The new DC31 is the mid-range model of the 3 new generation hand-helds from Dyson. My first thought when seeing the unit in person was.. “this is a vacuum.. huh”.  To me it looks like some sort of power tool I’d find in my husbands toolbox or something.. it looks very “macho”… but cool! It also looks fairly heavy but it actually weighs less than 3 lbs so it’s light and easy to handle.

It offers two different power settings;  10 minutes of 45-airwatt constant suction and 6 minutes at 65-airwatts.Included with the hand-held are two standard tools: a crevice tool, and the combination tool, which the DC24 upright has as well.

Now seeing that it looks so “macho”, I’m sure this is why my husband insisted on immediately cleaning out the car because he wanted to “test it”. Was I going to complain, no way! Earlier in the day our daughter took off the lid to her cereal container and dumped the cereal all over the car and I wasn’t looking forward to cleaning up the mess, so if my husband wanted to go out there and clean it, I would welcome it! His first words to me when he came back in the house was.. “Wow, this thing is cool! Come check this out”. So I followed him out to the car to watch him use the vacuum for a few minutes and had him let me give it a try and I have to say that the power suction this baby has is pretty amazing. It cleaned up messes with little effort, was easy to handle, lightweight and just plain awesome. Another good plus is that the attachment is very thin.. we were able to get between the seats and the console with no problem at all.

My mom is actually in the market for a new hand-held vacuum for her pets (she just had some new pups) so she could definitely put good use to the DC31 or the DC31 Animal and would make the perfect gift for her this holiday season.

DC31 has a retail price of $220 and $270 for an animal version, a little more expensive than other hand-hands but it’s definitely worth the extra moolah.

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If the case itself wasn’t cool enough.. you should have seen what was inside! A Swiffer WetJet of course but they put together the whole thing in such a cool way.. when you open the case a man comes on giving you your mission details.. should you choose to accept it! I chuckled and thought it was pretty nifty so I showed it off to my husband who was also in amazement.

Fearing the jelly would be a pain to clean up (I really didn’t want to get down and spent half the day scrubbing the floors I I tested our floors jelly provided in the kit. Thankfully, the jelly was super easy to clean up and left no mess!

To fully test the Swiffer WetJet out.. I fed the children spaghetti! Spaghetti meals mean huge messes for me as a mom and most of the time a lot of ends up on the floor and everywhere but our children’s mouths so I thought it would really put the Swiffer to the test.

The WetJet made our cleanup an extremely simple process.. it worked wonders on our kitchen floor and I would recommend it for any household with children.

A heartfelt thank you goes out to My Blog Spark for introducing us to the Swiffer WetJet!

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They recently sent us a Bona Hardwood Floor Mop to test out and so far.. I have been using this product for over a week now and I just love it.

So why do I love this mop?

1.) It is sturdy.. it’s not flimsy like some of the other brands so if you need to put some force down on it, it’s not going to break.

2.) The spray stream really shoots out there in a wide pattern in front of the washable cleaning pad which is also a lot wider and longer than some other brands.

This is definitely the only hard surface floor mop you will ever need with cleaners for any hard floor surface you got to try one you will love it.

I also love the fact that you can use it safely around your children and pets. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who has hardwood floors.. we’ve had absolutely no problems with it whatsoever and it really gets the job done. It’s a little pricey but definitely worth the investment.. we were also happy to find out that our local hardware store carried the cleaning solution for future use.

For more about Bona or the Bona Hardwood Floor Mop visit http://www.mybonahome.com

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I’m usually fairly apprehensive about trying new laundry detergents or anything related, but I trust Purex because we’ve used them since I can remember, and now that the twins are here we do more laundry than anything, so I couldn’t wait to try out the these Complete 3-in-1 Laundry Sheets, just for the fact that it will save me a ton of time with laundry.

The Purex Complete 3-in-1 Laundry Sheets are a pretty big deal.. I mean for one item to contain laundry detergent, fabric softener and a dryer sheet.. that’s a pretty big deal to any mom who spends a lot of time doing laundry for time saving reasons.

