Hunter Boots Giveaway

Okay, so I know I'm a Southern Californian girl with hardly any rain around these parts but I've seriously been crushing on some Hunter Boots for myself and/or Elsie for a while now. Even though I'd know we'd rock the heck out of them, I just can't justify forking out the big bucks for something we'd wear a few times. 

Seeing how I'm now planning for my upcoming trip to London & Paris, I can't help but think I may need a pair for the damp cobble stone streets, am I right? But never mind me and my daydreams, one of you lucky ducks gets a chance to score your own pair! And while I'm over here contemplating whether I will get myself some boots, you get to think about what style and color you'd pick because the winner gets to choose!

Hello there lovelies. Today sponsors and supporters of Through the Eyes of the Mrs. have a treat for you! The opportunity to win a pair of Hunter Boots valued up to $135.00. The best part is if you win you get to pick the style and color.  Enter below through Rafflecopter! Lots of luck to each of you.

Please Note that you should be a follower of Through the Eyes of the Mrs.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

$100 Visa Gift Card Giveaway

NAT//NICOLE//GINNY//BETH//HANNA//ALY//MEGAN//LINDSY//ALISSA

A few of my rad blogging friends and I wanted to celebrate St. Patricks's day with a good ole' Irish Blessing! 

That is, by blessing one of you with a

$100 Visa Gift Card

That's right, $100 to spend on whatever your little heart desires! Need new clothes, now you can go get some. How about some new dishes or linens? Done and done! Don't want to spend your own money on a new vacuum for your Spring cleaning, well then here you go! 

There is only one mandatory entry.

We just want you to let us know what you would spend your hundred bucks on !

And the other entries are bonus entries to up your chances of winning!
(but seriously why wouldn't you want extra entries?)

The giveaway ends on March 23rd.

Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

$200 Anthro Giveaway!

Fourteen of us bloggers have gotten together to bless one of you with a special treat!
We're giving away a

$200 Gift Card to Anthropologie!!!

There is only one mandatory entry.
We just want you to let us know what you would spend the gift card on!

And the other entries are bonus entries to up your chances of winning!

The giveaway ends on March 15th.

-Ashley@The Vanilla Tulip-

-Laura@Bits of Splendor-

          

-Kaylee@Life Chasers-

-Nat@Take the Cannoli-

 -Annie@The Farrar Four-

Aly@Blossom and Vine
Kristen and Allison@Lullaby Lubbock

Jenna@Day of Knight

 -Wynne@Gloriously Ruined-
-Robyn@The Farmers Nest-
-Alex@Peppermint Plum-

            

-Carina@Lovely Little Whimsy-

-Danielle@Take Heart-

-Natalie@ NS Pottery-

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Imaginary Friend Giveaway

In the spot where I sit in the mornings to do my devotions and often times where I sit in the evenings to stitch, I have a lovely view of the inside of my home and it always makes me smile. There are many treasures sprinkled throughout including furniture we inherited from family, vintage finds and more recently handmade treasures from lovely people I have met in the handmade community.

From where I am perched in my cozy spot I stare directly at our daybed which is adorned with some of my favorite throw pillows ever! 

 The Vernon + The Elsie

Fox + Mustache dude + Flapper doll all c/o Aubrey Plays

Those two throw pillows are hand embroidered and made by the crazy talented Loraine of Imaginary Friend. The pillows represent Vernon and the other Elsie. They make my heart go pitter patter + love seeing them displayed in my home for all to see. I can't get over the craftsmanship behind each piece and have basically become smitten with everything in her shop. Besides these unique throw pillows she creates Imaginary Friends. Hop over to her SHOP + check out some of my fave pieces below.

"Imaginary friends are special. Each friend is individually handcrafted and unique.Imaginary friends are ready to travel and embark on new and exciting adventures! Sweetly hand embroidered faces with a touch of melancholy each friend is a guardian , keeper of secrets and always by your side."

Aren't they divine!? Some of Loraine's most recent work is featured in Oh Hello Friend's new shop and know that we will be seeing much more of her amazing art pop up all over, because seriously it's SO rad. 
And guess what??! Today the sweet Loraine is giving away a one of a kind throw pillow to a very lucky reader! Winner gets choice of one of the following! A $55 Value!

I mean seriously how can you choose, you may have to win one and then purchase the other right? 

Please just enter through the rafflecopter below and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Weekend Schmeekend

So E & V are still on the mend. Which actually worked out because I think Micah and I were in recovery mode too. Not from being sick but just from lack of sleep and both having a looooong week. Though we laid low I felt super productive this weekend. 

