Chicken Of The Sea Swag Bag Giveaway

Chicken of the Sea is doing a few fun summer Contest and Giveaways. Right now on their Facebook Page you have a chance to win 1 of 3 awesome prizes! 

* Grand prize is a 4 day, 3 night trip for four to a Disney Park

* Runner up will win $1,000 Cash

* second runner up will win $500 Cash

How do you enter to win one of these prizes? Go to Chicken of the Sea's Facebook page and submit a short essay of the funniest thing your kid has ever said or even a question they may have asked you! Your entry could win you won of the above prizes. Simple right? You have to hurry though because the contest submissions close on June 6th!! Starting June 7th at 9 a.m. PDT, get ready to tell all your friends to vote for your funny story once a day because the entries with the most votes will win! Voting ends June 28, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. PDT.

To help get the word out about this awesome contest Chicken of the Sea is offering a swag bag full of goodies to two lucky winners!!

* A Reusable Bag

* Dish Towel

* Oven Mitt

* Bag Clip

* Measuring Cups

* Keychain

* 3 varieties of seafood product

How to get your FREE Swag Bag full of goodies!!!!

Just leave a comment telling me something funny your kid(s) have said that cracked you up! Or if you can not think of anything at the moment head over to Chicken of the Sea's Facebook page and "like" them, then come back and leave me a comment. Simple!

Giveaway closes June 1st 2011 at 11:59 (EST) Winners will be chosen on June 2nd 2011 by Random.org and notified by email, a post will follow. Winner will have 48 hours to reply to my email otherwise a new winner will be picked.

Disclaimer:  I was provided with the above mentioned product free of charge for my review and to host this giveaway.  I received no monitory compensation. Any and all opinions expressed are mine and mine alone and are unbiased.

SMS May Day Giveaway Winner!!!!

CONGRATS to.....

#81 Pam of Just Me on winning my SMS May Day Giveaway!!!!!!

Thank you everyone for entering my giveaway and a BIG welcome to all our new followers!!! I am so excited to have you and will be stopping by all your blogs to say hello this coming week.

Be on the look out for a few more giveaways coming very soon! One from Chicken Of The Sea and another for the grand opening of my photography site S.Darmock Photography!

Sew Mama Sew May Day Giveaway!!!!

It's that time again..Sew Mama Sew's May Day Giveaway! This is my third year participating and I couldn't be more excited. Over the past few years I have met so many awesome crafty bloggers from all over the world thanks to the May Day Giveaway party and I know this year will be no different.

While I am looking forward to blog hopping, chatting it up and entering amazing crafty giveaways, I am also participating with a giveaway of my own!

Little Bears Tiered Medallion Burst Skirt 

with Embroidered Top

This is a 3 tiered skirt with a twist. The tiers have a rolled hem decorative touch and is gathered for a pretty ruffle look. Elastic waist band makes for a comfortable fit. 

This brand new knit top has been embroidered with a "flower burst" over the left chest which I think compliments the beautiful medallion in the skirt fabric.

Shirt Size 3-5

Skirt Length = 12.5"

Waist Measurements fits 19" - 24"


Made in the USA
Machine washable on with like colors
Tumble dry med-low
Fabrics are prewashed to avoid shrinkage




So how can you win this adorable outfit? Simple....just be or become a follower of this blog and leave a comment. That's it! No hoops to jump through, no 20 questions. I know there are so many awesome giveaways to enter and if your like me your time online is limited so I wanted to keep the entry simple.


Giveaway open to ALL! US, Canada and International...wahoo!


Giveaway closes May 25th @ 11:59pm (EST) Winner will be picked May 26th by Random.org and notified by email, a post will follow. Winner will have 48 hours to reply to my email otherwise a new winner will be picked.


Thank you for taking the time to stop by and I hope you have an amazing time at this years May Day Giveaway!

My Baby Clothes Boutique WINNER!

