This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Home Depot. All opinions and experiences are my own.

After evaluating our backyard patio space, I took a trip to my local Home Depot store for some design inspiration. Even though I love shopping online, sometimes it’s nice to see the items – especially big purchases like patio furniture – in real life.  It helps to look at the patio cushion colors and fabrics as well as the materials of the patio furniture sets – wicker, cast iron, aluminum or teak.

I also like to drag the furniture around  a bit to feel its weight and determine its size. Will it fit on my patio? Is it so heavy that it’ll tear up the wooden deck surface? Or is it something that needs to be placed in one area and left there?

If I purchase something at the store (or order it online for a store pickup) will it be something wimpy me can put into the back of my Subaru wagon? Will it take one trip or several trips? Or maybe I’ll need my husband and a few big guys from the UGA football team to load it into his truck and then carry it out to the deck? If it’s a lot of stuff and it’s heavy, maybe it’s worth getting it shipped to the house instead! (Keep in mind that Home Depot will ship patio furniture purchases over $399 free to your home.)

Getting a taste of what Home Depot has to offer

I saw a lot of patio furniture and accessories that I liked at my local Home Depot store such as:

Outdoor area rugs: So glad I saw this at the store, as I hadn’t thought of using outdoor rugs on my patio before. For example, outdoor rugs might be something to use underneath patio tables to make the chairs easier to slide over the wooden deck floor. It would also be nice to have a rug for the kids and dog to sit and play on. While they had a decent selection at my local Home Depot store, the area rug online selection is even better. Online, I like the Nourison Home & Garden Daisies Ivory 10 ft. x 13 ft. Indoor / Outdoor Area Rug as it has a bit of a vintage vibe. I also like the Shaw Living Beach Tangerine 7 ft. 10 in. x 10 ft. 6 in. Indoor/Outdoor Area Rug for it’s tropical beach vibe.

Hammocks: While they had a few inexpensive and attractive selections in the store, my husband and I talked about getting a more durable hammock that can endure Georgia’s frequent rains, heat, humidity, and dampness. I saw one string hammock online that might work, the Pawleys Island Deluxe Polyester Patio Rope Hammock. All the Pawleys Island hammocks have great reviews on the Home Depot website and I like that this model is humid weather resistant for longevity and can accommodate two people – either me and my husband, both kids, or a parent and child. At $179.99 it was a lot cheaper than some of the fancy ones we saw on sale at a street festival last year, too!

Wrought iron furniture: So glad to see that they had both types of wrought iron patio furniture I was looking for – the glider and the chaise lounge. Unfortunately, there were no floor models on display. But I was glad to see that the furniture is made in the U.S.A.! Even though wrought iron is heavy and has the potential of scratching up our wooden deck (thus the need for an outdoor patio area rug), it does go with what we have currently. Plus it’s very affordable since both pieces are $179 each.

Tiki torches: My husband has attached wooden tiki torches to the patio railing, but these bigger stand type torches are really cool, too. We fill the torches with citronella to keep the mosquitos away. Plus, they’re a lot of fun at night when it’s dark as they make you feel like you’re attending a luau in the jungle.

A video tour of my trip to Home Depot

I also saw some lovely patio furniture sets that I really liked like the Hampton Bay Fall River 7-pc Dining Set (the first picture up top). I’d probably choose this line if I was starting from scratch as I believe that metal patio furniture works best for where we live since furniture would be out year round and it would stand up to the constant rains and humidity. It would also be easy to clean off with our power washer and it goes with the color of our wooden deck.

However, I also loved the Martha Stewart Living Charlottetown Seating Set Loveseat, Coffee Table and Lounge Chair. If wicker went with our back patio, I’d pick this. (We have wicker furniture on our covered front porch.) Isn’t it great?! I love the colors of the patio cushions and pillows and the warmth and vintage feel of the wicker.

Here’s a quick video tour of all the other patio furniture and accessories I saw on my visit to Home Depot.

Home Depot truly has the widest selection of patio umbrellas, cushions, pillows and gazebos to experience the outdoors in style in comfort at affordable prices both in the store and online. Check ‘em out!

