Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Happy First!

It's September! I can hardly believe it, but I am kind of excited..
With fall comes sweater weather, pretty colors, comforting smells, pumpkin spice lattes, fall beer, boots, and football parties.


 Another great thing coming this fall is change. A lot of change for me, my little family, and my business.  We want to move south (most likely Duluth/Norcross/Sugar Hill, GA area.)  To do that we need to majorly cut back on expenses so we'll be able to comfortably move into a larger home before Olivia starts kindergarten 1 year and 11 months from now.
I'm also transforming my business.  I'm going to start my own website and hopefully begin to expand my presence in the beauty and skin care world.
I see a lot of stress in my future, but that's okay because at the end of that stress I'm hoping to be in a better (warmer) place.

This week's posts:
Tues:  Part 2 of my Fall Favorites
Wed:  August Goals Update/September Goals
Fri:  August/September Sponsor Highlights

Oh, and....
 

Friday, August 23, 2013

My Favorite Fall Fashions

...and all I can think about is sweater and boot weather. 
What is your fall style? Are you the oversized sweater kind of girl? A studded boots girl? Or are you the clunky heels and tights kind of girl? I'm going to have to say that I'm all 3 and more.  That being said, I'm super excited to share a few gorgeous affordable fall fashion gems that I have found over the last few days. (There's a lot so I'm breaking it up into 2 posts!)

Studded Mint Green Purse from Lulus
Mini Post Earrings from Pauwow Handmade
Mountain Haze Boots from Spool No.72











Burgundy Dolman Knit Sweater from Windsor






Tuesday, August 20, 2013

In Memory..

I haven't felt like writing this week..
Another beautiful soul was lost to cancer on Aug 14.  Brennan Repasy marks the 3rd for the summer, a beautiful young soul who brought love, joy, and hope to many. 

My friend told me something incredibly heart warming and sweet about the impact Brennan had others and I'd like to share it.
Brennan's brother got an email after his passing and it said "I didn't know Brennan but he saved my life.." he continued to talk about how he has leukemia and he found Brennan's YouTube/Vine videos about living with leukemia.  Brennan's beyond positive attitude and take on things helped bring this person up and he was/is very grateful for that.

Many hearts are aching for his family and I think that says something. His impact on this world was a great one and now he will always be able to help guide us on our way.

Thursday, August 8, 2013

August Goals & July Recap

Well, I made it through my first Monthly Goal link up with a few successes.

Monthly Goals

My July Goals were:
★Organize and beautify my office; it is a disaster.  Kind of a success. I organized it.
☆Organize my closet, also a disaster.  DONE!
★Prepare at least 2 gluten-free/vegan meals each week and blog about it.  I ate great food, but never blogged about it.
☆Be coffee-free 3 days per week.  SUPER FAIL! Not even close.
★Learn how to properly can tomatoes.  FAIL. But only because I don't have enough tomatoes to can yet.
☆Start saving $250-275 for SummerdanceFAIL. Didn't save anything.
★Plan some type of weekend getaway with Joe.  SUCCESS! We are going to Atlanta in October.

I guess I wasn't too much of a failure in July, lol. 50/50 isn't bad, right?

My August Goals:
★Take preschool tours with Olivia to find the right one to start going to in early winter.
☆Start downsizing all of my 'junk', do this through yard sales and charity.
★Get a secured credit card and build up my credit.
☆Excercise DAILY, not just 2 or 3 times a week.
★Order Harvest Party invitations/decorations.
 ☆Take a sushi class with Joe.
★Help Ancestral Warship sell out a show! Many of you may have seen them at EST Fest with MGK this past week, they rocked it!
☆Get out more and stop being a homebody! I go out, just not enough to say I have an active social life, lol.

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PS. I SAW JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE AND JAY Z IN DETROIT THIS WEEK AND IT WAS ONE OF THE BEST SHOWS I HAVE EVER SEEN. I suggest everyone go see them when they come through your town! They collaborated on about 75% of the songs, it was so good.  Jay Z seriously must have performed every single hit he has had since 1996 (including hard knock life, how awesome is that?) and same with Justin. He sang a good 4 or 5 songs from each of his solo albums. AMAZING.

