Chicken Soup for the Soul: Country Music Review and GIVEAWAY (3 winners) **ENDED**

Father's Day Gift Idea!

Confession time: When the newest Chicken Soup for the Soul book arrived in my mailbox for review, I groaned. I am just not a fan of country music and I wondered how I was going to get through the latest book in the series, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Country Music: The Inspirational Stories behind 101 of Your Favorite Country Songs.  So, I did my duty and read through the book and was amazed at how much I enjoyed this edition!

This book, although it contains the famous 101 stories, is set up a little different. Choice songs are listed alphabetically and before the written lyrics to each song, the song writer gives you insight into what inspired them to write the song. I have always been fascinated by stories behind music, movies, and books so I could not put this book down. Although I was not very familiar with a lot of the songs, I was still very much entertained.

This is definitely a must-have for country lovers. I am really hoping they publish similar books for other music genres because I know I will enjoy them much more if I know the songs!

Buy it Here: Chicken Soup for the Soul paperback books generally retail for $14.95 and are available from local book stores and on Amazon for a discounted price.

Win it Here: Three (3) lucky Cake Mom readers will their choice of either Chicken Soup for the Soul: Country Music!!

**Please read the rules**

This giveaway is open to US & Canadian Residents. You must complete the mandatory entry before completing optional entries. Each optional entry needs to be added as a separate comment. Comments that do not follow the rules will not count and will be deleted. PLEASE LEAVE ME YOUR EMAIL IN THE COMMENT! One set of entries per household.

Mandatory Entry:  Tell me your favorite country song (you can even go pop-country for this one). 
 

Optional entries: Leave an additional comment for each entry. For example, if you blog about this contest, leave 3 separate comments!

1. Follow my blog (publicly)
2. Subscribe to my blog via email and confirm the subscription
3. Grab my button and post a link to your blog
4. Blog about this contest (with a link to my blog) and post a link to your blog (3 entries)
5. Follow me on Twitter and tweet about this contest (can be done daily). You must place a link to your tweet.
6. Enter another one of my contests. Enter as many as you like, but this method is only worth 1 entry regardless of how many you enter
7. Purchase another Chicken Soup for the Soul book from Amazon using this link to enter Amazon (you can purchase whichever book you desire once clicking on the link) and receive 10 EXTRA entries!!

The winners will be selected on 6/10 via random.org and will be emailed. The winners will have 48 hours to respond.
   
I was provided with the above mentioned product for the purpose of facilitating this review. No other compensation was received and the views expressed here are my own

Congrats to Giant Sis, Erin Cook, and degood! You have all been emailed.

Duncan Hines 1 Million Cupcake Challenge to End Childhood Hunger

Alright my fellow bakers, check this out!

Americans nationwide are busy baking and selling cupcakes for the Duncan Hines^® 1 MILLION Cupcake Challenge to raise funds for Share Our Strength’s Great American Bake Sale to help end childhood hunger.  Through July 24^th, the Duncan Hines 1 MILLION Cupcake Challenge provides bakers with the opportunity to win fabulous prizes including one of five trips for two to Los Angeles and seats on the Red Carpet of the 63^rd Primetime Emmy Awards.  Each week, the participants who raise the most funds for Share Our Strength have the opportunity to earn a matching donation from Duncan Hines.

 

For creative ideas and bake sale inspiration, DuncanHines.com offers tasty recipes such as the zesty and creamy Lemon Chocolate Cupcakes.  Check out an instructional video on the Duncan Hines Facebook page for a refreshing take on the decadent chocolate cupcakes.  To learn how to best host their bake sales, bakers can check out the Great American Bake Sale’s Top 10 Tips and join the Duncan Hines Baker’s Club today at www.duncanhines.com/bakersclub for exclusive access to additional recipes, baking tips and coupons.

