Truvia #SweetSwitch time!

I was sent a sample of Truvia Natural Sweetner by Crowdtap in exchange for my review.  I was not required to give a positive review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

I pulled a #sweetswitch by making my friend's coffee with Truvia instead of sugar.  She drank it and then asked what was different. I wasn't sure if I should fess up or claim ignorance, but before I could decide she exclaimed "I like it better whatever you did!"  I was so excited to be able to share my deceit!  =)

She made her own cup and added Truvia and then announced to the rest of the ladies at our brunch that they'd better come try this new sweetener before she drank it all up!

I would say that this #sweetswitch was a success!

The #sweetswitch in progress! After I told her about Truvia! 

Adding her own !

Lunchables Jr. review

I was sent a sample of two different flavors of new Lunchables Jr to sample and share.  We received the "Teddy Bear Picnic" and the "Ants on a Log" flavors. We sampled them in the one place my kids always magically seem to be starving...the car!  The Teddy Bear Picnic had Teddy Grahams, dried apple pieces, and peanut butter.  My kids love dipping the Teddy Grahams into the peanut butter and then using that to dip in the apples and have them stick.  The second sample had graham cracker sticks, peanut butter, and raisins.  They liked to actually stick the raisins on top of the grahams, all lined up like ants.  I loved the varieties available, and the kids absolutely adored the taste of both samples.  I found them to be incredible convenient and portable.  The only complaints I had were the size, and the value for the price.  These Lunchables Jr are marketed for kids 3+. My daughter is 3, and this was in no way a big enough snack for her.  The peanut butter comes in a teeny tiny little container, and the compartments for the other snacks were only half filled if that much.  That being said, I went into my local grocery store to check the price.  These cost $2.00 each, which I find to be WAY to expensive for the size/amount of food they contain.  Overall, I would give these a 7 or 8 out of 10.  They are small and portable enough to keep on hand as an emergency snack, but too expensive to eat frequently.

I received this sample free from Crowdtap in exchange for sharing the sample and my opinion of the sample. I was not required to give a positive review. All thought expressed are my own.

McCormick Grill Mates Review

I was so excited to be chosen to try my #GrillMatesPack for Houseparty's #Chatterbox program!  I really really loved the Smokin' sweet tea marinade.  Also, the Backyard Brick Oven marinade with the Smoky Montreal sauce was a.maz.ing!  They are easy to use and convenient to store.  I did not try the other flavors myself because I gave them away but I am hearing great things! I recommend picking these up if you want a lot of bold flavor!

I was given these products for free, in exchange for trying and sharing them. I was not required to provide a positive review, and all opinions given are my own.

#CarpeLumia party!

We had an awesome party at the beach. Overnight camping, hanging out with the girls, fireworks, bonfire, great Nokia swag bags, playing with the new #NokiaLumia928!  We got to the beach at sunset and had fun checking out the camera capabilities of the Nokia Lumia 928.  We had hotdogs and smores, plenty of sodas and hot chocolate. The next morning we passed out the swag, awarded the photo competition winner her prize, and jammed on the tunes from the awesome Nokia Lumia 928 and the JBL wireless speaker.

To show of the Nokia Lumia 928, we had a little photo competition. Everyone who wanted to participate took the Lumia 928 and their own phone and took two pictures.  We uploaded them onto my laptop and projected them onto the side of an RV for comparison.  One thing we noticed in every photo has how much clearer the images were on the Lumia, even in low light. Check out a few of our finalists.

And, by unanimous decision, the winner of the photo contest, based both on content and dramatic difference between their phone and the Nokia Lumia 928....

Don't you just love how much richer the tones of the photo are with the Nokia Lumia 928?  The sunset is brighter, the boats are clearer. LOVE it!

Here is a picture of me and the winner, with her prize, a JBL PowerUp Wireless Charging Speaker!! 

Overall, I really love the photo capabilities of the Nokia Lumia 928.  There are also other amazing features, such as City lens, distortion free sound recording, wireless charging, Nokia Music, all with the fun display of a Windows 8 phone.

I received the Nokia Lumia 928 free of charge from Verizon, as a Verizon VIP on Crowdtap.  All opinions stated are my own. I was not required to give a positive review. Want to become a Verizon VIP? Check out www.verizonvips.com

Crowdtap Nokia Lumia 928 Hosted Party

I am lucky enough to be a member of Crowdtap, a website where consumers can interact with Brands they love.  Through Crowdtap and Verizon Insiders, I was chosen to host a "Carpe Noctem" branded party for the new Nokia Lumia 928.  In exchange for having a few friends over to check out the amazing capabilities of this new Windows 8 phone, including the nightlife-inhancing camera.  For this party I was sent 1 active Nokia Lumia 928 that my guests and I can use.  It had 30 days of service free from Verizon, so that my guests and I can truly experience this revolutionary new phone. My party kid also included 1 $50 prepaid American Express gift card to help with party costs, 1 JBL PowerUp wireless charging speaker for Nokia, and 10 branded swag bags filled with loot for party guests.  In exchange I am to host an evening/nighttime party and allow guests to use the Nokia Lumia 928, highlighting it's better imaging, better sound, and better display & design. I am also to provide honest, unbiased feedback regarding this device, and share my thoughts via social media.  All party guests can enter the Nokia Lumia 928 sweepstakes to win one of their very own!

