I don't know if it has anything to do with the fact that we're currently undergoing a little sprucing around the blog, but two days ago I was asked to host my very first sponsored giveaway!
Drew from UPrinting.com contacted me and asked if I'd like to offer someone a chance to win 100 5x7 postcards for the holidays! How could I possibly say no to that?
Of course, I had to see what all the buzz was all about, so I visited their site & goodness was I impressed with their products! Not only does UPrinting.com offer the gorgeous postcards in this giveaway, they offer business cards, canvas prints, invitations, and so much more!
The Internet has provided a lot of opportunities to see different designs of postcard printing that are presented by leading online printing companies. But UPrinting.com has that extra something special; not only are the prices very reasonable, the customer service is a top priority as well. It's right up there with the quality of their products.
So let's get to this giveaway, shall we?
CONTEST
Running from today until noon of Friday, October 14th, one person will have the opportunity to win 100 5x7 postcards of their choice. From start to finish, the winner will be able to custom design the entire thing! Requiring absolutely no folding, they'll come in a 14 pt. card stock gloss, front only printing, and best yet, will be shipped to you for free within the two business days it takes for print turnaround.
RULES
Simply leave your name and email address in the comments section, and on October 14th I'll choose a winner!
I've been asked to limit the giveaway to US residents 18 years old and above only, so please bear this in mind.
The entire giveaway is being sponsored by UPrinting.com, and while I'm not receiving any financial compensation, they're letting me design my own postcards for the holidays in thanks for hosting. I am so excited that I will have one less thing to do this Christmas and cannot wait to get started!
I bet you can't either, so what are you waiting for? Take a chance, and in two weeks I'll announce one very lucky winner.
Thanks for stopping by, have a lovely weekend, and most importantly good luck!
With the scallywag now in school, his teachers spend time reinforcing the things they already know, and teaching them things that are new.
One particular subject they're reinforcing are colors. They've begun to separate them into the categories of Primary & Secondary, building their daily lessons around the color chosen for that particular week.
Tuesday marked the first Primary Color Day. They celebrated red by making applesauce with the apples they brought in the week before. My bebe missed Tuesday as he had a pretty nasty cough and I didn't want him to spread it or worse, for it to become exacerbated.
But today he made his happy return to school!
As requested by his teachers, he was dressed in the color of the week,
and carried a little bag of red picture cut-outs for an art project in school.
He loved using scissors, but I really had to distract him once we were done removing the pictures. He did not want to stop. But I didn't want to demolish any more magazines.
Thank goodness for the help of big sisters!
Friends, I am off for the day. Eldest has the day off, we're picking up the scallywag for lunch, then we're home for naps and relaxation.
Tomorrow you should definitely come back! I'm hosting my very first sponsored giveaway and I think every single one of you will want to join in.
A lovely day to you all...
As y'all can see, the blog is undergoing a little face lift. It's been three years, so I'd say it's about time. I'm doing it myself, so please bear with me!
And if anyone can help me figure out how to get the background to fit the entire page, I'd love some advice. Thank you!
Thank you for your patience, and enjoy the new & improved Southern Blossoms!
With the advent of Fall, there are many things our family savors. Every year a few new things pop up on our list of things to do, but there are others that remain constant. Shall I share a few?
Well since you asked so nicely...I'm happy to!
What We Love...
Pumpkin Patches
In Tokyo, pumpkin availability was limited, and we certainly didn't have patches to visit. We really, really missed it. Still, we made do with our over-priced gourds and welcomed Autumn with a simple, elegant vignette.
The children cannot wait to head to the pumpkin patches next month. The scallywag gets to make two trips this year as Kolbe's Korner makes a special visit just for their wee classes. We are so, so excited!
Scarves
I know it's au courrant to wear scarves year round. And as much as I like the cooling silks during the warmer months, who doesn't love the warm, sumptuous feel of a good scarf during the colder months?
It's purpose is many. From adding a pop of color, a bit of comfort, or a touch of whimsy to your outfit, scarves are great accessories. Eldest agrees wholeheartedly, and enjoys pairing them with simple tee's on her school days...even when she's not quite awake.