 

“We are seeing great excitement from passionate bakers across the country who are doing their part to help end childhood hunger by participating in the Duncan Hines 1 MILLION Cupcake Challenge,” said Greg Greene, director of marketing for Duncan Hines.  “We congratulate our weekly double donations winners for hosting successful Great American Bake Sales and invite everyone to get baking today and join us in our national fundraising effort that also offers big rewards including five trips for two to Los Angeles including seats on the Red Carpet at the 63^rd Primetime Emmys.”

 

Consumers can join the Duncan Hines 1 MILLION Cupcake Challenge to help end childhood hunger by following the three easy steps outlined on www.duncanhines.com/cupcakechallenge:

 

Step 1:Sign-up to host a Great American Bake Sale

 

Step 2: Send in Duncan Hines Box Bottoms for a Chance to Win One of Five Trips to Los Angeles for seats on the Red Carpet at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards.  Bake Duncan Hines cupcakes and other delicious Duncan Hines desserts to sell at your Great American Bake Sale. Send box bottoms with bar codes from Duncan Hines® Cake, Brownie, Muffin Mix, Cookie Mix or Frosting along with entrant’s name, mailing address, phone number, email and date of birth to: Duncan Hines “1 MILLION Cupcake Challenge”, c/o USSC, 625 Panorama Trail (Suite 2100), Rochester, NY 14625.  Each box bottom sent in earns an additional entry. See official rules for details.

 

*Bonus : Double Donations with Duncan Hines. Follow the directions at greatamericanbakesale.org to send in funds raised from your bake sale. Duncan Hines will match the top fundraising Great American Bake Sale team’s donations each week with a matching donation to Share Our Strength (Monday-Sunday, up to $5,500 per week until July 24, 2011). The highest individual or team fundraiser each week will receive additional prizes from Chicago Metallic™ and Duncan Hines, as described above.

                                                                                                        

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. SWEEPSTAKES BEGINS ON 04/11/11 & ENDS ON 07/25/11. Open to individual legal U.S. citizens of 48 contiguous United States and D.C., age of majority in place of residence or older as of 04/11/11 & who are registered for 2011 Great American Bake Sale® as of the date of entry. To enter, send name, address, tel., email address, DOB & number of Universal Product Code Barcode(s) enclosed plus Barcode(s) from any box(es) of Duncan Hines® Cake, Brownie, Muffin, Cookie Mix or Frosting to: "Duncan Hines 1 Million Cupcake Challenge", C/o USSC, 625, Panorama Trail (Suite 2100), Rochester, NY 14625. One entry per Barcode submitted. You may include multiple Barcodes/entries in a single outer envelope. To enter without a Barcode, see Official Rules at http://duncanhines.com/cupcakechallenge-terms. Additional restrictions & terms apply. Subject to all applicable federal, state & local laws & regulations. Void where prohibited.

See Official Rules available at www.duncanhines.com/cupcakechallenge for complete details & entry instructions. Void where prohibited. Sponsor: Pinnacle Foods Group LLC.

Got Cakes?

Last year, July became "Birthday Month" on Cake Mom and it was my favorite event of the year! One of the reasons it was such a success was because I featured birthday cakes decorated my you, my readers! If you would like to have a cake or two featured, please email me at jamielz@verizon.net and show me what you got! If you have a blog, I will also include a link to hopefully drive some traffic to your site.

Royal Purple Review

Father's Day Gift Idea!

Royal Purple Synthetic Oil has a ton of gift items that would make great Father's Day gifts this year. My husband and my in-laws are all into vehicles and my husband used to be a mechanic so many of their products were appealing to him. They offer a wide variety of items such as fender covers, clocks, t-shirts, tool bags, camp chairs, and more.  In fact, they had so many neat products, my husband had a hard time choosing some to review.


He ultimately made some choices and was happy with the products he received. Since he is frequently working on cars, he often has cuts and bruises (not to mention oil stains) all over his hands. He has been thinking about purchasing a pair of mechanics gloves.  The Royal Purple embroidered mechanics gloves come in medium, large, and extra large and are black with the company logo.  They feature Amara washable synthetic leather for palm and finger material and the top of the gloves are made with stretch spandex and are padded.  My husband received the extra large and they fit his hangs perfectly. He found them to be flexible enough to allow him to do everything required when working on cars. He said they were comfortable and his hands were in much better shape than when he works bare handed! The gloves are high quality and we both expect that they will last a long time.  Retail price: $18.48.

