Category: Reviews>>

Cascade Platinum Handles it All!

[ 0 ] June 17, 2013 | Shelley Zurek

Does your Dishwasher need some extra Help?

This review of Cascade Platinum is a result of a campaign I participated in on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Cascade . I received a product sample to facilitate my review and a promotional item as a thank you for participating.

At just $.26/load, who doesn’t want dishwashing benefits like Cascade Platinum is offering?

I currently use Cascade Gel. It works just fine, I am super happy with the product. I never buy anything else, Cascade works that well. So when I was asked to try Cascade Platinum, my question was…how much better could it be? I currently have a 14 year old dishwasher. As I have no ~~money~~ desire to replace it anytime soon, I do baby the old girl. I probably over rinse my dishes and take a lot of extra time, hot water, and effort in doing so.

Cascade Platinum had the following advantages that caught my eye:

Powers away tough, 24 hour stuck-on food
Eliminates the need to pre-wash dishes
Helps maintain the look of new machines and helps prevent additional hard-water build-up
Delivers exceptional dishware shine
Costs $0.26/load

Wow, those benefits along with that low price per load seems pretty great!

Putting Cascade Platinum to the Test

stillblonde The Chief Blonde Remarks: I used Cascade Platinum for a week and noticed a definite improvement in the shine of my dishes. I greatly reduced the amount of time that I spent pre-washing dishes. Truthfully, unless there was huge hunks of food, I just loaded the dishes right in to the dishwasher no matter how long they had been sitting on the counter. My dishwasher certainly looked lovely whenever I emptied the dishes. Cascade Platinum delivered on all it’s promises. The one change I would suggest is to improve the fragrance, it’s very overwhelming. I would have a fabulous after picture of the Dishwasher above but alas, all my pictures were blurry. Trust me, Cascade Platinum is the uber-pinnacle of dishwasher cleaning weapons!

Gene Simmons says “Cascade Platinum handles it all”

Gail Simmons, Top Chef judge and editor of Food+Wine magazine, talks in the video below about why presentation and prepartion are both equally important in the beautiful pictures of food today and introduces the benefits of Cascade Platinum to that process! Watch this video:

Get Social with Cascade to learn all the details on Cascade Platinum

Win a Platinum Kitchen! Enter the Cascade “My Platinum” Contest

Hurry over to the Cascade “My Platinum” Instagram contest ! One winner each week will win a Whirlpool dishwasher. The Grand Prize winner will win a Platinum Kitchen Makeover.

The theme for this week is My Platinum Clink (Entry: 6/17-‐6/23) Show them how you serve up creative concoctions in sparkling glasses.
The theme for next week is My Platinum Table (Entry Period: 6/24-‐6/30) Show them your sparkling tablescape for your most special celebrations!

PSSSTTT…That’s my entry for this week! Beat that!

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$50 Laughing Vixen Lounge Gift Certificate Giveaway and Review

[ 77 ] June 15, 2013 | Shelley Zurek

Laughing Vixen Lounge– Baubles for the Modern Vixen

Blog Note: I was contacted by Laughing Vixen Lounge who owns a delightful Etsy Shop to conduct this review and giveaway. I was given a promotional item. Opinions are all mine baby!

Laughing Vixen Lounge Vintage Valentine Bracelet

Laughing Vixen Lounge “You Make My Heart Flutter” Charm Bracelet ($50)

YearOfYouButton still blonde The Chief Blonde Remarks: This Laughing Vixen Lounge Giveaway is part of the Year Of You^TMGiveaway Hop hosted by Planet Weidknecht. The Grand Prize Sponsor is providing the Grand Prize: $2000 in Karina Dresses, awarded as a dress a month for a year! Grand Prize Entry Form located at www.weidknecht.com. Once you have entered our giveaway, head to the Linky at the bottom to enter to win prizes at every blog listed below. Each blogger will be hosting a giveaway worth at least $25. All giveaways are geared towards a BEAUTIFUL YOU!

