Ashley, Author at Embracing Beauty

SuperJeweler: Sapphire Ring Review & Coupon Code!

March 14, 2013 by Ashley 7 Comments

I love jewelry and it’s probably safe to say that a lot of women do as well. While I may not have a huge collection of nice jewelry (yet!), the pieces I do own are unique and each tell a story. Some I bought myself, some my parents bought me when I was in high school, but most of them were bought by my husband. I much prefer unique pieces of jewelry found at smaller, independent stores (in person or online) over the ones you’ll find at the big jewelry chains. You know the ones! It’s not that they don’t have lovely pieces. Obviously they are very pretty but the thing is, everyone has them.

Recently a company called Super Jeweler contacted me to review a piece of their jewelry. I was overwhelmed by the beautiful jewelry, unique jewelry that they had on their website. It took me a while to decide on a piece but once I saw this sapphire ring I was in love.

Isn’t it lovely? It’s unique because it’s a rough cut sapphire. That means that it isn’t a clear gem but it has a variation of color and cut marks on the surface (I don’t know the official name but I’m sure it’s not “cut marks.”). I’ve never owned a rough cut stone before so I was eager to receive it and when it arrived, it exceeded my expectations.

Do you see the detailed texture on the top of the stone? I think it gives it character.

The ring came packaged in this very cute Tiffany-blue colored box.

I just adore it! Here are the specifics that the website gives, “HUGE sterling silver diamond and sapphire ring. Sterling silver diamond and sapphire ring contains one rough cut sapphire and four sparkly diamonds for a total gem weight of 7 carats. Diamond content is .02 carat in J/K color, I2 clarity. One star diamond.” The diamonds are barely noticeable but I didn’t choose it for the diamonds anyway. I bought it for the main stone and the sweet hearts on the side of the ring.

Beautiful, right? It’s not too big and not too small. Just elegant.

From this angle you can see two of the four diamonds. The two diamonds are beside the second heart down from the top. As you would assume, the other two diamonds are in the same place on the opposite side of the ring.

I have been enjoying wearing my new ring out and about. I even had a few friends and family members ask me about it and compliment me on it. It’s an eye-catcher for sure!

All in all, I’m very pleased with my experience. Super Jeweler has been great to work with and order from. The ring I’ve got is amazing and I’ve made sure I let my husband know how pleased I am with their products. *wink wink* The next time you’re looking to buy a piece of jewelry for yourself or a loved one be sure and check out Super Jeweler. They have unique, high quality jewelry at reasonable prices.

*Here is your exclusive coupon code to save 15% off just about anything at SuperJeweler.com! Just enter embracingb1 at checkout to save 15%!*

Connect with Super Jeweler:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SuperJeweler
Twitter: https://twitter.com/superjeweler

Disclosure: Please note that the opinions and views expressed in this review are my own and based on my personal experience with the product and company. You may encounter a different experience with this than I did. SuperJeweler.com provided me with free products to review and did not see my review before it was published here.

Filed Under: Life Lately, Tips Tagged With: Jewelry

#ShareBreakfast with Kellogg’s

March 11, 2013 by Ashley Leave a Comment

Everybody knows that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It’s the meal that gets your metabolism jump started in the morning and preps you for a good day of energy and concentration. Being a mom with a toddler at home I need all the energy I can get and since I’m a blogger I need all the concentration I can get. I don’t have a lot of time to blog so when I do it’s nice to be able to focus completely on what I’m doing. My husband used to dislike breakfast but he has found that when he eats breakfast he’ll make better food choices the rest of the day. If he skips it, he’s starving by the time lunch comes and makes unhealthy choices. My little toddler sleeps tremendously at night but when 8 o’clock rolls around she is ready to eat! Giving my family breakfast is a small thing that I can do to help my family have the best start to the day that they can have! Kellogg’s believes the same way I do and they want to make sure as many people as possible can have that same great start to their day.

The sad truth is, not every child is able to have the great start to their day that comes from eating breakfast. 1 in 5 kids may go without breakfast everyday and Kellogg’s wants to do something to change that. This is where their “Share the Breakfast” campaign comes in! This is the third year they’ve hosted it. This year Kellogg’s and celebrity Taye Diggs have teamed up together to help reduce this high number.

We can all help a child in need with a few simple actions! This is what I like to call a Free Donation. You won’t pay a dime, you only donate a few brief moments of your time. For each of the following actions Kellogg’s will share breakfast to a kid who might otherwise go without.

Until April 15th we can all share a breakfast with a child in need with a few simple actions. A dollar will never leave your pocket and it won’t take more than a minute. For each of the following actions Kellogg’s will share breakfast to a kid who might otherwise go without:

Here’s what you can do to help:

Watching and sharing the Great Start Videos on ShareBreakfast.com.
Sharing the public service announcement with friends.
Sharing your “share” on your Facebook page.
Posting on Twitter with the #ShareBreakfast.
Sharing and repining on Pinterest.

It’s very sad to think about any kid not being able to have access to the food that they need. As a child I was never without food and it just breaks my heart to think of a little one going hungry. Head over now and let’s take these simple steps to help feed needy children.

Here’s a few pictures from a #ShareBreakfast get together I had with a bunch of friends. We had Kellogg’s cereal bars, fruit, eggs, and biscuits and gravy. It was yummy!

This is me and my little lady.

Friends of mine enjoying breakfast.

Here the men are at the food table.

Cute kiddos enjoying their breakfast!

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Kellogg’s. I received a product sample as well as a promotional item as a thank-you for participating.

Filed Under: Life Lately, Tips Tagged With: Kelloggs, Mom Central

3 Money Wasting Wardrobe Items I Refuse to Buy!

March 7, 2013 by Ashley 7 Comments

Let’s be honest. Nobody likes to throw their money out the window during the best of times. With the uncertain economy that we have now it’s even more important to pinch every penny and stretch every dollar. I’m going to share with you three clothing items that I think waste your hard earned money.

I’m not a fashion expert, however, I am someone that likes to look nice when I’m out of the house interacting with others. Sweatpants and hoodies won’t always do! {Check out our How to Wear a Hoodie article}

Here are three of my biggest historical money wasters:

Cheap shoes.

Any of these I’ve ever purchased have lost their comfort way faster than I found acceptable. I use to think that rotating through them to transfer my discomfort was a smart idea. Yes, I never got blisters that way but my feet were constantly uncomfortable. It might have been a sore heel one day and then a cramped toe the next. It wasn’t worth it! When I met my husband I found someone who spends as much money as me on his wardrobe but he has a significantly smaller selection. While I’m not ready to minimize as much as he has, I have learned from him. I’ve found that investing in two good pair of comfortable shoes a year, shoes that will last, is worth more to me than 30 pair that I can’t wear two consecutive days.

White bras.

Ugggh, how I hate these! They easily stain under shirts of a different color, they aren’t discreet under a white shirt, and well, I just don’t think they are very exciting. I like fun colors but if I’m wearing something light in color or a white shirt, I’ll go with a flesh tone bra that can’t be detected. Avoiding white bras saves me from being immodest, spending my Saturdays trying to get unwanted dye out of them, and I get to add a little bit of color to my day.

Way too cheap T-shirts.

I’ve fallen into this trap multiple times! Never, ever, ever, ever buy a shirt that is under $5 at a non-sale price. I’ve bought shirts for $1 that have lasted me 10 years (and counting!) but they were originally $30. Every shirt I’ve bought for $5 and under has made it’s way to the trash can within a few weeks. They don’t even hold up well enough to donate! Don’t get me wrong, thirty dollar T-shirts aren’t in my budget either but that’s why I know where the clearance racks are at my favorite stores and what day of the week they mark new items down. The fading, stretching, pilling, and loosening of seams isn’t worth it to me to buy the cheap shirts.

There you have it. Those are my top three money wasting wardrobe purchases that I refuse to buy any longer. Do you have any other items you would like to add to the list? I would love for you to share! We’re all trying to save money during these tough economic times and I would love to hear what ideas you have for shopping and saving!

Filed Under: Tips Tagged With: Clothing, Deals, Fashion, Savings, Tips

Little Remedies…because kids get sick!

March 6, 2013 by Ashley 7 Comments

Despite my best attempts, my little girl has gotten sick. She’s come down with an awful bug and it breaks my heart. While I just hate seeing her so miserable I am enjoying the extra cuddling. It’s cough and cold season and there is only so much you can do to protect them, right?

As a mom I want to do my best to keep my family healthy and some of the ways I do that is by fixing nutritious meals, staying active, and keeping the house clean. When they do get sick though, it’s important to me that the medicine they take is good for them. As natural as possible. You moms out there know that it’s not always easy finding an effective medication out there that fits that bill. There are so many choices, different wording, different dosages, and it’s easy to become overwhelmed. That’s why I was so happy too learn about Little Remedies products early on. They are fabulous!

Little Remedies® products do not contain any artificial flavors, artificial colors or alcohol and are created with the very specific needs of children in mind. Little Remedies® Everything they need. Nothing they don’t.™

Little Remedies uses the “Less is More” approach with their products. That means that they use as few ingredients as possible and they keep their products free of alcohol, artificial dyes, or artificial colors. Isn’t that comforting? You don’t have to look for the dye-free version of one of their products because they all are! If you’re trying to be more natural in how you treat your children then you’ll want to check out Little Remedies.

I registered for Little Remedies’ New Parents Survival Kit because this sounded like a dream for a new mom. It came with a good selection of safe, gentle, and effective products for relief of common disorders. I remember reading that each of the items included were recommended by pediatricians. It even came in a convenient carrying case. Convenient, safe, baby products, organized, easily accessibly and able to be stored neatly out of kids reach? Check! Before I went into labor I was feeling like a good mom. No one ended up buying this for me off of my registry but it was important enough for me to have it that I bought it myself. I am so glad that I did and I’ve recommended it to every new mom that I know.

I started out using Little Remedies when my sweet newborn had an upset tummy. The Little Tummys Gas Relief Drops helped soothe my little one’s tummy. They were such a blessing in those early days! I really don’t know what we would have done without them.

Ever since those early days I’ve been grateful for the nasal bulb that came with that kit. It has a smaller tip than the many others I was given, which makes it much easier to use. It’s also the only one that has a clear tip (so you can see what you’ve got) and that has a removable tip so you can clean it out (I recommend using pipe cleaners).

During these cold and dry winter months I’ve come to truly appreciate the Little Noses Saline Drops. They are fabulous! My daughter used to mind them but now she sits still and lets me use them. They help her breathe better when she’s stuffy and help keep her nasal passages moist when she’s not. Bloody noses are an awful thing to deal with but especially for a toddler. I’ll do anything I can to help keep bloody noses at bay.

This latest cold has been rough and we pulled out the big guns, Little Remedies For Fevers, Infant Fever/Pain Reliever and Little Remedies For Colds, Honey Elixir. My little one’s fever just broke. Yay! I have been using Little Remedies For Fevers to help bring down her fever when it gets too high. There’s nothing worse that a sweet little one with a fever. It’s pitiful. I’m so glad to have a safe fever reducer that I can turn to.

Do you remember when my whole family was sick earlier this year? You might not remember my posts but I sure remember being sick! My whole family had a horrible cough and I researched every homemade cough remedy I could find. One of the things that was safe enough for my whole family to use was honey. It worked well at temporarily relieving our coughs but it was so hard to dispense to my daughter, well, because she doesn’t drink tea. I was relieved when a friend of mine recommended Little Remedies Honey Elixir. She gave me her bottle to use until I could get my own and my daughter loved it. A syringe was much less messy than a teaspoon, it tasted great (because you know that I had to try it!), and it had no artificial ingredients, saacharin, or gluten.

Kids will always get sick but Little Remedies safely helps them get better, safely.

What’s your favorite Little Remedies product??

“I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Little Remedies. I received product samples as well as a promotional item as a thank-you for participating.”

Filed Under: Life Lately Tagged With: Little Remedies, Mom Central

Big Changes!

March 5, 2013 by Ashley 8 Comments

Do you remember the post that I wrote at the end of January about living on the edge? To save you from reading it all over again, here’s a snippet of it.

Without spilling the beans, I can say that this is a big decision and I would love your prayers. It’s a God-sized dream, if you will. It’s BIG. Either God will bless it and it will succeed wildly or it will fail and I’ll be humiliated. Because I’ve prayed about this and I’ve had the desire to do this for a while I’m leaning towards making the leap.

Well, I did it. I’ve made the leap! Some big ole changes are going to be taking place around this blog soon so keep checking back for updates. I really think it’s going to be good. I’ve worked my tail off, Marisa from 5 J’s Design has slaved away and worked her design magic, I’ve prayed and prayed about it, and you’ll be able to see the changes taking place soon.

That’s why I’m writing this to you now, to warn you that changes are coming. I personally dislike changes of any kind whether that means getting rid of old furniture, a store’s new layout, a new coupon policy, a discontinued shade of lipstick, and I could continue but I think you get the picture. I dislike change and I figure some of you do as well so I felt I owed it to you to warn you in advance. Hopefully this change will be good though! Like new Spring flowers blooming and listening to song birds for the first time all season.

Thank you for reading my blog, commenting, and just for being you! I’m blessed to have you here.

More details to come…stay tuned!

Filed Under: Life Lately

A Visit From the Fairy Hobmother

March 4, 2013 by Ashley 19 Comments

What would you say if I told you I was visited by a fairy this week? Would you think I was crazy? Out of my mind? Lying? Well, make no mistake about it, this week I was visited by a fairy.

It’s true, the Fairy Hobmother to be exact! He was gracious enough to bestow on me an Amazon gift card courtesy of the folks at Appliances Direct. Trust me, the Fairy Hobmother couldn’t have come at a better time – tax time is right around the corner and we owe big!

Would you like an extra special, magical visit from the Fairy Hobmother? All you have to do is leave a comment below and you might be the next person to receive an Amazon gift card!

*Throws handful of glitter in the air.*

Disclosure: I received a gift card to facilitate this post. See, this is proof that the Fairy Hobmother does exist!

Filed Under: Life Lately Tagged With: Blogging, Fairy Hobmother, Life Lately

10 Places to Find Fabulous Shoes For Under $30

March 3, 2013 by Ashley 2 Comments

Fabulous shoes don’t have to come with a hefty price-tag as the magazines would have you believe. Here is a list of 10 places you can find absolutely adorable shoes for under $30.

1. Forever 21

Buy them at Forever 21 for $29.80.

2. Go Jane Buy these at Go Jane for $18.90.

3. Ebay.com Buy these at ebay.com for $9.99.

4. AMIClubwear.com Buy these at AMIClubwear.com for $19.99.

5. Target Buy these at Target.com for only $29.99.

6. Amazon.com Buy these at Amazon.com for $27.99.

7. Overstock.com Buy these at Overstock.com for only $17.99.

8. Delias.com Buy these at Delias.com for $19.50.

9. Rue21.com Buy these at Rue21.com for only $12.99.

10. Maurices.com Buy these at Maurices.com for only $24.

Filed Under: Tips Tagged With: Fashion, Shoes, Style, Tips

Free Christian Audio Book “Choose Joy” by Kay Warren

March 2, 2013 by Ashley Leave a Comment

Right now, Christian Audio is offering the book “Choose Joy” by Kay Warren as their free christian audio download. This freebie will be available through 3/31/13. Go to Christian Audio to get your free copy.

What’s this book about?

Ever wonder why some people seem to experience joy in their daily lives–even in the tough times–and others can’t seem to find it no matter how hard they search? Is a joy-filled life really possible? The answer is yes! And it’s possible for every woman, no matter what her circumstances may be.

In this inspiring book, Kay Warren teaches women what joy really is, where to find it, and how to choose it in the good times and the bad. With compassion and wisdom, she shows listeners–even those who live with the constant companions of discouragement and depression–that true joy is deeper, richer, and more accessible than they might think. Perfect for small groups or individual reading, Choose Joy will empower women who feel like their emotions and well-being are at the mercy of others by helping them understand the life-giving truth that joy is within their grasp–every day.

Thanks, Christian Clippers!

Filed Under: Bible Study Tagged With: Books, Christian Audio, Freebies

My Donation to Locks of Love

March 2, 2013 by Ashley 2 Comments

I’ve always wanted to donate my hair to Locks of Love and I’m so excited to finally be able to do it! I’ll share more details about my process later but I was so excited and I wanted to show you pictures right away. I’ll also have to show you a picture of my hair after I’ve styled it. 🙂

Have you ever donated your hair to a charity?

Filed Under: Life Lately Tagged With: Life Lately, Locks of Love

Easter Gifts – DaySpring Easter Sale

March 1, 2013 by Ashley 1 Comment

Shop now for your Easter gifts during the DaySpring Easter’s Sale and a bundle on all gifts. There are a lot of really cute items that would make perfect Easter gifts.

Boxed Cards:

All Boxed Cards are Buy 2 Get 1 Free. The lowest priced item is given free. I bought quite a few of these myself!

Holley Gerth Collection:

All items from the Heart to Heart with Holley Collection are 25% off this month with code Holley25. Holley’s newest book, You’re Made for a God-Sized Dream, released just today. Check out our corresponding products that complement the book. It’s all good stuff!

March Monthly Specials:

Redeemed Treasured Fashion Bracelet – Reg Price: $16.99 Sale Price: $4.99