* Giveaway has Ended * Bluapple are really good!!! Blueapple Review & Giveaway

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 Fruits and veggies doesn't last long in our home, but sometimes we forget that they are sitting on our fridge. So when I saw a post about bluapple on a friends site, I knew I had to get one. So, I contacted bluapple and I was lucky enough to get a kit for a review. The great part is that they also offered to do a giveaway. They want to giveaway 3 bluapple packs to my readers that are in the US and Canada. Heck I would enter to win on my giveaway if I could, but then it won't be fair to you guys since I already have this great product.

I used mine a couple of weeks ago when we went and grabbed some fruits and veggies at the farmers market. Believe me I was a bit skeptical but I had to see if it's really true. The photos I took was about 8 days apart and I am surprised to see that my fruits was still the same when I first bought them.

I am mostly surprised to the cantaloupe since they get really mushy and soft when you don't cut them up when they're ripe. It stayed firm and was pretty tasty when we finally did cut them. 

Here's what was left after 8 days. The melon was still firm and I think it made it more sweeter, because I waited a while.

Here's how bluapple works:

Ethylene gas is given off naturally by fruits and vegetables as a signaling mechanism in order to coordinate uniform ripening. However, once concentrated in your refrigerator or other storage areas, the presence of ethylene gas continues to speed up ripening and hasten spoilage.

The Bluapple® is designed to provide effective ethylene gas absorption for three months in a typical home refrigerator produce bin or storage container. The active ingredient does not "wear out", but continues to absorb ethylene until it has reached its capacity. A One Year Refill Kit rounds out the Bluapple® ethylene gas management product line, allowing consumers to reuse Bluapples® and not add them to landfills.

When you're ready to use your Bluapple just place in the fridge crisper or with countertop produce (works better when they are in an enclosed space so it absorbs all the gas on the surrounding area). Your Bluapple will extend the storage life of your produce up to three times longer. You can also buy the refills on their site. It's safe, non-toxic, organic, recyclable and non perishable.

Can't wait for the giveaway to end and want your own Bluapple right now. You can purchase your set HERE. You can also purchase them at any Bed, Bath & Beyond stores.

** I was not financially compensated for this post. This product was sent to me at no cost and was provided to me by the manufacturer in order to test their product for a fair review and opinion. The opinions are my own, based on my personal experience with the product. **

Thank you to Bluapple for the giveaway!

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My $7 dresser drawer from an Auction!!! Lexi's room makeover PART 2

Auction did you say? YES! This beautiful dresser drawer was far from beautiful when I first got it, like 12 years ago. Oh, how I wish I have a photo before this pretty-ness happened. Oh it was EWWWW and more ewwww! 12 years ago, my MIL dropped this dresser at our home. This was before our first child was born. It was filthy and it had 5-6 layers of paint on top of it. 

Then we found out we were having a girl so I painted her room and everything in her room purple and other pastel colors. I will link all the other room post when they are up. Her desk drawer was posted a week ago and you can see it HERE. That was not fun to do, PHEW!

So when it came to this dresser drawers turn to be prettied up, I had mixed feeling if I wanted to sand the crap out of it too or just paint over the pastel purple. Well, the painting won. YEYYY!  It took about 3 coats but it worked. I actually had a harder time taking the stickers and knobs off than the painting part. I had to wipe all the grimes and dirt, which I know you can't see on the photo (believe me it was dirty).  

I even painted her mirror, which came with the dresser. It was actually attached to the dresser at one point. I can tell because it had some sort of bars in the back and I think the last owner either broke it or just took it off and never put back.  O well, it looks pretty now.

Oh and the knobs had their own makeover too. I will blog about that and link here as well. I just used some trusted spray paint and tada! I was going to use green or blue on her dresser knobs and desk but I couldn't find any cool blueish and greenish spray paint so it would match her lamp and bed sets, look in the mirror you can see it :-) I know, I know! I will post photos of her complete room soon. 

Now, the dresser is back on it's usual spot with fresh paint and all her big girl stuffs are back on top it. Don't mind the stuffed toys on the corner. She's a big girl now but she can't seem to get rid of her baby toys. LOL! 

