Target Spring Preview

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. In case you missed it, we had a very active long weekend in Manchester Center, Vermont. I think the below picture is one of my favorite ones from the weekend. But, in case you missed it, you can catch up on our chenanigans below.

Vermont

Après Ski

Conquering Fears

Dance Party and Soul Food

While it was a great weekend, that paired with the Super Bowl last night, has left me a bit tired and craving lots of water and vegetables. In honor of focusing on health and wellness this week, I wanted to kick off the week by providing you all a glimpse into the new Target Spring Health & Well Being collection which I was able to preview last week.

When people ask me what I miss most about Philadelphia or Georgia my friends and family is always the clear, natural response. But, what I don’t tell them is that I also miss having a Target right around the corner. Yes, I’m well aware that there is now a Target on the island of Manhattan. In fact, based on my friend Google Maps, I just realized it’s actually closer, in distance, than the target in Philadelphia or Athens.

But, what you have to keep in mind is that I have no where to store all the bulk sized goods I can buy at Target and our Target, based on my two visits, has a unique selection. Anytime I travel to suburban America for a wedding, vacation, or holiday I drag Bo to a Target. After he rolls his eyes, we proceed to buy at least $50 worth of products that we may not necessarily NEED but their discounted prices definitely makes both of us want them. What’s on the top of my shopping list normally you ask?

• Razors and razor blades
• Makeup
• Bars
• Books
• Workout gear

I’m always amazed at the new selection, quality of their product, and overall shopping experience.

Therefore, when the folks at Target invited me to join them for a Health & Well-Being Preview I was more than willing to join them for an hour of informative fun. 

The event was organized in stations, revolving around different Target products.

• Pool Rules
• Refreshment Stop
• 90 Second Yoga and Stretching
• Easy Fitness for a Busy Life
• Healthy Eats Cafe
• Natural Spa

The most informative station was POOL RULES. After walking us over to the mock pool area, a pharmacist explained that the FDA is changing their sunscreen guidelines this July in order to protect Americans against the sun. Today, many consumers believe that their sunscreen is waterproof, doesn’t have to be applied before sun exposure, and that the protection increases, the higher the SPF.  In order to ensure that consumers better understand what they are buying, the FDA has released a number of new rules.

 

From the FDA website:

• Sunscreen products that are not broad spectrum or that are broad spectrum with SPF values from two to 14 will be labeled with a warning that reads: “Skin Cancer/Skin Aging Alert: Spending time in the sun increases your risk of skin cancer and early skin aging. This
  product has been shown only to help prevent sunburn, not skin cancer or early skin aging.”
  • Water resistance claims on the product’s front label must tell how much time a user can
  expect to get the declared SPF level of protection while swimming or sweating, based on
  standard testing. Two times will be permitted on labels: 40 minutes or 80 minutes.
  • Manufacturers cannot make claims that sunscreens are “waterproof” or “sweatproof, or
  identify their products as “sunblocks.”
  • Sunscreens cannot claim protection immediately on application (for example, “instant
  protection”) or protection for more than two hours without reapplication, unless they
  submit data and get approval from FDA.
  • The new regulation will limit the maximum SPF value on sunscreen labeling to “SPF
  50+.
  This five minute discussion with the pharmacist was very informative and left me realizing how little I’ve thought about sunscreen previously. I normally wear 8 when I want to get color and 15 when I want some protection, rarely reapplying and never applying in advance of sun exposure. In addition, Bo and I thought that slathering him in 70 was a vast improvement from the 50 he used to have. We even paid to replace the 50 when we saw 70 this summer. I’m pleased to see that the FDA is cracking down on consumer communication skin cancer affects such a large part of our society. To find out more, feel free to visit the FDA’s wesbite.

After the pharmacist discussion, we were able to check out the new Spring workout collection. I will always have a special place in my heart for C9 since I ran my first 5k in their shorts. While the new C9 Spring collection hasn’t hit their website yet, the colorful collection is supposedly already in stores. My favorite pieces were the lightweight woven jacket, shown before, which is only $29.99 and features lots of pockets. Theodora and I also loved their yoga mat and foam roller which each feature instructions for the different poses and ways to use the foam roller!     While I received a hand massage in the spa area, I learned more about their multiple skin care lines, including these face wipes that I should really start keeping on my bedside table. At least once a week I go to bed without removing my makeup due to sheer exhaustion.   I didn’t spend much time in the Healthy Eats cafe but I was amazed to see the assortment of foods that they carry these days. I would love to stock our freezer with their frozen fruit and new egg sandwiches and our pantry with the almond peanut cashew butter.

They also shared a recipe for the dip they were serving, mukimame hummus. I really liked this and could see myself taking it to work with carrots, celery, and peppers for an afternoon snack!

Mukimame Hummus
Ingredients
• 2 cups Archer Farms Frozen Mukimame, cooked
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 (6-oz.) carton Greek yogurt
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. cumin
• ½ tsp. salt
Yields: 3 cups
Directions
1. Process cooked Mukimame and garlic in food processor until finely ground.
2. Add remaining ingredients; pulse to mix.
3. Chill until ready to serve. Serve with pita chips, on toasted bagels or in smoked turkey
sandwiches.

I’m looking forward to using the items they gave us in our gift boxes. Each of these products are something I would by on my own if I was shopping at Target which makes it even more exciting. My favorite is definitely the adult’s gummy vitamin. I think that will make a perfect afternoon sweet treat!

Question: What is your favorite Target product?