Twist Me Pretty

Halo Couture Extensions

2013-05-15T07:00:00.000-06:00

You need one huh?

Holy moly these Halo Couture Extensions are incredible. They blend amazing and as you can see, they are sooooo easy to put in. There are no clips to fiddle with and you never have to worry that your extensions are showing. The halo extensions are held on by a lightweight clear wire around the crown of you head. Simply place it on top of your head so that it sits right under your occipital bone. Then you'll pull out your hair over the top of the wire, and in an instant, you have beautifully long and full hair. Because there are no clips, glue or bonding involved, the halo couture extensions are 100% damage free.

I love how super fast and easy they are to put in. I also love the volume on these suckers. I was given the 24" halo and ended up cutting a few inches off. I would definitely recommend buying the 20". Mine are still super long and I'll probably be trimming off another inch or so in the next little bit. I love how nicely they blend. You cannot tell that I'm wearing extensions. I bought the Jessica Simpson/Ken Paves extensions for my wedding. Absolutely hated them. They clipped in and I always felt like they were showing and I remember feeling so self conscious people could tell I was wearing fake hair! Because they stressed me out and took forever to put in, I never wore them. Worst investment. But because the halo blends so well and there are no clips involved, you never have to worry that people can see that line where the weft is. The extensions are made from the finest human hair available so you can straighten them, curl them and even wash them.

If you have any questions, visit the FAQ page at the Halo Couture website, or leave a comment below and I will do my best to answer any and all your questions!

You Utah County gals, you can buy your Halo Couture Extensions at Suggestions Salon in Orem. They will fit your extensions, trim them up and make sure they blend well with your hair. For everyone else, click here to find a salon near you or to order online!

An outfit on-the-go

2013-05-13T07:00:00.001-06:00

Leggings- c/o Style Lately // Blazer- Jcrew Factory Outlet // Tee- Jcrew Factory. Sold in stores only right now. And they've changed the fabric on these shirts and I'm soooo mad about it! I could only find a hot pink and purple one that were from last years model. STRIKE! // Shoes- Vans

I'm pretty sure everyone needs some black and white peacock leggings. Everyone also needs to try a bold lip. Two things you just can't die without at least experiencing once.

These leggings are so freeeaakkkking comfortable. The pattern is a little crazy so that's why we wear it with a plain colored tee and blazer. Haha, looking at me- dishing fashion advice. A colored sweater shirt would be sooo cute too!

How are you guys this week? We just got settled in Gig Harbor, Washington. Fun stories coming soon. I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I've been slowing down on blog posts. Spending some much needed quality time with the family- you know it is! We will be here in Washington until the end of August. So far the people have been extremely nice and I'm able to get all my shopping done at one store... soooo I'm pretty sure I'm gonna love it here haha!!

Excited to hear how I lost 17 pounds in 6 weeks? Stay tuned, cause you're all gonne die.

My Most Favorite Outfit of All Time

2013-05-08T07:00:00.000-06:00

Necklace- c/o Maya Brenner Designs, gold and silver charm necklace here // Striped Tote- c/o Massi, Cestino Caramel bag here // Maxi Dress- c/o Head Over Heels // Chambray Shirt- JCrew Factory

Use coupon code: TWIST20 for 20% for 20% off anything at Maya Brenner Designs

I have to tell you. This maxi dress has changed my life. It. is. so. comfortable! I love the color and I love how I can wear it anywhere. Church or the park, it's so versatile. This new bag is amazing too. I feel like it's a pretty casual bag so I'm not afraid to throw tons of toys and lunch in it for park days or zoo visits. It's pretty big so it can fit all I need and more and I know it's not going to break on me because the quality is ahhhh-mazing.

We are getting ready to fly to Gig Harbor, Washington this Friday. Brian drove our car packed full of stuff to over the weekend and he just got back on Monday. We literally took what would fit in our small Corolla. We're gonna need beds, couches, a kitchen table, toys... geesh. I'm a little worried, wondering how I'm going to survive with my kids this summer in an apartment full of empty space!

I'll let ya know how that goes... ha!

Anyone out there from Washington? Gig Harbor, Tacoma, Seattle area? I'd love to meet up if you're close!! You can never have enough friends... and I will have exactly zero when I get there!

A Pop of Pink

2013-05-06T07:00:00.000-06:00

Extensions- c/o Halo Couture // Lace Peplum Top- c/o Head Over Heels // Pink Necklace- c/o Hello Fab // Belt, Jacket, Pumps - Target // Pants- Gap

So remember that one time I decided to dabble in fashion? Haha!!! Here's the thing. My husband and I dropped our kids off at their grandma's house in Delta for five days. FIVE DAYS. With no kids. I wish I could say it was amazing and so much fun and that we went on dates and painted the town. But no. Do you want to know what we did? Hairstyles. HAIRSTYLES. We set up a backdrop in our bedroom and literally took hairstyle tutorial pictures from 9am - 6pm every. single. day. No breaks. Over 70 hairstyle tutorials will be coming your way. SEVENTY! Freak, it was the longest week of my entire life! Have you ever kept your hands above your head for nine hours straight? Murder! I'm not sure if I've mentioned this on the blog before, but I've been picked up by a publishing house to write another hairstyle book! It's kind of exciting actually!

Anyway. I've decided to dabble in fashion for now because I'm all hairstyle-d out! Hope ya don't mind!

If you didn't have your kids for five days, what would you do with your freedom? Haha, as if having kids is torture. It's totally not. But you know what I mean!

Nest Boutique Giveaway

2013-05-03T00:00:00.000-06:00

I am so excited to share with you guys a new shop! Nest Boutique is an online boutique that sells the most adorable clothes for the most affordable prices. They are sponsoring a giveaway today and the winner will receive a $25 gift certificate to their shop.