They also offer a nice assortment of clothing items. He also received the Black 1/4 Zip Fleece to review.  We were happy to see that they offered this in a 3XL as he often has problems finding shirts that will fit him. It is a really soft fleece pullover that features twill taping inside the neck and elastic cuffs.  The Royal Purple logo is embroidered on the left chest and there is a back, upper-neck tagline.   He said it is really comfortable and is perfect for those "not quite warm, not quite cold" days.  It is perfect for weather when layers a must. Retail price:  $38.12.

Buy it here: Royal Purple website

I was provided with the above mentioned products for the purpose of facilitating this review. No other compensation was received and the views expressed here are my own.

39DollarGlasses.com Review and GIVEAWAY!! **ENDED**

Glasses and sunglasses are necessary accessories; though the prices of each are enough to make you cringe. 39DollarGlasses.com is an online company developed by eye doctors to offer high quality eyeglasses and sunglasses at discounted prices.  They offer a wide range of products to suite your personal needs and style.

The site is extremely easy to navigate. You can start by searching for the product you need, such as kids eyeglasses or rimless eyeglasses.  Once you click on your desired product, a page will open up that will allow you to see pictures, mini descriptions, and prices of the desired style of glasses. You can look at up to 100 results at one time which is a real time saver. Once you find your desired style, you can then customize the glasses by choosing a frame color, lens type, lens color (for sunglasses), and lens prescription.

I found the ordering process to be very easy. The only unexpected feature for me was that you need to enter your "PD" which is the length between the center of your two pupils.  This allows for proper positioning of the lenses. Not only were there tons of styles to choose from, there were a lot of customization options. I was able to order a pair of  sunglasses (Sofia) and the ordering process only took minutes (once I could find a tape measure to get my PD). The glasses arrived quickly and they are great. They fit well, they are light weight and work well to block the sun. I loved the design on the side which you can see below.  I have no complaints about my experience with 39DollarGlasses and would recommend you checking them out next time you need glasses or sunglasses! 

Buy it here: You can shop for discount glasses and sunglasses from the 39DollarGlasses.com website.  Cake Mom readers get an exclusive 10% discount by entering CAKEMOM at checkout!!

Win it Here: One lucky Cake Mom reader is going to win one pair of prescription glasses or sunglasses (up to $75.00) from 39DollarGlasses!! 

**Please read the rules**This is open to US & Canadian residents only. You must complete the mandatory entry before completing optional entries. Each optional entry needs to be added as a separate comment. Comments that do not follow the rules will not count and will be deleted. PLEASE LEAVE ME YOUR EMAIL IN THE COMMENT if it is not visible in your public profile! One set of entries per household.

Mandatory Entry: Like 39DollarGlasses on Facebook.

Optional entries: Leave an additional comment for each entry. For example, if you blog about this contest, leave 3 separate comments!

1. Follow my blog (publicly)

2. Subscribe to my blog via email and confirm the subscription

3. Grab my button and post a link to your blog

4. Blog about this contest (with a link to my blog) and post a link to your blog (3 entries)

5. Follow me on Twitter and tweet about this contest (can be done daily). You must place a link to your tweet.

6. Enter another one of my contests. Enter as many as you like, but this method is only worth 1 entry regardless of how many you enter.

7. Like Cake Mom on Facebook (2 entries!)

The winner will be selected on 6/8 via random.org and will be emailed. The winner will have 48 hours to respond.

I was provided with the above mentioned product for the purpose of facilitating this review. No other compensation was received and the views expressed here are my own.

Congrats to Anonymous (Michelle)! You will be emailed with claim information soon.

