Archives for December 2012

December Sponsor Group Giveaway

December 29, 2012 8 Comments

YAY for the weekend!!! Any big plans out there for the coming New Year?
Are you partying with friends or enjoying the evening at home?
Regardless, we have a fun giveaway for you while you’re here!!! Meet our December sponsors and the fun goodies their giving to one lucky winner!!!!

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Lots of fun goodies up for grabs right?!? A winner will be drawn and announced next week on January 7th.
Enter using the Rafflecopter below and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Filed Under: Giveaways, Sponsored

Fancy This Fridays #107 and Features

December 28, 2012 12 Comments

Hey there lovelies! Happy Friday!

Christmas is past and New Years is right around the corner!
Today we’re featuring some yummy treats you could serve at your New Years Eve party!

First up, Nichole of Pinkie for Pink shared a recipe for S’mores Brownies! You know how I feel about s’mores… 😉

Next up we have Kathe with an E’s recipe for Gingersnap Cookies! I’ve always loved Gingersnaps… and since it’s her Grandma’s recipe, I’m sure they are amazing!!!

Last but definitely not least Sweet Bella Roo’s recipe for Triple Chocolate Mint Cookies! Perfect for the winter months…. It may or may not, emphasis on the MAY, contain lots of Andes mints… YUM!

Thanks for all who linked up with us last week! Here’s a Featured on Truly Lovely button for you three mentioned above! Hope you’ll grab one and share it over at our own blogs! 😉

Now onto this week’s party!!!

Fancy This Fridays Rules:

1. Please link directly to the project post on your blog.

Not the blog itself.

2. Please link only your OWN posts.

We prefer to see what YOU have been up to… not someone random.

3. Please grab a button and display it somewhere on your blog. On your sidebar, on your posts, on your linky party page. We aren’t picky!

4. We would LOVE if you would comment on at least one other link.

Just pop over and say “Hello, coming by from Truly Lovely”, or something more clever… You know…

Thanks for linking with us lovelies!!!
Have a great weekend!

Filed Under: Fancy This Fridays, Features

Secret Santa and 12 Days of Christmas

December 27, 2012 4 Comments

I love blogger gift exchanges… It’s so fun to pick out something to send to a new blogger friend and then receive a little something from them in return. For just about any holiday you can find a blog gift exchange to join so of course, Christmas is no different!

This year I joined two, Secret Santa for Bloggers and the 12 Days of Christmas Blogger Exchange.

For the Secret Santa Exchange I received a gift from Miss Karen of .

My gift included a set of yummy smelling lotions, a foot spa kit and a delicious Frosted Cookies Glade candle!
Thank you so much Karen! I love it all!!!

She also sent a sweet Christmas card with pictures of her little man! Such a cutie!!!

For the 12 Days of Christmas Exchange I was partnered with Miss Alyssa of Sincerely Truly Scrumptious. This was a fun one because you got to choose TWELVE little gifts to send and then open on each of the 12 days before Christmas.
Once MY 12 gifts arrived from Alyssa they got a special place under my Christmas tree until they could be opened one at a time. 😉

Alyssa did such a good job! Each of the 12 gifts she sent were so fun to open and receive!
They were all marked with a little tag to be opened on their designated day.

Day 1: CUTE To Do List Notepads
Day 2: ELF Eye Shadow
Day 3: Little apple and orange juice glasses
Day 4: Nail Polish

Day 5: Soft socks
Day 6: Funny mustache notepad
Day 7: Yummy smelling candle
Day 8: Snowman mug and hot chocolate

Day 9: Kiss and Make Up Bag (Fun, right? 😉
Day 10: ELF lip gloss
Day 11: Candy ornament
Day 12: 2013 planner (perfect timing!!)

Thanks SO much Alyssa!!! I had such a fun time opening and using each of my gifts so far!
And peeps, if you’re looking for fun inexpensive gifts to give these were all great ideas!!!
Alyssa has a FUN fashion blog if you’re interested in checking it out. I’ve enjoyed seeing her fun outfits since becoming her 12 Days partner.

Thanks to Jessica and Britney for planning two fun blogger gift exchanges!

Filed Under: Gift Ideas, Holidays

Meet…. Chelsea!!!!

