Today, I am super excited to share with you a project that has the capability to change the world, one kind act at a time.  Ashley, the amazing voice behind The Shine Project has come up with this wonderful project called, Pass it Forward.  It’s about giving back to your community, committing random acts of kindness, and working small miracles in the lives of those we pass.  Stuff like this just puts a super duper huge smile on my face! 

I hope you all have a beautiful and wonderful weekend! 

P.S. Have you voted for me today in the Circle of Moms Top 25 Fashion and Beauty Mom blogs?  Just click the thumbs up, please and thank you!! 

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!