Crystal Cattle Beauty Swap

It is finally time for another Crystal Cattle Beauty Swap. Crystal has been hosting these beauty swaps for two years now, and I have participated in all but the first one. Crystal co-hosted this swap with Myla from The Purple Front Door. These swaps are always a lot fun and are a great way to connect with other women from all over the world. I have sent and received beauty packages from several states across the nation including Michigan, Montana, Iowa, South Dakota, Arizona, and also Canada. Through the swapping I have discovered so many fun beauty items, and many I have recommended to others through the swap.

For this swap I was paired up with someone who lives not that far from me. If you were to follow the St. Croix River that my town is located on, about 2 1/2 hours south, you would meet up with the mighty Mississippi and find yourself in Mamie's hometown. Mamie is a busy mom to two little girls, and a wife to her husband of 9 years. She works for the Mayo Clinic, and has small farm where she raises laying hens, sheep and gardens for the farmers markets. Mamie also blogs at Blessings Abound and Rochester Mn Moms Blog, and advocates for agriculture through AgStar's Women In Ag program.

Mamie Sent me some really fun items:

A Jamberry starter kit along with two additional nail sheets, MAYBELLINE Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser, Bath and Body Works hand sanitizer, Lavanilla Body Butter, Fablash 3D Fiber Mascara Set, a notebook from Thirty-one and a pen from Jamberry, and these are great to toss in my purse.

I have not had the opportunity to try many of these products yet, but the body butter is great for my dry hands. I have tried the Instant Pore Eraser and I love it. It makes my skin feel baby soft, but doesn't add any un-needed greasiness. I am holding off on the Mascara because I recently opened a new tube. I am also really excited to try the Jamberry nail wraps, but am holding off for a trip that I have planned to Washington D.C. next month with CommonGround.

This was a really fun swap, and it was great to connect with another aggie blogger from the area.

To check out what other people received for their swaps check out Crystal Cattle's blog or The Purple Front Door.

Ana White Alaska Dream Vacation Giveaway

So, I don't typically advertise or write sponsored posts on my blog, or enter a lot of contests online, but for this post I am doing a bit of both.

I really like Ana White and all of her DIY projects. I have many of the that I have made in my home including these picture frames:

Ana is hosting a giveaway for a dream to vacation to Alaska, her home state, in honor of her new show Building Off The Grid, premiering on the diy Network. I just happen to be in love with Alaska and would really love to win this trip. Alaska is one place that both my husband and I dream of visiting at some point. Alaska is so beautiful, the nature is stunning and full of adventure.

The dream vacation package that Ana is giving away includes: 4 roundtrip Alaska Airline tickets to Alaska, 2 rooms for 2 nights at Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge, 2 rooms for 2 nights at McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge, and 2 nights at Ana's cabin (that she built) on Paxson Lake in Alaska.

To enter this giveaway, go to Ana White's website here, and enter using various social media outlets and share about Building Off the Grid.