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Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Cholula Cap Decorating Contest (and giveaway!) - (Ends Dec 23)


Ever tried Cholula?  I hadn't until Cholula sent me 4 of their flavors to try in the mail.  I was impressed.  Not only is it good on eggs, which I had heard of, but it's also good in soup and on popcorn.

Cholula is having a cap decorating contest and offered to sponsor a contest on my blog!  I chose to decorate my Cholula caps as ornaments.

For the gold ornament, I painted it gold and then used super glue to make the swirls (because it has a fine tip and dries quickly.)  I poured on the glitter and was done!  For the white one, I painted it white and then put stick-on jewels all over.  I added an ornament top and I was done!


Do you want to win your own 4-pack of Cholula so you can try all of the flavors?

It's easy!  Just decorate at least 1 Cholula cap and send me a picture (jessica@utahcountymom.com).  I will post the pictures here as they come in.  This is a holiday-themed decorating contest, so try to encorporate something from the season.  The winner will get a 4-pack of Cholula!

Not only that, but once you decorate your caps, you can also enter them into the contest at Girlichef here.  You just need to post a picture to twitter when you are finished or email it to her directly, and you could win a Sur La Table Tri-Ply Stainless Steel Cookware set valued at $279.96 or one of 12 Sur La Table $25 gift cards.

Entries must be received by December 23 at 11:59 PM Mountain time to be considered.

Nacho Mama Tees - Review and Giveaway (Ends Dec 28)


I love Nacho Mama Tees because it has so many creative and funny t-shirts to choose from!  Check out these that I found on their site.  HILARIOUS!





Out of all of the shirts I have received for reviews, the one I got from Nacho Mama Tees is the most comfortable.   Anyone looking for a hilarious, comfortable, and flattering shirt?  Check them out!
Do you want to win a shirt of your own? 1 lucky reader will WIN a $15 gift card to Crazy Dog T-shirts. (I realize this says Crazy Dog Tshirts and the post is on Nacho Mama Tees, but it's supposed to)

TO BE ELIGIBLE: You must be a public follower of this blog. I will check!!! (To follow me, just click "Join this site with Google Friend Connect" on the left column of my blog.)

TO ENTER: Check out Nacho Mama Tees and let me know which shirt you like.

EXTRA ENTRIES: You can get 1 extra entry for each of the following:
-Like Utah County Mom on facebook
- Like Crazy Dog T-shirts on facebook
-Follow Utah County Mom on twitter
-Follow Crazy Dog T-shirts on twitter
-Follow Utah County Mom on Pinterest
-Share this giveaway on your blog, twitter, or facebook with a link to this post (1 entry each)
-Subscribe to Utah County Mom via email (enter your address on the left sidebar)

Leave a separate comment for each entry for this giveaway.

This giveaway will end at 11:59 PM (Mountain Daylight Time) on December 26, 2011.
Fine print: Although I received a free product for reviewing this product, the opinions on this post are 100% mine. The giveaway is for US entries only.
Winners cannot have received a promotional product from Crazy Dog Tshirts or Nacho Mama Tees within the past 90 days, or have a review/giveaway blog of their own.

CONGRATS TO AUSTIN WHO WON THIS GIVEAWAY!

Homemade Caramels

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Out of all of my Christmas recipes, this is the one people rave about the most.  Every time I make these people take them by the handfuls until they are gone.  They are delicious.

Homemade Caramels
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 c sugar
1 c butter
1/4 t salt
1 1/2 c light karo syrup

Mix in heavy sauce pan, stirring constantly.  Heat to 224 degrees or soft ball stage using a candy thermometer.  Pour into well bettered 9x13 pan.  Cool.  Cut into pieces, and roll in waxed paper or cellophane.

For this recipe, you really need to stir quickly the whole time.  Turn down the heat if it starts burning at the bottom.
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El Pollo Loco in Lehi: Review and Giveaway (Ends Dec 21)

Recently, my family tried out El Pollo Loco in Lehi.  I was really impressed!


