Fabulous Finds. . . Picture Perfect Cakes!

If you live in the Seattle area,check out the absolute COOLEST cakes I've ever found from Picture Perfect Cakes!

I knew I wanted an owl cake for Brooke's first birthday and knew there was no way on earth I could make one myself that would resemble anything like an owl.  I found an inspiration picture online, gave it to Allison at Picture Perfect Cakes, and she used her imagination and came up with the rest!  I absolutely loved it, and so did all of our party guests!  

Everyone was amazed that everything on the cake was edible. The fondant icing on the sides of the tree branch was molded and painted to look like real bark!

Isn't it completely adorable???  Just look at that edible owl face!

I thought it was just going to be an owl, but Allison came up with the idea of doing the owl sitting on the tree branch, and then we could take the owl off and let Brooke dig into it and eat it for her first birthday. So the owl was a whole separate cake, that came off the top of the tree branch cake for the guests.  Genius!

Allison has been making cakes for three years.  She started taking some local classes and then taught herself the rest, using her creativity, passion for art, and eye for detail.  She has tons of different flavor and filling options to choose from!

I'm also amazed by her prices!  She will customize your price based on the size of the cake you want and how much detail is involved, but her prices are very reasonable for such an incredible cake.  For a birthday or other special occasion, it's so much fun to have a memorable cake!  She will make a cake for any theme, the sky's the limit!

Brooke sure did enjoy trying to eat her owl.  :)

Check out a gallery of lots of her other cakes at Picture Perfect Cakes, and like her Facebook page too! 

Fabulous Finds...Mohawk Home Rug Review & Giveaway!!!

I am completely addicted to my new area rug.  COMPLETELY.  It's gorgeous, soft, and makes me embarrassed that I lived with the nasty carpet that is my living room for for such a long time.  I always toyed with the idea of covering up the cheap-o carpet with a nice rug, but wasn't sure if it was necessary.  So I was thrilled to be able to review a rug from Mohawk Home, and I picked out a cuddly, creamy white Shag rug.  Wow, what a difference it makes in my home!  I actually find myself wanting to get down on the floor and play with my kids now.  I put this rug in our main living area where we spend most of our time, and now it's hard to imagine how the room looked and felt before I got this rug.   

{Hard for a picture to do a large rug justice, but this is the rug I picked!}

 Mohawk Home offers a HUGE variety of rugs in all shapes, sizes, colors, and styles!  And one of my lucky readers will WIN their own area rug!  Their rugs are stain resistant, durable, and easy to clean.  {I have yet to test out the validity of this statement, since I have now implemented a strict "no food or juice on the rug!" policy that has been working pretty well so far!}

Mohawk Home is the largest manufacturer of area rugs in the US, and their commitment to the style and quality of their rugs really shows bright and clear!  You can browse all of their different products at a whole bunch of major retailers here.  Their rugs are sold at Home Depot, Bed Bath and Beyond, Kohls, Lowes, Target, Sears, Walmart, and more!  

Here's the really exciting part... The winner of this giveaway will get to choose ANY rug you want, as long as it's 5x8" or smaller (a nice, big size) and with a value up to $150!!!

It's sooooooo easy to enter using this Rafflecopter widget, and you'll want to take a couple extra minutes for the extra entries for this one!  Good luck!!!

Fabulous Finds: Christmas Cards!

It's time to start thinking about Christmas cards again!  And that means (yikes!) family photos!

With the arrival of Brooke smack in the middle of the holiday season last year, we didn't do family photos.  Our Christmas card was completely adorable, but only had photos of the kids.  So I'm feeling the pressure to get a beautiful family portrait done this year.  I'm discovering that the bigger your family gets, the more there is to worry about when it comes to family photos.  How will we get all the kids to even look at the camera, let alone smile at it?  How will we schedule around the unpredictable weather at this time of year?  And what on earth are we all going to wear?

I'm sure I will be stressed out no matter how prepared I am, but here are a few of my tips to minimize your worry just a little bit when you take those family photos...

*Start thinking about it and scheduling it NOW if you haven't already!  As the weeks creep closer and closer to Christmas, your stress level will climb higher and pictures are just one more thing you don't want to worry about.

*Really...REALLY...go with outdoor photos in a natural setting.  In almost every case, these will turn out so much better than photos in an indoor studio.  Let your kids run around and play and get comfortable in the setting before you try to pose them.  Everyone will be much happier!

