Rave and Review

MAM Personalized Pacifiers {Review & Discount Code}

When listing off the things my son loves, there’s really no debating the order.  His list of loves goes like this:
1)    Me, hubby, and his big sister
2)    His MAM pacifier
3)    What he refers to as his “magic” blanket that he can’t sleep without

As you can imagine, when I heard that MAM was coming out with a line of personalized pacifiers where you could add your own text to the center, there was really no question at all that we needed one.  The only real question was how we were going to personalize it.  Once we were on the site and ready to customize, there was a few moments of discussion and then we both agreed on the perfect personalization.

We could have gone with his given name, a funny saying, or just his initials but in the end we went with “Danger”, a shortened form of “Dangerous Dimples”, which we have called him since he was born and now speaks to his wild side as well.  After it was chosen, it was as easy as choosing a color, a font and size and then mere moments later we had a set of two ordered for only $19.99.

Once they arrived a few days later, I was really excited to show them to everyone.  I thought they turned out really cute and love that the words are actually engraved into the pacifier so they won’t scratch off or fade with use.  I’ve seen other cheap printed-on pacis and was really excited that these look nothing like those; the MAM versions are really well done and, even better, they are also the only brand of pacifiers that my little one will use!

I already knew that as soon as my little man saw them he was going to go crazy, so I made sure to open them beforehand and get them all cleaned up and ready while he was napping.  When he woke up it was mere minutes and he had found his new paci, which he promptly traded his old one for. 

As I suspected, he loves his new pacifiers and has been using the two of them for the past week now.  Of course, he can’t read and has no idea that his pacifiers are personalized just for him, but he does like all the attention it gets him.  Now, when the woman in the checkout line at the grocery store calls him “Danger” she is sure to get a dose of his famous dimples, to which they always exclaim “those dimples are dangerous!”  Exactly.  
 
For more information, visit Mam personalized pacifiers.  Bonus: Receive 20% off ANY MAM Personalized Pacifier set  when you use coupon code MAM20 at check out! {hurry, this offer expires on February 29th!}

Features:
•    MAM soothies developed along with dentists & designers allow healthy jaw
•    Engrave with your child’s name, nickname, or your own clever saying
•    BPA-Free
•    Available in 2 sizes and 3 colors

They are also having a Facebook contest where you can win some of these awesome personalized pacifiers!

We received a set of two pacifiers for review from MAM and Child's Play Team Mom and we simply adore them.  All opinions are 100% ours and no form of monetary compensation was received in exchange for this Rave Review. 

P&G GIVE Health brandSAVER Gives Back {Prize Pack Giveaway}

Know what I love even more than saving money? I love giving back to organizations that really make a difference. Just this past year I started dabbling in couponing and found myself really liking the fun of tracking down coupons and loving saving huge percentages off my total grocery bills.

While some coupons I get are online or in boxes of products I buy, a big portion of the coupons I have used are right out of the P&G brandSAVER inserts so I always get excited when a new one is going to be released.

March 4th is one of those days but this insert is even more exciting than usual because it will support two causes I love. Next week’s P&G GIVE Health brandSAVER insert will be distributed in newspapers across the country and, as always, it will feature discounts for P&G brands. But, just by using those coupons as you normally do, a 2¢ donation from P&G will be split between the Feeding America National Produce Program and the Children’s Safe Drinking Water Fund.

What could be more important than safe water and food for the hungry? In this time of economic crisis, one in six Americans goes hungry, so now more than ever charities like Feeding America are vital to our nation’s health. I’ve talked before about P&G’s partnership with the Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program and how they work tirelessly to make dirty drinking water a thing of the past, so I was really happy to see that P&G would be supporting both of these great causes.

Don’t have a newspaper or not interested in couponing? From February 19th (today!) to March 5th, for every “Like” on Facebook, P&G will split a $1 donation between the two charities up to $10,000!

