Friday Favorites: Make Up, a New Car Seat, Two Blogging Resources, and More

Happy Friday! I don’t know how this week’s been for you guys, but it’s been a long one around here. Not a bad one at all (quite the opposite actually); Just looooong. We have an early anniversary date tomorrow since Jamie will be away next weekend for our actual anniversary (I could just scream about the Army’s “impeccable” timing every. single. year), so I’m really looking forward to some time away with him tomorrow, as brief as it will be.

Closing out the week with some Friday Favorites. 🙂 Have a beautiful weekend!

A New Ride

Sadie’s been riding like a big girl the last few weeks. 🙂 We purchased Sadie’s convertible car seat on Veteran’s Day thanks to a huge 25% off sale at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, and so far, so good!

Both Jamie and I have been constantly annoyed by Hadley’s car seat (the Britax Marathon), so we knew we wouldn’t be getting this one for Sadie. A few months ago I asked you guys about which car seats you recommend, and I received a ton of comments and emails about the . There’s been a learning curve since we’ve been used to handling Hadley’s seat, but after about six weeks of use, we’re able to get her in and out in a pinch.

In case you’re curious, we transferred Hadley to her convertible seat at 9.5 months old when she was about 18 pounds, and we transferred Sadie when she was 7.5 months and 20 pounds. We picked the timing based on big trips we were going on that we wanted the girls to be extra comfortable for.

One more thing… if you purchase this (or anything) from Bed, Bath, and Beyond online, make sure you do it through GivingAssistant.com to receive a whopping 10% back on your purchases!

A Thoughtful Gift

I’m a total sucker for gifts with a bit of thought behind them, and my mom did something really nice this year. Four months ago I was prepping to have another couple over for a nice Army-related dinner, and I realized that I didn’t have any dinner napkins. I only had seasonal dinner napkins because that’s usually when we’ve hosted dinners that would “require” nice napkins (I am such a casual person). My mom was shocked that I didn’t have any napkins, so we laughed and moved on.

Fast forward to Christmas, and I knew as soon as I opened the box why she gifted these to me. I thought it was so sweet that she considered our casual conversation from months ago and then surprised me with this casual set of napkins and rings that could be used for any occasion. Love you, mom! Thoughtful and practical = a home run!

New Make-Up

I read about the  (moonshine shade) on a blog months ago, pinned it, and then received it after asking for it for Christmas. I have three of the mini pots and really like it! I’ve been swiping a little bit along my cheekbone and nose, and I like the slight natural glow it gives off. I can tell that these little pots are going to last for a long time. Highly recommend if you’re looking for a safe, natural product that gives off a subtle finishing glow.

 

Another Subscription Service 😉

We’ve been using and loving Amazon Prime for years, but just recently I started dabbling with Amazon’s Subscribe and Save program. I first started with receiving Pampers on delivery, but then I noticed that I would receive a higher discount (15% off) if I added four more items. Everything kind of snowballed from there, and before I knew it, I had subscribed to receive 10+ items. So I’m curious – Do you use this program? If so, where do you find the best savings?

An Incredible New Blogging Revenue Stream

Recently a reader emailed me about a great opportunity to push out some of my work on a bigger platform named Spark, so I was intrigued. I signed up, uploaded my RSS feed, and then didn’t touch it again for a few days. When I logged back in, I noticed I had made $24 quickly from ads that had been placed on the articles I’d submitted via my RSS feed. Well, I’ll definitely take that! Seems like a win/win. 🙂

If you’re a blogger and interested in dabbling with this website, here’s the link to get started (affiliate). Just make sure you upload your RSS feed and NOT just your blog’s URL. Until you upload your RSS feed, you won’t have any content on the site (unless you plan on publishing brand new content there, but that’s not likely.)

For example, if you’re on a wordpress blog (.com or .org), add /feed/ to the end of your url.

EX: http://whimsicalseptember.com/feed/

If you’re on a blogger blog, add /feeds/posts/default?alt=rss to the end of your URL.

EX: http://whimsicalseptember.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

OR take these steps on Blogger:

1. Sign in to Blogger.
   2. Select the blog to share.
   3. Select Settings > Other > Site feed.
   4. In the “Post Feed Redirect URL” section, paste the URL.

{A screenshot from my account’s dashboard yesterday.}

And Last But Not Least…

Now for what I’m the most excited about… ecstatic in fact. I haven’t been this excited about an opportunity such as this in quite a while. A couple weeks ago Abby posted about the Enlighten Retreat, and I knew almost immediately that I wanted to attend.

Everything (and I mean everything!) about this opportunity is right up my alley and so perfect for where I’m at in my blogging journey and my personal life in general. I called Jamie over to the couch, he review it with me, and basically said to go for it! So without giving it another thought, I paid the deposit and signed up. I don’t have any other details ironed out, but I have 10 months to do that. All I know is that this sounds like it’s going to be incredible and rejuvenating and educational and just plain awesome, so I’m treating myself, putting myself out there, and doing this! Look at where the retreat is being held… Utah! Oh my goodness, I am so excited.

Who wants to meet me there?! We can be roomies! Ha! So pumped. I signed up for the most inexpensive package, so I’ll be rooming with a gaggle of great girls. If you sign up, obviously let me know! Woohoo!

Let’s chat!

1. Any advice regarding Amazon’s Subscribe and Save?
2. What is the most thoughtful Christmas gift you received this year?
3. What are your favorite programs to use as a blogger?
4. Are you attending a blogging conference or retreat this year?