Author: Erin Sluka

Home, Reviews, Summer

Noblo Beach Umbrella Buddy – Review

Erin Sluka

I have partnered with Noblo for feature

Noblo Beach Umbrella Buddy - Review

Living in the Pacific Northwest we love heading to Ocean Shores or Seaside, Oregon for weekend getaways. If you have ever visited the West Coast you know how windy it could get here. You want the shade but the wind is such a hassle with a beach umbrella. The makers of the Noblo (get it? ‘No-Blow’) understand this and so they have a solution and I tried it out. Only, I have not driven to the beach quite yet so I decided I need this for a different reason. I use it to hold my patio umbrella on our windy days so I don’t have to keep taking it up and down depending on weather.

We bought a new home last summer and this spring we finally got the concrete poured to elongate our patio. That means I finally got to shop for patio furniture and utilize our backyard to entertain. I chose a table that is a glass top because in my experience they last and clean well. However, living at the Cascade foothills we get those downhill winds. If we have them in the forecast I have to take my umbrella out. If it were to tip the table would go with it and the glass will shatter.

I decided that because I like the way Noblo looks and attaches it could work to save me having to not lug that patio umbrella on and off. I was able to attach it just like on a beach umbrella and then it sits under the table. I attached mine through the umbrella table hole as pictured and it holds. No one could trip over it. Set up is so easy so why not use it on the patio? *Note it is not labeled anywhere to be a patio umbrella anchor so guarantee on your table safety, but I decided to use it as a hack this way and so far so good on my table.

  1. Fill the Noblo bag with sand up to the labeled fill line and cinch closed
  2. Attach velcro strap  above umbrella spokes
  3. Set Noblo aside and keep your shade

The Noblo is available on Amazon. It is available in blue or red. You can also visit the Noblo website to learn more.

Food, Travel

Snack Foods You’ll Want to Take Camping

Erin Sluka

I have partnered with the following brands for feature

Snack Foods You'll Want to Take Camping

We bought a new Toy Hauler last year and we love taking weekend camping trips here in the Pacific Northwest. I pretty much have packing and food prep down to a science, but when we first started RV camping it took some research and planning to make sure I packed everything we need and minimize store trips into towns. The first weekend of new RV owners we took it to a very local campground for a weekend as a trial and learn what we were missing.

Our first weekend out I realized some of the things I wish we had were cleaning wipes (boys and toilets in tight spaces), smaller kitchen garbage bags and more snack variety. The snack thing was tough because with boys and us we sort of got bored with our options by day 2 and found ourselves overspending a tiny grocer near camp so we can find some different snack ideas. I am always prepared with some guilt-free snacking options.

Here a few favorites I have stashed aside for our Memorial weekend RV trip. My son LOVES Snikiddy’s Grilled Cheese Puffs. We actually leave on his real birthday (Friday the 25th) so I geared a lot of snacks for him and the friend he is bringing along. He also loves Bare Snacks in his lunches at school and I have the apple packs packed in the RV.

My husband is a Jerky loves so he has some Country Archer Jerky packed. We just tried the honey chipotle flavor and I was a bit skeptical trying it but I like it. Not too much of a heat kick and still addicting.

My personal favorite is PopCorners. I love all of their flavors and having the Kettle Corn flavor is the most snack dangerous for me. I cannot stop eating them. Of course, I love a good potato chip when we grill hot dogs. To me, you can’t eat hot dogs when there are no potato chips handy and I feel much better munching on the Good Health Avocado Oil chips as opposed to those cooked or fried in unhealthy oils. I use avocado oils to cook with so these are the chips I choose.

We also need grab and go snacks for by the lake or polls on site and the Enjoy Life Grain & Seed bars make a great snack. They love the chocolate marshmallow flavor best! When you pack snacks, remember you will be eating more than an average weekend at home. It just always works out that way so make sure the snacks you choose are on the better side of ingredients and oils. It makes you feel a lot less guilty in the end after a weekend of food and fun!

Beauty, Natural Beauty, Reviews

My At-Home Brazilian Keratin Hair Straightening/Smoothing Treatment

Erin Sluka

I have partnered with Nutree for this feature

My At-Home Brazilian Keratin Hair Straightening/Smoothing Treatment

Remember when we were warned about the dangers of keratin treatments? It is a real danger the way they were being done in many cases. The chemicals were causing more damage than good and then formulas changed. Brands like Nutree found a way to give you the same straightening and shine using Hydrolyzed Keratin and Antioxidant properties of the Acai and Cocoa, natural extracts from Amazon – Brazil.

You DO NOT have to leave this treatment in for 3 days. This is a one-step process from wash and treat to rinse and dry in one session. You DO NOT have to make a salon appointment and leave your home. You WILL NOT pay over $200 like in salons for the same treatment type. You WILL HAVE shinier and very silky hair you can’t stop running your fingers through.

Here is my starting photo. I will say that it does have that treatment smell but it is pleasant. You still want to be in a well ventilated room as in a large bathroom and wear the provided gloves while applying the solution. However, I was able to remove my gloves after step 2 to get the hair cool-dried and straightened so I didn’t have to work with awkward gloves. You will want good clips to keep sections of hair you are not working with out of the way.

