GIVEAWAY TIME!!

A few days ago I decided to do a thorough examination of the traffic to my website. I use GOOGLE ANALYTICS, and Tim has helped me to decipher some of the more complicated information given. Basically, my readership has jumped way up (yay!), and I felt I should reward my lovely readers with a giveaway.

I thought it would be good timing given my looming birthday

Here’s what you’ll win:

1 Illume travel tin candle in ‘Star Jasmine’
1 Napa Soap Company bar in ‘Tea-no Grigio’
1 French Sesame notebook
1 2-pack of O’Bon pencils – made from newspapers!
AND
1 $10 gift card to Starbucks

Lots of ways to win! Here’s how to enter:

 Leave me a comment = 1 entry
Follow me on Twitter = 1 entry
Tweet this giveaway = 2 entries
Mention this on your blog = 2 entries
Sign up for my email notifications = 3 entries
G0 HERE to sign up

Leave a comment for each entry. Winner will be chosen at random on my birthday, September 14th!

Good luck!! xoxoxoxo 

for YOU!!!

I’m planning my first giveaway to coincide with my upcoming birthday (September 14th). It will be a gift pack featuring a few of my favorite things (but raindrops on roses may be difficult to package, hee hee), and I can’t wait to announce it. Details coming soon…

My birthday is just 3 short weeks away, and I need to start planning! What do I want to do??

Because the 14th falls on a Tuesday (lame), I have the option of celebrating the Saturday before, or the Saturday after.  I kind of feel odd about celebrating my birthday on September 11th, so I am thinking that the 18th might be better.

Where should my birthday dinner be held?

More importantly…what should I wear?!  Here are some dresses I love from ModCloth:

Of course, I can’t decide on a dress until I figure out where this shindig will be! I’m sure there will be a Forever21 version of the dress dilemma…

My birthday is only 1 month away (I’m turning 26)!

I love making wishlists, so here’s my birthday list:

One of the best British comedies! I was already a Hugh Laurie devotee, but I fell in love with Stephen Fry because of this awesome series, which is based on the hilarious ‘Jeeves’ stories by P.G. Wodehouse.

I love the black Converse slip ons that I purchased a few months back; but these are a bit girlier.

Found this on Etsy several months ago. A beautiful handmade journal with a bit of one of my favorite Sonnets!

Awesome color, and a classic sneaker.

We have a winner!! Balenciaga Paris has received the seal of approval from Tim. I love this scent. Wearing it made me feel elegant and bohemian at the same time; very European. All I had was a teeny sample to apply to my wrists and neck, though. I need a bottle!

I have the 3G, and it’s served me well over the past two years. My contract is officially up, and for now I will not renew unless I get the iPhone 4 (I’m just riding it out on monthly terms). I want FaceTime! There are, of course, rumours that AT&T is losing its exclusivity contract, and Verizon may have a CDMA iPhone – if that happens, I may wish to switch to Verizon. BUT, it wouldn’t happen until January 2011, and I don’t know what Verizon’s monthly price would be for service.

More vinyl records! I have a very small collection, and would love to expand it. I just pre-ordered Jimmy Eat World’s new album, ‘Invented’ on vinyl, and am very excited for it’s arrival; unfortunately, it won’t ship out until September 28th.

Today’s episode of Fill In the Blank Friday is brought to you by…BIRTHDAYS!!

1. Birthdays are: amazing!! I love celebrating my friends’ birthdays, and I REALLY love my birthday! Cards, cake and champagne – mmmm <3

2. My favorite birthday memory was my favorite birthday (so far) was probably last year: turned 25, we’d moved into our house, spent 3 days celebrating with loved ones, and my friends were getting married in a week.

3. A birthday tradition: hair accessories! I always have to have some fantastical type of hat, clip, or headband. Also, every year I take pictures with my girls:

2006

2007

2008

2009

4. If I had to choose one birthday meal to eat for the rest of my birthdays hence forward, I would choose a meal at The Library, an awesome restaurant in Rome. Probably the most romantic restaurant I’ve ever been to!

