The Stainless Steel Store

here in southern Illinois there are many local vineyards and wine makers. The one thing we never know what to do is how to display the wine in our kitchen in a fashionably way. This Blomus winerack would help us out with this problem. It looks very attractive and would be great storage and display for the wine that we like to share on warm summer nights with friends.

I admire the look of Blomus Stainless Steel and find it not only attractive but useful. This corkscrew would come in very handy on the nights we are simply chilling and want to relax and sip on some wine or on occasion may even spark for some champaign.

Attractive blomus kitchen would impress the hardest critic. The blomus stainless towel hook would come in very handy to hold your favorite towel in a handy place. No matter what you are looking for you may find it very easily in the Stainless Steel Store.

Skinny Water Giveaway

I have teamed up with Be Rich Be Frugal to present to you this wonderful review and giveaway of Skinny Water. If you're looking for the perfect sports drink that will thoroughly quench your thirst, this is the drink for you. Read on for the full review.....

Here's the skinny:

I have never been keen on drinking energy drinks, diet drinks, or anything along those lines. It's not that I am protesting against them, it's just that every time I decide to give it a try, it is always a disappointment in the flavor department. Honestly, they all taste like watered down juice to me. Nice try.

As many times as I have been disappointed, I have still kept on with my search for the right sports drink that I can truly enjoy. I don't drink soda so my sweet go-to thirst quencher is juice. Although it is a better alternative, the amount of sugar that juice contains is still rather high. If there is a diet/sports drink that can offer me some flavors I can enjoy minus the sugars and calories, I would stock up on it as if there's going to be an apocalypse. No lie.

Just as I have exhausted myself in the search to find the right drink, a great acquaintance of whom I have been so blessed to meet, directed me to another lady who was looking for people to try out their new line of sport water. Excited yet skeptical, I shot out an email with the request to try it. Immediately, I got an answer back with an enthusiastic communications director who didn't hesitate to allow me to give it a try. A week later, a big box of sports drinks landed on my door step and the 5 year old in me jumped on it like it was a gift on Christmas day.

Honestly, I don't really know what happened next. I believe it went like this:

My husband helped me open the box and upon making it's presence known to me, these sport waters seemed to have sung a melody as I nudged away the lid of the box so I can get a better look at it. I delved in and the first bottle I picked up, with all its slenderness and lure of a luxurious treat, said on its label,

Skinny Sport Water

0 Calories

0 Sugar

0 Sodium

0 Guilt

WHAT?! I couldn't believe it. With all its benefits and the 0 calories, sugar, etc., how could it pack in any flavor? All I can say is, boy was I wrong. The first flavor I tried was Goji Black Cherry. As the first drop of this amazing sport drink touched my taste buds, my eyes immediately shot open wide and I found myself gulping down nearly a third of the bottle. It was delicious. I really couldn't believe that this was in any way a sport drink. My husband glanced as me as I looked at my bottle of Goji Black Cherry Skinny Water in amazement. He's long known about my quest for a good sports drink and how many times I have been disappointed. Without a word, he held out his hand for me to hand my bottle over to him. I watch him take his first gulp and with a knowing smile, I nod at him as he nearly finishes the bottle. This is really happening....

I have found THE sport drink that I have longed for for so long. I am not one to rave about a product unless I truly believe that it is well worth it. And this? This is worth raving about. It has the perfect sweetness minus the weird thickness in the back of your throat you get from drinking sugar substitutes. It is also so refreshing. I've taken a bottle with me on my morning run and it really keeps me hydrated. 

I can't wait to have everyone try it, including you! Because the people of Skinny Water are absolutely amazing and beyond generous, they are providing me with a set of Skinny Waters to give to my readers! One lucky winner will win a set of 12 Skinny Waters sent straight to their home. 

To enter, simply do the tasks on the Rafflecopter widget below and you're set to have a chance to win! 

Good luck, everyone! Thanks for entering!

*I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.*

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Kid Basix Review

Hot weather is in our neighborhood and it does not look like it will be going away any time soon. My little man and princess will be desiring a drink quite often and the best thing is I can offer them their own drink that will be easy for them to use. Kid Basix makes a wonderful safe sippy 2 that is perfect for hot summer days.

I admire the dust cup because if you are around little ones very much you realize that the cup they use are often sat on the ground, dragged with them onto the play toys and may even be thrown on the ground. The dust cap on the Safe Sippy 2 helps to protect dirt from getting onto the spout of the cup. Worried about the drink spilling upon travel and moving about no worry the safe sippy 2 has a travel plug that works great to keep the drink from spilling.

Kid Basix created the Safe Sippy cup with safety in mind making sure that it was Bisphenol A free as well as free of other harmful chemicals. We love this because with so many things out in the world that we have to worry about KidBasix makes it possible not to have to worry about their sippy cups.

The Safe Sporter is another Kid Basix product that in my opinion makes the world safer and easier for our youngest members.