Two lucky Rave & Review readers will win an awesome P&G prize pack that contains the following:

•1 - 10 pack Tide Stain Release In-Wash Booster •1- Tide To-Go Instant Stain Remover •1 - 4 pack Duracell AA Batteries •1 - 50 pack Bounty Quilted Napkins •1 - 25.4 oz. Pantene 2in1 Shampoo & Conditioner •1 - 4 oz. Olay Complete All Day UV moisturizer •1 - 12 pack Puffs Tissues •1 - 1.22 oz. Crest Pro-Health Oral Rinse •1 - Reusable P&G Tote Bag Made from 100% Recycled Plastic Bottles

To Enter: Tell me what P&G product you always look for coupons for

And, as always, there are extra entries available! {Please leave a separate comment for each completed}

1 Extra Entry - Post on your Facebook wall about the giveaway {http://t.co/c2Jvu8ip} and tag P&G My GIVE and R&R on Facebook

1 Extra Entry - Like P&G My GIVE on Facebook {like before March 4th and they will donate $1!}

2 Extra Entries {per method} - Follow Rave & Review! Subscribe by RSS feed, Subscribe by email, become a fan of R&R on Facebook or add R&R to your blogroll or sidebar.

1 Extra Entry {daily} - Twitter. Simply tweet about the giveaway and the GIVE Health brandSAVER with the post URL {http://t.co/c2Jvu8ip} @pgMyGive and @raveandreview

2 Extra Entries - Blogger Bonus. Blog about this giveaway linking back to this post and leave an address where I can find your writeup

1 Extra Entry - Comment love. Enter any of my other Giveaways and/or comment on any non-giveaway post!

On March 21st at 11:59pm PST a winner will be drawn, announced here and notified via email. Winner will have 48 hours to contact me or a new winner will be chosen. US and Canadian addresses only.

A big thank you to P&G for this giveaway opportunity. This giveaway was provided for free from P&G and we are not being paid for this post. All opinions are 100% ours.

Lady and the Tramp Diamond Edition Blu-ray + DVD

I have always loved Lady and the Tramp and I vividly remember watching the VHS over and over with my sister when we were young.  I think we must have sung the “The Siamese Cat Song” {AKA “We Are Siamese”} every day from kindergarten to 5th grade and even to this day I can’t help but smile as I remember how much we adored the film. 

The one thing that wasn’t vivid was the quality of the tape from our youth that had seen its better days and hadn’t been treated as it should.  Seeing the Lady and the Tramp this past week in all its restored glory on Blu-ray was definitely the way it was meant to be seen.  Bright and vibrant in HD, the film’s hand-drawn artwork doesn’t show its age at all and even my husband thought it was decades newer than it actually is.

My daughter, who knows nothing of VHS tapes, will only ever know of Lady and the Tramp in its beautifully restored Blu-ray release and she was completely blown away.  In fact, it’s her new favorite movie, even surpassing her “princess movies” and she’s asked to watch it every single night since it arrived.  And, watching it again with her, I had forgotten how great of a movie it really is. 

A classic love tale about dogs from very different backgrounds coming together to realize that they have more in common than they had realized, it’s a fun twist on a “romantic comedy” for kids.  Perfect for Valentine’s Day and a fun movie for boys or girls, it’s a very welcome addition to our Disney Blu-ray collection.  In fact, with how much the whole family loves it, I have a feeling it’s going to be played a ton from now on.  Thank goodness DVDs can handle more play time than our old VHS could!

As with all Disney Diamond Edition combo packs, I love all the amazing extra features you get with purchase.  Besides the Blu-ray, you get the DVD feature film, the digital copy, as well as bonus features.  The bonus features in the Lady and the Tramp Diamond Edition were really fun and I learned a lot about the making of the film and all the things that had to come together to release Lady and the Tramp back in 1955.  It turns out that it’s not just a timeless tale about love, it’s also a historically significant film brought to life at a time in our country’s history that really needed fun. 

Special Features
• Blu-ray(TM) Feature Film + Bonus
• DVD Feature Film + Bonus
• Digital Copy Of Feature Film
• Diane Disney Miller: Remembering Dad
• PuppyPedia: Going To The Dogs
• Never-Before-Seen Deleted Scenes
• Never-Before-Heard Deleted Song
• Inside Walt's Story Meetings With Disney Second Screen
• Lady's Pedigree: The Making Of Lady and the Tramp
• "The Siamese Cat Song": Finding A Voice For The Cats
• And Much More! 

