A Gift From Clover Cottage

On Friday the 13th, DJ at From Clover Cottage held a giveaway for one of her adorable personal creations. And while Friday the 13th may be bad luck for some, it was my lucky day!!  I was so excited when she contacted me to tell me that I won!

The winner had the choice of a flip-flop motif shirt or hand towel and being that my belly is growing daily, I opted for the hand towel. It arrived this week and is just precious. I chose blue and green (some of my favorite summer colors) and as soon as it was out of the package, it was hanging in my kitchen.

The picture really doesn't do it justice...blame my poor photography skills, but isn't it lovely?!

I want to say a big Thank You to DJ and invite you to go visit her blog From Clover Cottage!


 

Let's Do The Funky Monkey!

If you remember from last week, I happened to win Laura's birthday giveaway of all 7 flavors of the Funky Monkey Dried Fruit Snacks. You may also remember how excited I was about my win. Well, it turns out I had good reason to be excited! I received my package on Friday afternoon and by Friday evening we had already eaten 2 bags! I let my Monkey pick which one to try first and he chose the Purple Funk (banana and acai). They were so tasty we decided to try another. We went for the Carnaval Mix and it was delicious too!

Two more bags bit the dust yesterday. I took the Applemon (cinnamon-apple) to eat for a snack after my run and when I got home Monkey had eaten the Bananamon (cinnamon-banana). Can you tell that we liked them?

Needless to say, the remaining packs will not make it through this week! I just want to thank Laura again for this wonderful gift, and here's the link if you'd like to order some to try for yourself! Funky Monkey

Road Trip to Boone

On Friday I sent the RedHead a text saying that I had the wonderful idea that we should take a road trip to Boone on Saturday. He texted back that he'd been thinking the exact same thing. So Saturday morning we loaded up the babes and headed up the mountain. We live about 2 hours from Boone so the timing was perfect for the Bug to take her morning nap and we broke out the sacred DVD player (which we reserve for long car trips) for the Monkey to watch.

We got there and ate lunch at Back Yard Burger...so yummy! We don't have one in the town where I live, and it's probably a good thing because I could eat there every day! We then rode around and looked at the new stadium on App's campus and commented on how we wish we were in college now and could enjoy all of the new amenities instead of being there when all of the construction was taking place.

We then headed to the Tanger Outlet Shops and I got some much needed new clothes from JCrew and Banana Republic. I bought mostly tops and only one pair of shorts because I'm holding out on the hope that I will be back in my other shorts after this Boot Camp is over. After shopping (since the children...and the RedHead were so patient) we got some icecream at Kilwins. I swear that stuff is made of gold because the one milkshake for Monkey and the cone that Red and I split was $12! It was tasty, but not $12 tasty.

We got to go visit some friends who still live up there and then we headed home about 6:00. Neither babe had had an afternoon nap, so they slept on the way home and then they were ready to party when we got home. Needless to say, bedtime got pushed back and so we skipped church yesterday. We had a great time, but in our true style, we didn't take a single picture (hence my random borrowed pics from google image). I like to say it was because we were too busy having fun, not taking pictures of the fun, but really we're just kinda lazy like that.

On another note, I won a giveaway!! Laura at Cowboy Boots & Baby Booties did a giveaway in honor of her birthday and I won. I won! I won! I won! Can you tell I'm excited?

Drumroll Please...

Pamella from The Treat Girl! Congratulations on winning my first giveaway! I honestly didn't expect to have more than 5 or so people enter, and it really made me wish I could have everyone win something! Maybe one day I'll be like Oprah and can say, "Everyone gets a car!" Highly unlikely, but just maybe. I'll definitely be hosting another giveaway, but I feel like I received the biggest gift...meeting new bloggers and getting to visit your blogs. Thanks again to everyone that entered!

...Treat Girl, please email your shipping info to misssouthernbellemama@yahoo.com and I'll put it in the mail asap.

Unplugged

I feel like my life is filling up, stress is creeping in and I need it to go away. I really never knew how much I'd have going on being a stay at home mom. I tried to plan a play date for this week, and it was about impossible...Monkey will be skipping a nap on Wednesday to play. We have Preschool, swim lessons, Bible Study, house showings, tutoring, church, housework, naptimes, and so on. A lot of it is "good" busy or "necessary" busy, but I know that I need to eliminate the "wasteful" busy that is in my life. The perusing the internet busy, the tv busy, the walmart busy (I seriously am at that place every other day).

In order to respect the priorities in my life (the Lord, my home, my family) I've decided to "unplug" on Sundays and Wednesdays. This blogging thing is easily addictive, and although it's very fun, it shouldn't keep me from those things that I've put first in my life.

On a lighter note, we show our house for the first time tomorrow. We're keeping our fingers crossed! ...and this has also helped me keep my New Year's Resolution to keep my home organized.

In giveaway news, you can still enter my giveaway until this evening and I'm posting a button link to another giveaway that I'm sure you'll love!

Top Five Friday...My First Giveaway!

This week's Top Five Friday is devoted to you guys! It's my first giveaway, and I'm very excited! One giveaway, five things, some new, some lovingly used. Let's play!

#5. One of my most favorite books, The Scandalous Summer of Sissy LeBlanc. I have had this book for a number of years, and I read it every summer. I've finally decided that I've read it enough, and I'm ready to pass it on to someone else to enjoy.
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#4. This cute little number! I bought this pink and green apron from Williams-Sonoma maybe 2 or 3 years ago and I think it is just precious. However, after buying many many aprons I've decided that the best fit for me is the half/skirt apron. So this one's going to one of you!

#3. A $5 gift card to one of my most favorite establishments...Starbucks! My favorite drink is a tall caramel latte with whipped cream, but you can get whatever you please. Mmmm!

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#2. A Vera Bradley brag book. Everyone has someone to brag about; precious children, a spoiled pet, a cute hubby, or wonderful friends, and this is the perfect way to keep pictures of your loved ones with you!

#1. A box of Organic Chocolate Truffles from Whole Foods. I discovered these this past Christmas and I can say I was addicted after my first one! They just melt in your mouth and you can easily eat ten or more without realizing it.

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Okay...there's the loot. Here's how to enter:

*Be a follower. Leave a comment and let me know if you're a follower, new or old. 1 entry.

*These are 5 things I love. Tell me 5 things you love in your comment and you'll get 2 more entries.

*Blog about the giveaway. Let me know you've let your readers know about it and you'll get 2 more entries.

I will run the giveaway through Monday@ 5pm ET and I'll post a winner Tuesday morning.
Now go enter! :)