Ditch the Stench – 5 Steps to Make Your Car Smell Good This Summer + PERK Giveaway

June 24, 2015 by Jenni 830 Comments

This post brought to you by PERK. The content and opinions expressed below are that of Sweet Pennies From Heaven.

Summer car cleanliness is NOTHING like winter car cleanliness. Right? In the summer you have stinky sweaty kids and pets on the go, more dirt and heaven help us when the kids don’t throw that milkshake cup away! Imagine THAT stench in 100 degree weather. OMG’ahh! Gag!

There are 5 steps to make your car smell good this summer.

1. Get the clothes out of the car!

Do your kids shed their stinky sweaty shirts, socks and shoes in the car on a hot day? I know some who do…and there they lay. For days. A hot car and sweaty clothes are not a good combination! Keep a tote bag or heck, even a small laundry basket in the back for them to put dirty clothes in.

2. Throw it away

Even if it’s just a small plastic grocery bag! Hang it from the seats so they’re RIGHT there, easy to be seen. Summer time means ice cream in the car, or stops through the drive-through. Hot cars and milkshakes OR fast food, again, NOT a good combination.

3. The beachtowels have GOT to go

Don’t leave wet beach towels and suits in the car. Heat can quickly make the wet clothing sour and THAT is not a lovely smell. AT ALL. Bleck!

4. BAKING SODA

Baking soda is your white powdery friend. USE it. Sprinkle it on your carpets and your seats. Scrub it in with a brush and let it sit overnight, then vacuum up in the morning. It really helps take all the stink away that kids and pets leave!

5. PERK up the smell in your car.

Now that you’ve cleaned out all the yuck, make your car smell nice and fresh with air fresheners for your car. I love PERK cause I love the design. It just clicks onto your sun visor so it’s right above your head and you can always smell it, but it’s up and out of your way! Definitely a cool way to wake up your space!

The PERK Visor Wrap is BRAND new this year in their line of automotive air fresheners. It has the patent-pending StediScent™ technology and it gives consistent fragrance. It lasts 30 days, unlike others that seem to lose their scent within just a few days. Ohh, and these things don’t leak or spill out either! I’ve had a few air fresheners that did that, and it’s so annoying!

It has a really cool design, in that it wraps around your sun visor. It actually just slides on and grips the visor so it won’t slide off. It allows you still be able to use your sun visor to block the sun. I love when my car smells good, so I was happy that we really ended up liking the PERK Visor Wraps. My husband has one in his vehicle too.

You can find them at Walmart, Target, Advance Auto Parts, AutoZone, Meijer, Kroger, Pep Boys, Publix, CVS, and other places auto air fresheners are sold and they come in super fun scents like Golden Vanilla, Caribbean Colada and New Car. Make sure to head to PERK’s Facebook page, and ohh!! Don’t forget your $1 off PERK coupon!

Ready for a PERK Giveaway?

One lucky reader will win a #PERKFRESH gift basket filled with the following. Just use the Rafflecopter below to enter. US residents only, age 18 or older. Giveaway ends July 2nd, 2015 at 11:59pm EST. Goodluck!

6 month supply of PERK products/fragrances
1 PERK travel mug
2 pairs of PERK sunglasses (1 green and 1 black)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Day 12 – No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake Desserts (12 Days of Celebrate Summer) #12DaysOf

June 22, 2015 by Jenni 789 Comments

Welp. This is it. This is the LAST day in our 12 Days of Celebrate Summer series. I’m sorta sad. Booo. To make it better, the last day is a goodie! Who doesn’t love cheesecake?! This N That with Olivia has a fantastic Strawberry Cheesecake No Bake Dessert recipe (<– click for full recipe) and I cannot wait to try it! I love that you can serve it individually like this. Perfect for family cookouts and parties this summer! NOM!

You can find ALL of the posts in our 12 Days of Celebrate Summer series below! Enjoy!!

Day 10 – Layered Strawberry Cheesecake Mousse (12 Days of Celebrate Summer) #12DaysOf

June 20, 2015 by Jenni 573 Comments

We’re getting close to the end of our 12 Days of Celebrate Summer series. I really hope you’ve enjoyed all the awesome ideas we’ve shared, including some crazy delish recipes! For DAY 10, we sharing a simple yet delicious dessert from Jennifer at The Savings Opportunity. Jennifer loves to celebrate the hot summer days with cool desserts and seasonal produce. This recipe for Layered Strawberry Cheesecake Mousse (<– click for full recipe) combines her two favorite ways to celebrate summer into one sweet treat that is also beautiful to look at.

As the summer moves on you can swap out the strawberries with other seasonal berries, including raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries, so you can enjoy this recipe with your local, seasonal fruit all summer long. The recipe for Layered Strawberry Cheesecake Mousse includes a recipe for the cheesecake mousse as well as a recipe for the homemade strawberry sauce, and there are only 6 ingredients total!

