Category Archives: Beauty & fashion

A lightweight timepiece: fYt Watch review

Teenage boys can be hard on stuff!  So I’m happy to have found a watch that can survive a teen’s wear and tear.

My oldest son likes to wear a wristwatch to school because he’s not allowed to have a cell phone out at any time during the school day.  Not even to check the time.  He also can’t see the clock during all of his classes.  And he likes to always know the time.  (Especially for certain subjects when he looks forward to the end of class.)

The problem?  He keeps breaking wristwatches.  I got him a wristwatch for Christmas recently, and it lasted only a few months until he broke off the piece that holds the band.  So I got him another watch for his birthday.  Guess what happened?  Yep, he broke that one, too.   {Sigh}

When I saw the fYt Watch LED wrist watch (available at Amazon), it looked like the perfect timepiece for him.  It’s a single piece of silicone, which I immediately recognized as a great solution for my son.  I quickly signed up to get the watch at a discount for the opportunity to provide an honest review.

The watch looks like one of the popular activity trackers, but it does not actually include activity tracking.  It’s simply a watch with a time and date function.  But the modern, sporty style appealed to my teen, so he was happy to wear it, even without getting any special features.

fyt-watch-white-front

The fYt Watch in white silicone

When you order this watch, you get both a black and a white version.  I liked getting two watches in neutral colors for one low price.  I tested one, and I gave the other one to my son to get his thoughts on it.

We both found that the watch is light and sleek.  It’s very comfortable to wear.  My son and I agree that it’s easy to forget you’re wearing it because it’s not clunky or heavy on your wrist.

fYT watch display black

The fYt Watch LED display

The LED light gives you the time and date when you press the tiny button on the watch.  Then it goes off for automatic power saving.  In artificial light, the LED is bright and very easy to read.  It looks a bit dimmer outside in daylight, but it was still bright enough to see the time clearly on the display.

The fYt Watch is not perfect.  We both found it a bit difficult to set initially.  Although it’s like setting most digital watches by scrolling through the numbers, the button was a little jumpy when I was trying to set it.  The watch arrived without any instructions for setting it, so you have to just go with your instinct on how to set the time.  That wasn’t ideal, but not a big issue since you just have to set it at first, and then it’s done.

My son and I both had to experiment a bit with the adjustable notches to get the clasp set correctly to the right length on our wrists.  Once we got the silicone popped out of the small notches in the band and figured out how to secure the clasp into the notches, we were all set.

fYt Watch adjustable clasp

The fYt Watch adjustable clasp

The adjustable band will accommodate a wide range of wrist sizes.  My small 11-year-old daughter wore the watch on her wrist for a while, and she found it just as comfortable as my 16-year-old son and I did.

Although an inexpensive silicone watch does not require elaborate packaging, I would have liked to see a nicer presentation for the watch when it arrived from Amazon.  Ours came in a plastic zip-top bag without any instructions.  It doesn’t have anything to do with the performance of the watch, just my preference for the initial impression.

Overall, this watch does its job well.  The fYt Watch is an inexpensive silicone watch that is comfortable to wear.  It’s a simple, sporty-looking, effective timepiece for anyone – especially teenage boys who break traditional wristwatches.

Disclosure: I received the fYt Watch at a deep discount to facilitate my honest review.
All opinions are my own.

Tackling stains with new Purex plus Clorox 2 detergent

Springs brings lots of lovely things – warm weather, flowers, and time outside. With an active family, that inevitably leads to some less lovely things:  stains.

My kids find so many ways to stain their clothes.  There are grass stains from soccer and chocolate stains from dripping ice cream cones.  And of course there are the variety of mystery stains that nobody can explain.

OK, if I’m being honest, I must admit I create my own fair share of stains while cooking, baking and gardening.


This is a sponsored post.  As a member of the Purex Social Insiders program, the Purex brand provided me with a free sample of Purex plus Clorox 2 detergent to facilitate my honest review.
All opinions are my own.


I’ve used Purex laundry detergent for years because it has always done a good job cleaning our clothes, and it is very reasonably priced.  {Price is important when you’re doing mountains of laundry!}

Over the years I’ve also used a lot of Clorox for whites and Clorox 2 for colors.  Now Purex is introducing a new Purex plus Clorox 2 detergent.  It’s two great things that are perfect together! The new Purex plus Clorox 2 detergent is safe for colors and formulated to work on 100 stains.

Purex plus Clorox 2 detergent vs. chocolate stains

My bottle of Purex plus Clorox 2 detergent came in handy recently when I discovered my daughter’s shirt wadded up in the dirty laundry with chocolate stains down the front.

The picture shows her stained, wrinkly shirt after being shoved into the bottom of her laundry basket for a few days, letting the chocolate spots set into the fabric.

Stain - pre Purex

Tip from Purex:  Pretreat tough stains by rubbing some Purex plus Clorox 2 detergent into the fabric and letting it sit for 5 minutes before washing.

While loading the rest of the clothes into the washing machine, I pretreated the chocolate drips by applying the detergent on the stained areas for a few minutes.

Stain - treated with Purex

I then washed the load in the Purex plus Clorox 2 detergent.  Her shirt came out perfectly clean!  Doesn’t it look as good as new?Stain - removed with PurexThe laundry all smelled good, too.  I received the Original Fresh scent, which has a nice fragrance.  It smells, well, fresh and clean.

The detergent also comes in Sunny Linen scent.  That one sounds nice, so I’m looking forward to using that scent as well.

Want to try the new Purex plus Clorox 2 detergent yourself?  The Purex website has a special Purex Promotions page with coupons and other promotions.

They even have a sweepstakes open until April 30, 2016 for a chance to win a $100 gift card and a year’s supply of Purex detergent.  Good luck if you decide to enter!

Cuteness alert: New Gymboree newborn line

As a mom, I have a variety of favorite products that I have enjoyed using with my kids.  Gymboree has been one of my favorite brands for cute, durable clothing for children.  They always have colorful, coordinated collections available for kids.

That’s why I signed up as a Gymboree affiliate.  (The links in this post are affiliate links.)

Gymboree recently launched a new line of adorable newborn gifts. They have cute new products that are lovely gifts for babies.

Shop adorable baby gifts for new arrivals at Gymboree!

Check out some of the sweet new styles that are available as part of the Gymboree newborn line.

Gymboree zoo party 1-piece

Gymboree zoo party 1-piece

Gymboree happy bodysuit

Gymboree happy bodysuit

Gymboree hooded towel

Gymboree hooded towel

You can find blankets, bibs, booties, beanies, burp cloths, onesies, leggings, and other adorable gift options.  Boy, girl, and gender-neutral colors are available.

Most of the collection features 100% cotton fabric, making the pieces snuggly soft for baby.  (The terry 1-piece has 80% cotton/20% polyester terry and the socks are cotton/nylon/spandex.)

The line includes cute gifts to commemorate baby’s first celebration of Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.

Gymboree Mother's Day bodysuit

Gymboree Mother’s Day bodysuit

Gymboree Father's Day bodysuit

Gymboree Father’s Day bodysuit

What a great baby gift or Mother’s Day or Father’s Day gift for a new mom or dad!

Right now it’s a great time to shop at Gymboree.  Until April 12, 2016, you can get an extra 20% off with code SPRING20 and free shipping on every order at Gymboree!

(You always get free shipping on purchases over $75 at Gymboree.)

This post contains affiliate links to the Gymboree newborn line.  These affiliate links help support this site.  If you make a purchase after clicking one of these links, I may receive a small commission.  {Thank you!}  The commission does not affect the price you pay.  For more information about affiliate links, please refer to my disclosure statement.