Thanks to CandlesandFavors.com and their custom birthday invitations and party favors, Alyssa’s party was really pretty and creative – just like her! This year’s theme was Littlest Pet Shop, but the invitations that went out featured an adorable little wand-wielding fairy princess, as did the awesome candy bar wrappers that we wrapped around chocolate bars and passed out as party favors.
I loved the convenience of having all of the necessary birthday party information pre-written on the invitations (and I was able to customize the text to my liking), and Alyssa loved the uniqueness of having her birthday party information displayed on her party favors. I’d say our guests liked both the invitations and the party favors – and especially the yummy chocolate inside! Many thanks to CandlesandFavors.com for helping us have such a great birthday party for my daughter’s seventh birthday (even if the party was delayed a week due to it snowing on October 29th!).
Read the full review at In My Bag.
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Disclosure: CandlesandFavors.com provided me with free products in exchange for my honest opinion.
Table manners. Politeness. Etiquette. These are all words that have come from my mouth, and from Dan’s, in an attempt to teach Alyssa and Ryan the proper ways of sitting at a table and enjoying a meal, whether it’s just the two of them, the five of us, or a whole group of us for a holiday or other special occasion. For the most part Alyssa and Ryan have great table manners, though there are times that reminders are issued. And even as adults, there may be some specific table manners and etiquette that we’re not aware of – such as where to place a salad fork vs. a regular fork, for example.
This is where Lovely Manners comes in. Lovely Manners are eco-friendly placemats that help with everything from setting each place (I love how each placement has a diagram of the proper placement of the plate, cup, napkin, and utensils) to how to conduct oneself while at the table. Each placemat features four unique tips & pieces of table advice that advise on everything from how to decline the offer of a particular food to when to start eating to how to position your body at the table (hint: elbows never belong on the table!). Lovely Manners placemats come in sets of 6, and are available in three colors: gray, blue, and orange.
Lovely Manners’ placemats were an instant hit. Alyssa and Ryan were excited to set the table “properly” (a task they both pitch in with several times a week), and Alyssa enjoyed having me read the tips and tidbits on each placemat out loud to her. Ryan has even reminded us on several occasions to keep our elbows off the table, and he has remarked on the lack of a salad fork at many of our dinners (salad isn’t something we have as often as we should). What I like most about the placemats is that they are easy to wipe clean, and are in the same condition as when we first began using them, despite many meals being served (and spilled, heh) on them.
Dress up your table with cute and stylish placemats that provide not only form, but function – the 6-piece sets are available at Lovely Manners for just $29.95.
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Disclosure: Lovely Manners provided me with a free product in exchange for my honest opinion.
Tungsten Rings Online is an online retailer of tungsten rings, as well as rings of other types of metal, including titanium, cobalt, palladium, platinum, and gold. Titanium and tungsten are ideal materials for wedding bands, and even standard mens’ and womens’ rings, simply because of the high quality and durability of the two materials. Both can be molded and shaped into many different designs, and both are strong, long-lasting metals.
Tungsten Rings Online’s selection of precious metal rings is quite varied, with many different styles of rings available for both men and women. Whether you’re looking for a wedding band or just a stylish ring to add to your jewelry collection, you’ll find many different styles, cuts, colors, and finishes available. You can choose from solid bands, or go for something a little fancier, such as a ring that features an inlay of gold, or a ring with fancy engraved designs. There is a wide price range, too, so no matter what your budget, you’ll be able to find the perfect ring. Ring prices range from under $100 to over $1,000, depending on the materials used, the quality of the metals. Rings up to a size 15 are available, and custom engraving and ring resizing are both available on most of the rings that Tungsten Rings Online carries.
Tungsten Rings Online sent me the Tungsten Dome Step Down Wedding Ring, which is a mens 6mm ring made out of pure tungsten. While it is fashioned and advertised as a wedding band, this is a simplistically-styled ring that could be worn by a man or a woman for any occasion. I wear it on my right middle finger, which is preferable for me since it doesn’t detract from my wedding band or engagement ring. The ring is simply gorgeous – just as described and pictured on the product page. Tungsten Rings Online shipped the ring quickly, so it wasn’t long after I picked it out that I had it on my finger.
