Freshie & Zero Review and Giveaway!

I am always on the lookout for original, high quality jewelry that's easy for every day wearing.  I'm not incredibly fashionable, so finding things that work for me, and look good, can be a challenge.

Freshie & Zero is an awesome jewelry company located in beautiful Nashville, Tennessee.  She makes beautiful jewelry that's subtle, but also impressive.  She plays with shapes and textures, coming up with strikingly detailed pieces. 

I received the "Cluster" necklace-and it is gorgeous.  This piece would make a wonderful gift-along with any of her other pieces!  I LOVE her style-not overstated, but still feminine. 

The packing it comes in is beautiful, as well.

Every one of her pieces is individual-and is something you won't see on everyone else.  She also offers FREE SHIPPING on all her orders.

Freshie & Zero is teaming up with me to offer a $50 gift certificate!  Check out her sites:  Freshie & Zero Facebook
Twitter
Enter my giveaway below!

(Disclaimer: I received product in return for my post.  All opinions are my own.)

Duck Dynasty Party!

I've been battling the party itch for awhile now, but finally succumbed to the pressure.  A few of my friends and I LOVE Duck Dynasty, so I threw a fantastic Duck Dynasty themed get together.

I will say that this party took some work-but it was WAY worth it.  I teamed up with some awesome vendors to throw the ultimate duck loving, camo wearing shindig.  Check it out!

I used printables from BisonBleu on Etsy.  (Just so you know, she's the ONLY one that offers printables for Duck Dynasty themed stuff-so if you're in the market, she's your one stop shop for printables!)   She's amazing to work with, too.

I re-named the food into Duck Dynasty type dishes.  Grilled chicken was grilled frog, BBQ chicken was BBQ Duck, etc.

And no Duck Dynasty party is complete without Mallow Dogs.  (Which were really yucky!)

I used burlap from the hardware store to create my favor bags.  I tied them closed with pom poms made from camo yarn.

 

The wreath was a last minute inspiration.  I'd borrowed a few duck decoys from a friend, and attached them to a burlap wreath-I created the orange bow just for the party.

The incredible pillow was made by IzzyJ on Etsy.  Her products are BEAUTIFUL.  She has a wonderful offering of sizes and themes for her pillows.

 

To keep the party alive, I did some Duck Dynasty trivia...I gave a few of the products away as prizes.

A few of the favorites from the party were the fun cups from LoveBug Gifts on Etsy.  Her vinyl products and decals are super high quality. (and did I mention FUN?)

I had the cutest embroidery sayings at the party-everyone thought they were hilarious.  AmandaKrueger on Etsy made these-and they're going to look so cute hung up on a wall for one of the Duck Dynasty fans!

 

 

Another favorite was this print of the original patent for the duck call that made Duck Dynasty what it is today.  This was an AMAZING addition to my party.  This was from PatentPrints on Etsy.  Everyone loved this.  They have a vast array of prints and patents available.  They are incredibly affordable and look incredible!

This was by far one of the best parties I've ever thrown.

I want to give all my party sponsors a HUGE thank you for making this event a smashing success!

Party Credits:

Printables: BisonBleu
Decor: IzzyJ, LoveBug Gifts, AmandaKrueger, PatentPrints

No Sock Day Boycott By Foot Cardigan!

Who here loves socks?  I do!  Especially creative, cute, comfy socks.  I love going to the sock shoppes in California and getting some rad knee-highs or some thick woolly slipper socks.  Unfortunately, for some reason, May 8th is No Sock day, and Foot Cardigan is hitting back with their "Sock Subscription".

For 9 dollars a month you can send a friend or family member (Hello, moms?) a pair of socks every month.  How fun is that?!  I received these really cute squirrel socks and a pair of constellation socks to check out.  While many cutely designed socks are thin and don't keep your tootsies warm, these are much thicker than what I'm used to-which is nice-not to mention they're in pretty awesome prints.

And another note about their sock subscription: The company even offers "Horrible" gift wrapping for $2 a month.  If you snap a pic of your tootsies in their socks, and tag them on Twitter, they'll post it on their page.  Fun!

I think this is a pretty awesome idea, and personally, I'd love to get a new pair of socks every month!  Bryan DeLuca, Foot Cardigan CEO, says that these socks are for everyone.  “In my experience, there is not a sensible person on earth who doesn’t like a fun pair of socks. You may have to be in a suit and tie all day long but those socks – the ones covered in pictures of little cheeseburgers – may be your only chance to express personality in an office environment.   Or maybe you’re the girl who avoids wearing basic white tube socks and would rather sport hot pink ones adorned with pictures of ninjas.  Either way, everyone loves receiving the surprise of a new, not to mention funky, pair of socks.”

This would be an awesome gift for a kid at college, too-since I'm betting they're probably not really concerned with having clean socks in the first place-not to mention clean COOL socks.

(Disclaimer: I received either product or compensation in return for this post.  All thoughts and content belong to me.)

Amish Auction - what are Amish people like in REAL life?

I love going to the Amish auction.  They have it a few times a week during the spring and summer.  They usually sell produce and home goods, but twice a year they have animal consignments.  Amish auctioneers sell the Amish goods that line the different auction areas.

 

 These sales are AMAZING.  They've grown quite a bit in popularity, so the Amish start to stick out amongst the English (Non-Amish) crowd.

