Birthday Giveaway #3-Willow House Kensington Platter and Stand

Here are the rules to win the Willow House Kensington Platter and Stand:

1) Go to Callie's brand new Willow House website.
2) Pick your favorite item and come back here and post what is is in the comment section.
If you want, you can try for additional entries (and please remember to post each of these in a SEPARATE comment or the random number generator won't count it):

1) Become a follower of my blog or let me know you are already a follower in a separate comment.
2) Blog about this contest or add it to your sidebar and let me know you did in a separate comment.
3) Become a fan of WillowHouse Mom on facebook. Let me know you became their follower in a separate comment.
4) Tweet about this contest to @MrsMMMBlogger and @Callie_Parker and let me know you did so in a separate comment. We would love for you to follow us too!
5)  Become a follower of the Willow House Mom blog or let me know you already are in a separate comment.

That is a potential for FIVE additional entries!! Good luck ladies! The random number generator will pick a winner on Thursday, August 19th so you have two weeks to enter this one, the online party will also remain open the entire two weeks!

Don't forget to sign up for Birthday Giveaway #1-Donovan Designs Monogrammed Vase Wrap from Prim and Paper and Birthday Giveaway #2-$25.00 to Doodle Bugs Paper. I will draw winners for those Birthday giveaways early next week. There are lots more giveaways to come to celebrate my Birthday Month so please keep checking in! I hope you ALL will win!

If you want to place an order with Willow House through Callie's website, I'm hosting an online party in addition to the giveaway for the next two weeks.

Here are a few of my favorite things:

Here is what you do to order:

1) Go to the site: Willow House with Callie

2) Click on: Shop Online

3) You can either choose to Browse the Catalog or Shop Online

4) When you Shop Online, you will choose the item (or items) that you would like, one at a time, and add them to your cart.

5) When you are finished, hit Finalize and Submit Order

6) You will be prompted to find a hostess, that's me, Mrs. MMM!

7) You will enter your information and hit submit.

8) Once you press "Submit," you will be brought back to the Shop Online page, don't worry! Your order went through if you pressed submit. However, Callie will then have to contact you to get your payment information. If this is just too confusing, email me Callie at willowhousemom@gmail.com to send her your order!

Also, don't forget, when you purchase something $39.96 and over, you automatically qualify for 50% off ANY item $40 and under. When you qualify, add this item to your order as well, and Callie will make sure it goes in with the correct price!

Beach Book aka Pink Book Recomendations?

A and I are heading to Mexico on Saturday! Wow! Baby J and I leave on Wednesday to head to my parent's in Alabama. I will meet A in Atlanta on Saturday to fly to Mexico with him. Sweet Baby J will stay with my Mom and Dad for FIVE nights. I have only left him once for one night his entire life, so I'm a nervous wreck. I know he'll be fine with my parents and I know, even more, that my sweet husband and I need some time "off" for rest and relaxation. I have to admit 5 mornings of sleeping in are sounding pretty appealing right now.

I haven't read a book (besides ones that are child related) really since before J was born and I need some good pink books. Pink books are what my friend Sarah calls, good and easy beach reads because most of them are pink! I love it! So what are your recomendations? I can't wait to hear them.

I also mentioned in the previous post that I need some drink recomendations. Mama can't wait to celebrate on the beach! What's your favorite beach drink?

Tuesday Tidbits

Yuck! A rainy day here in the city! J and I went to his gym class this afternoon. He did great holding on to the rings and it wore him out enough where he actually took TWO naps! I've had Baby J on a 2 nap a day schedule since he was very little (he sleeps 7pm-7am and then would nap at 9:30am and 2:30pm, each nap lasting 1-3 hours, but averaging about 1.5 hours each.) However, since he has been sick I think he is trying to drop a nap. He is 14 months and I'm not ready! Any tips and/or suggestions to make it through this transition period are much appreciated. I am so used to being able to schedule my day and now it is just a mess because he is so off schedule! What's a type A Mom to do?

