Almondina Biscuit Giveaway: Free Cookies! Hosted by Daily Deals from a Nerd Mom (Closed)

Daily Deals from a Nerd Mom is running a cool giveaway. Free cookies, people...what can be better? Check out her review and enter!

Almondina Review + Giveaway {ends 8/5}

Disclosure: I received a box of samples for free in exchange for a review on my blog. All opinions are of my own and my family's and may differ from yours.

Almondina Brand Biscuits - The Delicious Cookie Without the Guilt, are all-natural, crunchy almond biscuits that do not contain cholesterol, added fat, trans-fats, salt, or preservatives! They are a great accompaniment for coffee, tea, soft cheeses and dessert wines, or for just plain snacking. The company is based in Ohio and are sold in all 50 States and several foreign countries. Find a store near you!

Almondina® is the inspiring success story of a man whose great loves include both music and wonderful food. For generations his family loved his grandmother Dina’s most secret cookie, which she called Petit Gateau Sec. Yuval Zaliouk, an internationally known symphony conductor and gourmet chef, always had a special place in his heart (and stomach) for this exquisite, crispy wafer with the delicate flavor of roasted almonds and the natural sweetness of plump raisins.  

To read more of the story behind the Almondina Brand go here. I was excited when I was offered the chance to do a review for Almondina...I mean I LOVE food so how perfect is it to do a review on some!? The box arrived and I was pretty surprised by how large it was was and how big the samples were. I was shipped a box of 9 samples of the Almondina Brand Biscuits. The flavors were Original, Choconut, Chocolate Cherry, Sesame, Gingerspice, Cinnaroma, & Almonduo (with Pistachios). The Choconut & Chocolate Cherry was a hit in this house along with the Cinnaroma! The only one we weren't too crazy about was the Gingerspice, but that's only because we aren't big fans of ginger. There are more flavors to choose from on their site. I love them with my coffee in the morning! I usually eat 2 of them, as you can see below, but it is so easy to eat the whole package!

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Now is your chance to win your own sample box!

Enter below & good luck!

Entry-Form

Disclosure: Daily Deals From A Nerd Mom & bloggers involved in promoting are not responsible for prize shipment. 

 

Giveaway: Spellbinders Celebra'tions: Creativity Most Crafty. (CLOSED)

Thanks to Purex Insiders, I had myself a rather crafty moment. I got to try out the new Spellbinders Celebra'tions Collection by Richard Garay. This is a complete collection of papers, inks, rubber stamps, diecut items, and embellishments, all coordinated to make fabulous results easy and fun.

 

I love doing paperart kits...it takes me back to childhood. So, this is what I got...

 

Now a disclaimer: I'm a dork. That's relevant because I saw the two packets and thought the kits were contained that way. The items for both were actually mixed in the packets, and I'm a dork because I didn't check the item list before starting the projects. You'll see as we go where I goofed. You'll notice a pair of earrings and a bottle of nail polish. Those didn't come with the kit, but they will also be addressed later.

Let's begin!

I started with the Celebrate Party Hat Card. 

First steps were to stack three square cards. Though the pink side was to go up, the card had a polka-dot side I actually liked.

But I was a good girl and followed the directions.

Next, you fold this yellow piece to make the party hat. The directions showed the texture on the outside, but to me, that looked more like a waffle cone than a party hat, so I turned it inward.

Then you use three pieces to make a cute pink flower.

Now the next step is where I dorked out. I took the string that was in there and instead of making a single bow, I doubled it, because the string was long enough. Little did I know, that was the string for the OTHER project.

But onward. Put it all together, add the little flag and some shinies, and VOILA!

Cute, eh? Even if you've never considered card making before, you should really try it. Here it is next to the kit directions, so you can grade how I did:

Next, I went for the Best Day Ever Treat Bag.

This was a lot simpler, though it did involve some prep. I cut out the purple and green tags and fastened them to the orange one.

Then you get goodies for the bag ready to go. I told you we'd see those earrings and nail polish again.

Tuck it inside the bag, and tie it up. I had a shorter string due to my earlier goof, but it still worked nicely. This attests to how well these items coordinate with each other...even if the directions go astray, it all melds nicely together. I trimmed the top of the bag to look prettier.