To make an even sweeter purchase just in time for Valentine's Day, Disney is also offering $5 and $8 coupons for two Blu-ray versions thru Disney Movie Rewards

And, here's a great Target Blu-ray Deal {thanks, Hip2Save!}
Deal Scenario:
Buy Lady & Tramp Blu-ray Combo Pack $22.99
Buy 1 Select Blu-Ray $14.99
Total = $37.98
Minus $8 discount automatically applied during checkout
Plus, use the $5/1 Lady & the Tramp Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Upgrade Coupon found on Disney Movie Rewards {you can only access this if you have an old Lady & the Tramp DVD or VHS}
Final cost $24.98 for both – just $12.49 per Blu-ray! Great price!

A big thank you to Disney for re-introducing our family to Lady and the Tramp this past month.  All opinions are 100% ours and no form of monetary compensation was received in exchange for this Rave Review.

Save Your Razor Blades with Razorpit {Review & Giveaway}

I will admit it; I don’t shave my legs nearly as much as should.  It’s not that I don’t like smooth, silky legs, it’s that I’m cheap.  Seriously, have you seen how much razors cost these days?  Much to my husband’s dismay, for years I have convinced myself that the fact that I have lighter and baby fine hair makes it okay for me to shave every few weeks. 

The problem with my putting off shaving my legs {besides, you know, hairy legs} is that when I do get around to doing it, all that baby fine leg hair gets clogged in my razor as I shave.  Depending on how cheap my razor is {I’ve been known to buy ANY good deal}, this can sometimes mean I blow through a razor each time I shave because there’s no way to get it unclogged safely.  Not only is it costly to only use a blade once, it’s also horribly wasteful, which in turn, makes me put off shaving even longer.

Or, at least, I used to. I have recently found a cool new product called the Razorpit that allows you to clean and sharpen your razor blades after each use, allowing them to last a purported 150 times before replacing.  While I haven’t actually tested this {just think of how long it would take me to test that out...}, I’m just happy extending my blades by even a fraction of that.  To me, just getting 5 or 6 shaves would blow me out of the water, but that’s what I got and more from the Razorpit. 

It’s been over a month now and I’m still using the same cheap-o disposable razor that I opened in mid-December and I don’t see myself tossing it anytime soon.  I’ve shaved my legs twice now {the first time broke a two month no-shaving spell} and have used daily for my underarms and it’s still going strong.  Instead of clogging during that first shave and needing to be tossed immediately, I was able to use the Razorpit to help keep the blades clean even while I shaved and then I cleaned and sharpened right after I finished so it could be used for 5 weeks longer than normal. 

Besides saving money and saving our landfills, I love that I just don’t have to worry about razor blades anymore.  No more putting off shaving or using a less-than-sharp blade to save money because I can now shave whenever I feel like it.  I wish I could say that I’ve been shaving my legs daily {or even every third day}, but I guess there was a bit of laziness rolled into the pricing issue and it turns out I just genuinely don’t like shaving.  But, hey, I like having the option to shave daily, and that’s enough for me!

If you’re tired of throwing away razors too soon and want to save time, money, and our landfills, you should definitely check out Razorpit to clean and sharpen your razor blades.  I'm thrilled that I have extended the life of my blade by 40x longer than normal - and am hoping I’ve got 100 more shaves in my razor!  To find out more about the Razorpit as well as where to buy, check out GetRazorPit.com

One lucky Rave and Review reader will win a Razorpit of their very own!

To Enter: Simply "Like" Razorpit on Facebook and let me know what color Razorpit you would prefer.  You can like either the US Facebook page or the Canada Facebook page, but activity on the European Razorpit Facebook page does not qualify

And, as always, there are extra entries available!  {Please leave a separate comment for each completed}

2 Extra Entries - Post on either US or CDN facebook page finishing the following sentence and tagging R&R on Facebook: Thanks for the giveaway on Rave & Review! With the money I'll save from using Razorpit I am going to ____________ http://t.co/7wm65Pwt

2 Extra Entries {per method} - Follow Rave & Review! Subscribe by RSS feed, Subscribe by email, become a fan of R&R on Facebook or add R&R to your blogroll or sidebar.

1 Extra Entry {daily} - Twitter.  Simply tweet the following after following us both:

Keep your blades clean & sharp w/ Razorpit & join the @ShaveRevolution! Enter to #win from @RaveAndReview http://t.co/7wm65Pwt #giveaway

2 Extra Entries - Blogger Bonus.  Blog about this giveaway linking back to this post and leave an address where I can find your writeup

1 Extra Entry - Comment love.  Enter any of my other Giveaways and/or comment on any non-giveaway post!

On March 11th at 11:59pm PST a winner will be drawn, announced here and notified via email.  Winner will have 48 hours to contact me or a new winner will be chosen. US and Canadian addresses only.

