Trendy Handbags for Spring

This post is sponsored by Savings.com

I have a slight obsession with handbags.  With this sale at Macy's happening, I am about to add to my collection. Spring has arrived and it's time for new handbags.  Don't you agree?  You can save 30% off neutral handbags from Calvin Klein and more at Macys.com .  I am going to share three of my favorites with you.


This Signature Sonoma Cross Body from Calvin Klein is so chic. I love the texture and color of  of this bag.  It also has a three inch long wristlet handle.  You can put your phone and other necessities in there and go about your day and you cannot beat the price for a designer handbag. 

For a more polished look, this Amara Top Handle Stachel is a beauty.  It is leather and you can use the top handles or the strap ttat is removeable. It is made of leather and has hi-shine gold hardware.  Hurry and get this gorgeous bag now!


This Bonniee Straw Hobo is absolutely adorable and it screams Spring! I really like this pecan color.  Add this bag to your collection and you are set for Spring!

Leave me a comment telling me your fave bag!

This Blueberry Wrap Dress is so beautiful!

I received this Blueberry Wrap Dress from Passion Lilie for review.

The Blueberry Wrap dress has short sleeves and a pattern that features a beautiful blue color on a black background.  Made in the wrap around style, it ties on the side for a nice simple look.  It is so easy to put on and take off.  You can choose whether or not you want it to have pleats in the front skirt.  It also has pockets, which is often hard to find in dresses in this style.  

     
Designed in New Orleans, the dress is a Fair Trade product that is made in India.  It's made with 100% cotton fabric.  It is hand woven and eco dyed with ikat fabrics.  The purchase of this dress will help provide a secure job with fair wages and a positive working environment to artisans in India.  

The dress is available in sizes extra small through extra large.  It is comfortable to wear on a warm summer day or on a cool evening.  It is perfect for a nice evening out or just a casual day with friends.  Accessorize it with some nice jewelry and heels and it would be the perfect outfit for that big dinner date in a nice restaurant.  Or dress it down with more basic jewelry and flats for a day of running errands.  The v-shaped neckline is perfect for showing off your favorite pendant.

You will feel beautiful wearing the dress because it looks so nice.  You can purchase it for $84.00 on the Passion Lilie site HERE.      

Get Creative With Zephyr Kinetic Plasticine Dough For Kids

The nice people from Zephyr provided me with this product to review.

Zephyr Plasticine is a unique kind of play dough.  It's lightweight and extremely resilient.  It's soft enough to mold easily so you can use your imagination to create masterpieces.  Stretch it and build large objects with no need to worry about it collapsing under its own weight.

It will even float in water, so why not build yourself a boat?  Or even a whole fleet of ships?  It will hold its form.   

This is a kid friendly product that is completely safe for the environment.  It is recommended for use in kindergartens and daycares where kids are encouraged to be creative and use their imagination.  It is hypoallergenic with antiseptic in the composition and they used food coloring for the dye.  Of course, even though it is non-toxic and kid friendly, it still should not be eaten, so it is recommended for children 3 and older.

Zephyr is made with Non-Newtonian fluid, making it able to change its properties depending on how fast and rough or how slow and gentle you are when you play with it.  If you are rough with it, it will become hard, but if you are gentle it will be soft, pliable, fluffy, flexible and stretchable.  If you quickly and roughly form it into a ball, it will hold its shape while you bounce it.  It won't fly apart or lose its shape from the impact.  But if you are slow and gentle, you will be able to stretch it and easily shape it into anything you choose.

 
Another cool thing about Zephyr is that you can bake it and then paint it using your acrylic paints.  If you build something that you are super proud of and want to keep forever, pop it in the oven and bake it.  Then paint it in the colors that you like! 

 

  
Kids love it because it is fun, but Moms will love it because it never crumbles and doesn't leave those tiny pieces behind like other brands.  I usually hate giving my kids this type of thing to play with simply because it makes such a mess and is hard to clean up.  But you don't have that problem with Zephyr!  My kids played with it for hours and when they were done there was not a single crumb of it anywhere! 

  Zephyr is available in several different colors, as well as neon glitter and glow in the dark.  My kids think it is so cool to build a figure, turn off the lights and see it actually glowing in the dark.  

Zephyr is a great toy and I highly recommend it.  My children love it and I must admit that even I find it strangely relaxing to squish it in my hands and to build things with.  Check out their videos on YouTube HERE and HERE to see how much fun kids have playing with this stuff!  You can purchase Zephyr on Amazon or Walmart.  The suggested retail price ranges from $2.49-$36 depending on the size and type that you buy.

Your child will love this Playtime Pad DVD Combo!

I received the Playtime Pad DVD Combo from PBS Kids in exchange for a review.

If your child loves playing on a tablet or watching movies, then he will love the Playtime Pad DVD Combo.  It is a 7" HD kid safe tablet and DVD player suitable for children as young as 2 years old.  Older children will enjoy it too, thanks to all of the awesome features.  It's on the go family entertainment on one device!  It comes preloaded with over 23 educational games, 120 video clips, songs and music videos with teacher approved subjects including literacy, math, science, social skills, school readiness and FUN! 

