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Showing posts from 2016

Gift Ideas: Thoughtfully Gifts - Unique & Flavorful Gift Boxes! [My Review]

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I can't wait to tell you about this really unique gift idea. It's called, "Thoughtfully." Well, they offer up such a wide variety of gifts that you can give (or give to yourself!). I mean just glancing over at their site and I can spend hours on there . And I am particularly obsessed with their food and bar area (check it out). In fact, that is why I am so excited to share with you this really awesome gift set that I had the chance to try out! It's called the "Tequila Cantina." If you know someone who loves tequila, I think this is an incredible gift to give. Check out some of the photos I took - You really get nice quality things when you get this type of gift set. It came with four delectable different salts (my favorite is sweet salt; oh yes, yum). And the lime salt (um yeah, oh so yum). And it came with a really fancy cutting board and knife! When I set it all up, I couldn't take it down for weeks. I felt so fancy! Like I want

Mrs. Renfro's Salsa & Sauces [Review + Giveaway]

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I have always been such a fan of Mrs. Renfro's salsa and sauces and this time around was no different for me! I think one of the coolest thing about the company is that it's family involved - you can just tell by the people who are running the show! Take a look here. I had the chance to try out a few of their items as you can see. First of all, for the longest time I had been wanting to have cheese sauce. Well I had the chance to try out their Ghost Pepper Cheese Sauce. OH MY you guys this is spicy spicy stuff! And I LOVE hot sauces! But this stuff...this leaves the memory of hot and spicy on your tongue for the longest time. I swear. But if you can withstand spicy and hot flavors, you will want to try this. Check it out!  But that isn't the only other kind of cheese sauce they have! They have other kinds that I plan to try out (um, that maybe isn't so hot, haha). I also tried out their Classic Barbecue Sauce! This was really good. It had just a bit of spicy f

Great Coffee Gifts - Capresso Grinder & Percolator [Review & Giveaway]

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For the longest time, I have wanted to try out a percolator. I remember growing up we would go to this Italian restaurant that had the BEST percolated coffee. You could just smell the good coffee in the restaurant when it was being made. So when I had the chance to review this percolator by Capresso, I couldn't wait to tell you about it. Let me tell you that if you are a coffee lover, or know one, this is an excellent site to visit to get some great coffee gift ideas. Like, really. They offer EVERYTHING you need for your coffee fix from grinders, to espresso machines, to milk frothers, to coffee makers. And it's awesome quality stuff. So when I set up the percolator, it was a bit of a process of figuring out what was best for me. My tip is - more coffee, less water. I tried to go by the suggestion by ended up with pretty weak coffee. I like really strong coffee, actually. So I chose ground well dark roast coffee and made sure to fill it as much as I could (but left a l

Gift Idea: Love With Food Subscription Box

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This post contains affiliate links for which I receive small compensation if you purchase through my link. Gifting season is just around the corner! Are you in need of some ideas? I'm such a huge fan of subscription boxes and especially food based ones. I wanted to recommend for you foodies out there looking for gifts (or want to HINT at a gift you want) that you should try out "Love With Food." Best of all they even have a gluten free option! So they offer a lot of different plan options, and I highly recommend you go check them out. They have a tasting box and a deluxe box. Their gluten-free box has a starting price of $24.99 with a month to month plan and $68.97 for a 3 month subscription plan. They have a GREAT Cyber Monday deal going on right now as well! That if you purchase a 6 month or longer plan, you get a $10 Gift Card.  Purchase now! 

Find Sponsorship for Your Group or Event with Pear Up!

