Welcome lil blue boo

I am so delighted to be introducing you to my newest sponsor and one of my favorite shops, lil blue boo.I've been admiring the gorgeous fashions at lil blue boo for a while now and I was so very excited when shop owner Ashley decided to sign on as a sponsor with me. At lil blue boo you will find recycled knits that are embellished with screen prints, dyes, and transfers making them truly one of a kind. All the prints are made from non-toxic, eco-friendly, water-based products made in the USA.I'm going to try really hard not to feature lil blue boo's entire inventory but it's going to be tough because everything in Ashley's shop is so A*D*O*R*A*B*L*E! I just love the style of these children's clothes. They are hip, fun, fresh and unique. LOVE.LOVE.LOVE everything about this shop. Here's a peek at some of these gorgeous garments.

Meet shop owner Ashley and her adorable daughter "boo"

Here's a little bit more about Ashley and her shop.

"Hi there, I'm Ashley of Lil Blue Boo. My husband, daughter and yorkie and I live in Palm Desert, CA.  After a former career in investment banking, I threw myself full time into motherhood and following my passion for anything and everything creative. Lil Blue Boo is all about encouraging others to find their creative streak. I love sewing, silk screening, painting, photography, journaling, and power tools. I have a serious obsession for color, fabric and trinkets. Lil Blue Boo sewing patterns grew out of a love of new and reclaimed knits.  Lil Blue Boo clothing is an eclectic mix of original hand cut silk screens, vintage finds, recycled fabrics, and comfortable style. I love coming up with unique one-of-a-kind and limited edition knit clothing for adults and children and I love sharing the process with others."

Need the P*E*R*F*E*C*T Valentine's Day dress for your little one? Check these out and you can even get a matching one for your little girl's doll!!! 

S*W*O*O*N

Shop owner Ashley has so GENEROUSLY offered to give Bouffe e Bambini readers 10% off using the code "BAMBINI10" at checkout. If you like what you see I highly encourage you to snap it up now with this great discount code. lil blue boo is quiet popular and can sell out fast.

If you would like to connect more with lil blue boo you can follow Ashley's A*M*A*Z*I*N*G blog {HERE}She has great patterns and tutorials so take advantage of this folks!!! You can also find lil blue boo on facebook {HERE} and twitter {HERE}.

I am honestly so honored to be featuring Ashley and her gorgeous shop lil blue boo. Please give Ashley a very big welcome and hop on over to her blog or shop and take a *PEEK* around. I promise you will love what you find and don't forget about that awesome discount she's offering you!!!

Meet Jessica

As you all know, I am expecting a baby girl in a couple weeks. Ginger Grace is due January 18th. I am really hoping that because she is my second baby I will have an easy labor and delivery. My birth experience with little Milton was fine. It went basically as I expected it would. I was in labor for 17 hours total but the first 12 hours were a breeze. I was at home eating, drinking and doing laundry. It was only really painful the last 5 hours, but oh it was a rough 5 hours. I really wanted to have a natural birth and I am so grateful that I was able to with little Milton. 

However, everyone says that you will magically "forget" the pain of childbirth but unfortunately this is not true for me at all.    I still remember it very VIVIDLY!!!!  And NO,  I'm not looking forward to it again! In fact I am having MUCH more anxiety about the pain this time. I think because with Milton I had no way of knowing what to expect that by the time I was in full fledged labor I was so overwhelmed that I just did it. I had to, but now that I know how badly it hurts I'm nervous.  But I do hope to have a natural birth with Ginger also. I recovered so quickly with little Milton. I was able to walk around 10 minuets after he was born. It was great.Here's a photo of my wonderful husband just after little Milton was born. I have it framed. I just love this one.

 So, I wanted to mention to you that when I go into labor my good friend Jessica is going to be guest blogging for me. I'm really excited because it will be my first guess blogger to ever post on bouffe e bambini. Jessica is a "real life" friend as well as a "blogger friend." We met about 15 years ago when we were just teenagers and have been friends ever since. Jessica is the one who introduced me to the wonderful world of blogging and suggested I start a blog during my pregnancy with little Milton and I am so grateful to her for that because I absolutely L*O*V*E it! Jessica has a blog that I adore called {civetta}. Hop on over THERE and see what she's been up to. You won't be disappointed! Jessica has a design blog and she's always posting gorgeous finds from fashion, to architecture, to amazing cocktail recipes. In fact, someone should hire her because somehow I end up buying half the things she posts about!! Seriously, I do!
Anyway folks I just wanted to introduce you to her and her lovely blog. I'm really looking forward to her guest post and I hope you are too. I don't plan to be gone too long, maybe just a couple days but Jessica will entertain you while I'm away!!  Here she is looking gorgeous.
Meet Jessica..............

