Birthday Giveaway

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

next wednesday is my birthday and YOU are getting a present

A little package of My Favorite Things

Some of my favorite paper

Some of my favorite lip balm

Something from my favorite store

And a little something made by me

Leave me a comment to wish me a happy birthday and you will be entered into my random birthday giveaway. Annoymous comments will not be accepted.

You have until Wednesday May 7th to wish me a Happy Birthday!

p.s. any and all gifts will be gladly accepted as well :)

image via flickr

busy bee

Today and tomorrow I am putting the finishing touches on some new products for an upcoming boutique. It seems as though I wait until the last minute for these type of events ... Not a good habit, I know!

Well I still have a lot to do ... see you later!!

For more great tackles, check out 5 Minutes for Mom

my new hobby

Kristen over at We are THAT Family hosted a fun little giveaway and I won this great little knit kit!

My sister taught me how to knit hats last Thanksgiving, but this is fantastic! This kit comes with instructions on knitting everything from scarves and booties to socks and halter tops! I hope to be able to make something like this for next Christmas.

Thanks again Kristen!!

Fabulous Find Friday

Searching for a Mother's Day gift?

Here are some of my best sellers amongst moms...

:: the younger moms have liked these ::

Dandelions

Daisies

Tart n' Tiny

:: these are a favorite with both the young moms and the more mature moms ::

Queen Anne's Lace

Starbursts

Or just check out the Swanky Paper site for more Mother's Day gift ideas.

Keeping it out

My sil has a fantastic saying. If it does not simplify your life, don't let it in.


I have been guilty of allowing everything but simplicity into my life. Stuff entered the front door, Things found its way into my house, events found their way onto the calender and before I knew it CHAOS was here and would not leave. It is now on its way out and I am keeping it out!!


We packed up and headed out of town for a few days to relax and to let G'ma & G'pa play with the boys. It was nice to do nothing for a few days.

Since we are back I have made it a top priority to simplify everything. So if my posting is slow, you know why...but not to worry, I still check up on all of your blogs daily thanks to my reader.


p.s.
:::::I am working on a little project for an upcoming boutique. Stay tuned for more details (and photos) and a chance to enter yet another delightful giveaway here on the Swanky Blog!:::::

smile, the weekend is here

This makes me smile...

(sorry embedding is disabled)

Fabulous Find Friday

I love this thick creamy Soy Milk lotion.

Archipelago Botanicals Soy Lotion with Milk is my absolute favorite. It is thick and goes on smooth, creamy, and does not leave your skin greasy directly after application. I love the way it feels, and is smells clean. It's a fresh scent that is not over-powering. It will last all day too!
You can get yours here.

best compliment EVER

I received an unexpected compliment from a random person today. Here is the story:

I am visiting with a couple of girlfriends (and their kids) at my house today. We just finished eating lunch when there was a knock at the door. "Who's here mommy?" "I don't know, let's go see."

I am not expecting anyone. So the possibilities were endless.

I open the door and there was a punk kid standing there. He seemed decent enough, I guessed to be of college age.

So he proceeds to tell me that he is a neighbor of mine. Funny! I didn't recognize him. Never mind the fact that I have lived in my house for 4 years and I know every neighbor! (We have block parties - I know ... very suburban of us). He tells me he is Dr. So-And-So's son. OK - never heard of the good doctor. Go on ...

"I am doing a project for one of my college classes" ... Then he asks, "Is your mom or dad home?"

I smiled and paused for what seemed like an eternity (to him it was probably more). During this pause I thought, do I say 'no they are not and I don't know when to expect them?'

As I maintained my smile I broke the silence and said, "I am the mom."

This kid was a little embarrassed, and at this point I had a crying baby and another son wanting to escape through the open front door. He saw I was a little busy and offered to return at a later date.

I will be the first to admit that I do not look my age, but to ask if 'my mom is home,' is a new one for me. Little did he know, he made my day!

glutton for punishment

I was still sore on Sunday from this.

I know! I am a just a bit psycho. But pain equals results.

So I did them again today. Not nearly as many this time ... I've learned my lesson.

sacrifice fashion for a cause

I realize that fashion can be subjective and to some this is not a sacrifice ... that being said ... Ever heard of Toms?

My nephew told me about Toms a while ago and I love their cause. Toms makes shoes. We all know I LOOOOVE shoes, even the not-so-glamorous ones. No, these shoes are not glamorous and you probably will not be wearing them to the office, but they are Oh! so comfortable.

Here is the greatness about Toms. For EVERY pair that is sold. Toms gives a pair to a child on your behalf. How fantastic this that??

They even have Tiny Toms for the little ones. I think boy 1 may be getting a pair for his birthday (and it is in NO WAY because they are easy to put on and take off ... really!!).

and for my next trick...

conversation of the week:

me: why don't you come into the family room and play for a bit.

boy1: come play with me. (as he takes my hand)

me: i have to go start cooking dinner.

boy1: no mom, let it cook all by itself. come play with me.

we did not eat dinner until late that night.

Fabulous Find Friday

Isn't this lovely?

My set is complete. Thank you mom.

You can get yours here.

oooh! it burns

i can't recall the last time i did lunges...oh wait! yes i do, it was at 9 this morning. how could i forget. my legs are still burning!

time for a vacation

Indulge me while I day dream

shoes & shoes

This time it is not all about me.

I ordered some really cute shoes for out little Prince. He is 8 months old and yes, we call him a Prince, because that's what he is... unless he is boogery, then he is Mr. Boogers.

anyway, back to the shoes. With having two boys, I do my fair share of Internet shopping. And well, let's be honest, it is hard to find really great boy clothes and shoes at an affordable price. So when I found Puddle Jumpers I was thrilled.

I ordered these:

and these

they are cute & on sale

To all mothers of boys: Where do you shop for your little ones?

Mrs. Fields?

So...I mentioned there was baking this weekend. I was going through some of my recipe books and one of these books for all of my own recipes. One of these recipes is for Mrs. Fields cookies. (I am certain that it really isn't her recipe.) It had been far too long since I made these cookies and I had forgotten that I even had this recipe. And they did not disappoint!! I ate way too many and had to get rid of the rest. I sent plates over to neighbors to enjoy my yummy goodness too! Don't you wish you were my neighbor right about now?!

This recipe is easy and makes about 7 dozen (YES!!! That is a lot of cookies)

1 1/2 Cup Sugar
2 Cups Brown Sugar
1 lb. Butter (softened)
CREAM TOGETHER

Add:
3 Eggs
2 tsp. Vanilla
6 Cups Flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
MIX & BEAT



Stir in 6 Cups (or 24 oz bag) of Chocolate Chips
Bake at 350 for 10-14 minutes

Pour tall glass of milk and ENJOY!

fantastic weekend

This was a weekend was packed with one project or activity after another.

Friday night I finally finished my paper coasters. Thanks to both Anthropologie for pricing them way too high and for Kelly for hosting Not Your Mama's Craft Night. I have my rainbow coasters ready to serve with your frothy cold beverage.

Saturday morning I volunteered to mow the lawn. I missed the gym and my morning power walks on both Thursday and Friday so I got my "workout" by mowing. And lookie here ... hubs even took a picture of me edging...

(Between you and me ~ If I had known the EZ-walk lever was broken I would have never volunteered)

In addition to lawn maintenance and folding magazine pages for my coasters had a weekend of crafts, baking and much needed spiritual upliftment. We spent both Saturday and Sunday watching General Conference. As we watched, I finished up some activity books for Thing 1 (aka 2.5 yr old son) so that he will be occupied during church. I realize that this is a losing battle. 2 year old and reverence don't always go hand in hand. But I made them anyway!!

Saturday afternoon I filled a few orders from the shop. And Saturday evening Hubs and I went on a date. Hooray for date night!! This is a rarity, so I relish these events.

I hope you had a fantastic weekend too.

lookie at what I got

You saw what I gave (well ... sort of anyway) and now lookie what I got from Bobby Leigh aka honey. She is a fantastic swap buddy and somehow knew exactly what would make me smile. I love it all and have already put my package of goodies to use! Thanks again!!

And a big thank you to Bree over at Life at 123 House for hosting a Favorite Spring Things swap.

The Letters You Keep contest

I was visiting a new blog (The Crane Insider) today. It is all about Crane & Co. Lovely, lovely paper....and as a lover of paper, I want the inside news from one of the largest and oldest paper companies.

Onward I go...so while perusing this blog I see a contest. While I am not a competitive person, I still do love a good contest every once and a while... and more so since this one involves paper.

Anyone can play along. the contest is called The Letters You Keep and you can read all about it here or here. Best of all, the winner gets $500 in paper products from Crane & Co. Oh My!! I may be in heaven. I'm off to dig up some old letters.

Its official

The New Kids on the Block ( aka NKOTB) are in fact reuniting. I saw a little blurb about this in People a while back but I was still surprised when I turned on the Today show and saw Danny, Donny, Joe, Jon & Jordan right on the screen announcing their comeback.

Watch it here

I admit that I was a HUGE fan back in junior high and high school. I had all their tapes... even the Hangin' Tough video - although I got that a few years after the break up. My sister got it for me as a joke ... but I was secretly grateful. Make fun of me all you want - I don't care! I like them. I will get their new album but I am over the whole concert thing.

What is scary about this whole reunion is that it has been almost 20 years since their break up. This boy band has aged me!!

Welcome back boys!

it is cold & wet outside

good thing I have my rainbow brite socks to keep my feet warm.

my addiction

I know I am digressing from all things paper lately. I am still a lover of fabulous paperie, but my latest addiction is HGTV, and I can not get enough.

I am simply gathering ideas (obsessing) on how to decorate our home. Our incredible shrinking house will one day (not soon enough) be the huge mansion (in my dreams) on the block and I want it perfectly lovely.

That is not to say that I want it perfect - anyone with kids knows that perfection is not easily obtained nor would I want that ... I want a home that looks lived in, while maintaining a loveliness about it.

isn't this lovely?

So this brings me to my new addiction. Color Splash. I love David Bromstad's designs and his use of color. He is seriously a color genius. Color can be really intimidating to use. I'm a fan of neutrals because you simply can't go wrong with it. But I want some color!

I've decided that watching HGTV is therapy. I will soon get over my fear of color and get some inspiration for my own house...or I can just beg David to come decorate for me.

So David, if you are reading this - splash some color in my house and I'll bake you the best chocolate chip cookies you've ever had!

Oh, yes!

I am trying to decide where to put these lovely lanterns.

p.s. have you seen the new catalog cover? GOR-JUSS!!

Sneak Peek

The lovely Bree hosted a Favorite Spring Things Swap. It was my first swap and I had fun looking for and making Spring themed things (say that 10 times!) that Bree would just love. Since her package is in the mail awaiting to be opened and adored I thought I'd offer a sneak peek at her little package of goodness.