Blogging For Books: Blue Ribbon Baking from Redneck Kitchen

I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.

I feel like my life has really been missing out, mainly because just last week did I discover the awesomeness that is Blogging For Books. The idea is you get free books for a honest review. I thought maybe there was a catch, or maybe they were books that were 10 years old, but NO. The book I am about to share with you was JUST released 2 days ago! There were plenty of great books to chose from in all different categories, so why did I chose a cookbook? Well... I feel like the hours in my day disappear. I never really know where they go and I haven't sat down to read a chapter book since I had my son 20 months ago. The most reading I get is when I get 15 minutes here and there reading my bajillion magazines that continue to pile up waiting to be read. No joke, there are probably 200 sitting. It's becoming an epidemic. Anyways.. onto the book...

Selecting this book, I had no idea who Francine Bryson was. I selected it because I love to bake and along with my other neglected hobby, my drive to bake has disappeared just like the minutes in the day. Plus, along with baking, I like to eat baked goods. So, I'm probably an expert...;)...Anyways, back to Francine. Francine was a finalist in CBS's The American Baking Competition - a show i never watched, but probably should have. She's from South Carolina and has won more than 200 local and national baking competitions, and now she has a new cookbook with a forward by Jeff Foxworthy. Neat! 

The book has your typical baking goodness - pies, cookies, biscuits and candy. I really wanted to go outside my box and bake something that had a fun name, like Redneck Cracklin' Corn Bread, or her World Famous Chocolate Bacon Peanut Butter Pie, but when I stumbled upon the Chocolate Chip-Peanut Butter Pan Cake recipe and was pretty much astounded that I had all the ingredients in my house, I got to baking. 

It turned out great, and let me tell you how proud I felt after completing it! Along with my disappearing time, I have had no baking inspiration and have relied on cake mixes (nothing wrong with that) to fill some sort of baking void, but this time I had actually made something from scratch, it's been so long! 

Sadly, I wasn't a huge fan (although I did have seconds) with the taste. I can't really pinpoint why either. Something was lacking. I'm going to try it again tomorrow and see if maybe my taste buds were just off. It's happened before...

As far as the book, it's pretty plain. There aren't that many pictures and I LOVE pictures in cookbooks, the more the merrier. I am a visual person and often select recipes based on the how they look in the cookbook. It's your typical cookbook, simple recipe names, very simple look to it. Some interesting recipes sprinkled throughout, but pretty typical. Still happy to have it in my collection and maybe I will one day have ingredients in the house for something more Redneck.

Beauty Box 5: May 2014

I used to subscribe to Beauty Box 5 back in the day, meaning 2 years ago when I was obsessed with the fad of "boxed subscriptions." Don't get me wrong, I'm still obsessed, but now I have a family to support so subscribing to these services don't usually happen because I usually can not afford it. However, back in April they shared a coupon code for a FREE box, and of course, I jumped on it. Here's what was inside:

Pretty decent box! Wouldn't say it's AMAZING, but definitely not disappointing. 

BH Cosmetics California Collection Eyeshadow Sample - Value: $6

This is a real cool sample. The colors are fun and ones I would wear in life. However, I didn't want to open this one, to take a picture of the colors because I'm probably going to regift it because I already have this exact same sample from BH Cosmetics that I got in Beauty Army, and there is a high chance that I also may have a 3rd one. I have seen this sample palette before, LOL. Nothing wrong with that, but I feel like it would go great in someone's gift pack for some special occasion. 

Just Being Sexy Body Bronzer - Value I HAVE NO CLUE BECAUSE I AM TERRIBLE AT MATH.

I'm not sure I would ever use this. When it comes to bronzer I'm clueless. And the fact that this is a BODY bronzer makes me a little more fearful. What if I sweat? Will it come off? I can't even compute a calculations to this because I never excelled in mathematics, but my guess is that it's less $1.00 considering 6 oz is valued at $49 and we were sent 24 ML. 

Aveeno Positively Nourishing Calming Body Wash - VALUE: $.90

I LOVE this stuff!! The smell of Lavender, Chamomile + Ylang-Yla

ng (what?) is one of my favorite smells ever and the fact that this is a body wash and not a lotion doubles my excitement! I love itty bitty things you can take on trips with you and this will definitely make my bag for NYC. 

LA Fresh Travel Lite-Facial Cleansing Wipes - Value: $3.50

I am a huge fan of LA Fresh. I've never actually ordered them on my own or seen them in stores, but have received them as samples before and LOVE LOVE LOVE them. Not to mention I love cleansing face wipes alot in general. They are perfect for making you feel a bit more fresh in the facial area on some days! I'm pretty excited to get this product and it will also be traveling with me to NYC in June. 

Montagne Jeunesse Glacial Cooling Face Mask - Value: $2.50

I've only used one mask by Montagne Jeunesse but enjoyed it. So, I'm pretty excited to try this and I actually received 4 masks from the company to provide my thoughts on them in another blog post! I am really looking forward to that! 

So, based on my (i'm sure poor) calculations the value of this FREE box was: $13.90? NOT bad. They could probably have sent me 5 foil packets and I probably would not have complained since it was entirely free, so because this box had stuff I enjoyed it was a good experience for me. HOWEVER, I don't think a good enough one to continue to my journey with them. I currently subscribe to IPSY (amazing!) and Love with Food (it's true, I love Food!) and that's really all I can afford right now. Now, I hope canceling goes smoothly. I have heard some things... 

Purex Insiders: Crystals Mountain Breeze & Dial Body Wash

Laundry and I...we don't get a long too well. I know that things would be different if I had a bigger place to live in, maybe our own house, and MAYBE with our own washer and dryer, but since my apartment complex was built in the 60's, it requires me to fully suit up (because it's Winter after all) and drag loads of laundry OUTSIDE and down some stairs to do it. So, can you understand my lack of love for wanting to do it?

