Will You Be Cooking on Mother's Day?

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According to a recent survey of moms commissioned by the makers of Freschetta® pizza, almost nine out of ten respondents (87%) do NOT want to cook on the special day for moms.  Shocking, right?!  I know I don't! 
As a result of this survey, the makers of Freschetta pizza are Rallying for Real Moms this Mother's Day, and giving women a chance to voice their honest perspective about everything from motherhood to cooking on their special day.
Check out the Rally for Real Moms video and join in the conversation on Facebook (www.facebook.com/freschettapizza).




I haven't checked our schedule for this month yet, but I'm willing to bet my husband has to work on Mother's Day, so bring on the Freschetta!   Freschetta even has a coupon for you! 



*I may have received one or more of the products mentioned above for the purposes of this review through the above mentioned company or representing PR agency. In the event of a giveaway, the prize is shipped by the sponsor and I hold no responsibility. Thank you for reading!

KM Fantasy's Massage Oil Candles

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KM Fantasy has only recently launched their product line as of this past January.  I'm so excited to be able to share a little about their fantastic line of quality massage oil candles with you! 

I was sent two five ounce candles in the Luscious Lemon Souffle, and the Arousing Chocolat Mint scents.  Lemon is one of my absolute favorite scents and I practically squealed when I heard they made their massage candles with in Lemon Souffle.  I so wish I could share scents through the computer, because oh my goodness do they smell amazing!  Very true to their names and good enough to eat!  There is also a Coconut scent available, though I wasn't able to sample that (too bad, because I know I've said it here plenty of times, I adore the scent of coconut!).  I love that these scents are more of dessert treats than the flowery perfume scents that you often find with massage oils and candles. 
They each came packaged in beautiful little drawstring bags, and are perfect to give as gifts, or to purchase for an evening of romance and pampering for yourself and someone special.  The tins are gorgeous and they're so easy to open, and close securely. 

To use these candles, simply light them and enjoy the fragance for about twenty minutes.  Once a nice pool of oil has melted, you can then blow out the candle, and pour the oil into your hands or directly onto the body and massage the warm, scented oil in to the skin.  The warmth, the scent, and the massage together are incredibly relaxing.  They are specifically formulated to melt at a low temperature so that they don't burn your skin.
These candles are made in the USA, with top quality ingredients.  They are listed as 100% natural.  I have to admit I was skeptical about that, because really, not so many products can say that these days.  I was pleasantly surprised when I turned over a tin to read the ingredient list to find that the list was short and simple!  Coconut wax/oil, soy wax/oil, apricot wax/oil, caprylic/capric, aloe vera oil, vitamin e oil, shea butter, and jojoba oil.  That's it!  Quality, indeed!  The only thing I didn't immediately recognize was caprylic, which turns out is just a fatty acid present in oils, used in many perfumes.  If you know more about that ingredient, let me know!  I'd love a comment with a more detailed explanation.
Individual candles will run you about $14.99, or KM Fantasy offers package deals they call the "One Night Stand" that include your choice of one massage candle AND lingerie for just $29.99.  The "One Night Stand" is available in both men's and women's sets!  (Psst!  I see a 20% coupon code for new customers listed on the site!  Hurry though, it says for a limited time only!)
KM Fantasy's massage candles are so heavenly, that they're worthy of the stars!  In fact, these massage oil candles were handed out to some of of the finest stars this past February, at the Kathy Duliaka's Annual Oscar Gifting Suite at the Lexington House in Hollywood.  Stars such as Morgan Freeman, Glenn Close, Tina Fey, and Viola Davis are just a few.  I'm sure they enjoyed them just as much as I have!  I've seen on Twitter that Charlie Sheen quite enjoys these as well!


I have had these candles for a little over two months now, and used both multiple times. They're still going strong...and I have to admit I've lit these a time or two without massages in mind just because they smell SO amazingly delicious!  I don't normally like candles or body products that smell like chocolate, but I've really enjoyed the Mint Chocolat.  Now, if only it didn't give me a craving for Thin Mints, hehe!

I encourage you to check KM Fantasy out for not only their massage candles, but also their selection of lingerie and Kama Sutra products! 




*I received one or more of the products mentioned above for the purposes of this review through the above mentioned company or representing PR agency. In the event of a giveaway, the prize is shipped by the sponsor and I hold no responsibility. Thank you for reading!

KMart's Big Layaway Giveaway

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This is a sponsored post, I am a Kmart Layaway blogger, though all opinions are my own.

