Howliday Gifting For Your Pup (Giveaway) #TreatThePups

CLOSED- Winner is Adrian H. 
Can you believe we are almost halfway through the month of December? It has been so hectic around here getting our shopping done and attending holiday parties. We tend to always remember our family, friends, neighbors and coworkers when it comes to giving gifts. Don't forget your most loyal family member, your dog! They are actually the easiest ones to make happy during the holiday season when you give the gift of treats.

This Christmas, Rocco will be receiving a yummy gift basket filled with his favorite toys, a blanket and of course, treats! Milk-Bone, Milo's Kitchen and Pup-Peroni are his favorites. It turns out that I'm not the only pet mama to spoil her pup during this time of year.  That's why I love this super cute website called TheNosePrint.com from Big Heart Pet Brands (the makers of Milk-Bone, Pup-Peroni, Canine Carry Outs, and Milo's Kitchen).  They really know how to celebrate the holidays with your pup!

On TheNosePrint.com, check out some of the fun doggy do-it-yourself ideas. You can make some of the most adorable gifts that don't take a lot of items to make and are actually simple to do. We give our neighbor's dogs treats as gifts each year and this year I will be making personalized treat jars for both of them. Of course, they will be filled with yummy treats!  Be sure to check out the great articles on a variety of dog-related topics on the NosePrint. 

Finally, want to know which states have the most spoiled pups?

The 2015 TheNosePrint.com Santa Dog Index ranks states based on how much, on average, dog parents will spend on their furry kids:

Top 10 States That Spend the Most on Holiday Gifts for Dogs:

 1. New Jersey: $29.61 (average gift spending per dog for state residents)

 2. New York: $28.95

 3. Pennsylvania: $28.75

 4. Utah: $27.75

 5. Georgia: $27.04

 6. California: $26.07

 7. Washington: $25.81

 8. Florida: $25.13

 9. Illinois: $24.98

 10. Virginia: $24.58

Apparently, it's good to be a dog in the New York tri-state area.  You can find the complete rankings of all 50 states at www.TheNosePrint.com.

The folks at TheNosePrint.com have generously offered to give away a FREE Christmas doggy care package filled with some of the most delicious stocking stuffer treats for your pup.

To be entered to win the care package, enter in the Rafflecopter widget below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway ends on December 21, 2015 and one winner will be chosen at random and will be contacted via email to claim prize. Please read and follow giveaway rules in Rafflecopter. Good luck!

I received a prize pack in exchange for sharing information about how you can treat your pups for the holidays. All opinions are my own as always. 

6 Efficient Cleaning Tips for the Holiday Season

The holidays are a wonderful time of year. It's the season for family, food, friends and high spirits. Maybe you're planning to host a few overnight guests during the winter, or perhaps you're throwing a holiday party. Either way, it's likely that you'd prefer a sparkling clean home for everyone to enjoy in time for the celebrations. Here are a few tips to follow to have the holiday cleaning process be an easy, stress-free, and cheerful part of your festivities. You can also take a look at beezzly as well.

Preemptive Strike - Clear the Clutter

Before you get started cleaning, we recommend taking this opportunity to rid your house of unwanted items that have accumulated over the years. If you can make time for this, take an extra day before you dive into the cleaning process and clear your home of any excess clutter. You probably have a closet with some unwanted possessions that no longer serve you or a box or two or items you've been meaning to drop off at the donation center. Purging junk is an easy way to reduce the stress of cleaning while providing you with a more orderly, elegant home. You would definitely need to look for a company that can provide a dumpster rental in your location in the event that you have larger items that you won't be able to sell and need to dispose of. After all, it happens, and not everything can be donated or repurposed.  

According to a study done by the Princeton University Neuroscience Department*, evidence suggests that the nature of our environment (i.e. cluttered versus uncluttered) directly affects our ability to focus. A messy environment can hinder our ability to concentrate, process information, and can cause susceptibility to distraction. On the other hand, a clean, organized environment can promote brain function, increase our focus, and help reduce stress.

If you aren't ready to start taking stuff down to the Goodwill just yet, then you can at least begin organizing your home. This can be as simple as going through your house and putting things back where they belong; if something doesn't have a designated spot, go ahead and make one. These actions will help prep and clear your mind for the cleaning tasks ahead.

Make a Plan of Action

Preparing your home for guests or parties can be an overwhelming process, especially if you leave everything to the last minute. If you take a few extra moments and plan your cleaning assault in advance, it can save you loads of stress and time. Rather than diving in and mindlessly scrubbing without a game plan, set aside a couple of minutes to strategize your attack. It's an investment that pays off with more efficient progress down the line.