It’s home improvement time, and The Home Depot has everything you need to #DigIn for Spring. No matter what projects you want to tackle, they have great values on all you need. They’re ready to help you with renovation ideas and expert advice, too.

Get over $300 in email exclusive savings each year, sneak peeks on new products, monthly lawn & garden ideas for your region and access to The Home Depot’s gardening experts. Click here to join the world’s largest garden community today! Or go to homedepot.com/gardenclub to see some of the many benefits of membership.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Home Depot.

Checking out the patio furniture on my trip to the Home Depot #DigIn is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Home Depot. All experiences and opinions are my own.

One of the reasons we bought our home in Georgia was because it had two large decks over looking a forest with great patio space for entertaining, dining, lounging, and even working outside on nice days. However, our current patio furniture needs updating, especially the cushions on the vintage patio furniture set we own. (It could also use a coat of black paint to match the newer patio table and chairs set.)

We could also use a few chaise lounges, maybe a bistro table and chairs set, a long narrow table to replace one of the beat up ones we currently own, or even a fire pit. A glider or swing would be fun, too! We have a lot of space that’s covered as well as uncovered, so how do I take advantage of all the patio space we have? (And yes, the canoe needs to be put back in the garage. Ahem.)

That’s when I turned to Home Depot for some ideas. Before I went over to my local store, I checked their online patio furniture section to see what they carried. I was especially interested in patio furniture that matched my current metal table and chairs set.

Looking around their website, I liked the Hampton Bay Fall River 7-Piece Dining Set, but didn’t think I needed another full set of patio dining furniture since I had one table on the lower deck and another one on the top deck. Still, having a bigger table would be desirable when we have company over or were having a party. Hmmmm…

My husband, Paul, had talked about getting a fire pit, so the Hampton Bay Millstone 5-Piece Fire Pit Seating Set looked really cool. But maybe all we needed was a Hampton Bay Collette Fire Pit instead of an additional set of chairs. I also loved the Martha Stewart Living Charlottetown Seating Set Lounge Chair, but felt mixing wicker with metal wouldn’t be very attractive.

Creating a patio from scratch

Instead of looking at various sets, I decided to spend more time on the Home Depot website to play around with creating a custom patio furniture selection. I wanted to pick colors, styles and accessories and figured that could be a way to do it, especially when it came to determining cost. I know I wanted metal patio furniture, since that’s what we currently have. Also, since we’re in the south, we don’t have to worry so much about winter storage. Instead, I want something that can stand a lot of rain and can easily be cleaned off after a downpour. (See my nasty dirty patio furniture covered in dead leaves and sticks below. Blech!)

First I picked a color – green, since that’s the color of my current patio umbrella – and the website took me to the various collections . I was looking for metal patio furniture sets that would go with my current patio table set, even though I loved the wicker Charlottetown patio furniture sets. (Sigh.) After checking out a few of the sets, I realized that the Fall River 3-Piece Patio High Bistro Set at $299 along with the Fall River Adjustable Patio Chaise Lounge ($199) and the Fall River Patio Double Glider ($199) might go with my current patio furniture.

I wasn’t quite satisfied, so I decided to look just at accessories, since we only needed a few pieces like a chaise lounge, a fire pit, an umbrella stand, maybe a side table, and new cushions for several of the seats. We also had a nearly rotted through hammock hanging on our side yard, which desperately needed replacing before someone fell through it. (My kids keep playing on it and I keep warning them that it’s about to fall apart. But they don’t listen to me, of course.)

Let’s go shopping!

Here’s some patio furniture I found online that I want to check out on my next trip to Home Depot:

• Several of the outdoor fire pits
• Maybe a new, prettier patio umbrella and stand
• Some new cushions for two seats and the bench
• Pawleys Island DuraCord Rope Hammock ($179)
• Wrought Iron Black Patio Chaise Lounge ($179)
• Wrought Iron Black Patio Double Glider ($179)
• Wrought Iron Black 3-Piece Patio Bistro Set ($249)
• Wrought Iron Patio Umbrella Base in Black ($39.98)
• Wrought Iron Black Oval Patio Dining Table ($199)

If Home Depot doesn’t have the patio furniture I want in the store, they also offer a “shop online and ship to store” option or free shipping on a patio furniture order of $399 or more (see their website for details).

