If you are looking for some unique mothers day gift ideas,Red Envelope has a large selection of gifts to choose from.  Many of the items can be personalized, which is of course a nice touch.  Personalized gifts certainly come across as a little extra thoughtful, since you can’t just run in at the last minute, and grab them off the shelf.

I received this custom engraved casserole dish recently, from Red Envelope.  It is quite large, big enough to hold a whole chicken, so is a great choice for making family size dinners.  If your mom has a special recipe, that she always brings to parties and family events, a personally engraved casserole would make a nice Mother’s Day gift.  Put mom’s name on it,the name of her “specialty”, or if she is like me and has a blog, you could always put that on it.

If mom has other interests, the site has many jewelry, luxury, and home & garden items to choose from.  Why not check out their Mother’s Day gifts, and see if there is something your mom would love.

Media sample provided.  All opinions and experiences presented here are my own.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Leviton for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes, I am not so thrilled about standard light switches in prominent spots in my home.  In the past, I would match the rooms trim, or try and dress it up with a decorative switch plate.  Most of the time I would resolve myself to the less than ideal solution, but in one room in particular, the incongruence of the switch with the rest of the room bugs me.

I am going to be repainting the room soon.  The rusty barn red trim will stay the same color, but the greenish color will be getting swapped out for another color.

<img src=”https://img.skitch.com/20120411-pjmxx7cuy4gbpxui2g787c99eu.jpg” alt=”Renu^® > Brands > Solutions from Leviton Web Site” />

A new Renu switch plate kit, from Leviton, would be a perfect solution for this spot.  I could either match the wall color, or go with red and match the trim. I am thinking matching the wall would be the best bet.  The Renu Collection has twenty popular paint colors available, and are easily switched out if you paint in another color in the future.  In addition to switches and wall plates, the company offers a wide array of innovative dimmers.

Upcoming Twitter Parties with Prizes

Want to learn more about Leviton products, have a nice time, and possibly win a Home Depot gift card?  Leviton will be sponsoring two upcoming Twitter parties:

• Thursday, April 26th 9pm EST
• Wednesday, May 2nd 9pm EST

Update: Leviton is offering 2 sets of Broadway tickets as a grand prize for the twitter party on Wednesday night! Join in on the fun and see if you’ll win!

To participate, follow @Leviton and the hashtag  #Renu during the Twitter events.

If you are a DIYer like me, make sure and follow Leviton on Facebook  too.

Despite using Glad quick tie tall kitchen bags exclusively for many years, I only just recently tried Glad Black Bags.  We always bought “whatever” when it came to large black bags, since they were only used in the basement trash can.  I had run out of trash bags for that basement trash can a few weeks back, but kept forgetting to pick up new ones.  That turned out to be just fine.  You see, I was sent a box of Glad ForceFlex Black Bags to try out for this blog tour, and I’m a convert.  I have been cleaning out junk and clutter down there, and these bags are pretty impressive in their ability to stretch to accommodate items that would rip other bags. Looks like this is an all Glad household now.

I am sure you are fascinated with my new found trash bag love, but this is not a review, I am actually writing today to share information about the Glad Black Bag Art Auction.  Glad has partnered with the Picker Sisters to encourage people to get innovative with their trash, and transform it into stylish treasures.  The auction will feature four mosaic artworks depicting animals, by artist Jason Mecier.  I am rather partial to the duck, shown below.  The pieces integrate items collected during Keep America Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup, as well as items donated by several well known celebrities.

If you would like to bid on any or all of these special works of art, bids will be accepted through April 26th.  Proceeds from the auction befit Keep America Beautiful.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Glad Black Bag and received a Glad Black Bag product and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

What does one do when the Fairy Hobmother pops by for one of her generous visits?  Serve her tea of course.  Fairies are particularly fond of bee balm tea, and I was lucky enough to have some growing in my yard.  After brewing a nice strong pot, I dug out my demitasse cups (fairies are tiny remember).    Plenty of sugar and honey were placed on the table, along with flowers, strawberries and animal crackers.

Fairy Hobmother sure loves sweets.  The little fairy loaded her cup of the tea with lots of sugar, and slurped it down with gusto.  She poured honey all over the strawberries and cookies, munched on a few, then fussed about her sticky little fingers.  Excusing herself, she went to the bathroom to tidy up, but I became concerned after she didn’t come out for a very long time.  I knocked on the door, but there was no answer, so I opened it, but my new fairy friend was not there, but she’d left a note behind.  It thanked me for the hospitality, and said she hates good-byes.  She also left an Amazon gift card as a thank you, courtesy of her friends at Appliances Online.

