My Sock!

Remember back when I posted about my sock venture and I only had a few stitches on my needles...well

Ta-da!!! The first sock completed

Now I just have to finish the other one....it might be awhile ;)

mark Madness!

So, I just had to post all of the great things mark has going on sale starting today and all the promotions that they are offering! Everything is fabulous...first off

Keep It Going Longwear Eyeliner & Shadow
two waterproof gel-based shades that be applied as eyeliner or eyeshadow
*Check out all of the shades*

You're a Natural Bag!
This bag is great...yellow lining, lots of pockets and hangs over your body

*NEW* Calm & Composed Moisturizer
Oil-free, reduces skin redness as it moisturizes

AND you get all 3 Calm Down Skincare Trio for just $24 (a $32 value)!!

All mark's fragrances are now available as hook-ups...even the newest Citrus Bloom!

Just Pinched Instant Blush Tint
NEW shades: Spicy & Peachy

**PLUS**

If you purchase 2 Keep It Goings or Just Pinches...you get a FREE flat eyeliner brush!

Have you met mark?? GET TO SHOPPING!!!
Click here

Craft-tastic!

So, this is a very belated post...but before the hubby left, for a pre-anniversary gift (our anniversary was March 8! Woohoo, 1 year down, many more to go)/pre-birthday gift (it's next Sat. :) )...he bought me a brand new sewing machine!

A Singer Esteem II

And this lovely case...
I was in awe!

I had been telling him for the past 6 months that I wanted a sewing machine and the hubby pretty much said "Don't you have enough hobbies?!" :) Haha...my answer was always NO! A woman can never have enough hobbies/crafts!! So, I think after I bothered him enough, he realized that I wasn't going to give up! And I was so surprised when he got it for me...he is such a thoughtful man who supports all of my obsessive crafts!!!

Not knowing how to even thread the machine, I've mastered that thanks to some video tutorials. And I even took a shot at a simple project...and eyeglasses case (however, I'm not going to post it because it's pretty sad, haha). But, needless to say, I'm gonna need some more practice and am still getting used to my machine and sewing with it in general. So, stay tuned for some projects to come!

P.S. If any of you have sewed before, and have any tips for me, please send them my way! :)

Hello, my name is Kristin...and I'm a Twilight-AHOLIC!

It is true...I am among many who love The Twilight Saga! It all started when my friend Jessica (from IL) and I were looking for a movie to go see...there wasn't much playing, so I suggested we go see Twilight. I hadn't heard too much about it at that point, but what the heck! I convinced her and we stepped out of the movie DIE HARD fans!! :) I totally got her hooked and she'll tell anyone that to this day.

I had never read the books and still didn't, even after seeing the movie...until I moved out here to Monterey and had a lot more time on my hands. I picked up the first book...COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! Seriously, they are that good! The obsession begins after reading the first chapter, I swear.

Needless to say, I stood in line for about 3 hours to watch the midnight showing of New Moon back in the fall and was sitting on pins and needles until it came out last weekend! I think I had posted that I had reserved my copy of NM from Best Buy. Well, I couldn't wait until that Sat. for the new release...so, my friend Jen and I attended the NM Release party at Borders! Hahaha! :) And we had a blast! Check it out:

Posing in front of the "Upcoming Events" of the NM Release Party

Waiting (in)patiently for the NM festivities to start

There were all kinds of activities...charades, guess who said that quote, and actual debates about the movie(s) (e.g. this was Jenn's: Was it a big deal that Edwards volvo changed in NM?) Hehe :)

Needless to say...we were pretty exhausted by the end of the night...but here's our loot!

The party started at 10pm and ended right before midnight so that the purchasing line could form. Unfortunately, I had to wait to pick up my copy of NM until the next day, Saturday...but I couldn't resist picking up "Twilight in Forks"...a documentary on the town the books are based on! Come on...it's actually pretty cool. I think I might want to take a trip there the next time I visit my sis...it's only 4 hours from Seattle! :0

Jenn got her copy of NM and we proudly displayed our Twilight obsession...for one night at least!