With a mud cap a bit different than the dust cap as it is more round and ensures that nothing hits the spout. Instead of a spout that is complete like a nipple the safe sporter comes with a pull spout that goes up and down when ever the child is using it. Makes the child feel as if they have moved up a step allowing them in my opinion to gain more self esteem.

With hot weather on the horizon and like I said all ready in our neighborhood you should check out the Kid Basix safe sippy 2 to ensure that your child stays hydrated in the heat. Find a retailer of Kid Basix products near you or order online from the Kid Basix website and get free shipping when you purchase $50




we recieved both a safe sporter and a safe sippy 2 for review purposes. The thoughts and opinions shared in our post were ours alone

Get a free Mutsy Easyrider

Mutsy wants to make sure you and your baby are always riding in style with their  "Buy a 4Rider or 4Rider Light and get and Easy Rider Free. Simply visit the mutsy online store at store.mutsy.com  choose the color of your Easyrider from what is in stock. You must have both a 4Rider (or 4Rider Light) and an Easyrider in your cart and enter code freerider12 (case-sensitive) on the last page of checkout to receive FREE Easyrider. Both strollers must be purchased at the same time and be shipped to the same address. Does not apply to previous orders. This special starts today 5/15 and ends 5/31.

Celebrate The Chocolate Chip

National Chocolate Chip Day

When: Always on May 15th

National Chocolate Chip Day celebrates and enjoys sweet, tasty chocolate chips. Chocolate chips are a great invention, and certainly deserve a little recognition. After all, where would chocolate chip cookies, cakes and muffins be without the chocolate chip!?

Chocolate chips are popular in cooking and baking, for a wide variety of breads, cakes, and cookies. There is an almost endless number of recipes. They are also used in decorating. Have you ever had chocolate chip pancakes? How about chocolate chips in trail mix? If you've never had these, then you're leading a sheltered life.

Rare is the leftover chocolate chip. If you don't use the whole bag, you and/or your kids will likely eat them as a snack before they make it to the storage container.

Chocolate Chip-Ice Cream Dessert

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® chocolate chip cookie mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 egg
1 bottle (7.25 oz) chocolate topping that forms hard shell
1 container (1.5 quart) chocolate chip-cookie dough ice cream (6 cups)
1. Heat oven to 375°F. Spray bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, butter and egg until soft dough forms.
2. On ungreased cookie sheet, make 5 cookies by dropping dough by tablespoonfuls. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack.
3. Meanwhile, press remaining dough in pan, using moistened fingers (dough will be sticky). Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
4. Spread 1/3 cup chocolate topping over baked crust. Freeze 10 to 15 minutes or until chocolate is set.
5. Meanwhile, remove ice cream from freezer to soften. Spread softened ice cream evenly over chocolate-topped crust.

6. Crumble 5 baked cookies; sprinkle over ice cream layer. Drizzle remaining chocolate topping over cookie crumbs. Cover; freeze 2 hours. To serve, let stand at room temperature 5 minutes before cutting. For serving pieces, cut into 5 rows by 3 rows. Store covered in freezer.

Happy Birthday Mr. Smith & Pulled Pork Sandwich

Emmitt Smith was born on this day May 15, 1969. He was born in the state of Florida where he played football for the University of Florida. He would earn his fame by playing football for the Dallas Cowboys. Emmitt would become the NFL's al time leading rusher and would win the Superbowl XXVIII MVP award in 1994. If you are a fan of the Dancing with the Stars show then you may remember that Smith won the competition. Smith is also a husband and father of four children. Happy Birthday Mr. Smith and for your birthday I will share a recipe that many Texans love

1 large onion, chopped

6 garlic cloves, peeled

1 pickled jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped

2 teaspoons of Chipotle chile powder

1 Tbsp tomato paste

2 Tbsp Dijon mustard

3/4 cup distilled white vinegar

1 teaspoon paprika

1/3 cup ketchup

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1 bay leaf

Salt

3 lbs of pork butt shoulder roast, trimmed of excess fat

Hamburger buns

1 Purée all of the sauce ingredients (everything except the bay leaf, the pork and the buns) in a blender until smooth. If you have extra time, marinate the pork in the sauce overnight or for several hours before cooking.
2 Put sauce, bay leaf, and pork into a large pot and add 1 quart of water. Bring mixture to a boil and simmer, covered, turning frequently, for 2 hours or until the meat pulls apart easily with a fork.
3 Remove from heat and cool pork in the sauce. When cool, remove the pork from the sauce and shred into small pieces. Set aside.
4 Reduce the sauce by two thirds. Add the pork back to the sauce. Salt to taste. Remove bay leaf before serving. Serve hot over open-face hamburger buns.
Serves 6 to 8.

recipe source: Simply Recipes

shared at

 Passionately Artistic

Blogger Opportunity

I must say that I am new to all the awesome blogger opportunities out there. I have just started participating in a few and recently found a new one. You may be interested in this as well. This time the prize being given away is skinny water and you can sign up for your chance to be involved and for more information at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHQ1YjBSS2FqZksxcVQ2cHlDaGNpQUE6MQ