So after considering the facts:

• I’m a devoted Purex fan – I never use anything else and trust them completely.
• It’s an all-in-one type of deal.. which will save me loads of time.
• It’s affordable.

I decided to give it a try!

The Results:

Exactly what I expected from Purex.. nothing but the best!

The process was simple.. I literally just dropped it into our washing machine and transferred it, along with clothes, to the dryer.

It worked perfectly and as advertised… The clothes came out smelling great, they were clean, soft to the touch and no problems with static.

I’ve even had a few friends come over and they’d get a whiff of the aroma from the freshly done laundry and ask me what kind of detergent I use because the clothes “smell so good”. I’ve recommended Purex and these new 3-in-1 Laundry Sheets to friend and family, and I would highly recommend them to you. Give them a try.. see if they’re right for you and save you yourself some time with those pesky laundry chores!

I love  the Purex 3-in-1, it’ is a brilliant idea, it works, and it’s not only dedicated to changing how we do laundry, but is also changing lives. They have also teamed up with Kiva.com, a charitable organization to help support businesses that are owned and run by women. So just by buying these laundry sheets and entering in your bar-code you can support women entrepreneurs. For every code entered Purex makes a donation to Kivo selected women owned businesses. To find out more about this, visit http://www.purexchangeslives.com/

If you check out these new 3-in-1 Laundry Sheets, let us know how you like them! We’d love to hear your comments and if you love them as much as we do.

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What is BagsInABag.com?  A unique, complete, and organized combination of everything, in a mom-friendly bag. A gift for any and a must for moms. A combination of a small amount of vast things; from a disposable thermometer to mascara, Benadryl, band aids and velcro – safety pins, rubber gloves and  even screwdriver! Gift wrap and shipping included, BagsInABag.com is a user-friendly web site and charitable company. We employ adults with developmental disabilities to compile the bags, and share our revenue with the Brendan Sail Program for Youths with Learning Differences.  – Bagsinabag.com

This Side of Eternity - These bags are amazing. The idea is that anything you could possibly need will be tucked neatly into this special bag which is small enough to fit inside any purse or diaper bag.

When I first opened the box I was very impressed with how beautifully this bag had been packaged for me. Each bag comes gift wrapped so nicely that I didn’t want to open it and ruin how nice it looked. After untying the pretty ribbons that held it all together I thought to myself this is a pretty bag, but I had no idea that it was so much more than just a pretty bag. You can see the bag I received here. Read More

SAHM Reviews - The BagsInABag product is such a novel concept. There are a variety of bag designs to choose from – smaller than a child’s pencil box. More like the size of a makeup bag. Each bag is jam-packed with so much stuff that when I first started emptying it, it felt like a clown car. Geez, how much stuff can they cram in here?

Each bag is neatly organized with like items and labeled to help find what you need. Here’s an incomplete sampling of what mine contains: A bag marked ‘tools’ contains a few items for nail care, super glue and a pencil. One marked “Cold” has children and adult cold medicines, an Emergen C sample and Alka-Seltzer. “Pain” has various types of pain relief medicine. “Hands” is packed with a rubber glove, nail polish remover pads, hand sanitizer wipes and lotion. “Cotton” includes Qtips, cotton balls and a tampon. Each of those bags that I listed has more than just the items I noted and there are also bags titled “First Aid, “Office” “Cough” and “Other”. But you get the idea. It’s one bag with one or two of many different things to keep you well prepared when you’re on the go. Read More

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Honestly, before the twins were born, we didn’t worry much about the green thing. Since we now have two helpless little ones running around everywhere and getting into everything (don’t you love how they find the smallest things to chew on… something  you probably wouldn’t even notice was there until they find it), we try to use cleaners and other household items that are safer to use around kids and also get the job done.

We haven’t had a chance to try out the deck wash because it’s been raining here in Illinois almost every other day, but I did get a chance to try out the Kitchen Plus cleaner and the Stainless Steel cleaner. The kitchen cleaner did a great job at cleaning up our small messes and the stainless steel cleaner worked great as well. Actually, they both worked like magic and were so simple to use.

