Reviews, Chews & How-Tos: July 2016

Thursday, July 28, 2016

Awesome Life Friday #73

Welcome to Awesome Life Friday!

We're so looking forward to seeing what you've been cooking, creating, growing, decorating, reviewing, giving away, and thinking about this week!

While you're here, leave your posts at the other link up we co-host here - Party in Your PJs! It starts on Tuesday evenings, and runs through Sunday. I hope you'll join us there as well!

We missed last week because my husband and I were in the middle of moving, and it just plain slipped my mind. I'll be talking more soon about the move and why we decided to sell our home and downsize to an apartment - it's been quite an exciting and (intimidating) experience, and now begins the process the setting up our new home and getting used to the changes.

Other than that, he's a bit of what some of us have been up to over the last couple of weeks:

Review: Illumibowl Motion Activated Toilet Light
Using Summer's Bounty: Zucchini Bread
Review: Lab Rat Gifts Science Ties & Science T-Shirts

We hope you'll check them out if you haven't already! Don't forget to peek at the sidebar and check out what other giveaways we currently have going.

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And now our favorite part - the FEATURES! We missed the party last week, so these are from two weeks ago. If you're one of our featured posts, we'd love it if you'd grab a button, and thanks to all of you who shared with us last week!

Cheap Dinner Ideas That Fit the Budget //Medium Sized Family

Bacon Wrapped Shrimp & Avocado Stuffed Peppers //
The Ramblings of an Aspiring Small Town Girl

Can the KonMari Method of Tidying Really Change Your Life? - Digital Clutter //
While I'm Waiting...

Chicken & Waffles: A Southern Specialty with a Twist // Syncopated Mama

Yard Sale Tips // Royal Little Lambs

Simplest Ever Sewing Projects // Strangers & Pilgrims On Earth

If you are one of our FEATURED bloggers, this button is for you!

Thank you all so much for sharing your awesomeness!

Are you all ready to party? If you like, we'd love it you'd help spread the word by grabbing our button:

Here we go!

An InLinkz Link-up

Review: Lab Rat Gifts: Science Ties and Science T-Shirts

Neckties are an odd custom, when you think about it. Who was it that decided that men’s dress should include a piece of cloth tied tightly around the neck and dangling over the abdomen like a misplaced bib? Whatever the answer to that question might be, men wear ties in many semi-formal settings such as the office, church or special occasions.

Lab Rat Gifts (read Jess' recent review here!) has a set of ties designed for the science-minded man under the label Science Ties.

For this review, the company provided three: One showing the lunar surface, one adorned with a variety of symbols and images associated with medicine, and one with a clever computer pun.

Lab Rat also included two t-shirts from their other partnership, Science T-Shirts.

All of the items are of high quality. The ties are handmade from silk and tie easily, while retaining their shape. I requested extra long ties due to my height, and the ones I got were easily long enough to hang properly for me.

The t-shirts likewise were well-made and fit just about in line with the indicated size. Due to some recent weight gain that I’m hoping to reverse soon, they’re just a little too snug for me to wear comfortably right now, but I will save them until I shed a few pounds and then I expect to wear them regularly.

Aside from the items I received, the company has many more designs. It’s hard to mention any of them because so many more will be left out, and all of them are noteworthy. You can easily spend an hour browsing through the web site and chuckling.

Ties and t-shirts are only a couple of the many items you can get at Lab Rat Gifts.

They also have mugs, plush toys, phone cases, magnets and many other items with science-related images and jokes.

If you need customized items for a school or company, the Lab Rat Pack allows you to personalize items with your desired name.

As I run in some geeky circles, Lab Rat Gifts will be a go-to site for me when choosing gifts for several of my friends.

As a special thank you to our readers, Lab Rat Gifts is offering 20% off for labratgifts.com and 15% off with free US shipping at scienceties.com

At check out from either site, simply use the code THANKYOU to get your discount!

http://www.labratgifts.com/

https://sciencet-shirts.com/

https://scienceties.com/

https://www.facebook.com/scienceties/

https://twitter.com/scienceties

https://www.instagram.com/sciencetiesstore/

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Party in Your PJs! #116

Welcome to Party in Your PJs!

