At least I wasn’t for a long time. I considered myself a tomboy. I enjoyed getting out and getting dirty. Playing with the boys. I have 2 older brothers that I always looked up to, and wanted to be like them.
I don’t wear makeup. I’m not a very good hair-doer (unless I spend uber amounts of time I don’t have to get it right). And, I’m just not very stylish. I’m working on that one though. I want more cute and fun styles.
I want my girls to have a sense of fashion that their mother lacks. So they can put themselves together, look nice, but also value themselves for who they are, not what the look like. The joys of trying to balance life and values.
I was really excited to get to review a product from HairCoverings.com again (they sent my girls a pretty hat and flower clip last year). This year I was looking more for me. I wanted something to add, that still kept me, me. I’m pretty happy with this black scarf I received. Since it’s black I can pair it with just about any outfit for a little dressier feel. Despite it’s thin feel, it actually kept my neck nice and warm on a cold night.
As you can probably guess, my oldest is quite the girly girl. I received the black scarf just in time to wear to her ballet recital.
Princess V absolutely loves dancing, and really enjoys her new dance studio (I was so glad we found one in the area thanks to TimeDog). You can see she is quite the Diva, as she leaves the stage waving to her fans.
I love the wide range of products I can get from HairCoverings.com as well as the reasonable pricing. I have a feeling I’ll be visiting them many times over the years for all my girly girl needs.
*I have to add though, working with their PR was a bit confusing at times, but everything fell into place, and overall I am happy to work with them.
20% OFF
Home Maid Simple readers can get 20% OFF their order through 12/31/12 with code
blog1231
Giveaway
1 Reader will receive a Surprise box of Hair Items worth $25
Twenty-four year-old, Abby Benson has dreams of owning her own wedding cake shop. An inheritance from her aunt gives her the ability to make those dreams come true. She hires Dane, a handsome contractor, to help her get the bakery up and running and soon they’re moving toward their own happy ending.
Unsure what to charge for her cakes, Abby has a crazy idea to let the customer decide what they think their cake is worth. This plan has its ups and downs, but the novelty of the idea makes her a local celebrity. When she is interviewed on television about the unusual idea, business booms and Abby has cake adventures she never dreamed possible. But as her fame grows, Abby is swept up in a whirlwind that threatens everything she values. With the challenges that face her, will she be able to determine what is worth the most?
Book Trailer
My Thoughts
I am a sucker for all things romantic. So a clean book about wedding cakes with a romance blooming on the side, right up my alley. I loved the detail the author took to describe the remodeling of the home into a bakery, the different outfits Abby wore, and the beautiful cakes. So many books go overboard in their descriptions of the small details, but Karey has taken just enough time for you to picture it all in your mind, and continue with the story.
I just love that there are recipes included. I’m a big fan of novels with recipes included. Each chapter begins with a new recipe. We even tried out the Pumpkin and mini chocolate chip Mufiins. I do think a little more editing needed to happen with the recipes. Some were a bit hard to follow, or were missing ingredients, that were mentioned in the directions. For example the muffins direction asked me to dredge the raisins in flour…but there were no raisins in the ingredients list…so we left that step out. Nothing big, and since I do a lot of baking I was able to pull some together pretty nicely. The kids are enjoying them for breakfast right now, actually.
Karey White grew up in Utah, Idaho, Oregon, and Missouri. She attended Ricks College and Brigham Young University. Her first novel, Gifted, was a Whitney Award Finalist.
She loves to travel, read, bake treats, and spend time with family and friends. She and her husband are the parents of four great children. She teaches summer creative writing courses to young people and is currently working on her next book.
Open to anyone who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent’s permission. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
I love listening to music throughout the day. Either from my Pandora account or CD’s I’ve collected throughout the years. Music can turn a rough day into a bearable day, and a good day into a Great Day! Especially if you’re listening to the right kind of music.
A lot of the music I listen to is LDS themed. (Learn more about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints). The language is clean, the words uplifting, and the spirit it brings into your home really does make the day better.
yourldsmusicstore.com is a new online store for all LDS music. I’ve been browsing around their site, and really love the selection of music they have. I hope they continue to add more, as some of my favorites are yet to be found on there.
They have many free downloads as well as albums you can purchase and download to your computer.
Back around Halloween I got the chance to review and giveaway some Avon items. Prior to that I had never used anything from Avon. I’m excited to be bringing back more Avon for you!
Kim started selling Avon this year, and I can tell she really enjoys what she does. I wanted to get to know more about why Kim likes avon, so I asked her what her favorite product is. Here’s her response:
“My favorite product that Avon carries are the Glimmersticks Diamonds Eyeliners. It’s hard to pick just one thing that I love, but eyeliner is one of those things I don’t like to leave the house without putting on first. I love the Diamonds Glimmersticks because they have a slight glitter to them. Just a little flashiness to them, which I love! My favorite colors are the Brown Glow and then Black Ice.”
The Marenon Chronicles by Jason D Morrow, have got to be the best self published books I’ve ever read! I have had the immense pleasure this past year to read and review each book in the trilogy as they’ve come out. You can read those reviews at the following links
When I started thinking of Christmas and a good gift for those teens I know, I didn’t have to think very hard. The Marenon Chronicles are a perfect fantasy novel, one I would easily compare to Lord of the Rings in storyline, to give to a book loving teen. I asked Jason if he wouldn’t mind answering some questions so we could get to know him a little better – he of course was willing. With that, here is Jason!
What is your favorite book?
My favorite book is the Hobbit, so you can imagine my excitement about the new movie coming out this month.
Who is your favorite author?
