PRODUCT REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: Scentsy

THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED...THANKS TO ALL WHO ENTERED!

i was recently asked by my friend, lis, to review a scentsy warmer & scent bar.  i immediately said yes!  i was given the margot warmer.  it was january's warmer of the month.  let me tell you, it is gorgeous!

a description of the margot warmer from the scentsy website:
a shimmering metallic reactive-glaze finish and exquisitely embossed details punctuated by creamy faux pearls create a feeling of romance 

the picture does not do the warmer justice.  it's very chic.  very classic.  it goes well with any decor, too.  of course, the warmer is useless without a scent brick to melt in it, right?  i was given the scent "my wish" which was january's scent of the month.

a description of the "my wish" scent bar from the scentsy website:
a confection of earthy fig, sweet violet, and playful marshmallow will have you wishing for more

i was a bit skeptical about the scent at first.  lis said it reminded her of the way conversation hearts smelled.  it reminded me more of necco wafers {which i can't stand}.  but, i'm open-minded and i knew that the scent could smell different once it was melted {candles are like that, ya know}.  and, smell different...it did!  don't let the lavender color of the scent bar fool you...that's just for show.  i only used two cubes of the scent bar {it comes 'pre-scored' into eight small cubes} which gives off the perfect amount of a sweet, subtle aroma.  to me, it makes my house smell like valentine's day.  we had friends over last weekend and he thought i had baked something...wrong!  it was the scentsy warmer that he was smelling!

scentsy products are great.  i like that the warmers do not use an open flame to generate heat.  instead, you're simply using a light bulb {that's included} to melt the wax.  the full-size warmers have a convenient on/off switch on the cord, too.  the warmers are portable and the variety of warmers that scentsy offers seems endless.  there are also plug-in warmers available if you'd like to use a scentsy product in a smaller space like the bathroom.  perhaps the most difficult scentsy decision to make is which scent bar you'll choose -- there's so much to choose from!  and, the scent bars last quite a while...you'll be surprised at how much fragrance you'll get out of just two little cubes.  and, don't worry about the wax...if it spills, it won't burn you and it's easy to clean up!  and, don't just think that all scentsy offers are warmers & scent bars.  no, you can also purchase {just to name a few}: scentsy buddies, room sprays, travel tins & fragrance foam.

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how would you like to win something from scentsy?

lis is graciously offering one lucky person a plug-in AND a scent bar - you choose the design and scent.
to see the different plug-in choices, click here.
to see the different scent bar choices, click here.


the rules are quite simple, but please leave a separate comment for each entry:

• leave a comment on this post {one entry}  
• join/like lis' scenty page on facebook {one entry}
• follow lis on twitter {one entry}
• place an order on lis' scentsy site {three entries}

this giveaway is open to u.s. residents only.  


you have until 11:59pm e.s.t. on february 9th to enter.  the winner will be announced on thursday, february 10th.  due to a google reader glitch {there's no better feeling than knowing your blog posts aren't showing up at all...grr...} i am keeping this giveaway open until monday, february 14th.  the winner will be announced on tuesday, february 15th!!

disclaimer:  all thoughts expressed in this product review are my own.  i was compensated by being given a warmer & scent bar to review.  

V-Day Cookies

The kids bought me a double heart-shaped cookie cutter from Crate & Barrel while they were at my parents house over winter break and last night we made sugar cookies and the kids decorated them.

Malia's cookie:

Malia's finished decorating & Aidan's getting a little "heavy handed" with the sugar sprinkles:

Aidan's cookie (he wrote "i heart u" on it):

Enjoying the finished product!

Kitchen pics!

I know...finally. Some more kitchen pictures. Hooray!


Installing the glass mosaic tile...the kind of tile we used were face-mounted tiles, I believe it's what they are called. They were single tiles "glued" to a paper front and once the tiles were pressed into the thin-set mortar you moistened the paper to reveal a 1' x 1' square of mosaic tiles. Adam said it was a pain in the you-know-where. The first wall he did (shown above) gave him the most grief...he cursed out that wall many times that night. It was quite entertaining if I do say so myself. Ha ha ha.



