40 FOLLOWERS! WOW!!!

When I started my blog about 3 months ago, I never had in mind that people would be interested in what I had to say. But now I realize how wrong I was! I looked at my GFC counter today and noticed something that put a big smile on my face. I have made it to 40 FOLLOWERS!

That's amazing and it's all thanks to all of you! Thank you for reading my thoughts and rants these past few months. Thank you for leaving comments, because I love to hear back from you guys. Thank you for sticking around after so many changes to this blog (design, look, content, name). Just thank you for everything!

Let's keep growing together <3

My Husband Can Make Lemonade Out of the Lemons in My Life

Hello everyone! Sorry for being away for a few days. Thank you to everyone that checked on me and kept me in their prayers this past week. It's still hard dealing with my friend's death, but each day that goes by gets easier.

Some you guys know that I have Tourett's Syndrome. The tics can get worse if you're under a lot of stress and boy have I been under some stress. My tics have been more frequent and violent lately than they have been in a long time. I was pretty much on bed rest so that I could make it to my friend's funeral on Friday.

Sometimes the tics, the soreness from the twitching, and the stares is just too much for me. Tourette's is definitely the "lemon" in my life. But as the saying goes, "when life hands you lemons, make lemonade". Well, it's hard for me to make lemonade from this. But, my husband makes the sweetest lemonade out of my lemons.

The other day when my tics were really bad, my husband tenderly took my hand and said so sweetly, "I love you sweetheart. Tics and all.". I just melted when he said that. See, when we married, I didn't have Tourette's. This is something I developed about 8 months ago. So for him to still love me in such an unconditional way is amazing! Like I said before, my husband can make lemonade out of the lemons in my life.

I hope that all of you have someone like that.

Meet and Tweet @ Our Reflection

Good morning lovely people! If you're looking for a way to meet new people through Twitter, there's a "Meet and Tweet" going on over at Our Reflection. So far there's 73 people linked up with various backgrounds and topics from crafts to motherhood. This is similar to a blog hop for those of you who do not have a blog but have a Twitter account :)

You can either click on the link below or the "Meet and Tweet" button on the right hand side of the page to get more details. Remember - this is a Twitter link up! Please do not link up your blog, shop, Facebook, or anything else. 

Hope you guys have fun meeting and tweeting with new people!

http://our-reflection.blogspot.com/2012/05/meet-tweet-twitter-hop_23.html

Bloggy Book Club Discussion Question - Week 4

SPOILER ALERT: 

DO NOT READ THIS POST IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE BOOK OR SEEN THE MOVIE

Aww, we're getting down to the nitty gritty with this week's discussion question:

"Who do you, upon reading the prologue, think murdered August? What effect did that opening scene of chaos and murder have on your reception of the story that follows?

Like Katelyn, I too thought it was Marlena who finally, and justly so, did August in. At the time, she was the only female character that had been introduced who 1) Wears pink sequins and 2) Had enough motive and reason to see August dead. But then Rosie the elephant enters into the story. She also wears pink sequins to match Marlena's outfit and she has plenty of motive and reason to kill August. August would beat this poor, gentle-souled creator whenever he got upset or he just felt like it. I hated him for that...among other things.

So, when I finally reached the part of the book that picks up where the prologue left off I figured it would be Rosie that would kill August. In the scene it seems as though she does it not only for herself but also for Jacob and Marlena. She made sure that Jacob saw what she was doing and after she did it, she stood over Marlena to protect her from all of the animals that were running wild. 

I really don't think that the prologue had any effect on me as I was reading the story. I honestly forgot about that scene until I read the discussion question for the week. LOL! Which I guess is a good thing because if I was so focused on trying to figure out who kills August, I would've missed out on so many good moments in this book. 

Danielle Elizabeth Hazelrigg May 27, 1985 - May 20, 2012

This picture brings to mind so many fond memories with this special group of young women. For a year and a half in the dental assisting program, we were a family. We were sisters. We were each other's support system.  So it stunned all of us to learn on Sunday May 20, 2012, one of our sisters had been killed in a motorcycle accident.

Danielle Hazelrigg (3rd row, 2nd from the left, brown hair and glasses) will be horribly missed. She was sweet, down to earth, beautiful, funny, and had an incredible head on her shoulders. It's such a shame that her life ended so tragically only at 26 years of age. 