Thursday, August 1, 2013

PJ Party Swap Reveal!

This is the best 1st's of all the 1st's... Want to know why? 
It's my birthday!
I'm 26 this year.  Yuck.  It's okay though because I got a ton of awesome things in the mail yesterday and today, lots of nice text messages, and some very sweet phone calls.

My favorite package of the day was definitely my PJ Party Swap box! I LOVE IT!

Traci totally outdid herself and I can only hope she likes everything I chose for her as well.
Want to see my goodies?!

 Isn't that tank top cute?! That shade of green on the shorts is my fave, too! She made a super cute keepsake box, handwritten recipe cards(I'm a sucker for handmade everything), an awesome mix cd which just shows how incredibly similar Traci and I are, and a glittery green notebook and pens to play MASH! Traci, when I saw that you referenced MASH in your card I went right back to school. I'm totally going to have a mini MASH party soon! And do you see that little yellow thing over to the right?
 THAT'S RIGHT FOLKS! A Ron Weasley is our King pin. I am in love with it.  Traci and I share a love of Ronald Weasley so the fact that she threw this in makes my heart smile :)
These awesome candies/bars called Unreal. They are pretty good!

 The candle smells amazing and she totally stuck with my favorite color, green!  And, I know I'm supposed to do it at night but I already used some of Tea Tree & Witch Hazel Mud Mask and now my face smells great and is super soft!

 And a super adorable paisley cup filled with more UNREAL products.

Now I'm off to enjoy my awesome new cd which features Muse, old Fall Out Boy, Black Keys, Franz Ferdinand and more!  Come on over and sign up for the next swap over at Chaotic Goddess Swaps. It's a lot of fun and you are guaranteed to meet someone amazing!


Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Harvest Party Prep

What a week! I totally got sidetracked from my blog and my shop work! I feel horrible for that, but I guess life happens right?
I had another hoofed visitor to my garden last night, Joe hasn't done his, umm, anti-deer trick this week, haha.  This one was nice (& small, tiny hoof-prints) and only ate about 10 or so small, very unripe tomatoes and he/she walked around my carrots and didn't squish them. So thank you little deer.

I'm starting to plan my Harvest Party, too! I've set a date, Saturday Sept 7.  I've been searching Etsy for fall themed decorations and invitations.  Here are my possible choices...
Harvest Banner from SillyLittleGoose




Fall Themed Invitation from PrettyPartyCreations


Fall Leaves Confetti from HookedonArtsNCrafts
Fall Paper Straws from LetsPartyCreations
I'll get some cute fall colored tablecloths or runners from Target and have pretty baskets filled with flowers. I'm thinking of getting airy and light looking string lights for the trees and fence, too.  I can't wait, this party is going to be so much fun!
What do you think of my picks so far?  Anything you think a harvest party should have?

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

A Quick Update

Good morning! It's a very sunny Tuesday here in Cleveland and that makes for a great morning:)
Remember when the deer attacked my garden twice?  Well, those incidents have caused me to begin a new morning routine.  I now rise extra early with Joe (6:15am), snuggle for a few minutes, then move out of my comfy spot to look out the window by the foot of the bed to make sure my wild diners didn't return.  They haven't.  Why, you ask.. Well, I made Joe pee a perimeter about 5 feet from my garden 2 times. Gross? Yes. But ya know what, it's working.  My plants are thriving and I'll hopefully (knock on wood!) have enough for my Harvest Party at the end of August.
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I'm also delving into a mostly raw food lifestyle, kind of by accident.  At the beginning of the month I shared my July goals with you and one of them was to eat at least 2 gluten-free, vegan meals a week.. That turned into 1-2 raw meals a day :) I don't know how, but it did and I'm kind of excited about it.  Joe is even doing it!  That in itself is amazing.  We've pretty much quadrupled our fruit and veggie intake and I feel great!
Have you tried raw meals daily? How did you feel after doing it for a while?
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Featured July Sponsor:
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Want to know how to be featured in my blog posts? Go here.

