Eclos Skin Care Review and GIVEAWAY, #EclosBeauty

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of éclos Skin Care for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

A couple of weeks ago I got the chance to try out the éclos Skin Care line of products.  I’m always intrigued by facial care products and love trying out new ones to see if they can improve my skin.  I don’t wear a lot of makeup, as far as foundation and cover-up goes, so having clear skin is really important to me.
According to the makers of the éclos Skin care products, the éclos line features apple stem cells that have been extracted from a rare Swiss apple.  These stem cells have shown the ability to stimulate skin stem cells, and encourage aging skin to behave like younger skin. Plant extracts, vitamins, anti-oxidants, and the apple stem cell technology help minimize the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and tired skin.


I received two éclos Skin Care kits, one to review and one to give away.  Inside each kit there is the following:
• Facial Cleanser Skin Prep
• Cellular Activator Face Serum
• Moisture Therapy Regenerative Cream
• Restorative Eye Cream
• Instant Radiance Facial Scrub
• Skin Renewal Clay Mask
• éclos Terry Cloth Head Band

I tried the several of the products, and I really enjoyed the Facial Cleanser Skin Prep, the Instant Radiance Facial Scrub, and the Skin Renewal Clay Mask.  After every use, I felt like I had just given myself a really great facial and my skin felt smooth and clean.  However, I found my skin to be too sensitive for the Cellular Activator Face Serum and the Moisture Therapy Regenerative Cream, so I didn’t continue to use those.  I am still using the Facial Cleanser and the Facial Scrub on a regular basis, and I really love both of them. I haven’t noticed my skin becoming dry or breaking out due to any changes in my skin care regiment, so that’s been really great.

I took a couple of pictures, one before using éclos and one after.  I can always tell that my face feels and looks way cleaner after using the facial cleanser.

GIVEAWAY
I’m excited that I get the chance to giveaway one éclos Skin Care kits to one of you lucky readers.  You’ll receive the exact same kit I did, and you’ll get to see for yourself the benefits of éclos Skin Care.

HOW TO ENTER

• Leave a comment on this blog post stating which product in the kit you are most excited to try.

This giveaway starts today, May 26, 2012 and ends May 31, 2012 at 11:59 PM.  This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. Please leave your email address in your comment below, or make sure that it is connected to your user I.D. so that I have a way to contact you if you are the chosen winner.  The winner will be chosen through Random.org.  Once the winner is chosen, he/she will be contacted as soon as possible.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of éclos Skin Care for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Mod Podge Rocks Book Review and GIVEAWAY!!

Come take a look at my friend Amy’s new book!!

You all know how much I love my bloggy friends and the online creative community. And one of the most amazing people I’ve been able to meet, and become friends with, is Amy Anderson from Mod Podge Rocks.  She is a super star in my book, and one of the greatest friends a person could have. She’s inspiring and is just completely awesome. I love her. And I am so excited to be able to share some of her book, Mod Podge Rocks, with you guys.

Her book is filled with great ideas and tutorials to create fun, and beautiful projects for you and your home.  I love this Children’s Art Charm Bracelet. What a fun way to keep wonderful memories…

And this Modern Forest Toy Box is so great. Plenty of ways to update your own child’s toy box, and make it more than just a place to store toys…

And one of my favorites, is this Be A Deer Suitcase. It’s cute and whimsical, and a perfect way to update an older suitcase.

I know that you guys will love reading through Amy’s book just like I have, and I’m so excited that I get to give one away to one of you.  Trust me when I say that you’ll be caught up in all of the great projects inside, and be dying to do some of your own. 
This giveaway is being run through Rafflecopter, so please enter right below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclosure: I received two copies of the Mod Podge Rocks book, one to review and one to giveaway. All the opinions in this post are honest and completely my own.

Want Clean Carpets? Stanley Steemer GIVEAWAY for 2 $100 Gift Certificates

Yesterday I looked at our living room carpet and wished like all heck that I could get them cleaned. We’ve got stains from past pets, the kids, and just heavy traffic since it’s our living room.  You might be feeling the exact same thing, so in case you are, I have a surprise for you.  I get the chance to giveaway 2 $100 gift certificates to Stanley Steemer. That’s right, there will be TWO winners!



Stanley Steemer isn’t just for carpet cleaning, they also handle hardwood, tile, air ducts, water damage restoration, and more.  They have over 70 branches  and 220 franchise locations in 48 states. And Stanley Steemer services 95% of the country.  Their equipment and cleaning processes remove more than 98% of dry soil from floors. 

If you suffer from allergies, think about all the unnoticed dirt and grime that is in your home. And then think about how great it would be to have Stanley Steemer come in and take care of it for you.  That is something to be excited about right?

You can see the great job Stanley Steemer does on a client’s carpets in this video:

Stanley Steemer can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

GIVEAWAY
This giveaway  is set up through Rafflecopter, so please enter below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure:  The gift certificate, information, and additional gift pack have been provided by Stanley Steemer through MyBlogSpark.

eMeals Review and GIVEAWAY

Hey friends. Today I am going to talk about a really cool online meal planning service, called eMeals.
 


With eMeals you can choose from over 30 different meal plans, print out the weekly plan that comes with recipes, go shopping for the ingredients, and then come home and not have to worry about what you’re going to make for dinner that night. Or any night that week.  And they have meal plans that would suit just about any family’s nutritional needs or budget.  Along with regular meal plans, they also have specialty meal plans such as vegetarian, gluten free, low carb, and more.  And each meal plan is as low as $5 a month. You can see a sample of any meal plan just by clicking on the link to the meal plans when you are on the eMeals site.



I love that each meal plan is set up on a weekly basis, it gives you a complete list of ingredients that you would need, and a recipe to make the meal. So you don’t have to worry about making a list or digging through recipes to know what to make. 

GIVEAWAY

eMeals has generously offered one of my readers a free 3-month subscription to their service. A great giveaway for any mom or family to win.  This giveaway is run through Rafflecopter, so please enter directly below.  And for great meal suggestions and help, you can also check out eMeals on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post, I was given a temporary subscription to eMeals in order to provide a review and giveaway.

Carmelized Apple Skillet Cake

I think my husband finally found a cake that he loved, even though it didn’t have frosting on it. No frosting, just a ton of sticky, sweet caramel sauce. Darn that The Craft of Baking Book, I was seriously tempted to break my policy of not eating baked apples, that’s how good this cake looked and smelled. And even though I didn’t try a slice, several others did, and said it was divinely delicious.

This recipe is adapted from The Craft of Baking (because as always, we don't follow recipes too strictly in our house, and must have some compulsive need to change them when we can.)


Caramelized-Apple Skillet Cake


Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
• 2 Granny Smith Apples
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, separated
• 3/4 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour, plus an additional 3 Tbsp.
• 3 Tbsp. coarse yellow cornmeal
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/3 cup whole milk

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a 10 inch cast iron skillet, combine 1 cup of the sugar with 2 tablespoons of water stirring to make sure all the sugar is dampened by the water. Cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar turns a golden brown caramel color. This should take about 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, and whisk in 2 tablespoons of the softened butter.
• Peel, core, and use a knife to cut the apples crosswise into 1/8 of an inch thick rings. Layer the apple rings tightly together over the caramel in the bottom of the skillet. Make sure they overlap.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the remaining 3/4 cup of sugar, 6 table spoons of butter and the vanilla. Beat the ingredients together on medium speed, until they are light fluffy. Mix in the egg yolks one at a time.
• In another bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. 
• Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the buttered mixture in the electric mixer bowl. Then add half of the whole milk to the batter and mix on low. Continue mixing and add another 1/3 of the flour mixture to the batter and the other half of the milk. Then add the last 1/3 of the flour mixture to the batter.  When it’s all combined turn the mixer off and use a spatula to transfer the batter into a separate large bowl.
• Clean and dry the bowl to the electric mixer.  Add the 2 egg whites, and use the whisk attachment to beat into soft peaks on medium speed. This might take 4 minutes or so. When the peaks have formed, fold the egg whites into the batter.
• Pour the batter over the apples in the skillet and spread it out evenly.  Bake, rotating the skillet halfway through, until the top of the cake is golden brown, about 45-50 minutes. 
• Allow the cake to cool in the skillet for about 30 minutes.  Then run a knife around the edge of the cake and invert it onto a plate.  You can serve this cake warm or at room temperature.

Strawberry Tart with Lemon Cream

Mmmm, seriously friends, sometimes it is so nice having a husband who loves to bake. (And sometimes it’s a curse… my hips and thighs do not thank him.)  He recently checked out a few baking books from our library and has been creating delicious treats on the weekends.

This recipe comes from The Craft Of Baking…
STRAWBERRY TART WITH LEMON CREAM
CREAM CHEESE DOUGH
Ingredients

• 8 oz. unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 8 oz. cream cheese, cut into small pieces
• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

In a standing mixer, beat the butter, cream cheese, and sugar on medium speed until smooth.  Add the flour and salt, and mix until just combined.  Turn out the dough onto a clean lightly floured work surface. Divide it in half and shape into flattened disks, and wrap each one in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  Roll out the dough into the shape of your tart pan and then press the dough into the edges of the pan.  Use a fork to prick the bottom of the dough al over. Freeze until firm, about 10 minutes.
PREHEAT the oven to 350 degrees.
Line the chilled tart shell with parchment paper or foil leaving at least 1 inch of excess on the sides. Fill it with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until the edges of the crust are just beginning to turn golden, about 15 to 20 minutes. After baking remove the parchment paper and pie weights/beans. Return the crust to the oven and continue to bake for 15 to 20 minutes more, until it is golden brown all over. Transfer the tart pan to a wire rack and let it cool completely.
LEMON CREAM FILLING AND STRAWBERRIES
Ingredients

• 1 cup heavy cream
• Lemon Curd (recipe here)
• 2 pints fresh strawberries, hulled and cut in half

In a large medium mixing bowl, whip the heavy cream until it becomes thick enough to hold a peak. Fold half of the whipped cream into the lemon curd, and then fold in the other half. Pour the lemon cream mixture into the tart shell and spread it out evenly. Place the strawberries on top, close together, and cut side down. Cover the tart with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator until cold. about 1-4 hours. Remove the outer ring of the tart pan before serving.

Meyer Lemon Curd

When we did our Mother’s Day Brunch post last weekend, my husband made an amazing Meyer Lemon Curd. We ate the yummy sauce poured over our pancakes and with sliced strawberries. It was delicious. Which, I got to tell you, almost ever single thing he makes is super delicious.

And don't go skimping on the lemons, Meyer Lemons are a necessity. They give the lemon curd a sweeter flavor, and take away some of the tartness that would be there if you didn’t use them.

MEYER LEMON CURD
Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of sugar
• Lemon zest of 2 Meyer lemons
• 1/2 cup of lemon juice (about 3 Meyer lemons)
• 2 eggs
• 4 Tbsp. of unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Instructions:

• Place sugar and lemon zest in the top of a double boulder. Set your stovetop heat to medium low.
• Pinch the zest into the sugar until fragrant.
• Whisk in eggs and juice. Whisk constantly until mixture thickens. (This should take about 10 minutes.)
• Once thickened, run the mixture through a blender to smooth out.Allow to cool for a few minutes in food processor or blender before adding the softened butter.
• Drop in the diced butter into the blender with mixture, pulse until smooth.
• Place in airtight container let set in fridge for 30 minutes before use. Stays good for 2 weeks in refrigerator.

Happy Mother’s Day! Why not treat yourself to a trip to RIO?

I got to treat myself to a fun shopping trip yesterday, just in time for Mother’s Day. I had an eye candy overload experience at World Market.  I wanted to buy everything in sight, and was in the store for at least an hour and a half, which with two small toddlers, is almost impossible for me to do. But, I just couldn’t leave the store without looking at everything.

If you’ve ever been to a World Market, you know they have just about anything for your home. From furnishings to food, cooking utensils to bath soap… they have so much to see and enjoy.  I thought at first I would make one big purchase like this lovely bench that was only $89.99

But then I saw so many things I liked, and I really wanted to bring home a ton of goodies to play with.  So I bought all of this instead:

1. Earrings which were on sale from $4.99 
2. Coconut Lime Antibacterial Soap 
3. A Water Infuser (Which I’ve already fallen in love with and used several times) 
4. Gold Beaded Bracelet 
5. Turquoise and Gold Beaded Wrap Bracelet 
6. A ceramic colander, a glass carafe, 8 small tart tins 
7. 4 round braided placemats, 4 square plates, 4 glass tumblers, and a set of 6 white buffet napkins.

Bringing home all of my treasures, made me feel like a kid at Christmas. :)  And after treating myself to some cute jewelry, I am dying to go out and show it all off.  Maybe I need treat myself to a beachy vacation next?  Which I could easily do if I won a trip to RIO!

Right now World Market is having a Getaway Sweepstakes, and the grand prize is a trip to Rio de Janeiro, and a $1,000 gift card to World Market. So when you come back you can shop till your hearts content! Are your fingers itching to click over to the World Market Facebook page and enter the RIO Getaway Sweepstakes? World Market is also giving away a $100 gift card to one of their Facebook fans everyday, while the sweepstakes is going on. (It ends May 18th, 2012.)


And this summer you can turn your own home into an exotic retreat. Give it the feel of a relaxing island oasis, or create a space that’s reminiscent of Carnival. World Market is celebrating summer with amazing collections that showcase colorful designs you would see in places like Bali, Catalina, and Rio de Janeiro...


And you can easily accessorize all of your summer outfits with all of the gorgeous jewelry they have right now…


World Market is a great place to go shopping for your home and yourself, as well as an awesome place to get unique gifts for friends or family. (You know there’s still time to head over there for this Mother’s Day, right?!) 

And don’t forget, if you love World Market as much as I do, you can follow them on Facebook and Twitter, and get updates on all of their awesome deals and promotions.


This shop has been compensated by Cost Plus World Market, but all my opinions and experiences are honest, and my own.

My morning routine just got a whole lost easier #ClearBeauty #spon

Hey guys, so I will tell you right off that mornings around here sometimes suck. And it’s not because of my kids or lack of sleep, it’s because I wake up feeling awful and sick a lot. I usually wake up with a stuffy nose, then 5 minutes later it’s running like crazy, and I spend the first 30 minutes of my day blowing my nose almost non-stop. And not long after that, I am dealing with itchy and watery eyes. My dreaded mornings are caused by my allergies. They plague me constantly during the spring, summer, and fall.  But this year I was way more than willing to try something to help me combat them.  I decided to join up with the Allegra #ClearBeauty campaign.

I bought some Allegra at  a nearby CVS Phramacy so I could try it, hoping it would give me some relief.

I chose the 24 hour kind, and took it in the evening, thinking that if it worked I would feel much better when I woke up.  And it really did work, at least for me.  I woke up the next morning without feeling all stuffed up, didn’t blow my nose, and it wasn’t till later in the afternoon that I didn’t have my usual sore throat either. I felt so much better not waking up and having to blow my nose constantly. 
And I know that when I feel better, I want to look better too. I even got myself all done up, just because I could. :)  I wanted to try out all of my new cosmetics that I bought when I was at CVS getting the Allegra. 

With Spring almost over and Summer coming, I wanted to get a few things to put me in a summery mood. ;)  I love the Physicians Formula line of cosmetics, and this past week they were all on sale, $5.00 off of each and every one of their items. It was my lucky day. I also picked up some coral pink nail polish, and a tinted lip balm from Burt’s Bees. (No lipstick for me, I’m waiting on my friend Kellie to give me some tips and a tutorial on picking the right kind, and putting it on. I’m a lipstick virgin y’all.)  You can see a ton more photos of my shopping trip on my Google+ album.

So I started off my morning feeling good, and with a clean face. I always pull my hair back before starting my makeup…

I finished off my makeup and let my hair down, happy I loved my new cosmetics, and that my morning routine went so much easier. I could actually get ready right away, and not have to wait an hour or so before I went through my routine. I never like putting on makeup if I’m just going to be wiping it away every time I blow my nose, or have to rub my itchy eyes.

After I finished off my makeup, and painted my toes, and my little girls toes too. Had to let them dry before we did the lotion though, hehehe.


I loved shopping at CVS, not just because they carry great beauty products, but because of the great deals they have. With the CVS card you can get all kinds of deals, or earn extrabucks. And during the month of May you can get a 30 count of Allegra for only $17.99 with your CVS card.  Get yourself ready for Spring, Summer, or Fall with all the great products you can find at CVS.

You can check out Allegra on Twitter or Facebook, and hopefully get started on your own path to #ClearBeauty.  And you can participate in the Allegra Allergy Makeover Game and try to win a $50 CVS gift card, definitely worth trying for (Think of all the makeup you could buy ;) )


I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™. #CBias #SocialFabric  All the opinions shared here in this post were mine and true.

Savory Sweet Potato Fries

I told you guys a few weeks ago how I was trying to incorporate more sweet potatoes into our meals, and I wanted to share my recipe with you for homemade Savory Sweet Potato Fries.   These are super easy to make, taste delicious, and sweet potatoes are good for you!

I might be strange but I like my sweet potato fries savory, instead of sweet. And there’s no better way to achieve a savory flavor to them, than adding BACON.


SAVORY SWEET POTATO FRIES


INGREDIENTS
2-3 Sweet Potatoes cut into thin fries, or thin round discs
2—3 slices of cooked and crumbled bacon
1-2 teaspoons of thyme
1-2 teaspoons of kosher salt/sea salt
1-2 tablespoons coconut oil or olive oil


DIRECTIONS
Preheat your oven to 420 degrees and line a baking sheet/pan with foil or parchment paper.
You can cut your sweet potatoes into fries, or round discs. Then toss them in a large bowl with the coconut oil/olive oil. Make sure to heat the coconut oil up so that it is in a liquid state before coating the sweet potatoes with it.
Place the sweet potatoes on the baking pan and spread them out in a thin layer.
Sprinkle the crumbled bacon, thyme, and salt onto the sweet potatoes.
Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until the fries look done.

The fries go great with a garlic mayo or an aioli type of dipping sauce. A perfect way to enjoy your savory fries….

So do you like Sweet Potato Fries? Have you ever tried them with bacon and thyme? Or do you like your sweet potato fries sweet?

Individual Frittatas Recipe & Simple yet Delicious Mother’s Day Brunch Ideas #sfsmarties

Next Sunday is Mother’s Day, and I hope a lot of you lovely moms will get to spend the day getting pampered by your kids and husband.  I hope you guys will get served a delicious breakfast, have a relaxing lunch, and not even have to lift a finger in the kitchen for dinner… but just in case that doesn’t happen, and you are actually going to be serving a yummy meal to your own mom, I wanted to give you a savory recipe to try out, and some simple yet delicious ideas to put on a great brunch.

These individual size frittatas are packed with a lot of flavor, and yummy ingredients…

Individual Frittata Recipe (makes up to 6 servings)
Ingredients:

• 1/2 of a white onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 1/2 pound of ground breakfast sausage or 8 sausage links chopped up
• 5 slices of bacon, cooked and then crumbled into pieces
• 2-3 red potatoes, diced
• 7-8 eggs, cracked and whisked into a small bowl with 2-3 table spoons of heavy cream/milk
• salt and pepper

You are going to start out cooking some ground sausage, or cut up sausage links.  After a few minutes, add your chopped onion, peppers, and zucchini to the pan. You can add some salt and pepper too.  Cook until the sausage is fully browned, and the onions and peppers are becoming tender.

When they are done, pour them into a separate bowl and use the same pan to fry your red potatoes.

Once the potatoes are done cooking, add them to your sausage and veggie mixture. Crumble up the cooked bacon, and mix it into the rest of the sausage, potatoes, and veggies.

Fill your individual size ramekins up with the meat and veggies, and then add your whisked egg mixture over the tops of each bowl.

Place some shredded cheese on top, and bake in a 375 degree oven for 15 minutes.  Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving to guests.

Frittatas are so easy to make, but the flavors and combinations you can put together are almost endless. I used some of the ingredients we had on hand, like the peppers, onion, and zucchini, but I picked up the bacon and sausage from Smart & Final when I went shopping the day before. And Smart & Final was a great place to shop for our Mother’s Day Brunch since they had great sales going on, and a wide selection of food and drinks…


I laid everything out on our buffet, and we had an amazing selection of food to choose from.

Cream puffs that you could spoon melted chocolate on… The individual frittatas… Croissants wrapped around sausage links (kids love those)…

Mini pancakes that we served with a Meyer Lemon Curd and fresh cut strawberries…

Dole Orange Peach Mango juice served on ice, along side some chilled Pellegrino, and Sparkling Apple Grape Cider…

It was a delicious brunch if I do say so myself.

This brunch might look hard to pull off, but it was so simple. Especially when I chose items that were already put together for me. The creams puffs looked decadent with the melted chocolate poured on top of them, and all I had to do was buy the cream puffs in the Smart & Final freezer section, and then melt the chocolate at home.  We used the Aunt Jemima pancake mix to save time, and kept the pancakes small so we could cook more of them at one time. Fresh cut strawberries and homemade Meyer Lemon Curd on top, made the pancakes taste so good.  And the croissant wrapped sausage links were easy to make, and kid friendly.  All of these foods put together made a beautiful display…

Smart & Final is a great place to shop for every day groceries, and special occasions such as your own Mother’s Day Brunch. And starting May 9th – 15th the following items will be on sale, so don’t forget to stop by when you’re out shopping this week.
Kellogg's Eggo Waffles (will be on sale for $1.79), Dole 100% Juice, Bar S Sliced Bacon, Farmer John Breakfast Sausage Links, Aunt Jemima Buttermilk Pancake Mix, Don Francisco's Ground Coffee, Korbel Sparkling or Martini & Rossi Asti Spumante Wine

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™. #CBias #SocialFabric The individual fritatta recipe was created for my #sfsmarties Mother’s Day post.

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