Author

Deborah Cruz

They Said til Death Do Us Part

by Deborah Cruz 2014/01/02

There was one thing that scared me a bit in 2013; Divorce. There sure were a lot of people getting divorced. Even people who you thought were perfect for one another and had great marriages, suddenly they were done. Next thing you know that they’re already having deeper issues because of parental alienation syndrome. What is parental alienation syndrome, you ask? Go to kabirfamilylaw.co.uk for more details. I started to believe that maybe marriage had a shelf life even after you made it past the dreaded 7-year-itch and the expiration date was somewhere between the 11-18 year mark. We’re about to hit 15 years, so we are right smack dab in the middle of the likely to divorce session of marriage.I guess it makes sense, those are the years when people find themselves getting bored. Babies are born and life has become predictable and maybe you miss the excitement of when it was all new. You’ve both changed and maybe instead of growing together, you’ve grown apart. I get it. People grow up and perspectives and beliefs change and evolve. What’s important to you at 23, might not be important at all when you are 33.

It felt like everyone I knew was going through an early midlife crisis and their spouse had suddenly become as obsolete to them as condoms. No one gets married thinking this will be nice for 10 years or so but no one should stay in a bad marriage but I also think we should work hard to try to salvage a good one. Sometimes just talking, really talking and listening to one another can make all the difference because maybe your partner is having all the same questions and fears about the marriage. I have also seen first hand that hurts done without sincerely apology can kill love dead. Together maybe you can work towards fixing it but if one person is oblivious to the turmoil the marriage is in or content with the way things are and the other is miserable, things build up and people part ways. It made me think. It made me wonder what the fuck would I do if I found myself suddenly single at 41?

I mean 41 is not old but it’s also not prime husband shopping years. I’ve given birth, gained weight and have a lot more baggage than I did at 25. I have kids for God’s sake. It’s not just my life a relationship would effect, it’s my girls’ lives too and who could I ever trust to care for them and love them like their own father because they’d be marrying all 3 of us; we’re a package deal. Not to mention, and I hate to admit it, I don’t tan or pluck and shave and workout like I once did. My unibrow is just about got the band back together and my mustache, well, I swear that sonofabitch is trying to join forces with this sudden onset middle age chin fuzz. My boobs, they are further south than I knew was possible for women under 80 and every single bone in my body pops and cracks when I walk. I swear, I am 1 duct taping away from falling completely apart. Attractive, right? You’re probably wondering why the hell my husband’s still around with all that going on in the first place? I can only guess its because crazy turns him on.

The Big Guy and I got married agreeing that we don’t believe in divorce. There is only one way out of this marriage and that is death. Now, you can go by natural causes like old age two days after I die or you can break one of the deadly sins of marriage like abusing a wife or a child in any way or cheating, having extramarital relations. We’ve joked about it and I’ve warned him of how if we ever divorce he will keep me in the lifestyle I am accustomed to and he will have the children and pets every weekend (because you know I’ll have to be on the prowl for a wealthy man. Yep, I married for love once, next go around I need financial stability and botox and such. ) But really, we both know, there is only ONE way out of this marriage and it involves death and us parting. It’s all just a matter of how, why and when you go.

I’d just assume skip the whole homicidal thing plus I really quite like being married to the Big Guy so I’ve decided maybe I’d like to spice up the marriage we have. What we have works but I know we are boring. At the end of the day, he is still my favorite person in the world, my best friend and when he grabs my hand to hold it, it still takes my breath away. We’re both older, heavier and we know all of each others old stories. We know what the other is thinking before they ever say it. It may sound boring if you are on the outside looking in but we still surprise one another with a flirty glance or a thoughtful gesture. Through it all; ups and downs, good and bad, rich and poor there is one constant; unconditional love and everyone knows that trumps that new relationship feeling.

The girls are getting a little older so maybe it’s time to focus a little more time on the marriage now that we can spend a little less time trying to keep the kids alive. At 6 and 8 they are pretty good about walking up stairs, keeping keys out of electrical outlets and averting danger and they’ve gotten really good at breathing through the night…I know, I still check. So maybe a little 15 year spice is just the preventative measure we need to insure marital bliss for years to come. Plus, really, nobody wants to die anytime soon.

What do you do to keep your marriage new and exciting? OR if you have gotten a divorce, what do you wish you would have done differently?

2014/01/02 2 comments

Blog Like No One is Reading

by Deborah Cruz 2013/12/31

written by Deborah Cruz

Discombobulated. Exhausted. What time is it? What day is it? Wow! I am in the throes of one of the worst Christmas hangovers I’ve ever experienced. It’s outrageous. My poor blog has suffered and fallen to the wayside of my priorities. With all the moments saturated in holiday joy and togetherness, sitting down to write about it seemed to feel like it might spoil the magic. I wanted to live it not write about it and that is what I did and it was magnificent.

On December 14^{th the}Nutcracker ended and then I played the most intensive game of catch up that I’ve ever had the misfortune to take part in. My blogging has been shit because I had so many obligations that I needed to get done. Then Christmas came and I have purposely been spending time with my girls and the Big Guy. I am like a damn quality time camel, I am trying to suck it all up while we are in this holiday bubble, before people start going back to school and work, before deadlines are mounting and the out-of-control-ness of life takes hold once again.

I do want to get back to blogging like I did in the beginning before I had to worry about who was or wasn’t reading. I’m forgetting that my mom, mother-in-law and Homeland security have all been known to frequent my page. I want to blog like no one is reading once again. I want to comment and read blogs. I want to know what’s going on outside my bubble. I want people to give me their perspective on what I write even if they disagree. I want to have long, drawn out conversations in 140 characters. I want to make new friends online. I want to hug the necks of all those who have taken the time to engage. I want quality to matter over quantity. I want content to be king again. I don’t want to worry about fucking SEO, my “numbers” or how much to charge. I want to write what I feel and say what I mean and not give a damn.

I have a list of goals for my life, the blog and my family (by the way, I always have a list of goals not just on the brink of a New Year. I am a chronic list maker, if you are one too, I am sure that you have a list of goals at all times too. Go ahead, flip through your phone, notebook or journal, I’ll wait). I want to be better and yet, I want to be who I am; loud and proud and free of over-thinking. I don’t want to worry about other people’s judgment or care what they think about what I have to say. I want to blog like no one is reading. I want to live like there is no tomorrow and I want to dance like no one is watching.

Life is too short to do anything else. So this year, I have my list of things that I want to accomplish. Most are things that I do already, some are things I need to remind myself to do and others I have completely forgotten or given up on but I like a challenge so on my list they remain. 2013 was good to me, better than 2012, but I want to blow the roof off of 2014, in so many ways. Mostly, I want to be better, love harder and live fully. I want to mommy with compassion and patience, I want to be more present in my life and more passionate in my marriage. I want to give 110% to the things that matter and most of all, I want to be happy with myself with no regrets.

I wish all of you an abundance of love, peace in your heart and success in your every endeavor. Be brave, blog like no one is reading and live like each day is a new beginning of your story. Embrace it with enthusiasm and wonder, because each day is a chance to rewrite your story. Each moment is redemption and salvation. Don’t plan for how you want to live your life…just live, right this moment; every minute of every single day for the rest of your life.

Wishing you all the happiest New Year filled with moments that take your breath away!

I am serious about wanting to read and comment of blogs and I am serious about more conversations on Twitter and I really want to have conversations and share on FB not just read and like links like its a job. I want to look forward to hearing what you have to say. Let’s do this. Let’s bring it back.Let’s blog like no one is reading…like it’s 2009.

Leave your blog url, twitter handle or FB page in the comments and I will check you out. Here’s to 2014!

What’s your #1 goal for 2014?

