deck the halls...

With a hand-painted ornament by yours truly.

I've added hand-painted "message ornaments" to my Etsy shop, caitiedidesign, just in time for Christmas decorating!

As stated on my Etsy page:

Wanting to start a new family tradition? Decorate your tree with personalized ornaments! These shatterproof ball ornaments are coated with low odor, flat black, chalkboard paint. They measure to be about 9 inch in circumference and are ready for your creativity!

Ideas for use:
-Sit down as a family and write a favorite memory from the year on each of these ornaments. What a great conversation starter!
-Decorate each ornament with a favorite bible verse.
-Let kiddos create a piece of art to add to the Christmas tree!
-Hide a message to each other in the Christmas tree each day of the advent season.

These ornaments allow your creativity to shine and your family to personalize the tree!

Perfect gift idea or a perfect treat for your own family!

***

FREE SHIPPING for a limited time!

(If you wish to purchase more than the quantity listed, please email me with your purchase inquiry. I can update the quantity listed to meet your shopping needs! For example, if you want to purchase 5 of these ornaments and there are only 3 left in stock, I can update the number for you. I am always in the process of creating more of these!) 

To purchase, visit caitiedidesign!

(ps...I also have a selection of jewelry.  As of right now my supply is low, but I will be adding more as we get more into the holiday season!)
 

what I'm loving...

I'm linking up with Jamie today!

one.

my mom with my brother this summer at the Smithsonian in DC

I'm loving this lady! (As always!) My lovely mom is celebrating her birthday today.  The great thing is we get to celebrate her all weekend long with two special birthday dinners! I'm beyond blessed by my mom.  She is so loving, so compassionate, and has always gone above and beyond to be there for her family and reach out to others around her.  She is my number one fan and my biggest encourager.  (She even is a follower and reader of my blog.)  I love you mom! I'm so blessed by you daily.  Enjoy your special day!

two.

I'm loving that we finally got some rain today! We have needed it so badly.  And even more...I'm loving that the news forecast shows possible snow showers in a couple weeks.  My students are already crazy enough at this point....might as well bring on those snow days!

three.

via

 

 

Leggings.  Yes, I'm loving leggings! I will say with my petite, bottom-heavy curvy figure, I was reluctant.  However, as soon as I wore leggings for the first time (in adulthood), I was hooked.  Under big sweaters, under too-short dresses, under shirt dresses, under skirts, worn with tall boots, worn with flip-flops, worn with flats....brown, black, jeggings....you name them, I love them.  I sort of see them as my way to get around my "dress up" days at work.  Love them.  Period.

four.

via

I'm also loving these Steve Madden boots from Macy's.  I have them in dark brown and they have become my flip flops of fall and winter.  I'm looking forward to spending some gift card money on a black pair soon!

five.

I'm loving that this is my last full week of school before Thanksgiving break.  Next is Christmas break! Love the time off with family and friends this time of the year celebrating the many blessings in our lives and the gift of Christ in our lives.

 Happy Wednesday!

the blessing box

I'm linking up with the lovely Natalie!

Today I'm blessed.....

with my wonderful my family.

to have great friends.

with the opportunity to spread the light of Christ to 22 kiddos each day whether I can use my words to do so or not.

with a husband that sits down and just talks things out with me when I just can't figure things out on my own.

that God pursues me into an intimate relationship with Him and he doesn't give up on me.

with blogging friends that inspire and encourage me.

a warm home.

love and laughter.

What are your blessings?

sentimental much?

I'm such a sentimental person.  I cherish and adore memories.  I love to capture moments and hold onto things that I can look back on and say, "Oh..remember when?" I'm pretty sure I can thank my mom for this (Hi, Mom! It's not a bad thing.) So with our most recent vacation to Disney we have started a couple traditions to capture vacation memories.

Our first new tradition is making a photo book of our vacation photos instead of developing the pictures in a set.  This way we will have photo books to look at and all the photos are in one place.  Bonus...I don't have to fill an album and I was able to add captions.  (Easy scrapbooking in my opinion!) I used Walgreens.  However, I know there are many other options...such as Shutterfly and Costco.

 

A second tradition we have started was something I saw on Younghouselove.  The idea is to send yourself a postcard when you are on vacation.  You can add information like where you stayed, your favorite places to visit, favorite restaurants, and anything else you want to look back on and remember.  Except we tweaked this a bit. To save ourselves the postage, we just bought the post card and then filled it out when we got home.  It was a fun way to talk about the trip and reminisce.  We are keeping these in a great little green trunk I found at Homegoods.

Can't wait to add to our collection! How do you preserve vacation memories?

And the winner is...

Callie Nicole 

from

Through Clouded Glass!

