Little Miss Bossy Pants

takes after her mother.

The Eye Matches the Dress

Poor WC had an unfortunate accident on Saturday night involving a Giga ball and our neighbor's foot and has quite a shiner. She's been a pretty good sport about it, although she does want to keep her eye covered with her hands, which makes walking and interacting with others a little difficult.

Never a dull moment, that's our family motto.

Thirsty Thursday: 4-1-10

Hair Bows & Guitar Picks is hosting Thirsty Thursday today, and I of course am joining in.

A few weeks ago we were over at our neighbor's house and the Mr. made me a drink using 1 part Kahlua and and 2 parts sparking water. On the Kahlua website, it's named Sparkling Water, which strikes me as very funny. Get creative Kahlua marketing people!

It was very good- quite refreshing!

This Is Gabriel Making Sense of School

Do you know what is so fabulous about the Internet? I bet you do.

In this day and age, when you as a parent are faced with something (a diagnosis, a problem, or just something new), all you have to do is google and help is right there! Our parents weren't this lucky.

When The Wild Child was first diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) in 2008 at age 2, I was in awe of all the information that was available to me online. There were other kids like mine! There were other parents going through the same thing as me!

But when the The Politician was diagnosed as well last fall, I found my emotions were a little different this time- he was 6 and in public school, which was a whole new ballgame and I felt so overwhelmed. We were fortunate that P has a teacher who was willing to make accommodations and work with us to find way to manage him and the resulting behavior. Many times I sent links to his teacher to various articles and websites in an effort to help find ways to help him in the classroom.

I can't tell you how excited I was to find Hartley Steiner, who blogs at Hartley's Life With 3 Boys. Hartley's son Gabriel is 8.5 and has been diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder, as well as having some other challenges. Hartley always has insightful posts packed with helpful information. She's even come up with a downloadable Sensory Accommodation Suggestions Page that she describes as "a tool for parents, caregivers, teachers and therapists who are involved in helping meet the needs of a child with Sensory Processing Disorder in the classroom."

Hartley has written a fabulous book called This is Gabriel Making Sense of School and I was lucky enough to receive a copy to review. The book was written to give everyone (teachers, parents, and students) a better understanding of SPD and how it affects school and learning for children with SPD.

You first note that the book is absolutely gorgeous- the illustrations are vibrant and colorful and eye-catching.

This book contains nine pages of text: an intro, a page for each of the seven senses, and a conclusion. I think the contents and length are just perfect for an elementary-aged child's attention span. Each facing page is colorful and packed with beautiful pictures that illustrate and relate to each of the senses and how SPD may affect it.

I will be purchasing additional copies of this book to share with my OT and with P's teacher- what a great resource!

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book for review purposes. I received no compensation for this post.

Happy Wednesday!

I know this isn't my nail blog, but I just had to share this mani I did yesterday using the China Glaze Poolside collection! Isn't that bright and summery! I am loving this warm weather we are having.

Oh- if you haven't already, stop by my giveaway blog- I have a Smashbox lipgloss that I'm giving away.

These Kids Are Making Me Crazy!

But I wouldn't have it any other way.

Nothing

That's what I've got to say. A big fat nothing.

I'm home nursing a cold today. Hope you are doing well!

Rave: Woolite Oxy Deep Carpet Cleaner

Have you ever spilled a glass of Cranergy on your off-white non-stain resistant carpet? (cough cough) Woolite Oxy Deep will rescue you! It was like watching a commercial- as I sprayed it, the stain really disappeared!

So if y'all are messy or have kids, rush rush rush to the store and getcha some!

Disclosure: I paid for this with my own hard earned moolah and Woolite has no idea who I am. They did not send me a product or ask for my opinion. But I'm sure givin' it.

Music Monday 3-22-10

I'll be heading to Target later today, and I think I need to pick up Lady Antebellum's newest CD because I absolutely love "Need You Now".

What are you listening to today? Head over to Hair Bows & Guitar Picks and join in!

Pam's a Mommy Blogger!

Office Fans, how cool is this? Just discovered that Pam's a Mommy Blogger too. Think I should put her over in Friends In My Head?

