Thursday, September 25, 2014

Luxe Beauty Microfiber Hair Towel dries hair super fast #LuxeBeautyEssentialsMicrofiberHairTowel



There is nothing like a soft, absorbent hair towel. I recently had the opportunity to try out a Luxe Beauty Microfiber Hair Towel which was a lot of fun. This a big towel...a full 19 x 39 inches made from double sided brushed terry microfiber. This towel is super soft and it was very gentle on hair and super absorbent. It washes well and dries very nicely.

I didn't realize that microfiber is that absorbent but it is...it actually dries hair faster.  I find that after washing my hair and drying it with this towel I can really cut how much time I need to use with my hot brush or flat iron.  I am thrilled because that means less damage to my hair. Of course my teen has already tried to repossess my special Luxe Beauty towel. I resisted but let her try it. She couldn't believe how much softer it was versus our regular bath towels.  It dried her long, long hair really quickly.  She has been asking for her own towel now. Sigh. I told her I would consider it.

You can pick up this hair towel on Amazon too and have it in your house fast.

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.

Dave's Killer Bread Blog Review #momsmeet @killerbread

I received this product for free from the sponsor of the MomsMeetSM program, May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms MeetsSM blogger, I agree 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 this product. 



There is nothing like fresh, delicious bread.  Then, you have Dave’s Killer Bread which is fresh, delicious and the company works hard to do good too. Dave’s Killer Bread started out back in 2005 on the west coast. Being in the mid-Atlantic region, I had only recently heard about it and found it through my local Whole Foods.  They started out at local Farmer's Markets in the Portland, Oregon area and not suprisingly, quickly became a local favorite organic bread. Once you try it, you will know why.


Fast forward, and in less than 10 years they are the #1 best-selling organic bread in the country. All of Dave’s Killer Breads are organic, Non-GMO Project Verified, and packed with killer taste and texture. This is not your typical supermarket bread.  It has an amazing taste and texture that works beautifully for sandwiches, French Toast and even in healthy recipes. You feel good buying it because there is a lot more to Dave's than just the taste.


Dave’s Killer Bread is known for its trademark explosion of seeds, delicious chewiness, and high quality ingredients. This is a company that want to more than just bake yummy bread though...they are determined to creating lasting change for the bread industry, their communities, and most especially their employees.  You have 12 varieties of delicious loaves to choose from too. You can find Dave’s Killer Bread in major grocery chains across 17 states and even parts of western Canada now.  Dave’s Killer Bread tastes delicious and each loaf is studded with seeds, ancient grains, and whole grain nutrition.  This kind of bread makes sense to me and fits perfectly into our healthy lifestyle. Even better, each slice also contains as much protein as one egg.  A loaf of Dave’s Killer Bread retails between $5.00 and $6.00 depending on where you shop.


I know some people (ahem, my husband...ahem, ahem) prefer a smoother texture.  To meet the needs of everyone, Dave’s Killer Bread even added a smooth textured 100% Whole Wheat bread to their product line recently.  So now your pickier family members can enjoy healthy loaves like the Dave's Whole Wheat with a touch of sweetness and that smooth texture they crave and require.You can still feel good about the nutrition and use any of the breads for sandwiches to French Toast or even as croutons in a cup of homemade soup.


One of the varieties I can't wait to try is Dave's Seeded Honey Wheat.  I didn't know until know that it was the first Non-GMO Project Verified honey wheat bread on the market.  Little Glamamama and I are definitely prime candidates for the 5g of fiber and protein, the sweet taste and crunchy texture of Seeded Honey Wheat. 


We tried the 21 Whole Grains and Seeds Thin-Sliced loaf. As a fitness buff, I appreciated that I can still enjoy the yummy taste and nutrition of Dave’s Killer Bread even when i really need to watch my calories which is almost all the time. I like that this is another variety loaded with grainy texture and big flavor but only 60 calories per slice.  I don't have to be deprived or feel guilty.

If you are really looking for lots of protein and fiber plus bold texture and sweet flavor you need to check out Good Seed variety of Dave’s Killer Bread.  We were able to sample this one and Little Glamamama and I both enjoyed it. Check out her lunch that I made last week with it above....she said it was delicious!  This will hit all the marks for you and your kids. I really liked it but I prefer the Thin Sliced so I can keep my own calories in check. That is the nice part that you have so many options!


The wonderful part about Dave’s Killer Bread is that you can stock up and freeze the extras. That is my busy mama tip that I always do since I don't have Whole Foods close to me.  If you are not going to eat a loaf in 7-10 days, they actually recommend freezing them. A best practice is to double bag the loaf (place the bagged loaf into a second zipper freezer bag), and you can actually freeze it for up to 3 months. I like to use a Sharpie marker to mark the date for easy reference. You can take pieces out to thaw as needed, toast directly out of the freezer, or just thaw the whole darn loaf if you have a posse in your home.


Truly, there are endless ways to enjoy Dave’s Killer Bread and your Pinterest pages are the only thing that limits your imagination!  You can enjoy a slice plain, toasted, or make a yummy hot or cold sandwich. Try some of the following delicious ideas:  Toast your bread and add your favorite topping (butter, almond butter, peanut butter, chocolate spread, cream cheeses, jam); create a cold sandwich (egg salad, chicken salad, turkey and Swiss, ham and cheddar, hummus and feta with cucumber); or whip up a hot sandwich (grilled cheese, monte cristo, tuna melt, tomato and mozzarella with fresh basil). You can make croutons too and add them to a nice Panzanella salad or a fresh homemade soup like I did. Any which way you slice it, you're gonna love Dave's Killer bread!

You can follow Dave's Killer Bread on their website, on Twitter and Facebook. I always like to follow my fave brands for all the updates and promotions. Don't forget to join Moms Meet too. It is a great way to meet other moms online, find out about new products and helpful ideas and maybe even sample some new options that you will come to love!

