Love Life's Little Pleasures Giveaway

Love Life's Little Pleasures is having a giveaway of some cute stuff!

Cedar Fort Books Giveaway

Looking for new LDS book reads? Check out Cedar Fort Books' blog. She gives great summaries of new books and sometimes she has author shares too!

Right now she has a giveaway for 10 items that represent everything else they sell at their site. Go check it out and enter! Simple 1 point entry- just leave a comment on the giveaway post.

Fashionable Fridays #3

I'm linking up to One Crafty Mommy's Fashionable Fridays! Check it out! One Crafty Mommy and Fashionista on a Dime are working together to share affordable fashion! You can link up posts of your fashion, questions about fashion, etc.!

As promised pictures from 2010 and even some from the past week - I'm awesome! =D


Just so you know I don't look my best everyday here's a typical day(2.16)  verse dressing up(3.18). My dressing up doesn't look that great either to me...
So as you can see my hair is getting long again and I think I'm getting cut Saturday....link any hair cut ideas for me in the comments section - please!

Now here's a look that I feel pretty in.

Love this top from Kohls with little flowers on the collar. (I did spend a little more on it because I just loved it too much - around $40)

Loose, but classic and short - hits right at my waist.

Paired it with my favorite pair of jeans or a pencil skirt-I've been pairing it with my burgundy pencil skirt for some color.

Here's picture of this new headband I bought from The Essig Motif that's selling at Brittany Rae's Boutique.

Headbands - what do you think?

Lucky to be Loved by You

FIRST OFF - does my menu bar at the top look messed up to anyone else? On my Mozilla - it looks perfect! On my IE the menu bar is messed up. I try to fix one and it messes the other. On my husband's computer it looks fine  - so just wondering it's messed up on anyone else's.


Hope you had a fun St. Patrick's Day!

I tried to make ours a little more interesting besides wearing green this year, by making my husband a little greeting (scrapbook layout) and having treats. My 15 mo. old stole some of Daddy's treats (I wish he couldn't recognize candy!)

I was inspired by these two sites: Love Actually for the treats & rainbow and The Dating Divas for the quote.

I plan to put this picture on the scrapbook page once I get the picture printed out.

(no my sons arms aren't that huge - he had his pjs underneath that weren't green! and he was getting ready for bed - hubby gets off at 7pm so we had to wait that long to get a picture)

Scrappy Gifts Giveaway

Dang Gina did a Review of my Magnetic Scrappy Canvas and  Scrappy Box. You can also enter to win the GIVEAWAY for your choice of a Regular Scrappy Canvas or Scrappy Box. Giveaway ends TODAY - Thursday, March 18th!

Not too many entries!

Spread the word! =D

TV Shows watched in 2010

Currently this is my list of TV shows I watch at night.
(obviously some of these shows play at the same time - so I catch up on the internet)
Before we had satellite (it comes free with our current rent), I learned about most of these shows through Netflix or watched them on the Internet. Now that we have satellite, it feels like I caught up to all my shows and have way too many to watch now. Before I could take my time watching them through Netflix.



Mondays
Secret Life of an American Teenager
Bachelor (ugh why Vienna?)
Chuck  (I'm totally digging Zachary Levi this year! He's hot - lol)
How I Met Your Mother (still hilarious, but when are they going to meet!)
24 - (I'm way behind! - still haven't caught up)

Tuesdays
LOST (good-bye! Series finale decent - still have questions)

Wednesdays
Psych

Thursdays
Flash Forward (so sad that they're not doing the show anymore)
Grey's Anatomy (AMAZING season finale - had me crying and mouth covered shock all through out)
Private Practice (great season finale - so sad though!)
Project Runway

Fridays
Smallville
Ghost Whisperer (I'm way behind! - still haven't caught up)
What Not to Wear


Summer Time
Mondays
Secret Life of an American Teenager (starts again June 7th)
Bachelorette
True Beauty

Tuesdays

Wednesdays
Psych (starts again July 14th)

Thursdays
Project Runway (July 29th)


Fridays


FALL
Mondays
Chuck 
The Event

Tuesdays

Wednesdays
Psych (November 10th)

Thursdays
Project Runway
Grey's Anatomy
Private Practice 

Fridays
Smallville

Movies I've Seen in 2010 (70)

Since I've been keeping track of the books I've been reading, I wanted to keep track of the movies I watch too. I use Netflix and my local library a lot to get movies. Cheapest way!

Have any questions about movies I've seen - leave me a comment and I'll try to give you my honest review of the movie.

Or suggest movies for me to watch by leaving a comment too. (I only watch G, PG and PG-13 rated movies).

Movies that I've seen for the first time in 2010.

• ***Open Season 2 - PG (1.14.10)
• ****Julie & Julia - PG-13 (1.15.10)
• ****Imagine That - PG  (1.20.10) funny
• ***Wild Child - PG-13(1.21.10)
• ** Year One (1.21.10)
• **Nothing Like the Holidays - PG-13(1.22.10)
• ****Surrogates - PG-13 (1.24.10) cool and interesting
• **500 Days of Summer - PG-13 (1.26.10) hard to watch the whole thing
• ****The Accidental Husband - PG-13 (1.27.10)
• ***Tinkerbell -G (1.31.10) cute
• **The Gate - PG-13(2.4.10)
• **Fish Tales - PG (2.5.10)
• ***Love Happens - PG-13 (2.9.10)
• ***Griffin and Phoenix - PG -13 (3.5.10) heartbreaker and reflective
• **** Up - PG (3.8.10) loved it especially the beginning - great for adults too
• ***Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - PG (3.10.10) (so disappointed with the ending - everything matched my thoughts up until the end)
• ***The Time Traveler's Wife - PG-13 (3.11.10) kinda weird and sometimes hard to follow, but not bad
• ***Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs - PG (3.17.10) funny, creative
• ***Twilight: New Moon - PG-13 (3.23.10) I liked the first one better....can't wait to see the 3rd one though
• ***The Blind Side -PG-13 (3.31.10) several parts almost made me want to cry
• ***2012 -PG-13  (4.1.10) great graphics but some seem unrealistic
• ***The Invention of Lying -PG-13 (4.2.10) so funny, creative
• ***Four Christmases -PG-13 (4.7.10) hilarious
• ***Planet 51 - PG (4.8.10) funny
• ***Possession -PG-13 (4.8.10) interesting ending plus alternate ending- I was totally fooled
• ****Everybody's Fine -PG-13 (4.9.10) sadder than I thought it would be, but good insights
• ***Post Grad -PG-13 (4.17.10) funny and sweet, but nothing too new
• ***Beauty and the Briefcase (4.18.10 on ABC Family) sweet, liked the ending
• ***Swing Vote PG-13 (4.21.10) liked the ending
• ***The Box -PG-13 (4.21.10) kinda weird, but interesting - doesn't end well and no special features
• ***Ice Castles PG (4.27.10) typical sports story - overcoming challenges
• ***Did you Hear about the Morgans PG-13  (5.2.10) some really cute scenes
• ***Astro Boy PG (5.6.10) sad beginning, funny and cute scenes though
• The Fourth Kind from Netflix - didn't watch, seemed to weird and scary
• ****The Spy Next Door PG (5.19.10) cute and funny
• ***The Princess and the Frog G (5.26.10) really cute, made me smile
• ****Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel PG (6.1.10) really cute! Plus I'm in love with Zachary Levi.
• ****Leap Year PG (6.2.10) really cute and funny parts! Watched it twice. Love Amy Adams
• ***Tooth Fairy PG (6.3.10) cute and funny!
• ***The Lovely Bones PG-13 (6.7.10) Sad movie, Interesting ideas of the after-life, didn't like how it was resolved.
• *** I Hate Valentine's Day PG-13 (watched on TV) (6.8.10)
• ***Where the Wild Things Are PG (6.9.10) More serious than I thought it would - has a lot of adult morals.
• ***Alice in Wonderland PG-13 (7.5.10) cool graphics, but slightly weird and a little hard to follow
• ****Valentine's Day PG-13 (7.12.10) Pretty funny and very cute - lots of fabulous actors that I love
• ***Whip It PG-13 (7.16.10) Roller Derby interesting
• ***Revenge of the Bridesmaids (ABC Family Movie 7.18.10) pretty cute and some nice laughs
• ***The Client List (Lifetime Movie 7.24.10) I could never do this, but the economy sure stinks right now!
• ****Toy Story 3 G (8.4.10) I can see why people cried at the end, funny parts too
• ****Eclipse (Twilight Saga) PG-13 (8.4.10) Loved it even though they did put some things out of order from the book. It did seem like they had to cram a lot of stuff in.
• ***Couples Retreat  PG-13 (8.6.10) several funny parts
• ****Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief   PG (8.7.10) really cool effects. I have to read this book; I totally forgot to before watching the movie
• *** Bounty Hunter   PG-13 (8.8.10)  pretty funny and cute
• ***Den Brother (Disney Channel Movie) (8.14.10) good lessons in it
• ***Made (MTV movie) typical high school movie about cliques and fitting in
• ***Wish List (Lifetime Movie) cute movie about the perfect guy might not be perfect for you
• ***9 (9.6.10) (ending didn't make sense to my husband and me, but it kept my attention to the very end. My toddler loved watching it too)
• ***Clash of the Titans PG-13 (9.11.10) very action packed, but my husband preferred the first version 
• ***The Back-up Plan PG-13 (9-11-10) not as cute as I thought it was going to be, but plenty of funny parts. I want that double stroller in the movie; so sweet!
• ****The Killers PG-13 (9-12-10) funny, cute, kept our attention and lots of unexpected parts
• ***Remember Me PG-13 (9.15.10) didn't really like the beginning, trials of two young adults who fall in love, but endings like that always touch me
• *** The Last Song PG (9.15.10) cute movie about finding who you are and young love
• ****Letters to Juliet PG (9.15.10) really cute love story that true love nevers ends
• ***Bright Star PG (9.17.10) story about the life of John Keats and his muse
• ***Prince of Persia: Sands of Time PG-13 (9.19.10) pretty cool story with lots of action and some humor
• ***The Losers PG-13 (9.21.10) pretty funny with some good action
• ****Date Night PG-13 (10.6.10) so funny and cool scenes
• ***Sherlock Holmes PG-13 (10.19.10) pretty cool action scenes and mystery
• **Dance Flick PG-13 (10.20.10) didn't realize it was a spoof and didn't even watch most of it
• ***Diary of a Wimpy Kid PG (10.20.10) pretty funny
• ****Hachi: A Dog's Tale - Based on a True Story G (11.8.10) such a tender story - made me bawl!
• ****Iron Man 2 PG-13 (11.8.10) Cool graphics and action scenes - liked it better than the first actually
• ***The Christmas Shoes (12.4.10) Book, Song and now a Movie - such a tender story
• ***Christmas Blessings (12.4.10) Sequel to The Christmas Shoes
• ***Furry Vengeance (12.5.10) Pretty funny!
• ****Sundays at Tiffanys (12.6.10) Lifetime Movie - Cute, romantic little story - loving your best friend
• ***Marry Me (12.18.10) Lifetime Movie  - Cute romance about a woman being proposed by 3 different men and not sure what she wants from life.

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Fashionable Fridays #2

I'm linking up to One Crafty Mommy's Fashionable Fridays! Check it out! One Crafty Mommy and Fashionista on a Dime are working together to share affordable fashion! You can link up posts of your fashion, questions about fashion, etc.!

Fashionista on a Dime even gave me advice on last week's post - structured jackets like the one below with a white shirt and colorful scarf and flared jeans to balance. How awesome! I think I need to find some money to buy this jacket - so my style!

Sorry these are older pictures again - I cross my heart that next week's pics will be from 2010!

Ignore my bad poofy hair and let me know what you think of my new boots (new as from September - haha) I've been looking for boots for forever! Finally found these at Kohls for only $40! Way better than $80+ that I'd been seeing. (sorry it's not the best picture of the boots)

So I thought this hair was way better when I was doing it, but the pictures it doesn't look so great!

So just let me know what you think of the jewelery and my top.

Green top - Junior's section from Kohls - I know bad - I'm supposed to be looking in the women's sections still - but I didn't think it seemed that juniorish and I think it will be good for whenever I get pregnant again - pre-maternity and post-maternity wear.

Jewelery from Payless Shoes: it was BOGO so $10 for both

What jewelery is good for a mom but is still fun? Oh and are hats okay for moms? I love hats like this one I bought from Kayte Bug Boutique, but I'm afraid I look too young. (It won't let me copy the picture so go to her site to look at it.)

Let me know what you think of my Black and White top- I personally love it! It has pattern which I forget to look at and buy and it's flowier. From Kohls again

Then you can let me know what you think of my hair (old hair-left and new haircut-right: way more layers)

Fashionable Fridays

I'm linking up to One Crafty Mommy's Fashionable Fridays! Check it out! One Crafty Mommy and Fashionista on a Dime are working together to share affordable fashion! You can link up posts of your fashion, questions about fashion, etc.!

They can let me know what they think of these clothes that I bought from a "shopping trip" I did back in July when I was still breastfeeding and still had 5-10 lbs. left to lose to get down to my pre-pregnancy weight. (As of today, my son is finally weaned by 15 months old and I'm actually 5 lbs. under my pre-pregnancy weight - too bad my stomach still isn't the same and my butt is now flat!)

You can let me know what you think of these clothes too - do I look like a 25 year old Mom and not a teenager!?

So I've been watching What Not to Wear a lot....my favorite show. I'm going to be 25 this year and I am now a mother.....time for new clothes. Now that I am a mother who breast feeds...it's a little difficult going out shopping for clothes when technically there's only 2 stores in town just for clothes.....to get a little more variety, have to drive 30 minutes. So I've been shopping online. My tricks are shopping at Kohls'....spending the minimum $75 to get free shipping, trying it all on and then returning things I don't want next time I head out to Idaho Falls. Recently I also shopped Old Navy and Gap because they along with Banana Republic and PiperLime all have one flat shipping rate for all 4 stores! I also use Pinch Your Pennies site; they e-mail me all sorts of discount codes and deals going online from clothing to tupperware to toys. Then I also use those when I order stuff online to save.
So I spent about $200 at each store trying to find things that would follow the rules of What Not to Wear: some pattern, the right fit, knee length yet all still modest (I'm all about modesty!). You're probably thinking $400 worth of clothes...don't worry I knew that I wouldn't keep all that because sizing is important....in the end I only kept $80 worth. After I get the clothes I try them all on and figure out what's good on me and then look at the prices to stay within a budget.
Oh and I've decided to start shopping the women's section from now on because women's clothing fits curves better and can hide the "baby" fat better.
All my tops I decided to buy petite. I'm right at the cut-off for petite sizes. I'm surprised they all fit me perfectly and even when I lift my arms above my head, the tops stay in place!

With these two outfits - I'm wearing my favorite wedge heels!

White cardigan with ruffled center $24
Gray shorts $10
all from OldNavy.com

same ruffled center cardigan but in green $24

jean shorts $5
purple lace tank $5
all from OldNavy.com

 

This is a new windbreaker type of jacket I bought during the summer. It's perfect for those 50 degree days that you just need a little something to cover up with. It fit me perfectly (First time I have a jacket where they sleeves weren't too long.)- it was a petite so I'll have to remember to start looking in the petite section from now on. I'm 5'4 so I'm right in between petite and average.

fitted jacket $18.50
from Kohls.com

I promise I will find some more recent pictures for next week!

Again - You can let me know what you think of these clothes too - do I look like a 25 year old Mom and not a teenager!? Be honest! I love honesty! Be like Stacy and Clinton from What not to Wear!

Cricut vs Silhouette - HELP!

All you craft people, Cricut or Silhouette?
I hear the Cricut Expression is the best of the Cricut machines, but how do the cheaper Cricuts compare? Then comparing all the Cricuts with the Silhouette?

All I have about the Cricut is info that my friends love it, but not sure yet that it's better than the Cricut.
I like that the Silhouette is cheaper and you don't have to use cartridges. So any information would be helpful!!!

Info I have about the Cricut from friends -

Tina Marie: i LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE My cricut expression!!! Best gift I've ever received!!

Yesterday at 1:34pm · Courtney: Splurging for the cricut is totally worth it!

Yesterday at 2:48pm · Nantalie: I love my little cricut. I just want the add on, that makes it so you can use fonts and shapes from your computer, instead of having to buy cartridges. I am also interested in what you find out here. Good questions!

Yesterday at 4:11pm · Tina Marie: you can download free software to use the cricut from your computer instead of paying for it and you get TONS of fonts and shapes...
Yesterday at 4:48pm · Rachel: I have a smaller cricut and I would LOVE to find out how to download software to save me $ on the cartridges!
 
Danielle: Go with the Cricut. The cheaper ones only differ from how big you can cut up to.
 
 
Info I have about the Silhouette from a site:
 

How are they alike?
They're alike in many ways actually. They're both personal digital cutting machines that work very much like home printers. Except instead of printing, they cut. However, both machines can use pens instead of blades to draw the image if you don't want it cut out. Both the Silhouette SD and the Cricut Expression can cut fonts as well as pictures. They are both very portable and can be taken to scrapbook parties. Both machines can cut many different kinds of materials including paper, card stock, and vinyl.
 
Reasons to buy the Silhouette
1. Price
"The Silhouette SD is loads cheaper. The Cricut Expression is regularly $499.99. However, Amazon has it for $292.03. The Silhouette SD is regularly priced at $299.99. But Amazon has it regularly priced at $199.99 but sometimes you can get it cheaper there."

2. No Cartridges Required
The Silhouette SD doesn't require cartridges! Let me say that again, no cartridges required! With the Cricuit Expression, you have to use cartridges. Each set of designs requires its own cartridge. These cartridges are expensive! TheSilhouette SD connects to your computer (or you can use the on-board SD card reader) so it'll cut almost anything you ask it to!

3. Cut using ANY font on your computer
The Silhouette SD comes with an installation CD for your PC. As soon as the software is installed on your computer, you can immediately start cutting any font you have! That right there is worth hundreds of dollars in Cricut cartridges, except you can cut other things on your computer also!


4. Individual Designs for $1.99 each
The Silhouette SD has an online design store. If there's something specific you're looking for, chances are, it's in the Silhouette store. You can purchase individual designs for $1.99. With the Cricut Expression, you have to buy the designs in big groups that come on a cartridge. So if you don't need all the designs on the cartridge, you still have to pay that terribly high price for the whole cartridge. With theSilhouette SD, you can buy individual designs or, if you think you'll be doing a lot of downloading, they also have an unlimited subscription.

5. Cut out clipart or other printable images
The Silhouette SD is not limited to cutting out solid shapes. It can also cut out images and clip art. If you have a graphic or clipart on your computer that you want to print and cut out, why not let theSilhouette SD cut it out for you? All you have to do is open the image you want to print in the Silhouette software. Get it all lined up the way you want it and print it out. When the Silhouette software prints the image, it prints it with little tick marks outside the image. This tells the Silhouette SD how to get lined up and where to start cutting. You'll never see these tick marks on the cut out and you'll be so impressed with the accuracy of the cutting theSilhouette SD makes.

Bonus
Less Accessories Required
This might be a minor detail to some people, but there's less little accessories you need to store, transport, and keep track of with theSilhouette SD. There's no cartridges or funny keypad overlays, you can keep all your designs organized in the Silhouette software on your PC. Overall, the Silhouette SD is 5 times better than the Cricut Expression.
 
 
 
Another Comparison between the two can be found here:  Ultimately she'd go with the Silhouette SD as well.... I'm pretty good with the computer so the Silhouette wouldn't be a problem.

Another comparison here:  Silhouette doesn't cut 12x12 paper - it can do up to 9x40 though.... then people are worried about copyright images when selling their stuff that used the Cricut

Here's a great Chart Comparison here: I didn't realize how heavy the Cricut Expressions is!