***RoomMates Peel and Stick Decor Review***

My daughter is afraid of the dark.  Deathly afraid.  For years she has slept with the light on, or at the very least a blue screen from the TV.  It costs a lot of money to keep her light on all night.  I've thought of getting a night light, but with my luck, the girls would have it unplugged and lost in minutes.  That's where RoomMates comes in.  RoomMates is a company that sells Peel and Stick Wall Decor for your home.  They have tons to choose from.  They have life size Tink to peel and stick mirrors.

RoomMates let me review their Celestial Glow in the Dark Wall Decals.  It comes on 4 sheets that are 10"x18".  There are over 250 stars and planets!  I had enough to make a pretty decent border around The Big One's room.  I don't think it's completely taken her fear away.  I don't think anything can, but she does like to look at them, and I think that is  great start.

I'd love to go back to RoomMates sometime and get one or two of their Giant Wall Decals, like one of their castles perhaps or maybe even a mural.  They have awesome murals.

And one of my favorite things about RoomMates... the custom decals.  You can take a picture of your child and turn it into a life-sized wall decal!  Or anything really, don't have a child, what about your dog or maybe that silhouette photo of you and your significant other.  The possibilities are endless! There's lots more that RoomMates has to offer, so why don't you stop on by?  I bet you can find some great ideas for Christmas there.


Disclaimer: I received these products to review and was not paid for this review. My review is 100% my honest opinion.

***Mairwear Beanies Review and Giveaway***

If there is anything that I can appreciate, it is a good quality home made product.  Something that took time and passion to make and something that you feel proud to wear.  MairWear beanies is a prime example of that.   I was so blessed to be able to review MairWear beanies for myself.  MairWear's creator and owner is so nice.  She has to be the nicest representative that I have dealt with.  I was so impressed with her communication and her interest in working together.

I found MairWear on Etsy.  Right away her beanies stood out to me.  They were beautiful and classic, they looked well made too.  When I got them in the mail, even knowing that they looked like they were finely made beanies... I was still surprised at just how awesome they were.  I wear mine every day.  It's hard to explain just how well made they are until you see it yourself.  But maybe these pictures will show you a little bit.

MairWear makes several kinds of beanies.  You can order them with stars or stripes, lacy or embellished.  And if you get the kind with a flower, the flower comes off.  You can swap out the flowers to better match your outfit. I added it to a piece of crap hat I made in high school and it made it look like it wasn't that bad of a hat!  see?

NOTE:  That hat is NOT a MairWear hat.  Her hats are better ;)  Sooooo much better.


Here are a few examples of hats you can get at MairWear:

 

Aren't they beautiful?   I would love to be able to create something like that.  And now that winter is here, they would make an awesome gift.  But even when winter is over, these hats are stylish enough to wear all year round, and I intend to.  And do you know what?  Mary over at MairWear has been so generous, that she is offering one of her incredible custom, handmade beanies to some lucky winner.  Here's the deal.

WIN IT!!!

Contest ends December 10th at 11:59EST.

MANDATORY ENTRY:

Leave a comment, any comment (just one!)

EXTRA ENTRIES:

"Heart" MairWear on Etsy.

"Like" MairWear on Facebook.

Disclaimer: I received these products to review and was not paid for this review. My review is 100% my honest opinion.

***United States Trivia Pack Review***

Did you know that Portland was Maine's first capital?  I live in Maine and I didn't know.  In fact, there are a lot of things I didn't know, like the fact that Smokey Bear was a real bear or that the tallest person in history came from Illinois.  The United States is full of interesting history and facts.


The United States Trivia Pack from Python Printable Games has loads of trivia on all the states.  750 questions to be exact, with lots of ways to earn points.  This trivia game will have you stumped and it will keep you entertained as you and your family try to outscore each other.