It had a fast-food atmosphere, but the food was definitely higher quality than other fast food mexican restaurants I have tried.  It was easy to bring the whole family with plenty of seating and high chairs for our little one.


You can see the people who work there cooking the chicken right behind the counter!


We tried the Poblano burrito, and the chicken carnitas bowl.  I loved the bowl, and my husband loved the burrito.  We also got a side of sweet potato fries to share.  They also had a salsa bar which was really fun.

They did have kids meals available, but we decided to get Lily a side of macaroni and cheese instead.  She loved it.

We should have gone on a Tuesday because kids eat free!!!

We loved El Pollo Loco in Lehi and will definitely go back soon!

Do you want to win a complimentary burrito and chicken carnitas just like we tried?  El Pollo Loco has offered to sponsor a giveaway for 5 lucky readers! 

Each winner will receive a coupon for a complimentary brand nuevo burrito (choose from the Califresco, el tradicional, the spicy chipotle, or the poblano) and a coupon for a complimentary chicken carnitas meal (choose from a chicken carnitas taco, chicken carnitas bowl, chicken carnitas burrito, or chicken carnitas meal.)

TO BE ELIGIBLE: You must be a public follower of this blog. I will check. (To follow me, just click "Join this site with Google Friend Connect" on the left column of my blog.)
TO ENTER: Leave a comment letting me know which brand nueve burrito looks good to you! (Calfresco, el tradicional, spicy chipotle, or pablano)
EXTRA ENTRIES: You can get 1 extra entry for each of the following:
-Like Utah County Mom on Facebook
-Follow Utah County Mom on twitter
-Follow Utah County Mom on Pinterest
-Share this giveaway on your blog, twitter, or facebook with a link to this post (1 entry each)
-Subscribe to Utah County Mom via email (enter your address on the left sidebar)
Leave a separate comment for each entry for this giveaway.

This giveaway is for locals only - within a reasonable distance from this restaurant in Lehi. Each prize package is for use only at the Lehi location.
This giveaway will end at 11:59 PM (Mountain Daylight Time) on December 21, 2011.
Fine print: Although I received a free product for reviewing this product, the opinions on this post are 100% mine. The giveaway is for people willing to drive to Lehi only

CONGRATS TO EMILY, CHARITY, ALLISON, SHANNA, and ROSE WHO WON THIS GIVEAWAY!

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Red Pepper Jelly - With neighbor gift printables


Red pepper jelly is really good along with crackers and cream cheese.  I like to make it around Christmas time because sometimes I am overwhelmed by all of the sweets and need something savory for a snack.

Red Pepper Jelly
About 7 red peppers
2 c apple cider vinegar
2 t salt
2 t chili powder
10 c sugar
2/3 c lemon juice
1 6-oz pkg liquid pectin

Cut peppers into chunks and chop in blender or food processor until pureed to make 4 cups.  Mix peppers, vinegar, salt, and chili powder in a large pan.  Boil 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add sugar & lemon juice and bring back to a boil.  Add pectin and boil 2 more minutes.  Skim foam if needed.  Remove from heat and pour into sterilized jars and seal.

Tips:
Red peppers are cheapest at Costco.
Canning supplies and pectin are cheapest (by far) at Walmart.
1 batch filled about 20 small jelly jars.

For the printables for the jars and tag, save the following .jpg files by right clicking over the picture and choosing "save picture as".  You should be able to print 6 per page.


You can add your own message/name using any photo editor.

These files can also be found here and here.

Monday, December 12, 2011

The Leonardo in SLC - Review and Giveaway - 2 WINNERS (ENDED)

I have heard about the new museum in SLC called The Leonardo, but had no idea what to expect what I went.  I had heard it was unlike any other museum, but I didn't know how.  If you're like me and want to know what you're getting into before you commit to an activity with kids, hopefully this post sheds some light on what to expect and how incredible this museum really is.


