I was sent a pretty awesome kit from Nivea as part of the #NIVEAIndulgence challenge. What is that? Basically, for 10 consecutive days, I replaced my usual body wash/soap products with the NIVEA products I was sent to see if my skin felt any different, etc. The kit also included a scented candle, plush bathrobe, and a $50 gift card to Bed, Bath & Beyond to help create my own little bathroom oasis. I was like, “Count me in!” I usually try to just hurry up and get in and out of the shower, so I tried really hard to just unwind and enjoy a spa like experience for 10 days.

Boy was it worth it! As you can see above, I was sent NIVEA Touch of Smoothness (moisturizing body wash) and NIVEA Touch of Renewal (lathering body scrub). I used both during the challenge, and a dollop’s worth on my blue loofah proved to be plenty. I’ll review them both individually:

NIVEA Touch of Smoothness:

• The scent is AWESOME! It’s clean, fresh, and a welcome deviation from my usual floral-esque body wash choices.
• Left me feeling very soft and moisturized in really rough spots like my elbows/knees.
• No oily feeling afterward.
• Suds up really nicely.

NIVEA Touch of Renewal:

• Smells clean and refreshing.
• Has little microbeads that help exfoliate. I wish there were more of them! :( I really think more microbeads would take this to another level.
• I’ve found when using scrubs I tend to have to use more product—not the case here. Lathers up really well and I felt smooth and clean afterwards.
• Of the 2 products, this one probably felt a bit more “spa” like, but I still think I prefer the other body wash just a tad. Both are great though!

Overall, using the 2 products left me feeling clean, soft, moisturized and pampered. And taking this time for myself also helped a lot after stressful days. If I forgot to put on lotion, I was still not ashy/dry on my elbows like usual, so I do think these products helped my skin soak up the NIVEA goodness. My favorite thing other than the cosmetic perks of nicer/smoother skin is the scent. It’s clean and simple. Love it!

To complete my bathroom oasis, I used the $50 gift card to Bed, Bath & Beyond to purchase a Bluetooth iHome speaker so I could blast my tunes while I am in the shower.

My husband uses it a lot too, and we love how sleek the white speaker looks on our marble countertops. I feel like I am in a fancy hotel bathroom every time I take a shower. My other favorite part of my bathroom oasis is my shower itself. It’s a semi-circle and the door slides on a track.

I’ve had this shower for almost a year, and I cannot get enough of it. It’s so modern!

Thanks to the #NIVEAIndulgence challenge, I have pampered myself into softer, smoother skin that feels great to the touch. Although every time I get into my bathrobe, I fall asleep. It’s so plush and luxe. I’ve never had a bathrobe before and now I look for excuses to put it on. All the time. Also, I’ve created a #NIVEAIndulgence Pinterest board about things that I think of when I think of indulgence. I dream of indulgent things like spa days, facial treatments, expensive shoes, luxurious naps, tasty food, and exotic destinations. What do you dream of when you think about indulgence?

Well, I want you to indulge and pamper yourself like I got to, so I’m giving away a #NIVEAIndulgence kit like I received!

You’ll get:

• 2 NIVEA products
• Scented candle
• Plush bathrobe
• $50 Bed, Bath & Beyond gift card
• Total value: $150

You can enter below using Rafflecopter. The contest is open from June 29 until July 10. Must be in the US and 18+ to enter/win.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The content and opinions on this blog are purely those of the author and do not reflect the views of Beiersdorf Inc., or any of its affiliates. The author has been compensated with free products as part of the author’s participation in this promotion. Even though the author of this blog receives compensation for the posts or advertisements, the author will always provide his or her honest opinion, finding, belief, or experience on those products. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question. In addition, the author is professionally and/or personally acquainted with the manufacturer of the products being reviewed. Any results described by the author may not be typical of what consumers should generally expect. Lastly, the author of the blog is not responsible for any comments made in comment section of this blog.

Just a friendly reminder that there is still time to enter my giveaway for one of 2 Lane Bryant gift cards (see my post from earlier today), but if you want to have another shot at some holiday gift cards, then you might want to listen up...

