DownEast Basics Girls Review & Giveaway

**This giveaway is now closed.**

I am SO SO excited to be doing this review and giveaway for a company I have absolutely LOVED for a long time….DownEast Basics!!!  I have purchased clothes from Down East Basics for quite some time now, but just recently discovered their DownEast Girls line!  It is fabulous!  Their prices are reasonable and their clothes are so so cute!
DownEast Basics Girls graciously sent me the Flower Girl Dress in Ballet Pink to review!

I am pretty picky on my kids clothes, but I absolutely LOVED this dress!  The fabric was so soft & the bubble sleeves and hem made the dress so adorable!  The flowers on the front are a perfect addition to this dress!  My little girl thought she was a princess in her new dress!  Every little girl deserves a day as a princess!  After getting this dress….I will definitely be buying more of my “ little princess’ “ clothes at DownEast Basics Girls!

DownEast Basics Girls offers so many great items!  Is it bad to want to buy everything they have for my little girl?  Check out some of my favorite items….

Stacked Ruffle Cardi

Tuxedo Sequin Henley

Stratosphere Skirt

Jane Tee

Buy It:

Visit DownEast Basics Girls to purchase these items. A purchase is not necessary to enter the giveaway.

Win It:

DownEast Basics Girls is giving away an item of YOUR CHOICE to ONE very lucky winner!

What will you choose?

This giveaway is open to US residents only.

*~* You must be a Sweet Peas and Bumblebees follower to enter *~*

For a chance to win, you must do the following:
Required: (You must do #1 in order to qualify for the giveaway)
1. Visit DownEast Basics Girls and tell me what your favorite item is…..you might just be the lucky one that wins your favorite item.  {Make sure to leave your email address or a way for me to contact you in your comment.}
Optional/Additional Entries:
2.  “Like” DownEast Basics on Facebook.  Leave a separate comment on here letting me know that you are a fan.
3. Pin your favorite item on Pinterest.  Leave a separate comment on here letting me know that you did.
4.  Blog about this giveaway.  Leave a separate comment on here letting me know you did.
5.  Facebook about this giveaway.  Leave a separate comment on here letting me know you did.

Giveaway will end October 7th, 2011.  One winner will be randomly selected on October 8th, 2011.

The fine print: Please make sure that you leave a way for us to contact you or we won't be able to get this amazing prize to you. Winners who we are unable to contact and who don't respond within 48 hours of being sent their winning email notification will forfeit their prize and we will draw another name. The product featured above was provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency. These opinions expressed are my own opinions and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation. This review is 100% my opinion and has not been edited or reviewed by anyone.

CLOSED: Modbe Review & Giveaway {DownEast sister company}

This Giveaway is CLOSED!

I am beyond ecstatic to be doing this review and giveaway for a wonderful company….Modbe!!!  I honestly didn’t know anything about them until I did this review!  Guess what??? I AM IN LOVE!!!  I will be doing my clothes shopping there from now on…..and of course DownEast Basics as well!  Did you know that Modbe is DownEast Basics sister company!  I really had no idea…but I wish I would have known this sooner!
Modbe graciously sent me the Around The Clock Dress to review!

The moment I pulled the dress out of the bag, I fell in love!  It has an empire waist…which is a must for someone still trying to loose that baby weight!  The knit fabric is SO SO comfortable!  I wore this dress to church last Sunday and received so many comments about it!  I absolutely LOVE the length of this dress!  It falls just below my knees…..so perfect!  I really wish that they had this dress in different colors…because I would probably order one of every color!  Yes, that is how much I love it!  This would be the perfect dress for anyone!

Modbe offers so many great items!  Is it bad to want one of everything?  You will know exactly what I am talking about once you check out their site!

Short Sleeve Wrap Sweater

Favorite Tee – my favorite

Spirit Skirt

Busy Blooming Dress

Buy It:

Visit Modbe to purchase these items. A purchase is not necessary to enter the giveaway.

Win It:

Modbe is giving away an item of YOUR CHOICE to ONE very lucky winner!

What will you choose?

This giveaway is open to US residents only.

*~* You must be a Sweet Peas and Bumblebees follower to enter *~*

For a chance to win, you must do the following:
Required: (You must do #1 in order to qualify for the giveaway)
1. Visit Modbe and tell me what your favorite item is…..you might just be the lucky one that wins your favorite item.  {Make sure to leave your email address or a way for me to contact you in your comment.}
Optional/Additional Entries:
2.  “Like” Modbe on Facebook.  Leave a separate comment on here letting me know that you are a fan.
3. Pin your favorite item on Pinterest.  Leave a separate comment on here letting me know that you did.
4.  Blog about this giveaway.  Leave a separate comment on here letting me know you did.
5.  Facebook about this giveaway.  Leave a separate comment on here letting me know you did.

