durhamonthecheap: July 2014

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Smiley360 Review: Sleep Number Beds and IQ technology

As part of a smiley 360.com mission, I visited the Sleep Number store in the Southpoint Mall in Durham, NC. I had previously visited the store, but they always have new products and I even this time, I learned new things. The visit was impressive because I finally realized why I have such a hard time sleeping in my back. My sleep number was determined to be a 35, which is relatively low considering the maximum setting is 100.

Even at the entry model, the comfort you can experience with one of these beds is amazing. I felt as if sleeping on clouds at the lower setting and when upped to 100, my back was hurting and I now know why I never on the back and only on the side. The most important thing to realize is that when initially laying down in bed, your back muscles are still active, so a hard mattress seems fine. But as you lay there and relax and go to sleep, your muscles relax and what seems like a good, supportive mattress becomes a torture chamber.

The prices are very reasonable and for the comfort you are getting they are definitely affordable. Check out the store or like their Facebook page for additional information on savings and specials.

copyright Durhamonthecheap - this bed is mire adjustable. You can see the split mattress, this allows adjusting the height

If you go to the store, you benefit from being able to see the different style beds for yourself. The baseline model and all models have the Sleep IQ technique to maximize comfort. But some additional features that are available in higher end models include a temperature control or the ability to adjust the height of the bed as seen in the one model pictured above. That way, one pillow is all you need, but you can still have your head elevated while in bed.

The one above is the top of the line model, but you can never tell, because when properly made, it looks like a regular bed. But from the side, you can see the connection for the temperature control. It also has the split mattress to adjust the height of the bed and then of course included is Sleep IQ mode.

Overall, the staff was very friendly and after seeing the difference between 100 and 35 in settings, I am actually considering a Sleep Number bed for the next bed. I usually sleep on the side, but maybe getting an adjustable mattress would mean I could finally sleep on my back.

Again, like their Facebook page for more information about specials and bargains or simply stop by the local store in Southpoint Mall to see how the beds from Sleep Number are constantly evolving.

Update:
Today I received an email as a follow up to my trying out one of the Sleep Number beds. It has a nice graphic that shows where my pressure points are when comparing the various settings. On top, the settings was 100 (= before) and you can see all the red and orange that indicat pressure points. Compared to the adjusted setting of 35 at the bottom, the lack of orange and yellow indicates that I lay much more comfortable on that bed and had much fewer pressure points.

Disclaimer: I visited the Sleep Number store in Durham, NC as part of a mission by smiley360.com. I will get rewarded in exchange for the visit and my honest review of the Sleep Number technology. The opinions expressed in this post are solely my own and have not been influenced by any third party.

Saturday, July 26, 2014

Purex Insider Review + Coupon Giveaway: Dial® Coconut Water Refreshing Mango body wash

Through Purex Insiders I was able to sample and review the new Dial Coconut Water Refreshing Mango Body Wash. With the active ingredient of Coconut Water, this body wash is more hydrating than other products on the market.This is Mango-infused body wash is the latest additional Dial Brand body wash and now combined the hydrating powers of Coconut Water with the tropical scent of mango. Using Dial Coconut Water Refreshing Mango body wash will leave your skin replenished and hydrated, every time you shower.

In my kit were three coupons, so I will host a giveaway for one coupon. One lucky reader will be able to try out the new Dial® Coconut Water Refreshing Mango body wash and experience for themselves the great hydrating powers of this new body wash.

I have used this body wash now for a couple of days and this scent is wonderful - I love mangoes and could eat them everyday. But in addition to the mango scent, the coconut water is ensuring that this body wash is wonderfully hydrating and in this summer, when it is so muggy outside and you need to drink more water than usual to stay hydrated, this body wash ensures that your skin stays hydrated and healthy.

Giveaway

One lucky reader will win a coupon to try out new Dial® Coconut Water Refreshing Mango body wash:
Deadline for entries is 8-16-14 midnight!
Open to US Residents only!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I was provided a free product and coupons for a giveaway through Purex Insider. The opinions expressed in this blog are solely my own and have not been influenced by Purex or any other third party.

