DIY Gem Pocket Sweatshirt with Nicole of Writes Like a Girl

Hello everyone! Today, one of my favorite bloggers, Nicole from Writes Like a Girl, is here to get her craft on with a cute DIY project that's perfect to jazz up your wardrobe for the holiday season! Nicole inspires me daily with her honest writing, adorable personal style, and her support of women everywhere. If you like adorable clothes, feminism, and super awesome people, I know you'll love Nicole and her blog as much as I do. Check out her super cute project here, and then be sure to stop by Writes Like a Girl for more!

Hello lovely ladyfaces! I'm not usually a craft-inclined kind of gal, but Becca's blog inspires me so much. I saw this super cute gem pocket sweatshirt on ASOS the other day and thought, "Hey, I think I could make that!" So here we are...let's get started!

And now, you've got a fantastically sparkly sweatshirt. Get on with ya bad self!

Flavored Salt

Hey guys!

Today I'm excited to talk about Flavored Salt! I know, leave it to me to want to make salt all fancy. Well, making flavored salt is SO easy, that I'm going to share three different versions with you today: Sriracha Salt, Lemon Salt, and Balsamic Salt.

Any of these can be used in many different applications. You could toss them on homemade popcorn, use them as a finishing salt, or straight up cook with them! I'm imagining Sriracha Salt popcorn, truffles finished with Balsmaic Salt, and some tasty chicken seasoned with Lemon Salt. So good, right?

I'm not just excited about sharing this recipe/tutorial because it's delicious, I'm also excited because these flavored salts would make a really lovely homemade gift for the holidays! You could package up one flavor, or you could make people really swoon by giving all three as a set. Put these up in tiny little jars wrapped in ribbon, and boy have you got a gift!

Ok! Let's get started, shall we?

First up, Ingredients! Now, I made small batches of each of these, but it's super easy to scale up if you are making more.

Ingredients:

For Sriracha Salt:
- 1/4 cup kosher salt
- 3 tsp Sriracha

For Lemon Salt:
- 1/4 cup kosher salt
- 1 tsp fresh lemon zest
- 2 tsp lemon juice

For Balsamic Salt:
- 1/4 cup kosher salt
- 2 tsp balsamic vinegar

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment.

2. Add the flavor to the salt and mix until well combined.

3. Spread the salt mixture out on your baking sheet. If you're making all three flavors in the amounts specified, you should be able to fit all three flavors on one sheet. If you're making a ton of each flavor, I would definitely recommend separate baking sheets.

4. Put the baking sheets in the oven, close the door immediately, and turn off the heat. Let sit in the oven for 2-3 hours, or until the salt is dry.

5. Once the salt is removed from the oven, use your hands (or a mortar and pestle if you're fancy!) to separate the clumps, and then put into small jars or airtight containers for storage.

Ta-da!!!! With approximately no effort, you've got yourself a set of delicious flavored salts! Seriously, how pretty do these look in these cute little glass containers?

Whether you're looking for a great homemade gift option, or just a tasty addition to your spice cabinet, I hope you get to try out some Flavored Salt soon!

Til next time!

-Becca

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Datevitation Review and Giveaway! - CLOSED

Hey guys!

Today I'm excited to share a giveaway from one of my lovely sponsors, Datevitation!

Now, if you were anything like me as a kid, you probably loved putting together coupon books as gifts for your family members. Well, Datevitation has taken that idea and run with it to help you create gorgeous coupon books for your loved ones!

The options for the Datevitation coupon books are pretty endless. In fact, you can choose from over 500 different activity ideas and over 100 different covers! I chose to create one for my mom for her birthday, but this would make an amazing holiday gift for a family member, a friend, or a significant other. I loved the different cover image options and had a ton of fun putting mine together.

My favorite part of the whole process was using the Add Your Faces feature! It added a fun, personal touch, that both my mom and I got a big kick out of!

My Datevitation love coupon book arrived in this adorable "Surprise," envelope, which made it perfect for gift giving. My mom ended up completely loving it, and the rest of my family was blown away by how cute it was! I think my mom is the most excited about the computer lesson coupon!

