tips

The Royal Berkey Water Filter System Review

October 11, 2017 by Sandra 4 Comments

Thanks to the folks that work with The Berkey for partnering with me on this post by sending me
The Royal Berkey Water System to review.

Water.

It’s something I’ve talked about a lot on my YouTube channel, and it’s definitely one of the things I’ve received the most questions about.

People want to know why we buy so much bottled water, and why we don’t simply drink tap water.

The short answer is that the tap water in our area isn’t great. It’s not even good. So, we’ve resorted to using tap water for things like washing dishes and brushing our teeth with, but we’ve drawn the line at drinking it.

In the past, we’ve used ZeroWater products to filter tap water, and they worked well. The problem is that ZeroWater products simply weren’t robust enough for our family of seven. Filters needed to be replaced often, and that’s expensive.

The Royal Berkey Water Filter System

Now, I’ve received lots of comments from people sharing ideas and products that we could use to reduce our bottled water consumption and one of the products that has been suggested over and over is The Berkey Water Filter System.

As you can see from the picture, the Berkey is quite large and the particular system sent to me to review is the Royal Berkey that holds 3.25 gallons of water. That’s a lot of water!

But that’s not even their biggest system. The Imperial Berkey holds 4.5 gallons of water, and the Crown Berkey holds a whopping 6 gallons of filtered water at one time!

Overall, our experience with the Berkey has been very positive. It does take some time to set up before initial use (I strongly recommend following the directions. 🙂 ) and it does filter water very slowly when you’re filtering it for the first time, but then as you continue to use it, it begins to filter at its maximum flow rate.

And then it’s just a matter of using and consuming the water and refilling the Berkey as needed.

FUN FACT: The Royal Berkey system is so powerful that it removes food coloring from water without removing the beneficial minerals your body needs. Isn’t that amazing?

Drinking From The Berkey

We’ve been using the water we filter with the Berkey for many things. Most importantly, we drink it, and it tastes clean, smooth, and refreshing. My kids enjoy it, and that makes me happy! 🙂

I’m looking forward to using the Berkey for many years to come. It’ll become a fixture in our home, for sure!

Do you filter your tap water? Have you ever used a Berkey system?

You can also check out the Royal Berkey Water Filter System on Amazon (referral link), and this particular one comes with a fluoride filter and four stainless steel cups!

The Tai Pei Life Hacks Event in Chicago PLUS Quick and Easy Dinner Ideas with Tai Pei

August 3, 2017 by Sandra 8 Comments

This post was sponsored by Tai Pei and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

When it comes to feeding my family, I’m all for easy dinner ideas. Who isn’t, right?

So when I had the opportunity to attend a Tai Pei Life Hacks Event in Chicago that was featuring their newest quick, easy, and delicious tasting entrees, I was all for it!

I’m just being honest here. 🙂

The Tai Pei Event

While at the event, I had the chance to learn a few life hacks that work for a fellow blogger, Danielle Moss. And, I have to say, my favorite hack was one I already know about and can’t recommend enough to people who need help keeping up with their email inbox.

Danielle talked about using Boomerang for Gmail. And, well, if you’ve never used Boomerang for Gmail to get a hold of your inbox, you should! I found out about it years ago and still use it to this day.

Basically, Boomerang allows you to schedule when emails will be sent out, and it also allows you to “boomerang” emails that have been sent to you back to yourself so that you can deal with them at a time that’s better suited for you. It’s a fantastic tool and a real sanity-saver for those of us that like to have zero emails in our inbox before we head off to bed. 🙂

Back to the Food…

Of course, at the event, we also had the chance to try some of the meals included in Tai Pei’s all-new single serve line of Asian inspired frozen entrees. And let me tell you, they’re delightful! Best of all, they’re made with real, quality ingredients.

Plus, because of all of the different choices that Tai Pei offers in this line of entrees, you’ll never get bored. My personal favorite is General Tso’s Spicy Chicken. It’s so flavorful and good!

I was even impressed by the variety and amount of veggies included in the meals. For example, the Pepper Beef meal has broccoli, peas, carrots, and celery in it! I like that!

And because the entire dish (including the veggies) is infused with flavor, my 5-year-old daughter, Elisabeth enjoys these meals, too.

Potstickers, anyone?

For those that love potstickers like I do, you’ll be happy to know that you can easily have a plate of potstickers ready to eat in minutes thanks to Tai Pei’s new convenient packaging. Basically, your potstickers are hot and ready for your taste buds soon after you pop them in the microwave with a tiny bit of water. So simple!

