{Mignonne Handmade} Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to Mallory, the winner of last week's 'Mignonne Handmade' Giveaway! Thank you to Jenn for sharing her work with us!

And please stay tuned later tonight for a brand new giveaway (perfect for Holiday gift buying)!

Weekend Project {12 Layer Cake} Completed!!!

Last Friday, I posted about my plans to make a 12-Layer Cake for Leah's First Birthday Party... The cake was so much fun to make... And much to my surprise, everything went flawlessly... The 12-Layer Cake was an enormous hit! Perhaps I'll make it again!

Inside the cake!

And please take the time to enter this week's giveaway with 'Mignonne Handmade'

Leah's First Birthday Party {Part II}

And please take the time to enter this week's giveaway with 'Mignonne Handmade'

Leah's First Birthday Party {Part I}

And please take the time to enter this week's giveaway with 'Mignonne Handmade'

She's One!

On Sunday, our dear Leah turned one... I can hardly believe it... The day that Leah was born was one of the best days of my life... There is no way to put into words how much I love this little girl... Her smile could melt the hardest heart... Happy Birthday Leah... I thank the Lord daily for bringing you into our lives!

And please take the time to enter this week's giveaway with 'Mignonne Handmade'

Giveaway {Mignonne Handmade}

This week, I'm more than thrilled to welcome Jenn of 'Mignonne Handmade'... I think it's best to let Jenn describe her work in her own words: "Darling pieces hand made for you with love for a special day or everyday... Each flower is handmade by yours truly, hand cut, pressed with a vintage milliners iron and hand sewn together. I love to use lots of interesting bits of vintage this and that to add whimsy and magic, some of the vintage items used have been handpicked by me in the flea markets of France. I incorporate my own aesthetic when creating these flowers and as a result they are not "perfect" factory made looking pieces, they are all individual and have their own character and quirks, hope you like them too!"

Jenn has graciously offered $20 in store credit for her lovely shop! I know you'll enjoy the shop as much as I did... Aren't the photographs simply stunning? Head down the page, below Jenn's interview, to find out how to enter this beautiful giveaway!

{Shop}

{Blog}

Jenn has taken the time to answer a few questions:

What does a perfectly ordinary day in your life look like?

"I wake up and make breakfast for my daughter and I bike her to school (her preschool is right down the street) and come home and work on orders for Mignonne handmade, later I'll pick up my daughter and come home and cook dinner, my family is mostly Vegan so we cook at home a lot, then I enjoy dinner with my family."

What time of year most inspires you?

"I live in Phoenix so we only have two seasons- super hot and warm, but when I lived in Philadelphia and Seattle I have to say fall and spring were the most inspiring times of year for me."

What do you think of as comfort food? 

"I'm Filipino, German and English so my comfort food can vary from peanut oxtail stew prepared vegetarian style) with fermented shrimp paste to traditional American Thanksgiving type foods."

If you could hop on a plane, without giving one thought to your budget, where would you go?

"FRANCE!! My husband and I went to Provence this spring and we are determined to someday live there!"

What are five things you would like to do in the next five years?

"Work on all the millions of projects I stash in my head, travel more, learn French, take a road trip up the coast of CA with my family, rehab an old airstream and make it into a guesthouse in my backyard."

This giveaway runs from October 25th to 31st at 7pm (EST)... The winner will be chosen and announced on Sunday, October 31st

1. Visit 'Mignonne Handmade' and choose your favourite digital design from the shop... Come back here and leave a comment along with your email address, mentioning your favourite item...

2. For an additional entry, link to this giveaway on your blog, come back here and post an additional comment with the link and your email address...

3. For an additional entry, tweet about this giveaway on Twitter, come back here and post an additional comment with the link and your email address...

4. For an additional entry, link to this giveaway on Facebook, come back here and post an additional comment with the link and your email address...

5. For even more entries, POST again (Blog, Twitter, Facebook) at any time later in the week, come back here and post an additional comment with the link and your email address...

* YOU MAY ENTER UP TO FIVE TIMES FOR FIVE CHANCES TO WIN!

In order to keep offering these fantastic giveaways, I need to get as many comments (and visits for the sponsors) as possible... Please help me spread the word so we can keep a good thing going friends!!!

The winner will be randomly chosen and posted HERE on the blog on Sunday, October 31st... Please check the blog on Saturday to see if YOU are the winner! Enjoy... Please help spread the word and a dear thank you again to Jenn of 'Mignonne Handmade'!

{La Marquise des Anges} Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to Meagan, the winner of the 'La Marquise des Anges' Giveaway! Thank you to Sabine for sharing your lovely work with us and all of you who commented and helped to spread the word!

An exciting new giveaway will be up at midnight!

Weekend Project {12 Layer Cake}

 Quite some time ago, I came across this recipe for 12-Layer Cake... And I thought to myself... Would this not be the perfect first birthday cake? One layer for each month of Leah's life... So... I'm going to give it a go... And pray that it works... That I can pull it together, looking somewhat edible for Leah's Saturday evening birthday party! Jay is shaking his head at me as I write this and study the recipe... But I have faith! I will post pictures if it works (fingers crossed)... Have a lovely weekend! We will be celebrating all weekend... Leah's party on Saturday night and her first birthday on Sunday! I will be back next week with birthday photos!

