Showing posts with label Holiday Hot List. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holiday Hot List. Show all posts

11.17.2014

12 Days of Giveaways Day 2: $25 Sephora Gift Card

12 Days of Giveaways Day 2: $25 Sephora Gift Card
Day 2 of the 12 Days of Giveaways this year is Kimi from Kimi Who?. It has been wonderful getting to know her better through her blog and her awesome comments here on the blog. She's one of those incredibly supportive and friendly people that anyone can count themselves lucky to know.  Also, she has cute cats.  Really really cute cats.

Kimi from Kimi Who?

How do you usually celebrate the holidays?
As an adult, I've not yet had a routine when it comes to the holidays. It gets spent differently every year depending on what is going on with my life at the time. The last several years, I have spent Christmas with a friend or special someone and their families - participating in whatever traditions they have. It's been a good way to compare the traditions of my childhood to theirs and decide what is important to me now that I'm all grown up.

 This year? It's probably another year of mostly the same. It's my first Christmas with my boyfriend and we haven't made any concrete holiday plans. I do know one thing... it involves a lot of decorating and Christmas movies if I get my way! And dressing my cats up in Santa hats...

Kimi's Cats

Are you a Black Friday/Cyber Monday shopper? 
 If so, what are you planning to shop for those days this year?
Black Friday - absolutely not. I tried it once and lost a lot of faith in humanity. I am all for a great deal. Who doesn't love saving money, right? But I cannot believe the way people fight over things and the number of people who get hospitalized during the event. Cyber Monday is another story. I have used this most often to update electronics that I otherwise can't afford to replace. I'm usually done with most of my Christmas shopping by then anyways. 

 I work a retail job, so I will be working on Black Friday *groan* but fortunately, I work for a jewelry and watch repair shop and while we will be open during most of the chaos, we won't see much of it. We carry a very small jewelry selection and most people aren't thinking about getting their watches fixed... until after Black Friday when they realize they've broken it in a scuffle. ;)

What is your favorite holiday food?
Turkey! I'm so glad I'm an adult and I can make holiday food for myself now. I grew up with dry, tasteless turkey like a lot of people did. I thought that was just sort of what it was supposed to taste like until a few years ago when I followed a recipe of Louisiana native Emeril Lagasse and fell completely in love with turkey.

 Want the best, most juicy, delicious and magazine cover perfect turkey you've ever had? I'll even share the recipe with you.

What's at the top of your holiday wishlist this year?
When I started my blog, I was so frustrated by all of the beautiful pictures I saw everyone else in the blogging community posting. My cell phone is a little outdated (I'm still using the Samsung Galaxy 3) but why do my pictures suck so much by comparison!?

To help me out, a friend offered to loan me their camera, a Nikon D3000. My pictures have greatly improved and I am much more happy with the quality. Having said that, it's incredibly heavy and bulky for my T-Rex arms and short stature. I love the quality, but I felt I needed something more compact and more on-the-go.

I've been looking around at cameras a lot, knowing that I can't borrow my friend's camera forever and I decided on the Samsung Galaxy 2 camera. The picture quality is that of a DSLR, it's half the weight and it comes with a much-craved feature: It will allow me to post directly to social media via Wi-Fi.

I'm about 99% sure my boyfriend has already bought this for me. His hints aren't very subtle!

Kimi Who?

Are you planning any awesome posts on your blog this holiday season?
It's my first year being serious about blogging. I don't have a whole lot planned aside from some giveaways and reviews. I'm sure I'll be talking all about my favorite holiday movies and traditions as well as sharing our decorations and the trials of having 2 very young cats experiencing their first Christmas tree. Otherwise, I'll be participating in some of the prompted holiday posts.

What is your favorite thing about blogging?
I blogged for years over MySpace and blogger, under various blog names and aliases. It never once occurred to me that anyone would actually read it. Now, I love the idea of sharing past and current experiences that touch people. As much as I love talking about Doctor Who, nail polish, geeky stuff... my favorite posts are the ones where I open up and talk about the real, important things.

 Nothing about blogging has made me more happy than when I pour a scenario out onto a page and a reader connects with me, understands, and maybe feels a little more normal. There's a lot of doctored pictures and tailored posts reflecting a life we all wish we really had. A lot of the community is "best foot forward" and I am sometimes guilty of this myself in attempt to make my corner of the internet a little more attractive. But I also try to keep it real and give you my real life perspective.