The Babysitters Club

Did you read The Babysitters Club series back in the day? I did and was so excited to read in the Wall Street Journal today that they are being re-released on beginning April 1 and there will even be a prequel book (which I am totally ordering!)

I need to see if my mom still has all my books and add them to my bookshelf with my entire hardback Nancy Drew Series. I hope so much that WC likes to read like I did.

WSJ Journal Article: How to Pay for Your Own Uggs

Disclosure: This post contains an Amazon referral link.

Thirsty Thursday: 3-18-10

Hair Bows & Guitar Picks is hosting Thirsty Thursday today, and how perfect, seeing as how I enjoyed a few beers last night in celebration of St. Patrick's Day.

Yesterday afternoon, we met some friends at a local Irish pub for a few drinks and I enjoyed one of my new finds, Harp Lager.


Do you have any new beer finds to share with me?

Dear Casey James,

If I don't blow-dry and straighten my hair, it looks just like yours!

Lylas,

Sasha

Just Got Another $5 Amazon Giftcard at Swagbuck

Are you doing Swagbucks? You can earn Amazon $5 gift cards pretty easy. Join in!

And after you join in, read the Swagbucks blog entry today to get clues to a code for today. Hurry- it expires at 11:30 pacific time today.

Blah

The Wild Child cried when she saw the dinner I made tonight. I cried when I saw the mess they made in my bedroom. Everybody's mad at somebody (note that the hubs and I are not mad at each other), there's pinching and pushing going on, and refereeing round 2 and 3 is not leaving much time for fun stuff like this blog and catching up on Project Runway.

WC also was offended that I offered her a Little Debbie Easter Egg marshmallow thing. I was quite offended that she took one bite and didn't finish it, because they simply rock and only come round once a year and damn, I had to brave Big Lots to get them, and they are not waste-able.

Which by they way, I found tons of good stuff there in the health/beauty section. You should check it out.

But back to the topic- seems I am doing this parenting thing all wrong and I am about to give up and move to Bulgaria. Or the beach. Yeah, that's most likely a more pleasing choice.

Wonder if I can get wireless Internet at the beach???????

OPI Giveaway at Manicure Mommas

OPI Pearl of Wisdom
OPI Jade is the New Black

Do you follow my nail blog? If not, you may not have seen that we are giving away two of the new OPI Hong Kong collection shades.... They are so pretty!

Head over to Manicure Mommas and enter.

Music Monday

Y'all, I LOVE music. The right song can change my mood so fast, it's incredible.

Right now I'm listening to Blake Shelton's Can't Afford To Love You from his new CD. It't upbeat, catchy, and just darn cute.

What are you listening to today? Head over to Hair Bows & Guitar Picks and join in!

Thirsty Thursday 3-11-10

Hair Bows & Guitar Picks is hosting Thirsty Thursday today, and of course I'm joining in. Today she posted something absolutely fabulous that you must check out- it's so fabulous I think I'll be making it for our neighborhood poker tourney coming up on the 27th.

One of our fabulous neighbors, in fact, introduced me to one of my favorite new drinks- a Chocolate Covered Cherry. For our neighborhood Chili Cookoff a few months ago (we have fun neighbors, huh?), I carried over a bottle of Lindemans Framboise.

It looks like wine, pours like a beer with a little foam, and goes down so easy with no bitter aftertaste. Oh how I love thee. It's a raspberry lambic and I guarantee you'll love it.

But I digress.... when I walked in with my bottle, my neighbor said, "We love that too! Have you ever mixed it half and half with chocolate stout?" Of course I had not, but I indulged and it was so so good. You totally need to give it a try.

Yay for Spring!

Woo woo! It's spring as far as I'm concerned. The sun is out, I am wearing short sleeves, and my favorite spring candle is back in stock at Walmart!

The Febreze Winds & Springtime candle is absolutely, hands-down, the best candle I have ever purchased. I found it last spring and bought out the store, and have been (im)patiently waiting for them to come back.

Roughly $5 (and you can usually find a $1 coupon in the P&G Brand Saver insert), they're quite a bargain. The glass is nice and thick and feels expensive and there is no label attached to the glass- it looks pricey! The color is a gorgeous shade of pale green, and the scent is FANTASTIC and I feel bad each time I have to blow it out. Febreze promises up to 30 hours of burn time, and they're no kidding. These last forever and burn down cleanly and evenly.

What signals spring for you?

Disclosure: I purchased this candle with my own hard-earned cashola.

Paging a Decorator

I need some help, y'all. Yesterday my good friend Elaine posted about her darling ideas for her little girl's new bedroom, and I just died looking at all her fabulous ideas. She is so talented!

And I got a little sad. See, I'm no decorator. I have no style. I have no ideas. So here is where you can help.

Do you have any ideas on something to spruce up my bedroom? We just repainted over the ugly mint green that had been on the walls when we moved in almost 10 years ago. (Shut up.) It's now a nice neutral taupe and it looks so much better and I absolutely love it!

But we need something over the bed and something above the nightstands. I have seen all the adorable decals people are doing on their walls, but note that our walls are very textured and not at all smooth, so I don't believe those will work.

Here is a close-up of our bedding.

Any ideas for me? Links, online stores, easy stuff I can pick up?

TIA!

Dear OnStar,

This is really getting ridiculous.

Every mother-truckin' time I hear one of your commercials on the radio, I cry. Today's commercial was a woman who had just been in a car accident crying that her (I'm assuming elderly) mom's leg was hurt and she was telling her mom "Mom, sit up! Sit up!".... and OnStar asked if she could see the other car and the lady says "I don't know... they are in a ditch."

The commercials ends with sirens and the OnStar dude telling her "Help is on the way."

But I'm left crying, wondering what happened with her mom's leg??????? Is Grandma OK??????

Make it stop!

Lylas,

Sasha

Thirsty Thursday 3-4-10

Hair Bows & Guitar Picks is hosting Thirsty Thursday today, and of course I'm joining in.

Last night the hubs stopped off at a random convenience store on his way home and found 18 packs of MGD 64 for $9! So of course he picked up two for me.....

That's my man.

If You Take a 6 Year Old To Walmart

Pepperridge Farm Goldfish Smores Adventures

If you take a 6 year-old to Walmart, he is sure to find lots of interesting things to add to the cart.

The Politician saw these out of the corner of his eye yesterday and got super-excited, and of course I agreed to purchase them, seeing as how they were ADORABLE.

The marshmallows are like those you find in cereals, which I love, and of course there are both chocolate and honey graham fish.

Like any good snacker, we opened the package up on the way home and indulged. I was a little worried about the nutrition info, but I just looked it up and 54 pieces is 3 points, which is not bad at all.

Yum.

This is getting weirder

And now Heidi Montag is following me on Twitter. Can this get any weirder?

Holy Crap

Look who's following me on Twitter as of yesterday..... Spencer Pratt! Do you think he read this post?

Thirsty Thursday

What a fun bloggy link-up! Hair Bows & Guitar Picks is hosting Thirsty Thursday and you know I can't resist joining in!

If you've been a Sasha Says reader for long, then you know I'm all about the beer. No wine for me- I turn bright red and get a headache in minutes. The hubs played college football and oh boy, did we drink a lot of beer back in the day hanging with the team.

My drink of choice right now is Mike's Light Hard Cranberry Lemonade. Only 98 calories and so so good! Refreshing!

But stay away from the non-light Mike's drinks.... After some Nancy Drew-ing, I discovered they have 250 giant calories in each bottle! The horror!

What are you drinking these days?

Hoping this isn't indicitative of how my day is going to go

One of my earrings fell down the drain this morning. Damn. The last time I did this my do-it-all dad came up and got it out for us. He had to change out the parts under our sink because they were super-old and did not look at all like the picture above. But he also used some sort of purple sealant to seal it all up so now I'm not sure that we can easily take it apart.

I am sure my dad thought I'd learn my lesson and be more careful.

Yup, he was wrong. Damn!

I Am Taken Aback by my Domestic-ness

I baked that bread y'all. Yup, I sure did. And it was easy-peasy as The Politician would say.

My friend Beth (who I really need to move from Friends in My Head to Friends In Real Life since we've totally text-messaged, and that qualifies us to be real friends right?) has blogged about her love of the book Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day and after reading all her posts about it and wiping drool off my keyboard, I finally decided to take the jump and order the book.

And my family is so glad I did. Nothing tastes better than fresh-out-of-the-oven-and-holy-crap-I-made-this-myself bread.

You can read more info in this blog post the book authors wrote, including step-by-step pictures to help you visualize the process.

Thanks Beth for all the help getting started! I am loving my new hobby!

Disclosure: This post contains an Amazon affiliate link.

Up for Grabs: $100 Chase Bonus

In the mail I got a flyer that offers a $100 bonus if you sign up for a new Chase Checking account and set up direct deposit.

Mr. Sasha and I used one for $125 last year and I set up a little money to go there each payroll as a direct deposit and it worked! We got our $125 just a few weeks later!

This code can be used to set up an account online, so I'll be glad to share this month's code with the first person to leave me a comment with their email address! It expires February 26, 2010, so you'll have to hurry!

Please comment only if you will truly use this code- I'd hate for it to go to waste!

Stipulations:

•First direct deposit must be made within 60 days
•Account must stay open for 6 months
•Must deposit $100 of new money (money not currently held up Chase of its affiliates)
•Limit one personal checking account-related reward/premium per customer per year
•$100 will be deposited in your account 10 days after initial direct deposit is made
•Reward is considered interest and will be reported to the IRS on IRS Form 1099-INT

Shopping Roundup

Being born in the early '70s, of course I had some little outfits like this when I was little. But I found this OP romper in Walmart on Saturday and snatched it up for WC- I think my mom will go crazy and think it's adorable. I seriously think I had one is this same stripe, so I'm going to have my mom look thru some pics to see. How cute will WC look in that? And it is only $8 to boot.

And my new friend Ashley from Sassy Gal Glamour pointed me in the direction of a new bible for The Politician, who is 6.5, and good golly, I'm learning a lot with him! We had read his first children's bible cover to cover about 5 times, and he was asking some questions about some left-out details, so I knew it was time for something more. I read one of Ashley's posts where she recommended this one, so I picked it up and it is fabulous! Read just 7 minutes a day (it's broken up for you) and you'll be done in a year. Perfect bedtime story!

How was your weekend?

Disclosure: This post contains an Amazon referral link.

Smashbox Cosmetics

Smashbox Cosmetics is coming to Rue La La tomorrow!

Get registered and ready, so you'll get the email when the boutique opens!

Can't wait to see what they have available for discounted prices.... good thing I didn't give up buying makeup for Lent!

Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link.

My Skincare Routine

Y'all. I'm getting old! I turned 36 in December- hard to believe!

The past few years I've really been trying to take good care of my skin and I've found that I absolutely love Avon skincare products. Let me also get this out of the way and say that I've been purchasing these products I am recommending myself- no free items are being discussed here.

Avon has a line called Anew Rejuvenate that is marketed specifically for women in their 30s. It's made for women experiencing the first signs of aging, including fine lines, uneven skin tone, dullness, rough texture and tone and visible pores.

Right now they have the cutest set of all the products in the core line (pictured above) available for $17 ($58 value) when you spend $10 on select skincare. These products are all the perfect size for travel since they are all under the TSA ounce requirements. The website shows a price of $34 but it will change to $17 once you add another $10 in select skincare to your cart.

The eye cream itself (both a day and night cream in one package) is a full-sized product and is a $28 value.

Really, this is a must buy! In order to qualify to buy the special set, I purchased a full-sized Rejuvenate gel cleanser for $7 and a trial size of each of the day and night Reversalist cream (meant for age 40+) for $1.99 each.

My rep Valeri is always so nice to let Sasha Says readers use a free shipping code! Please follow these steps so you can use the code and give Valeri credit.