When you walk into the museum, there are all of these feathery looking things hanging from the ceiling all over the lobby.  It was beautiful, and I initially assumed it was just art.  You should have seen my face when it moved.  These are motion sensitive, so it looks like the whole thing is alive.  You can move your hand up toward it from under it and it will move away from you.  It's an incredible exhibit that combines art and science, and you don't even have to pay to see it since it's before the ticket counter. 


Another thing that impressed me in the lobby was this wall of lights.  Again, at first I just assumed it was art, but one of the people who work at the museum explained it represents the world.  This picture (above) doesn't show the whole thing, but once he pointed it out I could clearly see where each continent was supposed to be.  The lights chart a bunch of different things like weather patterns or seismic activity.  The whole thing is hooked up to a twitter account, so he pulled out his smart phone and used twitter to make it show seismic activity.  I was fascinated.  I loved being able to interact with the exhibit in the sense that we were controlling it from our phones via twitter.


On the main floor, they have a bunch of exhibits that have to do with places.  The picture above is one of 3 screens you can control to learn more about places.  My nephew in the picture is looking at Utah, and demographic facts would pop up on the screen explaining about the place we were viewing.  There was also a coloring center near by where people could see how many states they could draw/name from memory, and a place where you could design your own place, adding rivers, bridges, trees, boundaries, etc.


One of the people who worked at the museum explained they have exhibits that are a work in progress.  The exhibit above represents algae growing, and over the next several months will grow and change.


Lily loved that there was always something new, exciting, and different to look at.


At The Leonardo, you have the option of participating in a study on genes.  They can swab the inside of your cheek, and run tests on your DNA.  Then after 40 minutes (in which time you can look at more of the museum) they tell you what some of the traits you are likely to have due to your DNA.  It sounded fascinating but we didn't have time to participate during this visit.


The kids loved playing with the green screen technology.  They could see the same screen we could, so they had fun holding up green things to make part of their bodies disappear on screen.


This area was devoted to stop motion.  Not only could you learn about stop motion and how it was made, but you could use the props and materials they had available to make your own stop motion movie.  If you had your own flash drive you could even save the movie to take home with you.  There were several of these stations, so kids could work for a while on their movie without holding up the rest of the people who wanted to participate.  (Stop motion is the technology that made movies like Chicken Run and Wallace & Grommit)


The day we were there they had the US Adaptive Bobsled Team there to meet with everyone.  Not only were there props the kids could try on (helmets, etc.) but the team did a really good job of getting the kids involved.


Above one of the members of the US Adaptive Bobsled Team helps my nephew try out something they use to practice their balance.  I was in awe looking at the metals around their necks realizing these guys are the real thing!


They had a whole section devoted to learning about prosthetics.  We learned about what prosthetics used to be like, what they are like now, and where they are going.  In the picture above, one of the people who work at the museum shows us how to hook a sensor up to our arm to make the prosthetic hand turn on/off a light switch.


Lily liked using the headphones to watch the various videos which were set up to teach us things.


They let us try on a few prosthetics.


I was really impressed with how many people who worked at the museum were around to help.  They helped us a lot - which was really nice to have the one-on-one interaction to help us learn.


Once we had put on our prosthetics, there were ramps and stairs we could practice walking on, with railings all around to help us keep our balance.


The exhibit above was cool because 4 people could interact at the same time.  You would touch the screen and it would create images on the screen on the wall that went to the music.  All 4 touch screens produced different images, so it was fun to play around with each one or use all of them together.


This was probably the favorite thing of all of the kids I saw.  It was kind of like Kinect for the XBOX in that when you moved then it sensed your movement and made your character on the screen move, but it was a lot more sensitive to movement.  My nephew is moving, and it is making his character (dressed up as a knight) move with him.  The kids had a ton of fun dancing and twirling and jumping to make the character move.


