Friday, 31 December 2010

January Giveaway: Win a Diana Mini Camera! -- CLOSED!



I am so excited to be kicking off 2011 with this new feature! I'm taking a cue from a few fellow bloggers and using some of the sponsor revenue generate by advertising on the blog to purchase awesome gifts for one lucky winner every month! I figured what would be a better way to give back to all of my favorite people than to give you the chance to win some of the neatest things around! Each month will be something new and fun, and this month is something super awesome... a Diana Mini 35mm camera! I'm excited to offer one to y'all because Mike got me one for Christmas, too and I've had so much fun with it! I knew this was something I wanted to do for the new year, and when we snagged a lucky promo code from another Lomo purchase, we went for it! I think the Diana Mini is the perfect way to start it off!



You can check out some of the product specs for the Diana Mini by clicking here on the Lomography site. It's a 35mm camera that can be used for 36 square images or 76 rectangular half frames per roll! As opposed to the typical 27! You can also check out the Flickr pool for Diana Mini photos! Feeling inspired yet?





All you have to do to enter is:
Be a follower of this blog with Google Friend Connect! (Click "Follow" in the upper nav bar and follow with Google/Blogger, Twitter, Yahoo, or Aim!) and then leave a comment with your email address! (This is just one entry!)

To gain additional entries, you can blog, tweet, or update your status with a link over to the giveaway! Just be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry and leave the link to each one!

A winner will be announced at the end of the month! Good luck! (Don't worry, there will still be other sponsored giveaways going on in the time being!)

Blogging Bloopers Party, 2010

Welcome to the first ever Blogging Bloopers Party...a party where we poke a little fun at ourselves and share some of the unplanned "stuff" that happened during this past year of blogging.


I didn't realize until I actually started putting this post together, but all my blogging bloopers seemed to have centered around tablescapes. I am proud to announce I didn't set a single thing on fire this past year! See, I'm making progress! ;)

However, I did discover it isn't the best idea to leave napkins out on the porch overnight before taking pics of a tablescape. I put this "Alice in Wonderland" table setting together one evening but decided to wait until the next day when the light was better to take photographs. During the night, a huge storm came and I awoke to find the humidity had caused all the nicely pressed napkins to "melt" right over the plates.




I started to take the candy napkin rings off and iron all the napkins again, but I quickly discovered the napkin rings had begun to dissolve in all the humidity during the night and they literally crumbled apart at the slightest touch. When I removed them after taking pics, there were little candy spots on all the napkins. Moral of this story...if a rain storm is coming, take in the napkins and the napkin rings if they are made from real food! At least I found them before the ants did! :) (You can see more of this Alice in Wonderland tablescape HERE.)




Moving right along to our next oops...one afternoon I decided to create several mini tablescapes on the bistro table out on the deck. It was 185 degrees outside that day...yes, it was! It was soooo hot, I eventually had to slide the patio table with the large umbrella over to the bistro table to partially shade me and the table so I could snap some pics with out succumbing to heat stroke. Now that's tablescaping dedication! ;)



At one point, I stopped and ran inside for about 5 minutes, probably to get some water. I returned to find this! The heat was so intense it had melted the candle inside my beautiful Colonial Candle Hurricane lantern. I didn't exactly share that part with you when I showed the tablescape in a post. ;)




This was another tablescape I created during that same insanely hot day out on the deck. A reader noticed later that I had placed the flatware on opposite sides of where it actually goes. This is what happens when I stand on one side of the table and set the other side by reaching across the table. LOL Plus, the heat had completely fried my brain by this point!




I'm sure we've all done this...taken all our pics not realizing we never lit some of the candles on our table...until we are actually sitting down to create the post. At least it was the small ones I forgot to light. (You can see more of this tablescape HERE.)




This was the infamous "ant" blooper, the one depicted on our party button. I created a tablescape using Mikasa's beautiful Modern Butterfly china. For the centerpiece, I combined store bought flowers with a sedum, called 'Autumn Joy' I had growing in my garden. Apparently, the Autumn Joy came into my home with lots of 6 legged friends attached.




Once I began taking pics, I discovered the little hitchhikers. They began popping up everywhere, including on the rim of the globe covering the candles. Think of them as live, moving accessories...at least they coordinated with the color scheme! :) (You can see more of this tablescape HERE.)



I've been saving the best, or should I say worst, for last. I came across this absolutely gorgeous Paula Deen Christmas tablescape online one day. You know how I LOVE to create tablescapes that have a touch of whimsy or fantasy to them...so a moss covered table with magnolia chargers sounded like something I absolutely HAD to try!





I was so excited to see Paula's Christmas china was one I actually have and love, Lenox, Winter Greetings. It was a sign...I had to try a moss tablescape! I searched and searched for sheet moss, the type of moss used on Paula's table, but whenever I could find it (like at Michael's) it was kind of expensive...and I need a lot to cover the whole table.




So, just imagine how excited I was when I came across moss in the dollar store for...you guessed it...only $1 a bag. I was so excited, I bought 20 bags just to make sure I had enough. In the end, that turned out to be about 9 bags too many. I only used 11 bags to cover my table. I put down large plastic bags on the porch table and sprayed the bags with an adhesive so the moss would stick really well. Then I got busy creating the tablescape.




