Moving!

Attention:

I have moved this blog to http://purpleismyjam.wordpress.com

Thanks!

Premium Herb Scissors Set by Chefast

I have been wanting a pair of herb scissors for several months now.

I had a chance to try these out and I am impressed with them. These shears by "Chefast" have five stainless steel blades. They sliced nicely and I think these will definitely be a time saver for me. They also cleaned up nicely when I ran my fingers over the NON sharp sides. Also, it comes with a cleaning tool/sleeve that helps get any herbs that get stuck inside the scissors.The rest that was stuck I just rinsed down the sink into my sink strainer. I really got most of the herbs inside the blades so not much was really lost anyway.

The hand grips on these are nice and comfortable. Overall, I definitely recommend these herb scissors! The fact they are dishwasher safe is really awesome too. They come with a 100% lifetime warranty should anything ever happen to them.

I received these herb shears at a discounted price in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

You can purchase these herb scissors through my aff. link below:

http://amzn.to/2e0VdPE

Recipe: Yakatori Marinade - Great for Steaks and Chicken!

This is my first recipe I have blogged so far. This is one of my favorite marinades to make. It is so super easy and so delicious! I originally got this recipe off Allrecipes.com many years ago.

I combine all the ingredients below and then I marinade our meat of choice in it overnight. Usually Top Sirloin steaks. I have had it on chicken too and it is wonderful on that as well. We always grill the meat outside on a Charcoal grill and it is so full of flavor when we are done. It's simply amazing! We usually eat this with white rice and veggies stirfried (Zucchini, Squash, Bell Pepper, and Onion)

Yakatori Marinade Ingredients
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 pound sirloin steak, cubed

I am made the marinade earlier today so I can put the steaks in it overnight tonight. I will update my blog tomorrow with more photos of the meat being marinaded as well as on the grill and the finished product.

Mindscope Twister Tracks with 360 Loop and Light Up LED Cars

This review is for the Twister Tracks 360 loop set. This set comes with 15 feet of neon glow in the dark tracks with two light-up LED sports cars.

I was very impressed with this set as soon as I got it set up. A few things to keep in mind about this toy:

• The recommended age is for 3 and up
• When you remove the screws from the bottom of the cars you must make sure that you replace every part exactly how it came out of the car, mainly the sides where the white plastic pieces are that grip the track during its loop rotation. They only fit on the car in one direction.
• You must make sure each piece is securely put together and as flush as possible (mostly the loop). If the tracks are not flush together, the cars will get hung on the track.
• Please remind your children not to put these cars near their hair as it would be so easy for the cars wheels wind their hair up in it and FAST. We have two younger daughters and one has waist length hair so I will definitely have to make sure her hair is pulled back when she plays with this toy.

It took me about 10 minutes to put this track together, mainly because I didn't know the track grippers on the cars had to go back on the same way they came off. I just wasn't paying attention when I took them off to put the batteries in and grabbed the wrong one when I was screwing it back down. Also, the first time I tried it out the car kept getting stuck on the loop which made me realize the pieces have to be put together as tightly as possible. Now that I understand that, set-up will be a breeze next time.

This track is so neat and flexible and can be put in many configurations. It really does glow in the dark, however, it was really hard to see on my phone in the dark so I didn't put it in the video.

The LED lights on the cars have three settings as you push the button on the top. You push the button once and it turns on the first setting, push the button again and it turns the car off, push it again and it will be setting number two, and so on. You will need two AAA batteries for each car, so four in total and these are not included in the box.

One thing that is included is a storage bag which comes in so handy. Usually, when I buy train sets or something else with a track there is nothing to keep the pieces in so I end up having to go buy a storage bin. I think it is great that this company realized what a great idea a storage bag would be. In my opinion, this track is compact enough where your child could bring it on a trip or to the grandparent's house.

I like how you can add onto this toy as well. The creator, Mindscope, makes different add ons you can purchase if you would like to make this set even bigger.

I would definitely recommend this product. It is so fun and I think most children would love how bright these cars light up in a dark room.

I received this item at a discounted rate for my honest and unbiased review.

You can purchase this product at my aff. link below:

http://amzn.to/2ddVc7V

What the Dinosaurs Did Last Night: A Very Messy Adventure (Book)

This book first caught our eyes last Christmas but it was at a higher price in the store we were in so I decided to buy it on Amazon. However, I had forgotten about this book until recently and went ahead and bought it for our 3-year-old's birthday.

It is a very fun book and I was excited to get it for her. My husband had a good time reading it to her as well. I think all three of our children will really enjoy this book.

The illustrations and pictures are awesome. They are very colorful and eye-catching.

I definitely recommend this book if you are seeking something fun and different for your children to enjoy reading.

