Whether you’re decorating at home or adding a pop of color to your clutch, Kleenex style has you covered. I picked up this fun spring-y box to compliment some purple flowers my friend Tina brought over the weekend. Because you know, pollen.

What will you do with yours? Find your style today--which Kleenex design is your favorite? As always, thank you for your support as I work with sponsors.

P.S. This is my last post before a new design tomorrow! Check back on Friday and let me know what you think!

For the past year and a half or so, I have tried to improve my packing skills. It hasn't been easy, and I'm not even sure if I can say it has been successful. It wasn't until Alt Summit in January (with its set schedule and photo ops that suggest you look good in several different outfits per day) that I finally figured it out. You have to pack specific outfits for specific occasions--did you know that?
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

You guys, it's Valentine's Day week and Rob has agreed to model for a sponsored post on my blog. Romance is everywhere! I am so going to marry that guy.

Rob's style is casual and laid-back, which I love. He has a lot of really soft tee-shirts and a collection of great-looking sweaters. He's almost always in nice jeans, unless he's in a pair of flannel-lined khakis, which he got for Christmas and loves. Because he's such a tall guy, we're always on the hunt for shirts that are long enough, so when Hanes offered to send us a pack of their ComfortBlend tees (available at WalMart), I jumped at the opportunity. And so here we are.
These tees are super soft and durable enough to wear on their own, but since it's winter in Minnesota, he's been mostly wearing them under his sweaters. They have a wide variety of colors, but the Navy Heather (shown above) is my favorite.

Just wanted to pop in this Saturday and let you know that I still have a couple of ad spaces available for February. I've had a great increase in traffic since going to Alt Summit and I'm so excited about the future of Freckled Italian! I'd love to have you on board. I adore my sponsors and it's such a pleasure to have the opportunity to work with such talented, awesome people. Get rates and more information here.

Speaking of (past) sponsors, I also wanted to let you know that Helene from Helene in Between is hosting a giveaway for some ad space on her own blog! Good luck! Contest ends Wednesday. Have a wonderful weekend, friends!

It's award season, you guys! In honor of the Grammy's last week, P&G Beauty was nice enough to send me a bunch of get-red-carpet-ready goodies. With our wedding coming up in just over three months, things like great moisturizers and deep conditioners are making their way into my regular beauty routine. I'm just as in to hair and makeup as the next girl, but there's something to be said about taking really good care of yourself all the time so that you're always looking and feeling your best--and that's what I love about most of the products they sent me.

Here are the ones I really love already:
Crest 3D Professional White Whitestrips
I can't say enough good things about Crest Whitestrips. I've been using them since at least 2007, and I love them. I use a pack at least once a year, and they keep my smile looking super bright and shiny despite the amount of coffee (and red wine!) I consume so regularly. I haven't given these particular ones a try yet, so I was really excited to see them amidst so many other great products.

Herbal Essences Naked Dry Shampoo
I picked one of these up the other day, actually, so I'm pumped to have doubled my stash! I feel like I've tried every dry shampoo out there, and this is definitely one of the best. It adds volume while it reduces oiliness and it smells so good--I think it's mint. I might be making that up but there's such a fresh scent to it and I really enjoy using it. 

Secret Clinical Strength Light & Fresh Antiperspirant/Deodorant
Please tell me I'm not the only one who sweats like, a lot more than is probably socially acceptable. For whatever reason, regular antiperspirants don't always do it for me, so I've been a big fan of Secret Clinical Strength for a couple of years now. It smells wonderful and I find it really effective.

Pantene Damage Detox Weekly Rehab Creme
I just used this for the first time two days ago and my hair feels amazing! Minnesota is really doing a number on me--between the cold and all the static, I can't seem to get enough moisture into my locks. And you only need to use a little bit, which is always awesome.

CoverGirl Bombshell Volume by LashBlash Mascara
This mascara has two wands--one for volume and one for intensity. I like it a lot, but have to be honest and say that I'm a sucker for anything that includes the word "bombshell" in its name or description.

There was a lot of great stuff included that I haven't tried yet--I'm excited to give the Olay Regenerist Luminous Tone Perfecting Cream a try soon. What do you add to your beauty routine to get camera-ready for a big event?

It's a new year! Let's make the most of it.

All of the products are awesome, but for this look I used the Pantene Root Lifter Spray Gel, Pantene Stylers Heat Protection Spray, and Pantene Stylers Extra Strong Shaping Hairspray. I'm not usually one for a root lifting spray of any kind, but this one is awesome and I think I'm going to start putting more time into styling my hair in different ways from now on. All it takes is a few extra minutes and a couple bobby pins!

Thanks for letting me share my experience with you--I hope you all had a great night last night! Rob has the day off and it's so nice spending the first day of our wedding year (!!!) at home together. How have you been celebrating this New Year?

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Happy Day-After-Christmas, friends! We're still in Virginia until Saturday, but after that Rob and I have plans for a quiet and romantic New Year's Eve dinner at Fogo de Chao in Minneapolis. I'm really looking forward to getting dressed up and spending our last unmarried NYE together. In 2014, we'll be Mr. and Mrs. Peterson! I'm planning to put on a fancy dress, some heels, and do something really fun with my hair.

I'm not too much of an up-do lady, although I love an elegant up-do for really special events, I usually show up to a holiday party with my normal hair--curled, but maybe with a bit more volume than usual. I'm a fan of vintage styles, and really love the whole victory roll look (as you can see here). For our New Year's Eve dinner, I want to try something similar to that, but maybe a bit less costume-y. Lucky for me, Pantene sent a huge box of awesome products to help make my holiday hair styling a breeze.

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I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

I'm not usually one for holiday gift guides, but I do have a handful of pretty awesome sponsors this month whose products would make wonderful presents for the people on your Christmas list.

First up is Koss, whose Fit Buds and Fit Clips are actually changing my life. I've been using the same old earbuds for years, and they're worn to bits and fall out of my head with every other step I take. Koss' female designers teamed up with Gold Medalist Dara Torres to create the world's first headphones designed specifically for women.




Thank you again for your support as I take on a few more sponsors this month. I only work with brands that I love or use myself, so I hope you find these partnerships of mine beneficial to you in some way.

Rob and I had a really nice rainy weekend together, complete with several errands and a Thai lunch date on Saturday. When we have places to be but it's cold and grey out, I love nothing more than a cozy tee and a soft hat with some stretchy black pants or leggings. I added a fun pair of earrings to fancy myself up a bit, and I was ready to go!

I've been saying this every week since the end of October, but I think we might finally be done sending out save-the-dates. I'm headed to Virginia for two weeks on Thursday, so there's plenty to be done around here before I'm actually ready for my trip. Overall, it was a productive weekend. Even if there's still laundry to fold.
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I was really excited when Bing asked me to use their new Smart Search to navigate my next online searching experience, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. Have you used it? I was so pleased with how it was not only easy, but helpful.

We passed by the Windows store in the mall the other day and stopped in to do a quick Bing search on one of their new tablets. I simply typed in "DIY body scrub" and was met with a really aesthetically pleasing page of results. A row of photos in the middle of the page were helpful and expanded with a quick hover of my mouse. Bing Smart Search truly does provide a smart summary of results. You get a rich, visual summary of the most relevant information from across the web, and I'm totally going to make that Spicy Sugar Scrub (pictured above) from Whole Living. It looks like it'll be perfect for the holidays.