Category Archives: Reviews

Dragon World: Adult Coloring Book Review

Dragon World: Adult Coloring Book Review and Giveaway

When I was 16 I was introduced to a game called Dungeons and Dragons. I was introduced to this game from my male best friend at the time who happened to host a D&D game in his parents garage each weekend. Each week he would gather 5-8 of his closest friends and they would continue the ongoing adventure that he created in his head. When he would describe a dragon encounter I would laugh and think of the nicest dragons possible. While I would be listening to this unfold, I would sit and color – sometimes for 6 hours.

Flash forward 20 years and there are two surprises. The first is that I am now married to that Dungeon Master who created those multiple woven stories. The second surprise is that I have grown to really appreciate dragons and I have found they are a part of my life. There are dragons in my favorite game, in my favorite cartoon trilogy and now in my coloring books.

I learned today, after asking that Dungeon Master, that the colors dragons have can vary as much as the dragon itself. The reason I inquired about colors of dragons was because I was about to embark on a new coloring book review of an adult coloring book called Dragon World: Adult Coloring Book by Mark Coyle.

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KitNipBox Subscription Box- Monthly Box Review

KitNipBox Monthly Subscription Box Review

Our cats are rescues – Murfee was discovered in an open field at 2 days old with only 2 other siblings and no mother to be found. Our Maggee is a different story – she was shuttled around from home to home for a couple of weeks due to alleged aggression issues. The only aggression that we have seen is when we get home and she is beyond eager to have us hold her. Our Maggee then had kittens, in a foster home, but as soon as she could she was separated from them and brought back to the shelter. This is where we entered her life – she jumped in our lap in the room and I was sold – she was mine!

Both of our cats had a rough start to life and despite this, they have the sweetest and most calm demeanor. When we have guests come over, instead of hiding, our cats want to be with the humans in the middle of the action. This gives our guests opportunities to play with toys and give them treats – and we know they love the added attention.

Our cats live their life inside, and for us this is right decision and the best way we can keep them safe. Due to the fact that we keep them in the house, we try to provide them as much stimulation as possible. We recently received a KitNipBox for review that provided a nice overview of the types of items one could receive from this monthly subscription box.

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Clutter Rehab Review

Clutter Rehab Review

I have always been an organized person – I love my labels, my boxes and my “systems”. I remember when I was young I would offer to clean and organize the kitchen cabinets – I would clean them and then label where everything belonged driving family and visitors alike crazy, since things were always moved around. This fascination of organization is nothing new, but has been raised to a new level since starting this blog.

As a review blogger a sense of control and organization is almost as vital as the ability to write a review. I am constantly filtering through product, cardboard boxes and deadlines. I want to make sure I write the reviews in a timely manner, and that the items are represented in the best light I can put them in. I am constantly revising and updating my review systems, to help efficient and effectiveness.

I am always looking for new tips. tricks and “inside” organizational techniques. Naturally when I had the opportunity to review an organization themed book I thought this might be the answer and would give me the opportunity to create some real systems in my house. I received Clutter Rehab; 101 Tips and Tricks to Become an Organization Junkie and Love It! by Laura Wittman and began to read.

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Gluten-Free Android Applications Available

Gluten-Free Android App’s Roundup!

5 Different Android App’s: 5 Different Experiences

As I was sitting tonight, Jason and I got to talking about the upcoming Gluten Free Expo and what companies I am looking forward to seeing the products of. This, of course, spawned into talking about gluten-free restaurants as well as the grocery shopping challenge in locating gluten-free products.

As I began looking I saw many summaries online for I-Phone applications, but not many critical lists/reviews of the available Android apps. It is with that thought in mind that I present you with my review and overview of some of the more “popular” Android apps for gluten-free location, as well as my choice for favorite. Be sure to comment at the bottom if you have a favorite!

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My Paper Pumpkin December 2015 Review

My Paper Pumpkin December 2015 Kit Review and Giveaway

I have a “New Years” confession for you – despite my best intentions I always want to make a calendar for our house but I rarely finish in time.

Let’s roll back the clock one year ago and my wide-eyed optimism. I gathered all the materials I needed in order to create a calendar that would be used the next 12 month of our lives. In theory it would be packed with dates, moments and more memories than the days can handle. I plugged away and after about 6 hours I had a perfect acceptable homemade calendar that would fit perfect in the space I had in mind. I was proud and could not wait until I could use it and fill the days.

The reality of the matter is that despite my efforts there were a couple of months were the previous month lingered longer than it should have and a lot of space that stayed blank. I decided that for the new year coming I would still make a calendar but I would scale down my expectations.

As we begin this march into the new year this months My Paper Pumpkin kit arrived at the perfect time. As if again Stampin Up knew the projects in my mind the box for December was called “One Great Year” and provided the perfect calendar for the coming year.

