::Big Favor:: For Little Debbie, My Mom

This page has 2,498 page views since I started blogging.  I'm sure 50% of those are me, before I figured out how to turn off my self views. However, that would mean that somehow there are 1,200 people that at some point have read what I have to say. Really, that is about 10x as many people as I would have expected. Go Me?

All joking aside, would you mind clicking through to the blog I created in honor of my Mom? I have some big plans for 2013, and while I know it is going to require much of my time and effort, this lady is worth all that and more.

http://ForLittleDebbie.Blogspot.com

Anyone you know that might be interested in doing a fundraiser, donation, or just encouraging words - please feel free to provide them my email address (Jessica dot Gehman at gmail dot com). I am so excited to continue the amazing life my Mom led, and hope many of you will join me for the next year!

Love,

Jess

Free Clutch - So Excited!

I was SO SO SO excited when I got an email from Heather at Saving Money Living Life telling me I won their giveaway with CoCoMis Unneccesary Necessities! The gorgeous bag they were giving away is the Zebra clutch you see below.  

 With how excited I was (see SO SO SO above), you'd think I couldn't have been more excited when it came in the mail, right?  Well, that'd be wrong.  I had no idea (hello genius, the dimensions are shown online) how large the clutch would be.  In addition to being a great pattern, a bright pop of color inside, it also is big enough to hold everything and anything you could need on a night out.  The bag is sewn together beautifully, and the clasp is secure enough that I was able to put my life in it, shake it around (fake dance around the living room) and everything was still intact at the end of my dance party. 

To give you an idea of size, this is a full sized jar of pasta sauce

 Yes, I seriously stood the bag up next to a jar of pasta sauce.  But to my credit, it was clean and unopened and I thought was a very straight forward item that most people would know the size of. (go ahead, you can laugh at me now). Bonus points are also given to Renee for the packaging.  I think there is something great to be said for an item that comes in fun, functional, and appropriate wrapping.  The pink and black accent was a great tie-in to the item inside and I am 100% sold on the items that Renee has to offer.  

  This particular clutch has an awesome story behind it.  I stole this from Renee's Etsy site, so please go read more for yourself here.  

 "My 15 year old daughter, Dominique, had the amazing opportunity to go to Nyeri, Kenya to work and play at Belwop Rescue Centre. It is a home for children that have been abandoned, orphaned and or abused. Veronica, known as Mum to all the beautiful children she takes in, gave up her job, sold what she had and made a home for the kids. You can learn more here http://belwopproject.com/media." 

Please check out Renee at the sites below, and tell her Jessica sent you! 

www.cocomi.etsy.com

reneequeen.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com/cocomisjewels

Anniversary Trip - New York Fingerlakes

First, let me say that I can't believe we have been married for 3 years.  When the heck did that happen? I really feel like it was not that long ago that I wore that big white dress, couldn't finish a beer without my underage brother swiping it, and filled a venue, a bus, and my hotel with friends and family. 

That being said, Kevin and I took a quick 2 day trip to the New York Fingerlakes for our Anniversary Weekend.  It is a nice feature to have 3 day weekends for most of our anniversaries (Labor Day) and I'm glad we took advantage of that again this year. 

We visited 5 wineries (listed below), and had drinks with my favorite college cousin who is attending Cornell.  A few of the wineries were packed, but it was a gorgeous weekend and we were more than happy to relax outside for a few minutes and wait for some crowds to dissipate.  The beautiful scenery as you drive along Cayuga Lake is just an added bonus, as you can see from a few drive-by pictures that I took. 

Out of the some wineries that are on the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail, we chose 5 to visit during our one-day run.  I would probably not suggest visiting more than 5 in one day, unless you pack a hearty lunch, snacks, and have several drivers/drinkers.  The five that Kevin and I enjoyed were: 

1. Cobblestone Winery
2. Goose Watch
3. Knapp
4. Sheldrake Point (any Dirty Dancing fans?)
5. Swedish Hill 

My favorite things about the wine trail were that it was easy to navigate thanks to the map, directions, and most being along the main roads.  The second thing I enjoyed was how inexpensive most of the tastings were.  While $5 does add up eventually, we spent the entire day tasting and only spent $50 (plus the cost of wines we purchased), which was relatively inexpensive all things considered.  

The things I didn't like were that the wineries closed early (5pm for most), even on a busy Saturday.  That was tough, and left us without time to visit two on the end of the lake.  Another item to note is that you will likely need to pack sandwiches/picnic style if you chose to spend a full day.  Only two of the wineries that we saw offered food options, and those were quite limited.  

 I would absolutely go back, and hope to spend some time with my Cornell Cousin this spring and have an opportunity to tour a winery or four with her! 

November Birchbox

So, let's talk about November's Birchbox.  I was beyond sold when I tried the mascara.  Seriously, I can't tell you enough good things about it - and texted my SIL the same day to make her go buy it.  The ModelCo - Fibre Lashxtend Lengthening Mascara is not only a great mascara product, but the mirror on the side to help with on-the-go application is a rocking bonus.   For $24, it is more than I would normally spend, but I would say I will definitely be splurging on this again. 

I really liked the Mox Botanicals Lip Butter as a product - it did a great job of keeping my lips hydrated and it didn't taste awful.  The downside was, I hate sticking my finger in lip products.  I always feel like "Okay, let me wash my hands, stick them in this product, wipe it on my mouth, and then wash my hands again.".  That's why everything I use is in a tube - I can just whip it out, apply it, and put it away.  No mess, no hand washing, win. 

Hair Powder was a mess.  I hate to say I barely got to try any, because I opened the package and then it promptly fell in the sink.  It might be a user error (hello, have you met me), but I am going to say they could have designed the package in a more user friendly manner. 

Good news for you is - Birchbox included a code for a friend (I say internet friends count) towards Chromatic Gallerie (code is Birchfriend15).  Go look around, but my favorites are these two: 

Pining for You - 4" Heel  

Tinsel Town - Hello Silver

Synposis of November: 

Fave: ModelCo - Fibre Lashxtend Lengthening Mascara

Uh: Mox Botanicals - Pomegranate & Fig Lip Butter

Woops: Lulu Organics - Lavendar + Clary Sage Hair Powder

Share: Chromatic Gallerie - $15 off (Birchfriend15)

________________________________________________________________________

Want to check it out for yourself? Use my referral link - https://www.birchbox.com?raf=qr145  
When you use this link, I'll earn 50 birchbox points when you sign up, and for every 100 points I earn, I'll do a small giveaway! 

*Linking up with fabulous but evil's birchbox brag*

2 Ingredient Hot Chocolate

In the interest of full disclosure, I had a shitty day today.  Poor sleep last night, an early and stressful morning at work, and an emotional afternoon with a friend made for quite a Thursday. 

I came home chilly, sad, and tired.  Do you know what the perfect solution was to those issues? 

NUTELLA HOT CHOCOLATE

Now, are you prepared for the steps that you will need to go through in order to obtain this amazing hot chocolate?! One Two. Three. Yep, seriously - three steps - that I have illustrated below in case you are having a  very very very long day and need assistance. 

1. Put 8oz milk into a saucepan and heat on medium. 

2. Add 2 - 4 Tbsp Nutella to the heated milk and whisk. 

3. Pour into mug, drink, & enjoy. 








Now, go scoop out some Nutella, get the milk from the fridge and ENJOY.