Stationery card

Bright Polka Dots Christmas Card

Create personalized Christmas photo cards at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

mark Mystery Hostess Holiday Party

I know, it's been a while since I've promoted my OWN business. I had to take a step back to find myself, and reassess my goals and yesterday, I decided, it's time to go for the goal. mark is my love affair, mark is my m.powerment, mark is fashion, beauty, skincare, fragance all compacted into one beautifully crafted eBoutique, MINE, making her mark!

As you know, the holiday season is quickly approaching, you go into the stores and see the beautifully lit Christmas Trees, the holiday specials, bountiful gifts galore. Well I'm here to tell you that as a mark rep. I've got that too! But I'm not going to skip over THANKSGIVING without being thankful or grateful for the mountains of love, supports, family, friends and the many, many blessings that seem to ALWAYS come right on time. But I will say this, though I am grateful, I also want to give thanks to all of you, my readers, my fans, my mark customers, you guys deserve a treat too!

I'm hosting a Mystery Hostess Holiday Party starting today through November 30th. What does all of that mean, it means that for every purchase you make during that period you'll receive a free gift, no matter the size of your purchase, I'm giving out presents in return. But wait there's more, for every purchase you make and every purchase your friends make (that you've referred and they've made aware of the fact) you'll be one step closer to being chosen as the Mystery Hostess! The Mystery Hostess will receive the mark That's So Clutch Set for free and in addition to the free gift she got with making her purchase, she's also receiving a surprise HOLIDAY gift from me as well.

What is the mark That's So Clutch Set?

What makes this deal so special? Let me tell you that every thing you see pictured here will go to the hostess, it's only available for sale, exclusively THROUGH ME and won't be available to the public until after this Party is over! It's a $61.50 value for free to the mystery hostess!!!!

The set Includes all this:

Get Gilded Wallet
Faux leather. Interior features leopard-print lining, credit card slots and a zippered pocket. 9 3/4" L x 1/2" W x 4 3/4" H. (Exclusive to this deal) A $30 value.

On The Dot Neutral Eye Color Compact
Our best-selling compact veers into neutral territory with nine metallic shades ranging from nude to chocolate. Connect the "dots" together in different ways to create unlimited high-impact looks. 0.18 oz. net wt. each shade. A $15 value.

Lash All You Want High-Volume Mascara in Black
Instantly adds up to 12 times the volume in just one coat! Plus, our unique brush has bristles at the tip to get at the tiniest lashes. 0.28 oz. net wt. A $10 value.

Juice Gems Squeeze On Lip Gloss in Snow Peach
A $6.50 value.

All you have to do is make a purchase of any size at my eBoutique between today and November 30th and you've got a shot at being selected as the Mystery Hostess!!! It's just that simple. Refer your friends for extra entries!

Lastly, if you're a new customer use this promo code: WELCOME at checkout and receive free shipping on any size order!!!  (PLEASE NOTE free gifts will ship directly from me)

Until Next Time,

Talent For Tiny Prints

As most of you know by now, I'm in love with Tiny Prints, they're my go to for all of my greeting card needs. They're quality crafted, innovative designed greeting cards are fully customizable and very easy to personalize, plus they make it convenient to make your cards ahead and plan for the shipping ahead of time as well, so you're beloved family and friends will never receive their birthday wishes late again!

Well, now they're up to something else really good..."Extra, Extra, READ ALL ABOUT IT"...

Tiny Prints is seeking new talent!!

When I first heard of the Tiny Prints Talent Search, I immediately thought my adorable little Isabella, and I entered swiftly! I mean I couldn't resist. I'll admit I'm a bit biased, I mean SHE IS MY DAUGHTER so there is NO ONE cuter than her right? Plus, with all of the different category options, she fit right in!

Well anyway, from what I understand this is Tiny Prints 3rd Annual Talent Search. The winner will take home $1,000 and a $500 Tiny Prints gift certificate and they'll be featured in their 2012 Marketing Campaign! Can you say SUPER STAR? "I wanna be a Tiny-Prints-A-Nair So Fricking Bad!" I do see Isabella's name in FLASHING LIGHTS SOME DAY!

