Shop Small Business: Holiday Gift Guide

One of my favorite things about this season is buying gifts for others. I love to shop for others and find things that they will love to share with them. Now, I'm not above shopping Walmart, but I do love to support small business as well!  So here's a few amazing small shops that I think you will love just as much as I do.

LulaRoe with Brielle

Adorable, comfy, MODEST skirts, dresses, leggings, and tops for all ages and sizes. (2T up to 3XL)

CYBER MONDAY: Mention this post for 20% off your entire order placed either on FB or Instagram.

Susan Stange Design

Share this blog post on your Facebook or Instagram account and receive 20% off any item in shop! Use discount code BLACKFRIDAY2014

My shop is all about Mamas and their babies! I sew quality, practical, and fashionable items for babies to use and moms to love. Whether it be a car seat protector or little girl's tunic, you're sure to find something you love!

Signed by Chelle

At my Etsy shop I sell custom wood signs, wood block sets and tumblers decorated with vinyl.

Jamberry Nails

Jamberry Nails wraps and products.  Free samples are available.  

Contact me at michelle.jams.vegas@gmail.com

Kabat And Co.

Hello, my name is Jenny and I’m an Accountant by day, Etsy Shop Owner by night and married to my best friend.  Kabat and Co. specializes in accessorizing newborns up to adults in top knot headbands, turbans, head wraps, bibdanas and infinity scarves.

Promo Code:  TURKEY 25% Off Purchase of $5.50 or more.

Lindsay's Secret Closet

Lindsay’s Secret Closet sells fashionable women’s apparel at a fraction of the cost of our competitors. We strive to help women feel beautiful on a budget!

Customers can use the code HOLIDAY20 to get 20% off their entire purchase.

Fantasies Ever After

I am a fairy tale lover, and so I thought of making fun and familiar jewelry pieces. Everything is inspired by fairy tale or geekery characters from movies and books. I handcraft my jewelry, so you can have a piece of magic wherever you are.

HOLLYFUN5- 5% off, min. $10 purchase.

Just an Armful of Sugar

Hello all! I’m Ali and I make custom jewelry! All pieces are beaded and made with only the best products ;) This started as a nap time hobby and then it’s grown to a bit more than that ;) All pieces are customizable and you can also request something special! Thanks for supporting homemade!

MISLETOE when you spend $20 and you'll save $4! (sorry I can't spell)

RUDOLPH when you spend $40 and you'll save $6!

SANTA when you spend $60 and you'll save $8!

And YES you can use ALL the codes at once as well, so the savings could be HUGE! Happy Shopping!! (Codes are good thru December 17th to ensure Christmas delivery!!)

*As a special for you readers, I’ll throw in a BLACKFRIDAY code that gives an extra 20% off their entire order! Good only Nov 28-30th!

Those Crazy Mormons: Are Mormons Christian? And Other Questions You Have About Mormons.

"Those Crazy Mormons" is a blog series dedicated to answering common questions about Mormon beliefs, culture, and history. If you have further comments or questions, please feel free to 

email me at brooklynjolley@hotmail.com. 

More than likely, you've heard of Mormons. The official title is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Here are a few simple answers to some questions you may have about Those Crazy Mormons!

Are Mormons Christian? 

YES! The full name of our church says it itself. "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints." We read & study The Book of Mormon in addition to the Bible. The full title is The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. We love Jesus, believe in His saving divinity, desire to follow His teachings, and rely on His saving grace.

Is Mormonism a Cult?

If Mormonism is a "cult" then so is any other group that has "a system of religious beliefs and ritual"--which is how the dictionary defines the word. Some people think Mormonism is a cult because our worship is a little different than mainstream Christianity. 

Do Mormons live in secluded compounds and don't use electricity?

Nope! I'm a Mormon and I'm writing this blog post!

Is the Mormon church a White, American church? 

Not anymore! Some people think that Mormonism is a white, American church. But more than half of Latter-day Saints are NOT Caucasian and more than half of members worship in congregations outside the USA. The LDS Church has congregations in 177 countries worldwide.

Is all of Utah Mormon? 

Whenever we go places and people hear we are from Utah they always ask, "Are you Mormon then?" Well yes, I am, but not everyone from Utah is! Utah is the place where the early Mormon pioneers settled and Salt Lake City, Utah is currently the location of the worldwide headquarters of the church. About 60% of Utah's population is LDS.

More of the Those Crazy Mormons Series:

What do Mormon's believe about God?

Christ's Ministry & The Great Apostasy

What is Fast Sunday?

The Restoration of the Gospel Through Joseph Smith

A Short Intro to The Book of Mormon

Winter Date Ideas!

I'm over at Sierra's View today sharing some great Winter Date ideas! 

See the post HERE.

We Bought a House!

Yesterday we drove to a Title Company and signed our lives away on our first ever home! We are so excited!! 

