Hip Mom Jewelry: a review & GIVEAWAY~

Hey guys! It's been awhile since I've done a little giveaway on this 'ole blog, but when I was ordering my new ring for babe number four, I reached out to Heather, the owner of HipMomJewelry on Etsy, and asked if she cared if I featured her shop and goods. And not only did she give me permission, but she wanted to do a giveaway as well!

These are the rings I got-- I had them stamped on the outside but you can just do the birthstone, or stamp inside. Lots of options! 

When I had Nan, I started looking for some personalized rings that I could wear to represent my three girls. I looked and looked all over Etsy and narrowed it down to two or three shops. Unfortunately, I ordered from someone besides Heather first. My rings came and I was so excited... until I showered and the black in the stamped names WORE OFF! I hadn't even had them a week. I was so disappointed. That's when I started messaging with Heather about her rings at HipMomJewelry. I specifically asked how she stamped them, how long the black should last... etc etc etc. I wasn't going to make that mistake again! And she was so wonderful to work with through all my crazy questioning, that I decided to give her rings a go. PLUS, the ones I picked from her shop had BIRTHSTONES on them, and were even more what I wanted. I gave her all the details [more than she probably wanted], and anxiously awaited my order. 

They arrived quicker than I expected, were exactly what I wanted and hoped for, and TWO AND A HALF years later I can say that they have held up beautifully [and yes, I wear them in the shower].

Heather is a veteran of the US Army [THANK YOU], and is married with two daughters. She bought HipMomJewelry a few years ago, and enjoys creating and working with her hands. She went to the University of Kansas [ROCKCHALK! Another reason to support this shop ;)], where she studied oil painting and art history. She took one jewelry class just for fun, and now makes it all the time! She also enjoys gardening, running, and watching movies. She is so great about responding to any questions you may have about your potential order, and has nearly 300 FIVE STAR reviews on her products. It's good stuff!

She has so many options and a variety of products. Here are a few other examples:

Aren't these BEAUTIFUL? I love these stackable rings too... I just had too many kids to make this feasible for one finger ;) 

all the fonts are customizable, and I just love these birthstones hanging down.

She also offers personalized rings without birthstones, if you like the simpler look

I get SO MANY compliments on my rings, and several of my friends have ordered a set for themselves. I sized up about a 1/4, since I knew I would be stacking several, and when stacking they can be little tighter. If you're just doing two, you may not have to. I normally wear a size 6.5 and I asked her if she could make them 6 3/4 and they fit great. If your fingers fluctuate in size with heat etc, you may want to just go ahead and do the full half size bigger. The girls sometimes ask to wear "their ring" for a little bit, and it's fun for them to know that I have something special to always think of them. 

Here is my original set I ordered over two years ago:

AND YOU GUYS! I just got my FOURTH one in the mail. And it looks so great with these three... but you know I can't show it to you yet because HIS NAME IS ON IT! :) [Heather, if you're reading this, no matter who asks you cannot tell them his name. Top secret and you are the only one who knows!] I have fairly long fingers, and three fit EASILY. The fourth one definitely fits my finger, but if your fingers are short, three may be your max. She has all the width measurements listed though, so you can easily measure and feel confident before you order. If you decide to get a stack, you could also have her stamp the names in alternate orders with some out to the left side and some out to the right... really, the options are limitless! 

By the way, this is the tightest they have ever been on my finger and I am 38 + weeks pregnant and it's nine hundred thousand degrees outside. Also, the first picture was taken when they were brand new. This one was taken today. You can see how well they have worn. 

Now, for the good stuff! The GIVEAWAY! Heather said that her rings are her best seller, so she would love to give away one of these rings to one of my readers! So what do you need to do? 

>Head to HipMomJewelry on Esty, 

>click the little heart to FAVORITE Heather's shop, 

>and then look through her products and LEAVE A COMMENT here or on the link to this post [on facebook or Instagram] and tell me your favorite product. 

Giveaway will close WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22 [because I'm having a baby right after that!?!], and I will announce the winner and we will be in touch! 