Food Review: Flour Cafe and Bakery in Boston, MA / Sleeper St. Cafe in Boston, MA

I was able to travel to Boston, MA for two days last week for business. To combine work with the pleasant opportunity to be in a bog city, I was eager to try out some local hangouts.

Now my favorite hangouts are not the nightclubs or some bars, but outside cafes in the summer in the morning, when it is still nice and cool outside and you can sit down with a cup of coffee and a newspaper and start the day off right! I found two pleasant cafe in Boston, both near Farnsworth St. One was the Sleeper St cafe and while the menu was nothing spectacular. One item clearly stood out, the Pistachio Muffin. I love Pistachios and so to find that wonderful flavor in a muffin was just plain awesome. The muffin was deliciously moist and while the concoction had some green food coloring added, the flavor was outstanding. The added bonus were pistachio pieces that added a nice crunch to the muffin. If you are ever in that neck of the woods, I highly recommend the Sleeper Cafe Pistachio Muffin to anyone that loves pistachios. The yelp page for the cafe is here.

copied from Pinterest here, but this is how the Piastachio muffin looked like - I still salivating at the thought.

The next place was the Flour Cafe and Bakery right on Farnsworth St. and their homepage is here. While they seem to be known for their Boston Creme Pie, I could easily pass on that and select their yeast-based dough goodies they had that morning. They offered, like the Sleeper St. Cafe breakfast sandwiches, coffee and pastries, but the selection here was huge compared to the few muffins available at the other place. Plus the outside seating area at the Flour Cafe and Bakery is nicer because Farnsworth St is really quiet, with not much through traffic and so sitting outside is like sitting in your backyard.

This morning I selected their Sugar Bun and then a twice baked brioche that had a layer of almonds and sugar on to make it even more decadent.

So if you ever find yourself in Boston with some time to spare. Stop by an outdoor cafe and enjoy the big city at a quieter pace. I can highly recommend the Flour Cafe and Bakery to sit outside and enjoy Boston in the summer. And if you are in Boston, give Pistachio muffins a try. I hope that this muffin flavor will find its way into the southern hemisphere because I will definitely now spend some time experimenting with that muffin flavor!

Product Review and $25 Giftcard giveaway - Walmart.com online ordering and free shipping to your home! How easy is that?

I was provided with a gift card to allow me to try out how easy and convenient the online ordering process through walmart.com is. For ordering Procter and Gamble products, walmart.com is one easy and convenient solution. Not only does Walmart have a great selection of Procter and Gamble products, the prices are really reasonable and I was even able to snag one product on clearance, which a frugal shopper like me is always thrilled about. Add in that walmart.com offers free shipping if you order more than $50 worth of items and this process is almost impossible to beat by others.

Even if you do ot order $50 worth of items, you can still avoid shipping charges by having the items delivered to the store for free. If you decide to go the route of store delivery and pickup, you just go to the customer service counter and indicate your order number. A staffer will then retrieve your items from the store's warehouse and you can drive home with your order and never had to worry about making an unnecessary trip to see whether an item you needed was available. I have used the order and ship to store option in the past and found it also very easy and convenient.

So this time around, I was asked to order Procter and Gamble products. This was perfect because I wanted to buy a Swiffer product for cleaning the wooden and laminate floors downstairs. Having to carry around the mop is really inconvenient and the mop also always seems to be on the wrong floor when there is a spill and I need to quickly clean up the floor. So having two mops, one of them a brand new Swiffer wet jet, sounded like a perfect solution.

I also order found some Tide detergent on sale, make that clearance, and of course I jumped on that and ordered one Tide detergent. No more hauling heavy detergent home, now the package will arrive at my doorstep next week and I can save myself hauling bulky detergent bottles that are also heavy home from the grocery store.

The last item I ordered were some Charmin wet toilette tissues. I ordered the original container and then added another refill because I have fallen in love with this little piece of luxury that can be found in wet toilette wipes. The price is affordable and since the total was just over $50, I happily confirmed my order and now, with the receipt of my confirmation email on hand, can sit back, relax, enjoy the weekend and know that the quick helpers at walmart.com will fulfill my order, load it on a truck and some time next week, I will find a box of goodies in front of my house.

