Here, Home, Hope Book Review

A couple of weeks ago, I received a copy of Here, Home, Hope by Kaira Rouda to read and also to review from One2One Network. Here's a book trailer of it (from YouTube) for those of you who are interested, just to get an idea of what the book is about! It's awesome as I have never seen one before and this one was really cool!

"Kelly Mills Johnson becomes restless in her thirty-ninth year. An appetite for more forces her to take stock of her ordinary middle-American existence and her neighbors’ seemingly perfect lives. Her marriage to a successful attorney has settled into a comfortable routine, and being the mother of two adorable sons has been rewarding but exhausting. Meanwhile, Kelly’s own passions lie wasted. She eyes with envy the lives of her two best friends, Kathryn and Charlotte, both beautiful, successful businesswomen who seem to have it all. Kelly takes charge of her life, devising a midlife makeover plan."

This book has constantly reminded me of Desperate Housewives when I was reading it because of the similar neighborhood setting and all of the gossip and drama that is involved, which I think was a good thing! I used to be addicted to the show when it first came out so I really do like how the book is written with so much vivid detail so I was really able to imagine the setting of the book.

Kelly Mills Johnson, the main character of the book, decides that she wants to make several changes to her life in order to help her get over her "midlife crisis". The book is very well written and is both funny and sad at times, and the story is truely poignant at several points indeed.

I have really enjoyed this book and it has encouraged me to think about some changes that I might even want to make in my life!

NUTELLA PARTY & Cupcakes !!!

Hmm.. Chocolate AND Hazelnuts in a jar.. If you haven't tried it yet, then you are probably missing out on the most perfect chocolate-y spread in the whole world! It's Nutella!!! My family has been eating Nutella for as long as I can remember and honestly, it tastes better than any kind of chocolate that you can buy in a bag.
So when I got selected to host a "mommyparty" sponsored by Nutella, I was ecstatic and even more so when I received my party kit from MomSelect! I invited my friends and some of them were moms of my daughter's friends so it worked out great because I wanted the kids to have fun at the party too, in case they've never tasted Nutella before.

My party was last Saturday around noon, and I told everyone to bring some fun sprinkles so we could make fun cupcakes and try to spread Nutella on top of them, since I've never tried that before and it sounded like a great idea!

The whole process was a bit messy and all but totally worth it at the end - everybody got to eat their own cupcakes, decorated beautifully with rainbow sprinkles and of course, with Nutella on top! I LOVED IT!!
I think that I will definitely be making more Nutella cupcakes in the future! But it's good with everything so maybe I need to try something else new...

Well, there are endless possibilities when it comes to using Nutella spread and you can find it at just about every drugstore/market here in the U.S., so pick one up and try it if you haven't yet!

FTC: I received the products mentioned from Nutella/MomSelect. Thanks for providing my party kit!

Progresso Soup Contest!

To help kick off a new outlook on the New Year, Progresso is excited to announce the return of the "Souper You™ Debut" contest! From now through March 16th, you can visit Progresso on Facebook to enter for the chance to win a full makeover in New York City.  


Three grand prize winners will be awarded a trip for two to New York City from May 20th-22nd. The prize includes roundtrip airfare, a two-night stay in an NYC hotel, a full makeover, a guided wardrobe shopping spree with a personal consultation at a New York City department store, and $1,000 in spending money.

To enter, you’ll need to do the following:

• Go to Progresso on Facebook to learn more and enter the contest
• Submit your essay (200 characters or less) telling Progresso why you love their soups that contain 100 calories or less, and why you deserve a chance to win a trip to NYC for a full fashion overhaul
• In addition, please submit a photo of yourself that visually reinforces the theme of your essay

Once the 10 finalists are announced, you can visit Progresso on Facebook from March 30th through April 13th to vote for your favorite. 


Available in 40 delicious flavors with 100 calories or less, Progresso® Soup can help curb your hunger, making it easier for you to stick to your weight management plan all year long. With hearty ingredients like pasta, beans, corn and rice, and flavor-packed vegetables like tomatoes, carrots, and peppers, Progresso Soup varieties with 100 calories or less offer a good source of fiber and a full serving of vegetables.
 
