Wednesday, March 28, 2012

What I Wore

It was an absolutely gorgeous day out today and I took full advantage of it and wore a Maxi dress and sandals.

I love Maxi dresses and skirts, I wish I could afford more. I would wear them all the time! I got this one from one of City Chic’s big sales. While my husband loves the extreme low cut on it, I’ve found that I have to add a tank top underneath when I wear it. The first time I wore it I ended up flashing everyone all day because the dress just does not like to stay put. It appears to be sitting right and just showing the right amount of cleavage, but it doesn’t stay that way for long.

It appears that all of their Maxi’s come lined(at least all the ones I’ve looked at are). I guess it’s ok to make the dresses more wearable for colder seasons, but I only wore this dress once last summer because of the liner. It’s just way too heavy to have a liner on a dress like this for summer. Which is too bad because Summer is when I like to wear dresses. I’ve considered taking the liner out, haven’t decided yet if it’s something I want to tackle. For now it’s a good dress for days that aren’t really hot, so it’s not like it’s not going to get decent wear….when I remember I have it lol.

I love the simple but pretty pattern on this dress, and I love the length! This dress for sure is not a good one for anyone short, I almost step on it when I walk and there’s not a whole lot of room for hemming without interfering with the pattern.

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Dress: City Chic, $20(2011)

Tank Top: Addition-Elle, $5(2011)

Cardigan: Addition-Elle, $10ish(2009)

Belt:  City Chic, $12(2011)

Sandals: Shoe Warehouse, $15ish(2011)

Necklace: Avon, don’t recall price/date

Bracelet: Dollarama, $1.25(2011)

Ring(black one): $10(2011)

Ring(silver one): Avon, $20ish(it’s real silver)(2009)

Earrings: Avon, gift from my Mom

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Jolene

Friday, March 23, 2012

I Would If I Could

I haven’t done more “I Would If I Could” posts like I have been wanting to. But a visit to a couple of websites today has left me with the need to!!

The first thing isn’t actually an “I Would If I Could” item now, I just ordered it and can’t wait to get it so I can try it on! Soon to be on its way to me is this oh, so sexy Leopard print skirt from Sexy Plus Clothing. I’m so excited about it!

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Then I went to the City Chic website. Because I haven’t really been able to spend extra so far this year(the ability to order from Sexy Plus was because of an awesome Groupon type deal I got) I haven’t been visiting clothing websites as much. It’s just too hard looking when I can’t buy anything, very depressing lol. 

After today’s visit to City Chic’s website I definitely have a few things to keep an eye on and save up for future sales. I’m absolutely in love with some of their new arrivals!

Here’s what I would buy if I could, and hopefully sometime in the near future I can buy at least one or two of them!

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Princess Inca Maxi Dress $88

 

 

 

 

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         Jungle Queen Maxi $88

 

 

 

 

 

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Cammo Girl Maxi $88

 

 

 

 

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    Leatherette Snake Tank $54

 

 

 

 

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Pretty Officer Jacket $98

 

 

 

 

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                  Zig Zag Tunic $62

 

 

 

 

 

Jolene

Sunday, March 18, 2012

What I Wore

I hope everyone had a good weekend! I did! My youngest turned 12 on Saturday, yep a St. Patrick’s day baby! He’s my “baby”, not only because he’s my youngest, but because he’s always been a real Momma’s boy. Of course I love my boys equally, but my “Bear” as we call him has always been and is still a big cuddler and overall sweetheart. He is all boy and crazy about boy things(obnoxiously so at times!), but at the same time loves to help me pick out my clothes, jewelry, nail polish and make-up and is always telling me I look beautiful. He always tells me I’m not fat when I say it and loves how “comfy” Mommy and Daddy are to cuddle up with. He can be the most stubborn little sh*t one minute and then the biggest suck up the next, he still gets upset if I leave the house to go anywhere without him. It’s hard to believe one more year and he too will be a teenager. I hate watching them grow up so fast, but I love that my little family of 4 is so close and I know we will have a much closer relationship as they grow up and enter adulthood than I have with my family, and I look forward to it.

Here’s what I wore last week when we went out for the day. I have been dying to wear sandals the past couple of weeks and took advantage of a fairly nice day to wear some. It felt so nice to go out without socks and boots(as much as I LOVE boots) for the first time in so many months. I ended up going out with sandals twice last week. It may not be nice enough this coming week to do the same, but hopefully since we’ve had such a mild Winter we’ll get lucky and have consistent Spring weather before June so I can get my feet used to sandals again….it can be a pain having to break them in again every year.

