Product reviews for trendy Moms & Dads, their children & pregnant moms
Nestle has something new going this Easter season that I thought was pretty cute – available only at Target, you can get this Paul Frank Nestle Easter “Bunny.” Julius, the Paul Frank Bunny, has sprouted ears for the season all in the yummy package of a Nestle Crunch bar.
Cute, right? Be sure to check on Nestle on Facebook too to see all they have going for Easter (gotta love the SweeTARTS Jelly Bean Carrot Bags!)
Hi all, I can’t tell you how excited I am about this one! I’ve been using TidePods since I first posted about them the weekend of the Oscars back in February. TidePods are small, convenient and easy to use! Simply pop the pod into your washer and you’re good to start your load. No more measuring out detergent or any messy spill potential.
Love it, right?
To chat about the new TidePods and have some fun, Colleen and I will be hosting a Twitter Chat on Wednesday, April 4th at 8 pm ET. We’ll have tons of TidePods to giveaway as prizing and the grand prize? A $2400 Washer & Dryer pair. For real, people!!!! I know you guys will be psyched about this one!!!
Here is the invite with all of the details and while not required, we’d appreciate your RSVP below the invite in the linky.
RSVP by adding your Twitter handle and link to the linky below.
Disclaimer: This has been a paid sponsored post. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own. Tide is not responsible for the conduct of the sweepstakes. Winners during the #TidePods Twitter Chat will be chosen by a random drawing conducted by Colleen and myself from entries received during the Twitter Chat on April 4, between 8:00 p.m. EST and 10:00 p.m. EST (the “sweepstakes period”). Drawings for t-shirts and samples will take place at 8:30 p.m. EST, 9:00 p.m. EST, 9:30 p.m. EST, and 10:00 p.m. EST, from all qualifying entries received after 8:00 p.m. EST, but prior to the time of the drawing. The drawing for the washer and dryer will take place at or after 10:00 p.m. EST from all qualifying entries received during the sweepstakes period. No purchase is necessary to enter the drawing. Any person who tweets during the sweepstakes period using hashtag #tidepods will be entered into the drawing. Limit one entry per person. Odds of winning will depend on the number of qualifying tweets received. Approximate retail value of the prizes are: samples $15.00 and washer and dryer $2,400. Winner is responsible for the payment of all taxes associated with the prize.
We’re all busy Moms, we can all relate to the hectic schedule each of us have day in and day out. Sometimes I marvel that even my “quiet” days end up getting filled with phone calls, errands and other short-list items I need to get done.
Because of the crazy schedule we all endure, it can often be hard to fit in some me time – specifically, gym time. Even though I’m a regular at my gym, there are days I sometimes just can’t get there. Enter Gaiam TV. You gotta love this idea – Gaiam TV streams exercise and yoga videos 24-hours a day.
Need a quick 30 minute workout? With Gaiam TV’s subcription-based service, you can login and you have a wide selection of workout videos (over 2,000!) available via streaming right on your computer!
And it’s nice too that they have such variety. I’m a cardio girl but there’s yoga, meditation, pilates and other types of workout and gym experiences available to you.
Gaiam TV offers a free 10-day trial to prospective subscribers. Gaiam TV’s $9.95 per month subscription fee allows subscribers to stream unlimited content. The subscription to Gaiam TV is no strings attached; there is no commitment, and members can cancel at anytime.
Seems pretty awesomesauce to me. Also, don’t want to use your computer? There’s an app for your phone too!
Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Gaiam TV. I also received a free trial of Gaiam TV to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own.
On March 28th, the Disney Store will celebrate its 25th anniversary! To celebrate, the first 250 guests to arrive to each Disney Store will receive FREE pair of exclusive Silver Mickey Ears, and all throughout the day there are fun trivia questions, dance parties, and games for the whole family to enjoy. Fun, right?
And in honor of the celebration, Mommies with Style has a Disney themed giveaway for one lucky Mommies with Style reader! The winner will receive all of the items pictured to the right – a Disney bag, Disney picture frame, Disney journal and pen and a stuffed Mickey Mouse!
Giveaway:
You can enter up to 4 times (the only required entry is the first one to leave a comment! All the others are additional entries):
1) Comment below!
2) Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter & follow me on Twitter @WhitneyMWS
Enter to win a @DisneyStore prize pack via @WhitneyMWS #giveaways http://bit.ly/aatNRf
3) Like Mommies with Style on Facebook (if you already do, promote this contest on your page)
4) Subscribe to my feed or email newsletter and stay on top of all of my daily posts! If you already subscribe, please leave a separate comment letting me know that you are currently a subscriber (thank you!).