Winner winner, chicken dinner!


Congrats to #44 - Tiffany 


Thank you everyone for entering the giveaway, have a fabulous week!

Playing With Texture

Since we moved into our new home I haven't snapped many pictures. Too many boxes to unpack and not enough time to explore. So instead I decided to start exploring other processing techniques.....like texture. I am inspired by so many portrait blogs and sites I follow and really am intrigued at how it all works. 

However I can not at this time afford to buy the texture packages I have seen around from the pro's so I went on Google to find a few freebies I could just play with and see if I actually like the effects. In my search I came across a super fantastic blog called Lost & Taken. I was in awe and spent so much time yesterday after the girls went to bed just going through each one of Caleb's posts and looking at the textures he has made. I actually became a little giddy like a kid a Christmas.

The pictures of my girls were all processed using textures found on Lost & Taken. They are still a little ruff, today was actually the first time I have tried textures but I am so excited by the future possibilities. A huge thank you to Caleb and his inspiring textures and an even bigger thank you for making them free for everyone to become inspired by and enjoy.

My Baby Clothes Boutique Review and Giveaway

As you know I have two girls and they both are really coming into their own personal styles. My youngest M whom I thought was going to be more the tomboy type has done a 360 on me and is really into the frilly, twirly dresses and skirts, carrying around her own lip gloss and wearing jewelry.

The only problem with having two fashionista girls sometimes is the price. I would love to buy them the big fluffy skirts and dresses but some shops and boutiques are so expensive. And yes, I could make them myself but with everything going on in my life my machines haven't seen the light of day in months. Plus If I can find a reasonably priced store for what I need, why not support other businesses.

I had the wonderful opportunity to work with My Baby Clothes Boutique. An online one stop shop for adorable designer clothing and accessories from newborn to toddlers, and the prices are fabulous!

"There is nothing more precious than a little baby girl or boy.  At MyBabyClothesBoutique.com we strive to bring you the most fashion forward and unique baby clothes on the web, all at a Guaranteed Lowest Price! 

Our team searches to find the cutest, most comfortable, and highest quality clothes and accessories available.  Our goal is to offer these unique and trendy boutique style clothes at affordable prices." 

 My Baby Clothes Boutique is an inviting website, very easy to navigate and so much fun to shop at. All the clothing is so sweet and the little models are adorable! Speaking of little models, M had the chance to review the Zilly Bean Pink and Black Pettiskirt. Being that she loved big twirly and frilly this was a perfect match for her. When she opened her package her little eyes lit up seeing all the pretty chiffon.

Adorable right? After I took this picture we went out to breakfast to our local B&B and she got so much attention from everyone she walked by. They all had a comment to make about her and her "precious skirt". She was shy at first by all the attention but soon started sucking it all up...lol 

This precious skirt is well made, has a soft satin top layer, elastic waist and is finished with a perfect black satin ribbon. At only $19.00 for this skirt (that's right $19 bucks) this is a must buy! I have seen the exact same Pettiskirts go for so much more online. My Baby Clothes Boutique definitely gives you a great deal for your money and did I mention the FREE shipping... just saving you more money :)

My Baby Clothes Boutique is giving away to one lucky winner a $25.00 Gift Certificate to their online store!!!

How To Enter:


Mandatory Entry: Go to My Baby Clothes Boutique and look around. Then come back and leave a comment of what you might spend your gift cert on!
Please make sure if you do not have a valid email address on your blog or profile, add it to your comment so I can contact you easily.

NOTE: If you skip the mandatory entry, none of your entries will count for the giveaway.


Extra Entries (please leave separate comment for each entry)

* Follow Me (or tell me you already do) (1 entry)

* "Like" My Baby Clothes Boutique Facebook. (2 entries)

* Follow Me and My Baby Clothes Boutique on Twitter and Tweet This....(2 entries)

MyBabyClothesBoutique Giveaway! Fashion at a fabulous price! @sewfierce @MyBabyClothes http://apocketfullofbuttons.blogspot.com

* Blog About This Awesome Giveaway (4 entries)


Giveaway open to US Residents Only.

Giveaway closes May 22nd @ 11:59pm (EST) Winner will be picked May 23rd by Random.org and notified by email, a post will follow. Winner will have 48 hours to reply to my email otherwise a new winner will be picked.


Disclaimer: I was contacted by My Baby Clothes Boutique to write a review and host a giveaway. I was given the above mentioned product free of charge for my review. I received no monitory compensation. Any and all opinions expressed are mine and mine alone and are unbiased.

Quick Dinner With Panera's Fuji Apple Dressing

We have been so busy since we moved into our new home in PA. Yesterday I spent the day stripping wallpaper from the dinning room and hallway and today hubby and I repainted not only the dinning room and hallway but the kitchen too. I am beat!

So for dinner I needed something quick and tasty so I made a delicious salad. Romaine lettuce, vine ripened tomatoes, Gorgonzola cheese and leftover thick cut pork chop from the night before. To top off this beautiful salad I dressed it with Panera Breads Fuji Apple Dressing and fresh milled black pepper. OMG....like pork chops and apple sauce :) I was so excited when I found this dressing at the local market the other day. I am a huge Fuji apple fan and even bigger fan of Panera's...win win right? If you see it in your store give it a try, it's scrumptious!

Jackson The Pup's Blog

This is Jackson. He is one adorably talented blogging, tweeting, hanging with celebs in Hollywood kind of a pup. He also happens to be my..errrrr cousin? One of his daddy's is my uncle so I guess technically Jackson is my "fur cousin"...lol

I expect to see Jackson in print or commercials very soon, he is very ambitious and having daddies that work in Hollywood can't hurt either right?

I am posting about Jackson because he is looking for more lovable followers. He just started blogging and posts daily along with his "Pet Adoption Tuesday" where he posts about a local dog in need of a forever home...awwww. So If you ever need a sweet pick me up, stop by Jackson's blog called Your Daily Jackson....he's so cute he'll turn your frown upside down in no time :)

Wordless Wednesday - Scranton Court House/ Veterans Memorial

Linked to Wordless Weds and 5 Minutes For Mom

Happy Mother's Day - We Made It!

Morning walk down our road/street.

A Happy (belated) Mother's Day to all you lovely ladies! I hope you all had a wonderfully special day yesterday. We finally made it cross country from CA to PA. We got the keys to the new home lastMonday, moving truck came in on Tuesday and from then on it's just been boxes and boxes...180 boxes to be exact. Things are starting to settle down now and today I got my internet back up and running so I can get back to blogging full time again. I have missed you all so much and missed visiting everyone. I feel so out of the loop and a little out of sorts not being able to check in but that should all change this coming week and life will be calm again. You should see me stalking you again very soon :)

Our NEW home!!! What a difference from living in a big city. We are totally out in the country. No water service..we have a well. No garbage...we have a burn pit. No city sewer...we have septic tanks. We get our milk and ice cream fresh from the dairy down the road. Eggs and produce fresh from a local farm. We have no fence around our house...just lots of trees and tons of green grass.

Here are some things we see in our neighborhood....

Cemetery at the end of our road/street 1800's-1900's

Cool old tree

 Our road/street

We are in heaven here. We have seen deer, rabbits, groundhogs and wild turkeys all in our back yard at different times of the day. The girls just do not know what to do with themselves they have so much room to run and play. Today we planted some veggies and herbs, went antique'ing around the area and just hang out enjoying the clean air and wonderful breeze. A perfect place to raise a family...or the next 3 yrs at least :)

Wyoming To Nebraska

Memorial in North Platte, NE

Fort Cody Trading Post in North Platte, NE

Fort Kearney in Kearney, NE

Blacksmith building in background

Powder Magazine at Fort Kearney