Hand Made Twitter Handle Necklace + Giveaway by Lauren Nicole Gifts

Hey lovelies! I have a special treat for you today!  Check out this gorgeous hand-stamped sterling silver necklace created by Lauren Nicole Gifts!

Lauren Nicole Gifts is a great place to find gorgeous hand-stamped jewelry and other unique and personalized gifts.

Lauren Nicole Gifts specializes in custom, hand stamped, and monogrammed jewelry that is hand made just for you. Our original line of jewelry includes baby footprint and hand print necklaces, child's signature and artwork necklaces, and mommy jewelry. We have a unique collection of monogrammed, initial, and wax seal jewelry.

Check out a few of my favorite items from the shop below:

1.  Wedding Charm Necklaces - a beautiful way to celebrate that special day!
 2. Mommy Necklaces - a perfect Mother's day gift!

3.  Handprint Cuff-links for Dad - use your child's actual hand prints!
4. Children's Artwork Jewelry - made with your child's original artwork!

I was so excited to get my very own twitter handle necklace in the mail, especially after seeing a few at BlogHer in August.  It arrived in a cute little box and included a bonus Jewelry cleaning cloth.

I really couldn't wait to put it on after it arrived.  I love the chain, it's honestly the perfect length for me. It has a delicate, high quality, look and feel to it.

Hand Stamped Sterling Silver Twitter Handle Necklace - The solid sterling silver pendant measures 3/4" to 1.25" long depending on the length of the name. The pendant can be hand stamped with up to 16 characters (punctuation, dots and spaces count as characters). The charm comes on a sterling silver chain with a freshwater pearl charm (the pearl can be upgraded to a gemstone - gemstones may vary in shape depending on what we have in stock).

So what do you think!?  Do you want one too?  Here's your chance!  One of you are going to win a $75 Credit to Lauren Nicole Gifts!! (You can use it on your own Twitter Handle necklace - or anything else you love from the shop!)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out Lauren Nicole Gifts // Twitter // Facebook

I received a complimentary necklace from Lauren Nicole Gifts to review via ThetaMom, as always all opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Fridays Letters

I really love Friday's letters posts - so even though I don't do them regularly, I always love the chance to participate!  So here goes!

Dearest Husband - even though marriage is no piece of cake - it is worth every single moment of time, energy, stress, joy - to be married to YOU.  I can't even begin to tell you in words what you mean to me.  I just know that God specifically planned for us to be together - and I'm in awe of how many times he has confirmed that in some small detail that only I could appreciate.  This week you really encouraged me and challenged me in a way that I pushed me to be a better person, and I am incredibly grateful.  I love you.

Dear Darling Daughter - last week you surprised me by grabbing my hand in the car, unexpectedly and telling me that I was your best friend.  I could cry just thinking of the times where I have been so terrified that I have failed you in some way.  If you could only know how important it is to me to be the mother you need in your life - to be there for you and love on you, and how that simple statement made me feel.  You are such a joy in my life - I'm working hard to heal the pain in my heart so I can be fully present in your life - always, thank you for showing me God's grace and love.

Dear Gluten -  I gave you up for a while - and you know what - I've realized how bad you are for me. I mean, you literally make me sick.  Now, I may have relapsed on you in the past 24 hours but I've decided you aren't worth it.  I thought I loved bread.  But I love not feeling bloated more.  And I love that I'm not fighting acne as much and that I feel better over all since eliminating you.  So, I'm breaking up with you for good.  No on-again, off-again.  You just aren't good for me.  It's definitely you, not me.

Dear Costume party -  What the heck am I going to wear to you!? I'm not in my 20's anymore so you can bet I'm not comfortable buying one of those ridiculously immodest costumes that that seem to be the majority of what is offered now-a-days.  I was thinking maybe a Gold-Digger?  But maybe a Greek Goddess?  Maybe Athena - you know, I am a wise old maid.  ;)

Dear Trader Joes Pumpkin [Anything] -  Damn you are so good!  I mean I just want to make a special trip to restock my cupboard with you - especially Pumpkin Spice Chai Latte mix - oh my goodness!!

Dear Starbucks -  I love you - you have been faithful to me out here in this city of Coffee-water, but I cheated on you today and it felt, amazing.  There is a local place in my hood called Cafe Bunni - and wow - their Salted Caramel Mocha put yours to shame - not to mention how the foam heart design carefully crafted by their barista won me over.  I'm concerned for you.  But don't be too threatened, I mean, you are still winning by location.

Dear Carpal Tunnel -  Thank you for calming down.  Your rage was really difficult to deal with, and now that you have calmed a bit, I'm able to once again enjoy all of life.  Now, can you pretty please stay calm going forward?

Dear Politics -  I really do want to care about you, but I have lost all faith in your ability to mean anything.  I mean it doesn't matter who wins - the other party will just screw all your efforts while you are in office, and inevitably you will accomplish nothing you have promised.  Until both parties can learn to work together and stop being so hatefully divided things are just going to be ugly and pointless.  Its sad what you have become - and worthy of ridicule.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

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Glade Expressions #IGotItFree

Have you guys tried any of the new Glad Expressions products?  Last month I participated in a BzzAgent campaign and had the chance to check out the Fragrance Mist and Oil Diffuser for FREE!

I just wanted to share a couple things here with you - first - have you signed up to be a BzzAgent yet?  Go do it! Its really fun (and FREE) to try new products that are catered to your interests!

And second - next time you are in the market for delicious scented products to make your home inviting - give these a try.  There were three scents available and my preference is the tropical smell of Pineapple Mangosteen, but maybe you'd like the others!

I wasn't totally won over by the oil diffuser - though the look of it is great - the scent wasn't strong enough for a lasting impact - but the fragrance mist is great!

I'm not getting paid to endorse this - just sharing my experience!

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Winners! 1st Blog Anniversary Giveaway

Guys!  I'm still super overwhelmed by the awesome amount of entrants to my first blog anniversary party.  And so many of you are in qualification of free ad space - in fact I have over 35 free ad spaces to give out - which I'm working hard to get processed before the end of the month!

Here are the winners of the regular prizes - 

all prizes have been claimed and distributed!

Would you guys mind taking a minute to boost my rank over at Top Baby Blogs?  We'd be so grateful!  Just click this link here, then the owl on the left! Thank you so much!!

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A Heart Gone Wandering...

This past month has been challenging - and whereas the past several months have been no piece of cake, each new month seems to stack up the challenges upon each other leaving me stretched thin and weary.

I have been open about my faith as a Christian here on my blog, but I haven't been open about the challenges of keeping that faith.  In the past year of my life, everything that I have so passionately believed in has been questioned and put under the greatest battle of soul and spirit that I can describe.

My relationship with God has been at times marred by anger and resentment, at other times pushed so far away that only a God who is omnipresent and fiercely willing could break through the icy walls I've  built up.  In my spirit - I believe with everything - in the God of all creation - in his perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ, for the redemption of all humanity.  But in my soul I experience violent opposition to trusting Him with my life.

I'm about to get very real with you - so brace yourself - I recently had a major life breakthrough - one that was critical - one that was orchestrated beautifully by the hand of God.  I woke up from a denial about things I experienced as a child at the hands of the two human beings entrusted with my care.

For over 20 years of my life I coped with life by creating a fantasy in my mind - a disillusioned perspective on the world - one that minimized pain, fear, anxiety and reality.  One that minimized real evil in the world.  You see, real evil didn't exist in my reality - it couldn't.  And so it was easy to see God in his perfect goodness and not question or doubt Him.

Its not that I didn't believe in evil - but I believed in it the same way as I believe in monsters in scary movies.  It freaks me out, I push it to the side believing it couldn't possibly be like that in real life.

But, now I know that real evil exists.  Because I was the recipient of real evil.  And that evil has had its mangy filthy claws in my flesh for the past two and a half decades.  And it is that evil that I am battling daily - that I am fighting for dear life to escape from.

My daily battle is one of learning to live in reality - no longer minimizing the hurtful things I have experienced, no longer protecting the people who were supposed to have loved me.  Instead I am allowing the unprocessed pain to wash over me, tidal wave by tidal wave.

Hoping that as I surrender to reality, I will find the continued strength to choose to believe rather than doubt in God's love for me.

Hoping I can believe in the goodness of God as much as I now believe in real evil in this world.

Hoping that one day this storm will pass and I will again be able to see the sun shining above me.

Hoping that one day there will be no more buried pain - just the freedom of being healed by God's great love, so that I can encourage those who have been or will be just waking up from their own fantasy.

This blog has always been a place for me to share my life - and to write from my heart - I haven't been able to do that lately as much as I'd like to, but hopefully you will understand how heavy my heart has been, and know I am still here and still care for each and every one of you!

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