 The best part is when the reader gets me, understands, and connects with me.

Giveaway Time!
Kimi is offering one lucky reader a $25 Sephora Gift Card!  How generous is that? 
Giveaway is open worldwide and ends 12/4/14 at 12AM.  
Entering below agrees to all Terms and Conditions in the Rafflecopter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Don't forget to come back tomorrow for day 3 of the 12 Days of Giveaways!

Check out this awesome holiday sponsor:

11.16.2014

12 Days of Giveaways Day 1: Handmade Christmas Domino Necklace

12 Days of Giveaways Day 1: Handmade Christmas Domino Necklace

Today, to start off this fun holiday giveaway shindig, I want to introduce you to Pam from WiReD Boutique.  She is a brilliant and very sweet lady who is the brains and the talent behind this cute little shop filled with lovely jewelry.  Seriously, she runs it all by herself-what a rock star!  I asked her some questions so you could get to know her better-read on my friends!

Pam from WiReD Creations

How do you usually celebrate the holidays?
Decorations, decorations, and more decorations! We usually set up a Christmas tree around Thanksgiving along with all the extras. Meals are lavish (which is not usually the situation) with my favorite Longaberger poinsettia pottery.

Are you a Black Friday/Cyber Monday shopper?
I’m a fingers-do-the-walking type Black Friday/Cyber Monday shopper. Actually, not so much those two days but much more around those days. I don’t do department *stores because I love the shopping experience and people in small shops and boutiques. It’s just so much more fulfilling!

What is your favorite holiday food?
Um, turkey! Definitely turkey! I’m not really a dessert person so give me another helping of turkey!

What's at the top of your holiday wishlist this year?
Jewelry, of course! But for my family (all boys) I try to find prints, posters, banners, and/or decor for my Duck Dynasty crew. Last year, I had an artist make a photo showing miniature fishing guys. It was very cool! Since I think my boys (20, 16 and 11) should smell nice, I get them some nice cologne, too.

What inspires your creations at WiReD Boutique?
I get inspiration from clothes, trends, celebrities, fabric or cards that I find, and beads and stones that I come across. Really I’m inspired by almost everything!

What keeps you motivated to continue on with your creations?
I love seeing the confidence and fun from customers that grab some recycled domino and scrabble tile jewelry! They just can’t believe their item began from a game piece. I love pushing the envelope!

WiReD Boutique has so many lovely items that I'm just infatuated with.  Just look! (Click on the photo to see listing!)

WiReD Boutique: Hummingbird Domino Pendant with Brass Ball Chain WiReD Boutique: Pink Fleur de lis Gemstone Domino Pendant with Black Beaded NecklaceWiReD Boutique: Beige Burlap Fabric Domino Pendant with Black Ribbon and Cord Necklace WiReD Boutique: Vintage Inspired Stars Pendant Necklace with Red Ball Chain

Aren't they lovely? Well Pamela is offering one lucky winner this beautiful Christmas Domino necklace!
Giveaway is open worldwide and ends 12/4/14 at 12AM.  
Entering below agrees to all Terms and Conditions in the Rafflecopter.

Christmas Domino Necklace from WiReD Boutique

Don't forget to come back tomorrow for Day 2 of the 12 Days of Giveaways!

Check out this awesome holiday sponsor:

9.02.2014

Sponsor Call Bonus & Holiday Hotlist Sneak Peek!

For those of you that may be new around here, every year I do a Holiday Hot List which is special Holiday rates and listings-and is extremely beneficial to my advertisers!  This is the time of year the blog gets the most attention, and I love sharing that wish shops and blogs who choose to advertise on my sidebar.  Each year it's a little different, but this year I'm hoping for it to be a lot different!   Before I tell you a little bit about the changes, I want to invite you to sponsor me in September and get bonus advertising!


If you purchase or renew your ad in September, I will extend your ad until October 31st at no extra charge! You will also get a bonus discount for the Holiday Hotlist which will entitle you to a special savings on holiday advertising!

Quantities are limited, I currently can only accept one The Prettiest (200x300) ad and two Very Lovely (200x200) ads until the Holiday Hotlist goes live!  (I'll have it up by September 17th!)