The RazorPit for review and the giveaway were offered at no charge to us.  All opinions remain 100% ours and no form of monetary compensation was received in exchange for this very Rave Review.

Free Sheet Battery Offer with Sony VAIO S Series Laptop {$150 ARV ends 12/31}

Are you in the market for a new laptop?  Check out this awesome deal that includes one of the most raved about laptops of the year and the amazing sheet battery, which gives you power all day!  Whether you travel a lot and need your laptop for long stretches of time or you simply like to go cord-free at home, the Sony sheet battery will soon become your new laptop must-have. 

Unlike other extended life batteries, the Sony sheet battery is so slim and lightweight that it's barely perceptible when it's attached to the laptop over the internal battery.  Since the Sony VAIO S Series is one of the lightest in its class and the sheet battery adds a negliable weight, you will be as surprised as I was that it adds some serious power to an already amazing 6 hour battery life.  Not only does it give you a whopping 12 hours of power, it also has a great design that spreads the battery out over the entire base of the laptop, giving you a balanced work surface and a streamlined laptop that can fit into snug laptop cases, carry-ons, and briefcases.

Amazing, right?  So, what are you waiting for?  For a limited time the sheet battery is available for FREE {$150 ARV} when you buy a VAIO S 15.5" before 12/31 at retailers like Sony Style, Amazon, NewEgg.com, HH Gregg, Fry’s, Tiger Direct, and several other retailers across the country!

Here are some details on the deal that goes through 12/31 - www.sony.com/batteryoffer.

Sony VAIO S Series Features:

• Intel^® Core i5 or i7 processor for visibly smart performance
• Genuine Windows^® 7 Home Premium (other Windows editions available)
• Up to 12 hours battery life (with free extended sheet battery)¹
• 15.5" LED backlit Full HD display (1920 x 1080)
• AMD Radeon graphics with up to 1GB VRAM offers premium performance
• Available solid state drives for rapid boot-ups and quicker application access
• Type in low light with the backlit keyboard with integrated number pad
• Available with Blu-ray Disc or CD/DVD player/burner
• Protect your PC's data with fingerprint sensor and TPM
• USB 3.0 technology (transfer data up to 10X faster than USB 2.0)
• Starting at $999.99

A big thank you to Microsoft and Sony for sharing this special with us.  Stay tuned for additional posts about the Sony VAIO S Series and Microsoft SkyDrive as we get a chance to check some of them out.

Help Make Your Home Cozy with Blinds.com

A couple months ago I read a piece of home buying advice that I wished I had heard back before we bought our house in 2006.  The author of the article was talking about the hidden costs of buying a home and at the top of her list was “count the damn windows”.  Her point  being that lots of light may be awesome during the day, and may even be the reason you fell in love with the house, but at night and during early morning, window coverings are going to be essential. 

Obviously, I did not follow her advice before we bought, and it wasn’t two days into home ownership that I was kicking myself.  Thousands were spent on window treatments right when we were already strapped for cash after moving.  Once we had all the blinds, shades, and drapes we needed for the necessary rooms, we decided to wait on the rest.  But, then when the guest room became a nursery in 2007, and we realized we would eventually need a solution in there, too.  By 2011 I was still scarred from the window treatments shopping that I still hadn’t gotten around to getting a permanent solution for controlling the amount of light that was now waking my toddler far too early each day.

A few weeks ago Blinds.com came to my rescue, offering me a chance to finally complete my baby nursery – for my now 3 year old!  After spending some time on the site I thought I knew what I was going to order and was ready to buy some white faux wood blinds when I started debating about whether I wanted to go with a contrast cotton tape, cordless, or traditional corded blinds.  Because my daughter’s room has a very specific color scheme and already has white furniture in it, I decided to take the advice from Blinds.com and order a few free samples of the wood colors and cloth tape colors we were considering. 

I was so excited when the samples arrived promptly, and even more so that they came in a plastic portfolio case {great for taking shopping or when decorating} and with a coupon to use for your order.  Can I just say how awesome that is?  I’ve ordered blinds samples before from other window treatment companies in order to match the wood grain in our upstairs TV room and never have I been so impressed with a company’s delivery.

