Canon is a great family gift from Best Buy

 Do you know what my favorite part of the holiday season is? It is watching my little bean open that magical gift and her amazingly overjoyed face! I only had one thing on my list last year-a Canon EOS Rebel T5i which is one of Best Buys best selling cameras. I have so many blurry pictures of my bean I needed something that would allow me to capture the moment and enhance her expression. It is so hard to capture holiday memories when you do not have the proper tools! Just look at the fantastic camera with exceptaional image quality:

The camera also can capture Hollywood caliber full HD Video. I also love that the camera has super quick autofocus while taking HD video and I no longer have to carry a camera and a camcorder! 
Here are some otehr great features of the camera:

•  18.0-megapixel CMOS sensor and a DIGIC 5 image processor to ensure vivid, crystal-clear images.

• The 3" vari-angle touch screen simplifies navigation.


Right now you can even save $150 on the Canon EOS Rebel T5i at Best Buy*. Visit Best Buy to learn more.
*offer valid 12/7-12/20

Do you love twitter parties? Best Buy is hosting an LG OLED Twitter Party on Thursday December 4th at 7PM CST and a Canon Twitter Party on Thursday December 18th at 7pm CST. Feel free to join this party for a chance to receive Best Buy gift cards and other great prizes. Tweet #HintingSeason with your top gifts that you want this Holiday from Best Buy. #CanonatBestBuy

Looking forward to seeing your holiday memories on one of the best cameras on the market. 

The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free

Santa's Little Helper December 4-18

Welcome to the Santa’s Little Helper Giveaway Hop, hosted by the Blogging Mamas Network!

We all know that everyone could use a little help around the Holidays, so for this Event I’ve teamed up with more of your favorite bloggers to be your Santa’s Little Helper… giving away prizes that anyone would want to see under the tree! You might find the perfect gift for a little one on your list – or even for yourself, so hop around to all the blogs on the linky at the bottom of this post and don't miss the Santa's Little Helper Grand Prize from Step2!

Free & Frugal Mommy of One has three great holiday prizes to give away!  Collage.com will be giving three lucky readers one of the following:

1. An Aluminum Photo Panel  

2. Custom Ornament

3. Custom Wrapping Paper

(be sure to check my holiday gift guide for my review of all 3 products)
a Rafflecopter giveaway So Easy Being Green, Viva Veltoro, the Blogging Mamas Network, and the Santa's Little Helper participating bloggers are not responsible for sponsors who do not fulfill prize obligations.

LG OLED is a great family gift from Best Buy

 The season is upon us to begin our holiday lists and shopping! Do you like holiday shopping? I am personally a huge fan of online shopping....no crowds, you can get what you need quickly, and can often find a great price of coupon code. This year my husband and I are doing things a little different. Instead of shopping for a few gifts for one another we are going to purchase on large family gift. Here is what is on the list this year: The LG OLED TV

It features picture quality including  infinite contrast ratio and stunning color that delivers a greater sense of realism and depth, enhanced color range and accuracy, super thin design and the intuitive webOS™Smart TV interface that lets you find content faster. The LG OLED TV is only 0.21" thick at its thinnest point! Currently we have on of the smaller "dinosaur" tvs that is thick and heavy on a large entertainment center.  The best part is Best Buy has a great deal on the tv with an everyday price of $3499.99 (save $500)  LG  55EC9300 SKU# 7846019 – OLED TV. What's on your holiday list this year?



Disclaimer:  The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free

Ready for a Cook'N good time?

How many of you have ever pinned a recipe and then tried to search for hours to find it again? Or how about searching stacks of papers and endless books? This is me on an almost daily basis so then I give up and throw the same old same old in the crock pot. I was recently contacted to try out a Cook' N recipe organizer and thought it would be the same. It is a virtual recipe organizer that is compatible with iOS, Android, and Pinterest. It quickly allows you to search and share all your recipes! Here is a great video to show just how easy it works!

It is so easy to scan in recipes, sync your recipes, and to menu plan. My favorite feature is both menu planning and calculating the nutrition. We have several allergies in our family so it makes it easy to plan based on who will be eating at home on any given night. If you have thousands of pins of your favorite foods that need a bit of organization this is the program for you! There are also tons of great add on books by food category including wide variety of diabetic cook books.  Let me know which is your favorite recipe!

Fashionista 2014-Let the fun begin!

Who is ready for the biggest fashion only giveaway event on the web! The Fall Fashionista Giveaway Event is hosted by The Chief Blonde at Still Blonde After All These Years  and Katy from  ModlyChic.  All Fashion! Only FASHION event! Largest Fashion Giveaway event on the internet with $26,000+ in prizes, 100+ participating blogs and 3/4 million entries. Each individual blog has a minimum of $125 prize!
 The  FALL Fashionista Events Grand Prize is $500 PayPal (worldwide where allowed by law).  For every giveaway in the Fall Fashionista Event that you enter, you gain one entry toward the Fall Fashionista Grand Prize. 1 Grand Prize winner will receive $500 PayPal cash. 1 first prize winner will receive $300 gift certificate to Midnight Velvet Clothing. Isn’t that stunning?

