Wordless Wednesday: Edinborough Park Adventure Peak

Edinborough Park Adventure Peak

Try It Tuesday: Spring Bucket List

This list was provided to me by our Faribault ECFE class.

GIVEAWAY and Review: Tree Hut Olive and Shea Lotion

I had the joy of reviewing a new lotion by Tree Hut Olive and Shea line that is new at Target. I was randomly sent the Coconut Lime scent moisturizing lotion and I just love it. It reminds me of summer suntan lotion and seeing that Minnesota can't catch a break and we keep getting snow (did you see it was in the forecast again on Thursday - seriously?!?!?!), I have been using this lotion to remind me what summer smells like even if I can't feel it (although today was a glorious day.) I even brought the lotion with me to my Parent-Child class to share with the other moms that might be missing summer. I couldn't keep that all to myself. All of the other moms seemed to enjoy the scented reminder of summer. You better believe I will be slathering more on my body as we head in to the 40s this week.

And I don't mind slathering it on because it is paraben free, DMDM Free, cruelty free, is made with certified organic olive oil and is also made with certified organic shea butter and is an American made product and it smells great too! It's not just lotion that they make but also sugar scrub, body butter and body wash. All the the scents they carry include: Almond and Honey, Amazon Pequ, Brazilian Nut, Coconut Lime, Hawaiian Kukui, Lavender & Chamomile, Original Shea, and Tropical Mango. Don't all those just sound like wonderfully smelling lotions and body care products?!?!?!

What would be your first choice of lotion scent?

It's not just the smell that I enjoyed. It absorbed quickly in to my skin and was not greasy, which is something I look for in a lotion. It also left my hands feeling soft all day and I didn't feel like I needed to reapply until the next day after showering. After a long, cold, dry winter my skin needs to be pampered before sunscreen becomes my new best friend. I only wish I had this lotion earlier and could have been using it all winter long. Don’t you want to be pampering your body as well?


Another things that is great about this line of products is that it can be found at Target and Wal-Mart (plus other retailers), so they are easily obtainable. And you can also find them online at Amazon, Drugstore.com, CVS, Wal-Mart, ULTA and Harmon.

ONE LUCKY READER WILL WIN A FULL SIZE TREE HUT OLIVE AND SHEA BODY CARE PRODUCT (Enter Rafflecopter Form Below)

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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.

Make It Monday: Clean Eating "Top the Tater"

A fellow clean eating friend of mine was telling me about how everyone at their seasonal campground always uses Top the Tater on everything and eats lots of chips and was trying to figure a strategy for their potlucks. I suggested she make a clean Top the Tater with greek yogurt and came up with this recipe. She plans to make baked sweet potato fries to serve with it.

Clean "Top the Tater"
1 6oz. container plain greek yogurt
1 tsp chives (dehydrated, if you have fresh use 2 tsp.)
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dehydrated garlic
1/2 tsp sea salt

Directions: 
Mix all ingredients together and allow to chill for 3-4 hours before using.

GIVEAWAY: 20 WINNERS! for Collage-It Pro Software

I am pretty excited to announce a new giveaway that will have 20 winners! With so many winners you have a really good chance of winning the CollageIt Pro Software. The software has a RV $19.90. I have not had the opportunity to try out this product yet, so I cannot give you my personal thoughts on it. I will review it after I get my own license code and can download it. All winners will have to reply confirming their email address and a license code will be sent to that email address. I will provide you with the information given to me by the company.

CollageIt Pro is an automatic and easy to use collage maker on Mac OS X & Windows. It excels with its ease of use and hugely reduces manual work. CollageIt Pro is a TOP 10 Photography APP on App Store! Here you can see some highlighted features:

• Simply add your photos to your collage; using “Random Layout” to generate layout automatically and customize collage; then export and share your collage.
• Various layouts and diverse templates.
• Easily personalize collage by cropping, adjusting photo number, photo space, page margin, rotation, sparse, and so on. Decorate collage with photo border and shadow.
• Save collage as an image file; set as desktop wallpaper; share through Email; or print it out instantly.

MAKE SURE YOU ENTER THE CORRECT GIVEAWAY FOR WHAT YOU NEED!

THERE IS A SEPARATE GIVEAWAY FOR WINDOWS & MAC!

There will be 12 winners in the Windows CollageIt Giveaway and 8 winners in the MAC CollageIt Giveaway. 

Enter the Correct Rafflecopter Giveaway Below

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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.