This giveaway will run until March 31st. One winner will be selected and notified after that time.
The weather here in Philly has just been FANTABULOUS the past week or so here in Philadelphia. We’re talking the kind of 70 degree sun-is-shining-perfection that makes me put my windows down, belt out some 90s song and not care how bad the wind makes my hair look when I’m done because I’m too happy to care.
Saturday was St. Patrick’s Day and I was in a great mood. I was headed to a neighborhood party to celebrate the big day but first, a local event with Therapon, a skincare company.
We were getting facials done by Therapon, makeup by Ulta and nails done by a local salon. All of which I was happy to have done as I was off to a party!
Here I am getting my nails done:
I don’t have a picture of the facials as they were done in a separate room and I have to admit, I was a little bit wary about what to expect. I’ve truly never had a facial done before. Any time I’m at a spa, I’m always doing a manicure, a pedicure or some form of waxing but for whatever reason I just didn’t think I’d enjoy getting a facial done. But I was definitely wrong because it was pretty nice to have one done! The Therapon products were really soothing and left my face feeling baby soft!
Here’s a picture of the group of bloggers who were in the session with me in the afternoon:
Many thanks to Jo-Lynne from Musings of a Housewife for the photos and for organizing the event! And of course thanks to Therapon for sponsoring.
If you are in the market for any sort of skin care product, check out Therapon. They have all sorts of product that deal wtih things like stretch marks to puffy eyes to dry skin.
So I pretty much haven’t read a “normal” book since Twilight years ago. I read Hunger Games next (before the other two books were out) and have especially loved dystopian fiction since reading the Hunger Games.
Dystopian Fiction – The utopia and its offshoot, the dystopia, are genres of literature that explore social and political structures. Utopian fiction is the creation of an ideal world, or utopia, as the setting for a novel. Dystopian fiction is the opposite: creation of a nightmare world, or dystopia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dystopian_fiction
One book series I just had to mention is Lauren Oliver’s Delirium Trilogy. Book one is Delirium and Book two, Pandemonium, just came out in February. I read it and finished it last night and I’m still reeling from it. It is a must read. Delirium was good – be warned, there were parts I thought were a bit slow with it, but still liked the book a lot. But Book two, man, I am so bummed that I have to wait months for book three to come out because it’s one of those books you start and can’t stop until you finish.
Basically the premise of these series is set in a distant future in the US. Society has deemed love and emotions as deliria, a sickness that needs to be removed (via brain surgery and the removal of part of the brain) to create a perfectly peaceful society with a bunch of aemotional people. I won’t tell you guys anything more but know that while book one is good, book two will blow you away. Go read.
This one seemed too good to be true when I first heard about it. The Fresh Diet is a company that makes and delivers all of your food to your front door – daily. If that’s not awesome enough, all of the foods are nutritionally balanced for weight loss (or maintenance, depending on what you select) and promote healthy living with heart-healthy, fresh foods.
Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by The Fresh Diet. I also received a week’s supply of The Fresh Diet food to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own.
Twitter party alert!
I’m hosting a fun Twitter Party tonight about the new movie Friends with Kids with @classymommy and @AudreyMcClellan – come join us! We’ll be giving away gift cards to Fandango so you can see this movie (and others) for free!
Where: Twitter, with the Hashtag #FriendswithKids
When: Thursday, March 8th at 9pmET
How: You can use the TweetGrid we’ve set up for this Friends with Kids party – login and put your username in the right hand column to follow along!
What: This movie looks super cute – it’s a comedy/drama and we’ll be talking about parenting and celebrities so it promises to be a fun chat!
So thanks to the lady who sat next to me with her two kids at the Lorax movie yesterday, I’m feeling a little doom and gloom about the state of our society. The movie was wonderful; the message pretty clear.
The premise of the movie is that the Once-ler, a business man and somewhat unsuspecting guy ends up chopping down all of the trees in the land causing great negative effect on the world around him. Driven by the greed and lure of success, he misses the implications of damaging his environment until it’s too late.
The movie’s based on the Dr. Seuss book, the Lorax and that’s basically where the book itself ends. The movie expands on the story after the damage is done. The future town and how they live, and the boy who basically learns and remembers what trees were for and sets out to change the world. I won’t give anything more away but like I said, the message is evident.
This isn’t just some fluffy movie that’s full of nonsense – there’s a message about respecting our environment and how one person’s small change can make a difference.
I loved it. My kids loved it and they got it. We talked about the deeper message of the movie after it was over, something they are both very familiar with as recycling and reusing is very important in our house and my husband often preaches to them about respecting the earth.