There's a super fun Twitter party coming up where curvy gals can talk about getting all gussied up for the holidays. Maybe it's that fabulous company soirée or a family event where you want to dress to impress. Whether your favorite look is glam, modern, edgy, flirty or comfy chic, Lane Bryant has it all. You may get some ideas on how to put together amazing holiday looks. It may be cold outside, but you can still be smokin' hot, ladies!

Plus Lane Bryant has amazing special offers everyday, which you can learn about on their Facebook page.

So, join the @LaneBryant “Holiday Fashion Fun” Twitter Party this Monday, 12/17 at noon PT/3pm ET! Fab prizes! RSVP to win prizes, including $30 Lane Bryant gift cards! RSVP: http://clvr.li/128tjBx

The Details:

• What: Lane Bryant “Holiday Fashion Fun” Twitter Party
• When: Mon 12/17 noon PT/3pm ET
• Where: On Twitter! CleverTweets: http://clvr.li/SYaCNf
• Follow: Hashtag #LBHoliday @CleverGirlsColl @LaneBryantRSVP here: http://clvr.li/128tjBx
• Prizes: 18, $30 Lane Bryant gift cards

I hope to participate even though I will be on the road. Yay for technology! :)

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

So, yeah, my goals of looking like Jessica Alba didn’t pan out this year. Nor last year. Nor the year before that.

I think as I get older I learn that beauty isn’t tied to a number, whether it be weight or dress size. Luckily, stores like Lane Bryant also agree with me, and they make gorgeous clothing, accessories and shoes for the modern plus size woman. Shopping in their stores is always a treat because of their friendly staff and beautiful dressing rooms, and this weekend’s shopping expedition was no exception. Lane Bryant stores leave me feeling happy and confident. I don’t want to be feel ashamed when I just want to feel pretty.

I’m trying to convince my husband we should finally DO something fun for New Year’s Eve and the holidays, so I am hoping this cute blouse, shoes and earrings will help convince him!

I already have a pair of Lane Bryant classic black pants that I can pair with my sparkly blouse, and those heels are actually very comfy. I’m so not a heels person, but they are truly gorgeous.

Lane Bryant is having tons of special surprise offers just in time for the holidays, and today’s special offer will rock your socks. Here it is:

That is a GREAT special offer. Essentially you can buy a blouse and add on shoes for $1. Or a dress and get a cute sweater for $1. That’s a lot of value, just in time for the holidays. I’ll probably head back to a Lane Bryant store today just to take advantage because I love their pants and blouses for work. Confident, comfy, chic—that’s how I feel in their clothes. And with special surprise offers like these, I have no excuse to not splurge a little. Right?

And, because I want to spread some holiday cheer, I am giving away TWO $30 Lane Bryant gift cards to 2 very lucky people. It’s super easy to win, not complicated at all…

To enter to win one of the $30 gift cards, just pin your favorite holiday look(s) from the Lane Bryant website and include the #LB12Days hashtag in the caption, and leave me the link to your pin in the comments section of this post (not the link to your pinterest account, but your actual pin URL, one entry per person regardless of pins). Also leave me your email address so I can find you and mail you this fantabulous prize.

Contest is open from right now until December 18 at noon. 18+, US only. I’ll draw a winner on the 18th, and I’ll contact them via email. They’ll have 48 hours to respond before I give up and choose another.

With so many great special offers, Lane Bryant is a great choice for beautiful, curvy gal clothes this holiday season. Happy pinning!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Well, thanks to all of your comments and votes, I went with the fabulous pink shirt and pencil skirt outfit from the Liz Claiborne line at jcpenney for my big day at the office.

Ta-dah!

The outfit made me feel like I looked polished, yet modern and feminine. That day I was on my feet the WHOLE day, and I felt pretty comfortable in the outfit. I got lots of compliments on the color of the blouse, and seriously, who doesn't love compliments?!

