Skintimate Ready for Everything Sweepstakes

Now through May 18th you can vote on your favorite design online and be entered in the Skintimate Ready for Everything Sweepstakes for a chance to win weekly prizes such as $100 gift card, a Mara Hoffman scarf or a once in a lifetime trip for two to Miami, Florida for the 2012 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim Show. One winner and a guest or chaperone will receive a two night, three day trip to Miami , where they will have a front row into the world of fashion and a meeting with Mara Hoffman!

Enter the sweeps online at www.skintimatestudios.com.

I am absolutely in love with the Strawberry Tangerine Twist!  It smells so amazing!  Skintimate is by far my favorite shaving cream.  It comes in an amazing range of scents and leaves my legs soft and moisturized.  I have very sensitive skin and have never had an issue shaving with Skintimate. Plus the guys in the house won't

As required by the FTC: I received a product sample in exchange for sharing about the contest.  I received no monetary compensation.  All opinions are mine and mine alone.

Find your favorite pillows and rugs at Dash and Albert

Years ago when we were house hunting, in order to get the most bang for the dollars we had to spend, we purchased an older house in need of serious repairs. Over the 13 years we've lived here, we've replaced just about everything that can be replaced in a house from the roof to the furnace. Because all of our money has been tied up in repairing and remodeling the house itself, we've had very little time to redecorate the living area.

I've decided that enough is enough and it's time to redecorate the living room. We desperately need new furniture and accessories. Founded in 2003, Dash and Albert boasts a collection of rugs that are as durable as they are beautiful and, most importantly, affordable. Durable and affordable are music to my ears. I like knowing that something I purchase is going to last me for years.

One of the easiest ways to dress up a room is by changing around your accessories. maybe a new pair of curtains. Maybe a new set of throw pillows. How about a potted plant on the coffee table.  Just a few little things added into a room or changed in a room can really bring a whole new look and feel to your decor.

Dash and Albert has some really gorgeous throw pillows. I chose a beautiful Birmingham Red Woven Cotton Decorative Pillow. It's cream with red stripes. We are going to redo the living room in an Americana/Patriotic theme and this will go perfectly with the navy couch/chairs we HOPE to get.  This pillow is available in 20"x20" or 26"x26" sizes.  It's nice and big so that it's actually usable and stylish! Hand loomed in 100% comfy cotton, these cozy decorative pillows are ideal to curl up with. Complete with a feather/down insert and zipper closure. Their cotton decorative pillows may be machine washed in cold water. Tumble dry low.

I'm really very impressed with the construction of the pillow.  The shape is perfect. The stitches are tight and neat and everything lines up perfectly.   I like that I can take it apart and wash it.  That's so important when you have kids and pets.  Lots of throw pillows can't be washed. You just have to toss them and start over when they look dingy.  That won't be the case with this one. They have a great selection of patterns as well so no matter what your decorating scheme, you'll find something to compliment it at Dash and Albert.

My thanks to the sponsor for allowing me to review this product.

As required by the FTC: I received a product sample in order to write my review.  I received no monetary compensation.  All opinions expressed are mine and mine alone.

Carrots 'n' Cake by Tina Haupert

Book Title: Carrots 'N' Cake
Subtitle: Healthy Living One Carrot and Cupcake at a Time
Author: Tina Haupert
Genre: Cooking, Nutrition
ISBN: 978-1-4027-7824-7
Publisher: Sterling Epicure
Suggested Retail Price: $14.95

From the book:

Like most brides to be, Tina Haupert wanted to look her best on her wedding day.  After using an online calorie and exercise tracker and reading food blogs, Tina was inspired to start her own blog.   Shortly thereafter, Carrots 'N' Cake was born.  Then came the readers; Complete strangers starting posting comments and asking questions.  Tina was all too happy to help and loved sharing her experiences and advice with them.  What started out as a hobby soon became her passion.
***********************
Most people who think of dieting think of a never ending meal pan containing grilled chicken, salad, fruit, cottage cheese and yogurt.  They think of saying good bye to pizza, carrot cake and donuts. They have visions of no more lunches with their friends or date nights out with the husband at a fancy restaurant.

That's the reason most diets fail.  People stay on them for a week or two, loose a pound or two, realize they cannot give up their favorite baked goods for the rest of their life and they give up.  Tina Haupert understands that leading a healthy balanced lifestyle doesn't mean having to give up all of those tasty treats for the rest of your life.  The author explains how you can still enjoy treats and drop pounds. Dieting doesn't need to mean constant calorie counting and being hungry all the time while you gnaw on a celery stick.

Carrots 'N' Cake is look at how the author managed to loose weight and keep it off.  It's a collection of her thoughts and ideas on a variety of topics including exercise, how to splurge, maintaining your weight, becoming accountable, cravings, traveling and more.  Each chapter focuses on a different topic and inside that chapter are recipes that deal with what you've just learned. She also shares a number of very in depth samples of her work out routines in strength training and treadmill workouts.

