Livi Lou & Co. giveaway!!

**This giveaway is now closed. **

Today's giveaway is from my friend Mary Jo at Livi Lou & Co.  I met Mary Jo online several years ago through a Christian mother's group.  So we've known each other for a while now, but we have yet to meet in person.  Maybe someday though!  Here is a bit about Livi Lou & Co. and Mary Jo's giveaway:

I have a slight addiction to fabric, which is why I opened my shop, to fund my habit and have an excuse to use all that fabric. I live in the UK with my husband who is in the US Air Force and two children Olivia (the Livi behind Livi Lou & Co.) and Erik.  I love my little business which allows me to stay home with my little ones and have the flexibility to travel when my husband has time off.  The added bonus is that I can take it with me when the Air Force sends us to new locations.  When I'm not creating I spend time volunteering in our community, spending quality time with the family, and reading the occasional blog.

Mary Jo is giving away a $25 shop credit that can be used at either of her two shops. Etsy shop or Hyena Cart


To enter simply leave a comment telling me why you would like to win this giveaway.


For extra entries (leave a separate comment for each):

• Become a Facebook fan of Livi Lou & Co.
• Follow Livi Lou & Co.'s blog
• Become a Facebook fan of Ida & Mae
• Follow Ida& Mae's blog

Have fun and share this giveaway with your friends!  I will draw a winner on Friday.http://hyenacart.com/stores/Livilouandco/

Authentica Classics giveaway!!

**This giveaway is now closed.**

You may remember my blog post where I excitedly talked about the great goody basket I won from Authentica Classics.  Well, Martha is participating in my week of giveaways in honor of my Grandma Ida's birthday.  Thanks so much Martha!  Here is a bit about Authentica Classics, and how to enter this giveaway:

It's all about living an AUTHENTIC life!

Being true to yourself, finding out who you really are and creating a home that tells your story!

Authentica Classics offers antique and vintage items, re-purposed, refurbished or just as they are. 

Specializing in finding textiles with age, we offer professionally made, quality, American and European grain sack pillows and more!

Authentica Classics was born out of a love for reusing treasures from the past. Combining a decorating business with the aspects of creating home decor items, I search for "vintique" finds and either refurbish them or repurpose them and resell them!

Shopping for clients is something I love and I am frequently asked to look for certain items while I am on the hunt. Recently, I branched out to create several product lines for retail, all authentic and repurposed from vintiques. No two items are alike, each one being one of a kind and ranging in age from 20 to 150 years old! I have researched for months and have made contacts in America and across Europe that specialize in antique and vintage textiles and grain sacks.

I have a small booth....a petite boutique...located in North Georgia about an hour north of Atlanta and am currently looking for a location in the Atlanta area.

An online store is in the works as well as an Authentica Classics website. Please check out my blog at http://authentica-itsaboutbeingreal.blogspot.com/ .

Martha is giving away a one year subscription to Country Living Magazine, as well as some vintage sheet music to use for crafts!

To enter, simply leave a comment letting me know why you would like to win this giveaway.

For extra entries (leave a separate comment for each):

• Become a Facebook fan of Authentica Classics
• Become a Facebook fan of Ida & Mae
• Follow Authentica Classics blog
• Follow Ida & Mae's blog

Have fun and spread the word!  I will draw the winner on Friday!

My Grandma Ida's 101st birthday

My Grandma Ida has been singing with the angels in heaven since 1995.  Which gives me great comfort knowing that I will see her again one day.  Today would've been her 101st birthday.  So in honor of the godly, hard working, generous life she lived, I am going to do some fun giveaway's on my blog this week.

The photo below was taken sometime in the 80's, that is my little brother behind her. :)  I miss you grandma!  Happy birthday!

A review of my new pots and pans

We celebrate our wedding anniversary, and my birthday, within a week of each other. This year my husband surprised me with a super nice gift!  A set of professional grade, stainless steel cookware!  I absolutely love them!!  So I wanted to share some photos of them with you, and tell you where you can score these great pots and pans for yourself.

These beautiful pots and pans are 5 ply stainless steel with a copper core for even heating.  The handles are bolted on (my prior set had screws which came loose often).  Nice solid handles, and lipped edges which make for easy and mess free pouring.  The name you see stamped on the bottom photo says Kirkland, which is the Costco brand.  Yep, you got that right, these professional grade pots and pans are put out by Costco!!  They got rave reviews from professional chefs who use some of the very expensive brand name sets already. So we were sold on them after learning about them.  They also come with a lifetime warranty. Does it get any better than that??

Now that I have been cooking with them for a couple of weeks, I can tell you that I give them 5 stars!!  I have used a cheap set of cookware for 12 years, and there is just no comparison.  Professional grade is where its at!

Now go get yourself a Costco membership and treat yourself to a new set of pots and pans! :)

The Strawberry Patch barn sale Fall 2011

This was by far the biggest sale Christy has had so far!  She had 15 vendors in addition to her own stuff. Fantastic!  Here are some photos I took, enjoy all the eye candy!

And I finally got to meet Chelsea with Horsefeathers Gifts in person!  I enjoyed chatting with her, and I hope we have more opportunities to chat and hang out in the future.

Jewelry display, and a little announcement...

The Strawberry Patch barn sale is this weekend.  The sneak peek sale starts tomorrow evening, and the regular sale is Friday and Saturday.  I was practicing with my display pieces yesterday and this is what I came up with.  I think it turned out pretty good.  I hope others will enjoy it too.  My stuff will be there tomorrow, but I will be heading to the barn sale on Saturday to check out all the goods, hang out for a bit, then pack up my things and head home.  If you live in, or near, Tennessee you really need to come on out to Lafayette for this sale!  It is worth your time!

Also, I have a little secret I have been keeping from you all, so now its time to make it public.  We are expecting baby #3!!  We are very excited!  Here is Elise sharing her excitement with her new shirt and her cheesy smile! :)

Sunday simplicity

A lovely rose at a mountain farm in The Great Smoky Mountains.  God's beauty on the earth.