Marmee Dear Skirt Pattern Review & Giveaway!

Marmee Dear is a really cute website devoted to "All things precious and pleasant for the home circle". The "Shoppe" area is where you can purchase all sorts of really neat items-from sewing patterns, to kitchen wares, to cookbooks, flour sack towels, dry goods, childrens items, and assorted gifts.  Seriously, you have got to check out the huge variety of old-fashioned-type items for your home. Marmee Dear even sells custom-made clothing, and talk about some cute outfits for little girls!

Marmee Dear sent me the "Sew Simple Skirts for Mommies & Girls" pattern for review. This is a very easy, simple pattern that turns out a really cute skirt!  The best part is, you basically design the skirt yourself...take your measurements (or whoever you're making the skirt for), and Marmee guides you through a few steps to making the skirt. The skirt has elastic in the back, and a drawstring up front, which really makes for a quick skirt. No fussing with waistbands, zippers, buttons, etc. (Not that I don't like doing those sometimes, but it is nice to have this handy pattern when I don't want to take a lot of time.)  For my first time sewing the skirt, I made it for my little sister. We had just found some really cute material for her on clearance at Wal-Mart, and she really needed a new skirt...so, this was perfect timing!  Here's the finished skirt:

Very cute, and very fast and easy to make!

Marmee Dear is going to give one of my readers the Sew Simple Skirt e-pattern and a downloadable sampler! One of you will have the chance to make this cute, easy skirt for yourself!

Mandatory Entry:

Go to Marmee Dear and tell me another product you like.

Bonus Entries:

2 entries-Become (or be) a public follower of Hope's Cafe. Leave 2 comments.

1 entry-Follow me (Pilgrim86) on Twitter. Leave a comment with your Twitter name.

1 entry-Tweet this giveaway. This may be done once daily. Leave a comment with a link to your Tweet.

1 entry-Enter another of my giveaways. Leave a comment for each giveaway you enter.

3 entries-Blog about this giveaway. Leave 3 comments with a link to your post.

1 entry-Become an email subscriber. Leave a comment telling me you did.

1 entry- Go to one of Marmee Dear's other sites (Marmee's Bread Market or The Homemaker's Mentor) and tell me another product you like or something you learned. 1 entry per website, so if you visit both, leave 2 comments.

This giveaway ends Wednesday, July 15 2010 at 11:59 p.m. Please leave a valid email address in each comment, as this is how the winner will be notified. Winner will have 48 hours to respond, or another winner will be chosen.  Giveaway open to US residents only.

Disclaimer: I was not monetarily compensated in any way for this review.  I did receive product for the purpose of review.  All thoughts and opinions are mine. All quotes taken from the Marmee Dear website.

Best Bath Store Review!

The Best Bath Store is a small business located in Woburn, MA.  All of their bath products are handmade in small batches, to ensure customer satisfaction.

The folks at the Best Bath Store were kind enough to let me pick 3 items to review. I picked out the Dead Sea Facial Scrub, Acne Treatment Gel and Dead Sea Mud Mask.

First I tried the Dead Sea facial scrub.  This is definitely my favorite out of the 3 products I received!  This is made with natural ingredients like Dead Sea mud and salts, and is a great exfoliator! I use it every other day, and it also helps with moisturizing my face. I can really tell a difference in my skin after having used this for a couple weeks.

The Acne Treatment Gel is great for me, as I have dry, somewhat sensitive skin. Again, this is made with natural products, so it is gentler on your skin than using just the average acne treatment. I also like that it is a light gel, easy to apply and dries within a few seconds.  The ingredients include Manuka honey and aloe vera, which really help restore your skin to a smooth, healthy state!  The gel can be used as a spot treatment, or apply all over the skin before bed.






Lastly, the Dead Sea Mud Mask.  This mask is supposed to draw out toxins and tighten your facial pores, while at the same time it infuses vitamins into your skin. I have to admit, this did not really work well on my skin. Like I said, I have sensitive skin, so I am guessing that is the problem. The mask is supposed to be left on  for 15-20 minutes, but after about 2-3 minutes, my skin started burning. After cleaning the mask off, my face is very red and aggravated. Other people have posted reviews on the website that really liked this product, so I honestly think it's just my skin type.  So, if you have sensitive skin, I'd be careful using this...otherwise, it seems to be a great product with some very positive reviews.

The Best Bath Store also sells hair care products, bath and body, gift baskets, and they are currently working on a specialized line for men. If you're looking for some natural bath, skin or hair care products, why not check out the Best Bath Store today!

Yorkie Grooming Products-Giveaway and Review!

If you have a Yorkshire Terrier, then you need some Yorkie grooming products!

