Favorite Links and Recipes {What I’m Loving Lately}

I thought that today I’d share some of my favorite recipes and web links that I’ve either a} found to be delicious,  b} found to be encouraging,  or c} found to be delicious AND encouraging.  haha ;)

Enjoy!

 

{1} Chicken and Dumplings via Take Them a Meal

{photo via Take Them a Meal}

Last night I made chicken and dumplings for the first time EVER in my life.  I know, can you believe it?  I have no idea why I waited so long.  Oh my gosh, pure comfort food!  I followed this easy recipe from Janelle who blogs at Comfy in the Kitchen.  The only thing I did differently was to use my own homemade broth {because I already had it in my freezer} and cook my own chicken {basically I just boiled some chicken breasts until cooked, then shredded it.}  Highly recommend!  Mmmmm!

 

{2} Pumpkin Pie Syrup via Annie’s Eats

         {photo via Annie’s Eats}

 

THIS. SYRUP. IS. AMAZING.  You guys, seriously?  SERIOUSLY.  I’ve made several versions of pumpkin-pie “lattes” before and they always came out gritty and kinda gross, to be honest.  This one has you cook the ingredients together and then strain then (I did it twice and used my hand-held fine-mesh strainer.)  It is FAAAAAAAAAAAAAABULOUS {imagine Oprah saying that when she announces her Favorite Things show.  lol}  I’ve just been using it in my coffee with some milk…you could make it into a latte if you wanted to but you can also just add it to regular coffee!  So, so, sooooo good. 

You’re welcome in advance.  :)

 

{3} Cast-Iron Skillet Pizza via Kathy’s Kitchen

 

I had never thought to do this before, but it is so clever.  It made a delicious deep-dish pizza and it was a nice change {a nice change? what am I, 65?! lol} from regular pizza on a pizza pan.  Plus I love finding any and all excuses to use my cast-iron. :) We hardly ever buy pepperoni anymore (like maybe once a year?) but when we do I like to buy the Applegate farms version. 

 

 

{4} Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins via Beneath My Heart

 

{photo via Beneath My Heart}

I don’t know about you guys, but every pumpkin recipe I’ve ever tried comes out super oily and soggy the next day.  This one DOESN’T.  Winner!  I think it might be the fact that there’s butter instead of oil in it.  Regardless, it’s delish.  {FYI, the recipe makes 2 dozen so half it if you only need 12.}

 

 

{5} Being Faithful in the Little Things by Kelly’s Korner

I don’t know why, but I literally had tears streaming down my face as I read this today.  Maybe it’s the fact that Luke was sick this week and now Livi is, and there has been a LOT of sleepless nights, but it just really spoke to my heart today.  Being faithful in the little things does matter to God.  I hope you can read it and be encouraged!

 

 

{6} Women Living Well Conference – Live Webcasts on Women Living Well

Several bloggers I read came together in August to hold a “Women Living Well” conference in Ohio.  They’re now putting up an hour’s worth of the conference every Thursday night at 9:00 for the next several weeks.  I watched last week and was really encouraged and I’m really looking forward to tonight’s!  It’s all about encouraging women to be great wives, mothers, and Christians.  If you can’t watch tonight, they’ll have it up until 9:00 Friday night if you need to maybe watch during your kiddos’ naptimes tomorrow afternoon. :)

Okay, I think that’s it!  Have you ever tried any of these recipes, by any chance?  Also, am I the only person to never make chicken and dumplings before?! :)

 

I think you should know that I originally titled this post “What I’m Loving Wednesday” intending to link up with a blog party…and I only just realized 2 seconds ago that today is THURDSAY!  hahahaha!  Oh well, one day closer to the weekend, right?!  I told you I didn’t get a lot of sleep this week! :)

Evelyn’s Shoppe Giveaway WINNER!

Wow, this giveaway had a ton of entries!  Clearly a lot of you are big fans of Megan’s beautiful scarves! :)

 

Before I get to the winner, I wanted to let you know that Megan is offering a 20% off discount code for anything in her shop to *anyone* who entered her giveaway!  Simply enter Take20off in the area where it says “Apply Shop Coupon Code” at checkout (right under the Visa and Paypal logos).  This code is good TODAY ONLY – August 30th, 2013. 

