Cherry Berry

No cherries were were used in the making of my weekend. However, amidst the all day rain that Sunday brought us, my mom made super delicious lemon bars! So I guess between the berry hues of my outfit, the Candy Apple lipstick on my mouth, and the special dessert I ate; you could say I had a pretty sweet weekend! ;)

Outfit details - All second hand totaling $6.25 - Lipstick is Candy Apple by Revlon (Colorburst Lip Butter line)

And the winner is....

 

 Congrats, Mona!! You'll be receiving an e-mail shortly from SkinCareRx.com with your winnings.
Thanks for all the entries! More giveaways are always on the way. :)

Five For Friday: Links of the Week

I've spent quite a few hours online this week, but what else is new? Here's a round up of 5 things that filled up my time and kept me entertained!

1. This butterfly making tutorial
While I don't know a word of German, this DIY was simple to understand just by looking at the pictures. Can't wait to try this out for real and add some butterflies into my life.


2. The JTAB University
My blogging friend Sarah @ Just Take A Bow started up this awesome ongoing e-course. She's covering a little bit of everything, so get ready to take notes!


3. Videos from this YouTube channel
I've spent a lot of time crafting this week and I love watching YouTube videos to distract me from the amount of times I jab my finger with needles and pins. This girl (FashionablyJamie) does awesome hair experiments to transform her curly hair into waves (something I want to learn to do!)


4. Everything that Zak Bagans tweets
Zak Bagans is the host of the tv show "Ghost Adventures". It's a unique take on paranormal investigations and his tweets are a rather unique & humorous view on life. I definitely find myself scrolling through his old tweets and giggling a lot.


5. The "How I Met Your Mother" Tumblr
Isn't Tumblr the best?! There is literally a page for anything and everything you could possibly think of. My sister introduced me to this HIMYM one to me and I just love it!

Cool

Those cool breaks in the summer heat are the best! And those breaks from serious life to go play on a playground with your family in the middle of the week are even better. :)

Speaking of cool! My friend finally posted some pics that were taken a few weeks ago during a late night swim. I can finally show off my swimsuit! It came from Wal-Mart (last summer) but Modcloth sells one similar.

 Outfit details - Shorts, $3 (thrifted) - Top (Seventh Avenue) - Denim jacket, .25 cents (thrifted) - Bracelets, gift - Sneakers, $10 (Wal-Mart old) - Sunglasses, $1 (Dollar Store)

Don't forget to enter the SkinCareRx giveaway for a chance to win a $20 gift certificate to spend on pretty little beauty items!

Such A Stud

 I had a very adventurous Sunday. Since the rest of my weekend had already been crappy, I took the chance to dress up and put on all my pretty shiny things and cheer myself up! Among the sparkly things I put on, one was more special than the rest. I was gifted a pair of Quad Block Diamond Studs to review from Anjolee jewelry. I thought they seemed too small at first, but after wearing them yesterday (and many more days before that) I totally take back that thought - I think they're darling and just the right size! They get high compliments from me.

Even though most of the jewelry on anjolee.com seems like special occasion jewelry, I think that everyday is a special occasion. Why not save up some dollars and splurge on something fancy? Anjolee has a little bit of everything, from stud earrings, to tennis bracelets and an array of different earring styles! It's a fun website to window shop on and swoon over all the choices.

Outfit details - Top, (Seventh Avenue) - Shorts, $2 (thrifted) - Sandals, .75 cents (Wal-Mart, old) - Ring, gift from an aunt - Earrings, c/o Anjolee.com - Sunglasses, .50 cents (thrifted) 
 
Don't forget to enter the SkinCareRx giveaway for a chance to win a $20 gift certificate to spend on pretty little beauty items!

Ups and Downs (My Health Story)

On December 31, 2008; I got nauseous out of the blue. I was getting ready to go to some New Years Eve parties and just tried to brush it off. I had convinced myself it was a relapse from having food poisoning just a few weeks prior. Letmetellyou, it made those parties really uncomfortable!

Now, I had been nauseous before. I was 17, being sick was not a new thing. There were nights when I would have too much to eat and I would lay in agony as I tried to fall asleep.
But this nausea felt different. It never felt like I was going to throw up. It just lingered.

For the next couple years, the queasy stomach would come and go. I never knew when to expect it. Sometimes it would come on if my sleep habits changed or if I ate the wrong food. I never made a big deal out of it because it never bothered me very much. I just lived with it!

About a year and a half ago, I started understanding it better. Whenever I would get a funny feeling in my stomach, a burp would come out! I can't even tell you the relief I feel from one burp. It may be unladylike to talk about... but I LOVE burping!
While I started getting that figured out, I also noticed that I was losing my appetite. Breakfast would repulse me. My meals were cut down to less than half of what they were, I would fill up quickly, and often leave a half eaten plate behind. To me, eating was & still is a horrible task that I have to do to survive.

That all kind of leads me to where I am right now. I've got this crazy digestive system and I'm just trying to take care of it. I've cut out all sorts of food that is helping quite a bit. I've also gotta give props to antacid pills, what wonderful little things. There was a lot of unnecessary food I was eating before because I knew I had to eat everyday and would just put up with the nausea afterwards. (or during, in some cases)

None of my real life friends knew that I've gone through any of this. There was always someone else talking about their more serious health issues, so mine always seemed pale [very pale] in comparison. How do you tell people, "I'm nauseous all the time and I don't know why. I don't want to eat food with you.". In my head, it always sounded more like an excuse than a health issue.