After seeing the wood samples and cloth samples, I was incredibly happy I ordered them.  It’s hard to get the nuances of wood grain and color schemes when shopping online, especially since computer monitors can vary so greatly, hence why they recommend ordering samples before committing to purchasing. 

Once I had the samples in my daughter’s room, we realized that the color we had originally decided on was not the best match for the rest of her wood furniture and that going for a matching cloth tape instead of a contrasting color would probably be the best for her to “grow” with considering she might eventually grow out of her garden mural {sniff, sniff} and want a different color scheme entirely.  Having a more neutral palette would definitely be preferable to having to replace a perfectly good window treatment on color alone.

After we figured out the perfect color and measured {twice}, it was just a few minutes on the Blinds.com site to choose all the features we wanted on our new window treatments.  Once ordered, we got the blinds promptly and couldn’t wait to get them up to stop the early morning wake ups.  The blinds were easy to hang and it was minutes of prep before they were secured in place, the cord child-proofed, and valance installed. 

As soon as we got the blinds up in her room, I know we made the right choice in terms of color and type of treatment as the blinds blend seamlessly into her room décor – not distracting at all, but still very elegant and clean.  As beautiful as they looked once installed, I really wasn’t expecting my daughter to love them as much as she does.  She has a pretty adorable room, complete with custom mural and HearthSong Pink Wooden Kitchen, but once those blinds went up she was over the moon excited and was raving about her “special room”… had I known that new blinds would make her adore her room this much, we would have ordered from Blinds.com years earlier!

Thinking about getting some new window treatments for the New Year but not sure what to buy?  Check out their handy Blind-Finder, which can walk you through all of your choices and help you find the best fit for your house.  Bonus: you can get some great deals on Bali blinds and shades through the rest of this year.  Wouldn't 15% off look wonderful in your bedroom/bathroom/kitchen/livingroom?

A big thank you to Blinds.com for sending a blind to review as part of the Blinds MOB group.  All opinions remain 100% ours and no form of monetary compensation was received in exchange for this Rave Review.

Get $10 Credit with Amex Serve Account! {+ $100 Giveaway}

This post is sponsored by Serve from American Express. Sign up for Serve and receive $10 credit towards your first use. Comment below within the next 11 days for your chance to win an extra $100 credit to your account!

'Tis the season of splitting tabs, joint presents, and babysitters.  With dozens of birthdays between mid-November and Christmas, it feels like we're constantly out to eat or shopping as a group and then figuring out who still owes what, whether that check ever got cashed, or wondering why on Earth we forgot cash... again.  But Serve is out to change the way you handle these situations and make sure I'm never stuck creating an IOU spreadsheet ever again.

Serve is the brand new online and mobile money account from American Express that allows you to send and receive money easily, whether you are at home or on the go.  Instead of having to collect bank account information, write and cash checks, or caravan to an ATM, Serve allows you to send and receive money to and from any other Serve member using just their email address or cell phone number.

By managing your account online, through your smartphone, or through their convenient pre-paid card, you can ensure that you will always know how much money you have and control where it gets divvied up.  With your online dashboard you can get the complete overview of your accounts, subaccounts {great for kids, employees, etc}, as well as send and receive money and view past transactions.  Through your mobile app on your smartphone you can manage your account and handle transactions on the go.  Then, as a final convenience, Serve accounts also include a prepaid, reloadable card that you can use to make purchases online and offline wherever American Express is accepted in the US.

To try out the Serve mobile app, we invited two couples out to dinner with us to celebrate all of our birthdays {yes, we all have birthdays within weeks of each other}.  We decided to make a night of it and celebrate having babysitters in the middle of the holiday season so we booked a table at Barrio in Seattle and then bought tickets to a show afterwards.  We enjoyed a leisurely dinner and drinks by candlelight {fun fact: over 380 flickering candles make up the wall and table decor at Barrio}.  When the bill came we split it like normal but, then as a birthday surprise we then credited each of their Serve accounts.

In preparation for the night I had each of them sign up for a Serve account the week before telling them about the free $10 promotion for new signups.  Then when the time came to reimburse, all I needed was their email address or cell phone number and they had their money.  The best part about using Serve this way is that our friends actually accepted the credit on their accounts.  Since I am positive they wouldn't have accepted cash or a check and would have walked out the door insisting that they pay their way, I love that I now have a "sneaky" way to pay people back. 

