The Best Way To Stay Cool This Summer! Summer Fun With Dr Pepper

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Dr Pepper®. The opinions and text are all mine. #PickYourPepper #Walmart

Summer is definitely here, friends! I’m trying to enjoy the outdoors as much as possible before it gets too dreadfully hot and humid here in southern Illinois. Luckily, there are lots of great picnicking areas and lakes available to us here in and around the Shawnee National Forest so we recently headed out to cool down!

I brought the sweetest summer essentials with me too – cold drinks, SPF, and my new 90s-inspired inflatable float :)

There’s nothing like floating in the lake or river while enjoying a cold drink and some fresh air. I always love to bring a big, floppy hat to protect my face and shoulders from excessive sun. Plus my ever-important sunscreen and my favorite shades - that’s about all I ever need to have a good time.

Dr Pepper sent me this float as part of their new Pick Your Pepper campaign with packaging that was made by millennials, for millennials, that I picked up at Walmart. It’s so unique and I was pleasantly surprised at how big the float was once inflated – it held me afloat in the water just fine! It was a little taller than me, so I could lay back and just float. I am excited to use this all summer and next year!

To claim your very own Dr Pepper Shaped Pool Float, or one of their other cute prizes, get the details below.

When you buy any Dr Pepper 6/15-8/15 this summer at Walmart, you can upload your receipt here to get the prize featured in my blog and/or other prizes like:

Spend $5, get a unicorn beverage holder inflatable

Spend $10, get a Walmart e--Gift Card worth $5

Spend $20, get a 6-pack can/bottle holder with ice pack

Spend $40, get a Dr Pepper bottle shaped pool float

I wound up getting almost everything for our day at the lake at my local Walmart! They have lots of cute summer items left, and some are even going on sale – get everything now before it’s gone.

I found everything from this tie dyed beach towel, which I absolutely LOVE, to my Dr Pepper, snacks, bowls to put the snacks into, summer-themed plastic cups, colorful straws, a cute sun hat, flip flops, and my new favorite summer clutch!!  

What are some of your favorite locations to visit during the summer to enjoy the outdoors? Do you tend to stay local, or do you like to drive a few hours to enjoy something even better? Leave a comment below and let me know – we are always on the lookout for travel suggestions!

Also, what are your favorite picnic day snacks to enjoy outside? I went for classic options, and everything paired well together. An ice cold drink always helps the temp cool from inside and out!

This day, we got the most perfect weather ever! A little on the warm side, but the slight, cool breeze really helped keep things feeling great – and luckily kept mosquitoes at bay! It had actually rained earlier in the day, but the clouds cleared just enough to allow us to enjoy the sunset (the best thing in the world to me!). The water was so calm this day.

Now, let’s talk lakeside fashion! I loved this Made You Look Sun Hat from Walmart! Each one of our local stores seems to have a bit of a different selection, so I tried to browse them all for the cutest summer accessories. I also found this pair of mint, crochet-like coverup shorts, near the selection of bathing suits. I also just HAD to grab these donut printed flip flops – after all, it’s summer, right now I’m saying, “I Donut Give A Care” to so many of life’s worries. This great weather is really doing me some good!!!

This "Made You Look" hat is so fun!

In order to offer chilled refreshments on a hot day, I bring a small bag of ice in my cooler, and simply set the drinks into a metal tray. I then dump ice into the tin. The cans chill in about 20 or so minutes, and it’s such a cute presentation! Speaking of presentation, I do love a cute food table display, so I brought out some cute items to the lake with us. I used three tins (one for drinks, one for chips, and one for cookies), two fish-shaped bowls for candies, a wooden box to elevate the drinks, and of course plates and napkins. No utensils were required

Love the three colored tassels on the clutch bag! How adorable for summer!!

Taking a few extra minutes to set up a cute refreshment table really makes a day at the lake even better!

Invite your friends and family out this summer, and connect with them! Create meaningful memories during your summer celebrations that will be cherished forever!

Road Tripping This Summer? Shop Online & Save Before You Hit The Road!

Got the travel bug? Hopefully I can help! This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #DotComDIY #CollectiveBias

Whether you're hitting the road for a few days, or a few weeks, I wanted to share some road trip tips with you. As you may know, we travel a TON (hence the name of my blog)! We hardly ever fly anywhere, we always drive, so we can bring our pup with us, and having our car makes life SO much easier! 

