Goodbye, Bon Voyage and Adios!!!

I will be MIA from the blog for a couple of weeks. I will be traveling. But I might be posting some pictures here of my travels so keep an eye out.

And if you think of anything you would like me to giveaway on my blog from England, France or Spain, leave me a comment!! I will be holding a giveaway of stuff I pick up on my vacation!!

Take care and keep entering my giveaways!!

Spice Lab Gourmet Sea Salt Review and Giveaway!

You all know I consider myself a chef although I am not. But I try. I am always trying new recipes and using new spices. I figure it you don;t expand your food world, you will always get stuck eating the same thing over and over.

I was thrilled when I was able to review some salts from The Spice Lab. The Spice Lab has over 180 different kind of sea salts and they come from 30 different countries. The Spice Lab also carries other spices like peppercorns and saffron. There is also sea salt slabs, accessories, truffles, oils, tequila shot glasses made of salt and other foodie items that I love.

I must stay away from the site because I know that I will spend a zillion dollars buying all the foodie delights offered. That could be dangerous and expensive but tasty!

I received a four pack of the Gourmet Sea Salts. Salts Included in Collection No. 2 are:

No. 3 Citron SilverFlake Finishing Sea Salt
No. 8 Hickory Smoked Sea Salt
No. 13 Hawaiian Black Lava (Medium) Sea Salt - Hawaii USA
No. 40 Himalayan Crystal Pink Fine Grain

I wasn't sure how to use the salts in the best way so I improvised. I used the Hawaiian Black Lava salt in my spaghetti sauce. I used the Hickory Smoked Salt on ribs and I used the Citron Silver Flake Finishing Salt on my rib eye steaks. The Himalayan Crystal Pink Salt was used on almost everything else. I used it on my eggs one day and loved it.

I loved these salts. The Hickory salt was perfect for the ribs. It gave them a smoky flavor and spiced them up well. My favorite salt is the Himalayan Pink salt because it goes with every dish. The Black Lava Salt is delicious for sauces and the Finishing Salt is the perfect garnish for salads. I never used regular table salt anymore because it is overly processed. I try to use Kosher Salt or other salts, if possible. I know that I will continue using The Spice Lab salts.

I really enjoyed them. If you want to try some of these gourmet salts, head over to The Spice Lab and check out the flavors they have. If you want to win a set of salts like the one I received, enter below on the Rafllecopter widget!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Disclosure: I received a sample product for review purposes. No other compensation was given and the opinions in this post are solely mine and are based on my experience with the product. Sponsors are responsible for shipping prizes unless otherwise stated. I am not responsible if sponsors do not fulfill prize. Please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery of any prizes.

Wordless Wednesday ~ I Am Headed To Europe!

I will be gone for a few weeks! I am headed to Europe on vacation. We will be going to London, Paris, Barcelona and Madrid.

Our poor kitty Scout can't come and she will be left with our wonderful House/Cat Sitter, Melody!

But remember to keep entering the giveaways I have up and keep an eye out for random pictures I might post during the trip. Also head over to Carolyn in Carolina as well because I usually post personal pictures there more often!!

And, you know I never forget my wonderful readers! So I will be picking up something from each country to giveaway when I return. It will be small stuff because I have no room in my luggage but it will be something cool!

Bon Voyage!!

Dunkin' Donuts Office Party!

Disclosure: I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Dunkin' Donuts. I received a Dunkin' Donuts Party kit to facilitate my review and a promotional item as a thank you for participating.

I was sent a gift pack to host a Dunkin' Donuts party. I was going to host the party at my house because that is the obvious choice. But then, I realized that I could do something very nice for a few people who actually make my husband's life a little easier during the day.

My husband works at a University where he is the Director of the School of Theatre and Film. His job is very stressful but it is made easier by a few people who work there. Mainly, his assistant and her assistant. There are also faculty members who are supporters.


I thought it would be cool to show my appreciation to them. This year, a Dunkin' Donuts actually opened in our town. It is fantastic because we could not get good donuts to save our life. Some grocery stores sold them but you never knew if they were fresh or not. But at Dunkin' Donuts, the donuts are always fresh and tasty. Plus, they have other delicious items. I love the bagels and cream cheese.

So, I headed over to Dunkin' Donuts and bought 2 dozen donuts. While the "party" was just for the office staff, I knew that some of the faculty members would amble into the office and it would be rude not to have goodies for them as well.

Then we put out the donuts and had our little party. We celebrated the end of the semester. Well, they celebrated the end of the semester. I also wanted to thank them for keeping my hubby not so stressed. It was fun to be able to bring treats to the office staff and anyone else who came in!

When some of the faculty members came, they were thrilled to see Dunkin' Donuts because who doesn't love Dunkin' Donuts? I also invited some old friends who work upstairs. I was able to see my good friend, Carolyn. She is a hoot and I was glad she could join us. And when a student came in, we invited him to join in on the fun. He was nice enough to let us take his picture!

When I gave the office staff their goody bag, they were thrilled. Each bag came with a bag of coffee, cup and coupons! Everyone at the party were Dunkin' Donuts coffee drinkers already but the new Seasonal Coffee flavors were loved by all.  They could not wait to try the new flavors. The Coconut and Strawberry Shortcake seemed to be the favorites.

You can try the new Dunkin' Donuts flavors as well because they are available at your local grocery store. But go find them now because they are available for a limited time.

Thanks to Carolyn, Carrie, Melody, Amy for agreeing to be photographed for my post. Thanks to the others who attended as well! 

Allegra Outdoor Challenge Giveaway!!

It's spring and that means sun, green grass, gardening and being outdoors. For me, it also means a stuffy nose, watery and itchy eyes and a feeling of malaise that comes along with allergies.

I never had allergies when I lived other places including California, Florida and New Mexico but when we moved to North Carolina, the allergies began. It's not pretty.

What do I use? Allegra. It was recommended to me by a friend who has worse allergies than I do.

Luckily, it works. Allegra’s family of products, including Allegra Allergy, Allegra-D, and Children’s Allegra all provide effective, long-lasting (one dose lasts at least 12 hours), non-drowsy relief of seasonal allergy symptoms such as runny nose, sneezing, and itchy watery eyes.

I was recently invited to take the “Allegra Outdoor Challenge”.  Allegra has teamed up with Lisa Leslie, a former American professional women's basketball player in the WNBA, to help families manage their seasonal allergies and inspire them to stay active this spring! Head over to the Allegra Facebook page to get tips from Lisa detailing ways families can take the “Allegra Outdoor Challenge” and get active outdoors this spring.

Honestly, I am not a big outdoorsy type. But my favorite outdoor activity is gardening. When Spring comes, I am out there readying the plot of land we set aside. Then I start planting and then when the plants start growing, I have to make sure to weed and water. It's hard work but having fresh veggies all summer is worth it.

Allegra allows me to enjoy my favorite outdoor pastime without feeling miserable. Now I can be outdoors and work in my garden. I love that.

You can take your own "Allegra Outdoor Challenge" with a Allegra Outdoor Fitness Packs. Each pack includes:
* Allegra® product samples
* $25 Fitness Line Gift Card
* Basketball, Jump Rope and Sidewalk Chalk

To win this fun prize pack for your family, just enter on the Rafflecopter widget below!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received a sample product for review purposes. No other compensation was given and the opinions in this post are solely mine and are based on my experience with the product. Sponsors are responsible for shipping prizes unless otherwise stated. I am not responsible if sponsors do not fulfill prize. Please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery of any prizes.