So head on over now and be sure to enter! HIPMOMJEWELRY 

As You Stitch: Giveaway!

As many of you know, my sister moved to Nashville after she got married. Something about her husband doing grad school there and she felt like they should live together? And it sucked them in and they fell in love and they never left and now they are far, far away. But enough of this pity party. She has met some great people and made some wonderful friends in their time there [ and managed to have three children...]. One of her friends, Ali, is incredibly talented and has an Esty business: As You Stitch.

As You Stitch is a mother/daughter team. Lori (mom) does most of the sewing, and Ali (daughter) takes care of the business side of things, and her ridiculously adorable girls do product modeling for their photos. During their busy seasons, it's all hands on deck and Emma (mom's youngest daughter) hops on the sewing machine as well. In their words, "There are no big conglomerates here, just one small family doing their bit to keep small business in business."

And if that story isn't great enough, their products are even better! Ali started making the matching pajama pant set for her daughter and her friends (and their dolls!) and they were a huge hit! What little girl doesn't love fun pajamas? And even better...what little girl doesn't love matching her doll!?! I can't wait to get our set in the mail and watch Blythe tuck her matching doll into her bunkbed at the foot of her own bed [And I'm just realizing I never posted a picture of the doll bunk bed Blythe got for Christmas and the quilt set my mother in law made them...regardless, these pajamas will look good in it!]

and you thought my girls were cute...

Kali's girls have some As You Stitch swag, and it is seriously adorable stuff. [And did you know Target has a knock-off American Girl doll now? If your daughter doesn't have one and you don't want to spend her college tuition on one, it's a good option :)]. The fabric and patterns Ali and her mom have chosen are all adorable and super fun. And that ruffle at the bottom? I can't get enough. MORE RUFFLE!

Also, I don't even know if she makes these anymore but if she doesn't you should beg her to because who doesn't love little girl aprons. I've had so many people ask me about Blythe's [we use it all the time] and I have no idea where my aunt found it...so this would be a great place to get one! [Maybe...if she still makes them? They aren't live in the shop at the moment but what do you say, Ali?!]

And as if that weren't enough, she also has a sister shop: As You Stitch {Baby}.  On this site she has eco-friendly baby wipes, toys, carriers, and more! The BEST receiving blankets.

Picnic blankets. Reusable nursing pads [which could save you a pretty penny]. If you are in to cloth diapering, these baby wipes are awesome!

And if you go to either of her shops, she's had hundreds of customer reviews and the report is glowing! It is quality! She's great to work with! Fast service! ALL GOOD THINGS!

I've been a fan of Ali's little shop for some time now, and when I asked her if she would be interested in letting me tell of you about her shop as a little Valentine's Day deal, she jumped all in and generously decided to let me give something away AND is offering a 20% discount through the month of February to my readers with the discount code WORDSTHATSING at checkout. 

This attire would be such a fun little something for Valentine's Day, don't you think? Here are the details on the giveaway:

One lucky reader will get a "Me & My Doll" matching pajama pant set. Their site reads: "Your favorite little girl and her doll will love to snuggle up together in this matching pajama pant set! These 100% cotton pants feature a wide ruffle at the leg opening. Your little girl will love the feel of our super soft pre-washed fabric. Her doll will be just as comfy in her matching pants!" The winner will get to choose their fabric and size from any of their available sets.

OR

The winner could choose a set of 3 DOZEN cloth baby wipes [and she has THE cutest prints!]

 To enter

Visit As You Stitch [or As You Stitch {Baby}] 

and leave a comment here [or on link to this post]

letting me know what product you love the most! 

For one additional entry, go LIKE her page on facebook: HERE and let me know in your comment that  you liked it so I can verify. 

May the odds be ever in your favor! And if you don't have girls, still enter because this would make an awesome AWESOME gift! [Or you can get the wipes! Which aren't "just" wipes. If you have been struck with the plague this winter like everyone else, they make phenomenal soft hankies/kleenexes. And let's be honest, hankies are so much more romantic than a box of Puffs. Right?] And don't forget to use the coupon code WORDSTHATSING for TWENTY percent off!!!

Good luck! 

Giveaway closes Thursday at 8 p.m. 

Winner will be announced Friday, February 13th. 

just in time to give it away as a valentine's gift :)

De Vier Zusters: A GIVEAWAY!

I have been sitting on this gem of a giveaway for awhile and I'm super excited that the time as come to share this shop with you all!

When I was a senior in college, I had to find a school and a teacher that would allow me to try my hand at teaching in a real classroom. Now I can understand how it would be hard to open your room and your students and turn them over to a potentially terrible wanna-be-but-not-quite teacher and let them practice their skills on your turf. If you're not a teacher, or you're a bad one ;), this may sound crazy because you're thinking, "Hey! Someone else to do my job for a couple months!" But [good] teachers view their students as theirs, and the thought of someone coming in and boring them or letting all hell break lose is a risk. Lucky for me, I had not one but TWO teachers not only open their classrooms to my new professional slacks and sweaters, but open their arms and their hearts to me as well.

I spent a month with Seniors and Tricia, and my last month with Freshman and Trish. [I actually started my blog around this time and posted THIS poem way back then]. And those three months were filled with practical advice from them, as well as lunches out and endless cups of coffee and lots of laughter. So much of the teacher I became was because of these two ladies, each of them fabulous teachers in their own ways. And now, seven years later, I still consider them dear friends and try and sneak in visits when I'm in the area. They ask about my daughters, I've watched their kids become teenagers and adults, and I know God had a hand in that student teaching placement in that small, frozen Iowa school.

For fun, here are two pictures of me student teaching. Please notice the massive amount of HAIR and CURLS that I had.

Trish, the Freshman English teacher, was everything I wanted to be and then some. She was full of spunk and sass and just so much dang fun. Her students adored her, and so did I. And now she has a little business with her sisters, Di Vier Zusters, and I can't get enough of her stuff! She and her sisters always thought they may start a business someday, and this past year their love for vintage books and dictionaries coupled with their love for words and stories and their craftiness. And now they make some of  the world's coolest, most personalized magnets you'll ever see.

What about that weird name? Di Vier Zusters? If you don't know, I went to college in a very Dutch town. Windmills everywhere you look. Trish and her sisters always said if they ever started a business they were going to call it "The Four Sisters." Of course, they wanted to be a little more unique, and they are Dutch [like everyone up there], and "De Vier Zusters" was born. [Ahem. If I must spell if out for you: Di Vier Zusters is the Dutch translation of The Four Sisters.] Trish and her sisters have always loved words and holidays and things that tell a story, and they found that their magnets had the ability to capture all of these things in one. Their favorite part about their business is the stories their customers share about why they are ordering what they are and about their loved ones who will be the lucky recipients.

Do you remember the traits Brent and I chose to pray over Blythe, and then later the ones we chose for Becks? Well I shot the list off to Trish and then badda-bing, badda boom a package arrived in the mail and out tumbled two sets of magnets with my girls' traits emblazoned on them! I was immediately in love. Not only do they mean so much, but they are absolutely beautifully made. 

Right now I have Blythe's traits holding down her behavior chart. I love this because if I'm frustrated about a day she does poorly in some of these areas, I see the magnets and am reminded about the reasons why I am enforcing these things in the first place: to teach her to have hospitality and compassion, to live modestly and with purity. 

And let me tell you: the magnets are substantial. Which I think is important. Weak magnets frustrate me.  But these puppies can hold up multiple pictures on your fridge in the most important room in your house: the kitchen. :) [Or wherever. Your file cabinet at work. Your medicine cabinet in the bathroom. Your belt buckle. ]

Di Vier Zusters can pretty much put anything you want on a magnet. Look at these examples of some fun custom sets they have made for their customers:

music lover?

Christmas lover?

Dachshund lover? [or any dog lover?

Beard lover? 

what? [I love this!] 

 Comic book lovers?

Photographers? 

Dancers?

I guess some people even love cats, God bless 'em. :) 

A fun Valentine's set/ just someone you love ["schmalty" "hot stuff"… if you haven't been able to tell the reason I loved working with this lady, maybe you're getting a better idea now!] 

Farmers? 

And check out their Facebook page for even more! I think these would make a perfect gift for someone for Valentine's Day, which is fast approaching, but also a myriad of other occasions. Your mother in law likes sewing like mine? Have them make you a set with sewing words-- "cut", "sew", "create"! Have a friend who loves to hunt? "shoot", "deer", "camouflage"! Need a little something to throw in with that gift card for your graduate? "learn", "college", "friends", "cum laude"! Baby gift? Spell out the babies name or the meaning of his/her name. Do you see what I am saying?! The possibilities are endless and the stories they tell are so cool! [You can also find some sets on their facebook page in which the magnets spell something out: "Each" "Day" "Is" "A" "Gift".] You come up with it, they can most likely figure out a way to tell that story through your magnets!

And they are a steal. The magnets are $1.50 each, and sometimes she has sets you can purchase that end up being great deals, like this awesome month set for $10! [How fun would this be to make a calendar out of on your fridge or something?]

Coupled with these weekday magnets?!

They ship for $3.00 anywhere in the USA for up to 10 magnets. BUTTTTT… For YOU GUYS, my lovely readers, right now Trish is offering a SA-WEET discount. You can order yours for just $1 a magnet! What can you get for $1 right now? Nothing. Not even a cheeseburger on the "value" menu. Just send her a private message on her facebook page [HERE] with the coupon code "sweetnectaroflife". [And if you can name the movie that came from I will give you two imaginary bonus points. And with a coupon code like that, you can tell this lady is super fun! She is a peach to work with].

AND for one of you lucky ones, De Vier Zusters is giving away some awesome GOODS! One lucky winner will not only win this super fun Valentine's Day set...

seriously, how cute.

…but ALSO gets to have a CUSTOM set of FOUR magnets made just for them. WHAT?! I know! It's a great giveaway. Here is how you enter: Any of the following will earn you ONE entry in the giveaway. Do ALL THREE and you'll get THREE entries. Do TWO and you'll get TWO entries. Do ONE, well, you get the picture. Just don't do NONE. Because then you can't win.

1. Leave a comment on my blog [or on the link on FB or Instagram to this post] and let me know what you think of this sweet little shop. 

2. Go LIKE De Vier Zusters Facebook Page [and tell me in your comment that you did so I can count it] 

3. Follow my blog through Google Friend Connect by clicking on the blue "Join This Site" on the right side of the screen [not on mobile app unless you view full web version] and following the simple steps to join and follow! 

I've had some people ask how I select winners for these giveaways. I take all the entries and use a random name picker app [here] and it selects the winner at random. If you have three entries then your name gets entered three separate times and so on. It's the easiest way for me to keep it fair. 

This giveaway will be open until Thursday at 8 p.m. and the winner will be announced here on my blog on Friday! Good luck! Enjoy browsing the facebook page and thinking of the custom magnets you want, and if you don't win Friday then get to ordering because these are seriously awesome. 

Dr. Brown's: a review and giveaway

On Christmas Eve I received a super fun package on my doorstep from Dr. Brown's:

I posted this picture and everyone was coming out of the woodwork saying, "Oh yeah! Dr. Brown's! They're the best! That's what we used! Only bottle my kiddo would take!" And I'm sitting here thinking, "Where were you 5 months ago when my child started to refuse her bottle?! Just kidding, friends. I'm glad you have a brand you love and that worked and that allowed you to leave your child for more than 4 hours. Sort of. ;) 

But this package, you guys?! I received two of their super fun Christmas bottles to try, as well as a sippy cup, bowls, divided plates, spatula spoons, and three packages of wipes: Nose and Face, Tooth and Gum, and Bottle and Pacifier. 

I don't even know where to start because all of their stuff is pretty top of the line. Like I mentioned, Becks doesn't take a bottle because she is perfect in every way so she figured she needed something to keep us grounded. The bottles I got have the smallest nipple, so I am going to get the faster flow and see if she'll take them. Everyone I know that uses these bottles LOVES them though. 

*all images taken from drbrownsbaby.com unless they are of a super cute baby girl names Becks :) 

I was happy that Dr. Brown's sent me some feeding accessories to try because 1. I run the dishwasher every other hour it feels like and I needed some extras! and 2. Their stuff is awesome! I have been using the divided plates for Blythe because I think the portions are just about perfect for her and I love that the bottoms of the plates and the bowls are non-slip because, you know, toddlers. 

However, when I pulled out the spatula spoons I was like, "What the heck are these things?!" And then I read the description and I thought: Some brilliant woman somewhere that has fed many, many babies designed these suckers! Check them out: 

 Weird, right? I agree, BUT THEY ARE AWESOME. You know how a baby eats? If not, here is exhibit A:

Normally when feeding Becks [or any baby], I try desperately to "scrape" the excess off with the spoon but spoons are not made for this. Spoons are made for spooning. And then along came Dr. Brown's spatula spoon. See how the end is flat? And just like you would scrape out the extra cookie dough healthy food you're making out of the bowl with a spatula, you can scrape the remains of each bite off your child's face. It's brilliant. I wish I would have thought of it.  I don't have any pictures of my using the spoon [or really any of these], because meal time is hectic enough without trying to snap a picture with one hand while spoon feeding a baby with the other, all while keeping an eye on your toddler to make sure she isn't just licking the syrup off her pancakes.

I was also excited to see the sippy cup in the box, because I had just been talking to some friends about transitioning our babies to a cup. I wish I would have gotten this cup a little sooner, because I'm afraid Becks has grown attached to a different one. I like the one she uses alright, but it leaks a lot more than the Dr. Brown's does and it doesn't have a lid. I would choose this one for her, but sometimes the baby wants what the baby wants. And nobody puts baby in the corner. Or something like that, right?

The wipes they sent me are also great. I usually have regular baby wipes with me, but I can tell that these are made for a different purpose than the "bum bum" [as Blythe would say]. Becks has had a touch of a runny nose lately [and it's a miracle that is all she has given the FLU that was in our house!], and the Nose and Face Wipes are so much softer and work a lot better when her poor little nose gets crusty [< for lack of a better word]. And they have moisturizers in them to keep the nose soft!

I haven't used the Tooth and Gum wipes much yet, but the pacifier ones are nice to have in the diaper bag when we're out and the paci falls. [Sidenote: I am not the mom who washes her children's pacifiers nearly enough. When I say "and the paci falls" I mean like on a public restroom floor or in a mud puddle or in another child's mouth. Which is strange given the fact that I tend to get "germed out" really easily-- I can hardly handle the thought of amusement parks or touching escalator handles. But my children's pacis? Meh. Terrible. I know. Which is why these wipes are pretty great! If I have them I will use them and you all can rest assured my children are not sucking on Ebola.] All of their wipes have natural cleaners in them, which is good to know when you you're dealing with things as gentle as their mouth and nose. Especially on a face as precious as this one:

Basically, this stuff is all pretty great. For real. I am grateful that Dr. Brown's sent me these products in exchange for this review because they are products I use every single day.

Like I mentioned, I got this package the day before Christmas and things were a bit hectic, but Dr. Brown's has TWO of their Christmas bottles to give away to one lucky winner! I figure a great bottle is a great bottle even if it has a picture of Santa on it! So if this is a product you would love to try with your little one, or know someone who would like it, all you have to do to enter is as follows:

Leave a blog comment [or comment on link to this post] letting me know which Dr. Brown's product you think would get the most use in your house. 

for an additional entry "like" Dr. Brown's on facebook and let me know that you did in your ^same^ comment. 

I will announce the winner on this blog on Friday! You have until midnight on Thursday [January 8--TOMORROW] to enter! Good Luck! 

Be sure to come back at the end of the month for a super fun giveaway just in time for VALENTINE'S DAY!