The day of the accident, her and her fiancee Jeremy went for a ride on his motorcycle. Both were wearing their helmets. All was well until a minivan crossed over the center line and hit them head on, killing them both. We learned later that the driver fled the scene by foot but the police were able to arrest her at her house. Her vehicle was uninsured and had improper tags.

We have so many questions that may never be answered. My main one is if Danielle and Jeremy's death was instant or did they suffer. I hope they didn't suffer. They were such a sweet couple. They were to marry on September 8 of this year. Although that is the day for a wedding that will never happen, I will always view September 8 as Danielle and Jeremy's day. 

We miss you Danielle and Jeremy. We love you both and will never forget you!

Bloggy Book Club Discussion Question - Week 3

Here is the discussion question for week 3 from the Bloggy Book Club. Only 3 weeks left to jump in and read "Water for Elephants" with us...or you can wait until the next book where you'll get a fresh, new start.

This week's question is:

"What did you think of Marlena? Was she a like-able character and strong enough to be the central female character?"

I LOVE Marlena! I think she's the epitome of a great female lead character. She's witty, sweet, talented, intelligent, and has strength to her daintiness. I love how she cares for the animals she works with. She doesn't just view them as "co-workers", being friendly with them while she's performing in the circus and then forgetting about them afterwards. Marlena honestly loves the horses and the elephant that she works with (hope I didn't spoil anything...). 

When one of her horses became really ill, she chose to sleep with him in his stable instead of in the comfort of her own bed. This part made me tear up a little. I know she's just a fictional character, but the love she felt for that horse was so real and evident. And when it came time for that horse to die, her emotional response was expected but still added so much more to her character.

The only thing I don't like about her is that she married August only as an escape route, or at least that's how I interpreted it. And it has absolutely nothing to do with the age difference. My husband and I are close to a couple that are about 15 years apart and they are the sweetest little couple to look at and hang out with. My problem is how August treats Marlena. She's so sweet and tries so hard to understand his "moods" and make excuses for him so that Jacob can overlook them as well. But August just does not appreciate the wonderful woman that he has in his lovely wife. I just wished that Marlena could have waited for someone who would really love her for her. Someone like...umm...I don't know...Jacob?

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe - My Review

Who knew these few ingredients could make such yummy cookies?

As promised a couple of days ago, I tried a recipe that I found on Gluten Free and You. Chocolate chip cookies are the one thing that I cry over not being able to eat since I've gone gluten free. Whenever I pass by the rolls of cookie dough at the grocery store, I swear I can hear their little voices laughing at and mocking me. Yeah, my misery is that bad. 

I've made homemade gluten-free chocolate chip cookies and they were not good. They tasted more like a dry cake instead of a cookie. Not sure what cookie mix it was but I must found out so that I will not recommend it to anyone. I've also tried the store bought cookies. They were soft, but tasted a little too salty. Over time though, the longer they stayed out, the less salty they were. It was weird. Well, my husband ate them so they did not go to waste.

Needless to say when I found the cookie recipe on Gluten Free and You, I was a little skeptical. But, really wanting a chocolate chip cookie I headed to my local Ingles (I'm so happy they have a gluten-free section) and bought Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix. The recipe was easy to follow and called for very few ingredients. Chances are you probably have all the ingredients already besides the baking mix. 

THE VERDICT

When I took my first bite, I believe I heard the heavens open up and sing out of joy! These are seriously good gluten-free chocolate chip cookies! They're soft, moist, taste like a cookie, and have the perfect crunchy to chewy ratio going on. I'm so excited that I found a great recipe to make my favorite cookie when I'm going through withdrawals. 

If you're interested in either going gluten-free completely or just testing the waters, head on over to Gluten Free and You and try out some of the recipes mentioned on there. I love trying new recipes. I'll have to find another one and review it :) If you want to try this recipe, click on the link below.

http://cbulife.blogspot.com/2012/05/gluten-free-chocolate-chip-cookies.html

Crazy Random Friday Fun!

Good morning! I have so much to share with you today. This will be a crazy random post full of Friday fun!

ALOHA BLOG HOP
If you've never been a part of a 'blog hop', here's a great opportunity. This particular blog hop is being hosted by  two awesome blogs from Hawaii - What Jean Like and Local Sugar Hawaii. I signed up for the blog hop over at Salena's blog, A Little Piece of Me <---this should take you straight to the sign up page. 

