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The KitchenAid Shrunk: The Artisan Mini Stand Mixer

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The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free.

I LOVE my KitchenAid!! I have been using KitchenAid since the day I married my husband which was 15 years ago yesterday. I received one as a wedding gift, then I decided that I wanted a red one and my husband bought me one for Mother’s Day. He purchased the bigger one. I think it’s the Professional series one. And now thanks to Best Buy, I have the new KitchenAid Artisan Mini.

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MEET THE MIGHTY MINI  – MINI MIXER. POWERFUL PERFORMANCE.

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The KitchenAid Artisan Mini is just like it’s bigger siblings. It has the same quality and strength. It is compatible with all the attachments, it’s just smaller. It’s perfect for smaller spaces. It would have been perfect in the apartment we stayed in when we lived in DC. We had low cabinets and not much space. Just because you might be low in space, doesn’t mean you should have to sacrifice your baking and cooking needs and I think everyone needs a KitchenAid and you can get your KitchenAid Mini at Best Buy.

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It’s Smaller

It’s Lighter

It’s Powerful

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The iconic KitchenAid® Stand Mixer you know and love, is now 20% smaller and 25% lighter* making it great for smaller kitchens. With a 3.5-Qt bowl to make up to 5 dozen cookies and with over 10 available attachments, make everything from fresh pasta to burgers, veggie noodles and more.

We made a video using the KitchenAid Mini as we made some Rum Flavored Whipped Cream. The KitchenAid Mini is perfect for making such amazing creations like whipping cream, mashed potatoes, and with an attachment, Ice Cream. The Possibilities are endless.

 

Rum Whipped Cream RECIPE:

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Heavy Whipping Cream
Rum Extract
Powdered Sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Put ingredients in the bowl and set to high.

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The compact size and lighter weight perfectly suit the needs of a city dweller who loves to cook in their smaller spaces. Artisan Mini is made for your lifestyle, made for your kitchen, made for you. The Artisan Mini Stand Mixer also features 10 mixing speeds and comes with a coated flat beater, dough hook and 6-wire whip.

Reasons To Buy The LG Front Loading Washer and SideKick @BestBuy @LGUS

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The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free

I love having an LG front loading washing machine and dryer and I purchased mine a long time ago, probably about 8 years ago. So I know that the new LG Front Loading Washer and SideKick have to have major improvements compared to mine. LG%20Front%20Load%202

 

Cleaning and Convenience are at the top of the list when it comes to front load

Front Loading washing machines have a very large capacity and with the SideKick you can do 2 loads at once. The SideKick would allow me to do my small load of delicates that need to be washed once a week. Plus I love the idea of getting 2 loads done at once. The SideKick is a pedestal too. I love having my Washer and Dryer on a pedestal it makes the door at just the right height for loading.

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Another reason that a front loading is better than a top loading machine is that cleaning performance within front load is better than top load. Also, front loaders will typically use less water, consume less electricity, and the washer also spins faster to help keep clothes drier to reduce overall drying time.

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Best cleaning performance

REASONS TO BUY: The LG Front Loading Washer and SideKick @BestBuy

·         Gentleness on clothes so they last longer

·         Most energy efficient to save on utility bills

·         Highest spin speaks to dry clothes faster

  • SideKick compatible – providing additional capacity to wash 2 loads at once

·         When you Purchase an LG Front Load Washer and SideKick  at Best Buy you can save an additional $150

·         Best Buy Blue Shirts are experts in the benefits surrounding LG Front Load laundry and there to help you make your decision

Charge 2 Heart Rate and Fitness Wristband

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We received samples for review purposes from Verizon. Verizon wireless is our cell phone service of choice.

I’ve been a big fan of all the different kinds of fitness bands. I’ve tried quite a few of them out there, Fitbit being one of my favorite fitness band brands. I’ve also tried the Microsoft Band and a Gobe, at least I think that’s what it was called. Fitbit is the one that seems to withstand time and popularity. Which is why they keep improving them like the Charge 2 Heart Rate and Fitness Wristband. Fitbit fitness band

The new Charge2 HeartRate and Fitness wristband has been with me thanks to Verizon for a few weeks now. I love to use it to monitor my sleep, my heartrate and my fitness level. Which I’ve found that my fitness level is very low.

When I did the Ruggad Maniac, I felt like I was going to die for about 12 hours after the event. My heart rate wouldn’t drop below 100 until after I went to bed that night. It was a pretty intense feeling. And I was happy that I was able to monitor my heart rate with the Charge 2 Heart Rate and Fitness Wristband. So I’m quite motivated to get out there and get moving.