I love that the Eco Mist cleaners are completely non-toxic, biodegradable, non-allergenic, safe around food and don’t have toxic fumes like most cleaners.

Eco Mist carries a full line of cleaners, since the ones I tested out worked so well and did the job, I’m definitely going to have to get some of the others. Made of natural ingredients like grass, corn, coconut and tree sap, making them truly green and non-toxic yet without sacrificing effective cleaning results and safe enough to wash a baby bottle.

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Neela Bags Review by Donielle

I love using my reusable bags when I go shopping. I’ve had them around for a year or more and find them so convenient – even when garage sale-ing and going to farmers markets! But the ones I have and normally see in the grocery stores are all boring store colors with the supermarket name plastered on it. Like mine. They’re blue and all say Meijer. And you know…sometimes I just don’t feel like advertising for stores. And sometimes I need a bit of flavor in my life.

Enter Neela Bags.

When I first opened the package I was really unimpressed by the size of the bag. I mean, it was about as big as a lunch tote. Seriously? But as I started to check it out, I actually opened it up. Yea. There were actually FIVE bags, folded up inside it. That makes sense. Duh.

So the sent me the Market Pack, which is really cool. One smaller bag (that could totally double as a lunch tote) hold 5 grocery sized bags all rolled up and neat like.

So yesterday I went out shopping at our local Natural/Bulk food store and decided to bring these along. For one, the fact that they fold up so small and have a separate carrying case was awesome. Because I go out shopping with a toddler and an infant and all their stuff plus my purse. Sometimes the extra bags just get in the way. This time I just pushed them into the diaper bag.

I was a bit concerned when I took them out of the bag to start loading groceries into them. Since they do fold up so small, they don’t have that plastic bottom piece in them and I was worried it might not be sturdy enough once I got all my stuff in them. And I had stuff! Multiple 5 pound bags of stuff!

But they did a great job of holding it all together! No sagging and they were very sturdy! I think there was about 15 pounds or more in each one by the time I finished loading them.

And all of this was packed in them:

And all of those bags on the table were at least 5 pounds a piece. Plus the jars and what not.

So when all was said and done, I really liked these bags. They performed much better than I expected and because they’re so cute and compactable, they’ll be my first choice form when I head out shopping!

And it’s such a great and easy way to be a bit more environmentally thoughtful. Using and wasting those plastic bags that only hold a few items, is not only bad for the environment, but such a pain as well. I can normally put 3x more in reusable bags, than I can in plastic bags from the store. As an added benefit, I can also put these over my shoulder, which means less trips out to the car brining my groceries in!

Need some yourself? Head on over to Neela Bags and check them out. They have all sorts of super chic colors and styles to choose from.

- Donielle @ Raising Peanuts

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This amazing review of the iRobot 560 Roomba Vacuuming Robot was written by Mom Fuse “Mommy Reviewer” Connie, from Miscellaneous Finds 4 U. For more great reviews, giveaways and informational articles please be sure to check out Connie’s blog!

iRobot Roomba Review by Miscellaneous Finds 4 U

I had the pleasure of test driving an iRobot 560 Roomba Vacuuming Robot and just minutes into the first vacuuming I was in love! So much so that I purchased one! Even my VERY skeptical husband approves of it! We are a dust bunny-free home now thanks to our Roomba!I’ve been thinking about purchasing a Roomba for years, but the cost and the fear it would’t perform as advertised stopped me from doing so. Now that I’ve tried the Roomba, I’m sorry I didn’t get one sooner! The Roomba does absolutely everything it promises!

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The benefit of the Roomba over a typical vacuum is that it picks up an amazing amount of dirt, dust, pet hair, and dander automatically. Set the timer for each day of the week and your Roomba will set off on its cleaning path at the pre-programmed time. Need a cleaning sooner than the programmed time or an extra vacuuming on the same day? Just press the large CLEAN button in the center and the Roomba will start its cleaning session

The only thing you need to do is dump the dirt bin. How often you empty it depends on your home – you may need to dump it daily, but Roomba notes that every 3 days is the average. I tend to dump mine daily because it’s easier than trying to remember how long it’s been since the last dump. Recently when the bin was full my Roomba beeped and then a female voice said something I didn’t catch – I was caught off guard by it talking! I cleared the bin, dusted off the sensors, and I was back in business!

