A Valentine's Gift for You!

Just in time for Valentine's Day,

Firmoo.com and I wanted to spread the love.

As you probably read here yesterday,

I am in love with Firmoo.

My new glasses are to die for, but I have fallen for another pair too!

Firmoo.com not only offers great basics at an affordable price, 

they also carry a line of high fashion glasses.

F-Designer Glasses.

All of these super hot glasses retail for $68.

(Anything comparable in a store would cost at least $300.)

I am totally lusting after these!!!!

There are so many beautiful, handcrafted, 

and quirky colors and styles to choose from.

Firmoo.com and I are gifting six $30

gift certificates to use towards your purchase of any

F-Designer Glasses.

(That means you only pay $38+shipping)

To enter the giveaway just leave a comment below.

Tell us your favorite frame (leave the style # in your comment).

Want to better your chances to win? 

Follow Firmoo on Facebook and tell me about it! 

Contest ends February 14th at 5pm. 

Firmoo!

  So, I sort of have this "thing" about me. I take a slight pride in my chameleon like abilities.  It brings me a little bit of cynical joy to remind people that we have met before, followed by them making that funny 'where do I know you from?' face.  What can I say. I like to change my look. Somedays I am feeling very retro, others days I just want to feel like a rock star.  Somedays I feel like a hot momma, and well, others I don't even get out of my pj's.

  You guys are all well aware how much I love a good #thriftyfind, because let's face it... all this changing can get a little pricey.  Which is why I am over the moon to tell you guys about my new partnership with Firmoo.com

  Firmoo.com is one of the world's largest online optical retailers.  They offer prescription and non-prescription glasses and sunglasses, and since they do not offer "name brands" they retail at an extremely affordable price! And you know that makes this girl happy!  Do you guys want to be happy too? Well guess what... Firmoo.com just launched their 'First Pair Free' program.  So why wouldn't you try them?



  These are my new specs! I have had the best experience with this company.  I love that the website is so stream lined and there are not 5 billion frame options.  There are plenty of quality frames that are trendy, classic, funky, or a little bit of all three.  While oohing! and ahhhing! over some of the best options, I was instantly drawn to this pair.  The split in color with the bold and daring yellow paired with the classic retro feel of the tortoise shell...these glasses had my name all over them. Like actually screaming my name.  And I don't know about you but wearing yellow just always makes me smile.  They are super light weight and comfortable, yet extremely durable - as I can attest to after stepping on them today...no worries...they survived! Like a champ!

  How do you know the glasses will fit? I know that's what you're thinking.  Well here's my tip: If you already have glasses, look on the inside arm to find a set of numbers that you can match up to the sizes Firmoo offers.  If you still need more assurance that the style is right for you, you can upload a picture of yourself and try them on...virtually.  Go here to get your first pair free.  All you pay is shipping - what a deal!  Seriously, what are you waiting for!

  I have even more exciting news about my new friends at Firmoo that I will be sharing with you tomorrow... So don't go anywhere!

rosebud earring winner!

drum roll please! 

and the winner of the rosebud earrings

 according to random.org is.....

so congrats to Angela! 

thanks for pinning the earrings on pinterest! 

thanks to everyone to took the time to take a peak at on of my creations! 

10 things i couldn't live without this week

1. it had been about 3 full weeks of no dancing until this past monday! finally, i was better from the death cold, the studio was back open after the holiday break, and in was time to dance.  it's amazing what that many days off can do to destroy what you have been working so hard for. but none the less it felt amazing to be back at it.  although i came to the realization this week that i really need some new dance clothes.
2. we made some new friends on new years day....the irony is kind of awesome. we ran into the mongol family at john d. mcarthur park. they are just in the process of moving to the area from texas. well, we swapped emails and met up a couple time this week to hang out. they have an awesome son that's the same age as the boy.  i love new friends! our new friends introduced us to a new park in the palm beach gardens area. super cool play structure that's a little different than your average park. it amazing to me the excitement that we all get from new playgrounds.
3. i have an awesome giveaway going on this week. ends friday so please to wait to enter! you could have your very own pair of earrings made by yours truly!
4. on a totally different play structure experience, we finally went to "a latte fun" and i have to say.....we will NEVER be returning. i had been pretty clear in the past with my thoughts on this place, and pretty firm in my standing that i would not be paying the insane admission fee to go, but some friends had free passes....so we went. what a nightmare. there were far too many kids, zero supervision, and a terrible cafe to boot. at least now i know what we have been missing out on all this time.
5. well i finally did it...i purchased www.turquoiseviolets.com. it's something that i have been meaning/wanting to do for quite some time, and just never bit the bullet. well it's mine now folks. i feel some pretty amazing things to come this year!
6. the bachelor started this week! want to know a little secret - my bachelor/bachelorette obsession is thanks to my dad....yup that's right my dad. i had been really looking forward to this season for some reason... nothing like a train wreck love story to make you really love the one you're with.
7. we had an awesome cold snap this past week. it was so nice to have a break from some really hot winter days and have a taste of some seasons. we got to wear jackets and scarves and put the heater on. pretty awesome if i do say so myself. but no worries we are back to normal 80° weather.
8. with the above noted cold snap i had to bring all of my plants inside. this really opened my eyes to how much i really love having a lot of plants inside. so when it was time to move them back out i was a little sad. so i made some changes in the homes of all the greenery. and now.....i have a ton of plants in side - and i am happy.
9. oh man, i made my dark chocolate zucchini snack cake this weekend. but i got a little crazy with it this time. i used the same recipe from here, but i added a cup of dark chocolate chips, and instead of topping it with greek yogurt i covered the entire cake in cream cheese frosting. the changes really took this cake to a whole new level. i am pretty sure that i managed to cancel out any sort of healthy factor that the cake used to have, but on the flip side i didn't hear the hubs say "there are vegetables in this cake" one time.
10. one of the hubs restaurants is now the sole food vendor at the international polo club in wellington. today was the first match of the season, so to make sure that everything was going smoothly we made the journey west to see our first polo match. i have to tell you....i had no idea everything that went into this sport. i was really hoping to come home with an amazing story about the beautiful animals, the thrill of the sport, and overall excitement....but we had to leave before it ever even started. next time i guess.

rosebud earring giveaway!

it's time again for another giveaway! 

yay! who's excited?!?!?

so here's how to play...
you have 4 chances to win these adorable handmade earrings.

• step 1: share a link to the giveaway on facebook, and then leave a comment on this blog post telling me that you did.
• step 2: tweet about it! share the tweet with me @erinisturquoise... then leave a second comment.
• step 3: pin it. repin it. do what you have to do.  you know i love me some pinterest. pin a picture of the earrings and then....you guessed it...leave a third comment.
• step 4: blog about it! spread the love! share the link to your blog and then leave one last comment to tell me that you did.

this giveaway will end friday, january 13th at 5pm. the winner will be chosen at random and announced saturday morning! best of luck! don't forget to make sure that i have your contact information so that i can tell you when you won! if you have any questions feel free to contact me! 

DIY: s-hook bracelets & giveaway

CONGRATS! Jen...you are the winner!

email me you address and i will send you your bracelet!

thanks for playing everyone...and keep reading for more handmade giveaways!

so i mentioned the other day that i am a bit obsessed with honestly wtf and her amazing DIY's. well i have had these two headbands in my "needs repair" box for quite sometime, and thought that they would be the perfect recycling project. they were never really great headbands anyway, so why not make them into something new. so borrowing some ideas from here, this is what i came up with:

i disassembled the two headbands. it was kind of ironic how difficult this first step was considering how easily they both broke in the first place. after taking them apart and discarding the excess materials. (side note: i did not throw away the elastic, i never throw away good elastic, it can always be reused, and in this case it's the perfect set up for two future headbands)

so you will need a hot glue gun, jewelry pliers, an s-hook, and some finishing ribbon.

using your pliers, close each end of the the s-hook a bit, but not all the way. glue each end of the braided leather down so that there is a loop for the s-hook to slide through. i glued one end directly to the s-hook for stability. then simply wrap and glue the ribbon around the overlapped leather. this step is not only to help finish the ends, but also to add some extra support. and then you are done. it's really so easy.

and what everyone wants to know about...THE GIVEAWAY!

ok so here is the deal...leave a comment below and on June 30th at 9pm a winner will be chosen at random. the lucky winner will receive the champagne s-hook bracelet pictured above. good luck and thanks for reading!

10 things i couldn't live without this week:

1. movie monday. monday's are always a big catch up on laundry from the weekend day for me. so the boy and i have started a loose tradition of movie mondays. he's happy and entertained for at least 2 hours so i can tackle the mountain of washing and folding. this week we even got a new movie....robots, it's cute.

2. tuesday nights tuna melts

3. having 200+ page views in one day. you guys are so awesome, and i couldn't have done it without you. we also did an impromptu giveaway, just because i was so excited!

4. the hubs took an afternoon off this week so that i could go surfing. i was really excited about some buzz that i heard about possible waves. mind you i had not been surfing in about 7 years. the waves were crap. choppy with a strong rip current. i didn't stand up. mostly tried to keep my head above water. but it was worth every second of it. there is something about the stoke.

5. homemade bath salts for little miss humble bumble b (she was the winner of the 200+ giveaway). bath salts are so easy to make and are such a great gift. be on the look out for a tutorial on making your own coffee & cinnamon bath salts.

6. two play dates in one day. the boy has two different groups of friends and i love it when days fall in line and we have two dates. we had an a.m. science museum date and then an afternoon swimming session. such a fun day.

7. one of the best foodie blogs i have seen in a while, my new roots. not only does the food look delicious (and i am not even a vegetarian), but the pictures look delicious too. i am dying to make these raw vegan brownies.

8. a quart of super grandmas homemade ranch dressing. i think i have put on 10lbs this week because i just can't get enough of this stuff.

9. super fun daddy and boy time. i was very busy this weekend, which meant the hubs and the boy got to spend a ton of quality time together. they had a blast with new additions to the train set, long bike rides, and lots of side walk art.

10. a family photo session with the burton family. check out all the fun we had!

because you guys are awesome!

alright, i asked all my fb family to help out with hitting some numbers, and you guys blew it out of the water. i wanted to hit 1000 views for the month....you guys made it 1080, such over achievers. i love it.

so lets get crazy, today turquoise violets has had more total page views than any other day in our history (last time i checked we were at 145). if we hit 200 posts today i will send a homemade surprise to 1 random fan.

come on guys, who doesn't like free stuff!

UPDATE: Congrats to little ms. humble bumble b.....she's the big winner chosen my random.org.

i want to seriously thank everyone that reads and helps to promote my blog. i literally just jumped up and down in my living room with excitement.

10 things i couldn't live without this week:

1. a well spent $10 at world thrift. this exceeds my normal couple dollar budget, but i just couldn't turn these down. after doing a little research i think the fiesta ware purchase might be the buy of the year. i priced out one cup and saucer set at about $40. that was a very good $5 spent. and then the linen blazer that i got the hubs fit's like it was tailored for him. my trick worked! and the hubs got some sweet new digs for his birthday to wear under that blazer.

2. getting to see all my lake worth mommy buddies. i love all these inspiring and talented ladies! their maybe a surprise here in the future.....all depends on what the mommy ladies say.

3. swimming pool playdates.

4. turquoise violets first ever homemade giveaway. don't forget to enter for your chance to win.

5. my impromptu trip to orlando for two important ladies.

6. lady #1. my momma. sometimes i need my momma, but sometimes my momma needs me.

7. lady #2. my favorite lady, Ms. Z if ya nasty. we had a mini farewell party at house of blues to see the Darling Cavaliers. they were amazing. saying goodbye to Jess was not. i take that back. in the past few years she and i have become so much closer than friends. she is my teacher, my shoulder, my colleague, my therapist, my inspiration. and i could not be more proud that she is doing it. she is jumping out of an airplane without a parachute, and she is going to land on one foot with so much laughter and grace.

8. the hubs birthday. when i met the hubs there was a strictly enforced "no celebrating the birthday" rule. it brings the utmost joy to my heart to see how much he enjoys his birthdays now. i have worked hard over the past 5 years to make it that way.

9. some fantastic haircuts given out by your's truly. now if i could just corner the boy....he's looking like he needs a trim.

10. auditioning for the one month to win it contest. keeping my fingers crossed.