Organic Vitamin C Serum by La Beauté Pure

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

"Safer than a chemical peel and cheaper than a facelift."

I've been using the La Beauté Pure's Vitamin C Serum for the past 2 weeks and have noticed a change in my skin's appearance. It's not a drastic change but I can see the difference it has made and I know that if I continue to use the serum, my skin's health will keep improving. 

I use a cotton ball to apply the unscented serum at night before bed. I believe this is the best way for your skin to replenish itself during your sleep. According to La Beauté Pure, it works for up to 72 hours and does not wash off. Overall, I enjoy using the serum and will order again once I run out and I'll also recommend it to anyone who would like to improve their skin health.

"Dr. Oz and leading plastic surgeons endorse Vitamin C for anti-aging, anti-wrinkles, and for taking decades off your face. Applying vitamin C to the skin is up to 20 times more effective than taking it orally."

Here's Why It's Safe

• No parabens. 
• No chemicals. 
• No preservatives. 
• No Formalin. 
• No Formaldehyde. 
• No Phthalates. 
• No Petro-chemicals 
• No GMO. 
• No Triclosan. 
• No Fragrance. 
• No Colors. 
• Not tested on animals.

The serum is 98% naturally derived/72% organic.

It helps improve the quality of your skin by:
-Fading sunspots, dark spots, and discoloration.
-Preventing free radicals.
-Helping collagen tighten skin.
-Making fine lines and wrinkles appear less noticeable withing 2-6 months.

You can purchase La Beauté Pure Vitamin C Serum here (affiliate link).



I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Stonyfield Organic Greek Yogurt

Disclaimer: I received samples as part of the Stonyfield YoGetters blogger group. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

We're big fans of yogurt in our house, especially my toddler! The first yogurt he's tried was from Stonyfield and he's been hooked ever since.

You Gotta Try This #StonyfieldGreek!

What's makes Stonyfield Greek yogurt unique? For one, it's organic!

Stonyfield promises to provide you with delicious products free of:

• Toxic persistent pesticides
• Artificial hormones
• GMOs
• Antibiotics

How could you not love that?

There are plenty of Stonyfield Greek flavors to enjoy. 

The newest flavors to join the family are Black Cherry and Cafe Latte.

Three flavors - Blueberry, Strawberry, and Superfruits have been perfected and are tastier than ever.

Without further ado, I present you with a crazy-haired toddler who loves Stonyfield just as much as I do!

Another thing I love about Stonyfield Greek is that it's thick enough for your toddler to pick up with a spoon. This was Z's first time feeding himself and he was very happy about it!

To learn more and connect with Stonyfield, visit them on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
Why don't you place some Stonyfield Greek yogurt in your cart the next time you shop for groceries? You'll be pleased at how delicious they are! :)
What do you love about Stonyfield?

CampusBookRentals and Operation Smile

Disclaimer: I am being compensated for this post. All opinions are my own.

CampusBookRentals.com is a very cool website where you can rent textbooks and save 40-90% off of bookstore prices. 

• Free shipping is offered both ways (renting and returning books).
• Highlighting in the textbooks is allowed.
• The renting periods are flexible.

Those are just a few of the perks!

A donation is made to Operation Smile with each textbook that you rent. Operation Smile is an international charity dedicated in providing surgeries for children with cleft lip and cleft palate. They have provided over 200,000 free surgeries for children and young adults born with facial deformities! That's amazing.

CampusBookRentals also runs a great program called RentBack. It allows students to rent the textbooks they own to other students. This is an easy way to make 2-4x more money as opposed to buyback options.

You can find CampusBookRentals on Facebook and read the reviews left my others.

If you're going back to school or know a friend who is, I'd recommend researching CampusBookRentals to help them save on textbooks!

5 Important Tips for Securing Your Financial Future

By the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program

If you’re one of the thousands of National Guard and Reserve members who have been deployed, you’ve made personal sacrifices in the service of your country. Your financial health, however, doesn’t have to be one of them.

Finding your “new financial normal” post-deployment takes time and attention. As you adjust to your return to civilian income and the end of deployment benefits, you may be unsure how to best manage your money moving forward.

The Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program can help you develop a blueprint for reaching your financial goals after coming home. Try some of these five money smart tips from Yellow Ribbon experts:

1. Check Leave and Earnings Statements (LES). You are responsible for ensuring that you are paid what you earned while deployed—and that you don’t receive any deployment benefits by mistake once you are home. Contact your Finance Office if you detect any errors in your LES so these mistakes can be rectified as soon as possible.

2. Resist the “Urge to Splurge” by Establishing a Spending Plan. Your return to civilian life brings with it financial temptations that you may not have encountered during your deployment; it can be hard to say no to the idea of rewarding yourself for your service with an impulsive—and expensive—purchase. Prepare yourself to resist these impulses by establishing a budget of income and expenses and stick to it.

3. Start Saving.  Once you’ve established a spending plan, don’t forget to put money aside to build up your savings. Keep 3-6 months of your expenses in an emergency account in case something unexpected occurs, like a leaky roof or needed car repairs. You’ll want to plan for your future by setting up a long-term savings account. If you put money into a Savings Deposit Program (SDP) or Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) while you were deployed, you might consider using that money to open a long-term savings account.

