Featured Seller/Product Review: Glamour Me Jewels

*This review is 100% original and in my own words. Everything written is from my own personal view point and opinions. All photos have been taken by me unless stated otherwise. I have been provided with product to review however I have not been compensated monetarily for this review.

I have been drooling over bracelets recently and my heart skipped a beat when I found out about the beautiful creations over at Glamour Me Jewels. It was love at first sight when I saw The Mackenzie for the first time...gold and raspberry. YES PLEASE! What I love the most about Glamour Me Jewels is the choices! Whether you want daytime cute or nighttime hot, you will find it in Leilani's shop.

The owner, Leilani, lives in Dallas Texas and started making jewelry for herself years ago! It never occured to her to create a shop and sell her beautiful pieces until a few of her girlfriends embedded the idea in her head (and thank goodness they did otherwise we wouldn't have these amazing choices at our fingertips!). Leilani opened her shop Glamour Me Jewels in April 2012 with the aspiration to create "everyday fashion friendly chic at a reasonable price". She puts all of her dedication and love into every piece that she creates and everything she lists for sale, she loves and would wear herself.

Although I adore everything in Leilani's shop, today I am going to review The Mackenzie bracelet for you. I absolutely LOVE this bracelet. Being a mommy, I need jewelry pieces that are going to last when little fingers tug and ladies, this is a great bracelet to wear around little fingers. What I enjoy the most is that the bracelet looks like it would be heavy to wear but in fact its light weight and very comfortable. I love that it fits my wrist perfectly so that the rapsberry links are perfectly centered and I don't have to worry about the bracelet turning and slipping. This bracelet, in my opinion, probably couldn't get any better. The Mackenzie has smooth raspberry links and textured gold links which gives it flare and a little gold clasp which I thought was the perfect addition- to me, it reminds you that this bracelet is still dainty! I've worn it with multiple bracelets and I've worn it by itself and both ways looked so beautiful, I literally had to talk myself into taking it off to get in the shower! This is absolutely a staple piece that will look great with pretty much anything. Whether you're going to work, hitting the beach, out to dinner with your man or hitting the clubs with your girls, The Mackenzie is sure to tie your outfit together and make you feel like a million bucks.

Want to own one of these bad girls? The Mackenzie comes in raspberry, rose pink, orange, bright pink, strawberry, black, colbalt and lemon and here is your chance to own one! Use the exclusive promo code LOVEGMJ and you will recieve 10% off of your whole order(you may as well pick up the matching necklace too)!

Click HERE to go shopping!
Like Glamour me Jewels on FACEBOOK for a chance to see sneak peeks of new creations & follow her on instagram at GlamourMeJewels

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*This review is 100% original and in my own words. Everything written is from my own personal view point and opinions. All photos have been taken by me unless stated otherwise. I have been provided with product to review however I have not been compensated monetarily for this review.

A Shout Out

Today, I would like to give a shout out and special recognition to Staci over at WireMaJigs on Etsy. Staci makes hand made wire jewelry and can custom make you a bracelet, necklace, ring and more with a word or name of choice. I played around with what I would want to get and I decided that I wanted a bracelet in gold with Baby A's name! When it arrived, I absolutely ADORED IT. I loved it so much that I wanted one in silver so I ordered one right away. The silver came today and I absolutely love it. Staci has great communication and I would highly recommend her as an Etsy seller. These custom creations were only $15 shipped! I love it and if you have a little one I highly recommend that you go get one of these bracelets. Its something that you can treasure and wear daily (hence my need for silver and gold).Big Thank You Staci!Click HERE

to check out WireMaJigs =]

Mail

Between 2:30-3:30pm is my favorite time of day. Why you ask? Because that is when the mail comes! I usually have something I'm looking forward to whether it's a small package or just any old piece of mail- I love going out to the mail box and getting it. As pathetic as it is, I count that as one of the highlights of my day!


