A new twist on Farr's ice cream.

On Thursday night, my mom, Kev and the babies (Aspen and Maddie) went to the Riverdale dog park. After Maddie had a load of fun sniffing other dog bums and running around, we piled back in the car and stopped at the new Farr's ice cream shop on the corner of Riverdale Rd and Wall Ave.

Stop reading this post and get over there right now.

As soon as we walked in I commented that it seems to be the Farr's ice cream for the new generation. The tables are topped with industrial metal and there is a completely different vibe than the old-school versions of the two other Farr's shops in Ogden.

This Farr's offers a selection of delicious soft-serve ice cream with dozens of topping options. Ice cream lovers such as myself can pick a cup and mix/match flavors and toppings to our hearts' contents. The soft-serve is weighed and billed by the ounce so you can choose how much bang you get for your buck.

I mixed orange creme with strawberry and then I died and went to heaven.

If you like soft-serve, custard and/or frozen yogurt, then I recommend you visit this new Farr's. I believe there's one in the Orem area as well (Sophia, check it out for me and have some soft-serve for dinner, will you? I know you like that). The best part for me is that you're invited to sample the flavors and the cups they offer for the task are HUGE. Like, I almost helped myself to a handful of samples and called it good.

Please go, and tell me what you mix up.

CSN product review

First of all, shipping was amazingly fast. I wasn't expecting my Definity pair of Pilates rings/magic circles to arrive so soon. Good and bad- good because I get to use them now, and bad because I have to use them now. I ordered them on the 11th and the UPS guy dropped them off at my Pink House on the 16th. Pretty sweet.

In Pilates, rings are used for increased resistance for certain exercises and also to improve alignment in certain postures. These rings are specifically designed to strengthen the core while the arms move in precise circles with the rings rotating around the wrist- kind of like having a small hula hoop for your arm.

It sounds easy, right? Ha. Wrong. I am so glad no one was in the room when I first tried to rotate the rings on my wrists. I almost flung them across the room and it took about a minute until I got the hang of it. I could really feel the exercise working my pecks as well as my shoulders and core. The rings also came with tips for advancing the workout by adding heel raises or rotating the palms face up and down throughout.

These rings also work awesome for helping me perform the rainbow posture with my legs. Additionally, I like using rings in my classes for stretching. Sometimes my shoulders are tight and it's helpful to hold a ring behind my back while opening my chest up and stretching the fronts of my shoulders.

Since these rings don't have as much give as a traditional magic circle, they're going to make my isometric exercises more challenging. Not that I'm complaining since I have 10 baby pounds to lose and a lot of toning I'd like to achieve. The Definity rings are going to kick my butt and really help me reach those goals.

Thank you CSN for letting me test a product! I can't wait for the other part of my order (an exercise ball) to arrive to I can complete the review.

When opportunity knocks...

As you may have noticed, over at my other blog, Liv(e), I have BlogHer ads.

BlogHer has recently partnered with HauteLook to offer readers an opportunity to get great products at great prices.

If you visit Liv(e) you'll have the chance to head over to HauteLook via the widget on the left-hand side of my blog. It offers amazing deals DAILY and I encourage you to check it out and register with HauteLook for awesome chances to get merchandise at discounted prices.

What are you waiting for? Head over to Liv(e) and register today with HauteLook before this promo ends!

Lolly top dress

$30 for a little girl's dress doesn't exactly scream "sale" to me, but for J.Crew it is. There's an outlet in my hometown (Freeport) and I can guarantee that if I ever buy anything for Aspen from J.Crew, it'll be from there.

Despite how delightfully adorable this dress is, I can't justify the pricetag. But I can look all I want, right?

Light bright.

How awesome is it that this old tissue box has been upcycled into a light fixture? I love the color and I also love that an IKEA lighting cord is used in this project (we all know how much I love IKEA).

Boots N Gus has a lot of upcycled items that caught my eye- another being the mason jars turned lights that would look amazing strung up outside for a patio party.

I am all about spoiling myself.

When CSN offered to let me do a product review, I was super-psyched. They have everything from bistro sets to strollers, workout equipment to kitchen faucets.

I debated what I should test out- I even asked Kev if there's something he'd like. When he couldn't think of anything I almost considered getting something baby-related. Then I said to myself "heck no! You get yourself something nice."

To help me lose the 10 lingering baby pounds and to tone up, I decided on something Pilates-related. I'm exited to check it out and let you know how awesome it is!

Allowing me to successfully spy on my kid.

If you're looking for an inexpensive but decent baby monitor, get this one! I love it. It is water-resistant so I don't worry about taking it into the bathroom while I shower. It picks up the softest of whispers and whimpers with clarity and makes me feel better when I leave Aspen in one room while I'm in another. Before I got this, I was paranoid that I'd miss her wake-sounds and then she'd resort to crying in order to let me know she was ready to eat.

I picked this Sony monitor up at Target and for my small house, it's perfect. Also, the receiver is either battery powered or plugged in via AC/DC. Very convenient.

In case this one craps out on me though, what type of monitor have you successfully used?

Creative ways to display photos of your sleeping babe.

Let's face it- newborns sleep a LOT. And new parents photograph them a LOT.

It can get boring for everyone who's subjected to those photographs.

Mary shared this awesome idea from Mila's Daydreams on her blog this week and I think it's so clever!

It's such a great way to keep the photographs interesting and fun even if the babe is always snoozing.

What other ideas do you have for keeping photos fresh and exciting?