{GIVEAWAY} Heaven Scent

What do heavenly smelling wickless candles and US troops have in common?  

Before you say, “uhhh, nothing!,” let us introduce you to Brandee Raney, a military wife whose husband became a Scentsy consultant (because as Brandee points out, he can sell anything!). Brandee and her husband love Scentsy — a safe, wickless alternative to scented candles.  

This wickless concept was born when two stay-at-home moms began selling decorative warmers designed to melt scented wax with the heat of a light bulb instead of a traditional wick and flame.  

Even though Brandee’s husband had begun as the consultant, he was soon deployed to Afghanistan and Brandee took over as the family consultant.

Brandee didn’t stop at just an ordinary consultant though, she stepped up her game and now hosts Scentsy parties to send care packages to the troops! 

Join our Well-to-Do Scentsy party and help us salute our troops by sending them a big thank you courtesy of Brandee’s care packages. Every purchase  will ensure that our troops receive cookies and other goodies like Scentsy travel tins and scent circles.

To get the party started Brandee has also generously donated a full-sized Scentsy warmer worth up to a $40 value! For entry to win the "party prize," comment below here on the blog! 


And lastly, find Brandee’s Scentsy consultant page here or find her on her brand new Facebook page!

xx Well to Do

{Guest Post} TRAVEL-SIZED TIPS & TRICKS

Our travel maven, Erin is back this week with tips on travel-sized and in-flight entertainment necessities — two key categories to ensure smooth sailing for any long trip this summer.

Travel Sized items worth checking out

• Razors — Erin loves the travel-sized Intuition. This all in one razor with hydrating bands lathers when wet, which means no need to pack the shaving cream! Just make sure to keep the plastic cap for storage while traveling.

• Hair Care — Conair 2 in 1 curler/straightener does double duty for hair styling, or try a travel flat iron and hairdryer with heat proof wrap (like the mini chi set!) — just remember to check voltages if traveling internationally!

• Heavenly scents — Need to freshen up your luggage or a stinky hotel room? Try a Scentsy Travel Tin. Only $5 and could even save you from a less than pleasant arm rest companion.  Plus stay tuned for a fabulous Scentsy giveaway!

Entertainment

Do you have kids or an annoying husband who prefers to poke you rather than catch up on the latest trends? Here is a list to entertain everyone:

• e-readers — It's small and you can bring multiple books and travel guides in a compact size without elbowing your neighbor for 9 hours while turning pages.
• Travel sized Electronic movie/game console — A lot of international flights have in-flight entertainment, but if they don’t its going to be a loooooooong flight without one! 

• Long taxi & take-off — Bring a book of soduku or word games to keep everyone entertained during times when electronics cannot be used.

• Keep all those gadgets charged and ready to use with a travel power strip and electronic plug changers. If your hubby is like Erin’s who he has more electronics than a Radio Shack, Monster Cable makes a compact power strip that can handle European voltages.
• Keep everyone entertained after the flight, by packing plug changers. European wall plugs have different shapes than ours, so bring along a plug changer so you can charge everything.

So there you have some travel-sized pleasers, well-to-doers!

Bon voyage!  Again.

{Guest Post} WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

June is travel month here at Well-to-Do, and we’re bringing you tips, guest posts, and fabulous give-a-ways to get you ready and fully prepared for all your summer travel adventures!

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First things first: meet our friend and travel maven Erin — today's guest blogger. She says a relaxing vacation starts with ample planning and preparation. Use these helpful tips to ensure your trip starts off on a smooth course.

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• Call your cell phone company and have them enable international calls, and inquire about the roaming price — you may need it in an emergency.

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• Notify your bank of your travel destinations and dates so they don’t freeze your account! Also, although the commercials claim it, Amex is not everywhere you want to be, but Visa and Mastercard are!

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• If traveling internationally, keep exchange rates in mind. When shopping with your credit/debit card, you usually will have the option to let them pick the rate or let your bank do it ---> go with your bank! It is generally easier to use an ATM and complete your transactions with cash, but it's important to know local exchange rates.

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• Print out your itinerary and include maps — try using your iPad or other tablet.

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• Scan your passport photo to have an electronic copy in your email just in case you lose it. This makes obtaining a replacement passport much easier.

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• Additionally, leave a copy of your passport and travel itinerary with family and friends in case of emergency.

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• Register your trip with the Dept of State. 
• Check the Dept of State website for important country info (such as travel visa requirements) and know emergency phone numbers:
• daytime — 212-661-79-70-00 
• night-time — 212-661-13-19-39 

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Ready your smart phone or tablet for traveling:

• Take note which applications require the internet. You may not have cell phone service or are roaming overseas & thereby won’t have access to the apps you’re relying on.

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• Most large cities worldwide have transit smart phone or tablet map apps — some are free too.
• Download “My Language,” a free translator tool — very helpful, but needs the internet.
• Tripcase is a great program that will organize all aspects of your travel (flight, rental car, hotel) and it will notify you, or others you designate, if there are changes in your flight, and also can do take-off and landing notifications. This app does not require the internet once the information is e-mailed and downloaded to your phone.

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Whether your beaching it or traveling overseas this summer, Well-to-Do has you covered during the month of June with tips and giveaways for a safe, relaxing & fun-filled excursion!


Bon Voyage!

Meet Our Guest Blogger

Erin is a Maine native who loves to travel the world with her husband, and experience different cultures and cuisines. Her trips always involve outdoor activities, with ice climbing and scuba diving at the top of her list. She has been to more than 50 cities in 30 countries, including 17 Caribbean islands. So far, Erin's favorite destination is a tie — South Island of New Zealand & the Greek Island Santorini. Keep your eyes open for her travel blog she is working on, set to debut in July, "Just a Girl From Maine, Out to See The World."

TALK PUBLICITY TO ME

Suz is a guest blogger over at Creative Kristi as part of the #spreadbloggylove series.  Here is what she had to say!

TALK PUBLICITY TO ME

A big thank you to Kristi for inviting me to be a part of this fabulous series! Not only am I fortunate to have her as blogging resource extraordinaire, I’m equally lucky to live across a river from her!

I’m here today to offer some tips about acquiring publicity for your blog or business — lessons I’ve learned from my own grassroots-style experiences.

I should probably start by telling you that when I graduated from college I wanted to start a publicity stunt agency. Yes, I’ve always been a little crazy. Fast-forward nine years and, although I'm not organizing publicity stunts, it’s still in my blood.

Within just a few months of blogging at Well to Do, I landed two local TV spots by using a little bit of creativity and a whole lot of passion. Here’s how:

#1: KEEP IT LOCAL. KEEP IT FABULOUS.

Local press loves local people and local businesses. The best way to impress a producer, reporter or journalist is to write an interesting, well-written press release. There are many resources online, but a simple how-to can be found at wikiHow.

Consider providing a solution in your pitch: As an earth-friendly blogger at Well to Do, I pitched a “Have Yourself A Merry and ‘Green’ Holiday” in mid-December.

In my message to local TV professionals, I suggested that “being green” at the holidays ranged from buying local to using reusable gift packaging, and further put together a gift guide of my favorite locally-made products.

If you can’t provide a solution, then give your pitch some “hard news,” as suggested by my reporter friend Diana. For example: “Work-from-home-Mom and Etsy artisan, Susie Q, sells custom hand-made baby products to help out with household bills in the down economy.”

Include a high res photograph of yourself or project, or link up a video for added touch.

#2: PARTNER WITH OTHER INFLUENCERS.

Nothing screams publicity-friendly like partnering with another blogger or business owner to create some sort of event or “message."

Well to Do has enjoyed many lovely giveaways in the last 10 months, but my co-blogger Sarah and I were particularly over-the-moon about our Sea Bags giveaway — Maine-made totes and accessories made of recycled sails that have been featured everywhere from Daily Candy to Real Simple, and whose products are now sold at Pottery Barn.

In an effort to stir up publicity for our blog as well as the giveaway, we invited a few friends {including a local wedding/event designer who sells Sea Bags at her studio} to join us for the making of a Sea Bags music video.

A television spot {“Local Women Send Message of Health, Wealth & Wellness”} and 400+ giveaway entries later, we had some serious fun and acquired our first blog sponsorship.

#3: DO SOME LEG WORK

Do your research. Watch the local news to see sample feature stories; read your town newspaper. Send your press release to a media person who covers the area you are targeting. Often, this will turn into a story much faster.

Should you have a hard time finding specific people to contact, consider printing out your press release and hand delivering it to the news station or newspaper headquarters. My mom might suggest that you spray the press release with perfume. Just sayin’.

Once you achieve your first piece of publicity, you can then leverage that press and experience on your blog, website, or resume. Price tag: zero. Opportunity: to infinity.

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Publicity possibilities are endless, people!

I’m happy to help brainstorm story pitches with you — seeing how I’m semi-addicted — so please feel free to email me at welltodoyou@gmail.com. Consider me an objective second opinion.

Below are three fabulous bloggers who inspire me, humor me, and with whom I check in daily:

Jessica at Joyfolie: A former college writing professor turned shoe-maker who shares her thoughts about “manifesting the dreams of [her] business in harmony with meeting the needs of [her] two lovely and brilliantly messy children” through photographs, words, and one-of-a-kind items.

Kasey Buick: Mom of 3. Drinks bottles of wine. Shops at Anthropology. Flits around with her girlfriends. Funny like no other.

Sharon, Audrey and Jane at Mom Generations: A hip, savvy mother-daughter team providing practical advice on fashion, life, and well-being... and an online home to amazing giveaways {for example: a style makeover with Tim Gunn}!

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Thanks again to Kristi! You're a sweetie — and a blog-life-saver. But I am sure you already know that by now :) Thanks also to everyone participating in the #spreadbloggylove series — both writers and readers! XOXO

Images via Pinterest, Sea Bags, and Susan Stephenson