*Don't try to be too matchy-matchy with your outfits.  Layers always tend to photograph well!  If you're in doubt about what to dress everyone in, start with an outfit that you feel confident in and want to be photographed in.  Then build the rest of the family's outfits around yours.  The kids can look cute in anything, and the husband will wear whatever.  Make sure you feel good in what you're wearing!

*As soon as you get your photos back, order your cards!  It's nice to have plenty of time to get them addressed, stamped, and sent off. 

I hope those tips can help some of you!  Last year I absolutely LOVED our Christmas cards from Tiny Prints, and I'm pretty thrilled about their collection again this year.  I love the thick, matte quality of their paper and the way their designs really stand out from all the generic Christmas cards.  Check out some of this year's beauties. . . 

{One of these years, I really must do a snowy family picture!}

 

 

{Note to self: As much as I might love them, do NOT order square cards again this year.  They are perfect if you'll be handing out most of your cards by hand.  But if you'll be mailing lots of them, the extra postage for square envelopes can really add up!}

{Which one will I choose???}

{Seriously bright and fun!}

{Great colors!  I love the untraditional Christmas cards!}

So what are you waiting for?  Go get crackin'!

Fabulous Finds: HD Media Services Video Transfers Review & Giveaway!

If you're like me, you have a whole pile of VHS tapes or miniDV tapes sitting in your closet. They're unwatchable but full of great memories! I've had the idea for a really long time of converting them to DVD's, but I just kept forgetting about it and never actually doing it. So I was thrilled to review the video transfer services offered by HD Media Services.

I love the DVD's I received from them! It's so great to actually be able to watch all my videos from college and my travels that I took with my video camera onto miniDV's. HD Media Services worked fast and sent each DVD along with all my miniDV tapes. It was like Christmas when I opened it and started watching the DVD's! The quality of the DVD's is great, and they include a plastic case for each one. They use image stabilization and color correction in their transfering, and they'll also clean and repair your tapes! And it's a great deal too, at $12.95 to transfer most formats of tapes to a DVD. Extra copies are only $4.95!

HD Media Services offers many other services as well, including transferring tapes to hard drive or AVI files for your own editing, or editing discs for you with music and even putting them onto a Blu-Ray disc! They have a 365 day money-back guarantee, and very easy-to-follow instructions about how to box up your tapes and get your order in. It was much easier to get those tapes of mine converted than I thought it would be!

HD Media Services is giving two of my readers the chance to try out their services, by giving away 2 $25 gift certificates for video transfer and conversion services!

Here's how to enter to win:

*Become a follower of my blog! Or let me know if you already follow me. Either way, leave me a comment and tell me you're a follower! (Just click 'Google Friends Connect' on my sidebar!)

Get extra entries (up to 9!) when you:
1. Like me on Facebook! Just click the button on my sidebar to become a Facebook fan!
2. Leave a comment and tell me why you'd love to try out HD Media Services!
3. "Like" HD Media Services on Facebook here.
4. Mention this giveaway on your Facebook status, and be sure to link to this post!
5. Follow HD Media Services on Twitter.
6. Tweet about this giveaway and link to me.
7. Mention this giveaway on your blog and link to me!
8. Grab my button off my sidebar and display it somewhere on your blog.
9. Leave a new comment on any of my other recent blog posts (doesn't matter which one, I just love to read your comments!), and let me know you did.

*Please leave a separate comment for EACH entry, and make sure I have a way to contact you if you are the winner! This giveaway is open to the US and Canada, and will close on September 25'th. Good luck!!!

My Disclaimer: I was able to try out these services for free in exchange for writing an honest review. All opinions expressed here are my own!

Pinterested?

I've got to share one of my new favorite things. . . Pinterest!
I've been signed up for awhile, but finally figured out how to use it within the last two weeks. It's super easy, fun, and maybe just a small bit addicting. ;)

It's such a great way to save and share images that inspire you, recipes and crafts you want to make, places you want to visit, pretty much anything! You can create boards for all your stuff, and just pin anything you want to on there!

So I'm curious about how many of my readers are also obsessed with Pinterest, or use it at all! Come follow my boards and I'll follow yours too!

Here's a sampling of some inspiration from my boards. . .

{from Crave-Worthy Treats}

{from My Dream Wardrobe}

{from Travel Dream Board}

{oh, I love the travel dream board! I could pin stuff onto there all day!}

{from Favorite Places I've Been}

{from I'm Dreaming of a New House}

{from Makin' Me Happy!}

{from Photo Inspiration}

{from Crave-Worthy Food}

{from My Little Girls Must Have...}

{from Fun Food for Kids}

{from Halloween Ideas}

{from Christmas Ideas}

{from Crafty Inspiration}

And there's SO much more! You'll be able to click on the links for all those things from Pinterest too, and not just see the images. Let me know if you're on Pinterest too so I can follow you! And come follow me! :)

Fabulous Finds: Music to make your summer last a little longer!