But I digress, there are several different categories in which one contestant can qualify, they're searching for the CUTEST in the following:

• Cutest Baby (0-2 years old)
• Cutest Kid (3-10 years old)
• Cutest Family
• Cutest Couple
• Cutest Pet

So there will be 5 awesome winners! YAY!

Okay, so once all of the entries have been received no later than November 24, 2011, the voting is opened up to the entire Tiny Prints Community to select the winners! Entries are being accepted via Facebook or the official Tiny Prints Website! For more information and the "official rules" click here!

So if you're interested, head over to Tiny Prints and enter now! If you're not going to enter, please do me a favor, when it's time to vote, please vote Team Isabella! Entries will be accepted through November 21st, Community Voting begins on November 22 - November 30, and Finalist Voting Begins December 5 - December 16!

Visit Tiny Prints

Please note that while I was offered product in exchange for my blog post, the opinions and thoughts expressed are solely my own.

 

Until Next Time,

 

Not just books, there's a free gift waiting for you at Little One Books

For those of you who aren't familiar with Little One Books let me educate you:

Little One Books has a wide variety of Books, Music and Videos carefully selected and geared for children from birth through age five. Little One Books understands the important role that books, music and video play in a child's early life. Their goal is to help parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and other family members make informed decisions about what the young children in their life rea>d, listen to  and watch. Don't you just love Little One Books already?

I love that no matter the occasion, Little One Books has something to suit my needs and fit that occasion, from the spooky month of October to the thankful month of November, I know that I can rely on them to have chosen some fantastic fitting selections, right down to our latest purchase "Have you seen my potty?", a story about little Suzy Sue who loses her potty and was running around the farm yard because she had something VERY IMPORTANT to do. I'm hoping this selection will get Isabella more intrigued for the momentous occasion!

Little One Books also has some fantastic features on their website, they have some awesome contests, like the Gift Bundle for 2 year olds, a family friendly blog that has informational and entertaining posts for everyone, a Facebook page, and even a twitter page.

So now that I've impressed you with how fantastic Little One Books is, how about I share some fantastic music? Little One Books sent me over a copy of one of their popular Classical Music CD's with selections from the famous Bach, Mozart, and others. The music was relaxing, soothing and yes, my little Isabella and I, played pretty little ballerina's to the music. Afterward we sat down for some breakfast and quiet time as we enjoyed the music together. It really helped us wake up and get ready for the day ahead of us, there was no rushing, no hustle and bustle, no urgency, just a relaxing pick up in the morning!

BUT WAIT, it just doesn't stop there, EXCLUSIVELY FOR MY READERS, when you purchase just two products from Little One Books, you'll receive a FREE Music CD called "World Party" Songs from all over the world. Chosen just for you. Literally, I chose it just for you! All you have to do is enter worldparty at checkout and it's yours free. You're going to love it, I promise!

Let me tell you that this CD is fantastic, it's upbeat, it's cultural, it's so fun, it had Isabella and I dancing along all afternoon! We can't get enough and I really love that it has a vast variety of topics. I'll admit that our favorite song was "Hoy Es Tu Cumpleanos"- Today Is Your Birthday! We're definitely going to have it playing at Isabella's Birthday Party!

So don't waste anymore time, go visit Little One Books today and let me know what you find for you and the little ones in your lives.



I was sent a free copy of Good Morning by Little One Books in order to facilitate my review, however the thoughts and opinions expressed are indeed my own.

Until Next Time,

Old Navy's Style Council with Crowdtap

As a member of Crowdtap and the Old Navy Style Council, I was able to take part in a "Sample & Share" (Definition: when a company provides you a sampling of their products, to try out, share with your friends/family and provide feedback for free or at no cost to you) for their new Winter Coat Line. For those of you who don't know who Crowdtap is or haven't experienced Crowdtap, I encourage you to visit Crowdtap, explore what they have to offer and of course SIGN UP, because you have no idea what you've been missing out on, as I sample and share some fantastic items from Old Navy.

The last sample and share I was a part of was a little bit of a complete bust, while I was able to SHARE my coupons with other's I wasn't able to sample them. When it comes to purchasing jeans from Old Navy, I have a complete customized style that for me means, I can only purchase my jeans online. But this time, I said OH NO! I'm getting me a new Old Navy Coat, there's no, if, ands, or buts about it, it was happening!

Well Crowdtap graciously sent me my coat coupons for me and one to share. This time around, naturally, I thought of my mother. With so much going on, time had passed me by, though I had viewed the many possible selections online and I had shared the prospects with my fellow tappers, it was the day before the coupon expired!!! My mother and I quickly head over to Old Navy and began ooohing and ahhhing over the gorgeous selections of Wool-Blend and Puff Coats.

Though no staff had to help us Oooh and Ahhh, we were very content in the selections they had available to try on, and the fact that the coats I adored were available in my size really made me all warm and fuzzy inside. My mom starting saying this coat is gorgeous, I want it, and What do you think of this one. I urged her to follow me into the fitting rooms to try them on so we could snap some photographs for this post! Surprisingly enough, my mother and I, ended up with the same set of coats, we thought we could help one another choose which one would be out favorites, we had several different styles, from the Peacoats and the Toggle Coats (which are super cute with a little hood, mom had it in her selections in the red).

We're in the fitting room, and they passers by are looking at us like we're strange, but we're not caring, we're trying on the coats,we're snapping photographs and we're really having a great time.

Our final selection of coats, happened to be these:

 I was very excited trying them on, standing in the tall mirror, checking out how all of my assets viewed in the coats. My mom was so happy, I invited her to shop with me, but she never anticipated that I'd be inviting her to join in on the fun of shopping for a free coat. She thought I only had ONE coupon! I love surprises don't you?!

Well I'm going to share with you some of our photo pictures...

Well if you couldn't tell by now, we both settled on the Wool-Blend Cropped Peacoat,  mine in the Burnt Umber and her's in the Black Plaid. We also stopped and looked at some of the accessories and I immediately fell in love with this Crochet Popcorn hat in Chocolate Kiss, doesn't it look adorable on me, but I also got the convertable mittens to match!

Here's the fantastic part, we make our purchases, additional items seperately, and our cashier is so enthusiastic about our good deal, she's interveiwing me about, how, where I scored this hot coupon. So as I'm telling her about Crowdtap and all of the wonderful things it has to offer, she's on the phone, trying to call her sister on the phone to tell her about my amazing coupon and about Crowdtap, she's trying to get her to sign up and sign up immediately! Then she calls up the manager not to dispute the coupon, but to tell him how fantatastic it is, how it rings up correctly and quickly removes the entire total cost of the coat! I really enjoyed this trip and the bonding time I was able to have with my mother. I enjoyed interacting and sharing all things Crowdtap with our cashier! So I'm giving HUGE SHOUT OUT's to CROWDTAP & OLD NAVY for making our experience enjoyable, pleasurable and exciting, there's nothing better than a little retail therapy plus bonding time with my mom.

Oh before I sign off until next time, I wanted to share with you a few tidbits about Old Navy right now, now when you spend $20 you'll receive a $10 coupon in return off your next purchase (must spend $20 to use the $10 off coupon), so on our trip we earned $60 off of $120! Also, their outerwear is on sale right at a huge reduction of up to 50% off!!! Lastly if you're headed into any one of the outlet stores they're having a hot sale on their Performance Fleece, yeah, BUY ONE GET ONE FREE, great time to stock up for sure!!!

Have I mentioned that I love Old Navy and Crowdtap?

Until Next Time,

Get a Melissa & Doug 25% Off Coupon** When You Take the North "Poll"

We love Melissa & Doug toys. We first learned about Melissa & Doug toys when my eldest daughter was about 5, we got here this awesome Magnetic Calendar and she loved setting up the months, notating special holidays and appointments, especially her birthday! When I saw her excitement as we sat down to update the calendar each month, I knew that Melissa & Doug Toys and I would become very best friends. Today you will still find her Melissa & Doug Magnetic Calendar hanging proudly on the wall in her room.

Now I have my youngest and she's really into everything, but one of her favorites are the Alphabet Magnets and the Chunky Puzzles. Her favorite chunky puzzle is the Safari Chunky Puzzle. These are just some of the items that my kids love best, we also love the food play items, they're really fun to play with and pretend, it definitely makes me use my imagination.




 Melissa & Doug want you to tell them which of their educational toys you think is the best! Just click on the image below to place your vote in the North "Poll!" You'll Get a Melissa & Doug 25% Off Coupon** to use at MelissaAndDoug.com just for voting!

Now that I've shared some of our family's favorites, we're headed over to take the North "Poll" to vote on our holiday season favorite, I'll give you a hint, it has something to do with food! Oh what fun Melissa & Doug toys really are, Happy Polling!

Though I was offered a credit in exchange for my blog post all thoughts and opinions expressed are in fact my own.

Until Next Time,



Christmas Cards from Tiny Prints

I'll admit that I'm a sucker for a thoughtful card, the first thing about a gift I grab, the first thing I consider when the holiday's approach, the go to to say I'm sorry, or I'm thinking of you, sweet and simple I love you, elaborate Happy Birthday, thankful wishes, and Merry Christmas & Happy New Year. I love cards, I love receiving them, but more importantly I love sending them. I think the card you choose says a lot about you and how much you thought about the person receiving the card. Sometimes, a store bought card, just doesn't quite cut it.

That's why when I first sampled a card from Tiny Prints last year, I was floored with excitement. Not only is there a large variety of cards for EVERY and ANY occasion, but they are full customizable! Does anyone remember when CVS tried this? I remember seeing the print lines accross the pictures and words, you'll NOT have this problem with Tiny Prints, all of their cards are made with the best care, they'll even add the postage and mail it directly to the recipient if you'd like. Now that is some awesome service! You can pre-plan your cards and never forget a birthday, anniversary or holiday again!

Merry Medley (White/Front)

Which brings me to their updated collection, their NEW Christmas Card Line, which is a 400+ card  collection for the upcoming Christmas Holiday Season. I'll admit that it was completely hard to choose just ONE card that I'd pick as my TOP PICK, but I found THE one that Tiny Prints would create just for me. I chose the Merry Medley 5x7 Flat Card in White. I love it because it's simple, it's straight to the point, and I can share 4 beautiful photos of my children with my friends and family all while wishing them a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year and sening them all of our love all at the same time! Perfection in a card. This not only saves me time and the need to go from store to store searching for the right Christmas Card, this adds that personal touch that I crave when I send and receive cards.





Be sure to visit Tiny Prints where you can view all that Tiny Prints has to offer, sign up for a membership and satisfy all of your greeting card needs! For your Christmas and Holiday Card needs, be sure to visit the Tiny Prints Christmas Card Line

Happy Holidays to all!

If you're a blogger and are interested in blogging to receive Tiny Prints Holiday Cards for free, please visit here to sign up and let me know that you've signed up!  Bloggers Sign Up Here



Until next time,

***While I was offered 50 Free Holiday Cards in exchange for my honest review, the thoughts are my own. I've been a member of Tiny Prints for over a year now, I use Tiny Prints Cards for every occasion and my family and friends rave about the quality and beautifully crafted personalization. If you want to send love and thoughtfulness, then Tiny Prints is where you'll find it!***

Fekkai Hair Care #I'm a Bzz Agent

Being a member of BzzAgent, I'm given the opportunity to sample and share certain products. While I don't necessarily write about each and every product that I sample, I felt it was gravely important that I share this campaign with you. I received an 8oz. bottle of  each Fekkai's FULL VOLUME Shampoo and Conditioner as well as samples of their Glossing Cream and Technician Color Care to share in order to facilitate my review.  Also included in my Bzzkit was my official Bzzguide, a letter from Frederic Fekkai and a DVD that shared "how to get the look" using the different Fekkai products.

" I look to illuminate a woman's unique lifestyle, her own personal style" - Frederic Fekkai

I wonder what Frederic would say about my lifestyle and personal style, up until I learned about the campaign on Bzzagent, I hadn't considered purchasing the Fekkai products in store, I'd seen them in the store, but I suppose that I wasn't over glamorized by the bottle. Yes, don't we tend to judge books by their covers? Pretty bland was the bottle. So I've overlooked Fekkai time and time again, and now I'm so disappointed that I've done so...



I've got to tell you that I have THE flattest, fine, limp, bodyless hair ever. While I think my hair is pretty, it really doesn't do much, so the majority of the time, it stays put up in a ponytail.The Full Volume Line is infused with botanicals that add body and volume to fine, limp hair, perfectomundo, because that's what I need! When I first started using Fekkai, I was apprehensive because the smell, it smelled like a bottle of lemon dawn mixed with oxiclean. Yuck! But once that shamoo hit my hair, it had more of a fresh, floralish, lemony scent, and I fell in love. The first couple times I used it I didn't blow dry it, I let it air dry. I loved the smell, it lasted all day and my hair didn't get oily the next day, it maintained it's freshness, it's cleanlines, it's shine, and its beauty. 

Then when I tried it in my hair and blowdried it. I was deeply amazed and moved, Fekkai had done what it promised. "Wear your hair, It's your best accessory". What an concept?!

I've got to say that I'm impressed, my hair hasn't looked better, it hasn't felt better, it hasn't smelled better. I don't have to blow dry it, though it was encouraged in the "Get the Look" video provided, I'll probably try that today. I'm impressed and I think alas, I've found my new permanent hair care product line.

One last word from Frederic Fekkai, "Hair is more than a woman's best accessory, it's her greatest asset" I'm loving what it's doing for and to my hair these days!

But don't just take my word for it, YOU be the judge! Like it, love it, see all that Fekkai has to offer:




Until next time,

Some things in life ARE free and worth enjoying

When I was working, I was always running around, I didn't have the time to get creative, I didn't have the time to prepare a meal every night, I didn't have time to run to the grocery store. I didn't have time to enjoy my hobbies, I didn't have time to sit down with my family, I didn't have time to simply just enjoy them and my time.

So now that I'm not always working, I get to enjoy my time and my family more. But I think its definitely something we tend to take for granted. Yesterday, I spent the most amazing day with my girls at the mall. A luxury I wouldn't have been afforded in the past due to time. I let them roam free while I paced myself along with my youngest. I handed all 3 of my older kids $20, I said this $20 is for you to buy one of your sibilings a Christmas Gift (getting started early) and its also to pay for your lunch. I'm not quite sure what my eldest did or if he followed my instructions (so I'll leave him out of the equation for now), but I know that my girls set their sites on taking care of business before the pleasure of spending their birthday $ that they received from their friends.

Carousel Fun

It was interesting to see their enthusiam, their excitement and how they put that gift as a priority over their own. My youngest and I went to Old Navy and then we caught up with her sisters. As they shopped we stopped at the Carousel. I was worried that she would just hate it and freak out and demand to get off, if she hadn't already fallen. First we tried it without movement, she just sat there pleased as punch and then when her sister's joined us, we tried movement, I think I'll let you be the judge, is this face a face of enjoyment or fear?

My girls at the food court

Anyway, that had to be the highlight of the day right there, some enjoyment for the baby. We continued on to get the girls some lunch and the baby and I something to drink (all this fun had us parched), and at that point, that's when it hit me, I'm at the mall, not spending tons of money, on a weekday, it's afternoon and I'm enjoying time with my children, it really doesn't get much better than this does it? As I sat there and admired my children as they purchased their lunch and my yongest running back and forth to us, I was just so happy, so pleased and so content to be there, I LOVE MY LIFE!

Janelle and her monster hat rawr

Isis and her monster hat rawr

As we parted ways yet again, we kept in touch, we're here, I'm going there and it was nice, even though I was with them and knew where they were at all times, they felt independent! I found myself in the bookstore, I was looking at the books for the baby and they joined, when they joined me, I just smiled. Now that all of the "business" was handled they were able to spend their money on something silly for themselves. (And of course there was candy involved!) Aren't they just adorable? No silly, not the hats, my girls!!!!


Well I ended up walking away with one book for the baby on potty time (yes, a new adventure for my little one in the making) and now it was definitely time to go home, we ended  up being at the mall all day long, had to rush home, cook dinner and run off to Girl Scouts! (SEE NOW we have to run), as we're seeing the clearing of the door they made one last request, yes, a pit stop at the Hurricane Simulator... Well, it was indeed an enjoyable experience to watch as they danced and laughed and giggled to their hearts content as the winds blew. I got them on video acting silly. Who would've thought that the mall could be that much fun! It had seriously been a very long time since  enjoyed a mall visit, is that what being a kid is all about?!

OVERALL, I have to say that I had THE most amazing day with my girls, just being with them, enjoying them and seeing those beautiful smiles. There is NOTHING better than that, and that right there, the enjoyment, the happiness, that was free and I am so grateful!

Until next time,