There are so many great prizes! Enter below to win your choice of shoes from therafit shoes and chooze shoes!

a Rafflecopter giveaway Why stop there? Keep hopping and enter all the great giveaways below!

LEGAL Stuff: 18 years of age or older to enter. US Only!(or whatever) Read Instructions carefully because rules vary from contest to contest. Make sure to provide a correct email address so we can reach you if you win. You have 48 hours to respond once contacted. Still Blonde after all these YEARS , Modly Chic, Fall Fashionista Events Giveaway or the Fall Fashionista Events Giveaway bloggers are not responsible for sponsors/bloggers that do not fulfill their prizes or for any product failure or harm caused thereby.In most cases, shipping of prizes is the responsibility of the the sponsors who will be sending prizes to you directly. Your prize should arrive within 30 days, let us know if it doesn’t and we will TRY TO HELP OUT! The writer of this giveaway received a sample for this review. Compensation was not provided. Opinions expressed are the blog’s own. This Giveaway is not affiliated with, associated with or promoted by Facebook. Happy Entering!

Are you ready for an "epic" experience?

 As you know I am a huge fan of Luminess Air. The makeup always goes on smooth and looks amazing. We even used our system for all the girls in my best friends wedding so when I heard the had released a new product I had to try it! Epic is the latest and greatest that takes all the guess work out of using your system. In the past you would have to watch the cd or youtube video then use your stem-not anymore! Epic has a build in display screen that has many tutorial videos right on the system. That is right-its like traveling with your own personal makeup artist!  I will be using this coming weekend for a barn wedding. We will all be in cabins without electronics which will not be a problem thanks to the easy to use videos. Plus I love how easy the system is to pack and travel. No more bag of tiny bottles and creams only to leek all over the suitcase.

So most importantly how does the system rate? The system goes on so smooth and delivers a flawless application. I love the weightless feeling while looking fresh faced. Epic is a must have to anyone that loves to look their best without the cakey makeup feeling. The system allows you to pause the videos easily while using the system so you can make sure you get a flawless look without being rushed. Not sure if airbrushing is for you? Check out the Luminess page for tips & tricks and learn how easy flawless can look!   Be on the look out for an upcoming feature during fashionista week in October!

Great way to travel this summer-BubbleBum Booster Seat

School is out and summer is in full swing which means time to travel! My biggest annoyance is dragging my daughters booster everywhere. Not only is the seat ridiculously huge it is bulky and doesn't really "fit" in the luggage when packing. So of course it was time to find something safe but less bulky.  While wandering around a baby fair I see this sitting on a shelf:

At that point my daughter was two or so and I didn't even pay much attention.  Flash forward three years and I now know why the BubbleBum is a must have! The packaging is so little I can toss in any carry on or luggage and have the seat when I arrive for the rental car. We also ended up getting one just to have in the car. Have you ever had a friend call with a flat and they can't make it to pick up time for dance? We had this happen last month and I just had to sit with my daughter and her friend for an hour until the mom could get the tire changed. I now keep the BubbleBum in its package under the backseat. Never will I be left to sit and wait again because I don't have an extra seat!
The BubbleBum is the perfect seat for grandparents, travel, and to have an extra for back to school. Look at all the great colors available:

Visit BubbleBum here to find a realtor near you-it really is a must have seat for anyone in a booster!

Spring is in full swing-time for Day Out with Thomas!

Can you believe our little bean is going to be 5 in a few short weeks! Every year since her first birthday we have always taken her to a Day Out With Thomas. This year is no different and she is beyond excited to see her blue friend chugging down the tracks!
This year the theme is The Thrill of the Ride and is sure to be as big a hit as each previous year.....her favorite part is meeting Sir Topham Hat and getting a tattoo of Rosie. Not sure when Thomas is coming to a town near you? You can check the full schedule here. Thomas will be in Cleveland this weekend May 17-18,23-25 & August 21-24 at the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. 

Each year we bring home new memories and the excitement never dwindles-hope to see some of you on the train!

Vita Coco-perfect summer drink!

Looking for a nice refreshing juice box for the kids this summer? Vita Coco is a great substitution for all the “junk” juice drink boxes on the market. They are available in apple island, very cherry beach, and paradise punch. Vita Coco Kids drinks contain about half the sugar and half the calories of leading kid’s juices. Plus each one has 25% of your kids’ daily recommended vitamin C intake!