The kids also loved the part of the museum that had a huge Google Earth projected on the floor that you could control by jumping on the control pad.  The kids would crawl around their neighborhood, pointing to parks and houses they recognized.


They have an art studio in this museum where real artists come and work for a few weeks.  You can see what a real artist would look like while they work, and ask them questions if you want.  The people who worked there said the artists who come do all different types of art.  Some are very clean and keep to themselves, and some spread out and use the whole room as their space.


In the same area as the artists, they have numerous art projects the kids can participate in.  They have people who work there assigned to teach you how to do things.  I think I could have spent 4 hours just in this part learning how to do art and practicing my techniques!

Believe it or not, I didn't cover a lot of what we got to see there.  It's not a museum you will get bored in.  You'll want to go back again and again to really get into everything they have available.  It would be a great museum for a big group with various ages, because they have so much to do and have so much variety there would be many things that would interest everyone.

The Leonardo
209 E 500 S in Salt Lake City
801-531-9800

801-531-9800

So...do you want to win tickets to go check out The Leonardo for yourself?!?  2 winners will receive a family pack of tickets including tickets for 2 adults and 3 children!

TO BE ELIGIBLE: You must be a public follower of this blog. I will check. (To follow me, just click "Join this site with Google Friend Connect" on the left column of my blog.)
TO ENTER: Tell me what exhibit you think looks fun.
EXTRA ENTRIES: You can get 1 extra entry for each of the following:
-Like The Leonardo on Facebook
-Like Utah County Mom on Facebook
-Follow Utah County Mom on twitter
-Follow The Leonardo on twitter
-Follow Utah County Mom on Pinterest
-Share this giveaway on your blog, twitter, or facebook with a link to this post (1 entry each)
-Subscribe to Utah County Mom via email (enter your address on the left sidebar)
Leave a separate comment for each entry for this giveaway.

This giveaway is for locals only - within a reasonable distance from this museum in SLC.  Each prize package is for pick-up only at the museum.

This giveaway will end at 11:59 PM (Mountain Daylight Time) on December 26, 2011.
Fine print: Although I received a free product for reviewing this product, the opinions on this post are 100% mine. The giveaway is for people willing to drive to SLC only.

CONGRATS TO SHANNA AND ASHLEIGH WHO WON THIS GIVEAWAY!

Lavish Giveaway (Take 2) - 7 WINNERS! - (ENDED)

Remember how much fun I had going to the new Lavish store in Lehi? Did you miss out on the giveaway here?  It's not too late!  Lavish is sponsoring ANOTHER giveaway for 7 more winners!


Since my last Lavish post, I had to take all of my husband's sisters to Lavish and we spent 2 hours there!  After we basically tried on everything in the store, I couldn't leave without getting this lovely jacket.
Ok...now for the GIVEAWAY details!

Lavish has offered to sponsor a giveaway for 7 of my readers! That's right...7!
2 winners will receive a camisole of their choice
5 winners will receive a $5 piece of jewelry of their choice

TO BE ELIGIBLE: You must be a public follower of this blog. I will check. (To follow me, just click "Join this site with Google Friend Connect" on the left column of my blog.)
TO ENTER: Take a look at this post or my Lavish board on Pinterest and tell me something you think is cute.
EXTRA ENTRIES: You can get 1 extra entry for each of the following:
-Like Lavish on Facebook
-Like Utah County Mom on Facebook
-Follow Utah County Mom on twitter
-Follow Utah County Mom on Pinterest
-Pin anything from this board on Pinterest (1 entry only available for this, no matter how many you pin)
-Share this giveaway on your blog, twitter, or facebook with a link to this post (1 entry each)
-Subscribe to Utah County Mom via email (enter your address on the left sidebar)
Leave a separate comment for each entry for this giveaway.