And, by shopping for oil and supplies online, you can definitely save time and money! Have it shipped directly to your house, or opt for in-store pickup. Ordering online is great for busy days, so you can focus on planning, rather than going a million places to shop before your trip. You can avoid the crowds, too, and who doesn't like that?! Pennzoil products are on Rollback right now for a limited time at Walmart.com. You can even get curbside pickup, which I think is pretty great. 

For all of your oil needs, visit Walmart.com for everything you need related to motor oil and transmission fluids. This particular oil shown in this post can be found here.

Road trips are hard on your car. Our Prius has over 150,000 miles, (meaning we have driven at least 150K miles together in our 11 years of knowing each other) and it's still running strong. That's because we take good care of it, and make sure to always keep quarts of oil with us at all times. We always grab the Pennzoil Platinum, Full Synthetic 5W30. Re do get regular oil changes, but more recently, our car burns through oil much quicker, so we make sure to literally never leave home without oil. Lesser quality oil does not even compare - believe me, we have had to use the no-name brand a time or two and every few miles wished we had remembered to keep something better in the car.

The reason we always choose Pennzoil Platinum Full Synthetic Motor Oil, is because it's rated the best cleanliness protection in the Pennzoil line-up. Quoting their website, "With PurePlus™ Technology, the Platinum® motor oil is proven to keep pistons up to 40% cleaner than the toughest industry standard. PurePlus™ Technology is a revolutionary process that converts natural gas into a 99.5% pure base oil". 

Pennzoil is designed for complete protection and will allow you to drive an extra of 550 miles per year vs. a dirty engine. No other motor oil provides better protection from friction

Cabbie loves road trips! 

It's very easy to check your oil level. If you have a higher mileage vehicle, this is a skill that you will definitely want to learn. A mechanic showed us how easy it was. It's best to have a warm engine for this, so the oil reading is more accurate. Make sure the car is OFF, open the hood, and secure your hood so it won't fall on you! Locate the dipstick (it should have a brightly colored circle handle on it). Refer to your manual to locate it if needed. 

To find out whether your vehicle needs oil, follow these steps:

1. Pull out the dip stick and wipe it off on a clean, lint-free rag or paper towel.
2. Insert the stick back into the pipe. 
3. Pull the dipstick out again and look at the film of oil on the end of the stick. 
4. Put the dipstick back into the pipe.

Image via

If your oil is below the "add" line (see image above), then you need to add some oil, ONE quart at a time, checking the oil level after each quart. Luckily, with better quality oil, like Pennzoil Platinum, we rarely have to add more than a quart.

Since we have traveled by car SO much, I have streamlined the process quite a bit! Here are a few tips that I wanted to share, to make your road trip even better, and more streamlined.

- Always bring a couple of quarts of oil with you, if you have a higher mileage vehicle (90,000+ miles).

- Bring lots of water - we always bring a gallon or two of water, and a refillable water bottle that fits into the cup holder. This prevents us from drinking soft drinks or anything that is just plain bad for you. 

- Try not to store anything in plastic shopping bags. This seems easy at first, but the second you reach for that shopping bag, everything falls out, and they rustle around in the wind if your windows are open. 

- Bring wet wipes of some sort, they can be used to clean your hands after you have a snack, and can even be used on your face if you need a refresher from being in the car.

- Bring a designated Food Bag (as we call it). Rather than having snacks and drinks floating about in the car, a zippered duffel bag or similar, will keep everything in one place and will allow you to eat much healthier. 

- Do not buy food at gas stations! There is hardly anything nutritious and overpriced at gas stations, so when packing/shopping for road trip snacks, think of the snacks and foods you crave while on the road. I try to pack a mix of salty, sweet, crunchy, soft, whatever you like, just add some variety. Gallons of water and cold drinks (of coffee) is of course something you may need to gran at a gas station, unless you bring a cooler with you to keep things cold.   

- Bring an atlas. Your phone may not always have good cell signal, or your phone may die. Just in case you get lost or are unfamiliar with where you are headed (or supposed to be headed), it's a good backup. You can even mark off where you have been to keep the memories of your travels. 

- Bring a notebook and pens to write to-do lists, hopes and dreams, whatever. This always keeps me occupied :) Magazines are also nice when you don't have cell signal. 

- Bring a car charger for your phone, and plenty of music. 

Below, are the items that I purchased from Walmart.com in order to make my road trip even better! It was so easy to prepare for a trip by shopping online. 

The bridge to Tampa! So gorgeous!!

Are you heading anywhere fun this summer? Do you usually travel solo, with your significant other, with the whole family, or with friends? Do you ever bring your pet(s) on road trips? Comment below to share your story! And enjoy the fun of a new adventure!!!!