Life After I "Dew"

I think the thing I love {and already miss} most about the time between Thanksgiving and New Years is all the time spent with family. Not just my family but my in-laws and my friends {they're family too}. I am Kendall's Girl Scout troop {co} leader now and this week I went around the table and asked the girls what their favorite thing they did over winter break was and I couldn't believe how many of them said, "spending time with my family".  Warmed my heart.

Some people might argue that all the family time is the thing that stresses them out the most during the holidays but I love it, can't get enough of it.  In fact, my dad and cousin have birthdays in the mix and I love that that means we have two more opportunities to get together during this time.

Whether we are sitting around my aunts kitchen island, spoiling our dinner with appetizers, or having a big family movie night at my in-laws home theater we always have a great time, a lot of laughs and leave feeling full.

This post is sponsored by UncommonGoods but all my opinions are my own.

It's that time of year again. Time to rack your brain, trying to figure out the perfect gifts.  If you're like me you hate giving gift cards because it's just so impersonal.  You also want to makes sure you get something really cool, something that no one else would think of.  Let's be honest, gift-giving can be a little bit stressful but it doesn't have to be.

Enter UncommonGoods.

UncommonGoods is a privately-owned retailer that endeavors to feature unique jewelry, designer décor, tabletop items, and handcrafted gifts created in harmony with the environment without harm to animals or people.  As an independently-owned business, they have the freedom to support causes they believe in and to impact the world in a positive way. With every purchase you make, they will proudly donate $1 to the non-profit of your choice.  Since they started the Better to Give program 12 years ago, they’ve donated over $1 Million to charities around the world!

A quick glance at their site and you'll see some amazingly unique gift ideas for your dad, mom, kids, husband, grandparents, friends and you can be assured your gift will not be duplicated by anyone else.  I rounded up a couple of my favorite things I'll be gifting this year.


1.  Space Pod Playhouse.  How fun is this little playhouse? I don' know about you but my kids LOVE a fort hideout. This one is awesome too because it comes with tools so kids can help assemble it {ages 4+}.  Another fun thing to do would be to give them some markers and let them color it just how they'd like it.

2.  Bubble-Wrap Calendar.  Guys I can't even with the cuteness of this gift.  Who doesn't love bubble wrap?!  Now you can pop, pop, pop your way through they year with this unique calendar.  I absolutely adore this and I'm trying to think of how many people I can gift it to this year.

3.  Popcorn Bowl with Kernel Sifter.  I don't know about you but we eat A LOT of popcorn in my house.  The kids love nothing more than having a movie night with a big ole bowl of popcorn.  We always run into the problem of kernel though and lately James has been eating them if I don't pick them all out of his bowl.  So this is a MUST for our house.

4  Construction Plate & Utensils.  Want to make meal time more fun and *hope* that your darling will eat more of his/her food?  This fun plate might help!  My kids are suckers for when I serve up their food in a creative way and they ALWAYS eat more when I do so.  They also make this in a pink garden version too.

So, what do you think?  Pretty cute stuff, huh?  Like I said, I think you can be assured that your gift will not be duplicated this holiday season.

I absolutely adore those little flower crowns that are so "in" right now.   Don't you?  I don't know if I'm brave enough or cool enough to pull one off but I'd totally let Kendall rock one.

As you know I am not the crafty type, at all.  If I see something cute I can usually follow a tutorial, sort of, but that's the extent of my creativity.  Jimmy is the artistic one in our house and even his gingerbread house looks better than mine.  He's just good at everything, so annoying {KIDDING!}.  

With that being said, when Interflora contacted me to share a how-to, step by step guide to make these adorable headbands, I was all over it!  Kendall and I will be making a run to get all the tools and we will be attempting our very own!

The popularity of floral crowns seem to come and go, but in weddings it is never out of fashion. Floral crowns also have been popular over the years at music festivals, maybe because they have the feel of an earth goddess about them and imbue the day with a hippy, folksy music type of ambiance. Hippies like them but kids and parents absolutely love floral crowns too!

So where did the floral crown originate?  One school of thought is that floral crowns originated in farming communities many hundreds of years ago, when people celebrated the spring equinox. Young maidens would dance around celebrating another year of fertility and prosperity in their community, decked out with garlands of flowers in their hair.  During the medieval period however, the wearing of floral crowns went out of fashion. It wasn’t until the 1800’s when Queen Victoria wore a floral crown at her wedding to Prince Albert, that a renaissance in floral crowns came to Europe and they once again became fashionable.