Welcome Nicole's Homemade Treats

I am extra excited to be introducing you all to this D*E*L*I*C*I*O*U*S shop and my newest sponsor, Nicole's Homemade Treats.As you all know my husband and and I are foodies and LOVE to eat!!! When I saw Nicole's shop I just about jumped out of my seat wanting to snatch up every delicious morsel in her shop!!! It probably doesn't help that I'm 9 months pregnant but these homemade treats are to die for. Nicole offers a lovely variety of sweets including caramel and chocolate covered apples, nut clusters, peanut butter cups, chocolate covered pretzels and even homemade granola.Here........take a peek.........mmmmmmmm

These make the P*E*R*F*E*C*T Valentine's Day gifts!!!!

 Don't these peanut butter cups look too die for? I L*O*V*E peanut butter cups!!!

I always like to include a little bit more about my sponsors so you can get to know them a little better. Here's a little about Nicole,

"Go Ahead and Indulge

I am a stay at home mom of two boy and a military spouse. I use candy-making as a stress reliever and creative outlet! I also enjoy: baking, cooking, golf, playing with my kids, reading, socializing & working out. Candy making, it is a great stress reliever and creative outlet for me! Selling my products locally and online is a fun and rewarding endeavor! I have spent many hours trying to get my treats "just right!" It is safe to say that some of my first attempts were very interesting!

✿ Nicole's Homemade Treats is an LLC operating out of New York State. All my products are prepared in my fully licensed kitchen. NYS Dept. of Agriculture #31AAAA

✿ My treats are prepared in small batches, to preserve the taste and quality of the product, and to ensure that there is no waste. It takes me about 5-7 days to produce your order. I PROMISE - they will be  worth the wait! 

✿ I make only all natural, preservative free products, and use as many organic ingredients as possible. My products may not have the shelf life of store bought products, no worries! They won't last very long!

✿ The packaging products I use are considered "green" because they are made using recycled products, or come from ecologically conscious companies.

✿ I am really conscious about who I purchase my products from - the majority come from local companies, farms, and shops, however if that is not possible I buy from companies that are known to be eco-friendly/green themselves.

I hope you enjoy eating my "treats" as much as I like making them!"

Here's a peek at a few more of Nicole's delicious treats that I am dying to try!!!! YUM.......Chocolate covered cherries!!!!

And of course one of my absolutle favorite combinations of all time, salty and sweet!!!!! Love these!!!

Please help me show Nicole and her delicious shop a very warm welcome and hop on over {THERE} and browse around for some scrumptious treats!!!! You will not be disappointed. I promise you!!

You can also connect with Nicole and her sweet treats on her {BLOG}, {FACEBOOK} or {TWITTER} accounts!!

PLUS Nicole had so generously offered Bouffe e Bambini readers 10% off everything in her shop using the code"VIC10" at checkout!! Don't miss out on this deal!!

Plus keep in mind Valentine's Day is right around the corner. Any of these treats would make the perfect gift for your loved one!

E*N*J*O*Y!!!!!!

Handmade Gift Guide

Happy Sunday everybody! I hope you had a wonderful New Years celebration. Every Sunday I like to post a handmade gift guide in my quest to support handmade products. Valentine's Day is right around the corner and I am already dreaming up what I will be making this year. I thought of making mini pink donuts individually wrapped and adorned with handmade gift tags. We'll see how far I actually get with that with a newborn and 14 month old but I will try. Just in case you aren't planning on making your own Valentine's gifts, here are a bunch of GREAT handmade ideas that I love.
 This adorable handmade frog hat from Creative Dragonfly which can now be yours along with EVERYTHING else in her shop for 20% off using the code "bouffee" at checkout!!! If you've been eyeing something from shop owner Barbara's gorgeous store now is your chance. This is an exclusive offer for Bouffe e Bambini readers! Thank you Barbara!!!!

These handmade couture washcloths from lillybelle Designs

These gorgeous handmade bangles from Cherry Creek Designs

This gorgeous satin dress from Up To My Knees in Crafts

One of these gorgeous Valentine's T's from Lil Blu Boo

These gorgeous handmade earrings from DyNamo

These gorgeous handmade baby shoes from KathyDee's Cozy Toes

These adorable argyle leg warmers from B:Mod Designs

This handcrafted wooden puzzle from The Puzzled One

This gorgeous vintage handbag from beso handbags

Some of this white chocolate bark from Nicole's Homemade Treats. Perfect Valentine's gift!!