Today I was expecting two things, 1) My new boyfriend watch I ordered off eBay and 2) My new iPhone case from etsy! Both came, one I was happy with, one upset. :(


When I put the watch on, it was huge!! Entirely to big even though according to the eBay measurements it should have fit me perfectly. I haven been so disappointed in a while :( I emailed them and now I'm hoping they can exchange it for a smaller one. I've been dying to have a watch for months and after getting sick of lusting over the Kate Spade one I've been wanting, I I turned to eBay for a "filler". I should have kept lusting.


The iPhone case on the other hand is exactly what I hoped it would be and I LOVE it! So happy with my purchase!!!


Fingers crossed I can get a smaller watch!

Fun in the Sun

There is no better way to relax and cool down then to hit a pool on a hot summer day. Today, temperatures hit the low 100s and it is said to be up around 108 by the end of the week. Holy hot. Thank goodness a new friend of mine graciously invited us to swimming with her!! Since it is a Wednesday afternoon, we had the pool to ourselves and it was so nice to just relax and enjoy the scenery. Baby A had lots of fun, he LOVES the water so he enjoyed Splish Splashing while I held him! Here's a few fun pictures from earlier today!!




P.S. you may want to head over to my shops Facebook page, there may just be a giveaway going on :) (click on Facebook at the top of the page to go to the page!!)

Coupon Code!!!

I've got great news!!! If you LOVED my chunky chain necklace and earrings from Anci Decor this is your chance to own one!! Anci Decor has giving me an exclusive promotional code for only my readers!! So here's what you have to do- GO SHOPPING!!!


Use promo code- CRAFTYDEAL at checkout and you will receive 12% off of your entire purchase!!

*Limited Time Offer, hurry over to claim your savings off of some hot trendy jewelry!

Click HERE to go shopping now!!!

Be Bold.

Today my words of wisdom are thus; be bold. You only live this life once so why not live it to its fullest? Your homework today is to do everything on this list.



1.Wear bright colors. And wear colors that you wouldn't normally wear together. As you can see in my pics below, that is exactly what I did today by pairing bright yellow, with aqua and gold. It was SO much fun!



2.Tell someone you love them. Whether its your mom, dad, sister, husband, boyfriend, child, best friend, dog or cat, tell someone that you love them. To love and be loved in return is one of the greatest gifts in the world. All you need is love<3



3. Try something new to eat. New foods can be scary especially if you have no idea what it could possibly taste like, but who knows, you may actually love it! So try it! No excuses.



4. Laugh. Out. Loud. It releases endorphins AND burns calories, why would you not laugh?



5. Take a bubble bath. With LOTS of bubbles. Light a few candles, put your favorite music on low. If you relax for just 15 minutes in the tub you will feel so much better about yourself and your life.




I triple dare you to do everything on that list. Have some fun with life and don't let the moments pass you buy. No regrets! Be bold.

Golden

Today is a GOLDEN [mail] day for me ;) I finally received my Starbucks Gold Card in the mail which I am SO excited about! I also received my customized bracelet from Wire-Ma-Gigs on etsy!!! I am beyond excited about this bracelet. I've been wanting something special for Baby A pretty much sense he was born but I had no clue what to get! Finally i found these and as soon as I post pics for you guys to see I'm ordering another one in silver! I love :)

Lazy Sunday

How do you spend your Sundays? Mine usually go something like this; wake up, feed Baby A, feed self, Baby A goes down for a nap, mommy cleans house, Baby A wakes up, grocery shopping, starbucks, dinner planning, Baby A goes down, I online shop, dinner, Baby A dinner, Baby A bath, bottle bed, Mommy showers, mommy collapses. Who am I kidding? That's pretty much every day.




What do you do on YOUR Sunday's?

