And The Winner Is.....................

Well, I don't know how to get it to save but the number was 4...

What I did was took the number of comments I had and inserted 1 as the Min. # and 11 as the Max. # Pressed Generate and viola!

So, congratulations Kelly Evans!!!!!!

You've won a...

$15 gift certificate to
HomeGoods!

Yay! Be on the lookout for it in your mailbox!

Enjoy girl! Love you!

A great big THANK YOU to all who participated. It was lots of fun!

XO,
Jennifer

I Purchased the Prize!

OK, so I didn't get to HomeGoods yesterday and thank God that I didn't because I did go today and hello...if it was anything like it was today, I may not have been able to squeeze down the aisles. Sheesh it was crowded. But...so worth it. Oh my. Can I just tell you again how much I heart HomeGoods? My heart goes pitter patter and angels sing, mmmmm k? It's THAT kinda store for me. I can ALMOST compare it to...the O word...you know...O...O...O...O. Think Office Space here people. If you have any idea what I'm talking about, bless you. Oh man...is it ever THAT good. WOW. I want you to have that same "O" experience and soooooooo...rather than purchasing something that the winner may or may not like, I decided on a gift card - $15 to be exact. I know it's not a huge amount but I know for darn sure, you can get something super cute for that @ HomeGoods. Also, it made more sense to do a gift card should the winner happen to not live near me and I'd need to ship it. Gotta always be thinkin' girls! ;)

So...if you are interested in a $15 GC for HomeGoods, please see my blog post from June 6th and be sure to leave a drawing entry comment. Only those who leave a comment on my blog or my Facebook account (under the blog post link) will be considered for the random drawing. The deadline is by midnight Wednesday, June 8th so please be mindful of that if you're interested! I will announce the winner on Thursday, June 9th.

Thank you and GOOD LUCK!

XO,
Jennifer

How Does My Garden Grow AND 100th Post Giveaway Instructions

...my garden patch = success!

Okay, so it's not really a "patch" per se...but rather more like a garden via pots sitting on a baker's rack on my deck. In my mind though, it's still success. :)

I've been wanting a container garden for as long as I can remember but when I visited my cousin, Kelly and her boyfriend Steve in Arizona, I got inspired to just do it already!

This past Friday, I made my someday dream a reality and purchased some herbs and veggies...finally! Potted them last night and here it is...my very first ever container garden...

I'm starting out with the basics...

Parsley...Sage...Rosemary and Thyme...

The thyme is located in the front left - chives and basil are also included in this pot

I also got THIS basil plant...which smells DIVINE - actually all of the herbs smell DIVINE which is part of why I love them and am becoming a huge advocate for FRESH herbs


Okay so that's it for herbs...now let's move on to veggies

I got a couple of tomato plants...

This one already has 2 tomatoes on it!

As you can see, I even got a cage for it - can I tell you that I am a COMPLETE DORK and haven't felt such elation at purchasing an item in a long time as that silly tomato cage.

This is a smaller tomato variety - kind of shaped like a Roma tomato - her name is Juliet. HAHA - I just realized something ROMA-EO and Juliet. K, now this has become my favorite plant 'cuz I totally love that. My wish is that thou dost produce a vast amount of fruit...


Here are my Larry the Cucumbers

And I'm gonna call these guys Sergeant and Mrs. Pepper


I can't tell you how much joy potting these plants gave me last night...and to somehow put my joy into display, my neighbors literally set off awesome fireworks at the very moment I watered my last pot. Ha! :)

I'm hoping that my new veggies and herbs do well...I'm working on making my thumb a little greener...

My pansies which I've had for a couple of months are still doing remarkably well in the heat...


A couple of other things of note since I don't quite feel like coming to a close just yet...

I got this cool little lantern thingy at a yard sale last weekend...

It's kind of a lot of glass for a tea-ny (Oh, I am cracking myself up today) tea light so I may switch it out with a votive. The tea light came with it so...whatev's.

Also, check out this little rooster I got at a yard sale for $2 last weekend...


Super cute, right? I'm strangely attracted to roosters at the moment. Like I have some kind of rooster radar or something...oooh, I like how that sounds..."Rooster Radar". Told you - COMPLETE DORK.

Um...in other news...I rearranged my living room furniture...again...

