This just in... GIVEAWAY WINNER!!!

We just enjoyed a delicious 'dinner' of breakfast on this Friday evening... pancakes, turkey bacon and eggs.  We really live it up here, don't we?

And then.... it was time for the big giveaway drawing.  My little friend here, all amped up on syrup, was the official picker (sounds bad, doesn't it?!).

The anticipation builds.

The crowd waits with bated breath. 

who will win?  and what prize will they choose?

the winner is chosen.  But wait, this girl can't read!!!

"you want the truth?! you can't handle the truth!!" she sort of exclaims.

Congratulations LuLu & Co! You WON!!!  

Send me an email with your address, and your gift of choice and it's on the way.

Have a very happy weekend everyone!! Thanks for entering!!

a bunch of thanks.. and last chance to enter my giveaway!

Good morning all! I'm so excited about my new friends & followers here. Thanks for visiting my little neck of the woods. I've read all of your blogs and am so happy to meet you!

Here's my touch of spring on this cold February morning.  I found this cute little burlap sack over at Vintage Junky..  How great is this?

Today's agenda includes a trip to the gym... where I will pretend to be a contestant on the Biggest Loser, and work out until my knees give out, my vision goes blurry, or I have a Dick Cheney style heart attack.  I've got a new motivation and it's called ~ BAD PHOTOS.  

Have you ever seen a picture of yourself and thought.... "nooooo. I don't look like that.  I couldn't possibly look like that!!".  Well, I just saw one of myself that made me a bit~ shall we say~ crazy?!  Ok, it was actually more like 10 photos.... all shot at the same bad angle, all highlighting the flaws that I am most uncomfortable with.....all captured and put into an album and exposed on facebook.

Gulp.

Now, I don't think that I am an especially vain person.  Once I had my daughter, I really had a priority shift.  There are many days when I find myself covered in applesauce, my hair has shifted over to a bad side ponytail, there's cat hair on the back of my sweater.... I can deal all that.  But for some reason, seeing a double chin, tired eyes and bad roots captured on film and preserved forever makes me want to take action.  

So, you'll know where to find me today.

But while I'm there, you still have a chance to enter my giveaway!  It looks like the burlap clutch is the fan favorite (mine too).  So, tell your friends... and enter, enter, enter!  Drawing will take place on FRIDAY at 6pm! 

Oh, and speaking of giveaways!  My very talented sister-in-law has a brand new blog Cielo Azul Jewelry and is doing her own giveaway to bloggers and FB friends.  She's got a gorgeous jewelry line and is also quite the crafty knitter!

A 'tell all your friends' giveaway!!!

Well, here we are!  This is my very first giveaway.  I'm sure that I should be waiting until I have 100 followers or something, but I just figured~ what the heck!  Especially since I just won a giveaway, there's just no better reason to pay it forward.

Sooooo....

I bet you want to see what you may win?  What's that?  You do? Alrighty then.  But let me say this first... I am offering you the choice between TWO different prizes.  I liked them both, and since I couldn't decide which to give away, and which to give to a friend for her birthday (I don't think she's a blog reader), I'll give the choice to YOU dear friends!

Here's the first choice~ this adorable clutch! So cute, I had to buy one for myself.  And guess where I got it?  Guess!  Can you believe that I found it at Old Navy?  It's true!  I sooo wouldn't lie.  And it combines the things I love most right now.... burlap and shabby flowers.

Next up, choice number two~ a few cute items from Anthropologie!  

First, we have this adorable coin purse.  I don't know about you, but I always seem to have loose change (and raisins) rolling around in the bottom of my purse and it drives me mad.  MAD I tell you!  

Now you can keep your raisins... or coins... safely tucked away

But that's not all folks.  Along with this coin purse, you'll also get an equally fancy hand creme 

(the scent is peony & lily) which is small enough to actually FIT inside said purse... 

and you'll also get this adorable SAVON soap dish.  It's hard to see the details, but they're there. 

I promise.

So, if you'd like to enter my little giveaway, leave a comment.  Better yet, become a follower! If you do become a follower, or if you link to me on your blog (thank you very much!!), you'll get two entries.  Just let me know that you've done it, and I'll enter ya TWICE.

The drawing will be held on Friday, February 26th

When you comment, be sure to tell me which item(s) you'd like to win!   

Your odds are quite good since my blog is so new!!!  

But with every comment, I meet new friends.  And neighbors.  And cool moms.  

And that's what this is all about, right? 

So, spread the word. 

And thanks for entering.

And thanks for reading :)

A lucky day indeed

I woke up this morning to sunny skies.
It's frightfully COLD, but sunny.  

Then I checked my favorite blogs, and guess what?  I'm a giveaway winner!  You would think that I just won the lottery with the amount of excitement I am feeling.  I don't win anything!  

*But let me tell you, I could use a bit of cheer and spring right now*

Jill at Forever Cottage hosted this giveaway, and she chose the most perfect items! I will soon be the proud owner of....

these adorable Pottery Barn mini nests

and a bag of large natural eggs...

And a set of three adorable mini bird candles! 

oh they are so cute!!!

Well, that inspires me to do my own giveaway.  

More details to come in my next post! 

  

one chair, nine lives

This chair has many meanings to many people.  But it also has a great history.  My mom scored this find about 30 years ago at the dump for 5 bucks.  It was upholstered in a tan chenille and was in great condition.  The chair lived in our small house, in good times and bad, for the next 20 years.

When my parents divorced, it was given to my Uncle and his family.  Unfortunately, the chair was thrashed over a period of years.  By the time I saw it again, it had basically been destroyed.  I was heartbroken.  After negotiating a deal, I managed to buy the chair back from him and had it shipped to Seattle.  This five dollar investment needed a good makeover, and it was time.

When we moved to Houston, we brought it.  After many months of moving, waiting, upholstering mishaps, more waiting, cushion problems, leg problems, and more money down the tubes, it's finished.  I present to you...

the chair. 

It's finally home again!

Love the ones you're with!

It's Valentines weekend, and we've got big plans here.  

image courtesy of the Graphics Fairy

Betsy & Mama are headed to storytime at Barnes & Noble this morning, where the story will focus on Chinese New Year.  It's a great time to get out of the house and escape the RAIN....

and someone gets to eat a cookie while the story is being read.  

I call that a win-win.  

Last week, she was given a chocolate graham cracker and I was completely unprepared~ having left the wipes at home.  By the end of the story, she looked alot like this....

but with a smile!

yep, that's more like it.

This morning, I surprised my Valentine with a day off.  He doesn't have to do a thing, except get a massage that I scheduled for him... and have dinner with me at a fancy shmancy restaurant that we've been eyeing for the last few months, but haven't gotten around to trying.  

Betsy & I will be making cupcakes and cookies today 

to give to the Nanny and our neighbors.  

I think it's going to be a great day. 

I am a very lucky girl.  

I've got two great Valentines.

xoxo

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend, with plans big or small.  Love the ones your with! 

It's complicated

Quick! Name this movie! 

One glimpse at the photos and surely you'll guess "Something's Gotta Give".  

In fact, I'm sure you've seen these pictures a thousand times.  But I never tire of seeing them. So much inspiration, so little time.

designer: Beth Rubio

So where have I been for the last two hours?? Watching "It's Complicated" the newest chick flick by Nancy Meyers.  I initially did not want to see this movie, thinking that there could not be a more unbelievable couple (Merryl Streep & Alec Baldwin.. really?). Again I say, REALLY?  But I was pleasantly surprised. I should've known off the bat!  Nancy Meyers never disappoints (nor does Steve Martin).  But the real star of the show was the HOUSE.  I wanted to freeze frame so many moments in the movie just so that I could have a better look.  Next three photos are courtesy of Melinda Sue Gordon.

all

Now

All pho

I may just have to see it a second time!  Plot shmot. 
I'm there for the house. 

And let's keep this to ourselves, but I'm smuggling in my own popcorn.  

And maybe a diet peach snapple.  

I'm wild like that. 

Hooray for new friends

Just a little note to say THANK YOU to my new blogging friends, who have so thoughtfully commented on some of my posts, or just stopped by to visit.  If we lived closer, I'd invite you over for a glass of wine.. 

and I'd probably be the first to spill it on one of these marvelous little numbers....

and it's quite possible that I would trip over my own shoelace on the way to the kitchen for a dish towel...

all photos: Country Living

but since you're my friend, it wouldn't matter. 

Here are a few of my new peeps that are always welcome here!

The wonderful LuLu from LuLu & Co, who became my very first follower, even though I didn't know her, but I loved (LOVED) her blog upon first visit..... and I must say that she is one of the nicest people I've ever met!


Heather at Also in England, who inspired me to start this darn blog in the first place! And who's recipes, talent and craftiness are so beyond my reach that I just have to live vicariously through all of her great stuff..


Maria from Dreamy Whites, who also took a chance on this girl from Seattle (and now.. sort of.. Houston). She has turned my love of white upside down! 


Christina over at Full House because she is not only a mother of 5 (F.I.V.E), but also because she is showered, dressed and beautiful.. still has time to blog.. manage an etsy store.. and did I mention her 5 include a set of twins and a set of triplets?  Awesome!


And to my two friends who just started blogs~ Carol, my friend & sis-in-law at Cielo Azul Jewelry and Natasha, my great Seattle running pal at Cup of Tea and a Slice of Life


Thanks ladies!!! I hope to meet more of you, and your friends, very soon!  

In a nutshell

where I'm from..

where we'll stay...

where we were hitched..

on a perfect October day..

Where we live..

where we play...

But for now...

we're far away..

with skies that are blue..

no napping today (!)..

Not too shabby...

at least until May.

The most dreamy little bedroom

Just have to say that I found the most adorable bedroom over at Dreamy Whites.  It would be every little (or big) girls dream come true!  Here's a sneak peek!! Can't you just imagine the late night giggles and nail polishing sessions that will go on in here?  Many more photos of this room on Maria's blog!

Seeking teeny tiny condo inspiration..

I am so excited to say that my mom is movin' on up.. out of her house that is a bit crumbly and is too much to manage for just one person... and into a picture perfect condo in an active adult gated community.  It's like 55+ heaven.  Really and truly, this is a great move for her.  It's cute and maintenence free, the community shares a 6000 square foot clubhouse, two lakes, pool & spa, and... wait for it... a shuffleboard court.

But downsizing, although a good thing, comes with certain challenges.  This condo is a 2bd, 2 ba~ 800 square foot unit.  And oh do I have my work cut out for me!  The guest bedroom will need to double as an office, and lemme tell ya~ business will be booming.  My mom is a funeral director, or as I like to call it~ an 'event planner'.  And with an active 55+ community at her fingertips, she will also be meeting with lots of potential clients, if you catch my drift.

I'm thinking of this for the living room color palette.  She hasn't even seen it yet, so if you're reading this Mom, I sure hope you like it!

I was so excited, I didn't even trim my pages before scanning.

Sorry type As..  but sometimes I'm a messy little page ripper outer

Better Homes and Gardens

The browns / blues continue in the bedroom. It's such a cute look~ 

not overly cluttered, just clean, simple and classy. 

I'm going to add a lovely small shabby chandelier that I found too

Better Homes and Gardens

 I love this bottom photo.  It just proves that you can cram a bunch of furniture 

into a tiny little space and still make it look appropriate.  

I'd love to sit down on this couch and read US Weekly

My mom totally deserves this new place.  She is such a hard worker... I can't wait to turn this into her own little retreat.... somewhere cozy and safe where she can come home at the end of the day and not worry about fixing a broken garage door or mowing the lawn.  It's all for you Mama!  Love, your #1 Grill.