Jumping on the Kombucha Train

If you haven't heard of Kombucha, it's a Chinese fermented tea that has recently (or not so recently...maybe just recent to me) become quite popular among the health food zone. Basically, you drink in live cultures that restore, rejuvenate and overall, cleanse your body! Rising in popularity is GT Dave's Kombucha & Synergy:

The raw Kombucha is 100% pure Kombucha, whereas the Synergy line (pictured above) has 95% pure Kombucha and 5% real fruit juice. I have only tried the Synergy Kombucha and my favorites so far are the Passionberry Bliss & Strawberry Serenity.

Now, it is definitely an acquired taste...it tastes a bit vinegar-y at first (which takes some getting used to), but the taste grows on you!

It contains:

• Beneficial probiotics (healthy digestive & immune systems)
  
• Live active enzymes (put "life" back in our bodies)
  
• Antioxidants
  
• Organic acids (help promote tissue and blood alkalinity)
  
• Polyphenols (fight off the free-radicals that stress the body and compromise its youth & health)
  

Customers have experienced the following:

• Increased energy levels
• Decreased appetite
• Improved digestion
• Healthier skin and hair
• Stronger immune system
• and many more...

Each bottle is about 30-35 calories and contains 2 servings. Most people drink it in the morning, but other suggestions are 1 hour before you work out, sipping on it all throughout the day, one in the morning instead of coffee and one in the afternoon. You decide what works for you!

A report on NBC's Dateline stated that over 3 million people regularly drink Kombucha!

I'm hooked and definitely feel more energized after I drink a Kombucha! It is located at all Whole Foods...for my folks in Carbondale, you can find it at the Neighborhood Co-op! For my friends near St. Louis...I think the closest place to find it is Green Earth Grocery in Edwardsville or at various places in St. Louis. And there are many locations around the Bloomington/Normal/Peoria area!

To find out more, click HERE

Eat, Pray, Love

If you haven't read this book...it is amazing! I highly recommend it and if you make it to a bookstore soon, pick it up! Trust me! It's about a woman's amazing journey to Italy, India & Bali...trying to find herself along the way. She learns Italian, practices yoga and learns from a medicine man and it's a true story!

So, of course they've made it into a movie and the trailer was just released...and I am so stoked that Julia Roberts is playing the main character...she's one of my all-time favs! :)

Check it out:

If you've read the book, let me know what you think...and if you haven't, I hope you'll like it as much as I do/did!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!! My husband is part Irish and I'm told I have some Irish in me too, so I'm pretty sure this is a holiday I must celebrate! However, I pretty much always forget to wear green (good thing I don't see many people throughout my work day...so, no pinching) and there's not really anything exciting going on here. Oh, and...I'm not going to cook a big Irish dinner for one...and what's the point with no corned beef (NOT eating meat)! Haha...so my St. Patty's Day kinda sounds like such a downer.

I always see this pic and wish I was in Chicago:

I mean, how could you not celebrate to this?! Maybe someday...

OR I hope someday to be here on St. Patrick's Day:

IRELAND!!
Cody and I plan on taking a trip there in the (hopefully near) future

Well, I hope everyone has a great St. Patty's Day!

FREE Juice Gem & Standard Shipping!

It's Hip to Dip!

Cody and I made it to a local fondue restaurant a few weekends ago, and I just had to post some pics. If you haven't ever tried going to a fondue restaurant...you are missing out! We went to our first one in Chicago and we were instantly hooked. I haven't yet tried The Melting Pot, but that's a popular one that most people have heard of.

The one we go to around here is actually a Swiss/German-themed restaurant and their specialty is their yummy fondue "meal deal":

First Course: Gruyere, Emmenthaler, and Appenzeller Cheese Fondue
Dippers: Bread, Veggies, and Green Apple pieces

Second Course: Broth/Oil for the Meat

Dippers: Meat for the hubby, Shrimp for me

Swiss Potatoes and Dipping sauces (BBQ, Teriyaki, Peanut, Southwest, Horseradish)

AND...

Final Course: CHOCOLATE FONDUE!
Dippers: bananas, melon, strawberries, pineapple, and biscotti cookies

Needless to say, you're pretty full when you get done...but it's oh SO fun and DELICIOUS!!

mark Sells!

I signed up to have a table at a local Bargain Fair, to sell my mark products...and I'd say overall, it was a pretty successful endeavor. I had a handful of sales, got to talk up some of the new products to visitors, and definitely distributed a lot of business cards, samples & Magalogs! *Networking*

Here are a few pics of my booth:

My mark table, complete with pink/brown table cloths (mark's signature colors)

Showing off some mark Skincare

I even raffled off one of mark's popular bags: the High Profile bag

And here's some great new products and accessories that mark has out right now:

• NEW Spring Fragrance: Citrus Bloom (hints of orange flower, honey blossom & jasmine)
• NEW Citrus Bloom Body Lotion
• NEW Gloss Gorgeous in Lolli (goes on as a gloss and wears to a stain)
• Two NEW iMark eye shadows in Lotus (purple) & Stellar (gold)

I sold the Citrus Bloom fragrance and a few Gloss Gorgeous tubes today...they are *hott* items

And I was super excited when I received my shipment this week, containing:

Print Condition scarf

I love it...it reminds me of a scarf you would find in a city boutique, but for a much cheaper price! ;) Anyway, check out all that mark has to offer this month...and stock up on their Spring essentials!

Finished Veggies

So, quite a few posts back, I had blogged about some knitted vegetables that I had been working on. There was a whole slew of them, and I think when I posted last, I still had 3 or 4 to go.

Well, I am proud to say that I completed the entire set of vegetables:

From left to right: closed pea pod, open pea pod, eggplant, garlic, carrot, cucumber, & tomato

Here's a couple of individual shots of the veggies knitted since the last post:

They were tricky little suckers...all knit 'in the round', but I learned a lot of new techniques and I just think they are so darn cute! :)

I actually mailed them off to a friend of mine, whose little boy appears to be in the stage where he is learning to identify things/objects...so I thought that these would be a good way for him to learn his vegetables. I hope he has fun with them!

Mark March Promo!!

So, for the month of March, I will be running a promo on mark products...basically, all you have to do is spend:

$25 worth of products - get 1 FREE Skincare product (of your choice) from me
$50 worth of products - get 2 FREE Skincare products (of your choice) from me
$75 worth of products - get 3 FREE Skincare products (of your choice) from me
etc., etc., etc...

What a deal, right?! This includes all of mark's Skincare line: (Click on links to read more...)

Cleansers
That's Deep - purifying gel cleanser
Calming Effect - comforting milk cleanser
Make It Go Away - makeup removing wipes

Exfoliates
Berry Grand
Go with the Grain

Toner/Refresher
Mist Opportunity - multi-tasking refresher
Cheat Sheet - shine blotters

Moisturizer
See Things Clearly - brightening moisturizer
For Goodness Face - antioxidant skin moisturizing lotion SPF 30
Matte Chance - mattifying lotion
OR
**Calm and Composed - Super-soothing moisturizer (for sensitive skin with avocado/oat)

** This isn't even out on the market yet for customers, but I can get it early for y'all! If you have any questions about it, let me know!

Face/Body Treatment
Calm Yourself - hydrating mask
Shine Fighter - oil control mask
Talk to the Hand - fragrance-free hand cream
Free for All - fragrance-free body lotion

All of mark's Skincare line is made with SUPER FRUITS & SUPER FOODS!

-Non-comedogenic
-Fragrance free
-Oil free
-Allergy tested

Just place an order through my eBoutique and email me your Skincare choices to:

mark.rep.kmcginnis@gmail.com

I will ship your Skincare products to you, separate from your order


Happy Shopping :)