The finished product a day after Adam grouted the tile backsplash. He was so thrilled with how well it turned out. I really like the color of the glass mosaic tile...it matches with the walls in our kitchen beautifully. (I know, I know...the Gizmo can opener has GOT to go, but Adam won't part with the freakin' thing!)



A closer look at the tile. Yes, our family likes carbs...it is one of our most favorite food groups! :)



It's not professionally done -- my husband is a bricklayer by trade people, not a tile installer -- but it still is wonderful nonetheless. I'm so happy!

A view of the backsplash by the stove/micro...I love how the tile sparkles in the new under-the-cabinet lighting Adam installed yesterday. That portion of the kitchen was easy for him to wire. He's installing the remainder of the lighting under the other half of the cabinets tonight....I just heard him call something in the kitchen a "bastard." Something in the installation must not be going as he wanted...

For more kitchen pictures, check out this link: http://stutteringshell.blogspot.com/2009/01/heres-what-i-owe-youwell-sorta.html

All in all, what started out as a garbage disposal gone bad has turned into a really wonderful project. We spent some money we didn't want to spend, but I think the value of what we've done with our kitchen full outweighs the *whispering* credit card bill. Ssssh...spare me the lecture. Besides, it's 6 months no interest...how could you NOT go for it! :)

Got glass tile?

I do!

I'll share pictures later on tonight. It's all up on the wall, but nothing has been grouted yet. That's tomorrow night's project. Fun, fun, fun!

But, this just means we're one step closer to having the kitchen finished! Hooray!

Kitchen progress

So, it's now been four whole days since I've had a working kitchen sink. It's starting to get kind of annoying. While I'm thankful that everything else in our kitchen is still accessible and working, it really is difficult to work in a kitchen without a sink. Before, we were still able to at least run the dishwasher but Adam turned off the water supply to the kitchen last night because he had to redo the plumbing underneath the sink in order to accomodate the deeper sink and the new garbage disposal. *sigh*

I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I just want my kitchen back!

I suppose, however, that this kitchen renovation is going a lot smoother than originally planned. And, just knowing that we can get this done and NOT have to worry about the kids (since they are with my parents) has been quite a big help, too. I couldn't even imagine taking on such a project if the kids were at home. They practically live in our kitchen!

Anyway, Adam and I went to The Tile Shop yesterday at Lynnhaven. We brought a piece of our existing granite tile in order to find a suitable match for it. Also, we needed to find three 12"x12" tiles to closely match the granite tile because Adam found out that he was 3 tiles short to complete the job in the kitchen. We had agreed that our "bar" area would just have ceramic tile since there wasn't enough granite to cover it as well. Well, upon entering the store, we were greeted by Jason who helped us out with everything. The best thing we heard yesterday was, "We have that exact tile here in the store!" Adam and I couldn't believe our ears! Seriously?! The Tile Store had our tile? Sure enough...they did! It wasn't from the same run number (duh!) but Jason told us that the granite we had was probably some of the most popular...or was it the most common (I dunno)...but, irregardless...they had our tile! This meant that we didn't have to use ceramic for our bar area...hooray! And, to make things better, they also had matching end-pieces and corners! Hot diggity dog!

While at the store, we also chose our glass mosaic tile for the backsplash. It wasn't the color I had originally fallen in love with online, but I think it's going to look beautiful just the same. The color worries me just slightly since our kitchen walls are painted a turquoise blue color (it's "Embellished Blue" by Behr), but the eat-in portion of our kitchen has a darker blue colored ragged onto the walls (a la moi!) called "Surfer" (also, by Behr). So, I think it will be fine. The glass tile I saw online was actually MUCH, MUCH lighter in person and would not have worked at all. Adam chose a coordinating mortar color (something to go with the granite and also the mosaic tile) and then Jason totalled up our purchase. A good portion of our purchase will be shipped to the store on Wednesday so our kitchen will be complete by next weekend!