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Cat Lady Box Monthly Subscription Review: November 2015

Cat Lady Box Monthly Subscription Review and Giveaway – November 2015

November is a month of reflection and giving thanks for the positive (and negative) things in your life. There are 3 things in my life that I am particularly thankful for – the first two are my husband Jason and my father. The third thing that I am thankful for is Maggee and Murfee – my two cats.

There are many reasons that I am thankful for my cats but mostly because when I am having a particularly hard day they seem to be aware. There are times that I am stressed or under a deadline and they give me a look or a head bump as if to tell me “I’m here for you my human”. It is nothing short of amazing and something to be thankful for, not only in November, but year round.

This celebration of thanks and is a monthly occurrence with Cat Lady Box. I am very pleased to say that this is the sixth month and it is “absolutely meowvalous”. Each month it is just as good as the previous month, (see previous reviews here). This month the box exterior looked different then the previous printed and stamped versions and included a solid box design. This is a great upgrade and the black was solid throughout and just made me more excited to delve into the box.

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Unique Natural Products Review

Unique Natural Products: Pet Odor and Stain Eliminator Review and Giveaway

I am all about confession and honesty, in that vein I am going to share a story with you all. About 8 months ago, while my husband and I were sleeping, my husband was awoken with a fright. It is important to note that I do not wake up well especially when it is in a sudden manner, but do not wake up easily. Apparently my husband went to investigate and discovered that our Muggles had eaten to fast and thrown up – all over our carpet and couch!

At this point, Jason is sitting ankle deep in cat vomit and while he could have cleaned this up himself, he did not know where all the cleaners and rags were and need my assistance. As he proceed to wake me up I was not only startled but concerned that the vomit-er was feeling alright. Once I did my checks, I proceeded to gather the need materials and began cleaning, and after 30 minutes I was done.

The reason that this task took so long is because I had to search for a carpet cleaner that would be safe for our new couch and the carpet that covers our wood floor. That night I settled for simple soap and water the clean the mess. I made a promise to myself that I would find a proper pet cleaning product, that is when I discovered Unique Natural Products – Pet Odor and Stain Eliminator.

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Make Garbage Great Review

Make Garbage Great Review and Giveaway

As any regular reader of this blog can say, I love to up-cycle. I love the idea that I can turn everyday trash into something useful and relevant. In our house we try our best to recycle when able, and we also like to up-cycle when able.

Recently the town that I live in had banned the use of plastic bags in stores – which while good for the environment, hard on the forgetful people who leave the house without cloth bags. I understand why the plastic was banned, and while that was the obvious choice plastic is in more than just our grocery bags. There is plastic in items such as hip replacements, wire insulation and even in certain types of lumber.

When I opened my eyes and looked at what is already around us I began wondering if I could really make a difference in this mounting garbage filling the landfills issue. Due to my heightened awareness of re-cycling and up-cycling I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to review Make Garbage Great: The Terracycle Family Guide to a Zero-Waste Lifestyle.

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Stoneridge Orchards Review

Stoneridge Orchards: Review and Giveaway

As any regular readers will know I love companies that have a unique backstory and original origins. Let’s travel back to 1960’s in Central Washington and the modern homesteading lottery. What this Homesteading Lottery did was to hold a lottery and chose “winners”. The “winners” of this lottery won 160 acres of land in Central Washington. As luck would have it, in 1962 a gentleman by the name of Karl Dorsing had not only entered this lottery but won. This win allowed him to move himself and his family to Royal City Washington.

Today those 160 acres are what is known as Royal Ridge Fruits. The fertile high desert region of Central Washington was the perfect environment to grow their all natural organic cherries, blueberries, raspberries, apple and pears. In 2010 this 3rd generational family owned and managed company created Stoneridge Orchards. Stoneridge Orchards was created for use as a consumer brand. With the creation of a consumer brand came the addition of a berry mix, dried peaches slices as well as Greek Yogurt covered fruits and Dark Chocolate covered fruits.

Stoneridge Orchards was kind enough to send us an assortment of their dried fruits and chocolate covered fruits for consideration of a review.

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Art Therapy Magazine Review

Art Therapy Magazine Review

About 5 years ago I went through a severe health scare and with that came many, many hours in waiting rooms and testing facilities. During those long days I wished I would have had a distraction to get me thinking about something other than the reason I was in the waiting rooms.

When you are stuck in the waiting rooms of medical facilities the options for amusement are limited and usually consist of using ones smart phone, bringing a book to read and if courageous enough, making small talk with the other medical waiters. Time takes forever and is fleeting all at once. I tried all these things to distract me, and despite my best attempts they never worked. It is nice to have something to start and have completed in a tumultuous time.

The newest trend making a roaring comeback into the 20-teens is Adult Coloring – which is not different then the coloring we did as a children other than the designs are more grown up. I was recently send 2 issues of Art Therapy Magazine for review, which is a coloring periodical.

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