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Happy Fall Jewelry Giveaway

September 23, 2014 3 Comments

Hey there pretties. We want to say HAPPY FALL with a fun giveaway from our friends at Centime Gift. They recently sent us a pretty personalized ring to review. I had it made with Kayli’s name and now I REALLY want one for myself… 😉 It’s so pretty and dainty. Seriously the prettiest piece of personalized jewelry ever!!

You could stack your children’s names, yours and the hubs’ names, the options are endless.

Kayli Ring

And here’s a shot with Kayli wearing her pretty name ring… We just love it!!!

Centime Personalized Ring

They also offer personalized necklaces, bracelets, artwork, etc. So many pretties to choose from!

Personalized Bracelet

We have joined with our friends Shaping Up Megan, Songs Kate Sang, Loving Life and Living on Less and The Foley Fam to share this fun giveaway with you all! That gives us TEN $10 Gift Cards to giveaway, two for each blog, but you only have to enter at one place to be entered for all ten gift certificates. So, enter below using the Rafflecopter form, the giveaway will end October 1st. Good luck!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: We received a ring in exchange for sharing our honest review. As always opinions shared here are 100% our own.
Filed Under: Giveaways, Product Reviews

Sometimes Momma needs a break… #TLCVoxBox

July 8, 2014 1 Comment

All the mommas out there know that sometimes you just need a little something to help you catch a break… Sometimes it’s a little something to entertain the kiddos for a little while. Other times it’s a sweet treat for a date night at home with the husband. The #TLCVoxBox from Influenster that I received this last month included all kinds of fun things to help any mommy catch up, relax and just get a break!

First up, the contents of the box included: (For my .)

#TLCVoxBox from Influenster

  • Puffs To Go #PassthePuffs
  • Shell Fuel Rewards Network Card #FuelRewards
  • Avon ANEW Reversalist Express Wrinkle Smoother #AvonANEW
  • Ivory Bar Soap #SudLife
  • Breyers Gelato Indulgences #GelatoLove
  • Neosporin New To Go #NeoReady

The Puffs To Go were an instant hit! I received this box right before we left for our family summer vacation so I stashed the Puffs to Go in my backpack. It was so nice to have them on hand while we visited Disneyland and the beach. Several times somebody needed a tissue and I had one in my bag! Win! The tissues themselves are our favorite, the lotion makes them softer on stuffy noses!

After our vacation the hubs and I were excited to spend a quiet date night at home. Just the two of us and our daughter. We enjoyed some Breyers Gelato Indulgences while we watched a movie. I chose the Vanilla Caramel flavor… We LOVED it. SO YUMMY!!! I’ve even gone back to the store since then and we got the Raspberry Cheesecake flavor!

#TLCVoxBox Breyers Gelato Indulgences #TLCVoxBox Breyers Gelato Indulgences

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next up, the Shell Fuel Rewards Network Card! I was so excited to get this… There’s a few Shells in my area and I’ve been meaning to sign up for a card, so when one showed up in the mail inside the #TLCVoxBox I was pumped! It’s easy to activate and easy to use… AS long as your Shell is a participant in the program. Turns out the one near my house isn’t… Boo. So I don’t get to use the card very often, but when I do it’s exciting to think of the discounts!

#TLCVoxBox Shell Fuel Rewards Network Card

I’ve been using the Avon ANEW Reversalist Express Wrinkle Smoother for a few weeks and I have to say it’s a nice way to instantly reduce the look of wrinkles! Don’t hate, but I don’t have many wrinkles at this point in my life, so it’s not something I use everyday… But if I’m getting ready for a special occasion or know there will be photos taken, I am all about it! The photo on the right below is even a little before and after once I applied my makeup and the ANEW.

#TLCVoxBox Avon ANEW #TLCVoxBox Avon ANEW Before and After

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Luckily, I haven’t had many opportunities to try the Neosporin Neo To Go spray! Nobody wants ouchies, am I right?! But I did have one little incident while cleaning kitchen knives. I recorded a little video about it if you’re interested… You can see that here: Neo To Go Video. It did seem like the pain was squashed pretty quickly and the little cut I got healed nicely! Two thumbs up!

