Ice.com Summer Styles review

As you've probably noticed, I'm pretty simple when it comes to jewelry. I usually wear the same necklace and bracelet every day. I try to mix it up and wear other (more cute) stuff, but in the end, I'm a creature of habit.

One thing I've been trying to do, though, is bring in more yellow gold to my jewelry wardrobe. I have some very nice yellow gold pieces but since my engagement and wedding rings are white gold, I sometimes don't really know how to mix them. This is where Ice.com comes in!

Ice.com has 10 items on super crazy sale right now for their Summer Styles event. All the items are up to 75% off and they were generous enough to ask me to review one of those 10 pieces free of charge. This is the item I selected:

It's the 14K Yellow Gold Ring w/ Rhodium. I love how it's a great mix of both yellow and white gold. It's very comfortable and it's been a great way for me to wear both colors of gold. I've worn it for a week now and as fussy as I am, it's fit right into my "regulars" pile of jewelry.

 Right now Ice.com is offering all Cute on the Cheap readers a 20% off discount! To use it, just click on that link or enter source code FBSS2 at check out. Watches, engagement rings and sale items are excluded, but this is good until August 31, 2010.

One thing I really liked about this ring is there's room for sizing. I didn't really think how a wide ring would fit differently (you should size up) and I ordered the size for my index finger. Whoops. I'll eventually take this in to be sized up so I can wear it on that finger. I really like the look of a big, wide ring on the index finger. 

I encourage you to like Ice.com on Facebook. They post great trends in jewelry as well as special promotions on there. You don't want to miss out on a great deal!

Pretty sparkly around here!

A few weeks ago the lovely Nadia from one of the internet's most affordable jewelry stores Ice.com asked if I'd like to select a piece of jewelry from their $100 and under section and tell you all what I thought about it. I have an opinion about everything and I love jewelry so how could I say no?

I quickly set my sights on a necklace that was totally my style. I placed my order and in just a couple of days, my necklace arrived in a beautiful gift box. Ice.com really takes their packaging seriously and I'm a sucker for something well-packaged and presented nicely.
The gift box was wrapped in Ice.com tissue and then the box itself was wrapped in a blue bow. Inside the box was a blue velvet box with the necklace inside. Already I'm impressed and I've not even gotten my grubby paws on the goods.
Right away I was amazed at the quality of this necklace. It's sparkly and dainty yet substantial and classic. I'm trying to wear more gold with "warm" colors and this was a great piece to make that transition with. I've had the necklace for a couple of weeks and worn it several times and as delicate as it appears, it's very sturdy and I've been pleased with it.
I absolutely recommend checking out Ice.com and Nadia was awesome enough to give y'all a coupon code for 20% off. Just enter IMSHJ and receive 20% off anything except engagement rings or sale items. They offer free shipping too, so you can't beat it! The code expires May 8th.

This'll do 'em proud. -- Ally

I know I could (and will) embarrass my parents in a lot of other ways, but I think this is a whopper:

I don't polish my shoes. When I scuff them, I lick my thumb and try to rub it out and if that doesn't work, I color it over w/a Sharpie (I have a rainbow of them in my desk).

It's lazy and you'd think for someone who loves shoes like I do, I'd not be so slovenly. But that's just it - I'm lazy. I'm also REALLY bad with shoe polish and managed to wear it up my leg the last time I tried to polish my shoes myself. There's a reason the last time Daddy was over I gave him a pair of heels and a tin of polish. While I like to think I was doing him a favor (what dad doesn't love polishing shoes?!?!), we all know the truth: I'm spoiled rotten and have never had to polish or shine a shoe in my life.

That is until now.

Thanks to Tracey, I've discovered a new love in my life: KIWI Express Shine Sponge. She pointed out this little beauty to me the other day and said her mom always got her one for Christmas. I didn't really get why it was so fancy (looked like a goofy sponge and a lot of work to me), but filed it in the mental rolodex for later.

I was at Bed, Bath and Beyond earlier today with five 20% off coupons (you know you can use five per transaction, right?) and time to burn. I was looking for a deal and saw the shine sponges on the clearance rack. They only had three left so I nabbed them all. With my coupon, they were only $2.50 each (50% off retail!). I figured I could keep one, give one to Al and the other to Trae because I'm sweet like that.

When I got home I was super excited to see how well they work. Considering the awful condition of my shoes, I figured I'd be in for a long afternoon of work. Hardly! It took more time documenting the process than it took to work a miracle on my shoes. I'm posting some before/afters so you too can be as excited as I am:

My black Enzos were looking haggard but in under 30 seconds each, they were significantly more presentable:

The scuffy toe:










The snarled heel:























Pretty good, huh?? It gets better. I didn't think to do a side-by-side comparison with this pair, but I did with my brown Nine West wedges. These babies get worn to death over the summer and you've all seen them numerous times:

Before/after:














Amazing!

Front/Side:












Side:













Side 2:













Side 3:
















Sorry for the excessive before/after shots but I'm so blown away right now. You can click on any of the photos for a closer look. Just be sure to click "back" so you can come back to the blog.

I'm off to go find every pair of leather shoes in the house! This doesn't mean I won't whine and carry on and have Daddy polish my shoes though. It does mean, however, I won't go in public looking like I was raised by wolves. Mama will be so proud. :)