A Giveaway from a Giveaway

Some of you know that I won an amazing giveaway on the blog Scottyboy and Katygirl.  I won a ton of stuff.  25 gifts total!  To say thank you to the shops that were so generous to donate to this giveaway, I wanted to give them some free advertising.  Here are the first 5 of the 25 gifts with links to the shops.  You should really check them out!  I would be shocked if you didn't find something that you loved!

burlap kindle/nook case

My Sunshine Homemade {she has a blog too}

Here is the giveaway of the giveaway.


I don't have a kindle or a nook.  


Do you?  If you do, go ahead and leave a comment at the bottom of this post. One lovely lady...or gentleman {I don't think I have ever had a man leave a comment on my blog} will be randomly chosen to have this adorable case sent to you!   


The fact that I just said adorable will probably keep most men from leaving a comment.  


You have until 11:59 pm on Saturday, July 23, to enter.  

happy birthday banner

Bekah Jennings

library card notebooks

Saratops {also has a blog}

mini canvas welcome bunting

Dear Nicole {yep, she has a blog too}


zipper pouch

Charm Design

If you end up buying anything from these shops, I would love to know.  Leave a comment to tell me about your purchase!

Where's the Love? Wednesday {7.20.11}

What I'm loving this week...

A quick baseball game in almost 100 degree weather.  The part that I loved was the quick part.

This picture I found on Wes' phone.

Wes volunteering to play Monopoly {one of my favorite games}.  

Quickest game ever - 1 hour 15 minutes.  I was victorious.  

I love Wes' "I can't believe you're beating me like this" smile.  It's really cute.

He's not smiling in this picture...

All of those hotels - they're mine.   

This.

Another garage sale find - snow boots for $1.  

But what I love more is that he giggled as I put them on his feet.

He played in them for about 10 minutes. 

Until he realized that 95 degrees and humidity doesn't produce much snow.

Where is your love this week?  

It can be fun, lighthearted, deep and meaningful or a little of both.  It can be one thing or many things  It may even be one simple photograph to capture where you're feeling the love.

If you would like to participate, click on the "Add your link" blue button at the bottom of this post.

Don't forget to copy the code under the Where's the Love? Wednesday button and paste it into the body of your love post.  

Can't wait to start sharing the love!

Waves and Smiles All Around

Max had another first...

We went to the mall.  {Definitely not a first.}

Max had his first ride on the merry-go-round.

At first, he was holding on to Wes for dear life.

But as soon as the merry-go-round got moving, he loved every second...waving and smiling to everyone as he went around.  

It was worth the $2 dollars, but I think we'll stick to the penny pony ride at Meijer.  Same waving and smiling results and a bit cheaper.

black bean & citrus salad

I found this recipe in one of my cookbooks.  Actually if you clicked on the link, you saw that it's not really a cookbook but a "deck" of recipe cards.  It screamed summer...and I didn't want to clean...so I made it.  

Black Bean and Citrus Salad

2-15oz. cans of black beans - rinsed and drained

1 cup corn

Chop up this stuff:

1 tomato

red onions - 1/2 cup

1 red bell pepper

cilantro - 1/2 cup

1 avocado

2 oranges, peeled, sectioned and cut in small pieces

1 grapefruit, cut like the oranges

Put everything in a bowl.  Mix

Dressing

1/4 cup fresh lime juice - I used 2 limes

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 Tbsp. veg. oil

1 Tbsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. salt

Whisk together.  Pour over salad.  Mix.

It will last in the refrigerator for 3 or 4 days.  

Instead of eating my salad with a fork, I ate mine with some blue corn tortilla chips.  

I'm linking up to Tatertots and Jello