Review

My Favorite Camera Bags for Women // the Jeanne Oliver Mia Bag

0 · Jun 25, 2013 · 4 Comments

Jeanne Oliver Mia Camera Bag Review // I'm super excited to share one of my favorite finds with you guys today. A couple of years ago, I bought a new camera and with a new camera… I needed a new bag. First I googled "camera bags for women" and found a few bags, but nothing really hit the spot. Then I hit the Twitterverse and asked if anyone knew of some great, stylish camera bags that I should check out. Within just a few minutes, someone (I wish I could remember who) messaged me back with an amazing (new to me) find… The amazing Jeanne Oliver and her stunning bags!

My Twitter friend showed me the now retired camera bag that I've been using for over a year now.

This bag is not only my camera bag, I've used it as a purse, diaper bag, conference bag and carry-on. I LOVE this bag!! Recently Jeanne launched her new line of bags and with this new launch she has introduced a new camera bag called the Mia Bag. From the minute I saw the new bag on Instagram, I fell head over heels.

Isn't it just divine? The fabric, the colors, the workmanship… I just love it all! Here, I'll give you a quick tour!

Here's the inside. I have one of my cameras in one of the padded pockets. Keep in mind, this is a Canon Rebel so it's the standard, non-professional sized camera and it fits nicely in that pocket. If I were to put my Canon 5D Mark II in the bag, it would fit in the main compartment and have two padded spaces for extra lenses or an external flash. But, with the smaller camera I can also fit my wallet, my iPad, a notebook AND my Macbook Pro along with other smaller items.

The bag is fully padded and has two padded pockets along with a side zipper pocket perfect for keys, makeup and other small items. It has a cell phone pocket as well as a smaller pocket perfect for items like memory cards and such. This is the perfect purse / camera bag!!

The fabric is a heavy duty upholstery fabric that is easy to wipe clean and holds up to a lot of use. The front flap secures with a magnetic closure which I love. I hate fussy closures on bags.

The bags construction is superb and is up to any challenge you have to throw at it. The strap is sturdy and comfortable to wear.

I just love Jeanne's tag inside the bag, it's just so darn pretty!

AND, the handmade fabric flower on the front flap!! I just adore this detail. I love that my bag does not scream CAMERA BAG. That it's stylish and looks one of a kind. Now that I have two of Jeanne's camera bags (I also have one of her ruffled totes that I just LOVE) I can honestly say… They are by far my favorite camera bags!

You should check out the Jeanne Oliver Designs Site… she is one extremely talent lady who has her hand in many different creative pots these days. She designs bags and has two more in this summer's collection along with a handful of other items for sale.

The Sadie Handbag and the Elsie Linen Messenger Bag

Jeanne is also an amazing artist and photographer and she also teaches some amazing classes through her Jeanne Oliver Creative Network. This site is FULL of talented friends who have a passion for their work and love to share their talents along with what they have learned along their creative journey. It's an amazing site, you should check it out. All in all, I am a HUGE Jeanne Oliver fan and just had to share one of my loves with you guys!

Disclaimer // This is not a sponsored post. I did however, receive one free bag to review. All thoughts, ideas, opinions are my very own.

How Do You Add Splashes of Much Needed Color in Your Life // New Crystal Light Liquid

1 · May 14, 2013 · 210 Comments

How do you add splashes of COLOR to your life? This year, that is the question I am going to answer for myself in Project Add Color. I don't know why, but I've had such a hard time adding bright colors into my home decor. I've been so afraid to commit to a color palette (paralyzed really). What on earth will I do when Pantone announces the new color of the year and it doesn't co-ordinate with the palette I had previously chosen? It sounds silly, but really! When you invest in decor for your home–and it IS an investment–how sad will you be when that color palette is no longer relevant? You don't want to be the one house on the block with a kitchen full of avocado appliances and an avocado porcelain sink when the new trend is white.

