A Review: Dr. Scholl's For Her Cozy Cushions Insoles

In case you've never heard of it, Influenster is an awesome community of people that share their favorite items, brands, places, and experiences. From time to time companies will ask "influensters" to try their product. This is how I got to try the Dr. Scholl's For Her Cozy Cushion Insoles.

Included in the Influenster Rose VoxBox that I received was the Dr. Scholl's For Her Cozy Cushion Insoles. I was really thrilled to get these, because the weather has started to turn colder. I want to pull my boots out, but my feet always get so sweaty in them.

The Dr. Scholl's Cozy Cushion insoles are made to keep feet dry and absorb perspiration. They are very, VERY comfortable. The insoles are plush and soft. They also have multiple layers that keep out the cold. I couldn't wait to try them out!

Visit the website to get your very own coupon for $2 off. Then you can get your rain boots/ winter boots/ casual boots out of the closet, and wear them in comfort.

A Review: Rimmel London Scandaleyes Retro Glam Mascara

In case you've never heard of it, Influenster is an awesome community of people that share their favorite items, brands, places, and experiences. From time to time companies will ask "influensters" to try their product. This is how I got to try the Rimmel London Scandaleyes Retro Glam Mascara. :D

 

 I was lucky enough to get into the Rose VoxBox! I love when I get these. The Rose VoxBox included Rimmel London's Scandaleyes Retro Glam mascara.

I was in need of some new mascara, so I was super excited when I found
 out I was getting to sample the Scandaleyes mascara. This Rimmel London mascara JUST hit stores this month. It's a completely new product. :o)

I ripped open the packaging and tried it out. The Scandaleyes mascara is made to increase volume. It was very easy to apply, and you can 
just keep applying coats until you get your desired look.


I applied probably 3 or 4 coats. Then I took a wet q-tip and wiped off any excess that had gotten on my eyelid. Here is the final result:

Have You Tried TruMoo Yet?

As a BzzAgent, I sometimes get to try goodies, for free or at a discount, from different companies. I share my thoughts with friends and family about the products I receive. Recently, I received a BzzCampaign for the Halloween TruMoo.

TruMoo has a special giveway for Halloween. Now through October 31st, you can find a unique code located on the cap sticker of specially marked Limited Edition TruMoo Halloween Vanilla (tinted orange) and Chocolate milks. These codes can be entered online at www.TruMoo.com for a chance to win a Haunted Hollywood Vacation trip! Also, when you enter the code, you will have the option to receive $2 off any Goosebumps DVD. You can also find more information on the TruMoo facebook page.

To enter your code:

• Go to the TruMoo website at www.TruMoo.com
• Once you are on the site, click on the "Enter Now" button on the home screen
• You will then be directed to the Sweepstakes page

 My household really loves chocolate milk, and, when I found out that there was new vanilla milk, we got even more excited. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find the vanilla milk at any local store. My family wasn't disappointed though when I brought home a gallon of TruMoo chocolate milk.

I don't even think the gallon lasted a whole 24 hours, but I don't feel guilty about letting them drink it all. TruMoo is loaded with calcium, vitamin A, and vitamin D. There is no high fructose corn syrup or artificial growth hormones added to the milk. Best of all, every batch comes from a local dairy to provide extra freshness.

A Review: Dr. Scholl's® For Her High Heel Insoles

In case you've never heard of it, Influenster is an awesome community of people that share their favorite items, brands, places, and experiences. From time to time companies will ask "influensters" to try their product. This is how I got to try the Dr. Scholl's For Her High Heel Insoles. :D

I don't wear high heels very often. I normally live in flip flops all year. There just aren't very many occasions when I can justify feeling uncomfortable. That is why I was so glad to receive the Dr. Scholl's For Her High Heel Insoles. 

 All you have to do is slip them in your favorite pumps and go. The insoles feel soooooooo good on my feet. They are a gel consistency that is very comfy. Wearing heels all day is not a problem when I have these in. I will say that they are a little short for my feet. I wear a size 10 shoe, and they are a tad too small. The insoles still work great though.

If you'd like to try the Dr. Scholl's For Her High Heel Insoles for yourself, you can pick them up at the Dr. Scholl's website. There is even a coupon for $2 OFF!! All you have to do is print it out.

There are so many great products in the For Her line by Dr. Scholl's. They have insoles, inserts, pedicure tools and more. Find out more here.

Goody Ouchless Ribbon Elastics: A Review

If you've never heard of it, Influenster is an awesome community of people that share their favorite items, brands, places, and experiences. From time to time companies will ask "influensters" to try their product. That's how I got to experience the Goody Ouchless Ribbon Elastics.

Goody’s is now offering NEW Ouchless Ribbon Elastics. They are a unique hair tie to personalize your ponytail. The hair ties look like ribbon, but are soft and stretchy like elastic. They are trendy and fashionable, plus look great in your hair or on your wrist.

I love Goody's products, and especially the ouchless line. They are practically all I use when it comes to styling my hair. I never used to go anywhere without one of their little black hair ties on my wrist. Now, I can wear an Ouchless Ribbon Elastic. They come in such great, metallic colors and look so stylish.

I've been using the silver ribbon elastic since I received these from Influenster. It is very versatile and soooooooooooo easy to use. I have VERY long hair, and I have had trouble getting them to stretch around it all. The knot on the ribbon elastic is also kind of large for the size of the band. I would prefer if it were smaller, but you can definitely work around it.

Don't just take my word for it! To learn what others are saying about the Goody Ouchless Ribbon Elastics, there are tons of reviews available.

A Review: Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream

If you've never heard of it, Influenster is an awesome community of people that share their favorite items, brands, places, and experiences. From time to time companies will ask "influensters" to try their product. That's how I got to experience the Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream.

I still have a few invites if you're interested in checking it out. I haven't been a member for very long, but I really love it!!

 Olay tells you everything you ever wanted to know about the Fresh Effects line. They have products from cleansers to masks to exfoliators to bb cream. I only got to try the BB Cream so far, so I'll be sharing my experiences with it.

The Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream is an all-in-one solution to all of your beauty needs. Once you've cleaned your face, it is so easy to smooth the BB Cream on. There are 6 benefits you'll receive from adding Fresh Effects BB Cream to your beauty regimen:

• Refreshes skin instantly
• Brightens for a radiant glow
• Evens tone with a splash of sheer color
• Hydrates for 24 hours
• Smoothes for softer feeling skin
• Protects against UV damage with SPF 15

I experience all 6 of these benefits when I use the Olay BB Cream. It definitely evens out my skin tone. Any redness on my cheeks, forehead, or under my eyes fades away instantly. My skin feels soft and moisturized. It is awesome that the BB Cream has a suncreen added in. That is definitely one less step to worry about for the day.

There is an obvious difference between the before and after photos. You can tell that the redness in my face is completely gone. The red acne spots on my chin have vanished. My face looks brighter in the after photo. I would recommend the Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream to anyone that has skin tone or spot issues. Really, anyone that uses moisturizer or SPF on their face would benefit from an all-in-one versus 2 separate products.

If you'd like to try (and you really should!) the Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream you can purchase it here and here. It is available in 2 shades: Fair to Light and Light to Medium. I received the Fair to Light, and you can see how well that worked for me.

June Cara Box

If you haven't heard of the Cara Box, go for a visit with Kaitlyn at Wifessionals to check it out. It is a pretty awesome concept, and this was my second month participating. You can read all about my previous experience here.

The theme for June was 'Take me to the Fair.' This theme included anything fair, carnival, or circus related. This was a relatively hard theme for me. I had to go out on a limb a little bit, and I got a little crafty. :o)

I got matched this month with two awesome Jessica's. The Jessica I sent a Cara Box to is over at Just Here for the Coffee. She likes to paint, play guitar, and take photos. We shared a clown phobia. Ha ha! You can take a look at her blog to find out about all of the goodies I mailed to her.

The Jessica I received a Cara Box from has her blog at Project Make a Baby. She's a first grade teacher with the cutest, little, baby boy. I found out that our husbands' are very similar, and we share a love of Hobby Lobby.

I got the box in the mail on Tuesday. My husband just happened to have the day off, and, of course, my son is out of school for the summer. They sat and watched me open everything one at a time. I don't know if they were more excited than me or what. lol

The Post Office must have known about the circus/carnival theme for this month. The box arrived looking like it had been trampled by a herd of elephants. It's okay though, because they received the box like that...

 Thankfully, when I opened it up there was nothing broken or damaged. Everything was so bright and cheery. It was perfect for summer (or a carnival/fair/circus themed Cara Box). 

Let me start with the cotton candy cookie mix. That wasn't a typo. COTTON - CANDY - COOKIE - MIX! What!?! I've never seen this before, and I was kind of blown away. My son came to check it out and said, "I like cotton candy and cookies." Me too, child. Me too. lol

Next there was a set of 4 treat cups. They are like the paper cups you get when you order a snow cone at the fair. They're plastic and have a little base, so you can sit them down to eat. The box came with a yellow cup, a blue, an orange, and a red.

There was a mini pedicure set in green, which is my most favorite of all the colors. I also received a beautiful, hot pink nail polish. I don't have any excuse for not pampering myself with a pedicure now.

Jessica sent me a green pot holder, a pack of bright sticky notes, and a multi-colored scarf. I might just start writing myself some little notes while I wear my pretty, stripey scarf. he heh he.

 

 I was very happy with the Cara Box for June. I had a great time getting to know both ladies. I can't wait to do the next one. 

Just a Little Update

This past weekend we stained the lounge chair that my husband made me for Mother's Day. I also found a really cute GREEN (my favorite color) cushion. It is reversible, so I can just flip it over whenever I want. It doesn't fit quite right, but it is wearing in nicely.

 

I wanted a darker stain, and my husband tried to talk me out of it. ha ha I convinced him to get the Dark Walnut. What do you know! He liked it. Then again, he also didn't like the patio idea until we were done with it. We could have kept layering it on to make it even darker, but it turned this nice cherry color. I really like it.

Can you tell that the grass is starting to grow in on the patio? There is actually a good bit. I guess it's just not very photogenic. lol

I love the whole thing! It's comfortable and looks really, really expensive. We were looking at the hardware store, and they had some lounge chairs for $100. The chairs were just metal pipe with some pvc straps...the kind at a hotel pool. They weren't nearly as nice as our chair that cost 1/3 of the price. The stain and the cushion cost more than the chair itself.

I spent a lot of time in this chair over the weekend. I read some of the copy of Atlas Shrugged I got from Alibris (I only paid shipping). It was just so danged hot here that I ended up moving to the shade. I got a little red, but, luckily, it had turned tan by Sunday morning.

I'm hoping we hit the lake a lot over the summer. The only problem is I think my chair is too bulky to take with us. :o(

FINALLY!

I know I had promised this post last week, but I've finally gotten around to it. Better late than never I suppose. In a recent post, I had said that my next project was the Love Story Map. I got the pictures printed off and here is the finished result:

I think it looks great. The total cost of the whole project was less than $5. You can't really beat that for something so personalized.

Our laundry is in our kitchen. We had an icky looking hamper sitting in the kitchen floor. When we got a dishwasher, my husband had to take out a couple of cabinets to fit it in. There was part of a cabinet left, but we didn't know what to do with the empty space. We had tried to cut down the original door, but, with the way it was made, that was an impossibility. I decided that I would get a hamper the size of the opening and get rid of the tall black hamper we had. 

I had been looking everywhere for a basket with the dimensions that I needed for the cabinet space. The leftover space is just way too narrow for anything a store would carry. Then I saw these custom boxes. I knew that was the way to go.

                                     

I didn't have a cardboard box that was the right size. I had to take a larger box and cut it to size. I used a ton of packing tape to hold it all together. The twine and the laundry bag came from Dollar General. The twine was $1 for 200 feet. This box took 3 rolls of twine. The laundry bag was $3. 

To get the twine to stick to the box, I used regular 'ol Elmers glue in the squeeze bottle. This took a lot longer than I had anticipated, and my arm got really tired. Ha ha. All of the other boxes I have seen wrapped in twine were nowhere near this large. The finished product in its new home:

 Now for the pièce de résistance. Since we built the new patio, I had been dying to get a deck chair to lounge around on. I was soooo looking forward to spending summer days relaxing in the lounge chair reading a book and working on my tan. I did the thing I'm becoming so good at...I went to Pinterest. lol There I found this DIY. I knew my husband could make it for me, so I asked him if he would make it for my Mother's Day present. Luckily for me, he obliged.

We deviated from the DIY a bit. The legs that they used looked completely unstable to us. When we went to Lowe's they didn't have 1x4s so we had to get 1x3s. I'll try to give a complete "parts" list:

12 - 1x4s 8'

1 - 1x2 8'

2 - 2x2 8'

1 - 2x4 12'

2 - 2.5" hinges

2 - 1.5" hinges

framing nails

drywall screws

We did use a decking board for the legs that was a leftover from another project . You can use pieces of 2x4 if you want or whatever you have handy. He made the frame 6' by 2.5'.

He cut the pieces of deck board with a slant on one side then screwed them to the inside of the frame.

 Next he screwed the 1x3s to the frame. There was a little bit of space between each board. You can decide how much space you would like. Next he got started on the back. Use the 2x2s to make a frame for the back. Then use the 1x2 to make the brace for the back. The smaller hinges hold the brace to the back of the chair, and the larger hinges hold the back to the frame.

Instead of using little blocks to keep the back at the different height settings, my husband took a chisel and made notches in the frame. It is a lot more sturdy than small blocks screwed to the frame, and it looks great.

The finished product is wonderful! I love it. My husband did such an awesome job. We still have to stain it and buy a cushion. The total for all of the supplies was about $30. The ones in stores sell for hundreds and don't look as well made as this. He had this finished in an afternoon. I was enjoying my lounge chair before sundown. 

May Cara Box Exchange!

I had read about the Cara Box Exchange that Kaitlyn from Wifessionals started. It sounded like such an awesome concept: You are matched with 2 different people from around the country. You get to know them through their blog and email. You send 1 a box of goodies, and the other send a box to you. Everyone loves getting surprise packages in the mail. I had to try it.

The Cara Box Exchange takes place once a month. Every month there is a different theme. This month's theme was our home region. I had to think about what is quintessentially Alabama and how that might tie into what my match is fond of. The match that I sent to was Allison. She has a lovely blog at Nestful of Love.

The match that sent to me was Katherine. Her blog is The Newsom's Nest. She's a Texas girl currently living in California with her husband. The items she sent me were based out of California.

The tracking number that Katherine sent had the expected delivery date as today. My husband and I had to go out of town Saturday morning, and we didn't get in until Sunday afternoon. Imagine my surprise when the Cara Box was waiting in our mailbox! I couldn't wait and tore it open as soon as I got inside.

The first items were a couple of packs of California poppies in different colors. Katherine also sent some seed starter pots to help the seeds sprout. I forgot to take a picture before using the starter pots, so the packaging will have to do. lol They are currently out on our patio filled with dirt. I can't wait for the poppies to start growing. I love flowers!

 The next goodie was a big pack of soothing cucumber facial towelettes. These are made locally to Katherine. The towelettes smell AWESOME! The scent is like the sweetest cucumber you can imagine. These are going to be so handy this summer to cool off and catch a break from the Southern humidity. Since the towelettes are made with aloe, I can take these to the lake with us to soothe sunburns. They can also be used to remove makeup or dirt and oil. There are so many wonderful uses, and they won an Allure magazine 'Best of Beauty' award. And, the packaging is GREEN! Ha ha :D

I had mentioned that I love decorative crosses. For example, here is just a handful of the ones I have in our living room:

Katherine sent me these cute little crosses with some round and sparkly, star sequins to decorate however I want. I have tons of ideas. I'm thinking that I could use the crosses as a gift card or as present decorations. I could also use them to decorate the outside of some baskets I have.

The crosses are all different colors and there are 12. That means I could use them for all of the things I can think of.

I've never used sequins before. I'm excited for all of the possibilities. They are very, very sparkly, and I do love me some bling. lol The little star sequins are so cute. I've never seen any like that.

I would have to say that my first experience with the Cara Box Exchange has been an excellent one. I got to meet 2 amazing women. I got to read 2 great blogs. I got to send and receive a gift box, and I got to talk about my home state. I can't wait for next months. I know there will be a great theme!

Just a Teaser...

I have a couple of exciting things to report, but I've just been so busy this week that I haven't had time to post them.

I'm going to try my best to get it written up tomorrow. I can't make any promises though. :o(

I sent out 7 orders today, and I already have 3 more for tomorrow. I'm so glad that things that picked up, but I hate that I end up neglecting everything else.

Stay tuned!

What BB Creams Have You Tried?

 

As a BzzAgent, I sometimes get to try goodies, for free or at a discount, from different companies. I share my thoughts with friends and family about the products I receive. Recently I received a BzzCampaign for Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector Oil-Free B.B. Cream.

I was very excited, because, months ago, I had gotten the BzzCampaign for the original Garnier B.B.Cream. It was not oil-free. It made my face very oily, and looked baaaaad. I really wanted to try the new oil-free B.B. cream. I knew it had to be better than the one I had tried before.

Here is a before picture of me with my handsome husband. I have on no makeup, and you can see that there is some unevenness under my eyes and on my forehead. My cheeks tend to have a little redness to them.

 In the after photo, you can tell that my skin had become completely even. There is absolutely no darkness or redness under my eyes, on my cheeks, or on my forehead. The best part is that my skin doesn't look greasy or oily. I love it. Perfect skin without 10 different types of foundation, concealer, and powders!

I must say that I am very pleased with the new Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector Oil-Free B.B. Cream. I have only tried the Garnier B.B. creams, but, so far, I'm in love. It really is an all-in-one product. You can basically toss all of your other facial products. Have you tried a different B.B. cream?