Any Pumpkin Food
My daughter and best friend Ruth will tell you that I'm a bit of an addict. From pumpkin cheesecake ice cream to pumpkin cupcakes and pancakes, is there anything pumpkin can't improve?
Boots
Who doesn't love a good boot? The most comfortable I've ever worn are the taupe colored pair we purchased at Uniqlo in Tokyo. Not only are they super soft, they are very forgiving to my tootsies and all the time I spend on them.
Above are the boots in a chocolate brown. They're really pretty. Unfortunately I think Uniqlo only sells shoes and boots in Japan. As fashion-forward as Japanese society is, it's not too surprising that they chose to launch there!
Hot Chocolate
It's a tradition my daughter and I share. We love making homemade hot chocolate together. Eldest enjoys the mixing, and I enjoy the chopping!
Making hot chocolate from scratch is a little time consuming, but it always turns out to be super decadent. In other words: the effort is worth it. Eldest and I tend to inaugurate October by using Ina Garten's Hot Chocolate recipe.
This year, however, we've been fortunate to find a hot chocolate mix (yes, a powder) that comes with toasted marshmallows. Toasted marshmallows y'all. Thank you Starbuck's for your incredibly yummy hot chocolate mix. It only takes moments to whip up, and as it's made with milk, still very rich.
My suggestion, friends? Add homemade whipped cream to the top for that little something special!
Little Somethings Extra Special
~I am so excited for October to hit and orange to be the color of the week at bebe's school. Darby of Fly Through Our Window has the sweetest tee's for your young ones to wear.
And I cannot wait for the scallywag to wear his!
~Hayrides
We may have allergies, but for some reason we never react to the hayrides in Autumn. And isn't there something about a hayride that really brings it home that the cooler months are here? I tend to think so.
~Soups
My husband is an amazing cook. Phenomenal, even. I love it when he prepares a meal because I know we'll devour every last bite. My favorite of his dishes are his soups. This particular potato soup was remarkable. I can only hope we locate the recipe once we receive all of our belongings from Japan.
~Pumpkins
No, not as food, but as accents for the season. Goodness, aren't they beautiful?
They come in different shapes, colors, sizes. This children love looking over the different types available and picking their favorites each year. And then comes the decorating at Halloween!!
Oooh, I am so excited that we're home in the good old US of A this year!
Friends, I have only touched upon the many reasons why our family adores Fall. But if you need any more, try doing some of the things listed below on the Fall Bucket list.
It may give you some things to look forward to in the lovely months ahead! Some you might do already, but why not try something new?
Enjoy your day and take care. And as always, thank you for stopping by.
This is how Eldest's bed looked yesterday.
No, it's not the norm. This was Eldest's outfit planning board. But why, you may be wondering, was she planning out an outfit?
Because tonight, on the first Eve of Autumn, Eldest will attend her first Social!
Now that she's in Middle School they'll happen regularly, and as she and her classmates are only in sixth grade, it's from 3:30-5.
The dress is casual school wear.
She wondered what that meant exactly.
After all, isn't all school wear casual?
Truth be told, I'm probably more excited about this rite of passage than she is. I remember my Middle School days, and how much fun we had getting together outside of school for these specific events. In New Orleans we had Miggy's, Ice Breakers, and Eight O'Clocks~social groups for the Private Schools.
But Eldest has always had boys as friends and she doesn't get giggly about these type of gatherings. To her it's just another opportunity to spend time with her friends. This makes her happy.
Besides, at this age that's all it should be.
Hanging out.
She does talk to me about the "boy-crazy" girls in her class, but Eldest is still at a point where she thinks it's just weird.
That's fine with me.
She'll have nice, late afternoon get-together with her friends, and without the worry of classwork or completing assignments looming over them, they'll all have a great chance to hang out, eat, and talk.
And that's how we're treating the entire event.
Of course, as I write this, I'll confess that I've never seen my daughter tear through her closet like she was doing last night.
She declared she was exhausted after it all, and had to take a break from the clothing insanity.
But after a few moments, and eyeing various combinations of tops with bottoms, as well as going through varying degrees of dissatisfaction, she found an outfit that left her looking pleased as punch!
We had quite a few laughs while trying to figure out what went best with what. It was a joy to shop in Eldest's closet with her, helping to plan her casual social wear.