I received 5 different varieties of Progresso Soup and I have tried all of them out by now! It was very exciting to open every single can, since their pictures looked so good and it smelled absolutely amazing as soon as I opened them! Each can actually contains a lot more product than I would've expected, and the soup and a biscuit would feel like a real lunch to me! It was definitely very fulfilling and I know that they're healthy for me, which is another plus!



FTC: I received a prize pack and the information from Progresso through MyBlogSpark.

Seventh Generation Laundry Detergent - Experiment!

Did you know that the laundry detergent you may be using could contain little-known chemicals called optical brighteners?
According to scientific research, these can cause allergic reactions, are toxic to small fish and other aquatic life, and can pollute your waterways.

When ultraviolet light hits optical brighteners coating your clothing, the brighteners convert UV rays into visible light to create an optical illusion. This tricks the eye into thinking the clothing is whiter and brighter, and therefore cleaner than it really is.

So how can you avoid these optical brighteners? Seventh Generation makes it easy because their laundry detergents are not only free of optical brighteners, but they’re also non-toxic . In addition, because Seventh Generation liquid laundry detergents are both hypo-allergenic and biodegradable, you can rest easy knowing you made a considerate choice for your family and the environment. I have been using Seventh Generation products ever since I discovered them online, and I currently use their disinfecting wipes, which work great! In my (about) 6 months of using them, I have never experienced any problems so I would definitely recommend this brand.

When washed in a conventional laundry detergent that contains optical brighteners, clothes appear to glow under a black light. When you use Seventh Generation liquid laundry products, you won’t see the same glow on your clothing. I tried this out myself using a black light and that is exactly what happened with the two different shirts that I washed! One looked a lot brighter and whiter, since they were originally a cream color, but now I know that my old detergent is actually bad for my clothes.

(This is MyBlogSpark's experiment!) 
Take a look at our experiment in the photo below (also attached). We took two identical organic cotton shirts and washed one in a conventional laundry detergent that contains optical brighteners and the other in Seventh Generation laundry detergent which does not use optical brighteners; we think you’ll see similar results!



Additionally, you can click here to save $1 on the purchase of any Seventh Generation Laundry Product. 

FTC: I received the prize pack from MyBlogSpark for me to review and conduct this experiment but these opinions are my own and are not influenced.

Fiber One Favorites!

With guilt-free and indulgent choices that now taste even better than before, Fiber One helps make it easier than ever to increase your daily intake while leaving your taste buds jumping for joy.

When hunger strikes and you need to satisfy your sweet tooth, Fiber One has you covered with at least 35% of your daily value of fiber in every serving of their cereals and bars. Check out the great new taste of three Fiber One favorites.

• Fiber One Honey Clusters have a brand new flake! Every one-cup serving is full of tasty honey clusters, antioxidant vitamins A and E, and 13 grams of fiber.
• Fiber One Raisin Bran Clusters now contain crispier, lightly sweetened whole grain flakes. With plump, juicy raisins and crunchy clusters it packs 11 grams of fiber and antioxidant vitamins A and E into every serving.
• With rich chocolate chips and a new and improved taste, Fiber One Oats & Chocolate chewy bars are a good source of calcium and contain 9 grams of fiber in each bar.

Your Fiber One favorites, including Fiber One Honey Clusters, Fiber One Raisin Bran Clusters, and Fiber One Oats & Chocolate Chewy Bars are all available at your local Safeway family of stores, so be sure to stop by your local Safeway (or Dominick’s, Tom Thumb, Randalls, Vons, and Genuardi’s) to try the great new taste of Fiber One today! 



The one that I like the most are their chewy bars, because I actually find that the other bars that they have are a bit too hard for my taste, so I enjoyed the oats & chocolate chewy bars a lot.

FTC: I have received all the information from Fiber One through MyBlogSparks and received a prize pack so that I could try out the cereal myself, but all my opinions are honest and not influenced by the company whatsoever!