Tylenol Product Improvements

The makers of Tylenol are making product enhancements to both Infants’ and Childrens’ Tylenol products. As a mother who uses Tylenol products all the time, I am glad to know that the company is dedicated to improve their products and learn from their mistakes. So, what can you expect from the brand? Here is some information on Tylenol product updates.

Product Enhancement

Infants Tylenol will include a new, enhanced bottle with a protective opening and push-in syringe which will:

            - provide better dosing accuracy and ease of administration to infants

            - allow for better control when dispensing the medication and reduce spillage

            - further reduce the risk of children being able to get to the medicine in the bottle

The are also introducing enhanced bottles with the protective opening on Children’s Tylenol products.

The Concentration

Infants Tylenol will have the same concentration of the active ingredient as Children’s Tylenol which will standardize dosing across products/age groups.

As always, both products will continue to include specially designed dosing devices appropriate to the age of the child.

So, the next time you purchase a Tylenol or other acetaminophen product, make sure you read and follow the dosing directions of the product.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Tylenol and received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Scientific Explorer and Elmers Science Fair Review and GIVEAWAY!! **ENDED**

I was absolutely thrilled last year when I realized my son enjoys science. He had his first paper due this year and next year he will have his first science project. Although it is fun and exciting, science projects usually mean time and money for moms and dads. Elmer's and Scientific Explorer are two companies who love science and who want to help make projects a little easier so you can just have fun.

The Scientific Explorer Lava Blasting Volcano is a great kit for at-home or classroom use. Every child should have an opportunity to erupt a volcano and my kids were very excited about the kit. It is designed for children ages 8 + and it includes everything you need to create your own volcanic blast.  The kit includes  scientific facts so your children can learn how volcanoes form and why they explode. The volcano can erupt up to 10 times and includes everything you will need:  plaster, baking soda, citric acid, red food coloring, 1 measuring cup, 1 measuring spoon, 1 stir stick, 1 volcano mold top, 1 volcano mold base, 1 volcano stand, and activity guide.

Review: The directions were pretty easy to follow. You need to make the base of the volcano at least a day or two ahead of time. Unfortunately, while the clay was drying my dogs attacked the volcano and it broke apart. The eruption still worked and my kids were thrilled about the results. My son kept saying over and over again, "This is so cool!" 

The booklet that accompanies the kit has a lot of great volcano facts and it really encourages kids to make observations throughout the experiment. This was a really great kit that makes science fun and interesting!

I remember having to make science display boards from scratch when I was a kid. A perfectionist from birth, I was always disappointed that my artistic skills (which are pretty good) still left the board looking messy. Elmer's, the most trusted name in glue products, offers some great products that will make your child's boards look amazing! Here are a few products:
Elmer's Tri-Fold Foam Boards
Bi-Fold Foam Boards
Project Popperz Permanent Markers
Project Popperz Repositionable Letters and Numbers
Project Popperz Reuseable Plastic Stencils

Review: My son was not too happy about making up a science project in order to test out the products, so I decided to use them to make some garage sale signs.  The foam boards are super sturdy and were posted a couple days before our sale and continued to look good through the elements.  These are probably a much better option for kids than cardboard which can easily bend and tear. The Project Popperz products were amazing and I really wish I would have had similar products when I was a kid. Several people commented on how nice my signs looked. The letters adhered to the board like a post-it style note and truly were repositionable. The markers were bold and thick and each one had a different color on each side (so a pack of four has a total of eight color options). The stencils were also great and create a nice and neat effect.  I definitely know what products I will be turning to when my son has his first project!

Virtual Science Fair Contest:  Check out this new contest Scientific Explorer<http://www.scientificexplorer.com/> just launched  – a Virtual Science Fair! Here’s the video announcement<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZgQYOKwa_Y>  and some more details about the Virtual Science Fair.  To share our love of science, Scientific Explorer has created an ongoing Virtual Science Fair. They are encouraging you – kids, parents, teachers – to share how you learn and experience science, inside and outside the classroom. Send them your video entry - simply post a response video to one of theirs! Each month thy will select a winner of the Virtual Science Fair to showcase and reward with a $50 gift card and free Scientific Explorer products.

