Saved by Grace

Oh! So pretty! Giveaway hop!

Published on May 17, 2024, by Christine in Giveaways, Product Reviews.

Welcome to the Oh! So Pretty Hop hosted by How Was Your Day? and Saved By Grace. All of the blogs below have joined forces to bring you beauty-related giveaways. Each blog has a prize package of at least $25 worth of cosmetics, perfumes, and other beauty products. Once you’ve entered here, be sure to hop along to all the others on the list.

I am giving away a FABULOUS prize package! An En Rouge Elite Cosmetics custom eye color kit! The kit includes a 5 color eyeshadow palette, an eye shadow brush, liquid eyeliner and mascara! All together, this would cost you over $80! The set is on sale for $65.50. Make sure you check out my review on it

a Rafflecopter giveaway

83 Comments.

Sexual Assault Myths ~ will society ever change it’s mind?

Published on May 16, 2024, by Christine in My Blog.

I am going to tackle a subject today that is a tough one. It is also maybe not characteristic of my blog’s niche, but I also feel it is an important one. I am going to be talking about sexual assault.

First, let me say that I am a survivor of sexual assault. (I say survivor because that is what I am. I am NOT a victim). The subject has been under the microscope lately in my home-town of Missoula, Montana and I am pretty saddened by a particular blog post that was made on Jezebel.com

In the article, the “reporter” came to Missoula and talked to several residents, mostly college students. What was said is no less that vile in my opinion. There was a lot of misconceptions about why sexual assault occurs and TONS of victim-blaming. I could not believe what I read. I could not believe with all the education on sexual assault, people still felt this way.

I do have to say though, Missoulians are a great bunch in a lot of ways. Aaron Traylor, a local popular Dj on a local radio station posted a report on the article and posted a picture of himself with a sign that said he is against what the article on Jezebel said. In turn, I posted a similar picture and it started a ball of positivity rolling that said Missoulians would not stand to be labeled “the Rape Capitol of America” as we were dubbed in the Jezebel article and we would stand tall and supportive of those who had experienced assault.

What is so terrible about ‘victim blaming’ is it makes the victim feel further isolated and keeps the assaults further un-reported. Why would a woman (or man for that matter?) want to be put in the spotlight after a sexual assault and further looked down upon when they need to be supported?

As a society, we need to be more sensitive and educated on how this happens. We need to open our hearts and minds. I don’t see any reason not to.

Some common misconceptions and thoughts about sexual assault that really make me angry:

*”If the victim wasn’t dressed that way and didn’t ‘tease’ a man, she wouldn’t get raped or assaulted.

WRONG. There are plenty of cases where old ladies wearing completely covered clothing get assaulted. A rapist will rape/assault based on POWER and CONTROL. It is NOT about sex.

*”She’s a sl** anyways. she probably just regrets sleeping with him and so she made up this story now”

WRONG. I can tell you from my personal promiscuous past that while I regretted sleeping with some men I did when I was intoxicated, it was not assault. Assault FEELS way different than a poor choice. It is so much more than that!

WHEN will society get past these opinions?

Are there ways to prevent sexual assault in some cases? Sure there are and many are common sense:

Don’t get overly intoxicated and stay with friends (even IF you don’t you don’t deserve or ask to get assaulted!)

Party with people you know well and who will protect you (again, even if you don’t, you do not deserve or ask to get assaulted!)

Bottom line: NO ONE deserves to get assaulted!

What people need to realize is it does no one any good to blame a victim. Imagine how you would feel if you had a crime committed against you and you were too ashamed to tell anyone because you felt others would judge you! What a lonely place to be.

I can’t imagine “making up” an assault either. With the attitude many hold with victim blaming, why in the world would someone want that kind of attention enough to make up a story?

I can tell you that sexual assault can and does often devastate a life. In my case, it took years of healing and in many ways, I am still in the process.

Please think before you speak when it comes to this. Your words can be extremely damaging to the very people who need you.

In love,

Chrissie

5 Comments.

En Rouge is customizing your eye color!

Published on May 15, 2024, by Christine in Beauty, Giveaways, Product Reviews.

I was so excited when I was given the opportunity to test out En Rouge make-up. Before I had even gotten my make up from them, I skipped on over to their website to browse.

I was impressed by how high of quality the makeup looked! I am a make-up brush addict and they have tons to choose from!

I was sent a custom eye kit that is made just for my eye color! I have blue eyes and have been told that browns are wonderful and I use them often so I was thrilled when this kit came with everything I would need to create my beautiful and eye-popping look!

The kit features a 5 color eyeshadow set, brown liquid liner, black mascara and a flat squirrel brush.

I LOVE the colors in the eyeshadow kit:

What is also great is the eyeshadow is paraben free and mineral based. They are also long lasting and the colors are rich.

