A Little Too Much Color?

Top: c/o Oasap, Pants: Karma, Shoes: c/o Lulus, Necklaces: Stolen from Daughter

Confession: sometimes I dress like a kid.  It's not on purpose, but I just really enjoy bright colors...so I threw together a colorful outfit that seemed like a good idea at the time.  Then I saw the pictures.  Not really diggin' it.  I think my daughter's necklaces, combined with my rainbow flats (which I love, don't get me wrong), may have been what pushed this outfit into the "children's fashion" category.  I needed something to wear with this cute green top from Oasap, but the only thing I had (clean) in my closet that would work with it was these yellow pants...or I could have worn plain blue jeans, but that's no fun!  

Anyway...I think it looks ok, but next time I think I would wear it tucked-in with a white pencil skirt, or maybe even unbuttoned with a plain tee underneath.  Oh, the possibilities...I think I'm going to have to do another outfit post with this shirt to redeem myself!  Maybe I will even iron it next time, haha.  What do you think?  How would you wear this shirt?

Be sure to enter the Tookies Giveaway!

Manicure Monday: Butter London "Scoundrel"

Butter London "Scoundrel" c/o Butter London

Butter London "Scoundrel" is one of those colors that I was really worried about in the bottle, but once I put it on I was instantly in love!  It's a pretty purple cream, with excellent coverage.  I used two coats and almost could have gotten away with just one.  I decided to add a couple colors to my ring finger to create an "accent nail".  The orange is Butter London "Jaffa" and the green is Essie "Mojito Madness".  I just used some tape to make the lines, then painted over the tape...super easy and fun!

Update on the Nail Growth Miracle, Maximum Growth and Vitasurge Strength Gel...things are starting to progress a little bit.  My nails are noticeably stronger and aren't nearly as chipped as they used to be.  They aren't growing super fast, but we'll see how they look next week!

What's on your nails this week?

Guest Post & Giveaway: Tookies

Today I have a sweet surprise for you (pun intended)...I am going to introduce you to the baking geniuses behind a lovely Etsy shop called Tookies.  Check out their site and see if you can make it out without drooling...I dare you.  I had them answer some questions to help us learn about their brand and why they do what they do.  Make sure to enter their great giveaway at the bottom of the post!

Tell us a little about the people behind Tookies.  Who runs the business?

We are a small family owned business in the south. We consist of 6 immediate family members :)  We (every one of us) have creative genes...guess it just runs in the family!  We run on the fuel of God, love, prayer and LAUGHTER!  We are a practical joking family, none of us can live without humor and being the next big/best practical joker.  We have a big family, including 3 amazing boxers!  We are also a full military family and we love our troops.  Being patriotic and supporting our military is one of the most important things to us!

Why did you decide to open the shop and when did it open?

We started as a hobby in 2010 and it blossomed into a full time love for our entire family :)

Why the name Tookies?

When our son was little, he couldn't say 'cookie' so he said 'tookie' and this is what we have all always called cookies :)

How many jar cakes do you make each week?

On average, without wedding and celebration orders, we do approximately 100-150 jar cakes a week just for daily orders.  If we have a wedding order, or special celebration custom order, it could add anywhere from 50-200 more jar cakes that week!

Blackberry Lemonade | Cheesecake | Strawberry Lemonade

What is your favorite item to bake for the shop?

We love love making our marshmallows!!  They have been such an amazing new creation, with so many possibilities!  Then again our cookiewiches and jar cakes are so fun to create too!

Is there an item that seems to be the most popular?

This would have to be our SMORES bar jars!! They are AMAZING!!

I love the idea of the Support Our Troops jar cakes! Can you tell us a little about these?

We started creating these jar cakes because we are a longtime true and patriotic military family, 20 years strong!  We have SO much support for our troops!  We actually have a great deal of support for any military order.  We ship to APOs/FPOs, and for every military order we give 100% free shipping...and whatever is ordered we will add two of these jar cakes for free, plus many more extras!  You can read here on our profile for more info.

