Tuesday, August 23, 2011

I LOVE this stuff!

Clearly a lack of grad school work now leaves me with time to get back to blogging. I know you are just so excited about that. Anyway, here is my current list of loves...
(This is not a sponsored post, just sharing my opinions.)

1. Soma Vanishing Edge Underwear
 These underwear will change your life. Not even kidding. They are like the holy grail of undergarments. They don't leave a panty line (even in pants as tight as yoga pants) AND they have a gripping material inside the leg that makes sure they stay in place. No panty lines, no wedgies, pure awesomeness. Trust me on this, you won't want to wear anything else after you try them. The put VS to shame.
Courtesy of Soma.com

2. Tervis Tumblers
 Hot drinks, cold drinks, to go drinks, these cups do it all. You can put them in the dishwasher. They don't sweat, even when you take them outside is 115 degree Turkish heat. The largest size has a thing bottom so it still fits in a cup holder. Drop them? No worries, they don't break. These are the best cups ever.


3. My Keurig
 I'm a coffee drinker but my husband is not, hence the need for something that does not require making an entire pot. The Keurig fits that bill and does so much more! I make iced tea, hot chocolate, iced coffee, chai lattes, and all kinds of coffee. It's super easy to use and takes very little maintenance in the cleaning department. Some of my favorite K-Cups are: Island Coconut Coffee, Newman's Own Extra Bold, and Southern Sweet Iced Tea. (If you don't have a brewer and want to buy one on their website send me your email and you and I both get 2 free boxes of K-Cups!)



4. Erin Condren Life Planner
 Clearly with a degree in Library Science I'm into organization (and a tad bit nerdy). Planners are on of my favorite things to buy in the organization department. In fact I often buy a few a year because I find one I like better. I'm pretty picky about my planners, I need both month and week view, note pages, birthday calendars, and easy to find pages. This planner has it all and more! It's an inch thick worth of amazingness. With tabbed months, colorful weekly pages, note pages, a zippered pouch, a pocket page for receipts, a birthday calendar, important information pages, colorful stickers, and coordinating personalized gift tags- it really is the best planner. PLUS, it's personalized, so my name is on the front. My southern self LOVES anything personalized.





5. Sweaty Bands
While teaching Zumba I am constantly battling with headbands. I either have to pin them on, and sometimes even then they don't stay, or they squeeze my head so tight I feel like my brain my leak out of my ears. Not so with Sweaty Bands. Some how these super cute things stay on your head without squeezing your brains out or using bobby pins. In fact, just this past week I ran a 7K and forgot I had on the zebra one. It didn't move an inch! Must have for anyone who works out.




6. Photo Albums
I don't have the patience for scrapbooking in the crafty sense, so these photo books are the perfect option for my travel photos. Recently Snapfish had a buy 1 get two free deal so I finally got around to scrapbooking our three years of travels from Germany. So glad to have these memories put together in super cute books!

7. This Blog Post
This post on IF etiquette is one of the best I've seen. It's honest, it's thorough, and it left me saying AMEN! after every line. I highly recommend that anyone who is dealing with IF/Loss, or is close to someone who is, check out this post.

Winner!

And the winner of the $50 Snapfish credit is....
Comment Number 7....

Kelly!

Email me at bluestarblogs (at) gmail (dot) com to get your credit code (or I think you may have my personal email, you can email me there too)! Congratulations!

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Reminder!

Don't forget to enter the giveaway below for a $50 Snapfish gift card! So much fun back-to-schoolness going on at Snapfish! Contest closes 8/22!

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Casey, M.S.

IT IS FINISHED! Finally! 2 years ago I started my Master's degree in Library Science at the University of North Texas. I took my GRE and was accepted while we were in Germany, which is where I did the first year of classes (while working full time, ah!). When we moved here to Turkey I scaled back my work to part time and took 9 hours of class each semester. Well, finally the day has come- graduation!!!!!

I'm now proud to say that an M.S. follows my name. (If only I could work that in to introductions in person. People would love that I'm sure.) I'm proud of this degree though, it was a LOT of work! I'm proof it's possible to get your degree (from a real school in a program that is accredited by your professional organization) while living far away from home. I only wish I could have walked and worn my hood. I guess I'll just have to pretend.



Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Back to School!

Can you believe the summer is behind us? This will be the 2nd year in a row I'm not going back to the classroom as a teacher, which gets me a little teary. I miss my babies. You know what else I miss? School supplies. I LOVE me some folders, a new binder, and the mega supply- a box of 96 Crayola (no Rose Arts, ew) crayons. LOVE.

If only school supplies had been as cool when I was little as what Snapfish has. Lis@ Fr@nk, look out. This stuff is so much fun.

Never get your notebook stolen again! Personalize one just for you (or your kid)! At $9.99 it's a deal!



No more forgetting homework! A personalized planner! AND, at $9.99 you get a personalized item for less than you would pay for a plain old planner at the store.



And THIS. Oh man. A personalized lunch box?! These retro cool boxes have a TON of choices for theme and totally kick paper bag butt any day. $30 bcuks for a personalized box. That's pretty good. (And a great gift idea for grandkids for the first day of school!) Frecklebox and Snapfish are partnering to bring you something awesome with this!


Check out everything Snapfish has to offer at their Back-To-School shop. I haven't yet found anything I don't like. Almost makes me want to go back to school or get a full time teaching job. Almost.

And of course, because you know Snapfish and I are buddies, they are offering a gift certificate to one of my lucky readers! $50 to spend on something fun for you! How can you enter?
- Leave a comment on this blog post telling me about your favorite item in the Snapfish Back-to-School shop.
That's it! Easy-peasy! Contest ends August 22nd!