I would definitely recommend Tungsten Rings Online if you’re in the market for titanium or tungsten rings. A generous product selection, high quality products, resizing and engraving options, fast shipping, and great customer service – what more could you ask for?
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Disclosure: Tungsten Rings Online provided me with a free product in exchange for my honest opinion.
Ryan is sick, and I’m sick. Alyssa is okay, miraculously, but insufficient sleep over the past few nights (with the exception of last Tuesday night, it’s all her fault, not mine!) has made her irritable, so she went to bed tonight at 7. Ryan is currently sleeping on the couch. He threw up four times last night, once this morning, and again this evening. What’s alarming is the sudden dry, intense, almost gasping-for-breath cough he has developed, seemingly out of nowhere. His nasal passages are clear, and he’s sleeping soundly (we have a Vicks Vapor humidifier going, and we gave him childrens’ cough medicine before he went to sleep), but if he still sounds like this in the morning, not only am I not sending him to school, but I’m taking him to the doctor as soon as they can fit him in.
As for me, chest tightness, ickiness and now a dry, raspy cough continue to plague me. Nasal congestion, too, which is quite annoying. Go away germs!
It snowed last night. When I went to bed a little after midnight nothing had happened, but when I woke up this morning I knew from the overcast yet bright light coming through the window that it had snowed – and indeed it had. Alyssa and Ryan couldn’t wait to get outside and play in it. Of course, I was an Annoying Mom that made them brush their teeth, eat breakfast, and bundle up in layers of insulated, water-resistant winter-appropriate outerwear (sweatsuits, thick socks, winter boots, overall-style snow pants, winter coat, hat, thick waterproof gloves) before I turned them loose. I followed them around for a few minutes, taking pictures and indulging them in a mini-snowball fight, before I hightailed myself back inside where it’s warm and dry. They stayed out for about an hour, building forts and sledding with some of the other neighborhood kids, before coming in for warmth and lunch. I put their outerwear stuff in the dryer, fed them soup and sandwiches, then stuffed them back into everything when they wanted to go back out. Rinse and repeat two more times in the afternoon – though Ryan came in sooner than Alyssa (he usually does – I guess he gets bored, overstimulated by the other kids, or simply can’t stand wearing pants any longer?). On days like these my dryer is running almost non-stop, and I probably mop my entryway and kitchen floor a half dozen times.
I’m sick. Blech. For the past few days I have been running a low-grade fever and feeling short of breath and slightly dizzy. Today I developed an annoying, persistent, dry cough, and my nose alternates between being clogged on one side or running on both sides. Nose aside, these symptoms mirror what I had two years ago, when I had pneumonia. I really, really hope this is not the case, but you don’t want to play around with pneumonia – not to mention the medication is expensive (IIRC, the inhaler I was prescribed was $120, and there was also a liquid antibiotic).
Also, I’m scheduled for exploratory laparoscopic surgery, round two, on February 1st (I called for the date on Wednesday, and made the 45-minute drive to my surgeon’s office Thursday morning to meet with my surgeon and sign the consent forms). If I’m sick with something serious like pneumonia, and I’m not over it by then, I’ll have to reschedule surgery. Grr.
Speaking of sick, just as I finished up the second to last paragraph Ryan, who was sleeping on the sofa, suddenly threw up everywhere. He’s been coughing off and on all evening, so I don’t know if he threw up because of the excessive coughing (even though I did give him cough medicine), or because he’s sick with a stomach bug, or something else. Blah. Have I mentioned how much I hate vomit? I could be up to my knees in feces and it wouldn’t bother me too much, but vomit gets me retching in no time flat. Ryan is changed, wiped down, and tucked into his bed, and the sofa, coffee table, and carpet have all been cleaned – here’s to hoping there won’t be any repeats! But as a precaution, I have a thick comforter under and all around Ryan, so if he gets sick and misses the trash can, I can just throw the comforter in the wash and not have to deal with any other scrubbing.
Overall this was a very, very quiet Saturday – my favorite kind. ♥ The kids played nicely indoors and out, they enjoyed dinner (homemade meatloaf), Dan and I had a nice afternoon together before he went to work, and I felt slightly better after taking a two hour nap late this afternoon. I hope tomorrow is equally nice and quiet – and vomit-free!