"Yorkie Splash was created out of a need for a shampoo to fit the specific needs of Yorkshire terriers. After trying numerous products, we here are Walnut Hill decided that there just wasn't anything on the market that worked well for every type of Yorkie - sensitive skin, coarse hair, cottony coats, silky coats, dry coats, or oily coats. We finally decided that keeping 5 different kinds of products around was just not manageable. So, we decided to make our own! After a lot of research and some trial and error, we came up with a "formula" that did exactly what we wanted it to - make every type of Yorkie coat look and feel amazing, and smell great, too.

After using our shampoo on our own Yorkies, friends began asking how they could get their hands on some of our shampoo. So, we bottled a little. Pretty soon, word of mouth created a buzz that has continued to grow. We have been selling our shampoo to the general public online since April of 2009."

 Yorkie Splash & Shine generously sent me The Ultimate Set, which includes Yorkie Splash Shampoo, Yorkie Shine Conditioner, and Yorkie Detangling Spray.  I honestly wasn't sure just how different/how much better Yorkie grooming products would be, compared to just normal shampoo purchased from a pet store. After using them, though, I'm sold!  I can really tell a difference in Roxie's (our Yorkie/Maltese cross) coat after using these 3 products.  All 3 products have a really nice smell, that lingers in the dog's hair even after rinsing/drying.  No more nasty smelling wet dog! 
The shampoo lathers up really well, and it only took a small amount to thoroughly wash Roxie.

 After rinsing the shampoo out, we moved on to the next step-conditioning. The conditioner really helped smooth out her hair (Yorkies don't have fur-they have hair). This conditioner has a pH of over 7, whereas most conditioners only have a pH of 4. And it really does make a difference!

After drying Roxie off, we used the detangling spray while we combed out her hair.  This lessened (by quite a bit) the amount of tangles and knots in her hair.  It made it a lot easier to brush Roxie out, without getting the comb caught in her hair.  Roxie sits pretty well during her grooming (except when the comb pulls too hard in a knot), and when I used the spray, the tangles came out very quickly. 

 All done and sittin' pretty!

Yorkie Splash & Shine is giving a gift code worth $20.00 off a purchase of $20.00 or more to one of my readers! Now your Yorkie can get all prettied up too!

Mandatory Entry:

Go to Yorkie Splash & Shine and tell me what product(s) you'd get if you won!

Bonus Entries:

2 entries-Become (or be) a public follower of Hope's Cafe. Leave 2 comments.

1 entry-Follow me (Pilgrim86) on Twitter. Leave a comment with your Twitter name.

1 entry-Tweet this giveaway. This may be done once daily. Leave a comment with a link to your Tweet.

1 entry-Enter another of my giveaways. Leave a comment for each giveaway you enter.

3 entries-Blog about this giveaway. Leave 3 comments with a link to your post.

1 entry-Become an email subscriber. Leave a comment telling me you did.

This giveaway ends Tuesday, July 13, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. Please leave a valid email address in each comment, as this is how the winner will be notified. Winner will have 48 hours to respond, or another winner will be chosen.  Giveaway open to US residents only.

Disclaimer: I was not monetarily compensated in any way for this review.  I did receive product for the purpose of review.  All thoughts and opinions are mine. All quotes taken from the Yorkie Splash & Shine website.

Level 8 Cases Review!

Okay, these are the nicest laptop cases/backpacks I've ever seen! Level 8 Cases are designed exclusively for MacBook, MacBook Pro and iPad. I recently got a 15" MacBook Pro, and of course, an average computer backpack just doesn't provide enough protection for my new baby! (Seriously, my family teases me about how protective I am of the MacBook).


All of the Level 8 Cases have a very stylish, sleek design that perfectly complements your Apple product. (After all, who wants to put their MacBook in just any old bag?)

Level 8 Cases graciously sent me the backpack designed for 15" and 17" MacBook/MacBook Pro. The Level 8 Cases have a very unique protection system. The padding is made of 3-dimensional EVA foam (not just your normal laptop bag padding), and is the same thickness on both sides of your MacBook! I've never understood the laptop backpacks that only really cushion one side, with just a very thin padding on the other side. That's not a problem with this backpack!

It also has lots of pockets for all your extras, and even a specific iPod/iPhone pocket. There is a plenty of room in this backpack for all the extra equipment I usually carry (2 external hard drives, a cooling pad, all my cords, etc.).

The shoulder straps are cushioned and wide enough so they don't slide off my shoulders (I can't stand skinny shoulder straps).  The handle and straps are also very durable, so they won't just rip out. (Yes, I had that happen once with my old backpack/laptop. Thankfully, nothing broke.)

The cases are all checkpoint friendly, so it's great to use when flying.
I love the versatility of this backpack, too. I can use it whether I'm traveling, stopping in at Panera Bread to check my emails, or just need a safe place to put my MacBook Pro while in the house.

So, my thoughts about Level 8 Cases? I love them! I honestly am impressed with the backpack I was sent for review. It is well worth the cost ($99.00), and I expect to be using mine for a long time!

Level 8 Cases are only available at Apple stores and online at Apple (and soon at the Level 8 Cases website). Check them out today!