College Bound, Gift Guides, Holiday Gift Guide 2017

The Most Powerful MyCharge Portable Charger

I have partnered with My Charge for this feature

Last year I got a MyCharge HubXtra Charger and I am in love with it. It travels with me, has gone camping with me and to conferences where I take a lot of photos and videos and need to keep a charge on my phone. It has built in charging cords so I am only carrying the unit and not multiple cords.

Because I use this everywhere I go I have got a lot of compliments on it. I don’t always recommend the HubXtra to everyone. If you need a portable charger capable of charging tablets and extra hours of high power then you want the MyCharge RazorUltra.

The MyCharge RazorUltra is the most powerful MyCharge portable charger in their lineup. It can charge 2 tablets at once. It has 90 extra hours of power! This means you tablets and phones can stay charged on this RazorUltra all weekend long! Take that one to the mountains, literally!

There are 2 built-in USB ports and inside the packaging they enclose a recharge cable so you can leave yours put at home or in the car and keep this cable with the charger. This is a great gift idea for those who carry devices like students and travelers! Live near storm-prone areas? This can be a life saver for your devices to stay connected to news and loved ones!

Please take time to visit MyCharge this season and arm your loved ones with power.

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Back to School 2017, College Bound, Food, Gift Guides, Parenting

3 College Care Package Ideas For Your Student

I am a Premier Protein Ambassador and all feature ideas are my own

 

 
Do you have a child or children in college? If you do you know that bittersweet drop off moment where they are ready to run and you can’t let them go. Trust me! They won’t go far. They want food, laundry done, conversations on how to cook rice and many other needs that they will always still need your care. To make them feel even more comforted (and to comfort ourselves) we can send care packages. But what should you send? Let’s get creative based on my own experiences with some suggestions I will give you.

 

Premier Protein

 
The first 2 weeks were a lot of back and forth by phone making sure he is settling into classes and dorm life. At one point I get a call from him asking for some grocery money in his account. He wanted some cans of soup and protein bars. He said that because his first am class is on the other side of campus and he walks he needs breakfast that he can take and walk with.

 
He wanted protein bars and in our home we buy Premier Protein so I hopped online and ordered him some to be shipped. Premier Protein bars have no artificial flavors, colors or sweeteners and are gluten free. Other brands out there may contain artificial ingredients and synthetic nutrients so we really do our homework and choose wisely.

 

 
On our son’s first few days in his dorm room we noticed a small issue. The outlets are never placed in the right spots. This means that by the time they plug in laptops, lights, a mini fridge, alarm clocks that leaves little left for all the chargers as well. Another thing I learned is how much their cell phones do get used. If they have a full day of classes all over campus and need to try and hit the cafe a few times that cell phone battery is done. We love using the MyCharge HubXtra. What is unique about this is that you don’t also have to remember to grab your charging cord like most power banks require. The charging cords are built in and contain a lightning and micro chargers. I carry one myself for travel. This will get used!

 

 
One of my favorite options are gift baskets and GourmetGiftBaskets has many care packages to choose from. Some are candy filled, some healthier. This is the Health Nut Care Package above. What is great is that you can choose a basket, enter there shipping address and attach a message that is typed in a card. It is a lot of fun when that gift box arrives and they know it is a collection of foods or beverages before they even open it.

 
You will be sending packages and they will be requesting (food) mostly so send them the goodies they will proudly pick up when the hall desk sends them that message that they have a package waiting. I assure you these ideas will go over real well.

 
Let’s get you started! I am giving away Premier Protein samples. If you win you can send your child’s dorm address and Premier Protein will send it their way. Or you can use your own address and try them for yourself. Enter below. Open to US and ends on 9/5. Good luck!

 
Premier Protein Giveaway

Back to School 2017, College Bound, Gift Guides

School Supplies – Back to School with Bic

Thank you Bic for partnering and offering feature samples

School Supplies - Back to School with Bic

Aisles and aisles of pens and pencils. How do you choose? Your back to school list could be narrowed down by a school supply list sent for your child’s class or printed off college websites as a tool. But when it says pens and pencils there seems like so many of them. I am featuring Bic because I want to take just one brand and highlight some popular product so you can pick up the supplies that will be right for you before you even get to the store. Hopefully, this makes school supply shopping day go a bit quicker for you.

My son is heading into grade 4 and his supply list has common items like pens, pencils, glue sticks, scissors and I noticed that for the glue sticks and scissors they listed specific brands. In parentheses it said that these were ‘preferred’ brands because they are known to hold together and work best. The brand can mean all the difference. If I choose a generic brand I am buying the item again and sometimes a few times over in one school year so it really doesn’t save me in the end.

Bic is a trusted name and we have a son in college who specifically requests the Bic mechanical pencils. He has requested these since the middle of High School because he says they write better and last longer than other brands so Bic is always my brand I go to first. Above is the Bic Velocity Max Mechanical Pencils. These pencils have a wider eraser and a smoother, darker writing than the standard series.

Our youngest has had the Bic Marking set for well over a year now and they are still all together and write great. I love that this packaging doubles as a holding case. The color choices are great too. We are never left unable to find a shade we need. This set comes in fine point or ultra fine point.

Bic Gel-ocity pens. That is fun to say! These are retractable gel pens that dry extra fast and with minimal to no smearing. I love the fun colors too.

These Bic Intensity fine point pens are great for school projects. The ones I have are the Fineliner set. They work great for drafting and marking.

They write so smooth and with one child heading back to College these are great for him to have.

How convenient is the Bic 4 color Pen + Pencil? I attend blog conferences and meetings for the school and having 1 writing device that is a pencil + all 3 pen colors I would need is so fantastic to have on hand. It gives you a pencil with extra lead, eraser, red pen, black pen and blue pen all with a simple click to choose.

Another option for pens is the Bic Soft Feel varieties. These have such a comfortable and smooth grip. This makes writing much easier when you have to take a lot of notes. If your child will write essays or a lot at once, these are a fantastic item for their comfort.

So head on out and look for the yellow Bic packs for the pencils, pens and markers that you need for the back to school shopping chore you have. Follow Bic Pens on Facebook and Twitter to keep yourself updated o what is new and what is on promotion.

College Bound, Easter, Fashion, Food, Gift Guides, Spring 2017

3 Easter Basket Ideas for Adults, Students and Children

Samples sent for feature

Enjoy these Easter basket gift ideas

easter basket gifts

Those Easter baskets can be so hard to fill sometimes. We have 3 boys ages 8, 19 and 25. That is a child, college student and adult. I can’t buy packs of Pokemon cards and split and one boy likes chocolate and one is trying to stay away from sweets. The youngest has a list full of wants and then the older boys have needs. So what seems to be a good divide? Socks, sweets and unique school supplies.

cupcake

Imagine it is the year 1914 and you can order wrapped snacks to be delivered that were baked fresh that same day. Of course this was a small business in a small town. Today they are Tastykake and offer everyone fresh-tasting individually wrapped snacks.

snowballs

I only wish I could locate these in retailers near me. According to their website they are available in supermarkets and other retail outlets throughout the East, Southeast, and Southwest. The kids will love these sweet treats in Easter themes.

sock

Remember when getting socks was the worst gift ever? Then remember entering adulthood where you have to budget every item you buy and getting socks becomes the best and most useful gift ever? I love getting socks and with older children they appreciate the gifts that stock them up on everyday items they now don’t have to go out and get themselves.

gold toe

The reason why Gold Toe socks make a great gift is that they have styles and fits for everyone. I love Gold Toe because I wear ankle socks most and they never slip into my shoe. I have bought so many socks that slip when I walk or wear after just a few washes and have to toss them. My Gold Toe socks last and stay put.

pens

Have a student? They need writing supplies. They may not admit it because they’d rather have gift cards and cash but I always like to attach gift cards to useful gifts for our college student. Attaching cash or a food gift card to a package of pens or highlighters make the git a bit more fun.

pen gifts

Target has some fun Pilot pens and markers that write smooth and are erasable. Find Pilot Frixion erasable pens and marker pens in different colors. They also have erasable highlighters. The Pilot Precise V5 writes so well as a pen and now they have a deco collection in fun colors and designs. Also find these on Amazon.

Visit these fun brands for more fun and retail locations.