MelissaStuff

Do you remember a few years ago when I shared Novica with you ? They're an amazing company that helps support people all around the world by selling their handmade items. The items available in their store make the most amazing gifts . . . even their wrapping paper is made by hand! And one of the things I loved the most when I purchased from Novica before was how gorgeous even the wrapping and packaging was, so it's perfect for giving as Christmas presents. I shopped around a bit and here are a few of the things I loved: These gorgeous ornaments are made in India, and the set is just $22.95 right now! And they're paper mache which is perfect with the rowdy boys in my house. But they also have ceramic ones that let the light shine through when they're hung on the tree. It also comes with this absolutely amazing packaging, including an Artist Story Card, a gift message card and FREE gift wrap: If you want to splurge and buy a luxurious gift you wouldn...

The mail has been fun the last few days . . . a couple of exciting DVDs for the boys in this house! First - LEGO Star Wars: The New Yoda Chronicles I'm personally going to set this aside and save it for our 4-5 hour drive down to Houston in December for our belated 2015 family vacation. The boys will be so excited that those hours can stretch out for what seems like days, but with this DVD they'll easily be captivated for an hour and a half of that. (It's on sale at Amazon right now for just $11.98 and remember, it's not too early to start thinking about Christmas gifts .) After headstrong Luke nearly delivers the good guys into Palpatine's clutches, Master Yoda and the ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi unearth the Holocrons -- last remnants of the secrets of the Jedi -- to further Luke's training. But Darth Vader also seeks the Holocrons, and he'll stop at nothing to get to them first! Meanwhile, courageous superclone Jek-14 comes out of retirement to help bo...

Oh, no . . . so sorry to leave ya'll hanging. Guess you can tell once Halloween hit in this household, it has been a heck of a crazy ride and it's only getting busier from here on out. I can NOT believe that Thanksgiving is less than a week away. I do have to tell you one of the things that makes me feel better about the crazy way the holidays are rushing towards me is because I have a little secret to help out next week. Are you ready for it? Honey Baked Ham! I know, I know, it's turkey season - but they have turkeys too! And all the sides to go with them. You can even get pies there. Seriously, it's the best way to enjoy your holiday instead of stressing.   Just listen to this description: Slow-roasted and smoked, every Honey Baked Ham is glazed by hand with the signature, sweet crunchy glaze and has the one-of-a-kind taste that everyone looks forward to . . . the moist, tender Turkey Breast [is also] coated with the same sweet, crunchy glaze as Honey Baked'...

Can you believe it's almost that time? Christmas is coming . . . it will zoom up on us in no time at all. So I've started picking up Christmas presents here and there when I can find a good deal. One of the items on my list is a high quality wireless speaker. I was given the chance to try out the Sol Deck Wireless Speaker, and it has completely won me over. When I'm cleaning, I love to turn up the music and jam. We live in a two story house and my boys want to hear the music upstairs just like we do downstairs . . . the Sol Deck has allowed us to do just that. It's great. You can use your blue tooth to sync your phone or iPod and play music throughout the house. The deck will sync with any device within about 300 feet. In fact, it will sync with multiple devices and you can take turns choosing the music or hijacking the stream from a friend and playing your favorite song instead. I'm serious . . . we LOVE it . . . and it would make an amazing gift for t...

How freaking amazing is that? If you have LEGO ®  freaks in your house like I do, this event is something you can't miss out on.  The award-winning LEGO KidsFest  is going to be back in Texas - this time at the Dallas Convention Center - from August 29-31.  Perfect for your LEGO-maniacs, they can expect hands-on building, creative experiences and one-of-a-kind activities. Children of all ages and builders of all skills and levels will find the perfect way to stay busy and enjoy themselves.  We're really lucky to have this show in town as it only makes seven North American appearances each year. The remaining stops are: Dallas, TX (Aug. 29 - 31)   Richmond, VA (Oct. 3 - 5)   Indianapolis, IN (Nov. 7 - 9) LEGO KidsFest is three acres of LEGO exhibits and activities  including LEGO Chima, LEGO Friends Photo Booth, LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Disney Princess, LEGO Super Heroes and LEGO Mindstorms. There's even a LEGO Model ...

I was provided with a free Rodan & Fields mini-facial in return for my honest review. All opinions are my own. Hmm, you know how there are always those things that - no matter how out there you are with yourself, how transparent or bold you pride yourself on being - you still feel self-conscious about? Well, one of mine is my skin.  I didn't have a horrible teen experience. I'm not having the worst breakouts ever as an adult. It's just been a steady pain in the butt and apparently my face feels the need to remember every issue it has ever had - in my opinion, the result is an uneven, bumpy looking complexion which annoys me in pictures take from the side. (Seriously, to the degree that you won't see any personal pictures of me in this post!) Recently, I was asked to try out the Rodan & Fields mini-facial. I have to say I think it was very helpful in cleaning out the pores, smoothing out the skin and giving my skin a healthy-looking sheen. Obviously...

I don't know how it works at your house, but in our family Easter is a big deal. There is obviously the church service and the celebration of our Savior's resurrection . . . but then comes the meal which for us is an extension of that celebration. Followed by, of course, the Easter Egg hunt which is just plain silly fun for the kids. We always do ham, potatoes, green bean casserole, some sort of fancy dessert .  . this meal is second probably only to Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner in that order. But I'm curious what other people do - do you have something special you serve or eat on Easter? Recently, I received a gift card to try out HoneyBaked Ham and review it here on my blog. I visited the store on Preston in Plano. For $75, I was able to buy a ham to feed 12-15, a side and a full cheesecake. They have a ton of options including full meals with sides and ready-to-eat entrees. I have to say the idea of having HoneyBaked Ham cook the Easter meal so we ca...

Look at the gorgeous wrapping paper you can purchase from NOVICA. Several months ago, I reviewed an amazing dress that can be worn as a long, trendy vest or wrapper. I've worn it many times since then and always get an array of compliments when I do. Today, I purchased some of the handcrafted wrapping paper . . . I can't wait to use this to wrap packages for my friends and family. I know they'll love the idea that not only do they have beautifully wrapped packages but the wrapping also helped support other families around the world. This package is just $17.99 right now, and there are a couple of other options that are just gorgeous and priced up to $27.99 The best news is that I have a $25 gift certificate to give to the first person who sends their NOVICA purchase confirmation to MelissaStuffBlog@gmail.com - can't wait to see what you order. There's so much amazing stuff! Keep an eye out - even though this prize has already been claimed, there will be...

Have you ever heard of Project Mom? Well, I hadn't . . . not until last year. And then all of the sudden my Facebook page and my blogger feed started blowing up with people talking about attending, looking for tickets, how much fun they were having and I was stumped about how I had missed out on something that was apparently this important for moms like me. So when I was approached recently about hosting a giveaway for this year's Project Mom and have the chance to attend with my best friends, I was sold. They didn't have to ask twice. I mean, let's think about it for a minute. A Friday night and Saturday hanging out with my best girl friends, in the peace and quiet of a hotel room. We get to hang out with other girls like us. If we want to sit quietly and read we can. If we want to go out to eat and laugh until we cry about "girl stuff," we can. We will be able to sleep the entire night without being woken up by any little ones. We can wake up when...

Because I have a crazy best friend, I have WAY overplanned my Disney cruise. Each day has a theme and a corresponding outfit that matches. And, of course, you can't have complete outfits without finding jewelry to coordinate with them. For this girl who rarely wears anything but her wedding ring, that means A LOT more jewelry than I'm used to. I wasn't sure how I was going to safely get it all to the cruise and back . . . until I came across these amazing travel jewelry boxes . They're the perfect solution! And look at this - if your husband is equally obsessive about his jewelry and watches . . . come on now, you know some of them are . . . they actually have a version for guys -  Dual Level Faux Leather Jewelry Case. If you like it as much as I do, you can enter below to win your very own Rowling Travel Jewelry Box . The one unusual part of this giveaway is that we have to have a minimum of 50 people enter in order for the winner to receive this cool j...

The first day of school is such a rush. You need to remember exactly what time to set the alarm, exactly when the bus is coming, and exactly what to pack for lunch. Wouldn't it be great to take one moment to just pause during the first day rush? Hallmark has come up with a way to do just that. Hallmark created the Pics ‘N’ Props School Days Activity Kit . The kit comes with a chalkboard your child can hold, with cards that read each grade level, from pre-school to graduation. You can take one photo on the first day of school each year, then place it in the accompanying album. You can also fill out a card that summarizes your child's school year with things from teachers' names to friends' names. This is such a sweet way to look back on your child's education. Over at Living Frugal with Erika, they had the chance to review the awesome and adorable Pics 'N' Props School Days Kit. MelissaStuff is joining with Living Frugal with Erika to give away thi...

There's a great giveaway in the works - the Ultimate Back to School Bash! Soon you'll be able to enter right here from the MelissaStuff Blog, so keep an eye out. I would love for one of you to win.

Ugh, when it rains, it pours, as they say. This week the air conditioning in my van started being temperamental . . . and then completely went out on a one-hour drive across town. On the day that it was 102 outside. Yep, that's my luck right there. Then I was working on household chores trying to get caught up when I thought I heard my children causing a terrible ruckus in the other room. Of course, I charged in ready to put someone in their place when I realized the noise was coming from the laundry room and not the upstairs area. It was my washing machine - on the spin cycle, but not spinning. Instead there was some sort of loud rattling noise. So with a load full of white clothes and bleach water, my washing machine was officially broken. I had to wring out the clothes by hand to get them into the dryer.  {{SIGH}} Don't you wish there was an easy, simple fix when this kind of thing happens. What do you do? I typically: get really aggravated at being put out gr...

Welcome to $500 Visa or Amazon Gift Card Giveaway! Summer is coming . . . what better time to win $500! Duration: This giveaway will run from May 21, 2013 until June 11, 2013 at 11:59 PM EST . Please feel free to complete the entries at your own pace. Remember, you can always come back to enter daily entries. The more entries you submit, the better chances of winning! Eligibility : Giveaway is open to everyone WORLDWIDE (as long as he/she has a blog and a Paypal account)! ( Please use full name, aliases are fine but not initials .) One winner will be chosen at random from all valid entries via Rafflecopter within 14 days of giveaway end date. Winner will be contacted via email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Once the winner has been confirmed, they will be announced on this page. No purchase necessary. Participant must be 18 years or older to enter. To join please use the Rafflecopter form below! Have fun! a Rafflec...

Hello, fellow bloggers! Here's a FREE HUGE GIVEAWAY EVENT for you to join!    Open to ALL SELF HOSTED BLOGS only. No wordpress.com, blogspot.com, tumblr and the likes.   You're entitled to ONE FREE LINK to your social media network in exchange of:  1. Posting an announcement post. Grab the announcement post here.  2. Posting about the giveaway event. The HTML code will be provided.  3. Promoting the giveaway AT LEAST ONCE A DAY.  Sign-up closes on May 19, 2013. We are taking up to 50 bloggers only. SO SIGN UP EARLY!    Dates to remember: Start: May 21, 2013 12:01 AM EST End: June 11, 2013 11:59 PM EST    GIVEAWAY PRIZE: $500 Visa Gift Card or Amazon Gift Code (or Paypal Cash equivalent)  Eligibility: Open WORLDWIDE    BLOGGER REFERRAL PRIZES:    1 WINNER - $80 Paypal cash   2 WINNERS will host a follow page (of Rafflecopter code)  Big thanks to our gen...

Disney cruise? Exciting A week of free childcare? Heaven A break from reality? Needed desperately Five hours in a car with two boys beside themselves giddy about vacation? Possibly torturous. That's why I am thrilled to have received a copy of Millcreek Entertainment's TV Toons to Go . This amazing set of over 100 episodes and 40 hours of entertainment has a whole host of shows my boys love: Busytown Mysteries Johnny Test Busy World of Richard Scarry Horseland  The Littles Postcards from Buster and more! One of my favorite features is that it comes in a hard metal case so that it can be stepped on, thrown, kicked, shoved and whatever other punishment my boys afflict on things that disappear into the backseat of our van. This set of DVDs should remain intact . . . as long as Momma can keep them inside their case. You can purchase this set of DVDs for under $30 on Amazon right now, or you can enter this giveaway to try to win yourself a s...