December 26, 2012 Leave a Comment

Hey dolls!!! Here’s to hoping you had a lovely Christmas!!!
Since we took a few days of to celebrate with our family, let’s dive right back in with an introduction…
Meet Chelsea!!! She’s our XL ad sponsor for December and a really fun chick!
Take it away Chelsea…. _________________________________

Hi Everyone! I’m Chelsea and I blog over at the Big, Beautiful & Broke blog! I would like to thank the girls here at the Truly Lovely Blog for letting me visit you today!

I’m a registered nurse, working in a busy emergency department in Saginaw, Michigan. I was just accepted into graduate school where I will earn a master’s degree in Nursing Education.

Some people ask me why I named my blog “big, beautiful & broke”. Well, I struggle with a few things in life…those being my weight, self-acceptance and money. I have been overweight, or big, my whole life. I am not lazy. I work-out and am very active. But I love food. I eat my feelings. I wish I was one of those girls who didn’t eat when they get stressed out…but…when I am upset, I generally like to eat EVERYTHING in sight.
Even though I am overweight, I think I am beautiful. I have struggled with accepting myself for many years, but finally as a young adult I realized I don’t need to be skinny to be beautiful.
Last, I love shopping. My mom says I have champagne taste on a beer budget. Ugh, it’s so true! Hence, broke.
Anyways, enough about me. Meet my better half, Bob:

We were married March 10, 2011…but our formal wedding celebration was June 2, 2012 (it’s a long story…just go with it!). Here is one of my favorite pics from the wedding:

3 generations of kisses (Totally Pinterest inspired!). From left to right: My Parents, Me & Bob, My Grandparents. Isn’t this classic? I love it.

When Bob and I were married, I became the step-mom to two wonderful children. Chelsea (yep, same name. Makes family get togethers interesting) who is 15 and Bryson who is 7.

We don’t have any kids of our own (yet!) But we do have 5 (yes 5) fur babies! One dog, 2 cats and 2 ferrets.

So, that’s a little bit about me and my family! I hope you all come visit me! I’m a master at nothing but dabble in attempts at crafts, attempts at baking, cleaning, organizing. You’ll also likely learn that I love and am obsessed with the Detroit Tigers. Hope to see ya’ll soon!

Blog | | |

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Go say hello at her place, won’t you!? 😉

Filed Under: Guest Posts

Mrs. Smith’s Pies for the Holidays + A Giveaway!

December 21, 2012 88 Comments

This post brought to you by Mrs. Smith’s. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hey there lovelies! Do you have your holiday menu all planned?

Might I make a suggestion for dessert? Mrs. Smith’s Signature Deep Dish pies!

There are four different deep dish pie flavors; Dutch Apple with Caramel Sauce, Cherry Pie with Butter Fudge Sauce, Peach Pie with Cream Cheese Icing and Pumpkin Pie with Cream Cheese Icing!

My family had two clear favorites…

Mrs. Smith's Deep Dish Pies

Apple pie has always been a family favorite, but the Deep Dish Dutch Apple Pie is a unique apple pie twist. It’s crumbly top crust combined with the Caramel Sauce is almost like an apple cobbler dessert without all the work! So yummy and my personal favorite!

Mrs. Smith's Deep Dish Dutch Apple Pie

Some of my family members, including my dad, prefer a berry pie during the holiday season. That’s where the Deep Dish Cherry Pie came in. Drizzled with the Butter Fudge chocolate sauce a slice of this pie looked like it came straight from a high end restaurant. Very decadent!

Mrs. Smith's Deep Dish Cherry Pie

If you’re thinking of adding Mrs. Smith’s Deep Dish Pies to your holiday menu you can find a list of retailers here. They’re also on Facebook! For ideas on customizing your pies or other fun recipes, check them out on Pinterest!!!

Now, since you’re here 😉 Mrs. Smith’s is offering one lucky winner a coupon for one of their Deep Dish pies, your choice as to flavor. AND a $50 Williams Sonoma gift card! In the spirit of being able to customize your dessert, Mrs. Smith’s is giving you a gift card to help customize your home!!!

Please enter using the Rafflecopter form below. Winning entries WILL be verified.

Entries include commenting on which of the 4 deep dish pies you will choose if you win, what you’ll spend you’re $50 Williams Sonoma gift card on if you win and following Mrs. Smith’s on Facebook and Pinterest.

A winner will be chosen and announced on December 27th!

Good Luck!!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Filed Under: Giveaways, Product Reviews Tagged With: SocialSpark

Fancy This Fridays #106 and Features

December 21, 2012 7 Comments

HAPPY FRIDAY!!! Only three days until the big day!!!
Are you ready for Christmas??