And Python Printable Games does not do just trivia or just history, it does loads more.  They have free coloring pages and a few free games too.  And for sale, they have everything you could think of as far as printable games.  Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, paper dolls, spot the difference...  you name it.

kggygffdereww223rghgbvghjhbnnnbhv fc/'[-p;..;


I really enjoyed learning about the states and I will be laminating these to keep for a long time.  i know they will be great reference for when the kiddlets are older.


So, let's talk about the pros and cons.


Pros:
Great information.
Nice artwork on each page.
Mixes must know facts with silly tidbit facts.
Lots of chances for points.


Cons:
The font varies from page to page, so if you are OCD, it might bother you.


Do you like trivia games?

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

***SnugZee Review and Winner***

A few weeks ago, we had a giveaway for the SnugZee baby head support.  It's an incredible alternative to those bland and frustrating U-shaped ones.  With those, you have to put it behind the baby and make sure that the straps can come through the slots.  And because of that, you can only use them for so long.

I admit it, I am quickly becoming a car seat nazi.  The idea of a "large" 7 month old baby facing forward makes me want to strangle the poor child's mother.  And all too often, I see children with their chest buckles down to their belly button and it's all I can do to not reach over and pull that thing up

Now that Baby Bee is a little over 6 months old, she is too big for her head support, but still very small.  This had me stressed.  So I was thrilled when SnugZee decided to let me review their head supports.  I can't even tell you how much peace of mind it gives me to know that her poor head is being supported and not flopping around back there.


She can be comfortable and go to sleep and if her car seat gets bumped, her head won't go bobbing and hit the side of her seat, so she doesn't wake up.  I love it!

And it's also stylish.  They have a ton of fabrics to choose from.  Here are a couple of my favorites:

And right now, you can score 10% off your SnugZee purchase by tweeting about it.  How cool is that?


One of you had a chance to win a set of SnugZee's for yourself.  I'm happy to announce that the winner is:

ThroutheHaze!!!

Congrats!  I will be e-mailing you for your information later today.

Winning comment:

throuthehaze said...

I like the Lou fabric :) throuthehaze at gmail dot com

Disclaimer: I received these products to review and was not paid for this review. My review is 100% my honest opinion.

***Home Studio Scrabble Pendants Review and Giveaway***

Who knew that something so beautiful could be made from something so ordinary?  Something so ordinary that most people have it in their homes.  Something like a scrabble pendant, of all things.  I'm talking about these  gorgeous scrabble tile pendants from Home Studio.

I was so excited when Home Studio agreed to do a review with me.  I chose to review this pendant with "Happily Ever After" written on it:

It's absolutely beautiful.  In case you are wondering, this one was made from the Y tile.  It's worth 4 points.  But seriously though, the chain (sold separately) is lovely.  The charm is lovely.  The whole pendant is lovely.  It would make a wonderful gift this holiday season.

What I love about Home Studio is that the pendants vary so much.  You can get a whimsical pendant, such as this Papillon one:

Or a craft one like this Indie Craft pendant.  I love this one.  In fact, I can think of plenty of women who would love this one:

 And if pendants aren't really your thing, there are always earrings or magnet sets available too.

Right now, Home Studio is running a fundraiser.  FIFTY PERCENT of the sales from this Rainbow Cloud Pendant goes to The City of Hope/ Kidney Cancer Research in Kristine Marie Pearson Rau's name.  And 20% of all other sales from Home Studio will be donate as well. To learn about Kristine and to find out how you can help others like her, please stop by Home Studio's Etsy Shop.  And be sure to read ordering instructions carefully in order to make the donation.  This is a really great thing that Home Studio is doing.

Home Studio has graciously offered two pendants on a snake chain (winner's choice) to one lucky reader.  How awesome is that?  Here's what you have to do.

WIN IT!!!

Contest ends 11:59pm EST on December 6th, 2010.

MANDATORY ENTRY:

Go to Home Studio Etsy shop and tell me which two pendants strike your fancy.

EXTRA ENTRIES:

Heart Home Studio's Etsy shop.

