I hope everyone had a fantastic Memorial Day weekend!  My lil bro and my BFF came into town with us for the weekend and we had a wonderful BBQ with about 14 of our other friends!  (It was our last bash before baby!)  Of course – that meant I had to get out and show off my gorgeous Macel and Company slip and topper on my lil ol folding table.  I have a picture of the set I got below in case you forgot what she looked like!  I had her staged up like a desk before!

We had it set up outside and it was breezy!  In fact it was so windy that we couldn’t keep our citronella candles lit!  But that slip and topper never ever threatened to come loose.   We had BBQ chicken, pulled pork and strawberry pie on the menu (among other things) and all three of those ended up on my beautiful topper.  And guess what – all three of them wiped right off and there are no stains!  Everyone kept asking about where I got them and kept talking about how beautiful the fabric was and how nice it felt.  Of course I was a bad blogger and forgot to take pictures!  Oh well – sometimes the hostess has other things she has to juggle besides a camera!

So because these slips and toppers are so fantastic – Macel and Company have offered to give my readers a coupon code for 30% off any item of their choice!  So even if you don’t win today – you can still get a great deal on these custom table toppers for yourself!  Just enter “frugal2011” to get your 30% off! 

Now - let’s get down to business!  I know you guys are looking forward to finding out who the winner is and it is ….. #44 - Colleen @ Forty Something Bride!  Colleen – you are going to love them!   She said she would get a 6 foot Eva basic and the Black Pineapple Laura topper!  That is a great elegant choice.  Here is a pic of that combo from the Macel and Company website!   Beautiful!

So congrats to Colleen!  If you didn’t win – make sure you take advantage of the great 30% off one item offer by using the code “frugal2011”!!

I have a fantastic giveaway and product to share with you guys today!  The wonderful folks at Macel and Company have offered me a chance to review their products and share a great giveaway with you!  Haven’t heard of Macel and Company?  They make the most beautiful and easy to care for slipcovers and toppers for folding tables that I have ever seen.  They have a ton of colors and patterns so you can find they look that is right for you! 



Macel and Company, is female owned company and they focus on providing customized fitted utility table slips and toppers that are perfect for any home event. They also have coordinating dining room tablecloths and napkins.  Since a lot of people have a folding table they pull out for parties or gatherings – these slipcovers can be the perfect addition to your entertaining arsenal.  They even come with their own matching storage bag – so cute! 



But – here is what I was thinking.  Let’s say you need a desk?  Or a console table for your entry?  Or a buffet for your dining room?  And you have looked at different pieces of furniture and you can’t find anything that can fit your budget.  Well these slips and toppers can help you create a customized piece for whatever your room need is for a fraction of the cost of traditional furniture.  All you need is a folding table and you are ready to roll!
To show you what I mean – I drug out my card table to stage a little desk for you guys!  Here were the two pieces that Macel sent me to try out!  I got the Eva Basic slipcover in Sand and the Laura Topper in Brown.



Now I literally just took these out of the box they sent them to me in and plopped the slipcover on the table.  No ironing needed and it hangs perfectly. Then I just set it up as a little desk.  How perfect is this?  



Cute, stylish and then you still have ALL the space underneath for storage AND you can easily repurpose it if you do have a party or dinner where you need an additional table.



So here is the deal.  They are going to let me give a lucky reader their own slipcover and topper.  What do you have to do to win?  Hop over to the Macel and Company website and leave me a comment telling me which slipcover and topper you would pick out and how you would use it!  You can also get an additional entry by

1. Like the Macel and Company Facebook Fan Page
2. Tweet or Share this giveaway on Facebook
3. Blog about this giveaway

That is 3 additional ways to win!  The contest will stay open until next Friday (5/27) evening at 8pm CST.  Good luck! 

I just loved reading all the ways you guys honored your mom on Mother’s Day!  There are a ton of thoughtful people out there – makes me feel good to become a mom in eight weeks!  But let’s get down to business and announce the winners – we have a lot of prizes to get through!

Let’s start with the prepaid card packs!  There were two up for grabs and the winners were entries #79 Andrew McKinley and #58 FaithPlusNothing. 

Andrew made a card for his mom this year (and said it did look like one made in the 2nd Grade!) and FaithPlusNothing thought about her mom who passed in 2003.  Sometimes it is the thoughtful things that count the most isn’t it!  Congrats you guys!

Now the winner of the Recordable Book was #16 – CraftyMama!  She said she loved the Counting Kisses book below and that she was hoping to honor her mom and mother-in-law with a new grandbaby!!  I know how that feels!  Congrats on winning the book! 

Give a big congrats to all our winners! 

I have a great giveaway for you guys today!  The wonderful folks at Hallmark have come up with some great fun stuff and I am super excited to share with you! 
This all started back when we first got pregnant.  See – we live over 4 hours from all of our parents – so we aren’t going to have grandparents around all the time.  And I honestly got a little bummed out about that and started thinking about ways that we could involve them in the Lil Man’s life.  Then I saw the Hallmark Recordable Storybooks.   Those of you that went to Blissdom might remember that we were gifted with one. 

Recordable Storybooks work by letting you record your voice reading each page of the book and then “save” that story so it can be told over and over.  As you turn each page in the book – your voice plays reading each page individually.
As some of you may remember – we have a book theme going on in the nursery.  So for me – this was the perfect gift for our parents to regift back to our Lil Man!  I wanted to give one to each of our parents so that they could “read” for the Lil Man and we would have that story forever.  To me – this let us have a couple of key benefits.
1.  Lil Man gets to hear and learn his grandparents voices.
2.  We have a wonderful memento of our family and loved ones.
3.  Even when Mommy and Daddy don’t have the energy to read, they can still share a story with the Lil Man – all you have to do is turn the page!

When I talked to Hallmark about it – they were totally on board and offered to send my Mom one for her to try out in honor of Mother’s Day.  I totally forgot to take pictures of her with it – but it was super easy to figure out how to use.  There are instructions right on the inside cover and with each page you can re-record if you mess up – or get a little weepy!  :) 

And Hallmark was generous enough to offer one Recordable Storybook for you guys too!  And in honor of Mother’s Day they are also offering two of their new Postage Paid Card Packs!  They sent me a card pack to review and I have to say they are really fantastic!  The cards are all really cute – I love this one!  (We are totally a funny card family!)
And the best thing with these cards is that you can just sign them and mail them.  The postage is already included – which is really fantastic!  No running to the post office to grab stamps – which I never have any more because we pay all of our bills online!  And the cost of the cards is around $3.99 and I have paid that much for just a regular card before. 
So we have one Recordable Storybook and two Postage Paid Card Packs up for grabs!  So what do you have to do to enter?  First – hop over to Hallmark’s site and pick out which of the Recordable Storybook titles you would like to have.  Then come back and tell me which one you want in a comment. 
For any extra entries – you can also do the following

• Leave a comment telling me how you plan on honoring your mother this Mother’s Day
• Become a Follower (or tell me you already are)
• Become a Facebook Fan (or tell me you already are)
• Tweet or share this contest on Facebook
• Blog about this giveaway

That is 5 extra ways to win!  I will leave the contest open until next Tuesday evening (5/10) at 8pm CST.  On Wednesday AM – I will announce three winners – one for the Storybook and two for the Postage Paid Card Packs!  So you have lots of chances to win!!  Good Luck!! 

I know you guys are excited to find out who the Princess and My Pea Boutique winner is?  Isn’t that shop just amazing!  If you missed getting to see my review of the fantastic products from the Princess and My Pea – hop back over and check out my “testing” for burp cloth absorbency without a baby! 

As far as the products go, you guys really seemed to like a variety of items in the shop!  The favorite from the comments was this beautiful Owls on a Whim Burp Cloth set.  I love it!  Great for a boy or a girl! 

So now for the winner!  I am happy to announce that it was entry number 38 – Kimberly!  Kimberly said her favorite item was this beautiful Boutique Baby Blue and Green Chenille Burp Cloth and Blanket Gift Set.  I love it!  Great choice Kimberly! 

So are you still lusting after your favorite?  Did you see one you just had to have?  Well – Princess and My Pea is offering a 10% off discount on any purchase.  Just use code COUPON2011 at checkout!   Happy shopping!!!

I am very excited to share my latest giveaway with you guys!  Princess and My Pea is an adorable Etsy shop that I have just fallen in love with! 

They specialize in custom made baby burp cloths, bibs, taggies, and washcloths.  Check out some of their beautiful products below.

Angela from Princess and My Pea asked me if I would like to do a giveaway and review on one of her custom burp cloths and I jumped at the chance.  I was not compensated for this review – so this is my pure honest feedback! 
I picked out a multi stripe one that I knew would match my color scheme for the nursery.  I was so pleased to get it and check out the quality.  Not only are they beautiful, but they are sturdy!  The stitching on it is fantastic. 

