Dayspring Product Review

Yesterday as I walked out to get the mail and pulled out a big stack of junk mail and bills, I reminisced about my trips back to the house in December with a hand full of beautiful Christmas cards. Don't you just love getting a stack of Christmas cards or an encouraging note from a friend? As I walked in the door, I saw my fun Dayspring cards and couldn't wait to send a few of these great cards to some of my girlfriends.  I mean....who doesn't love getting fun mail???

I also tucked one in my suitcase to leave for Sarah (shhhh...don't tell her!).  I love that these cards look like watercolors and some even have fun glitter!  They are on super think paper and not the flimsy kind.  The pictures and messages on the cards are super trendy!  


Dayspring sent me this lovely set of cards so that I could do a review and I also get to give great Dayspring products to you!  I will be giving away a $20 gift certificate to dayspring.com.  How can you enter?

(in)courage

Having grown up in Northwest Arkansas, it seems that I have always known about Dayspring and the wonderful products that they offer.  In addition to the products, they are the hosts for the community known as (in)courage.  I LOVE this site and how it connects women an encourages them to grow in their faith!  Today if you stop by the site, you will see a guest post from yours truly.  Enjoy and stop by again on Friday because I will be reviewing a few new Dayspring products and giving away a $20 Dayspring gift certificate!

Money Saving Mom Book Review and GIVEAWAY

***Congrats to Jennifer for winning the book!  Email me so I can get it to you!***

I have followed the Money Saving Mom blog for quite some time.  Of course I love the deals Crystal posts on the site, but more than finding a fabulous bargain, I love her focus on stewardship of the home and finances.  I have found recipes, coupons, and organization ideas and have been challenged by her goal setting and focus on budgeting and using cash instead of plastic.  When I found out she was releasing a book, I was super excited to see what she would include.  It was released yesterday and I read it yesterday.  Below are a few of my favorite take aways from her book.

• CASH: This totally goes against everything I know as a bank marketing director where we want to put debit cards in peoples’ hands because they make a huge amount of $$$ for banks, but she reinforces the cash only system.  We have tried this a few different times and always end up going back to the card.  I know from our personal experience that we spend way less when we use only cash.
• COUPONS: I used to laugh at my mother for clipping and using coupons thinking that $.50 really isn’t that much, but wow was I wrong.  I have been much better in the last year at using coupons, but I still have not been super consistent. Crystal gives a down to earth approach to couponing and helps you identify what is a good bargain and what is in not.
• CLUTTER: She comments that if your life is cluttered than you are going to have a hard time meal planning, budgeting, and couponing.  Her chapter on clearing out your house and life motivated me to get up and work on my closet.  Even though it hurts, I need to admit that I am probably never going to fit in the dress that I wore to my rehearsal dinner ... time to get rid of it. :)
• CLARITY: I don’t know about you, but I can get way overwhelmed when I read blogs or books about all that different women do to run their households efficiently and cost effectively. From making their own tortillas to dishwashing liquid, there are a TON of ideas out there to save money and time.  I often think I should be doing more and there are probably a lot of areas I could be doing more.  She talks about looking at the cost savings per hour of different tasks to see if the cost savings are really worth the time investment.

I am going to be giving away a copy of this book either on your Kindle or a hard copy in your mailbox! 

You can enter the contest twice: 1) Leave a comment on this post 2) Leave a comment on the Rubies & Rewards Facebook page and tell share your goals for 2012 in regards to home management, couponing, or budgeting.

Be sure to enter the contest by Friday at midnight and I will announce the winner on Saturday!

Can You Help R&R?

December 26th ... we made it!  I pray that each of you had a wonderful holiday weekend with your family and were able to spend time worshipping the Savior!  We had a great weekend, but I am very much looking forward to this week as well!  Hal is off until after the new year ... yippee!  We will be enjoying some family time here in Mississippi and then heading to Arkansas mid-week.  This week I am going to feature several of the posts that have received the most hits since I started the blog in August.


I will be letting you know about a few changes to Rubies and Rewards after the first of the year.  I want each of you to know what an encouragement you have been to me on this journey!  On the days when I feel that I am just too tired to blog, I remember your emails or comments about how you have been challenged or encouraged through reading Rubies and Rewards and then I am challenged and encouraged to keep going!  As a treat for helping me stay motivated, I will be giving away some super yummy candy from Bauer's candy. I received some of this as a gift and let me just say I was hooked!  Marshmallow and carmel may sound like a weird combination, but oh my word, is it fabulous!  How can you win this yummy candy?  When Rubies and Rewards reaches 125 fans on the Facebook page, I will select a winner from the Facebook Fans!  So ... share R&R with your friends and ask them to become a fan!

Giveaway Winner

Congrats to Kim at Chasing the Wind for winning the Family Tree Canvas from Peace, Love, and Crafts!  Don't forget to check out their Facebook page and maybe do a little Christmas shopping!

Give Thanks and a Giveaway

(Some of you have emailed me that you put your info in the Rafflecopter form to enter the giveaway, but it isn't showing up. If this is the case for you, please email me and let me know!  Thanks!)




I love the month of November.  I love pumpkin lattes, pie, and bread. I love cornbread dressing. I love the thought of an entire month devoted to having an attitude of Thanksgiving (if only we could continue the other 11 months).  And I love a giveaway!  I will be giving away a custom family tree canvas from Peace, Love, & Crafts. 

Peace, Love, & Crafts Family Tree Canvas

To enter the contest use the Rafflecopter entry form below:

• Leave a comment on this post and tell me one thing you are thankful for.

You can receive additional entries by:

• Becoming a Fan of Rubies and Rewards on Facebook
• Follow Rubies and Rewards on Twitter
• Becoming a Fan of Peace, Love, & Crafts on Facebook and see some of the other great items they make!
• Share Rubies and Rewards with your friends via Facebook (you can receive one entry per day for sharing R&R with your friends)

The contest will end on November 23rd at 12:01 AM (EST)  Depending on how you opened the page, you may need to click "Read More" below to make sure your entries are counted in the contest!

And the Winner Is...

Amber from Homemaker By Choice won the GraceTags necklace and selected the necklace below!  Thanks for playing along!  I loved reading all of your choices.

Random Friday

Watching TV together :)

I am feeling a little scattered today, so you get my rambling thoughts and a super cute picture to go with them

1. What I Didn’t Know About the Pill: Honestly, I struggled to put this post up. I had it done and edited for over a week before I ever scheduled it, but I knew that I needed to be obedient and share what God had laid on my heart to share with you.  The response was AMAZING.  Even though there weren’t many comments left on the actual posts, I saw numerous comments left on FB links to the post.  October 5th’s daily page view count was the highest to date.  It was a good encouragement to me to know that others were reading it.  Around lunch on Wednesday I ran a quick errand with the boys.  While we were shopping, I started getting a migraine.  It was my first one in several months.  For me, migraines are hormonal and guess what controls them?  Yup, you guessed it: Birth Control.  When I started feeling it come on, I had the strangest reaction ... I smiled.  It was a gentle reminder to me that obedience is hard.  A reminder that doing the right thing and being obedient doesn’t always mean sunshine and roses, but the peace of God is way better than sunshine and roses!
2. I survived a week with both boys by myself!  Hal has been out of town this week.  He was supposed to be back on Wednesday, but his trip was extended.  I know that he has to travel for his job some, but I sure HATE him being away.  I miss his help, but I just miss his presence more!  Big brother had a small meltdown on Wednesday night.  He was past ready to see his daddy.  I have bribed him with ice cream and french fries all week and this afternoon we get to pick up daddy at the airport.
3. Don’t forget to enter the giveaway for a GraceTag necklace.  Click HERE to enter. I love reading which necklace you would chose and why!
4. Have a great weekend!

Handful of Blessings and a Giveaway

I ran across a blog several weeks ago and I instantly loved the title: Homemaker by Choice. In a day where they have changed the name of Home Ec classes to Family Life and Consumer Sciences and it seems so taboo to use the word “homemaker,” I love that this is the title of Amber’s blog. Check out the site today and read my post “Handful of Blessings.” Amber’s resource page lists several of my favorite books on Biblical Womanhood including “The Excellent Wife” which I am reading now. 


I am also starting a little contest today. I will be giving away the necklace of your choice from GraceTags to one reader. Check out the items in the GraceTags Etsy Shop. I think this one is my favorite. It reminds me not only of the gift of my salvation but also that I need Christ every day.

To enter the contest:

• Leave a comment on this post and tell me which necklace you would choose and why.

You can receive additional entries by:

• Becoming a Fan of Rubies and Rewards on Facebook
• Follow Rubies and Rewards on Twitter
• Visit Homemakers By Choice and read the Handful of Blessings Post

The contest will end on October 10th at 12:01 AM (EST)  I am testing Rafflecopter as a method of doing giveaways.  Let me if it turns out to be too difficult!  Your name and email won't be published it is just so that I can contact you if you are the winner.  Depending on how you opened the page, you may need to click "Read More" below to make sure your entries are counted in the contest!

I look forward to hearing which necklace you would chose and why!

Giveaway Winners

Congrats to Carla Campbell and Rebekah Martin!  I assigned numbers to each Google follower and then Hal and D picked random 2 numbers.  Send me your address and I will get the CD's to you.  Enjoy this great worship CD.  The song "Immortal, Invisible" is one of my favorites. I will be sharing more about that in a post in October.

Have a great weekend!