This past weekend we had lots of city adventures. On Saturday, we went to the Peanut Butter & Co. It's been on my list of restaurant in the city to try (there are so many of them)! Check out the pic of their menu. It is a tiny little restaurant, but we were able to grab a seat and they even had a highchair for the little one. I had the Elvis (peanut butter, honey and banana grilled) and A had the Peanut Butter BLT! Crazy huh? Baby J was recently cleared by his doc to have peanut butter, so he had the lunchbox special (a classic pbj). He LOVED it! It was so much fun. If you are a peanut butter lover, I highly recommend checking this spot out! You can even buy their peanut butter on their website, or here, here, here, here or here. They even a cookbook! We followed our lunch up with a walk in Soho and met a good friend from home for drinks. Then we headed over to Cozy's Kids for a much needed haircut for the little guy. He was getting a little bit of a mullet. =)

On Sunday we decided to do another "New York" thing. We took the subway downtown and walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. I had done it once before, but the weather was perfect and J and A were first timers. We headed down under the bridge to grab a famous Grimaldi's pizza. It was quite delicious, but my favorite pizza in the city is still Lombardi's, followed closely by Totonno's and my local spot Roma. Such a fun weekend with my boys!

I went ahead and ordered J a few things for his Easter basket. I bought him this Chirpy Chick Roger Priddy book to add to his funny faces collection, this bunny finger puppet book , these quacky cups for the bath (he loves to stack right now), and this cute little egg set. What are you putting in your little ones Easter basket?

Question for y'all. So J is 24 lbs and 9 ounces and is 14 months old. He can wear some 12 month clothing, but mostly we are wearing 18 month clothing, even though they are a little long. I'm guessing this spring and summer he'll be in 18 month for most of the time. He's been in 12 month since well before Christmas and he really hasn't grown much since he started walking. What size would you guess he'll be in for fall clothes? After 18 is 24, but when will he hit that? That's a HUGE jump! I've found a few cute options, but I'm scared to buy. Also, can someone please explain the difference btwn 24 months, 1T, 2T, 3T. I think I get it, but really I need some good explanations as to when my child will be wearing each size. =)

A friend sent me this article about being Southern in the City, if you are from the South and live here...you have to read it!

Have you entered my stationery giveaway? Click here to learn more about Take Note! Designs and The Paper Cafe and to enter the giveaway. For those of you that have already entered, The Paper Cafe is also offering MMM readers a 15% off discount on your order at the end of the giveaway, stay tuned to find out the special code. Although, you may want to wait until Friday to see if you are the lucky winner of a $50.00 gift certificate for Take Note! Designs products from The Paper Cafe. Click here to enter now, be sure to follow the rules!

Here are a few more of my favorites:

Birthday Giveaway #3-Reflection of a Mississippi Magnolia Book

Baby J is sleeping and I spent the most wonderful evening reading Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia, A Life in Poems from cover to cover. It's a short read, 0nly 87 pages long, but it is full of life. The hum of the city was in my immediate background, but author Patricia Neely-Dorsey transported me back home to the South for just a bit. I could almost hear the crickets and feel the balmy Southern heat as I read poem after poem about my beloved South. Thanks to the internet and a shared love for Magnolias, Patricia found my blog and asked me to check out her first book, a book of poems about her life in the South (Mississippi in particular).

Her poem, "The Rules", is a poem about the rules that every Southern child is taught. I look forward to teaching Baby J his Southern manners. Yes Ma'am, no Ma'am. No thank you, Sir and always say good morning, just to name a few.

There were also a lot of Patricia's poems that shared her stories of a childhood in the country. I loved "Country Doctor," written about her experiences going on house calls with her Dad who sometimes would only be paid with a slab of bacon.

"Boston/Language Barrier," made me laugh out loud as she wrote about her experience going to college and finding that everyone used "different" words. And, "Too Cold For Comfort" spoke straight to my heart being a Southern transplant in a chilly Northern city. I loved all of her poems about the country and country living. Every mention of biscuits made my mouth water as I contemplated hopping on the 6 train to Harlem to search out the nearest soul food restaurant.

