Review: Frozen 2

My whole family and I have been looking forward to the new Frozen movie!  

Would it be just as good? 

Would the songs be fantastic?

The answer is: YES!

My two daughters said that they like Frozen 2 even more than the original and they adored the first movie. The songs are just a memorable and beautiful. My favorite is the power ballad: In the Woods! I was laughing so hard I missed half the lyrics. The song is great but the images with the songs just make it spectacular!  

The story is powerful and has more depth than the first! 

The scenery is just gorgeous, I could just watch a movie of that. 

I need to see if they have a book so I can just see all of the details. 

I definitely recommend watching this movie, especially if you liked the first one at all. 

Disclosure: My family and I attended a preview of the movie and all opinions stated are my own.

Review: AGPtek 17-Inch LED Artcraft Tracing Light Pad Light Box For Artists

We love drawing and creating art in our home.  Last month my daughter told me she would love to have a light pad to use when she draws.  So when I was given the opportunity to review AGPtek 17-Inch LED Artcraft Tracing Light Pad on I jumped at the chance.  I was not expecting it to be so light and thin.  Growing up my Grandmother had a Barbie light pad and it was very big.  I remember spending hours during every visit using it to trace or draw.  I knew it would be a great addition to our art supplies so I been waiting for it to arrive.  I was really not expecting how thin and light it would be.  The light pad is easy to move around or tuck away when not using.

 The light pad comes with a cord and adapter to plug into the wall.  The on off button on the top left corner also adjusts the brightness of the light.  Below, you can see the brightest setting.  For my first project I am going to place the graph paper under art paper.  I will be able to see and use the grid lines while I draw.

Disclosure: I received the product mentioned at a discount.  Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Review: Coco Movie

My whole family and I loved Coco.  My teen has been looking forward to this movie for so long and now that we have seen it, it was worth the wait.  The movie is just all about family and music.  The characters are just so colorful in more ways than one.

The movie starts out following Miguel and learning about his family. His family are shoemakers but don't allow music of any kind.

I just love this clip from the movie as it really shows how much music is forbidden by his Grandmother.  The movie is just so much fun.  Miguel learns so much about his family but they also learn about him and how music can bring people together.  Miguel goes on some crazy adventures and we enjoyed going along.  

The movie was also special to my family because both of my daughters are learning Spanish.  At the time we were able to see the movie they were extra excited to see a movie about Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead).  My youngest even made an alter in school similar to one in the movie for our pet who had passed.  

I highly recommend you and your family go see Coco, it is great for all ages including grandparents.  A perfect movie to see over this holiday weekend.

 Now we didn't get to see the OLAF’S FROZEN ADVENTURE during the preview so we might have to go again to see Coco and Olaf.




Disclosure: My family and I attended a preview of the movie and all opinions stated are my own.

Review: Bouchard Chocolates

I adore chocolate so I am always looking for some yummy chocolate to enjoy.  Not to long ago I was sent a box of Bouchard Chocolate.  My girls have been enjoying them ever since. 

The boxes come in different sizes, mine came with two of each flavor.

Here are two the chocolates cut in half so that you can see the middles too.  The chocolates are so I am surprised we didn't eat them in just one day.  They are available at Target and would make a great last minute gift or even a nice hostess gift.

 

Disclosure: I received the products mentioned for free.  Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

 

 

 

Review: Moana Movie

Moana is just fantastic.  In the words of my teen, "This is my favorite movie of all time!"  We all loved the movie.  The character Moana is strong, feisty and caring.  She just keeps going, being the best she can be and expecting the same from others. 
The are so many beautiful songs but our favorite has to be Shiny sung by the crab.  I have no idea what the real song it called but my kids just keep singing it over and over and they only heard it once in the movie. 
I can't not forget mention the scenery.  It really looks as though you are somewhere in the Pacific.  There is also a magnificent volcano god island!  Plus the ocean is a character too, which is handled perfectly.  You feel as those you are watching something filmed rather than a cartoon. 

My family has been looking forward to Moana for a long time.  My oldest has watched every preview and read many, many articles and become more and more excited.  I have to say that the movie did not disappoint.  My whole family loved the movie and we can't wait to see it again and again!

Disclosure: My family and I attended a preview of the movie and all opionion stated are my own.

Review: Shape Logic by ThinkFun

My daughters have been having so much fun with Shape Logic by ThinkFun.  It is an individual game but sometimes they like to play together. The game consist of two sets of matching shapes in green and blue. 

Above is the first challenge.  The card show you the shapes you need in each color and they you have to make the same shape in blue and green.  You don't know what the shape will be just that they need to match.

Here is the solution for the first challenge, they both form a matching rectangle.

 

The game becomes progressively harder.  Above is the last challenge, genius level. 

 

The game has been fun for my tween, teen and myself to play.  The game also comes with a drawstring bag making it easy to take on the go.  My oldest is actually home sick today and was playing it earlier between naps. 

 

Disclosure: I received the products mentioned for free.  Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

 

Review: Balance Beans Math Game

My girls are 11 and 13 and both have so much fun playing with #ThinkFun Balance Beans.  My youngest daughter was the first to play.  Once I told her the simple rules she started trying each card in order.  She only had about five left when her sister showed up.  Her big sister wanted to start playing immediately. She let her sister play a few cards, trying one or two of each level before they played the last five cards together.  The game is listed as a solitary game but my girts played happily together and alone.

We had plans to meet their former teacher and some friends at a local park so we took the game with us.  Once we were all sitting down to catch up my girls brought out the game.  The game was hit with the other kids and their parents.  Their former teacher was especially excited about the game and not just because her maiden name is Bean. 

I highly recommend this game, even I have fun playing with it by myself!

 

Disclosure: I received the products mentioned for free.  Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Review: Pete's Dragon

Last week my family and I were able to attend a sneak preview of Pete's Dragon and we loved it.  This version is very different from the Disney movie made in the seventies.  We just loved this movie and not just because of the fantastic dragon!  The characters are just so engaging and you care about that right away.  The movie is so touching, I almost cried a few times.  I would recommend this movie for the whole family.  My kids are already asking if we can see the movie again now that it is in the theater.  My sister, mom and nephew are seeing the tonight and I am sure they will love it too!

Disclosure: My family and I attended a free sneak preview and all opinions are my own.

Review: 5 Bend Stainless Steel Straws by Uniqhia

I have been trying to reduce the waste my household creates.  My kids love to drink through straws but if they start to add up after a while.  If you use plastic straws they are inexpensive to buy but they don't last and just create more plastic waste. Those straws get thrown away and end up in the environment and straws are among the top ten debris in the ocean.  Now I don't want to give up straws instead I use reusable straws.  Uniqhia Extra Long Stainless Steel Drinking Straws set comes with 5 metal straws and a brush to clean them.  They are 10.5 inches and the perfect size to use in 30 oz. insulated cups.  My kids have been using them everyday since they arrived.  I don't have a picture but we also use them when drinking smoothies.  I haven't yet since it is summer but I can't wait to use them in my travel mug to drink hot coffee or tea.  Also, since they are metal I know they won't break and I can take them along when eating out or traveling.

Disclosure: I received the products mentioned for free.  Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Review: Manuka Honey natural body soaps

 

I like a soap that does not have added fragrance.  I like a nice scent, I just want it to be naturally occurring and light.  Manuka Honey natural body soaps feel wonderful on my skin and the scent is very subtle, just the way I like it. 

When I use the soap my skin feels clean and soft.  Sometimes soap dries my skin out when it is cleaning but this soap does not.  My skin feels clean but not tight or dried out.

 

Disclosure: I received the products mentioned for free.  Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Review: BFG

My family and I were able to attend a sneak preview of BFG last week and we were so excited.  My younger daughter, almost 11 years, loved this movie.  She was laughing out loud, especially the scene with the feast (I don't want to give anything away).  She just could not stop talking about how much she enjoyed watching the movie.  Now my teen thought it was a good movie but did not laugh out loud like her sister.  The movie is just beautiful to see.  My favorite part is when they are exploring and visit the dream tree.  The visuals in those scenes is enough just to see the movie.  The movie is good for families, though it would depend on the teen if they might enjoy it or not.  I did find the giant hard to understand sometimes so you do need to pay close attention and somewhat translate in your head. 

Disclosure: I attend a sneak preview with my family and all opinions stated are my own.

Review: VidaKai Loose Leaf Fruit/Tea Infuser Water Bottle

I am always drinking water but sometimes it is nice to have a little more flavor.  I do not like artificial flavors so if I want to add flavor it needs to be from real food.

I made lots of infused waters in the last week in VidaKai Loose Leaf Fruit/Tea Infuser Water Bottle.  The first was tangerine sage with chopped strawberries, then lime mint with crushed blueberries and both were delicious.

Since the infuser is at the bottom the water continues to be infused as I am drinking it.

Once I finished my water, I actually added more water at least once, sometimes twice to infuse more water.  When it was time to clean, the bottom comes off for much easier cleaning

To clean out the metal infuser, you just pop it off and clean it out.

The bottle is great infusing water and even more important to me it is so easy to clean and dry.

 

Disclosure: I received the products mentioned for free.  Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

 

Review: Sound Intone MS200 Headphones

I don't know about you but I seem to listen to music or television/movies more using my iPad or iPhone more than any other way. If I am going to listen over headphone then I want them to sound good.  Sound Intone MS200 Headphones sound great plus they fold up for easier traveling.

My husband saw how much I was enjoying them so he has been using them too.  He likes to watch movies while on our exercise bike and found these perfect.  The sound is great and they look sharp too so I recommend these to anyone in the market for headphones!

 

Disclosure: I received the products mentioned for free.  Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

 



Review: Propresser Stainless Steel Kitchen Garlic Press

Growing up my grandfather always had a garlic press at dinner, with which, he would use to press garlic he grew himself straight onto his food.  Luckily I love garlic almost as mush as he did.  Surprisingly I have never owned my own garlic press. I tried buying garlic and chopping it myself or buying it already chopped.  Neither method worked, the pre chopped garlic just doesn't have the right flavor and chopping it myself was so much work (plus I can never chop uniformly small pieces).

 The Propresser Stainless Steel Kitchen Garlic Press is so easy to use.  I rolled the garlic pieces in the tube to rub off the outer skin and placed in the garlic press.  Just a squeeze:

Out comes great garlic.  Since receiving this garlic press I have been using garlic much more often.  I even made some garlic bread by adding the pressed garlic into soften butter, spread on bread and broiled to perfection! I am actually out of garlic since I have been using it so much.

Now, what about cleaning?  I found the garlic press quite easy to clean.  I used my finger to grab the leftover bits of garlic that did not go through, washed with a sponge and it was clean.

 

Disclosure: I received the products mentioned for free.  Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

 

 

Review: Double Camping Hammocks by Live Infinitely

As I live in the Pacific Northwest even in summer one can not count on the weather to be dry. I need to be able to easily put away those items used outside.  Beside being of strong and safe contrition I wanted a hammock that was easy to pack away.  Live Infintely Double Camping Hammocks is easy to pack up and very light making it great for camping or even your own back yard.

 

The hammock it easy to just roll up and then stuff into the attached bag.  It did not even take a whole minute to pack up the hammock and roll up the straps and place in their own separate bag. 

Disclosure: I received the products mentioned for free.  Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.