DUH, NUH, NUH, NA NA NA NUH NUH-

YOU SAY IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY!

Yes, yes. I do. That’s right. It’s finally my birthday! Good gravy, I apparently like some build up- what with all the giveaways and whatnot (or else it just happens to fall on a Friday this year). I guess I should tell you I’m 32 (in case you missed last year’s birthday or the one before that) and I really think age is relative. So, you don’t have to tell me I’m young- or worse- I’m old; I’m  happy right where I am (because I’ve thought about it and I don’t seem to have a choice).

Since today is my birthday (and for the behind the scenes scoop- I write these posts the night before) and I’d like to be well- rested, this post will be short and sweet.

You most likely know that I opened a monogramming shop in May and am LOVING it! I don’t think I can honestly say I’ve ever “loved” a job until now. It has been wonderful and I missed it while I was closed for maternity leave. I officially started orders again this week and am so happy to be back!

I have a whole office full of wonderful baby items (burp cloths, bibs, towels, loveys, pillows, nap mats), kitchen goodies (aprons, towels, placemats), travel accessories (duffel bags, overnight totes), children’s clothing, hats, tailgaiting accessories (liquor not included, but recommended)- YOU NAME IT! (And if you want something that I don’t have, I will do my best to find it for you.) You will have to hop over to the site for all the pictures because I really spent most of the night updating that site- not this one. You just get words today- my pet peeve (so sad on my very own birthday!).

WAIT- here’s one my favorite birthday pics for you. Will that work?

OK, whew- that was close. Picture-less posts would not be ME on my birthday.

I am going to try something new soon, though. I have small quantities of several items that I’m going to sell (clearanced priced!) on Facebook to my facebook group. See those boxes over there? –>All you have to do is click to join! Super easy!  So, I’d like to have as many people as possible in that group (Do you like my full disclosure, here?).

Here’s where you come in.

For the giveaway today, I’d like to try to get as many people in that group as possible with your help.

Today’s Giveaway is a $75 Gift Certificate to Mint Julep Monograms!

Here’s how you can enter to win:

Entry/ Comment 1) Click over to the updated website- www.mintjulepmonograms.com and let me know your favorite item or what you would buy if you won.

Entry/ Comment 2) Join the Mint Julep Monograms Facebook group (again—> right there) and let me know you did or your cute little head is already in there.

Entry/ Comment 3 AND 4) THIS IS WORTH 2 ENTRIES- (leave 2 comments) post info about this giveaway on your facebook page and invite your friends to come over to the updated site or register for the giveaway (I’ll have info on that page to link here). It’s as easy as, “Found a great giveaway today! Check out @Mint Julep Monograms to learn about a chance for $75 of free monogrammed goodies. And if you win, you owe me a present.”  Or “Don’t even think about going over to become a fan of @Mint Julep Monograms. I want to win the giveaway *ahem*.” Feel free to steal either of those; I don’t mind at all.

Entry/ Comment 5) Although I have found that the majority of you lovely readers are not twitter-ific, if you are a fan of “the twitter”, tweet about the giveaway and the facebook fan group. Yes, I’ll sell out anyway possible.

Many will enter, 1 will win! Each comment is a separate entry and there is a possibility of 5 entries.

One winner will be drawn next Tuesday.

Have fun! I can’t wait to hear your favorite items (really, I can’t!!).

Accessories are some of my very favorite things. Unfortunately, there are times in life when you think you look great with your load of accessories, but really… um… notsomuch.

I’m not sure if the neckwarmers, large amounts of teal and purple or the excessively sized sunglasses that threw us over the limit on accessories here, but something did it. I’m sure there was an alarm sounding somewhere.

That’s me on the far right with 2 of my besties from high school, Laura and Sarah. You wanna know something about our high school? There were only 31 of us in my graduating class, so we were tight. I’ve talked to both of these girls this week! I found this picture- circa 1994- on Sarah’s mom’s refrigerator in 2009 when I found this one.

Thankfully, there are MUCH cuter accessories out there these days and I have found some fun ones for giveaways for you!

The first giveaway is a $50 gift certificate to Silpada Jewelry!

Or, if you are from my neck of the woods in LA- Lower Alabama, of course- that would be pronounced “Jury”.

One of my nearest and dearest friends from college, Emily, is not only a talented photographer in the New Orleans area, but also she is a rep for Silpada! I’m certain you’ve heard of their beautiful JURY, but if not, you are in for a treat!! Emily’s site will show you all the details and they also have a great online catalog. I just spent 45 minutes over there trying to pick my favorite items to show you and there really isn’t a way to choose! But here are a few of my selections:

There are SO many beautiful pieces to choose from! Hop on over there and have fun finding your favorites. Come back here, leave a comment with your choices of fun picks and that will be your first entry.

The second giveaway is a $25 store credit to Eclectic Whatnot!

Isn’t that the most fun name for a store? Ruthanne is the owner, creator and lovely proprietor and we know each other through the blogging world! Here’s a little about her:

Ruthanne’s work at Eclectic Whatnot gives her the opportunity to combine two of her loves – photography and sewing. Her shop features shabby, chic and just plain fun camera strap covers. Her sewing is fueled by good coffee, streaming episodes of 24 and show tunes. When she’s not sewing, she’s either homeschooling her crew or stalking them with her camera. And sometimes she does both simultaneously.

