Thank you for making me smile, I have a special giveaway for one of my lucky readers

It has been a little over a month now since I started blogging. It has been an amazing experience. I can't tell you how blessed I feel to be a part of this amazing blogging community. I am so grateful for how you have all treated me. I have felt like you have all welcomed me with open arms into your blogging community. It is funny how things happen.

I think about how I came across Lori's blog (that I Love) 6 weeks ago, and because of Lori, I have discovered the world of blogging. Thank you Lori for giving me the confidence to start blogging. I wouldn't have ever done this if it hadn't been for YOU. Which by the way Lori has a great farmhouse stool giveaway, so be sure and check out her blog, Frugal Farmhouse Design for that!

I can't believe the women I have had the opportunity to come into contact with because of blogging. You are the most talented and gracious group of women I have ever met. To think only a month ago I had no idea this even existed. I thought only people like Martha Stewart had blogs. I can't believe how many women are stay at home moms like me and have a blog. I have to admit sometimes it is a little intimidating to blog after visiting some of my favorite blogs. I am so amazed at so many of your talents. And do I wish I could take pictures like Mimi Charmante, (and have her kitchen) or write like Flower Patch Farmgirl (who also takes amazing photos & makes me laugh). Or there is this blog that I most recently discovered (thanks to Morning T) ...Lola B's, that got me in trouble with my husband because he thinks I am following Paul Walker's blog. This girl has such a fun and amazing blog!

I would like to thank all of you for what you have done for me this past month! Blogging has been a life changing experience for me. You have all touched my heart. You truly do make me smile!

So to thank you I would like to giveaway a set of spice jars from Anthropologie, to one of my lucky readers. All you have to do is leave me a comment letting me know that you want to be entered into the drawing (You don't have to have your own blog to enter). Also if you wouldn't mind sharing (if it has) how blogging has had an impact on your own life. Let me know if you are a follower and I will put your name in twice, and if you post about my giveaway I will put your name in the drawing again as well.

I thought I would share another way to use these other than for spice jars.

Yes, those are camellias, sorry. I did receive a lot of requests to use camellias again. I think peonies would be a better choice, but they aren't in season. I can't wait for them to come into season. I am sure I will overuse those as well.

I think this would look great as a display at a wedding!

The numbers on the spice jars that will be included in the giveaway are 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, there will be one of each!

It is only the spice jars that are in the giveaway.

I will throw in an extra #1 spice jar so you can have your jars read 1~10 if you would like

There will be a total of 11 jars in the giveaway!

Entries will close February 26th at 9:00 p.m. pacific standard time. I will announce the winner Saturday the 27th.

I want to say THANK YOU to the most recent bloggers who have linked their readers to my blog, you are so kind!

Thank you Federica from Sweet as a Candy. If you haven't been to her beautiful blog yet, you should check her blog out. She is from Italy and is the sweetest person (& beautiful). Not only do I love her blog, but I enjoy her friendship.

Thank you Morning T, for sharing a link to my blog with your readers. Your blog is so much fun, and you are very talented. I have also found some great blogs (like ..Lola B's) through your blog! Thank You!

Thank you Tina from Rubie's Place. Tina is from Australia and has such a cute house! I love Tina's kitchen redo. Tina is such a sweet person! She has a fun blog and is very talented!

I also want to say THANK YOU to Anne Reagan from the Apartment Therapy for including a link to my blog on one of your posts! I feel so honored! I just checked my email before publishing this, and was quite surprised and excited to see an email from Anne Reagan! Thanks Anne you have really made my weekend! To be honest I can't believe you read my blog! I am really honored!!!!!!

I hope you all have a great weekend! I hope you have a chance to check out all these inspiring blogs. You won't be sorry you took the time to do so! I know that I get so excited when I find a new inspiring blog and I don't want YOU to miss out! Everything that is highlighted in pink will take you somewhere fabulous and fun!

Don't forget to leave a comment if you want to be included on the giveaway drawing, and also if you wouldn't mind sharing how blogging has impacted your life! I would love to hear your story! Don't forget to check out Lori's giveaway, (Frugal Farmhouse Design giveaway)!

Please take a minute to visit Chania from Razmataz. She has a new blog also, and is an interior designer. She was nice enough to want to do an interview with me. You can find a little more about me & Chania if you head over for a visit. Thanks Chania!

Take Care,

Maria

My sister's wedding day

She's a nurse

He's a pilot

When Liz and Adam got married they were able to pull off a beautiful wedding on a very small budget. She was on her last year of nursing school, and he had just gotten a pilot job flying commercially. Paying for all that schooling didn't leave a lot of money for an extravagant wedding. I think my sister did a fabulous job putting together her wedding on such a small budget. I would like to share a few pictures with you. Be warned actually a lot of pictures.

My sister loves peonies. However they are very expensive. She decided to have peonies only for her bouquet and our bouquets (the bridesmaids) She ordered peonies from a grower and had them shipped to her. We put the bouquets together the night before the wedding. We got home from the rehearsal dinner and we didn't have any electricity for some strange reason! (We grew up on Camas Prairie which is in the middle of nowhere in Montana. 45 minutes from the nearest Walmart.) We were in the basement of my Mom and Dad's house trying to put bouquets together in candle light. Finally at around 2:00 a.m. it came back on. The bride ended up sleeping in a chair that night. Wouldn't recommend putting your own bouquets together. However it did save her a lot of money. She ordered the gerber daisies and ranunculus from Costco.

My sister, Monica made the ring bearer pillow out of vintage fabric.

Adam bought her ring at Costco!

My sister Thomasina helping Liz

My sister let all of us pick our own dress styles, they just had to be black. These are the bouquets that were made by candle light in the middle of the night. (My sister Thomasina is the blonde directly behind Liz)

I think one of the smartest things my sister did was choosing to have her reception at this beautiful mansion. She was able to rent the grounds for the entire day for $250.00 (price since 2007 has gone up). It is called The Conrad Mansion. It is located in Kalispell, Montana.

There are paths of flowerbeds throughout the entire grounds. They saved so much money by renting an inexpensive place that had the perfect backdrop.

Liz's hair looked so pretty. I love the peony she added to the back of her hair.

Adam taking a picture of his new bride dancing with her dad!

You can see some glimpses of the mansion in the background of my Dad and Liz dancing.

Liz's friend was supposed to make the cake and had to cancel last minute. She then ended up having to order it from a grocery store bakery. We added fresh daisies to the top and around the base.

Liz used this picture for their thank you cards. She had it printed out on card stock and sent it as a postcard thanking their guests. I loved this idea it was so cute.

You can kind of see the tent in the background of this photo. We strung tulle from the tent. It was over a 100 degrees that day.

We hung pom-poms from the ceiling of the tent. There are those pom-poms again. Click on this link if you want to know how to make these! Martha Stewart Pom-poms!

Vases were filled with gerber daisies from Costco and set on tables covered in white table cloths.

This handsome cowboy did all the barbecuing for my sister. ( this is my cowboy) He barbecued chicken and tri-tip. (California Style)

We had roasted potatoes and green salad. Along with some french bread.

My sisters made these cute shortbread cookies for favors for the guests. They were stamped with a stamp from Michaels. These were a real hit with the kids and adults. I am trying to find this recipe to put a link to it. It was from Martha Stewart Weddings. When I do I will put a link to it here. They were so good.

Drinks were set out in these galvanized buckets filled with ice.

My mom and sister, Monica

A picture of an entry way into the Conrad Mansion.

I love this picture of my sister walking with her friends along this old rock wall at the mansion.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures of my sister's wedding. Liz provided me with these beautiful pictures. Thank you Liz for letting me share your special day with all of these special women. I hope you don't mind how many I shared with all of you. I wanted you to see how pretty her wedding was without having to spend a fortune. I really wanted to share it on Valentine's Day, but I couldn't get it done on time. I love weddings, and hope to someday go into designing for weddings. I dream of renting out my chandeliers to help a bride create a beautiful atmosphere. I am always inspired by wedding magazines, and love incorporating ideas from those magazines into my own home.

Thanks again for all of your sweet comments! I was so excited to share the anthro clearance with all of you, I am glad you were all just as excited as I was.

I also want to share my sister in law's new blog with all of you. Wendy just started a blog on building homes in Montana. They built their first home and are now selling it. She has 3 little girls and homeschools.

Please check out her new blog if you get a chance!

Dream Homes in Big Sky Country

Take Care,

Maria

Spice jars at Anthropologie~clearance

I just had to let you all know that Anthropolgie's (item #973468) spice jars are on clearance. They were $5.00 and are now $1.95 a jar.

I think they are the cutest things. My sister was kind enough to tell me about them being on clearance. I am now a proud owner!

I thought I better let all of you know about this great deal as well. I can't forget about all of you!

I don't think I will be using mine for spices though! I can think of a bunch of different things to do with these. I think they would also be great to use at a wedding!

I also thought I better put a link to where I got this clock, as I get so many inquiries about it. I picked it up on a fun shopping trip with my mom at Maison Reve. If Yasmine doesn't have any left, the brand of it is Roost. I love her store and her style! I will be doing a post on her store in the future!

I want to say thank you to Holly, from Life in the Fun Lane for putting a link to me on your blog! You are so sweet. I think you and I would have fun painting furniture together. You are amazing. I have been following your blog since I discovered blogging.

Thank you to Camilla at Home for featuring my blog Dreamy Whites on your blog! I am a huge fan of Camilla at Home and am really honored to be featured on your blog.

Please take the time to check out these beautiful blogs!

Have a great weekend!

I have probably put you on pink camellia overload. Sorry, this WILL be my last picture with camellias, promise. I do have other flowers besides camellias, they just aren't in bloom yet!

Take Care,

Maria

p.s. Be sure to read my invitation post as their is information for a fabulous giveaway from Sweet as a Candy!