Again, here's a pic to compare my results with the kit.

The directions were fairly easy to follow, and I had a lot of fun doing the kits. I think the results were very nice, and I could see myself doing more of them. I love to do things up nice when I entertain, which is fairly often, and these would give me the perfect solutions. I could even get my guests involved...these would be a wonderful Make and Take project for both the skilled and the amateur papercrafter.

But who gets the Best Day Ever Treat Bag? Well, one of my readers do, along with this cool Spellbinders Celebra'tions Stamp Kit. Enter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
I received product from Purex Insiders for testing, review and giveaway purposes. My opinions, lack of proper direction-reading skills and paper craft ideas, are my own.

Veri Soda: A Treat You Feel VERI Good About!

My latest sampling opportunity from Moms Meet had me Veri excited. (Pardon the pun.) I had seen Veri soda in the stores, and was curious. First because the cans are cool as heck, and second because it was very different from other organic sodas I'd seen.

 

Veri has a nice twist on the healthy soda angle, as it contains some sugar, but the other ingredients are still all organic. No bad chemicals, either.

The tasting table was prepared, with palate cleansing salty snacks ready to go!

 

After tasting the sodas straight, we decided to try a little mixology. The original recipes were from mixmaster.com, but I did my usual Chopped thing and changed them based on what I had in the house. 

 First, the Peach Magnifico. The original recipe called for mango, but I didn't have mango, I had papaya. So papaya it is!

I peeled and pureed the peaches (say that five times fast!) with a little water to make my own juice type product, and spun the pureed papaya with a little water as well. End result:

 

I followed the recipe as far as measuring the puree, but then just filled the glass freehand. Final result:

It was very good, not too sweet, but with a great fruity taste. I felt healthy drinking it.
Even cooler, the only ingredients in the ginger ale are sparkling water, organic cane sugar, organic lemon juice from concentrate, organic ginger extract, organic flavor, organic caramel color, and organic stevia leaf extract. Seriously. That's it. As far as the taste, it's like one of the old school ginger ales, but not harsh at all. It's refreshing and soothing at the same time.

Next, we gave the Apple Fizz a go. Again, I measured the juices per the recipe, but freehanded the soda. We ended up with this:

The kids LOVED this one, and there was no fear in sharing. The ingredients in Lemon-Lime? Sparkling water, organic cane sugar, organic lemon juice from concentrate, organic flavors, and organic stevia leaf extract. Awesome. I loved the taste of this soda. It's the first one of its kind where the lemon and lime are both very present and equal. Veri nice.

Next, we did the Pomola. This is the ingredients:

Lime juice, grenadine, and Veri Cola. By the way, the Veri Cola is a bit tricky. It's not like mainstream colas, but it's worth getting used to. It has a cinnamony spice to it that leave a wonderful flavor in your mouth. When mixed, the Pomola looks like this:

This was a very fun drink. It's one of those things that the first sip is a bit weird, but the more you drink it, the more you like it, and it goes down pretty easily. Ingredients in the cola? Sparkling water, organic cane sugar, organic lemon juice from concentrate, organic caramel color, organic flavors, and organic stevia leaf extract.

I know, right?

 Last, and the favorite of the day: Orange Creamsicle Dessert Drink. I found a version of this on the Weight Watchers website, and changed it to suit my inventory. It's very decadent and creamy.

Now, the ingredients in this soda...I have a funny story. My son asked if it was carrots that made the soda orange. I laughed, but then read the ingredients, and he was actually right...there is carrot juice in there!  Sparkling water, organic cane sugar, organic orange juice from concentrate, organic lemon juice from concentrate, organic carrot juice from concentrate, organic flavors, and organic stevia leaf extract. It's really delicious, too...this was the hands down favorite of the group. It has a real orange taste, not that candy-sweet fake orange.

These sodas are the best of both worlds, with not only a great sweet treat flavor, but ingredients I'd even give my toddler without a second thought. I'll be keeping this stocked from now on, and we can both be happy.

 Find them on Twitter at @verisoda, and on Facebook.