I jumped into the shower and used the Anti Residue Shampoo. Because this is my first treatment I washed twice with it leaving it on 5 minutes each application before rinsing. Once out of the shower I blow dried my hair about 85% dry and used hair clips to create 6 sections.

On each section you do a Treatment application (with gloves), cool-air blow dry and straighten per the guidelines included.

Here is the result of my first section.

After all 6 sections are treated, dried and straightened you need to hop back in the shower or you can sink rinse with the third bottle of Intensive Repair Mask. Coat your hair real well and let it sit the 3-5 minutes before rinsing.

Now you can blow dry like normal so you can immediately feel that dry, silky hair of yours! It’s that easy and in your own home which saves you so much money! I have very fine hair and I still have a second treatment left. At $50 a kit that means my at-home treatments cost me only $25 each! Nutree Professional Amazonliss Brazilian Keratin Hair Straightening/Smoothing Treatment Kit is available on Amazon in most countries!

Apps, College Bound, Healthy Living, Natural Products, Promotions, Reviews

I Fall Asleep Faster Now with the Pzizz Sleep App

Erin Sluka

I have partnered with Pzizz for this feature. Opinions are my own

When you write and try products for a living to help readers find products to live happier, healthier and more active lives, I sometimes come across something so genius I now have it incorporated into my daily life and don’t know what I did before using it. For me lately, it is the Pzizz App. I have been pitched and even tried many sleep products and this one is my nightly savior. Let me explain more so you can get better sleep just like I do now and save too with a promo code!

The Pzizz app is not only for your nightly sleep. There are 2 other modes, nap and focus. So this is truly meant to relax your mind and allow you to settle down a bit even during the day. If you are like me, you crave to rest then the moment you settle in your mind refuses to shut off. I used to give myself the excuse that I do my best thinking at night, but at what expense? It was a loss of precious sleep. The healthiest thing anyone can do, no matter your age or abilities is get proper sleep.

Sleep is more than counting the hours your eyes are closed. Sleep means deep, non-interruptive and prolonged rest and if you function on naps they need to be short and so effective and deep as well or you just want to keep sleeping through your day. Pzizz uses a combination of music, voiceover and sound effects in a sort of hypnotic way that is in a rhythm allowing your body to use the play as a daily ritual to train for falling asleep fast and allow you to wake up refreshed.

There are 2 ways to use this app. The Classic ‘FREE’ version gives you a simple ‘Dreamscape’ that plays a few variations for you each night in a soothing male voice. It gives you a classic version without options to choose sounds or even allow for the female voice playover. However, if free is all you can do you WILL still benefit from the app.

However, Premium (about $9.99/month or $99.99 a year OR Free for 7 days and I’ll explain below) Pzizz is truly the way to go and don’t worry because I have a savings code below for you and it saves you a whopping 80%!! Paid sleep apps are still a lot cheaper than those artificial sleep aids you take with water and hope for the best each night.

With Pzizz Premium you have over 25 Dreamscapes to choose from. You always have the voiceover and in this version you can switch from male or female voice (I love the female voice myself), but the Dreamscape is the background sounds and music. I love the choices and the Saturn Set and Hills are 2 of my favorites.

You also get an alarm option where it will properly wake you up without loud alarm sounds. You can even set a sleep reminder if you need motivation to stay on a schedule. I recommend buying some sleep headphones unless your partner is OK with listening but there is something about hearing it right up to your ear versus full volume to reach around the room that is most soothing.

Remember! I promised you a code to save off of the paid version and it is below! First, here is the official pitch I was sent that really sparked my interest and then you can head over to the Pzizz blog for more sleep topics:

Over two billion people (yes, with a “b”) in the world are affected by insomnia, but Pzizz has helped over 1 million people get the sleep they need, including some of the world’s most influential people. J.K. Rowling called Pzizz the best thing she’s used for sleep by a mile. Former Indiana Pacers Center Roy Hibbert told Sports Illustrated Pzizz helped cure his insomnia and Ambien addiction. Even The Duke of York is a Pzizzer!

Pzizz Savings Code Instructions

Here is how to use your Pzizz code: GRADGIFT that will expire on June 30, 2018! You have to redeem the code on the Pzizz website at https://pzizz.com/buy/ Once you redeem the code, you can use it on iOS, Android or both with the same email at app registration as you used on the site to redeem your code. This code saves you 80% off the yearly price option so that makes it only $19.99 a year or about $1.66 a month! How much do you spend a month on sleep aids that aren’t always cutting it? It makes a great gift for a grad heading off to college!

Still unsure about the Preferred version? If you download the Pzizz app right now on Apple or Android you can get Pzizz Preferred for 7 days free and no credit card is required. It will ask if you want it and you confirm and after 7 days it just reverts back to classic. I did this at first and it was very easy to try it for 7 days. However, I missed the features once it went back to free so I now am a Preferred user. I can tell you that I settle in each night and turn on my app and after a week I am not even 5 -10 minutes into the play and I am out! I used to have this 7pm drag everyday (or so I called it) and that is gone! You want to try this. You have nothing to lose! Start now— Pzizz on iOS and Android