This combo is perfect for keeping kids entertained while at home or on the road.  It comes with a strap so you can attach it to the headrest of a car seat for kids to watch while traveling.  It features parental controls so you can customize and manage your child's entertainment experience.  You can approve or block content, manage apps, customize what is allowed for each child's profile and set a daily usage time limit and daily time frame for use.  With Google Play, you can access over 1 million applications and games, as well as having access to thousands of movies, books, songs, TV shows and magazines.

Features include a 7" HD multi touch display screen, 16 GB flash memory, 1GB RAM, WI-FI ready, Bluetooth and a Micro SD slot.  Each Playtime Pad DVD Combo comes with a USB Cable, Wall Plug, Strap, Word of the Week DVD, Quick Start Guide and Parents' Guide.

You can find the Playtime Pad DVD Combo at Walmart, both in store and online.  The manufacturers suggested retail price is $99.99.

Fend off Mosquitoes the easy way with Para'Kito

If you live or play in an area that is infested with mosquitoes, you're going to love these refillable wrist bands from Para'Kito.  

Just wear on your wrist and enjoy the outdoors without mosquitoes.  These bands are stylish and effective.  They use a blend of essential oils and patented slow-release technology to keep you from getting bitten.  Just insert one of the pellets in your band and you are good to go.  Each pellet lasts for up to 15 days and offers constant protection.  Each band comes with 2 pellets.  The bands are water proof and fully adjustable.  You can wear them on your wrist or ankle.  They are available in several different styles, colors and fashionable prints.  

The kids' bands have a special ID label for their name and your contact details.  Sports bands come in a lycra material and are reflective.  They also have an ID tag.  The new party edition bands come in lycra and feature fun, flirty designs.  

They also offer clips that you can clip on to your backpack, stroller or belt; as well as a roll on gel that you can apply to your skin.  The gel is designed for highly infested areas.  One stripe on your arms, legs or neck will give you up to 5 hours of protection.  I like the bands because you don't have to worry about reapplication.  Just put it on and forget about it.  

I live in an area where the mosquitoes are really bad.  I put one of these on and spent the whole day outside in my yard playing with my kids.  I didn't get a single mosquito bite.  These things are amazing! 

You can buy them HERE or at mass merchandisers like Amazon or Whole Foods.  Good for the whole family, all ages.  The suggested retail price is $19.50.  The Neoprene costs $19.98 and the gel costs $19.50.    

Exciting Games For Family Fun Night!

North Star Games has provided me with these products for review.

This is the Funky Chicken Card Game.  This is a 3-6 player game and is recommended for age 6 and up.  The game contains 72 cards and a Rule Book stored inside the Funky Chicken shaped pouch.  Kids will have a blast playing this!  To play, deal the cards out to the players.  Then each player turns up his top card and calls out what it says.  If two players have the same action card, then those players must act out the dance action on the card.  They may have to do the Funky Chicken, the Bump, Swing or Spin.  Once they have performed the dance action, they discard their cards.  The player that did not have a matching card must keep his card.  Next all players turn up their top cards again and call out the action.  Anyone with matching cards must perform the action.  You repeat the whole process over and over.  The first player to discard all of their cards wins!  You can purchase the Funky Chicken Card Game for $17.99 HERE.  

  
This is Wits & Wagers Party Edition.  It is a 4+ player game (the number of players is unlimited) and is recommended for ages 8 and up.  The game contains 105 Question Cards, 12 Betting Tokens, 50 Poker Chips, 6 Dry Erase Pens, 6 Dry Erase Player Boards, 1 Elvis Impersonator Board and a Rules Manual.  To play you read one of the fun questions, then everyone writes down their guess for the answer.  Then place your bets on who you think will have the correct or closest answer.  If you are confident you know the answer, bet on yourself.  If you think some one else knows the answer, bet on them.  If you have no idea, just take a wild guess and hope you are lucky!  For larger groups you can use pad and pencil or divide into teams.  We just chose 6 people to answer and the rest of the players placed the wagers.  This is a really fun game for all ages.  We enjoyed it!  You can purchase Wits & Wagers Party Edition for $24.99 HERE.      

This is Most Wanted.  It is a 2-8 player game and is recommended for age 10 and up.  The game contains a Scoreboard, 72 Playing Cards, 8 Player Tokens With Standees, 63 Money Bag Tokens, 6 Action Tiles and a Rule Book.  This is a very simple Western Themed game.  You need to be willing to take risks, double cross the other players and be able to run a bluff.  It combines the strategy of a poker game with the thrill of being an outlaw.  Playing the highest card, or being able to successfully bluff with a low one, could mean the difference between a successful train robbery or getting thrown into jail.  You can make a new start by repenting in church or working for bail money.  The first player to reach 13 points claims the honor of being MOST WANTED.  This game is great for large groups because everyone is involved even when it isn't their turn.  With 2 players, the game takes about 15 minutes to play.  With 8 players it takes about 30 minutes to play.  You can purchase Most Wanted for $24.99 HERE.  