 So the really important question-how do they taste? Well we had a “planting party” this past weekend and invited all of little misses friends over to help garden and the drink boxes were a huge success! Naturally occurring electrolytes in Vita Coco Kids coconut  water help to keep  kids    hydrated. Apple Island seemed to be the favorite among the 4-5 year old crowd and the little bitties preferred the Paradise Punch. Each child asked for at least two and I was happy to hand over a drink with a ton of flavor and a little sugar. The parents were impressed with the overall juice box look. Have you ever had a juice box “accident”-you know when your little darling squeezes that triangle box and juice goes everywhere? The Vita Coco drink boxes are such a great shape that it seems each child was able to hold the container without squeezing the juice everywhere. Each Vita Coco Kids drink is packed in a spill-stopping Tetra Pak aseptic wedge (made of an eco-friendly wood fiber) to    keep it fresh without harming the environment! 

Overall the kids were very happy with the taste and the characters on the container and the parents were happy with the ingredients. You won’t  find any high fructose corn syrup in Vita Coco Kids  
coconut water, plus every drink is gluten-free and vegan. So happy to have found a “fun” juice box that is also healthy! 

*A Big Thanks to Moms Meet for a great party and the juice boxes*

Spring time in Michigan-Tulip Festival is in full swing!

Oh spring-my favorite season of all because of the beautiful flowers. This year I found a great little get away in Holland, Michigan.

The event runs May 3-10 and is a perfect getaway for Mother's Day or anyone who loves flowers. Just look at the amazing colors:

Although we went the first day of the festival the tulips were very fragrant and open-I would say 50% were in bloom and it was beautiful! Downtown was alive with craft vendors and food carts-we even got a chance to see Dutch dancers in the square. The dancers perform each hour for about 10 minutes but it is a must see. After exploring downtown we then went on to the Dutch Village and Windmill Island Gardens. The windmill is the only authentic Dutch windmill in the USA and for all the Oogielove fans it is the same park they filmed the ending scene!

The whole park was fascinating from the tour to the free carrousel. Our bean's favorite part was the wooden shoe area-she was able to try on a pair then get her name carved into the shoes. It was such a great experience-she has not taken her shoes off since we bought them.

If you have small children I highly recommend visiting Dutch Village. There is a zip line, duck race, rides, and slides. Plan to spend a few hours exploring especially if your child likes to try everything and do everything twice!

Overall it was a great trip away to Michigan. I would suggest planning to spend at least a full day with lots of walking. Happy Spring everyone!

Spring is finally here-garden time!

Oh spring time...it seems here in the midwest we have gone from extreme cold to extreme heat! One of my favorite things to do in the spring is plan out my garden. Has anyone else started this past weekend? I have decided to try something new this year-plant all the seeds inside and then transplant outside.

I found a really cheap greenhouse at a small local shop similar to the one below:

Then I planted all of my plants in toilet paper rolls-yes that is right toilet paper rolls! I filled a plastic container with a small amount of dirt then put in the rolls and filled with the dirt and seeds. The best part is I wont have to worry about breaking any of the fragile roots when I transplant-the whole toilet paper goes into the soil....so easy and you know me anything easy is perfect in my book :)

Happy gardening-looking forward to reading all about your green thumb adventures this spring!

A little Friday humor from the Muppets

Anyone else super excited that it is finally Friday? I swear it has been the longest week ever but then I learned that the Muppet movie will be out before we know it! Just a few short weeks-March 21st to be exact before the great release. I have been prepping my daughter by watching the old puppet movies. She is more of a Kermit fan-me I am Miss Piggy all the way! Here is a little muppet humor to get you in the mode-Happy Friday everyone!

Disclaimer: This is a fashionista events opportunity 

It has arrived-Spring Fashionista event is here! March 6-14

The SPRING Fashionista Giveaway Event is hosted by The Chief Blonde at Still Blonde After All These Years http://stillblondeafteralltheseyears.com and Katy from  Modly Chic http://www.modlychic.com/.  All Fashion! Only FASHION event! Largest Fashion Giveaway event on the internet with $26,000+ in prizes, 100+ participating blogs and 3/4 million entries. Each individual blog has a minimum of $125 prize!
This year I will be giving away 3 amazing prize packs including the following:

1. Mommy & Me Shoes from Pairendipity (age 7 or younger) and the adorable Chevron Dress from Knock Knock Clothing:

 

2. Kidorable Umbrella & torteli hat:

3. Monogram scarf from Denise May Creations & $50 Giftcard to Curvy Couture & an adorable jet setter bracelet from Charm It! 

