My First Influenster Product Review {Palmolive soft touch}

The reason for my post today is to tell you all about Influenster.  What is that you ask?  Well, it's a wonderful online community:  Influenster is a free -to-join community of invited trendsetters who live to give opinions of products and experiences. Influenster creates links between brands and members to reward participation and influence future products.
Basically, Influenster is a place for culture junkies to come together and share their unique opinions of products and experiences. Active members of Influenster get exclusive access to deals, promotions, and swag from brands that thrive off the input (the good, the bad, and the ugly -- they just want to know what's up).

DISCLAIMER:  I was sent these products to use and review.  I was not compensated for this product review except for the actual products.  All opinions are my own.

Now, if you're interested in Influenster, please send me an email at jennimf at AOL dot com (jennimf@aol.com).  I have a few invites available.  

Just waiting for a few dishes to wash

My first product review is for Palmolive soft touch.  I don't do a lot of dishes, because the deal in my house is if you cook, you don't clean.  But, there are dishes to be done when Chip is traveling or when he's not home, or when he's chatting with Zach about something super boring at the end of dinner :-).  

I hate how my hands get dry and crack and my nails get brittle after doing dishes.  I typically wear gloves.  This Palmolive is the solution for my problems (well the hand problem I don't think it can solve all of life's problems).  Having a product that  is designed to be soft on my hands and still cut through grease and will leave my dishes squeaky clean?  Bonus!!  

I was sent two bottles.  One is the Vitamin E and the other is the Aloe.  I have tried both.  Yes, I did dishes, geez  the things I have to do around here!  I really like the Aloe.  I noticed it has a light to no scent, which is perfect because we don't want anything smelling too girly if Chip is doing the dishes!  It's also thick enough to not spill when you squeeze it out of the bottle.  The one great thing I noticed is that is doesn't leave spots on my glasses.  We live in an area with very hard water.  We have a water softener, but it still leaves spots on glassware, which bothers me to death.  I was very impressed after washing a couple of  wine glasses that there were no spots, compared to the usual soap I use (no names, but we'll just say it's blue).  I am ready to make the switch!

The Vitamin E is the pink dish soap.  I promise it has nothing to do with the color, but I was not as big of a fan.  It has a very girly scent and is super thin.  I try to get a little out of the bottle and it comes rushing out giving me far more than I need.  It does a great job keeping your hands soft, but I think it's not the right soap in a house where the husband does the dishes.  

They do offer one more variety that is coconut butter.  Yes, I would be all over that one!  So, what would you choose?  Do you do all the dishes in your house or is it a shared chore?  

I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth (yet)!

Oh, I am so, so sorry!  I have been neglecting my blog lately.  I will try not to make excuses, just give you all a simple explanation.  Chip and I did an 11 day nutritional cleanse (which meant no great meals to cook), then my mother-in-law arrived to stay with us and watch the dogs (I did cook, but didn't take photos, it was fish tacos if you're curious) and then we headed to St. Louis for a few days to pick up my son (he's finally back from Spain - woohoo).  Now that we are at home it's been beyond fascinating.  No, kind of boring with me scrubbing floors on my hands and knees.  Sure, you can call me Cinderella, just remember to send my coach and ball gown!

I promise to have recipes and posts for you in the next couple of days.  I have done some fun things, have product review for you and will have a recipe early next week.

I hope all the mothers out there had a wonderful day with their families.  Mine was fair, but I won't go into detail.  It was a long, long weekend.  The best part was picking my son up Mother's Day morning.  That was all I needed.

I hope nobody has abandoned me!  I'm anxious to grill (a lot) this summer so keep your eyes peeled.

Down on the Farm

Last week I had the honor of being a guest at Shamrock Farms.  It was my first real excursion on my own since moving to Arizona.  It's about an hour and a half from my house, much closer to Tucson than Scottsdale.  I set out, giving myself way too much time because I have no way of judging traffic yet.  Of course, there was no traffic and I had no problems finding the farm!

DIY Project

What do you do with a dining room chair that has a broken arm?  Repair it?  Tried that, it broke again.  So, why not take another chair, because you have plenty to spare and break its arm and attach them to make a bench?  I finally did it!  I have been thinking/talking about doing this for a couple of years, and am happy to announce it was very easy and I couldn't be happier with the outcome.  I'm not 100% sold on my cushion decision, but haven't found an alternative I like better at this point.

Veggie Loaded BLT Mac & Cheese

Mac & Cheese is one of my all time favorite comfort foods.  There's just something about it that makes me feel good.  Unfortunately when we think of a quick meal we think of that powdered mac & cheese.  Yuck!  First of all it tastes awful and second it's loaded with MSG.  Not healthy and is a migraine trigger for many, including my daughter. I find making mac & cheese from scratch is so much easier and much more rewarding.

Eggplant Parmesan Sandwiches

Do you love Eggplant Parmesan?  We do, but it's normally fried and heavy and served with pasta.  This is the perfect compromise.  Honestly?  I could have done without the bread, but since it's a "sandwich" I guess you kind of have to have it, right?  I liked the limited amount of sauce, Chip would have preferred no basil, but we enjoyed it!

Chicken Cheesesteaks

How is everyone doing?  I'm still working on all those recipes Chip chose last week.  With going out to dinner a couple of nights a week it's making it a bit challenging to get through all of them.