The Laughing Vixen Lounge has Zombies and Vintage Ladies!

In addition to the gorgeous bracelet that I was able to review in the top picture above, you can find gorgeous pendants:

Pendant Laughing Vixen Lounge

Laughing Vixen Lounge Art Deco Pendant ( $12 )

and Zombie Jewelry:

Zombies Laughing Vixen Lounge

Laughing Vixen features Zombie Jewelry including this pendant of Brains & Flesh ($32)

and don’t forget these hilarious vintage inspired pill boxes/compacts:

Pill Box Laughing VIxen Lounge

Funny Vintage Ladies Compact – Opinion ($15)

Aren’t her pieces FAB and AFFORDABLE? You can see how great the piece she gave to me goes with my outfit!

Laughing Vixen Lounge Still Blonde good

The Chief Blonde is wearing Laughing Vixen Lounge “You Make My Heart Flutter” charm bracelet ($50), Cobb Hill Sandals ($125) c/0, Dana Buchman skirt (Kohl’s) , black jacket (Liz Claiborne), pink shirt by The Gap, gold greek key hoop earrings.

CAN’T WAIT TO WIN IT?

Buy pendants, bracelets, Zombie jewelry, and Compact Mirrors/Pill Boxes at the Laughing Vixen Lounge Etsy Shop.

THE GIVEAWAY

Giveaway runs June 15-July 15, 2013 Ends 11:59 PM EST

THE PRIZE

One Winner will take receive their choice of jewelry up to $50 from the Laughing Vixen Lounge Etsy Shop.

Rafflecopter Form

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Keep Hoping to all the Other Giveaways Listed below and make sure to enter for the Grand Prize!

Blog Notes

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How I Lost Digital Weight, Samsung Galaxy Camera Review Part 1

[ 7 ] May 31, 2013 | Shelley Zurek

Dumb Phone User gets Smart Camera!

Samsung Galaxy Camera Review

Disclosure: This Samsung Galaxy Camera Review is provided in conjuction with my participation in the Verizon Voices Style program and I have been provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.

Samsung Galaxy Camera Reveiw, 16MP, Optical 21x. 23MM Zoom Lens! Capture great photos and video with this smart camera

How a Samsung Galaxy Camera helps you lose weight digitally!

I am a blogger, and blogging takes a lot of recording of your everyday environment. Especially when you are at a blogging event, you have to have access to a variety of modes of recording and data capture in order to accomplish your information task. I like to have a way to be connected to the internet, a way to video, a way to make phone calls and a way to capture pictures! In the past, that has involved a huge number of digital devices and a lot of extra weight to schlep around.

TRUE CONFESSION: I also am the mother of 4 college children and have not made the move towards a smart phone.

#LoserIKnow!

As you may know, as a Verizon blogger, I received the new Samsung Galaxy camera, a smart camera that does virtually EVERYTHING a Samsung Galaxy III Phone does except make phone calls and the Samsung Camera takes far better pictures and video. Coupling my dumb phone with the Galaxy camera, I have been able to eliminate 9 of the 11 items that I used to carry around. (I no longer take my iPad and the charger, the iPad keyboard, my flip video, my camera and charger, the carry-all bag, a back-up battery and a car USB charger).

Watch the Video below to see how I eliminated 6 pounds of Digital Weight.

ALSO!! Big Secret Revealed

Katy from Modly Chic and I will be hosting the Verizon Voices Fashionista Style Hop on our blogs. Starting in the first week of June on Tuesday, June 4th and every Tuesday thereafter, you can link up your latest style post right on Still Blonde after all these YEARS! The following week, the hop will be on Katy’s blog, Modly Chic.

Need a Reminder? Sign up here for a weekly reminder that we will send out to you via email on Tuesday morning!