I received products from Moms Meet for review and sharing purposes. My opinions are my own.

Sweepstakes: Removing America’s Stains for Over 100 Years Giveaway! (Closed)

I am very familiar with the Purex Fels-Naptha laundry bar. My mother-in-law, also known as Martha Stewart Two, swears by it for stains, even with all the products available these days. What I didn't know was that it was celebrating over 100 years of kicking dirt's butt.

 Since 1894, Purex Fels-Naptha laundry bar has been working overtime to remove greasy, oily stains, perspiration, and ring-around-the-collar. To celebrate, we’ll be giving away a year’s supply each day from July 14 – 23.

Enter here: http://go.purex.com/sV6R

Why do you want it? From the website:

Purex Fels-Naptha is a powerful laundry bar that works overtime to remove greasy, oily stains, perspiration, and ring-around-the-collar. With over 100 years of removing America’s stains, you can rest assured that this laundry bar knows how to tackle your toughest stains.

All you’ve got to do is rub the stain with a wet bar of Purex Fels-Naptha and let it sit for a few minutes. Then wash your clothes as you normally would and say farewell to tough stains for good.

At least in my case, it's mother-in-law approved as well. I have a bar in my laundry room also, and it's my go-to for sweat stains, especially undershirts. Sometimes old school can still keep up just fine with the newbies.

So hit that link and sign up to win! Your laundry will thank you.

I received incentive in the form of contest entries for this post. My opinions are my own.

It's good2grow....and Good to Go! Plus Giveaway! (Closed)

I was given the opportunity to try good2grow juices through the Moms Meet Blogger Program, and I was quite excited.

Aren't they seriously cool? The fun characters are the signature SippaTop™ caps, spillproof and reusable. Or so it says. So I put them to the real test: my two and five year olds. If a mess can be made, they will make it. It's also 100% juice, which makes me very happy.

My son was wary at first, even though it was one of his favorite characters, Woody from Toy Story.

But he soon found that the inside was as awesome as the outside.

 The flavors are VERY good, by the way. We tried Apple, Fruit Punch and Strawberry Kiwi. They're sold in three different sizes (4 oz., 6 oz., and 8 oz.), so you can even get age-appropriate sizes. For a point of reference, pictured are the 6 oz size. The refill bottles have a nice tight foil seal instead of a cap, so there's less waste. They're even shelf-stable, though they are better cold.

Strawberry Kiwi is particularly addicting and YUM. I found myself drinking several. For research purposes, of course *wink*.And a plus: It's one of the V-Blend varieties, which means it has one combined serving of fruits and vegetables, which provides your kids with 100% of their daily vitamin C intake. Nice, eh?

But ARE they spillproof? Well, here's the evidence.

This is my little ones, in a pile of very hard to clean pillows and soft toys. So either I'm a glutton for punishment or they really are spillproof. I'm happy to tell you, it's the latter. If that doesn't convince you, check this out:

Yes, that bottle is fully loaded and upside-down, and not a single drip or drop. That's MY princess topper...only fair that Mom gets one.

They're perfect for the car. It easy to swap or refill, even on the move. It's perfect for moments like this, where we're waiting in the car for one thing or another.

It even fits nicely in the cupholder of my son's booster.

Is your green alarm going off at the thought of all the plastic bottles? Relax. They're BPA-free, non-GMO, recyclable, dishwasher safe, and reusable. I did the dishwasher test myself, and they came out just fine. I recommend top rack only, though. The labels didn't even fade. The tops go through fine as well.

One thing I did notice: when you put on the tops, you just need a gentle twist and it's locked. If you yank on it too much, thinking it can't be on tight, it'll pop back off. Twist it on and trust the seal. It's really there.

The cost is pretty reasonable, too, considering it's wholly reusable. The retail price for a single serve is $2.49 to $2.99. Refill packs range from $2.99 to $3.49. You can find them at Kroger, Safeway, H-E-B, BI-LO, Ingles, Meijer, Piggly Wiggly, Wakefern, Food Lion, Hannaford, Raleys, Babies “R” Us, Walmart, Toys “R” Us, Kmart, Walgreens, Rite Aid, CVS, RaceTrac, Kwik Trip, 7-11, Sheetz, QT, BP, Cumberland Farms, Wawa, Circle K, and Kangaroo Express. I personally found both the single serve and refills at Safeway, and the single serve everywhere.