Family Adventure & Shopping Score

Today I decided that it was family day so Mr. Hunky, Baby A and I loaded up the car and went on an adventure to the big city. I was a little nervous when we got off on the exit that Siri had told us to take and we ended up in a not so beautiful part of the city. I'm all for diversity but the building marked "GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS TUESDAY JELLO WRESTLING" next to the sleazy motel that was ACROSS the street from the cemetery sort of reminded me of a scene from CSI and I couldn't help but sing "whooooooo are you?! Who who, who who" in my head as we passed by. I felt much better as we turned onto a nicer street filled with restaurants and shopping! About ten minutes down the road my eyes almost jumped out of my head as I spotted Nordstrom Rack! I swear I squealed so loud Mr. Hunky almost crashed the car. Okay so not really, but I did get a pretty nasty glance as we pulled into the mall parking lot. When we got out of the car I thought I had gone to heaven, I can't even begin to tell you how many wonderful stores this mall had. Mr. Hunky of course opted to parooze REI while I did my thing so I started with H&M. I had never been into an H&M before so I was a little overwhelmed and not really wanting to waste my valuable shopping time, I was racing against a man "shopping" in REI, after all. How long could he actually spend? Before leaving H&M I did stumble across the baby section and almost died. I'm really into dressing him up like daddy when they're home together and since daddy's loungewear consists of basketball shorts and a "wife beater" tank, so I find it only fitting that Baby A wears the same! He has the basketball shorts, but we've been missing the tanks. Well not anymore!!! I couldn't believe they had them! And get this, they were $5.95 for two. Seriously?! $3 each! Heck yes please.



After buying Baby As onesies, him and I headed over to Forever 21. I LOVE Forever 21 and I knew I would find something I loved!! Forever 21 is a great place to find deals, the only thing that I HATE is that it seems like their clothes always fall apart easily! So when I shop at Forever 21 I always follow my 3 basic shopping rules & add a forth. What are my 3 basic shopping rules you ask?? Well, they're something that every girl should follow because not only will it help you save money it will make you feel a lot happier with your wardrobe!



Step 1: Always shop with a color scheme or print/pattern in mind.
If you go in knowing what colors, prints or patterns you are looking for, you won't leave with excess clothes that you later have buyers remorse over. When in doubt, shop for neutrals- you will always wear neutrals.



Step 2: Always put together an outfit in your head before buying.
If you can't pair it with clothes that you already have, you're never going to wear it. So why buy in the first place?



Step 3: Question whether or not it's really YOU.
Let's face it, just because it's freaking adorable doesn't mean you'll wear it. If it's not your personal style then it will just sit in your closet looking cute on the hanger. And don't try to kid yourself, your an adult, rarely does your style change.


Step 4 (Forever Specific): If it's over $10, don't buy it.
Ok, maybe give yourself a $2 leeway for if you really LOVE it, but if it's more than that is it really with it? Probably not. You know it'll end up with holes in a few weeks anyway.



So today I went with shopping for neutrals and shopping for brights. I decided on 4 basic tanks in off white, light peach, charcoal gray and navy. These are tanks that can be layered and will never "go out of style" because they are very basic colors. A staple in my opinion. I also landed on a bright yellow flowy tee and a basic mint tank. For $25 I scored 6 shirts for me! And for an extra $5 I scored two onesies for Baby A. Not only did I score a great deal, I did so while spending time with my family. Savin money and family time, sign me up any day!

Featured Seller/Product Review: Anci Decor

*This review is 100% original and in my own words. Everything written is from my own personal view point and opinions. All photos have been taken by me unless stated otherwise. I have been provided with product to review however I have not been compensated monetarily for this review.

There are three things that I absolutely love right now; navy, chunky [jewelry] and the woven look. My gorgeous new necklace from Anci Decor has all three of those gorgeous qualities! When my package arrived from Anita, the owner of Anci Decor, excitement overcame me and I squealed in delight when I opened up up my new necklace!! As if the necklace wasn't gorgeous enough, it also came with a beautiful matching set of earrings that look amazing whether you wear your hair up or down.

Anita Deri, owner and designer of Anci Decor, was born and raised in Budapest, Hungary where she grew up loving and studying different types of art, experimenting with different styles and designs and implemented different cultures within her work. After graduating with a Masters of Arts and English Literature in Budapest, she moved out to California to continue to perfect her distinct European style combining it with American Comfort. Antia put her heart and soul into designing and creating jewelry, quickly gaining knowledge as a MontBlanc jewelry specialist. Her motto is "European Style, American Creativity" and she beautifully portrays that in her timeless jewelry collection.

The piece that I am reviewing for you today is her Navy Blue Chunky Chain Woven Necklace Set. Seriously, I cannot get enough of this set. I almost slept in it last night, THATS how much I adore it. This set is not only gorgeous, but the quality of Anita's work is outstanding. This baby is durable and that’s saying something coming from the momma of a nine month old. If I feel comfortable wearing it in the presence of little hands, you should feel comfortable wearing it day to day. Now, to make one thing clear, I thoroughly test out all of the products I review, I mean, really mess with them to see just how durable they are and if they’re worth what they are priced at. When I received this set, I tugged on the chain, I tugged on the cording and played with the earrings and I can honestly say this: this set is 100% worth every single penny. With that being said, this isn't an ridiculously heavy piece that will weigh you down, on the contrary, you will hardly realize that you are wearing the necklace and earrings as they are very light weight and comfortable. This Navy Blue Chunky Chain Woven Set can be worn both day and night, dressed up or dressed down because whatever you wear, this set will absolutely compliment your personal style and look amazing.

If you are falling in love with this necklace and earring set, but do not really love the navy color, you’re in luck because Anci Decor offers this gorgeous set in brown, pink, red, white, black and orange! Along with this amazing set that I just cannot get enough on, Anci Décor has a wide variety of beaded and charm necklaces as well as hoop and dangle earrings. Whether you are looking for new jewelry for a weekend getaway or for work, you will be able to find something that perfectly compliments your style and personality for an affordable price.

To see the listing for this reviewed product please click HERE
To go to Anci Décor’s shop please click HERE

Also be sure to “Like” Anci Décor on Facebook and visit their website www.ancidecor.com

*This review is 100% original and in my own words. Everything written is from my own personal view point and opinions. All photos have been taken by me unless stated otherwise. I have been provided with product to review however I have not been compensated monetarily for this review.

Mrs. Bow Jangles' Boo Boo

Today was full of worry, stress, anxiety and nervousness until about 2:30pm. Yesterday, as Baby A was Splish Splashing in his baby pool, I was petting Mrs. Bow Jangles and I noticed a spot on her shoulder (more toward her back) was caked together. So I grabbed the hose thinking it was something sticky from Baby A and I let the water run on it. She ran away so quick I couldn't even react. It took a lot of coaxing before I could get her to come near me again and when I did my heart shattered into pieces. As I took a look through her hair I could see that her skin was raw, blistered and had puss :( I had no idea what was wrong- the only thing I could think of is that something happened to her when she went to the groomers on Saturday. I wanted to cry- so I did. Yes, she's a dog, but shes my dog, she's my first born and my baby girl. My heart was broken. After calling every vet in town the soonest I could get in was today (I was calling yesterday) at 2:30pm. So needless to say a better half of yesterday and majority of today was filled with everything I mentioned at the start of this post. I was a wreck, I seriously couldn't even eat dinner last night and had to force feed myself Cheerios for breakfast. Thank goodness this vet was helpful, I really liked the woman who helped us out. Back home, people aren't as friendly as they are here. It took three of us to hold Mrs. Bow Jangles down so the vet could shave the hair down to be able to see what was going on but she finally was able to look at it and reassure me that she would be okay. What she thought happened was that Mrs. Bow Jangles had an abscess on her shoulder/back and at the groomer (obviously they didn't know as I didn't even know) they were brushing her they punctured it. Since it had gone four days without me noticing, it had gotten mildly infected but her body for the most part was fighting it off really well. I feel like the worlds worst dog mom for not noticing it :( if I hadn't have been searching for ticks I probably wouldn't have come across it! It wasn't visibly noticeable through her hair and that's not a place that I typically pet so I didn't feel the caked hair :( Mrs. Bow Jangles is now on antibiotic, has a skin cleansing treatment and was in better spirits when we left the vet. I think she just happy to be out of that place! Poor Mrs. Bow Jangles, I'm just glad I found it when I did!

Product Reviews

So, as I've said before and you've seen, I've started doing product reviews. I love product reviews for a number of reasons.
1. They're super fun to do
2. It supports small businesses and Etsy shops which I think is SO important!
3. It gives readers a chance to discover new products and shops that they probably didn't even know existed!!!

With that being said, I also love to read other people/blogs product reviews. Today I made an Etsy purchase of a bracelet that I saw on another blog. I bought a personalized wire bracelet in which I am going to have Baby A's name "written" out. It is SO cute and I'm totally excited about it! Without reading a product review on these bracelets I wouldn't have even know that the shop existed and wouldn't have been inspired to have Baby A's name on my wrist all the time! Heehee! (Can you feel my excitement????)

I have recently teamed up with a handful of AMAZING Etsy shops to do product reviews and I cannot wait to show you guys! In fact, I'm so excited about it that I'm pretty sure this is the second time I've blogged about it. Please, if you haven't already, start following my blog so that you can see the reviews as soon as they're up! Trust me, you won't want to miss what I am going to review!!!
To follow: go to www.blogger.com, sign into your gmail account (or make one, its free), next add me to your reading list by clicking "Add to Reading list" (or something close to that). Type in www.mommyscraftobsession.blogspot.com and click add. DONE! THAT SIMPLE! Do it =] Please? We will also be doing a couple of giveaways soon!! So much fun awaits!!!

The Perfect Pancakes

For those of you who are about to reach for the Bisquik, think twice. I have here such an easy, tasty and relatively healthy pancake batter recipe, I guarentee you will never use Bisquik again- I haven't! This recipe takes maybe five minutes to whip up and then you're ready to make your family (or yourself) breakfast!

You Need:
1 1/2 Cups Flour
2 Eggs
1 1/4 Cup Milk
3 Tablespoons of Sugar
1 Tablespoon of Baking POWDER (NOT SODA, I REPEAT, NOT SODA)
A Pinch of Salt
Vanilla- Eyeball it to as much as you'd like
3 Tablespoons of Butter






Mix all of your ingrediants together, I don't bother seperating the "wet" ingredients from the "dry" ingredients.

To spice up these pancakes you could add one or multiple of the following:
Nutmeg
Cinnamon
Bananas
Walnuts
Chocolate Chips
Pecans
Strawberries
Blueberries


Everyone knows how to cook a pancake so instead of giving you detailed instructions on how to do that, I will leave you with a couple of pictures! These are so yummy, I recommend going and making them now =]

A Nice Quiet Day

Is so not equilivant to what I had all day today. Today was absolutely nuts from the moment I woke up until about 7:00pm. My shop ran a Facebook group exclusive product introduction today and it hit the ground running. Between listing product, preparing them for shipping and sending them off, this mama had absolutely no time to blink let alone anything else! Literally, my only breaks today were to tend to Baby A. I didn't even eat until Mr. Hunky got home at a quarter to 3! Intense day. I tore myself away from the computer to make dinner (A Chicken and Brown Rice Dish) and after get Baby A settled in his night time bed routine. After Baby A went to bed I allowed myself fifteen minutes to shower before making pancake batter for Mr. Hunkys breakfast in the morning! I have the absolute best pancake batter recipe that will be posted tomorrow morning (so stay tuned!)
I am signing off to read (one of my absolute favorite things to do, I'm addicted to books). I've decided to finally finish the Harry Potter Series! I'm on book 5 :)
Don't forget to follow my blog! And my instagram :)

Pops of Color

Do you ever have those days where you just feel blah and uninspired? That's how I felt when I got up and got dressed today. I didn't even feel like putting together an outfit! I practically had to drag myself to the closet and when I was staring blankly all I could manage to grab were my Joe Jean shorts and a black T. BORING.


How could I possibly spice up a boring black T and a pair of denim shorts??? Pops of color, that's how. I grabbed a pink tank top and threw that on before putting on my tee shirt. That helped a little. Still feeling bored I went over to my necklaces and chose my Aqua Shimmer Mommy Necklace (they are Mommy Necklace brand- nontoxic plastic beads and a break away clasp for when little hands pull!) and it's two matching bracelets. I realize now that I forgot to add earrings *GASP*, but to complete the outfit I grabbed my hot pink J Simp (Jessica Simpson) ballet flats and I was ready to go!


The rest of the day I felt happy, bubbly and ready to take on the day! It's amazing what a little pop of color can do!!

Drag Me Away

Away from Etsy QUICK! I can not seem to stop lusting over everything on there! I'm excited to mention that I have teamed up with some more AMAZING shops on Etsy for product reviews which means that you guys will have an exclusive look at some of the hottest items listed right now!!! I don't want to reveal any of the exciting things that will be featured so I will leave you with some of the things that I fell in love with and literally had to tear myself away from buying! Ughhhh! Still lusting!!!



What are your favorite Etsy shops? Please post links below!!!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

So I'm not sure what has been going on the last few times I've tried to make my usually famous chocolate chip cookies but they have been majorly sucking! Mr. Hunky has been graciously choking them down but I know it's with great force as I myself have barely managed to. Tonight I decided to say peace out to my normal recipe and look up a new recipe, this time for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. After looking at a few I settled on a recipe that looked good and started reading its reviews. Many people said that they had to tweak the recipe to get the cookies to come out right so I followed one womans lead and dove in head first. I was jumpin for joy when they came out perfect and Mr. Hunky finally asked me for a glass of milk with his cookie- a household stamp of approval. Below, is the recipe that I went with (plus the tweaks for you!!).

You Need:

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I eyeball it)
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (plus an extra 1/2 Cup)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (plus another 1/2 teaspoon)
1 teaspoon salt (cut salt down to 1/2 teaspoon, not a full)
3 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips


Please FOLLOW the directions!

Preheat the oven to 335 degrees
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth.
Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until just blended.
Mix in the oats, walnuts, and chocolate chips.
Let mixture chill in the refridgerator for 15 minutes before baking.
Drop spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 16 minutes.
Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool!


Voi La! AMAZING Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies!!!!

Stop and Smell the Roses

Well, I haven't actually seen any roses growing in AZ since we've arrived so I'm not quite sure I can stop to smell them, however, I can stop and appreciate my life and the beings that surround it. Today on our morning walk as I was locking the door I caught a picture perfect moment. Baby A was looking cute in his Mickey Mouse hat while our dog, let's call her Mrs. Bow Jangles, was attempting to share Baby A's cheerios with him. In our household it is "fair game" that Mrs. Bow Jangles gets to eat whatever comes in contact with the floor but sometimes she likes to pretend that Baby A's stroller is the floor and swipe food from his tray. Naughty Mrs. Bow Jangles.

As my two children and I walked around the blocks of our community I really got to stop and appreciate the neighborhood that we live in. Prior to moving here we lived off of a pretty busy high way, there were no sidewalks to walk on, nowhere that we could go and just enjoy the scenery (well there was but you had to drive to it). I have to say, I really enjoy living in a suburbanized area. It's very quiet where we live and there are a ton of beautiful plants to look at, growing in people's yards. Although its hotter than heck, I think we will make our morning walks an every day occurrence rather than a weekly occurrence.

Does anyone else take daily walks around their neighborhood? If so, what is your favorite part about your walks? ((comment below))