Etsy Gift Cards Are Coming Soon!

I just received an email announcing that Etsy will soon be introducing gift cards. I am very excited about this; it's something Etsy sellers have been requesting for quite some time. And I will definitely be taking advantage of gift cards to promote my shop with giveaways and contests. You can read more about the gift cards HERE.

Sale Items in My Etsy Shop!

I have a few items on sale in my shop. Please check them out. I will post a few photos and links below.
Check out the video too. Please rate, comment, and subscribe. Thanks and Happy Shopping.

Jazjewelz.etsy.com



Black and Gold Leather Earrings (repurposed)

Gold and Cowrie Shell Earrings

Malachite and Brass Ring (adjustable)

Copper Nugget Ring (adjustable)

Turquoise and brass ring (adjustable)

Black Faux Coral Earrings

Faceted Agate and Oxidized Copper Necklace

Agate and oxidized copper necklace

Oxidized Copper and Green Blue Earrings

Magnesite and Brass Necklace

Indian Aventurine Necklace

Turquoise and Copper Ring

Zigzag Copper and chain Earrings

Black Gold and Blue Beaded Hoop Earrings

Black Gold and Wood Hoop Earrings

There's even more on sale click HERE

My First Mamey Sapote Fruit

I was doing some light shopping at a small grocery and picked up Mamey Sapote fruit. I've never had it before but I have heard of (and used) Sapote oil which is used in one of my fave hair care products. When I got home I did a little search to find out more about the fruit, e.g., taste, texture,  and how to know when it's ripe. I learned that it should be medium-soft and it's taste was most often described a cross between pumpkin and sweet potato. And the texture was described as similar to avocado. Since my fruit was rock hard I let it sit for a few days to ripen. Once it was ready, I dug in and I liked it. And I totally got the pumkin/sweet potato taste. And the texture was very soft and creamy almost like sorbet. So I think I let it ripen too long. I ate half of the fruit and froze the rest.  I made a smoothie one day and the next day I made a shake with almond milk and a little bit of cinnamon. Twas delish! I'll be on the look out for more Mamey Sapote when I go shopping.

Jazjewelz - Friday Night Special Coupon Code

Hi all! I am having a little sale in my shop tonight. Please use code FRIDAYNIGHT15 to receive 15% off of your order. Happy shopping!
Jazjewelz.etsy.com

I Ran My First Race! 312 Wheat Ale Run

On Tuesday, August 21st I ran my very first race. Well, I wouldn't exactly call it a race because there were really no prizes besides a few raffle giveaways. Plus, this was a free run so there was no registration fee and no free tees or finisher bling. There was however complementary beer for finishers but I'm not a beer girl.  Anyway, the run was hosted by 312 Wheat Ale and it was a 3mile/5mile run. I'm a beginner so I choose to run the 3. And I did not run the whole way. I had to start walking about 10 minutes into the run *sighs* because my feet started to burn a little. I think I definitely need new shoes. Also, I was a little concerned about my toenail which started to lift of my toe earlier that day *another sigh*  so I think that made me a little self-conscious. Basically, my focus was a little off ; I felt unprepared.  And although I've been running a little over a month now and have successfully run 3 straight miles, I've been having the hardest time doing again. I do plan to keep at it though. And hopefully one day those 3 miles will be a breeze to me.

Special shout out to the shirtless man on the lakefront who passed me up 3 or 4 times. I'm sure he was running a 5 or 6 minute mile *rolls eyes* I'll get there some day.

photo credits
312chi.com
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Beauty Wishlist: Lush Cosmetics Emotional Brilliance

Have you seen Lush's new line of color cosmetics? I saw them about a month ago and I can't stop thinking about them. I kinda want to try everything. The line is called Emotional Brilliance.   The concept behind the line is the idea that every color corresponds to a certain emotion. And instead of choosing color based on trends or outfits, you should select color according to how you are feeling. Read more information about this concept here. And you can play a Color Wheel Game here on Lush.com that will match you up with your best colors.Yeah, I know it sounds gimmicky but I don't care; I kinda like gimmicks and novelty.
Emotional Brilliance consists of 1 mascara, 11 liquid eyeliners, 6 cream eyeshadows, 13 liquid lipsticks, 2 tints/primers, and 1 translucent powder. The eye and lip colors range from earth tones and metallics to vibrant jewel tones and neon brights.
While I  was excited to see Lush finally came out with a color line; I wasn't so excited about the prices which range from $18.95 -22.95. :( So as much as I'd like to pick up several of these products, I can't and won't. My disposable income doesn't allow for it.
Maybe I'll win the entire collection by entering this contest We'll see! Until then Emotional Brilliance will stay on my wishlist. But I will definitely head to my nearest Lush and see if they have the line yet. And If they do, maybe I could get a sample of something. I'll keep you posted.

Here are a few of the items I'm most interested in trying:

Liquid Lipstick

Liquid Eyeliner 

Eyes Right Mascara

Tints/Primers and Powder

All photos sourced at Lush.com

Youtube Video: August Birchbox 2012

Shu Uemura Art of Hair Full Shimmer Illuminating Shampoo (15ml/0.5fl.oz packet)
Full Size retails for $48.

Shu Uemura Art of Hair Full Shimmer Illuminating Treatment (15ml/0.5fl.oz packet)
There's not enough of this sample for my whole head. Feels nice though. Full size retails for $68.

Talika lipocils expert (2ml/0.07fl.oz)
Excited to see if this lash growth serum works. Full size retails for $55.

Shick Hydro Silk Razor (full-size razor)
I can always use a new razor. Full size retails for $9.99

Juicy couture Viva la Juicy La fleur (Sample spray vial)
I didn't care for this fragrance that much. The full size retails for $70.

Beauty Fixation Lipstick Touch-up (full-size)
Retails for $5

Yu-Be Moisturizing Skin Cream (0.1 oz tube)
Effective but I don't love the smell of the camphor in this. The full size retails for $16.

Sign up for Birchbox HERE

Check out my other boxes here:
Glamour Birchbox July 
Birchbox June
Gossip Girl May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012

Suddenly Obsessed with Quinoa

Have you heard of Quinoa?  I'm sure you have. Especially since it is getting increasingly popular in the mainstream food world. Well, I had it for the first time a few years ago and I thought it was just ok as far a taste was concerned. However, it was/is supposed to be fantastic nutritionally so I gave it a whirl.

 I tried the regular kind  and then an instant version which I did not like at all. Since then I've had it here and there but it hasn't come close to being a favorite. But, for some reason, about a week ago I suddenly got the urge to get some and eat it for breakfast. Yup! I specifically wanted to make it for breakfast-like a hot cereal. So I went to Trader Joes and picked up a box and cooked it according to the directions. I made this at night so I would not have to in the morning. The yield was probably easily enough for a family of four or five.

The next morning I warmed up a serving of quinoa on the stove. Then I turned off the stove, added a little almond milk, dried cranberries, cinnamon, crushed sliced almonds, and a little raw sugar to taste. Verdict? I really liked it. And I had it again for breakfast the next morning. After having this for breakfast twice, I decided to use the leftover portion  for other dishes which were: Quinoa cakes (pictured above) and quinoa with marinated tofu and edamame.  I used several recipes for the cakes as references only sort of freestyled my own version. And for  tofu and edamame,  I marinated tofu in a  bit of tamari and spices and added it to the quinoa along with edamame. Warmed it up in a skillet and added more seasonings to taste. Both dishes were pretty good but I liked the tofu and edamame combo better than the cakes. I will probably try more recipes with quinoa pretty soon. First on my list is something with lots of mushrooms. And then maybe desserts. I'll keep you posted!
Have you tried quinoa?
Do you like it?

Youtube Video Jazjewelz - New Jewelry In my Etsy Shop!

Check out this video of some of the new items in my shop. Please feel free to rate, comment, share my video and subscribe to my channel. All items are available at jazjewelz.etsy.com. Links to all of the items are in the description box of the video. I hope you all like the new stuff and there is more to come. I have so much material and I am in "use up my stash" mode. Stay tuned!

Please note that this is my more random channel. If you're only interested in my jewelry, please subscribe to my other channel HERE.