Well.. besides my motherly duty of making sure things look decent around here (I'm not very good at it, I will admit) our family was hit with the flu this week starting with my son. I awoke on Tuesday morning to noises coming from his bedroom as I was getting ready for work. Puking noises. Upon opening the door my nostrils were hit with that odor that is only associated with vomit. It was pretty much everywhere in his crib, but I will stop there and spare you the details of how I was late for work, got puke all over myself, and threw everything in a bag to be later tended to.

Later tended to really meant... 3 or 4 days later... SO imagine the happiness and relief I felt when I remembered that I was given THIS to try out for FREE from Purex Insiders:

Their NEW Fresh Mountain Breeze Purex Crystals. I have always been a fan of these Crystals and so this could not have been a better time to add some freshness to some soiled clothing.

Just opening the container released a scent that made you think of summer or Spring. Spring, something I've been waiting patiently for. Especially after this brutally cold winter we have experienced here in Wisconsin.

Of course, the process to use these were super simple (although I fumbled with trying to get the cap back on, anyone else?) and the end result was great smelling (puke free) clothes. I hope that Purex comes out with more scents, because I would certainly be thrilled to purchase them!

Disclaimer: Thank you to Purex Insiders who provided me with this sample of Purex Crystals in exchange for my honest opinion.

Dial Body Wash Review

Secondly, I was also sent a full size sample of Dial's NEW Vitamin Boost Body Wash. When pop the top open to get a good whiff, I'm in heaven. I am TERRIBLE at explaining to anyone "what that smell" is, but judging by the front of the container, it must be a kiwi sent that I smell. Something I feel is pretty unique, or atleast to me, because I haven't had a body wash with kiwi in it. I really do love when new scents are incorporated into body washes and soaps. It's a nice change from your typical fresh shower scents, you know? The main thing I look at it when it comes to a body wash is the scent and the lathering ability! This lathered good and we already know how much I like the scent! ;)

Once again, thank you Purex Insiders!

Like to Sample Free Products? Try Swaggable!

I can't really pinpoint when I first became obsessed with getting freebies or sampling products, but sometime this year, it happened - hardcore. One of my first "freebie hunting" sites, Vonbeau.com, first introduced me to the wonderful website that is Swaggable.

What is Swaggable?

Swaggable is a website that offers everyday consumers the opportunity to try out new products, write reviews and help spread the word on the products being tested. In my opinion, it's a great marketing strategy. What better way to get your product out there than to send out samples to those people who matter most? 

How does it work?

Step 1: After signing up, you browse all the categories - 8 in all including categories like Snacks, Cosmetics & Beauty, Kid Products & Pet Supplies. After clicking on a particular item for more information, you click "Want It" which alerts whoever that you would like to sample and review this. Just because you "Want It" doesn't mean you will get it! By having the "Want It" feature, it allows Swaggable to match you with products you really want. 

Step 2: At some point - you never know when - you'll get an email notifying you that they've found a sample for you to try and you need to accept it. From my experience, once you accept it, you will see that the status shows "Gathering Invites." This means that Swaggable is still looking for people to sample this specific product and the status won't be changed to "Shipped" until they've found all or enough participants (I don't know for sure). I have noticed that the time between when you accept an invite to actually receiving the item can take some time, sometimes a month or so! To me, this acceptable because I will never complain about a free sample or free product to try. 

Step 3: Then you are surprised to receive a package from Swaggable with your product! You sample and write an honest review - simple as that! 

It's important to follow up on the reviews, because they won't allow you to accept a new invitation to try a new product without completing the review for the one product you last were sent. I think this is a perfect way to get a review out of someone! 

I have been a product sampler (is that what we're called? ha!) for Swaggable since .... thinking hard... maybe April and have already reviewed 11 products (and 3 coming down the pipeline "gathering invites) ranging from a bar of soap, to (the most amazing) Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle to some baby lotion. 

Definetely check it out if you love sampling products and reviews! They are a great website and more interest=more products to sample! It's a win for everyone! ;

Here's a video of that tells there story:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbAaIJoRC-Y

Happy Sampling! ;)

December 2013 Ipsy Bag

Wow, what happiness I felt when I saw the shiny pink packaging envelope waiting for me in my mailbox the other day. I had subscribed before for a almost a year, but financial considerations had to take place and IPSY got the cut, well... I allowed myself only ONE monthly subscription box, and since Walmart's Goodie Box had stopped sending out boxes, I decided to put my $10 (yes, only $10!!) elsewhere!

Of course, there was a wait list, because this is a very popular beauty subscription. Luckily, I had been following a blog that devotes it's time to reviewing the trillions of subscription boxes (My Subscription Addiction) (I was way obsessed with them last year, but now I've simmered down a bit and have chosen one to continue on with) and she mentioned how you could 'Skip The Waitlist' and it was all over from there! So, anyways on to a great December bag:

The bag:

Be a Bombshell One Stick in the color Girl Crush!

 Pop Beauty Eyeshadow Trio in Smokin' Hot!

 Julie Textured Nail Polish in Sugar Plum Fairy!

JCat's Lip Pencil in Red Rose. 

I must say this is a lovely color, right up my alley, and drawing that heart it was smooth and glide so nicely! 

Mirabella Eye Blender

I don't think I could ever be disappointed by an Ipsy Bag mainly because I love all kinds of makeup and most of the stuff is brand new to me. The value of each bag exceeds well over $10, so I highly recommend this bag to anyone who is obsessed with makeup. Even if you have you to wait a bit on the waitlist, it's worth it, BUT, I googled how to SKIP the Waitlist and this is what I found directly from the Ipsy website! So good luck! ;)