How do you take a blank space in your home like the one above and add a little color to it? I took some inspiration that I've found all over the place lately and gathered some fun fabrics and placed them into embroidery hoops for a fun little pop of color!

I peppered in a couple of other fun objects to give the display a little extra texture, like the mirror and framed print. It's amazing how simple it is to do–just a little fabric and a couple of gathered inexpensive pieces can add such life to a bland little corner!

The same goes with fashion and so many other things in your life. How do you attack your wilder, more colorful side of life? How do you had a splash of color into your boring cuisine? How do you turn up the dial on your plain jane water and add a hint of flavor? Crystal Light has introduced a new line of products that can add a splash of color and flavor back into that lackluster water. The new Crystal Light Liquid is a fabulous way to add that splash of color without the added calories.

The new Crystal Light Liquid comes in six different flavors: Iced Tea, Peach Bellini, Pomtini, Strawberry Lemonade, Mango Passion Fruit and Blueberry Raspberry. The flavor combinations are endless.

I fell in love with the Peach Bellini, but quite honestly I think they are all fabulous. The nice thing is you have so much control over how you design your drink. You can add just a hint of flavor with a few drops or you can go extra bold with good squeeze. I have to say I'm a middle of the road kind of girl. More than a splash, but not so bold it blows my socks off.

It's the same with your home decor. If you are feeling timid you can add just a few little splashes of color with a couple of throw pillows or you can be bold and add splashes of color EVERYWHERE!

Where do you find your inspiration? How do you add that color into your life? Come share and you will be entered to win a $100 Visa giftcard!

Rules:
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
b) Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the
following unique term in your tweet message: ""#SweepstakesEntry""; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post"
c) Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.
This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 5/14 – 6/4.
Be sure to visit the Crystal Light page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!

Grown-Up Kraft Homestyle Mac & Cheese

0 · Feb 11, 2013 · Leave a Comment

Kraft Homestyle Mac & Cheese Microwave Bowls // This is cliche to say the least… I love mac & cheese. It truly has been one of those meals that with it's first bite always transports me back to childhood. Last year Kraft introduced the new line of Homestyle Mac & Cheese microwave bowls to the market and last month they just introduced two new flavors… Cheddar Broccoli & Southwest Tortilla.

Kraft sent over several of their Homestyle Mac & Cheese bowls for my family to try and we were pleasantly surprised. I grew up with a Mom who always made homemade mac & cheese, which I loved. But, in my child's mind when she pulled out the little blue box I thought it was something special. Just one of those little treats that Mom kept up here sleeve. Little did I know, it was when she was hurried and didn't have time for a homemade meal that she pulled out that little blue box. I didn't care, I loved it, and it made me feel special when she would make it for me.

Fast forward to today… Our kiddos in this generation are well acquainted with the little blue box, and it's new little brother the little blue microwave bowl. My kiddos don't eat it too often, but It's always there in a pinch and it always makes them happy when I pull it out of the pantry. I have to confess, I've even busted out the little blue microwave bowl on occasion for myself when in the hunt for a quick meal. The funny thing as I've grown-up, I've found myself adding little things here and there to my mac & cheese to bring it up to my adult taste. I don't have to worry about that anymore with the convenient Homestyle Mac & Cheese microwave bowls. The flavors are fun…

Sharp Cheddar, Cheddar Broccoli, White Cheddar, Southwest Tortilla & Hearty Four Cheese

They are super easy & convenient to make, and the portions are hearty.

I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical about the portions. When I opened the container and saw the uncooked noodles, I thought I may need to make a sandwich to go along with the mac & cheese. Boy was I wrong! I enjoyed the entire bowl and was stuffed! This would be a perfect pantry item to keep around for your bigger kiddos, take to work to keep in your desk for those days when you just can't make it out to lunch or hide them and save them for yourself!

My Hannah enjoyed kicking back, watching some TV and trying the new Cheddar Broccoli this weekend. It was a hit! What's your favorite go to meal? Is Mac & Cheese one of your guilty pleasures? What's your favorite flavor?