I’m obviously stuck on the wrought iron patio furniture, probably because that’s what I grew up with so it feels “classic” to me. It’s also very reasonably priced. What do you prefer, metal, wood or wicker?

It’s home improvement time, and The Home Depot has everything you need to #DigIn for Spring. No matter what projects you want to tackle, they have great values on all you need. They’re ready to help you with renovation ideas and expert advice, too.

Get over $300 in email exclusive savings each year, sneak peeks on new products, monthly lawn & garden ideas for your region and access to The Home Depot’s gardening experts. Click here to join the world’s largest garden community today! Or go to homedepot.com/gardenclub to see some of the many benefits of membership.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Home Depot.

Evaluating our backyard patio space #DigIn is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!

I took the Finish Rise and Shine Challenge to test

My instructions for the Finish Rise and Shine Challenge

1. Create an amazingly tasty, messy, sticky, and difficult-to-clean meal to put Finish to the test. They wanted me to prepare a breakfast dish, but I didn’t think that a breakfast casserole or a greasy frying pan was challenging enough. Instead, I cooked up Chile and Orange Braised Flanken Style Beef Short Ribs, which I knew would create baked on mess inside my 7 1/4 quart Le Creuset French oven.
2. Relax after the sticky meal – put the dishes right into the dishwasher (no pre-rinse allowed!) and let them sit there until it’s time for bed.
3. Before bed, run the dishwasher with Finish® Quantum® with New Power Gel. (I used my dishwasher’s delay feature – first time I’ve ever used it!)

The folks at Finish promised that I’d rise to not only clean dishes, but a new level of shine on them.  I was doubtful as was my husband, Paul, who said, “There’s no way that your Le Creuset pot will come out clean.”

(A word about washing Le Creuset French ovens in the dishwasher. All Le Creuset enamelware pots are dishwasher safe except those with wooden handles. However, repeated dishwasher exposure may dull the finish on Le Creuset pots. So you’ll need to decide if the convenience is worth a little dulling of your precious Le Creuset. I figured one time wouldn’t be a big deal.)

Cooking and loading the dishwasher

The pictures explain themselves – lots of mess and a very crowded dishwasher! My Bosch dishwasher usually works pretty well. Even so, I’ve had bad results and found food particles on my dishes when I’ve overloaded the dishwasher or stacked things too close together.

After running the dishwasher

As you can see, my 7 1/4 quart Le Creuset French oven, was spotless as were the other dishes, cutting board, flatware and the greasy cookie sheet. However, the glassware was a different matter as lots of gunk had splashed up into them. Gross!

I checked the dishwasher trap, which was full of grease and small food particles. Blech! I probably should have cleaned the trap before the Finish Rise and Shine Challenge to get the best results. However, after cleaning it, my dishes have come out sparkling clean with subsequent uses of Finish® Quantum® with New Power Gel – even when I’ve overloaded the dishwasher or stacked items poorly!

My conclusion after taking the Finish Rise and Shine Challenge? Finish® Quantum® with New Power Gel works amazingly well.

Take the Finish Rise and Shine Challenge!

Buy a package of Finish® Quantum® with New Power Gel online or at your local grocery store and try it yourself. I think you’ll be amazed with the results!

Taking the Finish Rise and Shine Challenge (Part Two) #FinishRiseandShine is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!

The folks at Finish asked me to take the Finish Rise and Shine Challenge and create a difficult-to-clean meal to put Finish® Quantum® with New Power Gel to the test. I thought this was a great excuse to make a braised short rib recipe that I saw in Bon Appétit magazine to use up the flanken style beef short ribs I had in the freezer.

This recipe was a good choice for the Finish Rise and Shine Challenge, because braising makes a lot of mess. Plus, the flanken style ribs were so greasy I had to put the cooked meat and vegetables in a colander to drain them onto a cookie sheet – lots of grease for Finish to clean up!