It was a pretty important day for me because I had to coordinate a visit from a Texas State Senator on our college campus:

 

This meant I had to set-up for the event, greet guests, take photos, and generally be an awesome PR pro for the college I work at. The State Senator visit went off without a hitch, and I think I'm going to attribute some of that success to have a comfortable outfit that made me feel confident! I am sometimes nervous in my new position at work, and it may seem silly, but having clothing that makes me feel good about myself is important. This especially important to me when I feel really overweight and fluffy. It's a blessing to find stylish plus size clothing. Truly. I mean it.

Now I have classic, yet stylish/trendy pieces in my wardrobe that were affordable and will last awhile. I'm making my work clothes as fun as I can!

Then I felt so empowered by my outfit and the inspiring message of State Senator Judith Zaffirini that I went out to early vote in my fancy schmancy jcpenney outfit.

 

The next day I had a few emails telling me what success the day/event was, and I felt proud. So thank YOU my lovely readers for helping me choose an outfit that made for a memorable, important day at work for me.

Do you have an outfit that makes you feel uber confident? I'd love to hear about it!

This outfit gave me the confidence I needed to make a great impression. jcpenney carries iconic brands like Liz Claiborne that make looking good effortless at great prices. Go to jcpenney to shop for more of fall's best trends.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of jcpenney. The opinions and text are all mine.

As you all know, I was supposed to go to a wedding and wear an outfit from the jcpenney Liz Claiborne line.

Well, now I have to attend something else that's a little more business/work oriented, and I need your help picking out an outfit.

Now, my husband was supposed to be my photographer for this post, but his office is undergoing an audit...so the photos are all taken by me on my trusty iPhone. What would I do without technology?

I love shopping in store, but jcpenney is about 70 miles away from me, so I shopped online. Once on the jcpenney website, I clicked on the Liz Claiborne logo towards the bottom of the page, and I shopped away!

Their plus size line is actually really cute, and it's NOT just bigger versions of the misses line. I feel like they actually put some effort into making figure flattering clothes for us larger gals, and I appreciate it. I like to look cute, stylish and professional.

I also love the free shipping if my order is over $50, and I love that if I do need to return something, I can do it really easily at any store. Just make sure your item is in stock and not backordered if you're ordering for a special event. My shoes are still on their way, but should be here before the event next week.

I looked at all the options on the website, and I ended up choosing a sweater/pant outfit and a blouse/skirt outfit plus some accessories. Here's what I chose;

Outfit Option #1:

 

Liz Claiborne Dolman Sleeve Sweater: I love this sweater because it is COMFY. There is a lot of metallic threading in the pattern, which makes it really pretty. And the overall color is a deep teal, which is a super popular color right now.

Liz Claiborne Secretly Slender Pants in Charcoal Heather: These pants are very nice, and very forgiving! They're a smidge lighter than shown online, but the color is a nice change for me- I'm usually always in dark pants (black).

Outfit Option #2:

Liz Claiborne Front Pocket Blouse in Magenta Jewel: I'm usually one to shy away from silky shirts, but this one is so pretty! I like the pockets on it, though they're not really going to be functional pockets, of course.

Liz Claiborne Woven Straight Skirt: This skirt has nice texture to it, and a nice fit. I don't gravitate towards pencil skirts because they tend to be hard to walk in, but this one has enough room in it to be practical and retain it's shape. It's also easy for a full figured gal to look good in because of the nice cut in the fabric at the sides.

To go with either outfit, I also bought:

Liz Claiborne Drop Earrings

I love earrings! :)

Overall, I really do like the quality of the clothes and the ease of the shopping experience, other than the small backorder issue with the shoes. The prices are also pretty affordable, and I have confidence that the clothes will last awhile. Good quality, good prices.

Which piece of clothing do you like the best?

Vote for the outfit you think I should wear and tell me which is your favorite item I bought! I included links to the pieces from my outfits but be sure to visit jcpenney for more classic pieces.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of jcpenney. The opinions and text are all mine.

Me, 70 pounds ago, at my bridal shower in 2009.

Sometimes I feel like the hardest part of weight loss is waiting. And waiting.