I love discovering new music to replay over and over. Right now I need some tunes that will extend our summer that's slipping away all too quickly. And Mat Kearney's brand new album will do it!

'Young Love' is such a great, chill-me-out, drive on the coast, take on summer vacation type of album. I love it! I turn it on in the car and listen to the entire thing. It creates a surf and beach type of vibe, and the songs are both catchy and laid-back at the same time.

This album debuted at the #1 spot on iTunes, and I totally get why! I recommend downloading or buying the entire thing because you'll love every song, but if you're going to just download a few here are my faves:

*track 1* Hey Mama
*track 2* Ships In the Night
*track 7* Down
*track 8* She Got the Honey

ALL awesome songs! Summer fun, bottled up into music!
What are some of your favorite new tunes?

My disclaimer: Thanks to the One2One Network for providing me with this album in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are completely mine!

Back to School... Time to Get Organized!

Is anyone else blown away by how fast the summer flew by? I can't believe it's almost time for school to start again, and some kids have already started! Where did our summer go???

I don't have kids in traditional school yet. Kirsten is 4, and she'll be in preschool 3 days a week for a few hours, and that's it. But I'm definitely starting to realize that the older your kids get and the more they're involved with, it's ALL the more important to have some good organizational strategies in place. When Kirsten was 2 years old I didn't even have a planner or calendar that I looked at, and now I pretty much live on my Google calendar! Learning how to get organized is tough for every mom! I struggle with not having enough space on the Google calendar to record all the info I want, and also with not knowing how to share it with other family members like my husband. And don't even get me started on how to declutter! Paperwork just kills me!

When it comes to staying organized, I try to get as much ready as I can the night before. Outfits picked out, lunches packed, anything like that I can do makes mornings so much less hectic! I recently got to try out an awesome online tool that organizes everything called AboutOne. It's a calendar, planner, digital filing system and more!
This video overview is a great way to learn about the system:


Some stuff I love about the service:

*You can scan and upload anything (medical records, child's artwork, photos, important school paperwork) and email it from your smartphone or scanner. It eliminates the need to worry about documents getting lost!
*They handle backup and security for you, for even more peace of mind!
*The software is really easy to use, and it's got a great layout that makes it easy to find any info you're looking for.
*(One of my favorite things!) The technology automatically creates family newsletters, hardcover photo books, health and education summaries, caregiver information sheets, alerts and reminders. It also creates paper greeting cards that mail themselves! Way cool!

All of my readers can get a free 17-day trial, with no expiration date and no credit card required! You can use each of your days whenever you want!

After you sign up for your free trial, you can also enter an awesome giveaway! Here's the prize up for grabs. . . a $500 AMEX gift card and an upgrade to a free subscription to AboutOne.com plus a $250 donation to a school of your choice!

{Please note that you must sign up for the free trial to be eligible to win the grand prize!}

AboutOne.com has a wide variety of organizational resources that can be used throughout the year to help get all aspects of your life together in one place. Good luck to all my readers with your back-to-school plans!

My disclaimer: I was compensated by the Global Influence Network for my participation in this program.

Fabulous Finds. . . Rubbermaid Glass with Easy-Find Lids Giveaway!

Does your food container cupboard look anything like mine? Gosh, mine is a complete disaster. A messed up mish-mash of various plastic and glass food storage containers, with the lids shoved into all different places and nothing matching, nothing together. It's my least favorite kitchen cupboard, that's for sure.

I now want to replace ALL my flimsy, mismatched tupperware with Rubbermaid Glass with Easy-Find Lids! I received an awesome 8-piece set to review (the same set one of my readers will win!!!) and I completely love them!

*The Easy Find Lids system helps keep your cabinets organized by having the lids snap to the bottom of the container and to each other to make finding the right lid quick and easy. No more messy cabinets! Seriously!

*I love their versatility! You can take them from the fridge to the microwave and then straight to the table, and not use multiple containers that you later have to wash. They're made with tempered glass that is oven safe up to 425°F (lids are not oven safe). The lids and containers are microwave, dishwasher and freezer safe.

*The glass bases are designed to stack neatly, which saves space and prevents them from getting stuck together.

*They look really nice on a table, so there's no need to switch food to a separate bowl for serving. Less dishes to wash!

*The quality of these are really the best I've seen for food storage containers. The glass is heavy duty and the lids are sturdy and don't bend at all in the microwave or dishwasher.

Deal Alert: Go here to print a coupon for $1.50 off 1 glass food storage container!!!

The winner of this giveaway will win an 8-piece food storage set of Rubbermaid glass with easy-find lids!

Here's how to enter to win this awesome set:
*Become a follower of my blog! Or let me know if you already follow me. Either way, leave me a comment and tell me you're a follower! (Just click 'Google Friends Connect' on my sidebar!)

Get extra entries (up to 9!) when you:
1. Like me on Facebook! Just click the button on my sidebar to become a Facebook fan!
2. Tell me your favorite feature about Rubbermaid glass.
3. Mention this giveaway on your Facebook status, and be sure to link to this post!
4. Tweet about this giveaway and link to me.
5. Become a fan of the Rubbermaid Facebook page.
6. Follow Rubbermaid on Twitter.
7. Mention this giveaway on your blog and link to me!
8. Grab my button off my sidebar and display it somewhere on your blog.
9. Leave a new comment on any of my other recent blog posts (doesn't matter which one, I just love to read your comments!), and let me know you did.

*Please leave a separate comment for EACH entry, and make sure I have a way to contact you if you are the winner! This giveaway is open to the US and Canada, and will close on August 18'th. Good luck!!!

My disclaimer: I received a set of Rubbermaid glass to review. I was not obligated to write a positive review, and all opinions written here are my own.

Fabulous Finds. . . Storkie Cards!

It's July and that means. . . Christmas cravings!!!
I always get Christmas cravings around this time of year. I really enjoy summer, but in July for some reason I start wistfully thinking of Christmas cookies, decorating trees, the music, the snow falling, and all the wonderful things I love so much about the holiday season.

One of these years I vow to actually get my Christmas cards ordered early! As in really early, like September, so that all I'll have to do in December is mail them out. I'm curious. . . what do all my readers do with old Christmas cards? Do you get rid of them or save them? Do you ever display them when they're a year old or longer? So far I save most of them in my closet in a drawer, wondering what to do with them. Here's one of my favorite ideas I've heard, and would love to do someday:

Get a sheet of glass cut to fit over the top of your kitchen table or dining room table. Drape a red tablecloth over your table, and then arrange all your favorite old Christmas cards over the table. Then cover it all with the sheet of glass, and voila! A great conversation starter as well as a fun way to display cards and relive memories. For the rest of the year, you could display old vacation photos that way, or any photos you're just dying to display!

I'm already on the hunt for some stylish Christmas cards this year. . .

I just discovered all the different types of cards from Storkie, and am seriously impressed by the unique and beautiful designs! Just check out the gorgeousness:

Fabulous Finds. . . Uncommon Goods Review and Giveaway!

I absolutely LOVE finding unique, fun items for my home, my kids, or to use as gifts. And for a long time now, one of my favorite places to find awesome, funky, hard-to-find stuff like this has been Uncommon Goods. "Find anything but ordinary". Completely cool gifts, seriously, just browsing this store is so much fun! It can be really difficult to find gift ideas for men that they'll actually like, but this shop has a whole bunch!

Naturally, since I love the shop I was thrilled to be able to review some of their products. This could be a VERY long post if I talked about all the awesome things found on their website, they have such an amazing variety of products. So I'll just focus on the things I was able to review. I was 100% impressed by everything I received!

I've had my eye on these since I first saw them in a magazine. . . Paper pots! Such a stylish and mod-looking way to house your tissues, SO much better than the ordinary little cardboard box. These babies are made of plastic (they seriously look like glass, but my kids can't break it, hooray!), and come in a bunch of fun, glossy colors as well as white and matte black. I put mine in my front entryway bathroom and it completely updated that little room! I love it!

Okay, I didn't review this one, but I thought it was just too cool. . . the Salsabol, with unique grooved sides to help you control how much salsa or guac you want on your chips. I want one of these! Just an example of a cool and useful product you'll find in this shop!

Besides items for your kitchen and home, Uncommon Goods has a really adorable kids and babies section. I picked out Lucy's Socks by Trumpette for my baby Brooke and they are the cutest baby socks I've seen yet! I want to get these as a baby gift for every baby girl I know, they are sooooo precious! And they stay on her feet, so they get extra bonus points!

I can think of a lot of girls who'd die to have these in their kitchen. . . Russian Doll Measuring Cups! Yep, measuring cups that nest inside each other and are actually cute enough to sit out on your counter or shelf. At only $13 and oh so adorable, these would make a perfect gift!

