Happy Independence Day, America!

As some of you go off to celebrate our country today, I ask that you be mindful of a few things:

Thank a soldier or their spouse.  Better yet, thank their children.  They do so much for our country; they sacrifice more than you could imagine.

Remember that today is about so much more than fireworks and hot dogs.

Enjoy yourselves safely, and have a great time!


And from Thirty-One gifts...

I wish you and your fabulous Thirty-One products a fun and Thirty-One-Derful Fourth!

Back to school? Yes, ma'am!

I know, I know: It's July!  It's not even close to time to go back to school.  Well, my kids go back on August 19th, so it's something that's on my mind.  And I'm so excited about what they're going to be using for their books and lunches...you guessed it!  Thirty-One.  Check out what we're working with:

For my oldest, Kaylie:

The Cinch Sac is good for light days, but I wouldn't use it as their sole back pack.  The Thermal Tote is a great lunch box; it holds all you could need to send to school with your child and keeps it cool or warm all day long.  The pencil bag is not a Thirty-One product; but you can find it at any local store.

This is a great look for a teenager/pre-teen.  Kaylie carried this Inside Out bag to school a few days at the end of the year, and it held all her books and binders.  It's just not her favorite pattern (She prefers Black Floral Brushstrokes or Pink Pop Medallion!) so she asked if she could have her other bags back!

This will be Megan's back to school look!  The Cinch Sac will be good for her; she's still in lower elementary school.  It will hold her books, her sweater, and her Thermal Tote.  The Thermal Tote will be perfect for lunch, and then she's got her little Icon Coin Purse in Turtle for extra milk money.  I love this pattern!

This is *MY* back to school look!  I always have Wyatt with me, and blue is a fantastic color for a boy.  Who cares about the flowers? :)  

TONS of great looks!  I love Thirty-One!  I hope I gave you some ideas of what you might consider purchasing...  

Keepin' the Kiddos Calm...

I'm sure I've mentioned before that we are a Military Family.  And as we all know: Military Families are always on the go.  MOST families are always on the go, actually, but we move so much it's hard to keep up with all our stuff.  This is actually one of the reasons I started buying Thirty-One to begin with.  They have so many products for keeping up with your things and organizing that I couldn't NOT spend my money on their quality products.  I started out with a Thermal Tote that I used to carry water bottles to the park, and just last week I placed an order for things to organize my son's bedroom.  I'll share pictures of that when my order comes in!

One of the products that I learned about this Spring was the Fold n' Go organizer.  I thought I could use it for organizing a few every day things I needed for my jewelry business.  I kept business cards in one pouch, the note pad that came with it in the middle and some brochures on the side with the stretch pouch.  It worked out perfectly!  But I didn't realize how many uses that puppy actually HAS until I needed a solution for another problem I had...

My kids love to carry things with them.  My oldest loves to read and draw, my middle girl loves to color and use stickers, and then my son just does whatever the girls are doing at the moment because he's 4 and it's easier to copy than come up with something on his own.  They were using the pouches on the back of my car seats and they left crayons in there (and of course, they melted) because they couldn't get their fingers in all the way to pull them back out.  BIG PROBLEM.  I looked at all the stuff they kept bringing in and out of the car and I thought "I think I have something that might help..." and I dumped out my Fold n' Go organizer and badabing!  It all fits, including my son's Leap Pad!  I wish I had pictures of how "we" use ours, but we only have ONE.  The rest are coming soon!  Until then, I'll let you feast your eyes on the way another customer has decided to use hers!  Fantastic!

I already love this product!!  

Information and what-not...

Hey y'all!  I just wanted to take a moment to say: this page isn't intended to sell Thirty-One's products.  I'm not stating any affiliation whatsoever with Thirty-One products, nor am I intentionally providing you with inside information that would benefit the company or any consultant.  This blog is for informational purposes only.  It is intended to show you how much I love the product, how you can use the product, and just generally have a good time with a product line that I believe in and support based on my own personal experiences and beliefs.  I've been buying Thirty-One for two years now, and I'm hooked.

You can clearly see from the photos that these are MY items.  I own them, I've customized them, and I'm showing you how I use them.  If you decide to purchase your items based on how I use mine, that's completely up to you!  I hope you do; I hope you see how wonderful the products are and that you want them in your home.

You can find all the information that I share here on their website or through any search engine you'd like.  It is open, public knowledge that they provide themselves to help you make your decisions!  I'm sure that since you found this blog, you are already interested in the product...I'm just here to show you what you can do with it.  Who you purchase it from is entirely up to you.  Keep in mind: if you already know someone who sells Thirty-One, you can search for your consultant through their website.  Also, public knowledge.

Thirty-One is a Christian-based company, from what I've seen and read, and I can get with a product line that shares my morals.  I'd rather buy my products from them than someplace else like a big-box store that provides terrible customer service and even lower quality products.

I have several online blogs where I blog about other topics.  I have one for hand-crafted jewelry, and I have one for religious topics.  You're more than welcome to check out those blogs as well.  Have a Thirty-One-derful day, everyone!

Summer Camps and Sleep Overs!

Wow!  It's finally Summer!  Summer is one my favorite times of year.  It's gorgeous (and hot) outside, and there's so much to do.  The days are longer, the food is sweeter and the mosquitos are bigger!  Maybe it's just an Alabama-thing...

When I was a kid, Summer was all about camp and sleep-overs.  Instead of sleep-away camp, we mostly went to day-camps for daycare while our parents worked.  But it was still amazing!  We still brought our back packs and lunch boxes and I can't even tell you how many times I lost mine, traded mine for something better (a three layered skirt---THREE LAYERS and HOT PINK...a Milli Vanilli tape single...those were the days...) and got in trouble.  I hated my stuff.  It was totally lame.  I begged for cute stuff, but nope.  Mom couldn't afford it. But now, I have a solution: Thirty-One!  Affordable, sometimes FREE but ALWAYS adorable!  If I could be my 10 year old self again, here's what I'd pick:

Cinch Sac: Best Buds

Thermal Tote; Best Buds

Icon Coin Purse; Turtle

Look how stinkin' cute these things are?  And of course we do have these in other patterns; this one just happens to be *my* favorite!  Mom could have gotten me these and she could have gotten herself a Large Utility Tote for $10 if this was the June special way back then... 

I bet your kids would love to carry some of Thirty-One's amazing products.  All of them are so useful!  My daughters all have one of the pieces I shared above; my DOG even has a Cinch Sac!  My son has a them as well, along with zipper pouches to sort his necessities (he's still small and needs a diaper bag type thing).  That's another great idea for another blog!

All of them together...fantastic look for your daughter!

Hey, who's walkin' who??

Charlie Girl is my best friend.  She's the prettiest blonde I know; and the smartest, too!  She keeps all my secrets, she doesn't steal my food, and she plays a mean game of fetch.  Yep, she's my good girl.  My pretty little Golden Retriever/Lab mix.  Did you think I was talking about my "human" best friend?  Nahhh, she's a red-head with freckles, but she's all the things I mentioned above (well...I dunno about the fetchin'...I think Charlie's a little better at it than she is!) but she doesn't steal my food!

We walk almost every day. And she's not a very big dog, but she's a tugger, so I needed a new leash.  She tugged the clasp right off of her old one.  I found one in the craziest place: my Thirty-One catalog!  I bet you didn't know they sold them.  I didn't, either.  They have four different patterns, and they're adorable.  I'm so glad I got one for her.  It's bright and colorful so you can see us coming and it's long an sturdy, too.  It's perfect for us!

She's a girl; girls need *things*.  I have my makeup bag, and Charlie has her Cinch Sac.  Yes, I bought my dog a Cinch Sac!  She needs a collapsible water bowl, a bottle of water, her poop bags, an extra leash and some benadryl.  And of course, an extra bottle of water for me!

So, my spoiled pooch walks in style.  She's got her adorable Pink Cross Pop Cinch Sac, her Perfect Pet Leash in Island Damask, and a mommy who loves her dog and her product SO MUCH that she couldn't imagine leaving her house without it!  All four patterns are below:

The Perfect Pet Leash.  It's 70 inches long (Almost 2 feet) and about an inch thick.  And I mean this thing is THICK.  Your dog won't break it.  It even has "Thirty-One" engraved into the ring!  It's adorable!  You can't go wrong with any pattern!

Running, exercise and other dirty words...

I know a lot of people only run when they're being chased or they've found a great sale; I've seen all the cute little Facebook graphics!  And that's ok!  But I run.  I run to things, from things, into furniture and into doors.  I run diagonally and sideways and alongside things.  I run backwards, forwards and in circles.  I love to run.  And when I run, I usually have to drive away from my home to get to the nature trail that I love or to a decent track in a safe place.  Sometimes you'll even catch me at the *gulp* gym.  I hate the gym.  Anyone else hate lunks?  You know, those women who have no business being there other than to remind us that if we skip brownies for the rest of our lives we *still* won't look like that?  Yeah...

 Anyway, I need a few things when I exercise.  Usually, I like to have my little sweat rag, my arm band, my ear phones, a bottle of water, my cell phone and of course, my knee braces (yes, I'm getting old!).  I used to throw them in the passenger seat of the car and it would all get tossed around when I drive (Yes, I drive like a maniac).  I got tired of scooping my things out of the crack in the door, the floorboards in the front and back seats and everyplace else my random goodies have rolled to.  I realized that Thirty-One carries this awesome bag: Cinch Sac.  It's light-weight, you can wipe it down when it gets wet, it's easy to carry and it's super cute.  I think what sold me is the last part: SUPER CUTE!  It comes in a variety of patterns, and it's only $20!  You can't beat that.  Here's my entire Thirty-One joggin' set:

What you see here is: Cinch Sac in Punch Bowl 

Timeless Wristlet  

*Bring-A-Bottle 

Hey...what's that "asterisk" there for?  Well, truth be told:  The Bring-A-Bottle right now is back-ordered with no estimated fill date from what I've been told.  But it's a product worth waiting for!  You can fit your water bottle inside and it'll keep it cool the entire time you're out exercising.  I leave mine in the car, and it's nice and frosty when I'm finished with my workout.  "What's that cute little wristlet thingy?"  It's the Timeless Wristlet.  It comes in several patterns.   It comes with the little leather wrist strap and it's great for holding cash, credit cards, identification cards, and pictures.  There's a slot in the back for a cell phone (unless you're like me and you have a Galaxy Note...) or whatever else you'd like to place in it, and a zipper pouch to hold your cards inside.  I love mine.  I use it for quick trips out when I don't feel like grabbing my wallet.  You could toss it in your Cinch Sac, or you could toss it in an Organizing Utility Tote used as a diaper bag!  A lot of people do...