Charm It Review

If your little girl is anything like mine, she loves jewelry. And if she loves jewelry, she is going to adore Charm It! Charm It, by High IntenCity is a company that specializes in creating fun, innovative, and quality accessories products for girls, tweens, and teens. Charm It claims that their products are original and detail oriented, and after receiving one of their beautiful charm bracelets for review, I agree!

We received the Charm It Princess Fairytale Gift Set. It arrived in a cute rainbow- striped keepsake box, topped with a pink ribbon handle. The set came with 1 7.5” long, fully adjustable silver toned chain bracelet and 3 charms- a unicorn, a princess tiara, and a fairy. While the pictures on the website are lovely, I have to say I enjoyed the bracelet even more after seeing the charms in person. The detail of each charm was quite impressive! The fairy wings are stunning and shine in the light. The crown is adorned with beautiful pink and diamond-like stones, and the unicorn’s colors really make her stand out.

Allison asked me for a charm bracelet for Christmas. After scouring a few local stores, I ended up not buying her one. All of the bracelets I came across seemed cheaply assembled, and the hardware looked like it would not hold up against a very active 8 year old. I was scared that it would break and get lost, and the charms I saw had the same hardware issue. The Charm It chain bracelet has nice, thick (but not bulky) links and the hardware is also top quality, as are the hardware pieces on each of the charms. I feel confident that if my daughter forgets to take her bracelet off during P.E. or her gymnastics class, we don’t have to worry about it snapping off and getting lost.

Your daughter already has a bracelet? Don’t worry! Charm It carries hundreds of individual charms that are each sold separately, you are sure to find many different charms suited to your daughters personality! You should also know that their private label division designs custom collections under license of Disney, Sanrio, and Nickeoldeon!

Each charm is reasonably priced at $6.00 each. If you sign up for their birthday club on their Facebook Page you receive a 15% discount coupon valid for the ENTIRE birthday month. How awesome is that?

How is this for a cute idea? Charm It necklaces?

I’m sure we will be moving on to that soon since Allison already has a quite a few charms bookmarked to add to her collection. Here are a few of her favorites:

 

If a special girl in your life is asking for a charm bracelet, rest assured, you will not be disappointed with Charm It!

You can find more information from Charm It, by High IntenCity on their:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

One very lucky Theresa’s Mixed Nuts reader is going to win their choice of a Charm It Gift Set , a $28 value!

While Charm It does offer a site for it’s Canadian shoppers, this giveaway is only open to residents of the USA, excluding Alaska and Hawaii, 18 years and older. Please enter on the Rafflecopter Form below.

I received a Charm It Gift Set for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was provided. The opinions are mine based on experience with the product, and have not been influenced by any other reason.

If you can not see the Rafflecopter Form, click on the blog post title to take you to the full review page.

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Tips For Holding A Successful Garage Sale

          source             

I love yard sales! Every year I look forward to spring because I know that they are going to be popping up and our Saturday mornings are going to be filled by driving around searching for bargains. My mom started dragging me to them as far back as I can remember, so I’d say I’ve got quiet a few years of shopping yard sales under my belt. As a seasoned yard seller, I’d like to share some tips that make me want to stop at your sale.

 

Signage is #1 and very important! 

 

•Bright colored signs at the entrance to your street or subdivision are key. If you have a teeny tiny sign that I’ll miss if I blink as I’m driving by, I won’t stop.

•Big, bold, print letters on the sign. Balloons are good too.

• Don’t put too much information on the sign. “Garage Sale” followed by an arrow with a street name is all that is needed. When you crowd the sign with too much information I can’t get the street name as I’m turning in. If I can’t find your street, I drive on looking for the next sale.

• Did I mention ARROWS? I don’t need your home address. I am usually driving in an unfamiliar neighborhood and don’t know where xxx Timbucktoo Drive is. I don’t have GPS, so I depend on those arrows to direct me to your sale.

 

Layout and Merchandising

 

• Please make an attempt to put your stuff on tables. I do not like to shop off the ground. If you don’t have tables for clothes, take 2 ladders, stick a broom between them and hang clothes on hangers on them. Line up a few similar size boxes and lay an old sheet over them for other items.

•This goes for clothes in boxes also. If I have to dig for stuff in boxes, I get frustrated easily and leave.

• If you don’t want my kids to touch the toys, keep them out of their reach. My children (as most I know) have their own money to spend, and if they find a toy they like, they are more than likely getting it. I don’t look at the toys. I rely on my children showing interest in an item, informing me of said item, then I make a decision. If they can’t touch, we probably aren’t going to buy.

