Winner Winner Chicken Dinner! And a random poll.

How is it already Monday again?  I never know where the weekends go.  Thanks to all of you who checked on me last week.  Knock on wood, I think my house is FINALLY healthy again!  I am not quite back to 100% yet but I'm getting there and I'll take it because last week was a rough one for sure.

Our weekend was a good one!  It was filled with lots of family time, a date for Mommy & Daddy, a shopping excursion, lots of play time, and a play date and dinner with the family of Lilly's favorite friend from school.  Because posts are better with pictures, here are a random few from the past few days.

Lills decided that Layla needed a makeover, and for maybe the first time ever Layla was feeling cooperative.  Bless that dog.

Showing off her pretty jewels.

Poor Layla!

C sitting up like a big boy (with a little help from the Boppy to cushion his roll backwards shortly after this photo was taken!)

Daddy's twinsie for reals

His father's child.  Daddy llloovvveees Cheetos!

And now, the random part of this post: I have been feeling claustrophobic towards all of the stuff in our house.  There, I said it!  It feels good to get that off of my chest, HA.  Now that we have a sense of what C likes and what he doesn't like and what we'll need and won't use ever again, it's time for some purging.  With that said, I have some maternity clothes to get rid of as well as some baby stuff and quite a lot of baby clothes as well (probably all girl clothes for now - Lilly had such an obscene amount of clothing that most of her clothes were only worn once or twice, so I've been considering doing a huge online yard sale of sorts but don't feel like messing with eBay or dealing with a consignment store just yet).  Does anyone who follows this blog have any interest in something like that?  I was thinking of creating a separate Instagram account and selling there, but of course am open to ideas and suggestions.  Maternity clothes would be size M and L and baby girl clothes would be newborn up to 2T, various seasons.  And then random baby stuff.  Holler at me in the comments or via e-mail and let me know what you think.

Finally, the part you've all been waiting for: the giveaway winner!  Congratulations to Carrie for winning the $20 shop credit to The Posh Plum!  I urge all of you to check this shop out NOW because it is amazing - in fact, I am headed there myself shortly to look at some accessories for Craft for his upcoming 6-month (!!!!!) photo shoot.  Thanks to Bridget for hooking us up!  Carrie, I'll send Bridget your e-mail so that you guys can be in touch about your credit.

That's all of the randomness I have for now.  Hope your week is off to a great start! 

Blogiversary and GIVEAWAY!

Hello, friends.  Happy Thursday!  It's almost Friday, and that is exciting.  AND.  Ya know what I realized?  This week (Saturday, to be precise) marks my three year blogiversary.  I know, it's hard to believe that three years ago I started this blog with the news that Lillian Grace Baum was cookin' in mama's oven.  Time flies when you're having fun, right?  In honor of the Baum Squad's birthday, I thought it would be the perfect time for another review and giveaway.  Y'all don't mind, right?  :-)

Friends, let's talk about one of my favorite Etsy shops: The Posh Plum.  The Posh Plum sells baby and toddler accessories.  The two we've tried are the hair bow:

and the hat:

Bow ties are also sold in the shop, which I have yet to try but am dying to.  Accessories for a certain upcoming "6 months old" photo shoot, anyone?!

ANYWAY, down to serious business.  I cannot even begin to tell you how much we love our Posh Plum accessories.  Not only are they adorable, but the quality is fantastic - they are so durable.  As you can see by the series of bow photos above, Lills is not normally easy on her accessories but these have stood the test of time.  The bows are the perfect size - not too big and not too small. And the HATS, y'all.  SO. CUTE.  I can't even talk about it.  So well-made, and reversible.  I thought I was going to have to bribe fight Lillian and force her to wear a hat all summer, but we are now the proud owners of two Posh Plum hats and Lills loves them both so much that most of the time she refuses to go outside without them.  In fact, when the pink one came in the mail, we had one of our largest 2-year-old tantrums to date when I wouldn't wear Lilly wear her new hat to bed.  Fine by me that she's obsessed, because aside from being functional and protecting L's sweet little fair-skinned face from the sun, they are also adorable beyond words.

The icing on the cake?  Bridgett, who is the woman behind all things Posh Plum, is quite possibly the sweetest person you will ever work with (and seriously adorable).  She takes customer service to a whole new level!  Not only does she turn these hats around pretty quickly, but she is very responsive and so easy to work with.  You'll definitely want to follow The Posh Plum on Instagram, too, because she has flash sales that are amazing!

Because Bridgett is the sweetest, she has agreed to give one of my lucky readers a $20 shop credit.  She's added some new hats recently that are to die for, and it has taken every ounce of willpower in my body not to buy yet another one (I can just see my husband rolling his eyes!).  So, hop on down to the rafflecopter below and enter today!  Contest closes in one week.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

That's all for tonight - thanks to Bridgett for her generosity with this giveaway!  Regardless of whether or not you win, do yourself a favor and be sure to check out The Posh Plum.  You can thank me later!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Howdy, friends!  Hope everyone had a great weekend.  Just wanted to hop in and announce the winner of the Freshly Picked Moccasins giveaway.