Micah wanted to spend some daddy time with the two and so he took them to the park. While they played I was able to clean the house, gut our closets, made all our meals and even had time to shower and get ready for a very special night out with Micah Saturday night. 

You see we had made plans with another couple to go out without our tots in tow.  They were going to be in our neck of the woods, so for the very first time since having the babes we got a sitter. Now I know this may sound crazy to most of you but the only peeps that have watched our littles have been family. We travel with them everywhere and just always have them with us and so on the occasional outing my parents may come over or my lil' bro' and girlfriend watch them. Since no one was available and we really wanted to hang with our friends we had a very close friend watch them for the night. The thing is our friends ended up getting sick and had to cancel and so we initially called off the sitter but Micah thought it would be fun to just go out walking around, shopping and maybe grabbing a bite. Just us. So even with all sorts of anxious feelings in the pit of my stomach we decided to keep the sitter and go have a fun adult evening out. And yes it was glorious! 

Coffee drinking
Macaroon Consuming
Clothes Shopping
Hand Holding
Sweet kisses being stolen
Yummy Dinner
and just some all around great time together.
Just us.

Of course Elsie was still awake when we got home and was told Vernon went to bed almost two hours past his bed time but they were safe, happy and slept in today. No harm done and totally worth it.

Today has been so sweet. I was so bummed knowing I'd have to miss church and stay back with the babes...*sigh* again. Then Micah being on a roll with great ideas this weekend said for me to get ready and go solo first service and then come home so he could go serve second service. At first I was like "ummm no, I don't want to go by myself" but then realized that my heart really wanted to go and if that meant having to go solo, so be it.
And I was blessed. Worship was wonderful and the message was full. Full of wisdom, encouragement and applicable insight to push me to want to be better, try harder, do more for my Jesus.

As the babes are resting now and Micah is off serving God with his talents I am thankful for this warm cup of coffee made from my new Bialleti coffee express maker but even more thankful for God.  For knowing my needs and desires. For knowing Micah would be the best husband a girl could ask for in understanding me and encouraging me, always. 

Now that I've emptied my second cup of jo' + finished my grocery list for the week I'm off to snap photos of the last pieces of clothing that will be added to my new Cannoli Closet Instagram Sale. Yes you read that right. I recently have been buying a lot of the kids clothes (and even some of my own) through insta sales and since we are in the process of downsizing and praying whether we should be moving into a smaller home I felt the need to gut some of our closets, and then the idea sprang forth of @cannolicloset. Hope you'll stop by tomorrow as I launch this thang! If there's nothing for you maybe there is something for a friend so just send them my way! There will be new and slightly used, vintage, mens and some toddler goodness! 

Oh and one last thing... if you didn't already see, there is a rad giveaway for a Canon PowerShot happening now! Though I most often use my iPhone for pics I'm always in need of a great point and shoot and lucky for you all we're giving one away HERE! Don't miss out! 
Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Also, this scripture rang in my ears this weekend and thought I'd share.

"But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does."

 James 1:25

Canon PowerShot Giveaway

Hello there friends. Today sponsors and supporters of Through the Eyes of the Mrs. are offering you the opportunity to win the Canon PowerShot ELPH 520 HS in black. It's the perfect camera for capturing all of life's little moments. Enter below through Rafflecopter! Good Luck to you.

Please Note that you should be a follower of Through the Eyes of the Mrs. so make sure to click on her link above and follow along then enter the rafflecopter below!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

babEblessing + a giveaway

So I know this isn't my usual routine to have one amazing guest post after the other but I'm praising the good Lord it worked out that way. Today I'm recovering from pulling an all nighter with my best friend and her newborn at the hospital+ it seems I may also have a little man under the weather, not to mention a lot of odds and ends I need to knock off my to-do list. So instead of me writing a post that will have a million errors that will most likely not make any sense because I'm sleep deprived, you get to meet a precious gem of a gal I met at the Influence Conference back in October! Plus she is giving away something to you so it's a win/win! You're welcome.

---------------------------------------

Hi There! I’m Jac from babEblessings, and I’m so excited that Natalie invited me over today. Over at babEblessings I blog about the journey God has me on as a wife and soon to be mom of 2!
 

We have a bit of a break in the weather way up north, and for the first day this week we don’t have snow on the forecast. We’re in the odd stage of winter where we get a nice layer of snow on the ground and then a few warm days come, or the rain comes and it’s all gone. I really hope we have some great snow before Christmas.

Source

Okay enough about the weather, I thought I would fill you in on some things we have going on over at babEblessings. Right now we’re sharing our advent with everyone; we’ve chosen some of our favorite Christmas songs and digging into the meaning or the scripture behind it. Today is one of my favorite favorite songs, Do You Hear What I Hear. A bit of an untraditional version, but it holds a lot of memories. You see the version of the song I have for today is Elmo and Rosie O’Donnell. I have history with this specific version. The second Saturday in November for as many years as I can remember my Mom, Sister, and I have gotten together for the day to bake shortbread. When I was younger we would spend the weekend at my Grandmothers and now in the last few years we’ve added some more people; my sister in law, friends of the family. But the one thing that has never changed is the music. 20 years ago we would have Christmas music playing on the tape player in my Grandmother’s kitchen, now it plays on my parent’s stereo through the whole house, and it’s the first day we listen to Christmas music every year. Rosie’s Christmas CD has made it into the illustrious spot of the first CD to be played every year which means that within the first hour of baking we hear Elmo singing. But it’s not just the tradition and memories associated with the song that make me love it; I love the song itself. You can read my whole post over on the blog today, and the last 12 songs too.

The other thing that I’m really excited about is our GodlyWife series starting in January. It’s been in the works for months, since March actually, and I’m so excited to be blessed and bless others through this series. God put some characteristics on my heart this year that I as a wife needed to work on, but also that my generation of wives could work on too. So each month I’m pairing up with some amazing women and we’re sharing our journey to really live that characteristic in our marriage that month. And even some women who aren’t even married yet, but are committed to being the wife their husband needs to be before they even meet him. The first post goes up on Monday January 7^th, and every Monday after that all year I’ll be blogging my journey.

Now what kind of guest would I be if I didn’t bring a gift, especially since its Christmas. So I’m going to give away not one but two (!) babEblessing’s journals.

It includes 10 of our original prints scattered through the 100 note pages. Enter the raffle copter below and next Thursday I’ll pick two winners. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I hope you have a blessed Christmas season this year, and have at least a moment to pause and remember the real reason we celebrate.

The Style Hatch + Giveaway

I woke up this morning with the urge to brush my teeth. You know because my teeth felt all grimy and thought "I did brush my teeth before going to bed right?!" Then you realize that you did in fact brush your teeth however, the consumption of dark chocolate salted caramels right before bed was the culprit for the nasty feeling I had on my teeth. (I know you're all thinking where am I going with this but hear me out)

While brushing those pearly whites of mine I started thinking about teeth and that instantly made me think of my girl Nic who was one of my roomies at the Influence Conference and how she has like perfect teeth. When I say perfect teeth I mean like a model's smile, well come to think of it I think she did model so that would make sense. I'm getting so far off track right now but my point is, I was brushing my teeth thinking of Nic (in a non-creepy way of course) and was like, "OH MY GOSH SHE IS GUEST POSTING ON MY BLOG TODAY AND I'M SO EXCITED!!!"
Seriously you guys, she is awesome! Annnnnd I love her, and I want you to love her and I know you will after getting to know her! Plus she is debuting something new today in her shop and I'm thrilled to be part of the first of the cool peeps to get to see what it is! Plus there may or may not be something she's giving away.
So enough of me yapping and on to her becoming one of your new faves! 

---------------------------------

Hey gorgeous Take the Cannoli Readers! I'm so excited that Nat is sharing her spot in blogland with me today! Y'all may not know me... I'm Nicole. Blogger and Designer behind The Style Hatch. No I'm not a fashion blogger, yes I do secretly wish I could be a fashion blogger. Whew, glad we got that out of the way!

Did you know Nat and I go WAAAAAY back? And by way back in blog terms that means we met in real life back in October. First time meeting her in person and she had to share a bed with me! I'm pretty sure that makes me her BFF or something! So since I'm Nat's BFF that means you have to read this- and if you do there will be a prize! 

So anyways- I could tell you all about me and my blog. But that wouldn't make you want to read it. I can tell you that another blogger once described me as brutally honest when introducing me to her readers... I'm still trying to figure out if that's a compliment or not... Why don't you hop on over (after you read this) and decide.  

In a nut shell (does anyone say that anymore)? I'm a wife and mama, saved by grace. I LOVE all things style, so I started my blog as an outlet for that. And then something happened, or a lot of things happened. And my blog all of a sudden became style and life. I did not want this at all, I even blog about it here. But the Lord has been calling me to use my blog as ministry. And I even fight that sometimes, but He always lets me know how I'm suppose to use it.   I also have this weird thing that if I die someday (yes it's getting dark) then I want my son to be able to look back at my blog and see who I was, through my writing, pictures, and even vlogging. I even wrote a post to my son that some blog buddies have dubbed 'the will'. 

