The Weekly Round-Up

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How it works

Throughout the week keep an eye out for blog posts by other bloggers that you love, and keep track of them.  You can save them in a draft post, bookmark them, write them down-whatever works for you.

On Sundays, grab our pretty button (code above) and create a blog post with a list of those blogs that you loved, inspired you, or you generally want to share with everyone and link up with our link!  You should also follow both High-Heeled Love and myself who host!

Why do we do this?

We believe sharing posts and focusing on other bloggers is important for building community and creating friendships!  It's time to stop being so self-focused and branch out to others as well!

My Favorite Posts This Week

• My witchy sister MelanieGrace just announced that she's pregnant!  I've known this girl since we were 17 and I am sooo excited for her!  They're going to name her Annabelle Lee (if it's a girl) or him Grayson Francis (if it's a boy.) Congrats friend!  Go congratulate her for me will ya?
• Not a blog, but I loved this post on Buzzfeed about the 33 Most Beautiful Abandoned Places in the World.  Gorgeous. It's now my goal to vist all of them, except the ones in Antarctica.
• Absolute Mommy wrote this amazing post in regards to the Cynthia Wachenheim suicide from a few weeks back.  For those of you unfamiliar with the story, Cynthia strapped her 10 month old baby (he survived with only a few scratches!) to her chest and jumped out of an 8th story window.  She left a 13 page suicide note regarding how she felt guilty that her son had fallen and she felt he had developmental delays that were her fault.  I honestly feel like Megan has it right in her post-people are quick to call this woman a monster for what she did but it's not as easy to stop and think about how much this poor woman was hurting-how much it would have taken to get her to that ledge.  To take it further, I think not only should we should be talking about issues like Post Partum Pyschosis and Post Partum Depression, but we should be talking about so many mental disorders that go untreated because people feel shame.  It breaks my heart.

Giveaways you should enter this week:

Plant Therapy 14 Essential Oils Pack // Smart Strand Carpet Bound Rug // Kitchenaid Mixer -ENDS TODAY! // Turquoise Elle Earrings // 3 Bracelets from I Delight in You // 9 Beauty Prizes // Rimmel Cocktail Nail Polish Set // Free download of the app Vegan Delish // MUA, Barry M, & Liz Earl Beauty Products // Mega Makeup Giveaway // LVS Nail Polish Spring 2013 Set // Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Base (MY FAVE) // OPI Oz Great & Powerful Collection // Kerralina Jewelry // MAC Eyeshadow, Lipstick, Blush, and Fluidline in your choice // Prada Sunglasses // ORLY Spring Collection Giveaway // Julie G Gumdrops Collection // Red & White Anchor Necklace from Sassy Lemonade

Confession is Good for the Soul

I Confess...
I went a little swap crazy this month... Joined the Cara Box (see what I received here) swap at Wifessionals, the Hellobox swap at Pink on the Cheek, the Music Mixup (the mix CD I received) over at The K.O. Story, and the Covert Robin swap over at Imagine Gnats.  To be honest-I loved them all and will do them again.  Luckily they were all inexpensive-Cara Box has a $15 max, Hellobox a $10 max, and the other two were *basically* free other than shipping.  They just took time to put together-but it was fun time! +Happy

I Confess...
We have a swap/giveaway being announced at Chaotic Goddess Swaps on the 1st!  Keep an eye out! +Happy

I Confess...
The DNS issues with my blog made me crazy this week.   I seriously considered quitting the internet for a minute... It should be resolved now and hopefully my blog is actually loading for everyone today! -Crappy

I Confess...
The nailpolish addiciton continues... I went into Walgreens for razors and tampons and ended up with three new Essies...  I bought Set in Stones, Stroke of Brilliance, and Millionails (because Baxtron Life recommended it!)  Seriously!  LOL, then I went home and used Millionails with Color Club Psychadelic Scene with Daisey Does It on top. +Happy

I Confess...
I went walking with Rocky and the pups twice this week.  They were both nice long walks (trying to fit in physical activity wherever I can!) except yesterday he made me eat half an eclair   It was still in my WW points so it was ok!  It was also the best eclair ever, and I don't even like eclairs normally. +Happy

I Confess...
I need to learn how to be a better player.  I'm not good at dating multiple people... Even when they are... lol -Crappy

