Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Oh this crazy, beautiful life...

I love being a stay at home/ work from home mom, but wow does it get overwhelming at times. Hubby and I haven't had a "date night" since the last Dark Night was in theaters, I haven't had a girls day since before Moose was born (15 months ago!), making hats to sell, keeping up with the housework and playing with Moose gets a bit crazy at times. 
I have definitely had my fare share of melt downs after Moose has gone to bed over sheer exhaustion and knowing that I still have some type of work to do. 
Regardless of it all, I wouldn't trade any of it for the world. 
The smiles on my little boys face, his giggles, all of the snuggles, kisses and hugs can make any bad day melt away. 
Can make any stress seem insignificant.

I am excited that this weekend, my mom and sister are coming to watch moose for hubby and I to get out and at some point later this year one of my friends will finally get a chance to watch Moose for us to get out again. 
I am excited that we will be celebrating 2 years of married life and 4 years together later this year (February 28 and June 28 respectively).
That we get another year of watching our little boy grow, learn and explore.
That we have another year for our love for each other to grow.
That hopefully soon, I will be able to find a way to better balance my hat business and taking care of the house.

I'm excited to experience this crazy year and to see where life takes us in 2013.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Shoes, shoes, shoes. Love & review.

I am a total shoes girl. Converse, DC's high heels, flip flops, boots of all types. If they exist, I love them. I love to buy shoes and it probably the one thing that I am willing to buy for myself. One of my favorites are my DC's. I don't think there is much of a DC's trend, they are the type of shoes that are always in style. My favorite trend right now is the bootie. I think that they are completely adorable and can be worn with everything from jeans to dresses and always look cute, which is awesome since I hate wearing knee high boots with some of my dresses and they don't work with some of my jeans. Booties up self confidence and take away the worry if whether or not clothes look good with my shoes!
When I opened my Influenster Holiday Vox Box, I was excited when I saw the card for $25 off my first purchase on solesociety.com. I love shoes. I thought that it would be a great opportunity to treat myself to a new pair of shoes and went to check out the website right away. I immediately signed up and got right to online shopping. I found a bunch of shoes that I would love to have, even though I am a bit leery about buying shoes online since I'm between a 8.5 and 10 depending on the shoe and prefer to try them all on, but the thing that made me stop was the prices. The shoes start at $49.95 and a lot of the shoes I liked cost more than that. With $25 off, it makes the $49.95 shoes a decent price but then I thought about whether I wanted to buy a shoe, have to wait for it to arrive to try it on and then if it doesn't fit, have to send it back. In the end, I decided to wait a little and see how much Christmas money I have left before I place an order.



*Note: I was provided the card with discount code for solesociety.com from Influenster to purchase a pair of shoes for review. I am not required to purchase any items and the decision to write a review was mine. All opinions in the post are mine and mine alone.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Influenster Holiday VoxBox Review 5: Kiss Nail Dress

When I saw the Kiss Nail Dress in my Influenster Holiday VoxBox, I had to laugh. I paint my nails on occasion, but it usually chips and looks horrible within a day or two so I don't do it very often. I wasn't sure how nail stickers were going to hold up any better than polish. I figured that they would peel and be off within minutes of hand washing dishes or playing with my son. I also never put designs on my nails because the work of getting them on when they get destroyed so quickly. Sine these didn't require extra work for the design, they were more desirable than other nail designs I have seen.
They weren't too difficult to put on, even for tiny fingers like mine (I have a size 5 ring finger). I had to do a little trimming on a couple of the nail stickers to make them fit properly, but it only took about 10 mins from start to finish. Not having to wait for them to dry was very nice with a small child, no worry about smearing paint on my child or on any of our furniture. They peel off easy, no need for fingernail polish remover to get them off and because they are stickers, there is no nasty chemical smell.
They work great for both fingers and toes, and with a large selection of great designs, you can have both a cute, quick manicure and pedicure when you don't have the time or money to go to the salon to have them done. Or, if you are like me and prefer to stay out of the salon all together.
Kiss Nail Dress is a must have for my house hold.



* Note: I was given the above product from Influenster in the Holiday VoxBox to try and review. I was not paid for or asked to write any particular type of review. All opinions are mine and mine alone.

Influenster Holiday VoxBox Review 4: NYC New York Color Liquid Lipshine in Nude York City

As a girl who loves lipgloss, it made my day to see the NYC New York Color Liquid Lipshine in Nude York City in my Influenster Holiday VoxBox. Not only do I love lipgloss, but I adore nude glosses since they go with everything. 
NYC's Liquid Lipshine is great lipgloss, it isn't sticky like a lot of other lipglosses are and it smells amazing. They come in an array of great shades to acommodate every skin color, life event, and mood.
 NYC New York Color Liquid Lipshine has become my new favorite lipgloss and the only one I will buy. My goal is to collect one of ever color they carry for every mood and event!



*note: I received the above product from Influenster to try and review. I was not paid for my review, required to write any type of review. All opinions are mine and mine alone.
The picture included in the post is not mine. It was found on pinterest.com and the link can be found here: http://m.pinterest.com/pin/89579480059974231/
If the pictures is yours and you want me to take it down, please let me know and it will be removed promptly.

Influenster Holiday VoxBox Review 3: Quaker Real Medlys Oatmeal + in Summer Berry

I was very intrigued when I saw the Quaker Real Medley's Summer Berry Oatmeal+ in my Influenster Holiday VoxBox. I love oatmeal and couldn't wait until breakfast to see how good it was. The summer berry oatmeal is full of the traditional oatmeal, but has an added surprise of dries berries that give the oatmeal great, healthy flavor and doesn't need any added sweetening or flavors. Besides tasting great and being healthy, Quaker made their Real Medley's Oatmeal+ incredibly desirable by putting it in a ready to go, quick to heat cup to make breakfast easy for everyone, no matter who you are!
I can't wait to try all of the different flavors of Quaker's Real Medley Oatmeal+ to see just how yummy they are too. Definitely a must have for anyone who is constantly on the move.


*Note: I was provided the above product by Influenster in the Holiday VoxBox to try and review. I was not paid for a review or requested to write any particular type of review. My opinions are mine and mine alone.
The photo included in the post is not mine and was found on pinterest.com. The link can be found here: http://pinterest.com/pin/89579480059974256/
If you would like the picture taken down, please let me know and it will be removed promptly.

Influenster Holiday VoxBox Review 2: Goody Quikstyle Half Round Style Brush

One of the first products that I pulled out of my Influenster Holiday VoxBox was the Goody QuikStyle Half Round Brush. I was both amused and skepticle at first. The brush looks a bit funny with the microfiber bristles in between the regular brush bristles. I was skepticle of whether the microfiber would really reduce the amount of water in my freshly eased hair by 30%, but as a person who tends to have wet hair for hours after a shower, I was more than happy to give it a chance.
I was extremely excited to try the brush out after my shower and was so happy to discover that The QuikStyle brush did just as it promised. My hair had significantly less water than it usually does and was completely dry much faster than it has ever been in the past. I don't think I would have bought it if I had been shopping for myself before, but now that I have tried it, I won't use any other brush! It is one of those great products that you want everyone to know about! 2 thumbs way, way up to Goody for their QuikStyle Brush!



*note: I was provided the Goody QuikStyle brush from Influenster in the Holiday VoxBox to try and review. I was not paid to write a review on my blog, nor was I told what kind of review to write. All opinions in this post are mine, and mine alone. 

The picture above is not my work, it was found on pinterest.com and the original can be found at this link: http://pinterest.com/pin/8957948005997. If you would like me to remove the picture, please let me know and I would be glad to take it down.








Pine Bros. Softish Throat Drops: A Review

Pine Bros. Softish Throat Drops is a great brand of throat drops that has been soothing American throats for over 140 years. One of the first things I read and loved about the company is not only have they been around a long time (since 1870!) but they are also made in America! The second thing that I loved was the refillable puck that is so easy to take anywhere during cold season. It closes nice & tight so there is no worry about it popping open unexpectedly and spilling everywhere. 
When I opened the case and tried the wild cherry flavored (my favorite!) throat drops, hubby and I were pleasantly surprised. Not only do the throat drops have great taste (they remind me of cherry cool-aid) but the softish, chewy texture is great compared to the hard drops of other brands. It gave my mouth something to focus on besides trying not to crunch the typical throat drops that are found in stores. I've had to hide part of our drops to keep my husband from eating them like candy, they are so yummy.
Another great thing is that because they taste great, they are easy to give children and are safe for everyone over age three! For those who are calorie conscious, each drop is only 5 calories! No worries about spending all of your allotted calories on making your throat feel better. 
Next time you have a sore throat and need some relief, look for Pine Bros. Softish Throat Drops, great American made experience of yummy, chewy, throat relieving drops.

*Note: I was supplied with Pine Bros. Softish Throat Drops to try and review by Pine Bros. company. I was not paid for my review and all opinions are my own. 
The photos included in my post are not mine and were provided to me to use in my review post by Pine Bros. company.