More on the Finish Rise and Shine Challenge tomorrow. First the recipe!

Changes to Bon Appétit’s Chile-Braised Short Ribs recipe

This was the first and last time I’ll use flanken style short ribs. Besides being too greasy, they cooked too quickly, which turned the short rib recipe into a stew recipe. (I’ve adjusted the times accordingly below so you don’t end up with stew like me.) I also didn’t like all the little pieces of bone I had to pick out of the meat.

Here are the other changes I made to Bon Appétit’s recipe to create my Chile and Orange Braised Flanken Style Beef Short Ribs :

• Chiles: The original recipe uses dried New Mexico chiles. Even though we have a large Hispanic population here in Athens, GA, I couldn’t find any chiles labeled “New Mexican” so I used the dried ancho chiles I found at Kroger.
• Marinade: I found that the marinade was very thick and was worried that the meat wouldn’t be evenly exposed to it. So I added a cup of soaking liquid to make the marinade less paste like.
• Cuties to the rescue: Dummy me forgot to buy lemons, so I used Cutie Clementine oranges instead, which sweetened up the braised ribs a little.
• Cauliflower: Since I have a food sensitivity to potatoes, I used cauliflower instead.
• Olives: I didn’t read the label on the Mezzetta Castelvetrano Olives I bought on sale at CostPlus World Market, and accidentally bought olives with the pits still in them. Oops! I ended up using a paring knife to cut off the meat, thus the olives were chopped not whole.
• Carrots: To save time, I used baby carrots instead of cutting up large carrots.
• Parsley: Instead of fresh parsley, I used Gourmet Garden’s parsley for taste rather than garnish.
• Less clean up: Finally, I tried to have you use less cookware than the Bon Appétit recipe called for by soaking the chiles in the blender, marinating the meat in the pot, and so on.

All in all a heavy, but delicious dish. I really liked how the tangy sourness of the olives contrasted with the sweetness of the meat, orange juice and carrots. However, my daughter, Lucie, didn’t care for the olives at all, so you may want to serve your kids the ribs without the sauce.

Chile and Orange Braised Flanken Style Beef Short Ribs

Based on Bon Appétit’s Chile-Braised Short Ribs from the March 2013 issue

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 8 dried ancho chiles
• 4 garlic cloves
• Zest and juice of 4 Cuties Clementine oranges
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 5 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 5 pounds flanken style beef short ribs
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 large cauliflower, but into bite size pieces
• 3/4 pound baby carrots
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup pitted Castelvetrano green olives, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup Gourmet Garden parsley

Directions:

1. In a large skillet using NO oil, roast chiles over medium heat until slightly puffed and slightly darkened, about 1 minute on each side. (The chiles I used were large enough that only 4 fit in my skillet, so you may have to do this twice.)
2. Remove the chiles from skillet and let cool.
3. Pull stem off chiles and halve lengthwise. Scrape out and discard seeds.
4. If you’re comfortable pouring boiling water into your blender or food processor, then place cleaned chiles into it. (You can use a bowl instead if you're not.) Add boiling water to cover and let stand for 20 minutes. Drain water, reserving one cup of liquid, and leave chiles in blender or food processor. (Or place them into your blender/food processor if your soaking them in a bowl.)
5. Combine chiles, garlic, Clementine orange zest and juice, oil, salt, coriander, cumin and 1 cup soaking water in a blender or food processor. Purée until marinade is smooth.
6. Place flanken style beef short ribs, onion and marinade in a large oven safe heavy pot, like the 7 1/4 quart Le Creuset French oven I used. Cover with lid and chill ribs in the refrigerator overnight.
7. Preheat oven to 350°.
8. Add broth to the heavy pot, then bring everything to a boil on your stove top. Cover pot and transfer to oven. Braise ribs for 1 1/2 hour.
9. Add cauliflower, baby carrots, and tomato paste to the post. Make sure to keep meat and vegetables covered in the liquid.
10. Cover with lid and return to oven. Continue braising until meat is fork-tender and separates easily from the bone and vegetables are soft, 1 to 1/2 hours longer.
11. Turn oven off or keep it at the “warm” setting.
12. Place colander on a cookie sheet. Using a slotted spoon, transfer short ribs and vegetables to the colander to drain excess grease.
13. When meat is cool enough to the touch, remove any small pieces of bone that have come loose from the flanken style ribs.
14. Place meat and vegetables into an oven safe casserole dish, cover with foil, and return to oven to keep warm.
15. Place your large cooking pot on the stove over high heat. Bring liquid to a boil then reduce heat and simmer. Use a spoon to skim fat from surface.
16. Simmer for about 10 minutes until sauce starts to thickened like gravy. Stir olives and parsley into sauce and keep warm over low heat.
17. To serve, place short ribs and vegetables on plate and and spoon sauce over. Enjoy!

