Tag: review

Small Talk’s Top Posts of 2015

Posted on December 30, 2015 by Mama

As the year rapidly comes to an end, it’s always fun to see where the last year took us and how my blogging life was received. After the complete meltdown of Small Talk Mama the fall before, I was forced to make some decisions about the future of my little space of bloggy bliss; and after much deliberation, a false-start and returning to my first love, Small Talk Mama was reborn (slowly) and is still in the repairing process. I continually discover old posts that simply vanished forever, and I’m just so sure those were some of my best stuff.

Okay, enough wound licking. . . let’s get on to my best posts of 2015. These are not necessarily my favorite items, but now that’s why statistics exist. Here are the top five most visited posts of the year and although I find a couple of them surprising, I’m just going with it and hopefully learning a lesson or two. If you see something you missed, I hope you will give it a visit before we move on to 2016.

#5: Secret Subject Swap — Mike Rowe, Come Clean My Dreamcatcher
This was a post for Baking in a Tornado’s monthly Secret Subject Swap. You just never know what subject I will be writing about when it comes to these posts, but surprisingly it’s a lot of fun. This particular subject started out as one of my least favorites, but ended up being a lot of fun.

#4: My Saltine Packin’ Sister’s Spicy Ranch Crackers
My sister arrived for a visit one day toting these highly addictive and super delicious homemade crackers. While she was here, we made two more batches and a family favorite was quickly born.

#3: Cozy Lodge Christmas Cards
I created a couple of cards using some new Cozy Lodge Christmas paper and submitted them to Cards In Envy’s weekly challenge. To my joy, I won the top “First-Class” award for that week’s theme, which was a first for me.

#2: DASANI Drops — Delicious Anywhere, Anytime
Talk about a surprise! This was a sponsored post for DASANI Infusions that flavor basic bland water into something more enjoyable. It was a lot of fun trying out the different flavored drops; and in fact, I have several cans of DASANI sparkling water in my fridge right now. So I guess my little trial worked. . . for at least one person in the world.

Top Post of 2015: Mad for Plaid at Home for Christmas
This was a fun little post for a blog hop hosted by Country Living and Hometalk. It showcased just a few of the ways I used plaid fabric throughout my home for Christmas. Next year, I promise to start decorating early so that I can take some better photos, but first I have to take down all of the current holly and jolly. *sigh*

Iantern

photo credit: Sparkler / Wunderkerze II via photopin (license)

E-cloth My House Clean, So Can You

Posted on April 30, 2015December 11, 2016 by Mama

Let’s talk clean houses today. I know, I know; it’s not a favorite topic among most moms, but it’s one of those things we all have to face. As a mother who often has a little one under foot on cleaning day, I really do need something that gets the job done quickly and without filling the atmosphere with loads of harmful fumes and tons of yucky toxins

So when e-cloth offered a chance to sample one of their many products, I raised my rubber-laden, anti-dishwater gloved hand right away. I was thrilled, and slightly overwhelmed by the array of products e-cloth offers, but I finally settled on the Universal Stone with applicator set from their website at www.ecloth.com. I was so excited to put this product through its paces that I started (with bare hands) in the kitchen and worked my way to the master bath. I cleaned my stove top, my stainless steel sink, a filthy copper-bottom pot and even the fiberglass basin in my shower. With the Universal Stone and some elbow grease all these surfaces easily came clean without fumigating my home.

The Universal Stone is a natural way to restore a shine to metallic surfaces and clean any smooth surface without harsh chemicals. The cleaning agent is made from natural ingredients including soap flakes, green soap, vegetable oils, glycerin, polishing clay earth, and natural perfume oils (citronella). Universal Stone is free from toxins and acids and is fully biodegradable, environmentally friendly, phosphor-free and kind to the skin. This makes the Universal Stone child and pet friendly as well as non-allergenic. This non-abrasive product, cleans, polishes and preserves all in one step and can be used on chromium, stainless steel, aluminum, silver, gold, copper, brass, tin, enamel, glass, acrylic plastic, crystal, plastic, painted wood, ceramics, etc. You should have seen the gunk that came off my copper pot — yuck!

Of course e-cloth also offers other environmentally-friendly cleaning products like general purpose cloths that clean with just water, mops, dusters and body towels. They also offer specialty products for electronics, automobiles and pets. You can shop their entire line of products at www.ecloth.com and join their e-mail list to receive the latest product and promotional information. Please note that if you join the e-cloth mailing list they will only send promotional emails a couple of times a month and you can opt out at any time. They also do not sell email addresses. You can also friend, follow and visit them at one of their social media sites listed below.

But as a special treat, e-cloth and Small Talk Mama have teamed up to offer one reader the perfect opportunity to try the Universal Stone for free. That’s right, e-cloth is giving a way the same product I received, the Universal Stone with applicator (a $39.99 value), to one lucky person. It’s easy to enter by using the form at the bottom of this post, but be sure to do so by May 9, 2015.

I can’t wait to see who will win this great “green” cleaning product from e-cloth, so enter today!

Web: www.ecloth.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/eclothUSA
Twitter: @ecloth
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/eclothUSA
Instagram: @eclothUSA
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/eclothCleaning

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Zapping Plaque and Cavities with the Natural Dentist + Giveaway

Posted on March 13, 2015December 11, 2016 by Mama

As a mom, I’m always looking for ways to keep my little guy safe and healthy, and if it’s easy and affordable, all the better. So I have to tell you that I was so excited to receive the Natural Dentist’s children’s line of products on our front porch last week. With three great products to choose from, we’ve found a favorite and you also can give it a go by participating in the giveaway at the bottom of this post.

Our four year old’s favorite thing is NOT brushing his teeth, but give the kid a cute toothbrush and some good tasting toothpaste and he will usually perform the task without too much hassle. We just recently switched to a fluoride toothpaste, out of fear of him swallowing it, but the kid has this spitting thing down. . . spitting in the sink, spitting in a cup, spitting all over the bathroom mirror. . . You get the picture, but at least he’s spitting. Of course, not all the paste goes down the sink; unfortunately, the rest goes down the hatch, and that’s where my worries lie.

I know many toothpastes are packed with several ingredients that are just not healthy if swallowed each day, like artificial sweeteners and coloring, preservatives and SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate). Let’s look at the numbers for a sec — if my child brushes his teeth twice a day for a year that’s 730 times he is putting potentially hazardous ingredients straight in his mouth (and I won’t even let him eat one dropped sucker with a little cat hair on it). So by the time I send my little guy off to college at the age of 18, he will have brushed his teeth and/or gums over 13,000 times, whether he wanted to or not. Now I’m no scientist, but that could amount to a lot of potentially harmful substances going down the hatch. Think about it — do you completely rinse or spit all the toothpaste out of your own mouth every day?

So this is where the Natural Dentist steps in. The Natural Dentist’s children’s line includes the Cavity Zapper Toothpastes, Plaque Zapper Toothpaste which is flouride-free and Mouth Rinse. Just like their other products, the gel toothpaste does not contain Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS), and there are no artificial flavors, sweeteners, or colors. And it comes in two great, kid-approved flavors – Berry Blast and Groovy Grape. The Natural Dentist makes sure that kids and their parents have the best clinically-proven oral care products – products that don’t contain alcohol, harsh chemicals or artificial colors or flavors.

We received the fluoride-free Plaque Zapper and two flavors of fluoride gel Cavity Zapper toothpastes to test out during out daily routine. My son was so excited to try a new toothpaste, mainly because he wasn’t too happy about his current choice, and we started with the Berry Blast Cavity Zapper. It seemed to foam nicely and clean well, but he decided he wasn’t too crazy about the flavor. So I gave it a go on my own teeth and thought it cleaned well, but I was actually less than not too crazy about the flavor. Of course we gave Groovy Grape a go the next day, and I think we found a winner!

So if you’re looking for a more natural choice for your child’s dental health, you might consider the Natural Dentist, and here is your perfect opportunity. I’m teaming up with the Natural Dentist to give one lucky reader the same free gift pack I received so that you can try these great children’s products in your own home. You have a few ways to enter, but you only have a few days to do so.

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