And the flip side is what really sold me on it.  Check out how soft and fuzzy!

But let’s be honest – a burp cloth that is just pretty isn’t really a useful burp cloth.  It has to be absorbent too!   I mean – wiping up some gnarly spit-up incidents is what you really need it for right?!?  So I decided to really test it out for you guys.  Even though our Lil Man isn’t here yet – I figured I would improvise!  So I put a decent quantity of soapy water on a cutting board to see how well it wiped up!

Now it wiped it ALL up.  Fantastically.  The soft fuzzy underside is extremely absorbent.

And the best part.  The dampness stayed on that side of the burp cloth.  The striped side wasn’t wet at all!  It is fantastic!

So I would highly recommend these burp cloths!!  And here is the best part – Angela is offering a $14 gift credit for anything in her shop.  That would get any one of the fantastic designs below!

So what do you have to do to win your $14 gift code?  Simply hop over to the Princess and My Pea Shop and pick out your favorite item and then come back here and tell me what it is!  That is it!  You can also get additional entries by

• Liking the Princess and My Pea Facebook Page
• Becoming a follower at the Princess and My Pea Blog
• Tweet this giveaway or share this giveaway on Facebook
• Blog about this giveaway

That is 5 ways to win!  Please make sure you leave me an additional comment for each way you have entered to win.  The giveaway will stay open until April 4th at 8:00 pm CST.  I will announce the winner the next Wednesday morning. 
Good Luck!!

Wowza!  249 entries!  You guys love a little lighting!  I always love seeing what people would use their gift code for – it is so fun!

So who won this time?  Well according to Random.org – the winner was number 23 and that is

Amy Witherstine

Now Amy didn’t say what she would get with her gift code but she does have her own Usborne Book site – you should hop over and check it out. 

Congrats to Amy and thanks for entering! 

I would consider myself a lighting aficionado.  Which is a nice way of saying that I am easily distracted by fixtures and love to spend hours browsing web sites and can’t pass up a walk down “that” aisle of my local home improvement store!  Of all the different types of lighting in the world, pendant lighting is quite possibly the most versatile and varied lighting.  Pendants can be found in every shape, size, color and finish. 

While all lighting has a utility – pendants are extremely specific in their uses.  Most often they are used to highlight and spotlight a particular areas.  Pendant lights are a great way to add useable task lighting in a variety of spaces.  We often think of them being used in the kitchen – but pendants can be used instead of table lamps in the bedroom on either side of the bed.  You can also use a row of them to create a unique fixture for a dining room or use several to highlight specific area in a living room.

Pendant lighting is also convenient in that it allows you to have a decorative fixture that doesn’t take up any valuable floor or table space.  And because they come literally hundreds of styles – you don’t have to worry about not being able to find something that fits your taste and budget.

And all these lovely images – well these are all fixtures you can get (very affordably) at CSN Lighting.  And the best part is that they are offering a $60 gift code to one of my readers.  
What do you have to do to win?  Just leave me a comment! Easy peasy! Just tell me that you are interested in an opportunity to win!  You can also get additional entries by -  

• Become a Follower (or if you already are one just let me know!)
• Like my Facebook Page (or let me know you already have)
• Blog about this giveaway
• Tweet about this giveaway!

That is 5 ways to win!  Make sure you enter a separate comment for each way you have entered to win!  The giveaway will stay up until Tuesday (3/22) at 8:00pm.  I will announce the winner on Wednesday AM.  Good luck!!!

So those of you hanging out with me on Facebook saw when I posted the link to the most amazing Etsy site ever – Basilicus Jones!  Check out his fork place card creations!  Swoon! 

David – the wonderful man who runs this shop – and I have been emailing back and forth about my little crush on his works of art.  Especially this to die for spoon bracelet. 

Well guess what?  David is really trying to grow his exposure on Facebook with some more fans.  So he is going to hold a raffle on March 5th for all of his Facebook Fans and give one of these beauties away!  I would highly recommend heading over to the Basilicus Jones Facebook Page and clicking Like!  You could be sporting this beauty on your wrist!  

Good Luck!

Whew!  I let the day get away from me and almost forgot to announce the winner!  I want to thank all of you for entering and for your sweet congrats on our new baby boy! 

Now – here is the part we are all waiting for!  Who won the Cutie Bootie Giveaway?

The winner (according to Random.org) is number 42 … Amy W.!!  Congrats Amy!   And what did Amy pick?  Her favorite Cutie Bootie creation was the Cowboy Tie and Suspenders Onesie!  Isn’t it adorable?  Great choice!!

Now – just because you didn’t win doesn’t mean that you are out of luck.  Cutie Bootie is still offering Frugal with a Flourish readers a 20% discount for another week!  So you can still get a great deal on the outfit you love.  Just use coupon code “BABYBOY” at checkout!

Happy shopping! 

*** Giveaway is now closed!  Thanks for entering*** 

It’s a boy!!  Ack!  We are so excited!  Everything looked totally normal and we are right on track for the due date!  

Some commonly asked questions -

-  Yes – we do have a name picked out.  However, I think I am going to keep that off the blog for privacy reasons.  I am sure you guys understand!  Instead I am going to have to come up with a super cute nickname for the lil man here.  And I think that will be harder than picking out his real name!  

- Yes – I am starting to narrow down my ideas for the nursery and I think I will probably start revealing those to you guys as they come together!  I am still in love with that bright aqua color!  Stay tuned!

Now to celebrate our new little baby boy – Haley the owner of Cutie Bootie Boutique is offering my readers a chance at one of the adorable outfits on her site!  Seriously – how cute are these?


Cutie Bootie Boutique does custom onesies with ties and suspenders for lil boys and ones with ruffled bottoms for little girls.  She will also make matching sibling outfits too.  Along with all that, the shop carries cute shoes and matching bows.   I would have totally gotten that chandi onesie below if we were having a girl! 


Again – I just cannot get over how CUTE these outfits are!  Haley’s boutique totally lives up to its name!


I also got to pick out one for our new little guy!  I had to go with this adorable argyle onesie!  Just too cute and classic!!  

In celebration of my new little man, Cutie Bootie Boutique is offering one lucky reader a chance to select their own custom outfit (up to a $25.00 value)!

What do you have to do to win?  Head over to the Cutie Bootie Boutique and pick out which adorable outfit is your favorite and come back and leave a comment telling me which one!  You can also get bonus entries for

• Popping over to the Cutie Bootie Facebook Page and liking it
• Tweet this contest
• Blog this contest
• Or share this contest on Facebook

That is 5 ways to win!!  All you have to do is make sure you leave me a comment for each way you have entered to win!  The giveaway will stay open until next Friday (2-18) at 8 pm CST.  I will announce the winner on Sunday morning! 

And if you just can’t wait until then to have your own little slice of cuteness – Cutie Bootie Boutique is also offering a 20% discount to Frugal with a Flourish readers!  Just enter “BABYBOY” at checkout to receive your discount! 

Good luck!

First – can I just say WOW!  247 entries!  I loved seeing all the different things that you would have bought!  It is like virtually going shopping with your girlfriends! 

But I know what you really want to know.  Who won?  Well – according to random.org – the winner is…

Ashley - hewella1!  (entry #67)

Ashley wants to get some Paula Deen cookware – and I can’t say that I blame her!  Isn’t this stuff beautiful!  It comes in several colors too!   Ashley – please contact me in the next 48 hours to claim your prize!!   And have fun cooking in it! 

*** Giveaway is now closed!  Check back tomorrow AM for the winner!***

My dear friends at CSN Stores are back at it and have offered me a chance to give you another great giveaway!!  I know you are so excited!!  If you have never shopped with CSN – they have everything.  Literally.  With a network of over 200 stores you are bound to find just the thing your looking for – in any style from modern office furniture to traditional dining room accessories.  Even if you think you aren’t into modern stuff – a touch of modern here and there can really invigorate your style!  Want some ideas?

Graham & Brown – Jigsaw Mirror - 16x16

Kikkerland Bookends

British Invasion – Live Like a Queen Pillow

Graham & Brown – Blue Silk Swirl Fabric Wall Art

Fun stuff huh?  I really love those bookends.  So here’s the great news – the folks at CSN are giving me a gift certificate that would let you get any one of these!  Up for grabs is a $55 gift certificate!  This doesn’t cover shipping costs – but you can use it at ANY of their sites!
What do you have to do to win?  All you have to do is leave me a comment and let me know what you would get with your $55 gift certificate.  You can also get an extra entry if you

• Become a Follower (or if you already are one just let me know!)
• Like my Facebook Page (or let me know you already hang out over there)
• Blog about this giveaway
• Tweet about this giveaway

That is 5 ways to win!  Make sure you enter a separate comment for each way you have entered to win!  The giveaway will stay up until Tuesday (2/1/2011) at 8:00 pm CST.  I will announce the winner on Wednesday AM.  Good luck!!!