Blog - Page 2 of 33 - Traveling With Meghan

December Ipsy and Birchbox Unboxing Videos

My Birchbox and Ispy Glam Bag came a day apart this time, so I ended up combining the videos. It got a little long, so I apologize for that in advance.

Get your very own Glam Bag here and Birchbox here.

Ipsy products::

Birchbox products::

Four Inexpensive Ways to Decorate for the Season

ONE:: Throw pillows
Throw pillows are a great and inexpensive way to change your decor for the seasons for a few reasons. First, they store great in space bags because they vacuum up small. Second, they don’t go out of style from year to year. Third, most pillows and covers don’t cost any more than $25. Also a bonus is that spring usually works for summer and white works year round. Here are some winter picks:: one two three

TWO:: Seasonal food and flowers
Of course seasonal flowers are an obvious choice, but foods are great too. You can get some amazing deals at farmers markets too. For spring and summer, I love decorating with lemons, limes, and avocados. Fall is a great time for decorative gourds and pumpkins, of course. Winter is a great time for oranges, grapefruits, and pomegranates. All of these items can be bought by the pound for just a few dollars when in season.

THREE:: Wreaths
Most folks think of these as a strictly winter but there are great tutorials for burlap wreaths for spring and summer. My fall and winter favorites are these fun yarn wreaths. They’re a great way to bring in color. The supplies to make them are inexpensive too. I made my last yarn wreath for about $12.

FOUR:: Candles
Where you might think candles are not decor, they are a great way to bring in color in some instances and a way to bring in smells of each season. This winter I chose Old Factory candles. Old Factory candles are hand poured, soy-wax candles made in the US. I chose the winter wonderland (which is currently unavailable, but keep checking back). The scents are roasted chestnut, hot cocoa, and fresh snow. All of the smells are premium quality. The fresh snow is the clean smell, hot cocoa smells warm and edible, and the roasted chestnut is the manly smell in my opinion. The packaging is perfect for my all year rustic-farmhouse-traditional-mid-century hodge-podge of a home. Though they are smaller than I expected, they still pack lots of smell. All three smell great together too. They have a 20 hour clean burn time. I can’t wait to try the fresh and clean in the spring and the fall harvest box next fall. At $25 a box, they’re the perfect price for gifting too.

Do you change your decor for the seasons? What method of the four above is your favorite to decorate with?

Though I did receive these amazing Old Factory Candles courtesy of Brandbacker as compensation for sharing my opinions, they for sure can’t be bought. Honesty is the best policy.

*Disclaimer: I was provided with a sample of this product free of charge, for review purposes. This did not alter my opinion of the product and the opinions I have expressed in this post are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the United States Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Sleeveless Blouse Remixed

While I should be introducing my winter capsule wardrobe today, I’m not ready yet. Since I’m leaving town tomorrow I decided I would wait and introduce it next Monday. Even though I’m not introducing it, I’m already wearing most of my winter clothes. One item I thought I would be shelving for the winter temps would be this blouse. When I opted to insert a sleeveless blouse into my fall capsule back in late September/early October, it was fine. The weather only called for cardigans. Now I’m wearing cardigans plus winter coats. Well, some days I’m wearing cardigans and winter coats. Other days I’m contemplating unpacking shorts because it’s still the South. Anne, of @fablifeforever, posted this outfit a few weeks ago and I immediately knew I could layer my blouse in the same way. I would recommend adding this blouse to your wardrobe for sure at the current online price. Though a little sheer, the pattern masks any transparency. The blouse is light weight enough for layering in the winter and for wearing alone in the summer. How can you pass up a houndstooth plaid pattern, too?

How are you transitioning your sleeveless tops?

remixing a sleeveless blouse for winter :: www.hayesdays.com

**this post contains affiliate links**
blouse:: J.Crew sweater:: J.Crew (similar) necklace:: J.Crew (similar) pants:: J.Crew (similar) initial bracelet:: LUMO arrow bracelet:: J.Crew (similar) bow ring:: Madewell (similar) shoes:: Cole Haan

Linking up with:

Lauren at Fizz and Frosting

Influenster #frostyvoxbox Unboxing

I was finally selected to receive a VoxBox from Influenster! I’m so excited to be able to share this extra special unboxing video with y’all for the Frosty VoxBox.

Wanna get a VoxBox? Sign up here.

Goodies in the box::

Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal Eyeliner:: I can already tell you this is seriously waterproof. After I tested it on my hand, it took several washes with dish liquid to get it off.
Rimmel Gentle Eye Makeup Remover:: It’s a good thing this came in the box with waterproof mascara because you will need it!
NYC Expert Last Lip Color in Sugar Plum:: This color is great. The shimmer is gorgeous. Can’t wait to wear this one.
No7 Protect & Perfect Advanced serum:: Though I’m not quite sure this sample will be enough to tell a difference since the packaging states it takes about 2 weeks so see a difference, I’m going to give this a shot.
EcoTools Hair Brush:: Of all the products this one may be the most exciting to me. I’ve been using the same brush for ten years or so and I’m excited to see if this makes a difference for my hair.
Celestial Seasonings Candy Cane Lane Decaf Green Tea:: A decaf green tea is high on my list of must-haves since I’m a night time tea drinker. If this one tastes as good as it sounds, it might become a pantry mainstay.
McCormick Gourmet Thyme:: One of these things isn’t like the others– this happens to be it. Though this is my first VoxBox, it’s not my first subscription box, and I’m a little surprised to see a spice in it. It will definitely get used and smells fresh.
Fruit Vines Bites in Strawberry:: I’m not a huge fan of licorice in general. After Nicole pointed me to the ingredients list, I realized it was not a good idea for me to try these since they contain red40 and (when ingested) it breaks me out all over. Corey will be trying these and letting me know how they taste.

There you have my initial thoughts. Make sure you keep up with the individual reviews coming during this next month for the Rimmel products and the tea. Did you get a VoxBox? Any of these products already your favorites?

Though I did receive an this awesome Influenster #frostyvoxbox as compensation for sharing my opinions, they for sure can’t be bought. Honesty is the best policy.

My Favs on Thursdays:: “twist party scarf” headband

My Favs on Thursdays is a weekly link up with my best bloggy buddies Katy and Nicole and share our favorite thing of the week. Link up with us below!

Headbands are my first accessory love. Dare I say above shoes and purses. Blair Waldorf was my idol for all her covetable headbands in the early Gossip Girl years. Being a glasses lover often contradicts my love for headbands though. Anything that solves that issue and can bring my two loves back together makes me one happy girl. Enter the “twist party scarf.”

For lack of a fancier way to explain this miraculous contraption, it’s like a head scarf with a wire hanger inside. They’re more complicated than that, but you get the basic idea. Since it’s flexible, I twisted it so it fit just right. I was able to wear it for 8 hours straight without pinching behind the ears, my glasses moving it around, and no tension headaches. The pinching and headaches aren’t just limited to glasses-and-headband wearing gals either. I purchased mine at the ICE Atlanta holiday market I worked with Nicole and Cameron of DBN. (Nicole actually introduced me to Kel of r-ki-tekt by way of her cool necklaces.) She also had this solid black faux snake skin looking one at ICE that I wish I had also picked up, but you can get yours just like my black one here. There’s also a white with black dots if that suits your fancy.

Are you a headband wearer? Don’t forget to share your favorites with us this week by linking up below.

An InLinkz Link-up

I was not compensated in any way for this wonderful headband. I just wanted to share it’s awesomeness!

Whitney English Day Designer Review

I discussed my love for paper planners here and here. 2015 is imminent and coming fast. For me, it’s down to the wire to decide which planner I’m going to use. Though I found that there are many planner alternatives, I decided to try the Simplified Planner or the Day Designer for this year. The one that I find to suit me less will be for sale (both are sold out). Here are my thoughts on Whitney English’s Day Designer.

whitney english day designer in depth review :: www.hayesdays.com

The Day Designer has a very clear purpose and helps direct the user in the same way. On the title page is says, “The Strategic Planner and Daily Agenda for Living a Well-Designed Life.” More about the purpose is explained here.

Here’s how the Day Designer did with my agenda criteria::

Cover:: Strong and durable. It feels like the same compressed card board. The great thing that really gives the day designer a strong “plus” here is the cover is wipeable. There are also several pattern choices. The pocket on the inside of the front cover is also the wipeable material.
Binding:: Once again, spirals, which no matter how durable, I consider a minus. Spirals just don’t last the rough and tumble of my purse for a full year.
Tabs:: Day Designer tabs are a heavy weight card stock and the month part is laminated. There is room and lines for notes on both sides of the divider. I consider these a minus. I want my note space on the daily page, not my monthly tab. Also the tab opens to the first day view of the month, instead of the monthly view and, as a personal preference, I like to see the month at the tab.
Paper:: Of course this is my opinion, but this paper is on the thin side. My regular pens would bleed right though this. No question. Minus.
Page layout:: These daily pages are full of ways to have a “well-designed” day. Spots on the page include a daily quote, hourly schedule, top three to-dos, an other to-dos space as big at the daily schedule, “due,” dinner, download. If you forget something with a day designer, it would only be because you didn’t write it down! Plus plus plus for this page organization.

Besides the judging criteria above, the Day Designer has clear bonuses for the entrepreneur. The first several pages are all about being goal oriented for the year. There are pages for missions and why, values and how, strengths and skills, developing a brand plan, yearly goals and measuring them. While all of these are fantastic tools, these are the reasons I feel the day designer is not for me this year. It does give me some fantastic ideas though.

What do you think about the day designer? What planner do you use?