Buy it here: The Scientific Explorer Lava Blasting Volcano can be purchased online from Giddyup or Amazon.

Win it here: One lucky Cake Mom reader is going to win all the great science products from Elmers and Scientific Explorer mentioned in this post!!

**Please read the rules**
This is open to US residents only. You must complete the mandatory entry before completing optional entries. Each optional entry needs to be added as a separate comment. Comments that do not follow the rules will not count and will be deleted. PLEASE LEAVE ME YOUR EMAIL IN THE COMMENT if your comment is not in your profile! Only one set of entries per household.

Mandatory Entry:  Tell me another product from Scientific Explorer you would love. 


Optional entries: Leave an additional comment for each entry. For example, if you blog about this contest, leave 3 separate comments!
 1. Follow my blog (publicly)
2. Subscribe to my blog via email and confirm the subscription
3. Grab my button and post a link to your blog
4. Blog about this contest (with a link to my blog) and post a link to your blog (3 entries)5. Follow me on Twitter and tweet about this contest (can be done daily). You must place a link to your tweet.6. Enter another one of my contests. Enter as many as you like, but this method is only worth 1 entry regardless of how many you enter.
7.  Like Cake Mom on Facebook (2 entries!) 
8. Follow Scientific Explorer and Elmer's on Twitter
9.  Friend or subscribe to Scientific Explorer on You Tube

 The winner will be selected on 6/8 via random.org and will be emailed. The winner will have 48 hours to respond.

I was provided with the above mentioned products for the purpose of facilitating this review. No other compensation was received and the views expressed here are my own. 

Congrats to Katlaw777! You have been emailed.

Terracycle Review and GIVEAWAY!! **ENDED**

 Father's Day Gift Idea!

There are a lot of eco-friendly companies out there, but no other company is quite like TerraCycle.  This company literally takes your garbage and makes practical products such as plant food, backpacks, frames, toys and more! This company pays schools and non-profit organizations for their trash saving 1000's of tons of waste from going to landfills. This company is so amazing!

I have had the pleasure of reviewing some of their products in the past and I have always been impressed with the quality and creativity.  This time, I was given the opportunity to review a YakPak Billboard MP3 player case.  The product is made from repurposed, high-quality and water-resistant vinyl billboard material.  Since each case if crafted from a unique piece of billboard material, no two are alike.  It measures 1" deep X 3" wide X 4" tall and retails for $9.99.

The case I received was a nice green and gray color. It fit both by iPod Touch and my Blackberry.  It is really sturdy and I felt very comfortable throwing either device into my bag in this case without worrying about them breaking. The Velcro is also very strong and there are elastic bands on the sides to allow flexibility in the case so various sized electronic devices can fit. There is also Velcro on the back allowing you to attach the case to an arm band or hold other items (I like to roll up and stick my earphones here).  This is definitely a nice case and well worth the money.

Buy it here: You can buy Terracycle products from the DwellSmart website.   A selection of products is also available at Amazon .

Connect Here: You can find Terracycle on Facebook and Twitter.

Win it here: One lucky Cake Mom reader is going to win a YakPak Billboard MP3 Player Case!!

**Please read the rules**
This is open to US residents only. You must complete the mandatory entry before completing optional entries. Each optional entry needs to be added as a separate comment. Comments that do not follow the rules will not count and will be deleted. PLEASE LEAVE ME YOUR EMAIL IN THE COMMENT if your comment is not in your profile!

Mandatory Entry: Tell me one other Terracycle product you love!  

Optional entries: Leave an additional comment for each entry. For example, if you blog about this contest, leave 3 separate comments!
 1. Follow my blog (publicly)
2. Subscribe to my blog via email and confirm the subscription
3. Grab my button and post a link to your blog
4. Blog about this contest (with a link to my blog) and post a link to your blog (3 entries)

5. Follow me on Twitter and tweet about this contest (can be done daily). You must place a link to your tweet.

6. Enter another one of my contests. Enter as many as you like, but this method is only worth 1 entry regardless of how many you enter.