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Jeans: Forever 21+, $15(2011)

Top: Penningtons, $15ish??(2011)

Tank: Warehouse One, $10(2011)

Blazer: City Chic, $26(2011)

Shoes: Walmart, $15(2011)

Necklace: Forever 21, $7(2011)

Earrings: Penningtons, $1(paid $3/3 pair set)(2012)

Ring(small one): Avon, $20ish(it’s real silver)(2009)

Ring(larger one): Forever 21, $5(2011)

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Jolene

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Review: e.l.f.

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I finally placed my first order from e.l.f., for those who don’t know(are there any of “those”?) it’s an inexpensive make-up website, most items are only $1. So I thought I would do a little review. I might add reviews for specific items later, but for now I’ll review the site itself and the shopping experience.

I have known about e.l.f. for quite a few years but just never got around to trying them out, partially because it always costs more to order from Canada. Our dollar has been relatively equal to the US dollar for a while now, so there’s not much difference there like there once was. Shipping is where there is usually a noticeable difference. So many sites offer free or cheap shipping within the US but then charge insane amounts to ship to Canada. Yes, it is more expensive to ship up here of course, but some sites charge 2 to 3 times what the actual shipping cost would be….those stores obviously do not get my business. Fortunately while shipping is a little high from e.l.f. if you’re only ordering a few things, it’s not too bad if you order enough to make it worthwhile. I paid $6.95 shipping for this order, I placed a large enough order that it was definitely worth it.

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My order came to $26.95 including shipping. Here is what I ordered: 

Studio Cream Eyeliner(Black) $3

Studio Cream Eyeliner(Copper) $3

Eyelid Primer(Champagne)(x2) $1

Essential Luscious Liquid Lipstick(Cherry Tart) $1

Essential Luscious Liquid Lipstick(Ruby Slipper) $1

Studio Lip Primer and Plumper $3

Essential Dual Pencil Sharpener $1

Essential Mechanical Eyelash Curler $1

Essential Slant Tweezer $1

Studio Small Angled Brush $3

Essential Zit Zapper $1

What got my attention and encouraged me to finally place an order was a promotion that was on at the time to get a free “Mystery Bag” with $20 worth of product with an order of $20. Sounded like a good deal to me! Nothing makes me try out a new company more than a great deal. I’m pretty happy with what I got in my “Mystery Bag” as well!

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My “Mystery Bag” included (these were all free to me!):

Essential Silver Box Duo Eyeshadow Collection - Limited Edition $5

Studio Shimmer Palette $3

Mineral Concealer Brush $5

Studio Single Eyeshadow(Butter Cream) $3

Essential Hypershine Gloss(Sugar Plum) $1

Gem Nail File $3

Definitely all items I would gladly try, especially for free!!

It had been a few years since I even looked at their site and I was pretty impressed with how much they had grown. There is definitely a lot more product than I recall seeing in the past. I also really liked that they have a review system set up. I like being able to see what other people have to say about a product, and the review system seems to be well used by customers.

Overall the ordering experience was good. I placed my order on February 28th and received it March 13th. That’s pretty average for ordering from the US. I only have 2 complaints. One is that if you order from Canada they apparently don’t send you an email to confirm your order has shipped, nor do they provide you with a tracking number. For the tracking number there may not be one, it depends how they ship it. But I can’t see any reason why they would not provide an email confirming your order has shipped like they do for US customers. Anywhere I have ever ordered from sends an email confirming shipment, this is the first time ever I did not get one when ordering online. To me it’s a courtesy thing and we’re spending our money just like the US customers, we deserve the same quality of service. At least knowing the order has shipped we know it’s on the way and about when to expect it.

My other complaint is the colors on the website compared to the actual color for some things are way off, I mean really WAY off. You expect there to be a slight variation, it’s impossible to get a picture showing exact and of course how it shows on the screen depends on your screen. But that doesn’t explain when they look like completely different colors. Because I haven’t tried any of the make-up yet I can’t speak for the difference between how they look once they are actually on. But I have seen some complaints in the reviews about the difference between the color on screen and in reality.

Based on the ordering experience I would order again, especially since it appears they put out a lot of promotions. Since ordering I have received constant emails from them with offers of bonus things with an order. It’s almost too many emails they send, but as long as the bonus offers remain good I’ll tolerate them Smile.

I’ll spend the next little while trying everything out and maybe do some individual reviews on some of the products.

Have you bought from e.l.f. before? Did you have a good experience? Any favorite products?

Jolene

 

*This review is my own opinion and was done simply because I like to share experiences good or bad with others. All products with the exception of the items in the “Mystery Bag” were paid for on my own, “Mystery Bag” items were simply a promotion offered to all customers at the time. I was not asked to do this review nor was I supplied anything for the purpose of reviewing.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

What I Wore

How do so many find the time to blog every single day? I want to blog daily so bad, maybe I need to stop rambling so much so I can do up a post faster and get it out LOL. I like rambling though, your blog is supposed to be about you right? Well, I’m a rambler, so it’s just me being me.

Well, here’s a fast, relatively ramble free post so I can get a couple hours sleep while waiting for hubby who is working the awful really late shift tonight.

This is what I wore to my adorable nephew’s 3rd birthday party on Saturday. Poor little guy knocked his front tooth out the night before his birthday, but was in great spirits and his usual adorable self. Not sure if my sis would be ok with me posting his pic on my blog, but we were all braindead and forgot our camera anyway!

Anyway, this is what I wore, it was a gorgeous day so I took advantage of it and went with a skirt and no tights! Yay! I hate tights, not because of tights themselves, but because I can never find ones that fit good.

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Top: Warehouse One, $10(2011)

Cardigan: Penningtons, $30(2011)

Skirt: hand-me-down from a friend

Belt: City Chic, $12(2011)

Boots: Payless, $40(2011, leftover style from 2010)

Necklace: Addition-Elle, $10(2011)

Earrings: Avon, don’t recall price (2009)

Ring: Penningtons, $3(2012)

Ring(silver one): Avon, $20ish(it’s real silver)(2009)

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(didn’t wear the bracelet in the above pic, but wore the rest)

Jolene

Wednesday, March 07, 2012

What I’m Wearing

We had a beautiful day today after a snowstorm from Sunday night through Monday morning. Made it a perfect day for my flat boots with all the muck and slush out there, plus the icy spots which definitely would have had me on my ass had I not worn sensible footwear. I love wearing boots and wish I had more, but I’m kind of looking forward to getting to wear my sandals again! Sadly unless we get lucky I still have quite a while to wait until sandal weather.

This is what I wore for a day of running around with hubby.

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Skinny Jeans: Forever 21+, $16(2011)

Top: Giant Tiger, $15ish(2007)

Cardigan: Addition-Elle, $10ish(2009)

Boots: Sears, $40(2011)

Necklace: Addition-Elle, $10(2011)

Earrings: Earrings: Avon, don’t recall price (2009)

Bracelet: Dollarama, $1.25(2011)

Ring(black and silver): Penningtons, $3(2012)

Ring(silver): Avon, $20ish(it’s real silver)(2009)

 

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Jolene

Incredible Deal for SexyPlus Clothing

If you’ve never shopped the fantastic Canadian plus size clothing store Sexy Plus Clothing before, here is your chance to try them out! $40 for $100 worth of clothing!! While I don’t know for sure, I’m assuming the deal is only open to Canadians, I think this is a Canadian deal site, though I know Sexy Plus Clothing ships to the US and has done similar deals on US deal sites, so keep an eye out to see if she does them again for US shoppers.

Go here to get the deal: http://www.tastygo.com/r/136350_562 (yes, I do get the refer a friend if you purchase through that link, I purchased through the link of the person who I found out about this deal through so am happy she will get credit for my purchase!)

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I’ve managed to get in on some good deals on these kind of deal sites before, but this is the first time I’ve got a deal for me and not hubby and the kids LOL(I manage to get them good deals to go play Paintball through some of these sites). I’m super excited because I love this store! I have only bought from them once because they are a little pricey for my budget, but the owner is so incredible awesome. She is always interacting with customers on her Facebook page and I’m always hearing how wonderful of an experience it is to shop in her store….I wish she had a location here Sad smile. But, I’m so glad to have this opportunity to buy from her again.

The actual store is in Toronto, but you can use the deal to purchase online as well. And hurry, what you see for the time remaining on there is current, I just copied that from the site, so time is running out.

Jolene

Crackle Nail Polish

I’ve been eyeing crackle nail polish for a while now. Trying to decide if I really liked it or not. I’ve seen some pictures that I hated of it, others I thought weren’t too bad. I think the colors made the difference, as you’ve probably noticed from my outfit pictures I’m not exactly into bright and crazy colors. So, I definitely didn’t like when I saw crackle polish over extremely bold colors.

Because of the price of crackle in brands like OPI and China Glaze I had not taken the plunge yet. I didn’t feel like spending that much just to try it out in case I didn’t like it.

I decided to give the Sally Hansen crackle polish a try since it’s cheaper so wouldn’t be as much loss if I didn’t like it. Hubby chose the color for me because I’m indecisive and couldn’t decide on my own.

I think I like it! Nail polish chips on my nails within hours, not sure why but no matter what I do polish just won’t stick, so I kind of like that it helps mask small chips so at least I can get a full day out of my polish without it looking too bad. What do you think? It was hard to get a picture, this was the best one we could get of my nails.

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I’m wearing China Glaze Platinum Silver as the base and Sally Hansen Vintage Violet Crackle as the overcoat.

Jolene

Monday, March 05, 2012

Meatloaf Roll

I’m doing terrible sticking to my posting schedule, aren’t I? Oh well, at least I’m posting, right?

I had planned to post this recipe yesterday, but the day just got away from me. I need to share this recipe, I mean really need to. I made this last week and again last night. It is the best Meatloaf you will ever eat. For reals. And it’s so stinking easy to make!

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I came across a recipe for a Cheeseburger Bacon Roll, check out this woman’s blog and recipes, seriously, you must! She is a low carb blogger, but even if you aren’t eating low carb the recipes are great. I’m sure her version exactly as is is absolutely superb. But, as I’ve said before, I’m more of a look for recipes for inspiration kind of person. I will follow baking recipes usually, but cooking I almost never follow exactly. So, I took her amazing recipe and as always, made it my own. Even though my husband has no idea where I got the recipe from, he is eternally grateful for this blogger who inspired my version of which the “mmmm” and “this is so good” comments are repeated often throughout the meal…which of course doesn’t last long because I think he has one slice gone in about 2 bites.

Meatloaf Roll

Inspired by Cheeseburger Bacon Rolls by Vanessa from Healthy Living How To

1 1/2 pounds Ground Beef

12 slices of bacon

2 small jalapenos, diced

1 tsp Onion powder

1 tsp Garlic powder

1 tsp Oregano

1 tsp Parsley flakes

Salt and Pepper

1 to 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Step 1: Make a “bacon weave”

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For more details on how to make your bacon weave for the recipe definitely go to her blog post, she has pictures showing you exactly how to do it if you don’t know how. And be sure to check out some of her other great recipes while you’re there.

Step 2: Flatten out your ground beef into a “square” and top with spices and jalapenos, spread em all over. The picture is the first time I made it, I put twice as many jalapenos on when I made it yesterday and that is how I will make it now…yumm!

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Step 3: Cover that sucker in cheese!

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Step 4: Roll it all up!

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Step 5: Roll it all up in your BACON!!

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Step 6: Bake it! Bake at 400* F for 1 hour, then let sit for about 15 minutes before cutting into it.

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Step 7: The best step of all! EAT IT!! Cut into slices and enjoy with whatever side you desire.

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Jolene

Friday, March 02, 2012

What I’m Wearing

I didn’t get around to doing any of my other posts this week, so I figured I would throw in another What I’m Wearing post.

I wore this today, and while it didn’t come out looking quite as good as it did in my head, I still think it turned out ok. My hubby loved it because I was wearing one of my low cut tops that he loves and I haven’t been wearing them much lately because of the condition of my skin, since my skin has drastically improved after cutting sugar and carbs I figured it’s time to wear so of my other tops a little more….and that sure makes the husband happy LOL.

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Skirt: Hand me down from a friend from years ago

Top: Giant Tiger, $12ish(2007)

Cardigan: Addition-Elle, $15ish(2011)

Belt: City Chic, $12(2011)

Tights: Forever 21+, $6(2011)

Boots: Payless, $40(2011, leftover style from 2010)

Necklace: Warehouse One, $10ish (2011)

Earrings: Avon, don’t recall price (2009)

Ring(silver one): Avon, $20ish(it’s real silver)(2009)

Ring(two-finger black one): Penningtons, $3(2012)

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My photographers are either my almost 12 year old Momma’s boy or my wonderful husband. Hubby took todays pics, he likes to have a little fun and be silly when he does the pictures. One of them is pretty goofy, so I won’t share that one lol, but this one I’m glad he took, I really like it! Notice I actually took the time to put a few curls in my hair today! It’s not easy putting curls in jet straight, waist length hair and it has been some time since I did so!

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Jolene