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

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

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3. Make a framed chalkboard for the kitchen

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4. Finish sending out Thank You cards for baby gifts

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5. Make a pumpkin pie

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6. Organize craft space in basement

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

8. Attend baby care and breastfeeding classes at hospital

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

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10. Finish baby a la mode’s nursery

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

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12. Have a baby

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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!

Entries for this giveaway have been closed, thanks!

{shop} {blog} {twitter}

I am so excited to share with you the beautiful jewelry of my sponsor, Pretty Things By Meg!  All of her pieces are made with such detail, care and love, I would know because I actually own the falling leaves earrings (you can see me modeling them here) and the faux patina turquoise earrings!  And I can’t wait to get a hold of one of her coveted ruffle necklaces some day too!  In addition to her lovelies, Meg also has a fun blog called {Meg’s Musings} where she shares her shop updates, life happenings, photography, inspirations and more!  And bonus points from her since she lives in Michigan (for those of you who didn’t know, that’s where I was born and lived for 21 years)!

{MEET MEG}

1) Tell us a little about yourself.
Hi, my name’s Megan (Meg/Megs for short) I’m a wife to a wonderful, ridiculously talented man, a momma to a fluffy, fun-loving cockapoo, and a daughter of the King. I (mostly) grew up in the mitten (aka Michigan), and I currently reside in an old (100 yrs+), charming house in downtown Rochester, a quaint suburb of Detroit. Besides making jewelry, I really enjoy cooking, traveling, playing the ukulele (still learning) & singing, crafting, reading and decorating. Oh, and blogging

2) How did you get into making jewelry?
Boredom and a great desire within me to create. My day job at the time left no room for creativity & I was yearning for a creative outlet. I had long had an interest in creating jewelry because I’ve always loved to accessorize. And I figured I could teach myself, so I did just that!

3) What are some of your most popular items?
My line of ruffle necklaces, which i just released in the fall; the faux patina turquoise earrings, the lolita necklace, and the falling leaves.

4) If you could drop everything and travel to one place, where would it be?
Soo hard to choose just one place, but I would really love to go to Greece. That is where I had long dreamed of going to for my honeymoon, but it was just too pricey. One day..

5) What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
Homemade Brand Peanut Butter ‘N Chip – hands down. I actually haven’t had it in some time because it’s not easy to find.. now I’ve got an extreme craving – think I’ll have to find me some tonight!!

{GIVEAWAY}

Y’all are soo lucky!!  Megan is giving away one of her famous RUFFLE NECKLACES – the winner chooses the color!

How to enter:

You must be Google Friend Connect follower of Sandy a la Mode
1. Visit Pretty Things By Meg and leave a comment with your favorite item!

For additional entries, leave a separate comment for each action.

2. Be a Google Friend Connect follower of Meg’s Musings
3. Follow @sandyalamode and @prettiesbymeg on twitter
4. Blog, facebook, or tweet about this giveaway (make sure to include @sandyalamode and @prettiesbymeg in your tweet) and let me know about it

Feel free to use this tweet:
Want to win a @prettiesbymeg ruffle necklace in the color of your choice? Enter the #GIVEAWAY @sandyalamode! http://bit.ly/ggnQmY

This giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY and closes on Tuesday, February 8, 2011 at 12PM CST.  Good luck!

Don’t want to wait?  Take 20% off your Pretty Things By Meg order with code SANDYALAMODE (Valid through Wednesday, February 9 11:59 CST)!

Entries for this giveaway have been closed, thanks!

One of my absolute favorite things about blogging is the fact that I am able to meet new friends from it, like all of you!  But even cooler is actually getting to meet bloggers in person!  If you’ve been following me for awhile, you know that I’m always traveling all over the place… for work, for weddings, for fun!  I’ve met My3boybarians, One Sydney Road, Much Love, Illy, Wild & Precious and Michabella!!  I’ve also met up with Janie Hearts and SoNg Designs this year but I’ve actually known them since 2002 when we met at Loveboat Summer Camp in Taiwan!  Pretty much, nowadays, anywhere I go, my first thought is, “Do I know any bloggers that live there?”  My goal is to meet you all!! 

Well during my last trip in Los Angeles a few weekends ago, I knew that there were a ton of bloggers out there that I had yet to meet!  I sent out a few emails and tweets and plans were made!  First up was visiting bloggers/crafters at the UCI Vendor Fair!

I knew that the lovely Danni from Oh, Hello Friend was supposed to be there all week!  Of course there was traffic on the way there and we didn’t leave until ate afternoon so during the whole drive I was afraid I was going to miss her!  But we arrived about 30 minutes before closing time and found out she was going to be open later anyways so we got to spend a little bit more time with each other! 

Danni’s booth was FILLED with all sorts of lovely such as earrings, pins, buttons, necklaces, hairpins, rings, gift packs… pretty much any accessory you are looking for, you can find it at her booth!

One thing I didn’t know was that she sold belts, purses and dresses as well!  Would you look at that collection?  I wanted it all, but I settled for just one that I wore for my birthday!

My favorite part was the  set up at her table with this rustic brown shelf, vintage plates, and antique goodies!  I know Danni has dreams of opening a boutique store one day, and I TOTALLY think she should!!    And of course I left the booth with a dress, a gift pack for my sister in law, a key necklaces, an elephant necklace and a rose ring! 

And next booth over from Oh, Hello Friend was Eugenia from Petit Plume!!  I actually didn’t know she was going to be at the Vendor Fair so I was pleasantly surprised to meet her and look at her hair accessories!  We’re both wearing her accessories in this picture, I love how the peacock feather headband matches with my dress!

She has such a wide array of headbands, clips and brooches!  If you have a wedding coming up, her pieces are just perfect for brides and bridesmaids!

For some reason, I just really love the perspective of this photo and the bokeh in the back, and of course those Vintage headbands are gorgeous!  I’ll be linking this photo up to…

I just loved all of the fun colors at her booth!  She even had this one of a kind necklace and really adorable colored bows as well!  I left with a yellow and grey bow that I’ll show you in a future post! 

And my last stop of the evening was to meet up with Eva from The Wedding Pantry, a boutique wedding shop in Tustin, CA.  I pretty much met Eva through blogging/twitter and I found out about her from my friend Lydia from Ever Ours (a super rad wedding inspiration blog)!!

Would you look at this BEAUTIFUL setup?  It’s a bride’s paradise!  You can find anything from jewelry, cards, favors, ring bearer pillows, presents for your wedding party and more!

Look at all of these beautiful accessories made from crafters all over!

Some really unique items I found were these dresses in a bottles as cute ways to ask your bridesmaids to be in your wedding and these fun mac n cheese candles, haha!

Yup, I left with some earrings and a set of cards!  So again, brides in the LA area looking for inspiration?  The Wedding Pantry is your place!  And even cooler, on November 20th, there will be a Holiday Bliss Boutique that you don’t want to miss!

Whew!  What a fun Friday that was, it was sooo great to meet you Danni, Eugenia and Eva!!    And on that following Monday I also got to meet up with Leila from Leila Brewster Photography (formerly Olive Juice Photography) but I’ll share the photos from that meet-up in another blog post!

So since we have finished renovating our basement, we’ve now been spending the last couple of months organizing it!  So today I just wanted to share a little part of my “crafting side of the basement” with you today.  Yes, the other side of the basement is my husband’s “bachelor pad full of all of the electronics you can name side”, with a Wii, Xbox, huge TV, speakers, games, DVDs, etc.

Top: A homemade bunting banner which I wrote a tutorial for here.

Bottom Left: This pink organizer (painted by my Dad) was my nightstand before I moved in with my husband.  Now I’ve turned it into a ribbon, fabric scrap, cards, packaging, and pattern shelf.

Bottom Right: This ClosetMaid shoe organizer was purchased from Lowes.  It’s perfect for storing rolls and rolls of fabric.  On top of it is a thread organizer and a picture of me and my hubs!    And here’s a closer look at my fabrics…

There’s certainly room for even more fabrics, don’t ya think?!    I’ll share pictures of the rest of my “crafting side of the basement” once it’s a little bit more neat!  And I’ve finally started USING my fabrics to make some new passport covers w/ bows for my etsy shop, here’s a peek at the first three I’ve made, which I will be listing this week!

Can I just say that I love the blogosphere and how crazy talented everyone is?  I read sooo many blogs on a daily basis and one of the things I really look forward to is finding new sewing tutorials… especially simple ones that (I think) I can do!  It’s great and all, but I’m also finding it really hard to keep up with all of the projects I want to do, maybe I am being too ambitious here.  But hopefully someday, I will be able to tackle them all!    So basically, I just wanted to keep a running list on here (in no particular order) of all the DIYs I have queued to date… and maybe it will inspire you to try some of these as well (if you do, let me know how it goes)!

1. Messenger Bag by Make It Do – this is the only one on my list that I have actually sewn.  I made it for a friend as an engagement party present!  And while I’m at it, the following two pictures are the only ones taken by me, the rest are taken from the respective blogs.

Here’s the messenger bag I made in all it’s glory.

And the little flower?  I pretty much just coiled up a piece of fabric and sewed it on, didn’t follow a tutorial for it!

2. Museum Tunic by Anna Maria Horner

I think this is totally fantastic for going to the beach, on a picnic, shopping with girl friends, or even a dinner date!  I can’t wait to find a pretty soft fabric like the one in the picture!

3. Drawstring Bags and Coloring Books by Prudent Baby

I just think this would be the perfect gift bag to give out at a 2 year old’s birthday party.  My nephew is 18 months old now…  Drawstring bags are pretty simple to sew, but I’ve never sewn paper before, should be interesting!

4. Men’s Ties by The Purl Bee

YES!  I’ll never have to buy an expensive tie for my husband ever again, I’ll just MAKE them from now on hehe! 

5. Pants by Prudent Baby

Like I said above, my nephew is 18 months old now and walking/running all over the place!  I’m sure he could use a few pairs of comfy pants, I mean, I don’t think you can ever have enough comfy pants, yea?  And I’m thinking I could totally adjust this tutorial to make a pair of pants for myself… and my husband, yea totally!

6. Gathered Clutch by Noodlehead

Classy, made pretty with ruffles, TOTALLY USEFUL!  Just like comfy pants, a girl can never have too many clutches!

7. Bias Tape by Prudent Baby

So, a few weeks ago, I won the Simplicity bias tape maker giveaway on Prudent Baby (Thanks again ladies!), so that means I definitely need to use my new machine to make some awesome tape to hide those raw edges!

8. Market Tote by Bijou Lovely

Ummm, can I just have this tote and call it a day???  No seriously, I LOVE this exact bag since I’m a huge fan of stripes and yellow!  I will make my own someday!

9. Mail Organizer by Noodlehead

*SWOON* Look at how all of those fabulous Heather Bailey Nicey Jane fabrics have been coordinated sooo nicely?  I am in desperate need of a mail organizer… heck, I think I’ll make it into a mail/coupon organizer… pretty much right now, all of our papers are strewn all over the kitchen counter, living room side table, floor, etc… this organizer is just perfect!

10. Grosgrain Belt by Ruffles and Stuff

Not gonna lie… I may have spent upwards of $30 on a J.Crew flower belt… or three.  But look, from now on, I’m making my own! 

Sewww yea… if I drop off the face of this blog, you know where to find me… behind my sewing machine.  I just know there are so many more tutorials out there that I have seen but forgot to book mark!  Oh how I just wish there were more hours in a day and days in a week! 

Are there any sewing tutorials you’ve been wanting to try?  Extra brownie points if you leave a link! 

There’s a few exciting events that I’m looking forward to this weekend…

My company is throwing me (and others who have made it) a 5-year luncheon at a yummy revolving restaurant in KC!  It’s kind of crazy to think that I’ve been a working woman for FIVE WHOLE years, and at the same place too!  Time really flies!  As a present, I will be receiving a clock, woohoo!!  So… in honor of the tickity-tock, I bring you a fabulous flavors to follow inspiration board!

1. me and you venn diagram clock seen on making it lovely
2. wedding photo session on style me pretty
3. brass filigree pocket watch necklace made by oh, hello friend.
4. doily clock seen on make it perfect
5. teasmade alarm clock wakes you up to tea seen on unplggd
6. elephant clock sold by decoylab
7. chalkboard clock seen on poppytalk
8. love shoot by olive juice photo seen on dandelion and grey
9. valery design works clock seen on creamy life
10. DKNY turquoise translucent watch with white dial seen on red vines for breakfast
11. clock tutorial on remodaholic
12. bottle cap clock magnets seen on happiness is

Alright, I’m off to my weekend full of Bachelorette Party shenanigans!  My friend Roanna is coming down to KC and we’ve planned a fun, naughty nice, full of food and drinks weekend for her.  She’ll be getting married in just 5 weeks, and at the rate this year is flying by, the wedding will be here in no time!

Here’s a pic of Marvin and me at our wedding with the Bachelorette and her fiance!  Can’t wait for the fabulous weekend!  See you all on Monday, when I’m in Ohio, AGAIN!

P.S. Thanks so much for all of your support and encouragement on my last post, xo.  Don’t forget to enter my bunting banner giveaway if you haven’t already done so.

Today I am happy to participate in a blogger mashup of over 300 bloggers in a feature called Pin It Forward: What Home Means to Me.  Victoria from Sfgirlbybay and Pinterest, a place to share visual collections of things you love, have so kindly put this together for us, so a big shoutout to them!  Each weekday from May 24 to July 2, ten bloggers will write a post about what home means to them, that’s a lot of blogs to check out and a load of inspiration!    Now here’s my take…

HOME IS…

{using colors and patterns to change the mood of each room}

Source: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Every single room in my house is painted a different color, ranging from taupe, green, yellow, turquoise, blue, caramel, and grey!  And we are just starting to dabble with different patterns such as stripes, damask and florals.  I love how color and pattern can really change the mood of a room, whether it be cozy, fun, cheeky, vintage, dreamy, modern or serious.

{lounging around and being myself}

Source: 1, 2, 3

If I could wear PJs all day and all night, I would do so like it were my J-O-B!  I love just lounging around in comfy clothes (or as I like to call it, “chilling clothes”) and doing absolutely nothing… or dancing around like nobody’s watching!

{a space filled with homecooked meals, baked goods, thirst quenching refreshments, and pretty china}

Source: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

I strongly believe that no kitchen would be complete without these things, are you with me??

{playing dress up}

Source: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

One of my favorite parts of my home are the multiple closets + dresser full of clothes, shoes and accessories!  I’m pretty sure you ladies would agree with me here!  Oh yes, I said multiple! 

{a space to be creative}

Source: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

So currently we turned one of the bedrooms into a craft storage room and the dining room is my actual crafting room… but if you’ve been following my blog you’ll know that we’re redoing our basement where the new craft storage + crafting area will all be!  I’m so excited to get it done, which reminds me, I need to do an update on it.    Right now we’re at… “Honey, do you want to go down and work on the trim?”… “Yes dear!”

{entertaining family and friends}

Source: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

One of my favorite parts of my house is our covered porch.  Whenever we have friends or family over we invite them back there for BBQ and drinks (well, only when it’s warm).  We actually just cut down one of our trees that was dead and saved a few of the stumps to turn into chairs.  I can just imagine sitting around a fire pit on the stumps, making some s’mores and chatting the night away!

{where my heart is}

Source: 1, 2, 3

And of course, my humble abode would not be complete without my husband, whom I love to pieces!

{an ever-changing journey}

Source: 1

A few years ago I made a shadow box full of pictures of me and my husband that we use to store our keys in.  I included a quote inside that shadow box that gives us a daily reminder that…

“Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home”

Well, I hope you enjoyed learning about what home means to me!  And for those of you who are curious, none of these images are of my actual home, they’re inspirations I’ve collected from around the web.  Please check out my Pinterest board where I’ve posted all of the above photos and more!  A huge thanks to Lovely Bud for introducing me and make sure to check out Alternative Eagle‘s post tomorrow!

{shop} {blog}

I was so ecstatic when Grace (who is an absolute sweetheart) contacted me about doing a giveaway of one of her lovely items!  Grace is relatively new to the etsy world but she totally deserves to be recognized. Her signature items are her cute, whimsical, vintage and fun bookmarks, which are definite pagestoppers in every sense of the word. Aren’t you sick of marking up your books with dog ears, I sure am!! As stated on her blog… Au Revoir to dog ears and bon­jour pagestoppers! Besides bookmarks, she also expresses her crafty and creative side by making various other handmade items such as hairpins, rings and much more to come in the future! I am just so excited for Grace and can’t wait to see where her shop takes her!

{Meet the Artist}

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

My name is Grace Leong. I am 23 years old. I love Christ, pretty crafts, reading and playing the piano. I am presently teaching kindergarden children. I live in a small, tropical island- Singapore. We have all-year round summer here!

What made you decide to start up your lovely Etsy shop?

The Pagestoppers was birthed two months back. It was actually a fruition of my dream of setting up an online craft shop- to express my creative side! I have a fond love of handmade products as they express the creativity of a person’s mind. Also, my boyfriend, Timothy, has been supporting me silently in this arty project!  What inspired me to start the shop was actually this verse from the Bible about the Proverbs 31 woman: “She perceives that her merchandise is good and her lamp does not go out by night.” Thus, the Pagestoppers is one of my Proverbs 31 projects at the moment.

Where do you draw inspiration from?

Anything and everything- nature, photographs, clothing, colors etc.

What is the one must-see place for a visitor of Singapore?

Well, I do not exactly have a one must-see place in mind at the moment. But one thing for sure, you must try the food here. As Singapore is known for her multiracialism, you can be sure that we have a wide variety of delicious food from the different cultures. Thus, if you are here for a short trip, do leave some time to scour the eating places in Singapore!

{Giveaway Details}

1. Win your favorite item from her shop. It could be a bookmark, ring or hairpin, anything that you like!  Just visit The Pagestoppers and leave a comment on this post with your favorite item.  Don’t worry, Grace has multiple stock for most of the items but if your item becomes out of stock or you change your mind, you can pick something else if you win!

2. (For additional entries) Blog, Twitter, or Facebook about this giveaway and leave a separate comment with each link. If you Twitter, please use @sandyalamode in your tweet and feel free to use this short link http://bit.ly/aqptOV.

Giveaway ends on Tuesday, May 4, 2010 at 5:00PM CST. The winner will be chosen by a random number generator and will be announced on this blog on Wednesday, May 5, 2010.

P.S. You might just want to check out her blog, there might just be another giveaway of some sort on hers going until May 1, 2010! How’s that for your hump day?? A double dose of page stopping giveaways!

CONGRATS to Chelsea Rebecca of Trimphs and Blunders of  a Kooky Gal!  You are one lucky gal to have won this Pink, Pearl and Feather beauty!  I will email you soon to get your details so Lisa from Ink & Button can send you the fascinator!

Thank you so much to all that participated in this giveaway!  Here were some of your favorite fascinators:

Lastly, I just wanted to give a special THANK YOU to Lisa from Ink & Button for this lovely giveaway!  If you didn’t win but still would like a beautiful fascinator, make sure to visit Ink & Button to order one for yourself.  I know I’ll be ordering a few!   Lisa is truly a pleasure to work with and also takes custom orders so if you have certain flower colors, buttons, feathers in mind, you can let her know and she’ll make something personalized just for you!