Pupcakes!

My son's birthday was this past weekend - my BABY is 3 now! I just can't believe it! Anyway, I wanted to share really quick about his birthday {pup}cakes! I love love LOVED them, they were so adorable. My friend Christy, who also made my older son's 4th birthday cake, made these sweet little pups, and they were the talk of the party.

If you're in the Central Iowa area and you're looking for someone to make you a fantastic cake (or cup cakes!), I HIGHLY recommend Christy. She is my go-to girl for bakery goodness from here on out!







Thanks so much Christy!! Ooh, did I mention that she made these while on BEDREST for pre-term labor?! What an amazing woman she is!!

Happy Blogiversary to me!

Well, I would have let this day go right on by had it not been pointed out by Teena in Toronto! And I really wish I had been keeping track ahead of time, because I'm not prepared to "celebrate" properly! So I guess I'll just say Happy Blogiversary to me! I started this blog 2 years ago on this date. A lot has happened in those 2 years, both with "My 3 Lil Monkeys" and with me. It's been quite an adventure! Thanks for being on this journey with me, my friends :-)

Obsession

Any of my "long time readers" (whom I apologize to for neglecting this blog so much) know that I have a *slight* (read: insatiable) obsession for chap stick/lip balm. It's not that I WEAR it all the time, I just love it, I love buying it, I love finding new hand made lip balms, I love it all!

I have been a reader of flipflopmamma's blog for quite awhile now (sorry for not commenting!!!) so I knew when she opened up her Etsy shop, and I put off making a purchase until last week.

Um, I am SO sorry I waited this long! I purchased one of her lip balms in my favorite flavor - peppermint! Not only did it smell yummy, but it tasted yummy (you lip balm lovers know what I mean :-P No, I did not EAT the lip balm!), and my favorite part? It made my lips tingly!! Oooh, I love me some tingly lip balm!


Anyway, I just love to share a good product when I try one - so here is one! If you're not a lip balm addict like me, perhaps you're a caffeine addict (like me) and would like some coffee body scrub? Mmm... I love the smell of coffee. I wonder if I would love smelling like coffee? I think I would. Oh, my next purchase from flipflopmamma might actually be the Spiced Chai - I would love to sit with a friend (or my lovely mother in love who shares my love for Chai) and sip on some hot chai. Mmmm... I've read some really good reviews on it too!

So go check out Bee Simple/FlipFlopMamma! She's a rockin' mama, sporting some Sa-Weet dreads (jealous!!), and she's crafty! She's one cool mama!

Jewllori sale!

Get 'em while they're hot! Oh, I am SO excited to announce that my good friend - and one of my favorite jewelry designers - is having an earring sale right now!

I own a gorgeous set of Jewllori - a coordinating necklace and earring set that is my favorite!!

And like I told Lori, had I not just wiped out my bank account purchasing my new camera, I'd be totally taking advantage of this sale!

So, since I can't, I thought I'd give YOU a heads up so YOU CAN!
Do it, Lori is such a wonderful woman to work with, and you won't be disappointed with her work!

My first finished quilt.

Well I finally did it. I started AND finished a quilt.

I've loved blankets and quilts for as long as I can remember. I fell in love with quilting itself about 4-5 years ago. Ryan was deployed, and I was convinced I would spend my time making quilts. I've gotten books, supplies, fabric, everything I need to complete a quilt.

And yet here it is, 4+ years later and I have ONE quilt to show for myself.


Don't get me wrong. I've had many quilt tops and partial quilt tops made with the intention of finishing them... But a good intention is just that - an intention.


Unfortunately it was a tragedy that spurred me onto making and completing this quilt.

You see, a dear sweet military wife had to ring in the New Year hearing the news that her husband of less than a year (and daddy to their 10 month old) was killed in Iraq.


It was my greatest honor to be able to make this quilt for her and her son. I was so proud of it, and so proud of her and her husband and their sacrifice. I long for the day when we stop hearing news of soldiers dying, but I am so incredibly proud of what they're doing over there.

One really good thing that came out of this quilt is that I learned that I am capable of completing a quilt (start to finish!) in 2 days! That includes hand stitching the binding on!

And I know I've promised probably every year that I am going to make quilts as gifts, but this quilt was motivation to actually follow through! Knowing that I CAN do it, and that the binding isn't as hard as I thought (just time consuming). Honestly, the only obstacle would be money - I REALLY prefer quilt shop fabric (as opposed to Jo Ann fabrics or Hancock) and it's significantly pricier to get fabric there. This quilt cost roughly $60, not including batting (which I discovered I already had, so I don't remember how much it cost). I do have a lot of great scraps left over though, so I plan on making other fun things with this awesome material!

Vintage Priddy!

The Vintage Pearl is having another great give-away! PriddyCreations is allowing her to give away a GREAT camera strap and lens cozy set and it's oh so cute! Head on over to leave a comment for a chance to win! I would LOVE to win this!!

A Portrait... of me?

Mer Mag is having a pretty amazing giveaway on her blog right now! Here's a snippet from her blog regarding the giveaway:

In the spirit of giving this season, I want to give a gift to YOU! I'm offering a personal portrait drawing of you (or someone else of your choosing) as a Christmas giveaway this year. All you have to do is make a comment on this post stating one of your favorite things about Christmas, along with your email address. It's as simple as that.

Isn't that awesome!? I mean, check out here work!


If I were you, I'd enter this one. How cool would it be to get a portrait of yourself like this - or get it for someone else! Plus, check out the post for a way to win something EXTRA awesome!

Dinner Party Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

Ok, so God didn't give me a daughter, but He did "give" me a niece and I think being an auntie to a precious little girl has it's own set of responsibilities! Like making sure she has an ADORABLE little evening dress for a dinner party! I mean come on, how cute is this?! I'd love to win this Dinner Party Frock GIVEAWAY!!!! for my niece! Check it out, you could win too!