What are three tools in your workspace that you could not live without?

Only three?!!  Well, we would have to say SUGAR...butter and definitely love.  Without these three we just wouldn't be tookies.

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Are you drooling yet, cause I know I am!  I have had the opportunity to sample some of the amazing Tookies creations and I will have a post on that later, but today you have the chance to win your own delicious treats!  Tookies is giving away a half-dozen Strawberry Lemonade Cookie-wiches!  I have tried these and TRUST ME, you will want to win these!!  Or, if you are the winner you can just send them my way...just kidding (kind of)!

Also, if your tastebuds are telling you to buy some Tookies right now (which I'm certain they are), you can use the promo code "modernmodest15" to get 15% off of your entire order!

So, what are you waiting for? Enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter Widget below!  The giveaway will be open until August 2nd and is open to readers with a U.S. address only.  Note: You must be a follower of Modern Modest Beauty to be eligible...Good Luck!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

P.S. I promise I will be back with outfit posts tomorrow.  I have been in Hawaii for the past week and it was amazing!  Thank you to my lovely sponsors who were able to fill in for me while I was on vacation!

Featured Sponsor: The Bradley's

Today I am going to introduce you to my Featured Sponsor for July: Elizabeth from The Bradley's!  I must say that I am so envious of her lifestyle.  This lovely lady gets to not only travel around the world, but she also has the opportunity to live abroad with her little family.  Elizabeth is so sweet and I have loved getting to know more about her.  I know you all will adore her as much as I do, so make sure to stop by, say hi and follow her cute blog!

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1. You just celebrated your 6 year anniversary! How did you and your husband meet? What did you/are you doing to celebrate your anniversary? 

My husband and I met at a mutual friend's house, and not to sound corny but it was truly love at first sight. It was a spiritual experience meeting him! Sadly we had no babysitter for this anniversary and haven't had one for several years, so we didn't end up doing much. But I got a lovely bouquet!!

2. Tell us a little more about your family.  What do you and your husband do for a living?  What do you love to do in your free time? 

My husband does a few things. He is a classically trained actor and was in a few indie movies as well as TV shows. He is also a teacher and wellness coach. He began teaching in South Korea, where we lived for about a year. I am a travel writer, editor, and photographer and I work for a few different websites in my spare time. In our free time we love watching cult kids TV shows ( like Are You Afraid of The Dark?), horror movies, and playing video games, as well as going for 'family walks' along the local pier. We also love going out for tea as well eating out.

 

 

2. What is the best thing about living in Thailand?  Any tips for those hoping to travel there someday (like me)?

It is incredibly safe, insanely beautiful, and I think VERY easy to live in. I mean, really easy. Thais are very kind with foreigners and you will feel welcome. There is internet everywhere, including in parks and some buses ( and gas stations!).

3. What part of living in Scotland are you most excited for?

For me, I want a house that is isolated!! Though I consider myself a city girl, with kids I want to be in nature and have peace and quiet! I want a fireplace and seasons, and we don't get either here. I really can't wait to do more outside, play in the snow, garden, etc. I really want to find a welcoming community as well, a place where we are understood and respected and can make close friendships.

4. What is your favorite type of food?

I like salads and vegetables of all kinds as well as comfort foods such as congee ( rice porridge) and I adore anything spicy!

5. If you could change one thing about the world what would it be?

I want people to question more. I feel very, very passionately about the state of our world being affected by people not thinking enough, not questioning both authority as well as their daily habits. We must always be questioning everything, it is not rude or disrespectful. I believe Jesus was the king of questioning, and he served no one on earth. Everyone can learn from that!

 

6. What are your goals for the next year?

I sincerely hope and pray that my husband can work from home, or that I can support us so that he can act full time. We homeschool and want another child soon, so having him at home really helps!!!!

You can find Elizabeth at her Blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!

The Hudson Foundation

I love people that try to make a difference in the world.  One of those amazing people is Ashley.  I hope you will take a minute to listen to her story and go visit her to show your support!

