Thursday, September 22, 2011

Review: Hershey's Air Delight from Hershey

Hershey's at it again with their new Hershey Air Delight chocolates! They sent us some of the candy bars and kisses to try out. And I was very delighted in the experience and so were the girls once they saw mommy eating the chocolate and wanted some.

Now you are wondering what is the difference with the regular chocolate bars? Not much in terms of nutritional value and some say you are getting less chocolate but it comes out to only 3 grams less is all (40g versus 43g). But what you are getting is a new texture, a new feeling, a new experience when eating chocolate.The chocolates are aerated making the melting process just slightly different but oh so enjoyable as always.

If you want to try something besides the regular chocolate bar, I would suggest grabbing a new Hershey's Air Delight and trying one yourself, the experience is well worth it.

The new Hershey's Air Delight Chocolate is currently available and sold nationwide at grocery, drug and convenience stores. For more information, visit www.hersheys.com.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Review: Logitech Anywhere Mouse MX, Wireless, 4 Buttons/Scroll from CSN Store



I've needed a new mouse for a while now. Just to give you an idea of how old mine was, I still have to remove the ball and clean it every so often. But a mouse is a bigger purchase than people tend to realize. It can't just get the job done, it has to be exceptional. After all, how could you use something so much that's uncomfortable or awkward? It would ruin the entire experience of using one's computer, which can be stressful enough as it is :)

I'd tried some fancy laser mouse that my husband uses. It was really nice, but there was a problem. It didn't respond well on my desk. I needed to use a mouse pad with it, and in my opinion that kind of defeats the purpose of having a laser mouse. I guess what I wanted from my mouse was more freedom to move. I didn't want arbitrary boundaries.

Font sizeAs you can imagine, the Logitech Anywhere Mouse caught my attention from the CSN Store. Worry-free movement on ANY surface? According to the product description it even works on glass. So of course, after I confirmed that it worked wonderfully on my desk, I had to go find a glass surface to test it. And what do you know? It works!

Obviously, there's no laser. And for me that was actually a big selling point. I don't know how my husband stands that red light constantly on in his office. Even when it's dimmed, it's still on. You can still kind of see it. But not with this Anywhere Mouse. Honestly, it's actually a bit stylish. But for me the best part is that it just works. No hassle, no worry, and no arbitrary boundaries. Whatever surface it's on is its mouse pad.

And did I mention it's wireless? Even more freedom. And I don't mean "wireless" in that it has some bulky cradle or some receiver that sticks out from the computer. It has a receiver, yes. But it's the smallest thing I've ever plugged into a USB port. I don't have a laptop, but I imagine something like this would be PERFECT for them. A comfortable mouse (as opposed to one of those terrible track pads) without a "dongle" that sticks out of the laptop waiting to break. This little receiver is barely visible and doesn't stick out at all, so not so much worry about breaking it off.

Usually my husband is the gadget geek, but I just can't help but love this mouse. And that's important. Like I said, when it comes to something that you use every day to facilitate other work, it has to be exceptional. Anything less just gets in the way.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Review: Chocolate Bunnies, Egg-Shaped Sweets and Special Edition "Hop" - Themed Candies from Hershey


What's Easter without candy? Well, sure, there's a lot more to Easter traditions than a basket with chocolate... But let's be realistic and let our inner children (and outer children) answer the question. Easter, for all of its traditions and meanings, is also a time to get a basket full of candy. Now, don't ask my why, but that candy is supposed to come in two basic shapes: Bunnies and Eggs.

Now, there are a lot of these on the market. You can't go to a store in March without seeing a whole array of chocolate bunnies. Small to large, solid to hollow, there are plenty of options. The same is true of eggs also. Bite-size, egg-size, cream-filled, solid, etc. Lots of colors, lots of decorations... Lots of options. But how many options do we really need? Ask yourself, when you think about chocolate, what name comes to mind?

Hershey's. No question, no close second place, nobody else. Hershey's is America's chocolate. They've been at it for generations and they still continue to bring new ideas to market. And, not to be outdone in the Easter season, they've come out with new bunnies and eggs to keep consumers delighted. And I had the opportunity recently to try their new Snapsy Bunny and HOP The Movie Magic Bunny. (Solid, of course... Hershey's doesn't cut corners on chocolate.)

Well, what's to be said? They're chocolate bunnies. My kids certainly love the movie tie-in. But for me, it's all about the chocolate. Pure Hershey's at its best. Mix in some Cadbury Creme Eggs or, my personal favorite, Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs and your holiday indulgence is pretty much complete. After all, what's Easter without candy?

Saturday, February 26, 2011

CSN Stores Review for the new year!

It's that time again! Time for another review for a great product over at CSN Stores. These guys have been so great to us. Furniture, kitchen items, tech gadgets, small appliances, even one of their swing sets for our kids! So what should we get this time? As always, we're open to suggestions. But I do have a computer component that doesn't work so well anymore and needs to be replaced so this could be good timing for something simple and practical :)

I know, we should get more stuff for the kids and less for us, right? After all, kids are expensive enough as it is so we might as well save the money where it counts! But we also want to maintain a nice diverse selection of items from CSN to make sure we cover all the bases. And a dollar saved is a dollar saved no matter where it is in the budget, right? :)

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Review: Crane Cool Mist Humidifiers from CSN Store



Sometimes this dry winter air is just too much to deal with at night. Our daughters started sleeping less and waking up with chapped, even cracked lips. So naturally we needed to get humidifiers for their rooms. But, being kids who are afraid of noisy things and love cute things, they of course had to be kids' humidifiers! The Crane Cool Mist Humidifiers at the CSN Stores caught our attention with their fun animal shapes, and the girls immediately said they wanted to get them, so the choice was easy. It was just a matter of asking each girl which they wanted. The older one wanted the penguin (since her favorite color is blue) and the younger one wanted the dragon (since her favorite color is pink, and red is close enough).

At first I was a little concerned about their water capacity. The humidifier in the master bedroom holds considerably more water and barely lasts through the night. But as it turns out they don't need a whole lot of water. At full capacity, with the dial turned all the way up, they last a couple of nights at least. Must be something about the cool mist instead of the usual warm steam humidifiers that helps them work on less water. But there's certainly no shortage of mist coming out of them throughout the night. From the moment you turn them on, a mist (noticeably cool to the touch) starts pouring out of the unit. For the penguin, it comes out of its mouth. And for the dragon, it comes out of its ears. The girls absolutely love it :)

There's really not much to say about them, they're just humidifiers. But they work. The girls are sleeping better now, and are waking up to better mornings. One odd thing I've noticed is that the control dial is different on the two units. The penguin can be "shut off" by turning it all the way down and clicking into the "off" position. The dragon, however, doesn't seem to have an "off" position on its dial. You can turn it all the way down, but it's still on and still working. So the dragon needs to be unplugged to turn it off. Not really a problem, it's just odd that the controls would be different. But all in all, these humidifiers work very well and fit in great with a child's room decor.

For the price they offer these at, it is well worth it when you need them as they work and are the same price as the plain boring ones.