Winner winner chicken dinner!

Happy Friday everyone! Just popping in to announce all 3 winners of our Celebrating Handmade giveaways! Thank you so much to everyone who entered and to those who are supporting handmade and small businesses everyday! It's so important and I hope you will all continue to do so! And now, without further ado, the winners are....

Giveaway #1 - Lace Garter from Krumpets Designs - Winner is Stacey! Congratulations!!!

Giveaway #2 - Polka Dot Bowtie from Dana Eckert - Winner is Jessica! Congratulations!!

Giveaway #3 - Pair of Engraved Stemless Wine Glasses - Winner is Alana! Congratulations!!

Yay, congrats winners! I'll be in touch with all 3 of you shortly to put you in contact with the Etsy shop owners! Thanks again to everyone who entered and thank you to the 3 ladies who supplied these fabulous prizes!! And don't worry if you didn't win... I have another giveaway coming soon! Happy Friday everyone! XOXO



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

Friday Favorites, My 100th post, and the GIVEAWAY WINNER!

Wow, my 100th post... First of all, I can't believe I made it this far! I started blogging back when I was pregnant with Cayden and my posts consisted mostly of the day-to-day ramblings of a pregnant woman with some pictures thrown in. And while I do still ramble, over time my blog has developed into what I envisioned it to be... recipes, crafts, pictures of Cayden, giveaways, and most of all, creative inspiration! Now that I have a new camera I can't wait to keep growing and developing my blog into a place where you can go when you want to feel inspired. I just wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone who takes the time to read my posts. One of the ways I like to thank my readers is by having giveaways to give you all a chance to win something I think you'll love! So without further ado, here are the winners of the Bountiful Blessings giveaway!

Winner #1 who wins any item of their choice from the Bountiful Blessings Baby Boutique is...

Michelle S.!

Winner #2 who receives a 50% promo code to use on the item of their choice is...

OttosMom

CONGRATULATIONS! Please leave a comment with your email address and I will contact you shortly. If I do not hear from you in 48 hours I will have to choose a new winner so please be in touch! 

Now, let's get down to business. It's Friday and you know what that means... it's time for this week's Friday Favorites! Even though I live in Southern California, the land of 70 degree weather, I still look forward to Spring every year. As soon as March rolls around the days get warmer and the sun shines brighter and I start craving the outdoors. Picnics, gardening, camping, the beach... I love it all! This is Cayden's first spring and I can't wait to show him all it has to offer. As the warm weather approaches, more and more Spring items start to pop up on Etsy and it has inspired me to get outside and enjoy this beautiful weather! 

When is the last time you flew a kite? I can't even remember, isn't that sad? This kite pillow cover makes me think of running down a grassy hill as a child and I love it. I can almost *feel* the green grass under my feet.

This sign was created 'as a tribute to fresh food' and was made from recycled farm machinery. I love farms and the life of hard work and simplicity that goes along with them. I want to hang this in my kitchen and bake a pie.  

This fabric flower headband makes me think of Easter dresses, tights, and Mary-Janes. Have any of you started decorating for Easter yet? It's one of my favorite holidays and I can't wait to make Cayden's first Easter basket!

I'll be honest, I've never gardened before. I have this irrational fear of worms and they tend to pop up out of the soil when least expected so I've always stayed far, far away. However, this year I'm determined to plant a little garden at my mom's house. I want big, colorful flowers that will be in bloom in time for Cayden's first birthday party! I adore this vintage watering can... now I need to find the perfect straw hat to match! 

I've always wanted to throw a Spring garden party. Lemonade, a big salad, fresh bread, and angel food cake for dessert. Mmmmm. I would definately decorate with some flowers and this darling Spring bunting banner.

I adore vintage silverwear. I love looking at it when I go antique shopping and I would love to start a collection one day. Hammered spoons have a classic and unique look and can be used for anything from keepsakes to these garden markers.

Thanks again to all of my readers and for everyone who participated in the giveaway. If you didn't win, don't fret! I have another one already lined up for you. I'll post it soon so keep coming back!

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!