The Non-Definitive Guide To Life

If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with rain" - Dolly Parton

Posts for affiliate post

Friday Night In – Boggle & Pizza Party

EATS & DRINKS, READ - February 18, 2017

*this blog post includes affiliate links

I’ve had two kinds of pizza so far this evening, frozen CPK Sicilian pizza and the best cornbread crust pizza by Vicolo. I’ve also enjoyed one highball, which is a glass of La Croix plain sparkling water topped with High-West Rye Whiskey, and have watched the first part of episode two of The OA with Dan. All the elements for a perfect “Friday Night In” survival kit. Later, we will be busting out Boggle and seeing how well we can spell with a few glasses of whiskey in our system.

I love words but have major spelling insecurity. Dan is an impeccable speller but isn’t as confident with word selection.  I feel this helps to even the playing ground. This week I became a Grammarly affiliate! I love Grammarly because it helps me feel a little more confident before I hit publish. I was using the free version for over a year, but last month I purchased the premium subscription after I made a mistake on whether a sentence was supposed to say ” Bekka and me” or “Bekka and I.” When I was a child I was a terrible student; I was tested for ADHD and Dyslexia because I would disrupt the class and be terrible at my spelling exams. I won’t go into the details of my childhood and education, but at the end of the day, because I rebelled in school while I was supposed to learn the fundamentals of grammar and spelling, I grew into an adult not knowing any of the rules. I excelled at reading comprehension, and I was enrolled in AP English classes. My love for words and knack for patterns helped me pass, as my essays were acceptable and although my grammatical errors were circled in red, Word Doc corrected all my weak spelling. Now, with Grammarly, I’m able to learn all the rules while I am writing. I absolutely love the program and can proudly say this blog is powered by Grammarly.  It tells you when a word is overused or writes in a passive voice. My writing is getting stronger because I finally have a responsive teacher, it’s always been the nuances of grammar that has eluded me but Grammarly takes away that mystery.

I wasn’t intending on writing about Grammarly this evening, but my Boggle filled future made me want to share about this awesome program. If you haven’t installed Grammarly’s free program for Google Chrome, you should ASAP – you’ll never mess up their, there or they’re again!

Continue Reading

Black Friday Deals Cheat Sheet

BEAUTY & STYLE - November 24, 2016

This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through links marked with an asterisk. 

Black Friday deals are no longer reserved for just the day after Thanksgiving, but now with the internet, it’s a week-long celebration of savings up to Cyber Monday.

Every year I tell myself that I will create a Black Friday shopping budget and go crazy on all the fantastic sales and deals. But every year I forget and come Black Friday I never have that miraculous and pre-planned windfall dedicated only to shopping. Yet, I still find myself scrolling my favorite websites in my pajamas with an over-stuffed belly from the day before. So what does this internal struggle mean for you? I’ve decided to create a Black Friday deals cheat sheet. I’ve pulled the codes you need or simply the sales that are taking place. I’ll be updating this list come Friday morning, but get a taste of what’s going on now.

LAST UPDATE – 11/24/2016 at 12:30pm / Levis, Urban Outfitters, Bando, *Society 6,

LAST UPDATE – 11/24/2016 at 11:30pm / ASOS, Anthropologie

LAST UPDATE – 11/25/2016 at 9:30am / Fresh Skincare, Origins, Urban Decay, Kiehls, Erin Condren

Beauty Black Friday Deals

Beauty 

Ulta :  Update: Black Friday deals are live and selling out fast! No code necessary.  There are so many different deals for different brands it’s crazy! The items will automatically be priced for Black Friday – no code needed.

Sephora: Update: A collection of Black Friday gift sets that are already discounted. The sets start at $10 and go up from there! No code necessary.  I love the beauty gift set options provided by Sephora.

Urban Decay : Update: Use code BLACKER for 20% off and free shipping. 

Tarte Cosmetics: Use code FRIYAY for 25% off your entire order + free shipping when you spend $25 or more. I  swoon for Tarte packaging and I’m a huge fan of their Amazonian Clay Foundation, so this is a code I use every year.

*Julep: Black Friday is already kicking on Julep.com and they have a ton of polishes and makeup on sale. Use code MIRRORMIRROR on a $30 purchase and receive a free compact mirror. I’m lusting after their major nail polish collections.

Origins: UPDATE: Use code FRIYAY for 25% off everything. Plus with a purchase of $75 or more you’ll receive a free 10 piece skincare set. I love that Origins skincare is a plant driven line with enough science to be effective.

Fresh: Update: Gift with purchase – used code SWEETTREAT at checkout for a Free Soy Face Cleanser (50ml) with $65 purchase, Free Soy Face Cleanser (50ml) and free deluxe sample of Black Tea Age-Delay Firming Serum with $80 purchase, Free Soy Face Cleanser (50ml), free deluxe sample of Black Tea Age-Delay Firming Serum, and free Lotus Youth Preserve Face Cream with Super 7 Complex (15ml) with $120 purchase.  I’m obsessed with the Fresh Rose Mask and their products make me feel delicate and chic. Currently, they don’t have any Black Friday deals but I’ll keep you posted.

Khiels: Update: Code BFRIDAY will get you 4 deluxe samples + free shipping on all orders of $25 or more. I’ve been eyeing the Tumeric Cranberry Seed Energizing Radiance Masque for months now, and am waiting for a solid holiday deal.

Black Friday Deals Fashion

Fashion

Levis: Use the code HOLIDAY40 to receive 40% off everything + free shipping (today only). I seriously might bust out my credit card for this sale as I desperately need jeans and I am a loyal Levis lover.

ASOS: 30% off everything – code THANKFUL30

*Modcloth: The vintage inspired looks, endless accessory options, and the smart home decor available on Modcloth makes it a one stop shop for me, plus they are super good to their customers too. Check out these stellar Black Friday deals that run from  11/23 until 11/26.  Use the following codes for awesome savings…

FRIDAY20 – 20% off entire order
FRIDAY30 – 30% off entire order of $100 or more
FRIDAY40 – 40% off entire order of $200 or more

Nordstrom: They have some great deals on winter staples and amazing boots up to 40% off. No code needed.

Urban Outfitters: Update: BOGO | Buy one item get one item 50% off on all apparel. No code needed. Ends 11/25 I’ve worked a few Black Fridays at Urban Outfitters, so for the poor souls working this week, I beg you on their behalf to shop online. There are no special savings on the website right now, so I’ll be waiting for a Black Friday newsletter to update you with some deals.

Anthropologie: Update: 30% Off with the code LETGO. Even Dan loves to wander around Anthropologie with me. Yes, I’m a basic chick that wants an Anthro lifestyle, but I only shop the sale section. Currently, there are no deals on the site, but I’ll update you soon.

Kate Spade: Is having a 75% off surprise sale that I spotted on their Twitter. Make sure to enter through a portal by clicking here. It will ask you for your email and zip code. Then you will be sent to the sales page with SUPER CUTE bags, wallets, jewelry. It’s pretty magical. Sale Ends 11/26

Nasty Gal: Everyone loves the color black and now you can stock up on the classic hue via Nasty Gal. Currently, they have 30% off black items. I love the pieces with a great sixties feel a’la Francoise Hardy.

Lifestyle Black Friday Deals

Lifestyle/ Stationary

Bando: Can’t believe I forgot to include ban.do on my first round of deals. It a fun site filled with great gifts for any sassy chickita. Use code BFISMYBF for 25% of everything! 

*Society 6: Update: 20% off entire site + free shipping. No code needed. As an art nerd, I love Society 6 as a platform to provide artists a way to monetize their work by putting it one fun everyday items. You can easily fill your home and t-shirt collection with work from photographers, designers, painters, and creatives.  Their deals are changing daily this week, so jump over to their site and see what’s on sale today!

Paper Source: When I worked next to a Paper Source I’d spend my lunch breaks picking out cards for Dan and looking at all the cute quirky gifts. You can receive 20% off your purchase with code CHEER4YOU.

Erin Condren: Update: 30% off sitewide. No code necessary. I received my first Erin Condren notebook this year and I love the quality. Great paper, fantastic weight, and even comes with stickers! The journals and planners aren’t cheap, so I’m hoping for a Black Friday code to come in a newsletter.

And if you’re not excited by my cheat sheet, well there is always Amazon -*Shop Amazon’s Black Friday Deals Week!

Continue Reading

Road Trip Style Re-do With Modcloth

BEAUTY & STYLE - March 7, 2016

As a ModCloth affiliate, I was super excited to receive the request to create a blog post around their new romantic road trip styles. Since I am a certified road trip junkie I thought about what adventures I’d like to re-do with a stylish Modcloth wardrobe.  When I packed for our cross country road trip, versatility and comfort were my top priority. I wore a lot of t-shirts and jeans, but seriously wish I had a few cuter options. Here are my Modcloth curated outfits I’d like to wear and re-do these particular adventures in, purely for better photo-ops!

Afternoon at the Opry
AFTERNOON AT THE OPRY // We went to the Grand Ol’ Opry’s 89th Birthday show and if it wasn’t raining that day, I would have totally worn this instead!

  1. Hep Your City Top
  2. Chevron the Up and Up Necklace
  3. Five Star Perforating Flat in Cognac
  4. Jill of All Shades Skirt

Modcloth Roadtrip Style
Meet Me In Muscle Shoals // Visiting Muscle Shoals recording studio in Alabama will go down as one of my favorite memories of my life. It was just Bowerbird, myself, and the “museum” manager – it was awesome!!

  1. Course of Nature Backpack 
  2. On The Cookout Top
  3. Cache Crop Jeans
  4. Beauteous Backup Battery Pack in Floral
  5. Wander Years Booties

Modcloth Road Trip Style
A Reservation for Two // I packed one nice outfit for a fancy dinner at Husk Restaurant in South Carolina, there are two parts to this story (Part 1 / Part 2) and if I would have gone in the summer, I’d love to have worn the above.

  1. Groovy Gallery Dress
  2. Who’s The Emboss? Bag in Navy
  3.  Escape to the Cape Wedges
  4. Precisely! Liquid Eyeliner in Black (I also need my winged liner)

The items I selected for my road trip re-do outfits are also all completely realistic! I took into account how the material wrinkles, how that external battery would be essential in the middle of nowhere, and I know it’s crazy – but I did back a whole bag  just for shoes on that trip. Although I did try to pack the basics on my road trip, a girl still needs her options. Go check out the rest of Modcloth’s Romantic Road Trip looks for Spring on Modcloth.com. Also if you purchase anything from the site through my links, thank you in advanced for helping to fund my next adventure! <3

spring stand out II

Continue Reading