Ted Dekker is one of the best writers out there today. His action keeps the story flowing and his plot always keeps you guessing. I try to pick up one of his books any chance I get.
If your books were made into a movie, who would you cast?
That’s a good question. Often times when I write, I sort of have blank faces to the characters, and when I re-read them in editing, my mind fills in the gaps. For the character of Kaden Osric, there is no doubt in my mind that I would cast Liam Neeson if I had the choice. The characters Dink and Emma were written with myself and my wife in mind. I figured that if it ever did become a movie some day, we could try to contract ourselves in for those minor roles.
What are your favorite holiday traditions?
At Christmas time, my mom makes these delicious sausage balls. We can all be gathered together at spending time with each other, but it’s just not the holidays unless those sausage balls are fresh out of the oven.
Twenty-four year-old, Abby Benson has dreams of owning her own wedding cake shop. An inheritance from her aunt gives her the ability to make those dreams come true. She hires Dane, a handsome contractor, to help her get the bakery up and running and soon they’re moving toward their own happy ending.
Unsure what to charge for her cakes, Abby has a crazy idea to let the customer decide what they think their cake is worth. This plan has its ups and downs, but the novelty of the idea makes her a local celebrity. When she is interviewed on television about the unusual idea, business booms and Abby has cake adventures she never dreamed possible. But as her fame grows, Abby is swept up in a whirlwind that threatens everything she values. With the challenges that face her, will she be able to determine what is worth the most?
Praise for For What It’s Worth
Reading Karey White’s books, like eating chocolate cake, is always satisfying and brings a smile to my face. For What It’s Worth is light, romantic, and delicious. It’s a great pleasure read. Sit down and get lost in the charming world of wedding cakes and love. As an added bonus, each chapter starts with a recipe, so it’s a novel and cookbook all in one. A fun read!
—Teri Harman, KSL columnist, Studio 5 contributor, and author of Blood Moon, available June 22, 2013
I just loved the book – loved it. Hated putting it down and hated finishing it. Karey White is my new Maeve Binchy, her writing as warm as the bakery her novel is set in. For What It’s Worth surprised me, made me smile, say “no” out loud in a public place. I love when a character feels like my sister. I didn’t want to finish it, so now I may try the recipes that began every chapter.
—Amanda Dickson, author and radio personality
This book oozes charm, romance, and mouth-watering recipes. If you want to escape reality and curl up with a darling story, For What It’s Worth is the perfect fit. Thank you, Karey White!
—Rachael Anderson, author
This is a book worth every penny of the price. In the business of baking wedding cakes, every detail must be perfection, but this story remembers that real life is oh-so-messy. White’s clear and honest writing left me hungry for good food, a close family, and a little romance. A beautiful marriage of food, family, and faith.
—Regina Sirois, author of On Little Wings, 2012 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award
Karey White grew up in Utah, Idaho, Oregon, and Missouri. She attended Ricks College and Brigham Young University. Her first novel, Gifted, was a Whitney Award Finalist.
She loves to travel, read, bake treats, and spend time with family and friends. She and her husband are the parents of four great children. She teaches summer creative writing courses to young people and is currently working on her next book.
$50 Amazon Gift Card or PayPal Cash from Author Karey White
Ends 12/14/12
*You need not enter your twitter name for each entry. Simply enter it when you follow Karey and leave the others blank.
Open to anyone who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent’s permission. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
Welcome to Home Maid Simple’s 2012 Holiday Gift Guide Giveaway.
Throughout the year I’ve been blessed to try out many different products, and read some amazing books. At this time of year, I want to give back to you, my readers.
You can follow links to reviews and Features from my 2012 Holiday Gift Guide, in the tab at the top of the page. There will be new features each day this week.
You can enter to win the following prizes in the Rafflecopter below.
1 Grand Prize Winner will receive 1 of each of the above prizes!
2 Winners will receive a $50 gift card to Jack Franklin Neckties and an Il Volo CD
Open to US residents only, 18+. All entries will be verified. This giveaway is in no way associated with facebook or twitter. Home Maid Simple is not responsible for delivery of the prizes (though I will work my best with the companies to see that the winners receives their prize).
Enter using the Rafflecopter. If it’s not loading wait a bit or refresh the page
Ah yes, I just love this photo of the ONE bite of food I had the day of my wedding. Well, almost one bite. I mean seriously Mark, you never ate like that while we were dating, what gives?
I’m thinking of entering this into the Modern Greeting 2nd Honeymoon Giveaway.
Yep, that’s right, Modern Greetings is GIVING AWAY not 1 but 4 2nd Honeymoons!
There will be 4 rounds you can enter into. The first of which, has actually already started. It’s the Funniest Wedding Photo round. You go HERE, enter your email, and then you’ll be redirected to Modern Greetings Facbook page. There you will enter your photo. Then get all your friends and family, and their friends to vote for your photo. The photo with the most votes wins! So simple.
I would so very much love this! We had an ok honeymoon. We roadtripped from utah to vegas and then to the nations capital and back home. Some nights were spent sleeping in the car. On top of that though I had an ….. well…feminine problem…. that I had never had before. With no insurance and no idea what was going on with me, we had quite the interesting honeymoon. I’d love a do-over.
Again, you could win a 2nd Honeymoon to the Destination of your choice (up to $3000). You can enter all 4 rounds, but only win once.
I just hope you all have a sense of humor and got some funny shots from your wedding.
What do you think? Maybe I should enter this one instead
awe, it’s a good thing I love this man. No worries, he went first, so I made sure to shove some cake up his nose. That pic just isn’t nearly as funny.
*This is a sponsored post. I may have received compensation for writing this post. All opinions however are my own. Now, go vote for my photo 😉
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