Don't know what a blog hop is? It's basically a list of interesting blogs put together that you can visit and explore. Some of these blogs I would've never heard of if it wasn't for blog hops. So, if you have a blog, this is great chance to meet fellow bloggers and maybe gain more followers :)

BLOG ANGEL FOR JUNE
This is an awesome idea! The same wonderful ladies that brought us the Bloggy Book Club have started another project. It's called "Be a Blog Angel". You can click on the button on my sidebar to sign up to participate and read the details. If you participate, for the whole month of June, you will be able to help out a fellow blogger in what ever area they need assistance in. It could be to make a blog button, topic ideas, group giveaway, how to work the social media monster, etc.

 But, at the same time, you will also have someone watching over your "blog back" helping you with areas that you need help with. The cool thing - it's not the same person that you are helping. It's a mystery! At the end of June, everyone will post who they help so you'll eventually find out who was your blog angel. So awesome!

I WAS FEATURED OVER AT "DREAMY MEADOW"
I was so excited and thrilled when I found out that I was the guest post over at Katlyn's blog Dreamy Meadow! It's my first time EVER being featured on a fellow blog!  My guest post is the mushy-gushy story of how my cat Oreo inspires me. If you haven't read it yet on my blog, please head over to Dreamy Meadow and read it. While you're over there, say hi to Katlyn and follow her. She's the cutest thing :)

NEW ETSY SHOP NAME, LOOK, AND ITEMS
http://www.etsy.com/shop/AGirlandHerClay
I know I told you guys that I wouldn't bring up my Etsy shop on this blog, but I need some opinions. Recently, as you know, I gave my shop a new name...which means a new look and items. I'm not too sure how it's looking over there. From a glance, would you buy something from my shop? Are the pictures clear enough? Are the prices too high? Too low? If you don't mind, could you hop on over there and let me know what you think. I don't mind constructive criticism, opinions, suggestions, or a 'job well done'. I would just like someone's thoughts that "outside looking in". Thanks a bunch :)

Hide and Go Seek Medicine

Don't you just hate waking up not feeling well? You try to mull over in your mind if you were feeling bad during the day before or maybe noticed something amiss right before you fell asleep. Well, that's what happened to me this morning. I woke up just feeling "blah" - my throat was sore and my sinuses were doing this funky thing they've never done before. Lol! So, I did as my hubby suggested and went to see our doctor who graciously fit me in around 11 this morning.

I'm thinking I have a sinus infection since my throat is sore and my sinuses are acting all funky. WRONG! So what on earth could be wrong with me? After some lab testing, my doctor informs me that I have a urinary tract infection (UTI). Ouch! Yeah, I've had those before and they are no fun at all. He graciously sends my prescription in to the local pharmacy so that I can just pick it up on my way home. I get there and they kindly explain that it hasn't shown up in their system yet and they don't when it will. Since it's only 5 to 7 minutes from my house, I decide to go home. This happened around 12:40.

Fast forward some hours to 4:30 - I started feeling the lower back pain that a UTI will give you, so I asked my husband if he could pick up my meds on his way  home from work. Guess what? The medicine never showed up in the system! WHAT!?! So with 30 minutes left till our doctor's office closes, my hubby calls them to inform them of the case of "the missing medicine". Thankfully he was able to reach someone and they cleared the matter right up. 

So what lessons did I learn today?

1. NEVER walk out of the doctor's office without a written prescription, even if they call it in.

2. Now that it's getting hotter, drink more water to avoid getting a UTI.

3. My husband is incredibly amazing! (but I already knew that...)

P.S. - I never found out why my throat was sore and my sinuses were acting up this morning. Huh?

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hello everyone! Hope your day is going really well. Today I am determined to finally bake up a batch of Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies. The store bought ones I've had in the past were nothing to write home about. They were either too dry or just didn't even taste like a chocolate chip cookie. So, I stumbled upon a blog called Gluten Free and You and she had a recipe for the cookies on there. They look really yummy! I'll leave a link to the post and put her recipe on here. Once I make them myself later today, I'll take pictures and let you guys know how they turned out :)

http://glutenfreeandyou.blogspot.com/2010/12/my-all-time-favorite-cookie.html

"My All Time Favorite Cookie" Recipe

1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix
1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips  (I use 1 1/2 cups semi sweet chips and 1 1/2 cups white chips)
1/2 cup chopped walnut (optional)
1/4 cup white sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla

Yields approx. 20 cookies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Cream butter and sugar, add egg and vanilla, then beat together. Add Pamela's Mix, chocolate chips and nuts, then mix thoroughly. Place scoops of dough (1 TBSP scoop) onto a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for fifteen minutes or until edges start to brown.  Let cookies cool slightly and use a spatula to remove from cookie sheet.