But the lady next to me. My God. I was so miffed about it I even made this my Facebook status after the movie was over:
Back from the Lorax. Great movie but not happy with the lady next to me. It was bad enough that her kids talked & crinkled candy thru-out the movie but the icing on the cake? When her cell rang and she actually answered it. So rude. Almost asked her then if she was going to later leave the theater and go chop down a tree.
The irony of having someone sitting next to me who clearly had no respect whatsoever for her surroundings was not lost on me. I wonder if her rudeness even crossed her mind? If she was aware of being rude and didn’t care, or just totally unaware? I don’t know which is worse.
A couple of weeks ago, I came home to a package from Paper Mate’s PR folks. Inside were their new InkJoy pens, and a funky lock box. Nate (8) immediately honed in on the lock box as it has a cool function – rather than opening by key, it uses fingerprint technology to open. He and my husband set the box to their thumbs and the box (and the cool new colorful InkJoy pens) have now been stolen and locked away from Mom’s hands forever more.
We’ve had several laughs about it since and I have to say, this new campaign by Paper Mate is definitely clever. They put this out on Facebook – 100% of Office Coworkers who were polled admitted to having stolen a pen from another coworker at one time or another. Oh, the shame of it!
And I’ll come clean. I’ve stolen pens. From doctor’s offices, my old office when I worked and friend’s houses. Although I will also say I always steal by accident. (But shocking, 23% of the co-workers polled admitted that they stole a pen on purpose!!)
Seriously, isn’t this whole thing kind of funny? But it does get you thinking about pens, right? How many have you stolen in your day?
Check out more about Paper Mate’s new InkJoy pens on PaperMate.com and visit their Facebook page to enter a fun sweepstakes to win!
Disclaimer: I was sent a collection of the new Ink Joy pens as well as a lock box. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
From the founders of Diapers.com and Soap.com comes a brand new site – Casa.com. Casa.com is selling literally everything fabulous for your home decor and organizing needs. Think trendy furniture, kitchen gadgets, nursery decor, or hip functional organizers for your closets or laundry room, Casa.com sells it.
Here’s why this site looks different and why it’s so hot:
Ever want to talk to bloggers about the basics for how to get started? How do we make money? Do we have any tricks or tips to share?
Join me and 7 other awesome social media influencers as we have chat on ‘The Motherhood’ - the other bloggers chatting are:
Discussion Topics Include:
Click here to take part in the conversation! Register now and get your login ready for the big day. You won’t want to miss a thing!
Chat starts at 1PM EST Sharp – February 27th.
This weekend during the Oscars telecast, Tide will premiere the launch of its newest innovation, Tide Pods. Tide Pods are a multi-dimensional laundry detergent that looks different from any other liquid or unit dose detergent in the market today. This isn’t your typical new & improved laundry detergent!
Take note Shazam Users: The commercial premiering on Sunday not only looks and feels differently than a typical ad for laundry detergent, but also includes a “Shazam bug” that will allow viewers to leverage Shazam’s music recognition software to get content about Tide Pods delivered directly to their smart phones. How cool is that?
In addition to informational product videos, consumers will have access to a limited number of free product samples as well as a free download of the song from the commercial. (Score! All you have to do is listen, use Shazam and you’ll be able to receive a free sample and download!)
I love that these Tide Pods are so small for storage – and just easy, clean and ready to pop into your washer – ready to go! Each Pod has enough for one load of laundry and has detergent and stain remover in one. It works in all machines! Be sure to check out the commercial during the Oscars and to score your free sample of Tide Pods. You can take home some of those red carpet hot looks by using a Tide Pod and getting that same clean, crisp look at the celebs have! The commercial will be on between 10-10:30 pm ET.
Check out more on TidePods.com and Shazam.
Disclaimer: This has been a paid sponsored post. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
My feet are still aching from a full day up in Manhattan yesterday. I went up to attend Strut, the Fashionable Mom Show as a part New York Fashion Week. My good bloggy friends Vera & Audrey were a big part of why this event happened and they were models themselves!
In fact, I knew most of the models as most of them were real Moms and bloggers who I know! Which was what made the show so fun and successful – real moms strutting their stuff, having fun. The vibe in the room was too fun and I loved watching my friends enjoy themselves.
You just have to check out this video of the show – the Moms looked amazing!
And here’s a few photos I snapped. It was tough to get a great shot just because of all the lighting but you can get idea of the fun everyone had.