What I would buy with $25....

Cute right?! I seriously love Nest Boutique!

Enter the rafflecopter below!

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So feminine // Tailor and Stylist

2013-05-01T07:00:00.000-06:00

Chambray dress- c/o Tailor and Stylist // Colored button up- similar here, and loving this one here // Charming Bow Clutch- c/o Tailor and Stylist // Nude Pumps- Target

Is this dress not the cutest thing?! I love how feminine and chic Tailor and Stylist clothes are. Their clothes are flattering and timeless. If you've never heard of Tailor and Stylist before, go familiarize yourself with their shop! It's to die for!

This denim dress was a bit short on me so I unpicked the hem and found an extra two inches! I love the polka dots and the set-in waste band- so flattering. It's super light and so perfect for summer! I've layered mine with a colored button up stolen from my sister and some nude heels. If you're curious on the hairstyle, go check out the tutorial here.

Quick story. My sweet husband, bless his heart. I make him take all my pictures. He's a gem. Like a super rare and expensive, sparkly gem. I usually set up the camera and he just snaps away. Recently though, I've been teaching him how to shoot on manual He's been getting pretty good so I let him take the lead on this shoot. And... well... most of the pictures turned out suuuuper white and washed out. So not his fault. I should have checked ha ha!!! Anyway. Just be patient for the next little bit while my husband hones in on his photo taking skills.

How do you take your photos? Do you use a tripod or does someone help you out?

Elevate Workshop!!

2013-04-25T07:00:00.000-06:00

Hello Twist Me Pretties!! We are Nicole & Micah with Nicole Martin Photography and Micah Folsom Photography and we are so EXCITED to tell ya'll about some fun we're gonna be having this summer! We are {super fun} professional photographers teaming up for a stellar workshop in Park City, UT in July that is gonna rock your world!! As working mamas, we know how crazy life gets and how little time we have for any breaks or ME time. So as we were planning this, we wanted to make sure and offer all the substance, knowledge, and experience to make it a game changer in your business, but also a little weekend getaway where you have some time to just reflect on YOU and your business! We'll even have a late night girl chat about how we balance it all without going too crazy for those that are TWO day attendees and staying at the hotel;) Anddddd some ice cream might just have to be included!

It's going to be a killer advanced workshop for photographer's that is sure to ELEVATE your business to the next level! We split it up into two separate days----so if only one day is an option for you, then great! ---- you can pay less and still join us for a day! We also added an extra live session so we'll have FOUR live sessions over the two days--- family, newborn, senior, and engagements-- where you'll not only get to see the flow of our sessions and how we do things but you guys will also have the chance to shoot and use these stellar images to expand your portfolio!

photos by Nicole Martin Photography

We have some AWESOME sponsors and each attendee will go home with some SWEET swag from some of our favorite vendors---- including The Organic Bloom frames, Jessica Paxson Photography's brand spankin' new action set, and Twist Me Pretty's very own stellar e-book! Our TWO day attendees will also be entered into a fab giveaway for a chance to win a Jo Totes camera bag and a newborn posing bag:) We are so excited! We're only taking on a limited amount of attendees so contact us asap for more info on what will be covered and a basic itinerary! micah@micahfolsomphotography.com or nicole@nicolemartinphotography.com. Mention Twist Me Pretty while you're booking to take advantage of a $100 discount {off TWO day tuition} through the month of April!! Woot woot!! Hope to see you there!

A Parazul Bag Giveaway

2013-04-24T00:00:00.000-06:00

Yeah... remember this bag?! Well, I've teamed up with Parazul to offer you guys a crraaaazy awesome giveaway today. I just love it when I have fab giveaways for you.

First off, let me say a little something about my Parazul experience. Their bags are designed for big style and maximum versatility. I can lit-er-ally use this bag for everything. Let me list the ways: diaper bag, travel bag, errand bag, work bag, movie theater/popcorn bag (no, I do not do that... hehe) brief case... and well, you get my point. The bag stands up on it's own so you don't need to worry about it flopping over. The bag's body material is a modern coated canvas which makes it super durable and easy to care for and clean up. Trust me, it cleans well. And then the trim is a natural-color leather which makes the bag look so classic. It can be dressed up or down and you can also customize it to your personality by changing out the scarf and charm!

The winner will receive the white classic bag which retails $250!

Isn't it beautiful?!

Sign into facebook and enter the rafflecopter below. The givaway will end May 1st
Happy entering! And may the odds... be ever in your favor :-)

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Disclaimer: I received a Parazul bag to facilitate this review, no additional compensation was received, and opinions are my own.

Elephant Print

2013-04-22T07:00:00.000-06:00

Hair- Halo Couture Extensions * Blazer- JCrew Factory Outlet (wait for the sales, I spent $70.) * Shirt- Forever 21 online * Necklace- Stella and Dot Together Forever * Pants- AE Jeggings (coral is out of stock but the purple is soo cute) * Bag- Parazul * Wedges- Old Navy, last season. Loving these and these

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Wow. Your hair looks amazing. I know, right?! I sure wish I could claim it as my own. I will be dedicating a full week and multiple tutorials to these bad boys. I have never before promoted hair extensions here at Twist Me Pretty. For good reason... we will talk about it later. But for all you women who have sent me emails, curious to know my recommendations- let me introduce you to the Halo Couture Extensions. They are worth your time investigating. No weaving, no clips, no glue. Whaaa? How the heck do they stay on your head?!

Well stay tuned for some awesome tutorials coming your way. And if you just can't wait, make sure to visit their site and read a little bit about them. I swear. You will need them.

Now. Let's talk about that big gorgeous, leather bag shall we? Um yes. It's beautiful. Stop by later this week... Parazul is hosting a little something special on the blog-digity!