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I no longer have to drag out the vacuum and set aside time to clean my floors. My three-room main floor generally took me about twenty minutes to vacuum and longer to sweep. Even with two of us, we just couldn’t seem to vacuum daily and my husband rarely swept under or behind anything. The Roomba cleans under just about everything! We have just 3 pieces of furniture it can’t vacuum under or behind. Our floors are now clean right up to the baseboards. No longer do we have dust bunnies made from our three dog’s shedding hair. I have to imagine that our health is benefiting from this new found cleanliness as well.

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Our Roomba is scheduled to run every day at 11am. Scheduling is so simple – I didn’t need instructions. I love the simplicity of it. I sometimes forget it’s scheduled and don’t pick up the items that tend to trip it up. On those days it’s not unusual to find the Roomba out scouring our deck having let itself out the open French Doors or riding on the tray the dog food dish rests on in the kitchen. When the Roomba finds itself in a pinch, it’ll automatically maneuver around to try and free itself. Most times it works, occasionally it just can’t, and it will shut itself down. It also shuts down when it sucks up something too large for it – the other day it was a $5 bill.

The Roomba covers our living room, dining room and kitchen in about 75 minutes. If we’d make use of the Lighthouses it’d probably be faster. Unfortunately, they require batteries and we’ve not gotten around to purchasing them. The Lighthouses are small plastic transmitters that tell the Roomba to either stay away from the area or in the Lighthouse mode it tells the Roomba to finish the room it’s in and then go on to the next room. This is an amazing feature I’m looking forward to trying out, as soon as we get those C size batteries. It’s too bad they don’t have an AC plug, however, in the Lighthouse mode they do turn themselves off after they Roomba passes through. In the “wall” mode, it keeps the Roomba from entering areas you’re not ready to have it vacuum.

When the Roomba detects a concentration of dirt it concentrates there until it’s clean and then continues on its way. It’s mesmerizing watching it. It uses a mathematical algorithm to figure out the best cleaning path for your room – it’s not the same path humans would use – it bumps and turns and heads off in seemingly random directions and just when you think it’s going to miss a spot it makes it way there and hits it. Left to complete its full cleaning cycle, we’ve never found an area that was missed.

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When the Roomba has finished its cycle, it returns itself to the docking station. The docking station acts as the battery charger. This model has a 3-hour quick charge and 7-hour full recycle. We’ve never had an issue with it not being ready to go, but like any rechargable battery it will lose its charge over time but it’s easily replaceable. At any time you’d like to end a cleaning cycle in the middle, you simply press the center power button, then the Return to Dock button, and the Roomba senses its way home – it’s truly amazing!

We have Pergo floors and we’re thrilled about how fabulously it works on them, but we were curious about the performance on carpet. My mom took the Roomba to her house which has an engineered floor as well but it’s covered with plush, room-size carpets on top. She appreciated the cleaning capability on both her carpet and floor and was amazed at its ability to go from one to the other easily. She did find that she definitely needed a Virtual Wall to keep her sewing room off limits.

The Roomba isn’t going to work for those emergencies like when the Mother-in-Law is on her way over and you haven’t vacuumed in days. But because the Roomba is meant to run routinely, you’ll never be in that pinch. It does have a spot cleaner for those spilled cereal or houseplant messes. It also can’t do stairs, but it is smart enough to avoid them. That’s a feature we love since we live in a tri-level. I sweep the stairs down onto the floor and let the Roomba finish the job.