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If you are part of any team or group or have an event coming up, do you need sponsorship? Well, I highly recommend that you check out the site, PearUp.com. They have so many ways that you can fund your team that you must check out what they have to offer. It offers up to $1,000 in sponsorship funding for custom t-shirts, food and catering, products and cash donations for non-profits, youth and parent groups, K-12 and college organizations, events, and kids and youth sports teams and organizations. Here's a few opportunities they have available - Get up to $1000 in custom apparel sponsorships for your child's school group through US Cellular at Pear. This link is for Iowa, Nebraska and Western Illinois Get up to $1000 in sponsorship money towards cash donation or custom apparel for your Adult Sports team from Miller Lite at Pear. Chicago and Columbus Only. Get up to $1000 in sponsorship money from Verizon Fios. Available to all groups located in select areas of Ne

Cucina & Amore - Tasty Food! [Review + Giveaway}

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Happy Thanksgiving! What better time to talk about food than today, right? And I love the chance to try some foods that take me out of my comfort zone. And I found that opportunity with some amazing foods by Cucina & Amore. They sent me a few items that I can't wait to tell you guys about. Cucina & Amore is a company that focuses their attention on healthy food. Isn't that awesome? Founder Ruth Wilkinson who wanted to create simple and healthy meals for her family. A mom, breast cancer survivor and a pretty obvious foodie if I do say so myself, she created this business to be the thing that she wanted to see in her pantry. Read more about the company over on this page. First I had the chance to try out their Quinoa Meals. That was definitely a unique experience! I hadn't had anything like that before. They have a ton of different kinds to offer ( check it out here! ) and the thing I like about it is that it isn't too filling. I like a light snac

Modern Oats - Instant Oatmeal [Review & Giveaway]

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I do enjoy oatmeal in the morning but half the time I don't really bother taking the time to make a full on breakfast before I leave for the day. I'm not much of a morning person! So I enjoy when I can find an instant oatmeal that I feel good about having and it's quick too.  So I couldn't wait to tell you guys about my experience with trying out their foods.  It was founded in 2013 and they desired to change how people thought of oatmeal. They basically created their food for the people who think oatmeal is boring. And you know, you can tell. This stuff is pretty good. As you can see, I had the chance to try a variety of flavors. One thing that jumped out at me is that they offer up Gluten-Free, Non-GMO whole rolled oats. The mix-ins that they add into the oatmeal are all really healthy, like dried fruit, nuts, and seeds. It's just a really healthy morning meal. And I LOVE that! One of my favorite flavors that I tried is the Chocolate Cherry. T

Virtual Scavenger Hunt! Join in & Win Prizes [#Giveaway]

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I have an awesome event to announce to you guys! It will be taking place this Sunday starting at noon pst and it's for a virtual scavenger hunt! Questions will be posted on the hour from noon until 5 pm PST and with each question you answer right, you have an entry to winning a $50 Gift Card! It will be all about the book, "Beckham 101" by Suzanne Eglington. RSVP by visiting the Facebook Event page here. Will I be seeing you there?

(A Hidden Gem!) Free Spirit Farm Homemade Soaps and Lotions Review

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I love when I find an unexpected hidden gem online and I found one with the Free Spirit Farm soaps and lotions. I can't wait to tell you guys about them! These are products made by two sisters and are made with trustworthy ingredients. Plus, the prices of these awesome soaps and lotions are the best I've seen in any beauty store. So, here's the items I had the chance to try - I absolutely loved their Lavender Dream soap. I have pretty sensitive skin these days and I know my face just LOOKS for reasons to break out or get weirdly dry in some patches. So I am always wary of new soaps to put on my skin. This stuff, this "Lavender Dream" soap was amazing. I loved it. It didn't dry out my skin, left me with just a really soft feeling and I used it daily for a couple of week. Plus, it smelled really nice and it didn't over do it with the scent at all. I'm also really happy to tell you that the price of this soap is extremely reasonable. I highly rec

Boutique & Beauty Bar: Recipe for a Unique Shopping Experience #madonnaandco

There’s always a risk when you create something new. Will people like it? Will it succeed? Will it be worth it? When Madonna and Co . re-launched in Mid-town East Side, (bordering on the Upper-East Side) from our former location in Soho, we emerged as a different entity, incorporating what made us great in the past, but with new additions. We were more. In addition to our new location on 60th street, we opened a full service salon and beauty bar within the store, bringing to a life a completely unique shopping experience. Fashion and Beauty: An Innovative Convergence The inclusion of the beauty bar inside our boutique converged the worlds of fashion and beauty in a way that’s never been done. For the first time, women have the opportunity to receive comprehensive beautification in a one-stop shop. Bringing together fashion and beauty as we have done was not without risk, but innovation always involves a leap of faith. New creations don’t arise from the ether. Innovation come

