sponsored post | The Big White Farmhouse

I received free product in exchange for a review, but as always, all opinions are my own.

UPDATE: This week Beautycounter’s Black Friday Sale is 15% OFF sitewide, and FREE shipping on orders over $50. It’s a great time to try clean beauty for yourself or gift to a loved one! My friend Stephanie is offering my readers an additional $10 coupon on top of the Black Friday sales when you shop through her website! Happy shopping!

I blame my dear blog friend Stephanie for my latest rabbit hole. She recommended a book called Estrogeneration and oh my word, it’s both fascinating and slightly terrifying! I’m working through it in small chunks, but it’s already made me very conscious about what products I’m using and what I choose to buy going forward. (This is a separate, but good article that touches on some of things I’m learning in the book.)

Anyway, Steph recently became a Beautycounter Consultant and offered to let me try a few of their most popular products. With my new knowledge of the dangers in American skincare from Estrogeneration, I jumped at the chance to try! I was also excited because with all of the hormonal craziness going on with me right now, my face is a mess. I have faithfully used the products for the past three weeks and I’m already a fan. I tried the Cleansing Balm, the Adaptive Moisture Lotion, the Brightening Facial Oil and the Balancing Facial Mask. While it hasn’t taken away all of my acne yet, I do see an improvement. And my skin is so soft! I’m impressed.

A few other interesting things to note about Beautycounter:
+ They are a full disclosure company and every ingredient is on every label.
+ Over 1,500 chemicals and toxins have been banned from their products.
+ The company’s ultimate goal is high performance without compromise. They stand by the promise that their products really work!

The four products I tried are all paired in a Holiday Kit for a limited time and would make a gorgeous gift for Christmas. (Or put it on your own Christmas list!) The bottles are beautiful and because you only use a small amount each time, they last for awhile. Definitely worth the investment.

One more thing: if you mention The Big White Farmhouse sent you, Steph will give my readers a shipping refund on your first order. You can shop here. I can’t wait to hear what you choose!

This post is sponsored by Basic Invite, but as always, all opinions are my own.

If you’ve read here for any length of time, you know how passionate I am about snail mail. With abundant technology, it seems to be a dying art, but I’m not ready to let it go! With Christmas right around the corner, this time of year is a good time for everybody to join in on the fun. So when Basic Invite invited me to check out their custom holiday cards, I couldn’t say yes fast enough!

It was a family affair as we browsed Basic Invite’s options and chose our favorite cards. Everybody had a favorite! Here’s what we picked:

ASHLEY’S CHOICE

I chose the Vintage Bouquet Christmas Card, which is so me. Clean, simple and so beautiful, right? I played with complementary envelope colors and picked a deep berry color, named Cardinal Shimmer.

SOPHIA AND TJ’S CHOICE

The Jolly Print Christmas Card is such a cute one. We were able to adjust the colors of the words, “Holly Jolly,” adding a little blue to match the boys’ pajamas. I love how this one turned out.

MARK’S CHOICE

Mark went back to his Lone Star roots (and I guess ours too as Virginians) with the Southern Hospitality Christmas Card. Simple and it lets the photo stand out. I really like the fonts used on this one.

THE BIG BOYS’ CHOICE

The three biggest boys picked the Cheery Elf Christmas Card. They didn’t like the word “cheeriest” and changed it to “merriest” instead. I love that it was took less than a minute to easily make the switch. The boys also chose a colored envelope called Sorbet.

A few other cool things about Basic Invite:

Almost Unlimited Colors // Basic Invite has over 180 different colors to choose from! Once you select a design, you are able to change the color of every little detail, making it completely unique. I also love that you can see your changes immediately as you go.
Custom Samples // Basic Invite allows the ability to order a sample of the actual card you created, so you can see exactly how it looks before investing in a bunch. It’s a great way to feel the paper quality and see the colors.
Over 40 Different Colors of Envelopes // There are over 40 envelope colors available, which is one more way to make your card or invitation a little more unique. All of the envelopes are also peel and seal, so you don’t have to lick a single one!
Address Capturing Service // Basic Invite also offers an address capturing service that allows customers to simply share a link on social media to request their friends and family’s addresses. This information is then stored in the customer’s account and can be selected during the design process. Recipient address printing is offered for free on all Christmas card orders. How cool is that?!

If you’re in the market for Christmas photo cards, I highly recommend Basic Invite! And bonus: right now Basic Invite is offering 30% off with the coupon code, HOLI30. I can’t wait to hear which design you pick.