CONGRATS, QUINN!

I'll be in touch via e-mail to get you taken care of.  So fun!

I have another fun giveaway coming at ya towards the end of the week so be sure to stay tuned.  So many fun things to share!

A fun little giveaway...

Y'ALL.  You know the giveaway I've been promising you?  Well, it's finally here and I'm SO EXCITED.  I have been dying to get my hands on this product for about a million years...definitely since before Craft was born.  Want a hint?

via my Instagram a few weeks ago

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!  I'M SO HAPPY ABOUT THIS!  Can you tell?  

I can review our Freshly Picked moccasins in four short words: I. LOVE. these. shoes.  I think that they might be some of the cutest little shoes I ever did see!

I had my heart set on the weathered brown moccs for my little man.

via Freshly Picked

Aren't they darling?  Unfortunately for us, the weathered brown moccs were sold out in C's size, so we went with Walnut but I still love them.

via Freshly Picked

I would be lying to you if I didn't admit that I have almost ordered the Heirloom limited editions for Lilly about six times.  I would also be lying if I didn't admit that I have considered having aforementioned Heirloom limited editions shipped to my office to hide from my husband.  OY.  Hope he's not reading (love you, mean it!).

via Freshly Picked

Freshly Picked has a handy dandy little sizing chart that you can print to measure your little one's feet, easy peasy.  Craft is sporting a size one currently, which are still a little big but seeing as he's not yet mobile I'm okay with it and happy that he'll be able to wear them for a little while.

These shoes are really well made, friends.  The leather is so soft!  The elastic allows for some stretch (which is a good thing because my little man has some chunk on his fat little feet - shocking, I know!), but is snug enough to keep the shoes in place even though they are a little big right this second.

Even though Craft isn't mobile, there are certain occasions where he needs to wear shoes and I love that these are so versatile.

Whether or not this exact pair still fits (doubtful), I'll definitely have to invest in another pair when C starts to stand and walk.  I remember that Lillian only liked soft-soled shoes for the longest time, and I think these will be perfect and feel good on C's chubby little feet.

Also, these moccs are surprisingly easy to put on and take off of little moving feet, which says a lot because Craft likes to curl his little toes whenever I'm putting anything on his feet which makes putting most shoes on him nearly impossible.

I don't think I can rave enough.  LOVE. THESE.  SHOES.  And because I love all of you, my dear readers, I am excited to tell you that in honor of Craft's four-month birthday, he asked his friends over at Freshly Picked if he could share their shoes with one of his baum-squad-blog-reading-friends, and they generously agreed to send one of you lucky ducks a pair of moccs in the size and color of your choosing!

The contest ends on Friday at midnight, so don't wait too long!  Enter using the Rafflecopter below, and I'll announce the winner next week.  Best of luck and Happy Monday!

*Moccasins were provided for review by Freshly Picked, but all opinions expressed are my own.

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Goosewaddle Giveaway Winner!!!

Happy Friday, y'all!  And a great day it is indeed.  Dan and I are celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary today, wahoo!  Time sure flies when you're having fun.

Just popping in to congratulate the winner of my Goosewaddle giveaway: Sarah H!  Sarah, you will LOVE this blanket, I promise you.  I will be e-mailing you shortly to work out the details.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!  I have some other fun giveaways coming up soon, so stay tuned.

Sarah

Goosewaddle Review

Howdy, friends!  It's Thursday, and I have a fun little treat in store today.  Y'all know I love a good baby product, and I love to share my good baby product finds with all of you as well, so imagine my delight when my friends at Goosewaddle contacted me about a product review.  Yes, please!

I am a firm believer that you can't ever have too many blankets with a baby.  Between poopsplosions, spit up, drool, and whatever other gross things babies do, it's always nice to have plenty on hand.

I have to admit that upon looking these blankets up, I wasn't sure I would be a huge fan because I don't normally like blankets where the edges are made of a different material than the blanket itself (I'm sure there's a technical term for that which I do not know).  It's a weird thing to be picky about, I know.  I was very pleasantly surprised, though, when I received my package from Goosewaddle.  

These blankets are REALLY soft.  They are much softer than the photos demonstrate (and I should probably apologize here for the poor quality of my photos!) and they are also the perfect amount of fluffy.  I really like mine and have been using it quite a lot ever since Craft was born.  

Not only does the blanket have a great texture, but it's also very versatile.  When C was a newborn, I would often layer it under him in whatever contraption I had him in at the moment so that he would have a soft place to snooze.

Since Craft was a February baby and it was still pretty cold after he was born, it also came in handy for the purpose of keeping my little butterball warm when his squish alone wasn't enough to keep him warm.

Now that the weather has warmed up and Craft has started to roll over, the Goosewaddle has become my go-to blanket for laying him down to play on.

