Handmade with Love Giveaway Sponsor Spotlight~PriaVanda!!!

Don't forget my Handmade with Love Giveaway Event is starting on Wednesday and will run until February 6th! You definitely won't want to miss this one, one winner is going to be taking home 3 handmade prizes!

The last sponsor that I am sharing with you is PriaVanda! Using satin ribbons and a unique technique to basket weave her handcrafted products, designer PriaVanda has found the perfect medium to create the structures for her line.

“I began weaving ribbons through plain bamboo mats to dress them up and was suddenly inspired to add this touch to everyday items. I was drawn to stationery because I cannot live without my day planner and that was the first product I created. The line grew from there’, notes PriaVanda.

PriaVanda's work is beautiful and unique! She sells everything from day planners and to do lists, to guest books and memory books!

Here is her Weekly Day Planner!

Her To Do Lists Pad! These would be great to have for grocery lists, to do lists, reminders...really anything!

And her Personalized Memory Books! How beautiful are these? And these would make an awesome, unique, one of a kind baby shower gift! What new mommy would love these?

I received a Day Planner for review! I was really excited to try this out as I have been on mission to get organized and I needed a better way to keep track of appointments and different things going on. Of course, when I saw these handwoven planners, I had to have one!

I was very impressed with the craftmanship that was put into my planner! You can't tell that it was handmade and it is put together very nicely. I even got to pick out the ribbon colors! I love the way this turned out! I have never seen anything like this in stores!

I love how the first page is personalized for me!

 

 I also love how there is a pocket in the front to hold extra papers, coupons, envelopes, receipts, just whatever you might need to take with you! This planner also has a ribbon bookmark so that there is no fumbling through the pages to find your current spot!

The pages have plenty of room to write out your appointments for each day, plus I love that there is a whole month calendar at the beginning of each month, which gives me a great spot to track different appointments and look at what we have going on for the whole month at once!

Of course, don't forget the cuteness factor of this day planner! How could you miss that! I love this planner!

You can check out her shop HERE, her Etsy HERE and her facebook HERE!

PriaVanda is going to give my lucky Handmade with Love winner their very own Day Planner! Be sure to come back on February 2nd to enter to win!

Carolina Pad Review & Giveaway!!!

Winner: Comment #9~Strawberry!!!

There is nothing like organization to give a person a little pick me up! I love to feel organized and that I am on top of things. It makes my day go smoother and it helps me to feel much less stressed. Thank goodness there are products that can help you with clutter!

Carolina Pad offers some great products that are stylish and functional!

I was thrilled to try out these products because I definitely needed a little help to get organized! Carolina Pad has you covered with any organizational product you may need. Am I the only person that gets giddy when looking at organizational products?

The 13-pocket Expandable File is perfect for my coupons!

The first thing I did was throw out my old handmade coupon organizer and got this thing ready to go! It has made couponing much easier and now I have all my coupons sorted and can find what I'm looking for in the store! I love that this has 13 pockets so you can break down your categories to easily find what your looking for!

The File Jackets were perfect for organizing my file cabinet!

My filing cabinet was a mess. I always have trouble with the hanging folders falling off and the metal racks that they go on always fall down. I like these folders much better and I can find exactly what I'm looking for when I need it!

The yellow File Folders are perfect for dividing things up, and keeping your monthly bills in and any other documentation you may need, until you file it away!

The green felt Mini Note Totes were my second favorite product that I received!

I always have trouble finding things in my purse. When I need to go to the bank, I'm forever looking for my deposit slip, or things I need to mail out, or receipts or anything that can be floating around in my purse. I used these to carry my banking slips, receipts, mail etc in and now all I have to do is reach into my purse grab my mini note tote and take out what I need! No more emptying out my purse to find what I need! I think these are a must have! And yes, these are small enough to fit in your purse, yet big enough to carry it all!

And, I saved my favorite product for last! The 8-pocket Organizing File is by far the most useful item I received!

Inside this ingenious product are pages of files! I keep my important documentation in these, right down to an ink pen just in case I would need to jot something down. And the best part is that when I have to take this out, the papers stay inside, nice and neat, and the outside is a durable poly so that if something gets spilled on it, it just wipes right off! I love this product! Another must have!

Carolina Pad wants to give one of my readers a $25 gift certificate!

Mandatory Entry:

Tell me which product you would most like to try!

Extra Entries:

1 Extra Entry: Follow Carolina Pad on twitter

1 Extra Entry: "Like" Carolina Pad on facebook

1 Extra Entry: Follow my blog

2 Extra Entries: Subscribe to my emails

1 Extra Entry: Follow me on twitter and tweet. You can tweet daily for an extra entry every day. You can use this sample tweet:

#Win $25 Gift Certificate to @carolinapad @getinonthewins #giveaway http://bit.ly/gKKqkn

1 Extra Entry: Enter any of my other giveaways. One extra entry for each giveaway entered.

1 Extra Entry: Put my button on your blog and leave me a link

5 Extra Entries: Blog about this giveaway and leave me a link

This giveaway is open to U.S. and Canada only. Anyone who has won a Carolina Pad prize pack or gift certificate in the last 90 days is inelgible. This giveaway will end on 2/15 at 10pm. I will use random.org to draw a winner and they will have 48 hours to respond to my email to claim their prize or I will draw another winner. I received the mentioned products for review purposes only and no other compensation was received. These are my own honest opinions.

Mommyhood Monday!!!

Luke and I had a great weekend! I guess you could say that Saturday was the very first "Luke and Mommy" day. Even though it wasn't spent with just Luke and I we still did some fun activities and spent some quality time together. We spent the day with my sister-in-law and my nephews and then later my other sister-in-law and my nieces came over for dinner!

The first thing we did was make Chocolate Chip cookies with Oreo's baked inside them! Now, these looked sooo good and I was so excited to try them!

Here is my oldest nephew forming the chocolate chip cookie dough around the Oreo.

The little ones got a chance to help put in the chocolate chips and to help mix (which is Luke's favorite part!)

See Luke sneaking an Oreo? He could care less about the chocolate chip cookies, just give the boy an Oreo!

You can find the original recipe HERE!

This is what they are supposed to look like

And this is what ours looked like :)

The only thing that I can think of is that I didn't put enough flour in the dough because they spread too much. But, we had a blast making them and they tasted oh soo good! If you tear the extra cookie off from around the sides they look like the picture though :) I will definitely be making these again...with more flour next time.

We also made some Stained Glass Hearts, which I featured on my Friday Favorites. These turned out soo cute, but was a little advanced for the younger ones. I love how pretty they are, and I can post a finished product picture once I get one :)

 Here I am with my stained glass heart. Check out that look my neice is giving me...is that the "man these old people are weird look or what???"

Here Luke is playing Jacks!

And here he is practicing to be an acrobat!

I really think Luke had a good time. He was out like a light by the time we went home that night. It was nice to spend some time with family and get out of the house and do something!

Last night I was playing with Luke in his bedroom and he found his Woody Pez dispenser. (Pez is Luke's favorite candy) He was pretending that Woody was talking to me and walking around. It was too cute and I just love it when I get to watch his imagination grow :) And...I measured him on his growth chart and he has grown over an inch in four months! Someone, quick tell me how to freeze time!!! 

Friday Favorites!!!

Ahhhh, the relaxing feeling of Friday :)

So, this week I'm still on the Valentine's Day kick, so the projects I'm featuring this week are Valentine's Day related as well. I'm usually not really into Valentine's Day, but for some reason, this year I'm really feeling it :) Maybe it's because I have the best Valentine in the world.....you know the one that is just shy of 3' tall and has blonde hair and blue eyes and goes by the name of Lukie? Yeah, I think that's why :)

Here we go!

First up are THESE Yarn Hearts from Family Chic!

I think these are a cute, inexpensive craft to make with your kids!

Next up is THIS Family Photo Wreath from The Crafting Chicks!

Of course you know I'm a sucker for anything with photo's and this is no exception! Very creative, of course you also know I would rather have one that I could keep up all year round because I would love it so much!

And last but not least are THESE Stained "Glass" Crayon Hearts from Flower Patch Farmgirl!

These are definitely something that you could make with things you already have, and look at how beautiful they look in the window!! And, if you didn't want to make hearts, you could make stars, circles, or any shape!

Did I just make your to do list longer?? Your welcome :)

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I do believe that Luke will finally be able to meet Londyn this weekend! Stay tuned for pictures of that!

Handmade with Love Sponsor Spotlight~Edzayi Mazarura Designs!!!

Edzayi Mazarura Designs offers the most adorable baby boots, shoes and cards that I have seen!

Here is a little bit about Edzayi Mazarura Designs!

the dream for edzayi mazarura design began in zimbabwe more than 25 years ago when eddie mazarura, an eight-year old, first learned how to sew. the opportunity to launch her design business finally arrived after many years spent working as a nanny. eddie took the challenges she experienced in trying to get her charges dressed. while she found the outfits aesthetically pleasing, finding complementary shoes and other accessories was a challenge. and so the dream became reality when she designed the first pair of shoes. created with a hint of whimsy, a sprinkle of fun and a dash of cuteness, each creation is designed to entice. all the styles meet both the functional and the aesthetic needs of the stylish baby and mom.

"we hope that you take great pleasure in our products and that you use them everyday."

I know that when you check out this store you are going to flip over these booties! She offers the cutest little boots I've ever seen!

Like the Little Bo Peeps in Lavander!

And how about the Gregory Porgy in Grey!

And trust me I know how hard it is to find cute baby boots for boys, so I really love these!

And of course check out the My Bonnie's!

Try to contain yourself when looking at those! Aren't they so adorable!!!

Edzayi Mazarura Designs also offers baby shoes, greeting cards and Cleopatra Cards!



If you've never heard of Cleopatra cards, you have to check those out! These are a very creative gift giving idea!

I received a set of baby boots for review!

These definitely have the cute factor! I so wish that they fit Luke ;) I absolutely love the zipper in the back and these seemed to be very well made! I gave these to Londyn, since she is the baby of the family, and her mommy was thrilled by these! These would look so cute with a little skirt and tights! I also love the details in these, everything from the zipper, to the stitching to the buckle on the back add to the cuteness of these boots!

Be sure to check out Edzayi Mazarura Designs HERE and check her out on Facebook as well!

Edzayi Mazarura Designs is offering the winner of the Handmade with Love Giveaway their choice of boots! How sweet is that??? Come back on February 2nd to enter to win!

 

In Desperate Need of New Bedding!!!

I am in desperate need of new bedding. This is no joke. I have had the same bedding for probably.......oh lets say....6 years! It was really beautiful when I first got it, but now after all these years, its old, it's faded, and it's worn so much that the once full and thick comforter is now the thickness of a sheet! And well, let's just face it, bedding is just one of those things that gets put off the "to buy" list time and time again. But, when I'm window shopping online, I find myself daydreaming about buying new, bright colored, modern bedding!

While browsing CSN, for example, I came across THIS Blissliving Home bedding

I'm loving the bright green and how cheery this looks! I think this would look great with some black frames with colored pictures in them on the wall. Maybe a huge grouping of them! Ahhhh, a girl can dream :)

I will be receiving a gift code to CSN for this post, but this is true and these are my honest opinions. I love this bedding, and I love CSN!

 

Losing It Thursday!!!

It's that time again!

Last weeks weigh in was: 185.2

And this weeks weigh in is: 183.6

So that is a 1.6 pound loss! I'm pretty happy about that! I can't really take any credit for this weight loss, it was pretty much stress, but I'll take it :) I am telling you guys, I can not wait for warmer weather. I want to get outside and walk, play, run, do ANYTHING outside! I'm dying over here! It has been so cold, and there is ice everywhere with no relief in sight. I think I need to go to a water park or something. And we have at least another month of this weather to get through. Urrghhhh.

I'm linking this up with Marvelous Mommy and My Little Apricot!

Handmade with Love Sponsor Spotlight~Wee Expressions!!!

Don't forget that I am participating in the Handmade with Love Winter Giveaway Event!

This event will be starting on February 2nd at 11:59pm and will end on February 6th at 11:59pm. I have three great shops that are going to sponsor my "one winner takes all" giveaway! So, one winner will win three handmade prizes! Yay!!!!! You will see what the prizes are going to be in these Sponsor Spotlight posts!

The first Sponsor Spotlight is for Wee Expressions!

Wee Expresions is owned by Lauren Daniels! Lauren offers some very cute cloth diapers, cloth wipes, mama pads, cloth nursing pads, cloth wipes etc!

This set of cloth diapers is too cute!

Her gift sets would make a great gift idea for a new mommy!

Her cloth wipes are a great idea! She has lots of fabric to choose from!

How about a bib to match that cloth diaper! Just think of the cute photo's you could take with a matching bib and diaper!

She offers a wide variety of cloth nursing pads. I would have loved to have these after having Luke!

Of course she offers a wide variety of cloth diapers, you can get them in a wide variety of fabric, with velcro or snap closures too!

I received a reusable cloth pad for review. This really made me step outside of my comfort zone. I was curious about these and just wondered really how absorbent they were, so I went for it! My first question to Lauren was how sanitary these were, like if I could just throw them in the washer with a load of clothes or towels and wash them like I would anything else. her answer: YES! She also let me know that I could throw in a half cup of white vinegar to deodorize and sanitize! This was a great relief to me...and I actually started to get excited about trying this out!

Once I received it in the mail, I couldn't believe how cute the fabric was!



As I said before, I was a little skeptical about this but I was bound and determined to give it a try. I have to say........I love this! Not only did it absorb just as well as a disposable pad, there is no need to rebuy these over and over every month and they are easier on the environment too! As far as washing, I followed Lauren's advice and the pad came out of the wash deodorized and without stains. The pad that I reviewed was a regular and I usually wear ultra thin (the thinnest I can possibly get, I usually have a very light period) so this was a little thicker than I was used to, but for me, it is a great night time pad! It also stayed put and didn't wonder off to where it didn't belong :)

Lauren offers a trial pack of reusable cloth pads, so you can give them a try!

Wee Expressions is also having a special right now where you can get a free cloth wipe/wash cloth with your diaper order! And, you can enjoy free shipping on diaper and nursing pad sets, this is a great gift idea! 

You can check out Wee Expressions HERE on Etsy and connect on Facebook HERE!

Lauren will be offering up a clother diaper or a reusable pad to the winner of my Handmade with Love Giveaway so be sure to come back on February 2nd and enter to win!