Finally prepare to amazed by what I think is the best chocolate chip cookie on the planet.

Bye Bye Chibi Lolita...

Hello everyone! Yes, I have completely changed my blog AGAIN. But I have a really valid reason for doing it this time, I promise.

Recently I've been worrying, stressing, and fighting with myself over my Etsy shop. I loved the items that are there, but they just don't seem like they fit together. You can't just throw a bunch of cute handmade items together and think they will eventually mesh together. So, I finally did what I started fretting over 2 months ago - changed the name of my Etsy shop ChibiLolita.

I love that name! It was the very first name I came up with when I decided to open a shop. But, I don't think it was the best name to pick. I love the Japanese culture and wanted to pay homage to it by naming my shop ChibiLolita, which means "small girl". In the end, I think this name hurt me since most of the shoppers on Etsy have no idea what ChibiLolita even means. 

As you guys know, lately I've been doing a lot of creating with polymer clay - it's my new "craft love". I've decided to dedicate my whole Etsy shop to my clay creations to create a cohesive atmosphere in my shop. You ready for the name? A GIRL AND HER CLAY! Pretty simple name, but it's easy to recognize, understand, remember, and from a glance you can tell what will be in my shop.

Since I changed the name of my Etsy shop, that meant I had to change my Facebook page, my twitter username and last but not least, my blog name. I had a blog previously on WordPress called "CrazyBeautifulUnique" where I just talked about whatever. I want to do that with this blog also. I'm not associating this blog with my Etsy shop like I did with "Chibi Lolita's All Kinds of Cute". This blog will be about me, my life, my crafts, my cooking, my stories, my whatever I want to talk about. That freedom feels so amazing!

I hope you guys will still follow me, leave comments, and have a good time while you're here. Let's continue to grow together :)

Photo A Day in May - Week 2

Good morning cuties! Instead of bombarding you guys with a picture everyday, I decided to just wait to the end of the week to post all of the pictures. So, here's my week in pictures. Hope you guys like it :)

Day 8 - A Smell You Adore

PEPPERMINT!!!

Day 9 - Something You Do Everyday

I've been creating with polymer clay everyday lately

Day 10 - A Favorite Word

I finger painted this word because I love it so much!!! The hearts are horrible...I know...

Day 11 - Kitchen

One of our really great friends stopped by last night with her homemade White Chocolate and Peppermint Cheesecake. YUM-O! So we had coffee with it :)

Day 12 - Something That Makes You Happy

These are my engagement and wedding rings. I love my engagement ring! It belonged to my husband's grandmother whom he was really close with. He took the ring and had the jeweler add a white and black pearl to the setting. Every time I look at it, the thought that he put behind my ring always makes me happy :)

Bloggy Book Club Discussion Question - Week 1

Hello Cuties :)

It's time for the very first discussion question from the incredibly fun "Bloggy Book Club"! As you've probably read from my previous post, we are reading "Water for Elephants" for 6 weeks and then will discuss what we've read so far. It's not too late to join if you haven't. Just click on the button at the top right of my blog. Let's start discussing!

Question: "How did Jacob's experiences of being old in the nursing home affect you?"

I have to start off by saying that I got a kick out of it since my husband's name is Jacob and I can totally see him being that spunky in his 90's. Lol! But, back to the book...I fell in love with Jacob's character right from the beginning. The way that he describes he's every moment, the fellow residents in the nursing home, and how age will sneak up on you was amazing.

I loved how even though he is "kinda up there" in age, he never lost his inner youth. He is very spunky for his age. The way he talks about wanting a woman but then says he would rather sink his teeth into corn on the cob was hilarious! Sometimes you just got to have what you want, right?