When my Holiday Hotlist goes live on November 1st-the blog is getting a little makeover.  I've decided to simplify my sidebar by quite a bit.  This new simplified look will carry over to 2015 when the Holidays end in order to keep a simplified look going on.  This will make the blog easier to navigate and bring more attention to the ads there-so they're not washed out with a lot of other buttons and things!  There will also be much more limited quantities of ads available in order to make it easier for me to pay loads of attention to my sponsors, and so there is less clutter.  I'm only offering 12 ads this year total.

For instance, (here's a sneak peek) the ads are jumping up in size and placement on the sidebar-this is what you can expect to be able to purchase when the official announcement goes up in two weeks: 


They're going to be large and in charge, and I'm offering free design for anyone who purchases a spot and needs it!  

12.27.2013

Christmas Photo Dump

Hey lovelies!  How was your Christmas?  I've had a fantastic week!  Last weekend I was able to go to my aunt & uncle's house for a family Christmas party.  It's always so great to catch up with them, and it makes me sad that I don't see them as often as I should.  I love seeing everyone, and playing with all the kiddos.

1 // My little brother sitting on my lap and my mom photobombing.  2 // Ashlyn loved wearing my glasses.  That's her and her handsome daddy.  3 // My dad loves tormenting kids, but Evan really took to him.  4 // Eulayla and Ashlyn playing in the car.  5 // Momma holding baby Kira.  6 // Kira.

After that party I hurried home to celebrate my Neighbor Navi's birthday party.  It was a lot of fun!  I also got my very own Cards Against Humanity card in the mail! 


I spent Christmas Eve and Day with my family.  That was a lot of fun, and the gifts I got Shayla and Arianne were a big hit!  The gifts I received were utterly fantastic too.  My momma got me some Doctor Who shot glasses, Ninja Turtle PJ Pants, and Sugar Skull Cookie Cutters (yeah she knows me well now).  My Sister in law got me pretty holographic nail polish, rainbow pencils, the book 1000 Journal Projects, and an emergency googly eye kit.  My little sister made me a scarf.  My baby (well, 17 year old) brother melted my heart when he told me he likes to buy totally random gifts for me in an effort to make me think of him since I'm so far away.  And there were so many more thoughtful gifts! 

1 // The necklace I got Ari.  2 // The keychain I got Shayla.  3 // Cole, Ari, and Harley in their new hammock.  4 // Harley Babushka.  5 // My cat Emma.  6 // Harely sleeping on top of Ari.  7 // Lexi the derpy dachshund.  7 // Allie the double dapple dachshund.

The weather has been cold but bright-I'm so glad the big snowstorm last week blew out the inversion and pollution, it was really hard to breathe!  Now we get white tipped peaks against blue skies!


How was your Christmas?

12.24.2013

12 Days of Giveaways Day 12: 2 Bottles of Philly Loves Lacquer

 12 Days of Giveaways Day 12: 2 Bottles of Philly Loves Lacquer

You all know I'm a nail polish junkie, but recently I've really only been interested in Indie polish and a few brands that I'm really following.  One of those brands is Philly Loves Lacquer, which is a cute little indie shop based out of the city of brotherly love.  This shop is run by one of the worlds sweetest women, Esther, who I am happy to have come to know through nail polish groups over the last year.

It has been so fun to see her brand grow from a small Etsy shop with a few glitters and creams to her most recent re-branding and launch of her new huge website and several lines of top-notch colors, including lots of beautiful holographic colors.  I'm a sucker for a good holo!  These babies are beautiful and they're starting to be highly sought after!  I mean just look at her new limited edition colors she created for Black Friday, 2AM Coffee Run, That Barbie is Mine, and I Bleed Sales.  Stunning.

Philly Loves Lacquer: 2AM Coffee RunPhilly Loves Lacquer: That Barbie is MinePhilly Loves Lacquer: I Bleed Sales

Esther is giving one lucky winner their choice of 2 colors from her Holo-Day on Broad Collection.  Let me tell you that I own this collection myself and I couldn't part with a single color of it while destashing.  They are BEAUTIFUL, and a few of my favorites.  See swatches HERE.

Philly Loves Lacquer: Holo-day on Broad

Enter the Giveaway
Open Worldwide - Ends 1/6/14 at 12AM - See Rafflecopter for further T&C


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