Happy Sunday!  I’m taking part in this fun blog hop for today!  Enjoy! 

This baby outfit is TOO stinking cute!  Hoping to find something similar for my little one someday!

Loving the neutral paired with neon in this Clare Vivier clutch!  I’ll take one in every color please.

Love this mini cork and terrarium decorating idea.

A Beautiful Mess shows us how to make DIY mittens out of an old sweater, too cool!

One of my favorite dishes, lasgana, made petite by Can You Stay For Dinner?  Must try this soon.

Absolutely adore this look found on Fashion Is Politics.

Need a Valentine’s Day gift idea?  In Honor of Design makes a rad Message In a Bottle!

All images can also be found on my Pinterest boards.

What pretty things have you found lately?

Much Love, Illy and I wanted to send a great big THANK YOU to all that participated in the 2nd annual Cold Hands, Warm Hearts Swap!  You all made it a huge success by spreading the word, by grabbing a button for your blog, blogging about it, tweeting, etc!  We hope that you have gained a new blog friend through the process and that many of you have already received your packages (if not, they should be en route)!  We asked that all participants write a blog post about your partner and the goodies you received and we can’t wait to see the posts!  And here is the LINK-UP PARTY for it!!! 

But first, here is a little peek at the package I received from Much Love, Illy!

A first glance into the package, I was squealing with delight at all the goodies, wrapped so neatly in tissue paper, twine and holiday cute tape!

And taa-dah!!  Here are all the things I received: The Hunger Games (Ilene is obsessed with this book but I still haven’t read it yet), pink mittens, bow earrings, fair isle tights, and some adorable outfits for our soon to be born baby!  I’m in LOVE with it all, aren’t you??  Now here’s my attempt at an outfit with the tights and mittens in one!

Dress: Zara | Cardigan: Urban Outfitters | Necklace: Scarlett Garnet | Booties: Forever 21 | Mittens and Tights from Much Love, Illy

I just love getting packages in the mail.  Even if it’s an expected one, it’s always a nice surprise!  Don’t forget to check out the package I sent to Much Love, Illy too!  Now it’s your turn to link up your blog posts and show off the goodies you’ve received from your swap partner!  THANKS again to all that participated… and for all those that couldn’t get in this year, we definitely plan on doing this again next year so be on the lookout next November 2012. 

Hi friends (old and new)!  Today, I am joining in on the October Followers Fest hosted by the lovelies:

With the Fall season in full force right now, there’s a bunch of things that get me super excited about it… such as pumpkin desserts, apple cider, wearing scarves and boots, leaves, and more!  It’s also a nice break from the hot, humid Summers we face here in Kansas City (although not really looking forward to Winter just yet, let’s not talk about that).  Here’s a little collage I put together to show off some of my Fall Favorites. 

1 This photo just screams beauty and fall.
2 Loving the colors in this Aisle To Aloha Fallen Leaves canvas painting.
3 A scrumptious looking pumpkin dessert, need I say more?
4 What a fun little craft idea, don’t you think?
5 A girl can never own enough bags, like this Nine West one!
6 What a fun and cozy little dining room setup for fall~!
7 Kind of just love everything about this outfit, especially the leg warmers.
8 I would love to end each fall day with this refreshing apple cider cup.

Hope you all enjoy this upcoming beautiful fall weekend!  It’ll be a much needed relaxing one for me as I need to soak up the last bits of this year before I turn another year older on Tuesday.    But wait, before you go…

P.S. Have you entered the Yellow Heart Art GIVEAWAY for an 8″x10″ print yet?

P.P.S. And how about the ISOTONER smarTouch gloves GIVEAWAY to kick off the Cold Hands, Warm Hearts Swap?

Entries for this giveaway and the swap have been closed, thanks!

Guess what all?!  It’s that time again for the Cold Hands, Warm Hearts swap!  Last year, it was a success (thanks to you all), so we decided to bring it back!  Basically, you sign up for the swap, we assign you a partner, and you send your partner a package with a pair of gloves + some other goodies, and then you write a blog post about your lovely package!  Sound easy enough, yea?  If you want to be in the cool kids club, then hop on over to Much Love, Illy’s blog for more details on how to participate!

But before you hop on over there, we have a little giveaway over here to kick off the swap!  (You don’t have to participate in the swap to enter but it is an additional entry option if you do, see below.)

{GIVEAWAY}

 Win your very own pair of ISOTONER smarTouch gloves! 

