Cinnamon Hollow Reviews

Better alternatives to Easter basket goodies with Colgate #EasterSmiles

April 8, 2012 By Crystal 1 Comment

Tomorrow is Easter Sunday? Tomorrow is Easter Sunday!!! With Spring Break this past week and us going on vacation, it totally sneaked (snuck?) up on me. I seriously thought Easter was at the end of the month this year. So, to say I was unprepared is an understatement! We have 4 kids. 4 Easter baskets to purchase for and create the NIGHT BEFORE Easter! Unless the shelves were sold out, I know it wasn’t going to be a problem though, because I had in mind everything I wanted to get. A chocolate Easter bunny, some jelly beans, a plush stuffed animal, bubbles and new tooth brushes. Yes, you read that right! New tooth brushes for Easter. I don’t mind giving my kids a little candy, but I’m going to make absolutely sure those pearly whites are healthy and taken care of. And you know what? The kids LOVE it! They get new, character themed tooth brushes and their own little tube of toothpaste which makes brushing so much more personal and fun. So, the hubby and I headed to Walmart with high hopes that the shelves weren’t bare. Here’s how we fared.

We headed to our newly remodeled Walmart at night. New paint, new carpet, new coolers in the grocery section. Isn’t it pretty?

I had heard there was a Colgate/Nickelodeon Easter Pallet but our Walmart didn’t have one. I did find some darling Nickelodeon toothbrushes, though, featuring Dora the Explorer and Spongebob Squarepants. My kids love both of these characters. I’ve already purchased new toothbrushes for my older children but I really wanted to get our 2 year old a Dora toothbrush. And they have one with Dora as a princess so that is absolutely perfect!

I also wanted to get them all a travel size of toothpaste each so I headed to that section of the store and got them each there own Colgate. That is the only brand of toothpaste that doesn’t irritate my gums. I LOVE it! They had 3 different types but I just got the original for the kids. One other reason I like to give them their own is that they tend to rub their toothbrush across the tube when they are putting the toothpaste on and if they are sick, I don’t have to worry about them spreading germs that way. I just get grossed out easily over sharing toothpaste. I’m weird that way. hehehe

I also found these great Nickelodeon Dora/Spongebob pre-filled plastic eggs. I feel like I had a little bit of a theme going and just had to have them!

I don’t use Easter grass or shred because it makes such a mess. I just use colored tissue paper in the bottom. Of course, I was in such a hurry that I forgot it this time and had to use white that I had on hand. But it worked ok. I had grand plans of making them chocolate Easter Egg Shell baskets made from a balloon and dipping chocolate but, as I said, Easter decided to sneak up on me. I AM going to show you guys hows to make them in a few weeks though. You can use them for anything or save the idea until next year!

This years baskets ended up having a plush Easter bunny, chocolate bunny, eggs filled with candy, a bubble wand and the awesome Colgate toothbrush and toothpaste!

Learn more about Colgate toothpaste and toothbrushes at http://www.colgatepalmolive.com

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See MORE photos in my Google + Story!!!

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias All opinions are strictly my own.

Filed Under: Easter, Social Fabric Shoppertunities Tagged With: Colgate, dora the explorer toothbrush, easter, Easter Basket, n Dora the Explorer, Nickelodeo, Spongebob Squarepants, spongebob squarepants toothbrush, toothbrush, toothpaste, walmart

Tyson Breakfast Bread Bowls. Breakfast for Dinner with #TysonBreakfast

March 20, 2012 By Crystal 7 Comments

Last week I told you about the super, fabulous, delicious Breakfast Bread Bowls by Tyson. They are quick and convenient, especially for large families. You can find them at Sam’s Club which we shop at often. I also told you that we would be having them as Breakfast for Dinner very soon. And we did!

