Meet the September Sponsors & Ad Space Giveaway

Hello lovelies, can you believe it's already October?  I want to go ahead and introduce you all to my Sponsors from September, and you will have a chance to win ad space just for meeting them! :) 

Cynthia Haase Fine Art is an affordable way to decorate your home with classy one-of-a-kind pieces.  They're all relatively affordable, and such great quality.  Not only does she create fantastic art, but she has an awesome blog with lots of good information for other Etsy sellers and Artists!

Don't forget to enter to win your own piece of Cynthia's work!

Etsy Shop | Shop Facebook | Blog | Blog Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

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Janna has been a good bloggy friend of mine for quite a while now.  She is one of the sweetest people you'll ever meet, and her heart is as big as Texas-where she lives!  She also rescues animals, and her blog is about her daily life, her weight loss, and whatever she is interested in.

Blog | Twitter | Pinterest

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Julie is a full-time polymer clay bead artist with a passion for caning. She has been creating canes and beads for almost 9 years, and has run her own website since then, and her official name is Blue Morning Expressions. As a long time member of The International Polymer Clay Guild (which is home to many well-known clay innovators) she loves polymer clay and is always trying to incorporate it. She is also a freelance writer, with many years of publications in her portfolio.

Use code CHAOS for 10% off any purchase at Polymer Clay Beads!

Etsy Shop | Facebook | Twitter | Wanelo | Pinterest | Blog

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Aubrey says: "I'm just a girl living in South Carolina. Enjoying life, including good beer, writing, local music, Gamecock football, and blogging." But Aubrey is also an amazing friend, wife, and she is a total rock-star at her job. I am so grateful to know her and read her blog!
Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram


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Mirjam says: "I make botanical jewelry with real flowers and plants. I pick up flowers and plants, press and dry them for several weeks and then safely preserve them in eco, non toxic resin, which is very hard and clear after drying. The flower and plants can be than taken with us wherever we go!"

Use code BLOG25 for 25% off any purchase at Flora Beauty!

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Everything at Stella Kenton is handmade with love from the finest natural materials our Earth has to offer. Go ahead and take a peek at the many different organic beauty products and healing balms, perfect for anyone and any skin type, in our store.

Use code Stella10 for 10% off anything at Stella Kenton Body Shop

Etsy Shop | Twitter |  Wanelo

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Monica Meza is an up and coming artist residing in Southern California. With pieces differentiating from portraits made with oil paints and gouche to abstract art made with acrylic paint, she is a young fresh artist dabbling with different mediums and styles. Her blog documents her raw process in creating a piece she is proud of and moments in her daily life (along with images of things she enjoys and various other topics). At the moment, she is also in the process of opening an Etsy shop to sell prints, art pieces, and other various items!

Blog | Twitter | Tumblr

Nia says: "I am a young lady who loves blogging, fashion, makeup, DIY projects and photography. I run Cherryfashion during my time off work and university. My posts include Outfits, Reviews, Feature Friday, Home made recipes etc."

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | HelloCotton | BlogLovin

Nicole says: "Hi. I'm Nicole and this is my little blog about life, love, work, living with tiny tots, and balance. From a professional career to Wednesday Wigglers, we can do it all...right? My blog features Tuesday's Love and I'm Better Off Without Lists - which tend to be popular. Also, I have started doing giveaways from Etsy shops. One is posted now and I have three in waiting.

Michelle says: "My name is Michelle and I blog somewhat anonymously over at Making Sense of Cents. I talk about personal finance, traveling, fashion and everything else."

Blog | Twitter | RSS | BlogLovin





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Good Energies/Thoughts/Love/Prayers Needed!

Anyone following my blog has heard me talk about my best friend Kristina.  This girl is like a sister to me, and in turn I am a godmother to her children and call them my honorary nieces and nephews.  She also just had the most beautiful baby girl a few weeks ago who I recently posted photos of.

We have been through so much together.  We lived together in a little three bedroom house with her, her husband, her brother in law (who I was dating), me, and four kids... With the occasional couch crasher... We've been on so many road trips... We've been there for each other when we need a friend.  She is my family.

Last night she was admitted to the hospital because she was coughing up blood, and after running some tests they found that she had multiple bloodclots in her lungs.  After an hour or two she was moved to the ICU because her heart rate was spiking and they were doubling her medication.  She was put on blood thinners and told she has a 30% chance of dying.

She was texting me telling me how scared she is, and how she fears her new baby wont ever know her.  It broke my heart and I just kept telling her that she's going to be fine, and she needs to try not to stress too much (which is hard!) because she'll get better faster if she doesn't.  I was also texting her husband who was scared to death as well.

I don't know what I would do if I lost her.  So I need anyone who can to send good thoughts, healing energies, love, and prayers if you're the praying type.  I love her so.  

Update as of 11:00AM on 9/28/12: Her husband texted me to say they let him sit in on rounds and listen to them discuss her case.  They have nothing but good things to say.  They will be moving her out of ICU today, and are letting her start eating again.  They're also going to let her see and feed her newborn, and they're switching her medication so she can go home earlier than previously thought.  She texted me to say her legs are negative for clots, breathing is better, and heartrate is down.  Please keep sending the good thoughts/energies/prayers/love for a speedy recovery!  We all need her in our lives.

DIY Fall Kit-Kat Cake

The prompt for today's Fall Back into Blogging challenge from SITS is to share your favorite fall recipe.  My favorite is my drunken pumpkin recipe, but that will have to be another time as I don't have photos or anything ready for it.  Instead, I've decided to share the recipe for the Kit-Kat cake that everyone seemed to like from yesterdays post.

     

Ingredients Needed:

• A round cake pan.
• Cake mix (I made mine from scratch using the Black Magic Cake Recipe from AllRecipes)
• Frosting (I also made this from scratch using the Buttercream Icing Recipe from Wilton)
• Kit-Kats (enough to go around however large your cake pan is)
• M&Ms, the fall colored ones.
• Ribbon

The Steps:

1. Bake your cake and let it cool for as long as possible so the icing doesn't melt.
2. Frost the cake on all sides and on the top.  This will work like your "glue."
3. Line the Kit-Kats up around the edges of the cake so they are all the way around.
4. Use your ribbon to hold the Kit-Kats in place, and tie a pretty bow to make it pretty.
5. Pour the M&Ms (candy corn would work too) on top so it looks like a bowl of M&Ms.

And you're done!  Invite good friends over to enjoy your creations with you! :) It can be a little difficult to cut, but it sure is delicious!

Cynthia Haase Fine Art Giveaway!

If you've been to my blog, you've probably seen Cynthia Haase's little painting at the top of my Sponsors section. She's been an amazing person to partner with.  Her art is quality and BEAUTIFUL, she's incredibly knowledgeable and inspiring, and so so sweet.

This month, the wonderfully talented Cynthia Haase has offered one of my readers a chance to win an original work of art.  This piece (shown below) is beautiful and vibrant, and hand painted by her.  The painting is titled "White Pitcher on Purple" and is a 6"x6" oil painting on Gessobord and valued at roughly $50.  This would be an amazing win for anyone!  Look how lovely it is!

Wanna Win it?

US & Canada addresses only please.


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Fall Back into Blogging: Fall Memories

Joining up with the SITS Girls again for Fall Back into Blogging Day 3, where we write about our favorite Fall memories.  Being one of my favorite times of the year, there is always so much to remember and be excited for each time fall comes around... Candy corn, crunchy leaves, that crisp cinnamon smell the air takes on, Pumpkin Spice Lattes, warm clothing, cool breeze... And Halloween.

Don't forget to enter to win a one of a kind painting from Cynthia Haase Fine Art! 

Here are some of my favorite Fall memories from the past:

David's birthday party when I made him a fall themed Kit-Kat cake and there was candy corn and good friends:

The year I met Emily and had lots of adventures with her... Hiking through the mountains in the fall, going to the haunted house, falling asleep watching horror movies, and the 3Reasonz concert we all went to...

All of our Haunted House adventures...  These pictures are some of my favorites, even if there is someone in them that I don't tend to want to think about anymore...

And of course all of the awesome Halloween's we've had...

Fall Back into Blogging: Fall in Utah

Today's prompt from the SITS Girls for Fall Back into Blogging is to show how Fall looks in my neck of the woods. Since it's not looking very Autumn-y here yet, I figured I'd share some older photos.

One of the lucky things about living in Utah is that we get to celebrate all four seasons... Granted, we only see Fall and Spring for a short while, then Summer lasts forever and Winter even longer-but we still get to see all four.  Fall is so pretty.  These photos are from a few years ago, to show how long ago-the first photo is a picture of Kristina and me from back then...