These babies are great for texting, tweeting, checking email as your  index finger and thumb as a conductive thread that conveys electrical impulse to touchscreen – super fancy!  And trust me, they really work!

gloves: ISOTONER smarTouch | blazer: a pea in the pod | striped sweater: ann taylor loft | yellow scarf: from much love, illy in last year’s CHWH swap | jeans: a pea in the pod | shoes: target

To enter:

1. What is one activity you still have on your to-do list for this fall? (mandatory entry)

For additional entries, leave a separate comment for each action.
2. Leave a comment telling me what your favorite Android, iPhone, Blackberry, etc. phone app is?
3. Enter the Cold Hands, Warm Hearts swap at Much Love, Illy’s blog
4. Follow this blog and Much Love, Illy with GFC
5. Follow sandyalamode and @muchloveilly on Twitter
6. Blog, facebook, or tweet about this giveaway (make sure to include @sandyalamode and @muchloveilly in your tweet) and include the link (one entry each). 

Feel free to use this tweet:

The Cold Hands, Warm Hearts Swap by @muchloveilly & @sandyalamode launches w/ an ISOTONER smarTouch gloves #GIVEAWAY! http://bit.ly/soJ7ns

This giveaway is open to US only and closes on Wednesday, November 2, 2011 at 12PM CST. Good luck!

Entries for this giveaway and the swap have been closed, thanks!

As the year is coming to a close and baby a la mode’s arrival is quickly approaching, there’s still a TON of stuff I want to get done before 2012.  I’m sure we all have crazy to-do lists and I don’t know about you, but for me, writing them down is the only way I can keep track of them (especially w/ pregnancy brain now).  So when oh, hello friend. blogged about the twelve by 2012 challenge that she is taking on (and is encouraging others to partake in), I knew I had to join in on it!  It just took me awhile to compile my list~!  You can bet I’ll be using my blog to keep me accountable too, so that means you.  For each goal I don’t complete, that just means I owe you all a cupcake, deal? 

1. Take maternity session photos

{source}

2. Have a big birthday giveaway week on the blog (first week of November!)

{source}

3. Make a framed chalkboard for the kitchen

{source}

4. Finish sending out Thank You cards for baby gifts

{source}

5. Make a pumpkin pie

{source}

6. Organize craft space in basement

{source}

7. Organize and manage the Cold Hands, Warm Hearts swap w/ Much Love, Illy

8. Attend baby care and breastfeeding classes at hospital

{source}

9. Make closet divider’s (0-3 month, 3-6 month, etc.) for baby a la mode’s closet

{source}

10. Finish baby a la mode’s nursery

{source}

11. Wash all of baby a la mode’s clothes

{source}

12. Have a baby

{source}

Thanks so much for helping me keep accountable for my goals, Danni!

P.S.  Have you entered the Sparkle Thots $30 credit GIVEAWAY yet?  Her jewelry is AMAZING, wish I could enter!

Now I’d love to hear what some of your goals before 2012 are!

This week’s Gussy Sews Inspiration Workshop prompt is RED.  You see, the color red and I have a love/hate relationship.  Growing up, I was always a pink girl and NEVER a red girl.  It wasn’t until recently that I started opening up to red and all it’s possibilities.  I started with red paired with black and white and once I did, I fell in love.  It’s such a bold, fun, color and really catches people’s attention!  I’ve always secretly wanted to try out red lipstick but haven’t gotten the courage to do so yet, maybe one day.    But anyhow, this season in particular, I’ve been infatuated with a particular shade of red… and that shade would be RUST.  I can’t really explain why I’m so in love with it, but I just am.  I guess it reminds me of Fall and it just goes so well with shades of burnt orange, browns, and even pinks!  So here we go with some of my favorite rust finds!

You’d have to live under a rock (or just not read my blog) if you weren’t already aware that I heart chevron.  Chevron, anything.  This little Alexis clutch from A03 Designs is no exception!

I’m digging all the colors in this La Z Boy accent chair.  I think it would go GREAT in our hearth room!

These bridesmaids bouquets found on Style Me Pretty stopped me in my tracks… errr my seat.  The colors are just stunning together and it’s so perfect for a fall wedding!

First seen on Selective Potential, this rust dress from Urban 1972 is on my wishlist.  Love the length and the flowiness!

What a great collection of Mandolin Goose vintage frames!  Love the distressed look!

These sweet and simple Linkel Designs earrings need to be on my ears.  Mmm, yes.

Every guy’s dream.  A whole lot of food and football.  Way to go Girl In Gear Studio!

Keep your baby warm this fall with this gender neutral Sewn Natural organic baby blanket!

These Les Nouvelles pumps are so fun – love the color blocking!

P.S. Have you entered the Jaclyn1423 jewelry shop credit GIVEAWAY yet?

Are you a fan of the color rust?

dress: shopruche | cardigan: yesstyle | sandals: forever 21 | headband: whippycake | ring: forever 21

By now, you must be familiar with the Adventures of the Wandering Whippy Cakes that me, Lindsay, Kim, Ilene and Moriah are all a part of.  Here are the previous posts in case you missed them (Mall Rat, House Puppet).  This is the third Whippy Cake that we are modeling and this time, I got the Poppy one!  This is one of my favorites because of yellow reminds me of sunshine and happiness.  And I just think the combo of yellow, orange, white, green, gingham and florals is just so lovely and perfect for summer, don’t you?  It’s also kind of fun to see my belly grow during these posts as well, since now I am currently at 21.5 weeks and a little more than halfway done w/ the pregnancy!  There’s no mistaking my baby belly for a food baby no more! 

Don’t forget to head on over to these blogs to check out how the other ladies styled their Whippy Cakes from their end of the country!

Lindsay of Aisle To Aloha
Ilene of Much Love, Illy
Moriah of Josiah’s Nest
Kim of Oh, Sweet Joy

P.S. Don’t forget to enter BOTH giveaways I have going on!  Win an A4 Judy Kaufmann print of your choice and $25 credit to Noodle ‘N Thread!

For this post, I’m going to be linking up to A {Little} Dash of Ash’s Instagram Linkup party (starts Monday)!  The rules are quite simple, just write up a post and include your favorite Instagram photos from the week.  Well, unfortunately I don’t have an iPhone, but Ashley said it’s pretty much open to any camera phone photos (yay – I have an Android)!  So for all those Android users out there, so far my fave “Instagram-like” app has been the Retro Camera.  There’s a variety of camera options that all have different effects.  Anywho, here are a few photos from the past couple of weeks, and I’ll let the pictures make the Announcement I have to share with you all today!

Totally been craving coconut water and fruit salads lately, thank goodness for HEALTHY cravings to curb the once in awhile fast food!

And here’s our BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!  We just bought a new house and are in the process of renovating it a bit before we move in!  Yup, so much going on over at the A La Mode household these days.  With a new baby on the way we thought that it would be the perfect time to upgrade to a bigger house.  We’ve spent the past few months looking at house after house after house until we finally found the perfect one!  It’s a 1.5 story, 4 bedroom, 3 car garage house with a walk out half finished basement.  we’re currently in the process of adding more hardwood floors to the dining room (as you can see in the picture on the right) and then restaining/refinishing the floors.  We’re planning to get the carpets cleaned on Friday and then finally move in on Saturday, lots going on this week!  I can’t wait to share more new house pictures with you over the next few months!    I seriously don’t have the best eye for design though, I wish I could have someone come over and design the whole place HGTV-esque for me, a girl can dream haha.

Is your name Katey and do you own the blog imapaperdoll3?  Then you are the winner of the Sewewenique Designs giveaway, CONGRATS!  Please send me an email at sandyalamode(at)gmail(dot)com to claim your prize!

Don’t forget to enter the Judy Kaufmann GIVEAWAY!

What are your favorite camera phone apps for iPhone or Android?

shirt: a’gaci | maternity pants: old navy | sandals: target | necklace : the shine project

Me and my neck just can’t get enough of wearing this fun necklace courtesy The Shine Project!  Not to mention, I’ve already gotten a few compliments on it too.  I love the different charms on it and looking at the word *SHINE* can’t help but make you smile.  The lovely Ashley is such a beautiful person in that she has started a project to inspire others to pay kindness forward and help change the lives of others for the better.  Ashley’s goal is to raise $20,000 for The Shine Project Scholarship Fund by the end of October the goal to send inner city high school students in Phoenix AZ to college next year, isn’t that amazing?  If you are interested in helping out, you can find more information here.

By the way, for the first time ever on this blog, I’m modeling maternity pants, yup that’s right.  They were only $11 from Old Navy and I can’t wait for my belly to grow with them.  Eating big meals in these pants never felt better.  That’s pretty much my big pregnancy milestone for this week, 20.5 weeks and counting! 

Have I told you how much I love blogger meetups?  Well if I haven’t, I’ll tell you again, they are awesome!    A few weeks ago I found myself in Orlando again on a business trip and I can’t say that I saved that much of my per diem.  Orlando’s Prime Outlets always have me spending a big chunk of my money but hey, there’s a great selection and you can get things with great prices, score!  On this past trip, I had the pleasure of meeting up with SoNg Designs and Michabella again and also meeting Buggie and Jellybean and 3 month old Ethan (SoNg Designs adorable baby boy).  We even went to a super cool restaurant called Sushi Pop… have a look at the interesting way they display their food!

Super cute menu, I must say!

Here’s the lovely group of bloggers + baby.

Soy sauce in a well portioned syringe type thing? Super cool!

We got to cook our own meat on a super hot rock. I kept failing to keep the meat on the rock and it would fall into the pile of salt though… sorry Sonja haha!

Drinks drinks and more drinks… well not for me anyways.

Made to order grape sorbet with peanut butter topping, DELISH!

And finally, we couldn’t let the evening pass by sampling some Michabella’s Cupcakery delights! YUMMY!!

Can’t wait to see you ladies again very soon, xo! 

When was your last blogger meetup and who was it with? Leave a link to the blogs in the comments and maybe we can all find a new blog or two to read!