But no more! Everyone has a story, and this is a part of mine. I'm by no means 'ok' feeling right now. I still have my good days and bad days. I still sleep with a bucket & a liter of ginger ale next to my bed, for 'just in case'. I'm still weeding out all the gross food that is making my stomach unhappy. I'm still scared of leaving the house and taking long trips. (trips are the worst for me!)
But I'm also having more & more good days. I'm discovering new foods that make my stomach happy. I'm taking steps to help it, so I can one day not live in fear of food. It will never completely disappear, but it can be made less noticeable.

Now you all know my little secret! It may not be much, but it's bothersome to me and I find myself complaining about it a lot on my other social sites and feel like it's fair to explain why. If you made it all the way here to the bottom, then bless you! Thank you for being a friend and reading all the way through. It's kind of a long story, no wonder I don't tell it too often, huh?

(for the curious - This is an unexplained phenomena that is actually quite common. Most people just get diagnosed as having "acid reflux", which anyone who actually goes through this can claim that is further from the truth.)

Take Note

This is hardly a proper post, but I do happen to have some bits of news I wanted to share real quick!

1. Last week I wore a super pretty dress from eShakti. Now, this week you can get a special 10% off at their site by using the code "AN24UPP". That is on top of the already 40% off sale they have right now on their site. That is some super saving!

2. My blog is having a giveaway! Now until July 27th, you can enter to win a $20 gift certificate from SkinCareRx.com. You can read the blog post here for more details and to sign up .

3. I'm planning on making a Q&A video for my blog. You can help me by submitting questions! Clothes, crafts, real life, or whatever you come up with. Anything you want to know?

Oh and it totally rained this week! PTL! (Wisconsin really needed it) 

Same Old, Same Old

My days are becoming mostly eat, sleep, internet & repeat! I did, however, shake things up yesterday by submitting a job application (yikes!) and spending some quality time with my craft materials. Have I mentioned I plan to re-open my Etsy shop on August 1st? Well, I am! Can't wait to show everyone what I'm working on. :)

 Outfit details - Clothes, $4 total (all second hand) - Jewelry, $1 each (bought long ago)

Don't forget to enter the SkinCareRx giveaway for a chance to win a $20 gift certificate to spend on pretty little beauty items!

The Not So Bummer Summer

I guess you could say I was a little social butterfly this weekend! Without the social part though, seeing as I'm rather shy in real life. But I went to a sleepover far, far away (gasp!) and went shopping out of town. It seems my new norm is leaving the house going on day trips every weekend. I can't complain! :)

 Outfit details - Top $4 (thrifted) - Pants, $1 (thrifted) - Leopard print flats, $7 (K-Mart old) - Necklace, $2.80 (F21 old) - Bracelets, swapped from Dani - Sunglasses, .50 cents (thrifted)
Don't forget to enter the SkinCareRx giveaway for a chance to win pretty little beauty thing!

*CLOSED*! Spreading The Cheer (A SkinCareRx.com Giveaway!)

I'm excited to share some great news for all the readers of my blog. I've got my first real live official sponsor for my blog AND I get to host a giveaway for them! You probably want some details, huh? I'll dish!


My new sponsor is SkinCareRx and you're getting a chance to enter for a $20 gift card (redeemable at SkinCareRx, Apothica, or SkinBotanica). SkinCareRx carries some of the best strengthening shampoo and all kinds of other beauty goodies you can think of.


To enter:
Leave me a comment on this post with your favorite product from SkinCareRx. (don't forget to include your name and a valid e-mail address in case you win!)

This contest will run until midnight on July 27th. I'll randomly pick a winner and announce that lucky person on July 28th, right here on my blog. Good luck, everyone! :)

Five For Friday: eShakti Love

There comes a time on every fashion bloggers blog when they get a chance to review an item. Today's item I have to share with you is the most adorable owl print dress (yes, I said owl print!) from eShakti. I thought it would be fun to mix the review with my usual "Five For Friday" post. So right now, here are 5 things I love about this dress!

(please note: I ordered this dress hours before leaving for vacation and my holiday brain told me to order a size up.... which was wrong. I will not factor that into my review as that was entirely my fault and not at all to be blamed on eShakti) 
1. I love.. the swishy-ness of the dress.

2. I love.. the perfect customized knee length.

3. I love.. the little details you can only see up close.


4. I love.. the owl print!

5. I love.. the company for being so kind and quick with getting the dress to me. I love it!

Outfit details -Dress, c/o eShakti.com - Belt, from another dress - Necklace/sunglasses, gift from my sister - Shoes, (Seventh Avenue)

A Little Bit Country

I feel as though my outfit is a little more Texas than Wisconsin. (correct me if I'm wrong, Dani!)
But the big ring, big belt buckle, big girl? Come on! It couldn't be helped that also I road tripped out to the country to take these pictures.


Outfit details - Striped tank, $3 (thrifted) - Skirt, $1 (thrifted) - Belt, .75 cents (thrifted) - Ring, gift - Earrings, ??? old - Sandals, $3 (thrifted)