Archives for 2013

Great Deals on Spring Apparel at Dollar General

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

 

Dollar General Spring Apparel

As spring rolls around everyone looks forward to getting out in their new spring clothes. As much as I love my jeans and sweaters, I know I'm always excited to break out the shorts, capris and cute tops.  And I bet you are too!  But if you have a family and you are on a budget it can be hard to get a whole new wardrobe for everyone.  Enter Dollar General!

Dollar General is known for its great deals on cleaning supplies, health and beauty aides, grocery items, and housewares, but what you might not know is that it is a great source for affordable clothing and fashion accessories for the entire family.

Whether you are looking to outfit just yourself, an infant, or kids of all ages, they have great looking styles in casual clothing like capris, shorts, and tees, as well as activewear, swimwear, dresses, and of course, shoes!

 


If you have kids, you will love their infant and toddler selections.  I think the shirt and short sets for boys and girls featured here are so cute, and they are perfect for any activity.  Kids can wear them to the park, shopping, to a party, school, or evening church.  I also love these little girls' sundresses.  They are so light and airy fro the season, and they have some cute colors and patterns available.  And with prices ranging from $7-$9, you simply cannot expect to find a better deal anywhere else.  And don't you just love the shoes shown here?  I think they are absolutely adorable.

I also love tank tops for the spring and summer, and Dollar General has a wide selection of these, ranging from $5 to $15.  I love tanks because you can wear them practically anywhere from the park to the mall, and even out to eat.  And Dollar General has a wide range of bright colors, cute patterns, and hot prints available.

Check out the Dollar General Apparel Book for these and other great selections in clothing and accessories.

Connect with Dollar General: Find Dollar General on Twitter and like Dollar General on Facebook.

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CVS Gold Emblem Snacks Review

CVS Gold Emblem

As you know, I love trying out new foods, especially snacks!  Recently I was introduced to the Gold Emblem brand of snacks available exclusively at CVS.  The line includes nuts, trail mix, pretzels, candy, crackers and cookies.  With a line up like that, I didn’t hesitate to say yes when I was asked to sample some of their products. [Read more…]

Pillsbury Artisan Pizza Crust Giveaway

Pillsbury Artisan Pizza Crust

Pizza is one of my favorite foods!  It’s so yummy and versatile.  My favorite kind is covered in meat, especially pepperoni, ham, and bacon!  But I also love just a good old fashioned pepperoni pizza or a plain cheese.  And I also love chicken pizza, especially Buffalo Chicken!

And spring means a fresh start for everyone, including your pizza! This spring get your pizza fix right in your own kitchen with Pillsbury Artisan Pizza Crust with Whole Grain.  It lets you can create any fresh flavor combination you like while getting 16 grams of whole grain per serving.

Check out just a few of the fabulous recipes that you can make using Pillsbury Artisan Pizza Crust with Whole Grain:

Artisan Pizzas

1. Philly Cheese Steak Pizza

2. BBQ Chicken Pizza

3. Taco Pizza

4. Potato Pesto Pizza

Look for Pillsbury Artisan Pizza Crust with Whole Grain in the refrigerated section of your local grocery store so you can make these yummy creations or your own recipe!

Pillsbury Artisan Pizza Prize Pack
Giveaway! One Simply Sweet Home reader will win a Pillsbury Artisan Pizza Prize Pack, which includes:

  • A VIP coupon for one FREE Pillsbury Artisan Pizza Crust with Whole Grain
  • 15.5″ Farberware Pizza Pan
  • Food Chopper with Storage Containers
  • Silicon-grip Oven Mitt

A Retail Value of $64.

To enter, use the  Rafflecopter form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Disclosure: The prize pack, information, and giveaway have been provided by General Mills and Pillsbury through MyBlogSpark.

Look to the Future: Building Blocks for Many Healthy Years

running

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Advertisers will tell you that it’s important to live in the moment, which is good advice as you’re raising your kids. Longing for the past and lamenting the future will rob you of those daily moments of contentment as your kids grow up. However, when it comes to your own personal health, it’s important to both live in the moment and look to the future to set up some best practices in your world today to invest in a long and healthy life.

Glucosamine and Running

For healthy joints, glucosamine is a must-have. It relieves the pain of osteoarthritis as you get older, allowing for an active, healthy lifestyle. Osteoarthritis is a high risk for all women. Glucosamine, available through Seven Seas, helps repair the joint cartilage that can break down as a result of age or overuse of joints from long-term, high-impact exercise. If you’re a runner or enjoy other forms of high-impact exercise, start taking glucosamine before you have problems.

 Glucosamine and Strength-Training

Though glucosamine is important for those who indulge in high-impact exercise, it’s also important for those at risk or osteoarthritis who wish to do any sort of activity pain-free. The breakdown of the cartilage can also affect your ability to participate in other activities, including strength training. It’s important in your young life to begin and maintain a strength-training routine. Osteoporosis can begin to set in at an early age, even if you don’t feel its effects until you’re older. Strength-training helps prevent it, as well as other injuries as you age. To keep your joints functioning well enough to strength-train for a long time to come, be sure to take your glucosamine.

Other Healthy Habits

Be sure to drink enough water every day, limit your caffeine intake, and take your vitamins. It’s these routine things that add up over time to build a healthy lifestyle and support your health late in life. If you’re experiencing any ailments, such as back pain, be sure to address these issues earlier in life rather than later. Your bones are typically much more resilient at a young age, and it’s easier for chiropractors or other doctors to work their magic if you’re younger — and it will cost you less in the long run. It’s also easier to establish and maintain a workout routine when you’re in your thirties than it is in your forties. It’s not impossible to start a healthy routine late in life, and it’s still vitally important. However, earlier is better when it comes to your health. Check your daily calcium intake, and if you’re like most women, you aren’t getting enough. Consider taking a calcium supplement in addition to striving to eat healthy each day.

Paige One writes about a variety of topics – including health!

Olay Fresh Effects Review


Olay Fresh Effects Review

Spring is finally here!  And I’m really excited to leave my sweaters in closet and break out my cute spring wardrobe!  But as the hot summer approaches, I have to think more and more about my skincare regimen.  It is always so hot and muggy here, that just going outside for a short time can make my skin break out.  For this reason, I try to stay indoors as much as possible and cling to my computer! (Haha.)  But even I have to go outside sometimes, so I am very happy to add Olay Fresh Effects to my skincare routine.   [Read more…]

Friday Favorites – Week 162

friday favorites

Hey guys! Welcome to another fun edition of Friday Favorites!  Before we get to this week’s party, I have a couple of announcements that I want to make.  First off, I am planning to schedule some guest posts for the summer time.  Last summer I had a few of you on here to share your summer recipes with us, and I found it really enjoyable.  I will be contacting some of you via email shortly to see if you’d like to be a guest.  (Just as soon as I get a free minute. haha!)  But I would love…love…love…LOVE some volunteers!  So if you’d like to be a guest on my blog this summer, please just send me an email and I will be in contact with you shortly! 🙂

And then also this Friday, in addition to hosting this party, I am going to be sharing a review for Olay Fresh Effects, and in the review I will be including my very first….wait for it, wait for it…..Youtube video!  And I have to tell you, I am like the shyest person that ever lived!  So I swore up and down that I would never post a Youtube video, but I’ve been encouraged to make a one a few different times now, and I finally decided that I would break down and just try it out!  And who knows…maybe if I get some pretty good feedback, I may try to do more of those in the future.  So, as I said, the post will go up some time on Friday, and I would love to get your comments on the video.  (I only ask that you try to  ignore my constant hand movements and childlike voice! haha!)

Now let’s take a look at this week’s features!


Starbucks-Mocha-Cupcakes
Starbucks Mocha Cupcakes from Spend with Pennies

Carseat Cover
Baby Carseat Cover Tutorial from I Dig Pinterest and I Did it Too
Cake Batter No-Bake Cheesecake

 Cake Batter No Bake Cheesecake Filling from Close to Home

I can’t wait to see your post! Link up below!


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New Design Trends for 2013 You Can’t Miss

Louis XIV

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With the New Year making head way, have you considered implementing goals for your home too? Whether you are building a new home or making changes to your existing home, it never hurts to get ahead and learn about the design trends.

Even if your home is currently built and you desire to change up the look, consider that every once in a while a house needs a bit of retouching so that it can stay current and fresh. The best way to do this is to stay on top of the design trends and figure out which ones are your favorites. If you see a few trends that catch your eye, don’t be afraid to implement them into your current decorated interior. With a little bit of improvising you’ll have a new trendy room that’s perfect for seating company in. Plus, your kids will hopefully think that it will look nice and current too – especially if they like fun new patterns like camouflage, which is trending right now in the interior design world.

Brass on Furniture and Elements

Brass is a wonderful way to add a touch of warmth to your space, as well as add a lovely gleam to your furniture and decorative elements. With this golden hue, you will definitely be feeling the warmth of summer when it arrives. Plus, brass elements blend perfectly with other metals and ages well if you decide to keep the new furniture in your interior for a long period of time.

Create an Adventurous Interior With Camouflage

Camouflage may seem like an odd decorative element to incorporate into your home, but if it’s done correctly it can be rather fun! If you’re building a new home and are on to the stage of building design services that means you’re one step closer to decorating your home. Incorporate camouflage into your interiors on fun elements, such as your seat cushions or pillows. Your kids will definitely love this trend.

Regal Elegance With Historical Furniture

If you love embracing history and even more so love to incorporate historical or remakes of historical pieces in your home, you’ll be excited to hear that Louis XIV furniture is back on–trend. Fall in love with precision of form, classical ornamentation, and straight lines on furniture and your room will look truly elegant.

About the Author: Sierra loves interior design and keeping up on all of the latest design trends. She recommends checking out magazines or an architecture design website for more information.

12 Smoothie Recipes

12 Smoothie Recipes

As spring is under way and summer is right around the the corner, it got me to thinking about cool refreshments.  And what could be more refreshing than a nice, cool smoothie?  And they’re generally pretty healthy too, right?  So with all this in mind, I decided to collect 12 Smooth Recipes for you.  And I think you’ll find a lot of variety here.  These definitely go beyond the usual strawberry smoothie or strawberry banana smoothie. (Not that those aren’t great!)  Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

[Read more…]

Give the Gift of Lilies This Spring

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

 

Things are finally starting to warm up around here, and that means spring flowers are finally blooming! With Mother’s Day right around the corner it is the perfect time to consider showering mom, grandma, the wife, or your other favorite mom with gifts like a beautiful bouquet of flowers.

Traditionally we associate roses as the the romantic flower of choice, but there are so many other options out there!  Consider some gladiolus and irises, or lilies.

When you think of lilies you probably think of white Easter lilies, but in fact they come a variety of beautiful, bright colors, that are perfect for spring.  I, for one, have always been a fan of yellow flowers, so I absolutely love the arrangement pictured above!

But you can also find lilies in bright pink, red, orange, and pastel colors, and they are even more beautiful when you create a mixed arrangment.  Don’t you just love the mix of colors pictured here?

Aside from Mother’s Day, we also have Administrative Professionals Day this month, as well Father’s Day coming up in June, which are both perfect occasions for which to send flowers.  And of course, lilies are also perfect for weddings and anniversaries.

If you like flower arrangements for your home, lilies would be beautiful for that too.  Just imagine the beautiful arrangement above sitting on a table in your living room or foyer, or perhaps as a centerpiece in your dining room.

It is amazing how creative you can get with flowers, just using different flower combinations or using a unique vase or other container to complement your flowers. If you would like more ideas and inspriration to help you create the perfect arrangment for Mother’s Day or other occasions, check out iBulb’s Pinterest page.

And if you are a gardener you should also consider growing these beautiful flowers in your own garden.  Look for bulbs at your local garden center, grocery store, or flower shop.

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Introducing the Genesis Gem Phone

genesis-phone

 

Many of us are dealing with the worries of having an aging parent.  My dad will be 60 this year, and ever since he had a heart attack 8 years ago, I worry about something happening to him.  He also lives alone out in the country, and is always working outdoors, which gives me even more reason to worry!

The Genesis Phone is a new phone currently in development.  It is a 24/7 support system for you and your family.  It makes it easy for your loved one to call you.  (My dad has trouble with the latest  technology and always wants simple phone just to call from with out all the “extra junk.”)

And apart from being a phone that you can call from, the phone is equipped with GPS so that you can locate your loved ones.  This feature actually comes in handy not just for seniors, but also for kids, or anyone else you want to keep track of.

The phone is also connected to a 24/7 Emergency center that your loved ones can call if they need help.

And finally the  feature I found to be most unique is the auto-reminder feature.  If you have a parent who often forgets what time to take medicine or which medicines to take, you can set auto reminders to tell them.  Or perhaps set reminders about doctor’s appointments or other meetings and errands.  This was also be great for kids.  Perhaps they need a reminder about who will be picking them up from school or a reminder to turn in field trip money, or something of that nature.

The Genesis Gem sounds like it will be a great product to help keep you connected to your loved ones and make your job as a caregiver easier and lot more care-free.

Disclosure: For writing this post, I was compensated with an Amazon gift card. However, the opinions are my own.