Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Bank Owned Home Community Gardens | #Social Power

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

This sponsored opportunity was truly a dream come true.
I know, for some of you,
that you get a bit tired of the sponsored ops
and just want me to get back to making
and harvesting
and writing
and blogging about home and garden stuff.

Promise you that today is just that.
and then some.

You should RUN your fingertips to Social Power.
It is THE NEXT (now!!) BIG THING.

I was reading up on Social Power
and the best snippet I came across
described it as 
a platform
that harness the untapped power of social media
to resolve everyday issues.
#SocialPower

This minute of your life
will fill you in on the details:

 

Over at #SocialPower, I'm Following B.
I love the interface of the site
(though, admittedly, it wasn't immediately intuitive to me)
and in less than five minutes, I had my issue set up.


 

It is gardening season.
I am frustrated by how hard it is to get a slot in a community garden.
All the while there are vacant houses all around.

Community gardens in the front and back yards of Bank Owned properties
seems like a really neat win - win solution to me.

All I need are 999 more people to at least THINK this issue has potential.
You can support it by going to Social Power and supporting, commenting on, and sharing my issue 
across your networks.

As I say on my issue page,
the yards of many Bank Owned Homes are eyesores.
Let's do something productive about that.

Neighborhoods win, banks win and future homeowners win.
Set up correctly, there is no loser in this scenario.

So what do you think?
Are you in with me?

Now it is your turn to 
make a difference.

What is your issue?
How can I support you?

 

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Tuesday, May 21, 2013

I Love Lilies | Sponsored iBulb

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

 

I'm in full gardening tilt around these parts.

Between my backyard
my sideyard
and my P-Patches 
(yes, plural)
you had better believe
that I'm growing some lillies.

I LOVE to grow lilies in my garden.
Most folks hear "lilies" and think of traditional day lilies.
Or is that me?

What I've always loved
(and fallen more in love with lately)
are cala lillies.

Like most flowers,
I love how there are smallish versions
all the way up to GIANT versions.

And on the cala lily front
I just found a gorgeous pink version 
that is just too cute for words.

I know lots of folks see big, gorgeous, day lily blooms,
and immediately think there is no way they could grow them.

Fear not.
Lilies are super easy to find in the pot.
Home super stores, flower shops, and grocery store flower stands
are givens.

Around my parts, lilies are popular farmstand offerings.
Even in pots which makes them the most fun.

I love Day Lilies mixed in with tulips.
With lilies, you really only need a few in a bouquet
to really make a modern statement.

As a gift to someone special in your life 
or as a stand alone bouquet on the counter,
lilies really make your space pop.

And if you get really creative and mix in a variety of bulbs
you can really create some WOW power.

Need more eye candy?
Check out these bits of bulb inspiration and really neat bouquet ideas
on Pinterest.

Home grown from bulbs or picked up in pots.
Lilies are super easy to care for
with lots of bang for your buck.

I'm personally partial to calla lilies (so sleek)
but any lily will make your day.

Throw in some gladiolus and irises
(especially beared irises)
and your love for lilies will explode.

What is your favorite lily?

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Baby Registry Must Have | Mombo nursing pillow | Sponsored

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

So.
 
Not three months ago,
I was on a baby stuff buying bender.
 
I was just settling in to this life changing experience before me
and I had finally let down my guard and stepped foot into a Babies R Us to complete a registry.
 
As I was walking through the giant store of all things baby,
there were three products that completely baffled me.
 
Likely, I was baffled because most of these products 
require actual baby in tow
to know what REALLY works or not.
 
So when Comfort & Harmony (makers of mombo™)
reached out and asked me if I wanted to try a mombo™nursing pillow
I was totally all "yes" and "please"
because kindness is a good thing.
 
Fast forward a little bit and we all know how best laid plans
often don't work out.
 
So this will be a bit different kind of review.
I want to be up front with you that you will not get a review from my
bouncing bundle of joy on this product.
 
