Natural Snacking with Newman's Own and the Pitch List

The Pitch List is so lucky to have the honor to work with great companies like

Newman’s Own Organics

Newman’s Own® Organics’ products meet all the requirements of the USDA’s National Organic Program. Ingredients have been grown on farms that have not used artificial fertilizers or pesticides for three years or more. The farms and processors have also met the USDA’s organic standards. The products are sold nationwide in a number of mainstream supermarkets, in stores featuring natural and health foods, as well as on a number of websites. The pet foods are sold in specialty pet stores and many other outlets.

Several of our members have been reviewing their great products.

Newman’s Own Organics is giving away one box of the same items our reviewers received!

More than a $150 value!

So just enter the rafflecopter below

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Love and Lightning Bugs,
 

Love at First Bite, with Simply 7 and the Pitch List

Let me just start out by saying, that I am a picky eater. I always have been. Even before I had Crohn's Disease, there wasn't much I would eat. After I was diagnosed, it seemed like everything was off limits. The healthier it was for me, the sicker it made me, and the less I wanted to branch out and try anything new. So when I was offered to work with Simply 7, thanks to the Pitch List, I wasn't sure how well I would like the snacks, or how well my body would like them.

Thankfully, it was love at first bite!

Hummus Chips: Roasted Red Pepper, Sea Salt, Spicy Chili Pepper, Tomato Basil
Lentil Chips: Jalapeno.Sea Salt, Bruschetta, Creamy Dill
Pomegranate Chips: Sea Salt, Black Pepper, White Cheddar

I expected to get one or two bags to review, so you can understand my delight when a massive box packed with a staggering 11 bags was delivered to my door! There were three types of chips, with different flavors among them: Hummus, Lentil, and the most interesting one, Pomegranate. I started out with the Hummus chips, since I freaking love hummus. It happens to be its own food group in this house. 

I wasn't let down either! They were crunchy, and reminded me of toasted pita, but they had that same creamy flavor that hummus with olive oil has. After trying all the flavors, I have to say I loved the Tomato and Basil the best. The chips all held their hummus quality, but had slight hints of whatever flavor they were supposed to be. It was really nice to not have the flavor of a chip overpower its natural flavor.

The Lentil chips were something I had never tried before, but they too were really tasty. They were crunchy, but light, and weren't filling, like other chips I have tried. Even though I don't like dill at all, the Creamy Dill flavor was my absolute favorite! It reminded me of a Sour Cream and Onion flavor, and made it difficult to just eat a few!

The very last kind I tried was the one I was the most hesitant about: Pomegranate. I wasn't sure what to expect at all from these, but I was surprised to find that I really liked them! The Sea Salt flavor was my personal favorite. They were very lightly salted, but not so much that the sweetness of the pomegranate was ruined. 

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this brand! All the chips were crispy, crunchy, and had a creamy texture at the end. They weren't greasy or oily, and even my temperamental tummy  didn't have any problems with them! If you like what you've read, why not enter below to win your own box of delicious Simply 7 chips?

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Love and Lightning Bugs,
 

Dressale International New Year Giveaway

Dressale International New Year Giveaway  Win Amazing Dresses worth $200

**This giveaway is sponsored and run by Dressale.com – by entering and proving your email, you are sharing that information with Dressale**

It is time to take that New Year's resolution to the next level!  Is there a better way to start the new year than with an amazing giveaway? This time I've partnered up with Dressale to giveaway one of their hot selling dresses!

The winner will receive a dress valued at up to $200!  Now that is a fabulous giveaway!

It is easy to win and it is super simple to enter the giveaway:

- Register on Dressale
- Like Dressale on Facebook
- Follow Dressale on Twitter
- Leave a comment under this post with the email address that you registered with, and tell me what dress you love!
- Apply the dress you want to get here>>> http://www.dressale.com/free_trials.html​
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Good luck with this giveaway! I know I found so many dresses I loved on this site, it might be hard to choose your favorite!

Love and Lightning Bugs,
 

Diamonds (and Candles) are a Girls Best Friend!

As some of you know, I have allergies. Horrible, horrible, watery eyes inducing, giant chain sneezing causing, allergies. Because of this, I have to be careful of the fragrances I use, in soap, perfumes, conditioner, and of course, house hold scent products.

I haven't been able to really burn candles in my house for years, because every time I would try to, it always ended in a sneezing, coughing, and teary eyed fit. Thankfully though, I found Diamond Candle! 

Diamond Candle is a North Carolina based candle company, that produces 100% soy candles with a special surprise inside! Something about the wax must make this candle pretty allergen friendly, because it's one of the few candles I have ever used that doesn't make my allergies act up. Not only that, it smells AMAZING. The Orchid Meadow candle has a soft, subtle scent. It reminds me of summer nights, and long hikes, and fields full to bursting with wildflowers.

