2012: A Look Back

So this is going to be a big bundle of everything that happened in 2012.

We started off the year with resolutions.  When I set these I had good intentions but never looked back to see if I was on track.  So I did and here's an update:

1.  First was to lose weight, specifically 15 lbs.  Didn't happen.  I did start running again and did 30 Day Shred but wasn't completely serious about it.  What better time that January to make a fresh start so, check back in a couple days and see if this is on the list.

2.  Become a better blogger.  Specifically I was looking to become more interactive with you, my readers. I think I've gotten better.  I notice a few of you are regular commentors and I can't tell you how much I appreciate it.  I often feel like it's just me talking to myself here so when you comment it makes my day!

3.  Become more aggressive in my career path.  I explained I got a big stagnant in my career.  It's that don't get to comfortable thing.  I was comfortable, with the company I was at and the job I was in.  Wasn't challenging me so I was coasting.  Not a good thing especially when you turn 30 and realize, it's time to kick it in.  In February, I left the company I had been with for 5 years to a smaller company based out of Wisconsin.  I work on site for our client in Columbus and have a lot of flexibility and really love my coworkers.  I've been more aggressive and more vocal about my career and I think it's working.  I'm sure 2013 will be great for my career.

4.  More organized living space.  Well, I've got a post for you.  It's one I've been sitting on for a couple weeks because I don't feel like we're quit there yet but I'm so excited about it that I might just show you the progression.



Okay, let's transition into the next big event.  My little Adalyn's birthday.  She turned one on January 21st and we had a big party to celebrate.  She turns two in about 4 weeks so I'm working on details now.  More posts to come.

Addie was in her first and second wedding (don't have pictures back on this wedding) as a flower girl.  She did great in both weddings and was entertainment at both!

We took Addie on her first and second beach vacation and took her on her first airplane trip!

She saw her first fireworks display and loved every minute of it.

This year was full of lots of firsts for her and hopefully 2013 brings more fun and exciting things our way!

-stephanie

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Baking with Addie

Addie is slowly approaching the age where she's using her imagination.  She likes to play with her tea set and feed her babies and it's so neat to see her brain working.  One day she doesn't understand and is really frustrated and the next it just works for her.  She's also excited about small chores, feed the dog, throw something in the trash, help in the kitchen.  I thought Addie was still a little young for any Christmas cookies this year and I still think there are a few things she's not ready for (ie, icing Christmas cookies can wait until next year) but when I started pulling out ingredients for my favorite Christmas cookies, Addie pushed a chair over to help out.

So I told her to climb up on the chair and put on her apron to keep her clothes free of flour.

I couldn't not let her help out, though she did slow me down a bit.  She was so excited to pour in the flour or help mix up the batter.

I even let her have one lick off the spoon.

It was so much fun with her helping out and next year will be so much fun when I can set her up with a rolling pin to make her own cut out cookies and ice them herself!

-stephanie

Look What Santa Brought...

Addie is pretty excited about what Santa brought her.  A pink unicorn rocker she's named Missy.

-stephanie

Merry Christmas!

I hope that all of you enjoy a happy, safe holiday with your family & friends.  Remember to enjoy every moment.  I'll be back on Wednesday with loads of Christmas pictures!

-stephanie

Our Other Family Member: Chloe

Back when I started this blog, I introduced each of the members of our family.  You've heard a lot since then about Rick, Addie, and me but you haven't heard a whole lot about Chloe.  She's our 9 year old chocolate Labrador retriever who is the best dog I've ever seen.  Yes, she's ours so of course I would say this but really she is.

When she was a puppy I made sure she had the proper obedience training she needed and continued to keep up with those lessons through the years.  It's made her a great dog to have around Addie and any other children.  I can say with absolute certainty I don't ever have to worry about Chloe playing with kids.  Addie loves her!

Being such an important member of our family, we make sure she eats the best dog food especially since she's now considered a senior dog.  With her old age we especially want to make sure the food she is eating is good for her dental health.  We found a great brand in Eukanuba that offers us both of these.  Did you know that up to 85% of dogs have serious tartar build-up by the age of three?

We tried out the Eukanuba 3D DentaDefense and Chloe loved it.  She's usually the type of dog who isn't really excited about eating but since trying out Eukanuba, she's running to her bowl when Addie pours a scope each day.  I can't wait to take her into the vet to hear the changes in her dental health first hand.

-stephanie

PS. Though I received Eukanuba for free as a BzzAgent, all opinions are mine.

Gourmet Candy Apples 2012

Each year, my BFF Mary and most of the women in her family all gather on a Sunday in December to make gourmet candy apples.  It's been going on for years and it's great fun and great food too!

Nearly 200 apples will have been dipped in caramel, chocolate and decorated in various candies.  If you buy these apples at a gourmet candy store, you're look at anywhere from $8-$25 on a single apple.  These cost just under $2 per apple to make and are really much easier than you would imagine!

So here's a rundown of what you need:

-sturdy wooden sticks

-apples

-good quality caramel (you'll want to buy it in blocks versus individually wrapped candies)

-various chocolate (milk, white, dark)

-various candies (nuts, peppermints, m&m's, salt, etc)

-mallet or hammer

-double broiler type set up

-parchment paper

-nonstick spray

-candy bags to put the individual apples in for presentation

First thing you do is grab an apple, a stick and a mallet or hammer and hammer down the pointed end of your stick into the apples.

Melt down some of your caramel in the double broiler.  Take an apple and completely cover it in caramel.  You'll need a knife to swipe the bottom clear of caramel.  You'll need to hold the apple until the caramel cools alternating right side up & upside down.  Once cool enough place caramel apple on parchment paper with nonstick spray.  The nonstick spray is super important.  Do this for all of your apples, it's nice to have multiple hands to hold the apples as the caramel cools, otherwise your process will be a bit slower.

Once all apples are dipped in caramel and cooled you can begin your chocolate dipping & decorating.  You'll notice that some of the caramel slide down the apples, this is okay, just take the apple in your hand and slowly mold the caramel around the apple.  If you have any bubbles in the caramel, this is okay, just grab a toothpick and pop them.

Again, you'll need your double broiler set up with whatever chocolate you want to dip the caramel apples in. I prefer milk chocolate dipped caramel apples and then drizzle dark & white chocolate.  Just depends on your taste preferences.  Just like when you dipped the apple into the caramel, you'll want to hold the chocolate covered apples for a few minutes until the chocolate has dried a bit before setting down.  If you like adding nuts, candies, sprinkles, etc you can do it once you dip your apples in the chocolate.

Note:  In order to get nuts, candies, etc to stick to your apple you'll need to dip in chocolate and let the chocolate cool slightly before covering with nuts or candies.  If you do it too soon the nuts and candies will slide off.

It sounds like a lot but it really isn't.  Be a little patient your first time around.  Once you get the hang of it it runs really smoothly.  Like I said, the more hands you have around to help, the smoother things will run.  With about 200 apples, we had about 10 people helping and we each left with 10 apples.

It's a great tradition to carry on for years to come.  I think next year will be a good age to introduce Addie and can't wait to see her have fun decorating with us.  What a coincidence that exactly a year ago today I blogged about it.  You can read about it here.

-stephanie

A Christmas Craft for Your Toddler

Do you have a rambunctious toddler that you just can't seem to keep occupied?  I've got a great craft for you.  I found several of these ideas on Pinterest and thought, easy craft, cheap craft, and it requires little crafting skills.  Which is what we all need sometimes.  Something simple, cheap, easy to make and will be exciting for your kids.

So I present to you...The Felt Christmas Tree!

What you'll need:

1/2 yd green felt (I bought 1 yard but I quickly realized I could work with 1/2 yard pretty easily)

Several smaller pieces of fun colored felt

Glue gun (if you want to get creative)

Peel & Stick type adhesives (whatever won't ruin your paint when you later remove)

*Optional - poster board to glue the tree to

Cut out a tree from your green felt.  Go fancy or go simple, whatever you choose.  With your smaller fun colors, cut out circles for your ornaments, squares & rectangles for your presents, bulb type shapes for your lights.  If you want to get creative and make the ornaments, lights, and presents look more real then get out your glue gun and make fancy designs.  Use the adhesive to hang your tree on your wall.  If I did this again, I would glue the tree to poster board.  Our tree has fallen a few times for hanging too long.

Then, let your kids enjoy!

Day of Silence

I can't even begin to imagine what everyone in Newton, CT is feeling at this moment.  As a mother it's your worst nightmare and so today I'll be stepping away from the blog for a day of silence to honor the victims whose lives were lost.

Though there is not much we can do to comfort those affected, we are able to help by donating.  So I ask my readers to take today as a moment to think of these families, pray for them during this difficult time, and donate if you can.

Donations can be made directly to the Sandy Hook School Support Fund.

Product Love: Picasound

How many times have you taken a picture of your little ones on your cell phone and your picture looks like this.

Because you have about .05 seconds to snap a picture while they're looking at the camera but then to try to get one while they're also smiling?  Near impossible.  So when I found out about a new iPhone app called Picasound that helps capture the attention of your little ones and pulls a smile out of them.  Picasound is a camera app that uses 48 unique sounds to help get the attention of a child or loved one so you can snap that perfect picture.  The app recently launched and has already had several 5 star reviews.

Created by a couple of dads just trying to get a good picture of their kids!

Addie especially liked the crying babies.  She was cracking up over them.  For only $1.99 you can purchase the Picasound app and capture great pictures of your little ones.  You're able to share pictures directly from the app to your Facebook, Twitter or other email accounts to share the special pictures with friends and family.

The dads of Picasound are offering one of my readers the chance to win this app!  Read the details how to enter below.

How to Enter.  This is a Rafflecopter giveaway. Click "Read More" below and then follow the instructions on the widget. Make sure to click "Enter!" after you complete each entry. Open internationally.  The giveaway ends at 11:59 PM EST on Monday, December 17th. The first task is mandatory.  Make sure to complete this task in order to unlock additional entries.  Remember, the more you complete the more chances for you to win!

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Santa Fail

Let's keep this short and sweet.  Because a picture is really worth a thousand words in this instance.

Addie was not a fan!

-stephanie

Holiday Traditions

As a young kid, Christmas was always my favorite time of year.  I think it was that whole "magic of Christmas".  The feeling in the air, family gatherings, hot cocoa, it was all amazing.  I remember when I was younger going to a tree farm every year and picking out our favorite tree.  Somehow we always managed to pick out the ugliest tree.  They always looked so pretty on the farm but at home, doesn't look so hot.  My dad would set up the tree in the living room overnight and Sunday we would all decorate the tree.  We would drink hot chocolate while we decorated the tree and eat chili for dinner.

A couple weeks before Christmas my mom would begin her Christmas cookie making process.  We would help out throughout the day but we really came around to help when it was time to ice the cookies.  My mom makes great Christmas cookies but her sugar cookies with icing are amazing.  I'm sure they didn't look hot when we were icing but it was fun.

These are the things I remember most about growing up and they're the things I want to do most with Addie.  We already set up the Christmas tree, which she was a bit too young for but she did get to see it after it was up and put up a couple of our non breakable items.  Christmas cookies begin next Monday and I'll be making up a batch for Addie to ice herself.

 

Please notice there are no bulbs at the bottom of the tree.  We were concerned Addie would take them off and break them.  Luckily, she's had no interest in the tree.

What are your holiday traditions?  I can't wait to find more traditions we can add over the years.

-stephanie

Currently Loving

Yesterday Rick, Addie and I made a trip to Old Navy.  I had a few things to return from my black Friday shopping so I figured it would be a quick trip.  I was like a kid in a candy store!  We were sort of in a rush, approaching Addie's bedtime I knew I didn't have long before we reached a meltdown so I didn't have a lot of time to shop.  In the few minutes I was there I was able to scope out the following pieces I'll be going back to purchase for Addie.


1 - Texturized Button Front Cardis - $18
2 - Striped Embellished Graphic Tops - $12
3 - Love Birds Body Suit - $10
4 - Ruffle Tiered Tutu - $17
5 - Pop Color Super Skinny Jeans - $15

Dying over cuteness.  I love how trendy kids clothes have become.  If only they made that cardi in my size...

-stephanie

Day 12: Clippie Dips

12 days of giveaways on 4 different blogs, offering various items for you and your family, varying from blog to blog! November 26th - December 7th.

Our lovely hostesses ...

Real Life Reality

First time momma to a soon-to-be 2 year old girl, turned single one year in. Living life one day at a time, keeping a positive attitude at all times! Life experiences, photos galore, fashion, health and fitness, tons of giveaways and so much more.

12 daily Giveaways include companies such as ThirtyOne Gifts, Riff Raff, Truly Sanctuary, Chaos & Love, Happy Family and many more awesome vendors/companies featuring clothing, childrens gifts, organic toddler food, hand made items, cool gifts and more. Visit me now!

Moments That Take My Breath Away

Former librarian turned stay at home mom to our 22 month old daughter Grace and 1 month old son Connor. I love sharing our daily adventures and I often feature our favorite books and money saving tips.

12 Daily Giveaways include some great items for everyone in the family such as a bag from Thirty One, a recordable story book from Hallmark, several pieces of beautiful jewelry, and an 8x10 photo canvas. Visit me now!