It feels a lot more intimate...wish that I could do something about the darkness of it all though...when I walk into the room, it automatically makes me feel HOT...and not like "Oooooooh, Salvatore brothers hot"...(lol - had to throw that in there)...like "Ugh, I'm stifling, get this wool blanket off me in the 100 degree weather hot". Any good thoughts on how to lighten things up while keep the same color scheme?

OH! I almost forgot...I picked these babies out of my neighbors trash the other day...


I broke out into a nervous sweat and gawked around like I was guilty of a major felony before I carried them across the street but hey...what really matters is that I got them. I also bribed my 5 year old son to come with me...I don't know why...for protection?! lol

I took 3 at first...not wanting to be too greedy...if someone who trash picks could even be considered something as posh as "greedy"...ew, rats are coming to mind now. Gross.

Anyhow, I decided to go back for the 3 remaining shutters (this time, Nicolas could not be bribed so I had to brave it alone). I prayed that no one saw me and I know this is WAY LAME - but remember, this is coming from someone that USED TO want to literally wear sunglasses and a hat into Wal*Mart so that no one would think that I shopped there. And no, I don't know why. It's not like I grew up Miss Megabucks or anything. I'm a whackjob...there I said it so you don't have to. ;)

So...now I have...

6 metal shutters and I know exactly what I am going to do with them...or at least most of them...not sure exactly how many I'll need for my project.

But tell me...

This is going to be your entry comment for my 100th post giveaway.

Put your creative thinking cap on and tell me in a comment...what would you do with them? Also, please feel free to tell me if you "shop at the curb" (I just made that up and am seriously cracking up in my mind about it) and what was your most favorite trash to treasure creation that you've done.

K? K.

Everyone who comments (And sorry...but entries of "I would never trash pick, how disgusting!" will not be valid - if I can do it, you can do it. lol) will be entered in my 100th post giveaway drawing. Prize still to be determined as I did not get to HomeGoods today.

Can't wait to see what you guys come up with!

XO,
Jennifer

100th Post Giveaway

OKAY so...my very first giveaway is approaching...I've reached my 100th post and as promised, I am going to be hosting a giveaway here on my blog. Honestly, I don't have my prize picked out yet but I can tell you where it's going to be from - HomeGoods!!! There is a brand new store opening in my area TOMORROW! Yay! I've been waiting for it to open so that I could pick out a little something special for my "little something specials" who read my blog. :) It's just a gift from me to you to say THANK YOU for all of your support these last 100 posts. I'm also trying to think of something for you to link up in the comment section. Hang on for that... I'm going to try to get out to the new HomeGoods tomorrow and christen it with my presence in Grand Opening day! (Can't tell you just how very excited I am!) In the meantime, I'm gonna try to gather my thoughts together as to how I want this to play out. I know for sure that I am only going to have one winner - if I could get you all something, I totally would but #1, that'd be a little steep budget wise and #2, competition is so much more fun! Though actually, it'll be a random drawing so I guess it's not much of a competition. In any case, I wanted to take a minute to throw this out there as a reminder to be checking back in here this week. I'm going to TRY for tomorrow evening or Monday but if you haven't caught on by now, my intentions and the actual outcomes are sometimes a leeeeeetle off. Sorry about that! Wish I had a good excuse for ya! Sooooo...wish me luck on my super fun shopping jaunt tomorrow and I'll be back soon with some exciting news! :) Have a great rest of your weekend girls!

XO,
Jennifer

FYI: something to look for in the future

I only have 20 more posts (actually, 19 if you count this one) before I reach my 100th BLOG POST!!! On that blessed occasion, I plan on doing a giveaway so be on the lookout...it's hard to believe that I am already @ 80! :)

How exciting!

XO,

I WON I WON I WON!

I never win anything so when my friend and fellow blogger, Megan, told me that I won her blog giveaway, I was ecstatic!

Her husband is a freelance artist and the "prize" was a framed hand-painted monogram of my choice.

Monogram you say? YAY! I sooooo heart monograms. :)

She so graciously stopped by my home this morning to drop it off and here it is!

(Drumroll please...)

Isn't it soooo pretty?! I love it. THANK YOU MEGAN! (and hubby) :)

XO,