Friday evening, baby sister and I threw middle sister a bridal shower. The big day is still three months away, but with holidays fast approaching and the out of town bridesmaid in town, we knew we had to do it in November. Despite winds and sprinkling right as guests were arriving, by the time everyone went outside to officially start the festivities, the weather was perfect.

I wanted to do a fancy little sit down dinner and have it outside under twinkling lights. Baby sister and I wanted simple flowers, candlelight, and glittery ribbons (the holidays are coming after all) and basically something really pretty to celebrate middle sister’s coming wedding. Based on the chatter, laughs, and the showering of lots of “fun” presents, we are sure middle sister loved it all so much. Best of all, was having her surrounded with all her closest friends!

Want to see more details and tons more pictures, along with the whats, whys, and hows of the party decorating? Check out my HOUZZ Ideabook. This is where the contest part comes along…

I, along with 29 other bloggers, are participating in a little contest of how we change up a space for some holiday entertaining and all you have to do is leave me a comment in my ideabook here. The great part is that if I win, one of my readers will win too!

First place is a gift card to my favorite online retailer for $750 and a reader will win a $250 gift card to any online retailer of your choice. Second place is a $400/$100 and third place is $200/$50. Now, out of 29 other bloggers, chances aren’t so bad, right?! The blogger’s ideabook with the most votes wins.

You can leave a comment about anything (as long as you leave it here), from what you liked to what you would have done to maybe something you are coveting for your home! Each comment equals one vote, so please do leave me a comment on my ideabook. It was fun putting together the shower for my sister and I hope it inspires you for some parties in your future.

So don’t forget to leave me a comment/vote here and if you want to blog, facebook, or tweet about this contest to help get more votes in, that would be much appreciated too! Remember if I win, one of you win too. Thanks friends!!!

I didn’t blog it last week, but I still took pictures to make sure to document it. My little girl is really shy, but she loves school so much because she loves to play with her friends! It is always the best part of the day, at least that is what she tells me each time I pick her up and ask her about her favorite part of the day.

As our tradition, I woke up to all my girls coming into my room singing happy birthday and my Benny holding a tray full of yummies. My request this year was pumpkin pancakes and boy was it good!

Then started the theme of the day, which were little surprises all throughout the day based on words that rhymed with thirtieth!

This green drawing for verde-eth was adorable!

A slew of paint swatches for quirkieth because one of the things on my birthday wish list was to paint one door of my house a shade of turquoisy-jade. Can’t wait to get that done!

Absurdieth was for the funny gifts my daughters gave me, which were just some of their toys wrapped up in blankets. I remember gifting my toys to my parents and siblings when I was a kid!

Sturdieth was quite special and sweet because after he gave me the note, Ben prayed for me. Out of all the gifts I received, this was/is the most lasting. This one has eternal weight. My 30 years are only because of God’s grace and I continually need him daily.

Lastly, Ben is one romantic dude and he read me a poem in spanish for my wordieth. All I can say is that man is HOT! Totally in love with him!!!

I know I totally hype up my birthday and love celebrating it, and as usual, Ben does something that totally exceeds my expectations. That man is so creative (though he will say he is not), and I love being on the receiving end of his creativity! The day was spent relaxing with Ben and my girls, enjoying my surprises and watching Jack Bauer. It was the most perfect way to celebrate my 30th birthday!!! God is really so good to shower me with all these blessings.

Lucky winners, congrats and please email me so I can get you in touch with my sponsor! Everyone else… we got some more coming up soon enough, but thank you always for participating!!!

I have a few sponsors to share about and please do take some time to check them out!

Say hello to Unicorn Boutique…

Unicorn Boutique is an ultra cool, modern and sleek shop based out of Montreal filled with a lot of pretties to fill your closet. My favorites are the prime suspect boot wedges and these. I love shoes! What girl doesn’t?!! Also loving the simplicity of all these bags. There is also a lot of other pretty things to look at here. Clothes… totally my weakness.

Next, say hello to Jessica’s Coupons…

Everyone loves a good deal! Stay abreast to what sales and promo codes are out there by following Jessica’s Coupons. That big coupon craze hasn’t hit me yet and I am not cutting out coupons like crazy, but I am always in search of coupon codes I can find for my online purchases. So if you are a coupon lover of any kind, you might want to take a peek at Jessica’s Coupons. *site may temporarily be down.

Lastly, a warm hello to Roots & Wings…

Roots & Wings is one mama’s adventures, love for vintage, project makings, and dressing her little boys. There are tons of mama blogs out there dedicated to the little girls and all the fun clothes for them, but here is one just for the little boys. She finds the cutest vintage things for him and they do great little projects together. Seriously, so cute how she dresses up her little dudes in vintage! She even shares little tips on how to dress up little dudes in vintage. This mama is also pretty skilled with a crochet hook!

Do you have any new shops or blogs you want to share about?

Oh boy! It seems as I have disappeared a bit. I needed to unplug from this space and listen to the ruminations of my heart. My carpet tunnel was acting up, I was starting to feel a bit dry in my walk with God, and was not feeling the joy as I served my family, so I have been taking the time to refocus on those things that really mattered. It definitely has been infinitely better for my soul to take this much needed break off.

Learned and links…

– True takes advantage of Soul not talking and sometimes blames her for things she didn’t do.

– Glow coos and smiles a little!

– This book is really good. I am already convicted just at the intro!

– Encouraged by this post from Annie.

– Loving my clog boots from here. Can’t wait to share them!

– Check out my Thanksgiving inspirations on the Cooking Channel blog.

– I think I got my Christmas shopping list figured out.

– This and this pop-up shop will no doubt be amazing for Christmas shopping.

I will be back in this space next week and am trying to get caught up in emails, so if I owe you one, it will be coming soon. Thank you so much for your support and understanding friends!