If not here’s a few ideas from Fancy This #105 to help you through the weekend!

You’ve seen the wrapped candy bars as quick gifts… How about Snowman Popcorn! The Pin Junkie shares where she got her snowman printable as well. Too cute!

A Creative Princess shows you how to whip up a cute holiday apron using an old pair of jeans! This would make a fun last minute hostess gift!!!

And finally Marti of Sew-Licious Home Decor whipped up a yummy Oreo Cookie Hot Chocolate! This would be a fun twist to leave for Santa!

Thanks for all who linked up with us last week! Here’s a Featured on Truly Lovely button for you three mentioned above! Hope you’ll grab one and share it over at our own blogs! 😉

Now onto this week’s party!!!

Fancy This Fridays Rules:

1. Please link directly to the project post on your blog.

Not the blog itself.

2. Please link only your OWN posts.

We prefer to see what YOU have been up to… not someone random.

3. Please grab a button and display it somewhere on your blog. On your sidebar, on your posts, on your linky party page. We aren’t picky!

4. We would LOVE if you would comment on at least one other link.

Just pop over and say “Hello, coming by from Truly Lovely”, or something more clever… You know…

Thanks for linking with us lovelies!!! Hope you get all your shopping done and have a relaxing weekend before Christmas!

Filed Under: Fancy This Fridays, Features

Twenty Wishes Progress #1 Link Up

December 20, 2012 2 Comments

Good morning friends!!!
So glad you’ve come back by to share your 20 wishes progress with us!!! If you missed it, here’s a little more about WHY we’ve created the 1 Year 20 Wishes project!

Kayli and I have both shared our 20 wishes progress so far; Kayli’s List, Kassi List. So we invite you to share yours with us now.

We aren’t requiring you to follow anybody, visit anybody, or anything else really. The point is for you to have a place to share and work towards accomplishing those things you really want to do. Although, we do hope that if you’re looking for a new bloggie friend you’ll check out the ladies in our list… We love them all and you will too.

Don’t worry if you don’t have much progress so far… It’s only the first month! You have a whole year…
The point though is to get those wishes marked off! Can’t wait to see what you’ve accomplished so far!!!

Filed Under: Twenty Wishes

Kayli’s Twenty Wishes Progress Report #1

December 19, 2012 10 Comments

Is it really already almost Christmas? Where has this year gone? Here we were just introducing this twenty wishes idea and now it’s already time to look at our progress! (: If you don’t have tons to report, that’s totally cool- it’s only the first actual month- so please link up what you have on Thursday no matter how much or how little! We’d love to see how everyone is coming along. You can still get in on the fun too, whip up your list and share it with us. And while you’re at it, grab a button. (:

Here’s how things are going with my list!

All progress/updates are in red.

Kayli’s Twenty Wishes by December 2013

1. Grow a garden. (Like really grow one. Keeping the weeds out and tending it to it and all!)

2. Start playing the guitar.

3. Make and send valentines.

4. Buy my first pair of converse.

5. Make meditation a habit. (Not necessarily the kind of meditation you’re thinking, just learning to be.)

I’ve started this one- it’s been sort of difficult because adding a new habit is hard- but I have time to improve.

6. Finish an embroidery project. (Like pillowcases, or a dresser scarf or something.)

I actually finished my first pillowcase AND I’ve done another little small project- but I won’t cross this off until I finish my other pillowcase (:

7. Learn the alphabet in American Sign Language.

I started this one too! I had them all memorized for like a week and now I forget a few, so I still need to rehearse to keep it in my long term memory- but we’re getting there!

8. Reread the entire Harry Potter series.

9. Paint again! (And maybe try something super abstract)

10. Sleep under the stars.

11. Read at least one C.S. Lewis book.

12. Buy 1 FULL outfit that I really love and maybe wouldn’t buy otherwise.

13. Get a professional best friend photo shoot done with Sara.

14. Go fishing in the evening off of the dock.

15. Do the Color Run!

All signed up and ready to go in January! (:

16. Spend an entire day riding horses PURELY for fun- wherever I feel like going.

17. Throw someone a full on party- birthday or just because.

(I just changed this one because I like this wish better! You can see what I replaced it with by going to my original list here.)

