Free Books! Seriously, FREE books.

A pal 'o mine is moving to another state and doesn't want to pack fourteen gazillion books so she is giving some away. She is a YA author so some of them are for young adults. (Though I don't know which ones as I am not an avid reader. She can read an entire book in the time it takes me to finish two chapters) Take a peek-see and contact her if you want some free reads!

Also, while you are over there look at her hilarious Self-Depricating Sunday posts. They will take you back in time and make you think either "oh I remember that fad" or "thank god I never wore that"!

jodysparks.com

I've got nothing to giveaway but this girl does! and it rocks.

Go check out this awesome giveaway from waterstone jewelry.

Such a cute wristlet. It's the perfect shade of brown and looks soft like butta... I think my favorite part is the stitched stem. Clever.

(photo from Waterstone to entice you even more - how flipping cute is it, seriously)

my protege

I've been making images since jr high when my parents bought a real, interchangeable lens camera! They got me my very own, fully manual Pentax K1000 in highschool and learned how to develop my own film and photographs and became the photo editor of my newspaper and yearbook. Nerd! I was hooked and haven't stopped shooting photos wherever I go since. I did my internship in college for a major company shooting "news" for their newsletter. I wish I had stuck with it. But for now I photograph my friends and family, their kids, and of course my own daughter. I must have the camera in my face a lot because as I was doing a '18mo' shoot for Ani, she grabbed one of my lenses and acted like she was taking a picture of me. So cute I had to share. I wonder if she'll love it like I do, or if she'll plan someone's financial future like daddy. They couldn't be more opposite! We shall wait and see... but I think this puts a check mark in mama's column. And, no i've not caught her counting cash yet so there are no marks for daddy. :evil snicker:

Oh! And the absolutely adorable bunny top? It's from my previously featured etsy store - bellabini. So cute, and so well crafted!! Check her out.

Thirteen Reasons Why

This book should be required reading for high-school kids. I didn't notice that it was young adult when I grabbed the [audio] book. I just read the back and thought it sounded interesting.

High school kids are mean. I watched it myself. (I wasn't the arse end of it, just a bystander) I sat there listening to this book thinking, those jerks should have known there are consequences to their words/actions.

Great book. I still think about it and I finished it a month ago.

Be Mine, Valentine

I may be a month early in the sentiment, but if you want your adorable girly to have this L-O-V-E-ly heart onesie in time for Valentine's Day you should think about popping over to bellabini's etsy shop and ordering it for $15 now. The bow and Swarovski crystal give it a gwillion dollar botique feel but it's smart and completely washable. So you save moolah not having to dry clean something that is going to get drool and quite possibly other..er..matter on it!

Personalized Heart Valentine GIRL Onsie or Tee with Swarovski crystal
Bellabini on ETSY
$15 +shipping

Shutterbug

I learned how to use a camera, develop my own film, and print in a darkroom in high school. I got my first camera then too (a Pentax that looked very close to this adorable ring) and spent a lot of time roaming around shooting images.

I also spent a lot of my teen years in a dark room. Alone. Just me and my boombox. No wonder i'm a bit of a loner. One that could kick your arse in "name that tune" the early 90's version.

I believe that means I must own it, yes?

Camera Ring
by The Dainty Squid
$8.00 at Shanalogic.com

circle of love

I was clicking around in cool mom picks and saw a link to this great personalized jewelry site. I never was one for displaying my name on myself (a la Carrie Bradshaw and the Necklace that People Copied 'round the World) - but I've become slightly addicted to personalized pieces since having my daughter. I :love: her name (as I should, yes?) in both long and nickname forms. I do have to apologize in advance to my girly as I've found out that its one of those names. The one that people just say wrong. I blame it on my husband, he took advantage of the pain meds in the mothering unit hours after she was born and spelled it with two n's - nn- instead of my preference, n. Annika/Ani (pronounced "ahh nika" or "Ahh-knee" - not Ann-ika or Annie) I apologize because I too have one of those names. I'm called Kristina, Christian, Kristine, Kirstin and always have to clarify (mostly for email sake) that its "i", not "e". It's really not that big a deal. I've rolled with it for 34 years! I'm digressing... this was about Ani and the necklace I simply must have for my head!

circle of love

A beautiful sterling silver circle that measures about 1 1/4" across. It is handstamped with up to 40 letters/spaces and then polished.

Hung on a sterling silver ball chain.

*Please allow 2-3 weeks for your custom creation to be shipped.

$38 thevintagepearl.com/

Back to School

It's that time of year again. I used to :love: back to school shopping. Hello...new threads! My little one is no where near Back To School but I am very much looking forward to helping her pick out her First Day outfit!!

Cool Mom Picks has created the Back To School Guide 2009 with tons of great stuff for your kiddo.

Go see what they dig!



discounts they are offering:

EMTanner Designs - 20% off with code COOLMOM through 9/9
Moxie Kids - $10 off orders over $50 plus free shipping with code CPM10 through 8/31 (choose in-store pick up to receive free shipping)