Don’t forget to check out the other posts from our series below to explore more ways to celebrate summer this year!

Day 9 – Sweet & Savory Roasted Chicken Salad (12 Days of Celebrate Summer) #12DaysOf

June 19, 2015 by Jenni 201 Comments

Welcome back to our 12 Days of Celebrate Summer series! Today’s post comes from Holly of Southern Mom Loves. She’s a sucker for a quick meal, but that doesn’t mean she wants to sacrifice taste. This Sweet & Savory Roasted Chicken Salad (<– click for full recipe) is made from a deli roasted chicken, so if you’re short on time, you can still whip up a delicious meal without waiting hours or heating up your kitchen!

Perfect for a quick dinner, to take along to a picnic, or serve at a cookout, this chicken salad has a sweet, nutty taste that everyone will love. Serve over a salad, in sandwiches, or on the side, and see why this will always be her go-to chicken salad recipe!

Don’t forget to check out all the fabulous posts in the series below!

5 Ways to Give Your Family the Best Summer Ever!

June 18, 2015 by Jenni 359 Comments

I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Banana Boat®. I received product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

Want to give your family the BEST SUMMER EVER? There are lots of ways to do that, but we’ve narrowed it down to 5 awesome things. I remember having the best summers as a kid and I want to make sure that our family has the best summers too!

1. GOOD FOOD

YOLO right? (Disclosure: I really had no idea what that meant until I asked my niece last week. I’m SO not the cool one.) Make everything your heart (and belly) desires! S’Mores, Ice Cream, Hot dogs! Pizza, popsicles, burgers. You get my drift.

2. MAKE A SUMMER BUCKET LIST, AND DO IT

Let the kids make a bucket list of things that they want to do this summer (within reason, of course) and JUST do it! Parents, make a list too! Spend days at the beach. Go parasailing. Go to the zoo. Live it up this summer. Moms. The kids are only young once…so make their summers AWESOME! Get together with extended family! Plan a family reunion, and enjoy good food and time with those you love.

3. SLEEPOVERS

Summer nights should be full of loud and annoying kids eating any and everything in the fridge, watching scary movies and sleeping in till the afternoon. It’s no fun unless you have your besties right there with you! Let the kids have lots of sleepovers! Take turns with the parents….next week YOUR kids go to their house. That gives you and the honey special time alone (wink wink!).

4. WATER – and LOTS OF IT

Warm weather and cool water go hand in hand. Let the kids swim all summer long in your pool, the neighbor’s pool, or at the beach or waterpark!

5. DON’T GET BURNT

Have you ever had a sunburn? Or had to take care of your kids who have awful sunburns? It is PURE misery. Summer is supposed to be fun – not spent crying inside with every movement. And it’s certainly not meant to be spent soaking in oatmeal and vinegar baths. Ugh. It’s just not!

Moms? Can I get an Amen??!!

We’re BananaBoat^® fans. Always have been. I don’t buy the store brand stuff. I just don’t trust it. Not when it comes to sunscreen. Ice cream, yeah…I’ll buy store brand. But not my sunscreen! I also follow instructions and apply the 1 ounce of sunscreen to the kiddos entire body (and my own) 30 minutes before we even GO outside. Then reapply every 2 hours or after we get outta the water or if we’re sweating a ton!

BananaBoat® has several sunscreens that are perfect for the whole family. They kinda let you get your personalization on – so to speak. My husband prefers the lotion, but little man and I both like the spray.

Which BananaBoat sunscreen fits YOU and your KIDS the best?!

SunComfort™ Clear UltraMist^®Sunscreen — (love this for the kids!)
Perfect for beach days! It allows sand to brush off easily and a moisturizer in it to help get rid of dry skin caused by the sun, chlorine and salt water! Perfect beachy sunscreen for the whole family!

Dry Oil Clear UltraMist^® Sunscreen — (love this for ME!)
Contains argan oil, which I am currently obsessed with! It’s perfect for this dry-skinned momma! Keeps me protected but it also makes my skin feel silky-smooth. Super light-weight and non-greasy feel. Love it!

Sport Performance^® LotionSunscreen with Powerstay Technology™ — (love this one for my manly man!)
This is the one for the sports enthusiast or the active person! It’s really light weight, sweat resistant and water resistant (up to 80 minutes). My husband loves this because it doesn’t run into his eyes when he sweats. He packs it with him in his backpack when he’s going fishing or hunting. He also uses it on the long days outside mowing and weed-eating on the weekends.

Banana Boat^® Best Summer Ever “Great Big Family Reunion” Sweepstakes:

Banana Boat “Great Big Family Reunion” Sweepstakes

Kicking off the summer festivities, the Banana Boat^® Best Summer Ever “Great Big Family Reunion” offers summer fun in the sun adventures for the whole family. You can enter this sweepstakes for a chance to win! One lucky family will win a family reunion for up to 50 of their family members and friends!!! For some fun, you can spin the Wheel of Fun for exciting activities to entertain your families all summer long! They have some REALLY great ideas!

