Find more party ideas, and printables on our Pinterest board.

Red, White and Blue Food

Star Spangled Blueberry Pie Bars
The Baker Chick

Red White & Blue Pinwheel Icebox Cookies
Just a Taste

Red White and Blue Stawberries
Like Mother Like Daughter

Blueberry, Strawberry & Jicama Salsa
Two Peas & Their Pod

Strawberry Shortcake Popsicles
Bakers Royale

Chevron Cookie Cake
(make all sorts of shapes out of these)
Cookin’ Cowgirl

Red, White, and Blue Potato Salad
Real Food Forager

Candy Coated Marshmallows
Just Us Four

Red, White and Blue Milkshakes
Poca Cosa

Rice Krispie Stars
Grumpy’s Honey Bunch

American Flag Cheesecake Bars
My Recipes

Patriotic Punch
No. 2 Pencil

Fireworks Cake
Bird on a Cake

Independence Day Ombre Cake
Brit + Co

We got a whole new bunch of goodies to put to the test!  We’ll tell you what we think about the National vs. MARTIN’S Own Brand and then during the weeks of June 29th and  July 6th MARTIN’S will be running the promotion so you can try it out for yourself.

Laundry Detergent:

Side by Side:
Tide is primarily a white with a colored stain remover and brightener.  The MARTIN’S Own brand is all blue.
Tide “Spring Meadow” had a lilac like sent where the MARTIN’S Own brand in Fresh Scent had a slightly perfume-y fresh and soapy scent.

Performance:
I normally avoid buying colored laundry detergent because it can stain clothing, but I was pleased to find that wasn’t the case.  The clothing all came out clean and the fresh scent filled the laundry room.

Verdict:
I’ll still probably pick a scent free, clear colored choice, because I’m a boring girl at heart, but the MARTIN’S Own Brand did perform well.  If I were a scented detergent girl I’d certainly consider saving a few bucks and keep buying it.

Pretzels:

Side by Side:
I’m not picky about how my snack food looks but Snyder’s do have a darker color and rounder shape… probably better if you were doing chocolate covered pretzels or something presentational.
Serving size is about the same, Snyder’s has 200mg less sodium than MARTIN’S so if you are carefully watching your sodium intake you may want to take note.

Taste test:
Not too much difference.

Verdict:
I’d grab the MARTIN’S brand for a party snack, and certainly for a recipe like the Old Bay Seasoned Pretzels listed here.
Peanuts:

Side by Side:
Not much difference here nutritionally or visually.

Taste:
Not much difference here either.

Verdict:
No brainer, go MARTIN’S Brand.

Barbecue Sauce:

Side by Side:
Both have a nice deep color.
Both start with high fructose corn syrup as the first ingredient (eek) MARTIN’S somehow ends up with 1 less gram of sugar. All of the ingredients are the same… Sweet Baby Ray’s has a “modified “smoke flavor where as MARTIN’S has “natural” smoke flavor.  I have no idea what that means.

Taste:
Sweet Baby Ray’s gives a little bit more heat, which can either be a good or a bad thing depending on your taste.

Verdict:
Like more heat? Go with Sweet Baby Ray’s,  if sweet and tangy is what you’re after, you’ll be happy with MARTIN’S Own.
Sunscreen:

Side by Side:
Well, you know, they are bottles of suntan lotion. Not too much too report. Both bottles have a lock so they aren’t spraying all over the inside of your pool/beach bag. Both are broad spectrum SPF 30.

Performance:
I sprayed half my body with one Coppertone and half with the MARTIN’S brand and I couldn’t tell the difference with how they went on.  Coppertone keeps its classic scent which is a little better than the MARTIN’S scent, although it was not offensive.  Both dried quickly and sat on top of the skin rather than soaking in.

Verdict:
I didn’t have a favorite.
We’ll probably use these cans up and then go back to our usual lotion, although I’d certainly consider the MARTIN’S brand in a  lotion. (Remember to spray on your hand before applying spray sunscreens to kids as they can inhale the sunscreen causing lung irritation.)
So there you have it! Once again MARTIN’S Stood up really well!

What are you going to do though with double the bags of pretzels, Peanuts and BBQ Sauce?

We’ve compiled a Pinterest board dedicated to putting your MARTIN’S Challenge Foods to the test! 
Peruse our collection of recipes like Peanut Butter Caramel Pretzel Cookie Cups,  Pretzel Crusted Honey Mustard Chicken and BBQ Strombolis for a little MARTIN’S Challenge inspiration.

$25 gift card giveaway has ended… but there might be another one coming…. Stay tuned to Richmondmom.com!

All food and gift cards provided by MARTIN’S.
All opinions are my own.

MARTIN’S Buy Ours Get Theirs Free Challenge runs two consecutive weeks (June 29 – July 5, and July 6- 12, 2014) with 4 different products to test each week.

Well, you will love the Richmondmom.com Pinterest boards. We’ve been pinning lots of great finds from local Richmond retailers, vendors, artists, and more. We’ve pinned a fantastic Christmas board, a beautiful board of Homes around town, delicious Recipes and Great Food, and some unique gift ideas on our Great Finds board.

You’ll also enjoy the fun things from around Richmond on our RVA Real Richmond board, and of course, don’t miss our Pampering Moms and Fashion for All Ages boards. With the holidays upon us, you might enjoy the Get Fit board (or at least AFTER the holidays!).