4. Evaluate Insurance Plans. Now is a great time to take another look at your insurance plans. Instead of simply restarting policies you may have put on hold during deployment (such as auto or rental insurance), ask for quotes from other providers to make sure you are getting the most for your money. Compare the healthcare benefits offered through the TRICARE Reserve Select Program to those offered through your employer. You can get help from one of the Transition Assistance Advisors (TAAs) who are available to veterans in every state.  Find yours through the TAA Program.

5. Take Advantage of Free Financial Counseling for Service Members. Making financial decisions can be daunting, but as a returning Service member, you are entitled to free financial counseling. Contact Military OneSource at 800-342-9647 for financial counselors in your local area who can provide advice and help navigate issues. Get in touch with your local Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Center, if you think you need to file for federal and state tax extensions.

When you return home, don’t forget to make financial planning a priority. For more information on personal finance for Guard and Reserve members, join Yellow Ribbon at an event near you.  Search and register for upcoming events at www.yellowribbonevents.org. 

Learn more at www.yellowribbon.mil

Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored.

Nuby Bath Letters and Numbers

Disclaimer: As a Nuby Mommy Blogger, I received this product in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

My son loves bath time. According to him, Nuby's Bath Letters and Numbers makes taking a bath more fun!

• There are 36 numbers and letters that float and stick to the wall when wet. 
• Each number and letter has bright colors and cute patterns.
• Nuby Bath Letters and Numbers are also BPA-free!

I love teaching Z to spell out his name. It makes learning fun for him and he looks forward to bath time. It also helps with counting. He loves to "count" all the letters and has a ton of fun sticking them on the wall.

You can find Nuby Bath Letters and Numbers at the following retailers:

• Meijer
• Buy Baby Direct

Connect with Nuby:
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Instagram

5 Tips to Maximize Your Sverve Profile

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. This post contains my Sverve affiliate link. If you sign up using my link, I'll receive a small compensation. Thank you for your support.

Sverve is one of my favorite communities for bloggers to engage in paid campaigns and share their blog posts and favorite tips. 

When I first signed up for Sverve last year, I didn't have a clue what to do. I abandoned it for a bit before returning and figuring out the basics. 

Once I got the hang of it, I increased my following, received many endorsements and engaged in a few campaigns, including the new Twitter and Pinterest campaigns. 

Here are some tips to help you become more successful on Sverve:

1. Connect Your Social Media Accounts and Include a Bio 

This is first on the list for a reason. Your Sverve Influencer score is based on:

• Social Influence
• Blog Influence
• Sverve Influence

I've come across a few accounts that had no bios, no blog url or social media links connected to it. These accounts have little to no followers and a low Sverve Influencer score. Make sure your profile is complete and up-to-date!

Connect your Facebook and Twitter accounts. Also, fill out all of your blog stats. If you want to engage in any Pinterest campaigns, make sure to fill out that information as well. 

Add a Sverve badge to your blog

On the navigation bar, go to About and click Goodies on the drop-down menu. You can easily grab the badge code and add it to your blog.

2. Endorse and Tweet

Endorsing other bloggers is one of the reasons that makes Sverve unique. 

Make sure to include the max amount of areas of influence (as of right now it's 5). Whatever best describes your blog is what you'll get endorsed on. 

One of my favorite ways to get endorsed is to endorse others. Generosity goes a long way. Most bloggers will return endorsements as a thank you and even visit your blog.  That's what it's all about!

When you click the endorse button you will have the option of tweeting about it. Almost always I will let people know I've endorsed them by sending out the tweet to their Twitter handle. Best of all, you don't have to type anything in the tweet. Sverve automatically does that for you. 

I've found that this method is a great way to get new followers, both on Sverve and Twitter! When I get these endorsement tweets, I always thank the person, favorite, and retweet them. It makes me feel special. :)

3. Follow

I love following. And I love when someone follows my profile. Most bloggers will follow you if you follow them. Why not be social? That's the whole point of an online community and the best way to help out one another. 

When I get new followers I love reading their bio and checking out their blog. Throw in some endorsements and you've got yourself a new friend on Sverve!

4. Share Tips

Sverve's tip-sharing layout is similar to Pinterest. Sharing your blog posts is great, but sharing posts from other bloggers is even better. 

Share this Popular Tip

I get most engagement by sharing posts that include tips about blogging. I also see how much engagement other bloggers get from these tips. Blogging is one thing most Sverve users have in common, which makes it a popular tip to share!

Look at the amount of interaction blog tips get:

Everyone loves to gain new blogging knowledge.

Like and Comment on Tips

If I liked the tip that was shared, I go ahead and like, comment, or share it.  Each time someone shares your tip, it gets bumped up to the top, which means it will get viewed, liked, and shared by more bloggers!

Replying to comments is another great way to be social and gain new followers. If someone took time to comment, I'll take a few seconds to reply to them. Comments also reveal how helpful the post was. Take note and keep on sharing similar tips.

Sverve Bookmarklet

I find this the best way to add tips on Sverve. Instead of copying and pasting links manually, the bookmarklet works with one click.

I have it saved on my bookmarks toolbar on my browser for quick access. 

I've also found that the bookmarklet finds more specific pictures from the post as opposed to adding the tip manually. This means no more tips that pop up with the default Sverve graphic.

Here's an example:

 versus

You're more likely to get interaction with tips that show information on the graphics. 

Don't forget to add tags. This will help organize tips and help other bloggers find what they're looking for.

Bonus: Sverve frequently tweets user tips to their 3,200+ followers. Another way to get views on your Sverve profile and Twitter. They also tweet when you've been accepted for a new campaign. It's a win-win.

5. Sverve Mobile App

Did you know that Sverve had an app? It comes in handy when you're on-the-go. Although it is limited (you're not able to apply for campaigns or see how much you've earned), you can still do many of the things you would on the full site:

•Explore, share, like, and comment on tips

•View recent activity

•See who's on the Leaderboard

•Edit your profile and manage your areas of influence

•Follow others

•View tips you've shared

Try these tips to help you be an active member of Sverve, increase your score, and get accepted for future campaigns. It really is a fun community for bloggers!

What is your most valuable Sverve tip?

PrintKEG - The Cheap Online Printing Company (Giveaway)

Disclaimer: I will receive a promotional gift code for sharing PrintKEG.com with you. All opinions are my own.
If you're like me, you probably have a few pictures you've taken that deserve to be hung up on a wall. (Especially if you're a mom and have thousands of pictures of your little one!) Getting a poster or canvas print done can be pricey.

PrintKEG was founded in 2008 with the goal of becoming the premiere destination for cheap online flyer printing.
"Our company prints custom prints, posters, photographs, canvas wraps and more. We focus on small projects at very low prices with a mission of helping artists become successful entrepreneurs by being able to sell their work profitably."
PrintKEG offers a large variety of prints which include:

• Canvases
• Posters
• Banners
• Business Cards
• Flyers
• Invitations
• T-Shirts

Here are some examples of PrintKEG products:
Canvases:

Posters:

Giveaway

PrintKEG wants you to experience the high-quality, inexpensive products they have to offer. 
Three (3) of you will win your choice of canvas print or large poster of any size!
Open to US residents. Giveaway will end on January 15th at 11:59pm PST.

Entry-Form

Miessence Superfood Vitality Challenge

Disclaimer: I received these products in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

If you're interested in natural and organic beauty products, Miessence is a company you'll want to check out.
Miessence produced the world’s first certified organic skincare and body care in 2001. They are one of the first companies to be carbon negative. Miessence offers a variety of organic skincare, cosmetic, body care, oral, hair care, and nutritional products - all made in Australia.
In fact, I really like that the products are not heated during processing. The products are cold-formulated and the oils are raw and cold-pressed. This ensures that the ingredients stay pure and high quality. I got the chance to take the Miessence Superfood Vitality Challenge. The products included in the pack was a 10-day supply of these 3 amazing superfoods:
InLiven Probiotic - The world’s first certified organic probiotic. All 13 strains are certified organic. InLiven is based on 25 years of hand cultured research resulting in a super breed of naturally-occurring Lactobacillus. InLiven is a best-selling product.
BerryRadical - Antioxidant superfoods freeze-dried for potency. You get the equivalent of eight servings of fruit and vegetables in every teaspoon!
DeepGreen - Made from the freeze dried juices from the world's most potent sources of greens, Deep Green Alkalising is 100% raw, vegan and certified organic. One teaspoon of Deep Green Alkalising helps restore the body's natural balance.
All products, except for InLiven Probiotic are gluten-free.

The benefits of InLiven probiotic superfood are amazing. Not only are you keeping your digestive tract healthy, you're also boosting your immune system. I love that these superfoods are raw and organic. No pesticides and nothing artificial.
I made delicious banana milkshakes using InLiven. It does have a "healthy" taste but it's not overpowering or disgusting. It blends well whichever way you make your smoothie or milkshake!
The BerryRadical was perfect with my fruit smoothies. In fact, I think it enhanced the flavor.
I used the DeepGreen alkalising superfood to make green smoothies. A match made in heaven.
Note: Detoxing

You may experience detox symptoms during the first few days. This is normal as the body is catching up on ridding itself of excess toxins and toxins re-circulate itself.

I, personally did not experience any detox symptoms with the Miessence Superfood Vitality Challenge. :)

Webinar
If you're interested in learning more about superfoods and Miessence, there will be a free webinar in February.
Name of Webinar: Raw, Organic Superfoods - Vitality for the Taking Date: Wednesday February 5, 2014 Time: 8:00pm CST RSVP here

Buy It

You can purchase Miessence's unique products through TheOliveParent Organics (Independent Representative). Miessence offers a huge selection of natural and organic products!
"Our bodies need a broad spectrum of raw organic nutrition and resources in order to function at its best. I believe that our bodies are wise, they come gifted with knowledge that we, do not yet comprehend. It is able recognize and distinguish true nutrition over synthetic, man-made nutrition and reacts accordingly. Supplying our bodies with natural resources is so important!"
What is your favorite superfood?