Here With Me

i love this picture. i think it's so perfect. i believe that everyone should be able to wake up next to the person that they love. no matter what. everyone wants to wake up in the arms of that person. i think i speak for most when saying that it's the best feeling in the world. morning breath and drool all over the pillow included. ♥

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A New Addition to Our Family...

I know you have all been dying over the "exciting news" I've wanted to share with you, right? Right. Well, all of that aside, I cleared the air and let you know that I'm not engaged (yet! hopefully!) but 75% of the frantic texts and messages I received were questioning whether I was pregnant or not... I can safely say that no, I am not... and I hope to wait until after marriage for that one, but we did recently adopt a new baby into our family!

I am proud to introduce to you....

Our baby Frenchie, Pipkin LaRue! Mike and I ventured an hour south to Shelbyville on Sunday evening to see the pup and hope that we fell in love. We took Georgia with us because it wasn't just our decision. We needed to make sure Georgia was okay with it and liked her all the same because Georgia is already a vital part of our family. If she wasn't okay with it, we would know it just wasn't the time to expand.

We had been thinking about this for a while and we thought we wanted another bulldog. English bulldog was my choice, as per usual, but the vet bills were always lingering in my mind, so we opted for a more compact and slightly-more-evolved breed with a French Bulldog. Opportunity presented itself at the perfect time. An older couple had her up for adoption and we were sold.

I tend to gravitate toward animals with a slight "defect" (for the lack of a better term!) and I always go for the goldfish with one eye or the pup with a messed up tail. In Pip's situation, her left ear doesn't always stand up. We know she will probably grow into this and they'll be fully erect when she's older (it's erect in the picture up there!), but it helped set her apart from the other little girl up for adoption and she was so sweet. She's 9 weeks old (born July 20th!) and has the calmest disposition about her.

I went and picked her up on Monday so we had Sunday night to mull it over and make sure we were making an educated and adult decision by bringing her home with us. I was a bit nervous as I woke up on Tuesday following our first night with her and I didn't sleep a wink! (Made me realize we're not ready for a human baby just yet!) Luckily everything went smoothly. She slept in our bed on Tuesday and Wednesday and she's just been an utter delight!

Yesterday I brought her to school with me! Our department chair/teacher was all for it. I packed her up with her sweet pink bed and blanket and stuffed animal. I had sewn her a bandana (floral print!) the night before and yesterday I made her a red polkadot one (as pictured). Everyone at school loved her! She's so well behaved. Follows me everywhere I go and doesn't bark unless she's playing with Georgia and is excited.

She's already brought us so much happiness! She looks like a mini-moo-cow! Georgia loves her so much! They get along swimmingly! I originally didn't disclose any of this because we wanted to make sure she fit our family. Not so much the "we don't like you anymore because you're not new" type but the "I don't want Georgia to all of a sudden get aggressive toward you". We wouldn't have given her to the pound or anything, but we wanted to make sure that nothing turned ugly. She's been with us for 3 solid days now and we couldn't be happier. Georgia still gets treated like the princess that she is so don't worry that we're replacing her! Georgia has such a large portion of my heart, I can't imagine my life without her! She gets to go to the puppy park every day to see her friends, and Pipkin sits on the bench and evaluates the situation until she's big enough to play.

She's a tiny thing, but weighs a massive 6.5 pounds! (So that doesn't sound like much compared to G's 50+ pound mass, but for her size, it's a lot!) We're so happy to have expanded our family! Where there were four, there are now five! I can't wait for Toby to come meet her! 

I apologize if you were hoping for something much more extreme like a pregnancy announcement, but I assure you that that will come one day much later! I can't wait to share that with you all, but for right now, our heart belongs to our two pups and the sweet baby boy, Toby. I hope you love her just as much! I can't wait to share our little adventures!

PS; I've received question of how her name came about so here you go: Pipkin Hills is a road near our house that we often drive past on our photo adventures. We always see it and say it in funny voices and exclaim how it'd make a cute name for a puppy. Well, there you go! LaRue came about as we were trying to think of something cute and French for her as she's a Frenchie. My old best friend from school's middle name was LaRue and we used to always all her Megan "The Street" T_____. We thought it sounded cute. It wasn't until later that night that we realized "HELLO! PIPKIN IS A STREET! LA RUE MEANS STREET! IT'S FATE!" hahaha It sounds much more dramatic than it really probably is but we thought it was a good vibe. Hooray for Pipkin "The Street" Flynn ;)

Me & My Seabag.

This summer sweetest thing began offering our line of welcome/out-of-town bags to brides.  These are Seabags stuffed with all kinds of Maine goodies, such as MadGabs lip gloss, earth-friendly water bottles, gummi lobsters, postcards by Rachael Anderson, and a snazzy "hangover" kit.  As we were unpacking the box of wine bags we were to use as the base of these luxurious gifts to the bride's lucky guests,  I was struck by the beautiful individuality of the bags themselves.

Seabags are made right here in Maine, crafted out of of sails that have travelled around the world.  Each sail owner selected a different grade of sail, and depending on the elements they may have been exposed to, their "personalities" are all unique.  Every Seabag has a slightly different texture, seaming that is specific to the sail from which it came, or the occasional mark or string from its former life.  For all of the intricacies I've mentioned, I decided then and there that the best way to buy a Seabag is in person.  Each one is distinct, and will be appreciated by a different person for different reasons.  You should bond with your Seabag!

Guess what?  We have Seabags right here in Bangor at sweetest thing studio!  Come find the one that wants to go home with you!

Giveaway Winners Announced!

Congratulations to the eight winners of the Featured Giveaway from the Sponsors! Here are the lucky few! I shall post their email address in parenthesis and you can contact them to claim your prize!

Winner of the Wishfulness vintage clutch

(email: lovechelsealauren@gmail.com)

Winner of the CaPOW! print

(email: capowcapow@gmail.com)

Winner of the earrings + plush from Initiate Life Sequence

(email: bethanym@bigstring.com)

Winner of the Sewseas Whale pillow

(email: sewseas@gmail.com )

Winner of the Lola and George Thorn ring

(email: lolaandgeorge@yahoo.com)

Winner of the Elousions October hair pins

(email: elousions@gmail.com)

Winner of the LolaDee custom corsage

(email: lola@loladee.com)

Winner of the Pamplemousse print

(email: pamplemousse1983@gmail.com)

Feel free to email me if you have any questions! Sponsors - contact me if you haven't heard from them in three days! I'll gladly draw another winner! (All winners were drawn using Random.org!)

 

Wedding Wednesday! (Take Two: Cakes!)

I felt like expanding on the post from earlier today with a post dedicated to beautiful cakes! There are only a few that I'm going to share but I'm fascinated with all of the cake shows on TV now and I always see things and think "Ooh! That'd be so pretty at my wedding!" I felt like sharing a few! (Most are from Martha Stewart Weddings! I don't care for her personality much but she's quite the homemaking whiz!) The first cake really reminds me of Susannah and her twitter profile! 

Another Weekly Wedding Question! What kind of cake do you want to have at your wedding? (Or what kind did you have?) Did you go for fondant or buttercream? Traditional or more ornate? Round, square, or otherwise? What about flavor?! Do share!

My opinion: I can't make up my mind! As per usual! I want so many things but it'll depend on the final theme! I'd like to think we'd do tiers different flavors, but who knows!

Sketch Floral Makes Its Debut! Welcome to the 110th Tablescape Thursday!

Give-a-Way for Modern Butterfly Dinnerware by Mikasa
All this week we've been celebrating with a fabulous Give-a-Way! Mikasa has generously donated four, 5-pc place settings of Modern Butterfly to a reader of BNOTP! Thank-you to everyone who took a moment of their time to enter. I loved reading your choices for your fave Mikasa pattern.

