Saturday, October 27, 2012

Bath and Body Works Mini Candle in Pumpkin Cupcake (Influenster Beauty Blogger VoxBox part 3)

I was very excited to see and light the Bathans Body Works Mini Candle in Pumpkin Cupcake. I have a love affair with candles, especially ones with great scents, and the Pumpkin Cupcake scent did not disappoint! I'm not completely sure why a candle would be in a beauty blogger box since it doesn't have much to do with beauty products. My best guess would be that it was included because it comes from Bath and Body works, which is a beauty product company and it was a nice treat for the bloggers. I know I am definitely enjoying my candle!
I absolutely love the Pumpkin Cupcake smell. It has a great smell for both fall and for the upcoming holidays. Usually small, one wick candles don't have much of a scent, but this one is great. It gives off a light scent when just sitting on the counter top and gives off a nice, powerful scent for such a small candle, which was a nice surprise.
The mini candle is an adorable size and would make the great addition to any present, as part of a prize pack at a party or event, as just a small prize at a party or event, or even a great addition to any home. The small size is great for even the most cramped space and it gives off the scent of a candle twice it's size, so even those smallest spaces can smell great with the help of the mini candle!
I definitely recommend running to a Bath and Body Works near you and checking out the Mini Candle and finding a scent or two (or three) that you enjoy!

For those who want a bigger candle, they also offer a 3 wick candle option in the same great smells!

All opinions in this post are mine, and mine alone. I was given a free product from Influenster.com to review and tell the world about. I was not paid for my review, nor was I asked to write a positive review. I write reviews true to the product that I am given to try.

Friday, October 26, 2012

Goodie Simple Styles Spin Pin (Beauty Blogger Review part 2)

The first product that I pulled from my Influenster Beauty Blogger Vox Box was the Goodie Simple Styles Spin Pin ($7.29).
I was so excited to get to try them out. I have seen them in stores and was intrigued with how they worked, but never had the money to blow on a hair care product that I wouldn't use everyday and may not work with my shorter, layered hair. I like to wear my hair in a bun on occasion and always use a million bobby pins to try and  keep it in place for a few minutes, so I hoped that they would work out better than the bobby pins. The first time I tried them, with slightly greasy hair, I was pleasantly surprised. I got my hair up in the perfect messy bun, just the way I like it and the pins held it in place longer than bobby pins ever have!
I was a little less excited the second time I tried them on freshly washed, air dried hair. My hair can be a bit hard to manage if I let it air dry and don't do anything with it right away (although I did have the Not Your Mother's Smooth Moves Frizz Control Hair Cream in my hair at the time)so I wasn't hoping for much. I got what I was expecting. I got my hair up into the binn and I struggled to get the pins to hold my hair in anything resembling a bun. Sections kept falling out so I ended up adding several bobby pins to hold it up the way I wanted.
Even with the struggle that I had the second time, I still love the pins and will continue to use them when my hair is starting to get greasy, before I get a chance to take a shower. I definitely recommend them to everyone who anyone who likes to put their hair in a bun and wants to quit using a million bobby pins, or just want a little extra help keeping it in place through the day.

All opinions in this post are mine, and mine alone. I was given a free product from Influenster.com to review and tell the world about. I was not paid for my review, nor was I asked to write a positive review. I write reviews true to the product that I am given to try.

It's finally here!! Influenster Beauty Blogger Voxbox Review part 1

I am so excited to announce that on Friday, October 19, I received my Influenster Beauty Blogger VoxBox!
I was so excited to get home that night to find my box waiting for me in my mail box. I ripped it open as soon an I got upstairs to see what goodies awaited me and I was not disappointed. Inside the box, I received:
• Goodie Simple Style Spin Pins: retails at $7.29
• NYC New York Color IndividualEyes Custon Compact: retails at $4.99
• Bath & Body Works Mini Candle in Pumpkin Cupcake: retails at $3.50
• Not Your Mother's Smooth Moves Frizz Control Hair Cream: retails at $6.00 for a full sized 6oz bottle
• KISS Ever Pro Lashes Starter Kit: retails at $5.99
• EBOOST powder packet: retails at $28 for a box of 20 effervescent powders, $39 for a box of 30 effervescent powders, $39 for a box of 12 shots

Since I got home so late, I didn't get a chance to try all of the products out, but was and am so excited to try everything out in the next couple of weeks, blog about them here to let everyone know about all of the wonderful products that I received, to write reviews and answer questions about them on Influenster.com and tell all of my friends and family about them.

Stay tuned for product reviews from the box over the next 2 weeks!


All opinions in this post are mine, and mine alone. I received the above products for free from Influenster.com to review and spread the word about. I was not paid to write reviews, nor was I asked  to write a positive blog review. Any positive reviews are my honest opinion about the product.

Getting behind

I have gotten a bit behind on my posting lately and I apologize. Life has been a bit crazy lately and unfortunately my blog has taken the back seat to caring for Moose, cooking, cleaning, and a crazy storm that rolled in. I plan on getting all caught up over the next week and hope that I can keep caught up after.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Taking a break from the party scene

After filling our weekends with birthday parties and football games, and not getting very many people RSVP to the Halloween House party, I decided to contact house party.com and ask them to send the kit to another member. I was honored to be picked to throw a house party and very excited to start planning for my very first houseparty.com party, but after giving it some great thought, decided it would be better to bow out gracefully than to throw a mediocre house party that doesn't meet the integrity of the site, doesn't do the product justice, and isn't an example of the type of party that I can really throw. I am sad that I will no longer be holding the party, but I am hopeful that I will be chosen to hold another in the future.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Birthday Parties and Halloween Costumes

Moose's birthday was a success! We had a great turn out of friends and family, ate lots of good food (and had tons of left overs), and Moose got a ton of amazing presents from all (he is sitting on the floor playing with them as I type). It was great getting together with friends and family, and getting to see people that I haven't seen in a while. Moose had a blast running around, visiting people, playing with the kids, playing with all the toys, and eating.
I have also finished Moose's Halloween costume! It has been all put together and fitted to him. I am so excited to really show it off this weekend at his cousin's 2nd birthday party and again at our Halloween party in the 27th, and on Halloween! It is going to get lots of wear! I am working on putting together a stuffed Toothless for him to carry around and have almost finished that as well! I'm thinking about getting some more fabric and trying to make me a Halloween costume as well, but I haven't decided yet. Hooray for progress though! 

I'll post pictures from the party and Moose's costume as soon as my email and blogger start cooperating!

Beauty Vox Box

I have been selected to receive and try out the Beauty Vox Box with Influenster! I'm super excited for it to arrive in the mail! I don't buy beauty products as often as I would like, but I LOVE beauty products and could spend hours wandering through the beauty isles in stores and days is stores like Sephora, just drooling over the merchandise. I'm really excited to try out the Beauty Box and get to try out some really new products, tell all my friends and family about it, write about it on Influenster, and even better, write about it all here! So keep an eye out for my post about my box arriving and future ones about the products as I try them!

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Influenster

If you haven't heard about Influenster yet, you should keep reading! If you have, but want to learn more, keep reading too. You might learn something you dudn't know! It is a website for trendsetters to come and give their opinions about products and experiences. You earn badges to go with your different interests and badges that go with where you are in life. It is a great way to get your opinions into the world and to influence whether other people will use certain products, hence, being an Influenster! The best parts are getting to share thoughts on products with and help answer questions of other trendy people in the world! Active influensters can get discounts and services based on expert badges and even get invited to take part in Influenster programs allowing you to try the newest and coolest products and services tailored to your lifestyle before anyone else so that you can further influence those around you!
Influenster is always looking for trendy people to join in the discussions, so if this sounds like you, check them out here: http://www.influenster.com

Any other questions about what Influenster is about can be read here: http://www.influenster.com/about

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Must be one of those days

So far today is one of those days when you wish you had a do over button.
Moose woke up late for him, bit early for me since I couldn't fall asleep until after midnight, and decided he wanted to be naughty, kicking, hitting, getting into everything he isn't supposed to and screaming at me when he gets in trouble. I have a sink full of dishes to wash because I wanted to get as much stuff ready for Moose's party so I didn't do them yesterday. I have a load of diapers to wash because I put off doing laundry until late last night and didn't get a chance to do them. Moose fought me to take a nap and athe freaking house phone ringing woke him up before he was ready. Now he's running around the house crying and fussing because he should still be asleep.
I have 2 million things to do before his party on Saturday, but trying to keep him happy is a full time job and nothing else is getting done.
I could really use that do over button now.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Happy Birthday Baby Boy!

One year ago today, at 9:56 in the morning, my little Moose was born at 39 weeks! He was 8lbs 13oz and 21 inches long with 10 fingers, 10 toes, dark blonde/light brown hair, big blue eyes, super alert and completely perfect. It is so hard to believe how quickly the last year has gone by. It seems like only yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital. Today, he is walking, has a good vocabulary for his age, is a master climber, 31 inches long, weighing in at 20.5lbs, with light blonde hair and green hazel eyes. I love my moose from the bottoms of my feet to the top of my head. Happy Birthday baby boy!

I'm going to be absent a lot through Saturday as I am preparing for Moose's first birthday party on Saturday. I'll try to do a couple of posts in between then, but if I don't, that's where I am.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Thankful Thursday

I thought it would be a good time to start doing Thankful Thursdays every week.
This week, I am extremely thankful (as always) for my Moose. He has changed my world so much and taught me so much about life and love. For my husband, he works long days to allow me to stay home with our Moose (for now) so I have been able to watch him grow and explore, and I have gotten the pleasure to be there for all of his "firsts".
I'm also incredibly grateful for my mom, who is always there to help, my wonderful, caring mother in law, having a roof over our heads, food in our bellies, clothes on our backs, and 2 working vehicles.
Life may not be perfect, but it is definitely good.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

A Kellogg’s® Rice Krispies® Halloween House Party!

I got picked to host a House Party from houseparty.com today! A Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Halloween House Party to be exact! I’m really excited since Moose will actually be able to enjoy the festivities and it will be a great way to show off our little place to our friends and family that still haven’t seen it. As if I needed even more on my plate to think about and craft, I’m already thinking up ideas for party décor, food to cook and some fun drinks we can have available. It is going to be fairly small, 10-15 people total, but I seriously can’t wait! The party is going to bring in the end of both October and a very busy string of weekend events for a while. Halloween is one of both mine and my hubby’s holidays so it will be awesome to be able to celebrate in style with some help from houseparty.com.
You can find the link to houseparty.com here: Houseparty.com
And to my party details to follow along here: My Kellogg’s® Rice Krispies® Halloween House Party

Professional Picture Tuesday

Yesterday’s smash cake session made me want to do some professional pictures with Moose for his birthday also, so I decided to take him down to one of the photo studios (Picture People) to get some taken. I’ll admit that scheduling the appointment for right after nap time and expecting him to sleep in the van wasn’t one of my smarter ideas as he refused to sleep on the way, but he was in a great mood for the whole shoot, smiling and giggling and running around everywhere, you would have never known that he typically was either sleeping of just waking up from his nap. It wasn’t until after the shoot and we were stuck waiting around to look at the pictures that he started having a melt down from skipping his nap. Luckily for me, I was able to get him settled in his front pack and nursing through looking at most of the pictures and again before we left and he slept most of the way home. We only got my two favorite shots since the sheets were so expensive and the least expensive disk was copy write so I couldn’t print from it. It was definitely an interesting experience and I plan on going to the studio in Roseville for our family holiday pictures as recommended by a fellow patron during our wait.

Smash Cake Monday

Moose and I needed to do something fun today. We were having a really rough morning and I hoped that maybe if we got out of the house, it would improve his mood as it usually does. I wasn’t really in the mood for driving too far, so I decided that it would be really fun to pick up a piece of cake from a local grocery store, take Moose up to one of our favorite ranches in Apple Hill, and take some one year and smash cake pictures. We had a blast! I set up a blanket so the cake wouldn’t end up in the grass (it did anyway) brought a change of clothes so not only could I get pictures of him in his cowboy gear with his super cute cowboy boots, but I could get smash cake pictures in his ONE shirt that I made too. Once we were done with the smash cake, I was able to change him again so he wasn’t wearing his frosting covered clothes all over the place. I got some great shots, and can’t wait to print them out to have at his birthday party!
 



