Posts Tagged ‘Things I love Thursday’
My Children Amaze Me
Posted on: September 2, 2010
- In: Life
- 8 Comments
I love walking into my living room and finding this:
And this:
Julia and Hannah passed yesterday afternoon playing in random boxes. It was sweet and wonderful and made my mama heart swell with love. These girls amaze me. They have shaped me into the woman that I am. And while there are days that I want to spend a little more time alone in my nook, I wouldn’t miss out on being with them for anything.
Visit Jill at Diaper Diaries for more Things I Love Thursday.
- In: Life
- 58 Comments
I was approached by Alicia Hicks, owner of Eco Natural Soap. She asked if I would be interested in trying out some of their products. Of course I said yes and was beyond excited! I requested a soap bar and a shampoo bar. And a few days later, I received my package. To my surprise and delight, Alicia had given me a second bar of soap, a shave bar and lip balm {on top of my original request}! Just how awesome is that?!?
The first night I tried the shampoo, Lavender soap and shaving bar. I was pretty intrigued as to how a bar would work for shampoo {would it lather, would it clean, would I even like it??}. Seriously, it worked amazingly. I wet my hair, rubbed it all over and it just lathered right up. As for the shave bar – it made my legs feel silky smooth. Actually, my thought at the time was that they felt like butter {in a soft non-gross sort of way}. Here are a few family comments:
– “Wow, the peppermint soap makes my skin feel tingly and awake.”
– “A bar shampoo? Whoa, this stuff really works.”
– “That smells good, mama {about the lavender soap}.”
Our family has loved our Eco Natural Soap products. I’ve gone through a slew of natural shampoos and not found one I like as much as this one. Beside the niceness of the product, I love being able to know what ingredients are put in each item {they are listed on the back of the wrappers}. I love supporting a new company and especially one based out of my hometown! And finally, they have great prices making it worth buying all natural over any other brand!
And here’s the best part:
Eco Natural Soap has agreed to sponsor a giveaway on my blog!
The winner will receive two {yes 2!} bars of soap and a balm of their choice!
Here’s how to win:
1. Leave a comment telling me which Eco Natural Soap bars and balm you like.
2. Facebook and/or Tweet it and leave a comment telling me you did.
3. Blog it and link back to this post and to Eco Natural Soap.
4. Refer a friend and have them mention you sent them over.
You have until Tuesday, August 31st at 11:59 PM, CST to enter!
For more Things I Love Thursday, visit Jill at Diaper Diaries. And for more Try New Adventures, visit Alicia at Alicia’s Homemaking.
*Disclaimer: While I was provided with products to try from Eco Natural Soap, all opinions are mine!
Dyson – The Apple of vacuums
Posted on: August 19, 2010
- In: Life
- 9 Comments
We’ve had the same Oreck vacuum since we were married. And Jonathan had it for a year before that. And his parents had it for about two years before that. So when it died at the end of July it didn’t come as a total shock. We debated having it fixed, after all it did the job* and we liked that it was fuss free – no attachments, no hoses, just a vacuum. But then we decided to buy our dream vacuum: Dyson – All Floors.
{This picture almost makes me think angels are singing in the background, what with the perfect lighting and super clean carpet}
We found a great deal at Home Depot, paying $100 less than we expected and we bought it. As soon as we got home, we put our Dyson to use. And here’s what we got:
Pretty gross. We had vacuumed two days before and the floors didn’t even look very dirty. But the Dyson pulled up all the dog hair, dirt and yuckness that apparently our other vacuum {and vacuums we have borrowed since ours broke} just couldn’t get. Wow. After that first run through, we did it again and got half as much, then did it a third time and got about a fourth more. Pretty spectacular if you ask me.
Jonathan said Dyson is the Apple of vacuums. They are sleek, state of the art and pricey but worth it. My favorite part is that I can vacuum our wood floors {which is the kitchen and all the bedrooms} so I don’t have to sweep, which just so happens to be one of my least favorite chores.
Visit Jill at Diaper Diaries for more Things I Love Thursday.
- In: Life
- 13 Comments
When we bought our home, we knew we were going to be without a dishwasher. And while I been totally okay with hand washing dishes, I’ve been less than okay with my dish soap options. I don’t think my standards are too high: must be earth friendly, must last through a full washing. Yet, I’ve gone through countless products to no avail. But then, like a clear {earth friendly} ray of light, I found Green Works. A-maz-ing.
Why do I love Green Works?
1. It stays bubbly. For what ever reason, all the soaps I try don’t stay bubbly, making it impossible to clean a sink full of dishes without always adding more soap {can you say money waster?!}
2. It actually removes grease. A certain soap product {that shall remain nameless} that I recently used left my oily pans still very, very oily. Yuck. Green Works? Never had a problem. Plus it stays bubbly.
3. It’s plant derived and lists ingredients. If I’m using a non-homemade cleaner, I want to know what’s in it. Especially if it’s possible that residue could be left and it’s ingested. Plus it uses essential oils that make it smell really, really good. Oh, and it’s stays bubbly {clearly, I like bubbly soap}.
Because I love Green Works so much, I thought I’d do a giveaway!
Here’s how you enter:
1. Leave a comment.
2. Blog about it, linking back to this post (then leave me a comment letting me know you did).
3. Facebook or Tweet it (then leave me a comment letting me know you did).
4. Refer a friend who leaves a comment.
Even my UK and other international friends can enter.
You have until Sunday, July 31 at 11:59PM CST to enter!
You can get up to 4 entries to increase your chances of winning! Good luck!
*I have received no money or endorsements from Green Works for this giveaway, I just really love their product and want to share!
- In: Life
- 10 Comments
I really, really love television. I’m a little concerned that you can’t say that and be a Christian. But nevertheless it’s true. There is something nice in ending a long, hard day with mindless tv {like “I didn’t know I was pregnant” – seriously, how can you not know?!}
But I think what I love more than having television is not having television. We just got cable last night for the first time in over a year*. The last time we had cable, we got it while my brother lived with us – as a way to make our home a place where he would invite friends over and watch football games. We had it for about 9 months. Until that point, we’d been without it for 2.5 years.
Sounds strange to go so long without cable. Especially for a self declared telephilia like me. But what I love about being without cable is that it makes you not need cable. I’ve been content the last year without it; was content the 2.5 years before that. And now that it’s installed and at my finger tips? I have no overwhelming desire to watch it. Don’t get me wrong, I will watch it {after all I hear there’s a You’ve Got Mail marathon on WE}, but I don’t feel some attachment to it like I did years ago. Not having cable has shown me I don’t need cable and quite frankly has made me love it all the more because it’s become a treat and not a necessity.
*If you’re wondering why we got cable; Jonathan’s grandmother is moving in with us soon and enjoys her “shows”. I have a post all about the family change coming soon{ish}.
For more TILT visit Jill at Diaper Diaries.
The night we ran out of diapers
Posted on: July 1, 2010
- In: Life
- 6 Comments
Because of some mama laziness forgetfulness, we didn’t have any disposable diapers for Hannah on Tuesday night. See, we’ve never done cloth over night with the girls, only disposables. Originally, with Julia we didn’t want anything else {wet cloth diaper} contributing her already bad sleeping habits. And with Hannah, well it’s just easier. That is, until you forget to buy diapers.
Which is why I love cloth diapers. No matter what, I always have them. I can reuse them. They go through multiple children. And depending on what style you get, they last the same child for their whole diapering life. Not to mention, they are really cute. You’d be surprised at how many people compliment us on Hannah’s wraps.
Especially the cow prints {which happen to be my favorite}.
We made it through Tuesday night without issue. And again Wednesday night. I still haven’t gotten disposables. I’m getting hooked on using cloth overnight and not planning to turn back any time soon. Eek!
For more TILT, visit Jill at Diaper Diaries.
Summer dresses and life is good
Posted on: June 24, 2010
- In: Life
- 9 Comments
{Be sure to enter my Darcy Mystery book giveaway!}
Despite being a Southern girl, spending most summers in West Texas and the rest in sweltering Tennessee humidity, I am not well adjusted to heat. And the whole “Southern women don’t sweat, they glisten” is a far cry from the truth. The fact that I love jeans and t-shirts does not help my fight against the heat – so what’s a gal to do?
Dresses. Nothing beats a good cotton summer dress.
{Notice the awesome heels?}
I love nice, simple, cotton dresses for so many reasons. They are easy keep-up {hello machine washable!}; they are relaxed but can be jazzed up with a few accessories; they are normally inexpensive, so I don’t feel all that bad if one succumbs to the “dangers” of mamahood. For a little less than $25, I’ve managed to collect a week’s worth of dresses to wear this summer.
For more TILT visit Jill at Diaper Diaries.
- In: Life
- 8 Comments
I love painted toenails. And when it comes to painted toenails on little girls, heart be still. However, getting my 2 yo and almost-1 yo to hold still long enough while the polish dries is impossible. Inevitably, the polish ends up smeared, rubbed off or all over my bathroom counter. Then I found a solution: 60 second quick dry polish.
You gotta love a product that makes these cuties look even cuter!
H's toes
J's toes
Hello Summer and cute baby toes!
For more Things I Love Thursday, check out Jill at Diaper Diaries.
Let’s go on a Picnik
Posted on: May 27, 2010
- In: Life
- 4 Comments
{Be sure to check back tomorrow for my first ever giveaway!}
A few months ago, Jonathan introduced me to Picnik, a photo editing site. It’s completely free and easy to use! It’s owned by Google {which really is trying to take over the world}, so it’s earned lots of cool brownie points in my book. I love it and thought I’d share my love with you!
Here’s just a few fun things you can do:
Take an ordinary photo –
And add something fun. Play with the color, add text, graphics or just about anything!
You might have to click on the image to see that the heart reads “JMW & SEW 4-eva”. Yeah, that’s right, I’m kicking it old school.
Next time you want to add an image to your blog, check out Picnik and add a little spice to your photo!
Go visit Jill at The Diaper Diaries for more Things I Love Thursday!
A Wife Loved Like The Church 
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