The ABCD Diaries: 04/01/2014

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

**Complimentary products received in exchange for our honest review. All opinions are ours and ours alone.**

We recently had the chance to review a selection of baked goods from Canyon Bakehouse:

Canyon Bakehouse provides a collection of gluten-free breads, buns, and muffins in order to bring delicious bread products to those who follow a gluten-free diet. They have quite a few yummy products.

The first item we tried was the Rosemary & Thyme Focaccia. It came out of the bag looking this yummy:

We brushed on a little olive oil and warmed it in the oven for a few minutes. It was soooo good! The entire crew agreed...some of the best gluten-free bread we've had. I don't think we would have been able to tell it was gluten-free had we not known beforehand. It was the perfect addition to a homecooked meal.

We also sampled the Hamburger Buns:

These come 4 to a pack which is the perfect size for our family. Not only are they gluten-free, but because they are made with 100% whole grains, they are healthy too!

As a breakfast treat, we enjoyed the Cinnamon Raisin Bread:

With healthy whole grains, fresh raisins, and sweet agave syrup, it smells AND tastes delicious!

Buy It:

Find out more at Canyon Bakehouse. Locally we found Canyon Bakehouse products at Target, Sprouts and HEB.

Gentle Pet Grooming Made Easy With John Paul Pet! #Giveaway #Spon

**Complimentary products received to facilitate this review. All opinions are ours and ours alone.**

We recently had the chance to review a John Paul Pet Puppy & Kitten Care Pack:

Our pup, Shiner, does NOT like bath time. He is a good dog and he'll let us bathe him, but it's definitely not his favorite this to do. Unfortunately for him, we live on the Texas coast and our yard is sand with a bit of grass mixed in, which means even though he is an indoor dog, he must have a bath at least once a week. Fortunately for him, John Paul Pet makes a gentle line of pet grooming products:)

The Tearless Shampoo is cleans sensitive skin and face areas, without burning or irritating eyes, and leaves your pet with a fresh deodorized scent. I loved the smell of this shampoo. As you can tell from the picture, it isn't full of harsh chemicals, but is simple and effective.

The Waterless Foam Shampoo is great for dogs who don't like getting completely wet. It is thick and deep cleans and deodorizes without the need for rinsing...you just brush it out once it's dry. This would also be ideal for young pets, especially kittens:)

The Full Body and Paw wipes are enriched with lanolin and are a convenient way to remove from between your pets toes.

This trio of products is safe for everyday use and are tested on humans first for your pet's protection.

This kit would be perfect for any dog or cat, but especially new puppies and kittens.

ABCD Diaries gives John Paul Pet an A+!

Buy It:

Buy this kit at John Paul Pet!

Stay Social:

Facebook

Twitter

Win It:

Win your very own Puppy & Kitten Care Kit from John Paul Pet! Enter below:

Gift Idea for the Baking Mom: Sister's Gourmet Cookie Mixes! #Sponsored

**Complimentary products received in exchange for our honest review. All opinions are ours and ours alone.**

We recently had the chance to review a couple of yummy cookie mixes from Gourmet Sister's:

Aren't these mixes beautiful?! Both of these are from the Crisp & Colorful Mason line at Sister's Gourmet. Sister's Gourmet is a company that provides pre-measured cookie mixes all dolled up and ready for gift-giving. These mixes would make a great gift idea for Teacher Appreciation Week (May 5-9) a hostess gift, or even a lovely Mother's Day gift! Several of these mixes have even been featured on Oprah's "O" list! Making these cookies is pretty simple, too. Just add eggs, butter and vanilla and bake!

We tried the Oatmeal Chocolate Chip and the Hopscotch Mixes.

The Oatmeal Chocolate Chip were crispy thanks to the addition of crushed cornflakes and coconut...what a neat idea! These cookies also feature lots of whole grain oats.

Lots of chocolate chips made this mix a big hit with the kiddos:)

The Hopscotch Cookies were my personal favorite. Rich, creamy butterscotch chips filled the soft, chewy cookies. These babies disappear pretty quickly:)

Buy It:

Buy these delicious cookie mixes at Sister's Gourmet! Don't forget to check out their Daily Deal page!

