I'd much rather buy a print.

So, I have a confession to make. I'm a sorry excuse for a woman. I don't care about shoes. There. I said it. I've never been a shoe person. I don't understand owning multiple pairs. For the longest time, it was just my Converse, and my cheap Old Navy flip flops. And I was perfectly happy with that. The last time I bought shoes, for more than $7, was when I was 19 years old. 5 years ago. And to me, there's nothing wrong with that. My husband should be thrilled that I'm not "one of those girls", shouldn't he? I'm not saying there's anything wrong with being one of those girls, I'm just not one of them. And I've saved Mr. Herman a small fortune in footwear, and for that, I should earn some extra points.

Well... have y'all seen my fat foot? If you haven't, I'll catch you up to speed. I'm 31 weeks pregnant, and for some reason only swelling on the right half of my body (I've talked to the doctor, its rare, but it does happen). If you're really brave, take a peek. The flip flops that I've been wearing, I got at Target while I was pregnant with Eleanore. So... 3 Junes ago? They're falling apart. Whenever we walk down to the park, little pieces of bark stab through the rubber and jab into my skin. Its not pleasant. Plus, the weather is getting cooler, and I can't wear rotting flip flops until I give birth can I?

So yesterday I gritted my teeth, sat down on the uncomfortable bench with my socks on, and forked over $26 for a pair of shoes. It nearly killed me. I hate spending money on myself. I hate buying things that I need. I always feel guilty. I shouldn't. There's no reason to. But I do. When we play dress up at work, my coworkers are always asking "ooh, what shoes would you wear with it??"... what do you mean? I'm going to wear my flip flops. Why would I wear any other kind of shoe? Crazy ladies. I think Christopher is more excited for my new shoes than I am. I don't even think they're cute. But they fit! And with a giant monster foot, that's all that I care about.

-"Mary Mary...Fine Art Print", by ellemoss, $30.00.

-"crushed - 8x10 print", by sixhours, $18.00.

-"WALK THE LINE fine art print", by boopsiedaisy, $22.00.

winner, winner!

Tatertot374, you won this weeks suck-day giveaway! My 2 year old stuck her hand into an over sized coffee mug full of tiny cut up pieces of construction paper with writing on them, and pulled out your name! Lucky!! You're now the proud owner of a gorgeous pair of bat earrings, so kindly provided by TheTinyFig. *Throws fall leaf confetti up into the air* Whee!!

Can you tell I love the giveaway part of the suck?

Don't fret my lovelies, if you didn't win, you are most certainly welcome to come back for next weeks suck-day giveaway. And what makes next weeks giveaway so special, is its the kickoff of our double giveaways! That's right, that's right. Last weeks giveaway was so much fun, that we've decided to do double giveaways every week! *Throws more confetti*.

(Confetti wears me out, I'm going to take a mid day pregnancy nap, hehe)

-"Fall Leaf Confetti", by pinkflowercube, $2.50.

This print says it all.

If y'all don't mind, I think I'm going to take a break this morning...

-"Even Superheroes Need a Break", by ashleyg, $20.00.

Little Mister.

I mentioned earlier, how I finally got my baby shower invitations all finished, remember? Well, as December nears, I can't help but feel completely unprepared. Maybe its because I haven't gone on a single shopping trip for baby things, or maybe its because the crib is still in pieces out in the garage. Whatever the reason is, my fears grow stronger with each and every punch to the ribs. And believe me, there are a lot of them. I browse my etsy baby registry daily, trying to imagine what my little Mister is going to look like, or how often hes going to wake me up during the night, but my mind draws a total blank. Brown hair like Mama? Big chubby cheeks like Daddy? I have got to go scrub some walls...

-"Red Tie on Black Lap Shirt", by ImmatureCouture, $15.00.

PS. When I met Christopher, he was wearing a black shirt with a red tie.

Monday suck-day, take 11!

Today, my friends... sucks. Yesterday I discovered yet another food intolerance, my beloved buckwheat. Its OK though, I wasn't that big of a fan anyways. And then last night, I woke up multiple times with awful leg cramps. I thought my hips and thighs were going to burst with each throb. I also had a nightmare that I got a Looney Tunes tattoo on my wrist. Can you imagine? So the only thing I can think to do now, is have a giveaway!