I love liquid eyeliner but I admit, I don’t have enough practice with it, but I like how the color in the kit makes my eyes pop! It is water-proof as well.

The mascara is non-flaking and water-resistant. It is great for those that wear contacts like myself and those with sensitive eyes.

I could not stop touching the brush! It is so soft to the touch and holds the powder well for even coverage.

All these products together would cost over $80 (ARV $83.50) but the kit is sold together for a great price of $65.50. That’s a savings of $18!

The kit comes packed in a tin box with paper gift confetti. This would make an awesome gift! I know I was so happy to get it I actually giggled with joy

These kits are not just for those with blue eyes either. They have one for each of the common eye colors; blue, hazel/green and brown!

Take a look at my eyes and how they pop! I love that the color enhances them, but is not too bold. This is a great day look!

First, myself before applying:

Next after just the eyeshadow:

I applied all 5 colors in layers. Here is my eyes closed to give you a better idea:

And here is my final look with the eye liner and mascara added. This looks great with or without my dreaded glasses!

En Rouge has been generous enough to give my readers a chance to win a Basic Eye Kit for their eye color right here on Saved By Grace! Please join me on May 18th for the “Oh! So Pretty!” giveaway hop right here on my blog for your chance to win!

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26 Comments.

Who in the world are you, anyway?

Published on May 15, 2024, by Christine in My Blog.

Now that I have some readers, I wanted to share a bit about myself so you know the person behind the blog!

I am a Montana native. I grew up here and at 30 years old, I still live here. I think being a Montana native, I have caught myself forgetting how beautiful it is here. I would like to eventually move because I feel like I am stuck here, but for now, I am happy.

I am the mother of a 9 year old girl who is more of a tomboy. While she enjoys barbies and dolls, she likes to play outside and get dirty and is not too much into makeup or clothes and she actually doesn’t really enjoy shopping all that much.

My husband is Spencer. He and I have been married now 3 years and together for 5. He has lived everywhere it seems! New York, Detroit, LA, San Diego, San Fransisco, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina…I think one time he told me had had lived in about 40 of the 50 states so far.

My friends and family call me “Chrissie”, but my name is Christine I am a believer in God and a Christian (hence my blog’s name)

I am a very rule orientated person. I like things to be “just so” and I like order. I definitely don’t do well in chaos.

I am a stay at home mom, even though my daughter is school aged.

I suffer from mental illness, but I have found that blogging and the structure of it as well as the networking with other people has helped a lot with coping! I am so glad I decided to blog!

So now you know a little about me..even if I may be boring!

1 Comment.

Redeemed! I am his!

Published on May 15, 2024, by Christine in Christian Living, Giveaways, Product Reviews.

I wanted to say, Happy (late!) Mother’s Day to all the Mom’s out there! I was given the chance to review the I am His Jewelry set from the “Redeemed’ product line from DaySpring that is called (in)courage, on the (in)spired deals website. My Mom has inspired me and being a Mom has really inspired me!

My Mother has a huge heart. She has shown me that no matter what, she will always be there to be counted on. We have not always had the best of relationships, but my Mom is so special because she has loved me unconditionally, even with the things I have put her through. She has shown me that family counts and that family matters.

Being a Mother has made me realize I am stronger than I think I am. It has changed my goals in life. It has made me realize that no matter what I think I look like at a given moment, my daughter thinks I am beautiful. It has also made me realize my downfalls and pushed me to change them.

Motherhood has led me to see the beauty in life and this product is definitely beautiful!

What is more beautiful that knowing God loves you and that you are His? I love that this jewelry set reminds me whenever I wear it and look at it. If I feel alone, scared or unsure, I can just look at my bracelet and necklace and be reminded that 2 Thessalonians says I am TREASURED and I belong to a Great and Just God! HE chose ME to be saved by the blood of Jesus! Wow! That is truly wondrous and enough to make me realize I am truly special in the Lord’s eyes!

“But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.”

With Mother’s day here and gone, I can always use a reminder that I am special, I am wanted and I am REDEEMED! I think as Mothers we get wrapped up in and do so much for the ones we love-our children and our husbands, that we often forget how important we are-and how important we are to them and to the One who made us!

This jewelry set is part of the Redeemed line of products on the (in)courage, (in)spired deals website. It is normally $29.98 but is on sale this month for $22.99! Plus, with any $25 purchase, you can get FREE shipping for a limited time! It includes the Necklace with the imprint of “I am His” on the back.

Also included is the beautiful bracelet that says “Treasured” on it. Both include the 2 Thess. scripture on them as well. Each piece comes in it’s own cloth bag!

This jewelry set is so inspirational! I am so happy Dayspring gave me this chance to review it. It truly is very beautiful and well crafted!

I was given a free jewelry set from the Dayspring (in)spired line of products in exchange for a review. Although I was given a free product, all opinions are all my own. This disclosure is in accordance to the FTC guidelines.

DaySpring (in)spired has been so generous to offer my readers a chance to win! You can win a set of the same jewelry I got, the “Redeemed” bracelet, necklace and cloth pouches by just entering on the rafflecopter below! (click on “read more” if you don’t see the rafflecopter form)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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12 Comments.

MARK. by Avon touch & glow Review and Giveaway!

Published on May 13, 2024, by Christine in Beauty, Giveaways, Product Reviews.

I love eyeshadow, and I love make-up! This wonderful cream palette is an all-in-one!

I was given the opportunity to review this great product by MARK. representative Anika Haynes. She was very friendly, fun and upbeat. She is also very knowledgeable about the products and eager to answer any questions you may have about Mark.

The touch & glow is an all over shimmer, but since it is a cream, I found that it doubles great as a smooth eyeshadow. I love the way it glides on smooth. It is flawless as an eyeshadow.

At first look, it appears to be a powder, but it is such a creamy consistency.

I applied it to my face as an all over shimmer, but I really prefer it as an eyeshadow. There are nine wonderful shades that match just about anything and work with all skin tones.

The cream to powder formula is not sticky or heavy feeling. It was near 85 degrees today and I didn’t get any “melting”.

The touch & glow shimmer cream cubes palette can be bought for just $16.00 on Anika’s MARK. store online or you can win it right here on Saved By Grace!

Just click “read more” if you cannot see the rafflecopter form!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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28 Comments.

Eyebrows, the easy way!

Published on May 12, 2024, by Christine in Beauty.

I get asked all the time how to do my eyebrows.

Truth be told, I don’t really have eyebrows. (lol) I just fill in what I have with an eyebrow liner and powder.

To start, you will need tweezers, powder in your brow color and an eye liner or brow pencil in same color,and a clean face.

Here is me pre-eyebrows. You can see why I do my eyebrows

It should be noted as well that I wear glasses, so I do my brows a bit bolder and thicker because of this. You can adjust your look to what fits your face.

Take the liner and line your eyebrows lightly to what you want the shape to be.

Don’t worry about hairs that are stray at this point. We will get to them later.

Now, take your brow powder and start to fill in with an angled brow brush. I happened to have lost mine, so I am stuck using a lip brush for now. A brow brush really does work more effectively, though.

When you are done filling in, it should look similar to this:

Now you can tackle those strays. Just pluck whatever doesn’t fit into your ideal brow shape. Don’t over pluck. You don’t want to take them all off! When you are done, take a brow comb and comb them neatly into place

To finish off, I put eyeliner and eye shadow on.

Here is me with my finished look without glasses and with:

Hope you found my tutorial helpful I was always afraid to play around with my eyebrows, then just went ahead and did it one day and I think it does so much for my face now!

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Entertain Like a Texas Gentleman Book review and Giveaway!

Published on May 12, 2024, by Christine in Book Reviews, Giveaways.

What a wonderful Gift for the man in your life! And what a wonderful time for me to review it with Father’s day just around the corner!

This book was written by David Harap, who is a chef that has traveled the world and found the perfect recipes just for guys.

My husband loved this book. He has a passion for cooking just like me and loved how the book was broken down into what he called “Dude categories”. He’s right! The categories of entertaining in this book are just what any man would like. This book was specifically written so men would feel super comfortable in the kitchen when entertaining just about any crowd for any event.

There are chapters on how to cook up some great finger foods and entrees for a cheese and whine party, a brunch with the in-laws, a Superbowl party and even a chapter for men on cooking with kids. There are many great themed events in here!

What we both liked a lot was the tear-out grocery lists in the back of the book. These grocery lists give you the break down of what you need to make each recipe and you can just tear and go!

My husband appreciated the chapter on knife skills and basic kitchen skills such as conversions and basics to planning a party.

Entertain like a Texas Gentleman has a great layout. This is the book for any kitchen shy man in your life!

David Harap has a website where he has video tutorials on some of the recipes and updated recipes of the month as well as more shopping list that you can print out for some of the wonderful recipes! Come see him at his “Entertain Like a Gentleman” website.

You can buy “Entertain like a Texas Gentleman” on Amazon or you can win a copy here!

Simply enter on the Rafflecopter form! If you can’t see it, click “read more” and wait for a bit for it to load. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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6 Comments.

Weekly Featured Blogger!-Kangaroo Mama

Published on May 11, 2024, by Christine in My Blog.

This week’s featured blogger is my buddy Kathy from Kangaroo Mama!

1) Why did you start blogging?

I actually always wanted to start a blog but had a million excuses, I mean reasons, why it didn’t happen: No time, no ideas for a good blog name, too busy with work, friends, husband, going out, didn’t know where to start, etc. In the past, I wanted a blog to share about products, services, and places that I enjoy since I was doing that anyways with friends and family, however, it just wasn’t enough motivation for me to start one.

Fast forward a couple years, with child (daughter that we nickname Kiggster) and heading back to work 3 months after her birth…I was depressed, having separation anxiety, and needing something to help me feel bonded to my daughter and husband while I was away at work. So to take away some of the stress of being back at work, I would blog so that I could think about my family while I was pumping milk at work. So in a way, this blog serves as an e-journal of Kiggster’s milestones. Then once I had a handle on blogging, I added product and service reviews so that I could share about the things that we use and love plus also talk about tips and resources that helped us on things along the way (ie. helpful resources for nursing, etc).

2) How did you come up with the name for your blog?

Would you like the short answer or the long answer?! For the long answer as to why I’m called Kangaroo Mama, you can read my posting here:

http://kangaroomama.com/origins-of-the-name/

But for the short answer, it was because my daughter, Kiggster, when she was born, she constantly wanted to be carried so I would sling her around everywhere! We did everything together in that sling, cook, eat, take walks, play piano, sometimes I even had her in a sling when I went to sleep…sitting up! So when I started the blog, that was the name that popped up in my head!

3) What is your blog about?

My blog is about my life, whether as a struggling working mom, a domestically-challenged wife, an amateur crafter, wanna-be photographer, and much more. ”Companionship for all of life’s journeys,” that’s what my blog is all about! I blog about the things that are relevant to my life at the moment and I try to also keep it real about the things that I struggle with so that if there is someone struggling out there to keep things sane in their life, they know they’re not alone!

4) What is one thing in your life you are most proud of?
My family! I am so grateful to have such an amazing, patient, serving, and loving husband in my life that constantly watches out for our family and leads us in a Godly direction. I am more than blessed to have my little miracle, Kiggster, who is growing and changing daily and a reminder to me how great God is!

5) What do you like to do to relax?
Relax, what’s that?! Just Kidding! I like to snuggle with my family on the couch together and do nothing! Doing nothing is pretty relaxing to me! Or sitting and having story/music/game/dance time or just having fun together as a family!

6) Tell me about your favorite food.
I love anything with coconut milk in it and so since Thai food utilizes the most coconut milk, I love that the most! Although, if anyone knows of any other food that has yummy coconut milk dishes or has a favorite dish that uses lots of coconut milk (appetizer, dessert, entree or drink), please send it my way, because I would love to try it!

7) What are you looking forward to?
This is bad but right now, I’m looking forward to one day being able to stay home with my daughter and teach her the ways of the force (oh my husband’s Star Wars addiction is rubbing off on me)! But since that might be a ways off in the future, what I look forward to each day is coming home and spending time with my family every evening.

8) How would your friends describe your personality?

Oh, this is hard, I need to phone a friend! I think they would say I love a good party, whether it’s throwing, attending, or staying late at one. They’d say I was a night owl, borderline insomniac. I crave time with friends-my love language is quality time. Gifts are nice, saying nice things to and about me don’t hurt, serving me is appreciated but what I need more than those things is spending quality bonding time together! I am happy for and sympathize with my friends through their victories and challenges in their lives. I love a good laugh and it usually doesn’t take much to make me laugh…then the problem is making me stop because I can laugh until tears start welling up! Go ahead, make me laugh!

Warmly,

Kathy

You can find Kathy on her facebook fanpage, follow her on twitter and check all all she is diggin’ on pinterest as well! I am sure she would love it if you did!

2 Comments.

Alli’s Everlasting Arrangements!

Published on May 10, 2024, by Christine in Product Reviews.

Does your Mom love flowers? Looking for the perfect, unique gift for her for her special day? Want a gift that means something?

Look no further than Alli’s Everlasting Arrangements!

These are individual and completely unique fabric arrangements. No two are exactly the same (although upon request they can make two that are similar).

Alli’s Everlasting Arrangements was started in the memory of 24 year old Alli (Allison) Heyden. Alli had a dream of becoming a fashion designer. Alli was living out her dream in New York City as an up-and-coming designer when she tragically passed away. She had even been voted as one of the “Top 100 Up and Coming Fashion Designers in the United States”.

Alli’s Everlasting arrangements are made of the same fabric Alli used in her collections.

When you make a purchase at Alli’s Everlasting Arrangements, you not only help memorize Alli, but give back. A percentage of each sale goes to the Alli Heyden Passion for Fashion Scholarship Fund. This fund is set up to help others realize their own dream of fashion design, through the Savannah College of Art and Design.

These flowers are absolutely beautiful! I was in awe when I got mine in the mail. It came complete with a vase, with matching glass stones in it.