Get Social:
Like Sister's Gourmet on Facebook for all the latest news!

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Undercover Mama Giveaway!

Gourmet Condiments Perfect for Spring Entertaining: Prissy's of Vidalia! #Sponsored

**Complimentary products received in order to facilitate this review. All opinions are ours and ours alone**

We recently had the chance to review a couple of gourmet products from Prissy's of Vidalia:

Prissy's of Vidalia was started in 1986 in Vidalia, Georgia. Prissy specializes Vidalia onion products and other gourmet spreads and sauces. There are 96 different unique gourmet products available from Prissy's of Vidalia! Their top-sellers are Vidalia Onion and Peach Salsa and Georgia Peach Preserves, but they also have hard to find items like Pickled Watermelon Rind and Tomolives(pickled green tomatoes)!

What we thought:

If you are looking for down-home flavor with a Southern flair, you've found it with Prissy's of Vidalia!

We sampled the Pumpkin Butter and the Vidalia Onion and Georgia Peach Salsa.

The Pumpkin Butter has a delicious flavor...just like pumpkin pie! It's super creamy and makes a delicious spread for bread, biscuits or bagels. Absolutely divine and spoon-lickin' good!

The salsa is wonderful with chips. It has big chunks of fruit and sweet onions and it's no wonder it's one of Prissy's top-selling items. Pour this over a block of softened cream cheese for a truly Southern delicacy that your guests are sure to enjoy! Plus, it's fat-free and cholesterol-free! You can't beat that:)

ABCD Diaries gives Prissy's of Vidalia gourmet goodies an A+!

Buy It:

Buy these gourmet treats at Prissy's of Vidalia!

Give Your Pet the Best with Newman's Own Organics Pet Food #Giveaway #Spon

**Complimentary products received to facilitate this review. All opinions are our and ours alone**

We recently had the chance to review a selection of Newman's Own Organics Pet Food:

What we thought:
Newman's Own Organics was generous enough to send a box of goodies for our pup Shiner. We received a variety of Adult Dry Food, Premium Canned Food, Grain-Free Canned Food, Dog Treats and Snack Sticks and boy, was Shiner excited to review them:)

The adult dry food provides an ideal protein-ft ratio and is made with organic brown rice, peas and carrots. It has no added hormones, antibiotics or chemical additives, no artificial colrs or flavor enhancers and no wheat or corn. Shiner loved it!

We generally feed him a diet of dry dog food and he gets special treats of fresh fruits and veggies, (yes, he is an odd dog who LOVES fresh veggies!) but it's very rare for him to get wet, canned food. He was most excited about trying these:) Turns out he would choose wet food over dry any day! Newman's Own Organics offers Premium Canned food in chicken and turkey flavors, made with natural and organic ingredients, of course, none of the bad stuff. You can find these in 2 sizes, 5.5 oz and 12.7 oz.

They also have Grain-Free Canned Food in Beef and Liver flavors (Shiner's favorite:) available in a 12 oz can.

Newman's Own Organics offers several treat options including their original treats and their snack sticks. The dog treats come in small and medium, cute little heart-shaped biscuits.= in 5 great flavors including Chicken, Cheese, Turkey and Sweet Potato, Salmon and Sweet Potato and Peanut Butter. Shiner LOVES peanut Butter so these treats, though small, were perfect for him! The bags are resealable which is an added bonus:) The snack sticks are a soft dog treat that comes in yummy flavors like Chicken and Rice. These were the first thing to disappear from Shiner's review package...if he heard the crinkle of the bag, he was by your side in a flash, sitting and smiling pretty for a treat:)
Of course, these treats are all made with natural and organic ingredients and are a healthhy way to treat your dog.

ABCD Diaries (and Shiner) give Newman's Own Organics Dog Food an A+!

Buy It:

Buy Newman's Own Organics at grocery stores and health food stores nation wide. Find out more at Newman's Own Organics!

Win It:

One lucky reader will win a Newman's Own Organics Prize Pack for their dog OR cat! Enter below:

Fragrance Oils from Auric Blends #Giveaway #Sponsored

**Complimentary products received in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are ours and ours alone**

We recently had the chance to review a selection of products from Auric Blends:

Auric Blends sells a huge variety of fragrance products. They carry roll-on perfumes, solid perfumes, incense and more!