Sunday, July 21, 2013

July Giveaway

It's giveaway time again and I'm so excited about all of the great prizes my sponsors have offered to my amazing readers.
So, what can you win this month?
Month Long Ad Spaces from That Girl... Jennee Thompson & Happily Rambling!
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 There will be 4 winners!!
So, what are you waiting for?
Go enter!
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Friday, July 19, 2013

Clothing Swap Tutorial by Victoria


Hello to all of Bethany's lovely readers! I'm so excited to be doing my first guest post ever here at Happily Rambling. 

About four times a year, my girlfriends and I swap all of our unused/ill-fitting/unloved-but-still-gorgeous clothing, accessories and shoes with each other. Aside from Christmas and my birthday, when we swap, I feel like the luckiest girl ever. I end the day with a de-cluttered closet and lots of treasures. For free, people!

Here's a tutorial on how we swap: 

1. Send out an invite at least a month before. Enough prep time is essential so your swappers can sort through their unwanted items and bag them up. If possible it's great for them to deliver their 10+ items to the swap hostess before the event so she can hang, fold and organize them, but it's not necessary. Clothing racks and emptied coat closets work really, but kitchen tables, counters and mantles work fine as well.

2. If you're hosting, create a space free of your home clutter. Not only is this important so the hostesses belongings don't get swapped (!) but also so swappers feel comfortable moving around and seeing everything that's up for grabs. 

3. Start with about an hour of mixing, mingling and trying on clothes, so swappers can decide what their top picks are. Once everyone is settled in with a cocktail, have everyone pick a number out of a hat. If there are 12 swappers, numbers run from 1-12. 

4. Begin! When everyone's ready to start, swapper #1 takes their pick and the group continues through to #12. The last swapper will then go again, and the group will work themselves back down to swapper #1. After everyone has had two picks, the haul becomes a free for all, so MOVE QUICKLY. 

5. The calm after the storm. My favorite part of the swap is after everyone has made their top picks and just chats and drinks and tries on everything that's left. There are often some great little hidden gems to be found and it's great to get so many opinions on outfits. 

6. Get your goodwill on. Anything unwanted gets bagged by the hostess and brought to charity. Win win!

 If you're interested in getting in a little practice before hosting your own swap with some girlfriends, click here for swap meet up groups. I find them to be a little more stressful because, well, we generally tend to be a little less snatchy gentler with people we know. But I've found some really great stuff at these things when I'm able to successfully avoid a panic attack.
Please let me know if you host a swap and come visit me over at Lost in Boston!
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Don't forget to come back on Sunday 7/21 for a giveaway with prizes from myself, Victoria, and many of my other amazing sponsors :)

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

What's New in My Business World?!

It seems that everywhere I look there is a Christmas in July sale so, naturally, I got in on the action and started posting July Sales & Offers in my beauty shop.  Today I'll be sharing my favorite Stella Kenton products and some must have summer items.

So, what's new at Stella Kenton? The answer, a lot of gift sets. And just in time for back-to-school and early holiday shopping or just a perfect pick-me-up for yourself.
I truly am obsessed with my new Lip Shimmers.  They are natural, tinted with mineral powders, and contain no sesame based oils or parabens.  I'm offering these individually or in sets of 3 and sets of 2.
My other gift set that I'm completely obsessed with is my Coffee & Sea Salt Scrub Set.
Coffee & Sea Salt are both amazing for your skin in their own ways, if you know how to use them.  
Sea Salt is a gentle scrub that helps tighten skin and it's perfect for use on your face. It's also a natural detoxifier (it absorbs toxins!)
Coffee has been used for many years to help reduce the appearance of varicose veins and cellulite by increasing blood flow(thank you caffeine!). Rub in a circular motion on thighs, upper arms, and anywhere else you may need it, leave it on and do this a few times a week for 2-3 weeks and you'll notice a huge difference! 
I personally tried this out shortly after having my daughter and I'm telling you it works. I wish I would have taken pictures, but at the time I wasn't too keen on being photographed (after baby body blues.)  

This next little gem is a Vegan Lip Scrub Gift Set, where you get to choose any 4 flavors.  I love these, I really really do.  They make your lips surprisingly soft, moisturized, and tasting great.. If you follow up a scrub with some lip balm, omg. Seriously, so soft, so smooth; it makes you want to go makeout with someone, lol.

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Now on to some other great mid-summer items that I'm completely obsessed with..






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My sponsors and I are holding a giveaway starting July 21!  Make sure you remember to come back and enter for a chance to win gift cards, ad space, and beauty items!

Monday, July 15, 2013

We'll see you again..

I had a pretty fun blog post to do today but I need to hold off until tomorrow and stop to take a moment and say Thank You to the universe for letting me have the honor to have known Joel Scott Kocher.  He lost his long battle with pancreatic cancer late Saturday night.  He was given 6 months in April 2012 but he chose to stay a little longer and in doing so he changed everyone for the better.  My heart hurts for his children; he was a single father and a very good one at that.  I'm happy he's no longer in pain, but I hope he knows how much he is missed.


Thursday, July 11, 2013

Giveaways Galore!!

Hey all! Ready for a few more awesome giveaway opportunities?


It is summertime, it is hot outside and I am passionate for pastels. Enjoy this fabulous Ulta Passionate for Pastels giveaway from LeChateauDesFleurs:

Passionate For Pastels includes bareMinerals READY Eyeshadow 4.0 in The Sweetest Thing, Flawless Definition Mascara in Black, Sorbet Blush, Marvelous Moxie Lipgloss in Go Getter and a cosmetic bag.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Happiness, Showcases & A Swap Party!

That means Joe comes home in 3 days!!!!!
I cannot even begin to express the happiness I feel knowing that he's going to be back soon.

Want to know what else makes me happy? 
These gorgeous treasury lists featuring some amazing small business owners. 

'July!' by horki

Enjoy!


Christmas in July - Silver S...
$3

Hand Knit Bow Hair Clip in R...
$11

Christmas In July Stocking H...
$45

Bikini. Crochet bikini. Croc...
$49

Knitted baby bolero and skir...
$49

Antique silver plated embell...
$18

20 Christmas Ornaments, Baby...
$40

CHRISTMAS IN JULY Handmade V...
$3.99

SALE 15% OFF Poppy Necklace,...
$8.5

Christmas in July Sale - STR...
$4.4

The Quiet Night Series. Holi...
$6

Christmas in july, Crochet r...
$18

30 - Canada Day, July 4th Ch...
$6

Deer, Greeting Card, Woodlan...
$5.25

Christmas in July SALE - Min...
$5.15

Candy Cane Long Stocking Cap...
$25.99

'Daily Dose' by RinnovatoVintage

Pretty neutrals from today's team Wanelo "Show Me" thread : )


Childrens duffel coat patter...
$6.5

Decorative Wall Letter A han...
$38

Lime Green Sea Glass Angel F...
$17

Peace Sign Black and White i...
$37

Beaded Leather Wrap Bracelet...
$58

Dried lavender glass vial pe...
$18

Zippered Arrow and Hearts Co...
$18

Shopping list, grocery list,...
$8

Custom pencil portrait. 8x11...
$65

Sea Glass Dangle Earrings: ...
$20

Moss Aquamarine Earrings Omb...
$70

Etched Flower Ring, Sterling...
$48

turquoise dreamcatcher chain...
$29

Wool knit scarf, merino wool...
$40

Wall Hanging Art or Quilt wi...
$45

Solid Gold and Silver Delica...
$95

I'm always looking for some great shop owners and bloggers to promote on my blog through posts and sponsorships! If you'd like to know how you can be featured leave me a comment and we'll chat!

Another thing I'm pretty happy/excited about is the latest swap from Chaotic Goddess Swaps!
Their latest swap is a PJ PARTY! Who doesn't like getting new pajamas? So excited for this one :)