Last but certainly not least is the Ivory Bar Soap! We used it to do a fun little activity! Did you know there are TONS of uses for Ivory Soap besides just the bath tub?! I have a whole if you want to check it out. We chose to make “soap clouds” in the microwave, then use the clouds to make mini colored soaps! Klara thought it was crazy we kept pointing for her to look in the microwave. She’s too little to understand the awesomeness, but I’m sure in a few years she’ll think it’s cool. 😉

#TLCVoxBox Ivory Bar Soap

So there you have it! My thoughts on the #TLCVoxBox from Influenster!

Tell me, have you ever used any of the products mentioned above? What are your thoughts? Do you have any fun Ivory Soap ideas we need to try???

Filed Under: Product Reviews, Shopping Tagged With: Influenster, VoxBox

WIWW – Little Black Dress

July 2, 2014 13 Comments

Wow. It’s been AGES since I shared a What I Wore Wednesday… Lame, right. Ah, well… Life happens, and I wear the same old stuff over and over since I work and mommy from home these days. haha. BUT I do have a brand new, lovely little black dress I’d love to share with you! 😉

eShakti_Dress_Review_by_Truly_Lovely_Blog (2)

I was approached several months ago by eShakti to review one of their dresses. It took me FOREVER to narrow down to my favorite three choices because they have SO many beautiful dresses to choose from! My initial purpose for the dress was to wear while photographing weddings. I wanted something simple, elegant and comfortable. I chose my top three and then put it to my social media buddies to help me out… Which dress I asked?

eShakti_Dress_Review_by_Truly_Lovely_Blog (4)

My online friends did not disappoint! With their help I decided on the first dress, of course. My reasoning being it was a simple, pretty black dress. I liked the shape, but it also has the pretty pop of color around the neckline. Because I wear my camera strap around my neck I tend to ditch the necklaces during weddings anyway, win-win!

eShakti_Dress_Review_by_Truly_Lovely_Blog (3)

The eShakti website was awesome! First you choose your dress. Then you can really make it your own by entering your exact measurements, if you have them. I just went with a generic size and it fits perfect, FYI. Then you choose length of your hem, sleeve type, etc. You really get a dress that is made just the way YOU want it!

My dress has a below the knee length hem, cap sleeves and POCKETS! What photographer doesn’t love pockets!!! Coincidentally, the fit and style of this dress makes it the perfect modest, but fun dress to wear to church! The pockets come in handy there too for the little nick-knacks Klara needs!

eShakti_Dress_Review_by_Truly_Lovely_Blog (1)

My overall experience with eShakti is two thumbs up!!! I WILL be ordering from them again soon! You can find more from eShakti on their ,  &  pages.

What about you? What’s your perfect dress look like? Where would you wear it??

Linking this post to these fun parties! Won’t you join us?

 
Disclosure: I received the dress complimentary from eShakti in exchange for my online review. As always opinions expressed here are 100% my own!

Filed Under: Product Reviews, What I Wore Tagged With: clothing review, eshakti dress review, online shopping review,

#JAdoreVoxBox Review

March 24, 2014 2 Comments

Valentine’s Day is long gone, but the goodies that I received to try out in the #JAdoreVoxBox from Influenster are perfect for you and your sweetheart any day of the year! I made a using the products I received as inspiration for a little date night out with your honey and here are a few of my thoughts on each of the goodies in the Vox Box.

Influenster JAdoreVoxBox

First up, I don’t know a single person that doesn’t like Hershey’s Kisses… I’m sure they’re out there, but I just don’t know them… haha. I love that they wrap the kisses up for different holidays. Makes things feel more festive! I put most of the Family Sized bag of kisses in a serving tray on my kitchen counter… They’re almost all gone. And that was a HUGE bag. 😉

Hershey's Kisses

Next, I received a few samples of Creme Caramel Red Rose Tea and a sample of Lemon Chiffon tea. I LOVED the Creme Caramel. SO much so that I used all of the samples within a week and had to go online and order some more. I also ordered a box of the Cinnamon Streusel tea which is decaffeinated. The only drawback to this delicious cup of tea is that they don’t sell it anywhere in AZ or NM… So ordering online is a must do. But it arrived quickly and I enjoy a cup every morning.