 

Covered Perfectly is providing Spring Fashionista Events Grand Prizes (Enter the Grand Prize here: http://stillblondeafteralltheseyears.com/2014/03/spring-fashionista-events-2014-covered-perfectly/  )   For every Giveaway in the Spring Fashionista Event that you Enter, you gain one entry toward the Spring Fashionista Grand Prize. 2 Grand Prize winners will receive 12 tops, 1/month over the course of a year, valued at approx. $600/winner! Isn’t that stunning? Covered Perfectly makes flattering tops (misses and plus sizes) comprised of a full collection of super-soft MicroModal tops in a variety of colors and the cute patterns.  www.coveredperfectlyplus.com  US Shipping is FREE and they also now ship worldwide.

Monroe and Main is providing our first and 2nd place prizes. (Enter the 1st and 2nd Place here: http://stillblondeafteralltheseyears.com/2014/03/spring-fashionista-events-2014-covered-perfectly/ )  $200 & $100 shopping spree to their site, Monroe and Main, http://www.monroeandmain.com/. You will find fashion that is FIT FOR YOU with both Misses and Plus sizes. They also carry shoes, jewelry and other accessories.

So many great prizes you do not want to miss-enter using the rafflecopter form below
 a Rafflecopter giveaway LEGAL Stuff: 18 years of age or older to enter. US Only! Read Instructions carefully because rules vary from contest to contest. Make sure to provide a correct email address so we can reach you if you win. You have 48 hours to respond once contacted. Still Blonde after all these YEARS , Modly Chic, Spring Fashionista Events Giveaway or the Spring Fashionista Events Giveaway bloggers are not responsible for sponsors/bloggers that do not fulfill their prizes or for any product failure or harm caused thereby.In most cases, shipping of prizes is the responsibility of the the sponsors who will be sending prizes to you directly. Your prize should arrive within 30 days, let us know if it doesn’t and we will TRY TO HELP OUT! The writer of this giveaway received a sample for this review. Compensation was not provided. Opinions expressed are the blog’s own. This Giveaway is not affiliated with, associated with or promoted by Facebook. Happy Entering!

Are you ready for the biggest fashion event on the web?

Mark your calendars-Spring Fashionista begins next week! Be on the lookout for a highlight of each of my great sponsors-these are prize pack you will not want to miss!

Check out this great email I received about Britax and the Latch System

 Great webinar to get all of your questions answered-here are the details:

As moms, our children's safety is our top priority. That's why selecting the right child seat and making sure it's installed properly is of utmost importance. For expert advice on choosing and installing the right child seat, check out this blog post by Sarah Tilton, Child Passenger Safety (CPS) Advocate for BRITAX.

With much conversation surrounding LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) and the new Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard, BRITAX wants to make sure all parents and caregivers are educated and confident about the safe transportation of their children. That's why they are hosting an interactive webinar to answer questions and eliminate some of the confusion surrounding the LATCH requirements and new labeling.

Webinar : LATCH- Are You Confused?

Hosted by Sarah Tilton, Child Passenger Safety (CPS) Advocate for BRITAX

Thursday, February 6, 2014 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM EST

Click here to register for the LATCH Webinar. You will receive a confirmation via email once you register. If you do not receive one, please check to see if it got caught in your spam filter.

Disney on Ice Princesses & Hero coming to a town near you!

 

 

Enter a world of wonder where heroes and hearts prevail.  Join Ariel as she yearns to explore the world above the waves and Prince Eric breaks Ursula’s slithering spell to reclaim his one true love. See Prince Philip defeat the evil Maleficent as she transforms herself into a fire-breathing dragon in a race against time to rescue Sleeping Beauty’s Aurora. Be there to discover a whole new world with Jasmine and Aladdin. And, watch in awe as the dreams of Cinderella, Belle, Snow White, Rapunzel and Tiana all come true. High flying jumps, daring acrobatics, breathtaking skating and lovable Disney friends are just a wish away!  See Disney On Ice presents Princesses & Heroeswhere believing is just the beginning!

Save $5 on all performances except Opening Night when tickets are just $12

Promo Code: BLOG  

Purchase here! 

Disclaimer: Discount does not apply to Rinkside, Circus Celebrity, Front Row, or VIP seats.  No double discounts.  Service charges, handling, and facility fees may apply.

Monster High Dollhouse Makeover

Are your girls obsessed with Monster High Dolls? My daughter loves monster high and ever after so I really wanted to give her a special place to play. I found this dollhouse on clearance at target:

The material was a bit "slippery" so I bought the cover all paint at the craft store. It took roughly two coats per room but here is the final project:

Luckily we had a ton of monster high furniture laying around from various playsets including the lower level that is the music playset also on clearance at target. So was it worth the cost?

Dollhouse on sale $59.99
Paint $21.47

So roughly $90 to redo a house that my daughter will actually play with. Next step is to get fabric scraps and save the photos on the back of the boxes to decorate the walls. Overall an easy weekend project if you have an old dollhouse and monster high loving little girl in your house!