Our first stop after signing off was IKEA. We are going from about 500 square feet to almost 2000 so we are gonna need a lot of furniture to fill this baby! We get the keys later today and then we are officially homeowners. We are so excited about this new adventure and feel so blessed. 

I'll share more pictures once we get all moved in. Cheers to our first home together!

How to Survive a Fashion Challenge

Doing fashion challenges can be fun, but they can also be stressful. Guess what? They don't need to be! So I'm over at Dreaming of Someday to give you some tips on how to survive a fashion challenge!

Go HERE to read the post!

How to Survive a Fashion Challenge

hi i'm aubrey from dreaming about someday. i blog about everything from fashion to recipes to running to the bachelor and everything in between. i have done several fashion challenges including several rounds of 30x30. since brooklyn is right in the middle of 30x30, i'm here to give her you a few tips for surviving a fashion challenge. 1. pick items you like to wear it is difficult enough to limit your closet. be careful about picking clothes you never want to wear. you'll be stuck trying to come up with combos you like, and it will make it hard to stick to the challenge. 2. collaborate with others i saw people all over blogland doing 30x30 challenges, but i was too nervous to do it myself. i finally joined a group of about 10 other bloggers for my first round. it was so great doing it that way. i met a lot of really great people, and it was much easier to stick to the challenge knowing many of us were doing the same thing.

3. get organized

i'm not really an excel spreadsheet girl, but it can be helpful to list out your possible outfit combinations. i started with tops and listed all bottoms that could go with each top. i worked my way through all items and realized i had over 60 combinations to wear-double what i needed for the challenge. i also use pictures to help me remember what i already wore.

 4. be committed 

set your goal and stick with it. plan for upcoming events by picking pieces that fit. for example, if you know you have a wedding or fancy party, make sure to include a formal dress in your planning. stay firm even when it gets a little tricky towards the end,

 5. bend the rules

it's ok to change things to make it more doabable for you. i spent 1/3 of a 30x30 challenge in the virgin islands. i picked a swimuit/cover up as one of my pieces. it made the challenge must less stressful and much more sucessful.

a lot of people think fashion challenges are practically impossible, but they really are much easier than you think. have you ever done a fashion challenge? 

make sure to come over to my blog tomorrow to hear brooklyn's tips.

A 2 Minute Pep Talk: When You Doubt Your Testimony (A VLOG)

Our testimonies are ever-changing. If we are not growing them by bringing constant light into our lives, they will slowly diminish. Sometimes despite our best efforts to grow our testimonies we still come across materials, feelings, or others who will make us question our testimonies.

In the words of Elder Anderson,

"Why does the Lord allow the evil speaking to chase after the good? One reason is that opposition against the things of God sends seekers of truth to their knees for answers."

There has been recent talk about Joseph Smith in the news, if you haven't heard about it yet, you will. Because the opposition will only continue to get worse as we get closer to Christ's 2nd Coming. As it has many times in the past, the information published has caused many members to doubt. 

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf has said,

"Some struggle with unanswered questions about things that have been done or said in the past. We openly acknowledge that in nearly 200 years of Church history—along with an uninterrupted line of inspired, honorable, and divine events—there have been some things said and done that could cause people to question.

Sometimes questions arise because we simply don’t have all the information and we just need a bit more patience. When the entire truth is eventually known, things that didn’t make sense to us before will be resolved to our satisfaction." 

I once heard that telestial minds cannot comprehend celestial things. We all have telestial minds on earth, and things that don't make sense right this second will be taught to us line upon line, precept upon precept. 

In the most recent general conference President Uchtdorf gave a talk entitled "Receiving a Testimony of Light & Truth." He gave an experiment, with a guarantee from God that each of us can use.

1. He invited us to search the scriptures. You won't find light in darkness. True study of the scriptures will bring the Spirit into your life. And even if you don't get a word for word answer to your questions, you will feel The Holy Ghost bear witness to you of the truths of the gospel.

2. Consider, ponder, fearlessly strive to believe. Take the time to ponder over the things you have studied and the way you have felt. The Lord is so merciful, he has provided so much light for us to search out.

3. Ask Heavenly Father. The promise is there in Moroni. If you ask with real intent, HE WILL ANSWER.

4. "If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine." We are give this promise from John 7:17 in the Bible. We have to ACT on our beliefs to turn those beliefs into KNOWLEDGE.

Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith.

Doubt is a normal part of life, a normal part of the gospel, and something you will inevitably encounter as your strive to be a disciple of Christ. Don't let one question keep you from the truths you already know. Strive to learn, understand and pray about it. The best place to find gospel answers is in the gospel. 

Your Heavenly Father loves you. He is aware of you. And He is aware of your doubts. He wants you to turn to Him so he can reach out his arms, pull you into a big hug and teach you all you need to know!

REFERENCED IN PEP TALK:
Joseph Smith- by Elder Anderson
Come, Join with Us- by President Dieter F Uchtdorf
Receiving a Testimony of Truth & Light- by President Dieter F Uchtdorf