Giveaway Winner! + A Temporary Goodbye

Hello blogging world! Since the A Few of My Favorite Things giveaway ended last night, that means it's time to announce the winner. Drumroll please; and the winner is...

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Raechel!

Congrats, Raechel! If you can shoot me an e-mail (wintermist3{at}gmail{dot}com) with your name and address I can get that package off to you real soon. :D

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On a side note, I'll be taking a little break from the blogging world. With the holidays practically here and the busyness that brings, plus working in retail this time of year, the days fly by waaaaayyy to fast. There's a lot of fun stuff I've been coming up with to do, so I wanna leave myself plenty of time do just have fun and do Christmas-y stuff on my days off work. 

I might still pop in here in there, we'll have to see, but I won't be putting it on my regular schedule to write up posts like normal. I'm totally playing it by ear here. So in case I don't see you all till the new year, have a lovely Thanksgiving and Christmas season. This is my favorite time of year and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do.

^random photo of the Cheshire Cat pumpkin I carved. Pattern found here.^

GIVEAWAY! (CLOSED) :: A Few of My Favorite Things

It's hard for me to believe I've been a blogger for seven years. In July of 2007 I started my first blog, which is a personal scrapbook of sorts, to share with my friends and family. I still post on that blog today.

In January of 2010 I started getting into photography after using my parents DSLR for the first time and started my first public blog, Sereina's Photography. I blogged there for three years and it was then that I discovered the wonderful community of bloggers around my age, especially homeschooled ones. I never really truly realized how many homeschoolers were out there until then. It's such a great community of girls and I think it's cool how everybody sorta "knows" everybody, even if we don't follow every blog.

I've been truly blessed to get to know so many of you and I don't think I've ever said how much I appreciate every single one of you. Every comment left on my blog brings a smile to my face and I've enjoyed so many blog posts written by you all. Thank you all for making this community such an enjoyable place! You all are the best. :D

I wanted to do something for you all.  Ribbons Down My Back is over a year old already and I've never hosted a giveaway before, so I thought it was about time I did! Since I wanted to share a variety of items I came up with a few of my favorite things to giveaway to one of my readers! Below is a list of everything included and a little about it:

Bells are Ringing DVD
Musicals is my favorite movie genre and Bells are Ringing is one of those hidden gems in the genre. It's not well known, but it has a fabulous soundtrack and stars Judy Holiday and Dean Martin.

With Ever Letter by Sarah Sundin
This is the first book in the Wings of Glory trilogy that follows three flight nurses in the Mediterranean during WWII. Historical fiction is my favorite genre and no one does it better than Sarah Sundin. This also happens to be the first book of her's that I read myself.
The Piano Guys: Wonders
I don't listen to a ton of modern music, but when I do many times it's The Piano Guys! This is their third album which was released in early October and has some awesome tracks such as Batman Evolution, Let it Go, Story of My Life, and Kung Fu Piano. If you haven't heard of TPG's before, check out their YouTube channel!

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Giveaway is closed!

Entering is simple: leave a comment with one (or more!) link to a blog you find inspirational and/or encouraging. I also encourage everyone to take a look at the links left in the comments and check out a few of the blogs and leave an encouraging comment or two.

For additional entries you can share this post on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, etc. Each site you share it on counts as another entry. Be sure to let me know in a comment what all you did!

Giveaway ends at midnight PST on Tuesday, October 28th, 2014 and is open to readers in the continental US only. Winner will be chosen randomly and will have two weeks to respond, otherwise another winner will be drawn.

Yes to Tomatoes 3-Step Acne Kit Review

Acne. Nearly all of us deal with it, some of us more than others. I'm one of those that had many issues during my mid-teen years, and although it's mellowed out a bit now that I'm older (twenty to be exact), it's been giving me a fair share of trouble lately.