Giveaway will end October 6th, 2011.  One winner will be randomly selected on October 7th, 2011.

The fine print: Please make sure that you leave a way for us to contact you or we won't be able to get this amazing prize to you. Winners who we are unable to contact and who don't respond within 48 hours of being sent their winning email notification will forfeit their prize and we will draw another name. The product featured above was provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency. These opinions expressed are my own opinions and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation. This review is 100% my opinion and has not been edited or reviewed by anyone.

{{What I Made Wednesday}} #27

We have the best followers…YES, you! :)  Thank you for taking the time to link up with us!  Last week we had some amazing projects and recipes linked up and I’m really struggling to pick my favorites….  So, there may be a few more than normal this week! :)

The most viewed link up…

This Chicken Taco Soup from Shugary Sweets looks amazing!  What’s even better is that it’s a crock pot recipe.  LOVE crock pot recipes! :)

Our favorites…

LOVE this drop down spider  from the creative imperative!   She found a way to make the spider drop down in front of the door as the door is opened…you  have to check it out!  I’m definitely trying her “scare idea” this year!

Oh my gosh, Ashley’s little guy is adorable! On her blog, Me and My Boys, she shares her new sewing project…an adorable vest for her cutie pie!  I think I will be making one of these for my little nephew very soon!  LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!

I’m LOVING this upcycled window from Love Sweet Love!  Her upcycle turned out amazing and I LOVE LOVE the kidney bead wreath she added.  I definitely need one of these in my house!

This monster pillow from Greene Acres Hobby Farm is adorable!  This would be a perfect project for my little ones to create! I love that there is no sewing involved and my little ones will love their creation.  How fun!

We’re BIG fans of banana bread at our house!  So, this blueberry banana bread recipe from The Lung Family definitely caught my eye!  I have enough black bananas in my freezer to make loaves and loaves of this…SO excited to try it!!! 

Now onto this week’s party…

Here are the details:

• **NEW**  You must be a follower of our blog.
  
• Everything you link up must be made by you.
  
• Link up to your specific post - not your main blog. (Please no Etsy shops or giveaways)
  
• Please post our button or link back to our blog so more people can join in the fun.

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• Visit at least 2 of the other participants and leave them a comment to show your LOVE!  We all love getting comments!!
  
• **NEW** At the end of the week, the project that has received the most views will get their blog button on our sidebar for the next week!  You will be our {{Wednesday Winner}}!!  Yeah for free advertising! (:

Also, if you’ve been featured, don’t forget to grab our button!

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Distressed LOVE Sign

As I’ve mentioned many times before, I LOVE Pinterest!  This idea came from  one of my daily Pinterest searches…I’m seriously addicted ya’ll! :)  I thought it was super cute and knew I could recreate my own.  And what was even better is that I had all of the supplies already, so this project cost me zero dollars!!!  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE when that happens!

Ready to make your own?

Start with a fence panel (or something similar).  Cut your panel into approximately 24” long pieces.   (Since the panel was super long, I was able to make 3 of these cute signs….I’m thinking Christmas presents! :) )

Using a dark walnut stain, paint a thin layer of stain onto all surfaces of your wood panel.  Let it dry.

 

Using my Sure Cuts A Lot 2 Software and my Cricut, I cut out a stencil using vinyl to use on top of my fence piece. 

NOTE: You can definitely do this step with stencils or free hand if you don’t have Sure Cuts A Lot 2 or a Cricut.

Using transfer tape, attach your vinyl to your wood piece.  Remove the vinyl and rub the vinyl so there are not any gaps or air bubbles.

Using white acrylic paint, paint the letters onto your wood.  (Remember to use a tapping method when you paint so that you don’t get any paint underneath your stencil.)  Let it dry.  When your paint is completely dry remove your vinyl.

Lightly sand over top of the letters to create a distressed look.

I LOVE how it turned out!

Menu Monday 9/26

Monday~ BLT’s, French Fries

Tuesday~ Rumbi Rice Bowls

Wednesday~ Lettuce Wraps

Thursday~ Spaghetti, Green Beans, Garlic Bread

Friday~ Calzones, Salad

Saturday~ Soup, Grilled Cheese

 

Sunday~ Roast, Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, Corn, Sliced Tomatoes

Mac & Cheese {Healthy & Delicious}

A good friend of mine recently gave me this recipe for Healthy and Delicious Mac & Cheese!  We absolutely LOVED it!  Not only is it better for you than most macaroni & cheeses, it tastes SO SO SO good too!

Healthy and Delicious Mac & Cheese

• 1/4 c red onion, chopped
• 1 medium carrot, peeled & chopped
• 1/4 c. Arborio Rice (the stuff you use to make risotto)
• 4 c. chicken stock
• 1 c. grated cheddar cheese
• 6 c cooked macaroni noodles
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Place onion, carrots, rice and chicken stock in a large saucepan and bring to a boil.  Boil for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  When rice is very tender, cool just slightly and place in blender.  Puree and add cheese.  Continue pureeing until smooth.  Add salt and puree to mix in.  Pour sauce over cooked macaroni in a large bowl and mix well.

**I have tried adding 2 cups of cheddar cheese instead of 1 cup and we also like it this way.

**Want an easy alternative to boxed Macaroni & Cheese?  When I make this recipe, I cut the noodles in half & only use half the sauce.  I freeze the remaining sauce for a later date.  {Half is about 2 cups).  When I am ready to use the frozen sauce, all I have to do is warm up the sauce in the microwave & cook the noodles….so fast & easy!  Plus, I feel better about feeding my kids this version of macaroni & cheese over the boxed version!

Enjoy!

Paper Tearing Name Art

Whenever possible, I try to have my kiddos complete activities that work on their fine motor skills.  So, this activity is perfect!  The idea came from one of the wonderful kindergarten teachers at the school I teach at.  It is such an easy activity to complete and really challenged my little ones.  It is definitely an activity we’ll be repeating in the future!

Materials Needed:

white cardstock

construction paper

glue

pencil

Start by writing your child’s name on a sheet of white cardstock.  (A large sheet of construction paper would work also!)

Now, the colored construction paper needs to be torn into tiny pieces.  (It works really well to have them tear a strip first and then tear the strip into little pieces.)  I let my kids pick their favorite colors to work with, which was perfect for my two year old who is working on color identification.  My four year old is working on his letter identification skills, which this activity is also great for.  Fine motor, letter identification, and color identification all in one activity…love it!

Also, this was very challenging for both of my kiddos.  They really had to work to get the pieces torn.  We’ll definitely be practicing this skill again!

Now, with one color torn, draw a line of glue over one of the letters in your little one’s name.  Using the paper pieces, have them cover the letter.

(Oh, and YES, we do craft in our jammies! :)  )

Continue tearing different colors and gluing onto each letter.

That’s it!  Your little one now has a masterpiece to display for all to see! :)

Love Good Deals?

If you LOVE good deals, you have to check out No More Rack!  It is a website that features 8 deals every day…and when I say deals….they are AMAZING deals!  Right now, I really want this purse!

Isn’t it fabulous? (;

Check out these shoes for only $23.00……that is 74% off!

Looking for early Christmas gifts….this Play-Doh set is only $12.00…..66% off!

I am definitely a sucker for a good deal!  Click here to go to their website!  Hurry….the deals change everyday!!

I was not compensated in any way for my opinion on this website…I just wanted to share with you these GREAT deals!

Favorite Things

I occasionally stumble upon things that I LOVE!  I thought it would be fun to share some of them with you!  I have always loved knowing about products that other people like…..and most of the time I LOVE them too!My good friend recently told me about this popcorn.  I was skeptical at first, but I will always try something once!  It was SO SO good!  It really did taste similar to a rice crispie treat!  You will not be disappointed if you try this!  You will wonder why you haven’t tried it sooner! (;

I have always just used a regular bathroom cleaner.  However, it seemed like I would scrub & scrub & scrub my tub…..and I could never get the film that builds up on the sides of the tub to go away!  Until….I tried Kaboom Foam-Tastic!  Now, I spray it on, finish cleaning the rest of my bathroom & then wipe down my tub.  Film….GONE!!!About a year ago, I got tired of paying for ink cartridges for my ink jet printer…so I splurged!  I bought a Brother Laser printer….and I wish I would have done it sooner!  I hardly ever have to buy toner….and I print a TON!  A laser printer is defiantly worth the extra cost & will pay for itself in the long run!  I wish I would have gotten a color laser printer….but I am looking at upgrading soon! 

I have received no compensation for my comments about these products….I just love them that much!