Ball Claw – Genius!
Soccer season has started back up – yay! During the off season I was on a mission to control the soccer gear hanging around our house. Especially the soccer balls that seem to be taking over the garage, coat closet, and Riley’s room! She has practice balls, special signed balls, and old soccer balls that she refuses to throw away. What do I do with all of them?? Thankfully, I found the Ball Claw. And it solved my problem.
The Ball Claw is a great way to organize all of your sports balls. It is a claw like holder that mounts to the wall (the mounting hardware is included)- then you just pop your ball into the holder and it is there to stay. When you need to use the ball, simply pull it out of the “claw”. Not only do they hold her soccer balls, they also preserve the life of the ball. Love it!
We put some up in the garage to hold soccer, football and basketballs. I also put some in her room to hold her commemorative and signed soccer balls. They look really great hanging on her wall.
They are very inexpensive (around $12 each) and come in 4 different styles – Soccer, Basketball, Football and Volleyball. You can find them online here or at The Container Store.
My Candle is Smarter Than Yours.
I’m sure my new candles are smarter than the ones that you have…in fact, my candles are even called Smart Candle. I’m sure you are wondering what makes my candles so smart.
- First of all, they are flameless (they won’t burn my house down). They use 4 AA batteries that will run the candle for 800 hours. The battery lights up an LED that creates a natural flickering light that perfectly simulates a wax candle flame. It even flickers like a real candle flame. You can’t tell the difference between the light of my Smart Candle and a real lit up candle flame.
- My Smart Candle has a 3-stage timer. The timer can adjust to 4, 6 or 8 hours. You turn it on, at let’s say 5:00 and then it will run for the allotted time that you picked. Then it will remember that you turned them on at 5:00 the day before and it will turn on at that same time and then run the allotted time and so on. So after using it only one time, it knows to turn on the next day, and the next day, and…well you get it, right?
- My Smart Candle has a remote control! Isn’t that cool? I can turn on the candles from the comfort of my sofa.
- I’m sure you are thinking that your candles probably smell better than mine, right? Wrong! Smart Candles come in Vanilla Scent, Sweetened Biscotti Scent, or unscented. They also offer flameless jar candles in 6 different scents.
- Each candle is made out of real wax – they look exactly like a regular candle.
I absolutely love my Smart Candles. I really do! It is so nice to have the ambiance & smell of candles burning without the worry of a real flame burning. I love the fact that when I walk in the door in the evening my candles are already flickering away. It just seems kind of fancy 
They are so easy to use, no crazy programming involved. Just pop in the batteries, turn it on to timer, pick how many hours you want it to glow…and that is it. It will come on everyday at the same time. The smartest candle that I have ever seen. In fact, I think it might have a brain.
The candles I received are commercial grade (very high quality). Many restaurants, hotels, cruise lines, and churches use them, but anyone can buy them for themselves right on their website. They also have wax pillars with timers that are more of a retail version and are sold in the Bon-Ton Stores: Herberger’s, Carson’s, Boston Store, Bergner’s, Younkers, Elder-Beerman. These are also on their website and on Amazon.com. They will soon be on Target.com and in some of their test stores.
**Disclosure – I received free candles in exchange for my honest opinion and review **
Mission Impossible – IMAX
What is better than watching Tom Cruise in an action packed Mission Impossible movie? Watching Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol at an IMAX theater! I love IMAX movies but have never seen a blockbuster movie at an IMAX theater. It was awesome! Not only was the screen gigantic but the visuals were amazing. This movie did not disappoint – I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. This is the way to watch an action movie…IMAX. You feel like you are right there with Tom Cruise, especially when he was climbing a building in India – it was breathtaking. There is about 30 of scenes that were shot with an IMAX camera – they are incredible. Check out the trailer here.
iCaughtSanta – How Fun!
I love this idea! Imagine how surprised your child would be to find a picture of Santa filling their stockings in their own house! iCaughtSanta.com is a unique website that helps visitors create those memorable keepsake photos.
In three simple steps anyone can upload a holiday photo, add Santa Claus and print it as proof… or share it via Facebook and Twitter. Last-minute shoppers can purchase Gift Cards and eGift Certificates for loved ones with children, making iCaughtSanta.com a great gift idea even if you don’t have kids yourself.
I have a coupon for you to get 50% off your order! Enter SANTA50 and get your entire order for 1/2 price!
TV Dinner – Healthy Choice Top Chef Inspired
No, I’m not talking about the TV dinners in the aluminum pan that were such a treat when you were little. I’m talking about the new Healthy Choice Top Chef Inspired Cafe Steamers. Have you seen these in your grocery store? I was super excited when I saw them – Top Chef is one of my favorite reality shows! Now I can have fancy Top Chef meals while eating lunch at work. They use bold, modern and exciting flavors to give you exactly what you want – food that is both healthy and delicious. They use a unique steaming technology that separates the sauce from the rest of the entrée to steam the meal in the microwave, allowing for crisp vegetables, tender meats and al dente pastas. It really doesn’t taste like a frozen meal at all!
They come in many different flavor options:
- Barbeque Seasoned Steak with Red Potatoes
- Chicken Fresca with Chardonnay
- Chicken Linguini with Red Pepper Alfredo
- Chicken Margherita with Balsamic (my favorite!)
- Grilled Chicken Marinara with Parmesan
- Grilled Chicken Pesto with Vegetables
- Grilled Vegetables Mediterranean with Rice
- Roasted Chicken Marsala with Mushrooms
You can get a coupon here for $1 off and try them for yourself. You can read all about the partnership between Bravo TV and Healthy Choice on the Bravo TV website.
