blogoversary giveaway week: twenty five design

Sing with me now!

Happy blogoversary to me, happy blogoversary to me, happy blogoversary to Simply Sarah-Anne, happy blogoversary to me!

Okay, so after you’ve stopped your virtual hugs and confetti throwing, pay attention to what I’m about to say…

{In honor of my 1 year blogoversary, I’m having a week of giveaways all this week!}

Today's second giveaway is from Torie @ Twenty Five Design!

{blog} {shop} {twitter}

Torie is so sweet and, um, hello? She's pretty and has a pretty baby! That automatically makes her my friend. :) She also is a doll and worked with me all throughotu Thanksgiving week on the giveaway, so I highly recommend her for sponsoring you!
So what's up for grabs? A headband of your choice, that's what! All of Torie's headbands are beautiful (not to mention affordable), so I know you'll have a hard time deciding what you readers had to pick.
So how do you win this awesome giveaway? You can...

1. Go to Torie’s shop (link above), come back here to SimplySA, and tell me what you like the most.
2. Become a follower of SimplySA.
3. Become a follower of Torie's blog, Life with Rylie (link above). 
4. And, lastly, you can blog, tweet, or Facebook about the giveaway! Only one of these options, though, and leave the link in your comment. Please and thank you!

Giveaway will end a week from the publish date (12/7) and winners from all the giveaways will  be announced next Saturday! (12/11)

Disclaimer: Torie provided the goodies for this giveaway when I convo'd her and begged asked nicely if she would be willing to do a giveaway for me. Even though I didn't come out of pocket, I'm supporting her, and all the other sponsors, business via my Favorite Things Friday post...and this giveaway. Just thought you should know! :)

blogoversary giveaway week: eclectic whatnot

***UPDATE*** Obviously, I'm new to this whole giveaway aspect of blogging. So much so that I forgot to ask that you leave separate comments for each entry AND leave a link to where you posted the giveaway info in that specific comment! Thanks!
Sing with me now!
Happy blogoversary to me, happy blogoversary to me, happy blogoversary to Simply Sarah-Anne, happy blogoversary to me!
Okay, so after you’ve stopped your virtual hugs and confetti throwing, pay attention to what I’m about to say…
{In honor of my 1 year blogoversary, I’m having a week of giveaways all this week!}
Today's giveaway is sponsored by Ruthanne from Eclectic Whatnot! 

{blog} {shop} and {twitter}

Remember that time I said I loved her because she had curly hair? Yeah, that's still going strong. The fact that she says funny things, blogs every day, and was so, so, so nice about working with me makes me love her even more! 
So what's up for grabs? A 25 dollar shop credit, that's what! 

So, how do you win this awesome giveaway? You can…

1. Go to Ruthanne’s shop (link above), come back here to SimplySA, and tell me what you like the most.
2. Become a follower of SimplySA.
3. Become a follower of Eclectic Whatnot (link above). Trust me, you’ll want to once you get over there. She is too funny!
4. And, lastly, you can blog, tweet, or Facebook about the giveaway! Only one of these options, though. Please and thank you!

Giveaway will end a week from the publish date (12/6) and winners from all the giveaways will  be announced next Saturday! (12/11)
Disclaimer: Ruthanne provided the goodies for this giveaway when I convo'd her and begged asked nicely if she would be willing to do a giveaway for me. Even though I didn't come out of pocket, I'm supporting her, and all the other sponsors, business via my Favorite Things Friday post...and this giveaway. Just thought you should know! :)

1 year blogoversary

I’ve had a blast, ya’ll. You’ve become my friends, close friends in fact, and you’ve cheered me up with pretty pictures when I’m down (and trust me, that happens a lot!) To be honest, I’m at a loss for words right now. I know it sounds cliché and I’m totally not going to hear the end of it when my family sees this, but you readers mean a lot to me. There, I said it.

But, blogging isn’t without it’s downs. I’ve toyed with he idea of stopping blogging numerous times, had a really big blogging scare where I thought I said something that was supposed to be comforting but turned out to be totally hurtful (BTW, it was all fine. The person I sent the email too replied and was so sweet to me. Turns out it was some random person who sent the bad email), and I’ve screamed at the computer screen when Blogger was giving me issues.

But here we are, readers. You’ve stuck with me this long, and you’ve got some surprises in store. Scroll on down to see the rest of the post…

Sing with me now!

Happy blogoversary to me, happy blogoversary to me, happy blogoversary to Simply Sarah-Anne, happy blogoversary to me!

Okay, so after you’ve stopped your virtual hugs and confetti throwing, pay attention to what I’m about to say…

{In honor of my 1 year blogoversary, I’m having a week of giveaways all next week!}

Ah, I can breathe again. It’s been so. hard. to keep this from you guys, mostly because I’ve just been exploding with excitement. I finally broke down and told Emmylou on the phone Wednesday, and we both squealed. Loudly. :)

If you've done your homework and read in between the lines, you’d know that Miscellany Monday was all about excitement and I even gave you the clue to what the excitement was all about by pointing you to that ticker on my left sidebar.

So, it is my pleasure to announce that I’ve contacted each and every shop I’ve featured in my Favorite Friday posts asking for giveaways to celebrate. Some answered with a resounding yes, others said maybe later, and some didn’t reply at all. That’s okay, because as of now, I’ve got over 10 giveaways for you!

Come back on Monday, the 29th, for the kickoff of giveaway week here at Simply SA, and stick around for the ending of it all next Friday, the 3rd. Giveaways will end one week from the publish date, and winners will be announced sometime Saturday, the 11th.

Here’s to another year of blogging!

P.S. If the info I gave you is confusing, I promise it’ll all make sense in my first giveaway post. Promise. :)

favorite things friday: cowls

Cowls: my new favorite thing. If you look at my Etsy favorites right HERE, you’ll see a whole bunch of cowls, and looking at all the wonderful, beautiful, WARM cowls on Etsy has inspired me to make one myself. Impressive, huh? :)

{WarmMeUp}

I search Etsy each day for things to add to my favorites list, and this little gem of a shop showed up in my results bar. I immediately hit the convo button and gushed about how beautiful Anita’s shop is, and she was so sweet to promptly reply saying thanks.

She has three different styles, and here are my favorites out of those categories:

{the idado cowl – heather grey: $32}

{the twist cowl – rasberry: $30}

{the twist cowl – extra long forest green: $55}

{the twist cowl – pumpkin:

{the colorado – fig: $34}

See what I mean?! They make me warm and toasty just looking at them!

{JillLauren}

Jill specializes in chunky cowls. Like, really chunky. Need proof? Look below…

{FIG super chunky knit cowl: $72}

{raspberry chunky knit twist cowl: $42}

{CRANBERRY dropstitch cowl: $42}

P.S. Jill convo’d me and said to spread the word that she’s having a Black Friday sale: 40% off everything in the store! Score!

{OldCountryCottage}

My blogging friend, and aprom swap buddy, has an Etsy shop where she sells some of her pictures, along with this beauty!

{knitted cream cowl: $22}

Click the link above to check out her other works of art!

{YesJess}

I honestly can’t remember where I found YesJess, but I have a feeling I discovered her from Moriah @ Josiah’s Nest…

{knight’s cowl/hood in dusty grey: $72}

{forest cowl in dark blue: $33}

{The Second Fiddle}

Finally, the last shop I’ve found is this one: The Second Fiddle. Huge, chunky cowls are calling me, ya’ll…

{pelican warmer in wood: $36}

{pelican warmer in spice: $36}

{pelican warmer in wheat: $36}

And there you have it. Just looking at these cowls are making you feel warm and toasty, no? The latest additions to my favorites list on Etsy. Go check out the stores and maybe give them a little holiday business!

Happy Black Friday!

the ABC's of thanksgiving...

I had a pretty post all typed up, scheduled for this evening and everything. But, ya'll, it wasn't me. Really, it wasn't, and I was doubting some of the things I said. It just wasn't original, and that fact was killing me...
Then, as I was posting yesterday's post, I noticed Hannah had a post up on her blog about the ABC's of Thanksgiving, and I knew that was what I wanted to do for my Turkey day post. Go HERE to read all about it!

In case it's a little bit confusing, here's a rundown of the things I'm thankful for this year...
{A}Acceptance. It's a wonderful thing, ya'll. The things I put my family and friends through are unreal, yet they always want to spend some time with me. Love them!
{B}Blogging. My family can laugh all they want, but this whole community is what I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving.
{C}Clark. Always funny, always annoying, but above all: always a gentleman. I love you, Clarky Boy!
{D} Dad. You're the same things I described about Clark and more. Life would be dull without you guys, and I'm thankful it's not.
{E}Etsy. I've met so many wonderful sellers on Etsy, and I love promoting their shops with my Favorite things Friday posts. Buy handmade! :)
{F}Family and Friends and Food and Football. Whoa, there are a lot of things I'm thankful that begin with an
{G}God. Did you really think God wouldn't make it up here? Sad day, that day was. Nope, He is the reason I'm here, typing this post, feelings all these emotions about how I'm grateful for all of these things.
{H}Home. Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz was onto something when she said that famous line: "There's no place like home."
{I}Internet. I know that sounds so nerdy, but Internet is a wonderful thing. I can take college classes online, find out the answers to my burning questions, etc., so on the list it goes!
{J}Jesus. Yep, he's on here too. Thanks for the sacrifice you gave to let me live this life I do.
{K}Kiddos. I can be having a bad day, and when I see a little baby boy smile a smile that he only does for me, the world is right again. Same goes to any kid who hugs me and asks to see the picture I've taken of them.
{L}Laughter and Love. Two things that are WONDERFUL for the soul. Even the Bible says so, ya'll.
{M}Mama. What can I say? I love my mama...Like, a lot.
{N}Night time. Ah, I love night and all the relaxing things it brings, like sleep. :)
{O}Outdoors. I'm not one to totally have a full blown mud fight, but I love to toss the ball with my family in the fall.
{P}Peace. A feeling that only comes from God!
{Q}Quiet. Something rare, but quiet is necessary for sanity, wouldn't you agree?
{R}Reading. Nothing like crawling into bed and reading a novel to unwind...
{S}Singing and Summertime. Two of the other favorite things!
{T}Tom: see Dad. Sorry, couldn't really think of one.
{U}UVA aka Sunlight. It's been proven; sunlight can, and will, effect your mood, and I'm hear to attest to that. The best days are when I get to read my schoolbooks outside.
{V}Voices. Voices are great, both literal and figuratively.
{W}Weather. Man, I promised I wouldn't talk about it, but every thunderstorm and rainbow reminds me of God's power and control over everything.
{Y} Years. The years we live, and the things we feel up our years, define who I am.
{Z}Zeal. To be honest, I totally pulled this one out of the blue. But, I really love a person with zeal in their personality, so...
And there you have it: my ABC's of thankfulness. Feel free to link up on the link provided and let the blogging world know what you're thankful for this holiday go 'round.

miscellany monday

Yes, I’m fully aware that it’s not Monday, or Tuesday for that matter, but some mid-week randomness in better than no randomness at all. Wouldn’t you agree?

{1}Thanksgiving! Only 1 more day, ya’ll! And, since I’ve placed the boycott on X-mas things until Friday, that means only a month or less until then!

{2}Thanksgiving food! You wouldn’t know it by looking at me (all 80 lbs. of me) but I live to eat. This holiday season you better believe I will be eating holiday food until it comes out of my ears. Or, maybe, until I just can’t eat anymore.

{3}Christmas! We have our little family traditions, like making a birthday card/cake for Jesus, along with making a “New Year’s” resolution to Him. We also get PJ’s on Christmas Eve, and usually get some family gifts like a board game or puzzle. I’m not sure what’s different this year, but I’m REALLY looking forward to this year’s celebration.

{4} Christmas food! Is it me, or are there certain things you eat only at certain times of the year? Pumpkin pie and stuffing are Thanksgiving only at our house, but fudge is only for Christmas. Yummy!

{5} Christmas…again! Christmas-y things will be coming to a blog near you, so stay tuned to hear my playlist, look at my pretty blog background, and enjoy some blog snow!

Wow, I just realized this MM is all about the holidays! What can I say? I love ‘em…

park day

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programing blogging schedule to bring you this set of pictures I took today. Sunny days spent at the park are too good to pass up, and that’s just what we did today…

Here lately, Clark has been doing some “crafts” (I say crafts lightly because, well you know…he’s a guy, and most guys don’t want to let the world know that they make things. Just sayin’…) and it’s made Mama and I think about the old days where we would go to the park after an hour or two of school were the bomb, and we missed that. All I do is sit at the laptop and type things these days. No fun.

So, Mama called up some friends of ours out of the blue yesterday and decided we were going to go to the park and have lunch. The following pictures are some of my favorite that I snapped in between watching the littles and playing on the monkey bars. Yes, I played on the monkey bars, and yes, I’m 15 years old. Who says parks are for the kids 5 and under?

Before everyone got there, I took a couple pictures of Clark. Bless his little 12 year old heart, because I took more of him than I did of anything else! :) Note: Do you spy with your little eye a girl who loves her little bro?

Man, there she is again! She is relentless, I tell you! ;)

The rest are stills, basically, because I failed to ask if I do post pictures of the other kids on my blog. Hey, don’t hate…I’m just doing the right thing and respecting other’s privacy!

We had a little Indian girl join us as well, as evidenced my her little headpiece.

I ask you, can you say no to a little boy who asked to swing? Nope, you can’t!

Shoes are fun to photograph! Haha, and I’m sure you can tell by this next series of pics…

And what’s a post without a self portait or two? In this case, I’ve got three: a shadow and two face ones. But beware, the last one is scary. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

See what I mean?! Scary. I thought this face would look better, but I guess not.

And there you have it! Our afternoon in a nutshell. Something only homeschooling families could enjoy. :) Oh, and the highlight of the day? Playing flag football with 5 guys and getting two out of three touchdowns for our team.

preview monday

Ah, it’s another week, folks. I know it sounds so unbelievably cliché , but time is flying by! Can you believe that it’s only 4 days until Thanksgiving?!

Speaking of Thanksgiving, we’re going to be spending the holidays with family the whole weekend. Sure, I’ll check emails, catch up on blogs and such, but other than that, it’s Thanksgiving break all the way. No school (hopefully; I might have to settle for a teeny tiny amount over the course of the weekend), no ‘real’ blogging and all that jazz. I’m sure ya’ll will understand…

{miscellany monday tuesday}

{i’m thankful for…}

Just a post that I thought up over this week highlighting the things I’m thankful for this year. Who knows? There might be a picture or two from last year’s celebration in there!

{favorite things friday: cowls}

Cowls have become my new favorite obsession, both on Etsy and BigCartel, and I’ve even started one. I’ve beyond excited to show you my finds for various reasons, so stick around and see for yourself!

{goodbye fall}

You know that post I told you I was going to publish about my favorite things about fall? Yeah, never happened. But, I PROMISE it’s coming. A last hurrah for fall, if you will…

Happy Monday, readers!

favorite things friday: headbands

Even though I pretty much ban all Christmas list making until after Thanksgiving, I’m still going strong with my virtual wish list. This week’s edition for Favorite things Friday is all about headbands!

{Much Love, Illy}

Discovered her via Kim's blog, and immediately fell in love with her beautiful headbands. Take a look at my faves, then go favorite her shop on Etsy!

{golden rod poppy garland headband: $12.75}

{sage green poppy garland headband: $12.75}

{holding onto my sailor’s heart poppy garland headband: $14.00}

{Allora Handmade}

I believe I found her via Gussy {who’s shop/headbands are coming up next}, and I love her and her blog as well. I mean, rosettes on a headband? Yes please!

{double trouble rosette on black satin u shape headband: $15}

{large three musketeers rosette headband: $15}

{Gussy}

I personally have a Gussy headband, and I have to tell you readers it’s the best, most comfortable headband out there. My head is usually KILLING me after I wear one of those cheap dollar store headbands, but not so with Maggie’s headbands. I have the one below, but I’d love to add to my collection with these pretties!

{bold purple floral headband: $14.50}

{red plaid headband: $14.50}

{pink/red floral headband: $14.50}

{RaechelMyers}

One of my new blogs over there on the blogroll to your right has an Etsy shop and makes the cutest baby headbands. Sure, they’re for babies, but she has a tutorial she did awhile back that explains how to make them, so you could even make one in your size. Score!

{navy chain print headband with grey and blue wool felt circles: $6}

{navy and white floral headband: $5}

{yellow headband with felt circles: $6}

{black and white polka dot headband with bright blue flower: $6}

P.S. That tutorial I’m talking about is HERE! Thanks, Raechel!

{ElizabethSt}

What Favorite Friday’s post would be complete without a store I found while browsing Etsy’s recent listing? I’ve never seen a yo-yo necklace before, and I really like her style!

{double flower grey headband: $11}

{yo-yo headband – grey: $12}

{yo-yo headband in chiffon and satin: $12}

Okay, I’m seriously in love with all of these headbands! Go visit each one and, maybe, buy/support their business! A great Thanksgiving gift, if you ask me… ;)