I Confess...
I'm pretty sure I'm planning a trip to go to Oregon and see Mr.Bingo again.  I need a vacation and it might be fun! I'm just having a hard time parting with the money for the plane ticket lol.  Who knows why, I sure has hell haven't been having a hard time parting with money in stores lately!  In my defense, I went into TJ Max looking for designer nail polish and found these amazing teal kitty moccs from Minetonka Moccasins that I've been drooling over for months.  Half the price that they are on the internet! I'm so in love!  Now I'm addicted to finding deals I love.  I may also have replaced eating with shopping lol. +Happy

I Confess...
Tess burned herself again.  I don't know how she does it when I'm always monitoring the temperature.  It wasn't as bad this time, so I've just been bathing/soaking her more often and putting the left over thermal cream on her belly from last time. -Crappy

Hope you have a fantastic weekend, and don't forget to enter the three giveaways I have running now!

Music Mixup: Spring Break

Another of the swaps I joined this month was the Music Mixup swap over at The K.O. Story.  It was a lot of fun too-and also super inexpensive due to being just a mixed CD.  Not to forget to mention that I was partnered up with Bekah from Matters of Merrymaking and I totally and completely adore her! The theme was Spring Break.  Here's the Spring Break mix she sent me:

There were a few songs I know and love, only one song I actually own, and a lot of new songs that I instantly loved!  I really do need to get more Lissie, I totally enjoyed that song! Thanks so much Bekah, you are amazing!

P.S. Next months theme is Inspiration (you know I'm looking forward to it) and sign ups are HERE.

The Carabox Swap

Since we weren't hosting any swaps over at Chaotic Goddess Swaps this month-I think I went a little crazy with joining other people's swaps.  I decided to try four new swaps I'd never done before, and one of them (my new favorite) was the Carabox swap! (I'll report on the other three later!)

The Carabox swap is a monthly swap hosted by Wifessionals, and it's brilliant.  You are matched up with someone new every month (unless you opt out) and there is a new and fun theme to do each month.  You must fill a box with at least 5 items that all fit the chosen theme, and you must keep the spending under $15-which makes this a fun little challenge!  You also send to someone different than who sends to you!

This month's theme was names-and you had to fill a box full of things starting with the first letter of your partner's name.  I was sending to Amy from A Glimpse of the Gouglers-and it was harder than I thought it would be to find inexpensive items starting with the letter A, but it was fun!   I received from Anissa from The Beauty Phanatic and she did a wonderfully fantastic job with the box-it helps that she lives in Alaska!  She even wrapped it all pretty.  Thanks Anissa, I love it all!

Included: A Little Princes // Painted Letter A // Easter Egg A // Almond Joy // Mudpack Masks  // StAsh Tea // Alsaskan Chocolate // Alaska Mug // Apple scented candle // Alaska Postcards

Go see all the fun A stuff I got Amy HERE.

And you should check both of these girls out-I seriously clicked with them both! LOVE it!
Also, Sign-Ups for next month are posted in the recap post HERE!

The Body Shop {Review & Giveaway}

You may remember my announcement a couple of months ago about the opening of The Body Shop at Fashionplace Mall here in Utah.  I'd never tried The Body Shop before but was very excited to get to try out a whole box of their products and to share some with you!   One of the things I love most about The Body Shop is that they use a lot of fair trade product and there are so many natural ingredients!  They'are also big on saving the planet and protecting animals-and any ethical company like that definitely gets my business!

Strawberry Body Butter: Not only does this stuff feel amazing, but it's very thick and soaks right into your skin to keep it hydrated.  I put it on last night before bed and woke up feeling very soft!  It's made with Fair Trade Shea Butter and is great for Normal to Dry Skin.

Tea Tree Cleansing Face Wash, & Tea Tree Face Mask:  All of the Tea Tree products are wonderful.  They have this instantly cooling sensation that really makes you feel like it's working, while also soothing you!

Absinthe Hand Gel:  This stuff is wonderful to use, and it doesn't dry out my hands like some sanitizers do!

Mint Peppermint Foot Scrub:  I'm really rough on my feet, and this stuff is really amazing.  I just massage some in after a good pumice and it leaves them feeling super soft and smelling lovely!

Chocomania Body Lotion:  I've been using this for a little while and as a lotion addict I love it.  Who wouldn't want to smell like chocolate?  