Isn't it beee-u-ti-ful?! Looks just like the Paula Deen table doesn't it? NOT!!! :) Paula's was all nice and green...and fuzzy.




Mine looked like bad 1970's shag carpeting! HA! ;)




I didn't want the flatware to touch the moss, even though it was completely dry and sterilized, so I placed the forks in a crossed design on the plates. I placed the knife and spoon on whimsical garden angels I had found months before in Dollar Tree. For coasters, I used little clay garden signs with whimsical gardening messages carved into them. Cute idea, right?




Until you looked closer. Yep, shag carpeting!



So this was the tablescape I never posted. I shared it with my sister and a few trusted friends that I swore to secrecy...right Bill and Kathleen? ;) Now that it's out here on the Wild, Wild Web, they can't use it to blackmail me some day. ;) LOL


So, that's just a few of my bloopers for 2010. I'm sure there are lots more, but these were the ones I thought to save pics of during the year. Can't wait to see your bloopers for 2010! Start saving your blooper pics for 2011 so you can join in the fun next January! :)

Please Read:
If you are participating in the Blogging Bloopers Party, 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.

You may see a red X once you enter your link. No one else can see the red X, it's just there in case you make a little mistake and need to delete your link and re-enter it.

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


Little Reminder: Thank-you for linking back to this post so the regular visitors to your blog will find all your fellow Blogger's posts linked here for the Blogging Bloopers Party.

Here's to the New Year!



While I said last year that I don't typically play into the "new years resolution" bit, I will admit that I was a bit more excited to whip up a few of my own this time around. I tried writing them out and scanning them in, but then I realized I'm not really keen on my handwriting, so typing will have to suffice!

This year has been a whirlwind for Mike and I. I recapped most of them in our Year One: In Retrospect post earlier this month, but even as an individual, 2010 taught me so very much. I feel as though I grew up a lot in this year and I hope that it spills over into the next. While time may just be a means of measurement for some, I've decided to put on the optimistic face and make sure that I'm making the most of absolutely every single day and situation... New Years included!

I wish I were able to spend it out and about, celebrating with friends, but duty calls and a bartender is needed on this night. Mike will be spending it with me so that's enough for me. Just thinking that this might *hopefully* be my last year working at the bar makes me giddy because that means big changes for our little family!

I don't typically make "concrete" goals because I don't want to punish myself for not fulfilling them in the exact way they were first intended. Instead, I'll share with you some of my personal goals and resolutions, as well as some for the blog!

2011: The Year of Magic!

Personal Goals and Resolutions

  • Tolerate no negativity. I feel as though I do a fairly good job of this as it is, but in 2011 I will allow absolutely no one to bring me down for any reason whatsoever. Woo!
  • Work on a set schedule at home. I will be working from home (aside from the bar) so I need to be up at a certain hour, doing certain things until a certain time, and have a schedule to keep me on top of it!
  • Get organized! My computer, my studio, my life... everything! Everything should be in tip-top order so we can hopefully have fewer speedbumps along the way! 
  • Work out my penpal system! I need to be more on top of replying and not losing items/letters! I'd like to devote a set amount of time per week to reply to everyone who writes to me!
  • Welcome change! This year is sure to be a big one for us. With two moves in the plans (more on those later), that alone will send our world into a tizzy. This year will be full of big decisions and I'm so so excited!
  • Work on chasing my dream career! That means sewing sewing and sewing those dresses! That's right, you heard me! I'll be working my fingers to my bone, but it will be so worth it!
  • Work on saving money! Sounds a little mundane and vague, but we're fairly good at it as is... now it's time to put it into hyperdrive and really make it count! We're ready to get a head start on life so bring it on!
  • Make every day magical! Every day and every situation! Stuck in rush hour traffic? Turn up some music and let myself go. Or write down lots of ideas rushing through my head. Anything. Just make it a positive situation.


Blog Goals

  • At least 3 outfit post a week! I'm really really going to try!
  • Introduce new and exciting features on the blog! I have so many fun things lined up for 2011! I know you guys will just love them! I can't wait to share!
  • Read and comment on more followers' blogs! I've found so many amazing blogs just by clicking through some of my followers who comment! You take the time out of your busy day to share in my life, and now I want to share in yours too!

Thank you guys so much for sharing in what has definitely been the best year yet! To think I started off this year with maybe 200 followers at most, and we're ending like this?! That's the best feeling ever! I can't imagine my life without this sweet little blog! I've met so many amazing people through it and I hope to meet even more! Let's go, 2011! I'm ready! xo

Happy New Years

Happy New Years!!

because i probably wont be around to blog when new years actually hits us. wishing everyone a happy new years!!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

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Blogging Bloopers Party...Sharing Our Goofs and Gaffes

It's almost time for our Blogging Bloopers Party.


InLinkz (linky tool) will go up this evening before 9:00 PM, so please stop by later this evening or tomorrow and link up YOUR Blogging Bloopers post highlighting some of your funny and maybe not-so-funny, moments during this past year of blogging. I've had serveral and I'm going to put a paper bag over my face and show you a table I created but was too embarrased to ever post for Tablescape Thursday. If I had posted it, it would have been nicknamed the "shag carpet" table. ;) Yep, it was that bad! Tonight, I'm sharing the shag carpet table with you...and I may never live it down! My reputation will be ruined! ;)


My Gaffes from 2009:
To get you in the mood for this year's Blogging Bloopers Party, I'm reposting my confessions 2009 blooper's post that ran last January 2010. It highlighted all my gaffes for 2009. That post received so many fun comments, I just knew we had to have a Party this year to celebrate all out blogging goofs and mishaps. :) I'm looking forward to reading about your boo-boos during this past year. In the meantime, here's the repost of some of mine from the year 2009.


To warm you up for tonight...here's a repost of last year's Blogging Bloopers at BNOTP... Posted Originally on January 2nd, 2010:

So, you've been thinking things always go perfectly here on the porch. Right? Well, I hate to burst that bubble, but.......NOT BY A LONG SHOT! :-) You know those out-takes they always show you in the theater, right after you've just finished watching a movie? I thought it might be fun to share a few "out-takes" from my blogging life here on the porch.

You may remember this "Garden Party" tablescape? It turned out to be one of my favorites. I especially loved this pic capturing the deep-blue night sky contrasting against the dark shadows of the trees and the bright colors in the tablescape.


But what you didn't see was me prying the faux flowers off the top of the greenhouse when it was time to take the tablescape apart the next day. Yep, I fused those babies right to the top of the greenhouse with the candles I had burning inside. (LOL) Not only were they fused to the the greenhouse, but they were fused to each other! :-) (To view this post, click HERE .)


Then there's the occasional picture that's just perfect, well, all except for that glass that's completely out in left field. Note to self: after taking a closeup, move the stemware back to where it actually belongs. :-) (To view this post, click HERE.)



Then there was the time I created a series of small tablescapes on a silver tray...


And in the process...


Tried to catch the wreath on fire. :-) Yes, I did.


See that little brown singed spot to the right of the flame...clipped it right off and all was good. :-) (Click HERE to view those tablescapes.)


Really, there are so many I could share from hitting "publish" by accident before a post was even close to being finished to adding a song to my playlist with a word that was definitely NOT in the radio version. (Scroll down to the bottom for the playlist to hear this song.)

Example: "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt...when you hear it on the radio, he sings, "She could see from my face that I was flying high." Well, I found out the hard way that "flying" is not the word he uses on 99% of the Playlist versions. YIKES! I'm pretty sure I set a land record streaking across my office to my computer to get it off my Playlist that day. They do have a "clean" version on the Playlist site, nooooow. That's the version you'll find posted on my playlist today. Whew!

So, there you have it...just a few of the "Bloopers of 2009" here on the porch. Now I want to hear yours! :-) Even if you aren't a Blogger, feel free to share some of your tablescaping faux pas. And if you are a Blogger, what were some of your 2009 Blogging Bloopers? Come on...you know you had some! :-)

Click HERE to read the comments left on this post...they are quite funny!

See you tonight for the start of the linking for our January 1, Blogging Bloopers Party!

Thursday, 30 December 2010

Giveaway Winner Announced!

Congrats to this lucky lady who just scored a $100 giftcard in the ShopBop Giveaway!


Miss Joanna: Please email me at kaelahbee (at) gmail (dot) com to claim your prize!

Thanks to everyone who entered and thanks to ShopBop for the rad opportunity!

Stay tuned for a fabulous giveaway coming up on the first of the month! Here's a hint: It's one of many! It's a New Years' Resolution to give back to you lovelies with one big giveaway from me each month for 2011! It's my little way of saying "Thank You"! Want another hint: There may or may not be a camera involved! OOOH! Guess you'll just have to come back and see for yourselves! 

Things I Love Thursday



I'm bummed that I missed Wedding Wednesday yesterday, but if you follow me on twitter, you'll know that I caught that yucky stomach bug that Mike had [and his dad, and my stepdad, and aunt, and Toby, and cousins, etc]. It's the most un-fun thing ever and I was really crossing my fingers I wouldn't get it after I saw how bad it was on Mike. But low-and-behold, I did! The good news is that I slept 24 out of 27 hours and didn't eat or drink anything so it wore off rather quickly. I couldn't even keep down water. :( But, I'm feeling about 90% better, and I've caught up on all my Etsy orders, and I have oh so many blogs to write and post since I've fallen behind! Let's pick up with all things magical, shall we?

♥ this beautiful monarch butterfly dress by luly yang couture

♥ this handsome kitty ♥

♥ this wise pole flyer ♥

♥ this awesome painting series by kelly reemsten ♥

this beautiful bathroom. how dreamy! ♥

♥ this adorable macro. ♥

this fantastic (and easy) DIY! ♥

What are you loving this week?

Possibly Paris

even though it seems very overrated...and it very well might be...i still want to go to paris...

my boyfriend has been there and says that the eiffel tower is nothing too spectacular and that paris is a very dirty city. but deep down - i still want to go... so here's to me wishing...one day i'll make it there. ♥

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