1. Visit Valeri's site to make her your default rep

2. Log into ebates to get 5% back by going through them to get to the Avon site

3. Once the Avon site pulls up again, you should see Valeri's name near the top of the site

4. Choose your products and then use code FSANY or REPFS to get free shipping

Happy Shopping!

disclosure: This post contains my ebates affiliate link, but readers will also get $5 if they sign up under my link. Avon links are not affiliate links and I receive no compensation for sales of Avon products.

My New Mascara Combo

I have one million mascaras (practically) yet I still find myself buying more. It's nutty and I can't explain it, but how about if I share some new ones I bought that I really like? Note that I always buy black mascara. At some point my mom probably told me I should get brown so I got black and that's still what I do to this day. My hair's not really blonde you know!

I've been hearing great things about Maybelline Full N' Soft so I picked some up at Target the other day. I'm so glad I did! What a great drugstore mascara! No clumps and it built full, soft, thick lashes just as promised.


Oh, but I didn't stop there. I love long lashes, so I added a coat of Clinique's new offering- High Lengths. Look at that cool brush! I ordered this from Sephora recently and was so excited when it arrived. The curved, fine-toothed comb really grabbed each lash and added some nice length.

I typically don't layer mascaras but I felt quite fancy doing it, and don't we all want to feel fancy?

Disclosure: I actually paid for these out of my own little Coach wallet. Promise.

Where's Waldo?

Can you find me?

Couganns Drill Team 90-91

StarStruck

Will you still be my friend if I tell you that The Politician and I watched StarStruck on Disney last night? And I loved it..... And while we were watching, I saw a commercial for Camp Rock 2 and got super-excited?

These days I almost prefer Wizards of Waverly Place and Sonny With a Chance to adult programming. I think maybe my brain cells are tied up dealing with real-life stuff and it feels nice to watch some brain-candy with my son and laugh together.

We still friends?

Sensory Processing Disorder- Our Story

Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD, formerly known as "sensory integration dysfunction") is a condition that exists when sensory signals don't get organized into appropriate responses. - SPD Foundation website

You know, I'm often asked how I knew that my daughter (The Wild Child) had Sensory Processing Disorder (also called Sensory Integration Disorder). How did I know that something was off?

That's a loaded question. It wasn't something that just "hit" me. And honestly, we didn't get to that diagnosis quickly.

WC was born with a hemangioma, which ulcerated after a few weeks. This wound was open for about 2 1/2 months, and she was in great pain. So from the beginning, there was rage and we were unable to comfort her. You can read more about that here.

Of course the hemangioma did eventually heal, but we were left with what we thought were behavior issues. She became a biter (others and even herself!) and was quite aggressive around 18 months. There was a one-week suspension from daycare and many many many phone calls and meetings.

Right after her second birthday, I stumbled into a biting workshop at our local county health department and they mentioned SPD and it absolutely snowballed from there. Evaluations, more meetings, referrals, and we found our dream OT who finally helped us reach and slowly get a handle on our girl.

It's been about 2 years since our diagnosis, and we've come a long way. We're still doing maintenance listening therapy and seeing a behavior therapist that offices with out OT, but WC has become so much easier to be around- her teachers even describe her as delightful at times!

Many, many books were recommended to me but one that hit home on our journey was The Out-of-Sync Child. I checked it out from our local library and flipped through it on my way out the door. After a few seconds of flipping, I felt my eyes fill up with tears and I moved towards the wall so I could lean against it for a second.

I found it. I found a paragraph that I should print out and give to everyone that knows WC.

From page 193:

A mother wrote me this letter: "By the time Rob was two, I felt he had a special need, but I couldn't figure out what it was. He required constant attention. Time-outs didn't work because I couldn't contain him. He was defiant, disobedient, disrespectful, and demanding. He was always busy, always talking (great verbal skills!), strong willed, contrary, and easily frustrated. I felt blessed to have Rob, and wouldn't trade him for the world, of course, but he constantly tested and rejected me."
And more on the next page.

"What was the reason for his behavior? How could I regain control? What method of discipline would get through to him? If his behavior was an attempt to get my attention, how could I supply it in a way that would satisfy him? How could I help a high-energy child channel his energy in a positive direction? I was desperate for answers."

If you replaced Rob's name with WC's and switched out them hes and hims for shes and hers, I could have written that, word for word.

You don't know how good it feels to know that you are not alone.

To read more about our Sensory Processing Disorder journey, click here.

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

I Don't Know Where Your Luggage Is

Last night at bible study one of the ladies shared a story that really hit home for me. I try to live my life as someone who can be described as "non-judgemental", but sometimes I hear those voices in my head saying things that don't quite qualify.

Her story:

On a cruise ship to several small remote islands, she couldn't help notice a group of young ladies swimming in what could only be their undergarments. They were certainly "covered" but what they were wearing was NOT swimwear. She was appalled that they would wear that in public!

The next day she saw them again and couldn't help herself- she leaned over to the stranger next to her and said, "I can't believe what they are wearing! I would never allow my daughter to swim in that!"

The stranger leaned back and said "I believe their luggage was lost....."

She said she was dumbstruck. She realized they were making the best of the hand they had been dealt, enjoying their vacation the best they could.

So the next time you find yourself judging, remember,

You don't know where their luggage is.

My Affair With Red Velvet Cake Continues

Hungry Girl told me about the new Yoplait Light Red Velvet Cake flavor and I am on the lookout for it. How yummy does that sound?

And I told myself about the new Little Debbie offering- Petites Red Velvet- when I saw them at the grocery store last night and they jumped into my cart. Debbie almost didn't catch my eye because she didn't put anything about 100 Calories on the package and I was a little scared to look because sometimes her yummiest stuff has a zillion calories.... but turns out, they *are* 100 calories.

Have you tried either of these?

Daddy/Daughter Dance

Saturday night was the local Daddy/Daughter Dance and look how cute/handsome my pair looked!

WD even let me paint her nails and curl the ends of her hair under! I had so much fun getting her ready and she was so excited all day.

I am so glad my little tomboy likes getting dressed up too....

Oh how I wish I was artistic

because WC would love it if I could paint her face like this everyday!

Friday night was Family Bingo night at P's school and they had a face-painting artists there and she was fabulous.

WC and I were sad to wash this off before bed that night!

Show Us Your Life Friday: My Nail Polish Routine

Now, you and I both know that I don't have a lot of free time. But I've found that if I follow this routine, I can paint my nails at 9 pm, go to sleep at 10, and not have any sheet marks at all. Plus, my mani will last 4-5 days with no chips- I usually just have to repaint because of new growth.

So without further ado, my nail routine:


1. Sally Hanson Instant Cuticle Remover. I apply this all around my nails, wait a bit (you can wait longer that it says), then use the thumbnail of my opposite hand to push back/scrape the cuticles. I typically do this twice.

2. Wash your hands and dry them well.


3. Orly Bonder. This is fab- takes any oily residue off your nails and gives your polish something to stick to. Key to a long-lasting mani.

4. Sally Hanson Nailgrowth Miracle in the gold bottle. Love this basecoat. Watch for CVS to have their BOGO or BOGO half off on Sally products and stock up.


5. OPI polish (2 coats). In my non-professional opinion, the best polish there is. One of my faves is I'm Not Really a Waitress.

Or my all time fave, Chile O Caliente (discontinued, of course!)

6. Seche Vite top coat. I won't use any other top coat. This is a super-fast dry topcoat with a fab shine. Expensive, but worth it!

Now why don't you let me in on your nail or beauty secrets!

So Far Today

I started a roast in the crock pot before I left for work. The hubs picked up a 2 pound pork loin at Wal-Mart last week before the ice hit, and we hadn't used it yet. I flipped through my new crock pot cookbook and found a recipe called 3 Packet Pot Roast that looked pretty cool, and somehow, hold onto your hats, I had all the ingredients in my pantry. Crazy! Things like this just don't happen to me.

So I was all proud of myself for getting that started and I headed out to load up the van for the day. I was getting my flavored water, my Vitatop muffin, Lipton Diet Iced Tea and a Lean Cuisine out of the outside fridge to take with me to work, and I noticed that the headphones the kids use for their listening therapy were still in the van. I was headed to the other side to get them..... when I took a spill and landed head-and-shoulder-first into the fridge.

I laid there crunched up on the garage floor for a few minutes, planning what to do if there was blood..... the hubs was in the shower and the kids were asleep.... so I thought I'd call a coworker to come get me to go get stitches.

That's how crazy I was being.

But turns out I'm fine. It's only been 26 minutes and I'm already a bit sore, so I'm for to take some Motrin. My coworker promised not to let me fall asleep for fear of a concussion. :-)

Disclosure: This post contains an Amazon affiliate link.

For the Love of Chocolate

I think you guys know I have the biggest sweet tooth ever and my love for chocolate is unparalleled.

So I was so excited when Sucre, a New Orleans-based confectioner, sent me a box of chocolates to try!

The box I was received was the For Love of Chocolate Collection. These were rich dark chocolate ganache blended with sweet red raspberries in a shimmery heart shell. Not only were they gorgeous, they were absolutely yummy!

The box above retails for $30 and I think it would make a fabulous Valentine's Day gift. Of course, there are many other flavors available to suit any tastes.

Disclosure: I was sent this box of chocolate from Sucre for review purposes. However, the opinions stated in this post were my own and I was not compensated for this review.

Recommendation: Avon Gloss Gorgeous

Last week I got a nice little surprise in the mail from my Avon rep, Valeri. She sent me a few of the Gorgeous Lip Glosses to try. These glosses are so cute and are on sale, 3 for $9 right now. I've got Bloom stashed in my purse for when I need a quick swipe of gloss over my lip stain.

Valeri is always so nice to let Sasha Says readers use a free shipping code! Please follow these steps so you can use the code and give Valeri credit.

1. Visit Valeri's site to make her your default rep

2. Log into ebates to get 5% back by going through them to get to the Avon site

3. Once the Avon site pulls up again, you should see Valeri's name near the top of the site

4. Choose your products and then use code FSANY or REPFS to get free shipping

Happy Shopping!

disclosure: I was sent this product by my Avon rep to try and review. The value of the product I received was $9. This post contains my ebates affiliate link, but readers will also get $5 if they sign up under my link. The Avon link is not an affiliate link and I receive no compensation for sales of Avon products.

Tonight I Am Drinking: Pink Beerade

Pink Lemonde Cocktail

renamed Pink Beerade by my SIL and I this evening

Ingredients

1 (12-oz.) can frozen pink lemonade concentrate, thawed
3 (12-oz.) bottles beer (not dark), chilled
3/4 cup vodka, chilled
Ice

Garnishes: fresh cranberries, citrus slices

Preparation
Stir together first 3 ingredients. Serve over ice. Garnish, if desired.

Cami Perry, Birmingham, Alabama, Southern Living, OCTOBER 2007

Very. Fabulous. I am thinking about modifying it and using Crystal Light to save some calories....

Look what came in the mail!

Yup, I ordered it.

Some Swatches for The Muse

One of my favorite blog finds is Musings of a Muse. She's totally adorable and even more obsessed with new makeup than me! I love reading her posts and seeing her swatches.

Last month, she posted about theBalm's new collection and their fabulous new lip stains called For Keeps Watercolor Lip Stains that I just had to have. You know all about my lip problems- lipstick/gloss tends to run into the little lines around my mouth, so I prefer a stain. I snatch them up whenever I see them.

But this little beauty really had me curious- it brought back a memory of a neat lip product I had back in the late 80s. I think it was Cover Girl, and it was a little compact with a powder lip color on one side, and a clear gloss on the other. It came with an eye-shadow type application to apply the powder (no water was needed), and a little brush for the gloss. I remember that I loved this!

Moving on.... today the Muse posted her swatches and mentioned she was scared silly of the stain that actually looks almost black in the Plum Berry/Brown Sugar compact. Not to worry Muse- it's plum!

I have no idea why it looks so dark in the compact, but it's actually a really nice shade if you like strong lip.

Right Now I Am Listening To

Miranda Lambert - White Liar

Such a great song- I just adore her and anything she sings. Makes me smile!

The One Where I Wish I Had a Sibling

Because

this....

makes my heart melt.

(photo by Trina Gibbins Photography)