When I was a Target last month I saw they had the Yes to Tomatoes 3-Step Acne Bundle. It's $20 for three products, all of which contain salicylic acid and are petroleum, SLS, and paraben free. Most of you know how important natural health and beauty are for me, so seeing that it was a natural choice plus the fact that I've been very happy with other Yes to products I've used I decided to give it a go. I'm not usually one to impulse buy something like this, but it ended up being worth it for me!
Like I said I bought mine at Target, but it is also sold at Yes to, Amazon, and Walmart. If you go to the In Store Coupon section of the Yes To site, you can get $3 off any Yes To purchase of $6 or more.

Before I tell you how it works, here's a bit about my skin:
I have oily skin that tends to break out mainly on my chin, jawbone, and temples/forehead. The type of acne I usually get is the kind with white pus underneath the surface. To wash my face I use a washcloth and water, so no soap or face wash.

Yes to Tomatoes Daily Pore Scrub 
This is a gentle scrub that uses ground mango seeds and bamboo to exfoliate. It contains 2% salicylic acid to fight acne, along with ginger and tomato to help with redness and irritation and is 99% natural. Most scrubs aren't made to be used every day, but since this one is really easy on the skin and I can see it being used daily like recommended. It has an interesting smell that's hard to describe, but isn't very strong or noticeable unless you're trying to smell it.
Yes to Tomatoes Daily Repair Treatment
This comes in a bottle with pump and cap and it like the consistency of a moisturizer. You apply it to areas that you're prone to breaking out. For me that's my chin, tops of my cheeks, temples, and forehead. It contains 1% salicylic acid, so it may dry out your skin, although It hasn't been an issue for me, probably because I have very oily prone skin. If you use a moisturizer it can go on after this Repair Treatment (there's even a Yes To Tomatoes Moisturizer if you're on the lookout for one).

Yes to Tomatoes Roller Ball Spot Stick
This is one of the best parts of the kit, the spot stick. It contains 2% salicylic acid, so it can really combat acne spots, along with with ginger root and tomato to help with the redness. It's also 97% natural. I find this stuff highly effective. In the morning I'll put it on any trouble spots and it significantly helps with the redness. If I remember to put it on twice a day, the spot will be mostly in a couple days, depending on how bad the blemish is. Since it has a roller ball it applies really easy.

Overall this kit has a huge help for me. Even after using it for just a few days I noticed a difference. My face is a lot less red and if I keep up with the routine when any new spots appear, I can usually keep it from getting any worse. I've found that it's makes the biggest difference when I'm using it every day. Since I only shower every other day, often I don't end up doing this on the days I don't shower, and although it helps significantly, it's much more effective when used daily. I like that it's natural, reasonably priced, and gets the job done.

Tomorrowland: Teaser Trailer

For the last couple years this movie called Tomorrowland has been a big mystery for Disney fans. Other than the name and that Brad Bird would be directing it, no details had been released. Now we finally have a small glimpse, as Disney just released the first teaser trailer last week and now I'm itching to see more!



What do you think of the trailer?

Hello, Fall.

Gloomy days. The cool, crisp air. Cozy blankets. Leaves changing color. Candles lit. Fuzzy Socks. Pumpkin decor everywhere. The lawn covered in leaves.

I have to say, fall is my favorite time of year.

What do you love about fall?

Dancing with the Stars: Week 4

One word for week four of Dancing with the Stars? Awesome.

The theme this week was Most Memorable Year and some of the stars had some tear worthy stories to share. Lea did a gorgeous contemporary dance and Alfoso did a jazz number after The Carlton. Fun stuff, folks!

This week I did something different and watched the show live. Usually I'm not able to do that since I have to be in bed by then so I can be at work bright and early in the morning, but since I took the week off (hooray for staycations!) I decided, why not? Plus I actually voted for people, which was a first.

When I found out on Instagram that Alfonso would be doing The Carlton as his dance, I was super excited. Like literally jumping up and down excited. So waiting for the very last dance of the night was a bit painful, but oh so worth it. The judges and the audience were even doing The Carlton afterwords!

It seems like most of the Sambas (minus Sadie's) and Rumbas were lacking. Although I liked Bethany's dance and her story, it seemed like is was missing something. And although Michael and Betsey have the most trouble remembering all their steps, they're still able to pull of an entertaining performance. I'm sad that Betsey was went home, as she was fun to watch!

