Glow Kouture Giveaway!

How adorable is this little pouch?!  One of my sweet sponsors, Kenyé from Glow Kouture, sent me one of her faux leather mini pouches and it has officially become my new makeup bag to keep in my purse!  It's the PERFECT size.  It holds all of my "necessary" makeup (mascara, eyeliner, eyeshadow, lipgloss, powder and brushes).  I think it would also work great as an extra layer of protection for your phone, iPod and other small electronics.  My favorite part of the pouch is the colorful zipper that adds a little pop of color to the brown material.  I also love the pretty fabric on the inside! 

Luxe Suede Clutch, Tribal Infinity Scarf, Leopard Clutch

Besides the cute mini pouches, Glow Kouture also has a great selection of over-sized fold over clutches in multiple colors, as well as a new line of pretty infinity scarves.  In addition to the Glow Kouture shop, you can also find Kenyé on the Glow Kouture blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

Kenyé has offered to give away one of Glow Kouture's mini pouches to one of you lovely readers!  I am certain that it will quickly find a home in your purse like mine did! Make sure to enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.  You must be a follower of Modern Modest Beauty to be eligible and you must have a U.S. or Canadian shipping address.  The giveaway will be open through December 5th...good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Comfy & Cute with Ashley

Hi everyone!  My name is Ashley and I blog over at flats to flip flops!

I blog about fashion, faith, and philanthropy.  Modest fashion, mommy moments and giving back are the theme over at my place!

  Sometimes as a mom on the go it is hard to find time to be
fashionable and I know that COMFORT is a major must!  

I have a motto: COMFY CAN BE CUTE!  

Today I am going to share a couple of my tips for turning 
your comfy outfits into something comfy, casual and chic!

1.  LAYER YOUR NECKLACES!

 One of my favorite staples in my wardrobe are my v neck tees!  
And they are soooo comfy!  
To add a little something to a plain tee, layer your necklaces.  
And like I did below, you can even use necklaces 
made of different materials to add more visual interest!  
No longer are the days when things have to be matchy matchy! 
 Go ahead and mix it up.

2.  ADD A SCARF!

If you are like me, you love wearing a tee shirt and a good pair of jeans!  There is nothing more comfy.  And a great way to add something to a tee shirt and jean is a scarf!  I especially love adding a scarf to a graphic tee like below.  It always makes me feel a little more hip and funky!

 3.  ADD A FUN PAIR OF FLATS OR TENNIES!

Another thing that can make a simple outfit pop is a great pair of shoes!  Try out a printed or bright colored flat(like below).  Or my personal favorite, break out some bright colored tennies to add a fun detail to your outfit!

 4.  STEAL SOMETHING FROM YOUR HUBBY!

When I really, really want to be comfy, I steal something from my hubby's side of the closet, like the plaid button down below!  What is more comfortable than slipping into something oversized and loose?  Whenever I rock menswear, I always try to add something feminine, like a long necklace, or bigger earrings, or a fitted blazer to make sure people still know I'm a girl! No 'Dude looks like a lady' here!

Hopefully these tips will help you in your quest to be comfy AND cute!

I'm interested, what tips do you guys have?  Feel free to stop over at flats to flip flops and let me know!  Love to hear from you!

And a big thanks to Jenny for letting me hang out on her awesome blog today!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ashley, thank YOU for hanging out on my blog today! I know all of you lovely readers will LOVE Ashley's blog (if you don't already check it out regularly like I do)!  You can also find Ashley on Bloglovin', Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Gumdrop Wreath Tutorial

Last year I made a gumdrop wreath for Christmas.  Well, guess what?  It's still in great shape!  Only one of the gumdrops fell off, but all I had to do was glue it back on.  I figured I may as well show you how to make your own! All you need for this project is gumdrops and a styrofoam wreath form, as well as a hot glue gun.  

At first, I started gluing the gumdrops around the inner circle of the wreath.  Once I started adding the second circle, I realized there were too big of gaps between the gumdrops.  I decided to take them all off and try something different.

My new strategy was to glue them on randomly, so I could lessen the amount of space between the gumdrops.  I didn't follow any pattern, just grabbed them at random, while trying to keep the colors as even as possible.

 

Once the wreath was finished, I added a red bow and it was all ready to be hung up.  Last year I put it in front of my mirror, but I have other plans for that space now...so it's new location is on the pantry door.  

Two things I learned while making this project:

1. Gumdrops are expensive.  The candy cost me $8, but you might be able to find some on sale. 

2. Some people use toothpicks to attach the gumdrops.  I tried this method and it was too time consuming...especially when you can achieve the same effect with hot glue.

