big girl bed & a darling clementine giveaway!

we've hit big girl bed status, folks!  this nursery of ours had a little make over a few nights back and with it came the sweetest bed for the sweetest gal.  we ended up going with this ikea bed and could not love it more.  

i have been keeping my eye out for something vintage inspired, white, and affordable (that was our main focus).  this bed fit the bill, both literally and figuratively, and it comes in three sizes to boot!  we currently have it set at the smallest, cozy size because their nursery is not able to accommodate much more.  stella is over the moon and has been taking the longest of sleeps in it.  that is, when i get her to nap.  it is much wider than her crib and gives her the space she needs to wiggle around if need be which i like.  

we usually spend the half hour before nap and bed time with our noses stuck in books.  i love this time we spend together.  one of our favorite books to read is the baby literature by adams and oliver, particularly romeo and juliet.  stella loves the counting game and bright colors, while the english teacher in me is obsessed with the fact that she is getting introduced to classics at such a young age.  these books make the perfect take along book when traveling because they are small and cardboard.  

within minutes of her new bed going up, so did our crib railing for baby boy.  buh bye toddler crib rail!  our nursery now fits our two munchkins with a nice amount of room to read, play, and make art.  as soon as the mattress was raised, i put on our little guy's new crib sheet and added some folded linens to make is more homey.  it's hard to believe that in a few short months this space will be occupied by two.  i find myself thinking that this was the way this room was always intended.  for our two babies.  with two beds.  it is such a happy space and exudes so much charm.  

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and guess what!?  my sweet friend lindsay asked me to guest curate for the month of august over at her dreamy shop darling clementine!  i've gotten to know lindsay through instagram and it is clear that we are sitched from the same cloth.  i adore her.  it was so hard narrowing down all of my favorites.  she has so many goodies to choose from this season with a great selection of back to school goodies right now.

lindsay is going to give away a little one literature book of your choice along with a bubble bath.  how exciting, you guys!  to be a part of this darling giveaway, leave a comment below about what piece of literature you would like to see made into a little one's book.  i think it would be pretty wonderful to see the adventure's of huck finn as a book for babies.  a winner will be chosen two weeks from now on friday at random.  you must be a follower of this blog either via bloglovin or GFC to enter.  good luck!

a giveaway // whooptee bow tie tee

hooray for a holiday giveaway!  hopefully you are still in your jammies like us and are on or nearing your second cup of coffee.  so let's get on with this darling tee shirt giveaway.  WhoopTee is a rad company based way across our good ol' state of missouri in st. louis.  they create custom shirts with your design on them at super affordable prices.  today they are bringing you a pretty wonderful giveaway for three, yes three, lucky readers to win this shirt i designed.  i had had so much fun working with them on this little project.  and come on now, who doesn't love an oversized bow?  ps. there is free shipping until january 28! 

to enter the giveaway:

-you must be a GFC follower of my blog
-leave a comment on how you would wear this bow tie tee shirt

extra entries (choose one per additional entry):

- visit whoopee's website

-follow me on twitter and then tweet about the giveaway
-follow me on pinterest 

good luck you guys!  winners will be announced next monday.

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and the winners are....

lesley
lauren swift
&
jill

if you ladies would contact me via email this week, 
i will hook you up!

a friday giveaway // closed + a little guest posting

today we have an exciting giveaway for you from the lovely erin who blogs over at erin loves earl!  she is a wife and mommy to two of the most adorable little 18 month-old twinnies {stella + olivia}, plus a bun in the oven.  we have more than just our little gals names in common, erin also loves to craft, and she is mighty good at it too!  this self-proclaimed craftaholic sells her beautiful creations in her shop, candy kirby designs.  one of her absolute favorite things in her store is her elise doll pattern.  i, too, adore these precious creations and can't wait to start making one using erin's pattern this summer.

here's more from miss erin herself to tell you about 

these darling dolls and what she is giving away to one lucky reader:

"the elise doll came about when i ordered my twins some adorable dolls from an etsy shop.

i wanted to buy every. single. one. in their collection.

but then the unthinkable happened...they closed!

no more cute dolls.

i was so sad.

but not to be deterred, i decided to make my own.

i spent countless hours drawing and redrawing patterns, adding my own little changes.

quickly i had an army of dolls."

"i had a lot of people ask me to make them dolls, but with twins, i don't have a lot of time.

so i created a tutorial full of 40+ step-by-step images to help even the most novice seamstress make their own.

and today i'm giving away my pattern + tutorial to one of you!

plus, you can also get 50% off the elise doll pattern + tutorial through this weekend only by going here."  -erin


you guys, i love everything about this classic doll pattern, but especially that it is customizable!  you can choose the hair, skin color, and clothing. how neat is that!?  and what a wonderful gift this would make for any lady at any age.  i'm pretty sure my grandma would flip for one but my first one goes to baby girl. you get the next one grams. 


i also am very thankful that erin has made this pattern simple enough so that even the non-crafters or novice sewers {like me} out there can make this dolly, too.  i am eager to make my very own for baby girl this summer.  i am thinking i will make the little dolly with the big red bow, brown hair, and polka dots tights.  :)

to enter this giveaway, please do the following:

MANDITORY:

- become a GFC follower of this blog and visit her site telling us which doll pattern you would choose.

ADDITIONAL ENTRIES LEAVE SEPARATE COMMENT FOR EACH:

- become a GFC follower of erin's blog.

- "favorite" erin's etsy site.

the winner will be drawn at random and will be announced next friday.  good luck!

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and by the way... i am sharing ten things miss stella and i are crushing on right now over on erin's blog.  come take a peek!

xo, amanda


update:  we have a lucky winner!!  congrats to ashton over at the discourse (and narrative) of ashton!  

thank you to everyone who entered.

splash into summer giveaway! // closed

isn't this photograph lovely?
you can check our more of christian chaize's work here!

ahhhh.....summer.  am thrilled to finally say it's almost here!  i can already smell distinct the scent of baby sunscreen, grilled hot dogs {i love em'}, and freshly cut grass perfuming the air.  it is my favorite time of year and i can hardly contain myself from bubbling over with excitement.  on our 2012 summer bucket list i included that i wanted to read ten new books.  with our upcoming days spent basking poolside and lounging in the park, this challenge should be a breeze given i am a lover of books and will have some down time to indulge in this love of mine.  too bad i can't plant myself in the midst of those colorful umbrellas for an afternoon and read the day away.  doesn't it look magical?  

for those of you who hope to read a new book {or ten} this summer, i want to help give you a jump start!  i am happy to be participating in a giveaway hop hosted by i am a reader, not a writer where one of my lucky readers will be chosen at random to receive a $10 gift card to barnes and noble!  i know it's not much, but this gift will help get your literature-inspired shopping spree started.  pretty neat, eh?  

here's how to enter:

1. follow this blog through google friend connect by clicking 'join this site' on the right of my feed.  if you are already a follower, tell me in your comment, please.

2. comment on this post and tell us what book{s} you hope to get your hands on this summer.

it's as easy as that!  the winner will chosen through a random number generator and will be announced on friday june 1st so be sure to check back to see if you won.  good luck and happy friday dear readers!  

if you're interested, pop over here to see what i am currently reading.

update: we have a lucky winner!! it's lexie over at the book bug!  

thank you to everyone who entered!  

xo, amanda