7. Like Cake Mom on Facebook (2 entries!)

 The winner will be selected on 6/7 via random.org and will be emailed. The winner will have 48 hours to respond

I was provided with the above mentioned products for the purpose of facilitating this review. No other compensation was received and the views expressed here are my own.

Congrats to Anonymous! You have been emailed.

Cap Sac Kids: Zippy Cap Review

Do your kids insist on taking small items with them wherever they go only to hand you the items 10 minutes later and expect you to tote it around for the rest of the day? My daughter does this all the time. My purse is full of small toys, crayons, and more. Some days I feel like I was carrying less in a diaper bag! Now, there is a way your child can bring along their small items and keep them on them the rest of the day!

Cap-sac Kids have created a line of hats for children that serve as a "Fanny Pack for Your Head"!  Known as the "Zippy Cap", the baseball cap-style hat includes a zippered pouch that allows your child to hold everything from crayons to action figures. Additionally, the Zippy cap folds up and can be zippered and stored in small spaces.  The caps are made from 100% laundered nylon. They are available in the following bright and fun color combinations:

Orange Blast: orange/light blue

Bubblegum Blue: royal blue/white

Pinky Swear:  pink/purple

Grape Escape: purple/pink

Lemon Twist: neon yellow/pink

Rock Candy: teal/yellow

We were given a cap to sample and I knew that this hat would be very appealing to my daughter, Bella. She loves hidden compartments and cannot even go outside to play with her friends without some item.  She liked the idea of the pouch. The cap itself fit pretty good and it is made from a soft and flexible material. The brim was really straight and looked a bit awkward on her head so we have been trying to work on creating a curve to it. Overall, it is a great idea for small children. It is for ages 4 and up and my daughter is 5. My son who is 7 did not find the cap appealing, so I would say that the target age may be 4-6.

Buy it here: The Zippy Cap can be purchased from the Cap-sac Kids website for $12.99.

I was provided with the above mentioned product for the purpose of facilitating this review. No other compensation was received and the views expressed here are my own.

Foodie Friday: The Lazy Gourmet Review and GIVEAWAY!! **ENDED**

 

I love going out to eat because, let’s face it, food is so much better when perfectly prepared by masterful chefs.  The Lazy Gourmet: Magnificent Meals Made Easy by Robin Donovan and Juliana Gallin was written for those who love delicious meals, but don’t have the time or patience to prepare them.  The book was created to prove to the reader that preparing an amazing meal does not mean you have to spend endless hours slaving over the preparations. With the help of volunteer testers who had no culinary experience, Donovan and Gallin created recipes that call for readily available ingredients, use common kitchen appliances, and do not require any training. 

My first thought when I reviewed the recipes was that what the authors consider readily available ingredient and what I consider these to be seem to differ. There were ingredients listed in most recipes that I definitely would not have in my kitchen cupboard and some that I had never even heard of (and I would have no idea where to find in a grocery store). The meals themselves are for mature tastes and there was not much I could find that was family friendly. However, if you like gourmet foods and/or are trying to learn how to cook then you may love this book. 


The following is the organization of the book:
Part 1: The Basics
1 - Party in Your Pantry - provides suggestions for what you should stock in your pantry 
2 - Tips for the Rookie Cooks and Lazy Gourmets - neat section that tells you the difference between common cooking terms such as dicing and slicing and tries to calm anxieties about taking on gourmet recipes
3 - The Lacy Gourmet Toolkit - describes kitchen tools you will need to make some of the meals 
Part 2: The Recipes
4 - Snacks and Starters
5 - Salads
6 - Soups
7 - Sandwiches
8 - Small Plates and Main Dishes
9 - Sides
10 - Condiments, Sauces, and Extras
11 - Desserts 

Buy it here: The Lazy Gourmet: Magnificent Meals Made Easy retails for $15.95 and can be purchase from Amazon for a discounted price. 