You could also win one of five $30 Banana Boat^® Prize Packs including a Banana Boat^® koosie, key chain, draw string backpack and three sunscreen products! This contest opens June 8th, 2015 and closes on June 29th, 2015! All you have to do to enter is choose a social media sharing option and share from the social media amplification tool! Make sure to visit Banana Boat on Facebook too!

Which Banana Boat^® sunscreen is right for you and your family?

And what are your favorite summer fun activities?? Drop us a comment below! We’d love to hear!

Day 8 – Citrus Punch (12 Days of Celebrate Summer) #12DaysOf

June 18, 2015 by Jenni 731 Comments

Hey ya’ll! Is it hot where you’re at today??

What do you do to celebrate summer? We enjoy entertaining and spending time outside with family and friends. In today’s 12 Days of Celebrate Summer series, we’re sharing Mandee’s Citrus Punch recipe (<– click for full recipe) from her site, Raising My 5 Sons! There’s just something about a tall glass of something cold to drink during the summer, it’s so refreshing! You’ll really enjoy her recipe!

If you’ve missed any of the earlier posts in our 12 Days of Celebrate Summer series, no fear. You can find them all below! Enjoy!!

Day 7 – Avocado Mango Smoothie (12 Days of Celebrate Summer) #12DaysOf

June 17, 2015 by Jenni 543 Comments

We’re baaaackkkkkkk! Are you ready for another yummy treat in our 12 Days of Celebrate Summer series?

Summer is filled with fun in the sun, BBQs, and more! We are always on the go! And sometimes that means you need a bit of a treat, how does a creamy, fruity, smoothie sound? Sounds delicious to me! In fact, for today’s Summer Treat in our 12 Days Of Celebrate Summer, Tracy at Having Fun Saving has an Avocado Mango Smoothie (<– Click for full recipe) recipe for us! Have you ever added avocado to your smoothies?

Be sure to check out her recipe and the other delicious recipes on the linky below.

Happy Summer!

Day 3 – Sweet Hawaiian Mini Burgers (12 Days of Celebrate Summer) #12DaysOf

June 13, 2015 by Jenni 18 Comments

We’re back guys, with another awesome recipe today! We’re celebrating summer with one brand new recipe, craft or other summery idea for 12 days! So much goodness going on right now! If you’ve missed any of the earlier posts, don’t worry! You can find them ALL at the bottom of the blog post, linked up and ready to see!

Today I have a recipe from donnahup.com. (<– Click to get to full recipe). It’s her Sweet Hawaiian Mini Burgers. She fixes them up gluten free style but they’d be super tasty on Hawaiian rolls too!

Take a look through all the awesome posts linked below! Enjoy!!

Day 2 – Watermelon Caprese Salad (12 Days of Celebrate Summer) #12DaysOf

June 12, 2015 by Jenni 52 Comments

Hey guys! We’re back for DAY 2 of our “12 Days of Celebrate Summer” posts and features! Did you enjoy yesterdays recipe for the Ultimate Brownies? If you missed it, no fear. You can find it at the bottom of this blog post! You don’t wanna miss it, that’s for sure! Pure gooey goodness!

Today’s recipe is this easy watermelon caprese salad. I love anything caprese so I’m super excited about this one!

Want a simple but delicious salad for a hot summer night? Try this variation on the traditional caprese salad, made with watermelon instead of tomatoes. The tangy balsamic drizzle is the special ingredient that really takes the taste over the top and will have you wanting more. You can make this salad in almost no time and it will add a refreshing dish to any summer meal. Cyn shares her recipe for the salad, including the secret of the balsamic drizzle over on her blog, Creative Cynchronicity (<– click for recipe!). Head on over now and be sure to check out all the recipes in our 12 Days of Celebrating Summer below.

Day 1 – Ultimate Brownies (12 Days of Celebrate Summer) #12DaysOf

June 11, 2015 by Jenni 1,181 Comments

Guys! Get ready for some awesome-ness!

We’re BACK with our “12 Days of….” posts! This time, we’re celebrating summer with some crazy good recipes, crafts and other summery ideas. We’ll be sharing one each day, so make sure to come back each day to see what’s new! If you miss anything through the next 12 days, don’t worry! We’ll have them all linked up for you at the bottom of each blog post!

Today’s recipe is for these (click to get full recipe –>) Ultimate Brownies from SavingYouDinero.com. They are so yummy. A combination of sweet, salty, crunchy, gooey, and delicious-ness! You only need a little piece to enjoy. Pfft. Who am I kidding. The richer the better, bring it on!! This dessert will be a hit at any summer BBQ you attend and others will ask you for this recipe – it is that good!

Don’t forget, our other recipes will be featured at the end of each blog post so you won’t miss a thing!