i got my eyelashes permed!!

dudes. DUDES. i need to tell you about something that has changed my life. and it involves my eyelashes. i got them PERMED.

now i know you're probably like "you got your who what'ed??" because that's what i thought when i googled this randomly one night. first, let me tell you the sad story of a girl with straight as an arrow eyelashes.




these were my eyelashes with no mascara or curling whatsoever.

i know this is going to sound crazy but my eyelashes have been a point of contention every morning when i get ready. i have relatively long eyelashes, i've been told, but they are super duper straight. and they resist any curling whatsoever. i have used the super expensive eyelash curlers that "every makeup artist uses" and the super cheap eyelash curlers you can buy at walgreen's. they would help my eyelashes hold a curl for maybe two minutes. then they would proceed to head south. mascara would help but only very little. it was sad for my little eyelashes.

but then, i got them permed.




these are my eyelashes NOW with no mascara or using an eyelash curler.

i have pretty much thrown my eyelash curler out. i haven't had to use it all since i got this done and it has seriously changed my life. i am SO happy with the results.

so if you are like me and this sounds like the most amazeballs thing ever, let me give you the deets.

first of all, i had a hard time finding someone in my area that does this. i ended up finding a lady who does this and only this out of her mom's permanent makeup salon. i was a little hesitant having someone put chemicals right next to my eyeballs but she explained the process and said she had been doing it for several years. i guess you can buy a kit to do it yourself, but obviously you would need a friend to help because your eyes have to be closed for most of the process.

she had me lay down and applied these little squishy rods that had adhesive to them to my upper eyelashes. this makes your eyelashes automatically stick to this rod and take the shape of the rod. we didn't do anything to my lower lashes so she applied this special tape to cover them up. then she applied the stinky solution (if you've ever had your hair permed or chemically straightened, this smell will be familiar to you) to my eyelashes and i had to sit there with my eyes closed for about fifteen minutes. then she applied a second solution and i had to wait another fifteen minutes. then, bada bing bada boom, you've got curly eyelashes! it's as simple as that. i had to not get my eyelashes wet until the next day but that was the only aftercare i had to adhere to. you can use whatever mascara you want.

the only thing that kinda sucks about it is the cost. i paid about $45 ($55 with tip) to have this done and it is only expected to last about 4-6 weeks. now, for someone who can't justify a weekly or even monthly pedicure/manicure trip, this is hard for me to imagine doing every month. but i honestly can't imagine going back. this is just one of those things that makes me feel instantly prettier. i could have no other makeup on, just woke up and it brings my happiness level up a notch. i think that could be worth about fifty bucks a month.

i'll let you guys know how it holds up. i'm only one week in but they still look as good as day one!

Burpie Bundles Store Credit Giveaway!

If you have a baby or toddler, you understand the importance of bibs and burp cloths. Especially if you're the one who takes care of the laundry as well. When JC was a little thing, we used cloth bibs non-stop. If it was to absorb drool or spit up, he was wearing one. When he started eating solid food, I realized that a cloth bib was not going to cut it. I now had at least three bibs a day that had to be removed of stains and washed. And to top it off, they didn't do that great of a job at protecting his clothes from spaghetti sauce. That's when I discovered the joy of the plastic covered, wipeable bib.

I had a couple that we received as shower gifts that have lasted a good long while but the velcro wasn't very strong so it wore out. I found myself looking around etsy and stumbled upon Burpie Bundles.

Let me tell you, it was difficult to limit myself to a couple bibs. Not only do they offer wipeable "toddler" bibs but they also offer cotton "drooler" bibs, burp cloths, diaper clutches, tote bags, binkie clips, nursing covers, wipeable place mats, and washable snack bags. Honestly, I could go on. And everything is handmade using the cutest fabric. I chose to get JC two toddler bibs; one in Play Day and one in Ready, Set Go. I keep one at home and one in his diaper bag. 

I've got a pretty messy little eater and these bibs really help keep the amount of OxyClean that I buy to as much of a mininum as is possible with a fifteen month old. I also noticed that the velcro on these bibs is much stronger than the other bibs I had for JC. He used to just rip off his old bibs in one swoop but these guys put up more of a fight.

So now that you want to go pick your kidlet some adorable bibs, Burpie Bundles was nice enough to offer my readers a 10% off discount if you visit and "like" their facebook page. The code is KNITPURL10 and is good through October 31, 2011.

And, as if that wasn't good enough, I'm giving my readers the chance to win a $15 store credit to Burpie Bundles! I wanted to thank you guys for joining me on this blogging journey over the past few months. There are multiple ways to enter:

Mandatory Entry:

1. Visit Burpie Bundles and leave a comment here saying what you would buy with the store credit if you won.

Extra Entries:

2. Follow knit purl baby using Google Friend Connect and leave a comment on this post saying that you did so (Current followers count!)

3. Follow @knitpurlbaby on twitter and leave a comment on this post saying that you did so (Current followers count!)

4. "Like" Burpie Bundles on facebook and leave a comment on this post saying that you did so. Tell them knit purl baby sent you! (Current followers count!)

5. "Like" knit purl baby on facebook and leave a comment on this post saying that you did so. (Current followers count!)

6. Tweet, blog or update your facebook status mentioning this giveaway. Please leave a link.

Please leave your e-mail address with each comment so I may contact you if you win! Giveaway will end 12:00 a.m. PST on Monday, October 3rd. Good luck everyone!

{review & giveaway} mymemories suite scrapbook software

I'm so excited to be able to offer my readers a giveaway for the first time! I was lucky enough to be contacted by MyMemories.com with the offer to review their MyMemories Suite software and give a copy to one of my readers.

The software does take a minute to get used to but once you get the hang of it, you can do so much with this program! It comes with several "digital paper packs" that make it easy to customize your layouts with coordinating paper and embellishments. Or you can start from scratch, which is what I did, and use elements from different templates. I made a couple pages and exported them so you could see what I did with the program.

I really liked the textured backgrounds and adding shadows to my embellishments to make them look like they are really on paper. You have so many special touches that you can add including music, narration, videos, and links to the internet. The book can be shared in so many ways. You can print out individual pages or whole albums at home. You can also export them to be printed professionally. They can also be turned into a slideshow or put onto a DVD. 

There a lot of opportunities that this software gives you to display your photos. You could print out individual pages to create art to be framed. The software has the ability to make calendar pages that you can fully customize. It would also make for interesting blog posts by displaying photos in a totally unique way. If you run out of ideas with the paper packs provided with the software, you can also download other packs from MyMemories.com. Some you have to pay for but some are completely free! 

The good folks at MyMemories have also given my readers their own special coupon code: STMMMS73213

Use this code to get $10 off MyMemories Suite Scrapbooking Software and a $10 coupon to use at the MyMemories.com store.

Want to win your own copy of My Memories Suite?

To enter this giveaway, visit MyMemories.com and leave a comment here telling me which digital scrapbooking kit you would choose and your e-mail address.

For extra entries, please leave a comment with your e-mail address for each additional entry:

1. Follow knit purl baby via Google Friend Connect (located on the far right sidebar under my picture).

2. "Like" MyMemories on Facebook.

3. "Like" knit purl baby on Facebook.

4. Follow MyMemories on Twitter.

5. Follow knit purl baby on Twitter.

6. Tweet, blog or facebook about the giveaway (one entry for each).

Entry will be chosen at 12:00 am PST on Tuesday, September 13, 2011.

{review} sidral mundet mexican sodas

When the good people at RocketXL contacted me about doing a review for Sidral Mundet sodas, honestly I thought it was a little random. But who am I to turn down sodas?  No one, that's who.

I'm glad I agreed because the sodas were really really good!




I just so happened to already be making a lovely Mexican meal for my family when the sodas arrived on our doorstep. It was like it was meant to be.

The sodas come in two flavors, Original:




And Manzana Verde (Green Apple):




I love when we can get sodas from Mexico because they are made with real sugar, not high fructose corn syrup. These sodas are made from natural ingredients and taste super yummy! They even suggested that we use them as mixers but we drank them all before we could try it with alcohol! Whoops. These would be so pretty at a summer bbq or picnic. Honestly, I would just buy them for looks alone but that's how I roll.




As you can clearly see, we enjoyed both sodas. Charles and I both agreed that we liked the Original red soda better but the Green Apple was good too. Just a little bit sweeter than the Original.

If you are interested in checking out Sidral Mundet check them out on Facebook. They have a store locator so you can find out where you can get Sidral Mundet in your area.

Bottoms up!

{Disclaimer: This review as made after receiving these beverages for free. I was not expected to give a good review or any kind of review in exchange for receiving the sodas or monetary compensation. These opinions are mine and not influenced by anyone else.}