It's Here! 25 Days of Christmas with The Palmetto Queen

 

Last year I did a 25 days of Christmas series on NighLon. It was really great and really fun. This year I have decided to move the series to this blog! Yay for you. 

Every day there will be a different Christmas post as well as the highlight of a blog that I read. I love sharing with you guys all the blogs I read and get inspired by, so consider this my gift to you. 

This series will run until Christmas and then I have another gift for you. I will start on December 26th an organizing series. I am overhauling things now so that you will benefit from them. I'm not even sure how long the series will last- but it will be at least a week! 

Today's blog is NighLon.com (yes, I know shameless advertising!) It is my "work" blog. I haven't been keeping up with it as much as I would like. Because of different projects and sick pups, I have put a hold on new clients until after the new year. I do, however, have a giveaway coming up. I will be giving away a logo package and social media package soon. I finally reached 1000 twitter followers, so this is my gift to my lovely followers. 

You can see the other services I offer and my portfolio at NighLonSolutions.com

Be sure to come back tomorrow for some Christmas time good southern manners!

Making Parenting Choices Easier With The Honest Company

Throughout my lifetime, there have been many products that were thought to be safe and then deemed unsafe after years of testing. It makes me nervous to begin using a new product because I am always unsure of the long-term effects of the product. This is especially true with cleaning products. I do not want to learn twenty years from now that the product I used to clean floors with causes long-term health problems or the wipes I used causes skin cancer.

I am always looking for green and eco-friendly alternatives to the cleaning and bath products I use frequently. That is why The HonestCompany is so amazing. They take the worry and hassle of research away. There is no longer a need to spend hours researching cleaning products and their effects.

Not only does The Honest Company take the hassle away, they encourage an eco-friendly lifestyle by putting ideas directly on their website and packaging. There is a note from the company on the bottom of the packaging beside the please recycle box. It reads "A gift box. A treasure box. A photo box. A craft box. This box is a real multi-tasker. How could you reuse it? Rethink it because it's even better than recycling it. Together we can make it better." It helps that their products are safe, fun, and inviting.

This isn’t all The Honest Company does to encourage eco-friendly live styles, they also have work towards making a great social impact. 

The Honest Company supports their charity, baby2baby.org, for children in needy families. With every purchase that is made from The Honest Company, money, time, and products are donated to baby2baby.org.

Honest is a Certified B Corporation, which means that they are a company dedicated to making a profound social difference. Efforts to be a better business and safeguarding people and the planet are other attributes that qualify Honest as being a part of the B Corp Community.

I am quite impressed with The Honest Company and Jessica Alba. By creating beautiful, fun, and trendy products, they are encouraging people who may not acknowledge eco-friendly products take a second look. I’m not sure anyone can resist such beauty, especially with the main benefit being that they are eco-friendly. 

I received a sample of The Honest Company's diaper and wipe bundle. I was impressed with not only the product, but also the packaging and customer service.

Beautiful, fun, and nice! 

The Honest Company was started by a mom and a dad who, like many modern parents, were increasingly worried about products made with questionable chemical ingredients. But the alternatives they found were often expensive, inaccessible, bland, or ineffective. In response to this clear need for something better, they created The Honest Company to ensure that parents (or anyone for that matter!) could easily find natural and non-toxic eco-friendly products that are beautiful, effective, and affordable. From customized product bundles to diapers and wipes to an ever-expanding line of cleaning and personal care products, you can find everything you need at Honest.com and have it delivered directly to your front door.

Give it a try! Click here to become a member of The Honest Company community and start your free trial today.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Honest Company. The opinions and text are all mine.

The Answer to My Eye Doctor Phobia

I have worn glasses for close to 15 years and to this day I absolutely hate going to the eye doctor. I would honestly rather go to the dentist than the eye doctor. I don't like air being blown into my eyeball, hate the hassle of going, and I am grossed out by eye things. People touching their eyeballs makes me gag. (I love my eye doctor, just not the whole appointment thing.) 

The last time I went in for eyeglasses was an absolutely horrible experience. I had to see a different doctor because mine went to a different location, yet no one informed me of this. I have it in my records which doctor I prefer, so they should have told me. I prefer him because he tricks me while he does the glaucoma test and doesn't think I'm an idiot when I freak out when its time for eye drops. (I once had 7 people hold me down while my mom held my eye open so my uncle could put eye drops in- can you tell I don't like it?) 

Then, when it was time to choose my glasses, the assistant argued with me about which frames I should get. I have a small face so I am not wearing large glasses. I wanted black frames and she thought I should get rimless. When I am purchasing something, I expect to not be argued with, after all- that is just bad manners. 

I have been considering buying glasses online for a while, but was never sure about it because I prefer to try the eye glasses on. But GlassesUSA.com is changing that for me. 