Subscribe to our Verizon Voices Fashionista Style Weekly Reminder

See all of our Verizon Voices Style Posts

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Blogger Rescued by Labeler! Brother P-Touch Labeler PT-H100

[ 12 ] May 30, 2013 | Shelley Zurek

Saved! Brother P-Touch Labeler

As an Ambassador for Brother P-Touch Labeler Campaign, I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consultingon behalf of Brother P-Touch and received a product sample to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

My tipping point

As you may recall from my last Brother P-Touch Labeler post, over the last month, I have been dealing with by Blogger Mess!

P-Touch Labeler organized my blogger mess

Clear crisp clean labels from the Brother P-Touch Labeler PT-H100 along with a massive clean out helped to rescue me from my tipping point…blogger mess. As you can note above, my shelves in the basement for storing my blogger review items were OUT OF CONTROL! A real benefit of labeling is that you and everyone else knows where items go on well organized shelves. That way if my family takes blogger items to the basement for me, they will know right where to put them on the shelves.

Labels are keeping me organized now and in the future

I simply cannot believe how much more space I have now that I have taken the time to organize! It’s going to be super easy to keep with the routine because the labels will remind that there is a place for everything. The Brother P-Touch Labeler allowed me to make additional copies of a label when I needed to put more than one on a shelf. I also was able to add Pictographs to emphasize what my labels are visually. For example, on the “Fashion Label”, I put pictures of hats, scarfs, purses, and shoes.

Check out this before and after!

Inspired for the summer

I had such a great time throwing things out and getting organized with my Brother Labeler that I am going to finish all the other shelves in the basement. Also, utilizing Brother’s Flexible Cable/Wire Tape I am going to finally get the cord situation in my den under control. What a relief that will be!

Get Some Inspiration Yourself!

Head over to Brother’s Facebook Tab for all kinds of ideas from other bloggers about the projects they tackled this summer using their Brother P-Touch Labeler PT-H100 .

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Summer Style Secrets: Video Featuring The Chief Blonde, WHOA Network

[ 18 ] May 29, 2013 | Shelley Zurek

What summer style secrets should Women over 45 incorporate?

Women over 45 of the WHOA! Network got together via a Google Hangout to discuss Summer Style Secrets. The Chief Blonde along with 4 other panelists and WHOA! co-hosts covered a wide variety of summer issues. Watch the Video below!

Topics covered by the panelists include:

Hats–Why wear them in the summer?

Summer Shorts– Are these appropriate for Women over 45? What styles?

Capris– Should we wear them? How?

Summer Tops and Camis- Exposed bra straps, strapless bras

Bathing suit– Cover ups, bikinis,

Tanners –Tan or pale?

Wedding wear for summer– Dresses

Panelists include:

Shelley Zurek, Creator of Still Blonde After All These Years

Deborah Boland, Creator of Fabulous After 40®

Oceana Lott, Creator of Oceana’s Canvas

Sylvia van de Logt, Creator of 40 + Style

Felice Shapiro, Founder of Better After 50

The Chief Blonde’s 3 summer style suggestions:

Summer Style Secret #1. Wear a Hat!

Remember PALE is the new TAN! Let’s prevent Melanoma this summer!!

Summer Style Secret #2 If you must wear capris, wear a heel

I think most capri pants are pretty ugly. That being said, I also understand why many women wear them. If you wear capris, I recommend wearing them with a heel. Now not 4″ heels maybe, but an espadrille or sandal. A higher shoe creates a much better line. PLEASE DON”T WEAR WITH TENNIS SHOES AND SOCKS!!!! Also, a dark flat just makes you look squatty. If you must wear a flat stick with a skin color shoe. Personally, I hate capris but I show a better way to wear them.

The Chief Blonde contrasts capris with and without a heel.

Summer Style Secret #3 –If you must wear a t-shirt, especially a men’s or graphic T, dress it up. Look feminine!

As a rule, I hate men’s t-shirts on women. They are all wrong for a woman’s body. No matter what your shape, a woman’s t-shirt is so much better of a choice. Yet, in the summer there are many situations where you must wear a men’s or graphic T-shirt. If you do, try to add feminine details like a necklace or a belt to soften the lines.