Make Spring Smell Better With #FebrezeSpring @SheSpeaksUp

This is a sponsored post for SheSpeaks/Febreze. All opinions are my own.

There are so many scents that evoke memories for me. I guess it's like that for most people but almost any scent, I can tie into something from my childhood. The scent of lavender always reminds me of my grandmother's house and her perfume. For some reason, that evokes a memory of playing as a child in her house. The smell of milk and honey together instantly puts me to sleep and completely relaxes me.

Do you have any scents that remind you of things or bring back memories? With the new Febreeze spring collection, there are some amazing new scents that are sure to remind you of sweet memories.

In our house, Febreze is a staple. I am always using Febreze in almost every room, including the car now. We have a pretty good collection going on too with the sprays, the plugins, the scent stands, and the car plugins! Earlier this spring we were introduced to a few of  Febreze's wonderful new scents for Spring and so far, the Sweet Pea is our favorite! I've been using that one in the bathroom and it's completely perfect for the area. It helps take away smells and leaves the entire room and hallway smelling fresh!

If you haven't tried out the new spring scents from Febreze, make sure to head on over to Walmart to check them out before they're gone!

Short Family Holiday Destination Ideas

All of the sunny weather has focused our minds on the upcoming holiday season. It’s great to spend some time away as a family, though if you are unprepared then it can end up being an unnecessarily stressful experience. This is why it’s important to have a good idea of the best destinations to travel to.

If you have young children then the last thing you want is to end up staying in the middle of a lively party town. It’s also unlikely that you want to spend long hours on a plane with your little ones bored and complaining for the whole time. For those who want to avoid such catastrophes, you can use a tool like amadeus.net to find out suitable flights and other travel details to keep things as seamless as possible.

Here are some good ideas for family-friendly holiday destinations, all of which are only a short plane journey away.

Alcudia, Majorca 
At just a two hour flight into the islands’ capital Palma, you can find yourself on a lovely, warm Mediterranean island before you know it. Alcudia is the biggest resort to the north of Majorca, and has a 14 kilometre stretch of stunning white sand as its focal point. The north of the island is far more family-orientated than the livelier southern resorts such as Magaluf and Palma Nova, and many of the hotels here have activities specifically tailored to those of a younger age.

The Algarve, Portugal 
Portugal is another favourite summer holiday hotspot with families, and there are a range of resorts dotted along the Algarve coast in the south of the country. Only a three hour flight from the UK into Faro airport, it offers a good alternative to Spain yet is not really much further in distance. Portugal, unlike much of mainland Europe, is also in the same time zone as us, which is definitely a benefit when you have children. For resorts, try Portimao or Villamoura - both of which are relatively quiet and family friendly. Even the older part of Albufeira - the area’s most popular resort - can easily cater to younger children.

Icemeler, Turkey 
Just across the bay from the livelier Marmaris, yet a whole world away in terms of its ambience, Icemeler is a little sister resort to the more famous Dalaman hotspot, yet is far more suitable for those travelling as a family. Although Turkey takes a bit longer to get to from the UK (with a flight time of around four hours), it’s well worth the trip out there. The local people are incredibly friendly and do everything they can to make you feel welcome, so this is a big plus when you have travelled with children as you will know they will be well looked after.

Skiathos, Greece 
Situated in the North West Aegean Sea, the tiny island of Skiathos is fortunate to be relatively untouched by mass tourism, and is therefore incredibly calm and family friendly. It’s only seven miles by three miles in size, yet has 60 beautiful beaches, so perfect for those who want to enjoy some quiet family time on the sand and in the warm seas found here. It takes around three and a half to four hours to get there, but if you want somewhere a bit more off the beaten track, this is the place to come.

Top 5 Reasons I Love My Neato #NeatoXVEssential

Is vacuuming a thorn in your side? I hate vacuuming only because it seems like my efforts and sweat go to waste. Even when I get done, there is still debris on the carpets and the house gets dirty again in less than 15 minutes. There is nothing I hate more than working hard all day cleaning to see your house waste away to nothing again in an hour.

But my house has been clean for weeks now and I don't have to do any of the work! Well, at least not any of the vacuuming and it's all thanks to Neato Robotics! Neato Robotics makes amazing robot vacuums that with one press of a button will vacuum your entire house and then dock itself when it's finished. Talk about super easy right?

If you've never had the privilege of owning a Neato, then here are my top 5 reasons on why I love them so much to hopefully sell you on them.

