Microsoft Windows8 Party

Remember Crowdtap? Well, guess what?? I was selected to try and sample for free, the Windows 8 phone by HTC. It was the most exciting moment of my life when I opened my email and realized I was one of the ones selected for this amazing event. I immediately set to planning my party and spreading the word and inviting anyone that could come.
Then it was time to party shop!



I had been informed to select the colors that corresponded with the new phone itself - Cyan Blue, Red, pink and green. So I headed to the party section and picked up some plates, cups and tablecloth that would work with this and feature those colors to my party guests. I also purchases pizza and snacks and desserts and drinks to serve and give us all a great time.



I chose to play a Bingo game to keep the action fun and stimulating and give everyone an idea of all that the phone could offer them. Verizon had asked me to do a Pinterest Challenge to give my party goers a great idea of all the fun things this phone can do. However, my youngest partier was 28 and I knew Pinterest would not be intuitive and would end up being frustrating to my guests. I feel like a fun and engaging party is one that is remembered and I wanted people to talk about this party and remember it as a GREAT time and not one in which they were frustrated. So I myself did the Pinterest challenge just to show my guests what they could do. I think everyone appreciated that I had stepped outside of the box and half the room was asking me what Pinterest even was. So I think I made the right decision on this one.



As the party started, I asked everyone to help themselves to the food and drinks and to start passing the phone around. It was a great time and everyone was excited about the choice of snacks and I heard alot of exclamations about how great the phone looked and how it worked. I let everyone ask me questions and I walked around showing them different tiles and what it could all do. Here are some pics from the beginning of the party...



Then as it seemed like everyone was finishing up their snacks, I decided to do a small talk on the capabilities of the phone. I told them these would be part of their bingo words and later I would hold a quiz to see who remembered what and hand out candy bars to the winners along with prizes from my Verizon bags! Here are some pics of the Bingo games...

I had so much laughter and fun going on in the room and it made my day. I knew people were having a good time experiencing the phone and all it had to offer. Kids Corner got lots of acclaim since it is something we all care about - everyone in the room had kids and knew how hard it was to keep them off the other apps on the phone that you DON'T want them messing with. One of my party goers was so excited about the phone that she planned to go to Verizon the next day and check out getting one! She has been frustrated with her current service and phone and she LOVED my phone. So I think the party was a huge success and everyone had a great time.



Thank you to Verizon, HTC and Crowdtap for this fabulous experience!!

CoverGirl BlastFlipStick

The last few weeks, I have been sampling a wonderful new product called a BlastFlipStick from the makers of CoverGirl. I received 3 amazing tubes of this product from BzzAgent to try free of charge.

At first I was skeptical of the claim that I can make my lips look like a models and create my own one of a kind look, but I have been pleasantly surprised. This stuff is easy to use and is virtually goof proof. I have found there are several different combinations of color variation from one tube. I have used one side or the other alone to create a certain look for day and night and when I really want to amp up my look, I try them together using the dark tone underneath and the shimmer on top. I have used the shimmer to the sides or right in center and I am so pleased with the effect. Here are a couple of variations that I have been able to create.

What I like is that is that I can feel like an artist with my makeup and create any look I want. I am going to be purchasing all of the shades to create endless different artistic looks. But the picture you see above is in Vixen and I am really happy with this one. It is my favorite since it can be subtle and revved up in the same package and matches my skin tone beautifully. I appreciate that the formula has a lightly hydrating feel on my lips. It feels smooth and doesn't cling in a heavy dry way. The only complaint I have is that it does seem to smudge easily but letting it dry just a bit seemed to help a lot. Other than that, it lasts a long time and makes me feel beautiful. It is a great multi-tasking formula to keep in my purse and enables me to go day to night without carry two tubes of lipstick. Fabulous product for sure!

Green Mountain Wellness Collection

About a month ago, I received a wonderful campaign from BzzAgent to try Green Mountain K-cups for my Keurig brewer. I love my Keurig and drink coffee from it every day, but what excited me about this campaign was the fact that these weren't your average K-cups. Yes, it was coffee and my favorite Green Mountain brand at that, but these K-cups have more to them! They are loaded with vitamins and supplements.

I was eager to try them and really not sure how they would taste. I was pleasantly surprised - no vitaminy or tangy taste to this coffee. The coffee tasted like I expect Green Mountain Coffee to taste - velvety and smooth and delicious. I was really pleased. What a great way to get some health value into my early morning routine.

The coffee itself is a smooth taste - mild and more light than dark. If you are looking for a bolder roast, you can adjust your Keurig to make a smaller cup. I myself like a more mild coffee in the morning. I found this a great way to use my Keurig to not only drink my morning coffee but to find some health value in my diet. I will continue buying these because it is an easy thing to do to give my body some nutrition! Everyone I have allowed to sample these over the past few weeks has also been impressed with the taste and flavor of this coffee. It truly is a coffee lovers dream - combining health with a nice jump start in the morning!

Old Navy Dresses!!

As many of you know, I am part of Crowdtap, the amazing panel that allows me to discuss all sorts of interesting topics and occasionally take part in a sample share from Old Navy. I received the most amazing sample share opportunity in these last few weeks from Crowdtap, courtesy of Old Navy to do a sample share with a friend and Old Navy dresses! Needless to say, I was ecstatic and so was my friend. We received our coupons and headed out for a girl's shopping day. We both had babies recently and we excited to leave those sweet babies with our husbands and just have some bonding time over clothes and good food and the ability to buy something beautiful with our POST-baby bodies.

We started our afternoon with a delicious lunch from Panera Bread and some great girl talk and scheming about which dresses we hoped to find and try on. We had accessed the link to Old Navy on the internet earlier in the day and both of us already had an idea about which dresses we couldn't wait to try on.

As soon as lunch was over, we jumped in the car and headed to Old Navy...some of the dresses were at the front of the store and we were so excited to see them and even some of the ones we had seen on the internet.

Old Navy always does a fabulous job of making you feel like you know how each outfit will look and what accessories will look fantastic with what you want to wear. What was really neat was that the fabrics on these dresses were amazing - I loved the soft knits and the jersey dresses immediately caught our attention. We both went thru the entire store to look at everything! And then it was off to the dressing rooms to try on our dresses.

We both had a couple dresses we liked and ended up buying the extra one and we also took a swing around the store to grab a couple of other items. Old Navy is on trend and so affordable!

It is hard not to get a couple of extra things whenever I make it in store. We both so enjoyed this experience and had a great time. It was amazing to bond over dresses and Old Navy! A great big thank you to Crowdtap and Old Navy for this amazing experience.