Then of course, the 1960’s hit us and the floral crown came into its own as a symbol of flower power. Since then floral crowns have been a symbol of the hippie era, love and peace. Today - flower crowns are once again in favor and can be worn anywhere you feel comfortable – at weddings or just any other occasion where you or your daughter want to look fabulous.

How to create your own floral crown:

Now we know the history, let’s move on to how to make one. You’ll need the following materials for the project: 

• floral wire 

• floral tape

• flowers

• greenery

• scissors/wire cutters

Step 1: Measure your daughter’s head and make a base.  Wrap a piece of floral wire around her head to see how much wire you need to form a loose crown. Cut off the excess wire and leave an inch or two as allowance then form the wire into a circle. Make sure the circle is sturdy enough to hold the flowers. Next, grab a few greenery and secure it to the circle using pieces of floral wire and tape. Wrap plenty of floral tape around the base to protect your daughter's head from any sharp points.

Step 2: Choose your bulbs.  Pick the color and type of flower depending on how big or small you want the crown to be.  Preserve the flowers freshness by snipping off a bit of the bottom of the stems and place them in a watered vase before you use them.  If you don’t have flowers in your garden, you can head to your local market to buy some.  Better yet, you can check out online florists for more exotic bulbs. Florists like Interflora ships flowers anywhere in the US while flower delivery to Melbourne and other Oz metros is possible with Fresh Flowers. 

Step 3: Add Your Flowers.  Cut the stems to two or three inches in length then attach the stems to the base using floral tape. If you want, you can use wires instead of tape but make sure the ends are pointing away from your kid’s head and the wire is completely covered with tape. Next, add as many or as few flowers as you want and attach them all the way around the crown. 

With just three easy steps and you’re done! You now have a hair accessory that will make your daughter even cuter!

Everyone warned me, when Kendall starts preschool she is going to get sick. For those of you who are new around here, Kendall has only ever been in my care or the care of family up until she started preschool this year. Read more, here.

OK so I have to admit that my morning routine is a bit daunting each and every day.  I hate the thought of getting up and getting ready--it just seems a little pointless to get wet just to get dry again.  Why can't I just roll out of bed looking like a million bucks?  No matter how many anti-aging creams I use I still look like a hot mess.  From the shower to drying off to the hair, makeup, lotions, etc. it's all so tedious and on some days I don't do any of it.  There, I said it.  My poor husband.  Sometimes Always I want to trade places with my husband who just showers and gets dressed looking so naturally adorable and knows that whatever outfit he puts on will fit.  Men, they have it so easy. 

Since becoming a mom I've managed to keep my whole morning routine to under an hour--to me that is good.  I've toyed with showering at night but that leaves my hair too blah in the morning.  I've tried showering my body at night and washing my hair in the sink in the morning and that works unless the sink is full of dirty dishes.  Not that that happens ever, we always do our dishes right away. I'm always looking for ways to cut corners because getting dressed with an antsy toddler is hard enough and soon I'm going to have a needy newborn thrown into the mix. I hate to say it but I NEVER use body lotion.  Ever. Well, I do on my face (gotta prevent those wrinkles) but my body?  Forgettaboutit.  I don't even use the stretch mark creams because, dude, that stuff is thick and takes FOREVER to "dry" and don't get me started on the smell.  The only time I use lotion is if I use my sunless tanners and even those have fallen by the wayside these days.  It's just one.more.thing on the list and ain't nobody got time for that stuff to dry before getting dressed. I hate that I don't have the soft, touchable, womanly skin that everyone loves and it's all because of my laziness.  

When I heard about Vaseline® Spray & Go Moisturizer Total Moisture® it was like I heard angels singing.  Although, I have to admit, at first I thought it was a tinted moisturizer #blondemoment.  But this stuff is the bees knees. Hear me out. Vaseline Spray & Go Moisturizer Total Moisture is a continuous spray moisturizer that absorbs almost instantly making it easy to get dressed right away.  It's not greasy--trust, I would be the first to report if it were because nothing is worse than feeling like a piece of fried chicken.  It's so easy to use that you can even get the hard to reach places that would normally require the help of another person.  Even better is there is no stinky smell.   Needless to say this stuff totally helps with the hustle and bustle of the morning routine and ensures that you get your daily moisturizing in too.  Now, maybe they'll come out with a tinted version (hint hint, wink wink). 

To find out more, check out their Facebook page. How would Vaseline Spray & Go Moisturizer Total Moisture max your morning?  Leave an answer in the comments below and each entry will automatically be entered for a chance to win a $1,000 SpaFinder gift card. Entries will be pooled from participating blogs and one winner chosen.

Sweepstakes Rules: No duplicate comments. You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods: Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post. Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post. For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winner  will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. The Official Rules are available here. This sweepstakes runs from 7/1/13 - 7/31/13. Be sure to visit the Vaseline® Spray & Go page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!

Still looking for some Christmas gifts? What about the gift of beauty?  I mean, what woman doesn't want to feel and look her best, especially as she rings in the New Year?  I know, as I'm kissing my twenties good bye this year I will be looking for some good skin care solutions in hopes of preventing any signs of aging.  

One thing I'd love to invest in is a microdermabrasion system.  I've heard great things about them in the past but I've always been all, "but I'm in my twenties, I don't need that stuff".  Well...fast forward one husband and one toddler and I think the signs of stress aging are starting to show.  

The DDF Revolve 400X is the latest micro-polishing system that is 8x better than just using a scrub, alone. It's also guaranteed to show results in as little as one week.

The Revolve 400X is said to reduce the appearance of pores, fine lines, boost skin tone and is as effective as a professional treatment.  How bout that?  Professional treatments, right in the comfort of your own home. I like the way that sounds.  No need to get out of the momiform!

Right now there is a heck of a deal on this "like professional" system! Until January 31 use code DDFMICRODERMA and get this $98 system for just $45, AND free shipping!  

DDF has tons of great skin care products that can solve any problem area.  From acne to anti-aging, there is truly something for everyone.  Also through January 31 they are having a buy one get the second item half price {and free shipping} on all items from the site, use code 2013DDFSKIN. 

1. 'Like' GroopDealz on FB and sign up for the email that notifies you of the deals! 
2. If you already like on FB and get emails, then enter by sharing (blog/tweet/FB, etc) about the giveaway! 

1. Follow Life After I "Dew" via GFC
2. Go to My Sweet November and "heart" her store.

• L.A.I.D. has 816 followers and growing daily
• If you don't own your own business or have anything to promote consider promoting your own blog.  The more exposure the better!
• I will promote you in anyway I can.  Having a sale?  Interested in a giveaway?  Hosting a link-up?  Let me know and I'll blog/FB/Tweet about it along with doing a monthly post about you!
• L.A.I.D. has an average of 37,000 page views each month with nearly 400,000 all time, that's a lot of exposure people!
• I take a lot of pride in this little blog of mine.  I post 5 days a week which means that's 5 times a week people could see your ad and go to your site!
• Prices are pretty cheap around here, just $10 gets your a spot for the entire month.

• L.A.I.D. has 780 followers and growing daily
• If you don't own your own business or have anything to promote consider promoting your own blog.  The more exposure the better!
• I will promote you in anyway I can.  Having a sale?  Interested in a giveaway?  Hosting a link-up?  Let me know and I'll blog/FB/Tweet about it along with doing a monthly post about you!
• L.A.I.D. has an average of 37,000 page views each month with nearly 400,000 all time, that's a lot of exposure people!
• I take a lot of pride in this little blog of mine.  I post 5 days a week which means that's 5 times a week people could see your ad and go to your site!
• Prices are pretty cheap around here, just $10 gets your a spot for the entire month.

Get 50% off any pair of eyeglasses on orders over $80. Code: SPECIAL50 

Take 10% off any order of prescription glasses. Code: Blog10

How cool is that?  You better believe I'm scouring their site looking for the perfect stunner shades for this summer.  I mean, after all, it's been 2 years since I've had a new pair, right?!

You're welcome!

Now that I'm a stay at home mom {blogger} I figure we can take this blogging thing up a notch, no?

Would like you an ad space on L.A.I.D.?  I'd love to hear from you.  Since this is my first month offering sponsorship the space will be given on a first come, first serve basis.  So hurry if you want prime real estate!

Ads will run March 1-31 and price will be subject to size and location.

Email shannon.r.dew {at} gmail {dot} com if you're interested!  I look forward to hearing from you!