{hello!}

Wow.

Can I just stop and say "thank you"?

Thanks to all of you lovely people who make my blogging worthwhile.

Being gone for practically the whole summer has made me realize how much I love to blog!

{source}

{I haven't quite returned to blog-land just yet, but I wanted to pop in to say hello.}

I've been gone from home all summer long, which means I don't have full access to a computer. I can check my email and tweet, fortunately, if you want to keep up with me. I'd love to hear from you!

Celeste will still be here until life returns to normal in a couple of weeks. Hasn't she been doing a fabulous job?! You can read all of her posts here.

I'm currently exhausted and surviving on my sweetheart's love + coffee. It's not the worst place I've been in life. :)

So, tell me. How has your summer been?

{{hugs}} to you all!

P.S. I should be returning to "normal life" the week of August 9th. Be sure to stay tuned - I've got some {color love}, a fun giveaway and a new series planned!

{time flies...}

clock from uncommon

The older I get, the faster time seems to pass.

Does that happen to everyone?

I'm sorry, dear blog readers, but I feel pulled in so many different directions sometimes.

I could blog about the bridal shower, but I need to find a camera cord to pull pictures.

I could blog about another favorite musical, but I haven't thought that much about it.

Or I could just say that I'm extremely busy and just haven't had time. Because that is true.

Hopefully you all still love me. :)

I'll be back tomorrow with another edition of {color love}.

{to do + announcement + thanks}

{source}

On Sunday, I made myself a list of things that had to get done.
Yesterday, I set to work.

I baked lots of chocolate cake.

I counted Hershey's Kisses for a game.

I put together several gifts bags.

I scanned a bunch of old pictures into my computer.

etc, etc, etc.

I am happy to say that I checked every. single. thing. off of that list.

This bridal shower should go swimmingly! ;)

*****

It's finally time to announce the winner of my celebration linky giveaway!

I plugged the numbers into random.org, and the winner is...

Jessica at Domesticated Bliss!

Jessica, please email me so I can get your surprise to you.

Once again, THANK YOU to all of my readers.

I appreciate you all so much, and trust me - if I could, I'd send you all a gift.

In the meantime, I'm still trying to visit everyone who linked up, so if I haven't commented on your blog yet, I'll get there as soon as I can. Time slips away from me a little too easily these days.

{memorial day weekend}

Just popping in for a quick minute today...

I realized that this weekend is actually Memorial Day weekend, so I probably won't be around again until Tuesday.

I'm spending the weekend preparing for a bridal shower, making bunches of these beautiful poms (in blue and white),

{source}

resting, hanging out at home, watching movies, reading, baking, and all that good stuff. :)

I hope you and yours have a lovely long weekend.

Have any fun plans?

I'll be back on Tuesday, and I'll announce a winner from my celebration!

{thanks} a party + giveaway

{source}

This morning when I opened my Dashboard, I saw a number.

A rather large, milestone kind of number.

200 {followers}

Wow.

Can I just stop and say thank you?

I am totally blown away by how much my humble little blog has grown.

And that you lovely people actually enjoy my blog!

So I've decided to throw a party.

{a rather impromptu party}

This is for followers/subscribers only, because I am thanking them for reading.

{you are more than welcome to become a follower/subscriber during the party!}

Here's how it will work:

Add a link to your blog to the Linky below - I'd love to come say hi!

The Linky will close Friday morning.

I will then {randomly} choose one of my followers/subscribers from the Linky list {so you must add a link to win}. That person will win a little something special from me!

This being an impromptu party, I don't know exactly what the special something will be...but it will be good. Probably something that's a favorite of mine. :)

Once again, thank you. Enjoy the "party"!

{ a couple of things }

Just a couple of things for today...

*****

I'm participating in SheyB's fun lineup of Birthday BASH giveaways!

I'm giving away a set of these adorable cards:

Would you like to be the lucky winner?

Hop on over to enter!

*****

Next week {probably on Wednesday} I will be starting a mini-series about my favorite musicals.

{source}

Every week, I'll be featuring an old musical that I love and {possibly} can sing along to. But I promise to spare you the singing part on the blog. :)

I'm not sure how long the series will last - that mostly depends on how many musicals I decided to feature. But I'd also love to feature some of your favorites! If you have a suggestion, please email me.

*****

Hope you all have a lovely Wednesday!
What are your plans for the day?

{ busy + bored }

Sometimes I feel like life is really busy.

But that I'm still bored.

How does that work?!

Every day is filled with something, and nothing.

It's a lot of stuff that I have to do, but don't necessarily want to do.

Do you ever feel that way? What do you do to beat the boredom factor?

*****

On another note, I just recently decided to update my Goodreads account.

If you like books as much as I do, and want to see what I've read, am currently reading, or want to read...let me know! I haven't quite figured out exactly how it works, but books are being added to my shelves. :) I'd love to see what you like to read!

