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Control the Screen without Touching a Thing-Leap Motion 3-D

~Control the Screen without Touching a Thing~

Technology is always changing. Just when you think you have it all figured out, something new comes out and replaces it. Our family has an iPad 2-now there’s an iPad Air. I’m simply content with the one we have. We also have a MacBook Pro-there’s a newer version of that now. We have iPhones- 4S and 5. Oh…there’s a 6 now…when did that happen?

Sometimes the constant changing of technology can make my head spin. I’m so glad I have my husband to help me figure it all out. He’s a lifesaver when it comes to the latest and greatest.

So when I was offered to review the Leap Motion, no doubt I turned to him. In fact, we were both pretty excited when we received it in the mail. We were like two little kids ripping open the box, plugging it in and getting our tech on.

If you’ve never heard of the Leap Motion I will be going into more details about it’s features below.

This is the sleek box it comes in. Small and compact is what I would describe it best.

It goes where
no device has
gone before.
With a wave of a hand or lift of a finger, you?re about to use your computer in a whole new way. The Leap Motion Controller senses how you move your hands the way you naturally move them. So you can point, wave, reach, and grab. Even pick something up and put it down. Just like in real life. It’s an amazing device for the things you do every day and for things you never thought you could do. $79.99.

If you think the box is sleek, check out the device! I opened the box and could not believe how tiny it was. This is great because it takes up no desk space at all!

You can plainly see how small this truly is from the size of my hand. This 3″ device may be small but it’s powerful!

A little bit of magic.
A lot of freedom.
All that wide open space between you and your computer is now just for hands and fingers. The Leap Motion Controller senses almost every little move they make, and every big one, too. Technically speaking, it’s 8 cubic feet of interactive, three-dimensional space. But you can say it’s magic.

This adapter allows you to plug the Leap Motion into your USB on your Mac or PC. So once we plugged this in we we’re off and running. All we had to do was follow the cues and the whole installation process probably took a whooping 5 minutes. We played around with it for a little bit and learned some more of it’s amazing features:

Browse the web, read articles, flip through photos, and play music just by lifting a finger.

Draw, paint, and design with your fingertip. You can even use a real pencil or paintbrush.

Slice falling fruit and shoot bad guys with your finger. Steer cars and fly planes with your hands.

Sculpt, mold, stretch, bend, and build 3D objects.

Take things apart and put them back together.

Reach into the universe, grab the stars, and soar around the sun. It’s a whole new way to learn.

Pick, pluck, strum, and drum. Play air guitar, air harp, air everything. For real.

If you have a Mac here is a video of your simple installation:

If you have a PC here is your simple installation video:

Our overall experience with the Leap Motion has been a fun and exciting one! A few apps we enjoyed was Fruit Ninja, of course Cut the Rope and Google Earth was pretty neat! My kids who are 3 and 5 years of age think it’s just the neatest thing to draw something in the air and it showing up on the screen.

So if you have a Mac, PC, or a family that loves to learn new technology this device is definitely for you!

Connect:

You can connect with Leap Motion on Facebook, and/or @LeapMotion on Twitter!

Buy It!

You can buy the Leap Motion for $79.99.

Food Network 2-Layer Cookie & Cupcake Carrier Now at Kohl’s!

Blog· Review

I’m pretty much what you would call “frugal”. I like to find deals and save money any way that I can. One way especially that I save money is by making my own food for parties instead of catering or using a deli. Homemade cupcakes are so much cheaper than store bought cakes and can really look almost just as pretty. I say almost because.. well I’m just not so great at the cake decorating thing. However, I did make these adorable cupcakes for our Birthday/Halloween Party two weekends ago!

I had a ton of food to prep, so not a whole lot of room for storing 50 cupcakes. That’s why I bought the Food Network 2-Layer Cookie & Cupcake Carrier from Kohl’s a few weeks ago. I knew it would be perfect to store them in!

The Food Network 2-Layer Cookie & Cupcake Carrier is unlike other caries I’ve seen in many ways. First of all, it;s stack-able. It comes with two containers, that stack on top of each other and lock into place. But get this; you can can stack even more on top of that! I’m talking like a huge stack of cupcake awesomeness! There’s a handy little handled top to carry it with too.

Another great feature is the removable cupcake insert. You can take it out to easily set your frosted cupcakes on, then put right back into the container. There are handles to make it even easier. Another alternative is to not even use that accessory if you want to store cookies or brownies in it instead!

In addition to this handy little cupcake storage container, there is a full line of great Food Network cookware and bakeware available at Kohl’s. I wanted each and every piece I came across! Then practicality prevailed and I chose something that was versatile and needed. I actually just sent one of the containers to school with my son – full of brownies for his Halloween Party! And shhhh. while I was at Kohl’s, I grabbed another of these for my aunt who happens to be a cupcake goddess. I bet she’ll bring cupcakes to all of the family gatherings now!