Review: Aveeno Intensive Night Cream

I had the chance to try out the Aveeno Positively Radiant Night Cream and was pleased with how easy it went on and light it felt. Sometimes night creams are thick and greasy, but this was not at all. I have only used it a couple of nights, but I will keep on using it. Apparently, I am of the age that needs to use night cream, wrinkle cream and age defying mositurizers because those are the reviews I keep getting. So, I will keep doing them and using this night cream so that I can look as young as possible for as long as possible.

Pottery Time: Wine Glass Appetizer Trays

Here is another pottery creation of mine. They are Wine Glass Appetizer Trays. I drew out my own pattern and cut my slab rolled clay with that. Then with some hand building I shaped the sides. I did give one of these as a gift to my youngest sister for her birthday (along with a wine glass, a bottle of wine, and a variety of prepackage appetizers) so 4 of these are still mine. Now I need to have some kind of dinner party or wine tasting event so that I can use them.

GIVEAWAY and Review: NCIS: Los Angeles Soundtrack

Even though my DVR is not set to record NCIS: Los Angeles (with young kids with a bedtime routine, all our shows are recorded on the DVR to watch later) I was very interested to review this soundtrack becausse I recognized most of the artists on the soundtrack, and if I didn't recognize them my husband did. Given that my husband and I have different music interests, this is a great soundtrack to listen to in the car together.

Even though I couldn't picture specific scenes or the opening/closing credits, which are often accompanied by music I was able to picture what type of scenes the music would accompany. Did you ever stop to think how much music adds to a show? Try watching a show that uses a lot of music with the mute on or try to tune out the music and you will see how much you are missing. Music can set the tone and invoke emotions that you cannot get from just listening to the words or watching the actions. Music can add depth and additional meaning and helps tell the story. Creator and Executive Producer Shane Brennan adds, “Great storytelling is not just about what is seen on the screen, but what is heard as well.  Whether a car chase, undercover operation, or watching our characters banter in the bullpen, music is an integral part of each episode of NCIS: LOS ANGELES. We are lucky to work with some of the most talented and creative artists on a weekly basis, and we’re excited to share some of this music with the fans on our first soundtrack.”

ONE LUCKY READER WILL WIN THEIR OWN COPY OF NCIS: LOS ANGELES

ENTER RAFFLECOPTER FORM BELOW

Tracklist
1. Never Die (Daughtry)*
2. Wine & Vinegar (The Wild Feathers)*

3. Lipstick On His Collar (Caro Emerald)

4. No More (LL COOL J feat. Ne-Yo)
5. Shotcaller (Taio Cruz)*

6. Alive (Adrian Lux feat. The Good Natured)

7. Everythang’s Corrupt (Ice Cube)

8. Mama Gonna Punish You (Allen Stone)*

9. Devil In The Back Seat (Black Rebel Motorcycle Club)*

10. Lonesome Valley (Ryan Bingham)*

11. Shuffle A Dream (Little Dragon)

12. Where Is The Heart? (Alex Clare)*

13. Arms Of A Ghost (Jakob Dylan)

14. Misery (The Gaslight Anthem) *

15. Your Next Move (Zac Brennan)
*
16. Kerosene (Jim Hanft)
* previously unreleased in North America

STREAM THE ENTIRE ALBUM ON ROLLING STONE

PRE-ORDER ON ITUNES

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I was given a copy of this soundtrack for the purpose of reviewing it on this blog. No monetary compensation was received. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thrifty Thursday: Lowe's Build and Grow Clinics

I have mentioned the Lowe's Build and Grow Clinics on here before, but it deserves reminding.

These clinics are awesome FREE opportunities for you and your kids to work on a project together. Lowe's provides you will everything you need. All you need to do is to register and show up and build. Be sure to REGISTER EARLY!!

The next clinic is May 11th at 10am and there were 18 spots left at my closest clinic. Of the 10 closest they listed, 7 were already full and one had only 1 spot left. It is making the sweetheart frame pictured above.

The next clinic after this will be in June and it has not been listed yet.

Review: Bulu Box

I have had the opportunity to review a few subscription boxes lately and it is good to understand the differences between them and just what they offer. And some, like the Bulu Box, you can't tell what they contain in them by the name of the box.

Bulu Box is a subscription box service for vitamins and supplements and other products that might be of interest to those interested in vitamins and supplements. Each box id said to contain a minimum of 4-5 items.

I do use some supplements, vitamins and energy products to help supplement my active lifestyle so this box does fit with products I am interested in. Over the years I have found that not all supplements, vitamins and energy products are created equal and they can be quite spendy, so it it nice to be able to try a product for one or two times to evaluate if it is something you would like.

These products tend to me new products on the market, so there may not already be reviews out there for them or you might not have known they existed, so if you are the type of person that likes to try new  supplements, vitamins and energy products before other people and let others know about a new great find, then this could be perfect for you.

What you get each month in the box is a surprise, so it's a bit of a gamble. But it can be kind of fun to see just what you get to try out. I did get 6 samples to review, 5 of them were for 1 or 2 uses but the other wasa full size bag of energy chews.

You can subscribe to Bulu Box for $10 a month. You can choose to buy each month independently or you can sign up for a 3, 6, or 12 month subscription so that it is already paid for an automatically ships. If you sign up for the 12 month subscription right now, you only have to pay for 11 months.

I was given a Bulu Box for the purpose of review. No monetary compensation was recieved. All thoughts, opinions and pictures are my own.

Review: Kona Kase PLUS 50% OFF CODE!!!!

I recently had the opportunity to review the Kona Kase and I have finally used all my products in the box. And I have to say that I was very happy with the assortment I got in my box. Almost all of the products in the box were new to me and so I was excited to try them. I do like consuming protein or meal replacement bars; they fit in to my busy lifestyle and can easily be brought along in my purse or gym bag so that I have a convenient food option when I am out and about and not impulsively buy something unhealthy just because I am hungry. And I REALLY liked the chocolate samples.

For the most part, of the 9 items in the box, they were full size products. I always like to try out full size samples because then you can better evaluate a product. I was very pleased with the selection of items in this box and am planning to order my own subscription. My favorite thing about subscription box services is it feels like I am getting a present (that I paid for) because I have no idea what surprises will be inside. And why not make it a present and order one for someone else as a gift too.

So, What's in the Kona Kase?

Fuel Your Active Lifestyle With A Monthly Box!

Discover and try the best healthy performance foods from around the country to fuel your workouts

Once a month come home to a box of 8 premium nutrition products at your doorstep to fuel your workouts

Join. Receive. Perform.

$15 per month

Give as a Gift

Cancel Anytime
Multi-Month DiscountsFree Shipping on all Kases

USE CODE: Shallow-Miller TO GET 50% OFF YOUR FIRST KONA KASE

With a guarantee of at least 8 items, you can get your first box for $7.50 with the above code, which makes each item under $1.

Even if you only get this one box, you are going to be pleased.

But be sure to come back and check Save Green Being Green because they will periodically send me promotions to send with my readers.

I was given a Kona Kase box for the purpose of reviewing the service. No monetary compensation was received. All thoughts, opinions and pictures are my own.

Multi-Blog Giveaway: Jewelry Prize Pack from Little Miss Pepper Designs

Mother's Day is right around the corner and that means it's time to start thinking about what to get the special mom in your life. I don't know about you, but I don't know a single woman that doesn't love a nice piece of jewelry, especially one that is personalized just for her. Well, thanks to Little Miss Pepper Designs and Life With Two Boys, one lucky mom is going to win not one piece of jewelry, but a custom jewelry prize pack just in time for Mother's Day!

What does this awesome prize pack include? 

* Pure Love Necklace on an 18 inch chain with 1 sequin tag, 1 large stone, and 1 mini stone accent

* Sterling Silver Love Cuff Bracelet

* Sterling Silver Photo Keychain with two photos

Total Value: $205

This giveaway is open to US residents only, ages 18+.

This giveaway ends at 11:59 pm EST on May 11th.

Enter using the Rafflecopter form below. Good Luck!

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Disclosure:

Disclosure: No compensation was received for this post.Save Green Being Green is not responsible for prize fulfillment.

Wordless Wednesday: My First Half Marathon

My first half marathon (yes, I do hope to do another!) was the Rock the Parkway Half Marathon in Kansas City, MO. I did it with two great runner friends and it was a positive and fun experience all rolled in to a girls weekend.

Try It Tuesday - Personalized Notebook

Want to make a notebook or a journal special without the the price tag? Then try adding a little glam to a composition notebook. You can usually buy one for about $1, but if you plan ahead during school supply season they are usually on sale for 2/$1.

Pick out some scrapbooking paper that you like and cut/glue on so that it meets the black binding on both the front cover and back cover.

Then I added some thin ribbon around the edge and some thicker ribbon to have it tie. All ribbon was leftover from other projects. You can add even more glam by adding any other type of decorations (like the butterfly to the top). And you have just created a personalized and low-cost notebook or journal that you can use or give as s gift.

Re-Purpose Idea #7 - How about Over 100 Ideas!!!

Come Follow My "Repurposed/Recycled" Board on Pinterest. I currently have over 100 ideas pinned there and will just keep pinning more! Or just go ahead and follow all of my boards on Pinterest!

Make It Monday: Green and Clean Crustless Quiche

I desperately was craving quiche, but I was not craving the amount of regular cheese and cream that is in a quiche or the buttery crust (as good as it sounds). A quiche by definition is a pie-like dish with a crust that is filled with an custard made of egg, cream, cheese and some other savory ingredient. I started looking up other quiche recipes that are clean eating type ones and could not find one that allowed for much in the way of cheese or cream. In a regular version of a quiche, traditionally heavy cream, cheddar and Parmesan cheese is used. I opted to use low fat cottage cheese and a much smaller portion of cheddar in place of the up to 2 cups of cheese in a regular quiche and a combination of skim milk and fat free sour cream in place of a full cup of heavy cream. And I also increased the amount vegetables in the recipe.

Green and Clean Crustless Quiche
8 oz. low fat cottage cheese
2 oz. shredded cheddar
1/2 C fat free sour cream or Greek yogurt
1/2 C skim milk
2 whole eggs
2 eggs whites
1 C cooked spinach
1 C broccoli, steamed
3 green onions, chopped
1 lg. Roma tomato, chopped
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
sea salt, to taste

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• In a blender, blend cottage cheese, cheddar, sour cream and milk until smooth
• Next add in eggs and seasonings and blend again
• Spray a 9" pie plate with cooking spray 
• Place all veggies in the bottom of the pie plate
• Top with cheese mixture
• Bake at 350 degrees for one hour

Re-purpose Idea #6 - Little Red Hen Costume

My daughter is playing the part of the Little Red Hen in a classroom play. It's not a big production, so a fancy costume is not necessary. We were told that they could even just dress in clothes the color of the character, so I knew we could do a little better by re-purposing a few items and just a little bit of sewing and a little bit of felt.

She is wearing a red shirt and red pants that she already has in her wardrobe and from there we made a few additions. I used red felt that I cut out and stitched together a comb for the top and some orange felt cut and stitched to look like a beak. I took a stocking cap of my son's that had a hole in the seam and cut open the rest of the seam to insert the comb in stitch it in place. I them stitched the beak in place at the brim.

I then took an old (and having seen better days) red tutu that once had black spots on it (was part of a ladybug tutu costume) and removed the spots to give her a "feathered" chicken body.

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Added 4/24/14

As a Papa Murphy's Mom, I receive products, promotional items and educational materials to use and share as I see fit. However, any opinions expressed by me are honest and reflect my actual experience.

Re-purpose Idea #5 - Turn a Drawer Into A Shelf

I bought this drawer at an antique store. They had it sitting on a table standing vertically and had books inside it. I thought it would look cute on it's side and on to the wall as a shelf in my bathroom.

Book Review: Don't Throw That Away!

I wanted to share with you this book called Don't Throw That Away!by Lara Bergen. It is a cute board book with lift-the-flaps that will help teach even the youngest resident of the earth about recycling and reusing. It gives ideas of house to reuse a jar, a milk jug, cans, a cardboard box, and clothes. I wasn't asked to review the book, I just wanted to share it with you. In fact, I got the copy I am reviewing from the library which you might want to check out too! But you can buy it on Amazon if you wish.

Re-Purposed Item #4 - Fairy Doors from Recycled Clay

Ok, so maybe it's not so much as a Re-Purposed Item as it is Recycled - recycled clay that is. What exactly is recycled clay? Well, at the Owatonna Art Center they take all the old clay scraps that are leftover or from failed projects and they re-use this clay for their kids classes. My daughter and I recently took a class at the Art Center where we made a fairy house together, each made our own fairy door, and she made a toad house.

 This is the fairy door that my daughter made. She did this pretty much all on her own. She did have a knob on it but it was not attached very well and fell off during drying.

I made this fairy door for my son as I knew he might be a little jealous that she had all these new pottery pieces and he didn't have anything, plus I wanted to made one and my daughter was making her own. I really like how the glaze separated and there is blue shimmery in the veins of the leaf.


Here is a good video about recycling scrap pottery clay.

Review: Spinster Sisters All Natural Soap

If You Make One Change This Earth Week....

Consider Trying out Spinster Sisters Co. Soap Bars!