Disclosure Statement

Luxe Business Cards from Moo.com // Giveaway

0 · Jan 9, 2013 · 82 Comments

WhipperBerry's New Luxe Business Cards from MOO.com // I am one of those girls that goes a little ga-ga when I see a company that has branded themselves really well. When I set out to rebrand WhipperBerry for 2013 I wanted to make sure that my new branding carried over not only on the blog but throughout my digital and paper footprint. First, I selected some amazing design elements created by the talented Rhonna Farrer from Rhonna Designs and then went to work to create my new look. Once I figured out the overall design scheme, I knew that I wanted to create some amazing business cards for the 2013 blog conference season.

I was contacted by Moo.com to take their Luxe Business Cards for a test drive and to be completely honest, I wasn't too interested. I had ordered some business cards from Moo a few years ago and was not happy with how they had turned out. I actually ended up not using them at all and wasted a decent amount of money with the failed business cards. To be fair, I used my own design and it just didn't work at the size of the business card. I was disappointed that their quality control didn't contact me before printing to say that the images weren't going to work. So, when they asked if I would be interested in a review and almost said no, then I decided to give it another go to see how it went. I didn't let them know about my previous experience because I wanted to have a typical experience and I am thrilled to report the whole process was AMAZING!!

The Design Process with Moo

Moo has several types of business cards to choose from, but I wanted to try out the Luxe Cards. They are a rich, luxurious card that looks almost like a classic letterpress card and I thought it would look fantastic with my new look. I also decided to go the self-designed route again (gulp!) I created my business card design and submitted it for printing, hoping that everything would turn out alright. Much to my surprise, I was contacted by a representative from Moo to let me know that the images weren't as crisp as they would like and then she guided me though the process of how to make them print quality for the cards. I LOVED her!! She didn't make me feel dumb, she kindly helped make sure that the cards turned out their very best. We actually emailed quite a bit and had a lovely e-chat. I couldn't help but smile when I opened my cards and there was a card inside the box with her photo and name on it, it was so nice to put a face to the wonderful lady who help make sure my business cards turned out the best that they can be!! Needless to say, my opinion of Moo.com has been changed forever, thanks to Doreen. Doreen, you're the BEST!!

Shipment of my Moo Cards

When I finalized my card design with Doreen, my cards were printed and shipped within three days. Seriously, I had them in hand within just a few days. Another plus!! I can't tell you how many times I've been chatting with someone at a blog conference and when we went to exchange cards and they sheepishly have to say… "I don't have any, my cards didn't arrive in time." What a bummer is that? No worries of that with Moo!!

When my shipment arrived, I was blown away. Check out the packaging…

How fancy is that? Seriously a wax seal? Nice touch Moo!! I felt like they were just as excited about my new cards as I was. There is nothing more disappointing that having your cards arrive from other companies in a crummy cheap box that hardly stands up to the rigors of shipping. It really makes you feel like they don't value your cards at all. That's not the case with Moo at all! I almost didn't want to open the box at all because it was so pretty, except for the fact that I REALLY wanted to see my new cards. I wanted to see if they had turned out better than my first experience… I was blown away!!

My New Luxe Cards from Moo

You may not think that business cards are all that exciting, but I do. When I opened my lovely box of new cards, they took my breath away. They looked even better than I had imaged. Seriously… LOVE THEM!!

The Luxe business cards from Moo are made with the highest quality paper and have the look and feel of the best business cards out there. I know that when I hand out these cards, I am going to be putting my best foot forward. Why on earth would you spend all that time and energy on your business and go with a cut-rate printer to create your business branding? I know I never will again!! Moo has my heart forever!!

Luxe Business Card Giveaway from Moo.com

Moo.com would love the chance to win your heart forever too! They are giving away 100 Luxe Business Cards to THREE lucky WhipperBerry readers!! Wowza, I'm thrilled about this giveaway. All you need to do is follow the directions in the Rafflecopter box below…

a Rafflecopter giveaway