New year, new you: smile brilliant

2016 is winding down and it’s been a crazy year -from the Cubs breaking the curse and winning the World Series to the presidential election upset! It was an exciting year for us as we moved from Utah to Texas to California, sold our first home, bought and sold our second home and feel like we’ve been packing and unpacking all year 😉 The holiday season is always a fun time to reflect on the year and anticipate the excitement that will come in the new year. With the new year, why not a new you and a new smile?! I’m excited to introduce an awesome product that will give you a brand new and confident smile!

smile brilliant at home teeth whitening trays affordable

Smile Brilliant is a teeth whitening product like no other. I’ve used a few different whitening products and whitening strips but was so impressed with the results from Smile Brilliant. The process is simple and the time you invest will pay off.

smilebrilliant smilebrilliant at home teeth whitening trays

  • The company sends trays and material to make your dental impressions.
  • Mail back your impressions in a pre-paid envelope and in about a week you will receive your custom fit trays.
  • Brush your teeth with water, squeeze (from the syringe that comes with the package) the whitening gel into the tray and leave on your teeth anywhere from 45 minutes to 3 hours. On average I left my trays on for an hour and 15 minutes.
  • Remove the trays and rinse them with water, brush your teeth with toothpaste.
  • Apply the desensitizing gel to the trays and leave the trays on your teeth for 10-15 minutes. After you are not supposed to eat or drink for at least 30 minutes. I always used my whitening trays before bed so it was never an issue.

smilebrilliant teeth whitening at home My teeth are naturally sensitive so I used the whitening trays every other day for the recommended times and still got awesome results. These trays are easy to use, painless, don’t taste weird and come with all the instructions in the box. If you invest the time, you will get great results too!

I loved that the trays were made to fit my teeth so the gel didn’t ooze out. With previous whitening products I’ve tried, the product slips out and is often swallowed.  I loved that I could whiten my teeth in my pajamas in my home without going to the dentist’s office and while still getting the same results!

Smile Brilliant has generously offered to giveaway a custom teeth whitening kit! Enter here.

You can also save 5% by using the code: jamtart

If you’re interested in reading more about the process, click here and here is a video showing the process. If you have any questions about the product or process please let me know or you can read these FAQs.

The giveaway ends in two weeks. This post is sponsored by Smile Brilliant.
Tooth Discoloration
//www.smilebrilliant.com/widget/blog74676

Fiesta Friday: links I love and things to celebrate

things to celebrate happy weekend links

My best and most loyal friend made this awesome announcement after 7 years of waiting and trying for their baby girl:

melindababyannouncement

As I totally love tartan and plaid, I’m loving  Blair’s look (from Atlantic Pacific):

blair-atlantic-pacific-fall-plaid-rain-boots-768x512

While Dave was away in CA last week to start his new job, I started re-watching Downton Abbey and reminisced my love of the Crawley sisters and Mary’s amazing wardrobe! I love the time period the series takes place from the actual historical events of WW1 to the apparel and proper speech.

crawleysisters

marycrawley

 

Winter bedrooms

I guess it’s finally winter in Austin, the temperatures have dropped, brisk winds, gray skies and mostly rain. This type of winter is much preferable to our previous winters in Utah! I’m loving not driving or walking/slipping around in the snow 😉 I’ve never thought about winter bedding besides just adding more blankets when it’s cold but I love these ideas of special, cozy bedding for the winter time.

winter reindeer bedding

Snow Flake Stag bedding

tartan bedding winter plaid

Tartan bedding 

snowflake bed winter

Snowflake bedding

It’s a wrap: wrapping up ‘Buy 1, give 1’

Huge thanks to those supported the scarf donation program! I dropped off the scarves from ‘Buy 1, give 1’ at the Refugee Services of Texas which has been helping people resettle since 1978. I chose them because they offer so many vital services for people coming to the US. I can’t imagine how hard it would be to flee your home country because of war, etc and come to a new country with a new language and different customs. There were 2 men working on mailing some papers and they had like 50 postal service envelopes and you could tell they had no idea what to do. I experienced like 1% of their experience during my mission in Guatemala – struggling with a foreign language, not understanding how things work at banks, transportation, etc., wandering around a city and just an overall feeling of feel lost or sometimes out of place – however, my experience was different because there’s already a support system as an LDS missionary in a foreign country. You have an experienced companion, mission president, etc. I’m glad there are places and people looking out and helping refugees.

Again, thank you for your support.  I had a lot of fun knitting this fall and hope to do the program every year.

charity scarf program refugees

scarf charity donation refugees

scarf charity donation refugees

refugee services of texas

 

Fiesta Friday: links I love and things to celebrate

It’s kind of the time of year when so many people get sick! Knock on wood our household has avoided getting sick so far.  I’ve used VicksVapoRub for various ailments such as a sore throat or cough, but did not know about some of these ways you can use it!

The hot Texas summer was so worth not having snow this fall/winter! Snow is beautiful to look at but not to drive around!

winter26

We received an offer on our home and hoping to close on December 20 (!) so we’ve been busy looking at rental homes in the LA area. Feels like deja vu because we were just in this process in April!

 

 

Cozy Fall Coats

Thanksgiving brought in family visiting from out of town and cooler temperatures! I finally unpacked some cardigans, sweater and coats just in time to pack them up again in a few weeks when we move to CA  😉 We enjoyed showing my family around Austin, playing tourist at the state capitol and LBJ museum and eating lots of BBQ and Tex-Mex; amazing brisket is one of the things I’ll miss most about Texas! I’ve found lots of awesome online boutiques through social media that match my style: trendy-classic and affordable. Here are a few of my favorite coats that like all of my wardrobe, won’t break the bank!

fall-coats on trend

1 ($45) // 2 ($68) // 3 ($62)  // 4 ($68) 

Personal Motto

Do you have a personal motto? I guess I’ve had an informal one for years, just a phrase that’s helped me push through trials. I used to run a lot and enjoyed running track in high school. I still love to run but haven’t been very consistent since having kids and having injuries. In many races, runners hit  a ‘wall’ where you’re almost done but exhausted from the previous laps. Pacing is very important and also finding the extra strength to stay strong and have a solid finish. I remember thinking a lot ‘dig deep’ and the repetition of the phrase would help carry me through to continue one to the end of the race.  We can do hard things if we power through our trials, whether physical trials like running a race or whatever hardships life throws at us.

dig deep you are stronger than you think motto motivational quote

Black Friday

My Black Friday usually involves sleeping in, going to the gym to work off pumpkin pie calories, eating Thanksgiving leftovers and some online shopping- no crowds, no shoving, and all from the convenience of my house! Here’s a deal you can get right now in your pajamas: enter the giveaway I’m partnering with JORD Wood Watches. You can read my review here and enter the giveaway by clicking here.JORD wood watches giveaway unique accessory

Also, 25% off with code ‘HOLIDAY‘ in the Etsy shop (min $5 purchase, expires 12/23/16)

Fiesta Friday: links I love and things to celebrate

things to celebrate happy weekend links

Every fall during the holiday season I like to make cranberry orange bread with a lemon glaze. I have an old recipe I’ve been using for years but I might try this one from Bless this Mess this fall. Doesn’t this look delicious?!

cranberry-orange-bread-3-480x615

I’m dying over this adorable pet fox, Juniper! I would love to have a fox around the house, and he’d kind of look like Bruce with the fox ears, ha!

juniper pet fox

My family is in town for Thanksgiving, we’re looking forward to showing them our favorite BBQ in Austin and also exploring San Antonio!

 

 

Jam Tart Boutique highlights

Some of you already know I’ve had an Etsy shop for the last 3 years and I wanted to highlight some of my best sellers especially with the gift giving holidays coming up. Click image to be taken to shop:

triangle gold minimal necklace

gold triangle necklace // $10

chunky infinity scarf multiple colors

chunky hand-knit infinity scarf (multiple colors) // $37

leather key fob

leather key fob, multiple colors // $6

gold feather minimal necklace

gold feather minimal necklace, asymmetric or symmetric // $10

holiday christmas gift tag joy to the world kraft round scallop

Joy to the World kraft holiday gift tag // 25 for $2.50

kraft gift hang tag seasons greetings

Season’s greetings kraft gift tag // 25 for $2.50

Other shop spotlights here