Instead, you will get a review from a mom-to-be
who is overwhelmed by all the registry choices on the market
who is willing to fork over the funds for "the best"
but really just wants some clue as to what "the best"
really is.

 
And who totally goes out and buys baby stuff
like nursing pillows
before baby is here
because I like to be prepared like that.
 
In short, this is a review for all of you Type A gals
who want a way to buy practical items
when you don't have all the pertinent facts in front of you.

I'll speak from a place of having bought
(via Craigslist and the Just Between Friends local sales)
my own versions of some of the other options on the market.
I'll tell you why I do (and don't) like the mombo™ I was sent
compared to the other  contenders
out on the market.

So here we go!

Here is the mombo™ that I received

 

Right off the bat,
all things considered,
I loved that it came
in a sturdy plastic cover
so that you can store it away
for next baby.

Love those velcro snaps.

Also,
I really liked the two sided design
that offered super support on one side
and could be flipped to be super soft on the other side.

That thee is the firm side.

Also, while baby may or may not love vibratory massage
I know *I* sure as heck loved inserting the removable massage "button"
and going to sleepy town with my mombo™.

It was soothing and helped me to get into the "relax, relate, release" zone
that I've panicked myself into while trying to figure out the nursing gig.

What didn't I like?
Well.

How do I say this?

I don't think I am huge.
Frankly, everyone says I'm looking mighty fine lately.

But the thing is that this infant nursing pillow
isn't for you to NURSE with 
(as in sit it on your lap comfortably and anchor it to your body)
if you have larger tatas OR a slightly larger girth.

I'm 5'11
(on a short day)
and wear a size 18.
Which, for a shorter girl would TOTALLY
zap the dual functionality of this pillow.
But at 5'11
with plenty of torso to spare,
it really felt kind of awkward
to try to adequately wrap the pillow and set up 
a proper "shelf" for baby to nurse on.

It would still work GREAT as a baby support 
(ie on the floor)
and the vibratory function still works great
even if you cannot wrap it totally around you.
And because the vibration unit is removable,
I'd honestly be happy getting this as a gift
for the baby support and vibration unit alone.

But if you need a nursing pillow specifically
and you're just a touch larger than me
an adjustable version would be awesome.

Just my "what's best for  mommy" opinion.

Be sure to like Comfort & Harmony on Facebook
and to follow Comfort & Harmony on Twitter.

Do you have a favorite nursing pillow?
What did you register for?

 

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Friday, May 10, 2013

Oh Sweet Sleepy Time | ZzzQuil | Sponsored

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

today
I am awake and alive

Yesterday
(and many days before)
I was not.

Awake that is.
Alive, I was.

Recently, the makers of Vicks NyQuil sent me a sample
of the liquid version of ZzzQuil.

I was down to try it
because not so long ago
I actually bought my better half
the pill version of ZzzQuil.

I was apprehensive about buying him sleeping pills
so I was looking for something a bit more natural
or at least something that was a known entity to me
in the scary "pill for everything" aisle at the grocery store.

That was when I first stumbled on ZzzQuil.
And when I started struggling to get a good night's sleep
it took everything in me to get one of those pills down.

Not because ZzzQuil is bad (I'm getting to that)
but because me and pills are bad.

I just psyche myself out and I can't get them down my throat.

So here comes liquid ZzzQuil to the rescue!

What I love about ZzzQuil is that it works. Fast.
Evidently, it's active ingredient diphenhydramine HCI
has something to do with that.

I'm no chemist (though I did get into Cornell as a wannabe geneticist)
so you'll have to look that up.

I also love love LOVE that it is in liquid form for me
and in pill form for him (LiquiCap® to be specific).

And of course I bought it because it said right on the package
that it is non-habit forming.
Heck, even 12 year olds can use it.
Which, of course, made me skeptical
that it would do the deed on my 6'6 better half.

And it did!

Which of course made me less skeptical about it working on me.

And it did!