Unlike some candles, whose wax melts only in the center, Diamond candles melt all the way around! I can still remember my mother complaining about that awful ring of unburned candle all around the edge of the glass. What a waste of hard earned money! The candles also burn for far longer than the normal candle, with an average burn time of 60+ hours per 21 oz candle.

Now for the fun part...the surprise inside! Within each Diamond Candle, is a ring valued at $10, $100, $1,000, or $5,000!

It took about 12 hours of burning (1/6th of the candle) for the little gold foil envelope that held the ring, to be uncovered. Inside that gold foil, was a small clear bag, and inside that, this ring! Isn't it stunning?

Even though it's a touch too big for me, I know of a few friends I can gift it to, and I can always get another candle to find a ring that fits me better. The quality of the ring is phenomenal, though the lack of inside markings leads me to think it's a $10 ring. There has been no discoloration on my skin from it, the stones are all very securely attached, and it's a good weight. It's one of the best costume jewelry pieces I have ever seen! You can see more rings that have been unearthed on the Diamond Candle Facebook Page, and Pinterest Page.

If you just can't wait to try out Diamond Candle, why not enter below for your chance to win a 21 oz candle in any scent on their site!

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Love and Lightning Bugs,
 

The Game of Things: Proving Our Cats Hate Us One Answer at a Time

Some of my best memories are of my family and I, sitting around a beat up card table, laughing, yelling, throwing down our cards, and having a great emotion filled evening. We would spend hours playing together, and when I got older, those times seemed to be fewer and far between. Most of my family moved on to computer, console, and online games. While I adore playing online MMO's with thousands of other players at my fingertips, you know what I still love the most? Sitting at a table with friends, snacks, and a great board game.

I tend to be pretty picky about my board games, since Monopoly has caused week long wars in my home before, so I rarely try new ones. Thankfully, I was talked into trying The Game of Things! Not only was it really simple, but it was such a great time!

The premise of the game is to figure out what who at the table wrote the various responses to a question. You would think it would be easy, but not quite. If you have a rather nerdy and sarcastic set of friends, like I do, the responses to the questions can be really interesting!

One of my favorite cards pulled during the game was "THINGS...cats think about humans." My response was "Tyrant", but every one else came up with similar words to mean overbearing human being who squishes the wills of others. We apparently don't think our cats love us very much, if at all, haha!

The scoring on this game was really simple and the gameplay was fun, light, and thankfully no one flipped a table in anger (unlike with other games that have been played in the past *coughMonopolycough*).



I would really recommend this game for a fun night with friends and drinks, or for a family wanting some bonding time. The answers can be as racy and raunchy, or as simple and family friendly, as the people you're playing with. So step away from the computer, make some party snacks, and pull out that old card table shoved in the back of the garage...you never know what great memories you're missing out on.

Love and Lightning Bugs,

Keep Calm and Burn On With Aurorae Pledge Candle

Meditation can be really difficult when you don't have something to ground you. Most people focus on an image in their head, or a calming tune. However, I have always used the power of scent. I tend to burn a stick of incense, but I found that I had failed to replenish my supply last time I was out! What's a girl to do when she's stressed out beyond belief, and needs something to help calm her? 

Needless to say, I was beyond happy that my Aurorae Pledge Candle arrived that same day.

This candle is a 6.8oz, 100% Soy Wax candle, which is housed in a recyclable non-toxic tin container. The candle is also non-toxic, which is great with a household of bunnies who like to taste everything! Even better, unlike many candles which will burn down in hour or two, the Aurorae candle will burn for 30-35 hours!

The lavender scent was fragrant, but not so strong it caused me a headache, and I was very happy to simply let the candle sit unlit on my desk for a few days. Even without the heat of the flame, a very light scent comes off the candle, which is very pleasant, and very calming. I liked this candle so much, I've even placed it on my altar! Unlike most of my other candles, this one doesn't produce black smoke, and won't dirty up my books, stones, bottles, or cards. That in itself was reason enough for me to love this!

If you're looking for a candle that will be long-lasting, relaxing, and not overpowering, this might just be what you're looking for! They are available on Amazon, but you can try to win one just by entering below!

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Love and Lightning Bugs,
 

Origami Owl Custom Jewelry Giveaway!

Well, it's time for the giveaway I have been teasing you with for days!

Are you ready to win an awesome prize package, all from Origami Owl?

Origami Owl Custom Jewelry is a fun and fashionable direct sales company with a unique twist.  As an  Independent Designer, I hold interactive events where I help women of all ages create living lockets that hold charms that represent what is important in their lives.

These lockets are completely hypo-allergenic, and amazingly beautiful! You can add, remove, and change everything about them, from the charms and plates you put inside it, to the dangles and tags that you can clip to any of their great chains.