Thanks, Digitalmomblog.com for this awesome image

We’d love to have you visit our boards and let us know what you like. You can like our pins, or repin!

Be sure and follow our boards too ’cause we’ll be pinning away.

We’d love to see what you’ve found too. Leave us a comment below of local websites that have some fun ideas for pinning and we’ll check them out.

Click here to visit the Richmondmom.com Pinterest boards and let us know what you like.

Happy pinning!

You see, I believe that it is important to admit when you have addictions – and therapeutic to name the cause of the addiction if you know what started it all. So that’s why I’ve decided to come clean.

It all started when I became a Richmondmom.com fan. I loved the postings, real mom stories, and other articles throughout the site – and then I was addicted. I frequently visited the website and then dared to meet Kate in person. After a cup of coffee and some small talk, she charmed me to start writing an article or two for her. Before I knew it, I was addicted to writing for the site and have been unable to untether myself from the keyboard.

Then I started using the Savvy Saver card. First it was innocent. I would discreetly check to see if a particular business was listed on the card. Over time, the addiction took hold and I constantly reviewed the card, trying to memorize the discounts. This would make it easier when I  had the grandchildren so I could take advantage of those children’s activities that offered discounts through Savvy Saver. And before I knew it, I was using it for my plumbing and heating needs, my vision checks, and my healthcare services. I’m even having new window treatments made, just because Sewinit’ is listed on the card. Once again, Kate’s demons became my demons too.

As luck would have it, I started attending Wine Down Wednesday at the Wine Loft at Kate’s urging. “It will be fun – you’ll enjoy it,” she said. Those fateful words. At first it was a casual, occasional visit. But then it became an addiction and when I am unable to attend, I go into withdrawal – pouting and complaining that I’m missing the event — and knowing that others are laughing, enjoying a glass of wine and having fun. Wine Down is like a therapy session and once you start going, you have to keep going to maintain your control. It’s a new addiction.

Kate was also the nemesis behind my addiction to chocolate - no, wait – I digress. That came before Kate!

And now, it’s happening again. I resisted. I fought it. I veered away from the temptation. I ignored everything she said. I looked away from the screen. But when she said, “Don’t click here unless you’re really ready….” on a Facebook post, I should have known it was a trap. Of course every level-headed woman was going to click to see what it was! And that’s when it happened.

Pinterest!

Yep, I’m addicted to Pinterest. Once I finally took the plunge, it took me 5 minutes to create 4 boards and 98 pins! I am officially addicted and it’s all Kate’s fault. Just like Kate, I used a creative, nondescript name: Rhonda Day – so others won’t know I’m so active on Pinterest. I am now plotting how I will fit my “pinteresting” into my daily activities – perhaps in a dark closet in the early morning hours, or in place of writing an article or updating the calendar for Richmondmom.com each day (that would serve Kate right since she drove me to this addiction!)– or some discreet place where I won’t be discovered.

I know that Kate has her good qualities. She’s 100% dedicated to her family and adores her children, she is committed to her “day job”, she is passionate about Richmondmom.com and our readers, and she’s zealous in her fund-raising efforts for non-profits and charitable events. But really – does that make up for leading us all down this path of addiction?

I’ll let you decide. Click over to Pinterest and see for yourself – and then you be the judge. And if the weekly calendar seems a bit sparse for the next couple of weeks, it’s all Kate’s fault.

(Because I have a “Coffee and Tea” Pinterest Board and I LOVE coffee, I have to go now – to pin the coffee cup photo from this post).

Me: Pinterest (pronounced “I freaking love this app!”) is a black hole into which my time, formerly spent tweeting and on Facebook is now sucked, providing me with quiet, tender moments of longing in which I dream of the visions I see.

As if I needed one more thing to lure my wanderlust brain away from work and the dutiful job of motherhood, work, this site that I love, and occasionally being a good wife and if I’m lucky, friend. Along came the requests from my fellow web-fascinated kindred spirits inviting me to this land of the beautiful, the inspiring, the exotic, the happy. . .the mythical land of Pinterest.

Thanks, Digitalmomblog.com for this awesome image

Here, we see what our friends (and their friends, and their design inspirations) like and are “repinning” and we can categorize the images we like into neat, organized, little web-based “boards” with pins that won’t ever poke ya in the finger. Here, we can dream, create, imagine.

And it’s useful: view an amazing-looking appetizer? Click the image and you’re led directly to the recipe. See an amazing-looking outfit? Click and you’ll be led to locations and prices. It’s pure genius.

If you’re not afraid of losing all control of the little free time that you have left in your days, you may want to just take a little peek. . .just a gander. . .the fashion. . .the birthday party ideas. . .the hairstyles. . .the home decorating. . .gotta go. I’d post some photos here

but don’t want you to get sucked in unvoluntarily. If you just can’t stand it you can click here or here, or even here to get a little favor of the coolness you’ll see.

P. S. Follow me on Pinterest if you like (original Pinterest name=Kate Hall), but just be forewarned thatI often tend to wander. And please tell your wallet for me that I’m very sorry I caused longing for aforementioned Pinterest-laden goodness, shopping may soon follow.

P. S. S. I am was not compensated by Pinterest in any way for this post. I’m gladly their humble slave.