Purely Elizabeth - Very Tasty Granola [Review]

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Anyone ever try Purely Elizabeth granola? This is one of the most trustworthy granola brands to me. It started small! In 2008 actually. The idea was born as a result of handing out homemade gluten-free treats at a marathon. Elizabeth realized that she could do something with this great recipe everyone loves! You ought to check out her timeline into making the company it is today! It's so inspiring!  I was so happy to try out a few new kinds of granola. Blueberry Hemp Ancient Grain Granola, Pumpkin Fig, and Cranberry Pecan. One of the things I love about her granola is that it's so healthy. It's such a different experience than most granola. You can just tell by the taste that it isn't better made. Of these three kinds, I really enjoyed the Cranberry Pecan and Blueberry Hemp. I thought these two kinds had a better taste and more of a stronger cinnamon taste added to it. I thought the Cranberry Pecan almost reminded me of Cinnamon-grams from when I was

New England Coffee - Tasty Coffee for your Morning

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I had the chance to review some coffee by New England Coffee company. New England Coffee company has a long history, starting all the way back in Greece in the early 1900s (can you believe that?) It's such an interesting history and I highly recommend you go by their website and check it out. Best of all, watch their Centennial Video. Anyways, I had the chance to try out a few different coffees - Centennial Reserve, New England Breakfast Blend and their flavored coffee, Hazelnut Blend. The two first coffees were more of a medium roast, which I liked much more than I expected (I tend to like dark roasts). I was tasting this coffee over hot weather seasons and so I liked turning the medium roasts into an iced coffee. That made it really taste good. And then I have to tell you, I REALLY love their flavored coffee. Hazelnut is just the start. But I loved their Hazelnut blend, it's perfect for the upcoming holiday seasons and I highly recommend this. In fact, speaking of

Fragrance Outlet - Find Your New Scent At a Lower Price! #fragranceoutlet #mypure

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It won't be long before you need to start thinking about gifts (oops, did I say that too soon?). Well if you aren't the type to think this early about gifts, if you are looking for some perfume at incredible prices, I think you should check out the Fragrance Outlet. They offer some amazing deals and really fantastic brands at great prices. I was lucky enough to try out this new perfume called My Pure Eau De Parfum . I loved it! It's such a clean, pretty smell to me. It goes well with my day to day routine too. It's got a quiet sort of floral scent but then more of a mild fruit smell. According to Fragrance Outlet it's "top notes" are plum and iris. Interesting! It runs at about $85 (down from $93.50) and I think that's a pretty good price for good perfume, at least to me. But here's the amazing thing. With Fragrance outlet, they have so many deals going on right now, I was able to drop this down to $42.50! Isn't that incredible?? And

Kasandrinos Organic Olive Oil - Add This to Your Pantry [Review + Giveaway]

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I love olive oil. I think it's one of those things that aren't in my diet enough. I put it on everything too! Beans and rice meals, variety of rice dishes, pasta, you name it.  So I had the chance to try some by Kasandrinos. It comes from South Eastern Greece and their olive oil is Certified Organic. What I like about them is their olive oil is fresh. They only sell from the current year's harvest. And I also appreciate that they describe their process in vivid details on their site . Plus, it's a small family business! Made by brother and sister team, Tony and Effi Kasandrinos. Read more about their story as well.  The flavor of this olive oil is excellent . It tasted wonderful and I really appreciate that the bottle was dark (this helps protect the olive oil! The bottle is supposed to be dark to help protect it from the light!). The grocery store olive oil just doesn't compare to this, I can tell you that's for sure.  The 500ML is about $2

Peanut Butter Recipe Round Up [Plus a Giveaway!] #SantaCruzOrganic #Recipes

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Anyone else really excited about this time of year? I swear I get so much more inspired to try new recipes and things like that when the weather gets cooler and all these fun holidays start coming up! So I had the chance to try out some of Santa Cruz Organic's amazing peanut butter and fruit spreads and I can't wait to share some great recipe ideas with you guys! Santa Cruz Organics is really one of my favorite brands of peanut butter. It's organic and I love the fact that the ingredients are really healthy, no strange oils or added sugars. This means so much to me as I really strive to eat healthy. Plus it just makes for a better experience, especially if you use peanut butter in a recipe. Amazingly enough Santa Cruz Organic doesn't JUST offer peanut butter, they have over 60 organic items  ranging from fruit juices, lemonades to sauces, syrups and fruit spreads. Isn't that amazing? Plus, it's also Non-GMO Project Verified. That's VERY import

Wild Friends Foods - Tasty Peanut Butter!

