Hey There, Chelsie

Lifestyle + Personal

Easy Gift Idea for your GALentine

This post is sponsored by BabbleBoxx.com on behalf of Build-A-Bear. Thank you for supporting the brands that support HTC This is the first year in a long, long time that I feel like I truly have friends I want to celebrate during Galentine's Day. Weird to admit, right? But after moving around for the first 5 years of our marriage and working from home that whole time, I didn't have a chance to really make girlfriends and the ones I had from college (minus a select few) kind of drifted away. For a few years, it felt like I only had Dustin, Rosie Roo and my sisters. There was nothing wrong with that, but I missed having my own girlfriends to talk to, go shopping . . .

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Lifestyle + Personal

How to Start the New Year with Optimism

This post was sponsored by Frost Bank. All opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support HTC I love the feelings that come with a new year (and new decade, right?) Those first few weeks of January are filled with hope for the things to come, motivation to make improvements in our lives, and anticipation for all the great things that await us. However, more often than not, after those first few weeks of January have passed, I tend to see a constant flow of "well, this year is off to a great start...not" type posts from friends and family on social media. And I'm not letting myself off the hook with this either because I also have been in . . .

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Lifestyle + Personal

Reflections on an old year (and new)

I've been trying to write this post for over a week now and it's been hard to get out. I don't know if it's because I haven't written a legit blog post in quite some time (like almost two months...wow) or if it's because I'm just having a hard time finding the words to express all the thoughts bouncing around in my head for a while now, but it's been hard to get this out. Also, I'm a perfectionist, and I'm just going to have to accept that this won't be perfect. Done is fun, right? Obviously, as stated before, it's been a hot second since I wrote a blog post. While HTC definitely has taken a back seat over the second part of 2019, largely due in part to my job, . . .

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Beauty + Health

Must-Have Products for the Holiday Party Season

This post was sponsored by Babbleboxx. All opinions are my own. It's officially the most wonderful time of the year and as I write this, I have a Hallmark Christmas movie playing in the background, my Christmas tree all lit up, and snow is falling outside. I mean, could it be more perfect? I'm gearing up for all of the food, shopping, and holiday parties coming my way for the rest of the year and I am so excited to be teaming up with Babbleboxx and their partners to share some must-have products for the holiday season. All of these products will help you feel beautiful inside and out during the holiday season, especially at parties. I know that I always get a . . .

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Lifestyle + Personal

Must-Have Vacuum For Dog Owners

This post is sponsored by BabbleBoxx.com on behalf of ECOVACS. All opinions are my own. Friends. Family. Strangers. Let me introduce you to my new best friend: the DEEBOT OZMO 950 from Ecovacs. I know it sounds dramatic, but I mean it when I say that this little robotic vacuum has completely and totally changed my life and I think it should be a MUST-HAVE vacuum for dog owners. Let me explain: When we moved into the new house back in April, we were thrilled that the main floor was all hardwood, especially by the door leading out to the back yard. Our previous home had carpet by the back door and the amount of mud and dirt that the dogs dragged in daily turned . . .

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Cancer

7 Things I wish you knew about being a childhood cancer survivor

I've sat on this post all month and here, in the last few hours of the last day of Childhood Cancer Awareness month, I'm pulling the trigger and publishing it. I don't normally have a problem talking about my experiences with pediatric cancer, but this post is from a more raw, rough, and real point of view as a childhood cancer survivor. Before jumping into it, I want to preface that I am in NO WAY looking for pity or attention. This last year has been super transformative for me (in terms of coping and coming to an understanding and certain level of peace with my trauma and experiences.) I'm mentally and physically in the best place I've ever been in my 13 . . .

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Lifestyle + Personal

Calming Care by Purina ProPlan Review

This post is sponsored by Calming Care by Purina ProPlan. All opinions are my own What a whirlwind of a summer it’s been over here. We started it off by moving at the beginning of May, followed by our annual Jeep trip to Moab. The following weeks included a family cruise to Mexico, family visiting us in Utah, a surgery, and a weekend trip to Idaho. It’s been go-go-go, and our sweet pups have been doing their best to get their bearings amidst the chaos.  Thankfully, Teddy is pretty easy going and mostly oblivious to the constant changes that were going on. He also loves all of his aunts and uncles and thinks it’s the best thing ever when they come to . . .

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Lifestyle + Personal

How to Overcome a Life Setback

Well, I'm just going to come right out and say it: I thought we'd be pregnant by now. I actually thought we'd be pregnant a long time ago, but surprise, surprise, things are not going as planned. I shared in my post earlier this week what's been going on medically for me over the last few months, including why I needed surgery two weeks ago. What I didn't say was that our OB basically told us that we would need to wait for a few more months before trying to grow our family again to let my body heal from the surgery. Understandable, but definitely another frustrating setback to our plans for bringing Baby Carr into the world (our miscarriage being our first . . .

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Lifestyle + Personal

Life Currently V4. | July 2019

I can't believe I haven't posted on HTC in over a month. It honestly makes me sad, because I've worked so hard and so long to create this site and I'm bummed it's been neglected so much this year. I mean, in my defense, things have been a little crazy this year - between deciding to sell our house and move, a lot of travel, and a surgery, I've been doing the bare minimum to keep HTC afloat, especially with the landscape of "influencer marketing" and "blogging" changing so much. I've been unsure about what to do, what to write, and honestly wondering if putting the effort forth was even worth it anymore. But I love this space too much to give it up. And if . . .

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