PUMA Mobium Athletic Shoes and ACTV Apparel Sampling

DISCLOSURE:  I was given the opportunity to sample these items for free through Crowdtap.

I was absolutely thrilled when I received an invite to the PUMA Mobium Apparel Sampling on Crowdtap! I've been a member for a few years and have gotten some great samples, but this is definitely one of the most exciting! This is the first sample I've received through the PUMA Crowd on Crowdtap, and I was lucky enough to get some great items!

This sample share came at a perfect time. I've been working out and have decided to run a 5K with my younger brother in the spring, so these items are PERFECT for starting our training! The sample includes:

PUMA Mobium Elite Running Shoes

PUMA Performance Bodywear Tech ACTV Long Sleeve Top

PUMA Performance Bodywear Tech ACTV Endurance Tights

PUMA is one of the top activewear brands out there, and the items are extremely high value as well as being durable and stylish! When I received my PUMA sampling, I had mixed feelings. My package included the amazing ACTV Endurance Tights, but in place of the Long Sleeve Top, I received a Short Sleeve Tee-shirt and an ACTV Jacket, that looked like a Windbreaker. My Mobium Elite Running Shoes were unfortunately missing from the package. I was really disappointed that my shoes were missing, but I've been talking with Crowdtap to hopefully have them arrive eventually and I will update if I do! 

Regardless, I did sample and critique the items I received:

ACTV Tee Shirt (in purple): The ACTV Tee Shirt, while not the Long Sleeve shirt I was expecting, is a great item. It retails for 25$, and the purple color is very bright and beautiful.The shirt is comfortable and not too clingy, which is great for an easy jog or run, or even to wear to the gym! It's so casual and comfortable that I'd be tempted to wear it as a normal tee-shirt as well. 

ACTV Jacket (black & grey): The ACTV Jacket is a beautiful piece, with a great windbreaker-like design. I was really disappointed when I realized that the zipper on my jacket was stuck! I can slide it on over my head, but the broken zipper was definitely a disappointment and hindered my ability to truly test it's abilities. However, the jacket is lightweight but also durable and strong enough to keep the wind off of you. It's a great piece that would be perfect for running in the fall! I also love the fact that it has reflective tape- without the flash this jacket has very light checkerboard look, but the line brighten in the flash!

PUMA Performance Bodywear Tech ACTV Endurance Tights (black): These tights are amazing! I was a little skeptical at first when I saw the compression tape bands on the inside of each leg, as they were a little difficult to get on. However, if you roll them like tights and put them on that way, they are much easier! The compression (athletic) tape on the inside keeps the pants exactly where you placed them and also makes them feel like you've got a second skin! The tape helps your body get the most out of it's exercise! They retail for 100$, which is a little steep for me normally, but they are definitely worth the price if you're going to do serious running or training for an event!

Overall, I love the look and feel of the new PUMA ACTV wear. The price is a bit steep for everyday workout clothes, but for a special training session or a big boost to really kick yourself in gear!

New Site to Try!

I'm a huge survey-taker, as I love making money to use for my "splurge" items and trips that I take! A friend of my heard of Sunshine Rewards, and I thought I'd give it a try! The thing I especially love about it so far is the fact that I can make purchases from my favorite online sites and earn points from each purchase! I plan on using this site to get some money set aside for my Disney trip next year!!

Here's a link to join the site if you're interested!

http://www.sunshinerewards.com/signup.php?r=28812

<a href="http://www.sunshinerewards.com/signup.php?r=28812" target="_blank" title="Earn Cash Back at Sunshine Rewards">Sunshine Rewards: The hottest way to earn cash on the web. </a>

Old Navy Active Wear!

DISCLOSURE:  I was given a coupon for me and a friend to receive a free Old Navy Active top and bottom, as a member of the Old Navy Style Council on Crowdtap.

I was absolutely thrilled when I received an invite to the Old Navy "Fashionably Fit" Activewear Sample & Share! This is my first opportunity with Old Navy through Crowdtap, and although my wonderful sister has shared her coupons with me in the past, I was happy to finally have one of my own!

This sample share came at the perfect time. I have been so busy with my job that for the past two years my fitness has been sitting on the back burner. Now that I'm getting used to my environment and have a bit more free time, I'm ready to begin working out- and what's better than a cute outfit to help motivate me???

For this sample, I received a coupon for a free Activewear Top & Bottom for me, and the same for a friend! I chose to take my mom, who loves Old Navy but is a very stingy shopper. Giving her an opportunity to get a free outfit is one of the ONLY ways I'd be able to ever get her in some of these clothing items! 

Old Navy's line of Activewear include great, stylish pieces for running, yoga and general fitness wear! Some of their items include GoDRY fabric to help prevent moisture, while others are compression workout clothing! They have everything from capris and yoga pants to sports bras and tops!

Upon receiving our coupons, we had about a week & a half to redeem them in our local Old Navy store. They recently changed the entire set up of our Old Navy, so it took me a few minutes to find my bearings and locate the activewear section! I was impressed by the variety of sizes available, but there weren't many options of clothing that were able to be used with the coupon! Many of the activewear items were on clearance, and they were not redeemable with the coupon. 

After picking out some options, we headed towards the dressing rooms (which are now located in the CENTER of the store)! My mom is a little camera shy, but I got a few pictures of her! She's also not the best photographer, and most pictures of me are missing part of my head (thanks mom!). 

We ended up choosing nearly identical outfits as the selection was a bit slim. The compression pants are INCREDIBLY comfortable and the compression jacket has great slits between the thumb and fingers to help keep the hands warm!

Great hand slits! 

Super comfy!

Would you recommend it? Yes!  Old Navy has a great line of activewear that's affordable and has a great variety of styles and colors!

How much does it cost?   Women's Active items range in price from $12.94 to $34.94.

Where can I buy it?  In Old Navy stores and oldnavy.com.

Mailpix.com Review!

MAILPIX.COM Review!

Disclaimer: I was given a credit to make some purchases through Mailpix.com & then review their products. Check out their site www.mailpix.com!

When I found out that I got to review MailPix.com, I was thrilled! As a huge phototgraphy fan, I was excited to get to put some of my great photos into real use! Many people have heard of big-name photo sites such as Snapfish or Shutterfly, but Mailpix is a new company that offers a great variety of photo products for BETTER prices than their competitors! I was shocked to see how much bang for my buck I could get with the site, especially leading into the holiday season! Mailpix.com is a site that allows you to upload photos (with free unlimited storage!) and create great gift items. There are items for anyone- from blankets and mugs, to photo albums and wall canvases! 

As a huge bargain shopper, I loved the great holiday deals they offered! I chose a great fleece blanket that was on sale ($20 down from $43) which I got for my brother- a huge photo of our dog looked great across the soft, warm fleece!

For myself, I decided on a few great items. The Photo Puzzle is a great gift item, and comes in a beautifully designed puzzle tin! Being a Disney fanatic, it was a great way to put my Castle Pictures to good use!

I also purchased two amazing photo albums. The site was actually extremely user-friendly as far as album creation goes. I've used other sites in the past, but they can be very tricky with too many buttons to use. Mailpix had a very clean design that made it simple to add "page themes" and different picture sizes! I created one album from my Disney trips and another from my time studying in Spain!

I also created one of the "Brag Books"- a cute little flipbook of pictures, which was a perfect gift for my grandmother! 

Finally, because of the great holiday sales, I was able to get 5 free 5x7 prints as well as 100 free 4x6 prints! I'm a scrapbooker, so this was perfect for me! 

Beyond the great quality of items that I received from Mailpix, I really appreciated the great customer service! In my initial order, I never received my Spain album- there had been a problem with that type of album. Mailpix was great about staying in contact to let me know when my album would arrive, and made sure to rush deliver it! Even when there was another small problem, they were willing to go 

the extra mile to get me the right album. This kind of great service is something that is often lacking with big companies! 

A few helpful tips for using the Mailpix.com site:

1. Make sure you use high quality photos! A few of my prints came out a bit blurry, in part because they were pictures I took with my tiny cell phone. For best results/quality, use great quality photos! 

2. Don't forget to explore! There are so many great aspects to the website where you can find great gift items that it can take a while to pick the best option! Look through and find what's best for you!

Healthy Choice Baked Entrees Sample!

DISCLOSURE:  I received coupons for Healthy Choice Baked Entrees as a member of Crowdtap. 

I have been fighting my inner junk-food lover to keep myself healthy over the past few months, especially with the holidays around the corner! Luckily for me, Crowdtap teamed up with Healthy Choice to provide me with coupons to sample their new Baked Entrees! I have always enjoyed Healthy Choice Meals, but the baked entrees are bringing in a new level of deliciousness!

For the sample & share, I received coupons for $1 off the purchase of a Healthy Choice Baked Entree. Having passed out 10 coupons to friends and family, I decided to do the ultimate test and try it myself with a few friends visiting! We all went to the store to pick out the entree we wanted to eat. I chose the Roasted Chicken & Potatoes as I adore that flavor combination, and my friends chose the Lasagna with Meat Sauce & 4 Cheese Ziti Marinara. 

When we returned to my house, we decided to do a workout to prepare ourselves for our Resolution to Ditch the Diets and eat healthy! Using my new Xbox, we played a few rounds of Your Shape Fitness before popping the Baked Entrees in the microwave. I was surprised by how quick and easy  it was to cook in the microwave and only 180 calories! I loved the taste of the Roasted Chicken and Potatoes. It had a great flavor and didn't taste like it was missing any of the delicious ingredients that a "full calorie" dinner would have! We also loved the 4 Cheese Ziti- it had a great "baked" crust that made it seem impossible to come from the microwave. 

The lasagna wasn't my favorite, but that is also because my grandmother makes the best homemade lasagna in the world! I'm a little biased since it's hard to compare to the taste, but my friends really enjoyed it! The Baked Entrees by Healthy Choice are definitely going to stay on my radar as I try to start the New Year off on a Healthy Foot! 

Brand X Hosted Party!

I was thrilled when Crowdtap chose me to host a the Russell Brand Brand X Premiere Party! Comedy is one of my favorite genres, and whenever I get a chance, I watch stand up shows on Netflix or live. Recently I got to host a Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell party for my friends, and they loved it, so I was really excited to get to host another comedy party! BrandX premiered on FX on October 11 at 11pm. I received a digital kit from Crowdtap to help me throw the awesome party!

Here's what came in the party kit:

Info about Russell Brand and the new Season of BrandX
A party planning guide for viewing
Interactive activities & Challenges designed to recreate a live BrandX audience
A MASSIVE stash of exclusive videos and behind-the-scenes looks at BrandX

Since the show was on a weeknight at 11, it wasn't the opportune time to have friends over for a full on meal, so I put together a snack table for my friends and family! A lot of my friends had work the next morning so it couldn't be terribly long, but we wanted to have a great time. It definitely helped that my friends loved the Totally Biased Party, because it made them really willing to show up!

We started off by munching on snacks and watching all of the video clips that were offered in the Digital Party Kit! We had a great time watching each video, and we especially liked coming up with answers for who best represents America. From answers like "Superman" to funny ones like "Honey Boo Boo," we had a great variety and lots of fun before the show premiered!

Thanks to the suggestion from Crowdtap, we decided to do our best Russell Brand Impersonations! To add to it, I had my friends also do their favorite Russell Brand quote, whether it be from a movie or a show he was in! We had a ton of quotes from "Forgetting Sarah Marshall"!! 

After our games, we watched the premiere! It was pretty funny, but the audience at the show seemed a little uncomfortable. It was almost like they didn't know when to laugh! I personally find that Russell Brand's comedy fits better with other topics than current events, but he had a few great jokes in there. I love how he mentioned the geeky guy as someone who went to Harvard for years "but didn't invent a social network."

We had a good time at the party, even though the show wasn't our all time favorite! I would love to see a few more episodes before I make a decision on what I really think of it, but I think it has a chance to do well! Thanks to Crowdtap for the opportunity to host another great party!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fehhs96dgos&feature=youtu.be

Influenster's Naturals Voxbox September 2012!

DISCLOSURE:  As a member of Influenster, I received a set of products to try for free.

This is my first VoxBox from Influenster! I heard about the site from a few friends a few months ago and signed up in hopes that I would eventually get a box. Luckily, I got picked about a month ago and received my box a few days ago! The site is great- it's a community of members who are sent products to try and review for free! The better/more feedback you give, the more you'll get the opportunity to be picked in the future! 

I was so excited to see that my first VoxBox is the Naturals VoxBox! I love natural products, and even though I'm not all "green," I like to try to be as Green as possible!

Of the products I received, I was familiar with one before this- and it's one I love!

• LypSyl Intense Protection LypMoisturizer: I've tried this lip balm in the past, and I adore it! It's one of my favorites. It's got a great minty scent, and it really prevents dry, chapped lips, which I get a lot!

The other products in my VoxBox I've never heard of before! I'm really excited to try them all out and see how they are!

• The Original Dish Drying Mat - I can't wait to try this! I don't have a dishwasher in my apartment right now, and I have to dry all my dishes by hand. Pots and pans are a huge problem for me since I have to always lay them out on towels, but this foam drying mat looks much sturdier and ready for this job than a dish towel! 
• EBOOST - I've never tried anything like this before, but as a teacher, I have to make sure that I boost my immunity to all the germs that come through my classroom!  It's supposed to boost your mood, focus and immunity. I could definitely use this on the long afternoons at school! I'm hoping the Orange flavor tastes great!
• CleanWell Individual Hand Sanitizer Wipes - This is another great product for teachers! I'm the queen of hand sanitizers and wipes in my classroom, especially when flu season starts! It's supposed to have a citrus herb scent, which could be really nice!
• GEOGEO - I've never tried natural deodorant before, but the scent is great! Hopefully it's as strong and powerful as my normal deodorant!
• NECTRESSE - This sweetener is made by Splenda and it's made from monk fruit, which I've never heard of before.  I love to put sugar on my fresh fruit, so I'll have to see how it tastes!

I'll be posting reviews and pictures in the next week or two!