The pattern for these adorable leggings from So Tei-Tei

A pair of these gorgeous handmade leg warmers from Knotty Tots

This gorgeous handbag from Charm Design

Next time you've got a gift to buy for someone special I hope you will consider buying handmade. I only feature handmade sponsors and giveaways here on my blog because I love to support all the unique artists and their unique crafts. 

I have some amazing handmade giveaways going on all the time. You can click {HERE} to check them out. 

Happy Sunday and Happy Shopping!!!

2010 Recap in iPhone pictures

This year has been amazing for me. It was filled with fond memories of my little Milton growing month by month right before my eyes. I feel like my life only just began with his birth.  I can't imagine what the heck I was doing for 30 years before he came along but I am so incredibly grateful for him. I never knew my heart could love this much or open this wide. This year for me was ALL about my special little Milton. Here are just a few snap shots all taken from my iPhone. 

Milton and I at about 4 weeks old

Milton and daddy at about 6 weeks 

Milton at about 3 months

Milton at about 5 months

I love this one...poor daddy......so tired

Milton and daddy on Easter

Milton and Daddy on Mother's Day. I was already pregnant with Ginger at this point but didn't know it yet:)

Our first family vacation with Milton. He was 7 months

Just looking cute.......around 10 months

I hope you all have a wonderful New Years. You can celebrate for me since I am already in bed blogging from my adorable new mini laptop and plan to be sleeping by 9pm. I've got to rest up for Ginger's arrival.

I wish all of you many blessings, health and happiness in 2011.

Good Night and

H*A*P*P*Y  N*E*W  Y*E*A*R!!!!!!!

Vibrant Designs GIVEAWAY {NOW CLOSED}

I'm so excited to introduce you all to a lovely little handmade shop called Vibrant Designs. At Vibrant Designs you will find a wide variety of beautifully handmade handbags, wallets, business card holders and key fobs.

Shop Owner Julie was so kind and sent me over one of her gorgeous little business card holders to review. I L*O*V*E it!!! The fabric is so colorful and vibrant and it's the perfect size. Now I can keep my business cards in my purse without trying to cram into some place they don't actually fit. It's perfect!! Look how cute it is!

I always like to provide my readers with a little bit more info about the shops I feature so here's a little bit about shop owner Julie and her shop Vibrant Designs,

"I am a stay at home mom who found that she likes to sew! Specifically bags/purses of all kinds as they are completed in a fairly quick amount of time and are most definitely useful! I love to read, travel, spend time with my family, the color purple, church, dogs, vintage, weekend getaways, and crafting!"

Julie has so generously offered to give one of you a gift card for $25 dollars towards anything in her gorgeous shop!   So, here are just a few of the amazing things you could get your hands on............

BUY IT.................Head on over to Vibrant Designs and grab yourself a gorgeous handbag!

WIN IT........ENTER TO WIN THIS GIVEAWAY........RULES TO ENTER:

THE PRIZE:  $25 Dollars towards ANYTHING at Vibrant Designs.  OPEN USA and CANADA ONLY!

 MANDATORY ENTRY. Go visit Vibrant Designs and tell me your favorite item.

WANT MORE CHANCES TO WIN? for addition entries:

1. Become a fan of Vibrant Design on facebook and leave Julie a comment so she knows you stopped by:)
2. Become a follower of Julie's blog and leave a comment so she knows you stopped by:)

3. Become a follower of bouffe e bambini on twitter 

4. Become a fan of bouffe e bambini on facebook

5. Tweet, blog or post to facebook this post:  Enter to win a gorgeous handmade clutch.

6. Purchase something from Vibrant Design and comment back here afterwards. (good for 3 entries, leave 3 comments)

7. Enter one of my other GIVEAWAYS and comment her which one.

You MUST be 18 years or older to enter

Giveaway OPEN USA and CANADA ONLY!!!

You MUST leave separate comments for each entry and please leave don't forget to leave your email address

Giveaway will be open until January 14th at midnight

One winner will be chosen at random using random.org and contacted by me via email

GOOD LUCK!!!!!

If you like this giveaway....PLEASE come check out my others.......ALL my GIVEAWAYS are handmade and gorgeous!!!!!