Thirty-One Giveway!! Utility Tote

Well hello there sweet peeps! It's Fri-DAY Aren't you excited for the possibilities of the weekend? I sure AM! And as promised I am giving away an all new  Utility Tote from Thirty-One!!  The winner will receive a Thirty-One Utility Tote  with a topper. Yippee!!! Imagine all you can carry/haul around in your stylish utility tote! I have mine filled to the brim with photo props. Makes it SO easy to just pick it up and go or store in the trunk of my car. I plan on getting some more at this incredible price. When you spend $35 you get your tote for only $10. Here's an easy way to hit the $35 mark: Buy an organizing utility tote for $30 Then buy the top a tote for $10 BAM! you get your utility tote for $10!! Get several to give as gifts and our items are personalized with beautiful embroidery! Check out my website to place your order http://www.mythirtyone.com/153239/ Now since I am feeling extra giving ;) I am going to be giving

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Summer Fun at Camp

Well we did it! We dropped off the little guy at Camp Huawni We got to see some pics of him thru their secure website. I am sure he is having lots of fun. Here are a few pics of him at Camp Huawni. I sure do miss him :( But I know he is in good hands and getting to be a kid. He can run around all day playing with friends without me  worrying that he will be run over by a car or taken by some  stranger. I want my children to have those carefree days and just be kids. At Camp Huawni, my little guy will get to make some great memories. And as for me, well I finally finished my consulting work and hopefully won't have to be doing that anymore. I took the leap of faith and now I have to work hard at moving my photography business forward. I also have a lot of projects to finish here at home and lots of traveling to do.  I thought I'd have lots of time to do said projects since the boys aren't here-WRONG!! I find myself sidetrac

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How to Wrap A Pretty Wedding Present

  Ahhh June, the time of year for many weddings and celebrations! Today I will show you an idea on how to wrap a pretty wedding gift or any other gift using things you  have on hand. For this particular gift, I wanted it to look like a fancy box.    You start off by buying some good quality wrapping paper in a nice solid color. This way you can use it over and over no matter the occasion. I love this aqua colored paper from  http://www.ps-stores.com/   it's good quality, thick and has lasted me for over a year. Next you gather some supplies:  I used things I had on hand-silvery ruffled border, glittery chip letters, glue stick, MS silvery paint, and MS stencils used to paint my Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Armoire. First you wrap your gift just as always except instead of using transparent tape I used my glue stick. You can use double sided tape as well. The trick is to NOT have the tape showing. On one side of the gift, I only glued it partially so I coul

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Yahoo News! Interview: Remake America

A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by a representative  of Yahoo! News She told me all about a series on their site titled "Remake America." The series deals with six families facing real  financial challenges and the online community who offers suggestions. The families are given the help of a professional financial adviser to aid them in their quest for financial recovery. When the representative explained to me what this series was all about, I was intrigued. She then asked me if I was willing to interview one of the families in the series for them. Of course I said yes! With my background in finance, anything I can do to help others is something that I always strive for. An appointment was made and I made the phone call to Kirk and LaTosha. Before I post the transcript of this interview here is a video from Yahoo! News where you can get some background on the couple. LaTosha and Kirk live in the Houston area and together they have

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How to Make Watermelon Water {Agua de Sandia}

How to make Mexican Watermelon Water or Como hacer Agua de Sandia :)   On these hot summer days, wouldn't you want to drink a refreshing natural drink? Well watermelon water, or agua de sandia, as it is known in Mexico is pure refreshment. To make this you will need the following: 1/2 of a medium seedless watermelon 2 liter pitcher ice sugar water First scoop out some watermelon into a bowl  and with a masher mash it up very well until it is a watery consistency. Next, pour ice into the pitcher, add the mashed up watermelon, add cold water and sugar to taste. We like it very sweet :) Sit back on your patio and enjoy it with your friends! Patty linking up to :   House of Hepworths   Whipperberry At The Picket Fence   Tatertots and Jello  

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T Minus Four Days to Camp

Here we are mid week and I am still getting the little guy ready for his first time ever going away to Camp Huawni!   I am anxiously awaiting a name stamper so I can stamp all his clothes and things with his name! It was supposed to arrive today but it wasn't here yet when I last checked.  Agghh! I hope it will be here tomorrow.  We have had a super busy last few days. First off, we dropped off the big guy at A&M for his robotics course. I was very apprehensive about dropping him off to be alone for three weeks so far away from me!! (ok, it's not THAT far but I'd rather have all my kids under the same roof. You moms know what I'm talkin' bout) So, Monday night I call him to see how he's doing and he didn't have time to talk to me!  Can you believe that! :*( I guess he's growing up and liking it. They will be keeping them pretty busy every day not only with academics but with fun activities in the evenings. The reaso

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Transform With Chalk Paint {Nightstand}

This little nightstand is about to get hit by the magic wand!   You've seen me transform my cheap armoire before with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and now you get to see  this cheapo nighstand get the royal treatment next! A little background on this piece: It cost me about $30 nearly 12 years ago. It is made of fake wood and most people would trash it after having so long. But I wanted to give it a fresh new look. I want to show you what YOU can do with pieces you may have and think that they are not worthy of keeping. This time around I used the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Graphite for the all over color but I added Smoky Mountain Grey from CeCe Caldwell's line of chalk paint for comparison. I'll tell you which one I prefer at the end of this post :)   Here are the steps I took with this piece: First I removed the drawer knob. I did not have to sand this piece because I was using chalk paint. Chalk paint is NOT the same thing as chalkboard paint.

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Make A Laundry Bag (Stencil and Dropcloth)

How to Make A Laundry Bag Out of Dropcloths Well it's T minus 10 days 'till the little guy goes off to  Camp Huawni and I am busy getting all his gear ready. The big guy goes off to his camp this Sunday so I am getting his gear ready first. One of the things on both their lists were laundry bags. Now, I know I could just go buy one but what fun would that be? So here is how to make your very own cheap laundry bag: You will need- Dropcloth some type of strong cording such as clothes line acrylic paint letter stencils stippling brush a sewing machine For my lettering I used my Cricut and Gypsy with the Storybook fonts I wanted to make the laundry bags look kinda vintage-y What do you think? The big guy's bag has his monogram on it and the little guy's has his name stenciled on the back The number 13 was used to signify the first letter of our last name ;) My mom, who is a professional seamstress and cou

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