red & white swirls.

i participated in an ornament swap hosted by katherine at just lovely and i was paired up with a really fun gal, pammycakes.

she is a doll! if you're not already following her blog, please do so. she's gorgeous, she's sweet, she's a fashion inspiration {trust me, i'm a mom of two...i need all of the fashion inspiration i can get!}. just go visit her blog, you'll see.

anyways, pammycakes gifted me with a lovely glass ornament from pottery barn. swirls of red {my favorite color!} & white. it fits right in with our {very fake} tree. i love it...thank you, pammycakes!!

Goody Goody Gumdrops!

I have been an awful blogging friend because I haven't posted any of the sweet things I've received from fellow bloggers!

I participated in a summer swap at Sweet Tea Diaries and was paired with Kate at Nautical by Nature. I also won a giveaway at Life with Lulu and Pete.

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First up, the great package I received from Kate during the summer swap:

The box was full of nautical goodness!

• A whale dip bowl & matching whale spreader
• Whale & sailboat table cloth weights
• Too pretty to use "beachy" napkins...man, I wish the Atlantic was that shade of blue!
• Too pretty to use starfish plates done in a mosaic theme - hmmm...could this be inspiration for my kitchen table?!
• A little blue tin bucket for catching things
• A whale brag book
• An embroidered key fob with a sailboat & lighthouse - cute!
• Yummy handmade soap from her travels overseas
• And, sidewalk chalk for my kidlets!

Thank you, Kate...you really spoiled me!

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Next, I won the first of two follower giveaways over at Life with Lulu and Pete (head over there now because the 2nd follower giveaway is going on right now!).

I was quite surprised & oh, so happy when I found out I won. The package was sitting on my doorstep when we returned from our beach trip over the 4th of July holiday weekend. When I opened the box, this is what I found:

• A Vera Bradley Tic Tac tote in Raspberry Fizz - so bright, so colorful...I love it!
• A note cube made out of handmade paper
• Baking goodies - pretty cupcake liners and floral picks - I'll use these when Malia gets home because she's gonna love them!
• A pretty key chain (forgive me but I don't remember what the quote says...I'll edit this post later!)
• R.I.C.H. {Relax, it's cocktail hour!} cocktail napkins
• Yummy smellin' lotion from Bath & Body Works - Butterfly Flower
• Pretty note cards

Thank you, B!! You're awesome!

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It's always fun to receive something in the mail that isn't a bill!!

Can you tell that my kitchen counter is my #1 place of choice to photograph things?!

Monday Funday!

Even though it's Monday and it's g-l-o-o-m-y outside, I think it's safe to say that it's been a pretty fabulous day overall.


Let's see...


I announced my first giveaway winner - again, congratulations to Liz & her daughter, Lanie, and thank you to all who entered!


My friend, Catrina, gave me a really cool present (she has the same items, too!) this morning that I'll use this weekend when the two of us head to the Neptune Festival Spring Wine Tasting:

It's a WOOZIE and a flip-flop coaster by Drink Wear. I love it, I love it, I love it! I can't wait to use it this weekend...I just hope it fits on the wine glasses they give you at the wine tasting (they're smaller than the wine glass I am using in the photo).

When I came home from work, the UPS man dropped off a lovely pink & white package...can you say EXCITED?! My first Lilly Pulitzer piece EVER (yes, EVER) and I owe it all to Angela at Sweet Tea Diaries.

I participated in a four-part discussion on cancer for the Go Public Project and I was chosen as the random winner. Yay...go me! I LURVES the jewelry roll and cannot wait until the kids head to bed so I can spend some time at the Lilly Pulitzer website.

I made a yummy dinner and I'm so glad the kids loved it...I love you, Trader Joe's!

I brain farted on my Mother's Day Swap present, but hopefully Shannon received my box o' goodies today...I received some awesome Avon loot from her last week...thank you! The way to my heart is through my stomach beauty products!

I got an email yesterday from Shannon at Welcome to the Nuthouse notifying me of my swap person for her hometown swap...I just can't say who it is or where this person lives! I love surprises...well, I love giving them but not so much receiving them...I know, I know...I'm no fun!

And, finally, I am participating in yet another swap over at The Company She Keeps...it's a koozie swap! Go check out BLC's blog and enter...because you know you wanna give someone a Woozie and a Koozie!

Whew...it's been a busy Monday...and now I've got to tuck the little ones into bed and check on the ailing hubs (*snort*). Happy bloggin'!

WANNA SWAP?

So, this afternoon I was reading my friend, Becca's, blog and she posted that there was a swap going on at Welcome to the Nuthouse. Perfect, I thought. I love getting packages and fun things in the mail (beats the hell out of bills). I'm already participating in a Mom's Day swap over at Confessions of a Moody Mommy, so why not take part in another one, right?

Anyway, the swap over at Shannon's blog, Welcome to the Nuthouse, is pretty simple (copied & pasted from her blog):

If you are interested in participating, comment here to let me know. Then, to verify your commitment to the swap, send an email to nuthouseshannon{at}gmail{dot}com with the following info:

• your name
• your mailing address
• your blog name and blog address
• an area of the country that you've never been to but would like to visit

Basically, what will happen is that you'll get someone from the area you'd like to visit and the person you get (who isn't necessarily the person who has you for the swap) will want to visit your area. There is a $30 spending limit and you are sending your swap partner goods that you feel best represent your little slice of heaven (a.k.a. where you live). Easy enough, right?

Oh, and she keeps track of who referred who so if you choose to participate, please tell her that I sent you...by way of my friend, Becca, of course. It's like a tag team effort!

So, what are you waiting for...go to Welcome to the Nuthouse and support Shannon and her first swap. You'll also enjoy reading her blog, as I have been, because I must confess -- today was my first visit ever to her blog and I owe it all to my friend, Becca.

Happy swapping!

WHO DOESN'T LOVE PRESENTS?!

My favorite Moody Mommy (besides myself, of course! LOL) is having a Mother's Day swap. The rules are pretty straightforward...head over to Confessions of a Moody Mommy and add your name to the Mr. Linky list and put the Mom Swap button in your side bar (like I've done). There is a $20-$25 price range and you must mail out your gift by May 1st. Don't worry...you will be told who your Mom is and the rest is up to you!

What a fun way to show appreciation for another mother and what a great idea because it's always nice to receive a small gift in the mail. Bills are NOT the kind of appreciation us mothers are looking for, ya know?!