Spring

Styling a Swingy Tunic Top for Spring

This spring tunic top fashion post includes affiliate links. Want to promote fun, affordable fashions too? Join Cents of Style today!

Spring isn’t totally here yet, but it’s peeking around the corner. We’re still having more rain than shine here in the PNW, but we’re finally seeing some sunshine here and there! Which totally puts me in the mood to freshen up my wardrobe. I do tend to wear mostly black, white, grey, and very dark grey. But as spring arrives, I like lighter fabrics, swingy layers, bright accessories. Something about spring just makes you want to be pretty, doesn’t it?

This week’s Fashion Friday story from Cents of Style is all about the swingy spring tunics! They have two styles available, both on sale, both total must-haves right now. Just like every other piece I love from Cents of Style, these are made to fit every single body type – they come in sizes 0-18, lots of pretty colors, and you can choose from a babydoll or keyhole style in this sale. Or both, that’s what I would do :) [Read more…]

Posted by Meagan Paullin on March 25, 2017 Filed Under: Uncategorized | 2 Comments

How to Bring Spring into Your Home

This is a sponsored post for SheSpeaks and Febreze, about their limited edition spring scents. I only share stuff I’m crazy-in-love with. And I think you’ll love this too!

Spring is in the air! If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably noticed that I’m having a total spring-fling romance with my garden these days – we finally have some sun, and the flowers are bloomin’ everywhere! I’m such an outdoorsy type of girl, and love when the weather gets nice enough to finally throw open the windows to freshen up the house, and let the smell of flowers coming drifting in….

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Posted by Meagan Paullin on May 8, 2014 Filed Under: Homemaking | No Comments

Spring Celebrations Worth Remembering

Big thank you to Tiny Prints for trusting me to share my story about baby shower invitations and other spring event invitations. I received a thank you gift for my participation in this campaign – but as forever and always, all opinions are 100% mine….

Spring is in full swing – and summer is approaching quickly too. And that means… It’s the time of year for parties, events, and celebrations! Whether you’re celebrating endings {graduation} or new beginnings {weddings and baby showers} – one thing you’ll need for sure this time of year is invitations and announcements to kick off all of the fun!

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Posted by Meagan Paullin on May 22, 2013 Filed Under: Celebrations, Shopping, Deals and Coupon Codes | No Comments

Creating Spring Goals… #BBYSpringForward

“Jumping at several small opportunities may get us there more quickly than waiting for one big one to come along.” – Hugh Allen… I seldom set many New Year’s Resolutions – the weather is dreary, and I’m exhausted from the bustle of the holiday season. But spring feels like time for fresh starts – new goals, new plans, big dreams. And this quote is a perfect motivator for me this spring – It’s a reminder that it’s not the BIG things that make a difference in life – whether we’re talking about relationships, saving money, weight loss, online business, or any of the other areas of that I have goals in – it’s the small, everyday, consistent actions that help us reach our goals. I think of the tortoise and the hare, or the joke, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” Right?

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Posted by Meagan Paullin on March 20, 2013 Filed Under: Busy Mom Solution | No Comments

What Does Your Lawn Say About You?

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Scotts® for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Your lawn is one of the first things that people notice about your home – and part of the first impression when people come to visit. Ever wonder what kind of message your lawn is sending about the people who live there? See which one of these categories you fall into, and discover if you’re sending out accurate signals about your family…

Perfectionist. This is the home with the greenest grass, and it’s always perfectly trimmed. It’s probably lined with very square-shaped hedges, and few flowers – since flowers are harder to force into growing in a symmetrical way. There might be a couple of those stone lions guarding the entryway too. This might look impressive to some – but to most of us, it screams, “I’m a control freak!” Lol. Loosen up just a bit, and let things grow a little more naturally, and people will have a much easier time relaxing at your outdoor BBQ’s.
Wild & Free. You tell everyone that you’re just really eco-friendly, and are keeping your lawn in it’s “natural state.” But your neighbors don’t consider it organic – they see it as a jungle! They get the impression that you’d rather spend the weekend on your Xbox than mowing the lawn. Letting your plants grow freely can contribute to a really pretty garden – in moderation. Make sure you keep the grass trimmed, and the branches from falling over onto neighboring yards.
Whimsical. You fill your lawn with ornaments, trinkets, and bobbles. You’ve got an army of gnomes, a flock of flamingos, and enough decor for three flea markets. You call it fun – you’re neighbors call it crazy :) Yes, adding a few silly garden accents can contribute to a really laid-back environment – but please, take down that wooden cut-out of a lady bent over, ok? {I admit it, I used to have one too….. }

Now that you know what type of lawn you have, and what it’s saying about you – here is a great solution you can use to upgrade!

Smart Summer Lawn Care Solution – Scott’s Snap Spreader System!

How cool is this, right? I’m a busy mom, so everything in my life needs to be as simplified as possible – and I LOVE clever problem-solving products like this. I need yard and garden tools that are lightweight, easy to maneuver, and simple to use and store. This system totally hits all of these requirements – awesome, right? Here are a few more reasons why I’m pretty excited to add this to my Frugal Gardening must-haves list for spring:

The Scotts® Snap® Spreader System is totally no-mess. If you’re like me, and have to grab a bit of time to work in the garden in between other tasks during my crazy-busy days – so it’s great to not have to wrestle with big messy packaging, or a process that’ll be a pain. The Snap Pac connects right to the spreader – no cutting, no opening, and no pouring from heavy bags – mean no spilling, no waste, and no sweating in your clean shirt. {Yes, some days I do manage to be wearing a clean shirt…}
I love that edge guard feature. This has been a problem for me when using my little hand-held spreader gadget. It’s super old, but I hadn’t seen any affordable options that I liked to replace it, so I kept using it. But I hated that it was hard to keep it where I wanted it around the edges of the flower beds. This system is going to be a really helpful upgrade for me – finally!
There are perks! Check out the awesome Snap perks on Facebook! You could win a trip for 2 to the 2012 All Start Game and World Series, an Outdoor Patio Set, or even an instant win prize of a $25 Walmart gift card. Super cool, right?

A totally unique product that is easy to use, and ensures that your yard gives off a great first impression – telling people how awesome you are, before you even open the door! Love it.

Share YOUR tips too!

Do you have any great gardening tips to share? Leave me some comments – I’m always looking for clever new ideas to try. And if you’ve already used the new Scotts Snap Spreader System – let me know what you thought of it! I’ll be getting one soon, and will share some video of it in use, but I’d love some feedback if you’ve used it yourself.

{Photo Credit: Greg’s Landscaping, Flickr, Creative Commons.}

Posted by Meagan Paullin on April 3, 2012 Filed Under: Busy Mom Solution | No Comments

Spring Dresses are Here – Are You Ready?? #DialNutriskin

Are you ready for spring fashions?

Of course we’re all ready for the great changes that come along with spring – flowers, sunshine, fun outdoor events – but are YOU ready for spring? Spring fashion means sandals, dresses, bright colors – and smooth skin! Are YOU ready to rock your spring look? I know that for me, my skin gets a little bit neglected during those cold winter months, when it’s bundled up under loads of snuggly layers. Plus, I have pretty dry skin, and it always acts up a bit as seasons change. To be able to rock the fun spring dresses that are popping up more and more frequently at my fave shopping spots, I needed to get my skin smooth, soft, and lookin’ good again. I have so many events coming up – including a spur-of-the-moment trip to Texas in just over a week – so I’ll finally have opportunities to wear great outfits that I’ve been putting together on Polyvore, like this fun spring look above.

Shopping for Spring Fashion Essentials

There are a few things that I consider spring fashion essentials – Flip flops, sunglasses, a new pair of great wedges, a dress or two, bright accessories – and some fun beauty products including some moisturizing body lotions. You just can’t throw on those dresses if you’ve got yucky winter legs, right? I’ve heard some pretty awesome things about this new NutriSkin line of lotions from Dial, and love trying the newest products, so I was excited to give it a try.

Checking out the choices

My Walmart did NOT have a very wide selection of the new NutriSkin products to choose from – and I was pretty disappointed that they didn’t have my first choice, the Firming Replenishing style. {See the rest of our #DialNutriskin shopping trip on Google+} But that’s ok – I picked up a couple of others; I got the Extra Dry Skin version for me, and the Men’s style for the Mister. {He loves it when I remember to buy “dude products”, lol} – I had an outdoor party to attend later that week, so I was hoping that this stuff would be as good as I’d heard, and get me lookin’ good with a quickness – I had a cute denim skirt that I was eager to wear!

Lovin’ the results!!

I’m totally pleased to let you know that this stuff ROCKS!! I was totally able to let my legs out of their winter hibernation, and out into the sunshine at the party. Seriously – I used this stuff twice a day for 5 days. There is such a huge difference! I wish I could show you better photos – but since I’m working with just an iPhone for a couple weeks here, I couldn’t get any good close up photos. But if you suffer from a bit {or a lot!} of dryness, this stuff is going to get you ready for spring and summer, and all the awesome fashions that come along with it – and it’ll give you results fast. Love it, right?

Want to see more examples of great results? Check out StyleBeautyLife.com.

Follow Dial NutriSkin on Facebook & Twitter for updates on new products and promotions!

{Disclosure: This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias. All photos, opinions, and results are 100% my own!}

Posted by Meagan Paullin on April 2, 2012 Filed Under: Busy Mom Solution | 1 Comment

Why this product is a must-have for every frugal gardener!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Scotts® for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Most of you have probably noticed that I love to garden. Well – let me adjust that. I love to HAVE a garden. Being able to grow our own fruits and veggies so that I know the foods Abby is eating are safe is really important to me. And being surrounded by beautiful flowers and trees all summer makes me feel centered. But, I’m very much garden-challenged. Luckily, my mother moved in with me a couple of years ago, and she is a total Master Gardener, and has helped me so much. With her tips and advice, {and careful guidance when I’m digging around out there!} we’ve managed to put together a beautiful garden at our new home, that will continue to get better and better each year. Love it.

Your New Frugal Garden Helper

One of the things that my mom helped me to learn was that it’s very seldom that your garden’s soil is optimal for growing. But it’s also pretty easy to turn that poor soil into a great place to plant – You just need a good planting mix to give it a boost. She swears by Miracle-Gro products, and is really excited to see what kind of results we get from the new Expand ‘n Gro™ product we’re using this spring. It promises to give you up to 3x the flowers and vegetables that you’re used to growing, and they are calling it their best planting mix ever. Sounds pretty awesome, right?

Why do I want to use it?

The Expand ‘n Gro planting mix is made out of 100% natural materials and, “When mixed with native soil, Expand ‘n Gro™ helps loosen and aerate soil. It creates up to 90% more air space than native soil alone, so moisture and nutrients can reach plant roots.” That means it makes any soil, even really compact and clay soil, into a spot that can finally grow beautiful fruits and flowers!

How and Where do I use it?

Since almost everyone’s soil can use a little help, everyone can benefit from this stuff. If you’re using it in your garden, you simply spread a layer about 1-inch deep over your whole garden area. Then, using a garden tiller or even just your shovel, work it into the top 4-6 inches of soil. Then you just plant like normal, and give it a good watering. So easy peasy even I can’t mess it up!

I want to grow plants, but don’t have any room for a garden?

No worries! You would be amazed at how many things you can grow in just a few pots on your patio or porch! Grow a mini veggie garden, or just plant some pretty blooms to brighten each day. And the Expand ‘n Gro works in containter plants too. It’s easy to get started – Find some great pots with drainage holes and saucers. Fill each pot 1/3 of the way full with Expand ‘n Gro. Slowly add water, and stir it all up. The mix will expand from the water, and then be ready for you to plant as usual.

Is it really worth buying?

You know that I’m always looking for new money-saving tips, and I’m all about frugal gardening. It might at first seem like it’s a better value to just use the dirt you have, and not bother with things like potting mixes or fertilizers. But – when you plant in poor soil, some of your plants won’t make it, and the others just won’t thrive as well as they could. That’s a waste of both time and money, if your tasty veggies die before making it to your table! And the really great thing about the Miracle-Gro Expand ‘n Gro is that it improves your soil for years – making it a really great value, and totally worth adding to your own garden this spring!

What are YOUR best spring gardening tips?

Share your best tips on growing the tastiest produce and the prettiest flowers. Do you have any great tips to save money in the garden? Do you have a favorite plant, or product? Share your great ideas in the comments – I love hearing from you guys!