This is Warsaw:  City of Ruins.  It is a 2-4 player game and is recommended for age 10 and up.  The game contains a Game Board, 105 City Tiles, 36 Cardboard Coins, 4 Mermaid Figures, 3 Player Aids and a Rule Book.  Players develop a district of Warsaw from the 1600's through to the present day.  Try to develop the most bustling district while withstanding the destruction brought by two World Wars.  Build residential areas, commercial complexes, cultural facilities, parks, industrial facilities and over 35 unique Warsaw buildings and landmarks.  You will be able to play over and over with new results thanks to the simple rules and deep strategy of game play.  You can purchase Warsaw:  City of Ruins for $39.99 HERE.   

Check out these awesome bendable figures.

I received these bendable figures from NJ Croce to review.  These bendables are perfect for children to play with, but they are also perfect for collectors.  So they are not just for kids.

First I have three figures from the Action Bendables Series.  These are 4 inches tall and have slim arms and legs which provides extra posability for action poses.  Their hands can grip accessories and other small objects.  The four I received are all Superheros:  Batman, Superman, Aquaman and The Flash.  They are $7.99 each and can be bought from their site.

Batman

This is Batman.  The Caped Crusader is ready for battle.  You can purchase him HERE.

Superman

This is Superman.  You can purchase the Man of Steel HERE.

The Flash

 This is The Flash and you can purchase him HERE.

Aquaman

This is Aquaman.  You can purchase him HERE.

Next we have two very collectible sets, Betty Boop and The Justice League.  Each set retails for $32.99 and each can be bought from their site. 

This is the justice League.  It contains five Super Hero figures:  Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman and The Flash.  Each figure is 5.5 inches tall.  This is a great collector set, or the perfect gift for a child who loves Super Heroes.  You can purchase this HERE.

And finally, for the Betty Boop lover we have a set of 4 Betty Boop figures in various styles along with her pet Pudgy.  You get "Basic Betty", "I Don't Do Mornings", "Betty's Diner" and "Biker Betty".  This is a limited edition collector set and you can buy it HERE.

Make It Real has lots of Nice Kits!

Make it Real has provided me with these awesome products in exchange for an honest review.

This is the Fashion Design Tracing Light Table.  This thing is so much fun.  The kit includes the light table, a sketchbook with design guide and stickers, 3 colored pencils, instructions and Dream Guide magazine.  You can use this to design your own fashion pieces.   Operates on 3 AAA batteries.  Just place anything that you want to trace onto the light table, then place the tracing paper on top.  When you turn it on, the table lights up so you can trace the original that you want to trace.  This teaches the aspiring fashion designer learn to sketch designs.  But you can use it to trace anything that you want.  My kids and I also use it for crafting patterns.

Next is the Juicy Couture Chains and Charms Kit.  The kit cantains 12 Juicy Couture charms, 100 various beads, 15 metallic pieces, velvet ribbon, pink ribbon, chains, sewing kit, clear thread and instructions.  Kids can mix and match the chains, charms and ribbon to create their own personal style bracelets.  They will enjoy wearing jewelry that they created themselves.

The Neo Bright Chains and Charms kit allows you to create 10 bracelets and a pom pom ring.  The kit contains 160 various beads, 3 unique charms, 3 tassels, 6 pom pom charms, 3 gem charms, 3 colors of elastic fabric cords, 5 pieces of gold curb chain, 1 adjustable ring, 1 pink pom pom, clear elastic cord, instructions and play tray.  It's very easy for kids to create their own jewelry with this kit.

Finally we have the Ultimate Bead Studio.  This thing has a whopping 2600 beads!  Your daughter can create tons of jewelry pieces with that.  The kit also contains 120 jump rings, 8 colors of waxed cord and clear elastic cord.  It comes in a nice compartmentalized case that keeps everything organized nicely.  So everything you need to create bracelets, necklaces, headbands, rings and much more are available at your fingertips.

These puzzles are absolutely awesome!

Madd Capp Games has provided me with these beautiful puzzles to review.  Each one has a retail price of $19.99 each.

I Am Lil' Polar Bear is from the Madd Capp Puzzle Jr. series. It is a unique animal shaped puzzle that is suitable for ages 5 and up.  it is a 100 piece puzzle that, when completed, measures 30" high by 25" wide.  The puzzle pieces are large so little hands can handle them easily.  It comes with a fun fact insert and an animal image for reference.  You can purchase this puzzle HERE

This wolf puzzle is absolutely gorgeous!  Shaped like a wolf head, this puzzle measures 24"X32" when completed.  There are 550 pieces to put together.  Includes a fun facts sheet and an image for reference.  Perfect to work on with your family.  You can purchase this puzzle HERE