Samantha on the Prairie

I got two surprises in the mail yesterday. I noticed there were two small packages among my piles of bills and junk mail. The first was a bit heavy, so I checked the sender and saw Warby Parker . Since I haven't ordered glasses in a few months, I had no idea why I was getting something in the mail. To my total surprise, inside the package was a Jack Kerouac book and a note thanking me for being their customer. Seriously awesome. This just serves as a reminder of how awesome Warby Parker is. Free at-home glasses try-on, amazing frame selection, insanely affordable prices ($95!!), and they give back to the community. There's not much else like them in the optical industry and I'll remain a huge fan for years to come. For some reason, on the same day, I also got a gift from Sodastream . This one, however, did not include a note. However, since we recently reached out for a replacement part, I'm thinking it's a way to thank us for our business. Regardless, I...

I usually keep my schedule in an old-school kind of way. Sure, I use Outlook for work and Google Calendar for volunteer activities, but I don't always want my personal appointments on those calendars and needed a better way to keep track of my whole family's comings and goings. In the past, I've used various datebooks, but this year, I grabbed the 2014 Do It All Mom Planner  by Orange Circle Studio and sheepishly approached the checkout counter at a local shop. I was embarrassed. This may sound silly, but I don't usually see the "mom" theme as aligned with my personality and I worried it wouldn't work with my professional needs either. Even more, I just couldn't see myself happily pulling this book out at a board meeting. However, at the checkout counter, the cashier said, "This is really popular. We sell a lot of these and people love them!" My embarrassment disappeared (says a lot of how much a testimonial can help) and I went home to...

Disclosure : I got this product as part of a promotion. Nite Ize sent me their Gear Tie Assortment pack to try out. When I agreed to review these ties, I expected to hand them over to my husband to organize his game system cords and the mess of cables in his office (he has 6 monitors!). However, before he even had a chance to try them, I'd quickly found two awesome ways to use the ties for my needs. The first thing I did was grab a green 6" tie to wrap around a bunch of leftover Valentine's Day roses. The tie neatly went around the stems without breaking or bending them and then wrapped easily around a post on my office bookcase. Because the ties have some stiffness to them, I was able to hang the flowers so that they barely touch the bookcase. Soon, I'll have dried flowers to use in the guest bathroom and it was much easier than trying to do this with string or yarn. Next, I grabbed a 3" tie and made our mess of phone charging cables into a neat bundle...

My husband surprised me by ordering a Max Factor lipstick I saw on Woot, the Color Collections shade, #835 Pink Brandy. I'd never used Max Factor but always considered it an industry standard, top brand but had no idea where to buy it. I'm sure they are in stores but I've never noticed any Max Factor lipsticks at my local shops. I wasn't totally sure what to expect but the Max Factor website said the lipstick would glide on easily, last a long time, and be moisturizing, so that's what I based my criteria on. Thankfully, this lipstick doesn't disappoint. The color is a bit on the orangey or peachy side of pink, and as claimed glides on smoothly (rather amazingly, one coat is sufficient) and does last a while. I reapply after eating or when I'm already making a trip to the restroom, but it does last and as it fades, it's fairly even and without feathering or flaking. The color reminds me of my grandmother, who I think wore a lot of Lancome an...

If you've been following my blog, you know that Pine Bros asked me to try out their relaunched throat drops recently and that I loved them! Well, I Pine Bros was so awesome in sending me several sample packs that I'd like to share the love. Read my review of Pine Bros Softish Throat Drops and if you decide you want to try them too, leave a comment telling me me which throat drops you use now when you're sick and I'll pick two people who comment to get a free value size bag of drops! I have one honey pack and one cherry pack available. My only request is that you please be over 18 and living in the United States. This won't be a random winner like my other giveaways. I'll pick two winners based on what seems like a real interest in trying the product and a thoughtful comment. Winners will be selected on Friday, the 14th at noon CT. My friend, Andrea, who sometimes helps with my reviews said she tried the cherry and loves them (I'll post her detai...

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial. I recently had the chance to try Pine Bros Softish Throat Drops , which is a total flashback to my youth. I grew up with more natural throat drop choices rather than the usual mediciney Halls-like lozenges, so when this opportunity came up, I had to take it. It's been years since I've noticed Pine Bros on the shelf, probably because the company went through many years of turnover and changes before Airborne creator, Victoria Knight-McDowell, acquired the brand for her company, 3 Sisters Home Products™.  Ms. Knight-McDowell focused on finding original recipes, changing up the packaging to better reflect the brand, and relaunching the product nationally in 2011. This is a product that has been around for 140 years. I can't say I've had the chance to try anything with so much history before! I was super lucky to get a big box of samples in Wild Cherry and Honey flavors. Included were both packets of 32 d...

Update: Congratulations to Terry from Montana, our Cook'n Recipe Organizer winner! I cook and bake a lot. My husband and I alternate dinner cooking weeks, but even if it's not my week, you can be sure I'm in the kitchen making bread, cookies, brownies, and danish. We have a section in the kitchen with all our cookbooks, a stack of cooking magazines, printouts from online sources, and bookmarked websites, but nothing really consolidates this into one neat package. Cook'n Recipe Organizer, considered the "#1 best selling recipe organizer," offers a way to organize all my recipes so I can stay on top of what my dinner and baking options are. Since I often have multiple versions of a recipe (the quick vs the full meal, the low sugar version, the vegetarian version, etc), having a one-stop shop for everything I make would be a problem solver in our house. Some of the features in Cook'n Recipe Organizer 11 include: Easy sharing of recipes Make menus...