It's that time of year.  I've got the windows open with a chilly breeze blowing through my house and all I want to do is run to my kitchen to cook up warm, savory fall dishes.  Fortunately, I have The Farm Chick's In The Kitchen.
This cookbook is chock full of warm, delicious comfort foods.  Everything from cinnamon rolls, to hashbrown casserole, to garlic chicken pizza - even this gorgeous spinach, beet and feta salad:
Doesn't it just look delicious all cozied up to that creamy butternut squash soup?  Pardon me while I drool...

Not only are all the dishes in this cookbook incredibly tasty, they're also incredibly easy to make.  If I can pull off a decent cinnamon roll, it has to be super simple to bake.  AND the book is sprinkled with tutorials for all kinds of homemade gifts.  Take your neighbor some apple pie and a hand-stitched scone-cozy.  Whip up some sweet potato soup in your new appliquéd apron. Deck out your other favorite cookbooks in some faux-vintage covers. 

This is a cookbook I run to time and again - especially when I know I have company coming or potluck in my near future.  Have a peek, whip something up and it just might become one of your all-time favorite, too!

Did You Win?

10/15/2011

 
Thanks to Random.org we now have all 6 winners from this weeks giveaways!   Here they are:

Day 1 - Hairbow from Keely Mae Designs  -- Sarah Fontenot
Day 2 - Shirt from Dulu Designs -- Jessica Ross
Day 3 - One item from Mimi Baby Boutique -- Jess from Drops of Motherhood
Day 4 - Halloween candy bowl -- Cindy H
Day 5 - Jewelry from Arm Candy Jewelry and Fabuless Fashions - Heather
Day 6 - Starbucks gift card -- Sarah O

Congrats, ladies!  Please send me your info so I can get you your prizes!   And thanks to everyone who entered - I appreciate you all!

Back to our regularly scheduled programing start
 
Thanks to you all for participating in our week of giveaways.  If you get a chance, please leave a little love for all our vendors on their sites - these ladies have worked really hard to make some truly awesome products.  Today is our 6th and final giveaway and we're going to celebrate fall with a little Starbucks!  We've got a $10 Starbucks gift card up for grabs, and all you have to do is refer some friends.  Here's how it works:

Each new GFC follower who comments that you referred them = 1 entry
Each new Facebook follower who comments that you reffered them = 1 entry

Whoever refers the most new followers wins some yummy coffee! (and yes, you can have the same person join both GFC and Facebook to count as 2 entries).  Best of luck - I really do appreciate each and every one of you!

And remember - all 6 giveaways remain open until Saturday at noon - the hairbow, the shirt, my shop, the candy dish, the jewelry and Starbucks.  Don't forget to enter them all - they'd make great Christmas gifts!

Coming up next week I have more yummy recipes, awesome fall books, a fun tutorial and an introduction to another fantastic cause.  Can't wait!
 
It's time for another cause that is near and dear to my heart.  I love my family like crazy - they are, every one of them, amazing people.  And my sweet cousin has a precious son with hydrocephalus (also known as water-on-the-brain).  Here is what his parents have to say about Johnny and the foundation he is starting:

A HEART FOR HYDROCEPHALUS ASSOCIATION is a group of people who wish to raise awareness about the condition of Hydrocephalus and support research and the community of people affected by it.

It has been formed in honor of our beloved son, Johnathan, who bravely lives with hydrocephalus and has had multiple life-saving surgeries because of it. Seven in the last 18 months! He has a heart for all children who are sick and suffering and wishes to help them and the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh that cares for them. To celebrate his 7th birthday this October, we are starting this association.  We hope it will be a blessing to our community and especially all those who have children that live with chronic illness. The association will donate funds collected to the neurosurgery department of Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh (one of the only places in the whole country doing hydrocephalus research!) and as grants to families needing support as they deal with this and other chronic illnesses. Thanks in advance for your support!

WANT TO DONATE?
MAKE YOUR CHECK PAYABLE TO
A Heart for Hydrocephalus Association

AND MAIL TO:
... A Heart for Hydrocephalus Association
c/o Stella Isbir, Treasurer
319 Rock Run Road
Elizabeth, PA 15037
or email [email protected] with questions


And now for Week of Giveaways: Day 5!!

I have for you some lovely jewelry from Arm Candy Jewelry and Fabuless Fashions.  Both sites offer adorable and trendy accessories on the cheap.  If you want to win all 3 pairs of earrings AND the fashion necklace:

Leave a separate comment for each:
Follow Stuff I Love via GFC +1
Like Stuff I Love on Facebook +1
Tweet about this giveaway +1
Facebook about this giveaway +1

4 chances to win - best of luck!
 
It's that time again!  How is your weight-loss journey coming?  I've had a bit of a struggle the last couple of weeks and I posted about it on my weight loss blog which I will be linking up.  Feel free to link a post from any time in your last week.  And don't forget to give each other encouraging comments - it's great to have support on your journey! 

*Note: you can post anything weight-loss related - this doesn't have to be just about your weight-loss journey.  Did you write a post with diet tips?  Workout ideas?  A funny anecdote about body image
 
I hope you've enjoyed the giveaways so far!  We've got 3 more gifts to give away and I'm hoping you love them.  Today we have this sweet little candy bowl from Kudos Kitchen by Renee
It's about 6" cubed - the perfect size to hold some treats on your coffee table or counter.  Halloween is almost upon us - this would be a great addition to your holiday decor. 