Have I ever told you that I love Peppermint body products? I am not sure it has ever really come up in a review before, until now that is because I received both peppermint bar soap and lip balm from Spinster Sisters Co. I just find that peppermint just helps wake me up and stimulates my senses and this soap did not disappoint. It was pure luck (on my part) that they decided to send me these particular varieties when they carry around 35 different kinds. The other variety they sent me was Lemongrass Sage. Some of the other scents I would love to try include Cucumber Basil (kinda sounds like a tasty summer salad!), Lime Mint and Rosemary Mint. Did I mention I love mint body products? :) I am quite intrigued by the varieties of Wasabi and Eucalyptus Lime as well.

But it's not just the peppermint that I love about these products. They have truly made a concentrated effort to provide products and run a business in as eco-friendly way as possible. They use raw ingredients that you will recognize on a label that include olive, castor, coconut, palm, jojoba, sweet almond, avocado, hempseed oils, cocoa and fair-trade shea butter. No having to look up how to pronounce any of those ingredients! Or wonder where they were derived from. Plus, they grow many of the herbs and botanicals they grow themselves.

They don't stop with the items used to make their products, they have made eco-friendly efforts with the packaging including bio-degradable and compostable bags on their soaps that are made from wood fibers, lip balm containers that include 35% recycled plastic, and bath soaks and bath bombs are in 100% recycled paper bags. Not only that, but they also have reduced the carbon footprint of their business with a solar photovoltaic system and passive solar construction.

If you are looking to make even one step towards a more eco-friendly lifestyle or looking to add another change to yours, then please check out Spinster Sisters Co. Not only do they have soaps and lip balms, but also bath bombs, bath salts, scrubs, shaving kits, sunscreens, insect repellants, shampoo, deodorant, and more!

You can also find them on Facebook!

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.

Re-purpose Idea #3: Use a Slow Cooker as a Fondue Pot

Always thought it would be fun to have a fondue party but don't own a pot? Don't worry! This Thrifty Thursday I am telling you to save your money and use your slow cooker as a fondue pot. This will work for both a cheese fondue and chocolate fondue. I got this idea from Northern Cheapskate.

However, you won't be able to use it to cook meat in oil as it will not make it hot enough. So, stick to cheese and/or chocolate fondue and you will be good to go. You can provide precooked meats to dip in the cheese.  In my personal fondue experience a fondue meal can get very heavy, so it is best to stick to just 1 or 2 types of fondues anyways.

Be sure to read my newest post on Northern Cheapskate "Slow Cookers Save the Day (or Dinner!)"

GIVEAWAY: Shutterfly's Best Gift Ever!!!!

Looking for the Best Gift Ever?

In the upcoming months, there are so many occasions that you might be looking for the perfect gift. For our family it is my husband's birthday, my daughter's birthday, Teacher Appreciation Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, my parents anniversary; and that is all just in the next 2 months! What could be more perfect than a personalized photo gift. My children have already given their daddy a photo reusable travel mug and it is wonderful. He uses it when he works on can look at a picture of his children. This is perfect for the coffee-loving person who has a desk job but doesn't want to much extra clutter on their desk. The reusable travel mug from Shutterfly serves two purposes, a beverage container and decoration.

The Top 10 Gift Ideas include: photo books, iPhone case, canvas prints, mugs, magnets, photo cubes, photo blocks, stainless steel travel mugs, fleece photo blanket, and desktop plaques.

What is your favorite item to give or receive on the Top 10 List?

The way our winter has been lingering on in Minnesota, I am thinking that a fleece photo blanket would be a well appreciated gift.

I was gifted with a Stainless Steel Photo Travel Mug for writing this post and also have one to give away to a lucky reader!!! Shipping will be included as well. If you win, who would this be the perfect gift for?

ONE LUCKY READER WINS A STAINLESS STEEL PHOTO MUG!!!

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No monetary compensation was received for this post. I will receive a code for a free mug to review in exchange for providing this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Re-purpose Idea #2: Use Indoor Grill as Panini Press

I always wanted a panini press, but the price tag deterred me from acquiring another small kitchen appliance. Then I decided I would try out my indoor grill to make one and it works perfectly to re-purpose my indoor grill in to a panini grill. Smart!

It also works great for making grilled cheese and they cook much faster that in the toaster oven/oven/stovetop.

Wordless Wednesday: Book Arts Class

I recently took a Book Arts class at the Owatonna Arts Center with a friend. We had the opportunity to design and make a bunch of paste papers for covers and then chose our favorite to make a book out of. I expanded upon what we did in class and embellished it further and changed it to a bound book rather than an accordion one when I was home. I decided to combine my new craft of book are with my other crafts of pottery and loom knitting. I'm crafty like that. :)

I gave the journal I made to a friend for her birthday along with some nice pens.