The Roomba is made to be owner-repaired as much as possible which means fewer have to be returned to the manufacturer for repair. Many of the parts are easily replaced and available at retail. In addition, during the warranty period, many of the typical problems can be corrected by telephone – the technician “talks” to the Roomba by sending signals to it – cool technology! I called when our Scooba started beeping and found the telephone repair service person to be very knowledgeable. The Scooba had a problem that couldn’t be fixed so it’s on its way back to Roomba for repair.

iRobot offers ten current household Roombas- each with different features. The lower-end models have the least features and generally cover a smaller area on each charge. The lowest current model’s is the 400 with a MSRP is $129.99. It has a simple On button and wall plug. The top of the line is the model 61001 which has a high-capacity dust bin, 3-cleaning cycles, a heavy-duty charging base and more. The 560 is in the middle of the line and the perfect one for us. I would have missed the scheduling ability and automatic docking station had we chosen the model 400. I appreciate that there’s an affordable model for everyone and some of the models can be test driven – check out the iRobot site for the current offerings.

 
iRobot also offers an upgrade program for their Scoobas and Roombas. Owners of previous models can upgrade at reduced prices. Since technology changes so quickly, this is a great feature. While checking out the iRobot home page I was surprised to see that they offer additional robots beyond the Roomba and Scooba. They have one that cleans garage and shop floors, another to take care of the deck, and still another to clean gutters! Any of these would be a perfect gift for people like us who like a clean home/garage/shop/etc. but don’t always have the time to keep it up. They’re also perfect for older people who need assistance. With the docking system you rarely have to pick up the Roomba making it a perfect choice for someone with limited mobility or back issues.

We both love the Roomba and after a few days the dogs have become accustomed to it as well. Good thing, if we had to chose between the dogs or the Roomba, I’m afraid the dogs would be gone!

A Video Demonstration of the Roomba by the iRobot Corp.

iRobot also provides video for changing the filter, changing modules (this is part of their self-repair program) and cleaning brushes.

 What’s in the Box:
1 iRobot Roomba 5602
Virtual Wall Lighthouses (Each requires 2 C batteries, not included)
1 Self-charging Home Base
1 Power Supply (3 hour charge time)
1 Brush Cleaning Tool
1 Rechargeable Battery
1 Extra Filter
1-year Manufacturer’s Warranty

MSRP: $379.99

Specs:
Package Dimensions: 20″ x 17.5″ x 5.5″
Package Weight: 12.5 lbs

Accessories & Replacement Parts:

• iRobot Roomba 500 Series Virtual Wall Lighthouse – 80201
• Roomba 500 Series 3-pack Filters
• Roomba 500 Series Side Brush, 3-Pack
• iRobot R3 500 series replacement brush kit (inc. Bristle brush,beater brush, side brush with screw and brush cleaning tool)
• iRobot R3 500 series APS Battery
• Replacement Brushes for Roomba® 500 Series (6 Brushes Total)
• Roomba Brush Cleaning Tool Item #11265

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Also included is the Oreck 5-lb. Ultimate Handheld Vac. This little masterpiece comes with eight attachments and cleans everything from upholstery to high ceilings, corners to crevices, and books shelves to lampshades.

The New Oreck XL Platinum benefits:

You’ll dust less often. Since the built-in HEPA filtration system traps 99.9% of all dust and allergens and it doesn’t blow back into the air, back onto the floor or on your furniture you’ll be able to dust less often.

We have a large house and a furry friend that seems to shed quite a bit so with twins and a husband with allergies, I have to dust just about every other day or even every day. What I noticed with the Oreck Platinum was that it did a great job with sucking up that nasty dust (on both hardwood floors and carpet). Also, with our Hoover Platinum, I didn’t even notice this until recently, but the dust must still be swirling around in the air because it lands on the vacuum itself and I have to clean it off or use the handheld to get it off.  With the Oreck, so far, I haven’t noticed anything like this.

Great for furniture too! The top of the vacuum head isn’t as large as some of the others I’ve seen and I’m able to get under more furniture with the Oreck. The sides and the top have a soft surface so it doesn’t scratch or scrape the underside of the furniture. With our current vacuum, a few pieces of our furniture and even our wood cabinets in the kitchen scratch the top and the sides of the vacuum.

This giveaway had ended.

Winner: Chosen by random.org

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Jason Meestif says:

I would love to win the Oreck because my children have allergies and our old and outdated Electrolux is on the fritz. Thank you for the awesome giveaway!

The Giveaway

Oreck has graciously donated an extra Oreck XL Platinum (including the Oreck 5-lb. Ultimate Handheld Vac) to giveaway to one lucky Mom Fuse reader!

To Enter:

1. You must – Check our Oreck.com and see their awesome selection of vacuums, browse around for a little while and then come back here and tell us why you’d like to have an Oreck.

2. You must – Be a subscriber to the free Mom Fuse mommy newsletter.

For Extra Entries:

1. Tweet this!

RT @momfuse – Oreck XL Platinum Vacuum Giveaway at www.momfuse.com

2. Spread the word about this giveaway on your blog, Facebook, Myspace, Plurk, or through email and be sure to come back here and let us know!

Ends June 6th, 2009. Winner selected and contacted June 7th, 2009.

Open to US & Canada Residents.

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I had the opportunity to adopt a Scooba for a few weeks. The little bundle arrived via UPS and I couldn’t wait to unwrap it. The model I received is the mid-range model (#350) which comes with one virtual wall (more about that later), a battery that’s said to last the length of time needed to clean one to three average rooms, and a small bottle of cleaner.

It took me just minutes to unpack it and assemble the few pieces necessary to get it started on its way. Because it must charge overnight the first time you use it, I plugged it in and waited patiently until the next day. When the time arrived to try it out, I filled the tank with warm water and then added the prescribed amount of Clorox floor cleaner. I loved the smell of the cleaner so I was really looking forward to seeing how it would work on my floors.

I chose our 30-year old bathroom floor to try it out on. It’s the old rolled linoleum that was popular in the 70s and really ugly. After clearing the bathroom rug, I pressed the on/off button and let it go. The little guy started whirring and took off across my floor. Not in a straight line mind you, but in memorizing circles and with a redirecting bounce now and then against the shower, toilet, etc. Just when I thought I could anticipate where it was headed, it fooled me and stopped, circled around, and headed the other way. To say I sat and watched it for the entire time would make me look a little crazy, but I did!

It cleans by sucking up the dirt and then laying down the cleaner, scrubbing it with the brushes & squeegee, and then sucking up the extra water. It leaves behind hardly a trace of water and there’s surprisingly little in the dirty water tank once the floor is done. It cleaned beautifully and my small bathroom took about 15 minutes to complete. Sure, I had to clean behind the toilet, but it did a fabulous job everywhere else.

As I waited for it to finish the bathroom I read the instructions and was HORRIFIED to find out it can’t be used on Pergo floors! You see, we replaced all the carpet in our house with Pergo floors about a year ago. I was heartbroken! Now we do have the top of the line Pergo, and it probably would have been OK (water is a real problem with engineered floors), but my husband wasn’t about to let me try it out. He also wasn’t impressed by the amount of plastic used on the unit. It didn’t bother me because it seemed very durable, it’s going to spend most of its time on the floor, and there are replacement parts available on the iRobot site for almost every piece of the unit so if you do trip on it or drop it, you can probably fix it.

 
Disappointed, I cleaned it up (easy to do) and packed it up for a return back to the iRobot people. I’d envisioned the Scooba taking care of my floors from now on, but the two tiny bathrooms that haven’t had new floors put in yet wasn’t a good enough reason to keep it. I never got to try the virtual wall – a small battery-operated piece that tells the Scooba to turn around and head the other way. I hear they work fabulously, but in the bathroom I just closed the door.

I’m was bummed to have to give it back, but its brother, the Roomba is on his way here. I think he’ll be a perfect fit….but I’ll never forget my first…the Scooba! I only hope the iRobot people get busy on a Scooba for engineered floors. Until then, I have my memories.

So long Scooba, you’ll be missed!

Connie – Miscellaneous Finds 4 U

NOTE: The Scooba is available in three models: Scooba 5800 ($299.99) cleans 250 square feet per charge, Scooba 350 ($399.99) covers 500 square feet per charge, and Scooba 380 covers 850 square feet per charge.

I got to enjoy the Scooba 350 at no charge, however, it did not affect my review and it was returned to iRobot. Simply put, I LOVED it and didn’t want to let it go!

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