I've taken a few pictures here and there and I'll get those posted soon. I'm just excited that we're actually doing something substantial to our tiny kitchen. Maybe I'll even spend more time cooking in it once it's finished....ha ha ha, yeah right, who am I kidding?!

Another year...another dollar...

So, what big plans do I have today with my sweetie? Well, let's see...last night before we headed out for dinner (we had Mexican...mmm) we ran the dishwasher. As Adam went to get the dishwasher detergent out of the cabinet he noticed that there was a leak underneath our sink. Grrrrreat. The garbage disposal had a hole in it and, well, I think you can imagine what the cabinet space beneath our kitchen sink looked like. Ew.

Thank goodness New Year's day isn't like Christmas day and stores are all open and ready for shoppers. We made a trip to the Home Depot and bought a new garbage disposal. We upgraded from 1/2 HP to 3/4 HP...don't ask me what that means. I'm just excited about getting a new garbage disposal. I don't know the life span of one, but the one we're replacing is original to the house and our house was built in the late 1980s, so.....

Well, while at the Home Depot we also bought a new sink and a new fixture for the sink. Adam had his eye on a very pretty black enamel sink, but I talked him out of it and we settled on a $99 stainless steel sink that gives us a bit more room since it's 8" deep (our current sink is only 6" deep).

So, Adam's in the kitchen as I type this. He already took out the bottom of the cabinet...MDF and water don't have the best of relationships...and he's replacing it with some plywood. If the "OW!" I just heard means anything, then he must be wresting with the garbage disposal right now...you know, getting the old one off. I'm supposed to be helping. Ha ha ha.

This is all quite exciting although it was money that neither of us really wanted to spend, but I think this has motivated us now to replace our kitchen countertops and I think we may start that project this weekend and take advantage of the time since our children will not be at home (allowing us more time to spend working and getting the project done faster). We have some granite tile in the garage...or maybe it's marble...that we plan on using as our new countertop. I am envisioning a glass tile backsplash that runs from the counter to the bottom of the upper cabinets, but we'll see about that. After all, this kitchen renovation is on a tight budget...a really tight budget.

Mmm...I heart cuppycakes!

I love to bake. Of course, having just typed that I'm ashamed to admit that my most recent batch of cupcake burned. It was horrible. I cut the bottoms off of all of them and put them each into new paper cupcake liners. It was a sad, sad evening in the Chissler household.

But, it was the first time in a VERY long time that I have burned anything that I've baked. So, I guess that's a good thing, eh? Anyway, I found a bloggy blog that I'm now addicted to:

http://cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com/

The pictures make my mouth water! I'm also more inspired to make more interesting and more "from scratch" cuppycakes. I tend to gravitate towards the box mixes only because with my hectic schedule it allows me to satisfy my cupcake craving pronto. But, after having turned my carrot cake recipe into cupcakes I really just need to take the time to experiment more with different flavors and recipes...I need to brush up on my decorating skills, too, so maybe one day I can share my cupcake photos on the Cupcakes Take The Cake blog.

Mmm.

More ornaments!

And, hopefully this time one doesn't have a va-jay-jay mysteriously appear on it...damn paint has it's own mind!

So, here they are...12 more hand painted ornaments in all of their glory. These are smaller ornaments than the ones I previously painted and, again, the photo quality is crappy because I still haven't put batteries in my camera and my camera phone is obviously crap. Enjoy!

Decking the halls...

Well, just Christmas trees...this year I decided to make ornaments for friends, teachers, etc. After 12, yes TWELVE, failed attempts, I finally got it right and did NOT forget the key step of cleaning the glass (duh!). These pictures don't do the ornaments justice and this is only a small sampling of what I've done. But, I'm proud to say that the kids' teachers have all received one and I'm making more this weekend...handpainting ornaments my way (thank you, Google!) is a lot of fun. The pictures are not the best...I used my cell phone since both of my digital cameras were D-E-A-D...guess I need to plug in the charger for the batteries, huh??

Enjoy!

Ho ho ho...and stuff...

It's bad enough that the radio is already playing holiday music and Santa Claus is already parked in center court at MacArthur Mall.................but I can totally feel my heartstrings being tugged by all things Christmas. As much as the Grinch in me wants to deny it, I need to just face it and realize that the holidays are coming in full force whether I'm ready or not.

Much to my surprise, I've already started shopping for a few gifts here and there. I'm also already thinking about what we'll wear for a family picture AND what kind of pajamas I will get the kids for their annual picture in front of the tree. Heck, I even bought some clear glass ornaments from Michael's to paint, but that is a different blog entry. :)

Every year since Aidan was born (except for 2006 because momma had a brain burp), the kids have worn matching Christmas-themed pajamas and had their picture taken in them. The picture always wound up on our Christmas card for that year.

2003:

2004:

2005:

Wouldn't ya know...the 2006 and 2007 pictures are on the laptop and the laptop is conviently located at the office.

Anyway, it's time to start looking for this years pajama sets so after I hit "Publish Post" I will be on my way to Gymboree's website and Hanna Andersson's website. MAYBE I'll check out The Children's Place, but I am pretty certain I'll find what I need at Gymboree. It's been far too long since I've shopped there and, if I remember correctly, they participate with Ebates!

P.S. Stay on the lookout for my post tomorrow about Ebates...I just received my first "Big Fat Check" in the mail and I made a copy as proof! $76 sent back to me just from shopping online. Yee haw!

purging and reorganizing...

So my Spring cleaning has come a bit too late in the year (or maybe it's just early??)...but I'm sitting in my computer room trying to figure out what I'm going to do with the mess I have made in here. This space should be our formal dining room, but considering we are not formal dining people we made this into the computer room/office/catch-all room. It's been everything from the junkyard to the play room. There has been a couch in here and a foosball table in here. Right now, all that's here is a big ole mess.

I've never known what to do with this space. I mean, I know what I want to use it for, but getting it laid out how I want it and making the room how I want it have been challenges since the day we moved into this house.

What I do know is that I don't want to paint it. Three years ago, Jennifer Finch who owns Jaden's Dreaming Tree came over and painted a huge Hatteras mural on two walls. She eventually went on to paint in M & A's bedrooms, but both bedrooms have been painted over since. At any rate, the mural is fabulous and I love it and it goes so well with the "beachy" theme that our house has (ok, so maybe it isn't so beachy cottage-like, but it's my version of a beach cottage, ok?).

Here is a link to the picture of our room (this is the corner...you can see the itty, bitty Hatteras lighthouse):
http://jadensdreamingtree.com/seaside/3.jpg

Jennifer has two more pictures of the room posted as well.

Right now I have a computer armoire that has to go. I originally wanted it, but the dark cherry wood just doesn't go with the room. It matches my college diploma's frame, but that's about it. I'd really like to get a new armoire that is a whitewashed wood style, but with the finances being what they are I am going to have to continue to settle for the old computer desk that came from my now EX mother-in-law. I don't think it has any bad ju-ju surrounding it, but maybe a good cleansing ritual wouldn't hurt. I have two bookshelves from Ikea that are not the most spectacular, but they do the job. I also have a small shelving system and small cabinet from Target. In the corner I have an old white cabinet (again from the EX MIL) that holds all of my scrapbooking/crafting supplies.

Ideally I'd like to put a chair, table and lamp in here for reading and just to make the room more cozy, but again with the finances being what they are I probably shouldn't. Besides, Christmas is around the corner and I'll just move the chair out of the living room into this room when we put our tree up.

I suppose it would help to show pictures of the room and how it's laid out...but with the state it's currently in, I'm not going to do that. I do have my pride, ya know! So, for now I guess it's just a work in progress...one that I hope to figure out really soon.