Now are you ready for my sweet girl's reveal? From the tip of her head,
to the bottom of her cute black flats,
she is happy with her ensemble for tonight's Social!
Now all that's left is for the fun to begin!
A lovely Fall weekend to you all~I'll let you know how everything goes tonight.
I love my children. I love my free time. The funny thing is, I spend alot of that free time thinking all about my children.
Don't worry Husband, I think about you, too ;)
On Tuesdays and Thursdays I have three hours that I can fill with uninterrupted errand running, bill paying, or even time to sit quietly with a cup of coffee.
Funnily enough, I often spend the post-errand running/bill-paying time thinking about what my children are doing. Are they happy? Did they do something exciting? Was their snack or lunch delicious? Is there anything I need to get them for school tomorrow?
I'm pretty sure this is normal for parents. Still, I'd love to share with you my thoughts from today.
As I dropped Eldest off at school, I took a moment to consider how much she's grown, how independent she's become. The type of young lady she's turning into.
She's a gentle-hearted girl, but it is a very large nad brave heart. Do you know many ten year olds who could live through a world-changing natural disaster, yet remain calm, helpful, and always ready to offer comfort?
She handled the earthquake in Japan and the fallout with more poise than most adults.
She adjusts to situations easily. In two years she's changed schools twice. But each time she's found her place, made friends quickly.
She enjoys school.
She enjoys everything about it. The lessons, the socializing, the teachers. Right now her favorite studies are Economics and English. She's been running in P.E. for 12-16 minutes at a time~and she doesn't take a break. My girl can run!
She's not fond of the length she spends on her papers and homework these days, but she doesn't complain about the work too much. I believe she enjoys it. She has a genuine love of learning in her heart which I'm forever thankful for.
I'm also thankful that her little brother seems to take after her in this respect.
My sweet little scruffymuffin.
I always thought he'd be my clinger. At home he is all about the snuggles and being held. But at school he has found a happy little niche. There have been no tears~not even on his first day. Every school day is greeted with a cheery disposition! He loves playing with his school friends, the excitement of his daily activities, and he's gotten so good at listening to his teachers.
Did I mention he has no issues with sharing? Eldest can hardly believe it.
The scallywag goes to a different seat in their circle every day, sits, puckers up for a kiss, and waves good-bye. Today he didn't even wait for me to walk him in. He ran in, grabbed his new seat, then said with a smile, "Love you, Mama. Go on now." So funny! I almost expected him to follow it up with a skedaddle. But I got lucky. Instead he followed it up with a kiss.
He is the sweetest!
At the end of his school days every day he waits until his name is called, then grabs his little Thomas backpack, and runs into my arms.
Smiling. Happy. Jabbering all about his day. Next week he'll be making applesauce with his class! Can you imagine a more fun and messy activity for ten 3 year old's to partake in?
I've recently been made Social Room Mother for his class, and as Eldest doesn't really have in-school activities for me to partake in anymore it is such a treat to be able to be deeply involved in a school once again.
I suppose the conclusion I've come to as I've randomly jotted down my thoughts this morning is this: I love both my children and my free time. That time to myself allows me to really give good thought to who my children are, who they're becoming. I need moments like that. I don't want to miss little things about them or their days.
Don't misunderstand and think that all I do is think about my bebes. Because I do have just "me" time. But there are many moments that I do just loose myself in thought, musing on my children. They're worth every moment.
And I thought I'd share that with you all.
A lovely evening to everyone, and thank you for stopping by!
When your children are under the weather, you want them to rest and have quiet play. To get the scallywag to take it easy we had to watch Nemo and Thomas a few times. But he was well enough that I didn't want his entire weekend spent in front of the television.
When children have colds, I find the best way to occupy time other than a good movie is a good, simple craft. They'll sit and be able to have creative play as opposed to physical.
Friday evening, when everyone was still in good health, we dined at the Lazy Dog Cafe. As a parting gift to the children, our server gave them a tiny container which held a handful of fruit loops and a string of licorice.
With a wink and a smile she told the children to feel free to make their own dog collars when they arrived home.
Needless to say when Saturday dawned and all were not well, I knew what we would be doing that afternoon.
The children were happy to have something to do.
Even the scallywag's little hands were easily able to string his fruit loops along his strand of licorice.