2013/12/31 12 comments

Confessions

Do you Suffer from “The Other Shoe” Syndrome?

by Deborah Cruz 2013/12/31

written by Deborah Cruz

Christmas was a blur of warm fuzzy feelings and binging on family time. My cup runneth over. We cut back on the girls’ gifts this year but they still seemed to get everything they could want and more. My parents spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with us. There were grandparents and new babies and lots and lots of love. There wasn’t even a Christmas Eve filled with wrapping sessions because, for once, we did it two weeks before. It was beautiful and magical and I even think I might remember some of it clearly but then the immediate overwhelming sense of impending doom infiltrated every fiber of my soul and I was still. So still that you could hardly notice I was there. I was hoping that disaster and doom would pass me by.

I’ve been missing from the blog, social media and any online activity lately. Sure, I still wake up every morning and check my phone before I get up. I share and like and comment on my friend’s warm and fuzzy posts about the love of the holidays and then it happened. I began to read all the posts about being alone, going through divorce, losing someone, losing children, losing parents, being sick and dying of cancer, missing those who they lost and my heart nearly burst from sadness and then from guilt. How the hell am I so blessed when so many others are in such pain? Then I remembered how much pain I was in last year. My heart was broken. I spent nearly a year muddling through the fog and pain of surviving a shitty year. A monumentally shitty year and then I realized that last year I was the sad status.

Then I began to wait for the doom. It sickens me that I can never enjoy happiness because I am always waiting for the counterbalancing hurt of life to even out the joy because no way life is going to let me walk around smiling like a happy, dopey dumb sonofabitch. Life is going to kick me in the balls. It always does, when I least expect it. I know happiness does not last forever but I so want to enjoy these little moments of happiness without worrying about the next bad thing around the corner. The sickness, the death, the loss, the pain and the hurt. So this is me, wishing all of you love, laughter and happiness. This is me trying to overcome my own neurotic state of impending doom. This is me enjoying the small moments of happiness that permeate the air and fill my lungs.

May God bless and keep you all happy, healthy, and wealthy with warm beds and full bellies. May life smile upon you and may your children be safely in your arms, your love holding you tight and may you be blessed with all the love, prosperity and success that the world can muster because life is too damn short to worry about the impending doom that may or may not be right around the corner. The price of happiness is not doom. The price of happiness is laughter and a full soul.

Image via Zetson

2013/12/31 0 comment

Overweight, weight loss, health, New Year's Resolutions

Girl Mom Health

The Moment You Know You are Too Fat

by Deborah Cruz 2013/12/30

written by Deborah Cruz

What’s the moment when you know that you are too fat? The photo above is not actually me but it could definitely be my before and after photos..only I was thinner and now, I may be slightly fatter. Either way, I don’t like where I am at or where I am headed if I don’t do something this moment.

I felt my stomach on my lap! That’s when I knew. I didn’t want to admit it and I certainly didn’t want to write it for the entire internet to read but it’s true and being me, I can’t pick and choose where I’m transparent and where I’m not. It’s all transparency; all the time, even when it hurts like a damn open wound with salt in it. But it’s more than just feeling my belly in my lap it was the moment that I said no more. It was my line in the sand. I think anyone who has ever gained and lost weight knows exactly what I am talking about. That moment when you have to face the fact that you are, in fact, despite any tucking and pulling and pushing, overweight.

I’m ashamed. Ashamed that I let it get this out if control and those old feelings have been sneaking back into my head so I’ve decided to get help. I’m typing this from my first weight watchers meeting in 4 years. I’ve tried doing it alone online but that doesn’t work for me. I’ve tried everything but I need human contact. I need support from other women who know the shock and shame of their stomach resting in their lap. I can’t believe this is where I am. It’s yet another club that I wish I never knew anything about. Oh and I am taking the Big Guy along for the ride. This will only work if we do it together.

But here I am, sitting among the kind, understanding, compassionate faces of other women who’ve been here (the bottom) and it’s inspiring me. It takes a baby step followed by another, motivated by the sincere want and desire and dedication to changing your life. I am ready for me. I got up this morning and went to a meeting and faced the scale. It felt like someone punched my in my low lying, overindulgent belly.

Over the past year, I’ve learned (finally) to step back and ask myself why? To stop and pay attention, even when I don’t have a free moment. 2013 was wonderful in many ways. I grew up in a lot of ways. I am finally able to see myself more clearly without judgment or through fat goggles.I had a lot of firsts and I have begun to spread my wings and fly but this is the next step. No more stomach resting in my lap, no more flapping arms and saggy ass. But it’s not just about my belly, my belly is just a symptom of my procrastination and never putting myself first. I have to put myself to make myself feel and be better for me before I can be better for the girls or the Big Guy. I am ready to be happy. I deserve it. I’ve waited my entire life for this moment of clarity and motivation to meet. There will be no magic pills, no cheating or gimmicks, just a whole lot of hard work and follow through.

I’m not waiting for the New Year or tomorrow anymore because the beginning is always today! (Mary Shelley) THE BEGINNING IS ALWAYS TODAY…no matter what your challenge is in life….TODAY IS THE BEGINNING!

2013/12/30 3 comments

Tech

Zya, The Ultimate Music Game

by Deborah Cruz 2013/12/20

written by Deborah Cruz

Have you heard of the Zya App? Neither had I. But then again, I don’t usually play many games online unless it’s Candy Crush or online casino games on 메리트카지노. Most of my game playing these days is limited to checkers and Rock Band marathons. We love music so when I heard about Zya, it sounded perfect for my girls.

Zya is a revolutionary new music game that allows anyone to create hit songs on their iPhones and iPads.

I particularly love it if we’re traveling with little ones. Give them a pair of headphones and let them go crazy. Give them the headphones or you will be the crazy one by the end of the trip.

My girls love it. It’s like their very own Rock Band game and they don’t have to wait for Mommy and Daddy to play guitar and drums because they can select their very own band. My girls love that they can sing duets with their famous artists and their hit songs like Blurred Lines, She Will Be Loved, Poker Face, and many others. They choose the songs, their band mates, instruments and what they want them to sound like. My girls are at the age where they really enjoy those games that allow you to style Barbie, so being able to choose what their avatars look like and how they sound is right up their alley.

It’ super simple to use and your kids, even the 4-year-olds will be able to figure out how to create music in a few easy steps. With autotune available no one will ever sound tone deaf ever again. It’s cool because it gives the kids a tangible outcome that they can show off to Grandma and Grandpa.

My girls are both musically inclined and love to sing and perform so this game is perfect for them. It gives them a creative outlet to play with and develop new music and sounds. They love the choices and different versions of favorite songs they can create. Here is a one of their creations.

Have you used the Zya app?

Disclaimer: I was compensated for reviewing this product but all opinions are my own.

2013/12/20 0 comment

swiffer, bissell, swiffer bissell steamboost, sponsored

Home

Get Your Home Holiday Ready with Swiffer Bissell

by Deborah Cruz 2013/12/20

written by Deborah Cruz

This holiday cleaning tips post is brought to you by Swiffer® as part of a Type-A Parent Community Sponsored Post.

Next Wednesday is Christmas; company will be arriving on Monday which means I need to get my house “company” worthy. That means putting away the clean laundry, clearing the counter of any dishes and dusting and cleaning the wood floors and then trying to keep it that way with company, kids, a dog and a Christmas tree that’s losing its needles like its job. Then we have also hired a cleaning company as this has helped so much in freeing up time (and not having to do tasks that we hate!) so we very much recommend them, they’re easily the best cleaners in Bristol so give them a look if you are in that area.

I love when people come to visit but I hate the deep clean that I need to give my house before everyone shows up and worse, I hate the stress that it creates. Like the checking our roofing if there’s a leak and realized I have to call roofing contractors to have it fixed. It’s like a buzz kill for my holiday spirit. So this year, I am not going to worry about the deep clean. I am going to clean my house and if it looks lived in and loved on during the holidays, even better. Deep breaths.

If you are a clean freak, Type-A, obsessive/compulsive cleaner like I am here are a few tips and tricks to keep your house looking company worthy all year.

To pick up small pieces of broken glass, press pieces of bread onto the affected area.
To get blood out of fabrics, use hydrogen peroxide. Apply it directly to the stain and then launder in the washing machine.
To clean the bottom of the iron, sprinkle salt on the ironing board and iron back and forth.
To clean a microwave oven, add four tablespoons of lemon juice to one cup of water in a microwave-safe bowl. Boil for five minutes in the microwave, allowing the steam to condense on the inside walls of the oven. Then wipe them with a soft cloth
To remove fingerprints from stainless-steel appliances, place a small amount of baby oil on a napkin and wipe the affected areas. The fingerprints will just wipe away.
To remove marker pen off hard surfaces, spray on hair spray and then wipe it off.
To remove cat and dog hair from clothes and furniture, rub them with damp rubber gloves.
To restore toilet bowls back to their shiny best, clean with old, flat Coke or Pepsi. To dissolve limescale, leave the soda overnight to soak.

For my floors, the dreaded floors, this year I am using the new Swiffer Bissell steamboost. Honestly, I think it does just as good of a job as my Shark steamer but costs about half the price. I have tried everything on my floors to rid them of streaks and spots. I’ve even gotten on my hands and knees and scrubbed like Cinderella but still, a film remained. The Swiffer Bissell steamboost seemed to get rid of some of the built up film. I am interested to see what it looks like after a couple more uses. I can say that it definitely got up all of the salt residue left behind by my children’s snow boots. For exterior cleaning, I’m thinking about hiring cleaning professionals from a pressure washing nashville company.

The Swiffer BISSELL® SteamBoost™ is a steam mop that deeply penetrates dirt and helps remove messes mops can leave behind. Fill it with water, attach a Steam Pad and plug it in. No other cleaning solutions are needed.

The special Steam Pads have a steam-activated, dirt-dissolving cleaning solution that pulls dirt from surfaces and locks it away. SteamBoost™ is light, easy to use and safe on tile, finished wood and laminate floors. Do not use on waxed or unfinished wood floors.

What’s your best tip or trick for cleaning wood or wood laminate floors?

This sponsored post was brought to you by Swiffer®. For a limited time, get a $15 prepaid card when you purchase a SteamBoost Steam Mop Starter Kit between 11/24/13 and 12/31/13. Swiffer BISSELL® SteamBoost™ combines a dirt-dissolving cleaning solution with the power of steam for a deep clean that gets messes mops can leave behind. Also be sure to like Swiffer on Facebook and follow @swiffer on Twitter.

2013/12/20 0 comment

Fashion

$100 Shabby Apple Gift Certificate Giveaway

by Deborah Cruz 2013/12/19

written by Deborah Cruz

Christmas is in a week and you know what that means? New Year’s Eve is just around the corner. Where did the year go? It sped by so quickly that I can barely remember it happening. I think today’s a great day to giveaway some more goodies. You’ve been buying for everyone else, I want to give you something just for you!

I’m sure you’ve all gotten your Christmas shopping done but what about a little something nice for yourself? Maybe even a little black dress for your New Year’s Eve celebration? Here’s your chance.

You all know how much I love Shabby Apple. Recently, I received the Capulet skirt and Holiday Soiree top from Shabby Apple and I love it so much I can’t stand it.

The Capulet skirt, as in Juliet Capulet, is just as romantic and feminine as you might think in iridescent pink. It’s tea length and billowy, yet fitted at the waist to give you that feminine hourglass shape. Sure you have to dry clean it but that is a small price to pay to be the belle of the New Year’s eve ball. Why not start off 2014 in a bold and fun way? Set the tone from the first moment.

Features:

Calf Length Skirt

Fully Lined, Center Front Bow, Center Back Zipper, Pleated Waist

Taffeta, 100% polyester

Dry clean

The Holiday Soiree Top goes perfectly with the Capulet skirt or the Under the Mistletoe skirt. It’s dark navy but truly looks closer to black. I like the dramatic color contrast between the skirt and top. It gives it a very polished, sophisticated look.

Features:

Poly Satin

89% poly 11% spandex

Short sleeves

Drape neck

Fitted with stretch

Machine wash cold, line dry

There are many great dresses to choose from this holiday season at Shabby Apple and I am giving away a gift certificate for $100 to Shabby Apple to one lucky reader. All you have to do is leave me a comment telling me your favorite Shabby Apple piece and enter via rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

2013/12/19 20 comments

Wild Ophelia, chocolate, holiday gift guide, stocking stuffers, Christmas

Food

Wild Ophelia Chocolate Giveaway

by Deborah Cruz 2013/12/19

written by Deborah Cruz

I was chosen to be part of the Wild Ophelia Chocolate Ambassador program. Chocolate is one of those things that instantly brings happiness to children and even most grown women. Wild Ophelia is a uniquely American brand featuring all-natural and often organic ingredients sourced from small farms and food artisans. Their chocolate bars tell an American story, and bridge the divide between the local, American farmer’s movement and chocolate.

If you were at BlogHer, you probably got to sample some of their uniquely original flavor pairings and were instantly a fan. They come in all sorts of fantastically original flavors like southern hibiscus peach, hickory smoked almond,smokehouse BBQ potato chips, peanut butter and banana, New Orleans Chili, Beef Jerky and sweet cherry pecan an many more.My favorites are the Hickory smoked almond and the Mined Salt and Seas Salt and Coconut special flavors from the Hunger Games Catching Fire edition. Once you try Wild Ophelia,you will never look at chocolate the same way again.

On the back of each chocolate bar, you’ll find the story and origin of each ingredient. All Wild Ophelia products are made with 100% renewable energy and packaged in 100% recycled board. Aside from the flavors, I was very impressed with the Wild Ophelia mission.

We take sustainability seriously and focus on creating unique, high-quality chocolate while engaging with customers and local artisans through an American roadtrip of foods. Central to our mission is our goal to educate and encourage action. We believe people should be aware of their food’s origins and become active and educated consumers by getting involved and asking questions about sources, pesticide practices, and more. We also strive to help children and adults learn to appreciate their food. Our motto: Respect oneself, one’s food, and others, while relishing in the chocolate-tasting experience.

I am giving away 8 bars of Wild Ophelia Chocolate to one lucky reader. All you need to do is leave a comment below telling me your favorite Wild Ophelia flavor. Use the rafflecopter for more chances to win. The contest will end on December 26 at midnight!

In the meantime, if you want a Wild Ophelia Chocolate fix, it is available at your nearest Walgreens! Wild Ophelia makes GREAT stocking stuffers! .

I was provided Wild Ophelia Chocolate as part of their Ambassador program but all opinions are mine. This chocolate rocks!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

2013/12/19 9 comments

Sandy Hook, Newtown shootings, Adam Lanza

Confessions

Sandy Hook Always on My Mind

by Deborah Cruz 2013/12/18

written by Deborah Cruz

Saturday was the anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre. I was backstage, watching from stage left as my daughters performed their final show. I wanted to be in as close proximity to my girls as possible. I half expected some deviant, somewhere to decide to commemorate the anniversary with his or her own massacre. This is who I have become since December 14, 2012. I am afraid and I can’t shake it. Sandy Hook changed my life. Saturday, my heart was heavy for the mothers and fathers of Sandy Hook. The air was so thick I could barely breathe.

In our world, shootings happen frequently, so much so that it is no longer shocking. A crazed gun man walks into a post office, a disgruntled employee walks into his place of business, a religious zealot walks into a church, a long gunman walks into a mall or a theater, a jilted lover walks into a house…this happens all over the place, all the time but Sandy Hook was different it hit many of us where we live. Adam Lanza made us all feel vulnerable in a place where we already walk around like an open wound to the world; our children. He stole the one place we felt comfortable and safe leaving our children away from us; school.

Every morning when I drop my girls off at school, I am afraid that it might be the last time that I ever see them. Every time I hear a siren, I call the school to make sure everything is all right. If the girls are in a bad mood in the morning and we argue, I always rectify it before dropping them at school. I always hug them goodbye and I always tell them that I love them because I am terrified that something might happen and it might be the last time that we see one another and I don’t want my last words to them to be mean ones. The events that transpired that cold Friday morning at Sandy Hook Elementary did that to me. I know life goes on but my trust in the world has been broken and I am not sure that it can ever be mended.

For the rest of my life, my heart will stop when I hear a siren if my children are not in my line of sight. For the rest of my life, I will watch my children until they are all the way in the building. For the rest of my life, I will remember that my children are the most precious gift that life has given me and I will not take them for granted. For the rest of my life, I will not trust the world to protect our children. That is what Adam Lanza and his shooting spree has done to our world.

Children are not disposable. Human beings are not replaceable. No one needs a gun. Gun violence needs to stop and we need to prevent something like Sandy Hook from ever happening again.No parent should ever have to wonder if this is the last time they will see their child alive at morning drop off. We should not have to live our lives in fear. If you believe that the right to bear arms is more important that the lives of 26 people than we probably can’t be friends. Please pray for peace for the mothers and fathers of the Sandy Hook victims.

How has your perspective on life changed since Sandy Hook?

2013/12/18 9 comments

Fashion

Brian James Giveaway; Just in Time for Christmas!

by Deborah Cruz 2013/12/17

written by Deborah Cruz

Holy Smokes Christmas is only a week away! It’s time for me to give away some more goodies! It’s been crazy busy here, as it always is during the holidays, and I am still wrapping up some last minute gifts. I hate buying things just for the sake of buying so I am trying to get everyone on my list either a very thoughtful homemade gift (at least one for my girls because I want them to learn the value of the thought and effort behind gifts) or something I think they would love but might not take the time or money to buy for themselves.

Today, I am giving away something I love and I know most moms would love to have but might not spend the money on for themselves; hot shoes! You ladies deserve it. I am talking about Brian James shoes! They are so freaking comfortable but fashionable and cute. Before I had kids, I was a bonafide shoeaholic. No joke, I had well over a hundred pair of shoes. I still love shoes and bags but I just don’t have the extra cash laying around to indulge my habit like I did before kids.

I had the pleasure of experiencing Brian James shoes for the first time this past summer at BlogHer and I fell in love with them because these shoes seriously are where comfort and sexy come together. This time, I chose the 2.5-inch wedge bootie in noir leather and I am in love with them. They look adorable with skirts and dresses as well as tapered jeans and leggings. The best part about Brian James is that they are well made and comfortable. I don’t know about you but since having kids, I don’t spend a lot of time wearing high heels just and once you get out of the habit, it’s hard to go back to high heels pinching your toes and the ball of your foot begging for mercy when you’ve been used to rocking Saucony running shoes. You know what I mean?

Anyways, Brian James footwear is made by the creator of the Pedipeds that you love so much for your children. In fact, she took the technology and comfort of Pediped shoes and applied it to women’s shoes. It is genius.

Speaking of Pediped shoes, I also reviewed a pair of the Flex books in black leather for my 6-year-old and she LOVES them. They are gorgeous, comfortable and right now all the boots are on sale for 25- 55% off!

Speaking of sales all of the Brian James shoes are currently on sale buy one, get one FREE! Just use the code BOGOFree when ordering or you can enter to win one of two pairs of gorgeous Brian James shoes that I will be giving away this week to two lucky winners available to readers in the United States or Canada. Just enter via rafflecopter and winners will be notified Friday, December 20, 2013. Good Luck & Merry Christmas!

Mandatory entry: What’s at the top of your Christmas list this year, for yourself?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

2013/12/17 16 comments

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