Remember how I told you about how I love to shop ahead for Christmas and how it reduces so much stress?  Well, this is  a perfect opportunity to do that!  Buy ahead today for your sister, your daughter, your mom, your children’s teacher, your best friend, your mother-in-law…you get the point! :) You’ll be getting a beautiful gift at a great deal and supporting a stay-at-home mom’s small business.  What’s not to love here, people?! :) I know I’m buying one today for my mother-in-law!

 

 

Anyway, the winner that Rafflecopter chose (you can see the name at the bottom of the original giveaway post) was:

 

Stephanie A.  {sjangle3…}

Stephanie, I have NO idea who you are but congratulations!!! I am seriously so happy for you and I know you will love your beautiful new scarf!  I’m sending Megan your contact info so she can get in touch with you!

 

Now go shop and get someone crossed of your list in August!  :)

If You’re New Here, WELCOME!

Just wanted to send out a warm welcome to anyone visiting today from Money Saving Mom!  Seeing my photo and submission on her site was my blogging equivalent of seeing my name in lights!  HOW FUN!

My blog is currently undergoing a total makeover, so I sure hope you’ll stick around to see the finished product in a few weeks!  Until then, I’ll still be posting and you’re also welcome to check out my right sidebar for any topics that might interest you.  I’ve got everything from clean eating to thrift-store decorating to Goodwill finds to my daughter’s recent heart surgery down there! 

I hope you have a wonderful day, and thanks for stopping by! :)

Meeting Other Bloggers IRL–Have You Done It?

{Thank you to all those who were a part of praying for my daughter’s heart surgery!  She is alive and thriving right now – I’m not ready to process it all on the blog, especially since I’ve been documenting it all on her Facebook page, but maybe I will someday soon.  So for today, just a fun post.}

Meeting other bloggers in real life is something I’d probably never tell my mom I’ve done, because I’m pretty sure she’d be a nervous wreck, bless her heart!  haha! I have to admit, it DOES sound pretty shady to meet people you’ve only ever chatted with on the internet, but two of my “blogging friends” have turned into actual, real-life friends that I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know their kids and homes. 

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The first was Abby, back in 2011.  Abby and her husband used to be a military family and they ended up getting stationed only about an hour from my house.  I can’t remember how I found Abby’s blog, but I think it was through a project linky.  We had used the same wall color on our living rooms, I think, and then of course I totally acted like a stalker read through like every one of her past posts and decided that she was someone whose blog I wanted to follow.  {Tell me you do a little screening process like that too?!  I take my blog reading very seriously!  haha}

 

{Hanging out one last time, a few weeks before she moved back to Oklahoma. I look like I haven’t slept in 37 days but at least you can see a picture of us. ha!}

When I first met Abby in person, my first thought was, “she looks so cute!”  I have a freaky almost-photographic memory for certain things, so I can still remember what she was wearing!  (So that I can creep out the whole internet, it was a cute denim chambray-style shirt and riding boots.  Abby you still want to be friends?!  lol)  She was SO soft-spoken, which made me nervous at first because I am pretty much the definition of an extrovert and when I meet quiet people I start to launch into verbal-diarrhea mode.  Quiet people scare me.  There, I said it.  lol 

But she is a total sweetheart AND she is Southern (didn’t realize until I met her that Oklahoma is a Southern state?).  She says y’all and if you’ve been reading here at all you know that I’m a little obsessed with the South and if they ever figure out how I can simultaneously live in Georgia and New England, I’m all over that. 

She has two super cute little boys and we share a mutual love of thrift-store and yard-sale shopping.  She and her family recently decided that they are going to adopt a little GIRL from Ethiopia!  It has been so, so fun to follow their journey to bring home their precious girl.  I try not to be jealous that she gets to adopt before me.  ;)

Abby blogs over at Eat, Run, Teach if you want to read all about her life like I do!  :)

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The second blog friend I’ve met is Sarah.  Kelly from Kelly’s Korner once did a moms link-up of some kind and she had you list where you were from.  I participated, and so did Sarah, and we found out that I was living right near her hometown!  (This was in PA).  She ended up moving back to PA from Indianapolis only a few months after I moved from PA back to my home state of CT.  I will forever be sad that we never got a chance to live in the same state at the same time! 

 

{First time to meet – Fall 2012}

I got to meet Sarah this past fall on one of my trips back home to visit Chris’s family.  My first thought when I met her was, “Oh my gosh, she is so tiny!”  (I mean, I was also pregnant at the time, so that didn’t help!  lol).  To meet Sarah you would never ever know that she has had two kiddos! She is in great shape and super petite to boot.  She also has an adorable sense of style.  She knows how to put clothes together really well.  I joke that if I didn’t like Sarah so much, I’d have to hate her – she’s seriously a little Martha Stewart!  She is good at EVERYTHING.  She runs her own baking/catering company called Pink Balloon, she has a super cute house, she knows how to sew and applique and sent me THE CUTEST gifts for Olivia when she was born, she is an awesome photographer…the list goes on. 

Sarah is someone I can talk to for hours upon hours.  Actually, the first time we met, we met at a frozen yogurt shop.  We still had so much to talk about after the first two hours or so that we moved on to Starbucks to continue talking.  After another hour or two at Starbucks, our husbands – we had both informed them where we were, obviously – called within a few minutes of each other to make sure we were okay and not like, in the back of a van on the way to Mexico or something.  haha!  It was really cute.  Time just got away from us! 

 

{Livi and Sarah’s daughter Lucy – soon enough they’ll be playing dolls together!}

Our boys have some similar eating issues so it’s been so nice to have someone who can commiserate with that since it’s not too common.  (And, ironically, we both are passionate about healthy eating – Sarah actually has a degree in nutrition!)  And it’s fun that she has a boy and girl just like me.  I LOVE spending time with this girl and I’m thankful that at least I might get to see her once or twice a year on trips back to PA! 

Sarah blogs over at Growing on Gettysburg, if you want to hate her for being so talented and sweet check her out!  ;)

 

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What about you?  Have you ever gotten a chance to meet a blogging friend in real life?  It’s definitely scary to bridge that gap between the internet world and reality, but I’m so glad I did it in both cases!  I treasure Abby and Sarah and I’m thankful for their friendships! 

Or if you haven’t met anyone from the blogging world yet, who would you like to meet?  I have a lot of favorite blogs, but I have to admit that some of my favorite blogs aren’t necessarily people I’d most want to meet!  lol  (I feel rude to say that, but mostly it’s because I follow a lot of home design blogs for house inspiration.)

Of the “famous” bloggers, here are some I would LOVE to meet:

Kelly from Kelly’s Korner (I literally think I would faint if I met her – plus she’s Southern)
Sandy from Reluctant Entertainer
The Nester from Nesting Place (Southern)
Edie from Life in Grace (Southern)
Melissa from 320 Sycamore
Sarah from Clover Lane
Shannon from Bless Our Nest (Southern)

And some“regular” - but still fantastic!! - mom bloggers like me:

Clarita from Skies of Parchment (just found her blog and I LOVE it!)
Amy from The Blessed Mom (New England girl transplanted to Texas)
Lauren from Only from Scratch (Southern)
Kelly from Joyful Adorations (Southern)
Sarah from Through the Picture Window (New England mommy)

And that’s just a few of my favorites off the top of my head (please don’t be offended if I didn’t include you – I have total mom brain right now!!)

P.S. - Notice a trend in my favorite blogs?? lol

Blogiversary, Pinterest, & a Giveaway!

Hello lovely readers!  Today my blog is TWO years old!  This morning the other two year old in my life threw an all-out hissy fit, complete with clenched fists and teeth, screaming, and crying.  I was afraid he was going to pop a blood vessel.  Nothing a little time in the time-out chair couldn’t fix!  Thankfully, there is none of that toddlerhood drama here.  :)

{Picture of Luke from my very first post.}

Thank you for all of the comments, support, e-mails, and encouragement over the last two years!  It is SO nice to know I have kindred spirits out there in the internet, from those of you who “get” my thrifting obsession, to those on this clean foods journey like me, to those of you who can relate to my ups and downs as a Christian and a mom…and some of you relate to all of those areas of my life. :) So THANKS for making this blog a fun place for me to write, and thanks for sticking with me through this “dry” year of moving and not having a home of our own for a while.  Now that we’re basically unpacked and settled, I hope to be posting with a little more regularity. 

{Before I continue, I forgot to ever mention on here that I am completely, utterly, hopelessly hooked on Pinterest!  My user name is Jessica – thisblessedlife (I know, concise, right?!).  You can find me at www.pinterest.com/thisblessedlife.  If any of you are on Pinterest and I’m not following you already, PLEASE leave your user name in the comments!  I’m relatively new to Pinterest but I am LOVING it so far!  And I’d love to follow you guys so that I can have more ways to distract myself during the day more ideas and inspiration! :)}

 

And now, on to the giveaway for today!

My friend Becky is an amazingly talented photographer who wants to give one of you a set of TEN note cards from her brand-new Etsy shop, Dancing Willow Photography!  You can choose ANY of her beautiful photographs for the front. 

Note cards with photos on the front are so versatile…you can mail them to friends, frame one or two for your house, or even give them as a gift for the upcoming holidays. 

This print below, “Beach Shell,” is my favorite of the collection.  How beautiful and serene is that?  I love how it’s off-centered.   Ahhhh…..the beach. :)

 

I think this print, “Golfer’s Delight,” is perfect for a man in your life who’s hard to buy for.  Great for a man-cave or an office. 

And lastly, in honor of my favorite season of the year, the beautiful “Autumn Leaves.”  How pretty for inviting people for a fall gathering…or even framing one for your mantel?

 

Here’s how you enter:

1.  Leave a comment telling me what part of the country you are from.  You all already know that I was born and raised in CT, and now we are back here to stay.  I’ve also lived in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.  I’d love to know where you guys live!  If you are not comfortable telling the state on the internet, just say what part of the country you’re from (New England, Pacific Northwest, etc.). 

2.  For a second entry, hop on over to Becky’s shop and pick out your favorite print, then let me know your choice in an additional comment.  Remember, the winner gets to chose the print for the note cards….plus Becky let me know that the winner will win an additional surprise in their package. :)  Whoo!! :)

I also wanted to mention that Becky is having a half-off sale for the month of August….use the code BIRTHDAY50 for 50% off for the rest of this month! 

 

Thanks for being a part of why I love blogging so much! 

Have a great day! :)

Bits and Pieces from Around the Web

First, I am so happy to announce that Darlene is back as a sponsor! Darlene is a personal friend of mine who is a scrapaholic (I say it with love! :) and she has made quite the business out of her hobby. She is your go-to girl for scrapbooking supplies. She is a Christian work-at-home-mom and I can personally vouch for her integrity. If you are interested in scrapbooking supplies, please visit her site, My Scrapbook Addiction.

Also, if you are interested, Darlene wanted me to pass the word on that all Cricut cartidges and scrapbook kits come with free shipping to USA locations at this time. Happy shopping!

Second, my monogram project was featured at Frugal with a Flourish. Thanks, Jess! I’m reallllly wishing that I’d taken that photo during the day instead of at night, but it’s too late for that now. :)

Third, this ADORABLE mug project was also featured at Frugal with a Flourish, via Design Mom. I absolutely must make these, as fast as possible. lol Aren’t they precious?!

Fourth, I posted this on my FB page and wanted to repost it here. I found this video from For the Mommas Facebook page and just couldn’t resist sharing it – trust me, you’ll laugh at how ridiculous it seems now. ;)

Lastly, I’ll be back later this week with a Valentine’s craft! Stay tuned! :)

Thrifty Finds and My FREE Bag of Loot!

{Edit: This giveaway is now CLOSED.} Before I begin, I want to let you know that my October sponsor, NEPA mom, is having a FANTASTIC giveaway on her blog today. The giveaway package includes five different prizes and I have to say, this is one time I do wish I was back in NEPA because it’s such a great gift package! Enter for yourself or someone you know who lives in the NEPA or Binghamton, NY area. You have until tomorrow night to enter!

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I’ve been thrifting and yard-saling here and there and I wanted to show you guys what I’ve found over the last month, including a whole bunch of free stuff (but I’ll save that for the end). :)

From Goodwill:

$4.00 Kimchi Blue dress from Urban Outfitters (thanks to my sister for filling me in – I had never heard of this brand before). I love the way it fits and as soon as Santa brings me my big brown riding boots, I’m totally wearing this with leggings and a long-sleeve tee underneath. Super wrinkled for the picture, sorry! :)

$6.99 shirt from Banana Republic. A little pricy for Goodwill but I really like the way it fits and I know it will last. These two shirts are perfect examples of why if you see something you like while thrifting, don’t be afraid to try it on if it’s not in your normal size. This shirt is a full TWO sizes bigger than what I normally wear, and the dress is one size above, but either they’ve been shrunk in the wash or they just run small because they both fit really well.

$1.99 artichoke. I have a biiiig thing for fake fruit. I can’t stop myself.

$2.99 urn (I want the bottom for another project I plan on doing)

$1.99 huge glass frame (I see another chalkboard project in my future!)

And now from the lovely yard-sale:

I originally bought this antique triple-matted frame for $.75. I loved the detail. Lindsay and I left the yard-sale to go to other ones, but we came back at the end of the day because she had seen something she wanted and was going to offer a lower price. Well, low and behold, the woman had everything left on the side of the road with a big FREE sign!

I think both of our hearts simultaneously stopped beating for a moment. ;)

I scavenged picked up everything below for FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE:

Plastic container for sweet tea for DH, glass Pyrex dishes, Pampered Chef dish towels and cloths

Two cute “coffee” mugs

Christmas cd, Night before Christmas book, assorted Christmas ribbon and candle decorations, wooden toy train puzzle (not pictured)

Different sized frames (I love it when I find small ones)

Big tote bag, which came in handy when I was shoveling the free stuff into it! hahaha

Cute planter – this is pretty pathetic but I’m already looking forward to filing them with mini mums next fall when we have our own house again!

I also got a snow shovel, which is outside and I’m too lazy to take a picture. Plus I figured you know what a snow shovel looks like. :)

Have a FABULOUS weekend, everyone! :)

Linked to:
Thrifty Thursday @ Tales from Bloggeritaville
Frugalicious Friday @ Finding Fabulous

Cha-cha-cha-changes…..

Three new and fun things are happening here at This Blessed Life!   

{1} I am now an affiliate of PurpleTrail.com.  You will see their button ----> on my site from now on.  PurpleTrail is an awesome online printing company that has hundreds of choices for basically any invitation or card need you could think of (bridal showers, thank-yous, birthday invites, Christmas cards, etc.)  They are a really neat company and I am excited to be working with them. 

In case you’re unfamiliar with how affiliate links work, anytime my link is clicked and it leads to a purchase, I will get a small commission.  I would never, ever promote a company that I didn’t believe in.  I’ve done my homework on their site and really feel confident in promoting them to you.  I will do a more detailed write-up soon about how their site works, but for now I just wanted to explain why that ad was over there. 

{2} I’m also excited to introduce NEPA Mom, my new advertiser for the month of October!  Here’s her bio:

I am a stay at home mother to four beautiful children.  My husband and I were both born and raised in NEPA but left when we got married .  After 8 years living in the Central PA area we are back in NEPA and I am on the hunt for family friendly activities and companies that make my busy life easier!  I will keep you posted on what I find!

I know a few of you reading are from Northeastern PA, so you should definitely pay her a visit – she scopes out the best family-friendly opportunities in the area for you!  Even if you’re not from NEPA, you should still stop by to check out her occasional giveaways!  She is a very sweet person and she is also on a whole foods kick too, which gives her extra brownie points in my book.  :)

{3} I’m in the process of getting a blog design done, by Sarah Ann of Bon Blog Designs.  She has been extremely accommodating of my severe lack-of-computer-skills, and I’m soooo excited to finally get my new design up!  Hopefully it should be finished soon. 

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One last word, and then I’m finished – I know that people have a love-hate relationship with ads on personal blogs.  I am a stay-at-home mom who loves blogging as a hobby, so when the opportunity comes up to make a little bit of extra money for my family, I take it.  I figure that since I’m going to be blogging anyway, why not try to make a few dollars at the same time?  I hope you can understand why I’ve made this choice, even if putting ads on your blog isn’t something you’d personally do.  I can’t please everyone, (Edit: I just lost a follower and this has only been posted for 30 seconds! lol! Sheesh!) but my husband is on board with this and that’s good enough for me! 

Thank you so much for reading!  :)

 

{Comments on this entry are closed.}

Just For Fun!

