News...

Do ya'll remember when we did the 10 minute makeover compliments of Nesting Place?? Well today she's hosting a mega-giveaway party...giveaways scheduled all day long & we were super excited to have our wall vinyls chosen to participate! So make sure you head on over today or by Weds at least to enter a bunch of great giveaways!

Also - we're in the process of moving the blog & turning it into more of a family affair...we're still working out a few kinks, but I'll share more in the coming days & hopefully that will mean more consistent posting too! LOL

Have a great day & see you soon!

Home Beautiful

I'm so excited - I just finalized my order on Amazon and soon the next two beautiful books will be in my hands! Home Decor has become more and more interesting to me in the past few weeks and thanks to the Nesting Place I decided this was a resource I just couldn't live with out. Barnes&Noble & Amazon had it for about $1.50 difference, so I decided to just head over to the B&N in town and pick it up...so after the doctor & the credit union yesterday morning, I ventured into B&N with both kiddos...by far my most adventuresome outing with the two...except I'm then super disappointed to find out that in the store they want $39.99 not $26 for the book - are you kidding me? I was more than happy to let them keep it and come home and order it myself...craziness! My whole point in going to the real store was so that I could use my $100 giftcard that I won in a Tackle it Tuesday challenge awhile back (still doing happy dance), but then Brad reminded me Amazon would probably take it too, and sure enough, they did!

While I was looking around at Amazon, I decided to go on and pickup the cookbook that my friend Meg is constantly raving about...only to find out that a new edition is being released in May and that they have it on mega-pre-release sale - love it! So I decided to treat myself to it too, as it seems to be a great cooking resource (and heaven knows I could always use those!) So technically I won't get my hands on it until probably May, but what a nice treat & surprise it will be when it magically shows up!

And while we're at it - does this next book not also look oh so delicious? The author has a major giveaway going on over at her blog and this is but one of the beautiful prizes...so take a few minutes and hop on over and enter...and the exciting thing is that she's giving away 2 copies of the book, so maybe we can both win, right? ;-)

Delicious Giveaway!

Are these not the cutest crayons ever? I was first turned on to Stubby Pencil Studio by Meredith - and have now seen them a few other places on the web...I'm totally in love with several of their products right now, but as we've tightened the purse-strings on our budget as of late, am holding myself back...for now. However, couldn't pass up this lovely chance to WIN a basket of their goodies - love it! Enjoy!

Giveaway Alert

Tsh over at SimpleMom is hosting a fabulous giveaway for all kinds of reusable bags - the one pictured at the left is from B. Happybags and definitely caught my eye! How chic & adorable at the same time! Any of you who know me (and I mean really know me) probably know that I'm not the most green person on the planet. For one thing...I struggle with clutter MAJORLY - the unfortunate truth for me (at this time) is that sometimes it's better to throw it away and get it out of my house & life rather than to try to hang on & reuse everything I encounter (which is, by nature, my packrat-self)...if I could keep all those goodies organized, it probably wouldn't be a problem...but I digress! If you're looking for reusable bags (and I have been giving it some thought lately) - SimpleMom is showcasing a myriad of choices - definitely a great resource if you're heading this direction already and a great encouragement for those of us who are thinking about it!


Kailani over at Island Life is hosting a great giveaway for these adorable growth charts from Olive Kids! There are so many cute ones to choose from! I don't know about you, but I had great plans of getting started early on keeping track of Walker's growth on some kind of chart, door - something. I can remember my grandparents marking a wall at their house when we were growing up for all of us grandkids - seems so precious! But as it is prone to do, time marches on - W is now over 2 and measured 36" at his 2 year check-up and still no marking has been done. I'd love to win this giveaway, but if I don't, may have to give some serious thought to buying one anyway, as it's time to get busy recording his progress! Make sure you head over and check it out when you get a minute!

Christmas Giveaway Alert

As I've been reading along, I've run across several great giveaways (both current & ongoing) right now and wanted to pass the word along! 5 Minutes for Mom is hosting an entire Christmas Giveaway Event with 25+ giveaways during the month of November. If you don't already subscribe to their feed, go over and check them out - they will do individual posts throughout the month for each individual contest - you can also check out this post for both the contest rules and an updated list of all the contests they add as they get added (you have to scroll down to the very end to see the list...) Now on to some other great looking giveaways!

I will have to admit (and anyone who knows me can further attest) - I've never been super into fashion...part of it is that I'm fairly frugal and just can't see spending tons of $$ for clothes, quality or not. I have been trying to upgrade my image a bit lately, however, and for whatever reason would love to have a pair of red heels (probably too many episodes of 'What Not to Wear'!) - my feet, however, love comfort, so my shoes must also be tres comfy! When I ran across a giveaway for these new High Fashion Crocs, my heart melted...until I saw the pricetag! Yikes - $150 for a pair of heels? $250 for a pair of boots? Not looking likely in my immediate future, however they are beautiful to look at! so that I will enjoy! If you'd like to see the rest of the line, head on over to the You by Crocs website and take a look around - they do have some summer selections on sale (I'm personally hoping that these babies make it to the next seasonal sale! LOL) Better yet - maybe I'll win a pair or maybe it'll be you! Kailani is hosting a giveaway for two pairs and 5 Minutes for Mom has a giveaway for 2 more going. Believe you me - I'm entering both! :)
I am definitely a bit of a tech junkie - I love looking around in office stores, love seeing the new gadgets people are talking about. This Epson looks fantastic! I don't think I've actually ever had an Epson, but believe you me...if I won this guy, I would definitely give them a try! SimpleMom has been given one to give away - so if you're up for a little printer fun...head on over and jump in this giveaway as well! I can't even remember the last time I printed photos (sorry MiMi & MaMa, maybe ya'll should enter for me as well?? LOL) - but having a nifty printer at home that could turn out high quality ones should certainly help, right?

So there you go - a few lovely giveaways going on! Of course, I'd love to win any of these, but if it can't be me...maybe it can be you! So go - go enter now! And enjoy some giveaway magic leading up to the Christmas season!

Christmas Giveaway Alert

Head on over to SimpleMom for a chance to win your very own personalized Christmas cards! And that's not all...you can also win personalized postage stamps to mail them out with! So what are you waiting for? The SimpleMom blog is what really helped me start thinking about Christmas early this year, and boy am I thankful for that! Now if I could just come up with the "perfect" picture to put on those Christmas cards! Best Wishes!

Giveaway Alert

It's another Lisa Leonard giveaway! Head on over to Small Notebook for your chance to enter and while you're there, take a look around - it's one of my favorite new blog finds! Enjoy!

I do love a giveaway!

Is this gorgeous or what??? If you've already seen Lisa Leonard's jewelry - it might look familiar. Her jewelry has such a distinctive look! SimpleMom is hosting a giveaway - head on over now for a chance to win this beauty!

More Giveaways at hand!

More great giveaways all week long over at 5 Minutes for Mom - check it out!

Giveaway #2 has a winner!

Congrats to sarah, rsm on winning Giveaway # 2 - a personalized crayon roll from my Etsy store. Thanks so much to everyone for playing along - hope to see you all back for the next carnival this fall!

Giveaway # 1 has a winner!

Congrats to rissaroe on winning Giveaway # 1 - a personalized placemat from here.

But wait - everyone can be a winner! From now until Aug 10th you can receive 10% off of everything in my Etsy store or 20% off of orders $30 and over (shipping not included). Just use coupon code Bloggy1 in your comments when you purchase and I'll send you an adjusted invoice. Thanks so much to everyone for playing! Hope to see you back for the next Bloggy carnival this fall!

Giveaway #2!

Alrighty - for giveaway #2 (if you missed #1, scroll down when you're finished here!) I have a personalized crayon roll. This crayon roll works not only for crayons (holds 16), but also colored pencils or slim markers. This is a great item to keep in a diaper or toddler bag to help keep your kids entertained when you're on the go - much easier than crayon boxes that get crushed and then disintegrate!

A few giveaway details...

1. visit my Etsy store and let me know what your favorite thing there is.


2. If your comment doesn't reference an item, it will be deleted and you will be removed from the contest - play along and we'll all have fun!


3. This contest is for 1 (one) personalized crayon roll - you specify the name and boy or girl and I will design a crayon roll just for you!


4. The contest will run until midnight, Saturday, August 2nd . I'll randomly choose a winner and announce their name the next day. Contest is only open to US mailing addresses. Please make sure you leave a way for me to contact you! One entry per person, please.

*****If you'd like an extra entry, you can visit my sister's Etsy store and leave a comment here telling me what your favorite from her shop is. **Please leave a 2nd comment about her store!** She's also running a giveaway over at her blog, so feel free to head over her way and enter there too!*****

Thanks so much and best wishes to all! For a bunch of other great giveaways, don't forget to check out the main Bloggy Giveaways page!

The Bloggy Giveaway Carnival is here - yippee!

Man oh man, do I just LOVE when it's Bloggy Giveaway Carnival time! Thanks so much to you for stopping by - Backporch Reflections is the spot for me to reflect on my life - share what's going on with our family, things we love and/or really dislike & what God has been teaching me lately. I hope you'll poke around a little and maybe even check back on a regular basis! I will be doing several giveaways this week, so make sure you bookmark us and come on back over to enter those as well - I just LOVE giving stuff away!

A few giveaway details...

1. visit my Etsy store and let me know what placemat design is your favorite. If you have a great idea that you don't see (but would like to) - feel free to add that to your comment as well.
2. If your comment doesn't reference a placemat design, it will be deleted and you will be removed from the contest - play along and we'll all have fun!
3. This contest is for 1 (one) personalized placemat - you specify the name and the design you like (from my store).
4. The contest will run until midnight, Friday, August 1st . I'll randomly choose a winner and announce their name the next day. Contest is only open to US mailing addresses. Please make sure you leave a way for me to contact you! One entry per person, please!

Thanks so much for stopping by and best wishes to everyone! Make sure to check back later this week...I have several more giveaways up my sleeve!

Old Red Barn Quilt Giveaway!

Wow - is it just me, or is this quilt GORGEOUS??? I love the beautiful vintage look of it, even though it's brand new! Something about a quilt that looks old...just seems right in the world! For a chance to win this beauty, hop on over to the Old Red Barn Co. and throw your name in the hat - and hurry - the contest ends at midnight, July 22 - that's tomorrow! So get to it!

Giveaway #2 - and the winner is...

christie - #6 - congratulations! Thanks to all who played along and to all those who gave me great ideas and visited my shop! Hope to see you back soon!

Giveaway #1 - and the winner is.....

#73 - ginny...generated by random.org - congrats!! Please contact me so that we can design your pillowcase! Thanks to all who entered!

Bloggy Giveaway #2

And it's time for giveaway #2 - if you missed #1, scroll down and make sure you enter there too! In honor of getting my etsy shop, StitchesSewSweet up and running, I'm offering a personalized onesie for the cutie in your life - your choice of the four styles above.

All you have to do to enter is visit my store and tell me what your favorite item is. If you neglect to tell me an item in your comment, your entry will not count!

A few details...the contest will run until midnight, Saturday, April 26th. I'll randomly choose a winner and announce their name the next afternoon. Contest is only open to US mailing addresses. Please make sure you leave a way for me to contact you - several people in the first contest did not! You must return my contact by April 30th, or I will move on to the next person in line! One entry per person, please!

Thanks so much for stopping by and best wishes to everyone! Make sure to check back later this week...you never know, there might be 1 more giveaway in store! And don't forget to head back over to Bloggy Giveaway Central to enter more great contests!

Isn't this gorgeous??

Don't you just love this locket??? Ran across this giveaway today while entering several of the bloggy giveaway contests...couldn't resist sharing it with you guys here...of course, I do hope that *I'm* the winner LOL!

Yippee - it's Bloggy Giveaways Carnival time!

Who doesn't love a giveaway? I know I certainly do! When I saw the post a few weeks back about the upcoming Bloggy Giveaways Carnival, I just knew I had to participate! I'm in the process of launching an etsy shop this week, so in honor of that, I thought I would do a few embroidery giveaways...first up

...what little one wouldn't love to sleep with a pillow with their name on it? If you're the winner of this giveaway, I'll work with you to design a pillowcase that your little one will love!

A few details...as I'm in the midst of opening my Etsy shop, in your comment, let me know what type of embroidered item you would most like to see in the shop. This contest is for 1 (one) white pillowcase with a name and/or embroidered design. The contest will run until midnight, Friday, April 25th. I'll randomly choose a winner and announce their name the next morning. Contest is only open to US mailing addresses. Please make sure you leave a way for me to contact you! One entry per person, please!

Thanks so much for stopping by and best wishes to everyone! Make sure to check back later this week...I have several more giveaways up my sleeve!