Zulily

I have discovered the amazing world of Zulily. I've heard lots of friends talk about it, and after searching everywhere for church dresses for my two toddler girls, I looked at Zulily, an online company. Over the past couple weeks, I've found Easter dresses as well as other Sunday dresses for half the cost I would find the same dresses (even same brand names) at discount stores such as Ross, TJ Max, and Burlington Coat Factory. You will recognize the brands, so you know the quality. You will see lots of new sales and products  every day. Their products mainly feature clothing for babies, children, and women, but have men's clothing every once in a while as well. They also have decorating products, home storage and organization products, and well, a little bit of everything. I'm terribly addicted, I check every morning when they post their new deals just to see if something I've been looking for is on a super sale! Check it out here: Zulily

Christmas Truth

"And there, in the stable, amongst the chickens and the donkeys and the cows, in the quiet of the night, God gave the world his wonderful gift. The baby that would change the world was born. His baby Son. Mary and Joseph wrapped him up to keep him warm. They made a soft bed of straw and used the animals' feeding trough as his cradle. And they gazed in wonder at God's Great Gift, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger. Mary and Joseph named him Jesus, "Emmanuel" - which means "God has come to live with us." Because, of course, he had."

 

- The Jesus Storybook Bible

by Sally Lloyd-Jones

 

I can't say enough about this children's Bible. While not quite simple enough for a two year old, I'm giving it to my three year old for Christmas. It's the only gift I have yet to wrap - I'm having too much fun reading through it myself! While most children's Bibles tell the stories of the Bible, this Bible relates every story to the gospel, the greatest story of all. It is beautifully written, it is captivating. It's simple elegance has moved me to tears many times. For a last minute gift for a child, Amazon has the best price I've found, a fraction of what some bookstores are asking for it. Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/The-Jesus-Storybook-Bible-Whispers/dp/0310708257/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355365770&sr=8-1&keywords=jesus+storybook+bible. I also can't thank my dear friend Meredith enough for sharing this book with me! Definitely a favorite!

Canvas People

Have you seen the photograph canvases that people are putting on their walls now? Cool, right? Have you checked prices? Not so cool! While there are lots of tutorials online on how to achieve this look for a lot less, I haven't tried them. (I really want to, but there are other things much higher on the financial priority list.) However, I have found a website that will give you a free canvas. Yes, free! Quick sidenote: you will have to pay $15 for shipping, but that's less than the cost of a canvas, 8x10 print, and materials to make your own, which always has the chance to crash and burn anyway. Canvas People is an awesome website who is always offering free 8x10 canvases. Anyone who opens an account with them will get a free canvas, and if you sign up for e-mails or 'like' them on facebook, you will receive codes for a free 8x10 all the time. I discovered them three years ago while searching for a reasonably priced canvas service. I have these three canvases in our bedroom: each of our babies seven days old. {Please ignore the horrid green walls - we rent and therefore aren't going to spend time or money painting!} I've gotten lots of compliments on them (whenever anybody braves their way to the back half of our house), and they are a very good quality. To get your free 8x10 canvas, follow this link. ** I just discovered this link is no longer working - so sorry! As soon as I can find their new link, I'll let you know. But for now, they're offering a $10 8x10 or a $15 11x14!

Old Navy Socks

As an experienced mom of babies and toddlers in winter, I knew I would be needing socks for all the kids in the near future. Now you'd think a sock is a sock, but I beg to differ. We have hardwood floors which means we need socks with treads and socks that keep toes really warm. A baby that will be learning to walk needs socks that do not budge and twist around on his feet. Toddler girls who think dancing, climbing, and jumping is their job need socks that don't come off even if a tornado were to hit. I've tried TONS of different brands of socks over the last three winters, and I've found these Old Navy socks are the best. They do all of the above, are very durable, and are worth every penny.

I headed out to run errands today, just happened to be near Old Navy, and figured I might as well get the socks before the kids really start to need them. What just happened to be on sale? The very socks I needed! Two packs for the girls were purchased, one pack for baby boy. Total savings: $4.50! I was praising the Lord as I skipped out. It never fails to amaze me that God looks out for us in the smallest ways, even if it is just socks being on sale!

China Glaze

I am a nail polish addict. I blame my grandmother. We had the blessing of attending the same church, and growing up, every Sunday afternoon was spent at Grandma's. Two of us grandkids were allowed to ride with our grandparents to their house and back and oh how we loved it! An especially wonderful thing to do on those Sunday afternoons was to help Grandma pick out her dress to wear for Sunday evening church, and then paint our nails accordingly. Every dress had a specific color to go along with it, and every Sunday Grandma and I painted our nails. How beautiful and grown up I felt walking into church with my perfectly polished nails. (Grandma never ever got the polish on my skin.) And so began my love of nail polish. There is just something about having pretty nails that makes me not care that my hair is thrown into a ponytail 24/7 and I didn't take have the time to apply make up.

Enter China Glaze into my life two years ago. A polish that keeps it's shine until you take it off, a polish that lasts longer than any other brand I've tried, including other salon grade, very expensive, polishes. It's not available at department stores, only hair/beauty stores, but it's about the same price as the department store polishes. (I normally pay $5 a bottle at Sally's.) Needless to say, I highly recommend this polish. Pictured is my favorite shade of red, "Salsa". When I wear it, I'm pretty sure it gives me the ability to conquer the world.

Revlon Custom Creations

Obviously, this is a girl talk/product review post. :) Several weeks ago, I noticed my face was looking kind of funny. My husband even looked at me oddly one day and said "are you wearing make up?". I said "just foundation", to which he replied, "it's not the right shade anymore". Hhhmmm, I've never had this problem before! For all previous summers, I have either been working an office job during the day or I've been at home, pregnant, and very sick. So I didn't know what to do. I take our girls outside at least once every day, and I knew I wasn't even going to be one shade for the entire summer. Not feeling very confident to go foundation-free thanks to raging hormones creating extra acne, I searched high and low for those foundations that promise to "match your shade" for you. I have tried a couple in the past (back in college when I had the luxury of laying out in the sun and almost no acne), but those don't offer the coverage I was looking for. Then I found Revlon Custom Creations - while grocery shopping. It doesn't promise that the make up will change to your shade. They offer a foundation that has 2 different shades inside, and it mixes it perfectly for you, giving you 5 different shade options. They offer different products for light, medium, and dark, and a couple weeks ago, I was shade 1, the lightest shade in the 'medium' product. Today, I twisted the top to shade 2, and it is perfect. I'm so excited to have a product that offers the coverage I want at a price that makes me happy, and that won't go to waste when I possibly get a little darker . . . and then when I inevitably fade back to my pale self this winter!