There are about a million and one other things I loved as well.
For instance, nothing is more frustrating
than fighting your tamper proof med packaging
when you are sleep deprived.

The packaging was SUPER easy to hack into.
which is a good thing for me in my no-kid house.

It has the standard kid proof stuff too,
but not the Ft. Knox packaging I've experienced lately with, say,
my chewy prenatals
(that don't have enough iron in them because people who want to be moms
are not responsible enough to keep chewy iron filled candy looking meds away from their kids.
I digress...)

Just. Saying

ZzzQuil saved my butt.
I woke up refreshed
and a lot less angry
about the prenatal thing.

And a lot more ready for hot yoga.

Check out (and like) ZzzQuil on Facebook
and in real life
and tweet about your #ZzzQuilNight once you wake well rested.

Monday, May 6, 2013

Staining Made Simple & Backyard Sweepstakes | Sponsored

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

 

Tis the time of year
where backyard prep is in full swing.

When we were looking for our next step up home,
one of the things I would have loved to have found
was a home with a wood deck.

My husband tried to talk me out of that
because of how difficult he figured it would be to stain said deck
year, after year.

Come to find out,
the Flood® Wood Care Staining Made Simple interactive selection guide
would have taken all of our worries away.

Check that.
It would have made it easy enough
for me to select,
pick up

and use products
that would have made the wood deck
no maintenance at all.

For him at least.

Which would have meant a wood deck for me.

Alas.
No wood deck.

But we DO have some awesome adirondack chairs
that we need to assemble.

Let me tell you.

Last year,
I got some Freecycle chairs
that I took apart
and painted
and then couldn't
FOR. THE. LIFE. of ME
put back together again.

So we went ahead and bought some
unfinished Adirondack chairs from Home Depot
(for a great price, google them)
and now I want to stain and finish those.

I love that the Flood® Wood Care Staining Made Simple guide
makes it super easy to plan out everything you need to stain a huge deck
or a simple set of adirondack chairs.

I walked through the guide and it's so easy to use.

Even in my severely sleep deprived state,
in a few simple steps,
I could pick out a lovely shade of Petwer Gray Solid Finish stain.
My walkthrough also suggested a cleaner for my project
and made it super easy to find my retailer of choice close to home.

Which means, in our case, we can get more chairs
and the stain all in one stop.

The best part of the widget though,
was the videos.

They are super quick snapshots
that show you how to use what you just bought.

Now THAT is awesome.

Right now,
they are running a 
Flood Better Backyard Sweepstakes.

You can enter for a chance to win
a $1,500 gift card or one of 12 $10 gift cards given away daily.

All you need to do is like Flood® Wood Care
on Facebook and share the sweepstakes for more entries.

Enter the Better Backyard Sweepstakes
and remember, the sweepstakes ends May 17, 2013.

Almost as good as winning the funds,

there are plenty of free tidbits from the goodlife
if you follow Flood Wood
® Care on Twitter.

Just so you know, here's the lowdown on the legalese.

*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.  Legal residents of the 50 United States (D.C.) 18 years and older.  Ends 5/17/2013.  To enter and for Official Rules, including odds, and prize descriptions visit http://goo.gl/CFN2U. Void where prohibited. This Sweepstakes is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. You understand that you are providing your information to Sponsor and not to Facebook.     
 

Once I finish those chairs,
I think I might need to finally tackle my 
Woody Love Pinterest Board

 Here's a simple project from my Woody Love Board
I pinned via Centsational Girl
You will actually have to click through my Pinterest Board to get to the post.

And we actually need to tear up our carpet downstairs
and we're thinking of putting in hardwood floors.

Flood® Wood Care might actually make a project like this doable

I pinned that to my woody board via Houzz and 
it is by a+b kasha designs.

Just. Saying.

If you need inspiration for stainable projects, 
there are over 250 MOSTLY stainable
projects just on that one board alone.

That should keep you busy for a while.

Happy Summer!

 

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