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  My name is Ashley and I blog over at flats to flip flops about fashion and life as a mom to two little one's!  But I also co-founded a non profit organization called The Hudson Foundation, Inc earlier this year.

See, our story starts, probably, much like your own.  Girl meets boy.  They fall in love, get married, and plan an amazing future with 2.5 kids, 1 dog and a house with a white picket fence.

But we learned that life doesn't always turn out how we plan.

We thought, like all of our friends and family, that starting our family would be a cinch.  I mean, you decide to go for it and it happens, right?  You just have to make the decision of when.

Well, 2 months, 3 months, 6 months and then 1 year later, there was no baby and my gut was telling me something was wrong.

We met with doctor's, got on meds, got off meds, got diagnosed, got re-diagnosed, and met with more doctor's.

2 years later we needed a break AND a vacation.

And then it happened,

WE WERE PREGNANT!

Miracles!

And high fives all around.

We started to talk names and nurseries and all things baby.

And then I started spotting, and the spotting turned into bleeding and the doctor said

"You need to come in now."

And after 8 weeks of pregnancy, it was over and we were left empty.

Slowly the darkness lifted and we saw things differently.

At least we knew that we could get pregnant, and maybe we could get pregnant again.

That's when we hit treatments full force. Shots, medications, ultrasounds, and 3 1/2 hour road trips to see our doctor became our life.

And in April of 2007 we decided to go big or go home.

We started In Vitro Fertilization.

The process was long and hard, but we knew this was it, our last hope.

In January 2008, we were blessed with our miracle son.

 Thanks to IVF.

After our experience, we always knew we wanted to be able to help couples in the same situation.  You see, 5 million couples struggle with infertility.  And of those 5, 2 million will never even get the opportunity to achieve pregnancy without IVF.

And the cost of IVF is not cheap, my friends!

It can cost anywhere between-$10,000-$15,000.

So for a lot of couples this is not a reality.

Not even close.


That's where The Hudson Foundation comes in.

We want to give HOPE to couples struggling with infertility.

We have set up The Mission Hope Grant that helps couples financially with their infertility treatments.

 
We can't imagine what our life would be like if the cost of IVF had prevented us from going for it.

We.can't.even.imagine.

So please check out our website, our store or follow us on facebook or twitter.


And a HUGE THANK YOU to Jenny  for letting us share our story on her blog today!

Guest Post: Brooklyn from This Little Blonde

 Hey everyone! Today I have another amazing blog to introduce you to: This Little Blonde.   Brooklyn is absolutely adorable and SO sweet!  I also think she is pretty awesome, because she currently attends Utah State...Go Aggies!!  Please go visit her, follow along and leave a sweet comment!

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Well hey there, sweet followers of Modern Modest Beauty!  Don't stop reading.  Really don't.  Because I'm about to spill my guts to you.  In a completely non-vomit inducing way...

Anyway,  today I'm here to tell you something life changing.  I am not perfect.

Other things I am not:

A wife. A mother. An every day leg shaver. A great cook. A diy-er. A partier. An early riser. An avid runner. A perfectionist. A fashion blogger.

Amidst all the things I'm not good at...And things I'm not...I AM a few things that are pretty great.

Things I am:
 

A Coke drinker.  A dreamer.  A Shine Project Intern.  Preparing for removal of my right thyroid.  A blogger.  Great at being a girl.  A letter writer.  Team Peeta.  A Disney movie watcher.  Brave.  A stalkee.  A lover.  A girl who believes that together WE can change the world.

Head on over to This Little Blonde and check me out. Say hi, because honestly I LOVE new faces. Plus, since my best friend left I feel pretty lame....Peace out loves!

You can find Brooklyn on her Blog, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest!

Bramblewood Fashion: How to Style a LBD

 Today I have a very special guest for you to meet, one of my amazing sponsors: Ashley from Bramblewood Fashion.  She is another blogger who loves to share modest fashion tips and super cute outfits.  She is also really great at making her own clothing, like this adorable skirt!  Not gonna lie...I'm pretty jealous of her sewing skills!  Make sure to go visit her, follow along and say hello!

