Spreading Holiday Cheer with Minted [GIVEAWAY!]

Isn't it glorious? CHRISTMAS CARD SEASON IS UPON US! I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a huge fan of Christmas. I mean, who isn't? One of my favorite traditions when the holiday season rolls around is sending out Christmas cards to all our family and friends. In fact, since D and I have been married, we've sent out a family Christmas card each year! I love rifling through our photos from the year and creating special collage of memories to mail off to our nearest and dearest. It's the perfect way to remind your loved ones that you miss them, are thinking of them, and wish them all the best in the coming new year. Truth be told, there have been years where I felt too busy, too wrapped up in life to even choose a card to send. But then I remember how important it is to spread holiday cheer (and keep snail mail alive!) and I somehow find the time to design the perfect holiday card. Thankfully, Minted makes the whole Christmas card process super easy, customizable, and just so much darn fun to do!

...CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE ON TO GIVEAWAY!!...

Remembering Wiesbaden with Minted

[The following is a review featuring affiliate links and items ℅ Minted. All thoughts and opinions are my own.]

Last week, the very first piece of new wall art for our soon-to-be new home in Florida came in the mail...and I'm IN LOVE! If you remember, D and I had photos taken by the insanely talented Ashley Ludaescher of us around Wiesbaden, our German host town for the last 3 years. We thought it would be the perfect way to commemorate our time abroad and to pay homage to the city we'd grown to love so much. Soon after we got our photos back, I was contacted by the lovely folks at Minted to review a piece of custom art from their extensive card, art, and stationary website. I'm a HUGE Minted fan (having ordered our Christmas cards from them the last few years), so I was thrilled to customize a beautiful art print using our Wiesbaden photos! 

The whole customization process was a total sinch. You could choose from dozens of beautiful prints, both pre-designed by selection of Minted designers and prints you could customize yourself. Each piece of art is printed on thick, matte art paper in a wide array of sizes to suit your design needs. You also have the option to add a custom frame in a great selection of wood and color varieties. I was immediately drawn to the limited edition Love is You print, complete with our favorite Wiesbaden photos, a quote from our favorite Robert Frost poem (a little homage to my blog as well) and the distressed charcoal frame. Before I knew it, I'd created a piece of art that was so "us"...the perfect example of the beauty and uniqueness of our expat experience. I absolutely can't wait to hang this on the wall of our new home and fondly remember our time in Germany every time I pass by it. A big THANK YOU to the design team at Minted for helping me create such a lovely lasting memory!

Love my print? Want to customize one of your own? Now's the time! This week, Minted is celebrating their 6 year anniversary creating unique indie designs for cards, invites, art prints, and stationary. Head on over to their website and use code '6YEARS' to get 15% OFF your entire order from now until April 7th! Don't miss out!

Dressed to Impress: Formal Night with eShakti

[This is a sponsored post for eShakti. Dress is c/o eShakti. All views and opinions are my own.]

I'm a girl. A girl who is a self-proclaimed shopaholic with an unwavering love of stylish, well-fitting dresses. Plain and simple. My closet consists of about 60% dresses and the rest...ho-hum everyday wear. Why so many dresses? I just can't help myself. What girl doesn't want to get dolled up, throw on a sick dress and show off her gams all around town? Not any girl I know. That's why when eShakti contacted me and asked me if I'd like to pick a dress...any dress...to take on my fabulous Mediterranean cruise, I jumped at the chance!

The dress I chose was nothing too out of the ordinary. It was my favorite color, had a sassy one shoulder overlay, and was the perfect length...not too short, not too long (eShakti dresses are customizable!). But what I hadn't expected when I picked this particular dress out for formal night on our cruise was that it would be so comfortable and fit so perfectly! The fabric was forgiving, so I wasn't tugging and pulling on it all night, especially after stuffing myself with a surf & turf dinner. It was also so unbelievably comfy. I told D the next morning that I could have slept in it. Not something I could say about most dresses in my wardrobe. Needless to say, I was wowed by eShakti and their attention to the female figure and frame of mind. Their customer service is pretty stellar, too! Just based on the slurry of compliments I got on the dress from perfect strangers on our cruise ship, I will definitely be pulling this little outfit out for a number of events to come. If you haven't given eShakti a try yet, you don't know what you're missing! And if you sign up with them today, you can score yourself a $25 coupon, good for your first purchase! They're also running a pretty sweet buy 2, get 1 free promotion. Go forth and shop, ladies!

Holiday Photo Cards from Minted (and a Black Friday Deal)!

I just ordered my Christmas cards from Minted the other night and let me tell you, they might be my favorite cards we've sent out yet! No, you won't get to see which fabulous design I picked until Christmas, but I can assure you, it's awesome. Minted has lots of great holiday photo cards, postcards, and announcements perfect for everyone on your Christmas card list this season! Minted prides itself on offering the best quality photo cards, printed on your choice of luxe paper, from their talented community of independent designers. Each card is fully customizable with your favorite family photo and holiday greeting! I've listed some of my favorite holiday cards from their website below. Maybe the holiday card we picked is amongst the selection...or maybe it isn't? Muuhahahahaha! Wouldn't you love to know?! ;) 

BLACK FRIDAY DEAL:

15% off holiday card orders of $100+ or more with code FRIDAY15

20% off holiday card orders of $150+ or more with code FRIDAY20

Click here to start personalizing and ordering your perfect holiday cards now!

Ribbon Noel Holiday Photo Card

Sending Cheer Holiday Photo Card

Holiday Celebration Holiday Photo Card

Vintage Frame Holiday Photo Card

Merry Always Holiday Photo Card

Perch Holiday Photo Card

Canvas Garland Holiday Photo Cards

Postcard Formatted Card--just add a stamp and mail!
Holiday Map Postcard Holiday Photo Card

Glitter Holiday Photo Card

Christmas Plaid Holiday Photo Card

Chalkboard Quotes Holiday Photo Card

Merry & Bright Sparkly Holiday Photo Card

MiniBook Cards---these are really neat! 
A mini book of photos you can send to all your family and friends!

Warm & Cozy Holiday MiniBook Cards

Can't shop Black Friday? Minted has got deals for Cyber Monday as well!
15% off all holiday cards & 25% off art, gifts, and more!

Join Minted's Refer a Friend program and for every friend that you refer who makes a Minted purchase, you get $25 off for yourself!

Happy shopping, friends!

*Affiliate/Refer a Friend links used in the publishing of this post*