I love to shop, and I have found some awesome deals at Kmart.  My absolute favorite is their toy clearance.  My mom lives a few minutes away from a Kmart, within walking distance actually, and she usually lets me know when they have their toys marked down.  I like to pick them up here and there throughout the year so that I'm ready for birthdays and holiday gifts.  I have scored some really great deals just by keeping an eye out. 

I love that they offer free layaway.  I know some other stores offer layaway for the holidays (Walmart comes to mind right now), but I feel better about using Kmart's layaway, since they always offer it.  I know they know what they're doing, and I don't have to shop within a window that the store sets for me.  I can shop when I want.  It's great for larger items too.  If I'm browsing and happent o see some "big" that I would like for our home, I can always put it on layaway.  I considered a kitchen table and chairs earlier this year before I ended up purchasing used and refinishing it.  I wanted a round table, black, pedestal table, but our local Kmart didn't have one in stock.  My plan was to put it on layaway.  I think I may end up purchasing some patio furniture before next Summer rolls around, and that can be expensive, so layway is awesome for that too.  I know a lot of people who do their Christmas and holiday shopping early and put it all on layaway so by Christmas, they're done and it's a lot less stressful. 

Right now, actually, it started on September 9th, you can even win your layaway for free with Kmart's Big Layaway Giveaway!  Every week, through 11/17/12,  there is one layaway giveaway per store.  Way to kick off the season of giving, Kmart!  I might have to do some shopping this weekend...  :o) 

I was actually just browsing patio sets online.  Which do you like best?

 

Such great prices!!

Kidorable's Pumpkin Contest!

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Pumpkins Come and Pumpkins Go, but A Jack-O-Lantern steals the show!

Carve, Chisel, or Draw your best pumpkin.

One lucky fan will win a full Kidorable ensemble of their choice.
 
Its easy - just email a picture of a child you love with the pumpkin they carved to contest@kidorable.com. Whoever gets the most votes wins.

Kidorable will receive entries from October 15 through Wednesday, October 31. Then voting will continue through November 7 at noon (cst) when they will announce the winner.

One entry per household. If multiple entries are submitted, only the first will be posted.

My kids are going to LOVE this!  How fun!!






*I may have received one or more of the products mentioned above for the purposes of this review through the above mentioned company or representing PR agency. In the event of a giveaway, the prize is shipped by the sponsor and I hold no responsibility. Thank you for reading!

UNJUNK Halloween with UNREAL

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 Candy that's NOT complete junk?  As a mom, I'm interested!  I love a good piece of candy just as much as the next person, but I want better for my children, and for that to happen, I need to show them better.  UNREAL candy makes that a lot easier.  I'd seen this candy at CVS and even picked up a pack of the peanut butter cups, which my husband promptly ate, so I hadn't tried them yet.  When I had the opportunity to have an UNREAL party to sample and candies and share with friends and family, I couldn't refuse.  A candy party?  Heck yeah!   So, first, let me take a moment to tell you a little bit about UNREAL candy.   Amazingly enough, UNREAL came about because a thirteen year old boy, asked WHY.  Why does candy have to contain so many ingredients that are not only bad for you, but many of which are simply unnecessary?  With the help of his family, UNREAL was born with the mission to UNJUNK your candy.  To make it better for you, and still taste just as sweet and delicious...or even more so!UNREAL provides many of the great flavor combinations we love in our treats, but without corn syrup, without partially hydrogenated oils, without GMOs, without artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives, and with 40% less sugar per serving on average.  They have added more cacao, real caramel (not corn syrup dyed to look like caramel), more peanuts, more protein, and more fiber.

So, does UNREAL pass a taste test?  We invited some friends and family over for an ice cream social this past weekend to find out what they thought. 

 UNREAL was kind enough to send us some supplies, including samples of each type of candy, and brochures to hand out.  The varieties are similar to many already popular types of chocolate candies.  My children really got a kick out of that as we opened the packages.   UNREAL54 - Chocolate Candy Shells with PeanutsUNREAL41 - Chocolate Candy ShellsUNREAL5 - Chocolate Caramel Nougat BarUNREAL8 - Chocolate Caramel Nougat Bar with PeanutsUNREAL77 - Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups  I'd have to say, my personal fave is UNREAL8!  So good!!  You can totally tell the ingredients are REAL and quality!    Check out the Chocolate Candy Shells (UNREAL41!)...the colors are a bit more muted compared to the competition.  I had mixed reviews on these.  About 50/50 either LOVED them or just weren't a fan.  Personally I'm not a fan, but I never was an M&M person anyway (unless they're peanut butter!  Any plans for that UNREAL?)  To get the party started, I made sure everyone knew to take home a goody bag.  These were loaded up with plenty of UNREAL candy samples, and a paper with lots of great information and fun facts.    The kids were REALLY excited to get their ice cream social on.  I chopped up some candies and placed them on plates so the kids could go to town.    We put the ice cream in cups and let them add as many toppings as they wished.  We had some kids go for simply a few UNREAL41 and even more who relished the opportunity to have some fun and try a little (or a lot!) of everything.    They had a blast, and it was nice knowing that the candy was so much better for them, as well as having less sugar and more protein.    Yum!  We let the kids enjoy themselves in the dining room, while the adults discussed the candy and had our own little sampling in the kitchen.  Of course, we may have helped ourselves to some ice cream and toppings as well.  ;)  Most of the adults were REALLY impressed.  I know I've tried a few more natural foods before that make all of these fantastic claims, and then once I take a bite I realize they're compromised on taste.  Not so with UNREAL, and I think the majority agreed with me on that.    We'll definitely be UNJUNKING our Halloween with UNREAL.  We were BOOed a few days ago, and had to return the favor to two other families in our neighborhood.  I made sure to include some UNREAL treats to keep the mission going! 
Thanks, UNREAL, for a real Halloween treat!



*I received one or more of the products mentioned above for the purposes of this review through the above mentioned company or representing PR agency. In the event of a giveaway, the prize is shipped by the sponsor and I hold no responsibility. Thank you for reading!

Flameless Candles

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Flameless candles were one of the first things I reviewed here at Flip Flop Reviews.  Since trying them out, I have brought them in as part of my decor in many rooms of my home.  Not only are they beautiful, but as demand for them grows, so do the options.  I am able to find scented flameless candles, unscented, any color I could possibly want, flickering models, models with timers, candles that look as if they've already been burned a little so they don't look quite so stark, votives, tea lights, the options are seemingly endless!  I absolutely love incorporating battery operated lights into my decor.

As a mom of two young children, and two fur-babies, I feel more secure using flameless candles in my home.  I can keep them on an end table or in a grouping on my kitchen table, or even in my children's rooms without worry that they may be knocked over and start a fire or that my children or pets will hurt themselves with the flames.  I do still keep and enjoy a few regular wax candles in my home, but I keep them all up high enough that they are not a worry, and only light them every once in awhile.  I have flameless candles set on timers in my children's rooms to use as nightlights, in my own bedroom and master bathroom for ambiance, and in my kitchen to give off a soft glow.  I love that I can turn these on, and if I happen to fall asleep, no worries!  Most of them are on timers and will turn off by themselves anyway, and the rest, the worst that happens is the batteries die.  Luckily I use rechargeable batteries on the majority!

Do you use flameless candles in your home?  Any favorites you'd like to recommend?





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Laura Mercier Supreme Oil Free Foundation

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I am a full face makeup kind of girl.  I never leave the house without my face on, never.  I was even doing my makeup in labor with my daughters so I wasn't leaving the house without it to go give birth.  Might sound extreme, but I just feel more comfortable and put together with at least a little foundation and some lip gloss on.  Not only do I feel more comfortable with it, I love to play with new makeup and try new looks.  Most of the time, I go for neutral looks that can go with everything, and while I do wear a full face of foundation, powder, mascara, a little eye shadow and lip gloss, I can get it done in less than ten minutes (unless you ask my kids and husband, I'm sure they'd say I take forEVER, haha!).  I strongly feel that if you're going to wear makeup, your foundation has to be good.  It needs to match your skin tone, and wear nicely.  I've had a staple foundation brand and color that I've been wearing for the past ten years or so, but I do like to experiment with other brands every now and then, because with all of the new products out on the market every day, you just never know when you're going to find something that might work even better for you.


I've been trying out Laura Mercier's Suprême Oil Free Foundation lately.  As someone who wears foundation almost every day, I was thrilled to be able to sample this and share my thoughts with you all.  This foundation is available in twelve shades, ranging from porcelain ivory to rich sienna.  I'm incredibly pale, so I opted for the Porcelain Ivory, the lightest shade available. 

This foundation retails for about $42 per 1 oz/29 ml bottle.


