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Giveaway!

2/28/2016

Iiiiiiiiiiit's giveaway time!!!
And with Pi Day coming up (3-14-16! Get it get it get it?!!), what better giveaway than this great Pi Day T-Shirt from Big Head Bob's?!!

This "Pi Day March 14, 2016 That's close enough 3.1416" t-shirt is a woman's size medium. It is a beautiful baby blue color, and it's super comfortable, and obviously, awesome!

Last week I had the opportunity to model three of Big Head Bob's Pi Day T-shirts for their website. I absolutely love them, and have been wearing them almost non-stop!
So I decided to do a giveaway of the blue shirt, to one lucky reader! Yay!
The giveaway has just started, and it ends on March 8th, so that I can ensure that it will get to you by Pi Day!
You can enter this giveaway by doing any of the options below. The more options you complete, the more entries you get! And some of them, you can do once a day!
So get ready, get set........GO!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck to you all!

*Disclosure*
I was given these Pi Day Shirts, and these are my thoughts on them.

Peace Love and Giveaways
Jess <3

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Tips to Survive a No Spend Month

2/22/2016

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Welcome back to Money Management Mondays my lovely readers! It's been a while, and today on the 14th installment, I will be talking about why you should do a no spend month, and how to survive a no spend month!
Here are the previous 13 Money Management Monday posts;

1. Re-think your cell phone.
2. Don't have a car payment.
3. Don't smoke cigarettes.
4. Don't play the lottery.
5. Purchase my Financial E-Course.
6. Live Cheaply
7. Be Positive about Your Money.
8. Financial Course.
9. Decide what is important to you.
10. Simplify Your Christmas Shopping.
11. Save (and Roll) Your Change.
12. Don't Drink a lot.
13. Keep Track of Everything you Buy for an Entire Month.

The no spend month is something I've seen popping up around the blogosphere a lot lately, and it sounded like a great idea, so me and the husband decided to give it a try! There are a lot of different ways you can go about doing your no spend month, but the basic gist of it, is that you don't spend any money for an entire month (duh!)! Hehe. Some people go all out, not buying gas or groceries the entire time, literally not spending a penny the entire month. But you need to conform the no spend month to fit your lifestyle, because if you don't make it work for you, then you won't stick to it, simple as that. So me and Nick decided that for our no spend month, we will still be buying gas, because we need to get to work, and we will still be buying groceries, because I'm hypoglycemic, and I need to eat a lot, and we eat pretty healthy, so we need to buy vegetables and other such perishables. But anyways! We did our No Spend Month, and it turned out really great! We saved a good deal of money! I was so stoked when I was doing my budgeting all month, and kept realizing that I had so much extra money to budget, because we weren't spending it! Wohooo!

So if you would like to try a no spend month, figure out what will work for you, choose a month, read these tips, and then prepare for some money saving!

So here are my top tips for surviving a no spend month!

Money Management Mondays Part 14. The No Spend Month!

Just because you can't buy anything this month, doesn't mean you can't look at nice things riiiiiiight?

Do your no spend month during the winter.
In the winter months, you'll be invited to hang out with people less, because most people like to hibernate indoors all winter long, and plus, it will be easier to stay curled up inside not spending money when it's freezing cold and snowing outside!

Use gift cards during your no spend month.
This is one reason why doing your no spend month right after Christmas is such a great idea. During our no spend month, me and the husband went to go see a movie with a gift card my brother gave us for Christmas, went shopping for new clothes for Nick at Express, with a gift card given to him by his sister's boyfriend, and I went to a coffee shop and used a gift card given to me by my brother to pay for it! We got to go out and do stuff, and not spend a dime!

Try out all those recipes you have saved to your pinterest board.
Since you can't go out to eat this month, you're going to have to do cooking at home. So now's the chance to try out all those recipes that you keep promising yourself that you'll make one day but never do. Just be sure to make a list of the ingredients that you need for each recipe, so that when you go to the grocery store, you buy only the things that you need!

Use ingredients already in your cupboards.
Some people that spend absolutely nothing all month, will only use the food they already have in their cupboards and freezers. Go through your cupboards and freezer, make a list of food you have, then plan your meals around that! You will spend very little on groceries that month, and use up food that was just sitting around collecting dust!

Play board games.
For Christmas my mom gave Nick a board game called "Crazy Categories", and we love it! We've played it with a bunch of different people, and it's a great way to have fun while staying home and not spending any money!

Return Things.
Me and Nick still had some things from our wedding (8 months ago haha!) that needed returned to the store. The store does not take returns, but they will do in-store exchanges. So during our no-spend month, we brought our items that needed returning, and exchanged them for things that we needed for our home, and a couple of birthday presents that we needed to buy for people. And we didn't spend a penny!

Invite people over to your house instead of going out.
On the 3rd day of our no spend month, our good friend from Atlanta was in town, and we wanted to hang out with him! So he came over to our house, Nick cooked some food, we ate, drank some beer (that was already in the fridge from the month before!), talked, and had a grand time!

Get crafty with your gifts.
During our no spend month we had 3 people that we needed to buy gifts for. We did end up getting a couple things for the people (see the above "return things" tip), but I got really crafty with my gifts and it turned out really well! For example, Nick's little sister had her birthday, and we gave her a cupcake candle (that we got when we exchanged things), and I made her a cupcake pillow, and a hairbow. She absolutely loved them, and everyone was passing around the pillow and marveling at its hand made-ness!

I do realize that sometimes you just need to spend money...
That's just how this world works. But if you can wait, wait! A lot of times we think we need something, then later realize that we could have done without it, or could have gotten it from someone we know, for free or very inexpensive. So just try to hold out on any and every purchase, and when the month is over, see if you still "need" it! That's one reason why the no spend month is so great, it forces us to slow down and actually think about our spending!

So! You've picked out a month, you've read the above tips, and you are ready to start saving money!
Now what? Next, you should decide what you want to do with the money you save! This is very important, because if you don't make a plan for the saved money, then most likely as soon as the no spend month is over, the money will just get spent, and the entire no spend month will be for naught!

Here are some things you can do with the money you save;
1. Put it towards paying off debt.
2. Put it towards something special you're saving for, like a vacation, a house, a car, or your wedding.
3. Use it to pay off bills that keep piling up.
and anything else you can think of! Just make sure that you have something in mind before you start the month!

How about you? Have you ever tried a no spend month? If not, would you like to? If you have, how was it? And what were your tips for surviving it?

Be sure to check out this new fashion blog; Pamela Kurt!

Peace Love and No Spend Month
Jessica <3

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Back Me Up! COCOMELODY Backless Wedding Dresses

2/15/2016

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Hello future brides (and ladies who just love to swoooon over beautiful wedding gowns)!
Today is a special feature, as we will be looking at a great style to consider when looking for your perfect wedding dress; backless, and open back wedding dresses! Yay!

Ok let's back it up here for a minute.
Today's amazing and cutting edge dresses, are all brought to you by CocoMelody wedding dresses, the most beautiful wedding dresses on the web!

In my mind, there are two different kinds of backless wedding dresses, which is perfect, because there are two different kind of brides (generally speaking of course)! The two different kinds of backless wedding dresses, are the completely exposed back, and the partially exposed back.
The first kind of backless dresses, the completely exposed back, are for the first kind of bride, the bold or funky bride! The bride that wants to look sexy and daring on her big day! Cleavage? So last year! A plunging back line is the new plunging neck line!

Your back will steal the show with this stunning lace dress with a plunging back! This is the perfect dress to wear if your hairstyle is pinned to the side.

So sexy, with a hint of rock and roll, this dress is perfect for the bold bride!

Wow! I am completely in love with this intricately designed back! And pearls going down the middle? Yes please!

Love this plunging backed dress!

Let's get back to it, with more open back wedding dresses!
The second kind of backless dresses, the partially exposed back, differ from the first kind, in that the back is not completely gone. They usually have a sheer layer of lace or other material so your back is not completely exposed. The partially exposed open back wedding dress is perfect for the second type of bride, the romantic bride. The bride who wants to look timeless, and be swooned over on her big day. Partially exposed backless dresses are the epitome of romantic and breathtaking beauty!

Do you see now what I meant by epitome of romanticism and breathtaking beauty?

This dress is a great example of the romantic bride.

Is it just me, or would you look like an actual Queen in this dress?!

The lace and pearls on this dress ensure you timeless beauty status!

So if you're going back and forth between both styles of dresses, and both styles of bride, and can't decide which one you fall under, never fear! Cocomelody has a dizzying array of beautiful backless wedding dresses that can fall under either category, and fit any style! For example, the first dress above is a partially open back wedding dress, but it's perfect for the bold bride (check out the front of it! Holy funky and sexy bride Batman!).
Also, the second dress above, is a completely exposed back dress, but is perfect for the classic romantic bride.

Which one would you wear? Let me know and share it around!

And now, Cocomelody is having a sale, $25.00 off any wedding dresses over $200 (excluding clearance items)! Hurry, the sale ends on February 29th!

*Disclosure*
I was selected for this opportunity by Cocomelody and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Peace Love and Cocomelody
Jess <3

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A Very Vintage Valentine's Day Makeup Tutorial

2/7/2016

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A Very Vintage Valentine's Day Makeup Tutorial

For my Valentine's Day makeup, I wanted to do something different than the traditional pink and red romantic look. I wanted a sexy look. A vintage sort of pinup look that would be a great look for that hot and steamy Valentine's date! So here I have for you my Very Vintage Valentine's Day Makeup Tutorial!

All the makeup I used, can be found in a drugstore. No expensive brands here! Any palette with white, greys, and blacks will work! You will also need 3 shadow brushes, liquid eyeliner, and a set of fake eyelashes. You can find falsies at any drugstore or beauty supply. Go for big fun ones!

Step 1. From lash line to brow bone, sweep your white/pearlescent shadow. Make sure to get the inside of your eye, it brightens up your whole face!

Step 2. Brush your dark grey shadow into your crease, and then underneath your eye, along the lash line, making a sort of semi-circle around your eye.

Step 3. Brush liquid eyeliner along your top lash line, in a thick line. Extend it out, into a wing shape.

Step 4. Brush your dark grey shadow along the winged part of the eyeliner. Top and bottom.

Step 5. Brush a black eyeshadow into your crease, until you get a great smoky look.

Step 6. Fill in your eyebrows. The thicker, darker, and more pointed, the better!

Step 7. Apply your fake eyelashes. They can be tricky at first, but once you get the hang of it, they're a breeze. I actually prefer wearing falsies to mascara!

Step 8. Using a brown contouring powder (or a brown eyeshadow), and a thin contouring brush, sweep into the hollows of your cheekbone.

Step 9. With a fluffy blush brush (say that 3 times fast!), sweep a bright pink blush directly above, and slightly overlapping your brown shade. Blend blend blend!

Step 10. A pink nude lipstick tops off this look. Doutzen's nude by Loreal is the most perfect pink nude I have ever found!

Pair with some bumper bangs, or other pinup hairstyle, a slinky red (it is Valentine's Day after all!) dress, fishnets, and heels. Wow! You vintage Valentine's Day babe you!