Happy Tuesday! Welcome to the Party in Your PJs Link Party, where your posts will be seen on four different blogs each week. In addition to Kim from The Cookie Puzzle, you'll also find Party in Your PJs every Tuesday evening at Grandma Ideas, Wood of Bell Trees and... here!

You'll still find the Awesome Life Friday link up here at RCHReviews, every Thursday evening at 8pm ET so we hope to see you there as well.

Are you ready to party? I can't wait to see what you've brought to share!

Meet the Co-Hosts

Kim @ The Cookie Puzzle

Kim is a small town girl who love simple things. Simple cookies, simple crafts and simple people. She is a wife, mother to one son and two adorable fur babies. Slightly addicted to reality TV and sitcoms, but she loves curling up with a good book or a good walk while listening to podcasts. You can find her at The Cookie Puzzle, where she shares her love for cookies and crafting.

Nina @ Grandma Ideas

How is this: Nina is wildly in love with her grandchildren. She delights in doing activities with them that strengthen their relationship –- playing games, doing crafts, snuggling, reading stories to them, and cooking together. She enjoys reading, technology, and traveling. (Tahiti is her most favorite place on earth!)

Lynda @ Reviews, Chews & How-Tos

Lynda lives outside DC with her husband Michael and elderly beagle, Sadie. She and her daughter Jackie started RCHReviews as a way to spend time together in spite of living across country, and along the way they've added several friends as regular contributors. Between them all, they bring together many different perspectives and lifestyles with one common philosophy - try new things, have fun, and remember you are awesome!

Heather @ Wood of Bell Trees

Heather is a wife of a peanut butter fanatic and mom of one silly human and one furry canine, wrangling life on 2nd shift and glitterizing everything as she goes!

Follow The Cookie Puzzle's board Party in Your PJs Link Party on Pinterest.

The rules for the group board include:

1. Limit of one pin a day.

2. Just like the party anything goes, but clear wonderful pictures with great descriptions are most successful.

3. Please no Spam ( Spammers will be deleted without warning)
4. If you pin to the Pinterest Board, please link to the Party in Your PJs Party also, the party runs from 7 pm Tuesdays-Midnight Saturday (Central Time)

5. Finally have fun and share this group board with blog friends and followers! The more success the group board is the more success you will see from your pins.

Want to be added to the group board? Follow our Party in Your PJs board and email Kim at thecookiepuzzle@gmail.com

Features from Last Weeks Party!

Homemade Ketchup ~ Floyd Family Homestead

Entryway Bench for a Shoe-Free Home ~ Sew Crafty Crochet

Pokemon Go Pokeball Pillow Tutorial ~ Clever Little Mouse

Tuscan Chicken Stew ~ Recipes & Ramblings with the Tumbleweed Contessa

Make sure you head over to the other member of Party in Your PJs

to see their features - we each pick our own!

Were you Featured? Grab a button!

All links are pinned to a Party Board...you can follow the board on Pinterest...feel free to follow the board, there is lots of inspiration to be found there.

Ok...let's party!

Rules
-Link to post, not your home page
-Link to something YOU made, wrote or thought
-No Etsy or Business Pages
-Link Parties, Roundups and Giveaways welcome
- Don't Link and Run! Please visit other links, make friends, learn something new, leave a comment, we all love comments
-If you were featured, grab a"Featured" button, found below.
-Consider adding our Party button to your Party Page or Post.

An InLinkz Link-up

Monday, July 25, 2016

Using Summer's Bounty: Zucchini Bread

If you’ve ever made the mistake of planting too many zucchini plants, your kitchen may look like mine right about this time of year - overrun with lots and lots of zucchinis that need to be used.

This recipe for Zucchini Bread will not only alleviate some of your stock, but it will (believe it or not!) satisfy even the pickiest of eaters.

It also freezes well, so you can enjoy a taste of summer later when the days grow cooler!

Zucchini Bread

Makes 2 regular loaves

You Need:

- 3 c all-purpose flour

- 1 tsp salt

- 1 tsp baking soda

- 1 tsp baking powder

- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon

- 3 eggs

- 1 c vegetable oil

- 2 ¼ c sugar

- 1 tbsp vanilla extract

- 2 c zucchini, grated

- 1 c walnuts, chopped and/or ½ bag of chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease and flour two 8”x 4” loaf pans.

In a medium bowl, sift together dry ingredients: flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and ground cinnamon.

In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla extract.