This giveaway is for a medium silver locket with crystals, a silver ball station chain, a heart tag, and ONE charm of your choice from the three shown above. There is a butterfly, a heart, or a cross!

The total for this prize would normally be over $50, but you can enter to win it below!

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Love and Lightning Bugs,
 

1 Year Blogiversary Giveaway!

It's been one year since I first started this blog, and it seems like the time has just flown by!

I have written 181 posts, gained thousands of followers, and enjoyed some great conversations and friendships with the people here. So to say thank you for all your love and support, I'm giving away a great prize package for one lucky reader to win and enjoy!

So what's in this prize package?

Well, a little bit of everything! I wanted to include some of my favorite products in this giveaway, and I think I've managed to get a good array of items.

• $60 credit to OASAP
• Any corset in stock from Orchard Corset (no price limit!)
• A $30 or under corset from Corset Chick
• Any two products from Sibu Beauty (Excluding Raw)
• 4 Newman's Own Organics snack products of your choice
• a six pack of Zevia Soda

There's some fashion, some fun, some beauty, and even a few snacks as well! It's a great prize package, with something for everyone. So please enter below, cross your fingers, and remember to come back each day for more chances to win!

This giveaway will run from now, until 11:59 PM on the 15th, so get in your entries!

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Love and Lightning Bugs,
 

Party Planning Made Easy with Birthday Express, and the Pitch List

Don't you just love when you're going about your day, trying to get everything done that needs to be done, and it suddenly hits you that you have a birthday party plan...which is only two weeks away. Sure, you could run out to the local party supply store, and gather up a hodge-podge of random cups, plates, tablecloths, and other assorted items. But would they match? Is there even a theme? If you're planning a party for a child, does it have their favorite characters on the items, or is it just a plain color?

Why even go through all the trouble of spending hours running around looking for all the supplies you need, when you could spend 20 minutes on Birthday Express, and just have it all delivered to your door?

Image taken from BirthdayExpress.com

That's right, you can have all your plates, napkins, cups, silverware and tablecloths delivered right to you, all with a fabulous and coordinating theme. Not to mention, all your decorations and party favors too! But while you're there, why stop at just the party supplies, why not look at getting some of the gifts you need there too? One stop shopping at it's finest!

Thanks to the always amazing Pitch List, I was able to review a couple of items of my choosing from Birthday Express. However, all the important birthdays were either in September or in December. So, I decided to do look at some of their great games and activities instead! I found a super cute Gnome Garden, and since I'm always using glitter in my craft projects, I picked up a multi-pack of that too. Yes ladies, they even have the glitter you need to really make a party fun!

I was surprised to see a free sample of Tom's Toothpaste in my package as well, but since I love trying new products, I was happy to get it!

The shipping to my home was really quick, and very well packaged. And you can bet I tore into the package to get to the goodies! The glitter was set aside for later protects, but I began working on the Gnome Garden right away. The kit included:

• 1 large, flat, pot
• 1 large bag of potting soil
• 1 packet of grass seeds
• 2 white styrafoam mushrooms
• 1 little wooden house
• 1 packet of thick paper leaves
• 1 bag of black stones
• 1 bag of faux moss covered stones
• 3 small ceramic gnomes
• 3 small ceramic ladybugs
• 1 ceramic leaf shaped 'tub'
• 1 bag containing the assorted paints, a paintbrush, and the spray bottle for water

That box was crammed full of fun things, and my imagination ran wild. Not being a lover of Gnome's, I decided to make this tiny garden a place for my house fairies instead, and threw in a few of my own items as well. 

I painted the mushrooms, and a fairy protection rune over the door of the little house, and on the side of the pot itself. No one wants bad fairies moving in! Then I glued on the paper leaves, and a few of my own glitter covered fall leaves. I laid the 'walkway' using the black stones from the kit, and I also put in some Celtic Sea Glass, for a touch of color. It still looked a bit bare to me, so I went ahead and made a wire tree using copper and silver wire, and placed a fairy charm in the branches. After all that, all that was left was to plant the grass seeds.

This was a super fun kit, and a gift someone of any any age would love! Birthday Express has tons of kits and activities just like this one, that would make any party a hit.

But it gets even better, now you can enter to win a party pack full of plates, cups, napkins, and other supplies that you need for a great party!  In fact, 5 winners get a $30 party pack! Enter below for your chance to win!

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Love and Lightning Bugs,
 

Making Holidays Memorable With Gift Baskets Plus

With the holidays around the corner, you know what that means...families getting together, big dinners, gifts being exchanged, and that ever elusive search for a present to give to the one person that you have no idea of what they will want or use. That last task is my least favorite part of the holiday season.

