**I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Cascade. I received a product sample to facilitate my review and a promotional item as a thank you for participating**
Over three years ago, I got this gorgeous dishwasher as a nice present from my husband. I cook A LOT and tend to run the dishwasher at least three times a week. With two small kids and lots of little plates, coupled with tons of cooking, my dishwasher gets a lot of use. However, I am always complaining about my dishwasher detergent because no matter what I use, my dishes are streaky and not clean. I sometimes run the dishwasher with the same dishes in twice just to try to get it clean, but I have no luck at all! I even tried hand-washing my dishes before to see if that would stop my streaky dishes, but alas, again, I have no luck! It is really frustrating when you are trying to get nice and clean dishes.
However, recently we tried out the Cascade Platinum Pacs and I might be in love! Let me just give you an example of how horrible my dishes could look when I am done making a dish:
Normally with other detergents, I can no way get the dishes clean 100 percent, but with the Cascade Platinum Pacs, my dishes came out PERFECT! Just take a look:
The Cascade Platinum Pacs are the ultimate cleanser for dishes and even helps keep dishwashers sparkling clean, by preventing hard water films from forming. It requires absolutely no pre-rinse or washing of your dishes before. You simply take out the pacs, place the pac (just the way it is in the package) in the main dispenser cup of your dishwasher and close the dispenser door. Then let the dishwasher do all of the cleaning! Nothing could be easier! You take out one pac,as needed from the package, and reseal the bag after each use.
 The Cascade Platinum Pacs has a triple-action formula which provides the ultimate cleaner for dishes and helps prevent hard water film from forming! It is the ultimate stain fighter for your dishes and helps to get rid of the hardest stains including grease, tea/coffee, and red stains. It powers away tough, 24 hour stuck-on food. I know that I sometimes am guilty for leaving the dish that I cooked with the night before in the sink for quite some time. By the time it gets to my dishwasher, the food is so caked on that I embarrassed. We never in a million years were able to get those dishes clean to the standards I like before I tried the Cascade Platinum Pacs.
I love that my dishes are virtually spotless and I have no more stains, dirt, or food on my dishes! I seriously am in LOVE with these pacs! The tough food enzyme activity helps me to have my dishes in the same condition as when I first bought them! It also eliminates the time I need to do dishes, as I don’t need to do any pre-rinsing or pre-washing. It delivers exceptional dishwasher shine every single time!
You might ask, for this great product- is it expensive? The answer is a resounding NO! For a 14 pac, it is only $4.29. You can also buy a 23 count for $6.69 or a 43 count for $12.49! You can’t beat that!
While a great recipe goes a long way, it is also presentation that makes a big difference when you serve a dish for a special occasion. I love using Cascade and then serving my food on beautiful/clean plates. I also love photographing my recipes, so having a clean dish, goes a long way!
Now, Gail Simmons, Top Chef judge and editor of Food+Wine magazine, has partnered with Cascade to discuss why presentation is just as important as preparation. She has some great advice for presentation that she shares below:
- From prep to plating: It’s more than just a great-tasting recipe, but also perfect presentation. Sparkling dishes, shining flat ware and spot-free glasses truly let you put your best food forward with culinary creations that pop!
- Gail recommends impressing with a Platinum Presentation: “The easiest recipes pop with unexpected, gourmet presentations. Drizzle bright sauces on sparkling white plates or layer desserts in crystal-clean glassware. Keep your presentation sparkling with Cascade Platinum, which keeps dishes perfect for anytime entertaining and impromptu guests.”
To Learn more about Cascade’s partnership with Gail Simmons by viewing videos available on the Link to the Cascade Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/10Y8RQQ and Cascade YouTube page: http://bit.ly/124rLfa.
To keep the fun rolling with Cascade, they are doing a Cascade “My Platinum” contest .
The Cascade “My Platinum” contest is a four week Instagram contest encouraging fans to upload photos related to the weekly contest themes. Go show off how sparkly Cascade makes all your pots, pan and plates! I am definitely going to upload my photo above of my noodle pudding on my white dish. For more information to enter the My Platinum contest, click here: Cascade. Be sure to enter today!! Each week, two contestants will be selected to receive a brand new Whirlpool dishwasher. Additionally, one lucky grand prize winner will receive a Platinum kitchen makeover! How awesome is that!