Add dry ingredients gradually to the egg mixture and stir well.

Add zucchini and walnuts and/or chocolate chips.

Divide batter evenly between the loaf pans.

Bake at 325°F for 40-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool for 20 minutes, then remove from pans.

Enjoy!

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Party in Your PJs #115

Are you ready to party? I can't wait to see what you've brought to share!

Meet the Co-Hosts

Kim @ The Cookie Puzzle

Nina @ Grandma Ideas

Lynda @ Reviews, Chews & How-Tos

Heather @ Wood of Bell Trees

Heather is a wife of a peanut butter fanatic and mom of one silly human and one furry canine, wrangling life on 2nd shift and glitterizing everything as she goes!

Follow The Cookie Puzzle's board Party in Your PJs Link Party on Pinterest.

The rules for the group board include:

1. Limit of one pin a day.

2. Just like the party anything goes, but clear wonderful pictures with great descriptions are most successful.

5. Finally have fun and share this group board with blog friends and followers! The more success the group board is the more success you will see from your pins.

Want to be added to the group board? Follow our Party in Your PJs board and email Kim at thecookiepuzzle@gmail.com

Features from Last Weeks Party!

White House Crafts ~ DIY Inspiration: Watermelon

Debbie Dabble Blog ~ A Few "Different" Plant Containers & Stands

Thelma's Days ~ How to Wash Strawberries

Aging Like a Fine Wine ~ Moist & Mouthwatering Sour Cream Peach Muffins

Make sure you head over to the other member of Party in Your PJs

to see their features - we each pick our own!

Were you Featured? Grab a button!

All links are pinned to a Party Board...you can follow the board on Pinterest...feel free to follow the board, there is lots of inspiration to be found there.

An InLinkz Link-up

Review: Illumibowl Motion-Activated Toilet Light

Illumibowl is a clip on motion activated "night light" for your toilet. Initially funded by a Kickstarter campaign, this product was invented to help people with their middle of the night bathroom trips -- no more turning the light on and blinding yourself at midnight. No more trying to go to the bathroom without the lights on, only to bump into the counter and bruise your hip in the process. In March, 2016, Illumibowl was featured on Sharktank and is now partnered with Kevin O'Leary and available for purchase either on their website or at your local Bed Bath & Beyond.

The Illumibowl night light includes 9 different colors to choose from or you can let it rotate through them all. This product rings in at $19.99 with free US shipping and 100% guaranteed satisfaction.

Now, in theory, this product seems like a great product. For me, not so much!

I have a 5 and a 3 year old who both are potty trained and use the bathroom on a regular basis. Show young children like mine the pretty new lights in the toilet EVERY time they walk into the bathroom and you have a problem!

They want to push the button to switch colors, want to sit there and watch every single color shine through, making their bathroom adventures longer than ever.

As if that didn't drive me crazy enough, the suction cups on the product would not stick, no matter what we did! (Their FAQ has suggestions for dealing with that, but they didn't work for us.)

So when the kids were not trying to get the colors to change, they were trying to "help" by fixing it and resticking it somewhere, not always on the toilet, but now I was having to try to keep them from sticking their hands in the bowl to attach the light!

I eventually took it off the toilet and pointed the sensor towards the toilet so it still turned on whenever you sat down, but we never got the cool effects that the product promises.

I think this product may do a lot better with a hook type element rather than the suction cups. Something that hooks over the bowl itself. I noticed that for the short time it did stick, as soon as my husband lifted the lid, it would flop over leaving him having to move it back. Kind of annoying!

So for the women of the world (who don't lift the seat) , this may be the product for you! Keep away from men and kids, in my opinion!

Finally, after about a week of using, the product just completely died out! Suction Cups didn't work from the beginning and then the lights quit on me.

I switched the batteries a few times and nothing seemed to help. I contacted the company and was assured that customer satisfaction was 100% guaranteed and a new product would be sent out to me.

I got a new product in two weeks, but unfortunately the replacement had the same issues and I ended up throwing it in the garbage one irritated night.

I love that the company is willing to make sure that the customer is completely satisfied, but after receiving a product, then a replacement and it still not working, I am not sold. Had this not been a review in which the product was complementary to me, I would have been asking for a refund rather than a replacement!

If anyone has had success using the Illumibowl, please share your experiences with us in comments!