This weeks sponsor is TheTinyFig. If you haven't visited her shop, well now you have to! Partially because that's the only way to win those awesome bat earrings, and partially because I said so, hehe. I bought a pair of penguin earrings from her etsy shop last holiday season for my sister in law. Since then, her items have only gotten cuter. AND, shes offering free shipping from October 27th-31st, hot dog! When I saw these bat earrings I fell in love. Too bad they're sold! Well lucky us, TheTinyFig has one pair left, that shes so graciously giving away to you...

The Rules:
-Go to the TheTinyFig's etsy shop.
-Pick your favorite item.
-Come back here to this suck-day post, and tell us what item(s) you liked the most.
-Tell us why Mondays suck!
-If you're not a member of team blogger, make sure to leave both a name and email so that we can get a hold of you in case you win.
-For an extra two entries, you can post an entry about this giveaway on your own blog, complete with links and pictures, and then come back here and leave another comment letting us know you've done so!
-This contest ends on Thursday, October 30th, at noon.

You guys, you have got to read the rules. Last week we had quite a few disqualifications for those of you that maybe got a little keyboard happy and entered incorrectly.

(If you would like to sponsor a future suck-day giveaway, please email me, or convo me at my etsy shop! We're looking for both November and December giveaway guests!)

Go... run... suck...

My handmade baby shower invitations...

My friend Kristen and I have been meaning to get together for days now, to work on baby shower invitations and planning. But with our busy schedules, it just hasn't worked out. Finally, yesterday Christopher (reluctantly) and I sat down at the dining room table and got busy. It took hours to finish them, but now I can finally say that they're done. All sealed up, and ready for mailing. My coworker Faith, said she felt like she was going to Mortisha's baby shower. To me, it doesn't get much better than that.

Saturday mornings with Christopher. #3.

I'd first like to apologize for my absence the past few weeks. I've been working my butt off. So, I finally have a weekend off, and a few minutes to dedicate to our blog. I'd like to take this opportunity, while people are actually reading what I write (a few of you at least) to say thank you to who I feel are the hardest working, least rewarded people in this country. To our military wives.

At the risk of sounding like I'm pandering (or kissing ass), ladies, now that I have your attention, I'd like to say thank you very much. And if you're not a military wife, please take the time to thank one who is. Being in the military is far from easy. The long hours, the physical demands, the deployments, not to mention the low pay, can really take their toll. The job as a a Military member can be rewarding though, for many of us. For me personally, every time a plane takes off from the base, I know I helped put it in the air. We get rewarded with medals for bravery, we get the camaraderie every day, heck- many of us even get time from our workday to go to the gym. When was the last time a spouse got a medal? When was the last time someone walked up to a military spouse at the store and said, "Thank you for your service..."? Nobody has ever thanked my wife. Nobody has probably ever thanked any wife.

Without the spouses, there would be nothing to fight for. I may have just quoted Ben Affleck from Armageddon in a round about way (I can't help it if its a good movie!), but lets continue anyways. The spouses have to deal with the long hours, the non-existent weekends, and the deployments that turn you into a de facto single parent for 4, 6, or 18 months or longer. They keep a house for us. Cook and clean up after us. Pay the bills. Discipline the children. They are amazing.

-"AN ANGELS FLIGHT REPURPOSED VINTAGE NECKLACE", by SSSJ, $28.00.

-"Scooter Pinup girl, Airplane, Military, God Bless American Hair Flower", by LJScooters, $10.00.

-"Hey Sailor- set of 2 recycled handmade notecards", by HeyLady, $5.00.

The day before Saturday.

Finally, Christopher has a day off. I got to sleep in for an entire hour. I'm going to make chocolate chip cookies for breakfast (can you believe I was ordered by my doctor to eat more?), a lasagna for lunch (the one I swore I wasn't going to make until someones birthday), and hopefully I can bribe Christopher into making me some of those delicious pumpkin bars that hes so good at whipping up. All of those things involve food. My entire to do list... is food related. Wow. Actually I can think of a few craft related things that need to get done as well. I've got a set of coasters in mid-cure, some baby shower invitations piled up on the counter just waiting to be cut and glued, and a 2 year old in need of a winter coat. Most of those things I can do in my pajamas. I tend to rock the frump. Tomorrow, I promise you, a Saturday morning with Christopher. Promise promise promise.