There are also more serious poems, such as "Right to Vote," which is about the stories her parents told her about obtaining their right to vote. And, if you are from Mississippi, there is a whole selection of poems just for you! As a Southern girl born and bred, this book of poems was a delightful read. It provided glimpses of the South I know and love and windows into a part of the South I've only heard about.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Patricia's book of poems and I suggest you pick it up. It's available at Amazon for $15.00.

In honor of my birthday month, Patricia so graciously offered to give one copy of her book of poems to a Magnolias, Marriage and Manhattan reader. She even signed it for you!

RULES:

1) All you have to do is leave a one word comment here with something that you love about the South.

FOR ADDITIONAL ENTRIES (each entry should be a separate comment on this post):

1) Post this contest on your blog and leave a comment letting me know you did so
2) Send a tweet out about this contest and leave a comment letting me know you did so
3) Become a Follower or let me know you are already a follower in a separate comment
4) Follow me on Twitter or let me know you are following me on Twitter in a separate comment

For a teaser, here is one of my very favorite poems:

SOUTHERN LIFE

If you want a glimpse of Southern life,

Come close and walk with me;

I'll tell you all the simple things,

That you are sure to see.

You'll see mockingbirds and bumblebees,

Magnolia blossoms and dogwood trees,

Caterpillars on the step,

Wooden porches cleanly swept;

Watermelons on the vine,

Strong majestic Georgia pines;

Rocking chairs and front yard swings,

Junebugs flying on a string;

Turnip greens and hot cornbread,

Coleslaw and barbecue;

Fried okra, fried corn, fried green tomatoes,

Fried pies and pickles too.

There's ice cold tea that's syrupy sweet,

And cool, green grass beneath your feet;

Catfish nipping in the lake,

And fresh young boys on the make.

You'll see all these things

And much, much more,

In a way of life that I adore.

Copyright 2008 Patricia Neely-Dorsey

from Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia-A Life In Poems

Gallery Leather Co, Inc

I am on the lookout for the 2008 version of my planner by Gallery Leather Co, Inc. It looks like this , but I have a pink one. As the new year is quickly approaching I have got to buy the new one. Do any of you that have stores carry this calendar? I've looked everywhere!

Kodak Gallery Photo Book Discount

Hi friends! To everyone that just got married, this is a great deal right now. Use coupon code JUSTFORYOU and get 30% off on Kodak Gallery photo books. I worked on my 80 page Legacy book all day yesterday and am going to order it today!

Home At Sea

My Mom and I picked out these fun things for their new beach house while I was at home. I showed her the website Home At Sea and we ordered the cute turtle dish towels, the fish mat, and a really cute guest book. Her theme is blue crabs and the entire house is in different shades of blue so I'm enjoying helping pick out all the fun things you can put in a beach house. I love this type of stuff, it puts in the mood for summer! Which gets me thinking about Jimmy Buffett. My finace and brother and I will be buying tickets for his Atlanta show tomorrow morning! The joy of not having a job...I'll be able to go to a Wednesday night concert in Atlanta! I can't wait! I love some Jimmy B!

I Love Billy

I love Billy Joel. I have regular Billy Joel sing-a-longs in my car on long drives. I saw Moving Out on Broadway and it just increased my love for Billy. It has been a long time dream of mine to see him in concert and this week that dream is coming true, my little sister and I are going to see him in concert. I recently received an email with a sample of his newest song that he wrote for his new wife, Katie Lee, on their first anniversary. It is a really sweet song and thought I would share it with you. This is Billy's first new single in over 13 years! Enjoy!
http://www.people.com/people/static/h/package/billyjoel/

For Your Listening Pleasure

I've been spending a lot of time in the car lately thanks to two weekends at my parent's home for Mardis Gras. This weekend I head to see my fiance (he's in grad school about 2 1/2 hours away) and next weekend I head back home for one of my best friend's weddings. So, I decided I deserved some good ole trashy chic lit. I downloaded the Debutant Divorcee, loaded it on my ipod and I was there before I knew it! I have also listened to all the above books on audio book in the last 6 months. If you haven't tried listening to books it is great. I'll share some of my others after I finish them. Happy listening and let me know if there is a great book you have read lately that I need to add to my ipod!