I really love the tone that this book is written in.  She doesn't come off preachy and she acknowledges a number of things that many women suffer from like cravings and binges.  For the most part, her recipes are simple and use ingredients that most people will have in their pantry already. She doesn't encourage the use of artificial sweeteners in her recipes and encourages whole grains and fresh produce.  All in all, this is a very doable program that won't leave you feeling exhausted, starving and ready to eat an entire cake in one sitting.  I'm really looking forward to trying these recipes.  They're healthy enough for me to feel good about making them and delicious looking enough for me to want to eat them.

My thanks to the sponsor for allowing me to review this book.

As required by the FTC: I received a product sample in order to write my review.  I received no monetary compensation.  All opinions expressed are mine and mine alone.

Article first published as Book Review: Carrots 'N' Cake by Tina Haupert on Blogcritics.

Win a $50 AMEX GC from Pamper's Miralces Missions

In celebration of its 50th birthday, Pampers is recognizing how much parenting has changed over the years, and is sharing their belief that every baby is a little miracle that deserves to be celebrated, supported and protected, by unveiling its Little Miracle Mission campaign – a program that delivers acts of kindness to miracles and their families while encouraging parents to support others.

The brand recently kicked off the Little Miracle Missions campaign by delivering a giant act of support –donating care packages to Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) across the country. Celebs Joey Lawrence , Ali Larter, Mark Consuelos and LaLa Anthony were on-hand in New York City to personally deliver a care package and thank you basket to Mt. Sinai Hospital and their staff.

You can easily participate in the Miracles Missions programs, and support little miracles across the country, by logging on to Pampers Facebook page. Pampers is also asking everyone to pay-it-forward by participating in the first Little Miracle Mission- to congratulate and offer support to an expectant mother with a gift or surprise gesture. Once more than 2,500 people pledge that they have achieved this mission, Pampers will respond by giving baby showers to expectant mothers nationwide just in time for Mother’s Day. Pampers will issue different missions throughout the entire year to celebrate all aspects of parenthood, and with the help of parents, family and friends, they hope to touch the lives of every baby born in the next year.


As one of the Pampers first Miracle Missions blogging program, I was challenged to pay it forward in my community.  I decided to donate some baby supplies to one of our local food shelves so that they could help moms with their baby needs.   Here are some photos of the supplies that were donated along with one of the volunteers from the food shelf.  They'll make sure that these supplies get to families that need them.

Follow the sponsor on Twitter and Facebook to keep up with all the latest news.

One of my lucky readers is going to win a $50 AMEX GC to pay it forward in their community. Here's what you can do to enter.

To enter you must follow my blog & visit the sponsor’s site.  Leave a comment telling me how you would pay it forward in your community if you won.

For extra entries:

1. Follow me on Twitter @scentednights & tweet about the contest. +1 daily

Win a $50 AMEX GC from Pamper's Miracles Missions @scentednights #giveaway #win @pampers http://tinyurl.com/3jkondk

2. Be my friend on Facebook & post this contest on your wall. +1

3. Follow the sponsor on Twitter +2
4. Like the sponsor on Facebook.  Please tell them I sent you (optional)! +2
5. Blog about this giveaway on your blog AND leave a link back to my site. +5
6. Leave a comment on a non-contest post on this blog. +1

7. Put my button or text link on your blog side bar. +1

8. Enter another of my current contests. +1 for each contest

9. Subscribe to my blog. +1

10. Click the Miracles Mission tab on the Pamper's FB page and commit to Mission 1 by clicking “I Want To Pledge.” +5

Remember, to please leave a separate comment for each entry. And please enter only in the ways listed above. I reserve the right to delete comments not adhering to the above entry guidelines.  You must be 18+ years old & live in the USA. The last day to enter is 5/17/2011.

My thanks to the sponsor for allowing me to review this product.

As required by the FTC: I received a product sample in order to write my review.  I received no monetary compensation.  All opinions expressed are mine and mine alone.

Please note that  I am not responsible for sponsors that do not fulfill their prizes. I have represented each sponsor with the expectation they will fulfill their prize and in a timely manner I will contact the sponsor regarding your prize(s). The sponsors, in most cases, are shipping their items to you directly. I will make every effort to assist you obtaining your prize but ultimately I am not responsible if they do not fulfill your prize win.

Win Human Planet on DVD *3 winners*

Human Planet is a BBC/Discovery Channel co-production that focuses solely on human behavior. Since premiering in the UK, the series has received overwhelming critical acclaim. It focuses on people and the relationship they have with nature. The DVD includes 80 stories that shows our ability to adapt and live in every corner of the world.

These 80 stories are part of six episodes that are contained on three DVDs. Each episode focuses on a particular habitat and shows how its people have created amazing solutions in the face of adversity. The regions that are included in this DVD journey are oceans, desserts, arctic, jungles, mountains, grasslands, rivers, and cities. There are also extras included that a set of ten behind the scenes bonus features and (exclusive to Blu-ray) a further making of feature called Zanskare that showcases the lives of a group of people who live at the edge of the Himalayas.

This is a truly amazing DVD series.  The footage is spectacular and gives you a chance to see places that you will probably never see.  You see how the people live, their families and children, how they dress and what challenges they face that are fairly unique to their area.

If you have BBC/Discovery Channel, you may have seen this already. However, you still want to pick up the DVD because exclusive to the DVD and Blu-ray is the episode on cities and the extra features. The DVD release date is 4/26/2011 and you can own it on Blu-ray as well.  reCheck out the official site.  Check out the trailer above.  Connect with WB on Facebook & Twitter for all the latest movies.

Three of my lucky readers are going to win their very own DVD set of Human Planet.  Here's what you can do for a chance to win:

To enter you must follow my blog & visit the sponsor’s site.  Leave a comment telling me what you learned there.

For extra entries:

1. Follow me on Twitter @scentednights & tweet about the contest. +1 daily

Win a 3 DVD Set of Human Planet from WB @scentednights #giveaway #win @wb_home_ent http://tinyurl.com/6eadxwf

2. Be my friend on Facebook & post this contest on your wall. +1

3. Follow the sponsor on Twitter +2
4. Like the sponsor on Facebook.  Please tell them I sent you (optional)! +2
5. Blog about this giveaway on your blog AND leave a link back to my site. +5
6. Leave a comment on a non-contest post on this blog. +1

7. Put my button or text link on your blog side bar. +1

8. Enter another of my current contests. +1 for each contest

9. Subscribe to my blog. +1

Remember, to please leave a separate comment for each entry. And please enter only in the ways listed above. I reserve the right to delete comments not adhering to the above entry guidelines.  You must be 18+ years old & live in the USA. The last day to enter is 5/17/2011.

My thanks to the sponsor for allowing me to review this product.

As required by the FTC: I received a product sample in order to write my review.  I received no monetary compensation.  All opinions expressed are mine and mine alone.

Please note that  I am not responsible for sponsors that do not fulfill their prizes. I have represented each sponsor with the expectation they will fulfill their prize and in a timely manner I will contact the sponsor regarding your prize(s). The sponsors, in most cases, are shipping their items to you directly. I will make every effort to assist you obtaining your prize but ultimately I am not responsible if they do not fulfill your prize win.

KioKio Launches at Anthropologie!

When I was little, I had an amazing imagination. Rather than running around outside like some kids, I would sit underneath my favorite weeping willow tree down near the river and daydream. What I daydreamed about would vary depending on what was going on in my young life. But what was usually fairly constant was that the fact that I was anywhere but the United States.

I was generally on a mysterious island somewhere with exotic plants, animals and birds. I lived on the beach in a grass hut and spent the hours during my idyllic days picking fragrant flowers and watching brightly colored birds fly from tree to tree. That was much more exciting for me than going to school and riding my bike.

Well as I grew older, I had less and less time to spend daydreaming under the weeping willow tree but I never lost my love of exotic islands. I've despaired of ever actually getting to visit an exotic island but I can still steal away a few minutes to daydream here and there.

KioKio gives me the opportunity to enjoy the scents of New Zealand in their new line of body care products. KioKio has soap, body lotion, body mist, body cream and body wash products available in four different exotic scents.

Pacific Tiare & Ti Kuaka - White flowers and citrus combine in this sparkling Pacific Ocean fragrance. Sweetly scented Ti Kauka is naturally cleansing and nurturing for the skin.

Rainforest & Koromiko - Fragranced like a morning walk in the forest after it has rained. Koromiko renews and smooths stressed skin.

Citrus Petal & Tarata - Fresh, clean and uplifting. Tarata was traditionally used as a perfume in thermal pools to revive tired muscles. The Tarata tree has sweet, lemon scented leaves and flowers.

Frangipani & Puriri - Frangipani's rich, heady perfume infuses the air with its warm tropical notes. Puriri gives balance and tranquility.

I recently had the chance to try the body mist and body lotion in the Pacific Tiare & ti Kauko scent and WOW is all I can say. I have absolutely no idea what a Pacific Tiare or Ti Kauka is but they smell amazing.  It's a very light, floral scent that is not at all overpowering.   Reminds me sort of a slightly more floral version of lilac.  Really fantastic scent. Goes on smoothly & is quickly absorbed to leave your hands very soft.

All of the KioKio scents are free from parabens, mineral oils, petrochemicals, silicones, artificial colors, PEG, DEA, TEA, etc.  They are not tested on animals. The packaging is uncoated and uses water-based dyes to ensure full recyclability. The unique rare botanicals featured in the products are “wild harvested” and only leaves that can be removed without damaging the plants are used. I love this!

New Zealand’s eco-conscious body care collection launches on Anthropologie’s e-commerce site on May 13th, just in time to kick off the spring season.

Connect with KioKio on Facebook & Twitter to keep up with all the latest product news.

My thanks to the sponsor for allowing me to review this product.

As required by the FTC: I received a product sample in order to write my review.  I received no monetary compensation.  All opinions expressed are mine and mine alone.

Why summers and camp belong in Maine

Open publication - Free publishing - More camping

Disclosure information:  This Project You Magazine (www.projectyoumagazine) sponsored post was brought to you by "The Role Mommy Writer's Network."