-"Winter Fox - Sticky Notes", by cicadastudio, $5.50.

Eleanore picks a winner...

I decided to do things a little bit different this time. Usually I use my trusty random number generator to determine a suck-day winner, but because this week we had so many entries, I decided to recruit Miss Eleanore Sue to draw names...

...Super blogger girl!! You've won!! For those of you that missed it, this weeks suck-day giveaway was a great one. Thank you to both
susanestellekwas, and daisycakessoap for sponsoring. And thank you to all who entered. Make sure to come back next week for another great, err... sucky, suck-day!!

(If you would like to sponsor a future suck-day giveaway, please email me, or convo me at my etsy shop. Thanks!)

5 ultrasounds and 9,000 kicks later...

So it turns out, all of the kicks I've been feeling, are actually tiny fists and elbows. Baby is still breech (I thought for sure it had flipped). Which really doesn't matter, because we're having a repeat c-section anyways. But as I'm laying there on the table, with blue jelly goop spread all over my tummy, all I can think about is how it still hasn't settled in that I'm a mother at all. Eleanore distracted me from my hormonal nostalgia, and kept making me laugh. At one point she got jealous of baby brother or sister and started whining. Christopher said to her "don't be jealous...", and her reply was "I not jealous, I happy".

PS. Its a boy.

Hello wind gust....

Oh fall is here! I woke up this morning, well, wait... let me start over. The first time I woke up this morning, was at 5am, at the request of BabyChristopherAndTia, to eat everything in sight. Which I did, and then was able to fall immediately back to sleep. Then the second time I woke up, the cold front that that weather man has been going on and on and on about for the last week, had arrived! Although, with it, came along an annoying power outage. I sat up to look at the clock, only to see a blank faced black box staring back at me. Where were the red digital numbers? And why is the house so quiet? An hour or so later it came back on, and Eleanore was able to watch her cartoons without any more interruptions. Except maybe the kitten trying to steal a bite of her crunchy gluten free peanut butter panda puffs cereal.

I had to feature the above print, "He says he can hear the Forest whisper", by HidenSeek, because recently Christopher won a similar print, "Envy", through the best giveaway ever on jessicajanes blog. Well, because HidenSeek is having a sale right now, I decided to buy 2 more prints, so I'd have a perfect little set. I can't wait until I get them!

And because I can barely contain my excitement, we're about to find out what the gender of BabyChristopherAndTia is! This will be our 5th or 6th ultrasound, but the difference this time, is that its on a big fancy machine at the hospital (as opposed to the crummy little one set up in my Dr's office), and I'm pretty sure BabyC&T has changed positions. SO, I'll be sure to rush home, post a picture, and tell everyone the exciting news :) Wish us luck!

Two things that make me want to learn how to sew...

Maybe someday I'll take a sewing class. But until then, I'm stuck in a cloud day dreaming about all of the wonderful things, threads, and needles that could be...

-"Page No. 12 - With Needle and Thread print", by labpartners, $15.00.

-"Chicklets -red t-strap", by AureliaandAnnalise, $23.50.

Monday suck-day, take 10!!

Good morning! Err, bad morning, if you're a true suck-day'er. I didn't get any kind of a weekend (Christopher had to work for the 2nd weekend in a row), so today feels like it should be Friday, and when I think about how its really Monday, the suck settles in. I decided to treat Eleanore and myself to a delicious bowl of chocolate/peanut butter/banana hot cereal. That way at least I can look back on the day and say "well, at least the cereal was good".

You guys! Can you believe its our 10 week anniversary? You, me, and the suck? Well, to celebrate, we're doing a DOUBLE giveaway! That's right, what a better way to show our love (or hate, in some situations) for the suck, than giving away extra stuff??

