By Lindsay 5 Comments

This how to take notes while traveling post was made possible by the free samples of Post-it Mobile products that I received. No compensation was received. The opinions expressed are my own.

Notes While Traveling

Now that it’s summer, it’s officially traveling season. Many folks are going on vacation or to blog conferences. Often times when I’m out and about, I’ll need to jot something down. For instance, right now is also prime teacher interview season. So, I may get an unexpected phone call for an interview while at the grocery store and I’ll want to write down the date, time, and location of it before I forget. That’s why I’ve taken to carry stuff around to take notes while traveling. Recently, you may have seen this Vine video I made which contained some products that can help anyone take notes while traveling.

That’s the new Post-it Mobile products and they are perfect for summer travels. Some of my favorites are in the collage above. The item that is perfect for my purse or backpack is the new Post-it Attach and Go Notes and Tabs Clip Dispenser (pictured on the left). It features both tabs and note pages with a clip-on. So, it attaches perfect to any bag. Plus, it makes it super easy to find. I don’t have to waste time looking around my bag for a piece of paper to take notes on with this.

In the upper right, there’s the Post-it Mobile Attach and Go 3 in 1 Pen. It has flags, a medium ballpoint pen, and yellow highlighter. Plus, it has a clip so I can attach it to my bag easily. It would pair perfectly with any of the paper Post-it Mobile products to make notes while traveling a breeze. Plus, I can highlight key points of interest when I need to with this pen.

The item in the lower right is the Post-it Mobile Attach and Go Insert. I love it for my binder. I kept my lesson plans in a binder for student teaching and would refer to my lesson throughout the day. So, having a pad of notes and tabs available at any time is great. Plus, if I want to take a binder to conference, I can now easily keep some Post-it products nearby for notes at all times.

As you can see, taking notes while traveling is now so easy with Post-it. What do you think of these new products? Will you be picking any of them up before your next trip?

Disclosure: I received free samples of Post-it Mobile products.