I was happy to see that this foundation comes in a pump top bottle.  I use a sponge to apply my foundation and it's so easy to just pump a little on to the sponge this way.  Not to mention it's much my hygienic no matter what you use to apply your makeup.  This way there is nothing to contaminate the entire bottle.  I also feel that a pump is less messy.  I don't know about you, but there have been times I've been a little clumsy and knocked over a full bottle of my favorite foundation while the cap was still off, or since I use a sponge, gone to shake a near empty bottle to get some out onto my sponge, only to have it fly out of my hand and a trail of foundation go flying across the room and making a huge mess.  Pumps, are so much nicer!
The key ingredients in this foundation are Aloe Bardadens, to soothe and refresh skin, Green Tea Leaf Extract to act as an antioxidant and for it's astringent properties, Vitamin E for moisturization, Vitamin A as an antioxidant and moisturizer, and for helping to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines.  Pantenol is included as a hydrating agent to help improve your skin's natural moisture balance, and silica to absorb oils and smooth out the appearance of the skin.  All in all I'd say these ingredients work well together and this is a wonderful foundation.  It applies smoothly to my skin, and I can feel the soothing ingredients immediately upon application.  I have acne and blemish prone skin, so I appreciate the soothing and the moisturizing as I often end up with dry skin as well. 
This is a full coverage foundation, which is something I appreciate as well.  You can apply it lightly or layer it for more heavy coverage.  As I mentioned, I personally use a sponge, but you could also use your fingertips or brushes as well. 

You can see a small pump of the Porcelain Ivory on the back of my hand here.  I did find that this foundation is a bit more of the yellow side, at least in this particular shade.  It was a bit too yellow for the skin on my face.  I am wondering if perhaps I need the next shade up which is Blush Ivory, as my skin tone tends to be more pink than yellow.  The yellow does neutralize redness though, just a bit too much in my case so that it doesn't match for me.  I wonder if mixing the two would work for my face?  It might be worth a shot!


Other than the shade being a bit off for my skin, I absolutely love this foundation.  The finish is soft and matte.  The coverage is fantastic, it is long wearing (lasts all day for me!), I love the soothing feeling it leaves on my skin, and how smoothly it applies.  I have found myself reaching for this and using it more as a concealer since the yellow tones down redness where I need it, but then using my regular foundation as well. 







*I received one or more of the products mentioned above for the purposes of this review through the above mentioned company or representing PR agency. In the event of a giveaway, the prize is shipped by the sponsor and I hold no responsibility. Thank you for reading!

Stanley Steemer

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Stanley Steemer gets carpets cleaner! 

I have had that jingle stuck in my head for DAYS! 

I have never had my carpets professionally cleaned before.  In our last home, we mostly had laminate wood flooring.  Here, we have carpet everywhere except for our kitchen and bathrooms.  Light beige carpet.  With two young children, and two pets.  Lets just say, we've lived here for about six months now and a good cleaning was needed! 

Needless to say I was super excited when I was approached by My Blog Spark and given the opportunity to try out Stanley Steemer's services and let you all know what I thought!

I was given a gift certificate that was enough to cover the cleaning of one room, but we went ahead and did two rooms.  One room is $99, plus tax, of course, and two rooms ended up being about $120.  A little pricey, yes, but wait until you see how pretty my carpets looked when they were done!  We picked the worst rooms in the house too.  The family room, which is just high traffic, and what is supposed to be our dining room, but is currently the "dumping grounds" for all of my decorations until I get a dining room set, and where the dog likes the hang out. 

Check this out:

Dining room, where the dog threw up just that morning.  I cleaned up most of it, but wanted to see if Stanley Steemer would be able to get that up too.

Dining room, where the cat and dog decided to mark the house right after we moved in.  This is after scrubbing, but I didn't know when they did this because this whole room was loaded up with boxes...they squeezed in behind them and I didn't find the spots until after the boxes were cleared out.  Yuck!

Darn cat strikes again!  This time it was because someone closed the basement door where his litter box is. 

Family room, see that dark spot in front of the couch?  Some of it is shadow, but mostly it's just a stain that was there when we moved in.  There were several of these dark stains, and no matter how much we tried, they just wouldn't come up. 

So, you can see we REALLY put these guys to the test!  I was almost certain we'd have to replace the carpets in these rooms.  I'd scrubbed with dish soap and water, dish soap, water, baking soda, and peroxide mixes, tried a carpet cleaner with oxy...  they helped, but just weren't cutting it.

