Earring Giveaway

Disclosure: I did not receive any form of compensation for this post, and all opinions stated are my own.

Sonya from It's a Bee's Life by Tee-iabo Designs (blog) & Tee-iabo Designs (Etsy) and her cousin Iris have a great pair of earrings to give away to one lucky Mail4Rosey winner. Handcrafted with care and love like each and every item in their store is, these earrings are both stylish and pretty, and they're a fantabulous way to ring in the summer!

You can see from the design that they will go with just about anything in your wardrobe, and they can easily be used to dress an outfit up or down, depending on the look you're after for the day. The versatility, neutral colors, style, and homemade crafting of these earrings make them a wonderful addition to any collection of jewelry.

Take a look at Sonya and Iris' shop where you'll also find most excellent hand-painted clothing, more handmade jewelry, accessories, and more. There's truly something for everyone in their store.

One person is going to get the fabulous earrings pictured above, simply by entering on the Rafflecopter form below.  Thank you Sonya and Iris for hosting this great giveaway! US entrants only.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wordless Wednesday (at the movies)

We FINALLY got to see Iron Man 3. Well worth the wait, it was a good one!

We're Thinking Chicago...

The Ferris Wheel from our trip to Chicago two years ago.

Just a little note here: I know I used these pictures before on my post a year ago, but the blog was new and hardly anyone read it. Of the people who did read and post on the article there's still one who comes to visit (thank you, Courtney!!!).

We're thinking Chicago...

Summer is fast approaching now and we are starting to plot out our mini-vacation plans. One thing on the agenda (and it usually is), is Chicago. It's not really a long drive for us and there's always so much to do. One of my very first blog posts ever was about a trip we took to Navy Pier. We won't be going there this time around because there are so many things to see and do that we haven't yet, but it was an awesome place to visit. We skipped it last year too, because we had something else we wanted to see, but  maybe next year we'll go back. It is a place worth visiting more than once.

The two youngest acting goofy in the gift shop (again, a picture from two years ago).

Tops on the agenda for me is the Art Institute of Chicago. On their website they mentioned having both Seurat and Boucher paintings, but aside from the fabulous paintings they promise, they also have a lot of other categories of art that I would like to see. It's hard to know how much time to plan for museums, some you are in and out of fairly quickly, and others you could be in all day and still not have enough time. If anyone has been to the Art Institute of Chicago and has some insight on how long it takes to have a good visit, I would love to hear it.

The location of the museum is prime, with several other big area attractions close by, but again I'm not quite sure how much time we'll spend in the museum, so we'll play the rest of that day by ear. Hubby is coming along this trip, and he usually does not. In fact, this will be the first time he and I have been to Chicago together (we've both been separately or with one of the kiddos). Strange that we haven't been together because we usually do most things as a family.  That will make this trip extra nice. He wants to go for the pizza.  He's been to Chicago many times, but has never had the pizza (say what??!!). I had pizza my first time in.

Sorry to the Chicago pizza lovers though...I'm more of a NYC pizza lover. My husband is a deep dish man, so I'm guessing he'll like the pizza there.

Another place I want to see is the Willis Tower. It used to be called the Sears Tower, and was once the tallest building in the US.  Hubby says he's not interested in going, but the rest of us really, really want to go, and it is my educated guess hubby will 'tag along' and end up loving it, or we may have to get a hotel close by so we can mosey on over while he's relaxing (sleeping in). ;)  He gets nervous if he's up too high, the rest of us just love it. Take a look at the sky deck online, it's exciting!

My favorite things about Chicago:

• So much to see and do!!
• The beautiful scenery on the water
• Awesome shopping
• Delicious dining!
• Culture galore
• The Bean! I love the bean!

My least favorite things about Chicago:

• The price of parking (ack!)
• The super busy traffic if I'm lost (and I always get lost)

Have you been to Chicago?  If so, do you love it?  

Winner Announcement

Congratulations to Alison whose name was randomly selected by Rafflecopter as the winner of the Graduation Ornament giveaway!

Carpet versus Hard Flooring

Disclosure: This is a compensated post. All opinions stated, however, are my own.

We have a wood floor in our library, beautiful over-sized Italian marble in the kitchen (a gift I gave my husband for finding a good home for a 100-lb., abandoned dog I brought home but he said there was no way we were keeping), and white tile in the kitchen/dining area of our basement. In the rest of the house (except the bathrooms) we have carpet.

The problem for me is that the main carpet that runs through the majority of rooms in our house, (not the kids' rooms, they chose much nicer colors) is ugly. And it's my fault. For some reason, I thought brown would be a great color to deflect the snow, dirt, mud, etc. that comes with seasonal weather (cutting myself some slack on this one because I was new to home ownership in the north when I made the decision). ;) Turns out it's just ugly, but my husband is a smart man, and said there was no way he was getting rid of carpet just because it wasn't attractive (not that I erm, um asked or anything, lol!).

What I've been noticing for the last couple of months, is that now our carpet is starting to look dingy too and could use a good rug and carpet cleaning. Winter will do that to you. So, tomorrow I'll call and make an appointment to have someone come in later in the week to give them a professional bath. I say later in the week because I know it's going to take me a lot of time to get the furniture disassembled and/or moved into the rooms that have no carpet.

I'd love to have hard flooring in all of the rooms, but hubby and the kids like carpet. They say it's warmer in the winter, and much cozier to sit on year-round (both points with which I can agree). So, since I'll not be the majority rule on that decision any time soon, I might as well make the best of it. That means keeping it as clean and attractive as I can, despite the huge color mishap.

Do you have a preference between hard and soft flooring? And do you get your rugs professionally cleaned once or twice a year to keep them looking their best?

Discipline Determines Destiny

I fell asleep with the TV running last night, and woke up to hear Charles Stanley saying, "Discipline determines your destiny." Then I fell back asleep.  When I woke up this morning, it was the first thing still on my mind.

And it's so true.

You can want a lot of things. You can need a lot of things. But without the proper discipline to put forth the effort, you're not going to get much of anything. Self-discipline can be the hardest of hard in some areas, but without it, it really is next to impossible to master the goals you've put on your plate.

I am one of those that believes where there's a will, there's a way, and all that good stuff. I also think as the old saying goes, the harder your work, the luckier you get.

I think it t was a good message to hear to start my Sunday off on the right foot. Actually it was a good meassage to hear to start any day off on the right foot.

Soccer Saturday

Today was Game #4 for the Kindergartners and it's so fun to see them learning. The progress they've made with the weekly practices and games really showed today on the field. I felt like they had a clue of what was going on, and weren't just out there to kick a ball.  If the coach was talking defense, they knew what that meant... if he was telling a player to walk the line, he/she knew what that meant, and so on and so forth.

We have a little girl who's about 6ft' tall (not really!! but she's a lot taller than the other kids) who dominates the field. She's really good, and of course can outrun everyone because her legs are longer. I've seen her mom at every practice and game, but never her dad. Today dad showed up, in a coach shirt, cheering his baby girl on. Her's dad's a soccer coach (for her older brother's team). That explains a lot.

I'm just glad she's on our team. ;)

That being said, everyone had a good time. All of the parents behave, and I like that...I've seen games (not w/this child) where that wasn't the case.

Afterward we stopped at the park (just a short walk from the field):

And when we got home we were greeted with this:

All the trees have at least some leaves on them, and I love, Love, LOVE this beaaaaaaaaautiful time of the year!

Today is a great day.  Happy weekend to you. :)