 

First part done, 2 to go

I am so excited to announce that I have finished the shirt part of Moose’s Hiccup from How to Train Your Dragon Costume! I think it has turned out pretty cute and it fits him really well! I did have to add a little extra fabric to the back that I wasn’t expecting, but luckily it wasn’t very much and will be hidden by the fake fur vest that I’ll be making him or by a sweat shirt if he needs one to help keep him warm.
My current project for his costume is Toothless the dragon. I decided to save the vest for last since (I’m hoping) it will be the easiest to make. I was hoping that Toothless would be both fun and fairly easy, but so far it is turning out to be a bit more difficult than I had expected. I honestly hope that I don’t run into anymore road blocks or difficulties with putting it together or I may have to put it off until after I make the vest and hope it gets done before Halloween. I do have the body and tail cut out of the fabric, so if all goes as planned, I’ll just need to design and cut out the wings, then sew everything together, stuff it, and then add all of the embellishments. But, like I said, that’s if everything goes as planned and we all know that things usually don’t go as planned.; especially when you have a crazy kid running around who likes to steal things, getting into stuff you didn’t realize he could reach, and you have to do most of your work when you are half awake after said crazy child is finally asleep at night. Regardless of how it goes, I will finish Toothless at some point, and when I do, I’ll be sure to post pictures!

It's not "Goodbye"

My mom always told me to never say “goodbye”, it should always be “see you later” because you will see whoever it is again someday.
Unfortunately, I had to say see you later to my younger brother T on Saturday. T is going into the Army at the end of October and will be going to boot camp in Georgia. It was definitely a needed trip to go visit them though. I haven’t seen my brothers or step mom in 3ish years, so they had never met their little nephew Moose. We spent some time with T and his friends, my step mom, some of her family, and some family friends for a while, catching up on life, getting the latest on the drama with my birth father and chasing around Moose. My youngest brother M, who is 16, left at the beginning of the party, but came back before we left and we spent a long time hugging, letting him spend time with Moose and promising that I not only loved him, I always have loved him, always will love him, and that I will come back to visit so he can see his nephew again soon. Honestly, I don’t think there could have been anything sadder than seeing my 6 foot little brother crying because he thought that no one loved him and that, except for my step mom (his mom), that he was alone. I despise the awful things that our so-called-father has done to him and how broken he has become because of it. How anyone could destroy the spirit of such a wonderful boy and not even care is beyond me.

                                                            Moose meeting his Uncle M

                                                                  Moose meeting his Uncle T
 In the end, the visit was very bitter sweet. It added to the hatred and disgust that I have for my so-called-father, yet it was so good to see my family again. I knew I missed them a lot, but I didn’t realize just how much until I got to see T and was hugging M just like I did when he was a little boy. I really can’t believe just how fast time has gone and how much they have both grown. It’s going to take a long time, but I think one day, we will all be able to help each other heal from our wounds and we will all be much stronger people for it.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Catching Up

I get to play catch up with my posts today.
I actually had all of these typed out on my computer, but it has been having problems with the internet connection, so I haven’t been able to post any of them until today. So, a short over view in case you don’t want to go back through and read all of my old posts (although I believe they all contain pictures!)
Last weekend, we went to Stockton for my older younger brother’s going away party. We got to visit with both of my younger brothers, step mom, other step family, and some very old family friends. My 16 year old brother had a rough time with seeing us and meeting his nephew for the first time. It was extremely emotional.
Sunday, I finished the shirt part of Moose’s Halloween Costume. It was a long process and I still have to make the vest and dragon part, but one of the most difficult parts is done!
On Monday, Moose and I went back up to lovely Apple Hill and did a smash cake photo shoot, just he and I. It was a blast!
Today, I got picked to host a Kellogs Rice Krispies Halloween House  Party with houseparty.com. I can’t wait to host it!
Moose and I also went out and got some professional pictures done for his first birthday. They got some great shots of him, but we only bought pictures for 2 shots because they get expensive really quick.
Tomorrow is going to be a relaxing day for Moose and I and we need it before the craziness begins! We still need to figure out what we are going to give as favors, buy all of the food, plates and drinks for Moose’s party next weekend. This coming Saturday, we are attending the first birthday party of a good friend’s daughter who was born 3 days before Moose. The Saturday after Moose’s party is one of his cousin’s second birthday party (his actual birthday is the day after Moose’s), and the following Saturday is the Halloween Party! EEK! It’s crazy how fast October is going already and it has only just started.
Are you every surprised at how fast time passes?