Read Part Two of the Finish Rise and Shine Challenge tomorrow!

Giving Chile and Orange Braised Flanken Style Beef Short Ribs the Finish Challenge (Part One) #FinishRiseandShine is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!

This year my husband, Paul, is creating a raised bed garden. It’s an experiment because we’re new to the Athens, Georgia area, so raised bed gardening – complete with a deer fence – is a different way of gardening for us. Paul and the kids are hopeful, and have already started growing plants from seedlings. Since the materials for the garden will be delivered later this week, they’ll start setting up the garden this weekend.

However, I’m more concerned about our lower back deck, which looks over the forest in our backyard. It’s a lovely area that I hope to take advantage of once the weather gets warmer. I’m looking forward to working, reading and hanging out with our dog, Nellie, out there. However, the area could use a little sprucing up, especially if we want to do any entertaining, so this is going to be my project this spring.

It’s also why I’m working with The Home Depot to let you know about the advantages of The Home Depot Garden Club membership.

The Home Depot’s Garden Club

When you sign up for The Home Depot’s Garden Club and get their emails, you get over $300 in savings each year on everything you need from lawn care to setting up outdoor living spaces. You also get information on new garden and outdoor products as well as projects that are customized to your region. In addition, by joining the world’s largest garden community, you get access to The Home Depot’s experts.

Benefits of The Home Depot’s Garden Club include:

• $5 your next garden purchase of $50 or more
• Eight new projects to help you #DigIn to Spring
• Monthly to-do lists to get your lawn and garden in tip top shape
• Expert advice and how-to videos

How are you planning to spruce up your outdoor spaces this spring?

It’s home improvement time, and The Home Depot has everything you need for spring. No matter what projects you want to tackle, The Home Depot has you covered and can help you #DigIn to Spring.  Spring is the perfect time for all your outdoor home renovations. Shop The Home Depot for terrific values on new patio furniture, landscape supplies such as fertilizer and potting soil and outdoor grills. Keep your lawn and garden looking great, too, with the huge selection of lawn mowers, edgers and trimmers, and garden tools. Visit The Home Depot Garden Club for product ideas from kick-starting your Spring with seed starter kits to building a window birdfeeder.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Home Depot.

Get your lawn and garden ready for spring with The Home Depot Garden Club is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!

This post is sponsored by Seventh Generation.

I’m a big fan of Seventh Generation and have been using their laundry products for several years now. I feel good about using any of their cleaning products since I know that they’re environmentally safe and free of harmful chemicals. I also like that they have “free and clear” versions that don’t use perfumes and dyes. (We used them for a while when my daughter’s eczema was bad.) However, my favorite is anything that Seventh Generation makes with lavender, like their dish washing soap and laundry cleaning products. They’re so lovely smelling that it almost makes me want to wash the dishes and laundry, like these folks are doing!

However, I never thought of cleaning products could have VOCs (volatile organic compounds). I knew this was a problem with paint and always had my painter use low or no-VOC products. So when I learned that Seventh Generation’s All Purpose Cleaner is free of harsh solvents that prevent more volatile organic compounds from polluting the air it got me thinking about the fumes from the cleaning products I’ve been using around the house.