Stephanie at A Day in the Life of a Grad Student’s Wife tagged me in this fun 8-question meme. Here are my answers to her questions!

1. If you had an extra $200 bucks, what would you do with it?

Buy a decaf, non-fat pumpkin-spice latte from Starbucks, then spend it clothes/shoes shopping. I rarely buy myself brand-new clothes – it’s hard to do on the lunch-money budget! :) Or maybe blow it all on an amazing massage. It’s a crapshoot. :)

2. What color in the crayon box are you?
This question makes me laugh, but if I had to choose, I’d probably say a nice, deep brown. You know, traditional, comforting, goes with everything, the color of coffee and dark chocolate….. :)

3. What's your favorite thing to daydream about?
Decorating my next house (all.the.time.) and being 10 or 15 pounds skinnier! haha

4. If you had extra time and the desire to, where would you volunteer?
I heard once about people volunteering in a NICU to hold foster babies that can’t be placed with families yet due to health restrictions. They hold and cuddle the babies (the whole touch-therapy idea). I think that would be incredibly rewarding and fulfilling – plus you send them back to the nurses when they have a dirty diaper! :)

5. What's your favorite snack food?
Mmmmm…..the morning cookie, plain raw almonds, or sharp cheddar cheese and pepperoni. Oh wait no, just kidding – fresh veggies and dip. Yum.

6. What song(s) always puts you in a great mood?
“Chicken Fried” by Zac Brown Band is the first one that came to mind. Probably because it’s one of the rare songs on the radio that me and DH agree on, and if it comes on we stop talking, turn it up, and start singing. :)

7. What's your favorite scary movie (totally stole that line from Scream ha ha!)
I hate scary movies! lol I never watch them.

8. What's your idea of the perfect day?
Hmmmm….Thanksgiving, to me, is pretty much the perfect day, but I guess it’s a holiday so it doesn’t count, right? A beautiful fall morning in early October; Luke lets us sleep in til about 8. I wake up to find Starbucks’ perfect oatmeal and a pumpkin-spice latte on my kitchen table. :) After hitting up a yard sale or two, I go to get my nails done. We spend the afternoon with Luke at a pumpkin farm or apple orchard, laughing with him and taking lots of pictures (he doesn’t cry or poop all day, obvi). We come home, leave him with my parents for the evening, and Chris and I get dressed up to go out on the town together, since time alone is a rarity these days. That’s pretty much my perfect day! :)

I’m tagging 8 new people: Lindsay, Kathy, Kim, Kelly, Abby, Jessica, Rachel, and Mary

Here are my questions for you!
1. What’s your favorite holiday, and why?
2. If you had a candy jar, what would be filling it regularly?
3. What month of the year is your favorite?
4. Which of the chefs on the Food Network would you want to cook you dinner, and what would you ask them to make you?
5. What store would you love get a $50 gift card to?
6. What’s your favorite way to pamper yourself?
7. What color are your toenails painted right now?
8. If you could live in one other state besides where you live now, what would you choose? (Or what would be your second choice?)

This was fun! No pressure, girls – just something fun if you have writer’s block one day! Can’t wait to see your answers! :)

Image credit: http://crazyagnus.wordpress.com/

Blog Award Time!

My lovely friend IRL, Lindsay, gave me the versatile blogger award last week.  Thanks, Linds!  :)

You are supposed to list 7 things about yourself, so here’s my list of very RANDOM things off the top of my head:

1.  I’ve never been west of the Mississippi, but I’ve been to three countries outside the U.S.  Go figure!

2.  If I’m not consciously thinking about walking up the stairs, I will most likely trip.   

3.  I’ve never been stung by a bee.  Which is actually a bad thing, because I have no idea if I’m allergic or not.  Chris keeps saying he thinks I should intentionally get stung by one, just to see, but I’m so deathly afraid of bees now since I have no idea how bad it hurts that I just can’t tell myself to do it!  

4.  One summer when my kids are older, I want to take an RV and travel around the country. 

5.  I only lost 6 pounds in the hospital with Luke.  He weighed 7 pounds, 7 ounces.  Yup.  That’ll kill your self-esteem!  (Although I tell myself it was all the IVs I was pumped with for 4 days!)

6.  If I could make a living off of yard sales, I would do it for 50 hours a week and for minimum wage, without question.

7.  My favorite book is “Little Women.”  I have read it more times than I can count and currently own 2 copies – I’m always on the lookout for more at Goodwill and yard sales. 

You’re supposed to list 15 people to pass it on to, so here goes!

Kathy @ Because He Lives
Mary @ A Productive Endeavor
Carissa @ Lowercase Letters
Abby @ Tales and Trials
Sarah @ 365 Glimpses of John Parker
Rachel @ A Steady Rain
Jennifer @ All That Glitters
Tracey @ Girls to Grow
Mrs. Alex P @ Growing on Gettysburg
Amy @ Heart Matters
Megan @ NEPA Mom
Kim @ Newly Woodwards
Sarah @ Simply Stafford (Your name is, Sarah, right?!  lol)
Southern Fried Gal @ Southern Fried Dreams
Brittany @ The Dalomba Days

Thanks for inspiring me ladies! I love reading all of your blogs! :) 

Thank you Geri!

Geri from Heart N Soul Cooking has given me this award! I have seen these awards around blog land but I've never gotten tagged for any so this was fun to wake up to this morning!

Slightly on the corny side? Absolutely. :)

But definitely fun!

Here are the award rules (copied from Geri's site):

Copy the award image in your post. Then, list 10 things that make you happy and tag 10 bloggers who brighten your day. For those 10 bloggers who get the award, you must link back to my blog. Don't forget to mention the person who gives you the award and notify the award winners and put their links in your post.

I'm a pretty happy person, so there's a lot more than 10,

but here's the first ones that came to my mind!

1. My faith, without a doubt (any questions please ask!)

2. My family (husband and son obviously at the very top)

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And on a MUCH less serious note,

3. Singing and playing the piano

4. Yard sales and thrifting

5. Reading People and drinking Starbucks at Barnes 'n' Noble with my husband

6. My Alba Coconut Cream lip gloss

7. The thrill of saving money with all of my coupons (haha I'm dead serious!)

8. Cooking and baking

9. The smell of tennis balls, Florida, the first warm day of Spring, and the beach

10. Moments when my husband and I are making our son laugh together and my heart just feels like it will burst at the seams

The teacher in me is reeeeeeally feeling guilty that I can only pick 10 people to do this! lol

I want everything to be fair but I also don't have the time to go around and tell all of you about this.

So, here are a SELECTED few blogs that I really enjoy!

Kathy @ Because He Lives

Abby @ Tales & Trials

Melissa @ 320 Sycamore

Jen @ Tatertots and Jello

Heather @ The Hennesseys (She's having a baby! lol)

Mary @ A Productive Endeavor

Carrie @ Buzzings of a Queen Bee

Stephanie Lynn @ Under the Table & Dreaming

Katie @ Harrington House

Amy @ Heart Matters

Some of you I know in real life and some of you I don't - but I enjoy all of your blogs, ladies!

Attention, Attention!

Hellooooo girls - I have some fun news today!

You will notice from now on that I have a Tupperware blinkie on my site. This is because I have my very first sponsor! Amy is a Christian SAHM looking to make a little extra money, and she's the sister-in-law of a friend. She wanted a blog to advertise on, I said yes, and the rest is history!

So what does this mean for YOU?

It means that we'll be hosting some fun Tupperware giveaways in the future (yeah free stuff!) and you'll periodically get the inside scoop on Tupperware's great sales (for instance, they're having a 40% off sale right now on their "Modular Mates" collection, shown below).

Clicking the link on my website takes you directly to Amy's site, where she'll advertise the current specials. Her site will also take you directly to the Tupperware website, where you can make purchases.

It's a quick, easy, and painless way to order more Tupperware!

Remember to check back for that giveaway! :)

I WON, I WON, I WON!

I have never won a giveaway before, so this is SUPER exciting! Nicole over at Bugaboos Creations had a giveaway a few days ago (I think - time kinda blurs together for me right now) and I won it! Check out all of the sweet stuff she will be sending me soon! She said I could swap any flavor, so I asked her if I could swap the diffuser scent to Coconut Lime Verbena since I am a big coconut fan. She has lots of cute craft ideas on her website and she's very creative so go check her out!

Thank you again, Nicole! :)