So what do you do when nothing in the stores seems like a good present for that person? You look outside the box!

Gift Baskets Plus is the perfect place to find a great gift, that everyone will love.

They have amazing gift baskets for every occasion, including Easter, Thanksgiving, and Father's Day. Not to mention, the awesome variety of baskets, filled with meat and cheeses, fruit, candy, and cookies. But there is way more than any normal gift basket company I have ever seen.

Do you have a beer or wine lover on your list? You're in luck! Gift Baskets Plus has an awesome array of wine and beer baskets. Do you know someone who has a special food need, like Kosher or Organic? Well Gift Baskets Plus has those baskets too! There is such a great selection of baskets, big and small, for almost every person and occasion you can think of.

Even better, right now they have a coupon code active only for my readers! Want 15% off any basket? Then please use this code at checkout: 15OFF

Using Gift Baskets Plus, you can make any holiday memorable!

Love and Lightning Bugs,
 

Something Delicious For Your Eyes

Take a look at the picture below, and just savor it for a moment. 

Look at that sticky rice, topped with a delicious shrimp. A little wasabi, or soy sauce, and this would be perfection! Just one piece, the last piece, remains on the plate. Can't you just taste it?

Well, you probably shouldn't be putting that piece of sushi in your mouth, because it's not quite what it seems...it's a zip drive!

That's right, this yummy looking piece of deliciousness is a 4 GB zip drive, that will store your files, and make all your friends envious at the same time! Thanks to Fake Food Japan, you too can have something that looks as good as this, while still being a functional item you'll use everyday.

Started in 2012, Fake Food Japan has made it their mission to, "give people spanning the globe the opportunity to own and enjoy for themselves this Japanese time-honored craft of producing the most authentic looking fake food known to man."

They have a ton of amazing products offered for sale, including USB drives, mint cases, business card cases, key-chains, full size food replicas, and cell phone charms. Not to mention their custom order service! You can actually have a certain food of your choice perfectly recreated. Now that is pretty awesome. 

The craftsmanship of these pieces is really exquisite when you look at them as well. Not only do they look delicious, they look strikingly real. Please note the tiny imperfections, and almost invisible black specs on this piece. The creators of these beautiful pieces have so perfectly replicated the shrimp, that they even put on the black specs sometimes left over after cleaning the shrimp. 

Many of the items at Fake Food Japan would make perfect gifts or souvenirs for that person who loves to travel, or who loves anything Japanese. Not to mention perfect stocking stuffers for that person who's so hard to find a gift for. I could see the full size replicas being perfect for teachers, or chefs, who want a teaching aid.

I seriously love my USB drive, and I have received so many compliments about it from my college classmates.

As you as in love with these fun and quirky items as much as I am? Then enter below using the rafflecopter form to win any item under $55.00!
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Love and Lightning Bugs,
 

Customize Your Space With Vinyl Disorder

If you've known me longer than five minutes, you know I have an undying love and obsession for what I consider my souls kin: foxes. I have fox fur (harvested from animals who have died naturally), toy foxes, fox jewelry, a vase that my High School art teacher made me (which is a fox), fox calenders, the signature on my blog has a fox...and I could go on for pretty much ever. 

So of course, when I was given the opportunity to review an item from Vinyl Disorder, as part of another awesome Pitch List opportunity, what did I pick? A 9 inch, metallic silver, Fox. It took me about 10 seconds to decide to put it on my laptop.

I can not even begin to tell you how much I love this vinyl! It's very professional looking, with fantastic cutting and patterns. Not to mention super easy to apply! It only took five minutes out of my day to prep my laptop, and apply the image to it. Even better? They supplied the only tool I needed: a small credit card sized 'scraper' used to remove air bubbles, and transfer the design from paper to my laptop.

Vinyl Disorder has literally hundreds of different vinyl stickers available on their site, which can be used on cars, walls, windows, mirrors, laptops, and more! The stickers are very affordable, and are long lasting wherever you place them. The image comes sandwiched between adhesive paper, and wax paper, making this a very fast and easy apply process.

You simply peel back the adhesive side, slowly and carefully  making sure that every part of the image stays on the wax paper. After you've done this, you  hold the image above the area you want to apply it to, line it up, and carefully begin to put it on the surface. Using the provided scraper, make sure the image is firmly attached to the surface, and get out all those pesky air bubbles! Then you just remove the wax paper. Voila! The image is crisp and clean, leaving no junk behind from the papers used to transfer the image over.

If you like what you're seeing and reading, then why not enter below for your chance to win? The Rafflecopter opens at Midnight tonight, so make sure to come back!

Please enter the rafflecopter below, then feel free to visit the other blogs in the linky! I love looking at the different ways that others used their graphics!
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Love and Lightning Bugs,