This giveaway is for Utah locals only - within a reasonable distance from the Lehi location. Each prize package is for pick-up only at the Lehi location.  Winners of my previous Lavish giveaway are also not eligible.

This giveaway will end at 11:59 PM (Mountain Daylight Time) on December 26, 2011.
Fine print: Although I received a free product for reviewing this product, the opinions on this post are 100% mine. The giveaway is for people willing to drive to Lehi only.

CONGRATS TO THE FOLLOWING WINNERS:
CAMI:  ARTSY CHAOS, DIANE W
JEWELRY: KIA89, NICOLE, CAMBRIC, LISA, BBRITTBRAT1398

Crazy Dog T-shirts: Review and Giveaway (ENDED)



Looking for some hilariously funny t-shirts for a last minute Christmas gift?  I found some awesome ones at Crazy Dog T shirts!





 I love this site because there is such a variety!  Take a look around - there is a ton to choose from.  To be honest it took a while to narrow it down to just 1.

Do you want to win a shirt of your own?  1 lucky reader will WIN a $15 gift card to Crazy Dog T-shirts.

TO BE ELIGIBLE: You must be a public follower of this blog. I will check!!! (To follow me, just click "Join this site with Google Friend Connect" on the left column of my blog.)

TO ENTER: Check out Crazy Dog T-shirts and let me know which shirt you like.

EXTRA ENTRIES: You can get 1 extra entry for each of the following:
-Like Utah County Mom on facebook
- Like Crazy Dog T-shirts on facebook
-Follow Utah County Mom on twitter
-Follow Crazy Dog T-shirts on twitter
-Follow Utah County Mom on Pinterest
-Share this giveaway on your blog, twitter, or facebook with a link to this post (1 entry each)
-Subscribe to Utah County Mom via email (enter your address on the left sidebar)

Leave a separate comment for each entry for this giveaway.

This giveaway will end at 11:59 PM (Mountain Daylight Time) on December 26, 2011.
Fine print: Although I received a free product for reviewing this product, the opinions on this post are 100% mine. The giveaway is for US entries only. 
Winners cannot have received a promotional product from Crazy Dog Tshirts or Nacho Mama Tees within the past 90 days, or have a review/giveaway blog of their own.
CONGRATS TO BKEG WHO WON THIS GIVEAWAY!

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Butler Bag: Review


Lily is old enough now I don't carry a diaper bag around everywhere I go, but I hadn't chosen a purse to transition to yet.  I needed something big enough to hold a few diapers and toddler things as well as my stuff, but not so big that it turned into a big black hole I could never find anything in.  That is one reason I was thrilled when Butler Bags sent me one of their Everyday Totes to review! 
My husband would tell you that pre-diaper-bag days, my purse slowly accumulated "stuff" until it was a huge mess and I couldn't find anything.  I argue that most of my "stuff" was necessary, I just didn't have a great way to organize it besides throwing it all in.  Check out this bag!  It has compartments that do the organization for you!


I have diapers and wipes along the top, snacks for me, sanitizers and lotion, toddler toys, toddler snacks, my phone and sunglasses, my camera and business cards, and my wallet all organized neatly in their own space.  When I move my purse around it doesn't mix all of my belongings together making a huge mess!  I can even fit a sippy cup snugly along the side and still easily zip the purse up.  There are zip pockets on the front and inside as well for keys, cash, and coins.



Not only is this bag functional, it looks great too!  It's Napa Leather which makes it nice.  I have already gotten several compliments on my new purse before they even see how cool the inside is.

Butler Bags is offering an INCREDIBLE DISCOUNT just for my readers!  Use the coupon code 130UTAH when you offer and receive $130 off your bag!  You can also get a FREE gift in addition by letting them know in the "Comments" section when you order if you would like either a bangles jewelry organizer (in blue or purple) or a folding mirror.

You can order a Everyday Tote from Butler Bag off their website here.

Fine print: Although I received a free product for reviewing this product, the opinions on this post are 100% mine