 

I’d love to inspire you to get moving too….

10 Things To Enjoy From Fitbit Charge 2

1. Guided breathing sessions and reminders to move

2. PurePulse heart rate monitoring with wireless connection to the app on your phone

3. Connected GPS to maximize your run

4. Long Life Battery and a Tap display

5. Interchangeable Bands

Fitbit key features

4 key features:

1 Purepulse Heart Rate
2 Cardio Fitness Level
3 Interchangeable Bands
4 Auto Sleep Tracking

6. Automatic exercise recognition and multi-sport tracking

7. Watch your stats, steps, distance, calories, floors climbed and active minutes

8. Stay connected with smartphone calls, texts and more

9. Automatically keep up with your sleep patterns

10. An app to help you put all the pieces together

Fitbit Charge 2

You can pick up your own Charge 2 Heart Rate and Fitness Band at Verizon.

10 Things We Love In The Samsung Family Hub Refrigerator @BestBuy @SamsungUS #AD

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The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free

The Samsung Family Hub Refrigerator is our new favorite appliance in the house. It’s used more than almost all other appliances coming in at a close second to our TV. If we had a Samsung TV, I think the Samsung Refrigerator would be the most used appliance because we would then be able to mirror our TV to the Samsung Fridge. We tried pairing our TV to it but it just wouldn’t pair. We’re hoping as they update the software it will work with our TV.

Samsung Family Hub

The Samsung Family Hub has so many apps and here are our top 10 apps  in no particular order that we use on our Samsung Family Hub. But first a quick video on our favorite things.

10 Things In The Samsung Hub Refrigerator

 

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1. The White Board – Both of my kids brighten my day every day by drawing me a new picture. I adore their creativity and how easy it is for them to use. I wish I could figure out how to make the pictures they draw the screen saver.

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2. The calendar – I know that using a calendar is not a new idea, but having it there, my digital calendar where I can see it, where the entire family can see it is AMAZING. I

3. Pandora – It’s so easy to play my music lists from the Samsung Hub.

4. Glympse – with glympse I can track every member of my family. Each of us have phones and have the Glympse app. So I can ask The Samsung Hub for the location of every family member. I love it.

5. Notepad – I’m actually using the note pad to keep track of the kids chores. Whose turn is it, they do the chore then it’s their responsibility to change the name on the chore title. If they forget they have to do the chore again. Again, I LOVE it. IMG_3832[1]

Second Five Favorite Features

6. View Inside The Fridge – this is fantastic because I can see what’s in the fridge without opening any of the doors. There are like 3 different cameras I think and it’s pretty good quality. Our fridge has a bottom drawer, a middle drawer we use as our deli drawer and then two doors on the top.

7. Bixby (Integrated Voice Activated Features) – Bixby is the Siri/Cortana of the fridge. Say Bixby for “it” to come alive and follow your commands. We ask Bixby all kinds of things but it doesn’t do everything yet. He can’t tell jokes but he can tell us the weather.

8. Grocery Tracking/List. You can keep track of your groceries and add them to a grocery list. I’ve put the kids in charge of this task. I think Miles has been adding them. You can also keep track of expiration dates.

9. Google Search – this is another feature that my son loves to use. He searches for space ships to draw. He also loves to search out Popular MMO videos. He is a youtube watcher for sure. We can watch videos on our Samsung Hub.

10. All Recipes – This has to be my daughter’s favorite app. She loves looking through the recipes and finding one to cook. Her only complaint is that sometimes the photos aren’t very good quality. The recipe suggestions come with voice read-out and text enlargement

 

There are many other things we use but this is our top ten.

Free STEM Saturdays at Microsoft Stores

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Sea Legacy co-founders Cristina Mittermeier and Paul Nicklen

Starting today Saturday May 6th, Kids can get free STEM lessons. These STEM Saturdays go all throughout the month of May. There will be many locations in addition to the range of free programs Microsoft Store hosts year-round that empower youth by providing direct access to technology and hands-on learning. The free workshop series gives participants a hands-on experience building a sensor that measures the flexion and extension of a finger to learn about the anatomy of a human hand. Anyone can attend STEM Saturdays at their local Microsoft Store starting on May 6 and every Saturday this month. For details, please visit www.microsoft.com/stemsaturdays.