Win it here: One lucky Cake Mom reader is going to win The Lazy Gourmet: Magnificent Meals Made Easy!!

**Please read the rules**
This is open to US residents only. You must complete the mandatory entry before completing optional entries. Each optional entry needs to be added as a separate comment. Comments that do not follow the rules will not count and will be deleted. PLEASE LEAVE ME YOUR EMAIL IN THE COMMENT if your comment is not in your profile! Only one set of entries per household.

Mandatory Entry: Tell me: what is the best meal you have ever eaten?

Optional entries: Leave an additional comment for each entry. For example, if you blog about this contest, leave 3 separate comments!
 1. Follow my blog (publicly)
2. Subscribe to my blog via email and confirm the subscription
3. Grab my button and post a link to your blog
4. Blog about this contest (with a link to my blog) and post a link to your blog (3 entries)
5. Follow me on Twitter and tweet about this contest (can be done daily). You must place a link to your tweet.
6. Enter another one of my contests. Enter as many as you like, but this method is only worth 1 entry regardless of how many you enter.
7. Like Cake Mom on Facebook (2 entries)

 The winner will be selected on 6/5 via random.org and will be emailed. The winner will have 48 hours to respond


I was provided with the above mentioned products for the purpose of facilitating this review. No other compensation was received and the views expressed here are my own. 

 

Congrats to pmj! You have been emailed.

Post-It Sustainable Product Review

I do try to go as paperless as possible; however, I still rely on certain paper products to keep organized.  Post-its are something I just cannot live without. So, I appreciate that one of my favorite office brands recognizes the importance of going green and now offers a line of recycled products.  For daily needs, Post-it offers Recycled, Super Sticky Recycled, and Greener Notes. For shipping, 3M Recycled Address and Return Address Labels are an option and for work, there is the Post-it Super Sticky Easel Pads. All Post-it® Brand Sustainable products are made with 100% recycled paper and are 100% recyclable.

I received a pack of Greener Notes and was pleased with the quality.  The quality and color are the same as the classic versions. They were perfectly sticky and repositionable. Seeing no real difference between these and traditional Post-Its, I am opting for the greener versions from now on!

Buy it here: Post-it products are sold in the office supply aisle at many retail locations.

I was provided with the above mentioned product for the purpose of facilitating this review. No other compensation was received and the views expressed here are my own.

PartyLite Review and GIVEAWAY! **ENDED**

Candles are a popular household decorating item. They look good, and hopefully smell good too. Typically, candle displays look good on their own, but lighting them does little to add to the effect. PartyLite, the world’s number one direct seller of candles, candle accessories, and home fragrances, has introduced a new type of candle called GloLite.

The concept behind GloLite is simple. Rather than seeing a tiny flame on the top of the candle, the GloLite is designed to have the entire candle glow. From top to bottom, its richly textured wax becomes illuminated. PartyLite claims it “radiates an elegant, compelling light you’ve probably never experienced before.” Each GloLite candle is individually hand-crafted, so slight variations in color and texture may occur, and no two are exactly the same.

I was given three candles to review:

3”x4” (lasts 40-55 hours) - $14.95

3”x5” (lasts 60-75 hours) - $16.95

3”x6” (lasts 85-105 hours) - $18.95 (The set of three can be purchased for $44.95).

The scent was Calm Waters. The company describes the scent as “cool, clean citrus scent tempered by soft, floral nuances washing over you like a serene ocean breeze”. I will admit that the look and scent immediately reminded me of the beach, even before I read about the scent.  The candles looked absolutely stunning when lit. The entire candle truly did glow and it was like no candle I have ever owned before. Although it is somewhat difficult to capture on film, you can kind of see the effect below:

Buy it here:   Purchase online at: www.partylite.com or call 1-888-999-5706. 

Win it here: One lucky Cake Mom reader will win a set of three GloLite candles from PartyLite ($44.95 value!)