11 pounds. Off my body. Whew!

2013-04-18T07:00:00.000-06:00

Top- forever21 Skirt- JCrew Factory Outlet (other colors available and on sale here) Shoulder Bag- The Sak (similar here) Heels- Lumiani Desy, sold out (crushing these here) Necklace- JCrew Factory Outlet, no longer sold (crushing this one here)

Sure hope you guys don't mind a few outfit posts! I'm venturing into the world of fashion... we'll see where it takes me haha

I'm not sure if you guys can tell but I've lost eleven pounds. Count it- 1234567891011. ELEVEN! I'm so proud of myself. It's been really hard with Easter and family visiting but I've managed to stay the course. I've been doing a weight loss program... I'll share it with you when I'm all finished. I still have five pounds to go before I'm pre-wedding weight and you guys, I'm feeling like a million bucks. I'm only 5'2" so an extra 15 pounds was a lot of extra weight for me to be carrying around. I just didn't feel like myself. I've been trying to loose it for the past year but actively loosing weight is so stinkin' hard! Especially with kids. Fishie crackers, bowls of cereal, whatever you can find to stave off the hunger because your kids are either eating all your food or you just don't have time to cook! When I am finished with the program I'll do a post about it. Five pounds or a hundred pounds, nursing moms or single women, I swear there is a program for all of you.

On another note, do you love the curls?! I don't do these curls often because they only last one day. And heaven forbid I have to curl my hair more than once! I used this cheap curling iron right here and I just wrap it around the barrel like I do with a wand. Then I actually clamp my bangs into the iron and curl away from my face. My hair doesn't hold these curls very well so I set them for just a minute using duck bill clips. I feel like Ariel in the Little Mermaid!

Are you guys itching for warm weather? It keeps teasing us and it's driving me crazy!

A comfy outfit for a day of shopping

2013-04-17T06:30:00.000-06:00

I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I kind of went awol! My sister Mel came into town from Oklahoma with her two boys last week. You can imagine it's been all play over here the last 12 days. I've done absolutely nothing productive... haha yes, it was a nice break.

This past Saturday we literally shopped till we dropped. And taking these pictures at Traverse Mountain was hilarious. My sister took them and she was laughing her stinking head off at me. All these strangers were staring and I felt ridiculous! That's when I realized I was lucky to have even three pictures that turned out. Tears. Streaming down our faces. She's a dork. And I love her.

boxed cake that tastes homemade & buttercream frosting

2013-04-15T07:00:00.000-06:00

I have received so many emails about these dang cake/frosting recipes. I'm so sorry it's taken me forever to get this post up, but I think it'll be worth your wait!

Both of these cakes below were made with the recipes I'm sharing. The cake on the left is a copy cat of Boston's cake here. My friend Shirley and I made it a couple of weeks ago for her son's second birthday. It turned out way better than Boston's and I love what we did with the top! If you've never had homemade fondant- you've got to try it. The store bought fondant is so gross. The homemade marshmallow fondant is to die for! I'm not sure which tutorial we watched for the fondant recipe, but this one seems to be a similar if not exact. And I didn't use my Kitchen Aid. Hand kneading works fine. And here is a good tutorial for how to put the fondant on your cake. The video is sponsoring some type of mat. I don't have the mat, I just used loads of crisco and some help from my mom. That mat looks amazing though, I want it bad! And the cake on the right was for Savy's first birthday smash. You can find that post here.

Alright. So you start out making this recipe for the cake. It's delicious. The cake itself isn't super sweet because you're replacing the water with buttermilk. But when you add the sweet buttercream frosting to it- ahhhh. It's like the stars just align!

Ingredients

Cake Mix

Buttermilk

Butter

Follow the directions on the cake mix only replace the oil with butter and the water with buttermilk

While your cake is baking, make the buttercream frosting recipe below

And ta-da!! Sooo easy and it literally tastes like it's a cake made from scratch. Cheater.... ha!

So you're going to put freezer paper on the bottom of your cake pans so that the cake comes out nice and clean. Then I always stick mine in the freezer for a couple of minutes so I don't have to wait for the cakes to cool. They need to be completely cooled. Then I pop them out of the pan and use a cake leveler. I had no idea these things existed until a couple of years ago when I took the beginner cake class from hobby lobby. Best thing ever invented.

image source

You'll just level out your cakes- make sure to freeze the tops for cake pops later on- and then start stacking them or freezing them. I freeze cakes all the time, it saves soooo much time. Wrap them in saran wrap and then aluminum foil and they are good for weeks. The night before you want to actually frost them, go ahead and put them in the fridge and by the afternoon they'll be all defrosted and ready to go. Here is a good article about freezing cakes. For Boston's cake we ended up using three 9" rounds and three 6" rounds. I want to say it took two boxes of cake mix and then one and a half batches of frosting and one and a half batches of fondant.

Ingredients

1 c. butter, softened (not melted)
1 1/2 t. real vanilla
5 c. powdered sugar
2-4 T heavy cream

Cream butter, add vanilla. Then add your powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time beat well. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl often. When all powdered sugar is added icing will appear dry. Add cream and beat on high until light and fluffy

Here's the icing being dry...

And here it is after adding some whipping cream. Don't make it too runny or it won't set up and it'll be hard to use

I just used regular food dye, but normally I use the gel dyes. You can buy them at hobby lobby

You can buy these Wilton bags at Hobby Lobby too. I have the reusable ones but cleaning them is such a pain. These ones work great!

You'll just snip the top off and pipe an entire circle around the cupcake. Then pipe another smaller circle on top of the first circle of frosting. I totally forgot about this trick until just barely, so that's not what I did in the photos of the cupcakes. But it will make the piping look much prettier!