Here’s Mom & model Iman intro’ing the models:
Audrey walking by looking fab in TJMaxx:
Victoria from Savvy Mommy:
I LOVED this dress Vera was in:
And after the show, Melissa, Jo-Lynne, Vera & me:
Hey all – by the time you read this post, I’ll be on a train on my way to Manhattan for Fashion Week and Strut Moms, the first ever fashion show for Moms! Founded by several Moms, including my good bloggy friends Vera & Audrey, the show promises to be exciting and full of great ideas for stylish Momwear. I can’t wait to report.
But in the meantime, Clorox is a part of the Twitter pit, which I’ll be hanging out in. While gearing up to head to the show, Clorox asked me to partake in this Do-It-Yourself project. Now I’ve done a lot of home made tie-dying before but never with Clorox. This is essentially reverse tie-dying. It’s pulling color out rather than putting it in.
I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Here’s a step by step of what I did – I LOVE my finished product!
Here’s a step by step of what I did and how you can do it yourself and do cool things with Clorox in your house too.
What you need to get started – Clorox, a bucket or tub of some kind to dye in and whatever you want to reverse tie-dye! (I used a black workout tank top and a brown hat that Clorox sent me.)
Here’s the tank and hat together. The hat was a dark brown and the tank top was black.
Similar to tie-dying, I used rubber bands to tie random bits up of my tank top. When doing this, you have to make sure you make the rubber bands nice and tight. Otherwise, just like with tie-dying, the Clorox will soak threw and you’ll lose the effect.
You’re basically doing the opposite of tie-dying when you use Clorox to dye a shirt. You’re pulling all of the colors OUT rather than putting a new one in. So if you want to save some of the original color, you need to have it covered by something tight. Hence, the rubber bands.
Put your item or items in your bucket and first pour the water. The stats I read said 1 cup of Clorox for every 9 cups of water. I ended up with roughly 14 cups of water and about 1 1/2 cups of Clorox (that’s how much I needed to fill the tub and have it cover my items)
Don’t go more than a half cup for every 9 cups of water though or you risk yellowing or creating holes in your clothes.
Random note: I used an old plastic cup for the Clorox as you can see below. I was too paranoid to use a real measuring cup and to wash it out later and use it for food. I’d recommend the same for anyone. I measured and it was exactly 1.5 cups to that line so it worked out well for me.
After pouring the Clorox in, it’s probably good to mix it around with a stick or item you will get rid of or won’t need after.
This picture here is two minutes into the process – isn’t it amazing how much the colors have changed already?
Use your own judgment but I recommend stopping around 15-20 minutes in. This was 20 minutes in:
Once done, get rid of the water/Clorox mix and be sure to rinse your items off well in cold water. Watch your hands – I was careful to touch as little as possible and then to wash them well afterwords.
Then wash your items through an entire cycle in the washer. The instructions I had said to air dry after the wash cycle but I tossed them in the dryer on a gentle cycle because I was eager to have them dry.
Here’s the end result on the tank top – isn’t this adorable?!! (Excuse my gross, makeupless look – I was about to crawl into bed when I took this!)
I have no idea how the reds pulled out but I really do love it and can’t wait to wear it to the gym.
Disclosure: Clorox provided me with a coupon and information on how to dye (reverse dye) these items.
Casey (2) and Charlie (10)
Normally I don’t respond to these kind of campaigns when they hit my inbox. But my eyes perked up when I saw this one was about something for my original babies – especially the one who has been around long before diapers hit my house – my cats! Considering that they get the shaft on my blog most of the time, I was excited to give them their little slice of attention on here.
So if you aren’t a cat owner, you can let your eyes glaze over and look away. If you have cats, you can keep reading.
For this post, I tested out Arm & Hammer’s Ultra Last Clumping Cat Litter. I’m gonna preface this post but saying I’ve never even used non-clumping litter (not even sure how that works?) so I can only compare this litter to other clumping litters that I’ve used.
But there’s definitely a difference in clumping litters and that biggest difference is smell. It’s no surprise that a product that comes from Arm & Hammer and is made with baking soda is great with smell control.
I’ve used brands that don’t mask the smell at all and this is not one of them. I have two cats and I should scoop every day, but I don’t. And my litter box is on the first floor so it needs to not smell. I love that the Ultra Last Arm & Hammer Cat Litter controls the odor so well and encourages my lazy scooping habits!
So now you can check out the Arm & Hammer Ultra Last Clumping Litter for free with a rebate coupon available on the website! A 20lb package too which is kind of awesome! Print out the Coupon here. You can find Arm & Hammer’s Ultra Last Clumping Litter at Target and Walmart.
Disclosure: “I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf Arm & Hammer and received a product coupon to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.