Side note: All of our babysitters who refuse to let us pay you, beware - Serve is going to make sure that I have a way to reimburse you for donating your Saturday to watching my kiddos if it's the last thing I do!

Since setting up a Serve account is so easy, there's really no reason not to do it.  It's a great way to help you manage your money by making it easy to send and receive while still being safe and secure because it's backed by a trustworthy company, and it's a fabulous way to make sure you stay within spending limits with a prepaid card. As if that wasn't enough, now you can get $10 in your account just for signing up!  If you'd like you can also refer friends to Serve and get up to $5 for each one that signs enrolls, up to $50.  While I haven't tried this feature yet, there are quite a few people I think could really benefit from a Serve account and I am definitely going to be referring them.

If you haven't already created an account, now is the perfect time to do so and help make the holiday season easier to manage.  While there are some personal information required such as the last 4 digits of your social security number and some security questions to answer, you aren't obligated to give financial institution information, give up your first born, or go through a credit check.  Just a few answers and your account is created, $10 deposited, and your Serve card is sent in the mail for you to use - isn't that simple?

I personally love how easy it is to pay with Serve and plan on using the heck out of it over the next few months.  From all of our divvying up meals, tabs, and gifts this holiday season it has actually been quite handy to have and I'm excited to use all of the features.  Be sure to connect with Serve via Facebook and on Twitter

Win It: One lucky Rave & Review reader will win $100 credited to their Serve account!

Mandatory Entry: Just head over to Serve and sign up for an account, then come back here and leave me a comment.  Be sure to leave your email address that you used to sign up for Serve with.

This giveaway will end on December 31st. The winner will be picked by Serve. The lucky winner was Ann F! Thank you all for entering!

Remember to sign up for Serve and receive $10 credit towards your first use. Comment below within the next 7 days for your chance to win an extra $100 credit to your account! Official sweepstakes rules and regulations may be found by clicking here. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

Build Anything With Roylco Straws and Connectors {Review, Giveaway & Discount Code}

Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide – Day 25

All of us at Rave Central are big builders.  We’ve often said that the only thing better than using your imagination to build whatever inspires you is building your masterpiece and then playing in the structure you’ve just created.  While up until now we’ve used furniture and bed sheets to make our life-size creations, now we’ve got a better way utilizing Roylco Straws and Connectors, an easy way to make your creations into play structures.

So, how much fun is it?  Our 400 piece package of Roylco Straws and Connectors had literally been in our house 15 minutes and we already had a house and car built using nothing but straws, connectors, and our imaginations.  Even though the pieces were built from uniform straws and connector pieces, I was simply amazed at how easy it was to make them into recognizable shapes of all kinds. 

Even better for creating masterpieces with your Straws and Connectors is the fact that the straws are bendable, able to be cut, and folded completely in half if you would like.  This allows you to make curved pieces, abstract shapes, and smaller designs easily using the same pieces you would use for the larger and geometric designs.  While we didn’t create any permanent bends in the pieces or cut them, I did utilize a nice curved “canopy” for our coupe and windshield and it worked out nicely.

Since the Straws and Connectors arrived at our house, we’ve been playing with them quite a bit and seeing how creative we can get as a family.  We love that we can make just about anything we can dream up, and we also love that the fun only gets more intense after we’re done building and the imaginative play starts.  And, since we are so big on forts, I am really excited that we could still easily throw a bed sheet on the top of a sturdy little structure and it would become an enclosed play space that the kids could design and play with. 

If you have a budding architect, inventor, or simply loves to use their imaginations, Roylco would be a huge hit for the holidays.  From creating play areas like spaceships, boats, and houses  to learning about math and science using a fun and captivating toy, you really can’t go wrong with a set of Straws and Connectors.  Just be prepared ahead of time that you may have as much fun as the little ones!

Bonus: Roylco is also offering a 20% coupon off Straws and Connectors now thru December 20th on their website, www.roylco.com, using coupon code STRWS20.

 
One lucky Rave and Review reader will win a Roylco Straws and Connectors 400 piece set!