And when all was said and done, there were two triumphant children with a completed craft, as well as a snack!
Eldest was the only one who actually ate it.
I thought about it as they napped, and wondered the other ways we could do the same activity. It's not necessary to use the sugary supplies we were given. You could use simple string and cherrios.
Uncooked noodles and yarn.
And if you want to use something else sweet, you could use the mini-fudge stripe cookies. They'd be a serious chocolaty mess, but sometimes a good craft needs to be really messy!
It was nice to break up the monotony of our Saturday with an unexpected craft. Not only were the children happy to make their dog collars, they loved being able to have some good, quiet fun.
Not that giggling and laughter is ever really quiet!
Do you have anything you do when you or your children aren't feeling well?
As it can happen at times, plans will change. Ours did this weekend.
Husband left early Saturday morning for training in Atlanta, and when the children woke two hours later the scallywag had a stuffy nose. It quickly turned runny. The little guy gets colds every now and then so I wasn't too worried. We know how to roll with these sort of things.
But when Eldest, who never gets ill, came down with a stuffy nose, I scrapped our plans. Instead, we spent our Saturday and Sunday morning indoors, resting. There was lots of watching "Thomas the Train" for the little guy and "Castle" for myself and Eldest. We enjoyed little creature comforts to get us through the moments of exhaustion, sore noses, and disquiet.
We definitely used quite a few of these!
By Sunday afternoon, being forced to stay indoors was pulling on everyone's nerves. It didn't help that it was simply glorious outside. The scallywag was pressing his face against the sliding doors trying to get the best view of the sun~leaving his facial impressions and runny nose all over it~and Eldest was in a real mope.
I was lacking patience and wasn't in a good mood either. So throwing my hands into the air, I gave in. We were going to get some fresh air and get out for a little while.
Off to the Thousand Oaks Arts Festival we went!
I wouldn't have brought them out if either had been feverish, and in the past a little fresh air has helped not only their colds, but raised everyone's spirits considerably.
Besides, there were cupcakes!
Sweet E's Bake Shop had their food truck stocked with mini-cupcakes, brownies, cake pops, and other delights. We were all in need of a sugary pick-me-up.
Along with Eldest's suggestions we chose a nice selection of red velvet, pumpkin spice, a vanilla chocolate chip cookie dough, and a blue velvet. Have you ever heard of such a thing?
I hadn't, but the blueberry mixed with chocolate and cream cheese was a-mazing! The children loved their mini-treats, too.
We followed our snack up with a stroll through the grass. Walking up and down in front of the Civic Arts Center we looked at lots of different art mediums. There were paintings, jewelry, glassware, and antique silver.
There were dancers who were obviously stricken with Beiber Fever.
Eldest wasn't impressed.
There was a small orchestra that allowed children to feel and play their musical instruments.
Even the Conejo Valley Shakespeare Society Players put on a show for those in attendance.
Eldest was surprised to see that this group of thespians were all children! Most were her age if not a little older. We waited to see what they would perform after their break, but they seemed to be shutting down for the day. We did arrive near the end of the festival. It was disappointing, but Eldest made me smile when she asked if we could rent, "Much Ado About Nothing".
She saw a little of it when we were at the Four Seasons and thought it was hilarious. But if you ever see a Shakespearean play or film with Kenneth Branagh at the helm, you know you're in for a treat. The man has a true love for the Bard and his works.
I wished we coud have rented it last night, but I wanted her to go to sleep early.
Perhaps this weekend!
I'm pretty sure both children will be back to their very best health by then. This morning they're much happier and less stuffy. A sure sign they're heading down the road to recovery! I guarantee their short jaunt to the Thousand Oaks Arts Festival has something to do with it. They needed a break from being stuck indoors. Y'all know how that can affect your mental well-being, and I firmly believe a healthy mind, as well as a healthy body, go hand in hand.
Friends, I hope y'all had a wonderful weekend. I understand some of you are experiencing the first throws of Autumn with its chilly breezes! Some of you hosted Emmy parties, others enjoyed Football, and other's still ran races for a good cause. I'm sure y'all kept very busy, enjoying every moment along the way.
Here's to enjoying every moment in the week ahead as well!
Take care, and a happy Monday to you all.