Just a few helpful tricks-

1) Don't try to dye fondant red or black. Go and buy sugar paper from Zurcher's or Hobby Lobby. That's what we used for the black and white checkers on the bottom of Boston's cake.

2) I believe I used a 1M tip for Savy's cake. It's just a bunch of little circles squished together.

3) When you are stacking your 6" cakes onto your 9" inch cakes, insert two paper towel rolls (cut to size) in the middle of the cake to help support the weight of the 6" layers.

4) Once you've put fondant on your cake you've essentially sealed in the moisture. It will be good for a couple days on the counter before serving. In case your worried about time!

5) Don't put your fondant in the fridge! It'll harden up and you'll never be able to soften it out. Fondant lasts for forever and I'm always tempted to make it for Boston to play with like play-doh. Seriously, don't be scared to make fondant. It's so easy and soooo yummy. The store bought fondant is disgusting. Marshmallow fondant? DELICIOUS!

If you have any questions about Boston's cake, or Savy's please feel free to leave a comment below and I will do my best! And remember, I don't bake cakes for a living! I just dabble in a couple things here and there. Google is your friend. The Wilton forums are awesome too.

And as always, if you've like these tutorials or want to remember them for later, please pin them to your food boards on Pinterest!

Essential Oils and Aroma Stone Giveaway!

2013-04-09T00:00:00.000-06:00

Hey guys! I have a super awesome post for you today. My friend Katelyn is here to talk a little about Essential Oils and host a really cool giveaway. I am very passionate about Essential Oils. Stems from my crazy momma. She was always using them on us and it wasn't until I moved away from home that I realized how much I loved them. I now use them on my own kids and hopefully one day they'll refer to me as their crazy momma! If you've never used them before, I really do believe they can give you a better quality of life. So ladies, welcome Katelyn!

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Hi my name is Katelyn!

I blog over at Inner Soles. Inner Soles is a foot zoning, aromatherapy, and health consultation business I started a few months ago. I started foot zoning and the use of Essential Oils just over a year ago.

In January of 2012 my baby (Jaxson) started coughing one day and never really stopped. We met with 2 different doctors and were told that Jaxson has sever asthma and pneumonia. We started him on 10 days of antibiotics in order to kick the pneumonia however nothing changed. 10 days later another chest x-ray was done and it looked identical to the first one. He was put on another antibiotic and this time steroids along with it. After another 10 days nothing changed. After months of antibiotics, injected steroids, inhaled steroids, controller medications, nebulizer treatments, hundreds of sleepless nights and countless tears I went to the doctor for the last time with no hope.

We spent 20 minutes every 3 hours night and day like this ^^^. He hated having it done and would fight nearly every second. I can't tell you the times I bawled my eyes out while holding him during his breathing treatments. Jaxson's doctor informed me that our last option was having Jaxson admitted to Primary Children's Medical Center for observation. They didn't tell me there would be a solution found, they didn't tell me he would get better either. I left that appointment feeling even more hopeless. I called the doctor when I got home and told him I was taking matters into my own hands. I had a friend who is a Certified Foot Zonologist. I was desperate for some sort of relief for my baby and for myself.

After a zoning session it was determined that Jaxson is not only diary intolerant but also soy intolerant This wouldn't have been that big of deal except for the fact that Jaxson was on soy based formula. I had nursed for 4 months and had mastitis the entire time followed shortly by 12 gall stones and surgery, nursing and me didn't mix. I started home making his formula. I had him zoned a few times during the week and started using some Essential Oils. Within a week I was able to take him off of ALL of his medications. To say that I was shocked was beyond true. He slept through the night for the first time in his entire life (he was 14 months at the time). That was when I knew I'd found a solution. I went back in to the doctor and could never imagine his reaction. I told him what I had done and he said "Well, while it's against everything I've been taught how can I argue with the proof that is in front of my face?!"

That is what started my journey into natural healing and Essential Oils. Over the past year I've done everything in my power to learn as much about Essential oils (and foot zoning) as I can. I've spent countless hours and hundreds of dollars learning every bit of information out there. Through Essential Oils I've been able to help heal my son from something that a doctor told me he would suffer from his entire life. Jaxson hasn't used any type of medication in 10 months. He is in every sense of the word, healthy.

My advice to friends and clients is to ALWAYS consult a certified aromatherapist or Essential Oil specialist. You should also always do your homework. Essential Oils can effect each individual differently. If you have any health conditions there may be certain Essential Oils you should avoid and others that will help a great deal. Education is important.

Because Abby is so amazing she is allowing me to do a guest post about Essential Oils as well as a give away. Thanks again Abby! One part of the giveaway is 2 Essential Oils. 2 of my favorite Essential Oils that I use almost daily.

Black Pepper

Black Pepper is an Essential Oil that isn't used nearly enough by many people. This is close to my favorite oil...ever... Black Pepper is extracted from the fruit of the Black Pepper tree. Some of the physical benefits include reducing pain and bruising (especially with sprains and strains of the joints and muscles). It is great for arthritis, aiding the nervous system, circulation, digestive system, menstral cramps, and headaches. It also restores energy and helps your body to store sunshine. For those who suffer from fibromyalgia Black Pepper is a great oil to use (Use in an almond oil carrier oil). It is great for any type of nerve pai. Black pepper gives a boost to the immune system and helps maintain stamina and energy because it can increase our cellular oxygen levels. I use black pepper frequently with fevers. It can also help stop bleeding and is great for colds. It is also good for bladder infections, anemia, constipation, colic, stiffness, and kidney function.

For every essential oil there are extra emotional and spiritual benefits. With Black Pepper those can include creating inner strength and freeing the mind from jealousy and negativity.

Properties: analgesic, anti inflammatory, antispamodic, antiseptic, laxative, stimulant

Avoid using Black Pepper at night because it can keep you awake.

Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus can come in a few different types. The one I go to the most is Eucalyptus globulus (that is the latin name for it). Eucalyptus is great for killing airborne and internal bacteria. During this last cold and flu season I would diffuse it in my house daily. We only ever caught something once. Which compared to last year is a HUGE improvement. Eucalyptus is great for those with hypoglycemia or who are diabetic because it helps balance blood sugar levels. It is good for all types of respiratory problems such as bronchitis, colds, flu, asthma, and allergies. Eucalyptus can also be used to help reduce a fever. It is great for muscular aches and pains as well as headaches, migrains and sinus problems. It can be helpful when dealing with urinary tract problems and skin infections.

As with all essential oils eucalyptus has some more emotional/spiritual properties to it. Eucalyptus is a very energizing essential oil and it promotes feelings of stead fastness and confidence in ourselves. Smelling eucalyptus can help us release resentment calmly, without temper and hostility. Eucalyptus can help us develop unfaltering faith in ourselves. Eucalyptus can calm our spirit and open our mind to see clearly the way ahead.

Properties: anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, balsamic, expectorant, antibiotic, antifungal, febrifuge, anti-infectious, antiparasitic, antineuralgic, pectoral

Use caution when taking Eucalyptus internally.

The Essential Oils that I use and sell come from a companies called Primavera and Shirley Price. Both companies are based out of Europe (Germany and England) and are held to a high purity scale as compared to state side companies. Always make sure you are using a pure therapeutic grade essential oil. If you have any questions, would like to book a foot zone, or order Essential Oils feel free to contact me at innersoles01 (at) gmail (dot) com or find me on Facebook.

Another awesome part of the give away today is an aroma stone. There are many different ways to use Essential Oils and one of them is to diffuse them into the air. Aroma stones are a great way to gently diffuse essential oils or fragrances.

Membil is slightly eccentric and wanted the aroma stones to reflect that personality.

Aroma stones are easy to use! Just simply soak your stone in water (only once ever!) to expand the pours. Then add 1-2 drops of essential oils and inhale! Repeat as often as you feel. You can mix the Essential Oils and use them at one time or you can wait until the smell fades and use a different Essential Oil. We use our Aroma Stones with essential oils all the time, especially during the dreary winter months. We feel that Aroma Stones help clean the air and keep sicknesses away when using essential oils.

Come stop by our shop!

The Aroma Stone in the Give away is Eloise the Dove

Eloise

Enter the Rafflecopter below! Like all facebook pages and for extra entries, follow our blogs!

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For Goodness Grape

2013-04-02T00:00:00.000-06:00

Lisa from For Goodness Grape has such a fun giveaway for ya today! Lisa makes natural lip balms, lip tints, scrubs and perfumes. She offers over 300 flavors as well as organic and vegan lip balms!

The winner of today's giveaway will win her Lip Survival Kit which includes 2 lip balms, 1 lip tint and 1 sugary scrub & a 5oz Strawberry Marshmallow Roll On Perfume Oil!

Enter the rafflecopter below!

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Easter Saturday

2013-04-01T07:00:00.000-06:00

So I just have to tell you how much fun our Easter Saturday was. Easter is one of my favorite holidays simply because our traditions are amazing. If you need some Easter traditions- check it out.

We start the morning off with a good old fashion easter egg hunt.

Then we come inside and color eggs. Boston told me that this was his favorite part of the day. Man, that little boy loves to color! He just zones right in.

Then we head outside to play some baseball. A Smith family tradition they take very seriously.

Then we come back inside and have our egg race. Before I became a Smith I had never heard of this before. They made a track years ago out of cardboard boxes and every year we race our eggs down the stairs. They set up a bracket and everything- it's totally legit. Some years the shell will roll off the egg and the yolk will pop out and go flyin', other years those little eggies are tuff and we can race them over and over! Super fun tradition. You've got to try it next year!

And if your little boy loses, this just might happen...

And Brian won. What's new. He win's everything, drives me nuts ha ha!

After that we head on outside and roast hotdogs and marshmallows. And when it gets dark? We have the adult easter egg hunt! I wasn't able to take any pictures but it's seriously so fun. You'll never go back to a regular egg hunt once you've done this one.

The rules.

Every family member picks a colored egg out of a bag of different colored eggs. I chose purple. So my goal was to find my 8 purple eggs hidden outside before anyone else found their own colored eggs. The Smith's have a large yard so it took awhile to find our eggs! All the adults had flashlights and were running around like crazy people. The only rule is that you're not allowed to sabotage anyone else's eggs and the first person to find all 8 eggs wins $20. We're all poor so that was a huge incentive to be super speedy.

And in the morning? Well, it's Easter Sunday and the Easter bunny comes bearing gifts.

I actually woke up with a migraine and had to skip church. Throwing up, super sick- the whole bit. I don't know what it is with me and migraines lately but I can't shake em! So the whole family picture in our Easter get-tups just didn't happen this year. I was so super bummed. Luckily I have a fabulous husband who can hold down the fort like a boss. Sure do love that man.

What are your family traditions? Have you ever had an easter egg hunt in the dark? Or a migraine?! haha! Stay tuned for tomorrows super awesome giveaway!

Cheetah + Baseball Tee = Happy Me

2013-03-28T07:00:00.000-06:00

Pencil skirt- JCrew Outlets {similar style here} Sweater- Gap {in store only} Necklace- JCrew Outlets {sold out}

Hellloooo!! I thought I'd just quickly show off what I wore to church this past Sunday. Sunday's seem to be the only day of the week I actually get dressed up. And by up I mean I'm wearing something other than sweat pants and a t-shirt! Because let's be honest... my nice clothes + my kids = upset momma with stains evvvvverywhere. Do you moms feel that way?! I sure hope I'm not the only one! I had to show off the Celtic Knot too. In this photo I've actually tucked the tails behind the knot. I've decided I prefer it this way. Those tails kept buggin' me!

And now for a little pick me up shall we?! We all need it from time to time. In church we talked about seeing others as they may become. It made me reflect on the way the Lord sees each of us. The way the Lord sees me. He is no respecter of persons. He doesn't care how cute my outfit is, or how awesome my hair looks. I know He loves that they make me happy and feel a little bit more confident. But that's not why He loves me. He cares about my heart and the type of person I am. How do I spend my time? Do I spend enough time serving? Am I willing to sacrifice for a neighbor in need? Do I judge others? Am I too critical? I was just very touched by the thought that God truly loves us all. He's not judging us by the homes we live in or the cars we drive. He's judging us on our hearts.

In this Conference Talk there was a story about an American prison warden who was well known for his efforts to rehabilite the men in his prison. "Said one critic, "You should know that leopards don't change their spots!" Replied Warden Duffy, "You should know I don't work with leopards. I work with men, and men change every day.""

If we could only see others how God sees them. Would we be kinder? Would we be more loving and more willing to serve? Just food for thought. With Easter approaching let's all make a goal to see others as God sees them. The world would definitely be a better place!

Anyway. I hope you guys have fabulous Easter and we will see you next week!

Styling a Wrap + $50 Novae Giveaway

2013-03-26T00:00:00.000-06:00

I am in LOVE with the Neckerchief Scarves right now from Novae Clothing. They're the perfect length to play with in your hair and their super light and easy to manipulate. Plus they're on sale right now for $11.99!! The perfect spring/summer accessory!

The tutorials

If you're a new visitor make sure to check out my style gallery!

Over the crown >> This one is self explanatory. Just make sure that the wrap sits loose enough on your head that it's not puffing your hair! To find the tutorial on the curls, click here

Loose Braid >> Put your hair into a low side ponytail then make a topsy tail, tutorial here. Thread wrap through elastic and loosely braid. The wrap counts as one of your three strands of hair. Make sure to loosen the braid and the wrap before tying off

Messy Bun >> Begin by wrapping your hair into a ponytail with a thick elastic. On your last, for lack of better words, pass, don't pull your hair all the through the elastic. Your just putting it into a basic bun. Then you'll take a little clip or some bobby pins and you'll put the clip into the center of the bun to give it a little height and volume. If you'd like a tutorial let me know and I'll get one up!

Half up Surprise >> Near the crown of your head, a couple layers under the top pieces of hair, take a small strand (size of a pea) and tie an elastic around the top of it, near your scalp. Then thread the wrap through the elastic and pull the rest of your hair half up. Half up tutorial here

Dutch Braided Bun >> You're going to do a dutch braid (also called corn roll braid, inverse braid, inside out french braid etc..) all the way down the side of your head. Gather your hair into a low side ponytail. Then I used a chignon, or a sock works, to make a messy full braid!

Basic Ponytail >> Now you can do just your regular ponytail, or you can do what I did and pull your bangs back. Make sure to tease behind them and then I actually bobby pinned mine so that they were the perfect height and then I pulled the rest of my hair into a ponytail. After I'd sprayed my hair I gently took the bobby pin holding my bangs out.

Faux Fishtail >> This has been such a popular YouTube video that I'll be making a picture tutorial here soon. It's just topsy tail after topsy tail that creates a look similar to a fishtail. It's one of my favorite hairstyles, perfect to teach dads! You'll just need to thread your wrap onto your first elastic and then I've pulled out my hair a lot in this photo. So that it's super bubbly. I like this style because it makes your hair look much longer than it is!

French Braided Top Knot >> This one is a little bit tricky because doing anything upside down confuses your fingers. Plus you can't see what the heck your doing so you've just gotta trust that it looks okay! You'll need to practice a couple times if you've never done an upside down french braid on yourself, but I promise you can get it. Make sure to say your steps out loud. You can check out this tutorial but instead of saying over like I do, you're going to say under... haha

Oh yeah. And you can also use them on adorable squishy babies that suck their thumbs.

How would you use your Novae wrap? Oh because that's right, Novae is giving one lucky reader a $50 gift caaarrrrrdddd!!!!

Enter the rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you like these styling ideas, help me spread the word and pin them to your beauty board!

The #Glamgrand Giveaway

2013-03-22T00:00:00.000-06:00

I've collaborated with a group of fabulous bloggers to bring you something special today. One very lucky reader will have the chance to live glam with a grand - you'll win a $1,000 Visa Gift Card!

To enter, simply use the Rafflecopter below. Points will be earned for each item completed - the more you do, the closer you'll be to winning this amazing prize! The $1,000 Glam Grand Giveaway will run until midnight Friday 29th March 2013 and is open to participants worldwide. After this, the winner will be announced and contacted via email.

So, now all you have to do is enter, go meet these other fantastic bloggers and start thinking about how you'd spend a grand. I'd love to know your ideas, share them in the comments and let's start dreaming of how to live glam!

Kelsey Bang | Style Elixir | Moiology | Casey Leigh | Elle Apparel

Ivory Lane | Pink Peonies | CaraLoren | Shannon Hearts | The Chiffon Diary

Twist Me Pretty | Dont Quote the Raven | Barefoot Blonde | Crazy Style Love | The Daily Tay

Jessica Who? | MessyDirtyHair | Glossy Blonde | Glam Hungry Mom | A Little Dash of Darling

Merrick's Art | In Honor of Design | Coast With Me | Plane Pretty | Mix and Match Fashion

Get Your Pretty On | The Shine Project | Fashion and Tea | Crowley Party | Along Abbey Road

Style With Shannon | Love Chugs | Dreaming In Cashmere | Sincerely Arizona | Kacie's Kloset

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms & Conditions:
The Glam Grand Giveaway is for one USD $1,000 Visa Gift Card. This giveaway is open worldwide to people aged 18 years and over. It will run from Friday 22nd March 2013 to Friday 29th March 2013. Entries will be verified, so please be honest in completing items. Once the giveaway closes, the winner will be announced on this Rafflecopter and also contacted via email. To claim your prize, please respond to the email within 72 hours, failure to do so will result in a re-draw. Once the winner has been selected, this decision is final and no further correspondence will be entered into regarding this matter. This giveaway is in no way affiliated with Visa or any other social media platform. Good luck!

In case you missed it!

2013-03-15T07:00:00.000-06:00

The Hana Elite Flat Iron goes tooooo....

AMELIA DALTON!!! Lucky lucky lucky! You're going to love your flat iron!

>>>><<<<>><<<><><>>>>>>>>><<<>>>>>>><<>><<<<

The Ivy Lane Accessories winners are...

Janice from Bellalot

Amy from Frumpy to Fab

and Courtenay Taylor

If you didn't have a chance to visit the Ivy Lane Accessories shop go and do now. It's adorable. And I need like, every single pair of earrings she sells. So cute for spring!

>>>><<<<>><<<><><>>>>>>>>><<<>>>>>>><<>><<<<

And the My Splash of Color winner is...

Kjersti Jelberg from Cupookies

If you didn't have a chance to check out My Splash of Color on Facebook go check her out. Her jewelry shows are aaahhmazing.

Yaaaayyyy for winning things. You lucky winners you! Email me at twistmepretty {at} gmail {dot} com to claim your prize!!

Happy weekend!

Celtic Knot Tutorial

2013-03-12T22:16:00.001-06:00

I just about died when I figured out this hairstyle. Have you guys seen the celtic knot headbands? They are kind of adorable. I was attempting to make one for Savy out of an old T-shirt and I thought... this would be so cute as a hairstyle! Lightbulb. On. Bright and burning.

Once you learn the knot, it's knot hard... hahaha get it... knot hard?! haaaha oh geese. If your knot familiar with the knot go ahead and practicing on some shoe strings. Just remember that when you're doing this on yourself your hands will be flipped around so just familiarize yourself with the knot and knot the way your holding the strings. baahaaha, sorry I just couldn't help myself!

The Celtic Knot Tutorial

Prep- I used this technique to curl my hair and because I had just washed it I sprayed some dry shampoo all over to give my hair a dirtier texture. Help the style hold, ya know?

>>>1 Take a chunk of hair from the left side. I'm just now realizing that these pictures might be backwards. I'm left handed... sooo... if you're not you might need to flip these images around in your head ha ha! Sorry 'bout that.

>>2 Wrap your hair up and over your two fingers from your opposite hand

>>>> 3 Continue wrapping

>>> 4 Pay attention to my left hand and how I'm holding the strand of hair. It's important that your fingers look like mine and that you're holding your loop exactly like I am. Sorry folks, there's only one right way to do this style :-)

>> 5 While holding that loop you're going to grab another section of hair from the opposite side

>>> 6 Add that section of hair in between your pinky and your ring finger

>>>> 7 Now you're going to tilt your hand so that you can reach that strand that's being held in between your pinky and ring finger with your other hand. As you can see from the picture you're going to pull that strand of hair underneath the first section of hair

>> 8 Now pull up on that section of hair to tighten the hair around your face. During that little grab and pull move your hair might have become loose up front

>>> 9 You're going to need another pair of hands. I've used a duck bill clip to help me out. Place it right in front of the loop

>> 10 Now you'll have two hands to work with. Plus I'm sure your arm was getting tired. Am I right?! So that strand is going to go over the top of the circle and through the loop

(I'll be using the word circle and loop interchangeably)

>>>> 11 See the strand going through the loop?

>> 12 Next you're going to push the strand of hair under the right section of hair and it's going to come out the bottom

>>> 13 Now you need to find wherever the bottom of your loop is and pull the strand up, over and through the bottom of the loop/circle

>> 14 Once you've pulled that strand all the way through it should resemble something similar to step 14. If it doesn't, try again. It took me a good five or six times to get it right. Once you have that last step looking something similar to mine go ahead and fiddle around with the pieces of hair. You can loosen the knot to make it look fuller and you can also tighten it just a bit so that the pieces in the front aren't too loose and baggy. Make sense? If that strand on the right is poking out go ahead and insert a bobby pin underneath it to tuck it back and secure the knot.

It might help you to try this hairstyle when your hair is wet. I didn't use any product to smooth down fly aways. I kind of like the messier bohemian look.

Is this seriously knot the cutest hairstyle ever? hahaha oh my gosh, I cannot help myself right now! Thing is it only takes a couple of minutes and people are like... whoa what? How in the world did you do that?! It's the best. So go ahead and practice while you're watching tv and I promise you'll get it in no time!

And as always, if you love this hairstyle help me share it by pinning it to one of your beauty boards!

A quick fishtail tutorial and a fun giveaway!

2013-03-08T07:00:00.000-07:00

>>> Step 1 pull hair half up and secure off to the side with clear elastic. I didn't gather any hair from the center, just two chunks from the sides

>>> Step 2 pull the tail up and through the hole

>>> Step 3 fishtail braid the tail. See fishtail tutorial here

>>> Step 4 Tug and pull out the fishtail so that it's super flat.

Oh and what else do we have for you today?! An awesome giveaway from My Splash of Color!

