Category: holiday guide 2015

I received the below mentioned product as part of the US Family Guide blogger program. Any opinions expressed are my own.

Looking for a gift that is unique, handcrafted, and better the life of someone else too?  NOVICA finds artisans from all over the world. They use fair trade, giving the artisans a fair price for the work. The artisans have control of their prices, if they want to withdraw an item for sale, or put one of their items on sale. This partnership makes quality handcrafted goods available to anyone shopping through the NOVICA site and gives artisans from all over the world a chance to support their family and grow their business.

I have many items from NOVICA. Yes some I’ve received to review but it’s also one of the places I like to shop when I look for home decor or beautiful, unique jewelry.  I love it because I know I’ll be receiving a high quality piece that I can’t just walk into a store near me and buy.  It’s the perfect place to shop for those picky or hard to buy for people.  The unique hand crafted gifts are sure to please.

We moved to a new house the beginning of October. When moved I started realizing what needed to go and what we needed to get for the new house.  One thing that was apparent was a new set of glasses.  We had 2 of this glass, 4 of this glass, a bunch of holiday glasses, and that was it. I had a budget in mind for a nice set of glasses.  Even looking at other sites I couldn’t find something as beautiful and of the same quality for my budget like I could on NOVICA.  I ended up choosing the Rainbow Gemstone hand blown glass tumblers They came in a set of 6 and were larger tumblers, which is what I was looking for.  We had plenty of juice glasses I needed bigger glasses.

I tried to capture the color of these glasses. They are gorgeous. My father in law was visiting when the box came in.  I told my husband that we finally got some new glasses.  He grabbed one of the amethyst colored ones out of my and stared at it. He said “Wow these are really nice glasses.  Well made, the colors are awesome” He showed it to my father in law and said “Look at these glasses Angie got, aren’t they nice?” These are the only glasses I’ve seen in my husband’s hand since we got them. They’re perfect size for a nice cold glass of water or iced tea.  They were just the right size for smoothies and milkshakes too.

NOVICA has a list of holiday gift ideas if you need some inspiration. I also have a Savings Code: Save7Novica code for $7 off first purchase!

I received the below mentioned product as part of the US Family Guide blogger program. Any opinions expressed are my own.

I heard about Libre Tea glasses a couple years ago.  I thought they were very pretty glasses but I wasn’t really a tea drinker.  I actually thought they weren’t really for me but then I checked out the website again.  Libre Tea glasses aren’t just for tea.  You can use them for water infusion bottles or any drink you want really.  So when they asked me to review I thought, yea why not, I’ve always wanted to have a water infusion bottle.

When I received my Libre Tea glass, I saw how well thought out the bottle set up is.  The strainer, glass interior with durable poly exterior, works for both hot and cold drinks.  The did work great as a water bottle or water infusion bottle.  Seeing how well the set up was though I decided to give loose leaf tea a try.  I have never in my life tried loose leaf tea. I’ve only ever used tea bags.  I went to my tea drinking friends to get their recommendations on a loose leaf tea.  I found some and tried it.  Oh my gosh, I might just be turning into a tea drinker!

I tried some loose leaf chai tea first. The strainer worked perfectly. No tea leaves, spices, or herbs made their way past the strainer.  The cup is durable. The lid seals tight.

I took my Libre Tea glass to work with some green tea in it today.  I had several coworkers comment on it and ask questions about it.  When I showed them the set up and answered questions about how it works they were pretty impressed with it.  Aside from the functionality of it, it’s a pretty nice looking glass. I just love the design on the lid!

Libre Tea glasses come in different colors and 2 different sizes. Do you have a tea drinker on your list that would love a Libre Tea glass? Make a basket with a Libre Tea Glass, some loose leaf tea, and some tea biscuits. That would make a nice gift!

I received the below mentioned product in order to complete an honest review. Any opinions expressed are my own.

I’m very particular about my handbags. I need it to be functional, easy to carry, I want it to look nice, be affordable, and be made to last. I know, I don’t want much right? For the most part, I will use the same handbag until it kicks the bucket. I spend hours or even days pouring over bags just to find the right one when it’s time to replace my handbag. Sure I have a couple small handbags for date nights or what-have-you but for my every day bag, yea it’s that big of a deal for me.

When the handbag company, 88, approached me about doing a review, I checked out the site. Almost every bag in their collection would be the type of bag I’m drawn to.  Classic, functional, affordable.  88 is a vegan brand. They are a collection of bags designed by an expert creative team that works on designs for brands around the world.

After looking over each bag on 88 Handbags about 3 times I finally decided on the 88 Halina Gray Satchel.

The 88 Halina Gray Convertible Satchel is a nice size bag. Tons of pockets.  The pockets in the front of the bag are deep enough to easily hold a digital camera, phone, or wallet.  The main storage are of the purse could hold a lot…I mean a lot.  I put my dlsr, a change of clothes for my daughter, a couple extra pull ups for her, and her pack of wipes in the compartment when I took the bag to my sister’s house the other day and I could have still fit plenty more.

I was quite satisfied with the construction of the bag.  I like having the option of the removable shoulder strap or the short handles.  The bag looks like leather but it’s not.  I created a short video to show you all the storage and features of this bag:

 

Check out the bags on 88 Handbags. If you seen something you like, 88 also has a coupon code for my readers.  Use code: Angie to save 10% off your order on their already reasonable prices!

You can find 88 on the following social media sites:

88 on Pinterest

88 on instagram

Twitter: @88_handbags

88 on facebook

Which 88 bag is your favorite?

This post contains affiliate links.

 

I received the below mentioned product as part of the US Family Guide in order to complete an honest review.  Any opinions expressed are my own.

When you’re trying to pick out a piece of jewelry to give someone, what do you look for? Me personally, I look for something that I think, fits their personality.  A representation of them, so to speak. For instance, if I was going to get something for my sister I would pick something subtle but quirky.  A pair of cute bird stud earrings or a classic piece with her birthstone, maybe something a little extra to make it unique. When I do buy jewelry (or look for jewelry gifts to drop hints about to my  husband) I tend to choose from a place like Pretty Peacock.

Pretty Peacock is a small studio just north of Seattle. They create jewelry to tell a story.  Mother and child necklaces, birthdate/stone  necklaces, fortune cookie necklaces, morse code bracelets, and much more. Many of the pieces can be personalized to get just the perfect piece of jewelry for yourself or your recipient.

I had the pleasure of receiving a surprise piece to review from Pretty Peacock.  I had no idea what I was getting.  I received the Forever Always pendant. I was delivered in a pretty gift box. It contained a card that explained the idea of the pendant.

The first thing I noticed was the unique shape of the pendant. It sort of reminded me of a ribbon that had been twirled around a finger.  The outside of the “ribbon” is printed with the words “forever always” on the inside there are a lot of shape imprinted like a butterfly, spiral, flowers, and more.  The pendant is actually quite large, so very noticeable when worn.  It’s also very well made. The chain is not too thing.  There are small silver bead about every half inch along the chain.  I kind of like that because it seemed to keep my necklace in place.  I didn’t have to keep spinning the clasp back around.  Speaking of the clasp, the clasp is a lobster claw which makes it easy to take the necklace on and off. There is a small silver tag near the clasp with “Pretty Peacock” imprinted on it as well.

Based off the quality and detail of the piece I received.  I would definitely be willing to shop Pretty Peacock in the future when searching for a unique and crafted piece jewelry.

My readers get to save big! Pretty Peacock: FAMILY2015 and for 30% off the entire site valid until 12/31/15! National and Abroad