Big sister Lilly approves...

…as does other "big sister" Layla.

We even tested it out on our friend Cora, who seemed pretty cozy as well (or maybe she was just so happy to be snuggled up in Craft's rolls?!).

Also a plus?  Super easy to clean.  There have been more bodily fluids on this blanket than you can imagine because we've been dealing with some serious spit up (gross), and I just throw it in with the rest of the baby laundry and hang it to dry to preserve the fluff.  Easiest ever!

I will admit that I am a pretty big blanket snob, but the Goosewaddle passed my ridiculous pretty strict blanket test.  Plus, they sent a REALLY cute goose that Lilly has taken a liking to.

Because my friends at Goosewaddle are so very generous, one of you lucky ducks is going to have the opportunity to experience this blanket for yourself.  Goosewaddle has generously agreed to send the winner of this giveaway one full-sized blanket as well as a smaller "blankie" in the color of your choosing.  

We went with blue because I was feeling guilty that Craft is sporting quite a lot of pink and purple hand-me-downs from his big sister, but I love the look of the white as well.

So, lovely readers, all you have to do is enter via the rafflecopter below for the chance to experience the Goosewaddle for yourself.  I'll announce the winner next Friday.  Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*If you follow me on Instagram, you might just find that there is a way for you to gain an additional entry.  You're welcome.

**Blankets were provided for review by Goosewaddle, but all opinions expressed are my own.

Sarah

Birthday Giveaway!

That's right folks, my very own (first ever!) blog giveaway, and I am so excited about it!  I hope you are, too.

I have a big birthday coming up one week from today - the big 3-0, which from here on will be referred to as my 29th birthday.  That's what people do when they're turning 30, right?  Anyway, my friend Quinn over at Kimchi & Sweet Tea did a giveaway (which I actually won HURRAY!  I never win anything!)  in honor of her 30th, and I thought it was such a fun idea that I decided to be a copycat!  Only I'm not even half as creative as Quinn, so I decided to do something a little different.  

For the past month, I have been keeping a list of everyday things that I love and calling it my "Fav Things List."  It is mostly cosmetics/accessories and food-related (hello, preggo), but luckily for you guys I've been picking up extras of these items here and there as I've been out and about shopping, so now you can try them out, too!  Just call me Oprah (love her!).  Except that I will sadly not be gifting you a car, Tory Burch bag, or any sort of Apple device...sorry 'bout it.  Anyway, here is the fabulousness that you will receive if you are my lucky winner:

1. twistband Hair Tie 6-pack in Chelsea Classic.  I got these in a Birchbox over a year ago and have been in love ever since, because I have the type of hair that crinkles if I put it up for any amount of time (even 30 seconds. seriously.). These hair ties are amazing!  I bought the boring colors for you because I felt like they could be worn with more, but I'm betting once you try them you'll want to buy some additional colors for yourself.  Even if you don't win, treat yourself because these are fabulous (and are currently shipping for free!).  And if you've never checked out Birchbox, just do it.

2.  Color Club Cocktail Collection Nail Polish in Top Shelf.   I am REAL picky about nail polishes, but this was another Birchbox find that I have been obsessing over this Holiday season.  This color is SO pretty and so versatile.  I've found that it adheres to my nails well, doesn't go on streaky and lasts for a good amount of time.  I also love that I can get by with one coat if I'm short on time.  Love everything about it!

3.  Eos lip balm.  One of my favorites lip balms.  My lips have been so dry this winter season (more dry than normal, I feel like) and I remember from my last laboring experience that chapstick was a must, so I've made sure to stock up.  All of the colors/flavors are so fun, too.

4.  An infinity scarf!  My SIL gave me one as a "thank you" gift for helping with her baby shower, and I love it.  I can't remember the last time that I bought any non-maternity clothing for myself, but scarves are the perfect accessory, pregnant or not!  I am not yet sure whether I will be gifting this scarf or this scarf because I am keeping one for myself.  :-)  But both are presh!!!

5.  A $5 gift card to Chick Fil A so that you can experience the peppermint chocolate shake for yourself (but maybe don't click on that link and look at the nutritional info before consuming, ha!)!  I know I've mentioned before that I've been loving (and craving!) all things peppermint-chocolate-flavored.

6.  Last but not least, your very own bag of candy cane kisses.  Try not to consume the entire bag in one sitting...I dare you.

Who knows, by the time this giveaway is over I may have added something else to the mix, but I wanted to give you a week to enter so I thought I'd go ahead and post.  I'm so excited about my very first giveaway, I hope you are as well!  You have until midnight on my birthday (December 17th) to enter, and the winner will be drawn at random.  So go ahead, enter away!  

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I'll be back tomorrow with our regularly scheduled programming: a day-late update on Baby Boy Baum's progress this week.

Happy Tuesday, and may the odds be ever in your favor (couldn't resist!).

Sarah