Holiday Boutique.

I'm hosting a holiday boutique this weekend at my house. If you are not local, but would like to start your holiday shopping, I'm sure you will find something you like!

If you order something from Stella & Dot, I'll enter your name into my raffle. I will be raffling off a piece of jewelry or a key pouch. I think I'll give the winner the option between the patent leather key pouch, Trio Soiree Ring or Caroline Pendant Necklace.

Please find below all the information you need if interested in making a purchase. You don't have to be here in person - its an online catalog party too. If you are in the Morgan Hill area, please let me know if you would like to come to my holiday boutique!


Here is some information for those who would like to order online:



Stella & Dot

Shop at: www.stelladot.com/alyssawagner

Select Alyssa Wagner as your hostess at checkout.



Willow House

Shop at: www.erinblodgett.willowhouse.com AMAZING home items, so cute. Select Alyssa Wagner as your hostess.



Scentsy

Shop at: https://heathermontero.scentsy.us/Buy?partyId=57575493&fb_source=message



Hope you find someting you love for yourself or as a holiday gift! If you are interested in ordering, please do so by November 13th.

We've Been Doing Stuff.

Hello neglected blog. I like blogging but as you can see, I haven't done it in awhile. We've been having fun doing family things and the thought of catching my blog up with our activities makes me tired. So, I think I'll just post a pic here and there and then try to resume my semi-regular posting activities.

We've been busy making weird faces...

Goose egg + vomit = Emergency Room

"You've been here before, right?" -Triage Nurse
"Mmm, hmmm..." -Charlie's mama

Happy birthday balloons are fun even if its not your birthday. Thanks dollar store!

Visits with Mimi and Poppy are one of the highlights to Charlie's week.

Terrorizing Buddy is a good time killer.

First annual trip for apple picking at Gizdich Ranch. We have not had too many of the apples we picked but we devoured the pumpkin pie and apple pies we bought.

Going to "sea" the Monterey Bay Aquarium and having lunch in Moss Landing is good for the soul.

Playdates with neighbor friends makes for a great start to the day. Have I mentioned what great neighbors I have?! It took us 3 years to meet but thats ok. We are making up for lost time, now.



A trip to the pumpkin patch during the week is highly recommended. And, free parking. Score.

Charlie, the artist.

I've also been busy with my little bus-nas. #6 out of 250 peeps in sales in September. Just sayin'.... :)

That's all for now.

My Goal for October.

As most of you know, its Breast Cancer Awareness month! In the month of October, Stella & Dot will be donating 20% of the sales of our Tribute Bracelet to the Breast Cancer Research Fund. I will also match Stella & Dot's donation and donate 20% as well. My goal is to sell 50 bracelets in the month of October which will be a total donation of $720. If you want to make a purchase, be sure my name is listed as the stylist and hostess at checkout. http://shop.stelladot.com/style/b2c_en_us/b178rg.html?s=alyssawagner

Breast Cancer Awareness Bracelet.

Yesterday, Stella & Dot released their Holiday capsule release. A capsule release is a mini release between the BIG releases (Fall & Spring/Summer). One of my favorites is the Tribute Bracelet because its very cute and best of all, 20% of the proceeds will be donated to breast cancer awareness. This bracelet would make a great gift and a meaningful one to boot. Behold, the Tribute Bracelet....

$36 - The rose gold pave bar anchors on a delicate band of faceted hematite beads

Linky: http://shop.stelladot.com/style/b2c_en_us/shop/bracelets/b178rg.html

Be sure to search for Alyssa Wagner as your stylist if you haven't been to my website before. We moved over to a new fancy site but for some reason, I can't direct someone to a particular product on MY site. It goes to the general site unless you have been to my page before (cookies).

So excited for Fall! I've said it once and I'll say it many more times: its the best time of the year. It doesn't feel like Fall is here yet, but sometimes I pretend its Fall and make some hot cocoa even though its 70 degrees out at 9:00 pm. Rob makes fun of me but thats ok.