Now onto my favorites of the night:

Alfonso & Whitney's Jazz Number to It's Not Unusual, which got a perfect score!

Sadie and Mark's Samba was fantastic! Saide nails every move so well and Mark's choreography is some of the best.

Other notable performances were:
Lea and Artem's Contemporary Dance
Betsey and Tony's Jive

What were your favorite dances from Week 4?

Beauty Routine | Updated Edition

It's been eight months since I last shared what beauty products I use on a regular bases, so I though it was time for an update. I've changed about half the products I use since then, so there's a lot of new stuff. Most of the changes were because I found a more natural and/or affordable product that I liked.

Dancing with the Stars

Dancing with the Stars is a show I've watched off and on over the years. Last season when I saw they were doing a Disney Night I promptly set up the DVR and ended up watching the rest of that season. It's one of those shows that's more interesting when I know at least a few of the stars, so when I saw that Alfonso Ribeiro, who you may know as Carlton Banks from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, was going to be on this season I got super excited. I love The Carlton and I could always relate to being short like Carlton. (I'm always getting lots of short jokes thrown at me. :P).

Week 3 performances were on Monday and we already have two perfect scores. Seriously, there is so much talent this season! There hasn't really been anyone that's terrible and even the ones who aren't doing as well seem like they have so much potential. It's so fun to see such fantastic performances so early on in the season.

My favorites this season are:
-Alfonso & Whitney. But I think you already knew that. ;)
-Lea & Artem. Lea played Lorraine McFly in Back to the Future.
-Sadie & Mark. I don't watch Duck Dynasty, but I really like Sadie!
-Bethany & Derek. Bethany is a YouTube vlogger that I'd never heard of before.

This week was Movie Night, which I was so looking forward to when I heard some of the songs they would be doing. There were classics like Singin' in the Rain and West Side Story, Pixar's Up, and Back to the Future.

My favorite dance of the night. Sadie and Mark did a waltz to Married Life from Up. They scored a 32 out of 40, which I personally thought should have been a little higher, especially considering all the good things the judges had to say.


Some of highlights of the night were:

Janel & Val's Jazz Number from West Side Story (they got the first perfect score of the season!)
Bethany & Derek's Jazz Number from Singin' in the Rain (they got a 40 as well)
Alfonso & Whitney's Quickstep from Austen Powers

If you want to see all of the dances from Week 3, check out this playlist from the DWTS YouTube page.



Do you watch Dancing with the Stars? If so, who's your favorite couple?
Also, would you be interested in seeing a recap like this every few weeks?

Petit Vour Unboxing :: September 2014

After Saffron Rouge cancelded their Inner Circle Subscription Box, I decided to try out Petit Vour. For $15 at month shipped you get 4-5 deluxe sample or full-sized products. All of their products are cruelty free and natural.

My first box came in August, which I was kinda "meh" with, and didn't take photos for an unboxing. This months box is a huge it for me, though!

Starting on the left and going clockwise:

Root Science RS Detox | 1oz sample, $25 value
I'm always up for a new face mask, especially with such fantastic ingredients.

Lily Lolo Mineral Eyeshadow in Soul Sister | Full Size, $12 value
I've been wanting to find a good brown eyeshadow, so this couldn't have come at a better time. It's a lovely shadow with just a hint of shimmer and goes on really well.

Yarok Leave-In Conditioner | 2oz, $13.20 value
This conditioner spray is supposed to be good to use prior to blow drying or heat styling. Looking forward to giving it a go the next time I curl my hair.

Ellovi Tinted Lip Butter | Full Size, $5
Since tinted lip balms are my favorite lip products, I was excited to see this. I love that there's only six ingredients.

The total value of this month's box is $55, over three times what I paid for the box. What a great value. I'll definitely be using the eyeshadow on a regular basis and I'm exited to try out all the other products.

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Do you subscribe to Petit Vour or any other subscription boxes?