You get started, and you feel like you’re constantly waiting until your next snack or meal. (Hell, I am at this very MOMENT.)

You wait to step on that scale to see if your success will be reflected with a number. (Don’t- also take measurements!)

You wait for weekly weigh-ins to turn into monthly losses that will lead to visible changes that you can see, and hopefully others, too.

You wait to see that magical goal number on the scale at the end of months, possibly years, of hard work.

Well, no wonder most of us fail. We’ve been conditioned to get instant gratification. To want it. To need it.

This might explain why I fork out money for Amazon Prime. I want my stuff in 2-days, gosh darn it.

I’ve also learned after trying for a DECADE now to get to my goal weight (shameful, I know), is that if you try to rush the process, it just doesn’t work out in the long term.

I think a turning point for me wanting to buckle down for the umpteenth time is BlogHer 2012. Sure I chose not to go because the flights were very expensive for me, and because I do have a new job, but the main reason I chose not to go to BlogHer 2012 is because of my weight.

And it’s taking me so much courage to put it out there, but I hope others can relate. Last year at BlogHer I was about 30 pounds lighter. BlogHer is the type of place you have to feel confident at or else you’ll just kind of get lost in the midst of swag and bloggers.

As I did last year. I left San Diego having had a fun time with those I hung out with, came home with cool swag, but I didn’t really accomplish anything in terms of my blog. I didn’t gain readers, sponsors or fans. I got to giveaway some Riceworks coupons and some coffee creamer coupons.

Nothing glamorous mostly because I lacked the confidence to go up to companies and sell myself.

I saw plenty of bloggers that were larger than I was, rocking their sleeveless shirts and showing armpit and talking to companies. Now they have HUGE blogs with great connections, and I am just kind of at slightly a higher level than last year.

So, one Saturday morning in June, I decided to just not go. Just like that. I sold my ticket, transferred my hotel room, and decided I just couldn’t do it. Why spend all that time and money when I knew I felt even worse about myself than I did last year?

And something else.

I hate being the fat girl in the group of pretty girlfriends at these things. You all know what I mean, right? It’s like your friends like you and all, and you’re super funny and witty, but when it comes time to take cute Instagram photos to post on their FB wall, you’re not in them because you’re the DFF (designated fat friend). I felt like that a few times at conferences/events this year, and let me tell ya, it sucks. I realize I am not a gorgeous, svelte, flawless girl, and honestly I don’t want to be in any photos unless I have to be…but…it’s hard. We don’t want to feel less than.

And so I’m not going to BlogHer because I am fatter than I was last year, and because it’s expensive and I have a new job.

I’m 27 now, and have been fighting this battle for a decade, and I just want to achieve my goals. Weight goals, career goals, blog goals. I want confidence in myself, yet can’t ever really summon up some.

Monica Wants It.

But I just have to wait.

Hi everyone! Boy do I have some fun for you all in the next few days. I have a sneak peek at the guest bathroom makeover, progress pics of our master bathroom makeover, some fun reviews and recipes.

But today, I have something for YOU. Yes, you. I am lucky to be part of the Latina & Latino Lifestyle Bloggers collective, and am part of their Johnson & Johnson campaign. I do reviews often, but this one is fun because I get to giveaway the identical products that I’ll be reviewing. This is the first giveaway during the 4-month campaign, and here’s what one lucky winner will be receiving!

Every single product listed above + some others not shown, for a total value of $100.

Super easy to enter using the Rafflecopter widget below. Good luck, tell your friends, and I’ll be back with more posts featuring their fabulous items from now until November.