 They literally sell EVERYTHING at these sales.  Birds, bunnies, horses, pigs...all the way to tools and home furnishings.

And some people just come to hang out.

And the Amish have their own parking lot to put their horses and buggies.

The Amish people in Kentucky are incredibly nice.  They go out to normal stores like Wal-mart with their families, with precious, adorable Amish children in tow.  I've been incredibly privileged to make the aquaintance of many Amish people-and all of them have been polite and warm.

We have a few different orders of Amish in our area.  Each one has different rules, but most of them live in very modern homes-with electricity hook-ups that are just disconnected.  They have a community phone, and those that offer services like horseshoeing stand by the phones in the morning to get calls from customers before either getting a ride to their jobs or leaving in their buggies.  They speak Pennsylvania Dutch along with english, and unlike some other Amish communities, they visit doctors and dentists.  Most of the communities utilize gas for heating and light, so they have hot running water and whatnot.

There are Amish stores in our area as well-and while some are very touristy, there are others that sell Amish fabrics, Amish attire, and even Amish wedding supplies.  I got the most incredible set of measuring cups that are actually spoons (In 1/8, 1/4/ 1/2 cup measures) from one of the stores that are thick steel-for $10.  They've got some awesome stuff.  Last time I was "Amish shopping" I bought myself one of their beautiful headscarves-I wore it most of the winter, and it was so warm.  I love it dearly. 

Do you have Amish people where you live?  What are they like near you?

Printcopia Photo Canvas Giveaway!

 

As a photographer, I can appreciate the need for photos that are beyond the scope of regular prints.  The popularity of canvas prints has been enormous, and I LOVE how they look-like works of art!  I received a canvas print from Printcopia, and I couldn't be more pleased.

 The creation of the canvas was easy peasy-took me all of 5 minutes.  What arrived was a beautiful picture, perfect for putting on my wall.  The shipping was fast, and their prices are VERY competitive.  They also offer acrylic prints (The picture is printed on an sheet of acrylic), along with panoramic canvases (How awesome?), framed canvases, and even wall decals.  You can remodel a whole room at Printcopia!

These canvases would make such a wonderful mothers day gift!  And you can win one by entering below!

Bubba Brands Review & Gift Basket Giveaway!

I am a water bottle ADDICT.  I kid you not.  My cupboards are overflowing with water bottles that I've abused to the point of breakage.  Believe it or not, I've broken a Nalgene bottle, ran over a Kleen Kanteen, and cracked an unholy number of those double-walled water bottles.  I've never found "The Perfect" water bottle.  ALL of the ones I've tried are either big enough, but don't have a very convenient spout, aren't big enough, aren't easy enough to clean, (Here's looking at you little pull-out spouts) or are too flimsy.  Who's with me on this?  I mean, I drink a ridiculous amount of liquid during the day, and refilling my water bottle 8 times a day can get really, really annoying-and inconvenient when you're out and about an run out!

Well, Bubba Brands contacted me and sent me two of their products: the 22 oz Edge from their Fresh line, and the 32 oz. Envy, also from their Fresh line.  Both cups feature their Eastman Tritan insulation which is taste resistant, impact resistant, temperature resistant, dishwasher safe, and BPA free.

The 22 oz Edge bottle is perfect for an active lifestyle.  It features a rubber textured top, a soft plastic straw (easy cleaning!) and the straw hole has a cover you can put over it.  It has a hook for easy carrying or putting on a carabiner, and it comes in some cute colors!  

The 32 oz. Envy water bottle.  With a straw. A super bendy awesome straw. It also has a sliding closure for when you take the straw out.  What's more-it doesn't have some ugly gas station branding or other irritating slogan slapped across it.  The container is GINORMOUS and I only have to refill it once or twice a day.  This cup is BY FAR my favorite water cup EVER, and the name Envy is perfect, because-I kid you not-I get TONS of comments on this water bottle.  Everyone wants to know where to get one!  I know that there are some large retailers like Target and BassPro that carry SOME of the cups, but their website has ALL of them!

And Bubba Brands is giving away an incredible gift basket (That I'm totally jealous of) to one lucky winner!

 

                                                                       Enter below!

Makaboo...Gifts With A Personal Touch!

For Annabelle's birthday, I wanted to give her something special, personalized, and USEFUL.  While I could've gotten her a toy, she's already got PLENTY.  Clothes?  SO MANY.  But while we were out and about one day I saw a child her age toting around a backpack-and VOILA!  I knew just the perfect gift to get her.

Makaboo provided me with this incredibly cute Stephen Joseph backpack-completely personalized.   But not only do you get an adorable gift, but you also get to Makamoovie!  Cute play on words, right?  You get to record a personalized greeting to be delivered with your gift.  This feature makes giving gifts to those far away really special-you can record yourself singing happy birthday, or a tear-jerker of a message.

Makaboo carries more than just backpacks-they have clothing, decor, gear, organic options, blankets, storage stuff-you NAME it.  Their shipping is fast, and the product arrives beautifully wrapped.

  

All the products are high quality, and what I really loved about this backpack is that it has adjustable straps!

Annabelle loves wearing her backpack-and it's so much easier to carry than a diaper bag!  I get comments on it almost everywhere I go.  Makaboo is definitely a place worth checking out!