Vitamin E Gentle Face Wipes: Let's face it, when it comes to makeup removing towelettes some are better than others-and luckily these ones are great-not only do they remove my makeup but they leave my face feeling soft and fresh too-which is wonderful.

All-In-One BB Cream: BB Cream is something that is new to me and I've only sampled once before trying this brand.  What's different about this brand is it comes out white and then adjusts to blend with your skin tone as you put it on.  I'm not entirely sure how well the color matching works as it seems darker (even using the lightest one) to me when putting it on at first, but once I add my concealer and base it seems to blend ok.    One thing I LOVE about it though is that my skin feels softer with it on, and after using it I don't have to use as much of my pricey concealer and base because they go further with it underneath.  That is awesome.

After trying all of these products out I can safely say that I would recommend them to anyone, and I will be shopping in their stores in the future.  What a great company with great product!

Want some Body Shop for your very own?

Thanks to The Body Shop I am giving one lucky reader their very own full sized Strawberry Body Butter and a bottle of the BB Cream in 02 (which is for Medium skin tones-the pictures shows a different one).  You'll love it!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveway runs from 3/27/13 to 4/3/13.

Giveaway is open to US & Canada.

Please read full Terms and Conditions in above Rafflecopter.

Join us for the Kindle Fire HD Giveaway!

If you're looking to grow your blog or social media following, we have a great and FREE opportunity for you!  Free is good, right?  Well, Free is AMAZING!

Isabelle from Le Chateau des Fleurs recently released a new Android app called Smartphone DNA, and to promote it she is giving away a Kindle Fire HD-which she is sponsoring entirely.  The giveaway will be hosted by My So-Called Chaos, but what we need are other bloggers to share the giveaway on their blogs in order to spread the word! In return, you'll get two of your links in the Rafflecopter to get extra promotion for you in return for posting.  This is entirely free, there is NO buy in, we just need two posts from you.

1. Post this announcement on your blog (code will be given after you request to join) to ensure your readers/followers have the opportunity to be a part of this giveaway too! 
2. Post the actual giveaway (full Rafflecopter and all! People will be able to enter directly from your blog!) 

If you are interested in participating in this FREE promotional opportunity, please email Miss Angie and once accepted into the giveaway you will be given all the information you need for your posts.

Giveaway is set to run from 4/10/13 to 4/30/13.

All requests to join required by 4/5/13!

 

Drag Queens, Babies, & Weight Watchers

This weekend was full of fun.  Friday night the roommate and I just stayed in watching movies to prepare for the upcoming activities all weekend.  Saturday was the annual Utah Cyber Sluts fun bus to wendover, they're the group we volunteer at bingo for.  So we had a quick breakfast and then met up with the group down to the FOE.  We had the roommate, Julie, Julie's parents, the roommate's grandmother and her friend Joycie, and Ortie and John.  It was a good time. Drunk by noon, gambling, free stuff, drag queens-you know!

1 // Me-drunk by noon.  2 // On the fun bus.  3 // The roommate and Anna Nicole Sniff. 4 // John and Ortie. 5 // Walmartah Anita Bea Neutered. 6 // Walmartah Anita Bea Neutered and Julie trying to find out who's boobs are bigger.

Sunday Kristina brought the baby down and spent the day.  It'd been too many weeks since I've seen them, so I was so happy that they came down!  We mostly just hung out and played with the baby while watching movies.

1 // Kat loves those beads. 2 // We made her a little baby nest out of my cheapo papasan chair. 3 // We wouldn't let her eat dirt out of the plant so she started crying. 4 // Checking her mouth for dirt. 5 // Rocking her to sleep.  6 // We both fell asleep on the couch.

On another Note, Kristina and I joined Weight Watchers together.  I'm still not entirely sure how it's different from just monitoring your calories and stuff, but I've heard so many success stories lately that I figured I'd give it a try.  It's something I haven't done before, and hey-Kristi is being my buddy so we can keep each other motivated!   

Here was our deal:

• Stick to WW for the 3 months without cheating or giving up.
• Workout at least twice a week.
• Text each other throughout the day to check in.

I really hope this keeps us motivated and working towards it.  I've already started noticing where I need to make changes even with what I thought was healthy before, and I bought a cute little basket to keep fruit on right at my desk at work.

How was your weekend?

Linking up with:                                             Don't forget to enter: