Favorite Things Etc on Twitter and Facebook!

Hi all! I created a Facebook page and twitter account for FavoriteThingsEtc blog. I hope you'll join me on those accounts. And if you haven't already, please join me on Youtube as well. I have not decided if I want to do a separate instagram yet but I'll keep ya posted.

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I'm Volunteering For Chicago Cares Serve-A-Thon!

Every year, for the past 17 years, Chicago Cares has hosted a day of service called the Serve-a-thon.  And this year I have decided to take part in it. On June 12, I and many other volunteers will meet at Soldier Field and then disperse to various Chicago Public Schools to revitalize and beautify (painting, building playgrounds, organizing libraries, etc...). And I must mention that I have been a member of Chicago Cares for a few months but I have not really done any volunteering yet. So when one of my twitter friends mentioned  they were starting a team for the Serve-a-thon and needed volunteers I jumped on it.

Now that I am team member I am supposed to recruit more volunteers and solicit donations. Our teams' goal for donations is $1000 and each member is personally challenged to raise $150. So far I have raised $20 with ten dollars being my own money. And the other $10 came from @Paintboxsoaps of Paintbox Soapworks  (you should check out this shop - great soaps and other products).

I am really hoping we reach our team goal and I want to reach my goal too. So in the next few days I am going to tweet, email, and update facebook asking people to volunteer and/or donate to our team so that we can help make Chicago Public Schools a little better. And I plan to make a larger donation too. Every little bit counts

If you would like to volunteer or  make a donation here is the link to our team page:
http://chicagocares.kintera.org/faf/search/searchTeamPart.asp?ievent=347877&team=3768483

And Here is my personal member page:
http://chicagocares.kintera.org/serve-a-thon2010/jazjewelz

I Have A New Twitter!

I  have another  twitter account (twitter.com/js_mitchell)  which will be a little more professional than my other account (twitter.com/jazjewelz)! I decided to create a new account because I am in the job market and I'd like to focus on getting work and making connections. I will still tweet about my jewelry and what I am making but will keep the foolery out of it. Lol! That means less le sighing, ranting, OMGing, LMBO, Oh LAWDing, cackling, posting of ridiculous photos, etc...... but I will still add a dash of my personality as to not bore people. And just to be clear, I am not closing my old account and I will tweet from it too. I merely want to have a more focused, streamlined account as well. And I have seen several people who have personal and professional accounts which seems to work for them. So if you'd like to follow please do so and I will return follow.

I'm Going Natural!!! Update: I'm Natural Now!

In my last post I informed you all that I was going natural. Well I am there now! On January 8, 2010 I cut my relaxed hair off and am now sporting a twa (teeny weeny afro). My decision to cut my hair on Jan. 8 was sort of on impulse; I initially wanted to wait until to February to do the big chop. However, I was looking in the mirror and just decided to go for it. Besides, I was tired of trying to blend the two textures (which I did unsuccessfully anyway and just resorted to wearing a tam). And I felt that I had enough growth to work with. So I snipped away and the beau trimmed it for me with his clippers.
I am very happy with my hair I'm glad I made this decision.
Here are few pics (taken with cellphone so a little blurry) of my hair:

My Chopped Ends

Yum Yum Candles!

Soy Tin Wax Candles


Soy Massage Candles


In a couple of older posts I mentioned that I once worked as a wardrobe assistant on a road tour. And where do people on road tours sleep? In stinky hotel rooms of course! Well.... Not all of the hotel rooms we're smelly but quite a few were. And that meant it was time to pull out the scented candles. So this is sort of where my love for candles started because I hardly ever used them before this tour. However, I use them all time and one of my new favorite places to buy them is Yum Yum Candle.

I first heard about them on Twitter (yes Twitter again) where I am finding a lot of new cool small/indie businesses. One of the popular beauty bloggers I follow on Twitter (@afrobella) mentioned Yum Yum so I decided to follow them(@YumYumCandle) and check out their online shop. And the first items I noticed were the soy massage candles which are the best of both worlds; fragrance for the air and your bod plus moisture. So when I placed my first order I got the soy massage candle in the Clean fragrance (also comes in Coco Lavender) which is light, fresh and indeed smells clean. I also got a soy wax candle in a scent called Cashmere which is warm, cozy, and a little woodsy. I really liked both candles a lot and I especially loved the scent Cashmere. In fact, I loved Cashmere so much that I asked Yum Yum if they could make a custom massage candle in that scent so I could smell like it; they made one for me and I am soo happy with it.

Needless to say I am pleased with my candles and look forward to getting more.
I must also mention that they offer other home fragrance products such as Reed Diffusers and Room & Linen Sprays and they also have seasonal items and holiday gifts.

Follow Yum Yum Candle on Twitter and become a Facebook Fan to get info about deals, discounts, and new products.

I Got Free Juara Skincare Samples!

I have a little joke about Twitter being my enabler because I am following sooo many bath/beauty/skincare companies. And these companies usually tweet often about their products, sales, discounts, etc..., and I usually end up buying something sooner or later (depending on my budget). Well, one day @JUARAskincare made a tweet about free skincare samples and of course I emailed them quickly. And a few days later got a package with 5 generous samples:
Lime Puree Cucumber Clarifying Mask
Candlenut Hand and Body Balm
Sweet Black Tea & Ginger Mattefying Moisturizer
Rice Facial Cleanser
Tamarind Tea Hydrating Toner
I have only tried the hand and body balm so far; feels nice, light, and has a warm nutty scent.
I will be trying the rest soon!
You can visit their online store at http://www.juaraskincare.com/

I Got Smells Goods!

Over the past couple of weeks I have gone on little shopping spree. And what did I buy on this spree? Smell goods of course. And it just so happens that the company I bought my products from is called Smell Goods 98. I came across Smell Goods 98 on Twitter and Facebook and decided to browse their online shop. I saw plenty of items that I wanted to try and although I did not buy anything right away, I kept them in my mental wishlist (yes I have a mental wishlist and I don't forget items that I'm interested in ). So, one day I was on Twitter and the Smell Goods owner, @smellgoodslady, made a tweet about one of her products. This item sounded like something I wanted to try so I ordered it along with a few other products. And here is what I got:

Rubdown
A multiple purpose (massage, hair,scalp, moisturizer) herb infused oil.

I really like this oil and have used it on my hair, scalp, and body and it is quite hydrating. I chose the citrus scent.


Mojito Sugar Smoother
An exfoliant made with sugar, marine minerals, and fruit oils.

This exfoliant has a nice balance of oil and sugar and the lime/mint fragrance is just right.


Signature Oil Sample Pack
A sample pack of the Signature oils- you get to choose 12 fragrance sample vials for $6.

This a quite a steal and a great way to try before you buy and there are lots of fragrances to choose from. So far the Sheba fragrance is my favorite.
Note: Every Wednesday you can buy 2 fragrances and get one free



Raw African Black Soap
A deep cleansing and nourishing soap made from palm leaves, dried plaintain leaves, cocoa pod powder, and kernel oil.




Um... all I can say is...Where has this soap been all of my life? I have used other black soaps and black soap products (that are actually black in color) and they have never done anything for my skin; Raw African Black Soap is a whole different story . After only a few uses I noticed smoother, clearer and more even toned skin. Also, I used it as a shampoo and my hair was squeaky clean. And I must mention that it comes in chunks (see above photo) so I would recommend cutting or breaking it into small pieces because a teeny, tiny bit goes a long way. Oh, and it it quite the value at only $8 for a pound.
Note: I'm serious when I say a little goes a long way. I use a very, very small crumb to wash my face at night and a small chunk to wash hair.

Overall, I am quite pleased with my purchases and will definitely get more Smell Goods in the near future. You can browse their online store and see what suits you and there are plenty of trial sized items if you'd like to try before you buy.
Also, follow them on Twitter and become a Facebook fan for info and discounts.

I Got My Prize from Weleda!!!

In my previous post I informed you all that I won a gift set from Weleda during a Twitter contest. And I got that prize last Thursday (I know I'm late posting about this but I've been a little busy). What I received was a gift set which included the Pomegranate Creamy Body Wash,Pomegranate Regenerating Body Oil, a loofah, and info about their products all encased in a lovely little reusable bag. I used the body oil immediately and it felt really great, quite moisturizing, and had a lovely scent. The body wash is great too and lives up to the name "creamy" and it smelled really wonderful also.Overall I really like these products and I love Weleda, their philosophy and mission.

I Won a Gift Set from Weleda! Woot!

I am pretty excited because I won a gift set from Weleda (from their new Pomegranate line). It all happened on Twitter. I was reading through tweets as usual when I saw their tweet which was sort of like a trivia question. Their followers were asked to retweet the question along with the correct answer-so I did! And I do these types of Twitter retweeting contests all the the time so I answered the question and didn't think much of it. In fact I got off of Twitter shortly after, but of course I got back on later and saw Weleda mention me. They needed my mailing info so that they could send me my prize. Needless to say I was very glad to win and I can not wait to try the pomegranate products. I'll let you all know how I like them.

Twitter Roll-Let's Follow!

Hi to all who follow my blog! I just wanted to do a quick twitter roll. I know that many of you are already on twitter and we are probably following each other-especially fellow Etsians and crafters. However there might be some of you that I am not following and vice versa. So please leave your twitter user name in the comment box and I will be sure to follow you. Oh and I recently changed my twitter username from tourmaline2777 to jazjewelz because I noticed that plenty of spambots (and pornbots) use numbers at the end of their name; I surely do not want to be associated with them. Anyway, comment away with your usernames and I will be sure to follow! Thanks!

A Michael Jackson Memory!!

On yesterday, June 25, 2009, pop legend Michael Jackson passed away. I was on the internet when I found out. In fact, I was on Twitter on which the news of him being rushed to the hospital and dying was spread hours before I heard it on CNN or local news. At first I really did not believe the news I saw on Twitter-I thought they were just rumors and/or a hoax. Then I finally heard confirmation on the local news and I was really saddened. And despite all of the bizarre happenings and scandals that happened in his latter years-there is no denying that Michael Jackson was super talented. And he had one of the greatest impacts on pop culture and the world for that matter.

Now I would like to share one of my favorite Michael Jackson moments. It is from a movie called The Wiz which is an African-American adaption of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz .Enjoy!

You can't win - Michael Jackson - The wiz
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I Said I'd Never Do it But....

I could not resist. I am talking about Twitter. I, just a couple of days ago said that I was not interested in Twitter or tweeting. Besides I have an esty shop, facebook, myspace, website-I don't want to deal with anything else. Plus who cares what I am doing? However, I saw some people on Etsy forums talking about it and they said it was a good way to promote their shop and some even got a few sales. This caused me to rethink twitter and I joined this Monday. Of course I am addicted now and I'm updating way more I thought I would. In fact I update more about regular, average stuff than I do about my etsy shop(shame). Maybe I should have expected this though because I said the exact same thing about Facebook (was not interested) but I joined that and got hooked especially when I started to get in contact with so many old friends. I can't wait to see what next phenomena I vow to not get involved in but then eventually do. I guess the lesson for me is never say never!