I'm also loving that my business is taking off. Fall is the biggest time of year for retail and that is ringing true with my Stella & Dot venture. I have 6 trunk shows booked for October and 7 for November. I hope to book at least 1 or 2 trunk shows at each of those trunk shows and earn more free jewelry (and of course, commissions!). I'm about to hit my 3rd "jump start bonus" which gives me $500 in free jewelry. I'm hoping to hit 1 more after this one so I have a total of $2,000 in free jewelry. I think its do-able but I will have to work my arse off a little. ;) But really, I'm having fun. My favorite part is the trunk show - it really doesn't feel like work. Speaking of - if you would like to have a trunk show, I would be honored to have one for you at your home, at the office, I can even give you my jewels for a week in a cute S&D jewelry tote and you can get orders on the go and still get your hostess rewards. I came up with an idea to have a Black Friday trunk show so people can skip the malls and shop out of their friend's home. I have the date open (Nov 25) so if you are interested, let me know!

See, this is why I don't post about Stella & Dot too much because I ramble because I am excited about it.

Have a great Sunday! Happy Fall!

Photo Challenge: Day 5 - Someone I Love.

My high tech loving boys.

Public Service Announcement.

When you are at the post office counter and searching for a pen in your bag, do a visual check before pulling out your "pen."

It's Fall!! I Need This. Ok...Want This.

The Pottery Barn Fall/Winter catalog arrived yesterday. I'm loving these cable knit blankets. I've been wanting a nice, good quality blanket for our family room for awhile.The price tag is hefty (on sale for $99). I scoffed and thought "ya right." But then I started thinking "why not". Well the answer to that question is the price, of course.

When we finally decorated the entryway, I decided to not get cheap and buy things that made me happy. If that meant spending months (or years) on having an entryway I loved then so be it. I splurged on a couple items and lucked out with some free and awesome items or some items found on the cheap that I loved. The result: my favorite space in the house.

So back to the blanket....it makes me happy and I'm considering using part of my next commission check on it. I had a REALLY good trunk show last week and made a little over $500 in commissions for the 2 hours I was there. My commissions are to be used for entertainment or if we are having a tight month then we will use commissions for the unexpected items that come up in the month. Well, I unexpectedly fell in love with this blanket. That counts, right? I'll hold out for now but gosh I want that blanket!

Rob said we could never have that blanket because Buddy would destory it. Its probably true. Buddy gets his bone, puts it under the blanket, then chews the bone through the blanket creating holes in the blanket. This isn't a big deal because our blankets are cheap. We have 2 Sharks blankets we got at customer appreciation night for free, an Ikea blanket (gift from about 10 years ago) and a blanket received as part of a bridesmaid gift, it has my name embroidered on it. Sorry, Dorothy! Buddy just loves your blanket. :)

Our mismatched blankets with the king of the household doing what he does best:

What do you think....shall we splurge on a new blanket for Fall?

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Our 5th wedding anniversary was on September 9th. We got all dolled up (I curled my pony tail) and went to dinner at Il Postale (yum!) and I had my first espresso martini (double yum). Our meal wasn't too spendy because I had bought a gift certificate from restaurant.com (love that website!). The dinner was delish and we almost had the restaurant to ourselves because it was a little early.

After dinner, we went to see My Idiot Brother. It was entertaining - a couple laugh out loud moments. The part I hated the most was when I realized half way in the movie that I had chocolate all over my arm and I had no idea where it came from. I was aware I had some junior mints but I couldn't figure out how it got on my arm. I was trying to find a sanitizing wipe in my purse but the 2 I found were all dried up. After the movie, when the lights came on, I realized I had more chocolate on my other arm, jeans and all over my bag (of course, it was the most expensive bag I own, my beloved Gucci). Basically I dropped a thin mint and it melted between my bag and my arm. Gross. I still haven't tried to clean my bag yet. Maybe I should do that today....Wow, sorry for the long random tangent!

The traditional 5 year gift is wood. We are going to get 4 new wooden kitchen table chairs once the budget allows.

If you must know, I'm sporting Stella & Dot's Chantilly Lace Earrings (best seller) and the matching Chantilly Lace Cuff (I died when I put it on - made me feel oh so fancy!).

Happy Anniversary, Poo!

Photo Challenge: Day 4 - Favorite Color.

I like a lot of colors but my favorite color has always been yellow. Its fun and happy! My skin tone is a little yellow-ish so I don't look bad wearing it either - perk!

Source: http://dianasneighborhood.com/category/color/

Photo Challenge: Day 3 - Clouds.

Taken in our backyard.

Fashion's Night Out.

Join in Fashion's Night Out and support fashion and the economy by shopping my Stella & Dot "Mystery Hostess" Online Trunk Show today until 8:00 pm pacific.

1. Shop online at my eboutique www.stelladot.com/alyssawagner

2. Enter "Mystery" "Hostess" as the name of the Trunk Show Hostess

3. Make a purchase and be entered to win $45-$250 in FREE jewelry and 50% off coupons that the Mystery Hostess will win in a qualified show based on everyone shopping!!!

Encourage your friends to shop and the winning Mystery Hostess will win the maximum hostessing rewards!! The more that is bought, the more free jewelry! Get a head start on your holiday shopping.

I will notify the winner via email.

Having trouble deciding? Here are some of my best sellers:

Soiree Trio Ring ($49)

Soiree Studs - Hematite ($24)

Bardot Spiral - Silver ($49)

Chantilly Lace Earrings ($49)

Good luck!

Photo Challenge: Day 2 - What I Wore.

I wish I had packed some decent clothes but I didn't. Here I am out to lunch with Rob, Charlie and Buddy at the Apple Cafe in Aptos. The only thing that is helping this outfit out a little is the necklace.

Top: Ann Taylor
Skirt: Old Navy (not shown)
Shoes: Gap Outlet flip flops
Necklace: Stella & Dot - Riviera Coin Necklace (borrowed from my mom)
Sunglasses: Target

Totally frumpty dumpty,

Photo Challenge: Day 1 - Self Portrait.

Nope, not naked. That would be weird. I am in a towell waiting for the shower to heat up.

This is what I typically look like for half of the day. No makeup, hair a little scraggly from being in a pony for too long. Its a rare day when I blow dry my hair and an even rarer day when I have had time to curl it. Half of the reason is lazyness - ok, 100% of the reason is lazyness. ;)



Me, Myself & I



Photo Challenge.

I decided to participate in a photo challenge I found on a blog. I find myself lacking blogging material now that I am home with Charlie. I'm not out and about in the "real world" and daily life is mostly the same routine so hopefully this will help me post more often.

Skinny Eggplant Parmesan.

This dish was doomed from the start. I was getting ready to make dinner and realized it said I needed 1 large egglant (2 lbs). My eggplant didn't seem to large. I weighed it. 14 oz. Damn. So I headed off to Wal-Mart because I know Target doesn't carry eggplant and I was too lazy to drive 5 miles to Safeway. So I went to Wal-Mart and luckily they had eggplant. I went to to the register and the cashier asked me "what are you going to do with the eggplant?" I told her we are making eggplant parmesan. (blank stare) "Eggplant parmesan is kind of like a casserole and just has veggies and cheese in it." "Oh".

Alas we were home. I did the first step of slicing the eggplant so I can put it in the oven on the baking sheet and realized some of my slices were a little small. They proceeded to burn in the oven and I only had a small picking of good slices - this would come in handy later. So I salvaged what I could and decided to move on.

I was looking for a dish and realized the dish I had that was required was dirty. I tried cleaning it for 20 seconds and realized it was too much work so I got a smaller dish. The rest of the dinner making was a bit half ass (I know - it was a bit half ass from the beginning but thats ok). I didn't really measure from there on out and I'm big on measuring because I am a baker, not a cook. I decided to pile on extra cheese on top because usually that makes things better. Usually.

I would say this dish was pretty good. I would make again since I think its pretty low in fat thanks to the nonfat ricotta cheese.

Recipe: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/03/lighter-eggplant-parmesan-5-pts.html

Just a Typical Weekend...

Giveaway!

I'm giving away a pair of Stella & Dot earrings AND giving 15% off any order. Have a birthday coming up you need to shop for? Or want to get a headstart on your Christmas shopping? Smart money saving lady says "then you should take advantage of this offer."

Check out the deets here.

You're welcome.

Birthdays.

I had forgot to post pictures from my and Rob's birthday. For my birthday in June, we went to Monterey and went to lunch, the aquarium and did some light shopping.

Rob also took the day off work for his birthday but it was a low key day, per his request. We went to the Little Gym, hung around at home then went to pick up some Philly Cheese Steaks takeout and Baskin Robbins ice cream cake. Yummo.



Charlie's Italian impression



Busted.