*****

One more thing:

Natalie is having a giveaway!

And I really, really want to win. It's a surprise, but I know it will be fabulous.

You can see all the details right here.

*****

Happy Tuesday!

{hello}

I was planning on getting a lot of blogging done this morning.

But then I spent about 40 minutes searching Etsy for Mother's Day presents.

Whoops.

So yes, hopefully tomorrow I will get a lot of blogging stuff done.

In the meantime, be sure to enter the Angel Face Designs giveaway.

And you could watch this movie:

{source}

I watched it last night and it was SO good.

I wasn't ready for it to end. :)

Until tomorrow!

{fingers crossed that I can get organized and get things done}

{to do list}

to do list by my soul shines

-drink water!

-laugh at yourself

-sew something

-"tinkle the ivories"

-cook + bake

-hug me :)

-write it down

-coffee break

-take a picture

-make memories

-say "I Love You"

-smile!

What would your list say?

{unique oppurtunity}

The other day I got an email from CSN.

Ever heard of them?

Well, it's a site that has all sorts of stores.

Seriously, you could probably find anything there, even the kitchen sink!

They have corner tv stands, artwork, hand bags...really anything you could think of.

{it's pretty overwhelming and fun to browse around there!}

I will be doing a review here shortly of some cute little baskets. Can't wait to try them out! I love using baskets to organize. Thanks, CSN!

{the internet}

There are lots of things I like about the internet.

Emailing can be so convenient {although I love snail mail}.

Blogging {of course} is high on my list.

Free photo-editing tools like Picnik.

But one of my favorite things?

I can request almost any book from my library without actually having to talk to a librarian.

{source}

That's a big one for me. Because I am very shy {believe it or not}, and I never go ask the librarians about books. I think I've done it once.

What's your favorite thing about the internet?

*****

Don't forget, you could win a copy of Liz Curtis Higgs' latest book, Here Burns My Candle, right here! The giveaway will end 3/30.

{needing camera}

I am currently {badly} in need of a camera.

photo

{okay, maybe not quite like those, but it's fun to look at.}

If I had a camera, I could show you some things I've made here lately.

I could show you a beautiful necklace I recieved last week.

The petite roses I came home to on Friday.

I usually just borrow my sister's camera. But her connector cord is somehow missing. So even though I took some pictures, I have no way of showing them to you.

Yes, I need a camera.

Any suggestions?

Happy Monday, everyone!

What are your plans for the day?

{ announcements }

Just a few announcements for this Monday morning...

{source}

announcement:

I stink at volleyball. That's all there is to it.

I wish I could look cool and send the ball flying over the net with ease.

It would help if I weren't afraid of being hit by the volleyball.

And if I didn't bruise my wrist when I serve.

{source}

announcement:

Uno is more my kind of game. :)

announcement:

The lucky winner of the FABulous apron from Lima Bean Designs is...

#87 - Yanick

Congratulations!

announcement:

If you didn't win, stick around.

More fun is coming to The Sweetest Petunia very soon. :)

{wednesday morning coffee}

This Wednesday morning is finding me tired. Really tired.

It's only the middle of the week, but I'm ready for it to be over.

{source}

Yesterday, my friend and I went out for coffee.

We talked life + family drama + love + weddings.

It was good. :)

Do you need a coffee break every once in a while?

{or maybe a lot!}

Well, go brew yourself a cup, and let's chat.

I'll start.

What's your middle name?

{for some reason, I love knowing middle names}

Favorite color?

What would you order if you went to Starbucks right now?

What is your least favorite chore?

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Even virtual coffee breaks can be relaxing, right?

**Be sure to enter the Lima Bean Designs giveaway! The apron up for grabs is just fabulous.**

{march}

It's the 1st day of March.

{I can't believe February is already over!}

Is anyone dreaming of Springtime yet?

succulent garden

butterfly print

berry custom crib bedding

oilcloth snack bags

he loves me dress

What are you dreaming of today?

{ winner } + random updates

Are you ready to find out who the lucky winner of the Spunk & Sass giveaway is?

Well, I popped on over to Random.org and entered the numbers;

the lucky number is 14...

Kim @ Everything Etsy

Woohoo! :)

Kim, go ahead and send me an email...I think you know where to find me!

P.S. I just want to extend a very special thank you to everyone who entered this giveaway. I wish all of you could win!

*****

In other news today...

I'm so worn out from this weekend. Monday has literally become my day just to "veg out".

We had relatives visiting from Ohio, a Ladies Night Out, church on Sunday morning, and then a dessert cafe on Sunday night.

I enjoy being busy, I really do. I just need a little time to rest.

I'm sure I'm not the only one. :)

I also found out that David's Bridal is discontinuing this bridesmaid dress tomorrow. And I need one for my friend's wedding. So somehow, I need to get it today...I really don't want to try to find a different dress!

What are your plans for this Monday?