Red Rose Tea

The Boots Botanics Shine Away Ionic Clay Mask was interesting. I rarely use any type of mask and hadn’t used any in years. But this one was easy to apply, dried quickly and forced me to sit and actually relax for the ten minutes required for it to set. Which, come on, every momma needs an excuse just to relax for a few minutes! Afterwards it was easy to wipe off and made my face feel soft. I would think with weekly use it could really make a difference in the way my skin feels. The only drawback to the mask… ? It freaked out my 8 month old daughter when she saw mommy’s face covered in green… haha. But after she realized it was me and I was ok she was fine.

Boots Botanic Clay Mask

The JAdore Vox Box also included some Vaseline Men’s Spray Lotion. I tried it out myself and realized why it says MEN’s on the side… It has a men’s cologne scent to it. The scent actually smells really good, it’s just not what I would like to wear myself. 😉 My husband also tried it out and liked the scent as well as how easy it was for him to apply. I shot a short video of him applying it on his dry arms after a long day in the sun. You can see that here.

One of my favorite goodies was the John Frieda Frizz 3-Day Straight Flat Iron Spray. I wear my long hair straightened almost every day, so it was perfect for me. And as a mommy getting three days of wear out of one time doing my hair… ? Yes please!!! The spray itself smelled nice and left my hair feeling soft and shiny. It also helped tame those little frizzies you get when you wear your hair down and straight all day long.

Frizz Ease

Last but not least is the Kiss Looks So Natural Lashes. So, here’s the thing. I am a stay at home, work from home momma. I haven’t done a single thing in the last two weeks or so to warrant wearing pretty fake eyelashes. Instead of wasting them on a day when I was just going to stay at home I decided to wait until this coming weekend when I get to get out of the house and go to a concert with the husband! 😉 I’ll let you know after the fact how they turned out!

Your turn: Do you use any of the products that were featured in the Inluenster #JAdoreVoxBox? What’s your favorite??

Disclosure: I received all of the products shared here complimentary from Influenster for review purposes. As always opinions shared are 100% my own!
Filed Under: Product Reviews, Sponsored Tagged With: Influenster

WIWW: Logowear from CafePress

February 12, 2014 8 Comments

All the way back in August of 2013 I shared a post with you all about CafePress products and how you can design your own items through their website. Well, FINALLY here I am sporting the items that I designed and received from them!

CafePress Review

I ended up making myself a sweater with my photography business logo on the back and a burnout t-shirt with my logo on the front! It’s the perfect “uniform” to wear for photo sessions so that I look professional, but still laid back and comfortable.

Logo wear by CafePress

The camera was actually an image included in their design your own t-shirt tool. Then I just added in my logo and called it good! The screen for designing the shirts was so easy to use. It’s set up so you can easily see where the center is and get the best placement for your design or logo.

CafePress Review

CafePress has all kinds of products you can customize to your exact needs. T-shirts, bags, phone cases, mugs, etc! The options are limitless!

Linking this post to these fun WIW parties.

CafePress provided me with a gift certificate to spend on their site in exchange for a review. As always opinions shared here are 100% my own!
Filed Under: Product Reviews, Shopping

Hidden Valley Ranch Feast

December 23, 2013 Leave a Comment

Good Monday morning lovelies!!! Only two days now until Christmas! I hope you’re ready! 😉 Today I have a fun dinner party to share with you! I was invited to host a Hidden Valley Ranch Feast as a member of Crowdtap.

The plan was to invite some family and friends over, have them bring recipes made with Ranch as sort of a pot-luck dinner and then share the recipes with one another. I was sent a box of Hidden Valley Ranch goodies to use during the party that included a Team Ranch t-shirt, a bottle of ranch, samples of Hidden Valley Italian dressing, Ranch dressing and dip mix, and Ranch To Go packets.

RanchReview

For my main recipe I made . It’s a super simple recipe I found on Pinterest.

Hidden Valley Ranch Recipe

I also put together a huge salad bar, as requested by my husband. A big salad covered in Ranch dressing is one of his favorite things!

Salad bar party

One guest brought  a jalapeno ranch dip and another brought potato soup flavored with a Hidden Valley Ranch packet! Both recipes were delicious!!! My nephew Chancey was happy to sport the Team Ranch t-shirt as our official Ranch mascot.

Team Ranch Hidden Valley Ranch Party

My niece, Corryn was in charge of handing out samples of Ranch to Go and the Italian Dressing.

Hidden Valley Ranch Feast

Overall everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and the dinner. We each learned a few new recipes to make for our own families using Ranch as an ingredient. The salad bar was a big hit. Everyone loved being able to put together their own salads. I definitely recommend trying one for your next big dinner get together!

Your turn: What is your favorite recipe using ranch as an ingredient??

Disclosure: I received the Hidden Valley Ranch Kit as a member of Crowdtap. As always opinions shared here are 100% my own.

Filed Under: Party Ideas, Product Reviews, Sponsored Tagged With: CrowdTap, Dinner,

Happy Holidays from the Mortensens!!

December 19, 2013 5 Comments

Only 5 shopping days left until Christmas now!!! Is it just me or has December flown by for anyone else?? Goodness. I barely got my Christmas cards in the mail day before yesterday… But while we’re talking Christmas cards, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from my family to yours!!!

ChristmasCards2013

I am SO pleased with the way our Christmas cards turned out this year!! I took the photo of my girl myself and ordered the cards from Tiny Prints. They seriously have SO many options to choose from. I made up at least three different cards with the same photo before being able to choose my favorite!

I love that you can choose to have rounded corners, plain square corners, or even choose another fun trim option. They have both folded cards and flat cards. This year I went with a flat card. They are perfect for sticking in an addressed envelope and calling it done! Saves tons of time in my opinion!

ChristmasCards

Plus the flat cards are easy to display on a hanging card display, fridge, etc. You know for those people like myself that display all the cards I receive at least until New Years! 😉

Granted, Christmas is only a few days away now, but you can definitely still send a card out for the New Year! I love to receive them even after Christmas. Always fun to find out what your friends and loved ones are up to and see a pretty face you recognize!

Your turn: Do you prefer a flat or folded card? Do you send holiday cards annually??

Disclosure: I received a set of Christmas cards from Tiny Prints in exchange for my honest review and promotion of their site. As always opinions shared here are 100% my own!

 

Filed Under: Holidays, Product Reviews, Sponsored Tagged With: , , , Tiny Prints

Unique Stocking Stuffer Ideas

December 16, 2013 1 Comment

Happy Monday friends!!! Only 9 shopping days left until Christmas!!! If you’re looking for a last minute gift idea or stocking stuffer, I have a few ideas for you… I spent this last month testing and trying a few fun products. You might have seen my thoughts on a few items through Instagram, Twitter or Facebook already, but here is my overall review of the #RoseVoxBox from Influenster. Each of these goodies would be fun for stuffing those stockings this year!

First up, the contents! Here’s the Instagram unboxing video I shared when I received the Rose Vox Box.

 

AS you can see, lots of fun goodies!!! The first thing I tested was the Kiss Nail Art Gradation kit. In my initial review I loved it. There’s three polishes included thus three steps to the process. It was so easy to apply but ended up looking like a professional manicure. The only downside to this polish is that it doesn’t last long. If you have a party to attend or fun event to go to, I’d do the manicure the day of and all will be well. But after only a day or two my manicure started chipping. It might work better if you apply some kind of top coat over it… Just a thought.

KissNailArt

I LOVED the Lindt Lindor Truffle! If any of my very own Santa’s helpers are out there reading right now, I would be very happy if a few of these showed up in my stocking. 😉 So yummy!!!!

Lindor Truffle Review

Next up, I tried out the Dr. Scholl’s Cozy Cushions. The following is my thoughts on those…

The belVita breakfast biscuits were decent. Not my favorite item in the Rose Vox Box, but it was interesting to try something new. The blueberry flavor was yummy actually and I enjoyed the taste, BUT to me, that doesn’t feel like a breakfast item. Maybe a quick snack to hold you over before or after breakfast, but not filling enough to make it very long.

belVita review

And finally I really enjoyed testing the Rimmel London Scandaleyes Mascara. It made my lashes look long and full without the clumps. The unique shape of the brush seems to help with getting your lashes mascara clad without gunking everything up! I found if I curled my lashes with an eyelash curler than applied the Scandaleyes they REALLY helped my eyes pop! Thumbs up for Scandaleyes.