A Mother’s Day Tech Guide

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Mom’s love tech for Mother’s Day so with the help of our friends at Verizon we’ve put together this fun Mother’s Day Gift Guide.

mother's day gift guide

We also kept it short and simple as we wish our lives as mothers were more simple. We also wish for a little alone time or more time to get everything done  and better quality time with our children. There’s technology to help all those things.

The LG G6 has a compact aluminum and glass body that fits comfortably in your hand.

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To help manage hectic family schedules, moms (and dads) can keep track of where kids are and when they get there with the Family Locator secure app. Set up daily or weekly schedules and receive a text or email when family members leave or arrive at locations that you choose, like school, work, soccer or home.

Google Pixel a great phone that keeps everything Google in the palm of your hands. I hear for the price it’s a great value.

Google PixelBusy moms can take charge – literally – with the Mophie powerstation plus 600 to ensure their phone always has enough juice while on the go. For parental peace of mind, the Mophie powerstation provides a safe, quick charge. No more stress from dead or dying batteries!

Need a little alone time? Listen to your favorite podcast or music while you get some exercise with the Bose SoundSport Pulse wireless headphones. They not only deliver heart-pumping sound, they also monitor your heartbeat as you move to the music.

ProEXR File Description =Attributes= channels (chlist) compression (compression): Zip16 dataWindow (box2i): [0, 0, 7999, 7999] displayWindow (box2i): [0, 0, 7999, 7999] lineOrder (lineOrder): Increasing Y pixelAspectRatio (float): 1 screenWindowCenter (v2f): [0, 0] screenWindowWidth (float): 1 tiles (tiledesc): [64, 64] type (string): "tiledimage" =Channels= A (float) B (float) G (float) R (float) I love keeping track of my exercise so the Fitbit Charge 2 makes an excellent gift.

Fitbit Charge2

For time spent with kids in the car, the new HumX service offers drivers navigation, roadside assistance, vehicle diagnostics as well as Wi-Fi Hotspot capability that allows up to 10 devices to stream content over the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network. Long live the connected family road trip!

GE Appliance & Remodel Sale @BestBuy @geappliances #bbyremodeling #AD

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I have been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free.

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So about a week ago I published a post for Best Buy telling you all about an Appliance Remodel Sale. Well guess what guys? They have another one going on right now but this time it’s with GE. And Best Buy has a great selection of GE appliances to remodel with.

GE Appliances makes it easy when you’re upgrading your kitchen at Best Buy during the Great American Kitchen Event now through April 26.

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Check out this GE Range.

The GE PROFILE™ SERIES 30″ BUILT-IN SINGLE CONVECTION WALL OVEN is of true European Convection. I love using convection ovens because they bake so evenly with direct air. The warm air blows from the top in and around bakeware It has a very good size capacity,  5.0 cu. ft. This is great for large cooking events like Thanksgiving or any dinner party you might want to throw. Like many of the GE Appliance wall ovens, this one is also Made In America 

GE fridgeCheck out this GE Refrigerator.

This GE refrigerator is also American made with stainless steel as the finish making it look so polished. You can also organize your fresh and frozen foods in this side-by-side refrigerator that features slide-out and spill-proof glass shelves. It also has very adjustable clear door bins that allow you to customize your storage options.

Best Buy makes it easy for you to stretch your remodeling dollars by offering the best deals during the season on GE appliances. On this sale you can get……

Up to 30% Major Appliance Top Deals.
Minimum Savings is 5%. Plus, Get a free $100 gift card when you buy 2 Major Appliances totaling $1500 or more.
Free installation on all GE appliance wall ovens 4/5-4/29 (BBY Exclusive)

More details here

GE Appliances makes it easy when you’re upgrading your kitchen at Best Buy during the Great American Kitchen Event now through April 26.

Visit Best Buy now!

Movie Selection & Holiday Specials @BestBuy #bbymovies #ad

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 The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free

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Look at the amazing spring weather. It’s so nice outside right now with Easter being around the corner, Best Buy has a great way to celebrate this great weather. With all the different amazing streaming devices, and portable viewing displays available at Best Buy you can enjoy a night outside watching movies. And in honor of celebrating SING’s home movie release, Best Buy has a great deal that comes with a free lunch box. Sing_BBYLunchboxBlogger_0

The Lunch Box offer is included when you buy one of the promotional movies in the large children’s movie collection that Best Buy has to offer.

imageAlso when you spend $25 on one of these select movies, you get a $5 Best Buy gift card. (These are stackable offers.) Check out the Gift Card offer. Lunch Box Offer valid 3/26 – 4/15. Gift Card offer valid 4/2-4/8.