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I had the chance to try out a couple of different types of peanut butter by Wild Friends Foods. I was so happy to try something new like this, I hadn't heard of this company before. The pretty cool thing is that it's semi-local to me, based in Oregon. The owners of Wild Friends Foods made peanut butter due to a craving they had one night in college and rather than going out to buy some, they made some! How's that for inventive? One cool thing is that they are organic and non-GMO. I am gluten-free so that was the only small tiny bummer that they have the little warning that they make their peanut butter in the same place where they process wheat. So just keep that in mind if you are really impacted by cross-contamination. But I had the chance to try out their regular peanut butter and my brother tried out their Honey Pretzel Peanut Butter. I really enjoyed their regular peanut butter! It's creamy and I appreciated the fact that there isn't anything extra wei

Stock Up Your Gluten Free Snack Stash with Glutino!

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Glutino is such a staple for gluten-free brands and offer a great variety of snacks! I had the chance to try some of their snacks and some we're new, even to me! Here's a look at some of the loot I got to try out - I really enjoyed these snacks! By the way, if you haven't tried it, I highly recommend their gluten-free english muffins. They are amazing and they taste just like regular bread. Also I ended up making canadian bacon and swiss cheese sandwiches (put in the oven or toaster oven for a few minutes!) with these for breakfast and they were SO good. Also I got the chance to try their fudge covered pretzels and their salted caramel pretzels. The salted caramel pretzels were so good I forgot to take a picture of them. They were that amazing. I can't wait to see them in the grocery store. I also enjoyed the fudge pretzels but not as much amazingly enough. They also offered up some really tasty cookies that I put in the fridge for a wh

Gluten-Free Snacks & Rice Entrees by Lundberg [Review + Giveaway]

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I've long since been a fan of the Lundberg's brown rice, but I really had no idea that they had so many other products out there that I should try! So I couldn't wait to share about my experience with a few products of theirs that was very new for me.  First of all, I loved LOVED their Sweet Dreams Chocolate Covered Rice Cakes. This is my new favorite treat and I highly recommend trying these out. I slathered some peanut butter on top and YUM YUM YUM. There isn't too much of a layer of chocolate and I appreciated that (I didn't feel too guilty afterward!). It's just enough to satisfy your taste buds. The Sea Salt Rice Chips made for an excellent snack. I love the texture of the rice chips, not that heavy and also very light.  Also I tried the Lundberg Thin Stackers Rice Cakes and since then I've bought them a couple of times. I'm usually not too keen on rice cakes in general, but I liked these way more than I expected. These kinds ar

Stubb's Barbecue Sauce - Excellent Sauces for Cooking! [Review]

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I had the opportunity to review some barbecue sauce by Stubb's BBQ sauce. Well, you've likely seen this sauce in the store and if you have ever wondered what it was like, well I hope I can convince you to try it. This is good stuff. Did you know there's a pretty cool story behind the sauce? Well, C.B. Stubblefield (or also known as Stubb's) got his first chance at cooking for other people as a "mess sargeant in the US Army." After the Army, he moved to Lubbock, Texas, where he created the official Stubb's Legendary Bar-B-Q. It wasn't long until his restaurant and food and sauce drew a following. In the 80s, he moved his restaurant to Austin, Texas, and his restaurant became a famous stomping ground for celebrities, singers, and even presidents. When he went to perform on the David Letterman show, he handed out the sauce and told Letterman it was made from "Love and happiness." I paraphrased a lot of this story so I highly recommend you