I was VERY ready for the Stanley Steemer team to visit my house! 

Setting up the appointment was easy, I just went online to www.stanleysteemer.com, and selected the rooms I wanted cleaned.  Then I was able to select from available dates, and even choose from several windows of time that would be most convenient for me.  I got a confirmation email right away.

On the day of the appointment, all I did to get the rooms ready, was run my vacuum.  I didn't even have to do that, they said...but with pets...I vacuum every day anyway.  I got a call about an hour and a half before my appointment window from a very nice woman who let me know that her team was actually running early and if it was okay with my, they would be an hour early.  It was fine with me, I was ready to see what they could do!

The team arrived and asked that I show them the rooms they were to clean, as well as talked to me about how I normally clean my carpets, if there were any problem areas (Yep!  All the ones pictures above!).  They got right to work pre-treating the stains.  Once their equipment was set up and ready, they started moving the furniture and hot water steaming the carpets.  I loved that they moved the furniture for me!  There was literally nothing I needed to do for these guys, I was able to just sit back and watch them work their magic.  I did put out some nice cold drinks for the guys because it was a warm day and they were working hard, but that was easy! ;o)

I was absolutely blown away at how fast and how beautifully they were able to clean my carpets.  They look like NEW!  I am so impressed.  My pictures just barely do them justice.

Seriously, can you see the difference in where they've cleaned and where they haven't?  It was like a line of clean!

My poor dog just couldn't believe I wouldn't let her in to "help," hehe!  :o)

They got EVERY.SINGLE.STAIN out of the dining room carpet!

Amazing!

I am so so SO impressed!

It's like new! 

They even put protecters under the furniture so that as the carpets dried, the wetness didn't make the furniture "bleed" into the carpet.

Behind the scenes!

I even got to see a little behind the scenes!  Now, this isn't ALL from my carpets, haha, there is trash in that thing I've never seen before! ;o)  But WOW, they pick all of that up from carpets.  They told me that I didn't need to vacuum at all, because the suction on the steamer would take care of it.  When they moved the couches, despite my having used the hose on my vacuum to get under them, there was still some random junk and they just sucked it all right up (none of it was important, they made sure first, haha!)

I am definitely planning to have Stanley Steemer back out to steam the rest of my carpets SOON!  It's like magic, I can't say enough good things or how impressed I was with the difference!  Stanley Steemer is the way to go!

They also offer many other services as well, one that I plan to take advantage of is the furniture cleaning.  My couches and loveseats could use it.  They also clean auto interiors, hard wood, tile and grout, air ducts, and do water damage restoration!




*I received one or more of the products mentioned above for the purposes of this review through the above mentioned company or representing PR agency. In the event of a giveaway, the prize is shipped by the sponsor and I hold no responsibility. Thank you for reading!

KMart's Big Layaway Giveaway

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This is a sponsored post, I am a Kmart Layaway blogger, though all opinions are my own.

I love to shop, and I have found some awesome deals at Kmart.  My absolute favorite is their toy clearance.  My mom lives a few minutes away from a Kmart, within walking distance actually, and she usually lets me know when they have their toys marked down.  I like to pick them up here and there throughout the year so that I'm ready for birthdays and holiday gifts.  I have scored some really great deals just by keeping an eye out. 

I love that they offer free layaway.  I know some other stores offer layaway for the holidays (Walmart comes to mind right now), but I feel better about using Kmart's layaway, since they always offer it.  I know they know what they're doing, and I don't have to shop within a window that the store sets for me.  I can shop when I want.  It's great for larger items too.  If I'm browsing and happent o see some "big" that I would like for our home, I can always put it on layaway.  I considered a kitchen table and chairs earlier this year before I ended up purchasing used and refinishing it.  I wanted a round table, black, pedestal table, but our local Kmart didn't have one in stock.  My plan was to put it on layaway.  I think I may end up purchasing some patio furniture before next Summer rolls around, and that can be expensive, so layway is awesome for that too.  I know a lot of people who do their Christmas and holiday shopping early and put it all on layaway so by Christmas, they're done and it's a lot less stressful. 

Right now, actually, it started on September 9th, you can even win your layaway for free with Kmart's Big Layaway Giveaway!  Every week, through 11/17/12,  there is one layaway giveaway per store.  Way to kick off the season of giving, Kmart!  I might have to do some shopping this weekend...  :o) 

I was actually just browsing patio sets online.  Which do you like best?

 

Such great prices!!