Image and fantastic baking tips from 'Bakerella'

And when the cake is done, I plan of adoring it with the Maddi Cake Bunting from 'Kiki La Ru'

And don't forget to take the time to enter this week's giveaway with 'La Marquise des Anges'

{Nearly} A Year with Leah...

On Sunday, Leah will turn one... I can hardly believe it... This past year has been filled with so much joy... Leah has been a blessing in more ways than I could ever have imagined... I had a few spare nights back in September... And I spent the time creating a scrapbook of Leah's first year... This is her year... There are only two pages left to go... And those will be coming soon! Enjoy!

And please, take the time to enter this week's giveaway with 'La Marquise des Anges'

A Few Gifts for My Sweet Leah...

When I was preparing for Brennah's first birthday, Etsy was still relatively new to me... I took the opportunity to explore it a bit more and purchased many of Bren's first birthday gifts from some of my favourite sellers... I decided, where I could, to purchase the same items for Leah's first birthday... I try to purchase gifts for my girls that I believe will stand the test of time... I hope that someday, when they are older, they will still cherish their first birthday gifts!

Custom Matryoshka Doll from 'Ravenhill'

Personalized Baby Footprint Bowl

1800's Seashell Lusterware Demitasse Teacup & Saucer

 Custom Plate & Bowl

And please, don't forget to enter this week's giveaway with 'La Marquise des Anges'

A Party Dress for Little Leah...

This Saturday, we will be celebrating Leah's first birthday with family and friends... I can hardly believe it's been nearly a year since we welcomed little Leah... For those of you who have been reading the blog for a while now, or those of you who know me, you'll know that there are few things I enjoy more than throwing a party... I'm excited to look back over the last year... To celebrate the life that the Lord has given to our little Leah... Each year, I like to pick out a lovely dress for the girls to wear at their party... This year, my mom purchased this lovely dress for Leah...

Floral Print Smock Dress

I sent a picture of the dress to Rachel from 'Snugars' and she created this adorable headband for Leah...

Petite Fall Rose Snugars Headband

I hope you'll take the time to enter this week's giveaway with 'La Marquise des Anges'

Giveaway {La Marquise Des Anges}

I am so very, very excited to introduce you to Sabine of 'La Marquise Des Anges', a lovely clothing and jewelry shop from France... I stumbled upon Sabine's shop some time ago... And quickly added her to my favourites... I adore the feminie appeal of her pieces... And between you and me, I'd like to purchase every last item in her shop! This week, Sabine has graciously offered $35 in store credit to spend in her shop! Thank you so much Sabine!

{Shop}

{Blog}

{Twitter}

Sabine has taken the time to answer some questions:
What does a perfectly ordinary day in your life look like?
"it would be a day I managed to balance my indiepreneur life and my personal life. I generally wake up very early, starting the day with computer- related things, then I finish the order I have in progress, make custom orders, go the the post office, create new things, photoshoot ... each days are different. I am very happy when I have finished all the priority once my hubbie is back home..."

What time of year most inspires you?
"I must confess and I am in a perpetual inspiration -mood. I see inspiration in everything... However I do really really like the spring & fall seasons, I always regain creative spirit at this time of the year."

What do you think of as comfort food?
"I love cooking and a perfect day for me, is a day I had some time to spend in my kitchen cooking (not just putting ingredients together, I mean COOKING, a brand new recipe is even better) my overall favorite comfort food would be my all time favorite lasagna (fresh salmon, smoked salmon and leek fondue), my grand mother roasted chicken recipe (with sautées potatoes) and a fruit tart with a generous spoon of ice cream."

If you could hop on a plane, without giving one thought to your budget, where would you go?
"I would say a KENYA and TANZANIA travel combo for the discovery ... or the MALDIVES Islands for a peaceful, relaxing and dreamy vacation."

What are five things you would like to do in the next five years?
"I won't be very original but I feel blessed with what I have right now : a wonderful, adorable and supporting husband, a lovely home we are renovating to really make it "ours",  loving family, friends and pets and I love what I am doing. I love working for myself and I adore feeling dozen of (happyness & excitement) butterflies in my chest while creating new pieces. If it's as good as now, then whatever it is will be fine."


This giveaway runs from October 18th to 24th at 7pm (EST)... The winner will be chosen and announced on Sunday, October 24th

1. Visit 'La Marquise Des Anges' and choose your favourite digital design from the shop... Come back here and leave a comment along with your email address, mentioning your favourite item...

2. For an additional entry, link to this giveaway on your blog, come back here and post an additional comment with the link and your email address...

3. For an additional entry, tweet about this giveaway on Twitter, come back here and post an additional comment with the link and your email address...

4. For an additional entry, link to this giveaway on Facebook, come back here and post an additional comment with the link and your email address...

5. For even more entries, POST again (Blog, Twitter, Facebook) at any time later in the week, come back here and post an additional comment with the link and your email address...

* YOU MAY ENTER UP TO FIVE TIMES FOR FIVE CHANCES TO WIN!

Comments have been a bit down... In order to keep offering these fantastic giveaways, I need to get as many comments (and visits for the sponsors) as possible... Please help me spread the word so we can keep a good thing going friends!!!

The winner will be randomly chosen and posted HERE on the blog on Sunday, October 24th... Please check the blog on Saturday to see if YOU are the winner! Enjoy... Please help spread the word and a dear thank you again to Sabine of 'La Marquise Des Anges'!