bouffe e bambini: January 2011

Love

Rue La La is giving away a trip to Jamaica!!

Rue La La is giving away a trip to Jamaica for two!!! After having two babies in one year my hubby and I desperately need a getaway!!! So I am inviting you all to join for my chance to be entered to win the vaca. Also if your new to Rue La La it's a pretty awesome site that offers great deals on designer stuff. I've already oredered TWO pairs of designer jeans that I am dying to get into.Anyway, you'll get $10 credit to their site if you sign up. It's invite only so click {HERE} if you want to sign up, get $10 dollars and invitew your friends for a chance to win a vacation to Jamaica:) Hanna

Mexican Chocolate Cake with Mascarpone Cinnamon Icing

I saw {THIS} recipe on one of my favorite cooking blogs {BAKED BREE} and changed my entire day around so I could make it right then and there ( I made this a couple weeks ago before GInger was born.) I love mascarpone cheese in anything!!! As I was scrolling though the recipe I saw it called for cayenne pepper, olive oil, and balsalmic vinegar and I knew immediately that I needed to make this cake.

It did not disappoint! You could definately taste the cayenne and cinnamon and what a beautiufl pairing they are. The cake came out a beautiful dark chocolate color and was very dense and rich. The icing was VERY, VERY light, almost more like a whipped topping which I LOVED!!! So, I served the icing as you would whipped cream. I did not the ice the cake. I simply added a dollop of the icing to eat piece as served and I loved this idea! If I had a reastaurant I would make a killing selling this!! It really makes a very sophisticated flavor profile!

I will definitely make this again!!! I would love to try cupcakes!!

Find the recipe {HERE}

Also Please take minuet to have a *PEEK* at my all handmade GIVEAWAYS. I only feature beautiful handmade things on my blog and everything is gorgeous! You will not be disappointed. I promise you!!!

Handmade Gift Guide

Happy Sunday Everyone. Here are some gorgeous finds from my amazing sponsors. Everything you see featured here is handmade. I like to post a gift guide every Sunday to help promote my love of handmade. I read a statistic the other day that said that if ou buy local and/or handmade 70% of that goes directly back into the local economy. I thought that was marvelous. Here's a few things I personally L*O*V*E This adorable visor beanie from Creative Dragonfly

This adorable bib from lillybelle Designs

These adorable funky monkey leg warmers from B:Mod Designs

This wooden yin yang puzzle from The Puzzled One

These adorable shoes from KathyDee's Cozy Toes

This gorgeous handbag from beso handbags

This adorable dress from Up To My Knees In Crafts

This gorgeous print from Cherry Creek Designs

This amazing Beligian Rocky Road from Nicole's Homemade Treats

These adorable ruffle capri's from lil blue boo

This gorgeous scarf from Happiknits

This gorgeous necklace from Annali's Jewelry

This gorgeous anchor pendant from Jewelry 4 Change

This gorgeous red cameo necklace from Hand Made and Lovely

Happy Shopping! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Giddy Up and Grow GIVEAWAY

I am *over the moon* excited to be introducing you all to one of my all time favorite accessory shops Giddy Up and Grow. I have been coveting shop owner Robyn's G*O*R*G*E*O*U*S accessories for months now!!! I adore her shop and can't get enough of it! I bought a beautiful headband for Ginger and currently have about four others that I am dying to buy!!

The style of Robyn's hair accessories is like nothing I've ever seen. They are so unique and simply stunning. Bright, Fresh. Bold. Timeless.

Love.......Love.........Love this shop.......check it out

Here is a little bit more about Robyn and how Giddy Up and Grow came to be what it is today,

"Giddy Up & Grow started as a hobby after I had my second child, my baby girl Noelle. I have always been creative in many ways, from the time I was a small child. I trained as a dancer from the age of 4 to an adult, even taught during my university years! My mom taught my sister and I to sew from an early age too. I would rip apart a pair of my jeans, and sew designer fabric down the sides! When I look back now, it seems so silly, but at the time, I was sooooo cool!

Giddy Up & Grow has been a labor of love. Each felt flower is hand cut by me using my own patterns. I get asked all the time "what die cut machine do you use?" But I don't use any. Each headband is handmade by me, for each individual!

Right now I am also working on a book with a publishing house in London, England. The book will be my patterns for making your own felt flowers, to use in home decor or fasion! The book will be available this summer.

Giddy Up & Grow headbands and clips make really sweet and unique baby shower gifts. I also just finished a custom order for mini clips as birthday party favors!

I hope you enjoy Giddy Up & Grow hair accessories as much as I love making them!
Robyn
xoxoxox
www.giddyupandgrow.etsy.com"

So the best part is shop owner Robyn has sooooo generously offered to give one of her G*O*R*G*E*O*U*S hair accessories away!!!! That's right and you get to choose any one you want if you win!!

I LOVE THIS GIVEAWAY!!! YAY!!!! GOOD LUCK!!!!!!

BUY IT.................Head on over to Giddy Up and Grow and grab yourself some gorgeous accessories. I'm so glad I have! I just adore this shop!!!

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

THE PRIZE: Any hair accessory of winner's choosing. OPEN WORLDWIDE!!!

MANDATORY ENTRY. Go visit Giddy Up and Grow and tell me which adorable hair accessory you would choose if you won.

