Posted by Joni

iCooler was kind enough to let me review their new cooler. Now I know that there are many brands of lunch or snack coolers to choose from in the stores. BUT trust me....iCooler is not like anything you have 
seen. 

Normally, I take my cooler with 3 freezer packs and then add the lunch packs for my lunch. Then I need to remember to bring home the bag and put the freezer packs in the freezer each night. Well sometimes I'd forget so the next day, I would have to run out and buy a lunch. 

Well iCooler has solved that problem for me! The iCooler has the freezer packs built right into the bag itself!  When you first pick 

Posted by Jason

One of the perks of this job is to try out new places and their menus.  Granite City of Northville gave us a complete tour of their restaurant, brewery, and menu.  

Granite City is an excellent place to meet up after work for Beer:30, have a night out with friends or just that special someone.  There are all types of seating including some private areas for parties, work or otherwise.  There is the main eating area around the bar with tables, booths and bar seating; a side area with high windows and tables off the bar that can be closed off for private events, but even when it is not, the sounds of the other room does not overwhelm; and a closed off area to the side of the restaurant close to the kitchen that can sit a large party.  Most of the tables and seating areas have wall plugs with USB charging ports built in so you can charge your devices while you are there.

Posted by Joni

Magisso gave me the opportunity to test the new Magisso Tea Cup. It is a wonderful design where you can steep your favorite tea to get the perfect cup of tea. I don't own a tea pot so I can't use a tea ball. But I do like to have a good cup of tea. Using the old pot on my stove that I use when I want hot water, I couldn't wait to try the cup. While it looks different, it is easy and a joy to use.

To use the cup:

1. First you easily slide the tea filter into the slot in the cup. 
   
2. Next add your favorite loose leaf tea. Mine was Treasure of the Incas!
   
3. Then pour in the hot water and let the tea steep to your taste. 
   
4.  Finally, just tip the cup to the other direction and drink. 
   

Posted by Joni

Last week I was fortunate enough to go to the International Home and Housewares Show in Chicago. It was an overwhelming long weekend of seeing new items and meeting amazing new people. One of the people I was lucky enough to meet and allowed to interview was Cathy Mitchell. Cathy Mitchell is the author of Dump Dinners and other cookbooks. 

Cathy was so down to earth and open to our questions that it was just like sitting around your own kitchen table with a favorite aunt or grandmother. I expressed my frustration when cooking and modifying recipes because of my husband's lactose allergy and with him being pre-diabetic. She encouraged me to try some of the recipes and told me how easily modifiable they are for allergies. Cathy was not a chef who would never want a recipe changed, in fact, she told us to "play" with the recipes.

Posted by Becky Fixel

Have you ever wondered what's inside your pillow you use night after night? Maybe you've never thought about it - but Orkin has! They've paired up with CleanRest to provide one of my readers a complete pillow encasement so the bed bugs don't bite! They also created a fun app you can play for with your kids to learn a bit more about how bed bugs act and great ways to fight them! You can play the game below, and even enter to win the pillow case below - let's squash those bugs and have a restful night of sleep! 

Posted by Jason Underwood

Recently, I had a meal at Dickey's Barbecue Pit.  I am not huge on BBQ places.  The sauce is almost pure sugar, the cuts of meat are suspect and service is usually lacking.  These are not problems for Dickey's.

Posted by Becky Fixel

With kids around, bugs are always going to be around too. This isn't just the truth if you have little boys around. When I was little, my sister and I collected bugs, studied them and she even had a bug box! 

As creepy as bugs can be, they're absolutely fascinating too. We have a strict "no kill" policy in our family, since each bug has their own purpose. Spiders eat the mosquitoes and other gross creatures we don't know about. And those horrible house centipedes?  Completely harmless to us, but they take care of other bad guys. 

But how much do we know about bugs? Is all correct information or have do we not know the whole truth? Orkin has a fun interactive app (below) that you can use to see how much Bug knowledge you might have. Take the quiz, then enter to win a Back to School Scientific bug kid for your little one! 

Posted by Becky Fixel

Do you remember catching butterflies as a kid? We loved collecting caterpillars, milkweed and even watching them turn into butterflies. But since I've gotten older I haven't seen as many Monarchs around. I figured it was because I spent too many hours behind the computer screen and not enough time outside. But recently found out that in 1991 75% of the monarch population that migrated to Mexico froze to death in a harsh winter. Each year since then there have been lower numbers found each winter migrating. So, what do we do about it? 
 

Posted by Becky Fixel

Every year you can get into hundreds of museums across the nation absolutely free! This year the free admission date is September 27th. There are fifteen participating museums throughout Michigan and five are in Metro Detroit! Check out the list below of what's going on, but be sure to go visit their site to get your tickets to visit for free! 
 

In just a couple weeks Maleficent makes her debut on the big screen! We know the story of Aurora and sleeping beauty, but do we know the true story of Maleficent?  This live action version of the story from the side of the "Wicked Witch" will hit the big screen on May 30th. 

If your little ones love the story of Sleeping Beauty, and are getting excited about the new movie there are some great new printable activities you can download below. From mazes, coloring pages and even spot the difference games! Print them out for an afternoon of fun!