5. My birthday is on September 14! I can’t wait!

6. If I could take a birthday trip I would go to Belgium!! I am DYING to visit!

7. The best gift I’ve ever received for my birthday was Marco. Thanks, Tim. (Hey, it was my birthday!)

Yesterday Tim and I had some friends over for a BBQ to celebrate his birthday, and I made some fresh guacamole. Here’s a quick and dirty recipe for this delicious snack:

Michelle’s Fool-proof Guacamole

3 ripe Hass avocados, halved
1/4 cup cilantro, torn or chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes, chopped
1 lime
Fresh black pepper, to taste

Using a spoon, scoop avocado into a bowl, and add the cilantro and tomatoes. Stir together.  Cut lime in half and squeeze juice into mixture. Stir, and add black pepper to your liking. Good with tortilla chips and fresh veggies. So easy, and very tasty.

I’ve been semi-obsessed with Phoenix’s album for awhile…so you’ll have to excuse the constant references!

ANYWAY! Today is Timmy’s birthday!! Now he’s 28 (so much closer to 30, which kind of freaks him out, ha ha). I try to console him with the knowledge that when he’s in his 30′s, he’ll still have a young trophy-wife in her 20′s, heh heh. I don’t think it’s working.
Nevertheless, it is another day in which we celebrate my fantastic husband, and Marco’s awesome dad- our Timmy!!

Happy birthday, darling! I love you.

Currently finishing up This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper. It’s well-written, but not very funny (and for a book lauded as ‘hysterically funny’, that’s a problem).

My hubby’s 28th birthday is on Friday! I love birthdays. On Saturday, we’re having some friends and family over for a BBQ to celebrate. Gotta do a deep cleaning on the house!

On the baby front, Marco is sleeping SO much better! He falls asleep after his last evening feeding, usually at 10pm and doesn’t wake up until around 4:30am, sometimes later! I am so thankful that we started him on a schedule right away; his feedings are like clockwork now.  Marco is also smiling all the time! I love seeing his little gummy grin.  He’s cooing a lot, trying to communicate.  So cute.

On Sunday, Tim and I saw this license plate:

THIEF!! My nickname as a little kid was ‘Mad’, Marco’s full initials are ‘M.A.D.’ and we both are M.D. This should belong to us! Grr…

Today we took a walk to the post office, and then headed to Starbucks. He fell asleep on the way, as usual! I can’t get him to stay awake very long when he’s in his car seat /stroller. Too comfy, I guess!

He’s just too beautiful!

What a strange, sad, crazy week this has been!

First, we had one of the worst ‘sleep weeks’ with Marco…between Thursday afternoon and Friday evening, he hadn’t slept a longer stretch than 1 1/2 hours, and most of the time he was awake, fussing. It was miserable!  Then, Tim had to work through Thursday night, because of an issue with a server. I was home alone with Marco almost all night.

Friday was Adrienne’s birthday, and we’d made plans to have lunch in St Helena with them. I’d had to cancel because Tim was ridiculously exhausted, and Marco was in no condition to go out in public. Later in the afternoon, we heard from Adrienne and Justin…they returned home from their vacation to find they’d been robbed! Someone had broken into their home and stolen almost everything of value. Tim and I decided to drive down and visit them, and make sure they were okay.  The thieves left all of the important paperwork (birth certificates, social security cards) so at the very least, they don’t have to worry about identity theft. 

 Yesterday, I found out that an old friend from high school, Isaiah, had passed away a few days ago. I was very sad to hear about it; I’d really had no idea the extent of his illness. Isaiah had Type 1 Diabetes, but I’d always assumed it was pretty well under control.  He was always such a good friend during our high school years, and though I hadn’t seen him since we graduated, we’d maintained friendly communication (thanks, Facebook). Anyway, it was definitely a bit of a shock. I am holding his wife and 5 month-old daughter in my thoughts.

Here’s hoping this week is much better for all my loved ones!

Adrienne‘s birthday!!

Happy birthday, my lovely friend. I love you!

June 2001

September 13 2008

September 19, 2009