You can purchase this book on Amazon through my aff link below. This would be a great birthday or Christmas present!

http://amzn.to/2e0UHwN

Kaiya Angel Little Girl's Cotton 2 Pcs Children set Halloween Outfit

I have two daughters, one is four years old and the other will be turning three next week. They are 17 months apart and about the same height and weight and they both love Halloween. I was very interested to get this Halloween outfit for them as I knew they would love wearing it but they probably won't enjoy sharing it haha! I purchased the 4/5 year old size so they would get at least two years of wear out of it.

Our oldest daughter is the one who helped me review the item and she is already begging to wear it to school.

I washed it and dried it even though it says hand wash only. I turned the shirt inside out to protect the patch and it seemed to wash and dry just fine. This outfit is made of 100% cotton and looks like it would be so comfortable to wear.

I did go by the sizing recommendations listed on the product description and it does seem to fit pretty true to size. However, our children are all on the shorter side and I knew the pants would be a little big on her. It isnt a big deal to me though as I can roll the top of the waist up some to make them a little shorter, that plus her tennis shoes/boots should make the fit just fine.

The measurements I took of the 4/5-year-old size are as follows (please see the photos for reference):

Total length of top 19"

Sleeve length 15"

Waistband 9"

Inseam of pants 15.5"

Total length of pants 24.5"

Bottom width of leg 5.25"

I am so very pleased and excited to have this outfit for our girls. They just love Halloween so much and this outfit is too cute and made very well. I would definitely recommend this!

I received this adorable Halloween outfit at a discounted rate in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

You can purchase this super cute Halloween outfit for your little girl here through my aff. link:

http://amzn.to/2d3TAKQ

Fiream Girls Bunny Crewneck Long Sleeve Sweatshirt

I recently ordered the size 5 of the bunny crewneck sweater (item number 1331TZ) for our toddler girls to share. They are 4 and 3 years old. They wear the same size clothing and I always buy a size up so I know they can wear it throughout the whole season.

I am so pleased with this sweater. It is a nice weight. I have also washed this sweater and didn't have any issues with it. At first, I was a little worried about the pom poms falling off but they seem to be attached very well. Before I purchased it I read where someone else had the same worry but they didn't have any issues with them either. Also, this is 100% cotton and I don't believe I had any issues with it shrinking.

As you can see in my video the sleeves are a little on the long side. I was afraid if I got a 4T it wouldn't fit them through the torso area. I can always roll the sleeves which is what I normally have to do for their fall/winter clothes anyway. I went by the sizing chart located in the product description and it was definitely a big help when it came to deciding which size they needed.

For the size 5 the measurements are as follows (please see photos for reference):
Length (from top of sweater to bottom) 18 inches
Banded bottom: 11.5 inches
Sleeve length: 16.5 inches

I absolutely love Fiream clothing! Every piece of clothing I have received from this Brand has been really awesome and well-made. I definitely recommend this sweater!

I received this item at a discounted rate in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

You can purchase this item through my aff. link below:

http://amzn.to/2dKqWk2

Pokemon Squirtle/Zenigame Rare Soft Plush Toy Doll 6.5" (Toy)

Our three-year-old daughter received this a couple of weeks ago for her birthday and she loves it. Our kids are huge Pokemon fans and love everything Pokemon. She was so excited when she opened this (as you can see from her smile in the photos at her party).

She carried it around all night after she got it and is sleeping right now with it.

This is a well-made plush and was a really great price too! I would definitely recommend this Squirtle plush to anyone who has kids who love Pokemon.

You can purchase this Pokemon Squirtle plush on Amazon through my aff. link below:

http://amzn.to/2dB3IOX

RoomMates Pokemon Pikachu Peel and Stick Wall Decals

This was a really awesome birthday present for my Pokemon-loving 8-year-old. He was really excited to get this up on his wall.

What I really loved about this item is that it came in several pieces. Pikachu was not all one piece to put on the wall as that would have made it harder especially to get it on there without air bubbles etc. His body is one piece, then the ears and tail are separate pieces as well. This made application a breeze.

Unfortunately, my husband had already started putting it up before I could get a good video of the biggest part going on the wall.

Also, my husband didn't place one of his ears correctly the first time and he was able to easily peel it from the wall and place it in the correct position so that is definitely a plus!

I am very pleased with this purchase and would definitely buy more from this brand if we found something we liked.

You can also purchase this item via my aff. link below:

http://amzn.to/2dAs4sa

Inflatable lounger by Doopro

I recently received this awesome inflatable lounger by Doopro and I am pretty excited to have it.

These loungers are becoming quite popular lately. I am seeing them all over the internet as well as on Amazon. So far I am liking this brand and I love the color I chose as well. Purple is my favorite color.

This inflatable lounger features a waterproof design, a pocket for a bottle and another pocket for a phone/tablet. It is also very lightweight and portable. I love how it comes with a bag to carry it in as well as a stake to keep it tethered to the ground once it is aired up so it doesn't fly away.

The directions do say it inflates best on a windy day and luckily for us, the day I chose to try this out, it was pretty windy outside so it inflated quite quickly and easily. If it isn't very windy, I'd say you would have to run a little fast to be able to get this inflated properly. If inflating inside you can also use a fan.

As I stated in the video, the uninflated size is 94.5 inches by 27.5 inches and the inflated size is approx. 67.5 inches by 33 inches depending upon how you inflated you get it and how much you have to close it up to be nice and full with air.

This lounger can be used for many different things; hiking, camping, festivals,at the beach or pool, general lounging around in the yard, lounging inside the house, movie nights outside, and much more! We are having a movie night outside hopefully this coming weekend and I hope we get a chance to use it. I think a lot of our friends would enjoy it.

This lounger really is fun for both adults and children as you can see in my video. Our kids loved it and even started setting up a little campsite and pretended to be camping.

Of course, since this lounger will most likely be outside on the ground, you will get some dirt on the bottom of it. I would just brush off as much as you can before placing back inside the carrying bag.

As far as the carrying bag itself goes, it was impossible for me to get this back in the bag how it originally comes. I tried my best to, however, I was doing it alone. It may be easier to roll up with two people helping.

Overall, I really love this lounger and I think our kids will probably get more use out of it than us haha. But they can all sit on it for movie night outside and if they fall asleep in it, no big deal! We can just scoop them up and take them inside when the movie is over.

I received this item at a discounted rate in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

You can purchase this lounger through my aff. link below:

http://amzn.to/2e0cwwe

Flicker Flame Light Bulb (Flickering Orange Glow - Pack of 10)

I recently purchased these bulbs off Amazon and we absolutely love them. They usually last us several years.

I have purchased these bulbs before and they all came in ONE package. This time, when I purchased them they were separately packaged so that meant I had to open 10 different packages to test each one of them. It could have just been a matter of the seller I purchased them from, though.

As far as the bulbs themselves, they are pretty good bulbs. I did have 1 dud in my batch but Amazon promptly took care of that for us when we made them aware of the problem.

We use these so much in our Halloween as well as in our Christmas decor, more so in our Halloween set-up in different pumpkins. My husband is currently trying to make a spooky looking lantern from a lantern that takes batteries into a corded lantern that uses a flicker bulb instead.

I am going to update this review when he gets it completed hopefully within the next two weeks. I will also add a video of it in use so you can see how well it flickers.

I would definitely recommend these bulbs. They come at a great price in my opinion as well.

You can purchase these through my Amazon aff link below:

http://amzn.to/2dUZiPY

Crave Naturals Glide Thru Detangling Brush (Purple)

I recently purchased this detangling brush by Crave Naturals.

We have two daughters, 4 and 3 years old. Our 4 year olds' hair can be quite a mess with tangles, especially in the morning when she wakes up. She has waist length hair and it's naturally curly as well. She really has gorgeous hair and I was getting tired of hearing my regular brush sound like it was destroying her hair every time I brushed it.

I looked on Amazon for a good detangling brush and came across this one and figured I would try it out. I really like it so far. I have used it on her hair when wet as well as when it is dry, and it works great both times. You can watch my video review below of this item so you can see it in action!

I think this would be a great brush for anyone who has little girls with long hair. Also, this brush works on adults as well if you have issues with your hair becoming tangled.

Additionally, this brush really helped me when I was putting my daughters hair in a ponytail. Due to how wide it is and how close the brush bristles are together, it really grabbed a lot of her hair at once and well! I am glad that her ponytails won't look so messy anymore.

You can purchase this awesome detangling brush below through my aff. link:

http://amzn.to/2dZYcDR

AquaDoodle (Travel Doodle) Neon

Our kids first got to play with one of these Aquadoodles when my daughters' Pre-k teacher came over to meet her during the summer before the first day of school. The teachers brought this with them for her to use and she did not want to stop playing with it. That's when I knew it would be a great birthday or Christmas present.

The photo attached is from when our son played with it as well. He is 8 years old and apparently has "fillings for Jacie" (feelings lol) a little girl in his class Haha! I couldn't help but think that would be a perfect photo for my review of this item.

So it is safe to say this item is very fun for both younger kids and slightly older children as well.

I would definitely purchase this again if something happened to it but I am sure it will last quite awhile. All you do is fill the pen up with water so it doesn't make any sort of mess. I love that aspect of it, especially since we bought a brand new home recently. We make our children color and draw in the kitchen so the fact that they can play with this in their room or in the living room is awesome!

You can purchase this at the following aff. link below:

http://amzn.to/2dZVGxm

Got Cave Crickets?? Buy Diatomaceous Earth!!!

This review is for the Food Grade 10 Lb bag of Diatomaceous Earth that I got on Amazon. We purchased this product to put underneath our home as well as in sheds and around the perimeter of our house.

We have a cave cricket infestation REALLY bad. Hundreds of them. These things are also called Spider Crickets or Camel Crickets. See photo below. It makes me about sick to even post this photo but want to in case it can help anyone else get rid of them:

They are awful little critters and I am deathly afraid of them. I had never seen them before moving to Tennessee. They love moist and dark areas and we have a lot of shade around our home and they get really bad at the end of summer and in the fall.

My husband went under the house yesterday and spread it and also threw it directly on these creatures and he said they did not seem to like it at all. I really hope this takes care of this problem we have. I cannot stand these things, as they will seriously jump AT YOU and not run or hop away. It is horrific LOL. They are evil, of the devil, and I KNOW they are plotting my demise hahaha!

Hopefully, in a week or so we will notice many of them are gone. My husband said he only saw 1 on the side of the house early this morning while it was still dark outside when normally he sees 10 or 15.

If this works how we need it to, I will DEFINITELY be purchasing more of this stuff!! This also works on other bugs as well. I think anything with an exoskeleton it can kill. Plus it is pet and kid safe so that is a huge plus.

If you are interested in purchasing this as well you can do so through my aff. link below:

http://amzn.to/2dCiQun

Hip Mall 6pcs Fashion Headbands for Girls

I recently had a chance to review these super cute headbands for girls, They are by the brand Hip Mall and are the "Rabbit Ear" or "Knot Style" headbands.

I was pleasantly surprised when I opened these up. They come in a nice bag that zips at the top and are also individually wrapped. They would be great presents for new mothers! I love how bright and colorful these headbands are. So many neat and beautiful patterns. As you can see from my video they are about 7" across.

 

I think that these would fit not only newborns but also toddlers (maybe around two years old?). They are very soft and I dont think they would leave marks on a newborns head but I don't have a newborn to try that out on unfortunately.

Here is our three year old wearing them. She just turned three last week. I think they are cute on her but they were also a little on the tight side.

I would definitely recommend these headbands. They come at a great price point and the quality is wonderful.

I received these headbands at a discounted rate in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

You may purchase these below via my affiliate link:

http://amzn.to/2df9t1U

Best Choice Products Musical Kids Electronic Keyboard

I recently had a chance to review this pink Musical Kids Electronic Keyboard with Microphone by Best Choice Products. This keyboard has 37 piano keys and so many customizations to it. It can record and playbackmusic, has different rhythms already recorded, six drum buttons, etc. There really is a lot to this electronic keyboard.

When I first got it I was pretty busy with other things and so I waited a few days to put it together. I figured it would be one of those toys that take awhile to put together. Not sure why I guess that is just what I am used to. However, I was very wrong. If I would have known it would have taken me 5 mins or less from unboxing to having it together and working, I would have put it together sooner haha!

It seriously is that easy. It is packed very well so the items do not get cracked and it really is a matter of pulling them out of the styrofoam, placing the batteries and snapping a few pieces together. You will need a Phillips head screwdriver to open the battery compartment.

Speaking of batteries, you will need (4) AA batteries, not 6. My compartment (as you can see from the pics) only took 4 batteries. Unless I overlooked another piece that needs batteries, I only saw the need for 4. The product description on Amazon says 6 and the box actually says 6 too. So I am unsure. The batteries are not included with this toy.

The only negative things I could find so far about this toy is that it is really loud when you first turn it on, even if you had the volume lower the last time you used it. Also, the stool is a little on the short side. It needs to be a tad bit taller in my opinion. These are not make-or-break issues for me, though.

I feel like this is a pretty nice keyboard and has great features for the price point. It would be a good toy for babies that are just learning to stand up to older children. I know our 3 and 4 year old will both love playing with this toy. I definitely recommend it.

If you have any questions about this item please feel free to comment and ask and I will do my best to answer you.

I received this kids' electronic keyboard for free in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

You can purchase this product below through my affiliate link:

http://amzn.to/2dsX8tW

Trying out this bloggin' thang!

Hi Y'all!

I started this blog as I love reviewing, cooking and sharing new and yummy recipes with others.

I am going to start doing social shares of products I get for free and at a discount on here (as well as products I buy at full price). I am definitely a shopaholic when it comes to Amazon.

We live in a very small town and there is so much that I just cannot find around here so I buy it on Amazon instead of spending all day in a car going to the nearest biggest city: Knoxville! lol

Anyway, hopefully I will have some reviews up and running soon, as well as some awesome recipes.

Thanks for reading!
Melissa