A Winner & 5 blogs to be featured until next drawing!

First of all I have to say thank you to all of you who took the time to leave me a comment! Thank you to all of you bloggers who tweeted and posted about my giveaway!! I really loved hearing how blogging has had an impact on you! This post was really rewarding for me. I felt like I got to know a little something about each one of you! I think I have discovered I have so many soul sisters!! Which I am so excited about! I thought I might get 50 entries, because I got about 50 comments on my Anthro clearance post. Was I ever wrong. I am glad to see I am not alone~apparently you all love Anthropolgie as well! I had gotten emails from so many of you saying you couldn't get the entire set. So I thought I should give you a chance to get the entire set. I printed out every comment. Assigned a number to your name. Then put that number on a tag in a basket for as many times as you were eligible for. I am keeping them in a mason jar as a souvenir~my first giveaway! Okay so now it is time to announce the ~winner~

It is Hana from Hana Lynch Photography

I would like to share with you what Hana said about blogging!

I started blogging as a way to keep connected and up to date with a bunch of my local friends. We all have kids and sometimes we just can't seem to get together. Blogging was a way for us to stay connected and up to date on our families. It has become so much more than that now. I have actually made connections and real friendships w/ people thousands of miles away. The community is incredible. I bought my first dSLR camera last year and now my blog also serves as a way to showcase my work and my passion. When I receive a friendly comment it just completely makes my day. I'm sure you have discovered the same thing! It really is a great feeling to know that someone cares about what I am writing or photographing. As a stay at home mom who often finds herself stuck at home with children 24/7 its great to know that I can connect with other women who are doing the same thing that I am.

I really hope you take the time to go and visit Hana's blog, because she has some serious photographing talent!!!!!!! I was blown away when I went and checked out her blog!

Because I got so many entries I decided to do something else that might be kind of fun. I decided to draw four more names out of the basket~If I drew a name that didn't have a blog, then I chose one until I found one that had a blog. These 4 blogs + the winner of the drawing will be featured on my blog until I hold another drawing!

The only reason I have friends (I like to refer to you as my friends~hope you don't mind) is because so many wonderful bloggers either posted about me or so kindly put me in their blog roll. I wouldn't have any friends if it wasn't for all of you who shared a link to my blog. Thank You!

So I want to do something fun for all of my readers and help YOU get discovered. I will be holding another drawing at the end of March. If you enter the drawing you will be eligible to have your blog featured on my blog. Right now the winners' blogs are featured in a section right above where you can follow me.

The four blogs that were picked to be featured until the next drawing (along with Hana's )

~are~

(along with a caption of what blogging means to them)

Punkin and Peanut

When I started my blog, it was mainly to chronicle stories, photos, etc. of my twin boys. Since then, I have found (stalked) so many wonderful blogs it's ridiculous! Inspiration is addicting! :)

Family Blommendahl

She has a very sweet blog please check it out!

Junk Love Cottage

i am also new to the world of blogging but i love it so far! it's so inspiring!

The Vintage Wren

I have to say, that I am also new to the blogging world, and it sounds like we signed on at about the same time. I am just loving IT. It has also been a great blessing in my life, especially as a stay at home mom. I am making great new friends, and it's so exciting to read other mom's blogs, and know that we are all trying to achieve the same things.

I have to say thank you to all of you for participating in this! I really appreciate it. It was so much fun & I can't wait to do another one! I loved hearing from all of you. I appreciate every comment!!!!! You guys are the BEST! I am coming down with the flu, and I had a lot more planned for this post, but am a little under the weather and will have to save it for my next post!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and remember anything highlighted in pink takes you to a dreamy place! Be careful because it is easy to get lost!

I want to say thank you to Julie from Jam n Jilly for the beautiful platter I won from a giveaway from her blog! I love it. She has a really cute blog as well! I never win anything & won 2 giveaways already. I must say I am loving the world of blogging!!!!

One more thing~ Miss Mustard Seed at Mustard Seed Creations is having a 1000 follower giveaway! Congratulations Miss Mustard Seed ! I don't want you to miss out! This is what she is doing~

The giveaway is for a hand painted "antique grain sack" custom made just for the winner. You can show her a picture of one you would like her to use for inspiration or have her create one for you using a significant name, date, and place. It can be as simple or complicated as you want, she just has to be able to see and read the inspiration feed sack clearly. The paint can also be in any color(s) you choose. The fabric she uses is a natural cotton fabric with a nubby texture and is machine washable, even after being painted. She'll leave the fabric edges raw for you to frame, make a pillow, or even upholster a chair.

Wow how nice is that, I have already signed up!

Please be sure and click here to enter her giveaway!

Miss Mustard Seed 1000 follower giveaway!

Thank you for making me smile, I have a special giveaway for one of my lucky readers

It has been a little over a month now since I started blogging. It has been an amazing experience. I can't tell you how blessed I feel to be a part of this amazing blogging community. I am so grateful for how you have all treated me. I have felt like you have all welcomed me with open arms into your blogging community. It is funny how things happen.

I think about how I came across Lori's blog (that I Love) 6 weeks ago, and because of Lori, I have discovered the world of blogging. Thank you Lori for giving me the confidence to start blogging. I wouldn't have ever done this if it hadn't been for YOU. Which by the way Lori has a great farmhouse stool giveaway, so be sure and check out her blog, Frugal Farmhouse Design for that!

I can't believe the women I have had the opportunity to come into contact with because of blogging. You are the most talented and gracious group of women I have ever met. To think only a month ago I had no idea this even existed. I thought only people like Martha Stewart had blogs. I can't believe how many women are stay at home moms like me and have a blog. I have to admit sometimes it is a little intimidating to blog after visiting some of my favorite blogs. I am so amazed at so many of your talents. And do I wish I could take pictures like Mimi Charmante, (and have her kitchen) or write like Flower Patch Farmgirl (who also takes amazing photos & makes me laugh). Or there is this blog that I most recently discovered (thanks to Morning T) ...Lola B's, that got me in trouble with my husband because he thinks I am following Paul Walker's blog. This girl has such a fun and amazing blog!

I would like to thank all of you for what you have done for me this past month! Blogging has been a life changing experience for me. You have all touched my heart. You truly do make me smile!

So to thank you I would like to giveaway a set of spice jars from Anthropologie, to one of my lucky readers. All you have to do is leave me a comment letting me know that you want to be entered into the drawing (You don't have to have your own blog to enter). Also if you wouldn't mind sharing (if it has) how blogging has had an impact on your own life. Let me know if you are a follower and I will put your name in twice, and if you post about my giveaway I will put your name in the drawing again as well.

I thought I would share another way to use these other than for spice jars.

Yes, those are camellias, sorry. I did receive a lot of requests to use camellias again. I think peonies would be a better choice, but they aren't in season. I can't wait for them to come into season. I am sure I will overuse those as well.

I think this would look great as a display at a wedding!

The numbers on the spice jars that will be included in the giveaway are 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, there will be one of each!

It is only the spice jars that are in the giveaway.

I will throw in an extra #1 spice jar so you can have your jars read 1~10 if you would like

There will be a total of 11 jars in the giveaway!

Entries will close February 26th at 9:00 p.m. pacific standard time. I will announce the winner Saturday the 27th.

I want to say THANK YOU to the most recent bloggers who have linked their readers to my blog, you are so kind!

Thank you Federica from Sweet as a Candy. If you haven't been to her beautiful blog yet, you should check her blog out. She is from Italy and is the sweetest person (& beautiful). Not only do I love her blog, but I enjoy her friendship.

Thank you Morning T, for sharing a link to my blog with your readers. Your blog is so much fun, and you are very talented. I have also found some great blogs (like ..Lola B's) through your blog! Thank You!

Thank you Tina from Rubie's Place. Tina is from Australia and has such a cute house! I love Tina's kitchen redo. Tina is such a sweet person! She has a fun blog and is very talented!

I also want to say THANK YOU to Anne Reagan from the Apartment Therapy for including a link to my blog on one of your posts! I feel so honored! I just checked my email before publishing this, and was quite surprised and excited to see an email from Anne Reagan! Thanks Anne you have really made my weekend! To be honest I can't believe you read my blog! I am really honored!!!!!!

I hope you all have a great weekend! I hope you have a chance to check out all these inspiring blogs. You won't be sorry you took the time to do so! I know that I get so excited when I find a new inspiring blog and I don't want YOU to miss out! Everything that is highlighted in pink will take you somewhere fabulous and fun!

Don't forget to leave a comment if you want to be included on the giveaway drawing, and also if you wouldn't mind sharing how blogging has impacted your life! I would love to hear your story! Don't forget to check out Lori's giveaway, (Frugal Farmhouse Design giveaway)!

Please take a minute to visit Chania from Razmataz. She has a new blog also, and is an interior designer. She was nice enough to want to do an interview with me. You can find a little more about me & Chania if you head over for a visit. Thanks Chania!

Take Care,

Maria

My sister's wedding day

She's a nurse

He's a pilot

When Liz and Adam got married they were able to pull off a beautiful wedding on a very small budget. She was on her last year of nursing school, and he had just gotten a pilot job flying commercially. Paying for all that schooling didn't leave a lot of money for an extravagant wedding. I think my sister did a fabulous job putting together her wedding on such a small budget. I would like to share a few pictures with you. Be warned actually a lot of pictures.

My sister loves peonies. However they are very expensive. She decided to have peonies only for her bouquet and our bouquets (the bridesmaids) She ordered peonies from a grower and had them shipped to her. We put the bouquets together the night before the wedding. We got home from the rehearsal dinner and we didn't have any electricity for some strange reason! (We grew up on Camas Prairie which is in the middle of nowhere in Montana. 45 minutes from the nearest Walmart.) We were in the basement of my Mom and Dad's house trying to put bouquets together in candle light. Finally at around 2:00 a.m. it came back on. The bride ended up sleeping in a chair that night. Wouldn't recommend putting your own bouquets together. However it did save her a lot of money. She ordered the gerber daisies and ranunculus from Costco.

My sister, Monica made the ring bearer pillow out of vintage fabric.

Adam bought her ring at Costco!

My sister Thomasina helping Liz

My sister let all of us pick our own dress styles, they just had to be black. These are the bouquets that were made by candle light in the middle of the night. (My sister Thomasina is the blonde directly behind Liz)

I think one of the smartest things my sister did was choosing to have her reception at this beautiful mansion. She was able to rent the grounds for the entire day for $250.00 (price since 2007 has gone up). It is called The Conrad Mansion. It is located in Kalispell, Montana.

There are paths of flowerbeds throughout the entire grounds. They saved so much money by renting an inexpensive place that had the perfect backdrop.

Liz's hair looked so pretty. I love the peony she added to the back of her hair.

Adam taking a picture of his new bride dancing with her dad!

You can see some glimpses of the mansion in the background of my Dad and Liz dancing.

Liz's friend was supposed to make the cake and had to cancel last minute. She then ended up having to order it from a grocery store bakery. We added fresh daisies to the top and around the base.

Liz used this picture for their thank you cards. She had it printed out on card stock and sent it as a postcard thanking their guests. I loved this idea it was so cute.

You can kind of see the tent in the background of this photo. We strung tulle from the tent. It was over a 100 degrees that day.

We hung pom-poms from the ceiling of the tent. There are those pom-poms again. Click on this link if you want to know how to make these! Martha Stewart Pom-poms!

Vases were filled with gerber daisies from Costco and set on tables covered in white table cloths.

This handsome cowboy did all the barbecuing for my sister. ( this is my cowboy) He barbecued chicken and tri-tip. (California Style)

We had roasted potatoes and green salad. Along with some french bread.

My sisters made these cute shortbread cookies for favors for the guests. They were stamped with a stamp from Michaels. These were a real hit with the kids and adults. I am trying to find this recipe to put a link to it. It was from Martha Stewart Weddings. When I do I will put a link to it here. They were so good.

Drinks were set out in these galvanized buckets filled with ice.

My mom and sister, Monica

A picture of an entry way into the Conrad Mansion.

I love this picture of my sister walking with her friends along this old rock wall at the mansion.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures of my sister's wedding. Liz provided me with these beautiful pictures. Thank you Liz for letting me share your special day with all of these special women. I hope you don't mind how many I shared with all of you. I wanted you to see how pretty her wedding was without having to spend a fortune. I really wanted to share it on Valentine's Day, but I couldn't get it done on time. I love weddings, and hope to someday go into designing for weddings. I dream of renting out my chandeliers to help a bride create a beautiful atmosphere. I am always inspired by wedding magazines, and love incorporating ideas from those magazines into my own home.

Thanks again for all of your sweet comments! I was so excited to share the anthro clearance with all of you, I am glad you were all just as excited as I was.

I also want to share my sister in law's new blog with all of you. Wendy just started a blog on building homes in Montana. They built their first home and are now selling it. She has 3 little girls and homeschools.

Please check out her new blog if you get a chance!

Dream Homes in Big Sky Country

Take Care,

Maria