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Dresser drawer $7 - Auction

Behr Paint / white with primer - 3 coats

Knobs - spray painted silver 

Mirror - painted 3 coats

Where did the Pigs in the mud go? Cake / Recipe

Here it is. I've seen the original photo (BELOW) on facebook and all over the web and I have no idea who the original maker is. Thank you to the original maker, who I couldn't find.

I did see the link from HERE. Although they shared the recipe for the cake and how to make it, I used my own recipe and chocolate buttercream frosting and the ganache.

Since the outside of the cake is a chocolate overload I made the cake vanilla. If you don't like to bake from scratch you can use any type of boxed cake as well and it goes the same as the frosting, use the store bought.

Here's the Magnolia Vanilla cake recipe:

• 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cup self rising flour
• 2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs (room temperature)
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup milk

What to do:

1. Pre heat oven at 350F
2. Sift the flour together and stir.
3. Cream the butter on a stand up mixer until smooth, add sugar gradually until fluffy. 
4. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Alternate adding the flour mixture and milk until combined. Scrape the bowl so it's mixed in well.
6. Grease 2 - 9 inch round pan or 2 - 8 inch square pan and divide the batter into the 2 pans.
7. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let it cool and frost.

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Now for the chocolate buttercream:

• 1 stick softened butter
• 1/2 cup dutch coco powder
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• heavy cream **

** I don't measure how much I put on my buttercream. I go by consistency. I do start out with 2 tbsp. and work my way up until desired consistency is reached.

What to do:

1. Place the butter in a standing mixer and cream.
2. Add the coco powder and mix well.
3. Add the vanilla extract and mix.
4. Add the powdered sugar and mix. Start adding the heavy cream and keep mixing until your desired consistency is reached.  Keep mixing until smooth (on low / medium speed).

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For the ganache:

• 8 oz. Baker's square (semi -sweet) chocolate
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 tsp. butter (optional for shine)

~~~~~

1. Chop chocolate squares.
2. Heat the whipping cream in a pan until warm.
3. Place chopped chocolate in a medium size bowl slowly pour the warm whipping cream while stirring.
4. Stir until melted and starting to look glossy.
5. Add the butter if you want it to look more glossy.
6. Let it sit for an hour or 2 (DO NOT place on the fridge)
7. When the consistency is a little bit harder than pudding then it's all ready to place on top of the cake.

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Sorry, I swear this cake doesn't take that long to make. The ingredients and how to's are making it long. 

So the good part. This is where you will be putting the cake together. I apologize for not taking photos. I didn't have any time since I was super tired and sleepy.

Frost like you would a regular cake. Place some frosting in the middle and top and then do the sides at the end.  For this cake I used Kit Kat bars, I believe I used 6 or 7 kit kat bars (the regular one, NOT the snack size). I'm pretty sure you can use whatever you want. I've seen chocolate covered pretzels, pretzel sticks, lady fingers, etc....

When all the kit kat bars are in place, you can take a pretty little ribbon or big ribbon and tie around the cake to hold the candy bars. When everything is in place, that's when you add the ganache on top and then place your piggies or any farm animal that would make the cake prettier.

Enjoy!!!

Go Toob to Go - Review

Hi!!! As you have noticed I have been doing some reviews and a few giveaways lately. I've been fortunate to get some nice products to do a review and some even gave me some goodies to do a giveaway with.

I love giveaways. I look for them and enter, hoping I would win. I can honestly say that I have won a few things. I've won a beautiful purse, dress, magazines and many more. Nothing major yet, but when I do. I will definitely be posting it here and sharing what I've won.

Oops! Lets get back to the review. GoToob from Humangear sent me this flexible travel tube. Which by the way can also be used for food. Yes, you heard me for food as well. They are FDA approved and they're 100% BPA-free and PC-free. Plus they're also covered by their lifetime warranty.

I used mine to put some sunscreen so I can carry it in my purse. The original bottle is way too heavy and too big for me to be carrying. With the GoToob I can easily place it inside my make-up bag and I can use it on myself or the kids when we go somewhere as a spur of the moment trips we sometimes do.

Just a note that while reading the directions on their website. It is recommended first that you test your GoToob with products you will be placing in the tube. In this case it was recommended that I try to test a small amount in the GoToob overnight before travel or general use of the item. I've had mine in the GoToob for about a week now and didn't see or notice any problems. My family and I will be going to an Amusement park sometimes this week and I will definitely be bringing it with me in my small backpack to carry.

Here are some other reasons why you should get a GoToob:

• GoToob is the civilized, smart, squeezable tube for traveling, outdoors, and more.
• Food-safe (FDA), and they're 100% BPA-free and PC-free.
• Made from soft yet rugged silicone, so it's easy to squeeze, and it dispenses the product right away. A special, "no-drip" valve helps the cap stay clean.
• A large opening means it's easy to fill and clean your GoToob.
• All GoToobs are approved for airline carry-on

If you would like to learn more about GoToob or some of their other products. Go HERE.

Humangear has other great products like GoTubb, GoCup, capCAP and Paww for your pets needs.

I sanded the crap out of her desk!!! Before & After makeover PART 1

    

For the past year I've been talking to my daughter about redoing her room. It finally happened last weekend. Her Lala took her to New Jersey to visit her uncle, my brother.I was super excited and she was double excited for the fact that she's visiting her cousins, Uncle and Aunties & the fact that her room will be all new when she comes home.

For the 12 years we've lived in our house this is the 2nd time I've done her room. Ones when she was a baby and now that she's transitioning into a young girl. Oh how time flies :-(

So all this excitement got me all pumped up and hopefully get the room all done within 3 days. I wasn't really thinking that it will be hard work and lots of moving, sanding, taping, laying out the cloth all over the floor so the paint won't get paint splatter all over her carpeted floor. PHEW!!! 

If you ask me to redo her room again I would probably say HECK NO! at least for another 10 years. LOL!

Her desk was the 2nd thing that I did. The first one was her wall and window sill (will do another blog about that wall).

 

As you can see her desk was badly scratched, beat up and the top varnish are all scraped up. Good thing hubby bought me my very first RYOBI sander. I picked it when we went to Home Depot last week.

 

The very first thing I did was scraped the top part with a sharp putty knife and scraped the crap out of that desk. I swear my right arm has more muscles than my left after that scraping. LOL! 

After all those scraping, I moved to the sanding part. That was fun. I could and would sand anything if I could. YuP! getting a bit obsessed with my new sander.

Then I washed all the sand off with a wet cloth and I had to wipe it a couple of times because of the dust. Then I moved onto priming the desk. I thought one coat would have done the job, but boy I was wrong UGH!

Painted the outside parts and the back of the desk because I can't leave it dark. It just felt weird. It took me a while to get it all painted, but while it was drying I worked on some other stuff in her room.

This is the corner room where I placed the desk and wall decal that I bought at a yard sale for $3 and it was still in the original tin can and unopened. (photo below)

I added a little color to the room by painting the middle part of the DOOR with a blue chalkboard paint, sorry I took the photo before I painted this side of the room / door. Both sides of the door are painted with chalkboard paint.

As you can see the wall is light grey. I know, it's sooo pretty and so grown up. Wait till you see her door and her bed. Oh and the curtain. Gaaaahh! I messed up on the curtain but I will tell you about it some other time. 

~~~

Desk - repainted 

Chair - Target

Wall decor - yard sale

Paint - Behr

Sander - Ryobi  

*GIVEAWAY has ended* Gymboss Interval Timer GIVEAWAY TIME

CONGRATULATION Lauren Z. you're the winner of the Gymboss Interval Timer. You will receive an email from me shortly.

GIVEAWAY time!!!

AS I have mentioned on yesterdays post. 

Time for another giveaway. 

Make sure you do what it tells you to do and you have better chance of winning :-)

Good luck! USA participants only

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GYMBOSS Interval Timer - Review (Giveaway will follow)

I love this gadget, specially during a workout. I have recently started running and this is perfect for that type of workout. Although it is also great for other workout too.

Here are some other activities that you can use with Gymboss. 

MMA/Boxing Tabata Hiit Cardio Kettlebell

Crossfit Weightlifting Running Stretching ...and more

Since I'm new at running I have it on Run / walk interval.  I've learned about this gadget from my friend. She bought it when she started teaching Kickboxing, then moved on to running. She's the one who said you need to buy Gymboss. It will make your life much easier.  Thanks Mel!

I can honestly say, I am so glad I bought one. These guys are so nice and friendly that they even give me a chance to do a giveaway. YES! You can have your very own Gymboss too.

The giveaway will be on tomorrow, August 9, 2013.

Check out my new skin to protect my timer.

More info about Gymboss:

• 1 or 2 intervals - 2 seconds to 99 minutes
• Repeat up to 99 times
• Beep and/or Vibrate alarm
• Alarm duration 1, 5, or 10 seconds
• Stopwatch function
• Secure Belt clip
• Compact Size (1 ¾ x 2 ¼ x ½ inches)
• Water and shock resistant
• AAA battery required

Your own Gymboss will come with an instruction, but they also have it printed in the back just in case you forget. Which is very helpful to me, since I tend to have a short term memory about remembering on how to set things up. LOL!

There are 2 types of Gymboss. There's the regular one and the miniMAX. Don't forget they also have accessories for your gadget. They have armbands, wristbands, lanyard and skin (which is new) to protect your Gymboss from sweat. ** Please note the skin DOES NOT make the timer waterproof, but more water resistant. You cannot submerge your timer underwater, even with the skin on.

Here are some colors they have available.

I do have an armband but I sometimes wear an earphone so I just clip it on my sports bra so I can hear the beep. 

If you would like to purchase your own Gymboss. Click HERE.  They accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover and Paypal.

My armband :-) I just noticed that my shirt matches my Gymboss. LOL!

Come back tomorrow (August 9, 2013) for the GIVEAWAY!

*Giveaway has ENDED* WOOLZIES Dryer Balls Review & Giveaway

CONGRATULATION!

Amanda R. #154 is the winner. Please check your email. 

You  might think I'm weird, but I can honestly say that I love doing laundry. The only thing I hate is waiting for the dryer to buzz. Most of the time I have to turn the dryer back on because the clothes are still damp.  I even tried making my own dryer balls and that didn't last long and eventually I caved in and bought tennis balls, only to find out that rubber and plastic balls are made from harsh chemicals including PVCs which are released onto your laundry by the hot dryer air. Not only are these types of dryer balls dangerous to your health, they are toxic to the environment as well. Additionally, the harsh tumbling action of rubber, plastic and tennis balls can damage your dryer's sensitive electronic sensors.

Then comes the WOOLZIES.  They are 100% Eco friendly and they are handmade. They will soften your laundry naturally without any of the harmful chemicals. If you need to know more about Woolzies, check out their FAQ's HERE.

When you get your WOOLZIES you get 6 dryer balls and they are ready to use. Just toss them in with your freshly washed clothes into the dryer and all set. The clothes I tried this with are the dark colored and thicker clothing (jeans / sweatshirt). Normally this load would take almost and sometimes over 2 hours to dry. With the Woolzies it actually cut the time in half. 

Now the FUN part. Want to WIN your own box of WOOLZIES? Enter below to WIN or if you can't wait you can purchase them HERE.

** Giveaway is OPEN to EVERYONE! **

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"Princess Sophia and the Frog" Kindle Edition - Book review

I am lucky to have kids who loves to read. They will read anything that catches their eyes. My daughter who is 11 thinks she's too old to read this, but her brother who is 7 will eventually convince her to read the book.  

I didn't think my 7 year old boy would read it either, but when I called him he sat right down on my lap and had me reading. He read with me and he sat still. Thought he would get up and say this is for girls mom, but he didn't. He read till the end and he said it was a good book.

As you can see (above) he went to his sisters room and read the book again. He got mad after I took the photo because he said he was busy. LOL!

The book is available on Amazon, by the Author Suzy Liebermann.  This is a great book to read to your kids to show feelings about happiness and friendship. I asked my son how he felt after reading the book and he said he was happy.

Click on the photo above for the link or click HERE.

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

A wonderful fairy tale about friendship and happiness:

"PRINCESS SOPHIA AND THE FROG is about a little princess named Sophia and her new friend the frog, Sophia was bored so the frog convinces her to give him a kiss and dance with him so that together, they can take adventures. This isn't just your typical fairy tale because it's more about friendship and happiness than love. It's a new kind of princess story that takes an old tale and puts a new spin on it. The way it's written is so fun because it rhymes and the words go from normal to big. It's just such a perfect children's book. My little one loves the illustrations and I think that she also really enjoys how colorful it is." (Thank you Marianna!)

On her adventure Sophia learns about feelings. She also learns that she can choose what mood she surrounds herself with, as this will impact her own.
After her return to the castle she realizes that all she needs to be happy is to be surrounded by good friends.

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.