I’ve used a few of these products already, so I’m going to give you a quick reviews that might help you out if you’re on the fence about these products:

Aveeno Positively Radiant Moisturizer: I love that it’s unscented and has SPF 30. I put this on over my primer but under my foundation and it doesn’t make my face oily. I don’t know if I feel radiant per se, but over time I hope this will help my uneven skin tine. I give it an 8/10

Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion: LOVE THIS STUFF! My feet get so dry because I have an awful habit of wearing flats without dress socks. Then my feet get dry and sweaty and then itchy…this lotion helps soothe my tootsies. This item gets a 10/10

Aveeno Nourish + Moisturize Shampoo/Conditioner: I didn’t feel this worked as well as what I normally use, and I also miss having something in my hair that smells nice. Aveeno stuff is natural, so there’s no extra scents and such that could possibly be irritating to the skin, but I would have liked for it to be a bit more scented. I give this 6/10.

Band-Aid Tough Strips: Great for breaking in shoes! I had wicked blisters on my ankle area from some new loafers I bought, and these band-aids stayed on all day without rubbing off due to sweat. 10/10 for SURE.

Listerine Mouth Wash: It’s fabulous, used it for years. I love the burning feeling (it’s not like painful or anything) that I get when using this product. My mouth feels sparkling and clean. Aaah. :) 10/10.

Have a fantastic weekend! I will stop taking entries on August 5th and announce the winner soon after.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The kind people over at Clever Girls have given me another opportunity to talk beauty with you all. Lucky me, right? Well, given that I’ve written a 2 part series about frugal ways to avoid beauty disasters, I am thinking I need to write about something a little different.

I love weddings, and as a woman who got married back in 2009, I totally remember the stress about the big day. Weight, skin, armpits (yup, armpit issues again!), hair, makeup…it can get overwhelming. So with bridal season underway, I thought it’d be fun to revisit some of the products that helped me on my big day.

Aww, memories!

1.) Wax strips: Now, I know many women may have hair on their face that they don’t like or heck, maybe you need a touch-up between eye brow waxings. These are fab! You warm them up using the palms of your hands and you’re ready to go. About $6 a box at most drugstores.

2.) Rollerball perfume: These handy little things are small and narrow making them an ideal choice for a bridal clutch. Easy to reapply as needed.

3.) Advil: Inevitably, all the stress, painful heels or lack of eating may lead to a huge headache.

4.) Soft touch/natural hairspray: Don’t pick one that will leave your hair crunchy. You want to tame crazy flyaway hairs while maintaining a beautiful hairstyle. Snag one of these in a trial size!

5.) Eyeliner & mascara: My eyeshadow stayed put throughout the day, but I remember wishing I had an eyeliner on me to touch-up my eyes a bit. Mascara also helps, especially if it’s waterproof! On my wedding day it rained a TON and I wasn’t very prepared for that.

6.) Deodorant: So imperative to not be stinky as you shimmy and shake on the dance floor. Back in 2009 Dove didn’t have their clear tone deodorant, but now that they do, I’d recommend it to all brides. It’s invisible, doesn’t clump up, smells divine and is so affordable.

Those are some of the tips I have that are less obvious than the usual band-aids, safety pins, bobby pins kind of things you see mentioned.

What helped you on your big day? Do you have any tips for brides?

I was compensated for this post as a member of Clever Girls Collective. All the opinions expressed here are my own.

So sorry for the lack of updates lately. As many of you know, I recently got a new job at the community college I’ve been working at for about 4 years now. It’s demanding, lots of hours, and I am utterly exhausted when I get home.

And then I don’t get to blog as much. However, behind the scenes, I am working on both bathrooms and getting my DIY list ready for fall, Halloween and holiday crafts.

I am that looney woman who is thrilled that Hobby Lobby has Christmas stuff already. Swoon!

But today, I am back to finish up my frugal beauty tips post. I posted the first half last week. This week, I am focusing more on beauty/makeup. I often Instagram photos of myself when my makeup looks particularly fabulous. I haven’t done that quite so much lately because my eyebrows..oh lord. It’s terrible. I need them waxed like 6 weeks ago.

The horror.

 

Often times I get asked about beauty products I use to create lovely neutral, smoky eyes or how do I get my eye make-up not to crease all day. Honestly, it’s by splurging a little on good products that last a long time, but may cost a bit more upfront.

1.) Eye primer: This stuff may seem totally unnecessary, but if you have oily skin (as I do) and live in a hot/humid environment (as I do), this stuff can help your eyeshadows stay on all day without creases. In the long run this will help you not have to re-apply eyeshadow/eyeliner, which can save money. Furthermore, many beauty brands offer shimmery finishes to their eye primer which will help your run-of-the-mill eye shadow look glittery and more dimensional.

2.) Make-up setting spray: Again, as a woman with oily skin, make-up setting sprays have saved me this summer. I didn’t want to spend the extra money on it, but I find myself not blotting as much with powder or blotting sheets during the day. My foundation stays on all day, my skin stays almost totally matte and it even reduces my pore size. Not to mention it literally takes 4.7 seconds to spray this stuff on your face. Because of my oily skin I use it before and after foundation application.

And finally, I have some tips for your nail tips:

3.) Use Vaseline around your cuticles/nail area to help easily wipe excess nail polish when painting your finger nails. I tried this for the first time last weekend, and I am hooked. I usually try to wipe off the extra nail polish ASAP, then I ruin my entire nail…or I use a q-tip afterwards and get fuzzies on my nail. Vaseline works well and is SO cheap.

4.) And much like with my DIY painting projects, a good surface always helps…so ya gotta use a base coat. I know, I know, it’s like a whole extra step, but think of it like priming a wall or furniture- it helps the paint stick on much better and you need less coats. Same concept.

Those are some of my favorite beauty tips that don’t cost a fortune. However, I need sometimes step back and remember that we’re all beautiful. Even with chipped nail polish, acne, huge pores, uneven armpits, hairy legs and anything else we all obsess about.

So while we all want to want to mask, fix or hate ourselves because of our imperfections, maybe the best beauty tip I can give you is to love yourself. :)

You’re fabulous!

I was compensated for this post as a member of Clever Girls Collective. All the opinions expressed here are my own.

I’m about to admit something that I don’t really like to admit. Well, I did admit it on twitter once, and many of my tweeps empathized with me, so here it goes…

I hate my armpits. I am ashamed of my armpits.

I was at Hispanicize in April, and I went into a beauty suite, and Dove was there with many of their fab products. One of them is their Dove Clear Tone Deodorant. For many Hispanic women, our armpit/underarm is darker and not all nice and even toned. Major bummer, and it leads to armpit envy. For instance, I was watching the Katy Perry movie in 3D, and I was thinking…

She has nice armpits.

What is wrong with me?! But it is a subject many women are uncomfortable about. And it’s not even an issue of hygiene; it’s genetics. At Hispanicize, Dove was doing piti-cures to show you how to properly exfoliate your underarm area + use their Dove Clear Tone Deodorant to help get a more even skin tone in that area. I refused to participate because I hate my armpits. I will not show them. I begged the rep to please give me a sample of the deodorant, but please do not make me do the piti-cure session.

She obliged, I was happy!

But, I have been using Dove Clear Tone Deodorant since April, and I have seen improvement. Not like 100%, I am gonna fling arms in the air like I just don’t care kind of improvement, but enough to make me believe that with continued use it’ll keep getting better. The scents are lovely, they’re affordable. Fab.

Besides deodorant, there are other beauty disasters that I’ve been through lately that I have 3 quick, cheap tips/products that will help you out.

1.) This is probably totally obvious, but nothing dries out an incoming monster of a pimple better than toothpaste. Put a dab on the blemish and it’s gone over night. And on the same topic of blemishes/acne, I also suffer from acne scarring/hyperpigmentation on my face. I’ve been using a moisturizer with SPF in it under my makeup because sun damage can make scars appear quicker/darker, and it’s a great way to remember to protect your face from sun damage daily. Because I have oily skin (I am a hot mess, aren’t I?) I put on the moisturizer, let it sit on my face for about 5-10 minutes as I do my eye makeup before applying foundation. This way I am protected, non-shiny and my makeup lasts longer because it has the moisturizer under it to help it “stick”.