The winner of the random drawing is Cherry Kay who blogs at Entertaining Women. Congratulations, Cherry Kay! Please e-mail me your address and I'll forward it to Mikasa. Thanks Mikasa for this wonderful Give-a-Way! If you didn't win this time, take heart. We will be having similar giveaways in the future.


Tablescape Thursday:
Welcome to a very special week of Tablescape Thursday! I am sooo excited to share my table setting with you this week because tonight, I'm sharing beautiful dinnerware that is just about to make it's debut! In just a few days, Sketch Floral will be available for purchase in retail stores, but you're getting a little sneak preview here this evening! :)




Even though it was early afternoon when these pics were taken, the autumn sun isn't near as bright as the summer sun. If almost felt like evening time here on the porch.




It began to get darker, and I lit the candles as long shadows fell across the porch...




I love candlelight...so I don't mind the shadows coming a bit earlier these days.







This picture was taken a little earlier in the day...so the candles were not lit just yet. I decided to keep the centerpiece very simple using all white candles and candlesticks. I took a ribbon and bow I have been saving for years...do you do that...save ribbon and bows? It was just the right length to fit around my candle centerpiece and the colors were perfect for my tablescape.




For my centerpiece, I took the base of the glass-domed server you saw used HERE and I added white candles from Colonial Candle.




As sunlight seeped away slowly from the porch, the candles grew brighter and brighter.




Centerpiece all aglow...




Sketch Floral is a beautiful porcelain china with a delicate floral pattern. This photo was taken with soup bowls at each place setting.




Sooo romantic. A pattern this beautiful deserves equally beautiful napkins. Vintage, embroidered napkins just felt right with this china.










Pretty berry napkin rings are available at The Style Sisters Shop...you'll find them in all colors. I love the soft pink with the Sketch Floral pattern.







This pattern has matching mugs...perfect for coffee, hot tea or cider after dinner...











A few evening candlelight pics...







I didn't realize I was taking pics during the Blue Hour until I saw this photo later. :)



Hope you enjoyed this sneak preview of Sketch Floral. After you visit all the wonderful tablescapes posted for this TT, click HERE for a little more tablescape inspiration.


Chargers: Neiman Marcus, years ago
China: Provided by Mikasa, Pattern is Sketch Floral
Glassware: Pier 1
Flatware: Towel, King Richard
Napkins: Vintage, found in local antique shop
Napkin Rings: Provided by The Style Sisters Shop
Centerpiece: Base found at Marshalls, months ago
Candles: Provided by Colonial Candle

The Legal Stuff:
The china used in this tablescape was provided by Lifetime Brands, Inc. BNOTP is not an employee nor an affiliate of Lifetime Brands, Inc. so the opinions expressed here are mine and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Lifetime Brands.


Looking forward to viewing your beautiful tablescapes!




Please Read:
If you are participating in Tablescape Thursday, please be sure to add your permalink below, and not your general blog address. To get your permalink, click on your post name. Then just copy and paste the address that shows up in the address bar at the top, into the "url" box for the picture linky. You'll also need to put your e-mail address in, but don't worry, it will not be visible to anyone.

I'd love for you to use the Tablescape Thursday logo button in your post. To do that, just copy and paste it to your computer and upload it to your post as you would any photo. Or, just grab the html code posted on the sidebar under the TT button.

Please, link back to the host blog, Between Naps on the Porch. This is important because it helps those who are visiting your blog, find the other wonderful tablescapes posted for this Tablescape Thursday, thus increasing visits for all participants.

Please, do not add your link below, until your tablescape post is actually published to your blog.

Please, don't add your post name/blog name in ALL CAPS...it tends to create big spaces between the rows of links. Thanks!

Let's try something fun today! Please visit the person who linked before you and after you...that way everyone will get some visits. Hope you'll visit more, of course. :-)