We reviewed 3 roll-ons, including Love, Egyptian Goddess and Tropical Rain. They were all lovely blends of fresh fragrances. Egyptian Goddess is the top selling fragrance at Auric Blends. It's super feminine and carries floral notes along with light powder and musk undertones. Love is a mixture of white amber and musk and has notes of Egyptian Goddess. This is the #2 selling fragrance at Auric Blends. Tropical Rain had a crisp, clean scent.

The 1/3 oz perfume oils are only $8.49, a great price point! You can try the small bottles before committing to the larger ones. There are over 40 fragrances in the roll-on line to choose from.

We also reviewed a perfume solid. Auric Blends offers 14 different fragrances in this line. Each solid is in a beautifully decorative handcarved rosewood container. These run about $8.95 each and would make great gifts. The base for the solid is beeswax and coconut oil, which is great for the skin. We tried the Himalayan Musk fragrance and really loved it!

Finally, we reviewed the Fire Goddess Incense and enjoyed it as well. The scent was warm and really smelled great! Auric Blends has 49 fragrances to choose from in their Incense category.

Buy It:

Find these fragrance products at Auric Blends!

Win It:

One reader will win and Auric Blends prize pack in their choice of fragrance! Enter below:

Stylish Plus Size Fashions from alight.com #Giveaway #Sponsored

**Complimentary products received in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are ours and ours alone**

We recently had the chance to review a gorgeous sundress from alight.com:

What we thought:
alight.com is known as "The World's Largest Collection of Plus Size Clothing." They carry women's sizes 12-34 and offer a large variety of tops, bottoms, dresses and more. The Pink Apple Black Stripe Maxi Dress I reviewed is so pretty and feminine. The fit is flattering and the style is current. It's super flowy and perfect for the spring/summer months. The straps are adjustable and the top is lightly padded for a smooth finish. I love it!

alight.com carries over 1000 unique items from over 75 brands specifically for women and teens, so you are sure to find something you love!

ABCD Diaries gives alight.com an A+!

Buy It:

Chck out the gorgeous fashions at alight.com!

Win It:
Win a surprise blouse from alight.com! Enter below:

**Anyone who is selected as the giveaway winner must be on the alight.com email list. Sign up for their mailing list here:

http://www.alight.com/adding-or-removing-name-from-mailing-list.html

We Love Mom #Giveaway Hop: The Trail of Painted Ponies Collectible from Enesco #Spon

Welcome to the we Love Mom Blog Hop!

Hosted By: MPM Network Bloggers

As many of us know, being a mom isn't easy. We all know the name comes with different meaning for all of us - some of us have children, others fur babies, and others being a mother figure for people in their lives. Knowing that being a Mom is such a big deal to all of us, we decided to do something special for all the moms out there! To make Mother's Day even more fun, the MPM Blogging Network has joined together to create this fun hop featuring gifts for mom's everywhere! Each participating blog below is hosting their very own unique Mother's Day giveaway, featuring all sorts of gifts that are perfect for mom! To increase your chances of getting something fun, make sure to visit all the blogs linked below. Also, don't forget to enter to win our grand prize, A Ninja Ultima Blender!

The We Love Mom Blog Hop ends on 5/11/14 at 11:59 PM. The MPM Blogging Network is not responsible for prize fulfillment and associated bloggers are responsible for their own giveaways. Good luck everyone and happy Mother's Day!

Blogger Opportunity

La Leche League Nursing Bra Giveaway!

Mother's Day Swag Bag Giveaway Event

Alternative Baking Company #Review #Sponsored

**Complimentary product received in exchange for our honest review. The opinions expressed in this post are ours and ours alone.**

We recently had the chance to review a selection of cookies from Alternative Baking Company:

What we thought:
Alternative Baking Company makes vegan cookies in both regular and gluten-free flavors. Their gourmet cookies are dairy and meat-free and contain no trans fats, no hydrogenated oils, no cholesterol, no artificial ingredients and no refined sugar. They are so yummy! They taste like traditional cookies...in fact, we weren't able to tell the difference between the regular and gluten-free cookies. The flavors are unique and delicious.