Now, my kids aren’t fans of potstickers, but my husband and I love to have them alongside rice when we’re eating Asian food at home. Tai Pei’s potstickers don’t disappoint, and they get a big thumbs up from us. 🙂

Side Note: Save on Tai Pei with this coupon the next time you’re shopping at the grocery store.

Overall, I was already a fan of Tai Pei Asian foods before I went to the event in Chicago. They make lunch, dinner, and even night time snacking easy. But now that I’ve tried several of their new line of entrees, I’m looking forward to trying even more.

I do believe the Sweet & Sour Chicken is calling my name! 🙂

What kind of Asian meals do you enjoy most or which Tai Pei entree would you like to try first?

Shark Rocket Powerhead Vacuum Review (Fantastic Lightweight Vacuum)

February 25, 2016 by Sandra 6 Comments

I’m very thankful to be working with Shark on this video review.

Hi, guys! In this video, I’m sharing a fun Shark Rocket Powerhead Vacuum review. This vacuum is fantastic and it’s the best lightweight vacuum that we’ve ever owned. I love it!

I hope you enjoy the video and thanks for watching! 🙂

You can find the Shark Rocket Powerhead on Amazon using the affiliate link here.

Clever Kitchen Switch Ups Using Viva® Vantage® Paper Towels

October 29, 2015 by Sandra 9 Comments

I’m excited to be working in collaboration with Viva® Towels on this sponsored blog post. I truly love the way
the Viva® Vantage® paper towel stretches to scrub everyday messes. 🙂

Paper towels are one of those must-have items in our home.

Why? Well, because my husband, kids, and I use them every single day to cleanup in so many different ways. I know that there are some families out there who can live without paper towels, and to them I’d say the same thing I’d say to families who keep their houses free of absolutely all clutter: more power to you. 🙂

That is not me. I’ve accepted this fact, and I’ve embraced my laid-back, paper-towel-loving, Type B personality in recent years. It’s who I am.

Plus, we’re a homeschooling family of seven, which means we spend a lot of time at home, and we need a good, reliable paper towel to take care of our everyday messes.

Viva® Vantage® Live Event

Now we’d been using a brand of paper towels that I thought worked just fine, but after attending a fun Viva® Vantage® live event last week, I decided to switch up our normal routine by trying Viva® Vantage® paper towels for seven days to see what I may have been missing with my regular brand of paper towels.

By the way, the event was amazing! I learned about Viva® Vantage®, tried them for myself, ate delicious food, and enjoyed a great time with blogging friends.

I vlogged my experience, and you can check out that video here:

The Great Scrubbing Power of Viva® Vantage®

One of the ways I found you can use Viva® Vantage® is as a fruit and vegetable scrubber. It does a fantastic job! At the event, I scrubbed my apple clean so that I could make a homemade caramel apple. 🙂

At home, we’re going to use Viva® Vantage® to scrub our carrots and other veggies. We’ve started juicing again and like to leave the skins on our veggies for added nutrition, so the stretchy-strength of Viva® Vantage® is going to come in handy on juicing days.

Here are more clever kitchen switch ups you can try using Viva® Vantage®:

Instead of a bulky colander, use a paper towel. Place fruits and veggies on a sheet of Viva® Vantage® paper towels and wash under running water. The Viva® Vantage® paper towel will function as a strainer, and the added bonus is that you won’t have to wash a colander afterward. 🙂
Keep refrigerated produce fresh longer by wrapping a paper towel around it to soak up excess moisture.
Hand wash and dry delicate glassware using the cloth-like texture of Viva® Vantage® paper towels. This is one of the ways I love using these paper towels, and they get the job done without leaving behind little fibers…unlike my old brand.
Chill drinks quickly using Viva® Vantage®. Simply wrap a damp paper towel around the drink and put in the freezer to chill faster.
Slip a damp paper towel under your cutting board to prevent it from shifting. The sponge-like absorbency of Viva® Vantage® will also be there to absorb excess water that runs off the cutting board from freshly washed fruits and veggies while you’re chopping.

Overall, I think Viva® Vantage® paper towels get the job done and beyond. They get a big ‘thumbs up’ from this mom. 🙂

You can experience the stretchy-strength and great scrubbing power of Viva® Vantage®, recently named a 2015 Product of the Year, by printing off a coupon and taking your own 7-Day Switch Up challenge with Viva® Vantage® here.

Then after experiencing Viva® Vantage®, you can revisit the website to talk about your switch and enter for a chance to instantly win a $100 gift card.

What’s your favorite way to use
paper towels?