#CoolWithKohls Sweepstakes

Kohl’s has an awesome sweepstakes going on right now that you won’t want to miss because you could win a $500 Kohl’s Gift Card! There’s a chance to win every week until January 5th and entering is so easy. Just upload a photo to Instagram or send a tweet on Twitter using the #CoolWithKohls hashtag and you could be a winner! Click here for official rules.

Connect:

You can connect with Kohl’s on Facebook, Instagram and/or @Kohls on Twitter!

Buy It!

You can buy the Food Network 2-Layer Cookie & Cupcake Carrier for $34.99.

Brilliant Sky Toys & Book Store

Blog· Review

The first Brilliant Sky Toys & Books? was founded in 2002 in Lansing, Michigan with the singular goal of being the finest upscale specialty toy store in America.

Based on the belief that the right playthings give children a gateway to physical, emotional and cognitive development Brilliant Sky Toys & Books provides the highest quality products in an atmosphere that is both active and interactive. Its unique aesthetic approach is vibrant yet warm, exciting yet comforting and exploratory yet safe. From rich colors and woods to low sightlines and custom fixtures the Brilliant Sky sensory experience is unlike any other.

Now based in Brentwood, Tennessee and featuring more than 10,000 high-quality specialty products, Brilliant Sky Toys & Books is truly the place where everyone can find their way to play.

Last year, I reviewed Brilliant Sky Toys & Books after visiting the store on a whim. I fell in love with one of our two local stores without the franchise owner, Lori, even knowing I would be there. This year, I scheduled a visit not to one, but both local stores and I have to say, Brilliant Sky Toys & Books is the hands down, best toy store anywhere. There are currently just 15 locations around the country, but with the goal of being the finest specialty toy store in America, I think their rate of growth is perfect. There’s no over-expanding or lessening their products or values to compete with big box chain stores.

In Cary, North Carolina the Brilliant Sky Toys & Books is connected on one side to another store in a small business section of the area. It’s pretty assuming from the outside just how large of a store it really is. The front side walk area is large enough for fun games and treats during the warmer month and the windows remind me of a fire station house, big, inviting, and perfect for letting in copious amounts of natural light!

When you first walk into a Brilliant Sky Toys & Books, you’re greeted warmly by a store employee usually behind the counter. But this isn’t just any counter, it’s a wooden house, almost like a command center in the middle of the store. This is where you’ll check out, have your gifts wrapped, and more. It’s clever and a lot more inviting not just for parents, but for kids too. My little guy is on the path to independence and loves to “pay” for his toys on his “own”. Although he wasn’t buying a toy this trip, he had no problem walking right up and looking around.

It was while I was scooping out this surrounding area that Lori told me all about the amazing sessions and in-store events they hold in our Cary, NC store.

With a warm and friendly environment where children are encouraged to be, unlike some stores who snub their noses at loud, active children, Brilliant Sky Toys & Books offers Preschool Crafts that includes a take home craft based off a story that’s read and a snack! The Cary, NC location is also offering some of the following in-store events:

11/11/13 – Three different 1.5 hour long Paint-n-Play Sessions that includes snack and an item (like the canvas featuring an ornament in the above picture) to paint and take home.
11/13/13 – Clay Rice Silhouette Artist
11/09/13 – PJ Party for the Holidays (free) Bring the kids in their holiday pajamas for some fun
12/17/13 – Adult Shopping starts at 8p.m. Parents can shop without kids in the store, perfect for grabbing last minute holiday items without sneaking them around prying eyes!
Rainbow Loom Classes for all types
And much, much more!

As stores and locations are different, give your local store a call, e-mail, or even Facebook shout out to see what fun in-store events they’ll be doing! Lori even told me they will soon be offering private shopping by appointment and launching a Birthday Club type plan for the kids! What a wonderful way to keep a ‘mom and pop’ type atmosphere while still catering to the needs of your clients! You can even call ahead and have a toy picked, wrapped for free, and brought out to your car if you’re running late for a birthday party or other event. Now that’s real service!

If I were only 8 again! A whole DIY beauty section featuring lip gloss, spa bubbles, & body spray.

This isn’t even half of what the story has to offer!

Shot from back corner of the store. Missing about half the store.

The store itself is just breath taking on your first walk in for the first or even hundredth time. I was there for two hours and I’m absolutely positive I missed at least a quarter of what’s in there, if not more. Brilliant Sky Toys and Books is sectioned off by type of toy/children’s item and brand instead of by gender, which I just adore. Nothing drives me crazier than the pink and blue gender walls at the big box stores. Yes, I have a preschool aged boy, but that doesn’t mean we don’t play kitchen or like dolls and the same goes for girls. I can imagine a daughter of mine in a frilly princess dress smashing trucks with the best of them. All imaginative play is good play and shouldn’t be based off of gender. Okay, I’m a little passionate about the subject, but Lori made a great point while we walked the store: By having things based by type and brand, it’s easier to find a toy in the same line that your child would like. No more searching different aisles and wasting your time. From Melissa & Doug, to Hape, and Gund, to Green Toys and everything in between, there is the widest variety of brands and toys I’ve ever seen under one roof. From birth up to mom, there is something for everyone, including diaper bags or the ever popular Rainbow Looms with free personalization.

What I also liked about meeting Lori was how she kept facing (straightening out the store) as we walked around. She told me that “mess means fun” and that a child had to have been through looking at the different toys or playing and that’s what a toy store is all about. She even got down to Sonshine’s level to show him some toys and to play with him. It’s always wonderful to meet someone who truly loves their job. Not only does Lori love her job, but she creates an environment where her employees, most of whom are high school aged, love to work. It’s definitely a community based store, where the employees each have a notebook where they write down what they’ve done, such as trouble shooting a problem, promoting deals and events on their own, or how they handled setting up an event on their own. It’s a wonderful tool for the younger employees to use during college and/or interviewing for their first big job! Even though most shoppers don’t know this about the store, it makes Brilliant Sky Toys & Books one of the most unique places to work!

Asides from a great community based disposition and thousands of toys to choose from, Brilliant Sky Toys & Books also gives a shout out to certain each year with their Brilliance Award. The toys are hand picked for the Holiday Season and this year, 11 different toys made the list! Prices start at $14.99 and go upwards to $84.99 so you’ll be sure to find something that fits into your holiday spending budget! The toys are:

Gobblet Gobblers (ages 5+)
Snap Circuits Sounds (ages 8+)
Little Chubbies Gift Set (ages 1+)
Calico Critters Adventure Treehouse (ages 3+)
Magnetic World Map (ages 7+)
Deluxe Magic Set (ages 8+)
Melissa & Doug Switch & Spin Magnetic Gear Board (ages 2+)
Skwish Classic (ages 0+)
Doinkit Darts (ages 6+)
Lego Brickmaster Lego City (ages 5+)
Melissa & Doug Large Standing Easel (ages 3+)

My hands down favorite thing about Brilliant Sky Toys & Books is the free wrapping they offer. You can have them wrap gifts for birthdays or the holidays and I took Lori up on her offer to wrap the few things I got for Sonshine. With his birthday soon and Christmas not long after, the need to not wrap a few items will save my fingers and a bit of my sanity! Each type of paper is colorful and comes with matching ribbon and looks way better than any wrapping I could do! It’s the little touches like wrapping and in-store events that truly make Brilliant Sky Toys & Books one of a kind. I can’t wait to bring friends and family who have never been to the store and see their reactions to the wall-to-wall shelves filled with amazing toys, books, and games. It’s not often when you get to witness a person becoming a life long fan of something!

Connect
You can connect with Brilliant Sky Toys and Books on their website

Find a Store
Use the store locator to find a store near you

I received a sample product for this review. All opinions expressed are my own and/or families. Take it or leave it. Click here to view the whole disclosure policy.

Decorate Your Thanksgiving Table With Stampin’ UP!

Blog· Crafts

This year Thanksgiving will be extra special for me. ?My siblings will all be coming from Michigan to my house in New York. ?I have planned a long weekend full of activities…..eating, football, eating, black Friday, hockey tournament, eating, turkey trot 5K, eating, local attractions, and eating!

Icing on the cake (or maybe I should say, the whip cream on the pie!!!) is that my table will be decorated with Stampin’ UP -You all know how much I love Stampin’ UP! and they have a great kit that will complete my table -?Thankful Tablescape Simply Create Kit! Keep on reading to see how to?Decorate Your Thanksgiving Table with Stampin’ UP!

I started out making a card to send to each of my siblings. ?The inside included the dates and time of the hockey tournament and turkey trot. ?I also included little snippets of some new stores that just opened here (some fantastic shopping!) and other local attractions.

The card was VERY easy to make and required very little supplies (all Stampin’ UP!)

*Stamp set: Harvest of Thanks
*Paper: Pumpkin Pie (perfect, eh?),
Chocolate Chip and Crushed Curry
*Stamp pad: Chocolate Chip
*Ribbon: ?Linen Twine

The clear-mount stamps are my “new” favorite. ?I remember the days of cutting the stamps out and mounting them on the wood blocks (which I often got crooked). ?The clear-mount stamps are SO easy to use. ?Punch them out, peel the label off, adhere label to the back of the stamp. ?Stamps are ready to be use -The label clings to the clear block. ?The clear block allows you to place the stamp exactly where you want it to be – perfect stamping every time.

Here is the clear block that is facing me, ready to stamp. ?You can see what the stamp design and know exactly where to place it on the paper. ?Brilliant!

Now that my cards are done and in the mail, I wanted to create the perfect table setting. ?I used the Stampin’ UP! Thankful Tablescape Simply Create Kit. ?Talk about simple -The kit includes everything you need (except adhesive) to create ten napkin holders, table tents and more. ?The kit includes:

*Card stock holders
*Belly bands and table tent bases
*Name banners
*Journaling cards
*Die-cut chalkboard labels and printed leaves
*White Stampin’ Chalk Marker
*Birch and Chocolate Chip paper ribbon
*Linen Thread

I started with the napkin holder. ?The pre-cut napkin holder is scored for us -How cool is that?

This is the back of the napkin holder, folded at one of the pre-scored lines. ?You can see the score marks up the left and right side. ?One is straight and the other is angled to give you room to slide your napkin in.

Here you can see the two score lines going up the side.

I am sliding in a “Gratitude” card in the napkin holder. ?This will allow everyone to reflect back over the year and list what they are thankful for. ?My family tradition is write on a piece of paper what we are thankful and drop it in a jar. ?Throughout dinner we pull out the pieces of paper and read them off. ?We guess who has written what and often it turns into a “remember when” story. ?I absolutely love this tradition. ?This year we can use these beautiful cards.

I decided to get a little crazy with the Birch?and Chocolate Chip paper ribbon -I didn’t have any candles to wrap the paper ribbon around, but thought I could add the perfect touch to my everyday glasses. ?I wrapped the Birch ribbon paper around the glass, added the Chocolate ?Chip layer and tied it up with the Linen Thread. ?Too cute, eh? ?Recently, I saw some really cool cards on the Stampin’ UP! blog that used the Birch paper ribbon. ?I hadn’t even thought of that -I had some extra and use it to create the perfect card (will share soon!)

Within 30 minutes I had put together beautiful napkin holders, table tents and got creative with glasses -What do you think? ?I LOVE IT!! ?I can’t wait for my family to get here.

I just love the Thankful Tablescape Simply Create Kit and Harvest of Thanks stamp set from Stampin’ UP -My table looks fantastic (and festive) and I can’t wait for my family to get here -I would love for you to leave me a comment, letting me know what you think -I really appreciate the feedback!

Connect:?You can connect with Stampin’ UP!?online, ?Blog?(get inspired!),?Facebook,?Pinterest,?YouTube?and/or?@Stampinup! on Twitter!

Love Water Naturally with Stur

Blog· Review

I have to admit I enjoy a can of soda from time to time. BUT, I am not the type of mom that picks it up at the grocery store, and stocks our fridge every week. I do not want my children “hooked” on it at a young age. We do enjoy it occasionally when we go out to eat or at gatherings, so my kids are’nt deprived, but again I try not to keep soda on hand at the house.

Did you know one can of soda contains 15 to 18 teaspoons of sugar and upwards of 240 calories? Not only does it contain lots of sugar but it also has tons of artificial ingredients. So as a mom I try to get my kids to drink more water, but this does not always work.

The great thing about the time we live in is there are so many great alternatives to “sugary drinks.” An alternative that was just introduced to our family is a brand called Stur…add it to your water and you’ll love water naturally!

Story of Stur:
I initially created Stur for my wife, so she could drink more water naturally while pregnant with our twin girls. We are a family-run company, passionate about better health. Our mission is to help millions of Americans drink more water, and we?re really proud of developing a good-tasting product without any artificial sweeteners, flavor or colors. Continue reading this beautiful beginning…

So as parents we should try to encourage our children(even ourselves)to drink more water. But like I said before that is not always easy….we live busy lives and sometimes we forget to pick up something to drink…then when we do it may be…”not so healthy”…the same goes for our kids.

So why not reach for something healthy that also tastes great?!?

When Stur arrived at our house I was determined to offer my kids more water, rather than juice. So how was the outcome? EASY! Stur makes the transition very simple…because the flavors taste wonderful!

Flavors:

Honestly Lemonade
Pure Orange Mango
Simply Strawberry
Truly PomeCranberry
Proudly Tea+Lemon
Only Mint Cucumber Unsweetened

Each bottle makes 18-8 oz drinks and contains 7 essential vitamins. All you have to do is squeeze Stur into your glass of water for 10 seconds, “stur,” then enjoy!

My son loved the Simply Strawberry and the Truly PomeCranberry best. But to be honest all of the flavors we’re wonderful…they did not taste fake or artificial. They’re sweetened with Natural Stevia Leaf Extract. So no sugar at all!

So overall we love this product! I also love that my family truly enjoys it! I know without a doubt your family will too!

Connect:

You can connect with Stur Drinks on Facebook, Pinterest and/or @sturdrinks on Twitter!

Buy It!

You can choose 5 Stur Drinks Bottles for $19.95.

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