18. Go to the Catwalk.

19. Learn to bake homemade bread!

20. Donate, even if it’s just a little, to a cause that I really believe in. (I’ll be doing lots of research for this one! (; )

So there you have it, not much- but it’s all a start. Make sure to come back tomorrow and take your turn letting us know how things are going!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Kassi’s Twenty Wishes Progress Report #1

December 18, 2012 8 Comments

Well here we are in December! As promised it’s almost time for our 20 Wishes Progress Link Up #1. So to get things rolling, and as a reminder to get your post ready and link up on Thursday, December 20th, here is my progress so far!
{Progress updates are in italics!}
FYI: Don’t be discouraged if you haven’t had much progress. It’s only the first month! Just be sure to attack next month with gusto, yes? 😉

Until then if you haven’t linked up with us yet, feel free to share your list here and then link up with us next month with your progress! 😉 Oh, and here’s a button for you!

Kassi’s Twenty Wishes List for 2013

1. Read 50 books, just for fun, that I WANT to read.

2. Take a trip up Mount Graham. (I’ve lived here a year now, think it’s time to start checking out the local sites!)

3. Make a scrapbook of my trip to Australia. (I’ve had the photos since um… 2003…. oops….)

4. Participate in a Color Run! {I’ve registered for The Color Run in Tempe, AZ in January 2014!! And I’ve been doing my Couch to 5K workouts to get in shape! So excited!!! Kayli, my sisters in law and I even have a team!!!}

5. Host a girlfriends’ dinner party in my home. Invites, menus, the whole she-bang!

6. Build my photography portfolio to include 10 different sessions. {So far I have 7 different sessions! You .}

7. Make a photography website and FB page with those 10 sessions. {Facebook page is done!!! Won’t you be a doll and like ?!? Oh, and check out my sweet new logo c/o while you’re there. 😉}

8. Attend an AZ blogger event.

9. Makeover my master bedroom.

10. Visit a winery and do a wine tasting.

11. Plant rose bushes in my backyard.

12. Take a 2 year anniversary trip just me and the hubs.

13. Private wish. (This is something I REALLY, really, REALLY wish for, so I don’t want to jinx it… When it does happen I’ll share what it is.) 😉

14. Makeover our guest bathroom.

15. Plant an upside down Mulberry tree somewhere at my house.

16. See George Strait in concert for his final tour. {We have tickets!!! Kayli, the hubs and I will be seeing George in April!!!}

17. Take a photography class or work shop. {I just purchased an online digital photography certification class via Groupon!!!}

18. Download a Book of Mormon reading app of some sort and read at least the first half!

19. Visit Build a Bear and actually build a bear.

20. Host a holiday for my family including a traditional dinner.

So there you have it! My 20 Wishes progress as of December 2012! Don’t forget we hope to mark all these wishes off by next December!
See you back here on Thursday with your progress, yes?

Filed Under: Twenty Wishes Tagged With: wishes

Archives for December 2012

December Sponsor Group Giveaway

Fancy This Fridays #107 and Features

Fancy This Fridays Rules:

Secret Santa and 12 Days of Christmas

Meet…. Chelsea!!!!

Mrs. Smith’s Pies for the Holidays + A Giveaway!

Fancy This Fridays #106 and Features

Fancy This Fridays Rules:

Twenty Wishes Progress #1 Link Up

Kayli’s Twenty Wishes Progress Report #1

Kassi’s Twenty Wishes Progress Report #1

Get Truly Lovely in Your Inbox!

Truly Lovely Sponsors

Looking for something?

Truly Lovely Affiliates

My Blog Tribe

THANKS for your VOTE!!!

Truly Lovely Participation:

Truly Lovely: A History…

Our Lovely Bloggie Buddies!!

Fancy This Fridays is Powered by:

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Archives for December 2012

Christmas Sweeties

December Sponsor Group Giveaway

Fancy This Fridays #107 and Features

Fancy This Fridays Rules:

Secret Santa and 12 Days of Christmas

Meet…. Chelsea!!!!

Mrs. Smith’s Pies for the Holidays + A Giveaway!

Fancy This Fridays #106 and Features

Fancy This Fridays Rules:

Twenty Wishes Progress #1 Link Up

Kayli’s Twenty Wishes Progress Report #1

Kassi’s Twenty Wishes Progress Report #1

Get Truly Lovely in Your Inbox!

Truly Lovely Sponsors

Looking for something?

Truly Lovely Affiliates

My Blog Tribe

THANKS for your VOTE!!!

Truly Lovely Participation:

Truly Lovely: A History…

Our Lovely Bloggie Buddies!!

Fancy This Fridays is Powered by:

Follow Us on Twitter

Like Us On Facebook