ashleyd /

Swiffer Sweep Vac Review and $40 Walmart Gift Card Giveaway

  

I grew up in a home that was warm, cozy, and filled with carpet. We used vacuums for cleaning every room except the kitchen. The kitchen was often the bane of my existence as our two parakeets shed their feathers daily all over the freshly dust busted floor. One of my daily chores was ALWAYS vacuuming the feathers. Every time I’d try to vacuum the feathers the dust buster’s side vents would blow them all over the place. Flash forward a few years to the life of a New Yorker. Almost every apartment flooring is either parquet or tile. In addition, there is no space for a traditional vacuum cleaner. This makes cleaning floors a challenge as brooms tend to be far less effective.

Imagine my excitement when I received a Swiffer Sweep Vac from Procter & Gamble and My Blog Spark. Since I no longer have a Walmart or Target in my area I don’t always get to see the fun new product innovations on the market especially in the realm of home products. I have always loved the Swiffer but had never tried any of their vacuum or flicker products. The marketing/PR team working on Swiffer did an amazing job presenting this new tool. The kit they sent me included a pack of Swiffer pads, small jars of cereal, dirt, and synthetic hair to dump on the floor for testing purposes. 

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I was apprehensive at first as I wasn’t sure how affective such a small, simple product could be. The product is the same height of the traditional Swiffer but the neck area is about the width of a dust buster. This narrow dimensions mean that it can easily slide under a bed, hide in a closet, or even behind a sofa if needed.

The product came at the perfect time as I was having to clean our old apartment and then spruce up our new hardwood floors in the new apartment in advance of our housewarming party. I chose NOT to use their hair and cereal samples on the floor as I thought Styrofoam pieces, dust bunnies, and random food particles were enough of a test for this mighty little Swiffer SweepVac.

I started by assembling the vac which was very easy even for the most technically challenged person. There were two handle pieces that went together and then an A/C adapter for charging. I charged it overnight and then went to work on our parque floors.

I must say Bo and I were both beyond impressed.  The result was clean floors that were free of dirt, dust, hair, and crumbs. The pad picked up all the residue normally left behind after using a traditional broom or even Dustbuster while the vacuum was able to pick up all the larger pieces.  It also has a filter similar to a dust buster that can be emptied easily and lasts 6 months! P&G made this the most user friendly product possible.

P&G and My Blog Spark is offering one lucky Healthy, Happier Bear reader a $40 Walmart gift card so they can experience the Swiffer Sweeper Vac!

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The giveaway begins today and will end Friday at 5pm.  I will announce a winner either Friday evening or Saturday morning.

How to enter?

1. Comment and tell me what room you would tackle first with a Swiffer Sweeper Vac.

2.  Tweet this contest! Copy and paste the following into Twitter: Want to win a $40 Walmart gift card so you can try a Swiffer Sweep Vac? @healthyhappier is giving one away at http://bit.ly/9z5zWy

3. Receive an extra entry for linking back about this entry on your own blog and comment that you did so.

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ashleyd /

A Pound Cake Worth It’s Weight in Flavor

Pound cake is traditionally made with a pound of each ingredient: flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. This is not always the case anymore as the quantity is changed depending on the cake size.

I grew up enjoying every different pound cake flavor imaginable. My mom’s favorite is pineapple pound cake but I’ve always found a plain and simple pound cake to be the most delicious especially when paired with fresh Spring berries. I knew that a simple pound cake would be a perfect dessert for our Derby party as it pleases almost any pallet, is easy to slice and serve, and isn’t messy.

This Southern Living Two Step Pound Cake recipe is foolproof!  It was the most popular dessert featured at our party. By the night’s end there were only two pieces left which were quickly devoured by my co-workers today! I made a few flavor adjustments to the recipe which I capture in italics below.

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Ingredients:

  • 4  cups  all-purpose flour
  • 3  cups  sugar
  • 2  cups  butter, softened
  • 3/4  cup  milk
  • 6  large eggs
  • 1.5  teaspoons  vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons almond extract

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Preparation

1. Layer Ingredients and Mix. Preheat oven to 325°. Place flour, sugar, butter, milk, eggs, vanilla, and almond extract (in that order) in 4-qt. bowl of a heavy-duty electric stand mixer. Beat at low speed 1 minute, stopping to scrape down sides. Beat at medium speed 2 minutes.

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2. Pour and Bake. Pour into a greased and floured 10-inch (16-cup) tube pan, and smooth. Bake at 325° for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan to wire rack, and cool completely (about 1 hour).

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I hope you’re enjoying my Southern treats! While I understand these aren’t the picture of healthy and nutritious delights, I believe there is a time and place for everything in moderation. 🙂 There were indeed Derby delights done right.

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ashleyd /

Monday Recharge

In case you missed it, this weekend was an absolute blast filled with great friends, a Derby themed housewarming party, plenty of homemade Southern comfort food, and lots of moving stress! You can read more about it and one of my favorite recipes right here!
After such an indulgent weekend I knew this week needed to include lots of exercise, sleep, and whole foods. Bo and decided that one way we’d achieve this goal would be to wake up and go to bed 30 minutes early each morning in May. This would ensure we’d be able to workout from 5:30-7am each morning. Extending a morning workout by 30 minutes allows me to pump some iron after sweating through a cardio session.
Luckily after curling up in bed at 10 last night, I woke up this morning craving a sweat fest and lots of whole foods!  This morning’s workout included a few of my favorites:
4 mile run in 38:10
10 mins on the stairclimber
Chest press, bicep curls, tricep dips, lat pull down
20 pushups
Lunges/Squats/Leg Press
Today I tried to focus on only putting whole foods in my body versus processed foods. It was definitely a challenge and opened my eyes up to how much I’ve started relying on bars as go to snacks. Today’s eats were as follows:
1/2 c oats, banana, cinnamon, and flax seeds (sorry for the Blackberry pic)

Late morning snack was 1/2 a grapefruit
Lunch was a delicious salad from Pax including romaine, egg whites, chicken, tomatoes, celery, red onion, and sprouts. I stuck with lemon juice, salt, and pepper instead of dressing.

Dinner was delicious grilled chicken with veggies Bo and I steamed/sauteed this morning in between showers and dashing out the door. We knew that if we had a dinner all ready to go when we got home we’d be more likely to eat our own food versus ordering. It worked perfectly!

When I got home from work and the Junior League meeting I was craving some yoga and stretching. I popped in the Core Fusion dvd and did thighs, arms, and stretching. It was a perfect 30 minute session that left me feeling stronger and relaxed! I forgot how much I love this great DVD. Any dvd that breaks the workouts up into convenient 10 minute segments wins me over!

The rest of the evening includes nothing except lounging on the couch with Gossip Girl!
xoxo

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