This week you can win a perfect-for-Halloween Wolf Girl Gocco note card by susanestellekwas, AND some mouth watering candy corn lip balm by daisycakessoap. I recently bought a "mint lovers" lip balm package from daisycakessoap, after giving Christopher the assignment of finding something that I could safely put on my kisser. My food allergies effect my bath and body products just as much as they effect what I eat (yeah, I cried the day I had to throw away all of my beautiful MAC). I'm extremely happy with my purchase. Trust me folks, you need this lip balm. I saw this amazing Wolf Girl card while browsing the empty streets of etsy early Saturday morning, and fell head over heels. Have you seen a better Halloween card?? Didn't think so. I'm so excited that shes offered to give one away!! So, what do you have to do to enter...

The rules:

-Visit both shops. susanestellekwas, and daisycakessoap.

-Look through both shops, and pick out your favorite item(s) from each.

-Come back to this here suck-day post, and tell us what you found and love!

-Tell us why Monday's suck!!

-If you're not a member of team blogger, then make sure you leave a name and email for us to get a hold of you in case you win! Otherwise, you lose, and that sucks.
-Contest ends Thursday around noon.

-Want an extra two entries? Blog about this weeks giveaway, complete with pictures and links on your own blog! Then come back here and leave another comment with the link to the entry.

OK, that's enough blabbing on my end. Go suck!

(If you're interested in sponsoring a future suck-day giveaway, please email me, or send me a convo at my etsy shop. Thanks!)

A Halloween to remember.

This is Eleanore's first real Halloween. Really, its her third, but the first two were spent either with a bottle in her mouth, or stumbling around learning how to walk in a zebra costume. She's finally at the age where shes beginning to understand things, and gets excited about them. For the past couple of weeks we've been talking up Halloween. Reading her books, carving pumpkins, scouting out costumes, treating her to white fluffy marshmallow ghosts and ooey gooey chocolate pumpkins. And the big thing that we got her ranting and raving about, was "Boo at the Zoo". For the past 2 days its how we've bribed her into naps, gotten her to put her toys away, and magically gotten those peas on her plate to vanish. "If you're not a good girl, then we can't go to Boo at the Zoo". And, it worked.

Last night was her night. She originally wanted to be a kitty cat, but changed her mind at the last minute and went as a bumblebee (remind me to return the previously mentioned cat costume). Oh the cuteness! We lucked out and found a parking spot only 5 miles away from the entrance, stood in line for only 15 minutes, and then hit diamond mines of candy that none of us could have. Along with Eleanore's gluten intolerance, is a citric acid intolerance. So anything fruity was out of the question. If we saw a candy stand passing out Starburst or Smarties, we'd just pass right by it. She didn't know the difference. But if there was a Tootsie Roll stand, watch out, cause here we come!

She said "trick or treat" just like we taught her, always followed by a "thank you", even if it wasn't directed at the right person. All of the animals were out and active, more so than any other time we'd been there. She called the Buffalo "Elephants!", and dripped chocolate slobber down her chin and onto her costume. Aside from having to holler at Christopher to hold her hand a million and three times, and a falling incident involving a missed step and some mud, her first Halloween experience was seemingly perfect. By the 31st my little Bumblebee will be a pro...

I've heard of pregnant women peeing their pants when they sneeze (which oh yes, I've totally done), but ...injuring ribs? Why not, just leave it to me. Yesterday I was sitting in this very position, when I had two excruciating sneezes in a row. It was awful. The pain lasted for minutes afterwards, and any time I'd move. I thought for sure I had broken something. Eventually the pain settled down, and I could laugh about it. Until last night after work, when I sneezed again. Whhhhhy! Oh friends... I'm in a world of hurt today. Another sneeze will do me in for sure.

-"Maggie Print", by NoosedKitty, $15.00.

For the love of lasagna...

As most of you know, I'm allergic to a million and one things. And if you didn't, well now you do. Lately it seems like everyone I know has been eating lasagna. Or talking about it. I've been meaning to take a stab at making my own, and yesterday was the day. I knew it wouldn't taste exactly like real lasagna, how could it without any real cheese? Most vegans would suggest soy as a replacement, but for me, that's out of the question just as much as gluten is. This dang lasagna was so much work it wiped me out for the rest of the day. I told Christopher "this is going to be a once a month, and only on your birthday type meal", because this pregnant mama just doesn't have the energy anymore. I might make it again in the near future, just because there are some alterations that need to be made. Like more tomato sauce, and maybe some shredded carrots, but, here's what I came up with...

For the love of lasagna!

-1 box gluten free no bake rice lasagna noodles

-1 lbs grass fed organic beef

-2 tablespoons oil

-1 lemon

-2 onions

-1 red bell

-1 box frozen spinach

-5 cloves garlic

-1/2 box fresh chopped mushrooms

-11 oz unsalted cashews

-2 heaping tablespoons nutritional yeast

-hot water, broth, OR milk

-1 can artichokes

-1 small can tomato sauce

-1 small can diced tomato

-pinch sugar

-1/2 teaspoon basil

-1/2 teaspoon oregano

-salt

-pepper

The tomato sauce!

-brown your meat. set aside.

-chop 1 onion, 3 cloves of garlic, all of your mushrooms, 1/2 red bell, and saute them on med heat in oil for a few minutes.

-pour in your tomato items (sauce and diced).

-add your basil and oregano, a pinch of sugar, salt and pepper to taste.

-after a few minutes of cooking, toss in your browned meat.

-let simmer.

The cheese sauce!

-In a blender, food processor, magic bullet, whatever... grind up your cashews.

-add enough hot water (or other liquid) for a smooth blend. I eyeball'd it.

-chop up your other onion, garlic, and other half of red pepper. Toss it in.

-add artichokes.

-add juice from one fresh lemon.

-blend blend blend.

-add salt as needed.

-pour into a pan and heat over medium heat until steamy.

Thaw and drain your spinach.

Turn on your oven to 375.

Get out your lasagna dish.

The layering!

-pour enough tomato sauce on the bottom of the pan to cover it.

-add your first layer of noodles.

-then, more sauce. all of your spinach, and about half of your cheese sauce.

-more noodles.

-the last of your red sauce, and the last of your cheese sauce.

-bake covered in foil 30-40 minutes.

-remove tin foil, bake about 10 more minutes, until all yummy and bubbly looking.

Now I'm no professional chef, but for not having any form of lasagna in well over a year, I'd say this turned out pretty dang good :)

Thursday win-day!

JennyBunny!! Lady friend! You won! Are you excited? I'm excited for you. You just won an entire set of Monster ACEOs!! Thanks so much to AtomKid, for sponsoring this weeks suck-day giveaway, it was a great one! I'm still surprised Christopher didn't try to sneak an entry in here somehow. I thought for sure there would be an anonymous entry signed at the bottom with an awful cover name like "Jamie Lynn Spears", or "The Karate Kid" (OK that last one is a great cover name, and I'm totally using it sometime in the future). Thanks everyone for entering! And if you didn't, then phooey on you, its your loss, hehe. Make sure to come back next week for another great Monday suck-day!!

-"Phantom of the Opera ACEO", by AtomKid, $3.00.

I love you October.

The other day as we were on our way to the store, I spotted a fallen leaf on our front porch. Considering I've seen maybe one tree with color changing leaves around here, that's exciting!! I ran to it, before it had a chance to get away, and immediately handed it to Eleanore, who as you can see, thought it was just as great as Christmas. She carried it with her in the car, and throughout the entire store. Today the skies are cloudy, and its a freezing 52 degrees. Well, freezing for us, haha. Has fall finally come to Texas? Oh fall, I thought you'd never get here...

Get away from the computer day, revisited.

Today needs to be another day of productivity. Christopher had a 3.5 day weekend, and I really slacked off. The house is a mess. My crafts have been neglected. The dishes are stacked up next to the sink. There's nothing to eat. I can't stand it. I'm heating up some water for peppermint tea, and as soon as I've mixed it with chocolate, sugar, and rice milk, its going down the hatch and its off to work with me! My "get shit done" day last week was highly successful, and even though I have seemingly no energy right now, I'm sure after I've lit my caramel cappuccino candle and gotten my ass out of this wooden chair, I'll find some random motivation lurking behind my yawn.

Also, you guys, don't forget to scroll down an entry to enter the suck-day giveaway. Its a good one just in time for Halloween!

-"Bitches Get Shit Done", by RachelMckay, $15.00 (back off folks, this ones mine!)

Monday suck-day, take 9!

Sorry for the late start everyone (oh, like you noticed anyways), but I got to sleep in! Thank goodness for Columbus Day. Its been weeks since I've been able to sleep in past 8:30. Probably months actually. Usually on Christopher's days off, he wakes up with our two year old daughter, in hopes of letting me sleep in, but it never works out that way. Our two story house is big, and fairly empty, so every sound made downstairs echo's its way up. And I'm a light sleeper. Well for whatever reason, I just had an amazing nights sleep. This is no suck-day for me at all folks! Well... give it time. Its only 20 minutes into my day. And I'm sure Monday will hold up to its title.

For you though, its probably a suck-day. Not sayin' that you have bad luck or anything, but, it is Monday. And if the history of Monday stays true to itself, we all know that its the suck. Which is why we have a Monday suck-day giveaway! This week, etsy user AtomKid has given all of you the chance to win an entire set of his Series One Monster ACEOs. I wouldn't be surprised if Christopher goes off and makes a fake blog user name just to enter this. I'm totally jealous, those monsters are badass, and I want them. But I can't enter my own contest, which I think I complain about often enough, so this one is all about you.

Here's how you enter...
1. Go to AtomKid's etsy shop.
2. Pick out your favorite Monster ACEO.
3. Come back here and leave a comment on this blog entry, telling us which was your favorite, and why you hate Mondays. Sometimes y'all forget to tell me why your Monday's suck, and that's my favorite part of the contest!
4. Make sure that if you don't have a blogger ID, you've left a name and email, or some way for me to get a hold of you in case you win.
5. Contest ends Thursday at noon.

Extra ways to enter:
1. Post about this giveaway (complete with picture) on your own blog (its perfect for Halloween you know)! Come back here and post another comment letting me know that you've done so, and with the link to your post!

OK, now that I've overused the words Monday, suck, and day, go enter!

Snail mail will prevail!

Every day, Christopher (who failed to blog yesterday, and is totally in trouble for it) comes into the house with at least 2 packages for me. He gets this look on his face, as if the world doesn't know he exists (yet, again I mention how he failed to shine in his Saturday morning blogger spotlight). Yesterday I brought in 3 or 4 packages from the mailbox, and announced "I think that's the last of the things from my stationery swap", as I tore into them. And after a big grin came to his face, he yells "Thank God!". Somebody swap something with Christopher please (?), hes really being a baby about it, hehe. The swap really was a success though. I put out an open call to swap handmade note cards, and y'all totally came through. So thank you to parallelbotany, persimmonsgal, sydneydesigns, ElegantSnobbery, poppyseedart, LaurieRyan, jessicajane, french panic, and sweetpetula (because I won a set of postcards off of her blog). If I forgot your name, its because I'm not very organized and rather than doing the swap through one user name, I did it through two, and my email. Just slap me in the face and I'll give you your proper credit like a good swapper. And if you don't see your cards pictured up at the top, (I apologize) its because I've probably already sent them out! I'm impatient and had to send the first bunch of them out immediately. I hope all of you enjoyed the cards that you recieved from me too, because I had a lot of fun putting them together and getting them sent out. I'm thinking about organizing a larger stationery swap this spring, that will involve a lot more card making and a lot more of you. What do you think?

Miss productivity.

So remember the other day when I stepped away from the computer to "get shit done"? Look, I actually got stuff done! In fact, I got so much done, that I had to spend all day yesterday recovering, haha. I had scratched off every item on my to do list, and then some. I managed to make over 20 something sets of stationery, about the same amount in small gift tags, I accomplished all of my usual housewife duties, sent out a few thank you notes, and worked on more adventures in vintage coaster making. Which, I am super excited to say, were featured on apartment therapy!! I watched my views go up, and up, and up, without a clue as to why. This morning I read a message from one of my wonderful customers telling me that she had seen a set on there, and had to have them. I immediately ran to the site to see my feature, and let out a silent squeal of joy. I need to be productive more often.

Its Thursday win-day!!

Every Thursday I seek assistance from the random number generator, and then together we post the winner from the most recent suck-day giveaway. This week, I'm also going to show you what I've won! That's right, she who enters nearly every giveaway ever and hardly ever wins, has won!

About a week ago I received an email from tscrapper, letting me know that I had won a Dry Erase Ceramic Tile with Easel and Marker. Um, yes please! Its already come in very handy. We don't use post it notes, and I can never find a pen or piece of paper when I need one, so this has made a cozy little nest for itself right next to my blender. Want one? Go check them out here, they're $10 each, and totally worth every penny.

But now ladies (because I'm pretty sure there weren't any gents to enter), we've got bigger fish to fry. Who is the winner of this weeks suck-day giveaway? Who's going home with a brand new pot holder or bib, handmade by the very talented and super hip BeanPickleSprout?

Who picked out that pretty orange one? "The trees make me happy", says leakarts. leakarts, you won!! Yayyy! Confetti, confetti everywhere! This really was a fabulous contest to win. I can't say enough good things about BeanPickleSprout, I looooove her shop. Extremely cute and functional things at an affordable price. Christopher isn't allowed anywhere near my BPS potholder, that's for sure. That's how much I treasure it. Also, I totally just said BPS. Yep.

Sorry to everyone that wasn't the lucky leakarts, but make sure and come back next Monday for a bitchin' suck-day giveaway sponsored by AtomKid!

Bitches get shit done!

OK. Today I'm really going to make it a point and step away from the computer. As soon as I'm done posting this, I'm going to go make a quick appearance in the Etc forum, and then that's it. No chit chat today ladies. I'm going to roll my sleeves up (OK so I'm wearing a tank top), and I'm going to get down to crafting business. I made a trip to the craft store last night, and I feel like if I don't jump on creating the things that I was meaning to, then I've just thrown away money. So, today I will be productive.

Oh! And! If you haven't already entered this weeks suck-day giveaway, you absolutely must! The contest ends tomorrow!

-"Vintage yearbook recycled ceramic tile coasters- set of 4", by HeyLady, $16.00.

And PS. I'm featured in a treasury titled "swanky men", here. Thank you fringe!!

Mew.

So I check Craigslist religiously. Who doesn't? Even if you don't need anything, you go and look, right. I remember one time in Portland, the guy next door listed a "log" on Craigslist, just to see how long it would take for someone to call and ask about it. I think it was really a branch that fell off of a tree. Unfortunately, a few too many beers (yep, there was a day when I could actually drink beer) are blocking my memory of what happened after the tree limb got listed. Anyways, so on Sunday I came across a seemingly brand new baby bassinet for only $30. Christopher called immediately, and an hour later we were at a strangers house loading BabyChristopherAndTia's new bed into the back of our car. While we were there, we noticed that we were only a street away from Christopher's supervisor's house. The same supervisor that had mentioned something about black baby kittens?

I'd like to introduce you all to Kitty Spooky. Or if you speak Eleanore, "Byabee Pookey"...

Monday suck-day, take 8!!

The weekend flew past me. I woke up thinking it was Sunday (don't you hate that?). Mostly because Christopher spent most of his weekend doing a military exercise, which consequently had me spending most of my weekend being a full time toddler entertainer and part time house wife. But here we are folks... Monday.

Its suck-day! I'm super excited for today's giveaway. When I say super, I mean like, SUPER. Did I just sound like a teenage girl? Yeah that happens sometimes. But really, today's suck-day giveaway is being sponsored by one of my new absolute favorite etsy shops, BeanPickleSprout. I am now the proud owner of both of the items you see above. Jealous? Well you don't have to be, because you can win a potholder or bib of your choice from her shop! *waits for applause*... I knowww!!

Here's what you have to do:
-Take a virtual road trip over to BeanPickleSprout.
-Look through both the bibs and the potholders. Choose which item (but really its impossible to choose just one) you wish you had the most.
-Come back to this blog entry and leave us a comment telling us what you loved, making sure to leave a name and email, or some way for me to get a hold of you. And tell us why Monday's suck! Because they totally do right?
-The bib or potholder that you choose, is the item that you'll win. Isn't this the best giveaway ever??
-Contest will end Thursday morning-ish.
-Go, hurry, suck!

(If you would like to sponsor a Halloween suck-day giveaway, please email me or send me a convo at my etsy shop. Thanks!)

-"Acorn in the Lime Dot Bib", by BeanPickleSprout, $12.00.
-"Purple Bird in the Diamonds Pot Holder", by BeanPickleSprout, $13.00.

Saturday mornings with... Tia.

This time slot usually belongs to Christopher. But, sorry folks, hes off playing Soldier, so you'll have to settle for lil ol' me instead. He'll be back next week, I promise.

Normally I don't feature just one artist. I typically write out my entry, and then find items that I think do a good job of illustrating what I've written. But. I just found a new shop to add to my list of favorites. If I could, I'd pack up all my belongings and move into it. jiniaj, I love you.

I can't even find the words to express my happiness at finding this etsy shop. You love it as much as I do don't you?

-"This is halloween Tutu dress", by jiniaj, $65.00.

-"Custom order Tutu for Dog or cat", by jiniaj, $15.00.

-"Butterfly Skull hair clip", by jiniaj, $20.00.

Gotta start somewhere.

I'm finally making progress towards my baby shower. Well, progress being, I've purchased the above stroller tags from TayloredArts to start working on my invites! My good friend Kristen, who also happens to be my boss from work, has so graciously offered to host my shower for me. As soon as she gets back from vacation next week, we're going to have a craft party at my kitchen table and put them together. Those tags set on black and white striped cards, with matching stroller tag envelope seals. Pretty simple, but they sound cute, right? I've also just made a new etsy user name, BabyChrisAndTia, to do a sort of etsy registration. I haven't had the chance to sit around and heart things, but with Christopher off playing war games all week, I'm sure I'll find a minute or two.

Honey! You did something right!!

OK, not that he never does anything right, but... this time he really did something right. More so than any other something right hes done in the past. I don't know if I've ever explained this to you, but Christopher is a Sasquatch. Hes tall, with giant hands and feet, and he breaks stuff. Hes clumsy. I love him, but I sure do hate his balance and sense of coordination.


I started putting kitchen things on my Christmas list when I was 16 years old. The first thing I ever got, was a blender from my Grandparents. I still have it. Its actually probably the only thing I have left. Everything else has been destroyed by Sasquatch. When I was 19 I went out and bought my first set of dishes at Target. They were the most adorable cherry gingham print ever. I was in love. I couldn't wait to move out and use them. When Christopher and I moved in together, one by one, pieces of the set started to disappear. His giant man hands broke every single cherry glass. He even went out and bought some replacement cherry glasses, thicker ones that we thought were unbreakable. What do you think happened to them? Again... Sasquatch.


The other day Christopher walks through the door with 2 large boxes. "Oooh! What is it?!". Only the best present in the history of Christopher and Tia. Ever.









...I KNOW RIGHT?!


Well, now that we all know that Sasquatch is capable of bringing Mama-Squatch peace offerings, lets get to the good stuff. Its win-day!! If your blogger user name is miesmama, then you're in for a surprise! I wanted to get your attention, so I wrote the name in wingdings. Aren't I cute? ...OK sorry, I'll cut the crap, haha. miesmama!! You won you won! You've won a set of autumn themed cards, by our wonderful sponsor, plumstars. Thank you plumstars, for making something special just for our suck-day giveaway. And thank YOU suck day'ers, for taking the time to check out plumstars etsy shop, and for coming back week after week to play the suck. Make sure to be here next week for an amazing suck-day giveaway, sponsored by one of my new favorite shops, BeanPickleSprout!!! I know, I know, mark your calander, because its going to be great!

HeyLady!

For Christmas a couple of years ago, 3 years ago I think, I made all of my friends coasters. It sounds kinda lame, but they turned out pretty neat. I have no idea if anyone still has them, or if anyone actually liked them, but I made them, and there they were. My Dad helped me with the clear coat, since at the time, I was lazy when it came to crafting bravery. Recently I decided to take a stab at it again. My first round didn't turn out exactly the way I wanted them to, but I'd say they're not so bad for a re-beginner.

Oh, and hey! If maybe it slipped your mind, don't forget to enter this weeks Monday suck-day giveaway!!

Oh! And! And! Tomorrow, or later today, depending on how blog active I'm feeling, I can't wait to show you all what my charming husband brought home for me. He scored some major points this time folks. Just you wait and see.

-"bag lady squad recycled ceramic tile coaster", by HeyLady, $4.50.