**Please read the rules**
This is open to US residents only. You must complete the mandatory entry before completing optional entries. Each optional entry needs to be added as a separate comment. Comments that do not follow the rules will not count and will be deleted. PLEASE LEAVE ME YOUR EMAIL IN THE COMMENT if your comment is not in your profile! Only one set of entries per household.

Mandatory Entry: Tell me what other product from PartyLite you love.

Optional entries: Leave an additional comment for each entry. For example, if you blog about this contest, leave 3 separate comments!
 1. Follow my blog (publicly)
2. Subscribe to my blog via email and confirm the subscription
3. Grab my button and post a link to your blog
4. Blog about this contest (with a link to my blog) and post a link to your blog (3 entries)
5. Follow me on Twitter and tweet about this contest (can be done daily). You must place a link to your tweet.
6. Enter another one of my contests. Enter as many as you like, but this method is only worth 1 entry regardless of how many you enter.
7. Like Cake Mom on Facebook (2 entries!)

 The winner will be selected on 6/3 via random.org and will be emailed. The winner will have 48 hours to respond.


I was provided with the above mentioned products for the purpose of facilitating this review. No other compensation was received and the views expressed here are my own.


Congrats to Rachel C. You have been emailed.

Shopscotch Review and Land's End/Sierra Trade Post $50 GIVEAWAY!! **ENDED**

I love online shopping. You can sometimes get better deals than in the store so if you can luck out with free or reasonable shipping, then you can really make out .  Aside from savings, you don’t have to stand in lines and don’t have to make a wasted trip because you will know from the comfort of your own home if an item is available.   Shopscotch is a site that brings you one more perk to online shopping: cash back!!

Shopscotch is a social online rewards program. Membership at Shopscotch is free and the cash back can add up fast. Here are just a few sites you can save big on for Father’s Day:

Eddie Bauer – 3% cash back

Lands’ End – 2% cash back

Puma – 5% cash back

Under Armour – 4% cash back

REI – 3% cash back

MLB Store – 4% cash back

Shopscotch is also a social site. Members are able to share their earning activity with other members allowing others to see where people are shopping and how they are benefiting from the program. In addition to cash back, members will also earn badges based on their shopping behavior and other activity at Shopscotch.

Signing up is really easy.  You create a user name and password and enter a few small details such as your name and birthday and you are ready to get shopping! Finding cash back deals is really easy. You can search by name or browse by category.  After earning $25 (or multiples of $25), you can then cash out!  The site keeps track of current and lifetime earnings as well. The site is really easy to use and any free program that will allow me to save money gets a thumbs up from me!

Shop here: Sign up (it is FREE) here.

Win here:  One lucky Cake Mom reader is going to win their choice of a $50 Land’s End of Sierra Trading Post gift card courtesy of Shopscotch!  

Mandatory Entry: Sign up for a FREE Shopscotch account (it will take you about 2-3 minutes)!  Already a member? No problem, just say so! 

Optional entries: Leave an additional comment for each entry. For example, if you blog about this contest, leave 3 separate comments!

1. Follow my blog (publicly)

2. Subscribe to my blog via email and confirm the subscription

3. Grab my button and post a link to your blog

4. Blog about this contest (with a link to my blog) and post a link to your blog (3 entries)

5. Follow me on Twitter and tweet about this contest (can be done daily). You must place a link to your tweet.

6. Enter another one of my contests. Enter as many as you like, but this method is only worth 1 entry regardless of how many you enter.

7. Like Cake Mom on Facebook (2 entries!)

The winner will be selected on 6/2 via random.org and will be emailed. The winner will have 48 hours to respond.

I was not compensated for this post but knew my readers would enjoy this giveaway. All views expressed are my own.

Congrats to lewalk! You have been emailed.

**Please read the rules**This is open to US residents only. You must complete the mandatory entry before completing optional entries. Each optional entry needs to be added as a separate comment. Comments that do not follow the rules will not count and will be deleted. PLEASE LEAVE ME YOUR EMAIL IN THE COMMENT if it is not visible in your public profile! One set of entries per household.