If you want to feel like Padma Lakshmi or Tom Colicchio and eat like a Top Chef Judge…visit your grocery store and judge away!
Also, don’t forget to follow Healthy Choice on Twitter and like Healthy Choice on Facebook to be one of the first to know about new meals, products and coupons!
I wrote this review while participating in a campaign from The Motherhood and received product, a product coupon and compensation to thank me for taking the time to participate. This opinion is 100% my own.
Jeans. dENiZEN. Perfect.
I love jeans. My husband loves jeans. My girls love jeans. Really, who doesn’t love jeans? I don’t like shopping for jeans – especially for my husband. I usually end up taking back any pair I buy him because they never seem to fit right. When my friends at Team Mom offered to send a pair of Levi’s dENiZEN Jeans to review I didn’t know if I should try them myself, get my husband a pair, or get a pair for one of the girls. Mike really needed jeans so I took a leap of faith and ordered him a pair. I doubted they would fit the way he wanted them to.
DeNiZEN jeans are made by Levi’s and are sold at Target. You know what that means, right? They are super affordable! They range in price from $19.99 to $29.99. Sweet! They come in a range of sizes and varieties that will make men, women, and even kids happy. You can visit them on Facebook to get a chance to save some money on a pair.
So what did Mike think of his new jeans? He loved them! They fit just like his Levi’s that he loves so much. They looked pretty great too…happy husband & happy wife – thanks dENiZen! I think I’m going to head over to Target and get myself a pair!
**I received a pair of dENiZEN jeans, thanks to the folks at Team Mom and Levi Strauss & Co, to review at no charge in order to provide a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed are strictly my own and were not influenced in any way. No form of monetary compensation was exchanged**
Sword of Darrow
Riley was chosen to review a new book called The Sword of Darrow. This was the perfect project for her – she loves to read & write. She received and advanced reviewers copy of the book and along with many other children from around the Country provided her feedback before the final printing.
The awesome thing about this book is that it was written by a Father and his son. They began writing the book together when Alex Malchow was only eight years old. His dad, Hal Malchow spent two years helping his son make his story come to life. At the time his son was battling dyslexia and struggling to read. He is now a thriving High School Junior that is excelling in school. It looks like they will be writing a sequel together soon!
They have a great program for teachers - especially for teacher’s of special needs or for children with learning difficulties. Here are the details of the program from the site:
If you assign The Sword of Darrow to your class, you can reserve a time for the author, Hal Malchow, to appear via Skype in your classroom. All teachers who participate will receive free books for all their students. These books use larger type and more spacing to make it easier for students with learning differences to read.
Isn’t that great? He will provide your students their own copy of the book & chat with your class via Skype!
Yesterday we had a chance to meet with the author, Hal Malchow. What a great guy and an amazing Father. We were very impressed. You can tell that he was doing what he loved – talking to people about reading.
My Otter Box
I am still loving my new smartphone. I have been super nervous about dropping it (because that is how I roll) and breaking it into a bazillion little pieces. I went to Best Buy to find a cover for it…they had everything from $5.99 to $50. There were pink ones, rhinestone cases, and skull & crossbones. I was confused. How do I pick the best cover for my phone? Is the $5.99 case as good as the $29.99 case? I left the store and headed right to my computer…some heavy KatyShops research was to be done.
My search was short…it lead me right to OtterBox. All of my research told me that they would protect my prized phone. I was drawn in my this statement on their website: ” Our cases are dedicated to all the klutzy, spontaneous, chaotic, graceless individuals who have broken a device or valuable due to their active lifestyle and like our customers, we’ve been there too! “ They were talking about me!! I contacted them to see if I could try one out – I wanted to see for myself if it was worth spending a little more dime for extra protection. They gladly sent me the Commuter Series to try.
The verdict? OtterBox rocks! The first major difference is that it comes with 3 layers of protection. A screen protector to keep it from scratching, a silicone under layer (kind of like underwear), and a hard polycarbonate outer shell. The film for my screen was easy to put on and will keep it from scratching. The two covers work together to keep my little Optimus safe if when I drop it on it’s head. It really seems to absorb all of the shock if you drop it. All of the buttons & the camera work just like before I covered them up…and it didn’t change the look of my phone at all.
They make them for all phones, iPads, Kindles, you name it. The piece of mind you get far exceeds the $35 that this cover costs. Face it…rhinestones are shiny & pretty…but they won’t protect your phone like an OtterBox. You can find them online or head to Best Buy to see them in person.
OtterBox sent me a cover to review free of charge. They did not pay me. My opinions are my own.
I’m Listening to Bobby Long
Have your heard of Bobby Long? I’m sure you have heard his music and didn’t even realize it. This British singer-songwriter is the man behind the song Let Me Sign. For Twilight fans, this is the song that Robert Patterson sings in the movie. Now you know who I am talking about, right?
Bobby Long has released his new CD A Winter Tale. This CD will take you on a relaxing journey through Bobby’s world. With the hauntingly poetic lyrics, the songs from A Winter Tale are memorable. I happen to love the raspyness of his voice and the mellowness of his acoustic guitar. My kind of music…something that just soothes the soul. His style is a mixture of Blues & and Folk, with that Indie edge that I love so much. My favorite song on the CD is A Stranger Song – you should check it out. I guarantee you will love it.
The most amazing thing about Bobby is that he has only been playing the guitar since the age of 17…and he is just 24 right now. What a musical genius! He was clearly put on this earth to create music.
DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy of this CD from ATO Records to facilitate my candid review. No financial compensation was provided.