Hamburger Helper: Show Your Helping Hand Campaign

To raise awareness about the national issue of hunger, Hamburger Helper^® is partnering with GRAMMY^® Award-winning singer, songwriter and actor Tim McGraw to help Feeding America deliver millions of meals to local food banks through the Show Your Helping Hand™ campaign. Tim McGraw will lend his voice to the campaign through a Public Service Announcement which will be distributed nationwide. Click here to view the PSA. I have seen this on TV and thought that it was a great cause to support, and how nice of Tim McGraw to be the spokesperson for this!

You cupport the campaign by simply submitting codes from specially marked boxes of Hamburger Helper at www.showyourhelpinghand.com or by logging on to make a donation. Hamburger Helper has already donated more than half a million dollars and will contribute up to an additional $100,000 to Feeding America through this program. Don’t think one code will make a difference? The 17 cents Hamburger Helper donates per code is enough for Feeding America to deliver one meal to a local food bank.

And you can also have a chance to win an autographed copy of Tim McGraw’s “Southern Voice” CD by visiting www.showyourhelpinghand.com! How cool is that! I have listened to it myself and I love country so of course, he's one of my favorites!

FTC: I received a prize pack and the information from Hamburger Helper through MyBlogSpark.

Waterpik SinuSense Review

I received the new SinuSense Squeeze Bottle and Neti Bottle from Waterpik for me to review, which was about a month ago, and my hubby has been using the squeeze bottle every single week since then! I don't know exactly how it works because I have never tried it personally and I'm scared, to be honest, to use it.

But from what I've heard from my hubby, it works very well for his sinuses, even though he hasn't had problems with that in the past, the still wanted to try it. It clears up his head, makes him feel more awake and he loves using it! He really likes the design of it, because it's not a pot anymore, you squeeze gently to get the water flowing and you have complete control over it, so it's a lot more easier to use than the original Neti Bottle.



We decided to give the Waterpik SinuSense Neti Bottle to my brother-in-law since we couldn't use both of the products and he also gave positive feedback on it! He happened to get a cold (unfortunately) last week and was using it everyday until the cold went away, so he definitely saw some great results from it! It made him feel less drowsy, according to him, and made him feel better as well.

Here's some more info on the products:

·         Waterpik SinuSense™  Squeeze Bottle- allows you to customize the amount of water flow for a complete cleanse, simply with an easy squeeze. The SoftSeal™ nozzle maximizes comfort and the One-Way FlowControl™ valve prevents backflow to maintain solution purity.

·         Waterpik SinuSense™  Neti Bottle- a unique approach to the traditional neti pot; its ergonomic shape, SoftSeal™ nozzle and One-Touch FlowControl™ valve make the Neti Bottle easy to hold, comfortable against your nose and creates a controlled gravity-fed water flow that provides a gentle sinus cleansing.

Try one if you haven't before, and are not too scared to use it like me, haha! These will be great if you have to deal with sinus problems and it will ease your pain!

Mix Pups Party!!

I had a Mix Pups birthday party last month, using the Mix Pups MommyParties kit I had received from BSM Media. The party was actually for my cousin's daughter, since she is more age-appropriate for these Mix Pups than my daughter and I knew that she was into animals. She thought that the Mix Pups were so cute and could not keep her hands off of them, even before her party day.

It turned out great, we invited a bunch of her friends and had a fantastic puppy-themed party!
but for some reason, Blogger won't let me upload any photos... And I have no idea why, my computer keeps freezing and it just won't even let me browse for the pictures so I guess I won't be uploading any of them any time soon...
All the little girls (and a couple boys, actually) were amazed by how they could accessorize and customize them, almost like for Barbie dolls. They really got to express their artistic talents and taste in fashion! :)

Anyway, I loved the Mix Pups, they made an awesome gift for the guests to take home and play with, very very fun and worth its price, which isn't even too bad! Get one for your daughter (or maybe son?) this Christmas if they're into playing with dolls/Barbies!

Tiger Suit by KT Tunstall - Album Review

 

Tiger Suit by KT Tunstall was just released October 5th and I was lucky enough to get my hands on it, and I popped it into my computer and have been listening to the whole CD on repeat for a couple of days now! If you didn't know anything about her before this, KT's previous hit songs include - the Grammy-nominated "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree," "Suddenly I See," Other Side of the World" or "Hold On". Other Side of the World and Suddenly I See were my favorites at one point or another, and I probably only got tired of listening to them over and over again, but I've added hem to my playlist again! 