I really do love my gumdrop wreath and it was pretty fun to make.  My kids love it too and if you have older kids I'm sure they would love making their own!  I ended up spending $3 on the wreath form, $8 for the candy and maybe $1 worth of ribbon.  It came to $12 total, but you might be able to make it for less (check the dollar store, you might be able to find the candy there).

Have you made any Christmas crafts, or have any that you are planning on making soon?  Please share, because I love getting ideas for creating my own holiday decorations!

Linking to: Craft-O-Maniac, Creations by Kara, Hope Studios, Too Cute Tuesday, Lil' Luna, Mad in Crafts, Sugar & Dots, The Winthrop Chronicles, Home Stories A-Z, A Diamond in the Stuff, Crafty Texas Girls, Crafty Confessions

Manicure Monday: Julep "Nora"

Today I'm wearing one of the polishes from my November Julep Maven box, named "Nora". It's a silvery purple color, with a suede finish. You can add a top coat to make it more shiny, but I was kind of liking the matte look. 

This color was so pretty, but I was pretty disappointed when it started chipping the next day. Not just little chips, but huge flakes of the polish started falling off. I have never had a Julep polish do this, but apparently it is common for matte polish in general to have this problem. I guess putting a top coat just along the edges to help seal the polish helps some. Or I could add a matte top coat. Either way, it's a pretty color! 

What's on your nails this week?

Sunday Style & a Chicnova Giveaway!

Blouse: c/o Chicnova, Pants: Anchor Blue (old), Shoes: Target

Happy Sunday everyone!  This past week was a super busy one, but I was able to get most of my Christmas shopping finished and I put up a lot of the Christmas decorations...it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here and I love it!  Oh, and right now my house is filled with the smell of "Chocolate Peppermint Truffle".  It's one of the Better Homes and Gardens wax cubes I bought at Walmart and it's my new favorite...I think I'm going to need to stock up on those!

Today, in addition to the Sunday Style link-up, I have a giveaway to share with you lovely people!  The pretty chiffon blouse I'm wearing was sent to me from Chicnova.com and I just love the sparkly collar!  They have offered to give away a $30 credit to one of you lucky readers. Chicnova has a bunch of cute items on their website, so I'm sure you will be able to find something you really like!

In order to enter you will need to do the following:

1. Follow Modern Modest Beauty (if you don't already)
2. Register on the site: http://www.chicnova.com
3. Leave a comment with the email you used to register and the link of your favorite item on Chicnova

Easy enough, right?  The giveaway will run through December 4th and is open to everyone!

Now, on to this week's Sunday Style. The rules are simple:

1. Link up to a specific outfit post, not your main blog page.

2. Grab a button and add it to your post (a text link is also fine).

3. Comment on this post and at least one other post...the whole point is to visit each other!

<center> <a href="http://www.modernmodestbeauty.com/search/label/sunday%20style"><img border="0" src="http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k223/jennyjellybean02/sunday-style.jpg"/></a></center>

Meet Ubooly & a Giveaway!

My husband and I love electronics and gadgets, so it's no surprise to me that our kids do too.  To be honest, my kids know how to work the iPad better than I do (yes, even my 3 year old).  I definitely try to limit the amount of time they spend on the TV, iPad apps, etc...but sometimes it's nice to let technology take over the entertainment duties for a few minutes, so I can actually get some things done. 

When this furry little guy (or girl?) arrived in the mail, I instantly knew my kids would be in love with it...and I sure was right!  The name of this orange creature is Ubooly: a stuffed animal that turns into a "smart" stuffed animal, as soon as you insert your iPhone or iPod Touch.  Once you have a Ubooly, all you need to do is download the free app and your device will be ready to play games, tell jokes, play music and more!  Not only does it keep your little ones busy, it also keeps your iPhone or iPod safe and protected from any drops or tumbles it might experience.

The best thing about Ubooly is it's ability to follow certain commands.  If my kids ask the toy to tell them a joke, Ubooly says something witty that immediately gets my kids laughing!  If they ask it to tell them a story, Ubooly does just that!  This was great for bedtime...although they were not happy when I told them I needed my phone back.

Moms are some of the most savvy mobile users and so are their kids. Ubooly is a toy designed for this new high-tech generation. While learning and sharing new content every week, Ubooly is the only toy that grows with your child. It encourages listening skills, and a break from high-energy / high-stimulation play. Through stories & interactive games, Ubooly’s curiosity is sure to awaken the creativity within your child’s imagination.

Ubooly is the hot toy of the season, it’s new to the scene and is on track to sell out this winter! Free updates through Wi-Fi creates ongoing entertainment for kids.

Click here to adopt your own Ubooly and get FREE SHIPPING now!

Guess what? You lovely readers have the chance to win a Ubooly of your own!  The winner of this giveaway will receive one Ubooly toy & the Ubooly iOS app, which updates every month with new activities, automatically over WiFi.  You must have an iPhone 3GS, 4, 4S, or an iPod touch 4th or 5th gen.  Ubooly is recommended for children between ages 4-9.  The giveaway will run through Thursday, November 29th.  Just enter using the Rafflecopter widget below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

(This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Ubooly. The opinions and text are all mine.)

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  I hope you are enjoying this special time with your family, friends or other loved ones.  I know I will be eating lots of yummy food and then heading out to shop til I drop (literally)! 

I have so much to be thankful for this year...a supporting husband, two sweet little kids, a job I love, a roof over my head, freedom, good health, wonderful friends and faith in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!  May you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and try not to eat too much pumpkin pie!

P.S. I didn't want to leave this post without an image, so I created this one.  Obviously I'm no graphic artist or anything, but if you use it I just ask that you link back to me!

Meet Christina from The Style Storm

Today I get to introduce you guys to my beautiful sponsor Christina!  You can find this pretty lady over at her personal style blog, The Style Storm.  Please take a minute to go see all of her cute outfits and make sure to say hi!

Photos by: Nikki Lugo
Booties: Sam Edelman Lisle
Dress: H&M Garden Collection
Leather Belt: Target

Christina Storm is the girl behind The Style Storm: a fashion and lifestyle blog dedicated to inspiring readers through daily posts about her personal style and fashion inspirations.

Christina grew up in a small mountain town in North Carolina where her love of fashion first began with dressing up in her Mother's high heels and teetering around the house. As a teen, she had a "more is more" philosophy combining all of the tulle and sparkle that her small-town mall supplied to create "stylish" and "unique" outfits. Now, at twenty-three, she mixes statement pieces with classic basics to create a refined, feminine look with a nod to the latest trends. Oh, and don't forget a great pair of shoes!

She currently resides in Atlanta, GA where she is getting her Doctorate in Physical Therapy by day and writing her fashion blog by night. She is also a Jesus, New York City, and cupcake enthusiast!

You can also find Christina on Twitter, Bloglovin', and Pinterest!

Manicure Monday: China Glaze "Holiday Joy" Swatches

I can't get over how many great nail polish colors are being released for the holidays!  For today's Manicure Monday post, I'm going to share some colors from the new China Glaze Holiday 2012 collection.  

The red and gold glittery goodness, pictured above, is "Pure Joy".  The red and gold glitter is in a clear base and it's pretty opaque (I used 2 coats).  This polish looks good on it's own, but I prefer the look of it on top of another color (which you will see further down the page).  Like most other glitters, it does need a good topcoat to smooth it out.

"Blue Bells Ring" is one of those polishes that I wasn't too fond of when I first saw the bottle.  But once I put it on I was instantly in love with this pretty blue foil!

This is "Angel Wings".  It's filled with small gold holographic glitter.  I love holos, cause when they hit the light they are so mesmerizing!  This was my favorite of the collection.

This color, "Red Satin", is the perfect red.  I think I've said before that I'm not super crazy about red nail polish, but this red creme is fantastic!  And look how shiny it is...there isn't even a top coat!  This would be great for next month and it would also be a nice color for February :)

Here is "Pure Joy" over "Red Satin".  I really love the way this looks and I think this is what will be on my nails for Christmas!  

The China Glaze Holiday Joy Collection is already available to purchase at beauty supply stores and salons nationwide.  You can view the rest of the collection, as well as other colors, at www.chinaglaze.com.

(Product provided for review, but all opinions are 100% my own)

Sunday Style: Leather & Cream

Top: c/o Apricot Lane Boutique, Skirt: Kohls (similar), Shoes: Kohls (similar)

Note: I did not wear this to church.  I kind of feel like leather may not be appropriate for a church meeting, at least for me.  But that's definitely a personal choice/preference.  Either way, I am loving this combo.  The cream-colored top (from Apricot Lane Boutique in Provo) is so feminine and pretty.  I think the ruffled top, combined with the bow pumps, make the leather look more classy...what do you think?

I'm so excited for the Sunday Style link-up! The rules are simple:

1. Link up to a specific outfit post, not your main blog page.

2. Grab a button and add it to your post (a text link is also fine).

3. Comment on this post and at least one other post...the whole point is to visit each other!

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