Blog about this giveaway (leave link).

Grab my button (leave link).

Disclaimer: I received these products to review and was not paid for this review. My review is 100% my honest opinion.

***Eden Home Snack Bag Review***

Back when I was in elementary school, my mom used to bring us three towns over just to go to school every day.  It was no wonder that she didn't have the time every morning to make lunch for the day.  But she never failed to deliver.  She always hung out at my grandmother's house right in the same town, and on the days that she didn't have time to get lunch done before school, she made us a lunch and made a second trip to the school to drop it off to us at recess.

Back in those days, we brown bagged it for lunch.  Not the most attractive way to carry your lunch, or protective for that matter.  And I guess since it was freshly made right before lunch time, we had no need for a cooler compartment to put the ice pack into. 

But unlike me when I was a child, my children do not go to a private school towns over, they go to a public school 4 miles down the road.  They take the bus and gas is expensive, so my kids will either get lunch at the school, or bring it with them in the morning.

The Big One likes to fit in.  She is very big on being "in".  So when everyone else was bringing lunch in, she wanted to also bring in her own lunch.  She used a pink bag that was shaped like a pig with a drawstring in one end.  She LOVED it last year.  But this year, she told me that people were making fun of it.  I'm not sure that that is really what was going on, but she felt uncomfortable bringing it anyways, so we had a problem.

Eden Home was nice enough to allow me to try out one of their products.  When I saw that they sold snack bags, I jumped at the chance to try one out.  I chose the Bumble collection Hannah Large size Snack Bag in Pink Paisley.  And man, you should have seen The Big One's face when she saw it.   She was psyched!  We just knew that she wouldn't be made fun of anymore.

It is all silver insulation on the inside with a pocket to hold your hot/cold pack.  It has removable sections so that you can change the inside around and make longer sections for bigger items.  The outside is unbelievably soft.  It's just a beautiful bag.  It comes in several designs that are cool for boys or girls.  It's BPA free too.  I am happy about that.

They sell smaller snack bags too that match in case the Large size is too big.  Isn't it cute?

But Eden Home has so much more than snack Bags.  They also have organic baby products, clothes, and stuff for your kitchen.  I love Eden Home and I think you will too.  So please check them out!


What kind of lunch box did you have as a child?

Disclaimer: I received these products to review and was not paid for this review. My review is 100% my honest opinion.

***Simple Times by Amy Sedaris review***

I'll be perfectly honest.  I have been putting this review off for a few days because quite frankly, I'm just not sure what to think about this book.


Let me just say first of all, that Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People is NOT intended for children.  It is an adult humor/craft book.  I say this because of content in it that is not suitable for children.


Now that that is out of the way, let's get to the book itself.  And to do that, we must first introduce you to it's author, Amy Sedaris.

As you can see, she has her own brand of humor that can be very very funny.  And she brings that humor into her books as well.


This book does have lots of craft ideas in it.  Are they crafts that I would make?  Ummm, probably not.  Are they crafts that the kids might enjoy, yeah probably.  But then, the book isn't really geared toward children.


This book is more for the purpose of entertaining.  And parts of it are very funny.  I especially like the part about crafting for those in chronic pain.  And it does have some good ideas that I may actually utilize later, like the box distressing for angry teens.  It has sections for Jesus-related crafts,  dollhouse miniatures, and crafting safety, among others.


Honestly, I think I will try out a few of the recipes in the book and then pass it on.  But if you have the right brand of humor, this book might be a really good read for you.


Are you crafty?


Disclaimer: I received these products to review and was not paid for this review. My review is 100% my honest opinion.

***The American Patriot's Almanac Review***

When I found out about Book Sneeze, I was pretty excited.  I went right away to find out what books were available for review.  There were a couple that looked good, but The American Patriot's Almanac: Daily Readings on America by William J. Bennett and John T. E. Cribb claimed that it could make a history lover of anyone.  What an interesting challenge, I thought.  I grabbed it, secretly thinking that this may be my first bad review.

When it arrived, I was very surprised (and disappointed) that it was such a big book.  I was really dreading having to read so much history.  But I had gotten myself into it, so I started reading.

Let me just say that this "history" book is very unique.  I'm not sure how other almanacs work, but this book is divided by days.  365 pages of this book are used to tell a story from American history that took place on that day, along with a short list in the bottom of each of those pages to tell a few more things that happened that day in other years.

I think I have always been very disconnected with history because I never really knew what half the things mentioned in history talk were about.  For instance, I couldn't tell you the number of times I have heard "Valley Forge" in my lifetime.  I NEVER knew what it was.  I just assumed it was some monumental battle fought.  I guess in a sense it kinda was.  But I don't think it was even covered in school.  In school, we just read the chapters, in chronological order, remembered our key terms and dates (there were enough of those!) and were tested on it.  It was boring, I was bad with dates, and  There were so many terms and concepts, I got confused.

This book is absolutely different.  This book makes you feel like you are personally connected with each person.  It takes you behind why John Hancock signed his name so big and how the battle at Iwo Jima went down, along with 363 other stories.

And not just that, It also has other things in it, like Patriotic Poems (I love poems!)  It really does offer something for those of us who aren't history buffs.  But the real question here is this:  Did it actually make a history lover out of me?

Love is such a strong word.    To say that I love history would be a little dishonest.  In fact, to say that I even like history would be pushing it.  But I do love this book.  I love reading it and I love learning new things that went on way back in early American history.  And that is a HUGE step for me.  I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who isn't a big fan of history.  It's just one minute out of each day, one page... but I guarantee, you'll want to keep reading.

Disclaimer: I received these products to review and was not paid for this review. My review is 100% my honest opinion.

***Electronic Cigarettes, Inc. Review***

I hate smoking.  Not gonna lie.  Everything about it bothers me.  It especially bothers me when my husband smokes because he didn't always.  Back in high school, when we were friends, he never smoked, and in fact, we parted ways the very day he picked it up BECAUSE he picked it up.

We did find our way back to each other 3 years later, but his smoking is still a very big problem for me.  I am done nagging and I am done giving dirty looks (for the most part).  Obviously, it has gotten me nowhere.  But I'm not giving up the fight.  In fact, I went searching for a company who would let me review the electronic cigarettes we have all heard so much about.  And Electronic Cigarettes, Inc. was nice enough to oblige.  THANK YOU ECI!!!!!!


Let me just say, that I did NOT try these.  The following review is solely from what my husband has told me.  So let's proceed.


First of all... he LOVES them.  I just want to put that out there.  He loves that he can smoke in the house instead of going outside in the rain.  It's nice because I don't have to know he is doing it, so I don't have to be so stressed over it.


He says:  Unlike real cigarettes, it does not have a burning sensation in the lungs, but stays to the mouth only.  He also says that the flavor is not the same.  He prefers the taste of a real cigarette, but we will be trying different flavors until we find one that is favorable.  In fact, we want to try out the Duo Pro ones.  A 5 pack, which is equal to about 7 1/2 packs of cigarettes is only $14.95!

He loved that it lit up like a real one.  It was almost like a toy for a few minutes.  One of them that we reviewed lit up blue.  He liked that one.

So... pros and cons:


His pros:
Actually works for the habit and the craving.
He can smoke inside.
Cheaper.


My pros:
I don't have to see him go outside and know that he is doing it.
Healthier!!!  This is my biggie, right here.
Doesn't stink.


Cons:
Taste isn't quite the same.
The Smoke Pass disposables that we tried out can get kinda pricey. 


But the important thing is that we found his quit smoking aid that he can be excited about.  And if he never quits, at least I can be happy that it is healthier and it isn't harming the kids.


Have you tried to quit?  What worked best for you?




Disclaimer: I received these products to review and was not paid for this review. My review is 100% my honest opinion.

***Dezign with a Z review***

I almost never use my writing desk.  Why?  Because I never feel very inspired while I'm sitting there.  It's boring and it faces a wall, but I really have no other place for it.  So it sits, unused.

But recently, Dezign with a Z allowed me to review one of their decals.  It's called Classic 19 Zen Wall Stickers.  It's a pretty funky looking tree that is sure to brighten up any drab wall.  I was offered to try one in silver, which is great because my walls are dark in my bedroom.


Check out my writing desk now:

Yeah... pretty neat, huh?  I love it.  Now, to be fair here, I changed the decal a bit.  Why?  Because I could.  I wanted to make it mine and it was really easy to customize it.  Just snip here, snip there, and voila!  My very own unique tree.  It reaches all the way across my desk, which I love.  


Dezign with a Z has tons of decals.  Take a look at some of my favorites:

Most of these decals are completely customizable.  That's one of the things I love so much about them.  Don't want the sun behind the horse?  Don't use it.  Don't like the grass?  I bet if you were talented, you could carve some pretty hooves out of that black.  But of course, it is beautiful just the way it is, so there is no need to... unless you want to.


Know what my absolute favorite thing about Dezign with a Z is?



Their mirrors!  Look at this bad boy:

Now tell me that you don't want that on your wall.  Go ahead, I'm listening.  Yeah, that's cause you do.  $128.  Not bad I don't think.  Just about 4 feet wide by 2 1/2 feet wide.  But like I said... it's customizable.

They have mirrors, chalk board stickers, murals, and even custom lettering.  They would make an awesome gift.


Now here are the pros and cons.


Pros:
They look great.
Most are very customizable.
Lots of colors to choose from.
Decals can be reversed when you order.


Cons:
I didn't think it was the easiest to install.  I actually had a small tear in the seems of one of the branches because the sticky paper was so sticky.  But if you take your time and be careful, I'm sure you'll be fine. They have a video to help as well.



Overall, I was very impressed.  I love my writing desk now.  I might actually write at it.


Do you have a writing desk?


Disclaimer: I received these products to review and was not paid for this review. My review is 100% my honest opinion.

***SoftLips Winter Flavor Pack Review and Giveaway***

Getting tired of your lip balm?  Softlips has just the thing to spruce up your lip balm collection this winter.  They are now selling their Winter 5-pack with these awesome flavors:  Mint with a hint of vanilla, Winter mint, Sugar cookie, Sugar & spice, and Sugar berry plum. 

My personal favorite was Sugar Berry Plum.  Yummo!  Smelled a lot like the black raspberry ice cream I used to have all the time as a kid.  I also loved the Sugar and spice.   Okay, let's be real...  I loved the smell of them all.  Very wintery. 

And Wintery isn't all they have.  They have all the classic flavors,.plus beach flavors, organic flavors, and tons more.  Even beeswax lip balm!

But let's talk about the pros and cons, shall we?


Pros:
They smell absolutely delicious!
They are perfect for stocking stuffers.
They come in a reusable pouch so they don't get lost in the jumble of your purse.
They come from a great company.
Most flavors are easily available at your local drug store or department store.

Cons:
None, really.  I mean, they are affordable, at $.99 a piece, they are convenient and they smell great and feel good.  What's not to like?

Wanna try them yourself?

WIN IT!!!

Softlips is offering one of my readers a chance to win the Winter 5-pack (as seen above).  Contest ends November 29th at 11:59pm EST.  Here's what you need to do.

MANDATORY:

Go to Softlips website and tell me what flavor you would buy.

EXTRA ENTRIES:

Like Softlips on Facebook.

Follow Softlips on Twitter.

Grab my button (5 entries, leave separate comments).

Blog about this giveaway with a link to this post (5 entries, leave separate comments).

Good luck!  Have fun!

Disclaimer: I received these products to review and was not paid for this review. My review is 100% my honest opinion.