You see, I had to give away most of my green cleaning products when we moved from Colorado to Georgia since the movers wouldn’t take them. When we moved into our house, it wasn’t very clean, so I had to buy some pretty harsh cleansers to remove stains, mold and other gunk like wax buildup from surfaces, floors and carpets all over the house. However, now that our house is “normal dirty,” you know, normal every day dirty from the kids and the dog and me making a mess when I cook, I really should start using products like Seventh Generation again for the health and wellness of my family and pet.

I’m not concerned that Seventh Generation won’t do a good job. In fact, surfaces will be so clean that you can eat off them as illustrated in this video!

What green cleaning products do you use at home?

Sponsored video: a clean home is a fun (and safe) home! is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!

Even though I had my shoulder surgery last October, I was still experiencing a lot of pain during the recovery process. My neck and shoulder muscles were especially affected since they were over compensating for weak rotator cuff muscles and were tight and swollen. I was also going to physical therapy two to four hours a week, which was making me sore as well.

My pain made it hard to sleep comfortably, so I was excited that the folks at Nature's Sleep sent me their Vitex Memory Foam Pillow to try out. I needed a pillow that had better shoulder and neck support along with the comfort of memory foam. (I was already using a memory foam pillow, but it didn’t have a lot of support.)

The Vitex Memory Foam Pillow is a solid molded memory foam pillow, not shredded foam like the kind I was using. Not only does this give a lot of support, but it makes making the bed a snap in the morning since you don’t have the fluff and punch your pillows into shape!

Nature’s Sleep Vitex Memory Foam Pillow uses their proprietary ViTex memory foam, which is a high density pressure relieving memory foam with a softer feel. It comes in a traditional pillow shape either in a Euro Queen or a Jumbo size. (I was sent the EuroQueen, which was perfect as I have a queen sized bed.) What’s especially nice is that the Vitex Memory Foam Pillow comes with an 80/20 cotton polyester cover that you can wash. This is especially important if you drool or are sweaty when sleeping.

Why I bought another Vitex Memory Foam Pillow

The first night I slept with the Vitex Memory Foam Pillow I not only slept through the night (very usual for me) but I slept like a rock. My sleep was so deep that my daughter, who tried to wake me in the middle of the night, couldn’t rouse me. In fact, I had no idea she even came in my room! Since I usually wake up because of all kinds of noises in my house, I figured it must have been sleeping on such a comfortable pillow!

I was so thrilled that I ordered a Vitex Memory Foam Pillow for my husband. (He had borrowed mine the next night and loved it, too.) The price of the Vitex Memory Foam Pillow is $135 and comes with free shipping and handling within 1-2 business days. Now I know that you’re thinking that’s a lot of money. However, Nature’s Sleep runs a lot of specials and sales, which you can find out via their Facebook or Twitter page. I was able to get 65% off the price of the Vitex Memory Foam Pillow I bought during a one-day March Madness sale, so keep an eye out for discount codes!

Click on the banner below to get a Buy One Get One Free deal on a Vitex Memory Foam Pillow.

Win a pair of Nature’s Sleep Slippers!

To introduce you to the joys of Nature’s Sleep Next Generation Memory Foam, Nature's Sleep has provided me with a pair of their super comfy slippers to give away! Here’s how to win:

ONE winner will be chosen at random. You must be willing to send me your full name and mailing address along with your size, style and color preference to pass on to Nature's Sleep so they can mail out your prize. The giveaway is valued at $25-30 and is only open to legal residents of the Continental United States, 18 years of age and older. No purchase required. Odds of winning based on number of entries. One pair of Nature’s Sleep slippers will be given away. Void where prohibited by law.

A great night’s sleep with Nature’s Sleep Vitex Memory Foam Pillow {memory foam slippers give away!} is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!

My kids are not very good at brushing their teeth. This is especially scary since my daughter, Lucie will have to keep many of her baby teeth. (She’s missing several adult teeth and has no wisdom teeth.) Also, my son, Nathan has braces, which requires even better dental hygiene. Anything I can do to encourage them to brush their teeth more often is of great interest and I’m always buying them fancy electric toothbrushes, along with special toothpastes and mouthwashes to get them more serious about their dental health. Heck, I’ve even downloaded teeth brushing apps on Lucie’s iPhone to get her to brush for two minutes, the time it should take her to do a good job cleaning her teeth!

So when ARM & HAMMER sent me their new Tooth Tunes toothbrush to try out, I knew I’d had a winner. You see, Church & Dwight Co., Inc., the maker of ARM & HAMMER™, recently announced that the popular boy band, One Direction joined the ARM & HAMMER Tooth Tunes branded products family. Lucie LOVES One Direction, so it was no surprise how excited she was to try out her new One Direction Tooth Tunes toothbrush. In fact, she squealed when I opened the box it came in!

Brushing with ARM & HAMMER™ Tooth Tunes™ toothbrushes

The new ARM & HAMMER™ Tooth Tunes™ One Direction toothbrush is the only brush available in North America that plays One Direction. There are two different versions – one toothbrush plays “What Makes You Beautiful” and another that plays “One Thing.” (This is the one Lucie received.) Both songs are performed by One Direction, meaning the toothbrushes play the original songs, not versions of them by someone else or instrumentals of the songs.

Each toothbrush features two minutes of music to ensure that kids achieve dentists’ recommended brushing time. Now before you worry that the music will be obnoxious and bother the entire household, you can barely hear it if you’re standing next to someone using it. Instead, it’s the person using the toothbrush that hears it in their head. ARM & HAMMER Tooth Tunes features Music in Your Mouth™ technology. This proprietary technology streams sound vibrations from the bristles of the toothbrush through the teeth, allowing kids to hear the music while they brush. I tried Lucie’s Tooth Tunes toothbrush myself, and the effect of hearing the music in your head through your teeth was really cool.

ARM & HAMMER Tooth Tunes sell for around $9.99 and are available at mass, drug, and food retailers nationwide. So far the following tunes are available:

• “All Day” performed by Cody Simpson
• “Dynamite” performed by Taio Cruz
• “I Gotta Feeling” performed by Black Eyed Peas
• “If I Ruled the World” performed by Big Time Rush
• “Round & Round” performed by Selena Gomez & The Scene
• “Tonight, Tonight” performed by Hot Chelle Rae
• “We Will Rock You” performed by Queen

How about some Clash or Ramones tunes for us old punk rockers? Now that would be a hoot!

Enter the Brush with Tooth Tunes™, Rock with One Direction Sweepstakes

Church & Dwight Co., Inc. is holding a Brush with Tooth Tunes™ Rock with One Direction Sweepstakes! You can enter to win four tickets to a One Direction concert in August 2013. Also, 100 First Prize Winners will receive One Direction prize packs of One Direction merchandise.

To enter:

• Visit ToothTunes.com, complete the registration form and click submit to be entered for your chance to win.
• Enter up to once per week now through 6/30/13.
• You can also enter a video of you using the Tooth Tunes toothbrush if you wish.

Winners will be chosen July 2013. No purchase necessary and the sweepstakes is open only to legal residents of the US who are 13 years of age or older. For official rules, visit ToothTunes.com.

_______________________
Disclaimer: I’m part of the Mom It Forward blogger network. Mom It Forward and ARM & HAMMER™ Tooth Tunes™ partnered in support of this campaign. ARM & HAMMER™ Tooth Tunes™ compensated me for participation in this campaign. However, all experiences and opinions are my own.

ARM & HAMMER™ Tooth Tunes™ One Direction Toothbrush rocks! #ToothTunes1D is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!

I love, love, love my KitchenAid mixer and don’t know how I’d cook without it. I think all my readers should have one, which is why I’m participating in the Spring KitchenAid Mixer Giveaway with Musings From a Stay At Home Mom, Juggling Act Mama, Angela’s Analysis, The Mama Experience, The Mama Report, Capri’s Coupons, This Mama Loves Her Bargains, Kelly’s Lucky You, and other fabulous bloggers so you can have a chance to own one, too!

Already have a KitchenAid Mixer? This would make a great wedding, shower or graduation gift!