Books normally start at just $25, so it makes for a thoughtful, yet economical gift. As a special treat for Ladyface Blog readers, you can use the code, LADYFACE, to receive $10 off your purchase, plus free shipping (total value of 13.50). That means you can get your loved one a one-of-a-kind, super thoughtful gift for just $15! The cut-off date for guaranteed delivery by Christmas is December 13, so make sure to get your order in soon!

Oh, and did I mention Datevitation is giving away a custom coupon book to one lucky Ladyface Blog reader? Just use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter!

The giveaway runs through December 9th and one lucky winner will be chosen shortly after! Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Til next time!

-Becca

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Weekly Wardrobe and a Blog Design Update!

 Glasses: BonLook

Scarf: Homemade by yours truly!

Sweater: J.Crew/Similar

Dress: Anthropologie/Similar

Belt: Anthropologie

Tights: Nordstrom

Shoes: ModCloth

Well, I don't know about you guys, but I had a lovely weekend! A long weekend, in fact, because I had four dreamy days off!

Overall, it was a super solid long weekend. I spent Thanksgiving with my family on Thursday, and got together with them again on Friday to celebrate my mama's birthday. We went and saw Catching Fire together and loved it! Have any of you guys seen it yet?

I also worked on some projects, hung out with some friends, and did some serious blog work this weekend. I got a chance to catch up on quite a few things I'd fallen behind on, including updating my blog design!

I'm really thrilled with the way it all came out! I've been working with my friend and co-worker, Marisol, over the past couple of months and am SO happy I asked for her help with my blog redesign! She's super talented and really made my vision come together with her beautiful graphics and lettering. I love that things now have a cleaner look, but are still really fun and whimsical. I kind of can't believe I got on with the slap-dash look I managed to whip up for as long as I did!

Fun aside, I'm kind of dreading the next few weeks. This week begins the holiday madness at my work, so there's going to be lots and lots of overtime. It will be great to have the extra cash, but man, I know I'm going to be beat by the time Christmas rolls around.

Despite all of that, I'm still really excited about the holidays. I'm definitely getting into full on gifting mode, and also totally impulse bought the most adorable little pink tinsel Christmas tree from Target on Sunday. It was too cute to pass up! The cats seem to be big fans, too, since they keep gnawing on it. Sheesh.

Well, that's all for now! How was your weekend?

Til next time!

-Becca

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Black Friday Deals

Hi everyone! 

I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving! I know some of you may be out and about hitting up shops for Black Friday deals, but I for one get a bit overwhelmed by the crowds, and prefer to have a lazy day at home after Thanksgiving.

Just because I love a lazy day, though, it doesn't mean I don't love some great deals! And let me tell you, there are some great deals this weekend! Here's a round up of some of my favorites to get you started on your holiday shopping:

Uh, first up, today only, Anthropologie is offering 20% off of EVERYTHING. Pretty ridiculously awesome, right? Stock up on cute clothes and housewares while the getting's good, am I right?

Boden is offering 30% off of EVERYTHING, which is equally awesome. It's a great time to stock up on some amazing quality clothing and fill your closet with timeless pieces.

Modcloth is offering 100’s of items 50% off for Black Friday (through Sunday). With my ever-growing ModCloth wish list and the new items they're adding daily, this one is a must! They're also offering free international shipping for a limited time, so if you're outside the US, now is a great time to order!

Today only, BonLook.com is also offering 50% off on select eyewear, plus free shipping! If you are looking for some new frames for the holiday season, it's definitely worth checking out!

If you're after some beauty products, Nordstrom is offering over 80 different free gifts with purchase today.

J. Crew is offering 30% off your purchase with the code HOLIDAY, through Sunday.

And their sister company, Madewell, is offering 25% off your entire purchase wight the code FEAST25, through Monday.

ASOS is also offering 20% off today, with the code GIMME20.

I hope these help you get a jump on your holiday shopping or just help you add some pretty things to your life!

And hey, if store bought gifts aren't your speed, I'm going to be sharing some great handmade and homemade gift ideas in December, so check back soon.

Til next time!

-Becca

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