Step 1 - Perform a quick walk through of your home. Take note of all the things you notice that you want to wash or spruce up. Next, begin visualizing all the places you'd like to be clean and the extent of their desired cleanliness. Write down all the different areas and rooms of your project and their individual cleaning tasks.

Step 2 - Depending on how many days you have before guests arrive, break up the chores by area, then break down the areas into their separate tasks. Afterward, assign each area and their task a day to get cleaned. We recommend starting this at least a couple of days and up to a week before your holiday shindigs begin.

Step 3 - Schedule the tough projects and the things that don't need frequent attention, such as deep cleaning the kitchen and bathroom, or washing window and shower curtains, for the early days in your plan. Schedule the tasks that require more consistent attention, such as mopping the floor, vacuuming, and cleaning the toilet bowl, for the later days on your timeline.

Create a Backup Plan

Things don't always go as smoothly as we hope, and sometimes, we just run out of time to do everything we set out to. While you're creating your action plan, highlight the areas and tasks that can be on your 'essential list,' things that are critical for you to accomplish. This list serves as a resource if you do run out of time and only can get to a few, necessary items. This way, when you reach the 11th hour before the holidays, you can revert to your crucial items and clean those most important areas, without any extra panic or wasted effort.

For your priority list, think of where your guests are likely to gather or spend significant time. For example, when preparing to host people over the holidays, you'll remember that folks tend to congregate around the food. A few key things to clean in your kitchen will likely be essentials. So, create your list of areas and then highlight the imperative tasks. Using the same example, if you wanted to cleanse your oven, but you’ll only be using it for baking a few items, it likely won't make the cut. In contrast, the refrigerator will be something often accessed by guests and anyone who's using the kitchen, so it’s reasonable it will be on the priority list.

Recruit Helpers

One of the most effective ways to get cleaning done fast and efficiently is to enroll the others around you in assisting. Your family is a great place to start. Another benefit of having a gameplan, in this case, is you can easily assign different tasks to family members for each day and split up the work in an organized fashion. Another option is to get a maid service to help out at home. Sometimes we just don't have the time or energy to clean and need all the help we can get.

Maintain Your Environment

Once you begin executing your cleaning plan, it will be much easier to keep your home clean. The challenge is to make upkeep a habit. For example, if you've thoroughly cleaned your kitchen, but continue to create crowded, untidy countertops every time you use it, without putting things away, this can accumulate and make the room feel sloppy. Make it a habit to clear your counters immediately after they get cluttered, not to mention any other messes you create. Rather than letting things build up and create an additional big cleaning project, this practice will maintain cleanliness with minimal effort.

Invest in Some Quality Green Cleaning Products

Creating a spotless home doesn't require a lot of fancy products to get started, you only need a few things. In fact, you could probably get away with just one or two. Invest in a couple of quality green cleaning products. Not only are you helping the environment but you're eliminating any harsh chemical residues leftover from standard cleaning products. Your guests and family will appreciate knowing their health and well-being is taken care of at your home. Mrs. Meyers makes an eco-friendly countertop spray and an all purpose cleaner, both in a lovely range of scents. But don't let a lack of ingredients stop you from getting started on cleaning. A solution of water and vinegar can work wonders with efforts such as mopping floors, wiping countertops and even creating streak-free, clear windows.

With the holidays fast approaching and everything to do to prepare, a thorough house cleaning can easily get overlooked. If you can remember to follow this plan in advance, it will help you manage your tasks efficiently and accurately, while significantly reducing the stress of the job. If you need some extra assistance, visit our for a green, house cleaning service. Lotus Cleaning Services is an eco-friendly maid service, and we would love to give your home the care it deserves to get it sparkling clean in time for the holidays.

This guest post was provided by: 

Author: Lotus Cleaning Team

Author/ Company Bio: Lotus Cleaning Services is made up of dedicated home and office cleaning professionals, that have used green practices to serve San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley and their surrounding areas since 2006.

Give The Gift Of Spices To The Foodie In Your Life #HolidayGiftGuide

Do you have a foodie coworker, friend or family member you are shopping for this holiday season? If you are short on ideas of what to give them, I'd like to suggest a monthly subscription box of gourmet spices from RawSpiceBar. What makes RawSpiceBar's spices so unique? They offer a different theme each month of  3 premium ground spices and blends that are specific to certain countries/regions, and include recipes as well as some background on where the spices are from.

I received November’s Ethiopian Spice Box to test out. The foodie in me was super excited to try it since I love experimenting with different types of ethnic dishes. This Spice Box had Pumpkin Pie Spice, Berbere and Ethiopian Mitmita. First, I will say that pumpkin spice was nothing new until I took a whiff of this one. It was so deep and earthy and was the perfect addition to my candied yams at Thanksgiving dinner. My family commented that there was something different about the yams, but it was a good different.

The Berbere and Mitmita were completely new to me. I opened each packet to smell the aroma and was WOWED. I immediately was hit with what I could tell was a peppery, spicy blend along with a hint of cardamom. I decided to use both spices in a stewed chicken dish. I'm very glad that I decided not to go too heavy with either spice blend because they were crazy hot! Thankfully we all love spicy, so it was not a problem. I loved the unique flavors. It has me excited to see what's in December's box. You know what the best part is? It costs only $6 a month to experience new flavors and have access to recipes for dishes you may have never thought to make. This makes the perfect foodie gift for the holidays!

You really can see and taste the quality in each flavor-packed packet. I was viewing some of the past boxes this year and want them all! They've had Persian, Japanese, Jamaican, Punjabi and more. You have to check out RawSpiceBar on their website as well as on Facebook and Twitter.

I received products samples in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are 100% my own as always. 

Four Ways For Moms to Relax and Unwind During The Christmas Season

It’s officially Christmas season. As the lights go up, the to-do list just seems to keep growing and growing. Whether it’s remembering to buy everybody’s presents, ordering the turkey in time or simply keeping on top of the Christmas decorations – it is a particularly hectic period for mums. There’s no escaping your usual everyday chores and responsibilities, instead you’re left with twice as much to do with the same amount of time. Consequently it is of utmost importance that you remember to put aside some time just for relaxing – whether it’s a bubble bath, relaxing with your favorite online games or reading a good book. Here are four ways for moms to relax and unwind amidst the stress of the Christmas season:

Treat yourself to a spa day
It might seem impossible but taking one day dedicated to treating yourself can provide the much needed rejuvenation to help you recharge your batteries and keep battling through this stressful period. A spa day is the perfect way to do this. If money is tight, using sites like Groupon can mean that you save a lot of money on the face value of the spa treatment.

Embrace your competitive side with a bit of online bingo
It can be easy to forget to embrace your competitive side as you battle your way through caring for your family and preparing the home for Christmas. Online bingo gets busier over the Christmas period as more people find themselves avoiding the cold and choosing to unwind with a game or two. By visiting the likes of Coral, you could chat to your fellow players and forget the stresses of the day before you by sharing jokes and anecdotes whilst playing a game or two of bingo. If you’re lucky you may even win a few games and have some extra cash for the kitty, which is notoriously short around this time of year.

Lose yourself in a film or book
One of the best things about this time of year is the amount of brilliant quality films and books being released on to the market. As production companies release films in time for the Academy Awards judging, there is no end to the excellent quality entertainment on offer. Brooklyn by Colm Toibin, for instance, has recently been made into a film – whether you want to read the book or watch the film, it’s another way to relax and unwind away from the stress.

Just do nothing
Yes, you read correctly. Keeping aside as little as fifteen minutes to simply sit and reflect on your day can help you maintain a sense of perspective that will help counter the mounting stress. The key is to ensure that you keep this time to yourself and don’t let other tasks encroach upon this time.

There you have it – four ways for moms to relax in the Christmas season to ensure that you don’t feel too overwhelmed by the festive season.

Score a $5 Frozen Honeysuckle Turkey at BI-LO!

Special promotion runs from Friday, November 20 – Sunday, November 22

WHAT:  BI-LO is helping customers prepare for Thanksgiving by kicking-off a new, fresh holiday offer, featuring ANY size of Frozen Honeysuckle White Turkey for $5 each with a qualified grocery purchase of $30 or more, while supplies last. Customers will have the opportunity to pick out their own personal high-quality, Grade A turkey from a variety of sizes, all for one low price.

WHEN:  Now until Sunday

WHERE:  All BI-LO stores.

***Friday Nov. 20 through Sunday Nov. 22 only. Limit one per transaction, per customer. No rain checks. While supplies last. Reward Card required. Cannot be combined with any other offer. Minimum $30.00 purchase, not including turkey, required before taxes. $30 purchase also excludes alcohol, tobacco, gift cards, money orders, postage stamps, pharmacy prescriptions, fees, FTD, charity, Western Union, shipping, utility payments, fuel service departments, vending machine, bottle deposits/refunds, event tickets or lottery.