January Sponsor Giveaway!

Happy January (and 2011) everyone!

All of the following shops and blogs are my large sponsors, and they are each offering one or more items for this huge, one winner giveaway! 

All you have to do is the following:

Leave your name and email address in the comments.

*and see below for a way to get one additional entry too!

Yup! That's it! On Monday, January 24th I will pick ONE winner at random.

To get one additional entry, you can blog or tweet about this giveaway and leave an additional comment with a link to that blog or tweet, along with your contact info again.

So overall you can put your name into the drawing twice.

Be sure to check out my sidebar for all of the new, wonderful buttons I have displayed there, and give each one a little click and say hello!

And now, without further ado, below you will find a small description of each shop, as well as the item or items they are graciously giving away. Have fun exploring and clicking around, and good luck!

1) I'm Tif Blue; a wife, mom, and lover of all things crafty! In between bed-time stories and home-work, I'm rolling out clay or designing custom jewelry for my etsy shop, Peach Treats. I create custom one-of-a-kind polymer earrings for stretched lobes. (and for you fakers too!)

Etsy site: http://www.etsy.com/shop/tifthapeach




Giveaway item: One pair of custom made spirals in any size, length, and color. (including fake gauges!)



2) Studio MME is a quirky pen and ink shop that features all sorts of childhood characters, from antlered girls to collections of geese.  Run by the over-imaginative artist, Megan Eckman, nothing in the shop is serious and everything is guaranteed to bring you a smile.

Etsy site: http://www.etsy.com/shop/studiomme




Giveaway item: my Forest Series interchangeable locket made by the wonderful artist, Polarity.




3) flutterbyCreations is run by soon to be mom, Jacqueline. She creates everything from that special birthday card to birth announcements. Her favourite thing to do is Hassle-free invitations- she does all the work, you just prep for the party. Be sure to check her blog and facebook page for giveaways often.

Website: flutterbycreations.ca




Giveaway item: card and coupon book – the coupon book has 6 "I love you" coupons just in time for Valentine’s Day.





4) Hello, I’m Malori from Sunday Morning Sugar.  In my little corner of the blog world I share my love for fashion, cooking, knitting, and being the best version of myself that I can be.  I also run an etsy shop, Jacques and Jill, where I sell the warm, cozy items I knit. 


Blog: SundayMorningSugar.Blogspot.com

Etsy: JacquesandJill.etsy.com



Giveaway item: I’m giving away a hat from last season and a pair of covered button earrings to one lucky winner.

5) I'm Jennifer Zetts the illustrator behind the shop, The Little Illustrator.  My shop is full of cutesy, quirky, childlike illustrations.  My artwork loves to be hung in living rooms, nursery's, offices, or anywhere that it can be enjoyed.


Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/jenzet



Giveaway item: 2 prints of your choice!





6) Hi I'm Autumn and I work for a great company called Arbonne. I started working with Arbonne when I learned about all of the harmful chemicals that are in our everyday cosmetic and beauty items.  Arbonne is a great alternative, offering products that are natural and actually good for our skin!  Many of our products are vegan too, which is an added bonus.  I am passionate about this cause, and I'm excited to expose more people to this often over-looked facet of healthy living!  :)

Website: autumnloop.myarbonne.com


Giveaway items: RE9 Advanced + SeaSource Detox Spa Gift.  This set includes mini sizes of the RE9 smoothing facial cleanser, intensive renewal serum, corrective eye creme, and night repair creme and mini sizes of the SeaSource Detox Rescuing Wash, Renewing Body Gelee, and a full-size packet of the Purifying Sea Soak pack.







Also: for anyone who makes a purchase will be entered into a drawing for a SeaSource Detox Spa Nourishing Set which includes the Sea Mud Face & Body Mask and a 5-in-1 Essential Massage Oil ($90 value), pictured below.


7) Hello. Two important take-aways about me: my name is Ali Shaye and I love to crochet! Because of this, I am well-known throughout the crocheting community as “Ali-Croshaye.” LOL. Pretty cool, huh? So a little bit of information about me. First bit… I am a young one. I voted for the first time this year. Can you guess my age? Second bit…. I attend college, majoring in computer science. My Mom calls me a digital native because I’ve always had some type of techno gadget in my hand ever since I was a baby. Third bit…. I love animals and children, although not always in that particular order. The two seem to go hand in hand with both providing unconditional love. Fourth bit…I have gone five months without banging up my car. Fingers crossed, knock on wood, etc. And the last bit…. I love to croshaye!! So that brings us to a full circle. Harmony.

Website: www.alicroshaye.com
Etsy: www.alicroshaye.etsy.com


 


Giveaway item: Pale Green Circle Earrings




8) I’m Liz. I’m a pixel-pusher with a penchant for good design, vintage & Brussels Griffons. I adore blogging & going on adventures with my beau & camera. Recently I opened up an online vintage boutique and am having so much fun with it. I try to embrace each day with joy & a positive attitude.


Blog: http://srslyliz.com/ 
Boutique: http://www.littlegraysuitcase.com/



Giveaway item: a vintage gold "Hollywood clutch"


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Blog Spotlight V.1

This is a new feature I'll be doing in the new year, and I thought I would give it a little jump start today!  Every couple of weeks I will be featuring one of my favorite blogs- I'll be telling you about them, what I love about them, and linking you of course, so you can hopefully check them out too!  I follow a LOT of really amazing blogs, both with huge followings and also some that are just starting out.  I think it's super important to kind of "share the love" in the blogging community, and support each others' efforts rather than be negative.  So with that said, I'm excited to promote some of the lovely women I know, not because they're sponsoring me, or vice versa, but because I genuinely love what they create and want to shout it to the rooftops.


 


The very first blog I'm excited to talk about, is the internet home of one of the loveliest women I know via the computer.  We've been friends online for some time now, and she's always been the sweetest thing; kind, caring and passionate about life.  Over the years I've always absolutely loved reading her blog and I always enjoy all of the things she posts about.  This darling lady's name is Megan and you can find her via her Tumblr- http://meganislove.tumblr.com.  I actually featured her on a previous Tattoo Tuesday post too.  If you don't read her blog I definitely suggest you head over her way and say hello!  She posts a lot of inspirational things, from food to family, and a little birdie told me (okay, she posted about it yesterday), that in the new year she will be turning her Tumblr into a fully functioning blog!  Awesome.  So if you're looking for a new blog to read, one that will inspire you to eat healthier, love deeper, and have more fun...one full of beautiful photos capturing the life of a little family and their daily world, then hop, skip, and jump right over and say hello to my friend Megan!




 ...and p.s. Happy last day of 2010!  I'll be back later today or tomorrow with my goals post. xo
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A Slice of...Columbia, South Carolina!

Hey y'all!

I’m Camille from Columbia, SC and camilleyanair.blogspot.com and I’m here to try to convince you I’m not a hick! J I’ve lived in Columbia my whole life, and now I live here with my New Jersey transplant boyfriend (once you come here, you never wanna leave J)  and our crazy dog Lola!



When most people hear of Columbia, SC (if they’ve ever heard of it), they think of backwards, slow speaking, hicks who eat fried chicken for every meal. I’m not gonna lie, our fried chicken is TO DIE FOR.

** (especially at Zesto’s, where they cook the chicken and fries in peanut oil!)



My friends from “up north” say my voice sounds like a banjo, but that’s where the stereotypes end. Columbia is about an hour from the beach, and an hour from the mountains, making it the perfect place to live if you love road trips. You can go hiking or surfing, any weekend, as long as you don’t mind a little drive.



Another great thing about Columbia is all the history that surrounds it. Separating Columbia from the western side of the state are a couple of rivers, which are now used to go tubing down during the incredibly hot summers.



However, during the Civil War, these rivers are what separated Sherman and his northern troops from the heart of Columbia and it’s State House(which they were trying to take over/burn down ). To keep the State House from being destroyed, the Southern troops built protective walls out of the trunks of Palmetto trees (which cannon balls bounced off of).  That’s why we’re the “Palmetto State” and why you see Palmetto trees all over everything.





Another awesome thing about Columbia is our size, it’s supposedly a “city” but it’s the smallest city I’ve ever seen. You know someone everywhere you go, it appears waaay bigger than it is. The bridge pictured here is the one going over the river where a big part of the civil war was fought, see the State House dome in the distance? (fun fact: my Dad helped build the two tallest buildings on the skyline)



My absolute favorite thing about Columbia (and something that you’ll never know unless you visit a game or live here) is how football and fashion go hand in hand. Football in the South is right up there with religion, it’s a BIG deal. Every Saturday in the Fall, 85,000 people can be found at Williams-Brice Stadium, watching the USC Gamecocks play football. (To put this in perspective-Columbia’s population is 116,000)



The thing that makes these games so fun is the dresses. It’s a tradition for girls to wear a dress to the game, either garnet or black, no matter what the weather. (It was 29 degrees at the game this weekend, and all the girls wore dresses anyway). I design dresses out of recycled materials and below is a dress from a show I did that would be perfect for a gameday in 100 degree games in September.



 Oh, and Danielle, this if for you!



I know Columbia is a lot different from a lot of the places featured on  “A Slice Of…” but I appreciate Danielle letting me show a place that’s quite different. Ya’ll please lemme know if you wanna come visit!

Peace, Love, & Grits
CamilleSource URL: https://sweettattooforgirls.blogspot.com/2010/12/
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Why hello Thursday!

 


Good morning! I wanted to make a quick hello post before I jet offline to conquer my huge to-do list (including finishing up my goals post and publishing my Slice of feature this evening!) but I thought I'd pop in for a little hi and hello!  I've been feeling very under the weather for the past day or two but this morning my congestion has cleared a bit and I'm feeling a pinch better.  Or actually, a few pinches better. It's amazing what four whole hours of sleep will do for you when you're used to two to three.  I am just beyond excited for this New Year's Eve and I'm sure that has something to do with my extra high spirits.  My boys and I (ahh I love saying that) will be enjoying a very quiet evening at home with just us, and our plan is to watch all three Toy Story movies.  Can you believe I've never seen ANY of them?!  When Hank realized this he was appalled and we decided we will be toasting the New Year with our traditional sparkling cider as well as a little movie marathon.  I managed to record 1 and 2 earlier this week and Netflix delivered 3 yesterday.  I'm excited! 

I hope all of you have a wonderful Thursday- I have so many fun things to share in the upcoming weeks and I'm really looking forward to it.  Happy day to all of you!

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wonderful Tuesday

red lipstick kinda day!



Yesterday was such a wonderful day.  I slept in a little bit with Henry, and then headed downtown to meet up with Amber and Adie for some girl time.  Henry came along too, but he didn't mind the girl talk and chit chat one bit. ;)  We ate lunch at Esoji, and I had sushi for the first time since I became pregnant.  It was absolutely delicious and I forgot how much I enjoy miso soup and a rainbow roll- the perfect lunch in my opinion!  I was so happy because H. didn't make a peep the entire time we were in the restaurant outside of happy little smiles and sighs, and the whole experience was really fantastic.  I still have that new mama anxiety about taking him places (especially restaurants) and having the fear that he'll cry and I'll have to leave.  But he was awesome, and we even went to Starbucks afterward.  All in all it was a lovely day and it feels so good to get back into the swing of things with my friends, and also to just feel "normal," after not going out very much over the past month.  It was so nice to spend time with my darling ladies and I'm so happy Amber is in town for a few more days.

It's hard to believe that 2011 is upon us, and I'm looking forward to making some goals to start the year off on a positive foot.  I actually really enjoy making New Year's Resolutions and I typically stick to them, surprisingly.  I think I just like any excuse to make lists, to be honest! haha.  But I will definitely be sharing my 2011 goals before the week is over, and they include both personal and blog goals.  One goal I can share now is getting back into taking photos more often.  It was easy to fall out of taking my camera everywhere with me while I was pregnant, but I definitely need to get back into the swing of things.  And speaking of getting back into the swing of things, I have one more guest post to share with all of you on Friday (originally it was going to be yesterday but I had other things to post), and then I won't have those posts to rely on anymore.  It is harder to find time to blog with little H. being my priority now, but it's not impossible and because I find blogging to be relaxing and quite the de-stressor, I make it a daily "must do."  It will be nice to return to more day to day posts, and start working on a few longer posts I have rolling around in my head.

Well, sleep is calling so I hope all of you have the best Wednesday.  Enjoy your day! xo


 


 Amber and Adie :)
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Christmas week

This past week has been filled with so much wonderful-ness (is that a word? If not, it should be!).  We've had quite a few friends in town, we've been able to spend time with lots of family, and we've pretty much been on a holiday high for the past week.  Plus, Henry has added a whole new level of AWESOME to all things Christmas.  I keep thinking forward to next year when he is 13 months old and how amazing that will be.  It's all just very exciting.  One thing I'm really really looking forward to is getting our house all decked out for the holidays.  We had barely moved in when Henry was born, so we've hardly got to decorate in the first place, but our holiday decor was severely lacking.  Next year I'm looking forward to really doing it up and putting into motion all of the fun holiday ideas I have floating around in my head.  But first things first, we need to finish getting our house in order!  Now that things have calmed down a bit I can't wait to start getting our home just the way I envision it...and it's times like these that I am SO grateful for my Anthro discount. ;)

I think the photos below do a better job of telling the story of our week better than I can at this late hour, so enjoy!  And again, happy holidays!

In the beginning of the week, Lisa and Mary Alice came to visit Henry and brought him the cutest presents!


The Peters family came up and visited for an evening and we had the best time. Here's Henry and his Auntie Erin- he adored her.


H. also decided to really examine Uncle JP!


We enjoyed Hugo's, as usual.


Later that night we had a handful of friends over to enjoy some pie, it was delicious.


cherry pie I made




gift from the Peters :)


I love this photo of Amber so much!


the next night was Christmas Eve, spent with Hank's family...

Henry II, III, and IV - pretty awesome huh!


Henry and his Aunt Brooke


we played Pictionary- the guys won, boo!






Henry's gifts started piling up...




Later that night we headed to my parents' house so we could wake up there Christmas morning!


Mom and Henry's stocking (Henry too!)


how pretty is my sister?!


Aunt Lauren and Uncle Abe


my favorite Christmas present


dessert!


our cousin Tim brought Henry a hat back from Peru (he is a geologist there)- Henry clearly LOVED it! haha.


and finally, we spent Christmas evening with Sar and Andy. So much fun and Henry loved meeting his Uncle Andy.


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