Recently I was chosen to be a brand rep for Wanderer Bracelets and I’m so excited! Check out the video below for more info and to see my bracelets.
Check out the available bracelets on the website. New styles are in the works, so if you don’t see what you want let me know! I’d be happy to pass along your suggestions for new designs.
If you find something you like, use ASHLEEGREENLEE20 at checkout for 20% off!
**Disclosure: As a rep for Wanderer Bracelets, I receive a small amount of commission each time a purchase is made through my link.**
I don’t know about you guys, but the last month has been non-stop back to school photos on my Facebook and Instagram timelines. I actually got to be a part of it this year, because my sweet baby boy started preschool!
We had loads of fun shopping at Target for his school supplies. He felt like a ‘big kid’ picking out a backpack after he saw an older kid looking at them, too. “Mommy! I’m going to school like that kid!”
Ugh, slow down a bit. I can handle preschool, but I’m not ready to think about elementary school yet.
Check out my recent YouTube video for a look at what we picked out. Also, my hair is wild in this one.
How did your first day back go? Tell me all about it in the comments! Don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel. I have lots of fun product reviews and a giveaway coming up soon!
I get a lot of questions about the products I review… Mostly, questions about how I get so much stuff.
I firmly believe that you can find just about anything for free or at least very inexpensive on the internet. Here are some of my favorite sites that let ou do just that:
Ipsy
For a meager 10.00 a month, you can get a cute bag of beauty samples (and the occasional full size product) sent right to your home. I recently received my first bag and fell in love… I’m still using all of the products I got! Click here to sign up.
Influenster
Influenster is a completely free way to get all sorts of great products to try out and review. Lots of full-size stuff here, I’ve received insoles, lotions, shampoo/conditioners, makeup, tea, and tons of other stuff. In this case, you do have to make some effort… so sign up by clicking here, connect social media accounts, and then start doing badge activities. You’ll get your first box before you know it!
Swagbucks
You already search the web, so why not get rewarded for doing it? Sign up here, then start using Swagbucks as your regular search engine. There are other way to earn, too… like watching videos and participating in offers. Trade your bucks in for gift cards or paypal cash.
Shopkick
Download this app to start collecting points just for walking into certain stores. Scan specified items for more kicks…then turn them infor gift cards!
Receipt Hog
This is another app. Take pictures of receipts whenever you shop to fill your piggy bank. Some receipts earn you a spin on the slot machine, and you can wil 100.00 or the dollar amount of your last entered receipt. Download it here.
Did I miss an awesome app or website? How do you save money?
You know what’s great about long hair?
No, really, I’m asking…What’s so great about long hair? Because now that I have it again I am perpetually annoyed by it.
When it’s not in a ponytail, I find myself shutting it in car doors, getting it caught in the car window, tangling it around purse straps, and getting it stuck in my armpit. In my armpit, people.
I stretch ponytail holders out after just a few uses, and I have a million headbands that just won’t stay put. It seems that nothing will tame this wild mane of mine.
BUT WAIT.
I found Bolder Bands on Facebook. It may be the first time in the history of the world that a legit company actually advertised that way. Ok, maybe not, but the only ads I typically see involve generically named “colleges”.
Not legit.
But Bolder Bands happened to pop up at the perfect time. That morning at the gym, my headband kept creeping back on my head, forcing me to fix it every five seconds. Every time I’d reach up to adjust I had visions of falling off of my machine. After coming home and showering, I was scrolling through Facebook while my coffee brewed when their ad caught my eye.
I was able to get my first band free, only paying for shipping. That offer may still be available, so head over to their website to check it out.
My band arrived quickly, and I tried it out the very next morning.
It worked! I actually forgot I had it on until I got home… It kept my bangs back and stayed in place no matter how much bouncing around and sweating I did.
Excuse the sweat and lack of makeup.
The bands come in three sizes, so make sure to measure your noggin before you order. They are also machine washable (!). Just make sure to hang them up to dry.
I want to order a thousand more of these things… There are tons of awesome patterns and colors available. There are even Bro Bands for dudes!
Do me a favor, ok? If you order one, please come back here and tell me what color or pattern you got so I can live vicariously through you. It just might keep me from going broke.
***This is NOT a sponsored post. I used my own money and a coupon code to order my band.***
Suddenly, everyone I know is having babies. Seriously, I can think of at least four ladies due this summer, and probably another three due this winter. I was starting to worry that I’d never find unique gifts for all of them until I found My 1st Years.
My 1st Years is a fairly new company, founded in 2010 and located in the UK, that aims to provide unique baby gifts that don’t break the bank…And as a huge bonus, they personalize your gift for free.
The selection of gifts is impressive… I had so much trouble narrowing my first order down that it took me a few days to decide. When I finally did make my selection, I was surprised at how quickly the package arrived. Ten days from my order date from the UK? I’ll take it.
By the way, if you are ordering a gift, have it sent directly to the recipient. Every order comes in a beautiful complimentary gift box, and the package itself will have a big ol’ Royal Mail sticker on it. I don’t know about you, but it certainly made me feel pretty fancy!
Oh, just a package from my friend Kate…NBD
This company really knows how to package a gift.
My 1st Years was kind enough to provide me with one of their lovely products so I could do a review. I agonized over the decision, drove The BF nuts, and finally…finally, I chose the Gingham Blue Trim Robe in the biggest size offered (2-3 years).
Oh my goodness y’all, this is lovely. The robe is beautifully made, with his name embroidered on the front. It fits perfectly, and the boy absolutely loves wearing it.
It’s the hood that just really gets me, I think.
He loves to put it on right after his bath so he can lounge around before bed in comfort and style. On chilly mornings, he will go find his robe and strut around the house with it on. I happen to love the fact that the belt is actually attached to the robe, so I don’t have to worry about it getting lost.
I could not be more pleased with this product, and this company in general. I have a number of items bookmarked for future gifts, and I just know that my friends will love them.
Do yourself a favor and check them out… Not only do they offer lots of beautiful, keepsake-quality gifts for babies and young toddlers, but they have some great stuff for mom and dad, too.
**My 1st Years provided the pictured product at no cost to me, in exchange for an honest review of their site. All opinions and photographs are my own.**
I had such a good response from the first holiday gift guide that I decided to do another one right away. I love that so many of you are excited about supporting the little guy.
As some of you may know, today is Small Business Saturday. Lots of small businesses may be offering special discounts today, and some may even have extended hours. My town holds an annual Party Night. Participating businesses stay open late and there are carraige rides downtown…It’s a really fun evening.
Of course, if you’re more of an online shopper, you can still participate! Just check out my previous gift guide OR take a look at some other awesome things I’ve discovered:
Do you have someone that can be a little hard to buy for? Maybe a beer or wine aficionado? Head over to RayMels and check out the selection of these trays made of melted wine, liquor, and beer bottles. They’d be useful for all sorts of things… Cheese and crackers, a place to leave your change, a bedside table catchall… I mean, you do whatever you want with it because who am I to tell you what to do with your awesome tray?
If wine bottles aren’t your thang, they have tons of other items to look at. How about one of their handmade clocks? You can get melted bottle clocks, but I think this old school percolator clock is super cute.
I can’t talk about handmade gifts without encouraging you to order something from Crochet Me Lovely. This gal must have fingers and wrists of steel, because she’s always adding awesome new stuff to her shop. Not only does she make hats and scarves, but she has an offering of some seriously beautiful afghans. As the owner of several afghans my grandma made, I can tell you that there’s nothing better than a crochet afghan on a cold winter evening. They can be expensive, but a lot of yarn goes into these…not to mention the hours it takes to make one.
So go out and celebrate the little guy by buying gifts from small businesses near you today…Or stay comfy at home and order online. Either way, no one appreciates your business more than the owner of a mom and pop shop.
Happy Small Biz Saturday!
*If you own a business or are the maker of beautiful things feel free to send an email to willfullydisobedientblog (at) gmail (dot) com with info, links, and any pictures you grant me permission to use. If I like what I see, I just might add you to my next gift post.
All pictures in this post are courtesy of the Etsy shop owner that created the items, used with their permission. I found all items and shops on my own, this is NOT a sponsored post, and I have not been compensated in any way.
Ok, I know it isn’t quite Thanksgiving yet, but I’ve already started my Christmas shopping. Yeah, I know it might be hard to believe that the queen of last minute gift shopping herself is starting a bit early but…I’m proud to say that I’ve already purchased TWO GIFTS.
TWO.
Don’t worry…The remainder of the gifts I have to buy will be purchased sometime around 5:00 pm the day before Christmas Eve. Many curse words will be said.
I’ve been doing a lot of looking online, specifically on sites like Etsy because I love the idea of buying unique, handmade gifts. Sure, there’s a lot of crap for sale on Etsy, but if you look hard enough, there are some real gems.
-I discovered Foxwood Drive through Twitter. If you are in need of some seriously beautiful, sophisticated jewelry for any of the ladies on your list this is the place to look. This Champagne ring is one of my favorites, but it’s all gorgeous.
I don’t really wear a lot of jewelry since it would just end up a toy for my toddler, but this stuff? I would wear it to the grocery store…Which is practically the only place I go. It just looks like the sort of thing that would instantly make you feel fabulous, even if you haven’t showered in a few days and are wearing the same sport bra you slept in. Put one of these little confidence boosters under the tree for your favorite lady, please.
-If you’re shopping for a youngun, check out Simple Gifts. I absolutely adore this Cookies for Santa set, and this Bucket of Beetles may end up under our tree this year. These are toys you can feel good about… They are made by a homeschooling mom who uses “recycled packaging, donates monthly to non profit organizations and participates in reforestation programs. Simple Gifts beeswax is local and is the only non – vegan product used.”
You can tell that a lot of work goes into each toy. My favorite thing? None of these need batteries or make any sort of noise. In fact, they don’t do anything. These are the sort of toys that will encourage imaginative play, unlike the ones that seem to play with themselves.
-Another shop full of handmade awesomeness is Ivy and Company. Everything you see in this shop is hand sewn and quite stunning. I am obsessed with her headbands, and I might have to order one for myself after the holidays. Well, unless someone wants to order one for me. Hint, hint.
Tell me this isn’t adorable.
If I had a daughter, I would be all over that apron. Actually, I wanted it for myself until I actually looked at the full picture and realized it wasn’t in a grown up size. I may be a small person, but I’m not quite toddler size. Take some time to browse through the different headbands available, because she does have different sizes.
-For the gadget lover, consider this Crochet Gadget Cover by Natalya1905. There are a few different styles and colors, but the one in black, green, and brown would be perfect for your techie man.
-If your man enjoys music and needs something to haul his money in, this gorgeous hand stitched wallet would be a thoughtful present.
I’ve seen a lot of people talking about shopping locally lately and I think that’s great…But I think it’s even better to try to support all of the little guys, no matter where they’re from. These people are taking the time to craft each object they offer, so in most cases every item is unique. To me, getting something that was lovingly handmade by someone would mean a lot more than if I got some mass-produced designer purse.
Consider not only shopping locally, but also shopping small. Yeah, you might spend a little more (but sometimes less!), but it will be worth it.
*If you own a business or are the maker of beautiful things feel free to send an email to willfullydisobedientblog (at) gmail (dot) com with info, links, and any pictures you grant me permission to use. If I like what I see, I just might add you to my next gift post.
All pictures in this post are courtesy of the Etsy shop owner that created the items, used with their permission. I found all items and shops on my own, this is NOT a sponsored post, and I have not been compensated in any way.
…I didn’t even have to use my AK.
…Well I didn’t…
Yesterday really could’ve gone either way. I had to have my phone looked at because I thought my charging port was busted…The customer service rep I talked to said I could have it repaired under warranty (fun fact: I dropped the ‘insurance’ for the first time ever when I bought this phone) and directed me to the nearest store with techs. My mom agreed to ride with me, so after O had breakfast and I had a shower we were off to Lafayette.
I had to wait about half an hour to talk to someone. It was no big deal, because O was sleeping in the car (mom was with him). While i waited, a woman leaned over and whispered, “I hope you packed a lunch…I don’t know why it takes so long.” I knew she wanted me to share a bitchfest about the wait, but i wouldn’t have it. I smiled and explained that I worked for Sprint for years, so i was prepared to wait. She clammed up pretty quickly and i was free to finish my game of Dots in peace. Once I talked to a rep, I found that the problem was the charger and not my phone…So I just needed to call Samsung and have them send me a new one. Problem solved, and for zero money! That’s worth celebrating!
O was awake when I got back to the car. We decided to grab a bite to eat, so we stopped at Friday’s. Mom and I had salads and O gobbled up his grilled chicken, pita, and fruit. He even used a regular fork successfully, and didn’t get anything on the floor. Who was this kid?!
After lunch, we ran to the mall to use a couple of Bath and Body Works coupons. The candy store next to B&BW sucked me in with their Grumpy Cat display, but I made it out without buying anything.
But really, I need one.
It took me forever to decide what i wanted in B&BW. I managed to narrow it down to three scents…Lucky for me, there was a killer sale happening. Plus, I could still use my coupons. High five!
Free smell goods!
Since I never, NEVER (ok, hardly ever), pay full price for stuff, I was really happy. We stopped for coffees on our way out of the mall and I even got one of those iced froo-froo coffees I usually wrinkle my nose at. I think mine was a Milky Way, with cookie dough flavored whipped cream…And since I couldn’t leave him out, O got an iced sugar cookie and milk.
Before we could head home, I had one more stop to make.
I grabbed a dozen donuts from Mary Lou’s before we left Lafayette. I had promised the BF I’d pick some up for his grandpa, and I thought we needed some too.
O and I had a maple glazed for breakfast this morning. Delicious!
It’s been a crazy couple of weeks around here, so yesterday was a nice change of pace. I made it home with plenty of time to make beef burritos for dinner while O played outside with daddy.
I’m a big fan of getting perks just for stuff I normally do. I chose my bank specifically because I could get points with my debit card… Never mind the fact that those dirty bastards cancelled the points program when I had about a billion points saved up. And never mind the fact that I was only about a hundred points away from the Coach purse I was saving the points for. I ended up just trading them for cash…which was nice, but I very rarely splurge on myself and I was really looking forward to that damn purse. I just couldn’t justify the purchase when I had cash to spend instead of points.
That was a dick move, Chase.
Um… Where was I?
Oh, right. Perks.
So I’ve been using Swagbucks for a while now and I looove it. That is not an exaggeration. You want to get in on this sweet gig, you just don’t know it yet.
Here’s how it works:
Signing up is free… You just go here (full disclosure: that is my referral link and I DO get points when you sign up) and enter your info. Once you have an account you can start earning by doing all sorts of things… Answering the daily poll, completing special offers… But the best part? You can earn points simply by searching the web.
I have the search widget for my Android phone…So whenever The BF says “That song is by Sir Mix A Lot” and I know it’s actually C + C Music Factory, I can do a quick search and not only prove him wrong, but also potentially earn Swagbucks.
Was that a run-on sentence? I can’t tell.
Swagbucks can get you all sorts of nifty things, but my favorite way to cash ’em in is to get Amazon gift cards. Then you can go nuts on Amazon and it’s completely justifiable.
You know what’s super cool about this whole thing?
I don’t think Swagbucks is just suddenly going to pull the rug out from everyone and say “NO MORE ‘BUCKS FOR YOU!” like Chase did to me. I’m currently hoarding my ‘bucks like crazy so I can get the mother of all gift cards.
I highly encourage everyone to check it out!
***Disclaimer***
Swagbucks did not ask nor did they pay me to write this post. They probably don’t even know my blog exists. I just wanted to pass this along to my readers because I love you all and it’s a pretty cool deal.
Plus, I wanted to earn a few extra Swagbucks. You can earn referral bucks, too!
Willfully Disobedient 