• It literally takes a push of a button to start and then your work is done. That's right! Just push the button and the vacuum starts and stops on its own. You literally do nothing. So you can vacuum and take a shower at the same time.
• It goes around and under furniture without any problem. I love my Neato because it even gets under my couch and since I can't lift it myself, I couldn't do it with a regular vacuum.
• The Neato comes with a special magnetic strip that you can lay down anywhere you don't want the vacuum to go. So let's say you don't want it going into the bathroom. Just put the magnetic strip at the entrance door to the bathroom and the machine will automatically stop and turn around there.
• The Neato tells you when it's full. I totally love this because you can't see into the Neato bin without taking it out. But it automatically tells you when it needs to be changed so there's no guessing.
• If it gets stuck, it can get unstuck by itself! Sometimes my Neato will get stuck on a rug or under furniture, but it will get itself unstuck by backing up and turning around. So again, there's no effort needed from you.

Are you sold yet? You really need to check out the Neato XV Essential vacuum at Walmart because it's the easiest way to keep your house clean! And make sure to enter below for a $50 Walmart gift card that you can use towards buying a Neato!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Share Videos and Photos Easily with Blendit

We've all had it happen. You come home to listen to your messages and half of them are from your mother, asking why she never gets pictures of the kids anymore. Seriously, this was my house when I was growing up. It got so bad with my grandmother that we started screening our calls! But now you don't have to hide in the corner from the relatives desperate for pictures! Send them to their phones from Blendit!

BlendIt,is a new private photo and video-sharing app that connects your photos from Facebook, Picasa, Flickr, and your phone with an exclusive group of anyone who wants to check out your pictures. BlendIt makes it easy and fun to share photos and videos privately with friends and family.Simply download the app and choose the shots you want to share. Next, invite who you would like to join you in your private blend via Text, Facebook,Contacts, or email. Once they’re set up, they’ll see those pics on their computer, tablet, or smartphone.

Use your shared photos and videos to collaborate and create movie mash ups, collages, and albums. Keep your masterpieces private, or share on your social media networks for everyone to enjoy! I absolutely love how easy it is to make an album to share! Most of us have hundreds if not thousands of pictures on our phones so actually sorting them into albums to share is awesome!

Features of BlendIt Include: 

• Collaborate anytime, anywhere via mobile, tablets, laptop, desktop... BlendIt covers it all! 
• Add photos and video from mobile, tablet, desktop, webcam, Facebook Albums, Instagram, Picasa Albums, Google+, YouTube Channels... BlendIt makes it easy! 
• Create movie mash ups with just a few clicks: Select your favorite shared photos and videos in the order that you like them and BlendIt will automatically create a movie with a music track of your choice! 
• Create beautiful photo collages: Our collage is the perfect size to be used as the banner of your Facebook Page. 
• Share (add) to your existing social media accounts and albums: BlendIt provides seamless integration into your existing social media. You can add photos and videos right into your existing social networks, like Facebook, Fwd: Connect Blend and Share with New Photo and Video Sharing App!Google+ or Picasa, with just a click! 
• BlendIt is perfect for: Family Vacations, holidays, baby showers, birthday parties, school events, and virtually any shared interest or activity you can imagine!

BlendIt is available for free on Google Play and iTunes so make sure to download it today for easy sharing!

Fresh Florida Blueberry Cheesecake @FreshfromFL

This post brought to you by Fresh From Florida. All opinions are 100% mine.

Growing up in Florida, there was never a moment that we didn't have fresh foods. I even remember when I would drive to school, we would pass a huge orange orchard that stretched out for miles. Fresh fruits and vegetables are always in abundance in Florida and a lot of the fruits and vegetables in the supermarkets across the country are shipped from Florida!  

One of the great things about living in Florida was the availability of fresh seasonal produce.There's always some sort of locally grown, fresh produce in season! And when the rest of the country was begging for Spring to begin we were already enjoying in-season blueberries! So in honor of blueberry season which is already here for Florida, I made a delicious Floridian Blueberry Cheesecake!

Ingredients:

1 whole cheesecake (homemade or store bought)

4 pints Florida blueberries, rinsed

½ lemon, juiced

1 cup water

1 cup natural Florida sugar

Directions:

In a small sauce pot, combine 2 pints blueberries, sugar, lemon juice and water.

Place sauce pot over medium high heat.

Stir contents of pot as it comes to a boil, reduce heat to simmer.

Cook blueberry mixture for 20 minutes or until it coats the back of a spoon. 

Strain blueberry sauce through a sieve if desired.

Let blueberry sauce cool to room temperature, and store in the refrigerator until needed.

Top the cheesecake with some of the cooled blueberry sauce, leaving extra for garnish.

Place fresh leftover blueberries on top of the cheesecake.

Serve the blueberry topped cheesecake with extra blueberry sauce.

Total Prep Time: 30 minutes

Do you like to eat blueberries when they're in season? I actually just planted a blueberry bush in my yard so hopefully I'll have some fresh blueberries this year! What are some of your favorite blueberry recipes from  Fresh From Florida?

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