Logan Wolfram

Enjoying Life for Dessert

A Crucial Tooth…

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Yesterday my baby (19 months) was running down the driveway and took a spill.  He started crying pretty hard…the kind where there’s a pause before the scream so you know it really hurt.  And then when I picked him up, his poor sweet mouth was gushing blood….gushing.

I’m not new to little boys getting busted lips and bleeding, but I’d by lying to say that it doesn’t freak me out to see my baby’s mouth gushing blood.  Especially when upon inspection, I notice that his front tooth is chipped…majorly.  I’ve done a great service to the entire practice of dentistry and drawn a very professional looking picture for you all to see what happened.  The chipped off part is highlighted in red.

We were lucky to get in to see the pediatric dentist this afternoon (which was especially awesome since the incident happened at about 12:45.)  The more chipped tooth is obvious as you can see.  It also turns out that both of his front teeth are loose (which the dentist assures me will rectify itself in a couple of days because they aren’t severely loose.)  So, one tooth is definitely chipped but is probably going to be fine.   The dentist said that the worst case scenario, because of the trauma of the bump, the tooth could turn gray.   (Which my vanity will not be having ya’ll…and should it happen, we’ll be fixing it to look white.  I don’t care if it is a baby tooth, it’s his MOUTH people!  The poor child already had people talking ugly about him having crossed eyes. We didn’t just pay to have the eyes fixed just to move on to the mouth!)

The other tooth though is a different story. It is what the dentist called a complex fracture because it is probably 1/4 of the tooth and due to the way it broke, it exposed the root within the tooth. He said that our 2 options (neither being ideal) is to extract the tooth (which I don’t want to do on a 19 month old who will then have the next 6 years of his life without a crucial front tooth) or to do a baby root canal and crown which I at this time have scheduled for Friday morning at 7:45.

It ain’t cheap people!  What the heck?!  Who, that hasn’t completed dental school, even knew that a 1-year-old could have a root canal on a tooth he hasn’t even had for a full year?!  And the part that really gets me fired up about the whole thing is that our insurance doesn’t cover sedation because they don’t “deem it necessary for the procedure.”  Sometimes I really want to get a giant sign to hold in the air that says….

Sorry if you’re offended.  That’s what I really think sometimes.  I’m not perfect and I really do wonder what on earth people are thinking sometimes…in a super emphasized way.  You get the point.

Seriously though.  Who in their right mind thinks that a 1-year-old could have a procedure like a ROOT CANAL done without being sedated?!  Are you kidding me?  I can’t get the kid to sit still for 5 minutes of Bob the Builder, so I’m pretty sure a root canal in a dental chair isn’t going to be the thing that brings about calm and peace for him to just lie perfectly still and hold his mouth open?!  Needless to say, our awesome pediatric dentist typed up a note for me to dispute the insurance company on it and even added a hand written part in case the insurance company needs to call for further explanation.  I’ll be making that phone call to our healthcare provider in the morning.  So annoying!  That denied portion of the procedure costs HALF of the total amount.  As if the situation of a 1-year-old having a root canal isn’t bad enough on its own?!

Ok…calming down now.  Promise.

Here’s the good news.  And I’m gonna stop worrying about all of this now too because I’ve got a promise that I don’t need to worry…

“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?  And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?… So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” – Matt 6: 25-27. 34

And yes…I did just post a sort of crass sign and quote scripture in the same post.  And while I don’t think that Jesus probably ever said “WTF”, I’m pretty sure he wasn’t spewing butterflies when he overturned the tables of the tax collectors in the temple.  It’s ok to be mad sometimes…just maintaining perspective is the key I guess.  Besides, I promised you all I’d always be me…so there you have it.  Me….un-cut…honest…and still trusting in the One who loves me even when I get raging mad or overly worried.

** I’m adding this little ditty here after I spoke with the insurance company this morning.  They have agreed to pay a portion of the sedation that falls within the parameters of our plan.  It’s not all, but it is about 70%…better than nothing.

Rainy Day Blues

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I don’t really have the blues today.  In fact, I’m pretty excited that I got to “sleep in” til 7:30 this morning…how about that for a whopping good time?!  Happy Labor Day to everyone!  I don’t really even know why we celebrate Labor Day.  I guess I should look it up on Wikipedia or something.  Ok, I will…but later.

I am actually a little bummed this morning though because our family had some seriously fun plans for today.  We’d planned to head up the road a little over an hour to the Biltmore House and take advantage of the season passes we bought last year a few more times before they expire.  We had great plans to bike around outside, take a picnic, go to the really beautiful petting zoo there, and generally get outside and enjoy the day.

That’s not going to happen after all though because of this:

Image from Weather.Com

Yeah…that’s some serious rainfall.  And we’re in the 10″ plus zone too.  So now on to plan B.  Except there isn’t a plan B.

The Hubs has the day at home, Tid Bit doesn’t have school, and now our big plan for the day isn’t going to include anything outside.  BUMMER!  There are inside places we could go I’m sure…the Upstate Children’s Museum (which is amazing…UH-Mazing…but would be grossly over-crowded even if it were actually open on Mondays), there are arcade and bounce house type places that crawl with loads of people and suck your money right out of you (wow…doesn’t that sound fun?!), or there’s stay at home and get crafty…which sounds fine with me, but my Hubs is a get-out-and-do kind of guy and will get so antsy by about 1pm that he’ll practically break out in a rash from being stuck inside the house.

So right now around Casa de Wolfram…we’re trying to figure out how to make the most of this rainy day and haven’t hit on our great plan yet.  I’m sure it won’t involve much time in front of a TV though because that’s just not how we roll.  But, the season of hurricanes and heavy rains is upon us…I think we’re all gonna be looking for great things to do inside over the next month!  And I’m curious from all of you (especially ones with small children)….What do you do to make the most of rainy days stuck inside?  Leave me a comment and let me know?

**It’s now 2pm and so far today we made blueberry pancakes this morning, had a silly string war in the kitchen, made pillow and blanket forts, read some books, made macaroons, and then ran a couple of errands when it wasn’t raining. Now it’s time for naps…for all of us! Been a fun day, but still wish we’d been able to do our bike ride/picnic!  And now that we’re back home, the monsoons have come…it’s raining something fierce here right now.  Here’s to hoping our septic tank doesn’t fill up…AGAIN!

Jello Aquariums and Hot Dog Noodlers

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Once in a while, I get hit upside the head with an inspiration that gets me going on a roll to want to try a couple of new things. That happened to me yesterday when I was looking around on Pinterest.

Pinterest is one of my most favorite ways to veg and to be inspired these days. In fact, I like it so much that I honestly have to ration my time on it. In case you don’t know Pinterest…it’s an amazing way to basically keep virtual bulletin boards of ideas you like, pictures that inspire, recipes you’d like to try, décor you want, and anything else really (plus, it links to the original source of the picture you pin as well.) It is also another avenue of social networking so you can see what other people you know are pinning and interested in as well. It’s awesome. But you have to be invited to do it…so if you’re interested, email me at Logan dot Wolfram at gmail dot com, and I’ll send you an invitation. It’s so much fun.

Anyhow, I saw the cutest thing on Pinterest the other night and it was one of those “I am absolutely going to buy the stuff to make those TOMORROW!” Then I saw another thing, and before I knew it, my day was definitely going to have some kid crafty foodie goodness going on.

Check out these Jello Aquariums…so stinking cute!

First order of business today was to make the jello aquariums since they’d need to set up in the fridge. To do these you’ll need:

  • Jello Mixchief Soda Jello
  • Some soda (I used a clear raspberry fizzy water so I could color the water as I wanted.)
  • Swedish Fish
  • Jelly Beans
  • ½ pint mason jars

 

I wanted to make about a dozen of these to last a few days, so I actually used 3 packages of the Mixchief soda jello, and 1 package of berry blue jello.  I followed the instructions on the boxes and then mixed them together (the mixchief with the regular jello) and poured the liquid into the mason jars to set up in the fridge. I got 11 full jars out of the 4 boxes. (Next time I think I’d just use blue food coloring to make the “water” though because I think that the regular jello reduced the fizz factor of the soda jello.)

Now, here’s a tip. When you make these, you really should assemble them exactly when you want to serve them. I made one for my kiddo to eat and then one to take pictures of for you. After a couple of hours the Swedish fish in the middle looked bloated and gross, and the jelly beans in the bottom look mushy and slimy from being in the jello. So… to look cute and fresh, I stored all the prepared jello in the jars (in the fridge) for later assembly.

 

To assemble this tasty little aquarium, put a few jelly beans in the bottom of a clean jar (you could probably also use blueberries or something else round to imitate aquarium rocks.) Slide a knife around the edge of a full jar of jello to loosen it and pour it on top of the jelly beans in the fresh container. Then cut a slit in the top of the jello and shove your Swedish fish down in there to swim around. I’m thinking this would be ridiculously adorable in a fishbowl for a party to feed more people too. My son had an absolute fit over it. Loved it! I’m sending him one to school for snack tomorrow. It made him feel awesome. It’s the little things you know.

I, for one, think jelly beans and Swedish fish in jello sounds kinda nasty, but a 5 year old who also likes things like gummy bears and fruity pebbles and Nerds on ice cream will think this is fantastic. Trust me.

After I put the jello in the fridge to set, I got things ready to make our lunch…which incidentally also looks nasty to me, but my kids again thought it was pretty much the bee’s knees. They loved making it and both gobbled it up. I have to say, these things look hilarious to me. I don’t know why, but they do.

Before Cooking

After Cooking

 

 

 

 

 

 

To make these weird hot dog noodlers, cut a hot dog into a few slices. Shove dry spaghetti into the hot dog section…however many you want. I think we stayed between about 5-7 noodles per slice. Drop the not dog noodlers (yes…I made up that name…hot dog noodlers) into boiling water and cook for as long as your noodle package tells you to cook them. I used regular spaghetti noodles and it took about 11 minutes. Drain them as you normally would and add whatever your kids like on top. I dumped some Classico tomato and basil marinara on ours to achieve a massive kid-friendly food home-run.

I’ll say, I’m not a person who makes “kid food” and “adult food” too differently. I expect my kids to eat whatever I’m cooking, but when it comes to lunches, we have been known to have a little fun…and this was definitely fun. Not to mention ridiculously easy, and my kids thought it was sort of like doing a craft which of course scored even higher in the cool factor category.

 

 

I think that both of these treats will be making future appearances around here. I could hardly wait to share the fun with you all too!

AND, don’t think I forgot…The winner of the “Enjoy Your Life for Dessert” favorite things gift package goes to….

entry #32 Kelly Jowers

who said: “Enjoying my life for dessert this summer has included spending at least one day a week in PJs all day with my girls…sometimes you just need days with no real agenda!”  Ain’t that the truth Kelly!?!

Thanks so much to everyone who entered, and to all of you for participating and making my “new” blog debut giveaway week such fun. I’m seriously considering compiling all of the answers from this giveaway in particular into one massive post. I honestly LOVED reading through these comments about how you each enjoy your life for dessert. I appreciate you all sharing, and it was so refreshing to hear new ideas of how to enjoy life and to be reminded of just how many blessings we each have in our lives. So, thanks ya’ll! I loved reading every single comment…truly. Makes me wish I had that many comments all the time! (hint hint! 🙂 )

Hope you all have a fantastic Labor Day weekend friends!

Reap What You Sow…and KEEN giveaway winners!

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Can I just say that the response to the KEEN Footwear giveaway has been amazing?!  Seriously…there were 414 entries to win.  Not that I blame you…free awesome shoes, why wouldn’t you enter… unless your name is Imelda Marcos?!

I use random.org to pick the winning numbers, and I had to laugh out loud this morning when the number that came up was #62….just so happened to be one spot where I commented…so the winning comment was actually mine…but seriously, that’s not happening.

RE-DO!

Ok…so the winner of the adult pick-your-pair is:

#216 Sara Wise

who said “I would choose the CORONADO MARY JANE in Gargoyle/Lilac Sachet, size 10! They are SO CUTE! Oh my goodness, never heard of them before, now, I love them!”  But then Sara changed her mind and picked a different pair….so Sara, looks like you have a decision to make.  I know it’s hard with so many to choose from, but you’re gonna have to narrow down girl, because you’ve just won a new pair of shoes!

The winner for the kids pick-your-pair is comment

#123 Amy Dalon

Amy, looks like those extra entires helped you out because “liking Life for Dessert on Google Friend Connect” was your winning entry!  Looks like your favorite kid’s pair was for your oldest daughter who you said would love the Vail Boot, Moonlight Mauve, Size 4.  Happy day to your oldest daughter!  Make sure oldest daughter hasn’t changed her mind like Sara though and let me know exactly the pair she wants when you email me!

If both of you ladies would please email me at Logan dot Wolfram at gmail dot com and let me know your address, email addresses, and choice of shoes, I’ll pass that back to KEEN to make sure we get your favorite shoes ordered.  You have 48 hours to respond…which means I need to hear from you on Saturday by about 11am.  And can I just say…I’m totally jealous….free KEENs….awesome!

And, I have sad news for Karen who originally won the Red Letter Words Giveaway….girl, you didn’t respond within 48 hours, so I had to random.org another winner today.  Sorry for you Karen, but lucky for

#45 Clay

who said: “hey Logan! looks like i’m the only dude, but no shame in that at all…I would get the “worth more than rubies” for my bride – she is!”

I want to say in this instance, that random.org must really like Clay because he actually won another giveaway back a couple of months ago…and despite my repeated efforts, that particular giveaway entity never made good on that promise to giveaway.  I won’t tell you who it was, but I do want all of you to know that I do my best to choose giveaway contests where I trust the company giving away.  Sometimes in blogging though, as in life, people don’t come through on what they say…and the best I can do is to say I’m super sorry for that. It makes them look bad and it makes me look bad….and all around it’s just a big fat bummer for everyone.

I absolutely love the poetic justice of this particular situation though.  I have been mad as fire about the whole thing..it’s the principle for me….do what you say and say what you mean.  Major pet peeve of mine…not following through on something you say you will do.  But Clay has been uber-gracious about it all.  And so now we have a classic case of reaping what you sow…what Clay put out there was grace and understanding and forgiveness for the entity that bummed him out by not making good on their word….and looks like that grace given has sure come back to let him see a sweet reward.  I couldn’t have planned that better myself…and the fact that he won a scripture verse to hang on his wall is really just pretty awesome.

Just goes to show that I guess what goes around really does come around…in case anyone was ever in doubt of that!

Thanks to everyone who entered both of these giveaways!  Don’t be bummed that you didn’t win though…go out and grab up what you were hoping for anyways!  Both Red Letter Words and KEEN Footwear are companies I do know to stand behind their word and that’s all the more reason to support them!  So go out and make your purchases people…and tell them Logan from Life for Dessert sent you when you do!

I have a SUPER fun craft I’m working on today that I’ll share tomorrow….so excited to do it myself!

Horse Yoga….and Red Letter Words giveaway winner!

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I’m on a quest to be in good shape again (hence I joined the gym and have been killing myself spinning lately,) but I’d be flat out lying if I didn’t tell you that in my gut I feel annoyed by people who are amazingly fit.  It’s just because I’m jealous…it’s completely messed up, but whatever…you know that feeling I’m talking about.  Like I want to throw a stick in the spoke of the spinner in front of me with a perfect butt and back muscles that look like freaking Michaelangelo carved them.  I’m a jealous worker-outer….it’s true.

I was leafing through an Athleta magazine today and when I saw this I immediately about fell out of my chair…no kidding.  It’s ridiculous.

Are you freaking kidding me…. Horse yoga!  Like…yoga while clearly riding down the dang Grand Canyon.  Listen ya’ll, I don’t know if this is just for the sake of a killer picture, or if people actually do insane yoga moves while riding a horse to push themselves more, but either way….she’s on a horse holding her legs out in a way that I can’t do even sitting flat on the ground.

Apparently “supreme comfort with a twist enhances your flow seamlessly.”  I’m totally buying those pants!

Un-believable!

Congratulations also to entry #69 from the Red Letter Words Giveaway!

Karen is our winner!

Email me your contact information to Logan dot Wolfram at gmail dot com, and I’ll pass it along to Dee from Red Letter Words to let her know you won!  You have 48 hours from the timestamp of this post to contact me or I’ll have to choose another winner!

Thanks to everyone for entering!

Surprise on the Porch…another embarrassing tale

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Blue Ridge Mountains from Gideon Ridge (image via trip advisor)

I’m back…from a fantastic birthday weekend away in the Blue Ridge Mountains with my Hubs.  We stayed in Blowing Rock, NC (which is amazing, and I’ll write more about that later) and drove a little over an hour on Saturday to bicycle 34 miles along the Virginia Creeper trail in Damascus, Va.  It was such a great refreshing time away, but I’m glad to have my kiddos back now too!  I’ll tell you more soon about both Blowing Rock and the Virginia Creeper, but I have to start the week off with a colossal humiliation I had.  Don’t you know I stuck my foot in my mouth at some point?!  This one requires a back story which is also pretty embarrassing.

The back story:  Last week I was at the gym working out on some machine that sort of imitates skating I guess.  Anyways, it’s positioned at the top of the stairs so that you see everyone who comes up.  I was exercising away when a gentleman (I’d guess late 40’s early 50’s) walks up the stairs and I had one of those moments where you KNOW that you know the person, but can’t remember for the life of you how.  He was clearly having the same thought, but it was obvious that neither of us figured it out by the time he reached the top of the stairs, so then there was one of those awkward moments where you try to pretend that you weren’t just staring a hole in the person trying to place them afterall.  He walks on past and hops on a treadmill…meanwhile I’m still staring at him out the corner of my eye going nuts that I couldn’t remember how I knew him.  Then it hits me like a ton of bricks…and in my mind, this is the exact thought that I had: “OH…I know how I know him!!!  He’s seen my who-who!  Yes…that would be Dr M, who delivered my second child!”  And then I had a moment of mortification that’s stuck with me the entire week….wondering how in the world it completely slipped my mind to remember a person who totally saw me naked… and more than that, who delivered my baby!  Granted, the whole out of context thing threw me for a loop…but still.

So, now for the more recent story:

The Gideon Ridge Inn where we stayed this weekend is amazing.  It has a fabulous covered stone porch across the back of the house that overlooks the Blue Ridge mountains.  The main porch is sort of blocked off from a walkway that then passes onto a private terrace.  That private terrace is accessed from the room we were staying in, but isn’t completely inaccessible from the main porch (just clearly blocked off by giant stone deterrents.)  At one point I’d just hopped out of the tub and was in the process of getting dressed when I looked up and saw a man who had just wandered onto our private porch (I don’t think he even realized he was on a private porch…he was just staring off into the distance.)  I freaked out though and jumped behind the bed and was hiding…yelling at my Hubs who was taking a shower at the time because I didn’t know what to do.  I guess one of the inn staff saw him and called him off the porch because then he seemed startled too and walked away.  When we headed out to go to dinner, I mentioned to the manager that it might be a good idea to consider a rope or something with a sign indicating that area as a private terrace.  I wasn’t upset, but a little embarrassed and surprised more than anything.  We had a good laugh about it with the general manager though.

The next night we switched rooms because the first room hadn’t been available for 2 nights.  One of the female staff from the night before jokingly mentioned that hopefully we wouldn’t have anyone hopping onto the terrace again surprising me.  The night manager was there and overheard the comment and was mortified.  He thought another guest had literally hopped onto the uber-private terrace of our second room (unaware that we had switched rooms) and surprised me in the buff. Which would have been truly creepy if that was the case, but it wasn’t…and we all realized what he thought and started laughing about the misunderstanding of what was truly an inadvertent wandering in the first place.  Then he said “Well, I’m sorry regardless that someone you don’t know may have seen you.”  And then…remembering the incident last week with Dr. M, and thinking also in the back of my mind about how many people you don’t know who are there when you deliver a baby, I said…

“Oh…I’m SURE that’s not the only time someone I don’t know has seen me naked.”

WHAT?! Did I just say that?!

I realized what I’d said immediately AFTER it came out of my mouth and how awful it sounded, and then burst out in embarrassing laughter…saying “No…No…No….not that…not what I mean” but by then it was too late.  Everyone was laughing hysterically at me.

I explained the whole conversation to my hubs who then had a really hearty laugh at my expense and said,  “oh babe…that’s a bad one.  That made it sound like you were a stripper or something!”

Yes…I know.  So mortified.  I’m not a stripper.  I never have been.  And hopefully the night manager doesn’t think that I am/was now either!

One of these days I’m going to actually really think through things before I let them come out of my mouth.  Have mercy!

Also, the winner from the Gussy Sews giveaway from this past Monday is…Drumroll please…..

 entry #113 Crystelle Carrick!

Congratulations Crystelle! It looks like you will get to use that credit towards an iPad case!  You have 48 hours from timestamp of this post to send me an email at Logan dot Wolfram at gmail dot com with your contact information so that I can pass it along to Gussy!  Thanks to the lovely and talented Gussy Sews for sponsoring this fantastic giveaway!

And don’t forget, you still have til tomorrow morning at 6am to enter to win the giveaway from Red Letter Words.  The giveaways from Jennie Leigh Designs for Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (ends Wed,) KEEN Footwear (ends Thurs,) and the Life for Dessert prize pack from yours truly (ends Fri) are still open as well. Don’t miss out…and pass them along so your friends don’t miss out either!

“Enjoy Your Life for Dessert” Giveaway Gift Set

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So, today is Friday and I’m wrapping up this week of giveaways celebrating the launch of the new, improved, and dot com Life for Dessert.  If you came by this week just to win something, I sure hope you’ll stick whether you win or not.  I’ll have more giveaways in the future, and you never know what other random fun-ness just might happen around here either!  You still have time to enter all of the giveaways from this week, and next week I’ll start announcing winners.  Each giveaway will run for one week from the time stamp of the post.

I wanted to round out the week with a little mix of things that are straight from me.  As a way to say “thank you” to all of you friends old and new who come by and share a little piece of your day and life with me.  I’m really grateful to be a part of your lives and glad to call you friends.

I’ve created a gift grouping of things that I think are essentials (well maybe not entirely essential, but still fun) to enjoying life for dessert…at least for me.  I almost put a bag of my favorite coffee in the mix, but then I thought to myself…that’s just SO essential that it hardly seems exciting!

I’ve written about all of these things before, so if you’ve been around, then none of these will come as a surprise…if you’re new, then WELCOME and these are some of my favorite things!

1) Stop and Smell the Rosemary Cookbook by the Junior League of Houston (one of my all time favorites.  I don’t think there’s a bad recipe in the whole thing…and it’s a gorgeous book in general.)

2) Charleston Favorites Stone Ground Yellow Grits.  Grits are a southern thing, and around here, Shrimp and Grits are perhaps my most favorite recipe…both in my house and in my state (SC.)  I figured you all might just need to have a good grit and see what all the fuss is about in case you didn’t know already.

3) My very own take on my favorite Goody Goody Bon Bon slippers.  I made these slippers and they’ll fit a woman’s foot from about size 7-9.  They are cute and comfy and handmade, and I hope you’ll feel extra special shuffling around your house in them!

4) Two pairs of regular rise Hanky Panky undies. (they retail for $18-25 per pair!) If you don’t know about these, well, you’ve been missing out.  And now, for a more in-depth explanation, go HERE to catch up on why Hanky Panky are seriously the best underwear ever.  Besides…how cute are those?!

It has been a crazy week ya’ll!  I have had so much fun gathering together all of the amazing products and vendors to sponsor our givaways this week!  I’ve loved being able to share the newly renovated blog look and to be able to bring together some of my favorite things for you to have a chance to win.  Seriously…it has been SO MUCH FUN for me to do this. SO. Much. Fun.  Many thanks to Gussy Sews, Red Letter Words, Jennie Leigh Designs (stockist of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint), and KEEN Footwear for celebrating with me and bringing awesomeness to you guys reading…both in quality of products, and opportunities to win some of them as well!

Like I said, I’ll announce the first winner (of the Gussy Sews shop credit) on Monday of next week. You’ll have 48 hours to claim your prize or I’ll have to draw another winner if I don’t hear back in that timeframe.  And that would be a bummer for you.

In the meantime, I have a birthday coming up this weekend.  Yep…it’s true.  On Sunday I’ll be the big THREE THREE!  Or at least I think that’s what I’ll be….sometimes I forget….1978 though, year I was born.

I’m quickly reaching the age when I don’t care so much about my age….I’m still having enough fun to drive through the K5 carline on my bike (with the pickup tag proudly displayed on my handlebars) even though I look like a complete idiot and middle school boys yell things like “Awesome bike” and pump their triumphant fists in the air.  I’m reaching that age where I’m finding that I am pretty darn comfortable with who I am and my life…and if I think my kid might smile bigger because I roll up on my bike behind 2 minivans, a Honda Pilot and a Suburban in carline…well, then bring on 34!

See...told you I look like an idiot!

 

The Hubs and I are taking a weekend away without our munchkins to celebrate yours truly.  We’re going to bike a 34 mile trail on Saturday (here’s to hoping those spin classes pay off!), and the rest of the time I’m hoping to sleep some and I’ll probably also eat whatever the heck I want…which just might include cake at every meal and I’m hoping also perhaps at least one fried green tomato BLT.  So you won’t hear much from me til Monday…I’ll be doing my birthday thang.  Hope you’ve had as much fun this week as I have!  Have a great weekend!

To enter today’s Life for Dessert giveaway:

Mandatory entry: I want to know what is one thing you either do or have that helps you enjoy your life like dessert?!

For extra entries leave separate comments detailing each action:  You can earn 1 extra entry for each action taken for a total of 6 extra entries…1) Follow Life for Dessert on Google Friend Connect, 2) Like Life for Dessert on Facebook, 3) Subscribe to receive the Life For Dessert feed, 4) Post this link on your Facebook wall, 5) Follow LifeforDessert on Twitter 6)Tweet this link to all of your Twitter followers.

KEEN Footwear Giveaway!

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You all know I’m pretty opinionated when it comes to products, and there’s no way that I’m going to recommend a product to you that I don’t completely stand behind.  This company and these products though, I absolutely ADORE!

I’ve written about KEEN Footwear twice since I began Life for Dessert (if you want to re-read those posts, then check HERE and HERE,) and that was just because I think they deserve a standing ovation for making attractive, sturdy, and comfortable footwear for both kids and adults.  Honestly, their products speak for themselves, but it’s always nice to have a face and voice you trust speak on behalf of something too.

I’m all about getting out and enjoying life, and I love that KEEN Footwear feels the same way! Not only does KEEN sell amazing products, but they take the concept of footwear one step farther by encouraging consumers to make healthy lifestyle choices as well!  KEEN launched the “Recess is Back” campaign to encourage people to get out from behind a desk or a cooped up life, and break for at least 15 minutes each day to get outside, breathe in the good air, and enjoy your life!  I love that they make great products, but I really LOVE that KEEN wants you to enjoy your Life for Dessert too, and take back the freedom…take back the fun….take back moments of recess in your life!

I love the way they put it on their website:

Ever since KEEN agreed to host a giveaway on Life for Dessert, I have been tickled pink over it!  And it gets better…they’re not just giving away one, but TWO pairs of their unbelievable shoes for some lucky readers!  One winner will receive his or her choice of KEEN kids shoes, and one winner will receive his or her choice of adult shoes.  And since KEEN is super awesome, they said you can pick any pair you want! And believe me…you have a lot of great stuff to choose from! (This stuff below is just a taste of all the cool footwear they make!)

If you would like to enter to win either the adult pair or the kids’ pair, you MUST consider each item a separate entry and will be required to take separate actions for each. (ie. if you leave one comment stating 2 different product styles and a list of each action you did all together…I’m only counting it as one entry. You can enter to win each pair, but just list them as separate entries.)

So here’s how to enter:

  • MANDATORY ENTRY: Go to KEEN Footwear and choose the style of shoe you like best (kids or adult.)  Come back here and leave a comment indicating your shoe style choice and size.  Make sure you indicate Men’s, Women’s, or Kids (ex. I am loving the Women’s Shelby High Boot in brown full grain, size 8.5)

For extra entries leave separate comments detailing each action:  You can earn 1 extra entry for each action taken for a total of 7 extra entries…1) Follow Life for Dessert on Google Friend Connect, 2) Like KEEN Footwear on Facebook, 3) Take the KEEN Recess Pledge  4) Like Life for Dessert on Facebook, 5) Subscribe to receive the Life For Dessert feed, 6) Post this link on your Facebook wall, 7)Tweet this link to all of your Twitter followers.

Ok friends.  Happy entering!  This giveaway will end exactly ONE WEEK from the time stamp of this entry post.  I’ll announce the winners next Thursday, September 1st!

Ready. 
Set.
PLAY!!!!!

 

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Giveaway

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Once in awhile, in the midst of pursuing doing something that you love… and persevering through the parts that you hate of doing the thing that you love, you find something that can entirely eliminate the parts that you hate from the thing that you love…and that…well, that is just pure love leftover.

I found something like that.  And no…it’s not a robot that cleans my house in order to help make it a home (but that would be great.)  What I found is called Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  I’ve talked about it before HERE and HERE.

I LOVE refinishing furniture.  And because in my real life job I hold the title of ” Chief Executive Mommy” and thereby don’t have loads of extra free time on my hands, I hated…I mean hated having to spend extra time stripping, or sanding, and priming furniture before transforming it into something amazing.  In the whole grand scheme of time spent refinishing a piece, easily 50% or more of my time was being spent on the prepping part instead of the prettying part.  And I really like the prettying part the best.

Then, I read about Annie Sloan Chalk Paint on Miss Mustard Seed’s blog.  Now there is a lady who can absolutely dominate a piece of sad looking furniture with amazingness!  If you don’t know about her…well, you should.  And while I’m talking about people I know of who can dominate sad furniture with amazingness, also check out Barb Blair at Knack Studios.  Her amazingness was featured in Southern Living and Garden & Gun magazines recently…plus, she’s a local gal in addition to being an artistic furniture dominator.

What I wanted to tell you though is that I also LOVE Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  And just a couple of weeks ago, I made a new friend in town, Jennie Gainey of Jennie Leigh Design, who has just become an Annie Sloan Stockist. (You can’t just buy this amazing paint anywhere…people have to be trained and approved stockists!)  But I can drive to get it now instead of having to order it…and that’s pretty exciting for me!

Part of the greatness of this paint is that woodwork NEEDS NO PRIMING, and NO PREPARATION as it will stick to almost everything… old waxed pine, melamine and varnished wood included. It is an Eco-friendly water based paint and you can even wash your brushes out in water when you’re done.

The other greatness of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint is how amazing it looks finished.  You can use the paint without sealing it, but Annie Sloan makes waxes that honestly give an almost velvety patina to the finished product.  Both the waxes and paint are very user-friendly, it distresses like a dream (can be done by lightly rubbing with a sanding sponge,) and comes in a gorgeous array of colors that can make a statement as they come, or mixed together.

I painted this piece in a combination of Annie Sloan Old White and Paris Grey and I absolutely adore the way it turned out. Still needs a piece of glass in the front, but you get the idea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I could show you more pieces I’ve done now, but that’d rob me of the suspense of future posts, and really, by this point in the week-o-celebratory-giveaways you’re likely curious to find out exactly what I’m giving away.

So without further ado, and certainly not without massive thanks to Jennie Leigh Design, one of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint’s newest full stockists, for sponsoring this giveaway, we give you….1 qt of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (in any color you choose,) and 1 Annie Sloan wax (your choice of clear or dark wax.)

So here’s how to enter (this giveaway is open to US residents only. I’m sorry to my far away peeps…I do love you though):

Mandatory Entry: Go to the Jennie Leigh Design website, browse around, and choose the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint color and wax you’d hope to win.  Come back here to Life for Dessert and leave a comment letting us know your paint and wax color choices, as well as what you plan to paint?!

  • For extra entries leave separate comments detailing each action:  You can earn 1 extra entry for each action taken, for a total of SIX extra entries…1) Follow Life for Dessert on Google Friend Connect, 2) Like Jennie Leigh Design on Facebook, 3) Like Life for Dessert on Facebook, 4) Subscribe to receive the Life For Dessert feed (it’s in the sidebar on the top right), 5) Share this link on your own Facebook wall, 6) Tweet this link to all of your followers.

Ok friends.  Happy entering!  This giveaway will end exactly one week from the time stamp of this entry post which will be next Wednesday, August 31 at 6am.  Don’t forget to come back tomorrow too…I’m not done celebrating my new site yet!  More fun giving away to come!!!! (You still have time to enter both the Gussy Sews Giveaway from Monday, and the Red Letter Words Giveaway from yesterday too!)

 

Red Letter Words Giveaway

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About a week ago, I shared with you some of the fun things I’d gotten in the mail recently!  One item was the diaper/wipe wristlet I’d ordered from Gussy Sews (that giveaway from yesterday is still open by the way), and the other was this fabulous cafe print I’d ordered as an anniversary present for the Hubs from Red Letter Words.

Red Letter Words 12x12 Cafe Print

I first discovered Red Letter Words through another blog a few months back, and ever since, I have found myself revisiting the site and regularly drooling over all the gorgeous and inspiring print options that she offers.

If I could get another one (which I probably will in the not-so-distant-future,) it’ll likely be this one to hang in my kitchen….or foyer…or guestroom…or anywhere really.

Hebrews 13:2

Ahhh…. I LOVE that!

I’m a fan of scripture in my home anyway, and Dee from Red Letter Words makes it so lovely, and eye-catching, and tasteful looking.  As much as it does for my decor, it does more for my heart to walk by and be reminded of the truths and encouragements that God has for us in Scripture.  I know lots of people who have this next common verse displayed in their homes, but check out how cool it looks when Dee does it up right!

Joshua 24:15

Red Letter Words has loads of beautifully printed scriptures to choose from!  Seriously…lots!

Maybe you’re not into Scripture in your home, but love the look of this stuff….well, not to worry, Red Letter Words has so many things to choose from!

Let’s say you’re a Bostonian transplanted to Atlanta and love the idea of being reminded of home.  This print from the Travel Collection might just be the nostalgia you’re looking for on your den wall.

Perhaps you just need to be reminded at the office to hang onto your dreams, and that punching keys all day long isn’t your be-all, end-all…but still you can keep calm and carry on.

 

 

 

 

Whatever you’re looking for, there are plenty of beautiful things to choose from.  And if she doesn’t have what you want, not to worry, Dee does custom orders!

You know, sometimes you read about a person too, and just the way she describes herself and her motivation behind her business makes you want to buy the product.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE what Dee says about herself:

“I’m a child of God, a wife, a mom of four, a friend, a daughter, a sister, an artist, and somebody who believes in the power of the Word, that God qualifies the called, that our gifts and talents should be shared, and that there is a time and a purpose for everything. Maybe you’re the same way.  My hope is that my art connects people to the unchanging truth of God’s word and reminds them just how much God loves them.”

Me too Dee….I am the same way (with half the amount of kids), but I think you said it better!

I think Dee knows exactly how to enjoy her Life for Dessert, largely in part because she celebrates the gifts the Lord has given her and delights in His words over her!  I’m so pleased to be able to give away a 12×12 Cafe Print of your choice from her lovely store Red Letter Words.  And, if you ever wondered how the God of all creation feels about you my friends….well, let me just say “the writing is on the wall!” (And can be on your own wall too!)

Here’s how to enter to win the 12×12 Cafe Print of your choice from Red Letter Words (this giveaway is open to US residents only and does not include custom orders):

Mandatory Entry: Go to Red Letter Words, browse around, and choose the 12×12 Cafe Print you would most like to win.  Come back here to Life for Dessert and leave a comment letting me know your chosen item (and because I’m curious, why it would be special to you!)

  • For extra entries leave separate comments detailing each action:  You can earn 1 extra entry for each action taken, for a total of SIX extra entries…1) Follow Life for Dessert on Google Friend Connect, 2) Follow Red Letter Words on Twitter, 3) Like Life for Dessert on Facebook, 4) Subscribe to receive the Life For Dessert feed (it’s in the sidebar on the top right), 5) Share this link on your own Facebook wall, 6) Tweet this link to all of your followers.

Ok friends.  Happy entering!  This giveaway will end exactly one week from the time stamp of this entry post (which for those of you who don’t want to figure it out, that’ll be Tuesday August 30th at 6am.)  I’ll announce the winner that day.  Don’t forget to come back tomorrow too…I have more fun giveaways still in store!