We have breakfast for suppertime quite often but there are times when we want it but it is just too much of a hassle to make or there isn’t enough time. We are constantly running out the door. Also, I stink at fixing breakfast foods. I don’t know why. I can cook pretty much anything you throw at me but put an egg in front of me and expect it cooked? NUH UH! I can scramble sort of well enough sometimes and I can hard boil eggs but other than that I just can’t get the hang of it. And bacon and sausage hate me. No, really! They pop and burn me every. single. time. So other than homemade biscuits which I really can make, and toast or oatmeal, I just don’t cook breakfast. Hubby can, but not me. Ok, so back to the running out the door part. Sometimes, neither of us has the time to cook anything of quality, much less a great breakfast for supper meal. That’s where these handy little Tyson Breakfast Bread Bowls come in. They are PERFECT!

You just put them on a plate, pop them in the microwave for a few minutes and they are done. They are FILLED and I mean totally filled with bacon, eggs and cheese. So I don’t have to full with the bacon or the eggs! The bowl is like a nice, soft biscuit. It has the best flavor and isn’t tough or hard. I’m craving one just typing this out!

Because we were in a hurry I cooked up some frozen hashbrowns (without oil so they were healthier) and sliced up a nice, juicy, red tomato. Here in the south we have tomatoes at every meal! We also had a big bowl of fruit but I totally forgot to take a photo. Everyone was too quick to dig in and I almost didn’t get to take the photos of the bread bowls! They are so darn good!

My son chowed down on those little bites of breakfast goodness. And guess what? SO DID MY DAUGHTERS! And if you read my blog regularly at all, you’ll know that they are 3 of the pickiest little Princesses on the planet. They like nothing. But they did like these Tyson Breakfast Bread Bowls. And this mommy will be buying them again. And again!

I had a challenge for part of Tyson Foods hunger relief efforts and KNOW Hunger to share these with the community, a neighbor or someone in need. I’m not going to personally call them out publicly but I will say that we shared with some family members who are having a very difficult time financially. They were delighted to know that they can purchase these in bulk at Sam’s Club and that they will feed their entire family. Sam’s Club accepts the state food assistance program so they can purchase them and know that they are feeding their family something they will eat and isn’t altogether bad for them.

I am very proud to have been able to share #TysonBreakfast Bread Bowls with my family!

Follow Tyson on Twitter and Facebook.

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias. All opinions are my own.

Filed Under: Food Reviews, product reviews, Social Fabric Shoppertunities Tagged With: After School Snack, Bacon, Breakfast Bread Bowls, Egg and Cheese Breakfast, Frozen Breakfast, Kid-friendly Breakfast, Microwavable Breakfast, Portable Breakfast, Quick and Easy Breakfast, Sam’s Club breakfast, Savory Breakfast Options, Tyson

A Much Needed Energy Boost with Quick Strike. #MurphyUSA

March 18, 2012 By Crystal 4 Comments

Do you use energy drinks or coffee for quick energy? You know, when you are up late working and have an early morning meeting or when the baby kept you up all night or you missed lunch and are low on energy and you just need to wake up? I admit it, I sometimes look towards caffeine for a quick pick-me-up. Sometimes, this crazy thing called life just goes so fast and gets so hectic, you don’t have time for sleep. It might not be right, but it’s certainly true. I usually grab a big mug of coffee. My husband, on the other hand likes energy drinks. He missed yesterday and we had a lot of errands and some grocery shopping to do so while we were at Murphy USA, he grabbed a quick snack and a Quick Strike energy drink.

The Quick Strike drinks were in the cooler so they were super good and cold and really easy to find. It was so busy at our Murphy USA yesterday though. We sat there for a long time waiting for the line to thin out before he went up. I was starting to wonder if my poor hubby was going to get something to eat and drink at all. Once the line finally cleared some, he still waited in a long line. You can see the line in front of him in the first photo and you can see above that there were at least 4 people in line behind him. It was so pretty yesterday, though, I think people must have been out enjoying the weather and getting gas for their lawn mowers. Spring is definitely here!!!

He finally made it back to the van so he could eat! We had a lot of shopping to do so he had to have some energy so he could keep up with me. hehehe With so many people in line, he had to grab what he could quickly.

Quick Strike 2 ounce and 16 ounce

He ended up getting a big bag of chips, a 16 ounce Quick Strike energy drink for right then and a smaller 2 ounce Quick Strike for later. He hadn’t had it before and wanted to see what it was like.

Chips to hold him over until suppertime.

I can handle a mug of coffee, sometimes two or a glass of sweet iced tea but much more than that and my heart races and my ears start ringing so I have to limit the amount of caffeine I get in a day but I wanted to try one of the larger cans that are more like a soda. I didn’t really want to try the little 2 ounce shot. It was apple flavor and just didn’t appeal to me for some reason. My husband likes both. Anyway, I had never tasted the Quick Strike before so I made him let me taste it before he drank it all and OH MY GOODNESS! It made me pucker up! It was pretty sour. He loved it. I, on the other hand, had tears in my eyes! hahahaha It really was potent in the flavor department. Now, I’m not saying it wasn’t good. It really did have a great taste. But I wasn’t expecting it to be sour. I thought it would be too sweet. I was WRONG! And I’m talking about the larger 16 ounce can, not the 2 ounce apple flavor. Just to be clear. So, after I tasted it, the hubby drank his energy drink and ate his chips and we were good to go. It wasn’t the healthiest snack to grab but it got him through the next few hours of shopping.

I have to say, I actually did like the taste of the sour energy drink. It was fruity and refreshing. I was curious about what all was in it so I read the ingredients and while I can’t pronounce some of them, it does contain Taurine and several B vitamins. It is NOT recommended for pregnant/nursing women or children or those that are sensitive to caffeine. The 2 ounce bottles are comparable to the caffeine in a mug of leading premium coffee and that 16 ounce cans have 154 MG /16 oz can. So, it’s not tons and tons and tons of caffeine but it is enough that you will notice a difference after you drink it.I could probably handle half a can and not have any problems with my ears or jitters.

So, that was our Saturday. It started out hectic causing hubby to miss lunch, he stood in line for what seemed like a lifetime, grabbed an energy drink and chips, refueled himself and then went shopping with me. Perfect day for me, exhausting day for him! The Quick Strike definitely did it’s job though. He had enough energy to go to 4 different stores with me and we finished all of our grocery shopping for the week.

You can also see these photos in my Google + album!

Oh, and while we were at Murphy USA, I checked out the gas prices. $3.75 per gallon here. What are the prices like in your area?

In case you missed my post about it, you can download the new Murphy USA app for both Android and iPhone and get the current prices in your area. There are more great features as well! You can see screenshots from my phone below:

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Murphy USA as a member of Smarter Driver Community. All opinions are my own.

Filed Under: Day-to-Day, Social Fabric Shoppertunities Tagged With: murphy usa, murphy usa app, quick strike, quick strike energy drink

Tyson Breakfast Bread Bowls. #TysonBreakfast #CBias

March 15, 2012 By Crystal 3 Comments

I just received some of the neatest new breakfast bowls. Tyson has a new products called Tyson Breakfast Bread Bowls and they are super duper good! We are a family of 6 so you can imagine just how rushed breakfast time is around here. And not just breakfast, ALL meals. SO, I like things that we can fix quickly, without a lot of fuss and mess. But it also has to be satisfying and preferably healthy to boot!

They are available at Sam’s Club and come 12 to a box, 2 in each package as you can see above. We shop at Sam’s Club a lot since we are a big family so these come in a really great size for our family. We can either heat 3 packages so we each get one, or if someone is particularly hungry, they can heat an entire package for themselves and off they go. One thing I LOVE is that they are microwaveable and ready in less than 2 minutes each. We don’t use our microwave much but we do use it for quick and easy meals and snacks. So when we are in a hurry, these are more convenient than anything else I’ve found.

As you can see above, each Brad Bowl isn’t super huge. But they are PACKED with bacon, eggs and cheese. Seriously, they are jam packed. I couldn’t believe how much filling was inside that little bowl. And they are surprisingly filling too! I shared one with my daughter and it was plenty. We like to have breakfast for supper at least once a month. When you are busy, that just seems to hit the spot. So, in the next week or so, I’ll be sharing with you how we enjoy these handy dandy little Breakfast Bread Bowls for SUPPER TIME and what we pair with them. But in the meantime, just look at all that goodness inside that bread bowl. And they taste remarkably…… out of this world! YUMMY! They are just cheesy enough without being too cheesy and the egg and bacon is delicious. Not too salty, not bland. Just right.