KT's voice is so clear and unique, but I would compare the style of her music to Regina Spektor. They are both great artists and unique in their own way! Anyway, out of all the songs in Tiger Suit, I think my favorite one would be Uummannaq Song because it's got a tribal feel to it but still has a touch of pop song and the usual style of KT, so I love it! It's fast-paced and the background music is just so lovely! It showcases her voice so much and the guitar complements it really well. Also, the variety of instruments used in this song is great and makes it sound a lot better. This song is definitely dance-friendly.

 

For those of you interested, KT will be heading out on tour this fall all over the U.S., so make sure you go out and support her if you can! I bet she would be amazing live.  

The album's rollicking first single, “Fade Like A Shadow" is available at digital retailers now and is already at Top 20 hit at radio.  Check out the video here! 

Another one of my favorites! :)

 

Disclosure: I was sent this CD by One2One Network for me to review here but these are my honest opinions and I am not getting paid to write this.

Crystal Deodorant Review!

Here a some facts about the brand to start ya off:

"Crystal® | Respect the body™

• Crystal® is the original mineral salt deodorant brand (established in 1984)
• Crystal® is a natural deodorant that actually works
• Simple ingredients, simple promise:  All day natural odor prevention
• Mineral salts create an invisible barrier that make it impossible for odor causing bacteria to grow
• Our deodorants are available in 28,000 stores worldwide (including Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid)
  

Product Line:

• Both unscented (Crystal Body Deodorant®) and lightly scented (Crystal® essence)
• Crystal® Body Deodorant is available in 4.5 ounce Stick, 2.25 Oz. Roll-On and 4 Oz Body Spray
• Crystal® essence (Pomegranate, Lavender & White Tea and Chamomile & Green Tea) is available in 2.25 Oz Roll-On and 4 Oz Body Spray
  

A Few Other Points of Interest about Crystal®:

• Mineral salts work as a buffer between your skin and odor causing bacteria.
• Goes on lightly, won’t leave a white residue.
• Won’t stain clothes.
• Crystal Body Deodorant Stick lasts up to a full year of daily use!  NO JOKE!
• Crystal deodorants do NOT need to be reapplied during the day.  A single application under each arm lasts the entire day. ( Can endure even the toughest, longest workouts.)
• Endorsed by Cancer Treatment Centers.
• Rated safest in the Skin Deep database / Environmental Working (www.ewg.org)
• Compact Signer of the Campaign for Safer Cosmetics
• Never tested on animals (member of Leaping Bunny)"
  

Okay, how amazing is that! The reasons I love my new deodorant the most are that it doesn't stain my clothes - unlike my old Dove deodorant, which smelled amazing but would sometimes leave a white residue - and that it will last up to a full year of daily use! And the best part about these is that they're not even expensive! They're actually very affordable, and CVS has an awesome deal right now!

SEPTEMBER Crystal® SALE PRICE PROMOTION: (Not coupons but rather limited time discount)

• CVS & CVS.com sale price September 1 – 30
  

• $1 off the Crystal® Body Deodorant Stick ( http://bit.ly/crystalstickCVS)
  

• $0.50 off the the Crystal® Body Deodorant Roll-On (2009 Winner – All-Time Top 10 Classic Best of Beauty Award by Better Nutrition)  ( http://bit.ly/crystalrollCVS)
  

• $0.50 off the Crystal® essence Pomegranate Roll-On (2010 Winner – Best Natural Deodorant by Better Nutrition Magazine)  ( http://bit.ly/crystalpomCVS)

I liked the smell of the pomegranate deodorant the best, it doesn't have an overwhelming smell and instead, smells very natural and light! I loved the applicators (the roll-on balls) because I've only seen perfumes in that form and have never owned anything like it, even though this product has been around for a while now. Definitely check it out, you will be amazed by the quality and price of the Crystal Deodorants!