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Best Buy’s expanding selection of kids and family movies online or in-store is getting better and better.  It makes for a great Easter gift and option for a family movie night. While celebrating our movie night we did some baking. If you’ve seen the movie SING, in the movie the theater sorta gets destroyed. So we were trying to make biscotti and it sorta didn’t’ make it. It completely reminded me of the crushed building. image

But it’s more important about the taste than it is about the looks. This was pretty good.

A Remodel Sale with LG Appliances @BestBuy @LGUS #AD #bbyremodeling

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The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free

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With spring comes spring cleaning and with that often comes remodeling. I know I’m in the mood for a big change in my house. For one I need to purge all the stuff off my cabinets and just clean out. Then I’m in the market for a new dishwasher. My current on gets so hot it’s melting itself. Crazy right? At least I know everything is clean.

Best Buy is having a fantastic remodeling sale with LG. With the amazing selection and discounts going on right now LG & Best Buy are allowing you to stretch your dollar to remodel your appliances.

With this major upgrade sale you can get up to 30%  off major appliances. These are Top Deals. I mean check this out, your minimum Savings is 5%. (valid 3/22-4/12). Plus, you can get a free $100 gift card when you buy 2 Major Appliances totaling $1500 or more. To learn more about this offer.

Thinking of LG in particular you can receive up to $400 back from LG via mail on select Kitchen Packages (valid though 5/3/17). To learn more about this offer.

Want to learn more about LG. Off hand I can tell you I loved my LG appliances. Here are specifics on the newest models….

Check Out the LG – InstaView™ Door-in-Door®. 

Dept4_LG_Contemporary_Kitchen_07_01_NoExp.psd·         It has a Large Capacity, 24 cu ft. – You can store more with this ultra capacity French Door refrigerator.     

·         It includes InstaView™ Door-in-Door® technology. The InstaView™ Door-in-Door® refrigerators have a sleek glass panel that allows you to see inside the easy access door without letting the cold air out. Simply knock twice on the glass to illuminate the contents within. Makes me want to run in to Best Buy just to check it out.     

·         The LG Black Stainless Steel Series  elevates your kitchen with a satin-smooth, warm and sophisticated finish unlike any other.    

INCLUDES ENERGY STAR!
ENERGY STAR® Qualified means you save money and energy.  This ENERGY STAR® qualified LG refrigerator exceeds energy standards.    

Another appliance to check out is the Self-Cleaning Slide-In Electric Convection Range in Black stainless steel. 

  • Front Control/Slide-in Range featuring ProBake Technology

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So head on out to Best Buy or check out LG & Best Buy on-line and tell me what you think of these new appliances that are ON SALE.

iD Tech Summer Camp Coupon Code

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This is a partnered post with iD Tech.

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My kids go to some kind of summer camp every year and they love it. I love it too! Summer camp provides an opportunity to be around other kids, learn in a group setting while having fun. Summer camp also provides an opportunity for children to keep losing information they learned during the school year. By keeping those little minds active, the summer slide doesn’t happen.

I’m also very into STEM and tech education. Children need these skills to survive in our world. So I love the idea of tech camp. At iD Tech, they teach 55k students how to code, build robots, develop apps, and much more.  Their programs are at the University of Washington, University of Puget Sound, Bellevue College, and other sites just in the WA area. ID Tech is actually the #1 Tech Camp in the country! They have locations everywhere.

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We have a savings code: Use APR2017 to save $75 on iD Tech Summer Camp. And I just looked at the schedule and it’s filling up fast (at least in our area it is). They have courses for kids from 7 – 12 and 13 – 17. Plus they keep classes down to a ratio of about 8 to 1. Which is pretty outstanding. They have quite a few locations and if you happen to be one of my readers that does not live in the Puget Sound area, be sure to check out their website, iD Tech and find the location closest to you.

This summer by doing one of these camps your child can explore a top campus, make friends as they master new tech skills, and join a community of 275,000 iD Tech students and alumni who are organizing robotics clubs, starting companies, founding nonprofits, and landing jobs at tech powerhouses like Facebook and Google. For 18 years, it has been iD Tech’s mission to empower the next generation of coders, app developers, game designers, engineers, and innovators. Whether you attend for one session or come back repeatedly, your child’s tech pathway starts here.