It's not just awesome juice, though. There are some great events going on their social media. Check out the StoryStitcher at good2grow.com/storystitcher and enter to win a $5000 scholarship and free coupons. It's a fun game to play with the kids. You film scenes using the juice characters, and StoryStitcher fuses them together. I'm thinking of trying it myself.

You can also can enter to win a themed birthday party by going to win.good2grow.com/mmblogger. Each person that enters will receive a free refill pack with a purchase of single serve beverage. That is a very nice deal.

You can find them here:
good2grow.com/
twitter.com/good2growdrinks
facebook.com/good2growdrinks
instagram.com/good2growdrinks

And if you're still not sure, well, you have a chance to try them for yourself, free. I'm giving away a coupon booklet containing free item coupons that'll get you a free single serve AND a free refill. Enter here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms Meet program, May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms Meet blogger, I agreed to use this product and post my opinion on my blog. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of the product. They are however, my honest opinions.

Sweepstakes: Give your baby a fresh start with Purex® & One Step Ahead®! (Closed)

How would you like to make that special child in your life's day?

One grand prize winner will receive a gift certificate valued at $1,000 from One Step Ahead®, a year’s supply of Purex® Baby Detergent, and a year’s supply of Purex® Crystals™ for Baby.

 You know you want to win THAT. So GO GO GO! Click on the link below and get those entries in!

http://go.purex.com/kG3O

 About Purex: Like many great beginnings, Purex began in a garage…

Starting in the family garage, father and son cleaning team, Lionel & Roy used a homegrown recipe to create a pure bleach product packaged in amber pint jars to sell at a non-inflated 15 cents each. It was 1922, and a jar of bleach would typically cost 25 cents. 

But, Lionel and Roy were determined to provide their quality product at a lower price to pass savings back to American families. Their homegrown liquid bleach soon found success and was dubbed Purex due to its clear, pure qualities and ability to make the household clean and healthy. 

Over the years the family worked to expand Purex with a focus on creating useful, everyday need inspired products offered at a non-inflated cost because of their commitment to providing a savings.

Quality products at an affordable price has kept Purex in homes across America, throughout the Great Depression to present, as a quality clean that everyone can afford.

Now part of the Henkel family, Purex has not lost sight of who we are: our innovative approach to providing a smart value, commitment to quality and passion for creating awesome laundry supplies still shapes all that is Purex.

For more information and the fabulous products available, visit http://www.purex.com.

I received compensation for this post of being entered in a drawing.

Getting Creative With Kleenex! #KleenexBrandBelievers

One of the things I like best of the sampling opportunities I receive is the creativity I get to utilize. This one was particularly fun. Crowdtap hooked me up with a Kleenex sampling, and getting creative was the whole idea. So I put on my thinking cap, and started having fun with tissues!

First, I went with the classic: The tissue flower. I had to refresh my memory, and found a site here that told me how.

Pretty, isn't it? You wouldn't want to use that to blow your nose. However...

It does amuse kitty cats.

So in pondering, I remember taking tissues and putting them on lollipops to make ghosts. Like so.

 Using another Kleenex and folding it accordian-style, I made a more deluxe model. I wrap it around and tie it in back, the fold the arms forward.

I even put the flower on a lollipop! Not the one the kitty played with, of course. I tied it on with ribbon. This would be cute to make a bouquet as a gift.

But then I pondered...what about a hair holder? Random, I know, but that's how my mind works. So I took three Kleenex, rolled them, braided them, and tied ribbon at each end. End result:

Okay, I know it looks weird there. But it actually looks cute on my teen's unruly hair.

I had to hunt down my supplies often. My youngest apparently went shopping...

And even the cats got into the thievery! It looks like Kleenex are very popular in this house.

I've still got a nice big box of Kleenex handy, so I'm off on more creative endeavors, which may or may not include nose-blowing!

I received product from Crowdtap for testing and review purposes. My opinions and weird ideas for Kleenex usage are my own.