Giveaway Time!

First I want to thank all of you for all of your kind comments, thoughts and prayers for my family.  You'll never know how much it means to me.  I just love my blog friends so very much.

I'm almost at the 1000 follower mark and to celebrate I'm offering a giveaway.  A dear friend of mine, Christina, has generously offered to give one of my lucky followers one of her handmade creations.  Christina is amazingly talented with a sewing machine and her skills don't stop there.  She's also a gifted photographer.  Just visit her blog Pooh's Corner to see for yourself.

In addition to blogging, Christina also has an Etsy store, Emily Ann's Kloset, where you will find the most adorable handmade owl pillows and patchwork dresses.

Christina has a knack for finding the most precious fabrics, then mixes and matches them to create custom children's clothes and owl pillows.  Here is just a sampling of her work.

I asked Christina what inspires her creativity and here is what she had to say. 


I believe in children. I believe in whimsy. I believe in dreams. I believe in the deep down good in people.  I believe in childhood innocence. I believe that special needs children were put here for a purpose and I was chosen to be a part of that wonderful adventure. I believe in bedtime stories. I believe in God. I believe tickles can solve problems.  I believe there are magical connections between people. I believe color can make you happy.  I believe in a beautiful world. And, I believe that like Harold and the Purple Crayon, you can make your life beautiful in different ways.


For this giveaway, Christina is offering one of her custom dresses.  The lucky winner will choose from one of the following dresses. 

So with Christina's wonderful spirit in mind, here are the rules for entering:


1. Become a follower of my blog, if not already, and leave a comment so I know you are.


2. Tell your loved ones you love them often. Life is fleeting.


3. Smile at a stranger.  It will make their day.


4. Make time for fun.  Everything else can wait.


5. Give God credit for everything good in your life. Ask Him for strength during the bad.


Good luck!  The winner will be announced one week from today, Friday, March 23rd.  


Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulicious weekend.
xoxo,
Kim

Where to begin...

Yesterday was a gorgeous sunny day here in South Jersey.  Not a typical day for mid-March, and not a typical day for my family.  My parents had just gotten home from their winter retreat in Florida, having been away for 5 weeks.  I missed them terribly and always look forward to their visit when they return.  We are so blessed in that both sides of the family, my husband's and mine, are only a few miles away - aunts, uncles and cousins included.

Mom and Dad stopped by with my five-year-old niece Sammie, my brother's daughter.  She's a pip and a sweet little tomboy.  I watched as she played in the family room with Cole and Amy.  After they left, I took the kiddos for a walk and we looked forward to a family night with ice cream and board games.

I got the call at 6 o'clock that our sweet Sammie had been playing in front of my parents' house when she was hit by a car.  It was a hit and run.  Yes, someone actually hit a child and sped off, with my brother (her father) and my parents as well as several other neighbors looking on helplessly.

I spent the night at the hospital with my family and am so grateful to say that Sammie is okay.  What a lucky little girl that she wasn't more seriously injured.  She is very scraped up and badly bruised, has a concussion and swelling to her face, but the rest are just emotional scars.

Praise God that she is still with us.

Praise God that the driver was caught - yes, he came back after he changed his clothes to find the mirror that fell off of his car when it hit my niece in the head.  He denied hitting her.

Praise God that an off-duty detective was out for a walk on this glorious day and saw everything, including the license plate.

Praise God for an incredible support group of family and friends and the most amazing church family that we are eternally grateful for and love so very much.

Please pray for healing to my family - my parents who are devastated and lost years off of their life I'm sure, my brother and his wife, who is expecting their second child this Summer, and my precious niece Sammie as she recovers at home.

Living Room Tour

In many homes, the Living Room is a wasted space.  It looks pretty but lacks functionality.  In fact, most new construction doesn't even include this room, being replaced by a Great Room, as open concept is the popular choice nowadays.

Our home is a traditional colonial style, with a formal living room and dining room.  And for the first several years we lived here, the living room was never used.  Not even on Holidays.  A totally wasted space.

The logical thing to do was make it our study.  I added a desk and a computer and it's now my favorite room in the house.  It gets used all the time (blogging....) and I get to enjoy the pretty surroundings.  It's where I have my coffee in the morning after the olders go to school and while the baby takes a nap.

It's also where I keep some of my most special treasures, big and small.

The window treatments are on their way out.  Just waiting to find the right ones.  My first choice has been discontinued by Pottery Barn so I'm scouring Ebay.

Got this chair at a thrift store a few years ago and it's screaming for a paint job and reupholstering.  White? Oh yeahhhhhh...

I just won a beautiful vintage oil on canvas on Ebay and it's going to replace that empty frame on this old desk.  I've been looking forever for a landscape oil and I'm so happy to have finally found one.

I have tons, repeat tons, of old books.  I almost never pass one up if it looks good.  And I love finding old notes inside.  One time I found an old signed bank deposit slip from 1898.

Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulicious day.
xoxo,
Kim

Wow Us Wednesdays

No Minimalist Here