Scandaleyes

So there you go. A few ideas on goodies to get for this year’s stockings! Have you tried any of the products mentioned above? Your thoughts? Any other ideas for fun stocking stuffers???

Disclosure: I received the items mentioned above as part of the Rose Vox Box from Influenster. As always opinions shared here and through all my social media channels are my own.
Filed Under: Product Reviews, Sponsored Tagged With: , Stocking stuffer ideas

5 Easy Snack Ideas with Hershey’s Spreads

December 9, 2013 2 Comments

I have just found my new favorite snacking go to!!! Hershey’s Spreads! I’ll be honest, I never really jumped on the chocolate, hazelnut spread bandwagon… No particular reason I guess. Kayli, my sister, did and tried to convince me to try it but I just haven’t. That is until Crowdtap sent me a jar of the brand new Hershey’s Spread to sample.
Oh. My. Yum.

Hershey's Spread Sampling

I am in snacking heaven!!! After a couple weeks of trying several snack combinations I have narrowed them down to my five favorites.

First up, Hershey’s Spread and popcorn. Specifically kettle corn. It just so happened I had a bag from a Cowboy Christmas event we went to over Thanksgiving weekend. I thought, why not?! Turns out it is DELICIOUS!!! Try it. Really.

Hershey's Spread Snack Idea

Then there’s the old stand by… Chocolate and strawberries. Can’t go wrong. You just can’t… yummy!

Crowdtap Hershey's Spread Sampling

Pairing Hershey’s Spread with apple slices makes for a tasty treat as well! Just slice up your apple and dip into the chocolate spread. Easy, right!?

Hershey's Spread Snack

Now this one is going to blow your mind I’m sure… Chocolate and Graham Crackers! haha. Just add a marshmallow and you’ve got a S’more!

Graham Cracker and Chocolate Snack

And finally a little salty/sweet combo… Hershey’s Spread and pretzel sticks! This one was fun cause you can just dip the stick in the chocolate!

Easy snack ideas

So tell me, what is your favorite chocolate spread pairing?? Have you tried the new Hershey’s Spread yet?

You know my opinion… LOVE it!!! So yummy! 😉

Disclosure: I received a jar of Hershey’s Spread via a campaign from Crowdtap, as always opinions shared here are 100% my own.
Filed Under: Product Reviews, Sponsored Tagged With: Chocolate, CrowdTap,

About Face with Rimmel London Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation

November 11, 2013 Leave a Comment

First of all, Happy Veteran’s Day! Thank you to each and every Veteran that has ever served our country. Past, present and future! Thank you also to the families that support those veterans on a daily basis on not just on Veteran’s day!

Today’s post is about a different kind of face, not the about face order of a military march… 😉 But I thought the title was fitting for Veteran’s Day.

RimmelFoundation

My latest VoxBox from Influenster included a tube of Rimmel London Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation. I have been using it for the last couple of weeks and I am pleased to say I give it a thumbs up! Many of the foundations that I have used up to this point left my skin looking shiny. It required some powder or a bit of bronzer applied over the top to get that matte finish minus the shine.

So to demonstrate the foundation here’s a before and after photo of my morning make up routine.

RimmelStayMatteFoundationTo get a natural matte finish on my skin I start by applying just a dab of concealer under my eyes (gotta cover those new mom under eye circles!!). Immediately following that I apply the Rimmel London Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation using a small makeup sponge. As you can see in the photo above it evens out my skin tone, helps the under eye concealer cover the dark circles, but still had a natural look to it. Then I apply my eye makeup, just a touch of eye shadow and mascara. That’s it, my normal every day matte look routine!

The foundation itself doesn’t feel heavy on my skin. In fact once it was applied I couldn’t even feel it. It was easy to apply and blended well. I chose the Light Ivory shade and it matched fairly well with my skin tone. I might choose a shade darker next time I purchase the foundation though. The coverage was great! It definitely minimized the look of pores and helped cover any blemishes. Again, thumbs up from me!!

Your turn: Have you tried the Rimmel London Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation? If not, what’s your go to foundation??

Disclosure: I received the Rimmel London Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation as part of a VoxBox from Influenster. As always opinions shared here are 100% my own.voxbox-blogimage-popup2
Filed Under: Product Reviews Tagged With: Influenster, makeup, morning routine
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