I am very particular about my eyeglasses and find it amazing that GlassesUSA has a virtual solution for trying glasses on and a beautiful selection of glasses frames. You can even try it out for yourself here. In addition to the virtual mirror, GlassesUSA even offers an in-home try-on experience. Just choose a few frames that you would like to try on, they will be shipped to you, choose which ones you want, and send the others back. You will only be charged for the glasses you choose. 

It doesn't matter if you need prescription glasses, bifocals, prescription sunglasses, non-prescription sunglasses, computer glasses, or just fashion glasses. GlassesUSA.com has something for you!

Because GlassesUSA.com is so amazing, they are offering some discounts to you, just for being The Palmetto Queen readers!

STOREWIDE OFFER - Take 15% off + get free shipping on your entire order 

(orders over $50). Code: FS15

Take 10% off any order of prescription glasses. Code: Blog10

Novica: Curate, Shop, and Help a Cause & A Give Away

I was recently given an amazing opportunity to work with Novica. Novica is online shopping with the experience of world travel. Novica empowers artisans around the world by giving them a marketplace with the reach of super retailers. I am so happy to have had this opportunity. 

I had the opportunity to review an item from Novica. I chose to review the Secret Chamber necklace. My selection was made because of a few reasons. I love the style of Indian art and this item makes me want to explore the Taj Mahal. 

I was really impressed when I received my package. I didn't just receive the necklace, but also a Taj Mahal postcard with a hand written thank you note from the artist (Mahavir). The note is both in his native and in English. The package also contained a special jewelry bag and booklet about the artist and item. The unique details alone make me want to shop with them again. I even received an email letting me know when my item reached the United States. 

The necklace itself is beautiful and made with .925 sterling silver. It has become my go to necklace. When I see it waiting for me, I immediately become inspired because of the detail and love that was so obviously put into the item. Thank you Mahavir for such an amazing addition to my jewelry collection. It makes me want to shop in Indian bazaars even more than I did before. 

Novica has rolled out an addition to the shopping experience by allowing visitors to their site to become curators. Curation is like Pinterest, only more responsive and beautiful. I believe artisans around the world should be showcased, so I jumped at the opportunity to curate a collection. You can view it here. The colors and textures of autumn inspire me all year long, so my collection is Autumn Treasures: These are the colors and textures that inspire me the most. Here is a glimpse.

Novica is offering something special to you as well. One lucky Palmetto Queen reader will win a $35 gift certificate. This will be rewarded to a random person who curates a collection. (No purchase necessary.) Here's how it works.

1. Go to Novica.com and create an account. 
2. Go to the curation page and create a collection.
3. Come back here and share your collection URL in the comments. If you have a website or blog, be sure to include that as well. 
4. After the contest is over, I will share everyone's collections with a link to your site (spam will not be tolerated) and announce the winner. The winner will be chosen using random.org. 
5. The contest will end December 8th. 

I look forward to seeing all of your collections and hope to discover new types of artwork. 

Disclaimer: I received a gift card to review a product and a gift card to give to a lucky reader. All opinions are my own. 

Why I've Been Missing

I have missed being here, but unfortunately, life happens and it has been a rough couple of weeks. We had some sick puppies and life is just starting to get back to normal.

I posted before about how excited we were about our litter of pups that were born a few months ago. I referred to them as Mr and Mrs because there are sick people in the world and I really didn't want to put their names out there. Unfortunately, there are people who will steal Pit Bull puppies. This particular litter is hybrid - Pit Bull/ Boston Terrier.

Harley and Raven (Mr and Mrs) are the pups that my husband and I picked to keep and raise in our family. We ended up keeping 8 of the pups out of fear of them going to a bad home. They got sick and we lost 5 of them. Raven and Harley are two of the ones we lost. Harley died the Saturday before Thanksgiving and Raven died Thanksgiving morning. It has been a sad stretch, but 3 are almost back to their rambunctious selves. I miss our babies.

We aren't sure what made the babies sick- they tested negative in the Parvo test, but it was a virus that mimics Parvo. The only thing is that it didn't take them down as quickly as Parvo usually does. In researching how to make them better, I learned a lot about these doggie viruses. These viruses can be spread by a fly, bird, or even squirrel going from one yard to the next. The vaccine is not even a guarantee that your dog will not get it. It was horrible watching the babies die.

Sometimes I wish I didn't love animals so much, but I wouldn't change the memories for anything. Everything happens for a reason, but we may not know the reason.

So, that is where I have been. I have several posts over the next week scheduled to make up for my absence.

Lovable Labels Promotion: Black Friday and Cyber Monday

One of my favorite products to organize and keep track of items is Lovable Labels. Not only are they personalized, but they are durable. Lovable Labels are microwave, dishwasher, washer, dryer, and kid safe. 

Lovable Labels has a special promotion just for you! I will definitely be taking advantage of this offer!