My Goody Swap

I participated in a Goody Swap hosted by Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions.  My partner was Kristina @ A Cozy Cup of Tea and she sent me the coolest stuff!!

She made this cute little fall banner. I'm not sure where I want to put it, but I love it!

She also made this pretty paper rose corsage and scrabble tile sign - so cute!!

Some very nice stickers.

A mini frame stamp, the prettiest pink glitter I have ever seen, a pretty paper flower and luxe velvet flowers.

Lots of handmade tags.

Some paper glitter crowns and a rhinestone crown - and the loveliest little paper ornament that will go on my Christmas tree.

Kristina lives near Disney, so she sent me a little Mini Mouse head.  And that little pumpkin bag was filled with candy corn that I ate immediately :)

Kristina, thank you so much.  Everything you sent was totally me and I want to be you when I'm crafting :)

CSN Review

When CSN stores offered me the opportunity to do a product review, I was really excited to see that I could choose the Rabbit Aerator - a product I have been wanting to try for a while.

Just after I opened the bottle of wine, I realized my camera battery was dead - so sorry, no pics!
This is the product pic from CSN's store - WineRefrigerator.com

Ok, so I opened a bottle of red and poured a glass.  Then I put the aerator into the bottle.  It popped right in without any struggling to make a seal.  Then I poured a second glass.

{pretend there is a picture here of two glasses, labeled A and B}

So I took my sip from glass A and it tasted just like a freshly opened bottle of red - not ready just yet.  I normally let a bottle breathe for at least 15 minutes, longer if I can stand to wait.

Then I took my sip from glass B.  WOW - this aerator works!  The wine was great, it tasted like it had been breathing for an hour.

I am totally loving this product - no more waiting on a bottle of red, I can get my drink on as soon as I want.

The checkout process with CSN was great, too.  I didn't have to click through a million pages to place my order, all the fields were laid out clearly and I was able to place my order quickly.  My order shipped out the day after I placed my order with UPS.

I am so happy with both my rabbit aerator and CSN's service - you will be, too!

I'm in a Rut :(

I've been in a rut lately and that means no projects to share.  Mostly because it is summer, and if I'm not on a beach (and I'm not) I do not like the temperature to go past 84 degrees.  Side note:  at 9am it is 90 degrees and it is going to reach 101 today :/

I did get some new toys this weekend - a heat gun, embossing glue, and UTEE.  My first project is to cover some chip letters with UTEE and glitter.

I've only made 5 of the 14 letters I want to do.  This new technique is very different from anything I have tried before.  It's taking me some trial and error and I think I need to re-watch some youtube videos.

But I think the main reason this rut came on was that my brain has shifted from "fun and crafty" to "glam and girly".  I've been a wee bit obsessed with....

Luxurious skin care:

Pretty dresses, like these two from Halston Heritage:

And shoes, I think these would be great for my cousin's wedding Labor Day weekend:

Then there is this Dooney & Bourke iPad Case, I ordered an iPad and it will ship July 20th, I can't wait!

I think I might stay in La La Land a bit longer.

I haven't gotten a big response for my swap idea, so here is a bit more info:  I would place participants in groups of four.  You would send your 3 group mates the same recipe along with some goodies to help them make it.  So if you are interested please let me know!!

CSN Review Coming Soon!

I'm so excited - I am going to have my first product review coming up shortly with CSN Stores!

They are a great company and I enjoyed working with them last month on my 100th post giveaway.  Rebecca got her apron and loves it!  I love how large their inventory is, you can decorate a whole room with CSN.   Just pick from their selection of dining room tables,  china, and  chandeliers.  I love one stop shopping and unlike Pottery Barn or Ballards, you can do all your shopping and your house won't look like the Summer 2010 catalog since CSN carries many different brands.

Many products ship for free and all orders over $69 ship for free, too!

If you haven't browsed their site yet, go check it out now - and then keep your eye out for my review coming soon! 

You Win Some, You Lose Some - HAPPY UPDATE!!

After I posted the story of my giveaway prize gone wrong - full story here -I got a bunch of responses sharing in the outrage and also a few letting me know about their own giveaway dissapointments.

But now I can share my happy ending!!  It turns out the Post Office did in fact deliver the package to the wrong address,  and the recipient wrote "wrong address" on it and sent it back to the PO.

A few weeks later, the lovely Christine received it back!!  She brought it back to the Post Office and they agreed to re-ship it for free - yeay!!

So I now have my super cute tote bag and all is right in the world :)

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I also have an idea for a Swap.  It would be a recipe swap with a fun twist.  And this twist is oh so fun, and I think, super creative :)  I don't want to share my idea yet, but please let me know if you are interested.  If enough people say they would want in, I will post the idea and get the swap started!!

Also, please let me know if you would prefer a $10 or $20 swap and if you would want one swap partner or if you would be more interested in doing this in groups - thanks!!

Cocktail Napkin Swap

Pink Martinis and Pearls hosted a swap recently with the cutest theme - cocktail napkins!

I went over to Homegoods to pick up the goodies for my recipient, Stuttering Shell,  since they always have great stuff.  I ended up finding a gift set that included napkins and wine charms in a cute summer fruit theme:

And my sender, Sweet Southern Prep, sent me these:

"Cocktails and Shopping could be Dangerous" - too cute!

Here's to a great Summer!

Well Hello Again!!

Wondering where I have been and what I've been up to?

I've been here, reading:

The Pioneer Woman

I started to hear all about Ree back in the fall when her cookbook came out. I was interested in checking out her blog and did so, but I was totally overwhelmed by the vast content and I left pretty quickly.

Then, almost two weeks ago, the TV was on but I wasn't really watching - I was playing on my computer. Any way, a rerun of Bonnie Hunt was on and Ree had a segment talking about Thanksgiving food and I decided to check out her blog once again.

This time I took a lay of the land, figured out how to tackle it all and chose a starting point. And let me say I very quickly got sucked in and there was no leaving until I read It ALL. That was 11 days ago and yes that is how huge her blog is - 11 days worth of reading. Way more than most books. And I didn't do much else besides eat and sleep - I found her blog to be all consuming. (I do admit - I did not read every photography or homeschooling post. I don't have the fancy camera equipment so lots of the info went over my head and I don't have any punks *hehe* so much of a the homeschooling posts were lost on me, too)

Now that I have gotten it out of my system, I can return to life as normal. But first I have 311 items in my reader :)

You Win Some, You Lose Some

Did you all enjoy the 2000 celebration at Funky Junk Interiors?  And did you see that I was lucky winner of giveaway #1 - an adorable tote bag from Tangerine Totes!!

This is the bag I won, how cute?!?

Unfortunately, I never received it :(  Christine from Tangerine Totes sent it out super fast - it was scheduled to be delivered 2 days later.  But my local post office screwed up.  They marked it as delivered, but the package never made it to me.  They are trying to tell me that it must have been taken from my door step, but I'm not buying it.  I think it never made it or they brought it to the wrong apt.  And if it is the latter, that "neighbor" has failed to return it to me.

I'm pretty bummed that I won't get to use that awesome bag, but I am even more disappointed in whoever it was that blocked me from receiving this package.  The universe does have a funny way of working and I am sure it will all be worked out in the end.

Still, I'm sending out a huge THANK YOU to Donna for hosting such a fun party extravaganza and to Christine for offering and sending such a great prize.

Happy 101 Award

I've received another blog award - YEAY!!

Alicia from Thrifty and Chic has bestowed the Happy 101 award upon me.

So here are 10 things that make me happy:

#1 - my hubby :)  he is simply the best

#2 - phones call with my sister

#3 - reading books and magazines

#4 - crafting

#5 - anything vintage french/parisian inspired, especially in shades of pale pin and cream

#6 - a good glass of french red wine especially bordeaux and burgundy

#7 - the ellen degeneres show - she is so funny and generous

#8 - glee - I look forward to 9pm on tuesday every week :)

#9 - donuts - so simple, so delicious

#10 - daydreaming - I love getting lost in my thoughts, it's just fun.


Now, I must pass this along to 5 other bloggers, but how do I choose?  Many of the blogs I read are "big" bloggers and I feel funny sending to them.  There are also a lot of girls who just don't do awards and I don't want to end up giving awards to the same people over and over.  So I've decided to let you choose for me!!  The first five bloggers who leave a comment sharing something that makes them happy will be the recipients  and I'll post a link to your blog below, too.

So, what makes you happy?

I'm a Winner!

Do you read Blue Cricket Design? Becca's blog is full of great tutorials, a weekly blog party and great giveaways. I was the very lucky winner of her recent giveaway with Charleston Scrapbook Company - a $30 gift certificate to spend however I want!!

In my comment, I said that I loved the Oceanside stickers because that is my hometown. Of course, the first things I put into my cart where both sets of stickers and the matching papers.

Maybe I should fine my old cheerleading pics and do a layout.

I got three rolls of scor-tape...

And some fun rub-ons.

Two packs of prismatic cardstock,

Some fun papers, the top two are Paris themed and the bottom two are flocked.

Three sheets of paper and the coordinating ribbon from the Cosmo Cricket Honey Pie Collection.

And six sheets from the Basic Grey Bittersweet Collection.

Laurie, the owner of Charleston Scrapbook Company is so sweet!! She surprised me by sending the Bittersweet coordinating stickers...

And this cool Fiskars 6-in-1 tool!

Laurie has a great shop and amazing customer service - please check her store out.

Thank you Becca and Laurie for hosting this fab giveaway :)

SCC Supply Box Swap

Gina @ The Shabby Chic Cottage hosted a supply swap for all of her readers and it was so much fun!! She paired me up with a wonderful girl named Andrea. I got my box today and it was filled to the brim with the most amazing stuff!!

Everything came in a cute fabric box.  Inside was this wooden birdhouse.  Too cute!  Can't wait to decorate it.  There was a also a huge spray of little pink flowers.

When I finally get a sewing machine, my first project will be turning this gorgeous piece of fabric into a pillow.

A package of brads, pretty paris stickers and a keyhole applique - swooning!

There is a metal H with hooks on the back so I can hang it up.  Isn't that little hanger the cutest thing ever?  And see that green packing tape?  It's actually patterned.

How pretty is that?

More cuteness - two fun clips, flower stickers, a white satin ribbon that says "love, cherish, together, forever" glitter and twine.

This star deserves a picture all its own.  I LOVE IT! I am going to have to design a project entirely around this :)

Some more amazing metal pieces and a white box for me to decorate.

The cutest metal tin and vintage magnets out there!

And tags!! I love tags!!  The baby shipping tags are adorable - I love the way Andrea decorated them; and I have always wanted those white tags with the silver frames.

Andrea, thank you so much for everything!  Anytime you have extra stuff you can send it to me :)

And thank you to Gina as well for hosting.

Silly me forgot to take pics of what I sent to Andrea - sorry :/