• Dirty items are unattractive. It takes a few seconds to wipe down your kids last meal before selling that old high chair or other toys.

•PRICE TAG YOUR ITEMS! Nothing ticks me off more than stopping at a sale and nothing is priced. If you don’t want to price everything individually, then group price your items. Ex- all shirts $1, all jeans, $3, ect. If I have to ask you how much every single thing is, I leave without buying anything. Most of the time I feel like you are making stuff up on the spot to see how much I’ll actually pay.

• Please leave me alone to browse on my own. A simple Hi is nice. It lets me know that you’ve seen me, and I know who the seller is if I have any questions. Please don’t hover over me asking me what I am looking for and start throwing your items my way. Usually I don’t know what I’m looking for. I just stopped to find the unexpected and having you push me into a sale makes me uncomfortable, and I will leave.

 

Pricing

 

• Your items have no sentimental value to me, so pricing them high because you can’t bear to part with them cheaply because your dearly departed grandma gave them to you hold no bearing on my purchasing decision. Bargains do.

• I will not pay more for your items than I can get them for at the thrift store. Putting $10 tags on a pair of Aeropostale jeans is going to get me to leave pretty quick. I can purchase jeans for $7 at Goodwill every day, and $3.50 on 1/2 price days. $5 for hardcover books don’t fly either. If you would like to try to get a higher price for your used stuff, sell on Ebay.

• Speaking of Ebay, don’t stand there and tell me what you could make for your stuff on there or have printouts for what these items are going for online. As stated above, if this is your goal, sell online, but remember the fees associated with doing so.

• No need to get snippy if I ask you if you’ll take less for an item. A simple, sorry, that’s the lowest I’m willing to go, or “I’m sorry, I’m selling that for someone else and it’s not mine to bargain with” are all that is needed. Don’t stand there and get huffy and give me a big back story on why you won’t take less. 

 

Finalizing the Sale

 

• Please have the correct amount of change on hand or have it close to your check out stand. I hate standing there waiting for you to run in the house to make change. Also, many times I decide to stop at a sale on a whim. I get cash from the ATM which only provides $20 bills. I’m not trying to deplete your change stash on purpose, but be advised, many early morning shoppers will pay with $20’s so have a nice amount on $1’s and $5’s on hand at the beginning of your sale.

• If you have an issue adding and subtracting in your head (as I do sometimes) a calculator is your friend. Don’t be embarrassed by using one. It’s more embarrassing to have a customer point out that you short changed them.

• Ok, this is probably snarky of me, but it’s one that irritates me. Don’t get me wrong, I love children and encourage most things that teach them, but when you are letting your child take money and count change while the line builds up, that’s not cool. I like to hit up as many sales as I can in the short amount of time I have, and when it takes 5 minutes for your 6 year old to complete the transaction, I get annoyed. Toys R Us sells play money that you can teach them with on your own time.

• If you have another adult available (like your husband) and your line is building up, have them help the next person in line. I’ve been to sales where the husband is just standing there looking pretty while the woman is doing all the work and the line is down the driveway. If he can add, he can take the money so the rest of us can get on with our day.

 

Most importantly- Take down your signs when your sale is over! I hate wasting my time driving around looking for a sale that already happened. It makes me want to do donuts in your yard :-P

 

Do you like to yard sale? What do you like to shop for at them? Any tips you would like to provide for a successful sale?

                          

Stuffed Strawberries

I know, I know, another strawberry recipe? I can't help it, I am on a strawberry kick lately! I really wanted to make these for Easter, but they weren't on sale that week. Go figure! I did make them for last years party and they were the first appetizer gone. They are super easy to make and deliciously sweet!

Ingredients:

1- 8oz pk Philadelphia Cream Cheese (softened)
2/3 cup of powdered sugar
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

2 pints strawberries

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together until smooth.

Rinse strawberries, then cut the green top off.

Flip strawberry over, and cut an X through the bottom, stopping about 3/4 of the way down.

Using a pastry bag, or a sandwich bag with the end snipped off, fill bag with filling, then poke through the X. Squeeze filling until strawberry is full.

Top with melted chocolate, if desired.

Serve.

Tooth Fairy Dust!

Allison lost another tooth this weekend! I think she looks forward to the visit from the Tooth Fairy more for the "fairy dust" she gets sprinkled on her money than the actual money itself! We've been doing this with our kids for the past 6 or so years, and it never gets old for them. Allison actually likes to smear the "dust" on her eyelids and wear it to school to show off to her friends :)

All you do is sprinkle a little body glitter over a dollar bill and cha ching! The Tooth Fairy has left a nice sparkly bill behind.

You can buy a little tube of Wet and Wild body glitter for around a dollar or two at most drugstores and mass merchandisers in the makeup section. We like this brand because it's super fine glitter, not at all big and chunky like craft glitter.

Weekend Roundup!

Was it just me, or was this one long weekend? The kids have been on spring break this past week, so maybe I'm just ready to be sending them back to school and having a little peace, get the house back to organized, and not deal with the hustle and bustle that the Easter holiday brought.

We had a nice long walk at the state park:

Colored Eggs:



Made some Pinterest inspired cupcakes since I love Cadbury Cream Eggs:

Dug into our Easter baskets:

Got a visit from the real Easter Bunny ;)

Dinner and egg hunting at Grandma's:

And because I adore him, my nephew in his cute Easter outfit and new hat :)

Also, Allison lost a tooth! Boy am I exhausted! How was everyone else's Easter weekend? Are you just as ready for a long nap as I am?

Does your child need their adenoids out?

As far back as I can remember, Mariah has been a mouth breather. She even kind of sounded nasally when she talked at times. I brought this up with her pediatrician a few times, but he just shrugged it off and said some kids are just mouth breathers. He never seemed concerned, so we weren’t very concerned either.

We took Mariah in for her dental appointment in December and were referred to an orthodontist because she has such a narrow pallet, she needs braces. The orthodontist took a look in her mouth and flat out told us he would not do any dental work until we had her adenoids looked at. He thought that her narrow pallet was a result of some kind of blockage causing Mariah to breathe through her mouth. Most of us breathe through our noses and since our mouths are closed most of the time, our tongue pushes up against the roof of our mouths, causing our pallets to expand. Since her mouth was open most of the day, her tongue wasn't press up, therefore causing her narrow pallet.

We were seen by the ear, nose, and throat doctor who confirmed that Mariah’s adenoids were so large, they were blocking 90% of her airway. We were told that the surgery would be minor, and since they aren’t like the tonsils and attached to muscle, it would be a quick outpatient procedure. Also, the pain would be minimal afterwards, and most people get by with just a few Tylenol!

We scheduled the surgery, and last Wednesday, she had them removed. From start to finish, we were only at the hospital for 5 hours. Other than being tired, she handled it pretty well, and as told, the pain was so minimal, we didn’t fill the prescription pain medicine. She got by on a few doses of children’s Tylenol.

If her pediatrician had caught this years ago, we might not have had to start the process of braces, which are going to be very costly. Needless to say, we have switched doctors.

If you notice your child is breathing through their mouth more than normal, sounds nasally, or chew with their mouths open a lot, it’s worth trip to the Otolaryngologist. This could save you from other problems down the road.

See, it couldn't have been too bad if she is leaving with a smile on her face :)

Easter Party Ideas

I throw two big parties every year for all of the kids in our family. One is Halloween and the other is Easter. I love the planning, prep, and everything involved with the parties. We just had our Easter party on Saturday and the kids (and adults!) always have such a great time. It’s such a hit, I have people calling me a month ahead of time to find out the day we are having it so they can be sure to they can keep that day free.

I try to change the food up every year to keep the party from feeling stale. You don’t need to be a whiz at cooking though. I find that any food supplied will be appreciated and gobbled up as long as it’s free lol. For Easter I stick with foods that don’t have to be cooked right before the party. We have it early in the afternoon, and I don’t have a lot of time to cook and get things ready (unlike Halloween where the party is later in the evening) so we stick with ham and turkey sandwiches on sub buns, and lay out an assortment of cheeses and condiments. Store bought chips and pasta salad are quick to set out so I can focus on desserts, which usually take a little more time to do.

Thanks to Pinterest, we mixed some new goodies in with the old:

Then we get a very special visitor:

 Now the real fun begins! It’s egg hunting time!

We all come in to find what treasures our eggs hold. Most eggs are filled with candy, but if you find a special egg with a number in it, you get to choose a fantastic prize from the toy table! Woo Hoo! I usually just buy things from the Dollar Store or the dollar spot at Target. When Target marks down the dollar spot, I can usually find cool items for 50¢ or even 25¢ sometimes that appeal to the kids. 

  

This is the part of the party that really excites them!

You know you’ve had a successful party when all the kids get ready to leave and they have big smiles on their faces: