Thank You + A Giveaway!

Awhile ago I promised on Twitter that when I reached over 100 blog followers I would do a giveaway and last week I finally hit 102 followers! I know this is nothing compared to most blogs, but it's super rad to me. When I first started this little blog a year and a half ago, I never knew how much I'd grow to love it. Now it's a constant source of inspiration for me and I'm more than stoked that anyone other than myself actually read it. So, to say thank you to everyone who's ever read this blog, I want to have a fun little giveaway for you all!

As you know I'll be one of the vendors at the upcoming handmade and vintage market The Threadery. When I found out I was accepted I knew I needed to get some business cards to pass out . After asking around, I came in contact with Diana at Livy Love Designs. I found out that she actually designed The Threadery's logo which I LOVE so I knew she'd be the perfect person to design my business cards. She did a phenomenal job. I was super impressed with her awesome communication, quick turnaround time, reasonable prices, and of course her amazing talent. As you can see above, my business cards came out amazing and were exactly what I envisioned. And when Diana mentioned she'd like to do a giveaway I jumped at the opportunity!

Here's the details: Diana is giving away an 8x10 print from her Etsy shop to one of my readers. The winner can choose any print currently in her shop and choose which colors they'd like them in! You can see some of her adorable prints below... I personally am dying over that California one! The giveaway will go until next Friday, 9/30. To enter, you just have to follow my blog via Google Friend Connect (just click follow over on the right hand side) and leave a comment telling me your favorite thing about my blog! For an extra entry you can follow Diana on Twitter here: @LivyLoveDesigns. Make sure to leave an extra comment letting me know you did! Oh, and the giveaway is open to anyone worldwide!

Good luck everyone! And thank you for reading me and keeping me constantly inspired! I hope you all enjoy reading my blog as much as I enjoy updating it! XOXO

Domesticated Delight got a sweet little makeover!

So, what do we think of my new blog design? I AM OBSESSED. I have had the Danielle Moss graphic design website bookmarked for over a year now, and I finally decided the time was right for a sweet little makeover! I knew she would do a fantastic job and let me tell you, she did not disappoint. I think she truly captured my style with the red/aqua colors and the graphics and I am so in love. Not only was she was incredibly easy to work with and quick to respond to emails, she was also willing to explain bloggy things (that I probably should have known about already) and gave me her personal opinion on a lot of things which was totally appreciated. If you are thinking of getting a fresh look for your blog, I can't recommend her enough!

A few things to point out: I changed the links on my top navigation bar to include some updated information about my family and added a section for my Etsy shop as well! And guess what? Mama Matryoshka got a makeover too! Make sure to check out the coordinating banner over at the shop... I just think it's the cutest thing ever! I also have a new button, both for my blog and Mama Matryoshka located on the right hand side under Follow Along for those who would like to add it to their site! I plan to get all the buttons from the blogs I've been stalking to add to my page very soon! Fancy!

Let me know what you think of the new design, and I'll be back tomorrow for Friday Favorites! XOXO

I have messy writing.

My handwriting has been compared to hieroglyphics and too many times have I heard the 'you should have been a doctor' joke when people see what it looks like. Lindsey at Otto's Mom Blogs recently posted a handwriting meme and then tagged me and because I think it's funny and interesting to see your favorite blogger's handwriting I took on the challenge! The results? Even worse than I expected. I decided I'm just gonna blame the bad pictures and poorly chosen paper color. (Apparently we are supposed to use a scanner, but as Alana wisely put it 'I'm not an Office Max, yo'! I mean, do people really have scanners? I don't even have a printer!)

I told you it was bad... I warned you! If I tagged you, you better post yours so I don't feel like such an ass. I can't be the only one with horrible handwriting!



I iz a fancy blogger now.

If you're wondering why I haven't been posting much, it's because I've been having a blogging identity crisis of sorts. When I originally started posting here it was more personal updates about my pregnancy, birth, and then life with a new baby. I do love those posts, but my intention for this blog was to be inspiration for those who like the same things as myself: cooking, baking, and crafting. It is between these two themes that I've gotten stuck somewhere and haven't posted regularly because I always felt like the ideas in my head don't go with one or the other. I was also aware of how terrible my point-and-shoot camera pictures were and let's be honest, a bad photo doesn't inspire anyone so I was reluctant to post. Recently, after giving it a lot of thought, I've decided to focus more on the latter and post more dinner recipes, decorating inspiration, cute kids parties, dessert ideas, and share pictures and tutorials of all the crafts that I usually work on. One of the main deciding factors was the purchase of 2 new toys. Thank god for tax returns...

I was finally able to purchase a Canon Rebel T1i (along with the 18-55mm lens and the 50mm 1.8 lens) which I am SO excited about. I've honestly been interested in photography my entire life, but have always been frustrated with the limitations of a cheap point-and-shoot camera. Luckily, we were able to finally get a nice DSLR and I'm so excited to get acquainted with it. I've been practicing every day and hopefully the pictures around here will become better and more inspiring. (And of course I couldn't resist showing off pictures of my two favorite subjects, Cayden and his cousin)

See the bottom right picture? He's mad we lost the Superbowl! Sad face.

The Silhouette is something that's been all over the blogs lately and it's been torturing my sister and I with its amazingness. This thing can do EVERYTHING. She bought it last week and after much deliberation I decided it will save me a ton of money in the long run and ordered it yesterday. I can't wait to start playing with it. The Silhouette blog has so many fun ideas and you can guarantee I'll be stalking it daily.

Anyway, this doesn't mean that I'll stop posting personal updates. I'll still use Wordless Wednesday to show off pictures of the cutest baby in the universe (mine) and let you know what our family is up to. And of course Friday Favorites will continue as well. (And if you ever have suggestions for Friday Favorites themes I'd love to hear them!) I hope to start posting regularly now and really developing this blog into what I imagined it to be. I have a really fun giveaway in the works as well as an exciting announcement to come. And a big THANK YOU to everyone who takes time to read this. Every comment means SO much to me and I hope you'll stick around!

My first blog award (and 7 things you didn’t know about me).

Guess what friends? My blog has been chosen for a Lovely award by Kerry over at Momster! I am positively delighted! Be sure to check our Kerry’s blog for fun crafts and mommy tips! She’s a doll!

Rules to accepting this reward:
-Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award
-Share 7 fun facts about yourself
-Award 15 of your favorite bloggers
-Let them know!


Here we go!

Seven unknown tidbits about yours truly.

• When I was a little girl my sister and I were in the newspaper for winning a painting contest!

(that's me in the minnie mouse shirt.)

• My favorite thing to bake is cherry pie. (My homemade pie crust is to die for if I do say so myself.)
  
  
  
  

• When I was 18 I wore hoop earrings every single day and all my friends called me ‘Hoops’.

• I don’t drink soda. Ever.

















• My 2 sisters and I all have French middle names (Renee, Nicole, and Michelle) but our family isn’t French.














• Nail polish always chips on my nails within an hour of putting it on, even if I get it done professionally. This saddens me greatly because I despise chipped nails.
  








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• Mando and I chose Cayden’s name by a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors.
  
  
  

I hereby nominate the following bloggers for this award:

Crunchy VT Mommy – hilarious mama of 2 who always keeps it real!

Brown Paper Packages – my favorite inspiration blog. Her handmade creations are fantastic!

Mommy Wants Vodka – the funniest person on the Internet and a HUGE heart on top of that.

The Journey of the Unfinished Woman – a down to earth mama with all kinds of cooking, thrifting, and crafting tips!

Baby Rabies – a DIY mama to a little boy (and a baby girl on the way) with a great sense of humor!

Blogging Dangerously – anonymous blogger telling hilarious tales of her great sex life with her husband

A Beautiful Mess – lovely entrepreneur blogging about her new vintage shop, upcoming wedding, and DIY creations!

Party Like a Kid – great blog dedicated to showing off the cutest kids parties of every theme imaginable!

Enjoying the Small Things – wonderful photographer and mother of 2, this blog is full of inspiration from all aspects of life.

Spearmint Baby – a blog of all things baby related including tons of pictures of amazing nurseries! (Also check out her Spearmint Wedding, Décor, and Kitchen sites!)

Lovin’ from the Oven – makes the most amazing baked goodies and she ALWAYS shares the recipes!

So Fawned – wonderful mama and photographer who enjoys the simple things in life and everything handmade!

I Am Baker – makes the cutest cookies (and other baked things) I’ve ever seen and is expecting a new baby!

Yellow Songbird – sweet blog showing love to everything handmade (and always has a fun little giveaway going on!)

Le Wedding Party – a new blog full of wedding inspiration and gorgeous photos!


Make sure to pay these lovely ladies a visit and thanks again Kerry for the nomination!

A personal update and a peak into the future.

Wow, November already! This holiday season is flying by. I hope you guys enjoyed the giveaways, recipes, and tutorials during my Halloween event for the month of October! I had a lot of fun doing it! Now that things have calmed down a bit on the blog front I thought I'd write a personal update... lots have been going on!

Cayden is now 3 and a half months old and thriving! He's rolling over and starting to hold his own bottle! He's at such a fun age where he's 'talking' and laughing and interacting with us more and more. I love it! I think teething has started because he's constantly chewing on his hands and drooling like crazy! Yesterday he celebrated his first Halloween and I think he had a lot of fun! He was the cutest lil bear ever! (Pictures will be posted)

Mando and I are doing a lot better. In the beginning we were over-tired and over-stressed while adjusting to parenthood and fighting a lot, but now we finally feel like we know what we're doing and aren't arguing as much. I'm getting better at saving money and bargain shopping so the financial stress has subsided a little bit too. Finding time to nurture your relationship while being a new mom is hard but I make it a priority. I really do love him with all of my heart and he's a fantastic father.

I can't wait for the next few months. I'm having Thanksgiving at my house this year and cooking everything on my own for the first time! I can't wait to decorate, put the table together, and spend all day barefoot in my apron! Black Friday always means waking up at the crack of dawn and shopping and I look forward to it every year. Mando is turning 32 in December and I have to figure out something special to do for him. I'm thinking maybe a Laker game and a night in a hotel? We'll see. Christmas will be all about the babies this year and I plan on making some sweet handmade gifts for everyone else. I think it's so much for special than just spending a bunch of money on things. After the new year we have our 2 year anniversary, my birthday, and Valentine's Day! In March we're planning on moving... as you can see we are VERY busy. But don't worry, I plan to blog my way through it.

Speaking of blogging, I hope you guys are enjoying what I've been doing! I plan to have more craft tutorials and recipes for everyone. Hopefully Santa will bring me a new camera this year so I can take some decent pictures too (anyone want to donate a camera to a poor blogger?) If there's anything specifically you want to see leave me a comment and I'll see what I can do! Suggestions are comments are always welcomed.

I'll share pictures from Halloween soon, but for now I'll leave you with this! Last minute Halloween costumes are the best. Happy November everyone!