The legend goes, that the Fairy Hobmother checks out the comments on blog posts mentioning her, when planning her visitation schedule.  As you can image she is a popular guest to have, so be sure to leave a comment so she will notice you

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Avocados from Mexico for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Avocados from Mexico has a fun new promotion going on right now, celebrating the use of avocados at breakfast time. Visit the Avocados From Mexico on Facebook page, between now and May 6th, 2012, for fast and delicious breakfast ideas featuring avocados.  While you are there make sure to enter the Wake Up a Winner Sweepstakes.

During the sweeps period (4/2-5/6), daily winners will be drawn, for $200 grocery gift cards.   There will be one grand prize winner of a trip for two to a Bed & Breakfast in Napa Valley, California.  Enter daily for the best chance to win!

Yum a Recipe!

I enjoy avocados anytime of the day.  They team well with both eggs and bacon, so breakfast is an obvious fit.  In the summer BLTs with slices of avocado are one of my favorite ways to start the day.  This recipe, from Avocados from Mexico reminded me of this favorite of mine.

AVOCADO TOAST RECIPE -

Ingredients:

• 1 fully ripened avocado from Mexico, halved, pitted and peeled
• Salt
• Ground black pepper
• 2 large slices bread, toasted
• Optional: 2 slices bacon, cooked and halved or 2 tablespoons chopped tomato

Preparation:
In a bowl, coarsely mash avocado with a fork; season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide avocado onto toast and spread to cover; cut each slice in half.

If this recipe looks good to you, or you just love avocados as much as I do, why not check out more Avocados From Mexico recipes.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Scotts® for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I just had the opportunity to try out Miracle Gro’s Expand ‘n Gro™ Concentrated Planting Mix.  I’ve used other Miracle Gro products in the past with excellent results.  One specific advantage of this planting mix, is how concentrated it is before adding water.  It expands up to 3x it’s original volume with the addition of water, making it far easier to carry around than typical potting/garden soil.  I had no problem carrying this bag around, but would have had a tough time with a bag of typical planting soil, equivalent in resulting volume.

I started some seedlings in the Expand n’ Gro planting mix a few days ago.  I filled the tiny planting cells a little less than half full, then added plenty of water.  In a few minutes the soil had swelled enough for me to set the seeds (pic above).  The next morning, when I checked the planter, the soil was right up to the top.  the expansion of the planting soil is no joke.  It will also hold water better over time, so pots and garden beds will be less likely to dry out on you.  Consistent water levels paired with Miracle Gro’s excellent plant food is a recipe for healthy vigorous plants.

Check out this video to learn more about this unique gardening product.

Giveaway

I am being sent a sample size of this planting soil in addition to the bag I already have.  I am passing it along to one of my readers.

I’m keeping this one very simple: To enter just leave a comment telling me what you most enjoy about gardening.  If you are just starting out with gardening this year… tell me what you most look forward to planting.

Entries close 3/28/2012

Being a single mom can be tough in many ways, but the plight of women in this situation is especially evident when it comes to debt  . As you can see by this graphic, the percentage rise in debt problems among single women with children, is significantly higher than their married counterparts.

Info courtesy of the providers of CareOne Debt Relief Services .

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Tom’s of Maine for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Getting our kids to brush their teeth without fussing can be a real challenge for most parents.  Yes, I am one of them.  I brush my teeth before or during her brushing time, I try and make it fun, and even got her a kiddie electric toothbrush, but some days I am greeted with a tiny mouth that is clenched closed.

We received a sample tube of Silly Strawberry toothpaste, from Tom’s of Maine this week to try out, and I am happy to report that my daughter likes it.  This pleases me because not only does it mean less fuss at brushing time, but this natural kids toothpaste from Tom’s does not contain artificial dyes and sweeteners.  It is actually sweetened with real strawberries!  It is available with or without fluoride at retailers nationwide, and is the only natural toothpaste for children which has the American Dental Association’s Seal of Acceptance.

Tom’s of Maine has a special family friendly online event coming up, featuring  a reading of Kristi Yamaguchi’s new children’s book It’s A Big World, Little Pig.  Parent’s and their kids can tune in for a special bedtime reading on Wednesday, March 14th at 7:30 pm EST (4:30 pm PST).  We will even have the chance to ask Kristi questions before the reading, live or on the Tom’s of Maine Facebook page (http://facebook.com/TomsofMaine).

Those attending the event will have the chance to receive a free sample * of Silly Strawberry toothpaste, as well as their own copy of It’s a Big World, Little Pig, to read to there kid’s after.

Keep up to date on both this event and upcoming news and promotions from Tom’s of Maine by following them on Twitter too: @TomsofMaine

*while supplies last