One thing I like about ordering through walmart.com, you can pay of course with gift cards or credit cards, but you can also pay with cash, in case you do not want to use an electronic form of payment. Walmart has really thought of everything when designing their e-commerce site and ensuring the convenience for the consumer.

For me the toughest part was clearly deciding what to order. While the mop was an easy decision since I needed one for downstairs and Swiffer has such good reviews. The rest of other times was more difficult because the selection is so huge. But now that I have been through the ordering process once, I have to say that Walmart makes the ordering very easy. I love the regular confirmation screens that walk you through the purchase process. I have my account set up with Walmart and I think that is the way to go. For my home delivery, I did not have to enter any address, my confirmation email was received at my usual email and I will definitely update the post when the packages arrives.

And now for the Giveaway!
I have one gift card in the amount of $25 to mail to the luck winner. The entry is through Rafflecopter to keep everything nice, easy and most importantly fair! Please note that the deadline for entering is 8-16-14 at midnight. with the gift card, you can then experience the convenience of Walmart online ordering for yourself and keep in mind that you can pay online with your gift card and have the items delivered to the nearest Walmart store for free for a convenient pick up!
Please note: Open to US Residents only!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: This was a sponsored post. In exchange for reviewing the walmart.com ordering process and delivery, P&G provided the Walmart gift cards and information. As always, all opinions expressed in this post are my own and have not been influenced by any third party.

Monday, July 21, 2014

Book Review: The Making of a Man: How Men and Boys Honor God and Live with Integrity by Tim Brown

And here is another book by an athlete and how he developed character traits that he is proud of and feels embody lessons that he wants to pass on to others. While this athlete too finds strong backing in his faith, the book is not overly religious and can be read by people who normally do not read books about Christian faith. This book is geared towards adults and provides lessons on how Mr. Brown led his life and what he perceives as important life lessons that can help others be successful in life. It should be noted that success in life does not necessarily mean making lots of money, but leading a good life as a person that others can look up to.

available on amazon.com here

Not surprisingly, a lot of the chapters deal with lessons about family life and how to be a good husband. While a lot of the chapters focus on his time as a football player, several chapters deal with his life experiences outside of football as well and her we get to know the Tim Brown that is unknown to most of us.
I found this book a good read for young men that are unsure how to tackle the challenges of adulthood, being on their own and making their own decisions. Mistakes will be made and the important thing it to learn from your mistakes and to realize when to reach out for advice and help.

Disclaimer: I received a a free book through BookLook Bloggers in exchange for an honest review. The opinion expressed in this post is solely my own and have not been influenced by any third party.

Book Review: Game Changer by Kirk Cousins

This is another example of a book written by a well known athlete, who feels that his faith is to some degree the basis of his success. As such the book is not novel or unique. What makes this book different and certainly a good read for fathers and sons alike is that this book is geared towards sons. Not only is it showing kids that it is okay to have faith, but it goes on to show kids and in particular boys that having faith is not wrong and can actually be pretty cool and help you succeed in life by giving you strength.

available on amazon.com here

The book is written in plain English, which is a good thing. It is easy to understand for kids of a variety of ages, but mostly geared towards adolescents and teenagers. While written with boys in mind, the lessons portrayed and exemplified by Kirk Cousins in his life and now written down as simple lessons in this boook can also be useful for girls. Seek guidance in life, god is certainly one way to find such guidance. And with good guidance and role models, success will follow. Believe in yourself and be strong, don't waiver at the first sign of opposition, being persistent will pay off in the end.

Disclaimer: I received a a free book through BookLook Bloggers in exchange for an honest review. The opinion expressed in this post is solely my own and have not been influenced by any third party.