2.) Dove Nourishing Curls Whipped Cream Mousse: This product helps me from looking like I just got electrocuted when I wear my curls au-naturale. I have very frizzy, curly hair, and this product makes my curl look shiny, bouncy and frizz free. A little goes a long way.

3.) Whenever my pores look huge (around my nose/cheeks) grab an ice cube, rub over the pores and wait about 1-2 minutes before dusting with face powder. The ice helps close the pores temporarily, so overall their appearance is reduced for a bit. It seems weird, but it totally works.

I’ll be back with 3 more beauty tips next week, but I’ll also be back with some tutorials on removing wallpaper + repairing the damage to drywall that can result from it. If you have wallpaper in your home, you won’t want to miss it!

I was compensated for this post as a member of Clever Girls Collective. All the opinions expressed here are my own.

A few weeks ago I got an e-mail from the lovely ladies over at Ball + Chain asking me if I was interested in working with them on a blog post. After looking at their website a bit, I decided I definitely wanted to help spread the word about this fabulous jewelry/accessories auction that they have going on.

Ball + Chain hosts auctions every week on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. On Tuesdays, it’s a name your own price kind of auction, so basically you decide how much you want to spend, bid and pay your PayPal invoice for the item you want. Wednesdays, it’s more like a normal store format where they have an item, a price and if you want it, you buy it. They have so many unique, beautiful pieces of jewelry and shipping is free on all sales. What’s even better is the great customer service they provide. If you just look at their Facebook wall, you see that they are attentive, courteous and very customer oriented.

They sent me a few pieces to review, and I have photographed them for you all. I thought it’d be good to see the quality of the items, especially if you’re thinking about bidding on anything in the future.

Everything was wrapped up securely and beautifully. I felt like I was opening presents. Happy day! And honestly, I buy a lot of stuff online, and I tend to be a repeat client to stores/brands that package items well. That extra bit of effort really helps.

The first box I opened up was this gorgeous, funky hot pink bracelet. I am usually a girl who hates gold, but lately I can’t get enough. This color is fab, and I love the bracelet. I wore it with capri jeans and a black top. Perfect punch of color.

Next up is the beautiful, beaded clutch. I am going to use this clutch so much at BlogHer 12. Like seriously. The linear pattern is so trendy right now, and this will stand out and be unique.

I thought about what I’d carry around at BlogHer to an evening party, and I would likely have the following:

And of course some lipgloss. Which I couldn’t find at the moment. And look at my iPhone colors? A perfect match.

And it’s not bulky and still closes with all that in there.

Now, I love both those items so much, but my favorite item has to be these earrings. I’ve worn them twice in the past week, and I get tons of compliments. They look high end, they are a nice weight and soooooo beautiful in person.

Here’s a pic of me wearing them. With my skin tone and dark hair, they stand out a lot, which I love.

Plus, they even wrote me a sweet message with my items.

If you’d like to see what other items they’ve had up for auction previously, they do have some examples/photos on their FB page. It looks like your next chance to bid on some fab items is tomorrow (Tuesday). I encourage you to check out their auctions and keep them in mind when shopping for jewelry. They have some amazing designer inspired pieces and A+ customer service. I know I will be stalking the auctions every week to get some more earrings. They have stuff that I don’t see in stores around this small town. Sigh.

What is your favorite jewelry piece? I am totally an earrings girl. I could buy a new pair everyday and would just be the happiest girl in the world.

Thanks again Ball + Chain for allowing me to review my experience with your fabulous shop! Keep up the fab work! xoxo.

Disclosure: I received jewelry pieces for review, but was not otherwise compensated. All photos and opinions are mine and not influenced by the store/brand.

{dress} Kiyonna

{earrings} Etsy: JBMDesigns

{shoes} Endless: Badgley Mischka

{purse} Endless: Kate Spade

{lipstick} Etsy: mojospa

I gotta go help my hubby with the chair rail in the dining room, so today I leave you with pictures of little details that went into making my wedding day a DIY, frugal, gorgeous event. Most stuff I made myself, so the wedding details were definitely a labor of love. Hope you enjoy the pictures, and the last set will come on Monday…reception pics!