Yummy @ginnybakes Cookies and a Keurig® 2.0 System Review @InfluensterVox #HelloKeurig #keurig

I was given the opportunity to review a Keurig® 2.0 system free through Influenster.  I did not receive any additional compensation. As always, opinions are my own.


We really enjoy baking in our home and I wish we had time to do it more. Sometimes it just gets so busy between work, fitness goals, activities and commitments. I guess you have to say life gets in the way.  Aaah, when I retire I will be cooking and baking up a storm. Not to mention taking more time to relax with a cup of perfectly brewed coffee. I usually enjoy one delicious cup at minimum in the morning. Thank goodness for my Keurig brewer...it makes it fast and easy.  Keurig has truly created an innovation in home coffee brewing. We got our first Keurig a few years back and it makes a coffee-shop worthy cup of brew each and every time. Now they just innovated again with the all-new Keurig 2.0 System.  It is something else so keep reading to see what I think.

 

Meanwhile, we do like to bake from scratch but sometimes time is of the essence. I really like to keep it healthy so I was happy to discover baking mixes from @ginnybakes. Ginny is a real person behind those yummy creations and she puts her heart and soul into her cookie, muffin and brownie mixes and even ginnybakes boxed cookies.  Somehow it all worked out beautifully this weekend with my nifty new Keurig 2.0 and fresh, homemade cookies. Little Glamamama is old enough to do a lot of the work on her own which is just wonderful. I can just be a little bit of a helper to her. We baked up some yummy cookies to go perfectly with our delicious Keurig coffee.  The coffee was just for me though...Little Glamamama prefers her cookies with milk.  Unfortunately, as you can see from the photo Glamam-Daddy and Little Glamamama went to work on that batch of cookies so fast I was lucky I was able to get a photo of them at all. 


We have had a Keurig coffee brewer (the trusty B-60 model) for several years now. It has been getting up there in age but still hanging on. I was excited when I heard that I had the opportunity to review their newest model. Who doesn't love newer and more technically advanced products....it is always amazing how many updates and changes happen in just a few years. It is such a convenient way to make coffee. I love to be able to just pop a K-Cup in the brewer and have my coffee ready just the way I like it in seconds flat.  I find that the K-Cups are easy and in our area they are recyclable which is always guilt free for me.


The new Keurig® 2.0 system features Keurig 2.0 Brewing Technology™ which reads each lid to deliver a perfect beverage every time. This ensures that the Keurig® 2.0 system delivers on the promise of excellent quality beverages, produced simply and consistently, using the best Keurig® brewer technology and new features like strength control. They also enlarged the water reservoir which is great because when my mom visits I am refilling that water reservoir daily. That get's kind of old fast. I love the new touch screen which is pretty high tech.  There are more ways to totally customize your coffee like making is stronger for those early mornings. There is also the automatic settings as well which is kind of cool but you can only do this with the carafe. It would be great to do that with the cup too and have it waiting for me.  Speaking of the carafe, they added it to the package with the 2.0 model. Nice addition...perfect for several people because it makes 4 cups. They also added a built in filtration system for the ultimate in fresh water to make better coffee.  One downside to this model is the fact that you cannot use a reusable K-cup with it and older K-cups (can you say Glamamama loves to stockpile...uh oh) either.  I have seen some customers say that Keurig customer service has been willing to work with some customers in this situation which is nice. I have had to contact Keurig in the past and their customer service is stellar...truly amazing representatives that have gone above and beyond to make sure I am happy.


I like the carafe but you have to plan a head a bit because it needs time to get pre-heated. It doesn't keep the coffee hot ALL day long either but it keeps it hot long enough for us.  The machine is smart too....it even knows the difference between the cup sizes and won't brew unless you have the proper one set underneath it depending on the brew setting. So if you have it set to carafe but have a coffee cup underneath it you don't have to worry the brewer will leave you knee-deep in coffee. It is perfect for the distracted Glamamama because that is something that might have already occurred in our house and the new Keurig 2.0 saved me from impending disaster.

I really like this new Keurig 2.0brewer model though I would love the option to use different K-cups including my older ones. Keurig does have many K-Cup options available on their site though. I have ordered through them in the past and the site is easy to use and user-friendly.  Is it the most economical? No, but convenience wins the prize for this busy mom at this point in my life. I think for now I will donate my old brewer to my niece along with the older K-cups since I really like the advanced features of the new brewer.  It will make her day for sure and when she comes to visit she can check out my new Keurig 2.0.  Perhaps Keurig will make some updates to this brewer to allow customers to choose their K-Cups.



I was so excited to test the Keurig 2.0, and share my experience. You can imagine how thrilled I was when my machine arrived at my door. It has been working beautifully for a few weeks now and we are enjoying the extra conveniences like the carafe. Let me know your thoughts and if you have a Keurig or if you have branched out and tried the new Keurig 2.0.

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe would be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255:  "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Monday, September 22, 2014

LUISAVIAROMA Special Promo code via Vogue

Disclosure: I received this information via Vogue to share with my readers.  

Designers make a serious power play this fall with bold hues and luxurious fabrics. Roger Vivier’s high-shine flats and suede pumps from Salvatore Ferragamo are vibrant and bold, while Givenchy’s burgundy bag is all business. Balance out Rochas’ rich oversize coat with the latest luxe bag from Saint Laurent for an office appropriate fashion-forward look. From high-pressure meetings to office drinks, update your on-duty wardrobe with this season’s most coveted pieces.

Vogue shared a special promo code (LVO15US) from LUISAVIAROMA.com that was created exclusively for Vogue and their readers. LUISAVIAROMA is an Italian e-commerce platform with amazing pieces by established and emerging brands