Celebrate Fall with Hallmark [Review + Giveaway] #LoveHallmark

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Fall is officially here! Doesn't it feel like the summer just started? Well, I really enjoy this time of year a lot and I'm so happy that it's year. This season is definitely one of my favorites - it reminds me of new starts (cause of the school season) and just good times with family (Thanksgiving!). It's also such a pretty time of year with the leaves changing. It always smells good this time of year too, a lot of good cooking happens and it makes everything smell so good. Speaking of scents, I had the chance to try out some amazing things by Hallmark that I can't wait to share with you. Best of all, I get to giveaway a 16 ounce fall scented candle to one of my lucky readers. I had the chance to review the Crafters & Co. Tabletop Wax Warmer and Wax Melts . I did this on a night that I decided to make oatmeal muffins and so when I got the wax warmer, I set it up and put it one of the wax melts. I loved how this smelled - LOVED IT. You know, it just m

Luv Michael Granola - A Tasty Snack Option for Your Day #luvmichael #luvmichaelco

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I love granola. I swear thanks to gluten-free oats, Granola is a hugely important part of my day. I had the chance to try out a little bit of this new kind of granola and I was so happy to give this a try! The company is called, "Luv Michael" and it's a pretty special company too. You'll see why.  It started on as a home business almost a year ago, September 2015, to make gluten-free and nut-free granola. Now they are in 30 stores across the New York area. I think that's so impressive! They train, educate and hire people with Autism. They work with autism specialists to develop a curriculum (based on the New York State food handler's license) and are dedicated to teaching all aspects of a small business to those they employer. Like their site says, this is a labor of love! I love supporting companies that do good works like this, so be sure to read up about them on their website. So, I had the chance to try out a little bit of their granola and I wa

Kinnikinnik's Gluten-Free Donuts - Amazing Things Are Happening [Review & Giveaway]

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So, following a pretty stressful day, I came home and got a pretty cool delivery. And you know what they were? Donuts! By this company called Kinnikinnik. Not feeling the donut vibe, I put them in the freezer and didn't think about it. Several hours later, as I made an extremely late breakfast, I took the plunge. So I heated them up in the microwave for about a minute. And plopped a couple next to my scrambled eggs. Oh my goodness you guys. These are some amazing donuts. See, the funny thing is, these donuts came at the weirdest time. Two days prior a coworker told me, "Gluten-free donuts aren't good!" And you know what? They were SO wrong. These donuts were amazing. Just adorable little rounds of goodness.  They weren't the usual HUGE donuts you may see in the bakery, but that was fine by me, because I think they tasted awesome. You get about 6 donuts that are about the size of a mini bagel in one package. And they taste amazing. I am SO hap

Beanfield Snacks - Bean Chips That are Flavor Packed

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I spotted someone with this chip bag most recently and so I jumped at the opportunity to review these chips. Beanfields Snacks was founded in 2011 by Reed Glidden and his wife Liza Braude-Glidden as well as Reed's brother Roy Glidden. And they wanted to change the way we all ate (what better way to start than how we snack right??) So they created delicious plant based Non-GMO (so important to me!) snacks.   They are an environment conscious company and they also include a main ingredients that is better for your health than the usual ingredients that you see in chips - beans! There is so much good stuff at this company so make sure you visit their site and see what they offer the community and the good works that they do . Now to the chips! I had the chance to try out a wide variety. I immediately tasted the difference in these chips than others I've tried. The beans in them gave them such a heartier flavor. They didn't taste empty to me and at the same ti

Perfect Bar - Perfect Way to Snack Your Day

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I'm always on the look out for making my snack times easier and healthier. I love the idea of a health bar but sometimes they don't cut it for me ​- preservatives, weird tastes, strange ingredients, all that stuff. But then I discovered the Perfect Bar and I couldn't wait to try it out and tell you about it. This was a surprisingly awesome experience having this bar. And I can tell you that this is one of my new favorite things. Let's start with the most basic amazingness that is the peanut butter bar. It's 17 grams of protein, and when you check out the ingredients of this bar, you can see all the good stuff, such as honey, good oils like flax seed oil, olive oil, and also food powders, such as organic lemon, organic papaya, tomato...and so much more; in fact, I'm not even doing it justice, so be sure to go to their website to see what other kinds of good stuff you get from this awesome perfect bar . I noticed the taste of the veggies in thi