To Enter: Let me know what other Roylco product you love

And, as always, there are extra entries available!  {Please leave a separate comment for each completed}

1 Extra Entry - Like Roylco on Facebook

1 Extra Entry - Post on your Facebook wall about the giveaway {http://t.co/G8pE0vkO } and tag Roylco and R&R on Facebook

2 Extra Entries {per method} - Follow Rave & Review! Subscribe by RSS feed, Subscribe by email, become a fan of R&R on Facebook or add R&R to your blogroll or sidebar.

1 Extra Entry {daily} - Twitter.  Simply tweet the following after following us both:

Just dreaming of the fort I would build with @Roylco Straws and Connectors if I #win the #giveaway from @RaveAndReview http://t.co/G8pE0vkO

2 Extra Entries - Blogger Bonus.  Blog about this giveaway linking back to this post and leave an address where I can find your writeup

1 Extra Entry - Comment love.  Enter any of my other Giveaways and/or comment on any non-giveaway post!

On January 10th at 11:59pm PST a winner will be drawn, announced here and notified via email.  Winner will have 48 hours to contact me or a new winner will be chosen. Open to US and Canada.

This giveaway is now closed. Thank you to all who entered and congrats to:

#149 Rosey said...I am an e-mail subscriber.

This review & giveaway was made possible by the awesome Family Review Network.  A big thank you to Roylco for sending the Straws and Connectors for review and for offering the giveaway to our fabulous readers.  All opinions are 100% ours and no form of monetary compensation was received in exchange for this very Rave Review.

Something About Silver Hand Stamped Jewelry {Review, Giveaway & Coupon Code}

Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide - Day 22

Everyone close to me knows I’m a huge sucker for handmade, especially when we’re talking about jewelry.  I love the imperfections and character of items created by hand and I love that each purchase has a unique story behind it.  This, of course, means that I was enthralled with the Something About Silver website upon first glance.  They literally had everything I was dreaming of that I hadn’t found in stores near me and I was blown away by cuteness overload. 

As a mom, I can’t think of anything more special than handmade jewelry celebrating my kids, so I loved window shopping at the site and taking in all that cuteness.  Whether you are creating a custom jewelry piece from their extensive catalog of charms, tags, and baubles or you are buying a pre-designed piece that is ready for shipping, you are creating a silver keepsake sure to be cherished.

While I simply adore their bracelets, rings, ornaments, and charms, my favorite pieces are their hand stamped silver necklaces that I feel should be part of every girl’s jewelry box.  With stacked pieces, brag tags, wax seals, charm necklaces and more all personalized with initials, names, dates and even birthstones, their silver necklaces are the perfect gift for any woman in your life.  No matter what design you choose, you can be sure that it is destined to become the most beloved piece in her collection. 

We got to review the Little Petals hand stamped silver necklace this past month and I love it so much that it hasn’t been taken off since it arrived in its gorgeous linen packaging.  I’ve gotten so many compliments on the necklace and everyone has been raving about how unique and fun it is with its dainty flower shaped tag paired with a small circular tag.  I personally love the concave design of the charms which adds some dimension and interest as well as the dual shapes that make it unlike any other personalized pieces I have seen before. 

The Little Petals necklace is both fun and feminine at the same time, and I love that it goes with absolutely everything in my wardrobe.  Thank goodness it is so well made with rounded edges, smooth stamping, and gentle concave design that all make it completely comfortable for all day wear.  Unlike other necklaces I own that pinch, pull, or don’t lay quite right, the Little Petals necklace from Something About Silver is just perfect and I don’t even notice I’m wearing it until I get yet another compliment. 

But, not only do I love the beautiful and quality pieces you can find at Something About Silver, I also love that their designs are also completely affordable on any budget.  Whether you want to design a Mother’s Necklace, a family tree set, or you want to mix and match their various designs to create a one-of-a-kind custom piece, Something About Silver is the perfect place to really get creative.

If you’re looking for a personalized present for you or for a special someone, you should definitely check out Something About Silver and create a completely personal gift that is sure to wow.  While it’s too late to create a custom piece before the holidays, you can still order their other gorgeous pieces that are in stock and send them with rush shipping to make it here in time.  Or, better yet, create a little card that tells your recipient that you would like to design a custom piece from Something About Silver with them – that way you can be sure you get the exact right keepsake they've been dreaming of.  Bonus: use coupon code "raveandreview" for 10% off your jewelry and keepsake order when you do start creating!

 
One lucky Rave and Review reader will win a $40 gift certificate to Something About Silver!