Some of the cool flavors we tried were Colossal Chocolate Chip, Phenomenal Pumpkin Spice, Double Chocolate Decadence(my fave:) and Gluten-free flavors like Cinnamon Burst and Lemon Dream. Alternative Baking Company also makes MuffinCookies in flavors like:
Cranberry Orange With Walnuts, Apple Pie with Raisins, Blueberry Lemon and Almond with Anise. These make a quick, filling on-the-go breakfast:)

One more testament to their goodness...We got this review package several weeks ago and just yesterday found one cookie that had been pushed to the back of the pantry. I was bummed to think we wasted a cookie, but when we opened it, we realized it was still just as moist and deliciious as the cookies were when we first received them:)

ABCD Diaries gives Alternative Baking Company an A+!

Buy It:

Get your cookies today at Alternative Baking Company!

Domino's New Specialty Chicken #Review #Spon

*Complimentary product received in exchange for our honest review. The opinions expressed in this post are ours and ours alone.**

We recently had the chance to review the latest addition to Domino's menu, Specialty Chicken:

About Specialty Chicken:

"The boneless chicken product features a delicious combination of toppings, sauces and cheeses layered over twelve bites of lightly breaded, 100 percent whole breast white meat chicken. The four unique flavors offered include Crispy Bacon & Tomato, Spicy Jalapeno-Pineapple, Classic Hot Buffalo and Sweet BBQ Bacon.

Specialty Chicken is the first new product for Domino’s since the launch of Handmade Pan Pizza in September 2012 and will be available as part of its $5.99 mix and match deal."

What we thought:

The consensus my crew came up with after sampling the Specialty Chicken from Domino's was that these were like "extreme, amped up" chicken nuggets:) The pieces are larger than nuggets and juicier, too, and the toppings were no joke. Domino's blended some fantastic quality ingredients together to make each of these dishes uniquely delicious. Our personal favorites were the Classic Hot Buffalo and the Crispy Bacon Tomato.

Classic Hot Buffalo- These large chicken chunks were perfectly breaded and then given a healthy topping of buffalo sauce, ranch and cheeses, including feta! Mmmm, perfection!

Crispy Bacon Tomato- I was impressed that the bacon was actually crispy on these ( I can't handle squishy or chewy bacon:) and the garlic parmesan sauce and cheese blend was creamy and soooo good!

The Jalapeno Pineapple were also yummy, but the mango-habanero sauce was a bit too spicy for the kiddos. The Sweet BBQ Bacon was a little sweet for our tastes, but also featured that crispy bacon.

Each box has 12 pieces of chicken, so these would make the perfect addition to a pizza order. Since they are part of the fantastic $5.99 menu, they are a steal!

ABCD Diaries gives Domino's Specialty Chicken an A+!

Buy It:

Order - www.dominos.com

Mobile - http://mobile.dominos.com

Get Social:

Info - www.dominosbiz.com

Twitter - http://twitter.com/dominos

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/dominos

YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/dominos

Newman's Own Organics Snacks #Giveaway #Sponsored

**Complimentary product received in exchange for our honest review. The opinions expressed in this post are ours and ours alone.**

We recently had the chance to review a large selection of Newman's Own Organics products. Newman's Own Organics products. NOO started as a division of Newman's Own in 1993 by Nell Newman and her business partner, Peter Meehan, but became a separate company in early 2001. They offer a huge variety of delicious snacks. From pretzels to cookies, chocolate to licorice, dried fruit to breath mints and so much more in between. No matter what snack you're craving, Newman's Own Organics has one that will satisfy:)

We loved every snack they sent us, but there were a few stand-out favorites.

First, the chocolate:

Newman's Own Organics offers so many chocolate products to choose from. We loved the chocolate peanut butter cups, the raspberry cups and the peppermint cups, but our favorite chocolate from this line was the chocolate bars. They came in Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Super Dark Chocolate, Orange Dark Chocolate and Espresso Dark Chocolate. With varying degrees of cacao strength, there was a chocolate for every mood and occasion. The Super Dark Chocolate was A-MAZ-ING! The perfect balance of bitter and sweet, a true indulgence!