See below for more information:
To win, users have to both register and upload a photo with the #MyPlatinum hashtag and tag @MyCascade. Participants that have not registered will be disqualified from winning.
Each week they will have a 6-day entry period where Instagram users can enter the contest with their #MyPlatinum Photo. Cascade will choose two weekly winners and one final grand prize winner after the entry period has ended. Please be sure to include both the #MyPlatinum hashtag and tag @MyCascade in your entries to the contest!
- Week 1: My Platinum Plate (Entry Period: 6/3-6/9)
Show us your best dish styled from the sparkling plate up!
- Week 2: My Platinum Bite (Entry Period: 6/10-6/16)
Show us your best bite and most creative use of sparkling silverware!
- Week 3: My Platinum Clink (Entry: 6/17-6/23)
Show us how you serve up creative concoctions in sparkling glasses. Cheers!
- Week 4: My Platinum Table (Entry Period: 6/24-6/30)
Show us your sparkling tablescape for your most special celebrations!
- Grand Prize Winner (Entry: 6/3-6/30)
Be sure to purchase the Cascade Platinum Pacs to get your dishes sparkly clean! I no longer will use my previous detergents, that left my plates spotted and dirty! I will continue buying the Platinum Pacs for a long time to come! Oh, and I might add that my dishwasher has never looked cleaner using the Platinum Pacs!
Check out Cascade on Facebook to learn more about their wonderful products.
**I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Cascade. I received a product sample to facilitate my review and a promotional item as a thank you for participating**
**I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. I am being compensated to host this party as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® #CBias #SocialFabric***
As a mom of two small children, I am constantly vacuuming. Every room in my house needs to be vacuumed by the end of the day. The kids make huge messes constantly and a good vacuum is just what I need to get my house nice and spiffy. It is actually very liberating to vacuum at the end of the day once the kids are asleep.
However, the vacuum I currently have is heavy and cumbersome. We are in the market for a new vacuum and I am definitely going to be purchasing a Eureka AirSpeed ONE. My mom has this vacuum and she LOVES it! It is extremely lightweight and on the smaller side of vacuums. However, as they say with jewelry, “Size isn’t everything!” My mom loves being able to readily pick up her Eureka and take it from one room to another without much effort on her part. When purchasing a Eureka AirSpeed ONE or Eureka AirSpeed ONE Turbo vacuum cleaners, you will be getting big power with even bigger value! What could be better!
Now that I got your interest peaked with the Eureka vacuums, how about joining us to talk more cleaning and vacuuming on 6/27 at the #AirSpeedOne twitter party!
*****If you are interested to talk all about getting your house nice and spiffy, we have just the thing for all of you! We are having a Eureka #AirSpeedOneTwitter Party on Thursday, June 27 from 1-2 pm. I will be there and I hope to see you all there. We could have some fun talking everything about cleaning and vacuuming in an efficient and cost effective way with Eureka! Should be an awesome time, so be sure to respond below!
What: #AirSpeedONE Twitter Party
When: Thursday 6/27/13, 1-2 pm ET
Where: #AirSpeedONE
Why: To have some fun talking about cleaning and vacuuming to have clean homes this summer! Hashtag: #AirSpeedONE
Be sure to follow me, your host, at @dentistmel and my wonderful co-host @CrazyAdventures and @cbTweetChat
There will also be fabulous prizes too! We can’t have a party without picking some great winners! We will be giving out 5- $100 Walmart Gift Cards throughout the hour we will be discussing cleaning with Eureka.
All you need to do before the party is go ahead and register your twitter info below to be registered for our rocking party on 6/27! You can also share with all your friends by tweeting this out ahead of time: Join #AirSpeedONE @EurekaClean Twitter Party 6/27 1p ET. Big power, bigger value! Prizes $500! http://cbi.as/l6yz5 #shop #cbias
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. VOID WHERE TAXED, PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED BY LAW. Subject to Official Rules. Open only to residents of the United States.