And I've got some great news. . . Uncommon Goods has offered to give one of my readers a Paper Pot, in any color of your choice!!! You will love it just as much as I do!

Here's how to enter to win the Paper Pot from Uncommon Goods:

*Become a follower of my blog! Or let me know if you already follow me. Either way, leave me a comment and tell me you're a follower! (Just click 'Google Friends Connect' on my sidebar!)

Get extra entries (up to 11!) when you:
1. Like me on Facebook! Just click the button on my sidebar to become a Facebook fan!
2. Browse the Uncommon Goods website, and tell me some products that you would love to have!
3. "Like" Uncommon Goods on Facebook here.
4. Follow Uncommon Goods on Twitter.
5. Subscribe to their "This Just In" RSS feed here.
6. Sign up to be on the Uncommon Goods email list.
7. Mention this giveaway on your Facebook status, and be sure to link to this post!
8. Tweet about this giveaway and link to me.
9. Mention this giveaway on your blog and link to me!
10. Grab my button off my sidebar and display it somewhere on your blog.
11. Leave a new comment on any of my other recent blog posts (doesn't matter which one, I just love to read your comments!), and let me know you did.

*Please leave a separate comment for EACH entry, and make sure I have a way to contact you if you are the winner! This giveaway will close on July 6'th. Good luck!!!

My Disclaimer: I received some products free of charge from Uncommon Goods in exchange for writing an honest review. All opinions expressed here are my own!

Fabulous Finds. . . Great Local Eats!

My family loves eating out, and we have a great time trying out new places. But when I want to go with food that I know I'll love, here are a few of my absolute favorites:

*Favorite pizza delivery*
Garlic Jim's

Ooooh, yum! This is seriously crave-able pizza!

Why I love it:
*Their hand-tossed thick buttermilk crust is delicious!
*They have just the right amount of toppings, and yummy sauce.
*Their prices are really great, especially if you sign up on their website to receive coupons.

Tip: If you order the breadsticks (and they are good!) definitely order the cheesy ones. The regular breadsticks don't have much flavor.

*My favorite local burgers, hands down*
Blazing Onion Burger
I always loved the Mill Creek restaurant, but now the brand new restaurant at Alderwood Mall is open! It's a LOT bigger, and has some really innovative new features.

Why I love it:
*Everything about this burger is just awesome. I love the meat, the fresh bakery-made buns, and especially the BOB sauce! Whenever I eat a burger anywhere else, I find myself wishing for BOB sauce.
*It's a great place to take kids, because the food always comes out SUPER fast.
*You order at the counter and refill your own beverages, and they bring your food out to your table.
*The beverage station in the new Alderwood restaurant is just the coolest one I've ever seen! They have Coca Cola Freestyle machines with over 100 flavors of beverages, and you can refill with as many different flavors as you want. I was blown away! They have tons of different flavors of Fanta, peach Sprite, tons of Hi-C flavors, pretty much any drink you can think of! Plus they have my favorite, Pibb Xtra, and they even have Pibb Zero, which I've never seen before!
*The new restaurant also has a patio with a fire pit and outdoor heaters. Great for summer!

Tip: Ask for extra sides of BOB sauce, and they'll bring as many as you want! Trust me, you'll want extra. They'll also refill your fries for free.

*Great eat-in pizza restaurant*
The Rock Wood-Fired Pizza

Why I love it:
*Everything I've had from here is good. They have a really great lunch buffet and happy hour that I want to try out.
*It's a great place for families. They bring out pizza dough for kids to play with, plus a bunch of crayons and stuff to color.
*I love this place for groups, like girl's nights, double dates, or large families. You can order a ton of food (a couple of big pizzas, salad, garlic bread, sodas) and by the time you split the bill it's very little money per person!

*My go-to ice cream place*
Cold Stone Creamery
Okay, it's not at all local and they have them everywhere (we even found one on our honeymoon in St. Thomas!) But I just love Cold Stone!

Why I love it:
*The ice cream is so thick, sticky, and you just can't get ice cream anywhere else that tastes like it.
*You can make them as simple or elaborate as you want. I like mine pretty simple. . . chocolate ice cream with cookie dough mixed in, or vanilla ice cream with black cherries.
*They'll do a cute, tiny little kid-sized one. Or you can have them put just a small amount of your own into a separate kid's cup.

Tip: If you have an Entertainment Book, don't miss the great Cold Stone coupons they have in there!

To all my fellow northwest readers, I'd love to hear what some of your favorite go-to restaurants are!