Want to win it?  Please leave a separate comment for each:

Follow Stuff I Love via GFC +1
Like Stuff I Love on Facebook +1
Tweet about this giveaway +1
Facebook about this giveaway +1
Refer anyone to enter this giveaway and have them tell me you sent them +1 (for each of you
 
I hope you've enjoyed the giveaway so far.  We've had an awesome hairbow from Keely Mae Designs and a super cute shirt from Dulu Designs.  All giveaways are open until Saturday afternoon, so be sure to check them out and get your entry in!

Today I've got a bit of shameless self promotion.  I'm offering up an item from my shop, Mimi Baby Boutique.  I make all kinds of hand made crafts, though at the moment my emphasis is on jewelry and appliqué.  Here are some samples of the things in the shop:
The winner of this giveaway will receive any one item of their choice from my shop.  To enter, please leave a comment for each of the following:

Follow Mimi Baby Boutique via GFC and tell me what you would order if you won +1
Like Mimi Baby Boutique on Facebook +1
Tweet about this giveaway +1
Facebook about this giveaway +1
Follow Stuff I Love via GFC +1
Like Stuff I Love on Facebook +1
Purchase any item from the shop (including custom orders) and tell me what it was +5

Again, 11 chances to win!  Don't forget to share!
 
I guess I got a little ahead of myself - I was a day off all weekend - meant to start this giveaway today, but posted the first one yesterday - so if you missed the giveaway from Keely Mae Designs, please go check it out and enter!  All giveaways will be open until Saturday afternoon.

Today I am thrilled to introduce Mandy from Dulu DesignsMandy creates adorable hand appliquéd shirts for your whole family.  She has a large inventory of patterns, but she also takes custom orders.  She's great with holiday themes, favorite animals, birthday ideas - she's even made shirts for entire families to wear on their trips to Disney!
Aren't those designs amazing? We personally have 7 Dulu Designs and couldn't be more thrilled with them.  Not only do they look adorable, but they stand up to some heavy washing!  Here are my boys showing off their awesome Dulu shirts:
Want to win one?  Mandy will be giving one fan a custom made Christmas shirt!  Just in time for the holidays, this would make a great gift. 

To enter, please leave a separate comment for each entry:

Follow Dulu Designs blog  +1
Like Dulu Designs on Facebook +1
Tweet about this giveaway +1
Facebook about this giveaway +1
Follow Stuff I Love via GFC +1
Like Stuff I Love on Facebook +1
Order any shirt from Dulu Designs and tell me what you ordered +5

Once again that's 11 possible entries!  Good luck, and come back tomorrow for another awesome item!
 
We finally hit 50 fans on facebook, and to celebrate we are kicking off 5 whole days of giveaways!  I have some super cute items from some really amazing shops and I am so excited to share them with you!  All giveaways will be open until Saturday at 12:00pm CST. 

Today's sponsor is Erin with Keely Mae Designs!  Erin makes the most adorable hair bows and clippies for your little girl (or even for you!) 
Aren't they amazing?  Erin also takes custom orders.  Have a cute outfit for your little one that needs some accessorizing?  Send her a picture and she'll make you something to match.  And you all have a chance to win one of her fantastic bows!  In the spirit of Halloween, Erin is offering one of my readers this bow:
Want to win it?  There are tons of ways to enter.  Leave a separate comment below for each:

Follow Keely Mae Designs via GFC +1
Like Keely Mae Designs on Facebook +1
Tweet about this giveaway +1
Facebook about this giveaway +1
Follow Stuff I Love via GFC +1
Like Stuff I Love on Facebook +1
Order a bow from Keely Mae Designs and tell me what you ordered +5

That's a potential 11 entries!  Good luck to you all!! 

A Day In The Life

10/7/2011

 
So yesterday was a crazy day and I just had to post.  I've been really excited that the holidays and my birthday are coming up because I might finally get a few of the silly little 'wants' on my wishlist that would make me feel so spoiled I could be a serious tightwad with my own money for a while. As most parents know, when you have kids, the first financial thing to go is the fun little splurges for Mom and Dad.  Which is totally fine - but then birthdays feel extra special.  ANYway, as it turns out, now the only thing that is on my birthday (and Christmas and every holiday for the next two years) wishlist is this:
A freezer-on-the-bottom fridge. (I especially love the snack drawer).  And why, might you ask?  Well, because my 3.5 year old has finally figured out how to open the baby gate on the kitchen.  And he gets hungry a lot.  And he likes to forage.  And he can reach every single shelf in our fridge even though he's still knee-height.  And yesterday I left the room for a moment to take a phonecall and returned to see this:
Yup - those are raw eggs.  On my couch.  Whah!?  Turns out the boys were feeling snack-ish and they LOVE hard-boiled eggs.  They just haven't learned the difference between a hard-boiled egg and a raw egg until they've started to peel them.  You'd think they'd have gotten the hint after the first egg or two, but nope, they went for the whole dozen.  And Mommy spent 40 minutes trying to salmonella-proof the living room.  And immediately scrapped the old wishlist and replaced it with the new.  Despite the mess I feel incredibly blessed that this is what I consider a rough afternoon.  In the grand scheme of things it means nothing.  I wasn't even mad at the boys - they were just as upset about not finding any boiled eggs as I was about the mess.  And it makes an excellent story for the baby books :)  So that was our afternoon - how was yours?
The Fontenot Four
Stuff I Love
Little Miss Nerd Girl
145x145DDButton
Stuff I Love
Sneakers Over Stilettos

Girls125x125
Grab the button: