Dragonfly Soaps Winner!

The winner for the Dragonfly Soaps Giveaway is entry #79 ~ Jocelyn!

Congratulations!

Thank you everyone for entering! :)

Green Resolutions Event

Happy Mothering, Mama Chocolate and Purposeful Homemaking are hosing a Green Resolutions Giveaway Event at the beginning of next year!  Can you believe it's already almost 2012?!?!

 

 

Be sure to come back here between the 16th and 30th of January for a fun giveaway event!! :)

Giveaway at Artful Homemaking! :)

 

Joy @ Artful Homemaking is having a giveaway for Sticky Words Vinyl Lettering until the 8th of December!  Go to her blog to enter and see what she loves about these Vinyl Letterings! :)

I think my favorite is this one ~ but it's really hard to decide as there are so many neat ones they offer!   I think their "religious" collection is so neat and what a great way to keep the wonderful scriptures around your home and constantly reminding you.

Be sure to read around Joy's blog too - she has so many wonderful posts! :)

BabyLegs Gift Basket Giveaway! {One Stop Christmas Hop!}

This is it - it's finally here -- The One Stop Christmas Hop hosted by Mama to 4 Blessings!! Myself along with several other bloggers are participating in giveaways with a value of $25 or more at each of the participating blogs!

I'm so happy to bring you all another giveaway from BabyLegs!  Be sure to read my review here - wonderful baby products!

Here are a few of my *new* favorites from BabyLegs.

These Lil' Lilac Leg Warmers would be SO cute for your little girl!

Keep your new little boy warm with the Lil' Baby Blue Leg Warmers.

I just love these cute little wintery socks! ~ Chilly Baby Socks

These ones too! ~ Snowflakes Baby Socks

And to go with the Snowman Socks they have these super cute Snowman Leg Warmers!

Buy BabyLegs!

You can purchase BabyLegs for your little ones on their online store here.  Legwarmers start at $10 a pair, socks are starting at $10 for 2 pairs (they have SO many CUTE ones!)

***For TODAY only (11/28/2011) you can purchase select sets of 3 legwarmers for $10!***

Win BabyLegs!

BabyLegs has kindly offered to giveaway to 1 of my readers a gift basket worth $50.00!  Your choice of a regular or winter basket in boy or girl prints!!

To enter this giveaway use the Rafflecopter form below - comments do not count as entries.  If you can any questions feel free to email me (arestfulplace @ gmail . com)

Have fun! 


I've joined the One Stop Christmas Hop - don't forget to check out some of the other giveaways in this event beneath the Rafflecopter form!  This should be lots of fun! :)

Pumpkin Gingerbread

~ A family favorite ~

Pumpkin Gingerbread
Makes 2 loafs or 4 mini loafs

3 cups of sugar
1 cup of coconut oil
4 eggs
2/3 cup water
1 (15oz) can of pumpkin puree
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 2 9x5 loaf pans.

In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, oil and eggs; beat until smooth. Add water and beat until well blended. Stir in pumpkin, ginger, allspice, cinnamon and clove.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and blend just until all ingredients are mixed. Divide batter between prepared pans.

Bake for about 1 hour, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Enjoy!

 

Lilla Rose Flexi Clip Giveaway!

I have long hair recently I cut it to my waist but before that it's been about 10" below my waist for years. I'm really bad at just keeping my hair back in a braid e v e r y d a y.  It's simple and easy to do daily and then I never have to do anything to it again in a day. But there are those days and occasions that it's nice to do more then just a braid...

That's when I thought a Lilla Rose Flexi Clip would be a great solution.  They are pretty and have great reviews!  One of the main reasons I normally only wear my hair in a braid is because I often get bad headaches when I wear my hair different ways.  I was really excited to try Lilla Rose's Flexi Clip, I was afraid of not using it enough, but I was wrong. :)  I got a Medium sized Lilla Rose Hawaiian Flower Flexi Clip and it's super easy to use and very comfortable and hasn't left me with a headache yet!

I normally don't like a pony tail as they become uncomfortable with the weight of my hair but I found the Flexi Clip to be very comfortable as a ponytail (and pretty too!)  The medium size is a bit too big to wear half of my hair in so I've just been enjoying it as a ponytail.  (I did order a small for that though - I should get it soon!:)

 Some of my other favorites from Lilla Rose

Don't know what size to get?  Lilla Rose has a great video for suggestions on what size you'd need as well as different hair styles you can do with the Lilla Rose Flexi Clips.

Michele Independent Representative of Lilla Rose has kindly offered to giveaway 1 Flexi Clip to one of my readers!  To enter the giveaway simply follow the guidelines in the Rafflecopter form below. :)

I'm participating!

I'm participating in the One Stop Christmas Hop hosted by Mama to 4 Blessings!

This hops begins November 29th  and will run for 1 week, ending December 6th!

Hope you stop by!

:)

Bloggers - Today is the last day to sign up!

Cloth Diaper Question

 ~ Fall Colors ~

I have a cloth diaper question and was hoping I could get some ideas from any of you who have used cloth diapers...

I've been using cloth diapers for the last 15 months on my son, and so far have been really happy with it.

I use homemade pocket cloth diapers - I made them myself from PUL & Organic Cotton Flannel for the diaper and then I have a 3 layer soaker of organic cotton/bamboo terry (thin layer), organic cotton terry (thick like a bath towel), & another layer of organic cotton/bamboo terry.

I do the dry bucket method for dirty diapers and wash every other day to 3 days - unless something comes up and I'm not able to wash as frequently.

I double wash all my loads of diapers with Tropical Traditions Laundry Detergent with a booster of their Oxygen Bleach (NOTE - Tropical Traditions is having FREE shipping until the 21st!!!) - first wash as an express wash and the second as a whites load.  I prefer to hang dry the diapers outside but it's been too cold lately and I've had to place them in the dryer. :(  I don't have any other way of drying them inside.

So, my question is - My diapers still have a smell (not a horribly bad smell but a unpleasant one) after they have been washed and dried.  No matter how much I wash and soak them I can't get them to stop having this smell.  They don't need to be stripped as the detergents I've used on them have never built up.

Any suggestions??  What are things I can do to get the smell out of them? Naturally using Non-Toxic methods.

Thanks so much for your thoughts! :)

Hot Handle Holders

I just made these for my mother-in-law (for her birthday) using this tutorial!  They were so fun, easy and I loved how they turned out!  The tutorial was great too - though I didn't use it for much more than just the downloadable pattern as these are so easy to make.

I made this one first as a test one. :) I already have used it a good bit!

 Here's another tutorial I'm hoping to make soon.  I'm always loosing and getting my headset for my phone tangled up in my diaper bag. : )

Don't forget to enter my Dragonfly Homemade Soaps Giveaway here!

Linking to:
Raising Homemakers
Deep Roots at Home
Tea Rose Home
Growing Home

Dragonfly Soaps Review {And Giveaway!}

Dragonfly Soaps!

I love these soaps!  Made with pure ingredients these soaps leave your skin feeling clean and moisturized!  For this review I chose to try the Mango Rose & Tangerine Moisturizer Bars.

I loved both scents! I was most curious on how I'd like the Mango Rose one as I'm very sensitive to perfume smells and soaps scented with rose normally have a very strong smell.  Most perfumes give me a headache and make me stuffy. I was surprised at how much I liked the Mango Rose - I think the Mango in it really made it great and the rose added a feminine touch to it.

The tangerine moisturizing bar was a great option too!  This scent is under their "almost edibles" collection and that's oh so true!

Dragonfly Soaps make all their soaps with pure ingredients and each is hand cut and packaged.  They have soap for the whole family and everyone's needs!

• Unscented Soaps which include baby soaps. 
• Earthy & Mysterious Soaps - I think the Winterspice Soap would be great to try!
• Workhorse Soaps - for the men in our lives as well as the rest of us. :)
• Almost Edibles - There are so many in this collection that I'd love to try.  They look so great!  I'd love to try the Oatmeal Almond Soap
• Lavender & Flowers Collection - soaps made from your favorite flowers!

Dragonfly Soaps sell for $5.00 per bar which is great for homemade high quality soaps.  Dragonfly Soaps have kindly offered to giveaway some soaps to one of my readers!  3 soaps in your choices of scent, yay!!  To enter this giveaway simply follow the guidelines in the Rafflecopter form below!

Plain Wisdom - Book Review

Publisher's Description:
Two friends from different worlds—one Old Order Amish, one Englischer—share the truths that bring them together. Best-selling novelist Cindy Woodsmall might seem to have little in common with Miriam Flaud, a woman immersed in the culture of Old Order Amish. But with nine children and almost 60 years of marriage between them, Cindy and Miriam both have found the secrets to facing life with strength and grace. Whether enduring financial setbacks, celebrating new babies and times of prosperity, grieving the crushing losses in the deaths of family and friends, or facing disappointments with their respective communities—through it all they find guidance for each day by looking to God. With poignant recollections, unexpected insights, and humorous tales, the two women welcome you into their unique friendship. You’ll also gain a rare glimpse into the traditions and ways of the Amish as Miriam recalls special occasions and shares family recipes throughout the book. Plain Wisdom is a heartwarming celebration of God, womanhood, and the search for beauty that unites us all. So grab your cup and your quilt and settle in for a soul-comforting read with Plain Wisdom.

Author Bio
Cindy Woodsmall is a New York Times best-selling author of six novels whose connection with the Amish community has been featured on ABC Nightline and on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. Miriam Flaud is an Old Order Amish woman who has lived within one of the most structured societies in the United States. She’s experienced the abundant joys of that lifestyle as well as troubled times. She and her husband have six children and five grandchildren.

My Review
I really enjoyed reading through Plain Wisdom by: Cindy Woodsmall & Miriam Flaud.  It was especially neat to read how these two women from totally different lifestyles were able to come together and become friends and learn from each other.  This book is loaded with practical wisdom on being a mother to many or a few children as well as so many other things.  There are several Amish recipes mixed in as well that look pretty good.  There are a few I'm going to try someday, hopefully! :)  One of my favorite quotes from this book is:

Finding peace with our imperfect world and its imperfect people isn’t always easy, but if we don’t find a way to let go of our stringent ideals of how things should be, we’ll never be free to enjoy the greatest gifts life gives us. ~ Cindy Woodsmall

Cindy is a novel writer (written many other books), wife and mother, Miriam is an Old Order Amish wife & mother.  In this book they share stories from their lives - their own childhoods, raising their children, homemaking, farming (for Miriam), and being wives.  They bring their stories back to the scriptures many times and share the things they learned from the things they did or didn't do.  I loved the easy read and it was a blessing to learn from this book.

***I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review all opinions are honestly my own.

Free Shipping @ Lamplighter

 

Lamplighter is having 4 Days of Free Shipping!

From Today, November 4th - Monday, November 7th you can get free shipping on any order of $100 or more!

 

~ Just a few of my personal favorites ~

Christie's Old Organ

The Boy Who Never Lost A Chance

The Basket of Flowers

Use coupon code: FREESHIP at checkout. 

Some links in this post may be my affiliate links...

I'm Back!

I love the ocean...

I unintentionally took last month off of blogging but I'm hoping to be back to normal posting again soon.  Travel, pregnancy - morning sickness, still (I'm 20 weeks! Yay!), caring for my family, & home have kept me busy but I should be posting more soon!  Thank so much!

Tabitha : )