WANT MORE CHANCES TO WIN? for addition entries:

1. Become a fan Giddy Up and Grow on {FACEBOOK} and leave her a comment so she knows you stopped by
2. Become a follower of Giddy Up and Grow on {TWITTER}

3.Become a public follower of my blog via Google Friend Connect

4. Become a follower of bouffe e bambini on twitter

5. Become a fan of bouffe e bambini on facebook

6. Tweet, blog or facebook about this giveaway

7. Purchase something from Giddy Up and Grow and comment back here afterwards. (good for 3 entries, leave 3 comments)

You MUST be 18 years or older to enter

Giveaway WORLDWIDE!!!

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

Giveaway will be open until February 10th 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

Welcome Hand Made and Lovely

I am really excited about this amazing handmade shop and my newest sponsor. Please meet Hand Made and Lovely.I L*O*V*E everything in this shop! There is so much to choose from that I want one of each!!!! Shop owner Bracey offers all kinds of G*O*R*G*E*O*U*S accessories from jewelry, to hair pieces, to cigar purses. Many of the pieces are crafted from vintage items as well which I love!!!Take a peek at a few of these amazing jewelry finds.

I L*O*V*E this handmade earring holder. This is so creative!

I think this is my favorite item in her shop!! SO DARN CUTE!

Here is a little more about Bracey and her shop Hand Made and Lovely

"My name is Bracey Pate, and I have been designing and creating jewelry for as long as I can remember. It all started out as unique pieces for myself or friends and family. I’m relatively new to Etsy and blogging, but I absolutely love it! I tend to blog about new items in my shop, recent craft projects, and life in general. braceypate.blogspot.com

My shop is named “Hand Made and Lovely” after a vintage sweater tag I found in a jar of buttons. The tag reads “I am hand made and lovely. Please look after me.” The phrase struck me as the perfect motto for my jewelry.

I create jewelry and accessories using recycled vintage materials as well as new findings. Most of my items are one-of-a-kind pieces. I do have some items available in multiples, so please contact me with questions. I love giving old buttons and vintage costume jewelry new life.

I have a wide variety of pieces available in my shop, and I am happy to take personal requests. Please feel free to contact me with any questions. braceypate@gmail.com"

I just love reading about the artists behind these unique and amazing handmade shops! Thanks Bracey!

Here;s a peek at a few of her gorgeous hair pins,

If you like what you see here you can also find Bracey on her adorable {BLOG}. Please hop on over there and say Hi!!

Bracey was also so kind and offered Bouffe e Bambini readers a discount to her shop. You can save 10% off your entire order by simply entering the code "beb10" at checkout.

Please help me show Bracey and her gorgeous shop Hand Made and Lovely a big warm welcome and go browse around!!! You won't be disappointed. There is something for everyone in this shop!

Happy Shopping!!!

Ginger's Birth Story

I was two days past my due date when I went into labor. It's hard to say wheather or not "I knew" I was going into labor that day or not but it certainly seemed that way. When your waiting for a baby to arrive the nesting instinct really becomes profound. In the days leading up to Ginger's birth I had cooked a few meals, baked brownies and cleaned everything in sight several times over. I spent most of the day I went into labor tending to my sick little Milton but did manage to take 2 showers and go to the grocery store just in case I went into labor.Pregnant woman are so odd. The circumstances surrounding the night I went into labor were anything but ideal and I think that's why I was fairly sure that was going to be the night. That morning little Milton woke up with 102.5 fever. It was the first high fever he'd ever had. My mom, who was also little Milton's on call caretaker when I went into labor, also woke up sick that day. My husband, who is a working musician, had a gig an hour and a half away that night. Most of you probably don't know this but we are a one car family so that meant I was at home alone with no car and to top it off there was a snow storm coming. I knew there was a chance that I would go into labor while my husband was out of town playing his gig and that I would have to take a taxi to the hospital but I assured him it would be okay and sent him on his way. Oh and I forgot to mention it was a full moon! He got home from his gig, crawled into bed and 15 minuets later I woke him with my first contraction. I am so grateful she waited for her daddy to come home because had I gone into labor a couple hours before, he likely would have missed her birth. It was a very close call. I am so pleased to report that I was able to have 100% natural childbirth with Ginger which I was really, really hoping for and not only that but she was born just 2 hours and 16 minuets from my very first contraction. I only pushed twice. Isn't that amazing? In fact she came so fast she missed the doctor who was in route to the hospital when Ginger was born so the wonderful nurses delivered her which suits me just fine. I am a nurse and really respect our profession. They did a great job. I thought the labor pains hurt just as bad as my first labor but I was much more prepared to deal with it this time around. The body is so amazing. I am in awe at how it knew exactly what to do this time around. I was in labor with Milton for 17 hours and Ginger for 2 hours. WOW! Amazing!!! I went into labor at 1am, Ginger was born at 3:16am and we were home by 4pm that same day. We only spent a total of 12 hours at the hospital which was perfect for me. I couldn't wait to get home to see little Milton. I didn't even miss a single bedtime! Perfect! So far Ginger is a lovely baby. She is very sweet and easy. She has a wide array of adorable coos and squeaks that she entertains us with. We are definitely still adjusting to being a family of four but I couldn't be happier or feel more blessed ot have two beautiful, healthy children and a wonderful, loving husband. I am truly blessed and grateful. Here's a cute photo of her at just 2 days old and wide awake. I will try to get some more photos over the next week and post them soon.

Handmade Gift Guide

Every Sunday I like to post a gift guide that showcases my amazing sponsors and the beauty they create.
The next time you have a gift to buy I hope you will consider buying handmade!!! I adore this vintage jeweled bobby pin from Hand Made and Lovely