Stay tuned for more after I spend more time with my phone and host my party!  I am so excited to share this phone and it's capabilities with you!

Old Navy Hosted Party

I was lucky enough to be chosen to have a Hosted Party at Old Navy.  I was able to invite 3 friends to join me and the 4 of us each got to try on some awesome swimwear, pick out matching flip flops, beach towels, and beach bags!  It was a great opportunity to have a fun time with friends, while checking out the latest swimwear at Old Navy. Everyone had a great time, and the staff was incredible. DId you know that they will bring you different sizes, recommend matching or similar items, and help find perfect accessories?  The only issue we had was that although the Old Navy website has plus sized and maternity swimwear, there was not actually any in store. However, everyone was able to find something that they liked.  It was a GREAT day to be on the Old Navy Style Council!

*Disclaimer: I received these items for free in exchange for my posting and tweeting about Old Navy.  I was not asked to give positive opinions, and those stated are my own. 

Cottonelle sample share

I am so excited about this sample share.  It's so funny how everyone, I mean EVERY one uses toilet paper, but it's not usually a topic of conversation.  It was fun to surprise people by asking (out of the blue) about their wiping preferences.  

I was babysitting these two, and had them TP mom when she came to pick them up.  I explained that now that I had a captive audience I could talk about whatever I wanted to!  Mom was quite shocked, but had a good laugh when I told her I wanted to talk about toilet paper! 

I pulled a "where's the water" prank on these two.  We were having a little chat, and I offered them lemonade.  Straight concentrate, no water.  They were both trying to be polite and not mention to me that it was SO sour.  They drank a few gulps, grimaced, and then I told them about Cottonelle wipes.  It was so funny!

I love the new Cottonelle Fresh Care wipes.  It totally makes sense to use them.   After all, when we're changing babies, we NEVER use dry wipes, so why should it be any different for the rest of us? 

*I was given these products for free to give away and sample. I was not influenced about what to say in any way. These opinions are my own. 

Woolite sampling party and review

Who loves Woolite?  I have used Woolite for years for my delicates, but I recently discovered they have a whole line of detergents for every day use as well!  I had a little sampling party, where I invited my favorite ladies to wear or bring an item that they want to keep looking like new. I hand washed and air dried two identical brand new shirts, one in Woolite, and the other in another leading detergent.  After drying we compared the two and found the one in the other detergent had faded significantly.  Then I passed out all the samples and we had snacks and chatted about our past experiences with Woolite!  I am converted, Woolite is my detergent of choice for all my clothes, not just delicates any more.




(I received these samples for free in exchange for my honest opinion.  All opinions are mine and were not influenced in any way by the company or any other factors.)

Review of Kylie Minogue "The Abbey Road Sessions"

I really really wanted to LOVE this album.  I didn't... It felt like a desperate attempt to dress up some pop/dance fluff.  The problem I had with this is that I liked those songs for what they are.  For example, "The Locomotion"  is a fun silly song.  I didn't feel that anything was added to it by re-imagining it in this way.  Another example is Kylie's most notable hit "Can't Get You Out Of My Head."  Adding an orchestra and trying to make it into a ballad seems to me like trying to put makeup on a pig.  It is what it is, and to try to dress it up makes it ridiculous to me.  Interestingly enough, I read through some critic's reviews before posting this and they, for the most part, seem to love this album. I guess it comes down to a matter of preference.  As for me, I would give this album a C.


Disclaimer: As a member of the One2One Network, I was given this album for free in exchange for my review.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Let's Go Shopping activity from Juicy Juice

I found a fun activity for the grocery store from Juicy Juice. Find it here. We had a great time with it. My kids were so busy checking their lists, comparing items, and picking items out that they did not have time to fight, complain, or beg for junk! I recommend you try it out. It's simple to do, and if you laminate the list it is reusable.

What You Need

• Let's Go Shopping List (available on Juicy Juice website)
• Crayons or washable colored markers
• Colorful stickers (optional)

How To Make It

• Print out the Let's Go Shopping List from the link.

What To Do

• Tell your toddler that the two of you are going to go to the market to buy food.
• Sit down with your toddler and the Let's Go Shopping List and talk about each of the brightly-colored images on the list.
• Decide together which of the foods you will buy and help your child make a mark with a crayon, marker or sticker in the space next to the picture of the chosen food.
• Take the Let's Go Shopping List with you so that the two of you can match the chosen items on your list to the foods in the market.
• If your market has junior shopping carts, your child can push her cart next to yours and help shop.
• Locate one or two of the items on your list that are within her reach such as a small block of cheese or a loaf of bread, and ask her to place them in her cart.
• Once you are home, talk about each food item as you both unpack and put away the groceries.
• Now that you have finished your busy day at the market, offer your toddler a snack that you choose together from the healthy foods on the Let's Go Shopping List!

@JuicyJuiceUSA Bunch member