The only part that I did not like about the nursing home scene was how certain people treated Jacob. When he finally spoke up for himself, his "friends" basically turned against him looking at him like a madman. I did not understand this part at all. It would seem as though the one's that knew him the longest would've taken his side over the "new guy". I also didn't like how the nurses treated him. They also treated him like he was a crazy, little kid instead of the dignified older gentleman that he is. I guess this is a sore spot for me because I would see this all the time when I would visit my grandmother in the nursing home. I wanted to scream "Show a little respect!" sometimes, which is what I did in my head when I read the nursing home scene in "Water for Elephants". 

My Thoughts So Far...

I like this book for so many reasons. The description, the characters, the environment, the comedy...the author makes you feel as though you're right there with Jacob. I look forward to getting into this story more and the discussion questions that are to follow :)

5 Great Etsy Gifts for Chocolate Lovers!

Good morning cuties! I'm so excited about this week's edition of "5 Great Etsy Gifts for". Of course, who wouldn't be since it's dedicated to...

CHOCOLATE!

All of us know at least one person that has a "chocolate problem" and refuses to get help (it might even be ourselves). This post celebrates that "problem" with delectable, chocolate delicacies that you can eat, wear, and even bathe with. Yes, bathe with! The gift ideas listed here will allow your favorite chocolate lover to surround themselves in chocolate wherever they go.

Remember to "heart" these Etsy shops and/or favorite an item to show the sellers some love. Happy shopping cuties :)

5 GREAT ETSY GIFTS FOR CHOCOLATE LOVERS!

Chocolate Soap - Truffle Mint Scented Glycerin Soaps - $5.50

http://www.etsy.com/listing/62829978/chocolate-soap-truffle-mint-scented

Sweet Chocolate ring - $3.00

 

http://www.etsy.com/listing/94882128/sweet-chocolate-ring

Any Three Candy Apples - Chocolate and Caramel With Your Choice of Toppings - $20.95

http://www.etsy.com/listing/88982163/any-three-candy-apples-chocolate-and

Refreshing Chocolate Lip Balm with Wintergreen Essential Oil - $4.00

http://www.etsy.com/listing/95163779/refreshing-chocolate-lip-balm-with

GLUTEN FREE and All Natural Cookies and Cream Dipped in Belgian Chocolate - $13.50

http://www.etsy.com/listing/94559016/gluten-free-and-all-natural-cookies-and

Photo A Day Challenge - Day 7 "Someone That Inspires You"

Good evening cuties! Here is my picture of "someone that inspires me". Now, I know that some of you are thinking, "How in the world does a cat inspire someone?". Well, I have a heart breaking and heart warming story to tell you...then maybe you'll understand.

When we first got Oreo (the cat above) it wasn't hard at all for my husband and I to open up our hearts and home to him. He was so lovable, sweet, cuddly, and playful. About 2 weeks after we had him we noticed that his playful side was turning into more of mischief, so we would let him outside to burn off this energy. One Sunday morning, we let him outside to play thinking he'll be back in a couple of hours like usual. That wasn't the case this time.

About one o'clock in the morning, our dog starts barking to let us know that someone or something is outside. My husband goes to check and finds Oreo lying underneath his car scared to come to him. When he finally emerges from underneath the car, we discover that he's bleeding and injured in the face. With it being so late, we decide to take him to the vet the next morning, which my husband does. Later on that night, the vet calls to tell us exactly what happend - and neither one of us was prepared for it.

The vet tells us that someone shot our cat in the face at point blank range. The bullet shattered his left jaw into 27 pieces that traveled down beside his throat and lodged into his left shoulder. We were flabbergasted! He never looked like he had been shot - never crossed our minds. He had to have surgery to remove the pieces of jaw and to reattach the jaw. He went through a lot!

Now, the reason he inspires me - He never changed! From the moment he came home injured down to today, he still purrs, wants to love on you, cuddle with you, play with you, and hunt. He brings us field mice all the time. Oreo taught me that even when horrible things happen, don't lose yourself. Still be lovable, happy, joyful, playful...anything that's YOU. That is how my cat inspires me :)

Later cuties :)

Never Eat Leftovers That Set Out In The Car for 4 HOURS!!!!

Good afternoon cuties! Guess you've been wondering where I've been the past 3 to 4 days. Well, as the title of this post suggest, I got a hold to some bad food :( I've been sick in the bed since Thursday evening battling food poisoning. Not fun whatsoever! Please heed my warning - NEVER EAT LEFTOVERS THAT SET OUT IN THE CAR FOR 4 HOURS!!!

Of course when I first ate the food at the restaurant, it was fresh and delicious. So naturally I expected it to be the same the next day for lunch when I warmed it up. Except I didn't put into account that the food had been sitting in our car the whole time that we we're watching The Avengers. Oh boy! And to top it all off - it was fish. That's already a HUGE no no. I guess I can attribute my crazy decision making on lack of sleep the night before. 

But anyway, I'm on the way to feeling better and able to keep food down. YAY! I've missed you guys so much! Even through my bouts of horrible stomach cramps, I thought about you, what you were up to, and how I'm horrible for abandoning you guys these past few days. 

So, from the bottom of my little Southern heart:

Also, as you can imagine, you can't take pictures if you're clinging to the bed sheets wondering if you're about to die or not. LOL! The pain was that bad. So I've completely missed the past 3 days of the Photo A Day Challenge for May. Which I guess is fine considering the themes of those days:

Day 4 "Fun!" - Yeah right! Nothing is fun when you're sick.

Day 5 "Bird" - How can I take a picture of a bird outside when I couldn't even walk.

Day 6 "You" - I spared y'all and anyone else from that horror. LOL!

I will try my best to take the picture for today's theme "someone that inspires you". I already have my subject...I just have to get him to agree to take a photo to put on here. Hope you guys weekend was so much better than mine and if you're doing the photo challenge, you were able to keep up...unlike me :(

Later cuties :)

The Avengers and Photo A Day in May - Day 3

Hello cuties! You'll have to overlook me today. I'm suffering from a little bit of "jet lag". My husband and I acted like teenagers last night (or early this morning) and went to the midnight showing of The Avengers. We did not get to bed until almost 5am. Was it worth missing out on normal sleep time? YES!!!!

This movie was EPIC, AWESOME, and AMAZING!!! There was never a dull moment. Most comic book based movies save most, if not all, of the action till the very end. Not so with the Avengers. From the opening scene to the closing credits, there is tons of action. And comedy? I never knew this movie was going to be so funny! There's a little bit of everything to please everyone from action, comedy, romance (just a little bit), and science fiction. If you do go see The Avengers (which I highly recommend) make sure to stay till the very end of the credits. There's two bonus scenes that you'll want to see.

Even though I was super tired from the car ride home this morning, I still took a quick photo for the Photo A Day Challenge for May. Thankfully the theme was "something I wore today". I wore one of my favorite necklaces last night and decided that would be my photo of the day. Here it is!

I got this necklace from E-Bay months ago. When I saw it, I just knew that I had to have it! It's a half eaten green apple pendant that hangs from a vintage finish gold chain. It's the perfect statement piece to throw on when you're heading to the store or to the movies at midnight. LOL! 

Today's photo theme is "fun!", so I'll post a my picture of that some time later today. Hope everyone gets a safe start to their weekend. Later cuties :)

May Photo A Day Challenge - Day 2 "Skyline"

Good evening cuties! Here is my picture for Day 2 of the May Photo A Day Challenge. Today's theme was "skyline". I was going to wait until the sun started to set completely to capture the beautiful colors in the sky, but change my mind for two reasons:

1. Knowing me, chances are I would have COMPLETELY forgot about it :)

2. Once I looked outside and saw the sun behind the trees, I just had to snap this picture

So there you have it! I hope you guys had fun taking your pictures of the skyline where you live at. Tomorrow's theme is "something you wore today". Not sure how I'm gonna go about with this one, but I'll figure something out.

 Remember to share your pictures if you're participating in this photo challenge as well. If you don't want them "publicly" display on here, e-mail me at cawinchell06@gmail.com. I promise I won't share them with anyone. 

Later cuties :)

Bloggy Book Club @ The Dreamy Meadow and Craftbotic

Good morning cuties! How are y'all doing this morning? I wanted to share some news about a book club for those of you who love to read, like me. Katlyn over at The Dreamy Meadow and Rosie at Craftbotic have started a blog book club. It's called the "Bloggy Book Club". Isn't that neat! The first book that we will read is "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen. I've had this book for the longest time on my Nook, so I'm glad that I have extra motivation to actually sit down and read it.

