Beach Fun and a WINNER!

Hope y'all had a lovely Mother's Day, celebrating moms or even yourself. I've told you how much I love my momma so you know I was sad to not be with her in Nevada this year but the kids and John made up for it and took me to the beach for the weekend!!

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express on the beach in Orange Beach, Alabama. The gulf is perfect and I highly recommend this hotel. It was wonderful.

We saw wild dolphins, built sand castles, swam, relaxed, collected shells (project coming soon!) and had a great time. The kids even got to touch a dead fish. Exciting!

At the end of the first day Maggie said, "I love me!" I loved hearing that and by the end of the trip I declared that I loved me too. I hope y'all take the chance to love yourselves as well.

P.S. Today, we wrap up the doTerra giveaway from Lemon Living! Thanks so much to them for proving such a great giveaway. The winner was #10 Mary. Thanks to everyone who entered!

CLOSED- doTerra essential oils from Lemon Living

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNER #10 MARY! THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ENTERED!

For over a year now, my sister-in-law, Jill Lemon, has been on a journey for better health.  She's focused on fitness, diet and enhancing her lifestyle.  She's worked hard and it has paid off.  Jill looks amazing but more importantly she feels amazing. 

She's started a new blog called Lemon Living, full of tips and tricks that she has used in her journey to better health and I'm happy to introduce you to that blog, Lemon Living.

In addition to exercise and better eating she has also discovered essential oils as a way to improve her health even more and has become a consultant for doTERRA oils.  Now you need to understand something about Jill, she is not a person who wastes her time and money.  She researches every purchase she makes and doesn't spend time doing things just for the sake of doing them or because it's the next best thing.  So when she told me that she loved these oils and wanted to share them with others I sat up and took notice.  These must be for reals because Jill wouldn't mess around with them if they weren't.

I was skeptical but she sent me a few samples which to my surprise I actually have enjoyed a lot.  There are lots of ways that you can use these oils and they can help with a variety of ailments.  Here are the samples she gave me and my experiences with them -

• Lavender:  I used this on a patch of poison ivy I had on my arm.  My ivy burn was close to healed when I started using the oil so I can't say that it "cured" my burn but it did make that patch's scar clear up a bit quicker than the other patches I had.  My friend Mary also uses this as aroma when she cleans the floors and I plan to put a few drops in my carpet cleaner solution the next time I clean.
• Lemon:  My husband had a major stomach ache a few days ago.  He was complaining about being sick like only a man can do.  I put two drops of lemon oil in a glass of water and made him take a sip.  After only 5 minutes he was back to normal and even he had to admit that it really did make him feel better.  I also plan to add this scent to my homemade cleaning supplies.
• Peppermint:  Jill used to get migraines every day and since she started putting peppermint behind her ears every day.  She hasn't had a migraine since she started doing this.  I had a headache one day and I used the peppermint instead of Advil.  I felt like it worked well.  My daughter also complained of a headache one night.  I put a drop on her forehead and she stopped complaining about the pain and started asking for candy because is smelled so good.  Haha!
• Deep Blue:  This is like a lotion with a mixture of a few different oils in it.  It's supposed to help with things like sore muscles, bruises etc.  I slept funny one night and my shoulder and neck were in so much pain I couldn't move them.  I tried the Deep Blue and the pain was gone and I had mobility within minutes.

These are just a few examples of the uses for these oils there are hundreds more but these are the ones that have helped me in the past few weeks.  I was skeptical at first but I really did like them and will be buying more in the future. You can find what oils are available and their uses HERE.

Now... who wants some free stuff???  I can sense you raising your hands behind those computer screens so let's get on with it.

Jill from Lemon Living is offering one lucky reader a doTERRA Introduction to Essential Oils Kit valued at $26.67.  The giveaway is open to anyone in the US or Canada.

The doTERRA Introduction to Essential Oils Kit includes:

- an introductory audio CD and booklet

- 5 ml of Lavender

- 5 ml of Lemon

- 5 ml of Peppermint

Here's how you enter to win:

• Leave a comment on this post about essential oils.  Have you used them before?  What's your favorite?  Are you skeptical?  Do you have an ailment you hope they can fix?  Do you make homemade soaps or lotions that could benefit from some delicious scent?  Just leave a comment about anything and you're entered.
• BONUS ENTRIES just leave a separate comment for each one that you do to be entered multiple times.  That's up to 8 chances to win!
• Follow Lemon Living Blog
• Follow Lemon Living on Facebook
• Follow Lemon Living on Pinterest
• Make a doTerra purchase from Lemon Living
• Follow The Creative Vault Blog
• Follow The Creative Vault on Pinterest
• Share this giveaway (pin it, facebook, email, google+, etc.)

The giveaway will be open for one week and a winner will be announced on Monday the 13th.

Thanks Jill for the awesome prize!  Don't forget to visit her blog, Lemon Living and say hello!

 

Little Abner GIVEAWAY! $20 value!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

Today is your lucky day because today Little Abner is giving away a $20 gift card to one lucky Creative Vault reader!

Little Abner is a darling little stationary shop featuring gorgeous prints by artist, Elizabeth Moon.  Her shop is filled with stunning high quality shots of seemingly ordinary items that are made extraordinary by the vision and talent of Elizabeth. 

Just look at some of these beautiful cards!

Each card is paired with a colorful envelope and the whole thing is packaged in a clear envelope sealed with washi tape.  This girl thinks of everything!  This stationary would make an excellent gift.

Gorgeous.  Simply gorgeous.

I want to frame them all.

One lucky Creative Vault reader will win a $20 shop credit to Little Abner.

Here's How to Enter:

Visit Little Abner's Shop and take a look around.

Then come back here and leave a comment telling me which card(s) you love the most.

Be sure to leave your email address so I can let you know you've won.

The giveaway closes Friday at 10pm central.  Winner will be randomly drawn and announced Saturday.



Once you're done visiting Little Abner, be sure to also check out Elizabeth's blog, The Moonlit Nest.  Elizabeth not only takes beautiful pictures but everything she touches somehow just exudes simple beauty.  I drool over her classic ethereal style not to mention the fantastic places you get to visit with her and her family as they discover all there is to do in Virginia and the DC area.  She's also a fashionista with excellent taste and will keep up up to date with all the latest trends.   Here are just a few of my favorite posts of hers.

Strawberry Themed Birthday Party

Zig Zag Table Redo

Grown Up Girl Pajama Party

Good Luck! I hope you win!

{If you are interested in sponsoring a giveaway on The Creative Vault please contact me at thecreativevaut(at)hotmail(dot)com for more information}