Enter by RSVPing for the Twitter party on the link above, be actively participating in the party and are using the hashtag #AirSpeedOne. To be eligible, entries must be received by 1:55 p.m. EST except that mail in entries must be mailed separately and postmarked by June 23, 2013. To enter without purchase, hand write your name, completed address, age and telephone number on a 3”x5” card and mail it to Collective Bias, 205 S. Main Street, Ste. 1, Bentonville, AR 72712.
Prizes will be limited to 5- $100 Walmart gift cards and will be given away during the duration of the 1 hour party on June 27, 2013 All winners will be chosen using random.org from the RSVP link and winners must be present and participating in the party using the hashtag #AirSpeedONE at the time that they are drawn as a winner. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received. Winner will be notified via Twitter @CrazyAdventures during the party on June 27, 2013 and must respond to @CrazyAdventures within 5 minutes of being selected to claim their prize. All entries will be eligible for any unclaimed prizes after the close of the Twitter party via random drawing held on July 11, 2013.
To obtain a copy of the Official Rules, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to Collective Bias, 205 S. Main Street, Ste. 1, Bentonville, AR 72712.
SPONSORS: Collective Bias, 205 S. Main Street, Ste. 1, Bentonville, AR 72712
All winners will be chosen using random.org from the RSVP link and winners must be present and participating in the party at the time that they are drawn as a winner. There is a limit of 1 (one) prize per household during the party. Please allow 4-6 weeks for prize fulfillment.
Can you believe the 4th of July will be here in a few short weeks?? Crazy how fast the summer is flying by! With the 4th of July coming up, what do we automatically think about-red, white, and blue, right?? How about if I told you that VTech made a pretty awesome home phone in red, white, and blue, which is available now in Target. Have I peaked your interest- if so, keep on reading to learn more.
The VTech CS6529-16 is a cordless answering system phone with Caller ID/Call Waiting. I know everyone is into cell phone these days, but I actually love still using a regular phone in my home. I like to have a phone next to my bed, so I can easily pick it up to talk. I also love being able to keep regular messages stored for me on the phone. There is nothing like having a good ole’ home phone in your house and the Vtech CS6529-16 is great phone that has all the bells and whistles, all while being sold at a very reasonable price ($29.99) at Target. Here is to not having to worry about dropped calls or being uncomfortable holding a cell phone for long periods of time!
The VTech CS6529-16 features a handset Speakerphone which allows one with the touch of a button, to make hands-free conversations easy. The phone also has a quiet Mode where you could silence the ringer on the handset and base unit immediately or for an extended period of time. If you are constantly worried about battery power, you can set it to ECO Mode, where power-conserving technology manages consumption for optimal battery performance.
Some of the additional features of the phone include:
 Additional Features
- DECT 6.0 Digital technology
- Digital answering system
- Caller ID/Call Waiting
- Handset speakerphone
- Backlit keypad and display
- Expandable system up to 5 handsets (uses CS6609 accessory handset)
- ECO Mode power-conserving technology• Quiet Mode silences the ringers• 50 name and number phonebook directory• 50 name and number Caller ID history
- Intercom between handset and base unit
- Conference between an outside line and up to 2 cordless handsets
- Voicemail Waiting Indicator
• English/Spanish/French setup menu
• Table- and wall-mountable
• Up to 14 minutes of digital recording time
• Call screening
• Call intercept
• Remote access
• Message retrieval from handset • Message time and date stamp • Flash
• Last 10 number redial
• Mute
• Volume control
• Battery type – 2.4V 300mAh Ni-MH
This phone has some many wonderful features available at a great price at Target. The stylish phone can spice up your holiday décor and coordinate your own celebration.
GIVEAWAY: One winner will win the below prize pack, featured at over $300.
Included in this basket is:
This giveaway is run via rafflecopter so click more to see the actual giveaway. The only mandatory entry is to tell me what is your favorite features of the VTech cS652916 phone I have above in the comment section proceeding the post. While the other entries are optional, I highly suggest filling them out to increase your chances of winning. Good luck! US ONLY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
*This giveaway is sponsored by Vtech. All my opinions are my own and not swayed by outside sources.
3 weeks ago, I took Zane for his first time to Sesame Place! I guess you can say it was his second, but his first time was when he was around 4 months, so he had no recollection of it. Since Zane is infatuated with Sesame, we knew Sesame Place would be a HUGE hit with him. I am asked all the time if Sesame Place is good for a 2 year old and the answer is a resounding YES! I think Sesame is great for any age but believe me when I tell you that kids can never be too young, to have fun at Sesame Place.
One tip that I will give to you when visiting Sesame, is to bring a stroller and make sure you have plenty of changes of clothes, swim suits, and towels. Now that the summer is here, all the water rides are open at Sesame Place and they are in full swing! Your kids will definitely be upset with you, if you accidentally forget their swimsuit at home. Even though it was only 70 degrees when we went, Hayley and Zane both had a blast on the water slides.
 Another tip I will give you, is to make sure you do not miss the parade. They play the parade twice a day ( 3 and 7 usually but times are subject to change) and it runs for approximately 25 minutes. Be there at least 20 minutes early to get a good seat because the parade is fantastic. I think Zane was staring for the full 25 minutes at all his favorite characters right before his own eyes. It is vivid, fun, and festive! Do not miss the parade!
 If you have not done the Dining with the Characters, I suggest you definitely do this! We have done it with Hayley plenty times in the past, but this was Zane’s first time. It is completely awesome and worth every cent to see your children have the biggest smiles on their faces while eating and being surrounded by The Count, Abbey, Elmo, Ernie, Burt, and more!! The characters walk around to your table and you are free to take any pictures you like with them. They also have a dance party where your children can dance with their best buddies! The food is great and they are very conscience if you have a concern with food allergies. Zane has food allergies and they sat with me with their food allergy sheet, to tell me what he could or could not eat! I thought that was terrific!
 It was a fantastic day at Sesame Place and I can’t wait to take the kids again! I think I had as much fun as them! You can now purchase a Season Pass with six monthly, interest-free payments as low as $16.71. This offer ends July 14 so be sure to buy it today at Sesame Place! Follow all the fun on Sesame Place twitter feed @SesamePlace and see more from other ambassadors by searching #SesamePlace on twitter.
*I am a Sesame Place Ambassador. All my opinions are my own and not swayed by outside sources.
I am excited because this weekend is Hayley’s dance recital! It is going to be so cute seeing her all dressed up and dancing on the big stage! I hope you all have a great weekend!
As always, please link up any cute or funny post. Feel free to take my button or share on social media, although this is not necessary. Definitely do check out the other blogs who link up, as they all provide a good laugh!
My top five laughs:
5. Hayley got her ears pierced last Saturday. She was so scared for so long and one day says to me, “I think I am grown up enough now to get my ears pierced.” LOL! So, we did and she looks so cute!
4. Hayley is doing her hip hop song to Usher. She likes to call Usher- HUSHER! It is so funny when she tells me I am dancing to Husher!
3. Zane has this very annoying habit of calling out for us for at least 20 minutes after I put him to bed. He calls out just to get our attention but has to sweeten the deal by saying “I love you mom and dad.” How can I be mad with that!
2. Zane has an obsession with the days of the weeks! He knows them all but randomly everyday will say, ” Today Monday”, even when it is Friday, Thursday, Sunday, etc…
1. Hayley turns to me last night and told me that I was her best friend in the whole world. I think my heart melted completely!
Now your laughs:
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The Cascade Platinum Pacs has a triple-action formula which provides the ultimate cleaner for dishes and helps prevent hard water film from forming! It is the ultimate stain fighter for your dishes and helps to get rid of the hardest stains including grease, tea/coffee, and red stains. It powers away tough, 24 hour stuck-on food. I know that I sometimes am guilty for leaving the dish that I cooked with the night before in the sink for quite some time. By the time it gets to my dishwasher, the food is so caked on that I embarrassed. We never in a million years were able to get those dishes clean to the standards I like before I tried the Cascade Platinum Pacs.