My Messmerized Life

A blog focused on everyday life, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Facing real life challenges including struggles through miscarriages and pregnancy. Capturing memories of our young daughter blooming into a spunky toddler. Finding frugal ways to keep our house fresh and up to date but also kid proof. Crafting, DIYing, fashion, food, and more!

12 Daily Giveaways include home décor, clothing for men, women & children accessories, skin care products, toys & books, home fragrances, customizable items and more! Visit me now!

Chaos & Love

A blog about my life as a working mom of two boys and the wife of a chef. I practice cooking, attempt to meal plan, think out loud about crafting and write about the daily happenings in our lives.

12 Daily Giveaways include encompass many of the things that I write about on my blog - organization, jewelry, the Paleo lifestyle and more. Visit me now!

Be sure to visit each blog each day for a chance to win a different item! Good luck! 

Today is the final day of our 12 Days of Christmas Holiday giveaway and our final sponsor is Clippie Dips!  Clippie Dips creates probably the cutest hair clips I've ever seen and the quality is really superior!  I'm in love with these super cute owls Addie will be rocking!



Can't wait to get your Clippie Dips?  Enter code MESSMERIZE at Clippie Dips and receive 15% but hurry this is only good through December. 

Here's your chance to win 5 items of your choice from Clippie Dips!

How to Enter.  This is a Rafflecopter giveaway. Click "Read More" below and then follow the instructions on the widget. Make sure to click "Enter!" after you complete each entry. Open to US & Canada.  The giveaway ends at 11:59 PM EST on Friday, December 14th. The first task is mandatory.  Make sure to complete this task in order to unlock additional entries.  Remember, the more you complete the more chances for you to win!

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Day 11.5: Recap & Summary

12 days of giveaways on 4 different blogs, offering various items for you and your family, varying from blog to blog! November 26th - December 7th.

Our lovely hostesses ...

Real Life Reality

First time momma to a soon-to-be 2 year old girl, turned single one year in. Living life one day at a time, keeping a positive attitude at all times! Life experiences, photos galore, fashion, health and fitness, tons of giveaways and so much more.

12 daily Giveaways include companies such as ThirtyOne Gifts, Riff Raff, Truly Sanctuary, Chaos & Love, Happy Family and many more awesome vendors/companies featuring clothing, childrens gifts, organic toddler food, hand made items, cool gifts and more. Visit me now!

Moments That Take My Breath Away

Former librarian turned stay at home mom to our 22 month old daughter Grace and 1 month old son Connor. I love sharing our daily adventures and I often feature our favorite books and money saving tips.

12 Daily Giveaways include some great items for everyone in the family such as a bag from Thirty One, a recordable story book from Hallmark, several pieces of beautiful jewelry, and an 8x10 photo canvas. Visit me now!

My Messmerized Life 

A blog focused on everyday life, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Facing real life challenges including struggles through miscarriages and pregnancy. Capturing memories of our young daughter blooming into a spunky toddler. Finding frugal ways to keep our house fresh and up to date but also kid proof. Crafting, DIYing, fashion, food, and more!

12 Daily Giveaways include home décor, clothing for men, women & children accessories, skin care products, toys & books, home fragrances, customizable items and more! Visit me now!

Chaos & Love 

A blog about my life as a working mom of two boys and the wife of a chef. I practice cooking, attempt to meal plan, think out loud about crafting and write about the daily happenings in our lives.

12 Daily Giveaways include encompass many of the things that I write about on my blog - organization, jewelry, the Paleo lifestyle and more. Visit me now!

Be sure to visit each blog each day for a chance to win a different item! Good luck!

Well, we should be on day 12 however I'm having a bit of a delay in releasing the last giveaway post so please stay tuned, it is coming!  In the meantime, let's take a look back at the giveaways that are still open.

Day 6:  Scrappy Pants.  Super cute tins that can be customized.  This store is an up & comer at Etsy so make sure to check out the store for new additions.

Day 7:  Between You & Me.  Customized hand stamped jewelry.  Very cute store and Addie is still walking around with her adorable bracelet on.

Day 8:  Huggabeans.  Crocheted hats for newborns, toddlers, and kids.  Addie just wore hers this morning out to breakfast and wouldn't take it off.

Day 9:  INKtastic.  Ridiculously funny and cute t-shirts, bags, etc. for anyone in your life.  Rick still thinks he's a beer pong legend.

Day 10:  Bammco.  Another newer seller to the scene.  These books are similar to the well known "Where's Waldo" books except with your kid or kids' faces.

Day 11:  Milk Nursingwear.  A fabulous shop full of super cute items for the nursing mom who can nurse in public without feeling uncomfortable due to clothing issues.

These giveaways are still open but hurry to enter because they'll close soon.  Good luck to everyone and check back tomorrow for my final day of giveaways!

Day 11: Milk Nursingwear

12 days of giveaways on 4 different blogs, offering various items for you and your family, varying from blog to blog! November 26th - December 7th.

Our lovely hostesses ...

Real Life Reality

First time momma to a soon-to-be 2 year old girl, turned single one year in. Living life one day at a time, keeping a positive attitude at all times! Life experiences, photos galore, fashion, health and fitness, tons of giveaways and so much more.

12 daily Giveaways include companies such as ThirtyOne Gifts, Riff Raff, Truly Sanctuary, Chaos & Love, Happy Family and many more awesome vendors/companies featuring clothing, childrens gifts, organic toddler food, hand made items, cool gifts and more. Visit me now!

Moments That Take My Breath Away

Former librarian turned stay at home mom to our 22 month old daughter Grace and 1 month old son Connor. I love sharing our daily adventures and I often feature our favorite books and money saving tips. 

12 Daily Giveaways include some great items for everyone in the family such as a bag from Thirty One, a recordable story book from Hallmark, several pieces of beautiful jewelry, and an 8x10 photo canvas. Visit me now!

My Messmerized Life

A blog focused on everyday life, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Facing real life challenges including struggles through miscarriages and pregnancy. Capturing memories of our young daughter blooming into a spunky toddler. Finding frugal ways to keep our house fresh and up to date but also kid proof. Crafting, DIYing, fashion, food, and more!

12 Daily Giveaways include home décor, clothing for men, women & children accessories, skin care products, toys & books, home fragrances, customizable items and more! Visit me now!

Chaos & Love

A blog about my life as a working mom of two boys and the wife of a chef. I practice cooking, attempt to meal plan, think out loud about crafting and write about the daily happenings in our lives.

12 Daily Giveaways include encompass many of the things that I write about on my blog - organization, jewelry, the Paleo lifestyle and more. Visit me now!

Be sure to visit each blog each day for a chance to win a different item! Good luck! 

Day 11 is another awesome giveaway sponsored by Milk Nursingwear.  Milk offers a variety of clothing options for the nursing mom.  I was so excited when I confirmed this giveaway.  Being a nursing mom myself I know how challenging it was to nurse in public without flashing my boobs in the process.  If only I had this rockin LBD when I was nursing.
 


You can wear this dress to work or to a wedding.  It's so comfortable and the best part for new moms is the ruching going on across the stomach, hiding that post partum belly.  This dress is super comfortable, cute, and you can easily nurse in public without flashing anyone!

And one of you has the chance to win $35 credit to Milk Nursingwear (good for merchandise).


How to Enter.  This is a Rafflecopter giveaway. Click "Read More" below and then follow the instructions on the widget. Make sure to click "Enter!" after you complete each entry. Open internationally.  The giveaway ends at 11:59 PM EST on Wednesday, December 12th. The first task is mandatory.  Make sure to complete this task in order to unlock additional entries.  Remember, the more you complete the more chances for you to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Day 10: Bammco Personalized Books

12 days of giveaways on 4 different blogs, offering various items for you and your family, varying from blog to blog! November 26th - December 7th.

Our lovely hostesses ...

Real Life Reality

First time momma to a soon-to-be 2 year old girl, turned single one year in. Living life one day at a time, keeping a positive attitude at all times! Life experiences, photos galore, fashion, health and fitness, tons of giveaways and so much more.

12 daily Giveaways include companies such as ThirtyOne Gifts, Riff Raff, Truly Sanctuary, Chaos & Love, Happy Family and many more awesome vendors/companies featuring clothing, childrens gifts, organic toddler food, hand made items, cool gifts and more. Visit me now!

Moments That Take My Breath Away

Former librarian turned stay at home mom to our 22 month old daughter Grace and 1 month old son Connor. I love sharing our daily adventures and I often feature our favorite books and money saving tips.

12 Daily Giveaways include some great items for everyone in the family such as a bag from Thirty One, a recordable story book from Hallmark, several pieces of beautiful jewelry, and an 8x10 photo canvas. Visit me now!

My Messmerized Life

A blog focused on everyday life, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Facing real life challenges including struggles through miscarriages and pregnancy. Capturing memories of our young daughter blooming into a spunky toddler. Finding frugal ways to keep our house fresh and up to date but also kid proof. Crafting, DIYing, fashion, food, and more!

12 Daily Giveaways include home décor, clothing for men, women & children accessories, skin care products, toys & books, home fragrances, customizable items and more! Visit me now!

Chaos & Love

A blog about my life as a working mom of two boys and the wife of a chef. I practice cooking, attempt to meal plan, think out loud about crafting and write about the daily happenings in our lives.

12 Daily Giveaways include encompass many of the things that I write about on my blog - organization, jewelry, the Paleo lifestyle and more. Visit me now!

Be sure to visit each blog each day for a chance to win a different item! Good luck!

Day 10 is the awesome Bammco Personalized Books! When I found out what Bammco does I was super excited.  Addie is at the age where she recognizes family and friends in pictures and enjoys telling us everyone's name.  Bammco takes a picture of your child and puts them into the book in a "Where's Waldo?" type feel so your child is able to find themselves.  Rick and I were dying over Addie's picture in the book.

See her down in the bottom right?  She's on each page of the book in a different location.  I can't wait to give it to her for Christmas!  The really cool thing is you can add up to five faces in one book! 

One lucky reader will win a personalized book just like Addie's!  Even if you don't win this giveaway, Bammco is offering my readers 10% off their order by entering code
buckethead (lower case).

How to Enter.  This is a Rafflecopter giveaway. Click "Read More" below and then follow the instructions on the widget. Make sure to click "Enter!" after you complete each entry. Open to US residents only.  The giveaway ends at 11:59 PM EST on Tuesday, December 11th.  The first task is mandatory.  Make sure to complete this task in order to unlock additional entries.  Remember, the more you complete the more chances for you to win!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Day 9: INKtastic

12 days of giveaways on 4 different blogs, offering various items for you and your family, varying from blog to blog! November 26th - December 7th.

Our lovely hostesses ...

Real Life Reality

First time momma to a soon-to-be 2 year old girl, turned single one year in. Living life one day at a time, keeping a positive attitude at all times! Life experiences, photos galore, fashion, health and fitness, tons of giveaways and so much more.

12 daily Giveaways include companies such as ThirtyOne Gifts, Riff Raff, Truly Sanctuary, Chaos & Love, Happy Family and many more awesome vendors/companies featuring clothing, childrens gifts, organic toddler food, hand made items, cool gifts and more. Visit me now!

Moments That Take My Breath Away

Former librarian turned stay at home mom to our 22 month old daughter Grace and 1 month old son Connor. I love sharing our daily adventures and I often feature our favorite books and money saving tips.

12 Daily Giveaways include some great items for everyone in the family such as a bag from Thirty One, a recordable story book from Hallmark, several pieces of beautiful jewelry, and an 8x10 photo canvas. Visit me now!

My Messmerized Life

A blog focused on everyday life, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Facing real life challenges including struggles through miscarriages and pregnancy. Capturing memories of our young daughter blooming into a spunky toddler. Finding frugal ways to keep our house fresh and up to date but also kid proof. Crafting, DIYing, fashion, food, and more!

12 Daily Giveaways include home décor, clothing for men, women & children accessories, skin care products, toys & books, home fragrances, customizable items and more! Visit me now!

Chaos & Love

A blog about my life as a working mom of two boys and the wife of a chef. I practice cooking, attempt to meal plan, think out loud about crafting and write about the daily happenings in our lives.

12 Daily Giveaways include encompass many of the things that I write about on my blog - organization, jewelry, the Paleo lifestyle and more. Visit me now!

Be sure to visit each blog each day for a chance to win a different item! Good luck!

One of my absolute favorite clients is our day 9 sponsor.  INKtastic is fantastic to work with!  Not only are they fast & friendly, but they also can create some really awesome customizable items.  Just check out the shirt I had printed for Rick.

Love it!  He recently wore it to visit with his younger brother who is away at college.  I think he feels 10 years younger every time he wears it.  How lucky that one of you will win one free customized item of your choice?!

How to Enter.  This is a Rafflecopter giveaway. Click "Read More" below and then follow the instructions on the widget. Make sure to click "Enter!" after you complete each entry. Open internationally.  The giveaway ends at 11:59 PM EST on Monday, December 10th. The first task is mandatory.  Make sure to complete this task in order to unlock additional entries.  Remember, the more you complete the more chances for you to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway