Nestle Seasonal Holiday Review & Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links which fund the My Sparkling Life blog.
These Spinach & Ricotta Tarts are the perfect addition to any party…they are easy to make and are quite delicious. I’ve tried spinach and ricotta in many other dishes including my stuffed shells just because they balance each other really well. I needed some delicious appetizer snacks for a ladies night I was having and wanted a something savory that would still be light.
2 sheets puff pastry, defrosted
1 c frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 c ricotta cheese
1/4 c shredded parmesan cheese
salt & pepper to taste
1 egg, whisked
1 tsp water
2 tsp melted butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Lightly grease muffin tin
Cut each puff pastry sheet into 6 squares
Brush sheets with thin layer of melted butter
Press into muffin tin
Place the drained spinach, ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese and salt & pepper into bowl
Mix until combined
Divide into pastry cups
Mix egg with tsp water
Brush top of pastry with egg mixture
Cook for 20 minutes or until golden
My Sparkling Life https://mysparklinglife.com/ These tarts are buttery, flaky and well…cheesy.

There has been many bath and beauty products over the years geared towards women, teens, and young girls but all the products seem to be the same old thing and have bored a few young girls so much they decided to take matters into their own hands and create a product that not only makes you smell good, but makes you feel good too.
Angels and Tomboys was created by Madison Star & Mallory Iyana after being bored senseless with their body care products.
We had this cool idea to make everyday products that girls use fun. We came up with fun names, characters and unique fragrances for these products and pitched the idea to our mom. She loved it and the rest is history in the making. Our mom named the company Angels and Tomboys as a reflection of our unique and complex personalities and interests. We’re just like every girl in the world because ALL girls are created equally different. Plus, we can all agree that every Angel has a bit of Tomboy in her.
We created Angels and Tomboys so that you can have a product made just for you. If you’re anything like us, and we’re certain that you are, you are tired of wearing your mom’s boring perfume and it’s probably too flowery, too expensive and way too strong. Well, Angels and Tomboys® is just right. Our paraben free, patent pending, vegan friendly formula contains several great vitamins to preserve young skin. It’s a must-have for EVERY girl and every parent can feel good about it. Our fun and unique scents encourage you to be proud, be bold and be you. Love being a girl…because all girls are created equally different.
A little about these young entrepreneur:
Madison Star, born Feb 27, love reading books, baking, and choreographing dance routines, creating cool fashion designs, talking & texting on her phone and the color Turquoise. She likes to collect purses, stickers and bottle caps and can dance, sing and act…She is an honor student, who loves to give back.
Not only does my company donate a portion of proceeds to non profit organizations that focuses on the well-beings of girls, I also volunteer throughout my community and every year for my birthday party I ask attendees to gift me with an item that I can donate to charity. Thus far I’ve donated hundreds of coats and shoes to a women’s shelter in my hometown, Memphis.
Mallory Iyana, born Nov 22, love racing, playing video games, baking cookies & cakes, making mini movie videos, ice skating, basketball,exercising and the color blue. She likes to collect hot wheels and can dance, tumble, sing/rap & act…She is an honor student, who loves to give back.
Not only does my company donate a portion of proceeds to nonprofit organizations that focuses on the well-beings of girls, I also volunteer throughout my community and every year for my birthday party I ask attendees to gift me with an item that I can donate to charity. Thus far I’ve donated hundreds of coats and shoes to a women’s shelter in my hometown, Memphis
You can read more facts about the girls here
It’s so great to see such young girls with so much drive and social conciousness. They have a great start and can’t wait to see what they produce in the future!
About the product:
I was sent 3 delicious scents to try out…Deep Fried Ice Cream, Cotton Candied Apples, & Adventures. But they have so many other scents that will appeal to any personality like Rockin’ Blueberry, Lemonade Doughnuts, & Watermelon Funk just to name a few. I don’t have any girls of my own, but I have three nieces who absolutely love these and will totally be spoiled with whatever scents they want. They come in lotions & body sprays and smell, well, amazing! I’m actually wearing the Cotton Candied Apples right now and can’t stop smelling myself.
You can follow them on FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM for new releases and other happenings.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

This blog post was sponsored by KING’S HAWAIIAN® but the opinions are all my own. #GameTimeGrilling #AD
It’s my favorite time of year…pumpkin pie baking in the oven and football on the tv! Being from Texas, we love our football…and we get to watch it 6 days out of the week! We watch my sons’ 8th-grade team (who is undefeated so far this year) on Tuesday nights & NFL or College Thursday-Monday! Since Sunday is really the only true family day we have during the week, we love doing backyard tailgating. Lots of food, variety of drinks and plenty of football on the TV.
When watching Football at home…just like the tailgaters at the major league games…it’s all about the food, so we headed over to our local HEB to grab all our favorites. There I can find everything we need for recipes new and old. I love creating new and exciting recipes our kids and guests will love. There’s nothing like ending a party with “can I have that recipe?”
We picked up lots of goodies like chips & dip, little smokies, hamburger meat, frozen meatballs, King’s Hawaiian® Rolls & BBQ sauce. HEB carries a large selection of King’s Hawaiian® products…We have used King’s Hawaiian® in many backyard tailgating Sundays. Everyone love the sweet Hawaiian rolls mixed with Texas BBQ.
The new King’s Hawaiian® BBQ sauces come in four flavors to compliment any meat.
Original Sweet Pineapple
Smoked Bacon
Kona Coffee
Big Island Lava (spicy-sweet)
I decided on the original sweet pineapple & Smoked Bacon. I’ve always used the King’s Hawaiian® rolls for mini pulled pork or ham & cheese sandwiches…but I thought it was time to create something new and fun…and of course delishious since they have new BBQ sauces to pair with the rolls! I have two recipes for you because I loved them both! We made Sweet Pineapple Mini Meatball Subs + Smoked Bacon & Pineapple Sliders.
Sweet Pineapple Mini Meatball Subs A sweet and tropical twist on a meatball sub
King’s Hawaiian® Mini Sub Rolls
Frozen meatballs
King’s Hawaiian® Original BBQ Sauce
Pineapple Dices or Slices (in juice)
Bell Peppers (Diced)
Pineapple Juice (from can of pineapple)
Place meatballs, BBQ Sauce, Pineapple Juice into Crock-pot.
Cook on high for about an hour then turn on low to keep warm for guests.
Place 3 meatballs on mini sub rolls top with BBQ sauce, diced pineapples & peppers.
My Sparkling Life https://mysparklinglife.com/
Smoked Bacon & Pineapple Hawaiian Sliders
King’s Hawaiian® Original Sweet Rolls
2 lbs Hamburger Meat
King’s Hawaiian® Bacon BBQ Sauce
Bell Peppers (Diced)
Pineapple Dices
Mix 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce into hamburger meat.
Pack meat into mini burger (slider) forms
Grill until done
Place mini burger (slider) onto sweet roll
Top with BBQ sauce, pineapple & peppers
My Sparkling Life https://mysparklinglife.com/ Which recipe will you try?
Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored post.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to write it. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

This post may contain affiliate links which fund the My Sparkling Life blog.
While in LA last week for the Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales we also celebrated the 75th anniversary of Disney’s Bambi! As part of this celebration we were able to sit down and interview the voices behind young Bambi ( Donald “Donnie” Dunagan ) & young Thumper ( Peter Behn ) moderated by Disney Archivist Becky Cline!!
While Disney’s Bambi was based on the book Bambi, A Life in the Woods by author Felix Salten, it was altered slightly from the book version. The original novel, written for an adult audience, was considered too “grim” and “somber” for the young audience Disney was targeting, and with the work required to adapt the novel, Disney put production on hold while it worked on several other works. Bambi was originally supposed to come out after Snow White (and be the second animated film released) but came out 5 yrs later due to this process. Disney was also forced to slash 12 minutes from the film before final animation, to save costs on production.
The filming studio moved, WW2 happened, and there was even a strike during the process of filming!
Nowadays when a movie releases there are many interviews in both tv & print, but the film scene was quite different 75 years ago when Donnie Dunagan and Peter Behn recorded the voices of Bambi & Thumper. In fact, Donnie & Peter didn’t even meet untill about 10 years ago! Even Donnie’s wife didn’t know he was the voice of Bambi until she discovered a box of his mementos buried in the attic!
Peter’s father was a screenwriter, starting in the 20’s silent film era, & children’s book author. He met Walt sometime in the 30’s which helped Peter launch his career. Peter originally auditioned for the part of Bambi in Disney’s classic film but was told had the wrong voice for the part.
“My voice was right for the rabbit”
Peter never auditioned for Thumper, after his audition for Bambi they knew he had the right voice for Thumper.
When Peter grew up he built houses & worked in real estate.
Q: Did you see the Bambi after you filmed?
A: “No not for some time.”
Q: What was it like to work with Disney himself?
A: “I did meet him but not on a regular basis. But I remember the Disney zoo where they had little deer so animators could watch the anatomy and movement of the deer to draw.”
Q: What was it like to work on a big Disney film as a child?
A: “I remember going into the sound booth with a voice director to read my lines. I would mimic him. The thing I remember most is the recording equipment was in the booth with us and was fascinated. It was so mechanical.”
Q: What do you hope for Bambi’s Legacy?
A: “One of my strongest feelings about the movie is that Disney was so ahead of his time. I think the movie was so far ahead of it’s time to protect the environment. We have to do everything we can to keep the environment from getting worse. I think as time goes on that aspect of the movie will resonate and become more important.”
”We were dirt poor. And I mean, certified dirt poor in the South. And my mother would take me down to the corner about two blocks away where a wonderful man danced on the corner on Saturday. I’m standing there at 3 ½, four years old, people were there laughing about this wonderful man dancing on the corner for nickels and pennies. And I started imitating him. Then they decided to put me in a talent contest and I won the darn thing which was a miracle. I danced to ‘A Tisket a Tasket’ with a paper bag and a stick for a cane.” In the audience was a wonderful man who was a bona fide genuine talent scout in those days. About two weeks later we’re in Los Angeles.”
Donnie started filming Bambi when he was just 5 years old but his acting career began at the age of 3.
He was in 7 movies before the age of 5 1/2 yrs old.
When Donnie grew up he joined the Marine Corps.
Q: What was it like acting so much as a child?
A: “I was a little boy – sometimes I just wanted to be home riding my bike and playing with my puppy.”
Q: Did you see Bambi after you filmed?
A: “I saw it with Peter in theaters at the premiere.”
Q: What was it like seeing Walt Disney?
A: “When I first saw Mr. Disney I thought he’d get a broom and help clean up….he participated in things. Disney was successful bc he had such great leadership and participated in what was going on.”
Q: What did you do after Bambi?
A: ” I went into the US Marine Corps. when I got older. In 1977 I was a battalion commander. I saw that Disney was going to re-release Bambi and I was horrified that my base would find out. I could imagine all of my soldiers saying that their battalion commander was Bambi!”
Q: What do you hope for Bambi’s Legacy?
A: “If I live to be 1000 years old I couldn’t say it better than Peter did. The environmental profile is spoken to children in school now, and they pick up on that right away. I get one of these by children a month from all over the world.”
Photo by: Louise Manning Bishop from MOM START
During this day of celebration we were also able to chat with Paul Felix, a Disney animator who worked on Bambi and was inspired by the original Disney Animator Tyrus Wong.
Q: How has animation changed over the years?
A: “Animation starts with hand drawing, that hasn’t changed much. Things need to be much richer now. The drawings from Bambi to Moana are all the same principles.”
Q: How did you become interested in art?
A: “I drew a lot as a child & always thought my older brother was the artist in the family.”
Q: What are some of the projects you’ve worked on here at Disney?
A: “Mulan, Bolt, Big Hero 6, Inner Workings”
Q: What was your favorite film to work on?
A: Lilo & Stitch. It is more about heart and storytelling than the effects although Big Hero 6 was the first time we could technologically add things to the film & use light.
“Designing Bambi is deceptively tricky! I’m known for designing environments instead of characters. I looked at some of Mark Davis’ drawing of deer for research. My first drawings Bambi looked more like a fox. But everyone has their own unique take.”
Q: Why do you think Bambi is such a popular film?
A: “Bambi is a cycle of life. It shares the beauty, mystery, & reality of the world. It’s zen. What’s more primal than the connection with a mother? Films are an extension of us.”
Make a Portfolio. (life drawing is a good talent)
Don’t limit yourself to just drawing. Try colors.
Learn a sense of art history (eras, mediums, etc)
Bambi, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, joins the Collection on Digital HD and Disney Movies Anywhere on May 23, and on Blu-ray, DVD and On-Demand on June 6. The Collection release includes a variety of new bonus material, including recordings of Walt Disney discussing the challenges and triumphs during the production of Bambi; deleted scenes and characters; stories and effects that Bambi had on the studio, other films and artists; and much much more! Additionally, the Digital HD release includes an exclusive, heartfelt feature on the incredible artist, Tyus Wong, who inspired the film’s soft watercolor backgrounds and beautiful palette.
Brand New:
The Bambi Effect – “Bambi” was full of innovations for its time. Let’s take a look at how those past innovations affected future Disney animated titles all the way up to today
Studio Stories: “Bambi” – Recordings of Walt Disney. Listen in on intimate moments where he discussed the challenges, pitfalls and triumphs during the production of “Bambi.”
Deleted Scene: Bambi’s Ice And Snow – Bambi coaxes Thumper and his brothers and sister to come play on the ice during the first snow.
Bambi Fawn Facts – Think you know everything there is to know about Bambi and his forest companions? Well, it’s time to discover some fun real-life facts about the creatures that live in the forest he calls home.
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit: “Africa Before Dark” – Oswald Short
Celebrating Tyrus Wong (Digital Exclusive) – A Heartfelt look at the man who played a key role in the success of “Bambi.” Much like Mary Blair and Eyvind Earle, Tyrus Wong had a unique signature style all to his own. The Soft Water-colored backgrounds and beautiful palettes in “Bambi” were inspired by Tyrus’ concept art paintings.
Classic:
Deleted Scenes – Two Leaves, Bambi Stuck on a Reed, Winter Grass, Twitterpated
The Making of Bambi: A Prince is Born
Trick of the Trade (Excerpt)
Inside The Disney Archives
The Old Mill: Animated Short
Original Theatrical Trailer
The Golden Age
*Digital Bonus Offerings May Very by Retailer
Bambi will be released on Digital HD 5/23 and Blu-ray & DVD 6/6.
Follow Facebook | Disney Animation #Bambi
DISNEY MOVIE REWARDS BONUS: If you have Disney Movie Rewards and purchase Bambi you have the option to buy this special tank top featuring the Paul Felix art inspired by BAMBI here! Ends July 31!