giveaways & a discount code!!

Giveaways closed! Thanks for entering! Winners announced here!

Happy Monday, everyone!

I have some wonderful treats for you today!

There are TWO giveaways starting today so make sure you read to the bottom :)

Mandy, from Little Love's Designs, contacted me about doing a giveaway. I checked out her site and saw how cute her things were. Of course I said yes :) She makes adorable headbands and hair clips for ALL AGES! Pretty much anything you see in her shop, can be made for any size.

Mandy is going to give one of my readers a $20 store credit to her Etsy shop! Not only is she giving that, she is offering a DISCOUNT CODE for my readers! From now until March 9th, you can get 20% off if you use the code WONDERFUL20. That's awesome!

To enter - please leave a comment for EACH entry! Also, pretty please leave your email if you do not have an active blog or anyway for me to contact you!

1. Visit Little Love's Designs Etsy shop and tell me your favorite item.
2.  Follow my blog :)
3. "Like" Little Love's Designs on Facebook HERE.
4. Blog about this giveaway and include it's URL - http://www.inthiswonderfullife.com/2011/02/giveaways-discount-code.html
5. Tweet about this giveaway and include it's URL - http://www.inthiswonderfullife.com/2011/02/giveaways-discount-code.html
6. Facebook about this giveaway and include it's URL - http://www.inthiswonderfullife.com/2011/02/giveaways-discount-code.html

Um, you have SIX chances to win!! That is a LOT! Winner will be picked randomly and announced next Sunday night ALONG with a discount code for Little Love's Designs!! Good luck :)

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

The next giveaway is from Apothica.com. They carry TONS of brands like Korres, Chanel, Stila, Bobbi Brown, La Mer, etc. To enter that giveaway, click HERE.

Happy FREE stuff :)

February Sponsors

I had some wonderful sponsors for February! They can all be found on my right sidebar and you can click their picture button to go right to their site and shop around!

For the past two months, I tried doing the sponsor posts at the end of the month, but I've decided I like doing it better at the beginning of the month. It's especially more logical if they are offering a special deal for my readers that month :)

HERE are my February sponsors! Check them out :)

On Sunday, March 6th, I will post the March Sponsor post. So, I have a feeling there will be some special discounts offered for the month!

If you are interested in advertising or sponsoring on In This Wonderful Life blog, please email me at inthiswonderfullife{at}gmail{dot}com.

 {image}

If you missed my post earlier today, please check it out here. It's in regards to sweet Madison and fundraisers for her family. Thank you!

Maddie & Fundraisers for her family

I was devastated when I read the news about little Madison. I mean I cried and cried about it. I still cry thinking about it and what Kellie and James must be going through. Unfortunately, I can say from experience, losing a child is what I feel to be the hardest thing for one to go through.

Maddie was just four months old and stopped breathing.

After discussing infant death all too often this year, the one always agreeable fact... we can try and try to do our best and protect our babies and kids, but ultimately, we can't control it. It's just not in our hands. I've heard mom after mom say this.

Kellie was working and Maddie was at the babysitter's. It's not Kellie's fault. It's not the babysitter's fault. It's certainly not Maddie's fault. It was just her time. I think sometimes we can be scared and wonder "when is our time?" Maddie was never scared. She became a little angel in peace and I know she wants peace for those mourning. 

I did this post in regards to my opinion on angels. I certainly think Madison is surrounding her family.

I'm sure Cohen was a gentleman and gave Maddie a hug when he saw her.

The first "girl" name Brent and I ever liked if we were to have a baby girl was Madison. In 2002, our first date was to see Swimfan and the main girl's name was Madison. It was actually still top of our list until this last year and we randomly came up with a few others. When I say randomly, it was those crazy convos when your pregnant and wonder if your doctor has the sex wrong, and the baby will really come out a girl. Not our case, Cohen was definitely a boy. The whole name thing crossed my mind pretty quickly when I heard what happened to Maddie. I don't know what it means, but it consumed me for a few minutes.

I was contacted about an auction on Facebook tomorrow, the 28th, for the Staats family. It's called "The Tiny Wings Auction - In Memory of Madison Paige Staats. The visit the auction, go HERE.There are some ADORABLE items.

Details:
This auction will open Monday, Feb. 28th at 12 pm cst.
ALL MONEY RAISED WILL GO TO THE STAAT FAMILY.
Lets open our hearts & wallets :)
God Bless♥
Lets make this huge & raise an incredible amount to help Maddies family.
**If you would like to add anything from your boutique send me an e-mail at srs07_megan@yahoo.com & I will give you more details. I need all info sent to me by Sunday at 8 pm cst.


It was so helpful to us to have several people host fundraisers to help.  Though I don't have anything to create and sell, I'm happy to spread the word. 

I also know Perfectly Precious Boutique has created a bow in memory of Maddie and all the proceeds from it's sales will go to the Staats.

You can find the bows HERE.

I've seen or read about a few other fundraisers, but now can't track them down. If you or anyone else you know is hosting a fundraiser, please add it in the Mr.Linky. Thank you!

Tidbits

I kind of missed my weekly phone pics last week. I'm throwing those and a few new ones into this post :) I like taking and looking back at them.

• Still no sign of my friend, Adam :( They found his car, but nothing else to indicate where exactly he is or how he is. Quite sad. Please continue to pray for his family and his safety. There is a page on facebook, here, that gets updated daily. Thank you! 

• We are getting a team all set up in memory of Cohen for our local heart walk. It's been a bit more emotional that I thought it would be. Just thinking about it all, seeing the shirt, setting up the page....wondering if people will show up. I guess all of it. If you live locally/close, and want to be included in the email with info I send out, let me know. I'll post the shirt and stuff for everyone to see on here as well :) We walked in the heart walk last year and I posted about it here.

• I meant to post this a while back with the "cute as a button" baby shower post here, but I forgot! My friend Amy, gave all the girls that hosted these fun towels. Love them..

• Are you all watching American Idol? Who is/are your favorite(s)? I honestly think there are a good handful of exceptional singers this year. I've not quite memorized their names, but when I do, I'll tell you the ones Brent and I are liking.

• Yesterday we got this adorable baby announcement in the mail. Our friends had this sweet beauty in January..

• My mom bought me this cute Easter egg holder last week. It's fun. She loads me up with goodies...

• Speaking of my mom, she has cooked lots this week. Well, I think she cooks a lot quite often. She has been doing it so long and is so good, I think she is able to do it quite fast. To me, I can't just "whip up" something like she can. I've had her tortilla soup and turkey salad this week. I had a bit of a chocolate cake, but it was with bittersweet chocolates and it was rich, and well, I just couldn't do it. I'll try to get the recipe for the soup posted at some point...

• Poor Elty. He's had a rough week. His allergies and glands are acting up :( Both have always been an issue. After a hefty and I'm talking horrid vet bill, he now has clean glands and new allergy meds. He does have to wear a cute little band aid on his tosh for a few days...

• I have two baby showers to attend this weekend. I have two newborns I need to pick up something for and also a different three or four..or five.. other babies in utero to shop for. It has to be the year of the babies. I was trying to debate on if there were more girls or boys expected, but it really does seem pretty evened out. So far, I've done pretty well with baby showers and new babies, thankfully. I think I have my moments, but they haven't been gut-wrenching. I'm praying to be involved in the year of the pregnancy/baby at some point :)

• Blueberries are delish right now. I'm not sure if that's everywhere or just here. I got a larger container at Super Target recently and they are perfect. There wasn't a mushy or yucky one in the entire container...

• I had a few questions emailed on this post. Most of the products are from Whole Foods. A few of them might be/or can probably be purchased at smaller type natural/organic stores. We have Akin's Natural Food Markets here and they carry some of the same products.

• I got maybe a tad overly excited when Brent showed up with Chick-fil-a last night, which included some new ketchup packets. I guess I like that you can squeeze or dip. I like options, I suppose...

• We are going to see Unknown tonight. Hoping it matches up to Taken. We loved Taken. I love hearing Brent say those certain few sentences that Liam Neeson says, that pretty much sum up the move. I'll let ya know!

• I've added a special page up top titled "coupon codes for my readers :)" I thought since people offer them periodically, I would have a place for them. There are two going right now.

Happy Friday!

Get Dolled Up! Coupon Code :)

The owner of Get Dolled Up Boutique contacted me wanting to share a coupon code especially for my readers. I thought that was so nice for her! The site is adorable and she has some AWESOME things you may like or like to gift. SO many options!

You can check out everything on the website here.

For my readers, Katie is offering 15% off your purchase if you enter the code WONDERFUL at checkout!

Thank you, Katie!

Have fun shopping!

A Sweet Shower

A few weekends ago I attended a baby shower for one of my good friends, Ashley. It was so fun!

Luckily, I had my camera on hand and my friends, Cameron & Tallee, stepped in to be great photographers :)

The mommy-to-be and the girls who hosted :)

Me & Ashley - Ashley with her mom, mother-in-law & grandmother - Kristen, Allison & Myself - the bag that SheShe Made for me to gift :)

Ashley by the tree of gifts!

Let's talk about this tree. It's so fun!

 

{my friend, Jen, use to own a home decor store. That's where the tree is from :}

All of the food was pretty & yummy....

 

Ashley & Braxton got some wonderful things...

and soft things.....

Little Miss Ava was definitely happy to join us...

I think the shower was wonderful and I'm so glad it was when it was. Ashley had Braxton the weekend after! We are going to meet him this weekend :)

Happy mid week.

Toiletries

As you may recall, I've posted several times about trying to be more green and/or natural. Food is much harder, and though I've gotten pretty good about it, toiletries have been much easier.

I enjoyed reading yall's comments on this post.

I wanted to share with you all some things that are working for me as I promised I would :)

{I'll add in links for the things that may be harder to find. It will take you to Amazon which I love to shop/affiliate with.}

Now I'm not exactly sure how natural the L'Oreal shampoo & conditioner is, but it is sulfate free and I know those aren't too good for you. Jennifer Lopez did a commercial, and honestly, that's what sold me on it. Good advertising, huh? But I really do like it. I think it helps with frizz.

The Burt's Bees deep cleansing cream, I have been using for about two years now. I really like it and have no plans to change for now.

The shave foam was a bit of a challenge. I have pretty coarse hair and have always found foam worked best for me. I was surprised when I didn't get razor burn when I tried the Alba. It is very minty and does leave that cold feeling on your legs. I will say, I think it needs to be used with a pretty fresh razor blade for best results.

I got Nature's Gate lotion in the summer and this is my second bottle. I really love it. I bought another natural one and it was so hard to rub in. It stayed white forever on my skin. The papaya scent smells amazing.

As for the Korres powder, it's more of a beauty product and I did just get it yesterday, but so far, I'm liking it! I think it needs a moisturizer or primer underneath to stay on best. I got the wild rose. They gave me one or two little samples of face products I'm going to try.

I would have snapped a pic of my actual bar of soap, but with no label, you couldn't tell what it is. I couldn't find a solo pic of the one I use, but it's the second one in the left row. It's camomile and I love the smell. It goes on, washes good, and washes off easily. It doesn't leave anything behind. It's the 365 brand from Whole Foods. I've also been using this since summer. It is a bit pricey for a bar soap, maybe $1.65 per bar, but I think it's worth it.

I'm on my second tube of Tom's whole care toothpaste and I like it. It's the first natural one I tried, and so far, so good. At first, I thought it left a funny after feeling/taste, but that must have worn away or just been part of the changing process because I don't notice anything now. The tube is more of a metal consistency so that can be a little tricky when it gets towards the end, which is why I grabbed a pic of the Tom's site to post.

Finding natural products has come with it's share of wasted dollars. I don't mind though. I think the hardest part, so far, has been finding a shampoo & conditioner. I honestly felt like the first few sets I tried made my hair SO tangled. It tangled up in the shower and it was just awful. Before the L'Oreal above, I came up with the combination below that I thought wasn't all too bad. I just had to run my fingers through it quite a bit.

Deodorant has also been a challenge. I'm not currently wearing a "natural" one. I tried both of these Tom's and I just didn't think they did the job. It's not to say when I'm not going any place, I won't use them, but around people and with the weather getting warm, I'd rather be safe than sorry.

I'm going to work on beauty products more. Cleaning products are going well and I'll share a post on those soon!

PLEASE, feel free to share with me things you like and/or don't like!

There was something else I wanted to tell you all today. Oh yes, as if I really need anymore magazines, GroopDealz is running an awesome special for magazine subscriptions! They are doing $10 for a $20 credit to DiscountMags.com. You can see here. I'm trying hard not to give in. I'm definitely not telling my mom. She might get more magazines than I do.

Recipe & Winner

Thanks for the sweet comments on my last post :) 

Also, thank you all who entered the giveaway last week! I hope you will shop with Glitter & Bliss for some sweet items!

A winner was picked randomly....

Kaysie from Chasers of Kaysers, you are the winner!!

Congrats! Email me and I'll give you details :)

In the summer, I posted here a few pics of some dishes my mom made. I loved them all.

I'm posting a recipe for this chicken salad HERE. It is my FAVORITE.

Have a good Monday :)

love & hearts

So this was the week of love :) I think Valentine's is a fun time to give people treats and let them know they are sweet!

It's not the only day Brent and I attempt to spoil each other, though it's kind of like an expected day.

We told each other we wouldn't spend much and neither of us really wanted/needed anything. We went to dinner last Friday night to avoid the crowds on Monday. Here we are then...

I got Brent a fun, small gift...

It's a 2011 Boston Terrier calendar. He can put it right at his desk. I ordered it from African Grey. SUCH cute stuff.

On Monday, this conversation happened between Brent and myself. Pretty funny.

The man does know that one of the keys to my heart is food, good food. He went and picked up a few of my favorite things and brought them home for dinner. Yes, we shared. Yes, I ate leftovers the next day. It was all so good. We had chocolate geateau, fillet w/ asparagus & wasabi mashed potatoes, lobster bisque, sun-dried tomato & jalapeno risotto & sushi. Not pictured - yummy homemade bread & vino. I figured why not make it a night to indulge after I opened all of the below.

 
While I was anxiously waiting for Brent to get home, I was thinking about how it was our ninth Valentine's day together. Last year was by far the worst Valentine's day as we had just found out about Cohen's heart. So, I kind of have that on my mind this February as well. Anyways, we've been together nine years this September and married for five years this October. I realized I hadn't posted pictures from our third and fourth anniversary. I created a quick post here and placed it in 2009. Soon, I'll add in the small anniversary recap for 2010 even though it mostly includes pictures of my then newly cut bangs :)

Here are our past four wedding anniversary days. All October 28th, of course. 

{2010}

{2009}

{2008}

{2007}

And because February and hearts, and well, all things heart will always mean this to us....

Cohen has been a precious little member of heaven 8 months today.

Thank you for a wonderful Valentine's & February, @lifeofbrent.

I hope you all had a fun week of love and sweethearts.