If you feel a little intimidated about reading a book within a month, have no fear. Katlyn and Rosie understand that we all live busy lives and can't necessarily lose ourselves in the books we read. So instead of a month, each book will be allotted 6 weeks to finish at your own pace - no designated chapters to rush through to meet a deadline. There will also be post and chat discussions for all the book club members to gush about our favorite parts or rant about the parts we hated.

If you are interested in joining the Bloggy Book Club, you can click on the button at the top right of my blog. I'll also post a direct link to the post on The Dreamy Meadow so that you can get more details about the blog book club. If you do join, let me know. Happy reading cuties :)

http://katlynlarson.blogspot.com/2012/05/are-you-ready-to-get-your-read-on.html

5 Great Etsy Gifts for Vintage Dress Lovers!

I LOVE any and everything that is vintage! From the hats, shoes, gloves, dresses, and veils - amazing! Sometimes I feel as though fashion wise I was born in the wrong era. Lol! Thankfuly, a lot of those amazing dresses and accessories are still alive and kicking today. They may cost a little more, but hey, it's vintage. If I could ever afford a genuine vintage dress, I would buy it on the spot. Until that day comes, I'll just "window shop" on Etsy. There are so many shops on Etsy that sell vintage jewelry, dresses, clothes, shoes, hats, hair pins, and anything else you can think of. As for vintage dresses, here are 5 that caught my eye while shopping.

As always, remember to show these sellers some love by hearting their shops or an item that you like. If you're a vintage lover like me, I promise you won't be disappointed. If you have an idea for next week's "5 Great Etsy Gifts for...", leave a comment about it below. Thanks! Happy shopping cuties :)

5 GREAT ETSY GIFTS FOR VINTAGE DRESS LOVERS!

NEW--Amor Vintage Inspired- Darling Dress-Adorable Black Floral in Wonderland Cotton Dress for Any Occasion-Fit S-M- $38.50

http://www.etsy.com/listing/97773139/new-amor-vintage-inspired-darling-dress - this shop has a ton of dress that have the belt to them if you prefer that style. Also, you can receive 10% off your order with coupon code  BRIGHTSUMMER

50's vintage dress full skirt green white polka dots Pinup retro Tailor Made nr.40 - $99.00

http://www.etsy.com/listing/91481368/50s-vintage-dress-full-skirt-green-white - this dress comes in different colors, so if you're not crazy about the green one like me, you have other choices :)

Upcycled Vintage Dress / Pink / FLORAL RUFFLED / s-m - $42.00

http://www.etsy.com/listing/97096468/upcycled-vintage-dress-pink-floral - I love this dress! I would wear it with pearls, flats, and a flower in my hair. Just perfect for Spring!

Long 1950's style vintage dress - $74.93

http://www.etsy.com/listing/93518729/long-1950s-style-vintage-dress - There's just something about the style and cut of this dress that grabs me. For a different view, check out the pictures of the dress on the mannequin. 

Vintage Dress Upcycled Designer - $100.00

http://www.etsy.com/listing/97883356/vintage-dress-upcycled-designer - You just have to click on the link to see the full picture of this dress. It's AMAZING! This is definitely something I would've worn on my wedding day.  

May Photo A Day Challenge - Day 1 "Peace"

Good morning cuties! Today begins the "photo a day" challenge for May. I'm so excited! I woke up this morning going over ideas as to what I wanted to take a picture of for today's theme, peace. Then it hit me - the trees I see every morning from my bedroom window always make me feel peaceful. So I grabbed my camera, headed outside (still in my pajamas LOL!), and took a picture of the trees in our back yard. I was even able to capture the sun behind the tress so it gives a glowing feel to the picture.

Tomorrow's theme is "skyline", so I'm not sure if I want to take a picture of the morning sky or wait until the sun sets. Down here in the South, we have some beautiful sun sets...I think I'll take a picture of the sunset. If you are joining in on the May Photo A Day Challenge, I would LOVE to see your photos. You don't have to share everyday, unless you want :), but I would like to see some of them.

Here's a link to the May Photo A Day Challenge where she tells you how to participate and also some ideas of what to take pictures of for each day's theme. Have fun!
http://www.fatmumslim.com.au/2012/04/may-photo-day-list.html

Stay tuned for this week's edition of "5 Great Etsy Gifts for..." Later cuties :)