Isn’t she awesome? Just wait until you see these camera strap covers:

This is totally the one I want-
 

Wait- Or this one-

This one is named Mint Julep and I think I might have to have it just for that reason!

She has SO many adorable covers over at her shop! Go check it out and let me know your favorite in the comment section for another chance to win. As you can imagine, a gal with all these adorable camera strap covers knows how to take some pictures- check out her blog for some beautiful shots! I’m mint julep green with envy….

For one more shot at this amazing giveaway with 2 great prizes, you can click on over to Ruthanne’s Eclectic Whatnot Facebook page and become a fan/ like it/ or whatever the FB Grand Poobah has named it these days.

OK. Let’s review.

Each comment is a separate entry to win these 2 awesome giveaways. One winner will be chosen for both (I feel like I need to have “Many will enter. Few will win” somewhere! ha!).

Entry/ Comment 1) Let me know your favorite Silpada Jewelry piece.

Entry/ Comment 2) Let me know your favorite camera strap cover at Eclectic Whatnot.

Entry/ Comment 3) Become a fan of Eclectic Whatnot on Facebook.

And, Emily and I talked about a special prize for a Silpada Jewelry Show hostess. If you’d like to host a Silpada Party (you can do it online!), Emily will throw in a special gift for you! These beautiful earrings-to-the-stars. You didn’t know earrings could be famous? Oh, yes, they can.

These

adorned Rachel’s ears and they can adorn yours, too! Just get in touch with Emily to set that up!

  but never came up with a definite plan. Aren’t you glad I’m so thorough like that? Em, talk to me in the morning and I will update this. If you want to host an online JURY party for your friends, Emily will make you a candy necklace with smartie-type things on it that make you have slobber on your neck. Or probably something much better.

You all know how to comment now, right? Let me know if you have any questions.

Random.org will pick a winner on Monday!

Don’t forget to enter all the other fantastic giveaways from Day 1 (Melissa Tash Studios), Day 2 (Gussy Sews and It’s Sew Sweet) and Day 3 (Zutano).

Hope you are having fun for my birthday week! One more day until I’m thirtyummm… well…30 something.

Back in March, when showing off my consignment sale finds, I mentioned that I loved Zutano brand clothes. Somehow, the Zutano folks read that, contacted me and offered me clothes for our new baby girl! I get a few offers from this lovely bloggity blog, but this one REALLY excited me! Because I already love their product and would be happy to try their new line! YAY!

I would like to mention here and now that I whole heartedly appreciate all that the federal reserve is doing with cold hard cash. If they would like to send me any to test and give my opinion on, I will happily be a test subject for them, as well.

Where was I? Oh yes- Zutano. They have a new line of clothes for newborns called Itzy Bitzy. You most likely already know and love their clothes for babies and toddlers, but check these out!

Don’t you want to snorkle this little babe?

And look at this cutie patootie outfit!
 

Just adorable! All of it!

But you’re not going to believe what happened next. After they contacted me, their warehouse BURNED (Burned, I say!). They are back up and running now, thank goodness, but they won’t be open for new orders online until October 1st. And guess who gets to order first? YOU DO!

Zutano is generously offering a $75 gift certificate to one lucky commenter for their new Itzy Bitzy line of clothes!

On another note, you have been waiting patiently for this poor child to have a name.

She is hence forth and evermore blog named Eliza (short for Elizabeth)!

I would like to rub it in a smidgen that we got a sneak peek of the new clothes. (This is baby Eliza’s sneaky face)

(Please excuse the quality of these pics. Again, my camera is BROKEN, DEAD, SIX FEET UNDER and I thought I might be getting a new one for my birthday, but apparently it’s a recession birthday. I’m working on it folks. I’m using an old point and shoot and my iPhone- so sad.)

Through the grains of this horrible picture, you can still see the cuteness of this adorable outfit (and newborn smile)! Notice, too, that we don’t take long to fatten up our kiddos. She started out skinny, but fits right in now.

It has THE CUTEST green gingham pantaloons that go with it and I have loved them! All their outfits are so soft, fit well, wash well and I love how they pair stripes or ginghams with floral and bright pops of color. Everything is just adorable!

Here’s how to enter for your chance at these wonderful clothes for your own children, grandchildren or a fantastic baby gift (or 2 or 3!):

1) Hop on over to the new Itzy Bitzy Zutano site and pick a favorite outfit. Then come back here and leave a comment with your picks.

2) Like/ become a fan of Zutano on Facebook. Then come back here and leave a comment letting me know you did that.

3) Follow Zutano on Twitter. If you don’t do “the Twitter” ( as Betty White says), then you should try it out! Then hop back over, leave another comment about the twitter and that will be your 3rd entry.

* The comment area requires an extra click. See the 3 tiny pictures below- underneath that where it says X comments in orange? CLICK THERE- NOT on facebook or anywhere else. If you are subscribing via email or a reader, you will need to come over to the actual site. You will leave your name, email address- it WON’T be published- and website if you have one. Then leave your comment in the big blank box.

Each comment is a separate entry.

So, three chances to be entered for this fabulous prize! 

Random.org will choose a winner on Monday, so enter until then and enjoy!