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Hello Modern Modest Beauty readers! I'm Ashley over at Bramblewood Fashion where I blog with my sister, Gabrielle. We {well, mostly me right now} post every-other-day/weekly outfits and a bunch of other girly & vintage-y things. I hope y'all will come over and say hello! Anyways, I'm excited to show y'all four different ways to wear a LBD {Little Black Dress}.

Black Knit Dress J. Jill // Jean Jacket & Red Belt Forever
21 // Boots Target // Earrings 'Zad via
Little Black Bag

The first way I styled the basic LBD is more on the casual side. To be more precise, country casual. This is a very easy look to copy {if you enjoy the country look that is}.  Just throw on any jean jacket {any color/design/etc.. you want}, cowgirl boot {or even those short bootie cowgirl boots}, and you are ready to head out the door. Of course, putting your hair in a braid, or two adds to the country look. I added the belt {knotted of course} for definition around the waist & a pop of color.

Black Knit Dress J. Jill // Cardigan LC Lauren Conrad for Kohl's // Earrings Forever 21 // Flats Steve Madden // Oil
Cloth Tote Cath Kidston

My next look is perfect for a Saturday morning trip to the farmers market, or even out to brunch with your girlfriends. It is very relaxed, yet stylish & elegant. Just throw on a comfy light-weight cardigan {I love the Lauren Conrad ones at Kohl's}, put your hair up in a messy bun, a pair of statement earrings, some comfy shoes {flats are perfect for the Summer, while boots would be the pink of perfection for fall}, and a nice casual tote bag for toting what you need for the day.

Black Knit Dress J. Jill // Cardigan Target // Leopard Wedges
Payless Shoes // Layered Necklace J.C. Penny // Skinny Belt
Forever 21 // Clutch BCBG via Little Black Bag

If you want to wear your LBD on a date here is a fun & girly idea. On top I kept it very girly & sweet with the ruffle polka-dot detail on the cardigan, layered pearl necklace, keeping the hair down {it would be awesome if your hair was curled in soft loose curls}, and you can't see them, but I'm wearing dainty dangle-y earrings too. Then for my shoes I went with a pair of leopard wedges that makes the look playful & fun!

Black Knit Dress J. Jill // Floral Blazer Forever 21 // Nude Heels
& Earrings Target // Birkin Inspired Bag JustFab

To wear the LBD for work I kept it very simple. Just a fun floral print blazer, simple earrings that match my blazer, nude heels {they help elongate your legs}, and my birkin inspired bag {it fits my Macbook, cords, files, etc... everything I need for work} that is from JustFab.com.

How do YOU like to wear your
LBD?

You can find Ashley at her Blog, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest!

Maternity Fashion With Dearest Lou & A Giveaway!

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

You may recognize this lovely lady.  Cecilia has been one of my sponsors for the past few months and she has become one of my good bloggy friends.  She lives pretty close and we really need to get together sometime, but we have both been SO busy!  Things are going to get even more busy for her once her cute little baby arrives.  Speaking of her baby...Cecilia wanted to share how she dresses her adorable baby bump with all of you today!  She also has a great giveaway at the bottom of this post, so be sure to enter :)

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Hello! I'm Cecilia, a life and style blogger coming to you from Provo, Utah!  Dearest Lou is my personal outlet for all things going on in my life, including my first pregnancy, husband, and others in my life that I adore.  However, its main focus is about my personal thrifty style.

My blog acts as a motivation for me to get dolled up every day, try new styles, and as a place to see my style change and grow along with my blog.  I’m so excited to be guest-posting here on Modern Modest Beauty! I’m sure you are all familiar with Jenny’s amazing outfit posts. Well, for my post today I wanted to share some of my favorite outfit posts featuring my baby bump.

