Swimsuit Confidence with Lands' End

The last time I was willingly photographed in a bathing suit, I was very, very tan and wearing a neon yellow bandeau bikini. No, I did not dig up the evidence, don't worry. It was the mid-'80s and I was barely a teenager. Pre-kids, pre-hips, pre-thyroid wackiness.

I am not a gigantic fan of being photographed, in general, much less in a bathing suit, but when I came across Amy and Nicole talking on Twitter about posting pictures of themselves in Lands' End swimwear to support body image and National Swimsuit Confidence Week , I was intrigued and inspired. It was a no-brainer that I'd want to participate, so I was glad when I received an invitation to participate. I'm still loving my non-matronly Lands' End swimdress from 2008, although thankfully it's a little too big this year. Time for a new suit to show off! I'm posting my pics in solidarity with the ladies of Curvy Girl Guide and many other fabulous bloggers who have Swimsuit Confidence.

-- Post From My iPhone

In accordance to the FTC Guidelines and WOMMA Code of Ethics, I am disclosing that I received the bathing suit shown to facilitate this review. As usual, though, all thoughts are my own.

Samsung SH100 Coast to Coast Photo Post

When Bob and I were first dating, we decided it would be fun to drive to one of his art openings. We lived in Memphis at the time, and the opening was in San Diego. It was a loooong drive but it was also a lot of fun. Sadly, we don't have much evidence of the awesomeness of a trip that included Albuquerque flea markets, Hoover Dam, the nasty old part of Las Vegas, and the overwhelming crush of people in tights that is Comic Con, because we didn't have a digital camera back then. Or social media to broadcast our adventures to the world. Hmm, maybe that's a good thing for some segments of the road trip…

Meet the Samsung SH100, a new compact WiFi-enabled point and shoot camera that lets you share high quality photos with your friends and families easily and instantly, via your favorite social networks. It gets around, just like you!

Samsung is taking the SH100 on a month-long road trip across the US, from LA to NYC, during the month of May to show what a great camera this is for movers and shakers, homebodies and travelers alike. The Coast to Coast Photo Post team is recording all the places they go and people they meet along the way with the SH100, and the best photos and videos will be shared on the Samsung USA Facebook page. Follow Samsung on Twitter to find out when they'll be rolling through your town… if you take the best photo on their road trip, you could win a trip to NYC!



The Samsung SH100 would make a great gift for dads and grads, or anyone planning a trip this summer. You can always un-tag…



Disclosure: I was compensated for this opportunity by Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity. All opinions are, as usual, entirely my own.

Elmer's Spring Creation Contest (& Giveaway!)

Elmer's Spring Creation Guide features step-by-step instructions to make five different DIY home decor projects: a wine rack, wall hanging, decoupaged table, burlap bowl, and a shoe rack. The tutorials are available in printed form or as a video, so you can choose which way works best for you. All of the projects use the same main tool: the newly-reformulated and stronger than ever Elmer's Glue-All. It dries quickly and is safe and non-toxic, plus it works on everything from paper to fabric and ceramics, so it's great for a variety of household projects.

I was asked to make one of the items from Elmer's Spring Creation Guide or to come up with my own springtime DIY project. Since we finally put away all the potty seats in the house (thank goodness!), I thought I'd get a toilet paper storage cabinet for the kids' bathroom and gussy it up using the decoupaged table from the guide as inspiration. I bought a cheap white melamine cabinet that stores four rolls of toilet paper plus a box of tissues. Straight out of the box, it looked like this:

Yikes! I was glad that Elmer's Glue-All was an integral part of my mission because here is the packet of glue that came with the cabinet:

Yep, totally dried up and useless. I used Elmer's Glue-All to reinforce all the dowels and seams. I don't remember when white melamine shelving became ubiquitous in American households but it always reminds me of college housing. Bland and cheap. I definitely need to liven this thing up a bit. Maybe some color or pattern in the door inset would be nice?

I have a lot of decorative paper around, so I culled some contenders from my collection. The kids' bathroom is primarily white with a really obnoxious and colorful shower curtain emblazoned with fifties retro food packaging. My first thought was some Japanese stationery with bright colors and cute critters:

Possibly too cute. 

Possibly too beige.

This yellow Eames print ended up being my favorite. Bright, retro, but still fairly subdued. I laid out my arsenal and got to work. I cut the paper into strips using my trusty Xacto knife and tacked them to the inset using Craft Bond Acid-Free Multipurpose Spray Adhesive. What I love the most about that product is that if you spray your paper and let it dry without adhering it, it becomes repositionably sticky so you can try different approaches without committing to them.

Once I had my main paper in place, I mixed three parts of Elmer's Glue-All with one part water to create a decoupage medium and applied it to the paper with a sponge, making sure to seal the edges. I tried covering the whole door in torn yellow and white tissue paper but it looked unbelievably awful. Another bonus with Elmer's Glue-All is that it's washable. I scraped off the tissue goo and mixed up some more decoupage medium, this time adding a small amount of pale blue colorwash I had laying around. I sponged it over the entire cabinet to give it a slightly aged look.

If you look closely, you can see some of the leftover tissue scraps that I left in for "character." I'm not the world's slickest faux finisher but I was happy that it didn't look as starkly shiny and white.

Et voilà! Here it is in its new home:

And a shot with its pal, the toilet:

In accordance to the FTC Guidelines and WOMMA Code of Ethics, I am disclosing that I received product samples to facilitate this review. As usual, though, all thoughts are my own.

To enter and win your Elmer's Spring DIY Kit featuring some of the items shown, please comment on this post with your favorite project from the Elmer's Spring Creation Guide or a project you'd like to tackle with Elmer's Glue-All.


Entries will be accepted through June 1st and I'll pick three winners using Random.org. US readers are eligible.


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Leave an extra comment letting me know what you did for each additional entry.



Make sure you leave an email address in your comment or that you have one accessible on your blog so you can be contacted if you win!


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DaGeDar

The makers of ZhuZhu Pets have just introduced DaGeDar, supercharged battle balls from Dimension 33. The collectible characters are made from weighted ball bearings that can be raced, spun or launched to create your own tournament challenge.



If Jasper has his way, I will be tripping on these very, very soon.

Beauty Guinea Pig: Eyelash Extensions

When I was in Detroit for the #FordGreen NAIAS event, I couldn't stop staring at my friend Sugar Jones. This isn't a huge surprise, since Sugar is obviously gorgeous and a ton of fun to be around, but she looked unusually beautiful. When she told me it was her eyelash extensions, I was immediately consumed with the desire to try it myself. I'm a pretty low-maintenance beauty girl and don't wear much makeup on a daily basis aside from lip stain, but I thought it might be a way to look more "done" without actually being done up. Yes, I really am that lazy.

Of course, being me, I had to hem and haw about it for months, ask a zillion questions, and then price-compare the service at local salons. I found prices ranging from $125 to $250 and different opinions about whether or not you could/should wear mascara with them and how often you'd need to get them touched up. I chose the cheapest one because it also boasted that you could go 3-4 weeks without touching them up. Plus I had a $60 gift card that made it more reasonable.

The application process for eyelash extensions is pretty hardcore. You lay on your back with your eyes closed, which was a bit odd. I had no sense of time passing. It took almost two hours for the aesthetician (Sofia at Beau Monde) to apply the lashes because each one is done individually and she mixed several lengths to make it look more natural. Here's the end result:

I'll admit, they were a little freaky long for me initially. People who can't wear contact lenses because of the sensation of having something on their eye probably wouldn't be good candidates for eyelash extensions because they're rather heavy. Once I got used to not rubbing my eyes when I was tired or scrubbing them in the shower, I liked the extensions. They do feel fancy, the way a fresh manicure does. People wanted to know if I changed my makeup or skincare. They kept asking what was different about me but they couldn't immediately place it. When I 'fessed up, they all wanted to try it. My mom and her friends even had their lashes done!

How is their longevity? Well, it's been about three weeks and they've held up fairly well. I've shed quite a few lashes and they're not nearly as thick as they were but I still got a compliment on them at Sam's today. Here's how they look now:

I'm trying to decide if it's worth getting them done again. It's $75 for a touch-up although if I go much longer, I suspect I'll be in for the full treatment again. What do you think?