Check out my turquoise necklace. It's gorg huh?! Well, you can find pieces like it over at the My Splash of Color Jewelry show on Facebook! Every other Tuesday My Splash of Color hosts these fabulous online jewelry shows. Photos of the items they're selling go up, you choose the pieces you've just gotta have and then the first people on the list get to buy. It's really cool! One lucky reader will win a $25 shop credit!

To enter

You'll need to 1) be following TMP on FB and 2) be following My Splash of Color on FB

Extra entries include following us on instagram @twistmepretty and @mysplashofcolor

4 entires total. 1 comment per entry. Yadda yadda, you know the drill

happy friday friends!

Just a couple thoughts... and I'm a rambler

2013-03-06T13:48:00.002-07:00

So motherhood as been spanking my be-hind lately. Little Boston. Well... he's three. That pretty much sums it up I think. We've had such a difficult time keeping him happy lately. I've sort of been feeling... overwhelmed. Yes, that's a good word. I am overwhelmed. These feelings of inadequacy creep inside my mind and it makes me so nervous, like I'm doing it all wrong.

Last night I came upon a couple quotes that inspired me. That finally gave me peace.

Sheri Dew, one of the most inspiring women I've ever met said, "Am I the women I think I am, the woman I want to be? More importantly, am I the woman the Savior needs me to be?"

All of a sudden I gained this eternal perspective on my life and how these little tantrums or that huge pile of laundry I haven't gotten to just don't matter. What's important is that we're able to see past this moment and realize that there is a much bigger picture and a much bigger plan for us. I know that Heavenly Father has a plan for me and my family. Sure, life is hard. And sometimes it just plain sucks and we don't understand why we are going through certain trials. But there is a plan. And I want you to know that I know that Heavenly Father knows you by name. He loves you. He is aware of you. And if we can just trust Him and know that there is a purpose for all of this then maybe we can find that motivation we need to continue pushing along.

The world would have you believe that what you're doing isn't good enough. Silly blogs. They really do make you look so much more perfect than you are. Of course I'm not going to post a picture of what I look like everyday running errands. Because it's a red . hot . mess! I get caught up in the comparing game just like the next woman. But let's try not to compare our weaknesses with others strengths okay? We just need to be the women that the Savior needs.

image source

We just can't let the Lord down. And if the day comes when we are the only women on earth who find nobility and divinity in motherhood, so be it.

I don't stay at home with my children because I LOOOVE it. I mean, don't get me wrong. I do love it. But come on, it's hard! I'd love to get all dressed up and go to work where people actually appreciate me. A couple pats on the back and some grown up conversation would be nice! Ha! I stay at home with my children because I feel it's where I need to be. I know it's where I need to be. I would hate to look back and my life and wish I had done something more.

So here I am. Feeling a little overwhelmed. Yes. But I know that this trial is something I can handle. Because the Lord would not have given it to me if He thought it wasn't going to make me stronger. It's that eternal perspective that we need to hang onto.

Sorry for the ramblings. I just couldn't help myself!

Become an Affiliate!

2013-03-04T13:45:00.001-07:00

The Ultimate Hairstyle Handbook has been a crazy success. We've sold over 5,000 copies and it's the #1 hairstyle book on Amazon! Woot woot!! Thanks for all your support!

I wanted to share with you my new affiliate program. In case you hadn't seen the inconspicuous link up top!

How it works.

If you have a blog or website and have a little spot on your sidebar for sponsors, this will be perfect for you! Basically how it works is if one of your readers purchases my ebook from the link on your site, you get 35% commission. The book is priced at $6.99. That's $2.45 for every book you sell! Alls you gotta do is be fabulous and...

Click here to join the Affiliate Program!

This is what's going to happen. That little link above is going to take you to ejunkie where you will be prompted to create an account. Takes just a few seconds. Once you've created an account you will be taken to a screen that looks like this:

You're simply going to click on the Get Affiliate Code and then you'll be taken to this screen below, where you'll click on Get Affiliate Code again!

You'll then be taken to this screen. It looks mean and scary. But it's nice. And won't bite!

All you have to do is copy that html code up there in the red. It will look something similar to this

<a href="https://www.e-junkie.com/ecom/gb.php?cl=180522&c=ib&aff=240975" target="ejejcsingle">Click here to visit My Yellow Sandbox.</a>

Now all you have to do is pick your favorite banner (banners below) and replace the Click here to visit My Yellow Sandbox. with the html of the banner you love most!

Now it will look like this:

<a href="https://www.e-junkie.com/ecom/gb.php?cl=180522&c=ib&aff=240975" target="ejejcsingle"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5yGxvXCvBn8/UL58c76DPjI/AAAAAAAAIg0/YR4ezZW2pXI/s640/3D+Cover+Standing+up+copy700.png" alt="Get the book here!" width="200" height="258" /></a>

Kind of long and scary. Just copy that html and put it up on your sidebar!

VOILA!

You're done. And now you're awesome. Because your an affiliate. And you get to share the $ I make on my books. YAAYY!!!

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to email me at twistmepretty @ gmail.com and if you'd like a certain size banner, let me know and I'll get you what you need!

xoxo

BANNER
(more coming super soon)

200 px wide

Guest Posting at Skip To My Lou

2013-03-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

Come see how I put this look together over at skip to my lou!

The simple Knot

2013-03-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

Directions

>>> Step 1- Section off hair

>>> Step 2- Make a knot

>>> Step 3- Make another knot

>>> Step 4- Take a large bobby pin and pin them to your head. Hide bobby pin by tugging on knots

Ta-da! Took less than oh, 60 seconds. To get the beach waves, check out this post here.

If you do any of these styles, tag me on instagram! #twistmepretty