My bump didn’t begin to really stick out until I was 18 weeks along. This was my first official maternity post. I absolutely love this vintage skirt and shirt I thrifted. Now that I think about it.. this entire outfit was thrifted except for my accessories.

This was my outfit for the 4^th of July this year. Something fun about being pregnant is trying to work with your current wardrobe with a growing belly. I haven’t bought any maternity clothing yet except for these awesome colored skinnies for ASOS that are currently on the way. I will be featuring them in an outfit post sometime in August.

This is by far my favorite outfit ever. My husband says I look like I came straight out of a different decade. These are my new favorite oxfords and I’m really loving the color mint and peter pan collars this year. I was exactly 20 weeks along and hit the half way mark during this little outfit session.

This is one of my most recent outfit pictures. I was a little over 21 weeks along and I feel like my bump is really growing. This dress was extremely tight on me and I knew it would show my bump nicely. Getting dressed every day is becoming more of a challenge but I really don’t mind as long as my baby boy is healthy and growing! Feel free to stop by my blog and say hello I love making new blog friends.

The giveaway will be open until July 30th and is open to all readers!  Note: You must be a follower of Modern Modest Beauty and Dearest Lou to be eligible...good luck!

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July Group Sponsor Giveaway!

It's time for the monthly group giveaway from some of my lovely sponsors!  This month there will be a little change...one lucky reader will win all of the prizes!  There are some great items up for grabs and I'm so excited for whoever wins this giveaway...So make sure to follow these amazing ladies and enter using the Rafflecopter widget below. 

Blog | Facebook | Twitter

Blog | Facebook | Twitter

Blog | Facebook | Twitter

Blog | Facebook | Twitter

Blog | Facebook | Twitter

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The giveaway will be open until July 30th and is only open to U.S./Canadian readers. Good luck!

Manicure Monday: Sally Hansen "Lady Luck"

Gem Crush Nail Color in "Lady Luck" c/o Sally Hansen

For Manicure Monday this week I wanted something fun and sparkly, since I will be wearing it on VACATION!  Oh man, I am so excited...let's just say there will be a beach involved and lots of sun!  So, the color I decided to go with was "Lady Luck", which is a nail polish in the Sally Hansen Gem Crush collection.  

Purple is my favorite color and this glittery polish is a nice magenta shade that I absolutely love!  Pictures can't do this baby justice.  Much like the Gem Crush in "Big Money", because of the chunky glitter this polish gobbles up your top coat...just so you know.  I still need to go buy some Gelous Nail Gel, so I can stop wasting my precious top coat!

Also, here is an update on my Manicure Monday post from last week.  I have been using the Sally Hansen Nail Growth Miracle, Maximum Growth and VitaSurge Strength Gel every day for the past week.  You can't see a lot of results yet, which is what I was expecting.  I had to file my nails down a little bit and it obviously takes time for nails to grow.  So, I will continue using this product each day (you can put it on over nail polish, which is nice) and I will be back with another update next week!

What are your nails wearing?

Adventures in Southern Utah

Random adventures? Yes please!  Last night I was staying in St. George, Utah for my layover...so I got in touch with my bloggy buddy Gentri and we went to dinner.  She had heard of a great place that was about 50 minutes away in a little town called Pine Valley.  It sounded fun to me, so she came and picked me up and off we went.  

Then the crazy thunderstorm began.  It was raining so hard and we nearly swerved off of the road, but the best part is that we got hit by lightning (well, not us personally...but the car did)!  It was so loud and scary, but we were both so excited about this little adventure of ours...a little bit of lightning wasn't going to stop us!  

So, a couple wrong turns later, we arrived at the Brandin' Iron.  It was such a cute little restaurant.  There was a big moose and two deer friends (their heads anyway) watching over us while we ate, a couple of guys singing country music and the cutest little ice cream shop.   I am so glad that Gentri suggested this place...I had such a good time!  Oh, and then this happened:

Who doesn't love rainbows?  If you ever find yourself in Southern Utah, you should go check out Pine Valley and eat at the Brandin' Iron!

How was your weekend?