To Enter: Let me know what you would most like to create in their extensive catalog

And, as always, there are extra entries available!  {Please leave a separate comment for each completed}

2 Extra Entries - Sign up for the Something About Silver Newsletter {left sidebar of website, half way down you will see the link to sign up}

1 Extra Entry - Like Something About Silver on Facebook

1 Extra Entry - Post on your Facebook wall about the giveaway {http://t.co/feih7EZ1 } and tag Something About Silver and R&R on Facebook

2 Extra Entries {per method} - Follow Rave & Review! Subscribe by RSS feed, Subscribe by email, become a fan of R&R on Facebook or add R&R to your blogroll or sidebar.

1 Extra Entry {daily} - Twitter.  Simply tweet the following after following us both:

Dreaming of personalized keepsake jewelry this year. Would love to #win @SASJewelry GC #giveaway from @RaveAndReview http://t.co/feih7EZ1

2 Extra Entries - Blogger Bonus.  Blog about this giveaway linking back to this post and leave an address where I can find your writeup

1 Extra Entry - Comment love.  Enter any of my other Giveaways and/or comment on any non-giveaway post!

On January 15th at 11:59pm PST a winner will be drawn, announced here and notified via email.  Winner will have 48 hours to contact me or a new winner will be chosen. 

This giveaway is now closed. Thank you to all who entered and congrats to: #38 kjasus said... i tweeted http://twitter.com/#!/raggammuffin/status/148027542857723904

A big thank you to Something About Silver for offering the giveaway to our fabulous readers.  All opinions are 100% ours and no form of monetary compensation was received in exchange for this very Rave Review.

Have Yourself a Merry Little... Pillsbury Potluck

This last weekend we hosted a little party for some family and friends to celebrate some December birthdays and enjoy the start of the Holiday season.  We had each guest bring a recipe they had gotten from Pillsbury.com so we could all try it and ultimately vote on the recipe we liked the most.

As each guest arrived, we set out their creations so everyone could sample them and start picking a favorite.  We had cookies, rolls, pizza, pepperoni and cheddar twists, broccoli veggie pizza, chicken pot pies, and more that we sampled during the night and all of us were stuffed by the time the night was over.  During the party, every single person was raving about the same thing: they couldn’t believe they could make all these dishes with Pillsbury refrigerated dough and they were thrilled to find the Pillsbury.com site for recipes during the holiday baking season.    

The great thing about the Pillsbury recipes you can find at the site is that there are quick and easy recipes, impressive recipes, and ones that fall under both categories.  I love that they have so many 30 minute or less meals that now I have a go-to site for easy weeknight dinners.  Many guests noted that they have also bookmarked the site and will be returning regularly to find new meals they can make. 

Even with the numerous recipes listed on the site, we did have two guests that made the same dish and brought Crescent Dogs {one with hot dogs, one with Lil’ Smokies}, but no one seemed to mind one bit and they both were gone by the end of the night.  In fact, these dishes were named the best of the bunch and everyone said they were the staple of their holiday parties.  It wasn’t that the other dishes weren’t delicious {because they really, really were}, it’s just that Crescent Dogs are so great for party-style potlucks – kids love them, they go well with other types of food, and they have almost zero mess.

Of course, the guests also really loved the pot pies, pizza and the twists, but I think those work better as a weeknight meals since they need utensils and plates.  Not that anyone minded at all… and those were also gone by the end of the night, especially once the guys got to them.   

As guests were leaving, they were thrilled that they got some “favors” to help with their holiday meal planning that included recipes shared at the party and some coupons for Pillsbury products. 

Want to host your own Pillsbury Potluck or plan for the holiday meals?  Check out Pillsbury.com for more quick and easy dish ideas for parties, desserts and quick meals for the family.  Be sure to like the Pillsbury Facebook page to keep up with new recipes, promotions and more.  Bonus: when doing your holiday shopping, you will love that you can print a coupon for Pillsbury products here.

Here's some other great recipes perfect for entertaining this Holiday Season:

•   Crescent Cranberry Wreath

•   Tomato-Pesto Appetizers

•   Chocolate Chip Cookie Stuffed Pies

•   Italian Crescent Casserole

•   So-Easy Chicken Pot Pie

•   Spicy Chipotle Twists

The Pillsbury product, information, food ideas, online coupon link, and prize pack have been provided by Pillsbury through MyBlogSpark.