Travel Time!

It's that time of the year. You know, the time of the year when you pick where to go on vacation, right? That means that a lot of people are planning trips, and getting things ready for those trips. It means looking for, and finding, a number of things - that perfect hotel room, the best bathing suit, new flip flops, and of course, bags to pack all of your stuff in. If you're anything like me, you like to be organized.

Having been on a couple of cruises, I know that it can be important to have everything set so that you don't waste time or effort looking for something that you might have actually left behind. It gets chaotic when you are staying somewhere away from home, so having what you need at the tip of your fingers is something to plan for.

One way we plan for the perfect trip is to pack outfits for my kids and myself into large ziploc bags. This helps keep things organized and it lets us just hand a bag, containing an entire outfit to a kid, who then can get dressed. Something else I like to have when I travel is the right container for all of my toiletries.

This is important because I like to be clean, but I also like to make sure nothing leaks into my other stuff, like clothing, that I've packed.

Recently I got the chance to try out a new toiletry bag, the #DoDoToiletrBag, and I must admit that I am kind of impressed. Not only does this little bag zip up to form a small profile that fits into any larger bag, but it contains multiple pockets that let you segment the different personal care items that you will be taking with you. It also comes with a soap container and a toothbrush topper to protect your toothbrush.

There's a netted pocket with a zipper and two pockets for larger items, a smaller zippered compartment and a hanger to hang the entire bag up in the bathroom of where you will be staying.

Overall we like this and will be taking it with us everywhere! Can't wait for vacation to get here now. If you're looking for a great travel bag for your toiletries, be sure to pick up one of these. http://www.amazon.com/Toiletry-Travel-Size-Hanging-Toiletries/dp/B017D9G3T2/ie=UTF8?m=A2WF5KXMZXBWN4&keywords=toiletry+bag

Cell Phone Holder Clip!

Are you like me? I mean, do you take your phone with you everywhere? I mean, most of us do these days, especially since your phone can pretty much do anything. Some of them even cook breakfast for you, right? Well, if they don't they will sometime soon I'm sure. Back to the topic though - you take your phone everywhere, which inevitably means that you're always looking down and always using one hand for your phone and one for everything else you do. You know there's stuff out there to help you though, right? You don't have to suffer the loss of that second hand anymore! You can regain the use of both hands, especially if you are doing something like watching netflix, which I usually end up doing from bed honestly. Enter in the #cellphoneholderstand which is a really long hashtag, but one that is well worth the letters granted to it. This thing is so cool, really. It bends and twists in any way you can imagine, all while maintaining a stable hold of your phone. That lets me lay down in any manner and still watch whatever it is that I'm watching. It clips on my nightstand and stays there, which is pretty awesome. It also comes with a kickstand type stand for your phone too, but honestly that has nothing on the big twisty clip thing. I really do love this. Where was this when I was confined to my bed during my pregnancy? Sheesh. =) Check it out, really, over on Amazon. I highly recommend it.

Of Camping and Smores

So the spring is upon us, which inevitably means camping days for my family. We love camping, but not in the dead of the summer or the middle of the winter. That leaves us spring and fall, both great times to enjoy the outdoors. What do you do when you go camping? I know we love to do lots of stuff. We swim in local lakes or rivers, we hike through the woods with our dogs, and we love to light that campfire and enjoy camping foods. Hot dogs, smores, and just about anything you can stick on a stick and cook, we've got it! But this year, we'll also have something new with us on our camping trips - special #smoresticks. That's right, special, telescopic posts made of stainless steel with a nice, thick wooden handle, that allows all of us, even the kids to get in on the action. I used to worry about the kids leaning too close to the fire, but these are really long enough so that I don't have to worry about that anymore. They also make it easy to cook hot dogs and sausages without having to take forever one at a time. There's so much to love about these, really, so why not go check them out?

The BEST Umbrella Around

If you are like me, there are tons of times that you find yourself caught in a storm without an umbrella. Those are the days that I remind myself to purchase one, but I always forget to when I get around to going to the store. What's worse, when I do get around to getting an umbrella, it breaks within the first couple of uses, since we are known for getting a lot of wind around where I live. Then I find myself back where I started...without an umbrella. When I was offered the chance to try this new, Crown Coast Heavy Duty umbrella, I totally jumped on it. I mean, who wouldn't? It's made of heavy duty materials that are rated to withstand 60 mph winds. That's amazing, especially when you are in an area that is known for getting some pretty good gusts. The key is in the flexible nature of the joints of the umbrella, which are reinforced and are able to bend back to their original form without much trouble at all. Of course, since we got the umbrella it has not really stormed. But that's okay, I see one coming on the radar and it's promising to be a bit of a mess. I feel so much better now though, since I have my new umbrella. I am very happy with this and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good umbrella. Check it out on Amazon - where you will find a number of reviews to prove that I'm not just saying this to say it. Everyone loves this product, and I know my readers will too!

Great Headache Helper: Pillow Cool Gel Mat

I am one of the many Americans who suffer from both allergies and migraine headaches. The search for something to help with the pain is ongoing, but the main staples I have now are reusable ice packs and over the counter medications. While these things do work, in time, there has to be a better way. Technology marches forward, so my headache remedies should march forward too, right? Well let me tell you just how excited I was when I was offered the chance to review the Feb Frosty Pillow Gel Mat - Cooling Pillow Mat this past week. When it arrived I immediately opened it up and put it in the cover that it comes with. It's a nice cover, not at all plasticy or crinkly, which is something I was worried about. It's soft, making this so much more than just a pillow mat. It can be used outside of my pillow too, which makes the cover a very big part of why I love this so much.

It's a good thing I put it in the freezer too, because the headache began to develop shortly after dinner. Thankfully I made it to bed time, and I really hoped that this new mat would help. It really, really did. After putting it on my pillow, I found that I didn't have to try to balance an ice pack on my head and fall asleep at the same time. In very little time, with limited pain, I was able to fall asleep and stay asleep for a while. A few hours passed and I woke, got up to take more medicine, and came back to bed to find that the mat was still very cool. Once again I was able to fall asleep without issue. Thank you to the seller of this amazing product for giving me the opportunity to test it out. I highly recommend this to anyone with headaches or migraines. You can save 30% right now with the code 30TMSN15.