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

weekly food roundup: Guglhupf, Cook Out, Dunkin DOnuts

So instead of doing several posts, just one post with a number of eating places that we visited over the last couple of weeks.
Guglhupf is a German-style bakery in southern Durham that serve awesome bread and great pastries. If you come early, you can snatch some 40% reduced items in the bakery store or you can just sit down for breakfast in side or enjoy the still cool summer morning on the outside terrace while munching on some European-style bread and sip delicious coffee. The Guglhupf website is located here and you can see they got an astonishing selection of pastries and breads.

Does that pastry shelf not look absolutely delicious? Even for someone like me who does not like a lot of sweet stuff, the pastries are just looking really pretty. But I usually stop by for some Guglhupf bread, especially their rye bread is similar to what I great up eating at home. So I grabbed two day old breads and then made a traditional German lunch with smoked ham and fried eggs, followed by a Zuckerbrot (sliced bread with margarine and sugar) - tasted just like I remember from Germany.

So if you are looking for a great place to eat - either dessert or a European style bakery in general, make a point of stopping by Guglhupf in Southern Durham. Be prepared to find a really crowded place in the morning, with parking usually still available in the back and they have plenty of seating -which they definitely need on most morning, even during the week!

Dunkin Donuts
Of course no week would be complete without a stop by Dunkin's and since I had several coupons, the haul was bigger than usual. I got my free coffee through the Dunkin Perks program, then a large ice coffee, a large iced latte and my trusted toasted coconut donut. Weekend was bliss afterwards and even the workweek started off well because I had a couple of the beverages left from my early Sunday morning trip to the neighbor caffeine haven.

copyright Durhamonthecheap - great bargain at Dunkin Donuts total price was less than $4 and the donut as always delicious

Cook Out
The last stop is Cook Out a relatively new burger chain to Southern Durham (near the old South Square Mall location). They have a nice combo that includes a choice of sandwiches or burgers, two sides and a large soda (or a for $1 more you can get their awesome milkshake). I of course went with the milkshake and selected red cherry cheesecake - it was really good. Combined my burger with my favorite hushpuppies and then some onion rings and dinner was great! Perfect lead-in to a relaxed weekend. So if you are in Southern Durham, consider giving the combo from Cook Out a try and for less than $6 you get burger, two sides and a great milkshake!

Crowdtap sampling - Hill's Science Diet Ideal Balance Dog Food

Through Crowdtap.com I received a great sampling package for a newHill's Science Diet Dog Food. The food line is called Ideal Balance Dog Food and is made up of only natural ingredients to create recipes with optimal levels of over 50 nutrients. These foods provide for our friends the perfect balance of nutrition for their health. In my package I got the following:

1 bag Grain Free Natural Chicken and Potato Recipe Dry Food
1 can Grain Free Braised Salmon Recipe Wet Food
1 bag Soft-Baked Naturals with Duck & Pumpkin Treats
1 Coupon Booklet with $20 in Savings
1 Hill’s Ideal Balance Retractable Leash

I shared the food with a couple of my colleagues and also distributed the coupons among my colleagues. Below, you see pictures of two of the puppies that were lucky enough to get to sample the food. Dry food bag had to be kept at a safe distance since someone is digging in with a vengeance.
The Pomy is a little bit better behaved, probably still in show from the summer haircut he had received that same day. But the owner told me that duck and pumpkin treats are a big hit and he really likes the raised Salmon wet food as well. So two out of two clients agree, Hill's Science Diet Ideal Balance dog food is a hit!

Disclaimer: I received a sampling package from Crowdtap containing products from the Hill's Ideal Balance Dog Food line in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed in this post are solely my own and have not been influenced by Crowdtap or any third party.

Crowdtap sampling: Cottonelle’s Summer Clean Care

Crowdtap Sampling Event: Cottonelle Toilet Paper and Flushable Wipes

I am an avid follower and fan of Crowdtap because I got to sample lots of products and you can also win gift cards each months to stores such as amazon or Walmart! This month, I took part in my second Cottonelle promotion. I love Cottonelle products because they make quality products and ever so often Cottonelle also comes up with great new product like Fresh Care Flushable Cleansing Cloths. In my latest sampling package I got a great selection and enough to share with friends:

Cottonelle Clean Care 4 Pack
Cottonelle Fresh Care Flushable Cleansing Cloths Dispenser
Cottonelle Fresh Care Flushable Cleansing Cloths Portable Soft Pack
Save $1.00 Coupon on any ONE (1) dispenser or refill of Cottonelle Flushable Cleansing Cloths (42 ct. or larger)
FOR YOUR FRIENDS:
(2) Cottonelle Fresh Care Flushable Cleansing Cloths Portable Soft Packs
(2) Save $1.00 Coupon on any ONE (1) dispenser or refill of Cottonelle Flushable Cleansing Cloths (42 ct. or larger)

I was really impressed by how generous Cottonelle proved yet again when sharing their products with us Tappers!

I shared the coupons and cloths samples with people locally and solicited their feedback. Everyone loved the convenience of the package and the fact that they are small enough to carry in a purse or put into the glove compartment of the car for summer travels.

For more information on the Clean Care line of products from Cottonelle, check out their description on amazon.com here. I can vouch for the fact that the Cottonelle Clean Care Toilet Paper is strong and effective with extra-absorbent ripples. And the flushable wipes come with bagged refills available at local stores, so I can reuse the dispenser and the only trash products is the plastic wrapping! Great for the environment too.

Again, love Crowdtap and love the continued association with Cottonelle. I think the products by Cottonelle are great and they do come up not just with quality products, but also innovative products like the flushable wipes.

Disclaimer: I received free products from Cottonelle in exchange for an honest opinion and sharing products with others. The opinion expressed in this blog post are solely my own and have not been influenced by Crowdtap or any other third party.

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Purex Insider Product Review: Spellbinders Celebrations kit

Spellbinders is a great company that makes crafting and scrapbooking easy. Spellbinders will provide you with a collection of supplies from sturdy paper in many colors to pre-cut ornaments or stamps that you can use for your scrapbooks or to make small craft projects such as cards or goodie bags for teacher appreciation day. The new Collection called Celebrations was designed by Richard Garay to make crafting supplies in bright colors and of high quality available for crafters of any skill level. The complete line includes paper set in one specific color or a set of colors. Celebrations also includes die and stamp sets as well as inks ad embossing folders.

I was provided with two kits, one for a goodie bag and the other kit was for a card. While the kits came with supplies to allow me to recreate the intended products, I like to be creative and make my own designs. So I used the individual components in the kits and mixed and matched to generate my own designs. The kits came with illustrated instructions that were east to follow and the results were great. It only took me about 5 minutes for each finished design and besides scissors and glue I did not need any additional supplies.

The goodie bag was really easy to make. The kit came with a little paper bag and a number of supplies for a nice colorful label and a little piece of string to tie the bag. I got creative with the label, not wanting to just stick to the guidelines. It was more fun this way and the finished product allows me to write a little personal message on the bag of the label, while doing the official addressing on the front.

This card looked like fun from the moment I saw it because it had so many things going for it - paper flower, yellow had and blue card stock with a little "Celebrate" flag and additional paper stock for a three-dimensional card.The cone shaped paper is actually easy to make if you buy the respective die from Spellbinder and I can envision the cone shaped paper to serve as a treat bag, a faux ice cream cone and cute table decoration at a children's birthday party, where it can serve as a name tag and party hat all in one.

Again, I got more creative and changed the color scheme around a bit to avoid too much pink on the front. The resulting card fits my style better and that is one thing I like about Spellbinders because with so many products available on their website here, you can really get creative in your style.

The best part of the package, in my opinion, were the stamps that can be used for a large variety of designs and occasions. I love the 3-D feel of the gel words and will definitely use them to create some unique cards. Spellbinder Celebrations is a great line of products and in case you feel that these sample kits are not allowing you to maximize your creativity because they only include material for one finished product, let me assure you that the actual designer line of products sold by Spellbinders contain enough material to meet your crafting wishes. Just look at the great set of paper collections that you can purchase under Spellbinders here. The sample kits that I was provided clearly do not justice to the overall Spellbinders line of products and the great starting material they provide to beginning or experienced crafting fan. I will definitely need to consider Spellbinders in the future when I need to stock up on my cards.

Overall, the supplies provided did limit me in term of how creative I could be with card creating. But I felt that the quality of the supplies was good and the company website certainly indicates that Spellbinders wants to create supplies for crafting that allow a person of any skill set to get creative. I would say that this was nice introduction to the company and their new Celebrations line, but it clearly generated my appetite for more supplies by Spellbinders Celebration line of products.

Disclaimer: I received the supplies for scrapbooking and card-making as well as the stamp set through Purex Insiders in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed in this post are solely my own and have not been influenced by Purex or any third party.

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Book Review: Sidelined: Overcoming Odds through Unity, Passion, and Perseverance by Chuck Pagano et al.

Life will only test you as much as you can handle, so when finally landing your dream job and you feel that you have achieved everything that you wanted, a cancer diagnosis is not just throwing a wrench into your plans, but it is putting your whole life at risk and turning everything upside down. But just that happened to Chuck Pagano, the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts.

I picked this book because even though I do not watch football games all the time, I had heard of Chuck Pagano's illness and the Chuckstrong movement. I remember listening to updates about his health and how happy everyone, including opposing team members were, when Chuck returned to his coaching job. So this book to me presented a unique insight into fighting cancer very publicly, while still trying to allow the focus be on the team.

available on amazon.com here.

I have had too many people close to me affected by cancer, some recovered, too many died. No battle was easy and even if someone recovered, it was a draining experience to say the least. Too have to undergo that fight in public, affiliated with a team that makes national headlines every week, in my opinion makes the fight even tougher.

This book does not sugarcoat anything, cancer sucks and there are many depressing, hard days to overcome. Chuck Pagano was lucky to beat the cancer, but like most other people, it left him changed and in some ways scarred as well. But what cancer could not affect was the fighter that Chuck Pagano was and will always be and in that sense, this book is immensely life affirming and provides maybe a deeper insight into what makes Chuck Pagano successful as a human and a coach than any lecture on coaching philosophy will.

Disclaimer: I was provided a free copy of this book by Booklook in exchange for an honest review. The opinion expressed in this post have not been influenced by any third party.

Book Review: King Rules: Ten Truths for You, Your Family, and Our Nation to Prosper by Alveda King

I was provided a free copy of the book through booksneeze.com and given the many titles to choose from, this book was particularly intriguing to me because I wanted to find out how someone much more familiar with the teachings of Dr. King would condense his work into ten rules. This book does this in a very eloquent and convincing fashion without feeling like the reader is subject to a Sunday sermon.

available on amazon.com here

Some passages of the book will not be agreeable to everyone because it is after all how Alveda King interpreted the teaching of Dr. King, but overall, the book provides food for thought to the reader.
One issue that may be hard to stomach for some readers is the very strong opinion that author has on homosexuality, but this is just one facet of the book and sections such as the important on education, working towards peace every day (even in our own little way and world) as well as the focus on family and community are topics that most people will agree with.

I read this book as a condensed version of Dr. King's views on these topics. And while I agree in general with these topics and their importance, facets of each of his rules, interpreted in this book, may be seen differently by me. That does not make anyone a better or worse person, it just makes us individuals that lead our life to how we see certain things and what we consider important and good.

Looking at the book and its context in a more abstract way showed to me that despite not having been very exposed to the teachings of Dr. King, as a relatively recent immigrant to this country, I can find many similarities with his teachings.

Overall, this is a very well written book by someone who certainly knows the teachings of Dr. King. It was thought provoking because at times it told things differently than I view them, but then a good book that deal with life philosophy is supposed to do just that.

Disclaimer: I was provided a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed in this blog are solely my own and have not been influenced by any third party.

Friday, July 4, 2014

Crowdtap Hosted Party: Cetaphil Skin Squad #GentlePower Party

Thanks to crowdtap.com I was able to host another sampling party at work. In the morning I always set up the samples in the breakroom, so that coming to work, everyone sees that we have some samples to try out. Thanks to Crowdtap for including the information sheet and allowing me to use full-size products of all the samples!

Plenty of samples were included in the party kit, 10 samples of each product - the cloth pack, the RestoraDerm and the moisturizer. Especially the cloth pack samples went quickly because they are so convenient to freshen up in the summer, when the humid North Carolina temperatures make you want to jump into the shower several times a day.

Great selection of samples and I make sure to take a picture right when setting up the samples because as soon as people come in, the samples start disappearing.

Benefit of being a host - I get full-size products to try out. Love the cloth for a quick way to freshen up and gentle cleaning. The moisturizer works well and RestoraDerm is fantastic to keep skin soft in the humid North Carolina summer.

Looking at the samples - the few that were left by then- during lunch break turned out that we had several Cetaphil fans at work. Several use the moisturizer and the cloth pack was a quick favorite as well. The party pack was a great mix of known products and a nice way to get to know and sample some new products from Cetaphil.

Thanks to Crowdtap and Cetaphil for supplying me with the samples to share at work. Everyone was happy with the opportunity to try out new products and get samples of some old favorites.

Disclaimer: I received a Cetaphil Skin Squad #GentlePower Party kit from Crowdtap in exchange for hosting a sampling party and an honest review. The opinions expressed in this blog are solely my own and have not been influenced by Crowdtap or any third party.

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Today's Freebie: Luzianne Family-Sized Iced Tea Pack and Mason Jar to celebrate National Iced Tea Month

I had a couple of weeks ago signed up for a Freebie from Luzianne to celebrate National Iced Team month and today I got a little surprise in the mail - my Luzianne package! It contained a box of Luzianne Iced Tea with 22 family-sized tea bags and, best of all, a nice mason jar to celebrate Iced Tea Month.
Now I do have enough glasses, mugs and cups in the house, but I have yet to have a mason jar in my inventory and this one has great size and then the little inscription about Iced Tea month makes it truly unique. Now I can feel like a native North Carolinian, sitting on my porch in the evening after work and sip iced tea.

Crowdtap sampling opportunity - Kleenex tissues

Through Crowdtap I received a free box of Kleenex to try out and review. I have always Kleenex at my house because not only do we use them for the usual stuff, cleaning noses, but in a pinch they are also sturdy enough to wipe up some messes.

To show how sturdy Kleenex are, I used them for some Origami. Folding Kleenex like paper and creating a little sculpture will not tear the tissue. If you can do that with tissue paper, you know that it is definitely durable.

Disclaimer: I received a free box of Kleenex tissue in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed in this blog are solely my own and have not been influenced by Crowdtap or any third party.

durhamonthecheap

Glossary

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Smiley360 Review: Sleep Number Beds and IQ technology

Saturday, July 26, 2014

Purex Insider Review + Coupon Giveaway: Dial® Coconut Water Refreshing Mango body wash

Giveaway

Food Review: Flour Cafe and Bakery in Boston, MA / Sleeper St. Cafe in Boston, MA

Product Review and $25 Giftcard giveaway - Walmart.com online ordering and free shipping to your home! How easy is that?

Monday, July 21, 2014

Book Review: The Making of a Man: How Men and Boys Honor God and Live with Integrity by Tim Brown

Book Review: Game Changer by Kirk Cousins

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

weekly food roundup: Guglhupf, Cook Out, Dunkin DOnuts

Crowdtap sampling - Hill's Science Diet Ideal Balance Dog Food

Crowdtap sampling: Cottonelle’s Summer Clean Care

Crowdtap Sampling Event: Cottonelle Toilet Paper and Flushable Wipes

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Purex Insider Product Review: Spellbinders Celebrations kit

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Book Review: Sidelined: Overcoming Odds through Unity, Passion, and Perseverance by Chuck Pagano et al.

Book Review: King Rules: Ten Truths for You, Your Family, and Our Nation to Prosper by Alveda King

Friday, July 4, 2014

Crowdtap Hosted Party: Cetaphil Skin Squad #GentlePower Party

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Today's Freebie: Luzianne Family-Sized Iced Tea Pack and Mason Jar to celebrate National Iced Tea Month

Crowdtap sampling opportunity - Kleenex tissues

Modern Mom