What you’ll win:

One very lucky person will walk away with a fabulous KitchenAid 5 Quart Artisan Stand Mixer in their choice of color (valued at $349.99)! As an added bonus, we’re also offering you two additional prizes – second place will win a $100 Amazon Gift Card and third place will win a $50 Amazon Gift Card!

This giveaway is open the US and Canada and ends on April 14, 2013 at 11:59 PM EST. (Canadian winners will receive an Amazon.ca giftcard for $350 toward the purchase of the mixer.)

Enter the Spring KitchenAid Mixer Giveaway!

ONE winner will be chosen at random for the KitchenAid Mixer. ONE winner will be chosen at random for the $100 Amazon card and another for the $50 card. You must be willing to send Erika at Musings From a Stay At Home Mom your full name and mailing address so she can mail out your prize (or your email so she can send you the Amazon gift card code). The giveaway is valued at $349.99 for the KitchenAid Mizer and $100 and $50 respectively for the Amazon gift cards. The giveaway is only open to legal residents of the United States or Canada, 18 years of age and older. No purchase required. Odds of winning based on number of entries. One KitchenAid Mixer, one $100 Amazon gift card and one $50 gift card will be given away. Void where prohibited by law.

By submitting your name and email address, you agree to receive relevant promotional emails and contest follow up communications from This Mama Cooks! On a Diet in compliance with my privacy policy and giveaway rules.

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Disclosure: This prize has been sponsored by the participating blogs. The prize will be shipped directly to the winner by Erika at Musings From a Stay At Home Mom.

Enter to win a KitchenAid Mixer! {$349.99 value} is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!

I've joined up with a few of my blogger friends to give away an 11 piece Cuisinart Cookware Set valued at $249.99. I hope having new cookware will inspire you to try some new, healthy dishes this spring! I have a very similar set and find that it’s just about perfect for most of the cooking I do. Don’t need to replace your set? Think about entering to win one for a young person moving into their first apartment or for friends who are getting married this spring or summer.

The 11 piece Cuisinart Cookware set (model no. 77-11G – valued at $249.99) includes the following:

• 8 inch skillet
• 10 inch skillet
• 1 1/2 quart covered saucepan
• 2 1/2 quart covered saucepan
• 3 quart covered sauté pan
• 8 quart covered stockpot with a steamer insert

This gorgeous cookware set from Cuisinart is made of premium stainless steel construction with aluminum encapsulated base that provides fast and even heat distribution. The cool-grip handles are made of cast stainless steel, which provides for a safe, secure grip. The tempered glass covers lock in moisture and nutrients, while the tapered rims allow clean, drip-free pouring. The cookware is dishwasher safe and is oven safe up to 500 degrees F. The Cuisinart cookware set also comes with a manufacturer's lifetime limited warranty.

How to enter the Cuisinart 11 Piece Cookware Set “Spring in the Kitchen” giveaway

This giveaway is open to US residents that are 18 or older and runs from 12:00 am EST on March 15 until 11:59 pm EST on March 30, 2013.

ONE winner will be chosen at random. You must be willing to send the owner of Simply Budgeted your full name and mailing address so she can mail out your prize. The giveaway is valued at $249.99 and is only open to legal residents of the United States, 18 years of age and older. No purchase required. Odds of winning based on number of entries. One Cuisinart 11 Piece Cookware Set will be given away. Void where prohibited by law.

By submitting your name and email address, you agree to receive relevant promotional emails and contest follow up communications from This Mama Cooks! On a Diet in compliance with my privacy policy and giveaway rules.

Cuisinart 11 Piece Cookware Set “Spring in the Kitchen” giveaway brought to you by:

Hosted By: Simply Budgeted

Co-Hosted By: Supermom Challenged

Sponsored By:

• The Rebel Chick
• Just Short of Crazy
• This Mama Cooks! On a Diet
• Mommy Has to Work
• My Little Me
• {Not Quite} Susie Homemaker
• A Hen's Nest
• The Diary of Ana Phylaxis
• Texas Type A Mom

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Disclosure: This prize has been sponsored by the participating blogs. The prize will be shipped directly to the winner by the owner of Simply Budgeted.

Win an 11 piece Cuisinart Cookware Set! {$249.99 value} is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!