This is my sweet sweet miracle baby. Isn't he a cutie? He was saying Hey to the ladies in this picture-- I've definitely got my hands full but it worth every single moment! So enough with the awkwardness of trying to get you to like me... I think knowing Nat's my BFF is enough right- :) Let's get to the part where I talk about being a designer! 
The one thing everyone should know about me is that I'm a professional daydreamer/mama/wife/ blog designer... you get the point. I always loved art and design when I was younger, but was always steered in a direction of 'that won't make you money' Well you can't take it out of me because here I am in a odd season of life and finding myself doodling and designing late at night. So I got this crazy idea that I had more time than I actually do to start making prints. My husband thought this was a great idea so he is joining in on the fun! And I'm excited to announce (for the first time) that we will be opening up a print shop- and Take the Cannoli readers are the first ones to get in on the action!
Most all the prints are hand drawn and digitally printed. Everything I design has inspired me somehow in life. I really love modern yet whimsical things, so that's a lot of what you will see. So come on by my blog, visit my shop- and hang out a while!

--------------------------------------------

Umm okay Nat here again. How adorable is she?! And these new prints, SWOON! I'm already a fan of her jewelry line and rock my arm candy from her nearly everyday, but these new prints I mean come on! I need one of each please! 

Speaking of these NEW prints she is giving one lucky reader an 

8 x 10 print of your choice! Merry Christmas to you!!!

**TO ENTER YOU MUST BE A FOLLOWER OF MY BLOG**

Mandatory Entry:

follow her on twitter HERE

Additional Entries:

subscribe to her blog HERE

check out her shop HERE and comment what your fave print is.

 Mine is the raccoon for sure. Reminds me of my little Vernon getting into things and need this for his room!

follow any of my links: facebook, twitter, instagram 

(comment for each entry)

Good Luck!

 

Dapper Dude + a Winner

I had no idea this would be so hard on me but it was. Vernon is my sweet baby boy and see him as just that. My baby.
You see we have never cut Elsie's hair, not even trimmed it (even though it may need it) it just grew out like little girls hair do and at three almost four hasn't really seemed to need one.
Vernon on the other hand didn't get the cute curly locks I assumed he would. No, he just started growing crazy boy hair that he uses as a place to store food.
We hadn't planned or even talked about it really but knew with family photos about to take place this weekend we should probably trim him up.

him with his long hair hours before his big boy cut

It wasn't even an option of where Vernon would be going to get his first hair cut. Micah has his own barber at Hawleywood's Barber Shop and said he wanted it to be done right. 
So that is where we took him. Except there was no we.
This is an old style Barber Shop where woman aren't permitted inside. This is a true gents only kind of place. I knew that before making he made the appointment, and didn't think anything of it until we got there. 
As Micah came to meet me outside and took our baby boy I realized a piece of me was about to die. My baby boy would come back looking like a big boy and so I did what any mother in my situation would do. 
I panicked.
And then kind of freaked out.
So I kind of whispered screeched for Micah to bring him back to me. 
Trying to stay calm I kissed Vernon's sweet face so hard and then stared at Micah down to the pit of his soul and said "Take as many pictures as possible and video"
The only thing with that was knowing Vernon is the hardest little man to capture a still moment of and knew that Micah would probably be holding him the entire time so I just felt nauseous while killing time with Elsie. 
We kept trying to casually walk in front of the barber shop to peek inside. When I say Casually I mean us walking, stopping right in front of the door and Elsie yelling, "I can't see cubs mama!"
Of course Vernon was set in the way back and not visible from where we were, and all that did was leave room for me to worry a bit. In my head I started making it a bigger deal than it was and regretting that we even decided to get his hair cut, that is until my sweet baby boy came waltzing out of the joint like he owned it, sporting a sucker no less like a boss. 
Though the lighting is bad and we are talking about taking pics of a twenty something month old who never stops moving, these pictures captured enough goodness for my heart to not hurt as much that I wasn't right there in the mix. Well, it still hurts a little, I mean come on! My baby boy is growing up faster than I can stand people!

UHMYGOSH! So stinkin' handsome right! I could just eat him right up! He totally looks so much older like I expected but something about seeing more of his sweet little face makes him seem like such a baby still.

So before I start tearing up and turning this into a total sob fest post I'm just going to switch up gears and announce the group giveaway winner of November's Group Giveaway! 

 Pamela Green Lemmon 

I will get you in touch with all the fab sponsors who were part of it!

Okay now I'm off to smooch the heck out of my baby boy's face!