Congratulations sweet mommy-to-be! You're the winner of the Mommy Hook! Please contact me asap with your contact information so we can ship your prize!

Happy Sunday  y'all! Don't forget to play along here and here for other fabulous giveaways!

12 Days of Christmas link-up--Coming Soon!

<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://cait-theblessedlife.blogspot.com"><br /><img src="http://i847.photobucket.com/albums/ab38/theblessedlife/polka-dots-green-white-1.gif" border="0" alt="button" /></a>” /><br /><br /><br /><br />

The Fall link-up was so much fun, that I just had to organize a Christmas link-up! However, we do Christmas BIG in my family...so this link-up is going to be done (bad grammar?!) BIG as well!

Starting December 1st, I will host a link-up each day through December 12th! Link-up each day...link-up a few days...link-up all 12 days! It's up to you! I'll provide the topic, you grab the button.  Share your thoughts, heart, and creativity! No rules...just Christmas fun! (And I'm not opposed to you linking up with mine and another link-up party! Don't want to take away from those other fun link-ups!) Mark your calendars, blog ahead, carve some time out of the busy holiday schedule, and join us for some fun holiday cheer! The topics?

Day 1 (December 1st)-What does Christmas mean to you?

Day 2 (December 2nd)- Christmas Traditions

Day 3 (December 3rd)- Christmas Gift Ideas

Day 4 (December 4th)- Christmas Memories

Day 5 (December 5th)- Holiday Recipes and/or Entertaining Ideas

Day 6 (December 6th)-Christmas Crafts/DIY projects

Day 7 (December 7th)-Favorite Holiday Movies & Music

Day 8 (December 8th)-Letters to Santa (Your Christmas Wish List)

Day 9 (December 9th)-Wrapping Tips

Day 10 (December 10th)-Christmas Decorations

Day 11 (December 11th)-Thrifty Christmas Tips

Day 12 (December 12th)-Christmas Musings (anything else you wanna share)

Looking forward to it! Let's count this as our Christmas Party via Blog Land! See you December 1st!

Thankfully Thrifty Baby Shower Giveaway-Round Three!

This is your final giveaway chance here at theblessedlife for the fun baby shower celebrating Ashleigh from Thankfully Thrifty and her first little one. If you are from Ashleigh's blog, welcome back! If you haven't stopped by to see her first, you can go here for more details about this fabulous giveaway and others going on!

I'm excited to host another part of the baby shower for you to get a chance to win a $15 gift certificate to the Express Yourself! Creations Etsy store!

via

 
Jill is a mom herself and knows how busy life can get with little ones! She has a large selection of day planners (agendas) to plan all those doctors appointments, sports games and practices, or play dates.  She also has a large selection of swaddle blankets and burpies/bibs for you moms of little ones (or little ones on the way)! They look so adorable and fashionable for the sweet little ones in your life.  And news to me, but Ashleigh let me in on a little secret...swaddle blankets are larger than receiving blankets, meaning extra cozy to snuggle up and swaddle your sweet baby.  Jill has many colorful fabric options! If you would like to see more fabric options other than what you see on her site, send a message to Jill and she will be happy to send more pictures your way!
Okay, time to play!

GIVEAWAY:

One $15 gift certificate will be awarded to one randomly selected person.

HOW TO ENTER:
Game time! The first mandatory entry is to play along with the baby shower game right here in the comment section!

How it works...

In the comment section, let us know your best swaddling and/or burping tip! (This is only one entry...I can't wait to read your tips!)

EXTRA ENTRIES:
You can earn one extra entry for each of the following.  Please leave a separate comment for each entry in order for each to be counted and make sure to leave your email address with at least one of your comments so that I can contact you if you win.

1. Visit Express Yourself! Creations and leave a comment letting me know which item you would like to have if you win this giveaway!

2.  Add Express Yourself! Creations to your favorites on Etsy.  Leave a comment letting me know you did.
3. Become a follower of Thankfully Thrifty on Twitter here and tweet about the giveaway
4. Grab my button for your site and/or add me to your BlogRoll on your blog
5. Grab Thankfully Thrifty's button for your site and/or add her to your BlogRoll on your blog
6.  For three extra entries, purchase something from Express Yourself! Creations and come back to let me know what you purchased!

This giveaway will end on Saturday, November 27th at midnight (eastern time).  The winner will be randomly selected and posted on Sunday, November 28th. Have fun and good luck! Make sure to check back by Thankfully Thrifty to find out about other giveaways going on!

(And don't forget to enter the Mommy Hook giveaway here that ends tomorrow and the Boogie Wipes giveaway here if you haven't already! It ends November 21st!)