Epic Stitching Giveaway!

 

Hey friends! Today I wanted to tell you about Epic Stitching; a sweet little etsy shop that sells handmade Kumihimo jewelry and cross stitched pieces. Kumihimo is a Japanese Samurai braiding technique, and Mel has it down pat! These bracelets remind me of the friendship bracelets we use to buy for each other when I lived in New Zealand, so they're kind of a sentimental item for me. I decided it would be sort of a sweet idea to get one for myself, my husband (still not use to saying that), and Fern! We got them in the mail, and immediately I was in love. I haven't taken mine off.

Epic Stitching has a variety of colors and sizes. (we kept ours neutral. I like soft tones that can match anything) You could order a bracelet for anyone you know. Mel also has the option to add a clasp to your bracelets if you don't like the traditional knot. I prefer the knot, but Tristan prefers the clasp. She also encourages custom orders, so if you see a bracelet you like, but wish it were in different colors, just ask!

Sweet Mel is so generous! She's decided to host a giveaway for her store! Here is the info:

Giveaway! $25.00 store credit to Epic Stitching Etsy

|| open to International readers

|| custom orders welcome

|| Giveaway ends at midnight on Sunday, November 17th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Life Lately: busy schedules and more change.

Hi friends! I feel a little bit guilty, as all of my posts as of lately have been about giveaways and sponsors and events and lists and pretty things. Although those are all TERRIFIC, and obviously, I wouldn't post them if I didn't love them, I've just been pretty preoccupied and haven't been able to be very present, on a personal level, for you. Our family is going through a lot of changes at the moment. Not only have we gotten married, and moved out of our room mates' house;  I've also recently put my car up for sale, and put in my notice at Cuppies. It's such a bittersweet thing. I've loved loved LOVED working at Cuppies & Joe for the past (nearly) 3 years. The owners of this beautiful cupcake and coffee shop are like family. They're such wonderful examples of the type of business person I want to be, as well as the type of mother, daughter, encourager, and hostess I want to be. These people, along with all of my co-workers have just adopted me as family since the day I started, and continue to do that with every new employee they hire. They've taken such good care of me and blessed our family with so many things; from flat tire fixes to celebrations, they've been there for it all. I'm so sad to not be part of the Cuppies employees, but I'm so happy that I'll always be part of the Cuppies family.

That's the bitter part, now for the sweet part.

Tristan and I have been talking about what I'd like to pursue as a career, and although making coffee is absolutely something I love (and will continue to consume on a daily basis), I have other dreams that will allow me to better provide for my family. After the holiday season, I'll be working towards getting my real estate license. This is something I've always been very interested it, I just never knew where to start. Somehow the stars have aligned and everything is falling into place. God has placed some great women in my life who are taking me under their wings, and letting me learn under them. Which is exactly what I needed.  This career choice will not only provide for my family better financially, but also on a personal level. This will allow me to make my own schedules, and I'll still be able to stay with Fern during the day, and be with my family at night. It's been a very hard year since I went back to work. My schedule is almost exactly opposite of T's.

If you could just say a little prayer for our family, or send happy thoughts, good vibes, Buddha belly rubs, or pennies in wishing wells.. whatever it is that you find helpful... We'd really appreciate it. I'm excited, but so nervous about getting into something I don't know much about. Starting something new after being in a very comfortable position for the last 3 years.

My friend Tillie said something to me the other day that struck me as quite funny. She said "For someone who dislikes change, you handle it so lovely." It actually hadn't occured to me until she said that how much change we've actually gone through this past year. Just our living situation alone. We've had 4 different addresses in the past 12 months. I don't know how much more I can handle, but I have a feeling we're not quite near the end yet. :)
What's that old country song? "The only thing that stays the same is that everything changes".. ("everything chay-ay-ay-nges")

Here's to a more consistent (at least) lifestyle.

The Great Christmas Exchange!

It's the last week to sign up for  The Great Christmas Exchange hosted by Samantha (Elah Tree) and Elizabeth (Oak & Oats)! I didn't want you to miss out. This may sound familiar to you. If it does, it may be because you've seen the button on my sidebar to the left, or maybe you remember it from when Samantha mentioned it in her awesome post about DIY christmas ornaments.  Well if you haven't checked it out yet, you need to get on the ball you scrooge! :)
The 18th of November is the last day you can sign up!

The Details!

WHAT is it: 

 The Great Christmas Exchange is an opportunity to meet new bloggers, readers, and friends; get to know them and give a gift!

WHO can participate: 

Everyone! This is not a closed exchanged! Anyone can participate. Bloggers, readers, your mom, your sister, you name it, you're in! This exchange is also open internationally. Participants will be matched within their own country. *When making assignments we will put bloggers and non-bloggers together.

WHEN: 

11/18: Make sure to sign up by November 18th! The exchange will close on that day.

11/25: The girls will email your assignment/partner to you on November 25th. If you have not received your assignment by 11/26 email Samantha or Elizabeth. Get to Shopping!
12/16: You have three weeks to shop and get you package in the mail. Make sure to ship by December 16th.
1/7: Enjoy your Christmas Break! Elizabeth and Samantha will have a link up ready on January 7th. 

Bloggers link up your exchange!

HOW (much) :

Let's keep the gifts around $20.
If you are feeling overly generous than go for it, but please don't expect anyone to go over $20. 

Sign up by clicking this link and have lots of fun!

who's planning on signing up? I already have! 

Keeping track...

If you know anything about me at all, you probably know that I can't function without order. When it comes to planning, and dates, and specifics- I am your girl. I will always have no less than three notebooks in my purse dedicated to keeping specific things in order. Those notebooks will always be:

|| Day Planner- for keeping track of my appointments, birthdays, and work schedule. 

|| Budget Planner- for keeping track of bills, savings, and spending. 

|| Lined notebook- dedicated to my many many lists. (ie: grocery lists, shopping lists, christmas lists, monday-friday to do lists, etc etc) 

Don't even get me started on the notebooks I keep at home. 

Today, I wanted to show off my Day Planner for 2014. I order this specific day planner from Frankie Magazine every year around September when it's available for pre-order. They sell out so fast and Frankie is an australian company so you're hard pressed to find the magazines, much less these babies in a store. I always enjoy their simple and beautiful layouts. Every year it's different. Here are a few details of 2014.

Included, but not pictured are also little "to do" lists that are pre-cut for easy tearing, a page for listing birthdays, a couple of sweet postcards, fun floral stickers and more. Always a treat, Frankie. Always a treat.

Now to find a budgeting notebook for 2014. I'm taking recommendations if anyone has any?

Frankie Magazine also has wall calendars and a variety of recipe books, design books, and coffee table books avalable. I own several of their recipe books. I'm working on the entire collection. You can find all of their goodies on their shop page, and I highly recommend that you do.

This post is not a sponsored post. All opinions and photos are my own. 

joined together, forever.

Here are some sweet photos from our wedding. I'm basically re-posting these photos from our wedding photographer's blog because I haven't received our CD with all of our photos on it, and I'm much too impatient to wait for it to come. I've already waited THIS long to share them. I find that very impressive.

Our wedding was perfect. It was at my grandparents house in the country, where I grew up. It was a romantic evening wedding. Just a tad of chill in the air. The sun sat as we said our vows and afterwards we went into the pasture and celebrated with all of our loved ones with campfire, dancing, and libations to warm us. We wanted our entire wedding to have a very community feel. We set the tables up in a large circle(ish) shape so we could all enjoy one another and the dance floor was in the center. For dinner, I asked everyone to bring a dish of any sort. We had such a fantastic turnout. It couldn't have gone better. I'm so thankful The Hibben's were there to capture it all. 

I didn't snag all of the photos from the photographers blog, but I snagged many of them. So if you'd like to go see a few more you can head here.