Newman's Own Organics also has several flavors of sandwich cookies. We tried Original Newman-O's, Peanut Butter Newman-O's and Vanilla Newman-O's. I love sandwich cookies, so I've tried quite a few, but I must say the Vanilla Newman-O's are THE BEST sandwich cookies I've ever had! The creme filling is sooo good! It's not a weird artificial bright white, but a creamy vanilla-flavored filling. I was super impressed with the quality taste of these sandwich cookies!

Another of our favorites was the licorice. There are both regular version and sour version of several yummy fruity flavors and a classic black flavor. There were even cool flavors like pomegranate and sour mango. We enjoyed all of them:) Our very favorite was the Sour Strawberry. Each pack contains 5 strips, so they are perfect for sharing.

Our final favorite product was the Mixed Berries, which were gone so fast I had to use a stock photo:) We love dried fruit around here. The Berry Blend is a mixture of raisins, dried cranberries, dried blueberries and dried red tart cherries. All organic, of course, and so delicious:)

Newman's Own Organics provides snacks you can count on to be organic, and not full of harmful additives and preservatives. Definitely a great way to snack healthy!

ABCD Diaries gives Newman's Own Organics an A+!

Buy It:

You can find Newman's Own Organics at grocery stores and health food stores nationwide.

Win It:

Win your very own sampler of Newman's Own Organics featuring our favorite products! Enter below:

Celebrate National Dance Week with Madame Alexander and Angelina Ballerina + #Giveaway #Spon

**Complimentary product received in exchange for our honest review. The opinions expressed in this post are ours and ours alone.**

"April 25-May 4 is National Dance Week, and what better way to celebrate than with everyone’s favorite dancing mouseling? HIT Entertainment is teaming up with Madame Alexander dolls to celebrate Dance Week with a Facebook giveaway of Angelina Ballerina goodies.

The giveaway includes:

· 1 Angelina Periwinkle Tutu Soft Doll

· A trio of Angelina Ballerina DVDs

· The Angelina Ballerina Board Book

Angelina fans can enter to win on the official Madame Alexander Facebook page and a winner will be selected each day of National Dance Week."

Aspiring dancers can watch Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps on PBS Kids and Sprout (check local listings).

Win It:

In celebration of National Dance Week, we are giving away a set of Angelina Ballerina treats to one lucky winner. This fun prize pack includes an Angelina Spring Fling DVD and Angelina Ballerina Sticker Stories book.

Enter Below:

Friday Funny...Enjoy!

Celebrate Mother's Day With Hallmark! #Giveaway #Sponsored

**Complimentary product received in exchange for our honest review. The opinions expressed in this post are ours and ours alone.**

Contrary to popular belief and tweets, Hallmark did not invent Mother’s Day. It was former President Woodrow Wilson who was the first to officially declare the holiday in 1914. Although Hallmark didn’t create the holiday, Hallmark does work year after year to help families celebrate the mother figures in their lives in an authentic and meaningful way.

We recently had the chance to review a selection of Mother's Day goodies from Hallmark.
Check out this gorgeous collection of cards:

Hallmark cards are always memorable and this is just a small sampling of the fantastic cards they have available for Mother's Day. Check out my two favorites from the package Hallmark sent:

The top card comes with a keepsake handkerchief and is from the Hallmark Signature Collection. "Celebrate mom or grandma with a card as unique as she is. With beautiful papers, rich textures and unique embellishments, each card in the Hallmark Signature Collection is handcrafted to be extra special, just like mom."

The one on the bottom is from the Magic Prints line. "Magic Prints is a line of greeting cards and gifts designed for kids to give mom or grandma a hand (their handprint) without a mess! New card designs for 2014 include Disney® characters, Peanuts® characters, as well as a baby’s footprint format — perfect for first-time moms" It comes with everything you need for a younger child to make their hand print/footprint as a keepsake for Mom. So cute!

Hallmark also offers great gifts that can be personalized for those special people in your life. We were able to check out the Customly Yours gift. "Customly Yours gifts allow family members to create personal stories about mom or grandma in their own words, perfectly displayed in a frame chosen from Hallmark.com. Creation is as easy as 1, 2, 3: choose a display frame, create a custom project and have it shipped for free!"