Bayou Accents GIVEAWAY!

I'm not sure why, but it took me forever to catch on to the elastic ribbon hair tie trend! But as soon as I saw one on Sarah's wrist, I was completely convinced that I needed to check these babies out.

This is where Bayou Accents comes into the picture. I was very pleased when I discovered this Etsy shop because of the adorable prints and colors available along with their affordable prices!

These are just a few of the colors and patterns offered!

Seriously- they're as cute as they are functional! And I don't know about you, but I always have a hair tie on my wrist.
Why not make it fashionable?

I was SO excited when my hair tie set came in the mail lets be honest, its because of the camo and I'm thrilled that Bayou Accents is offering one of my loverly readers (thats you!) a set of your choice!

Ok, so maybe I'm jumping on the Army boyfriend bandwagon a little bit by being obsessed with camo right now, but I also like to make it a game by dressing it up as much as I can. What do you think about my little "wrist party" combo?

Happy Friday everyone! Have a blessed and safe Labor Day weekend with your families and friends!


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Dawn's Disaster MEGA Ad Space GIVEAWAY

Hey friends!! Special surprise today- Dawn's Disaster is hosting a MEGA ad space giveaway- a giveaway so huge that there will be THREE winners! 
Check it out, and check back with me in the next few days because I GET TO SEE DREW TOMORROW.
Can you believe I've been blogging for a year?  It seems like just yesterday I picked up my pen and paper computer and started to write for you {and me}.  Thank you SO much for helping me make a successful blog.  As a thank you to YOU, please use promo code THANK YOU and get 75% off The Hubs {in post} or The Big One {200x200} ads if you purchase it in August 2013 {extra entries into the giveaway if you purchase a paid ad space :)}. Now, on to the fun part!  Here are the fab-o ad spaces you can win:

450 x 100 the Hubs Package {in post} from Dawn's Disaster**200 x 200 Adult Frog from Mommy Blog Hoppers**250 x 250 Intriguing Confessions from Confessions of a Mommyaholic**228 x 90 Craft Supply Lover's from Sew Much Crafting**253 x253 Ad & Guest Post from Closet Intellectual**250 x 250 PB & Honey Sponsor from PB & Honey**200 x 200 The Big One from A Geek in Glasses**200 x 100 Medium Ad from The Life of a Wife**350 x 300 Big & Beautiful from Anyonita Nibbles**250 x 250 Top Spot from Forgetful Momma**150 x 150 Giggle Ad & Guest Post from The I Laughed

450 x 100 the Hubs Package {in post} from Dawn's Disaster**200 x 200 Adult Frog from Mommy Blog Hoppers**200 x 200 Spot Plus {2 months!} from Crafty Spices**300 x 300 Cabana Club from A Peek Into My Paradise**200 x 200 Large Ad from Not in Jersey**150 x 150 Affordable Spot from Squishable Baby**200 x 200 Large Ad from Pretty Little Inspirations**200 x 200 Gold Mine {2 months!} from Nugget on a Budget**200 x 100 Small Ad {4 months!} from Girl Booklet**300 x 150 Gold Ad from Serenity You**200 x 200 The Care Package from Jo My Gosh!**600 x 100 Front and Center from Sweet Silver Lining

450 x 100 the Hubs Package {in post} from Dawn's Disaster**200 x 200 Adult Frog from Mommy Blog Hoppers**200 x 200 Let's Have a Glass of Wine from Musings of a Mama**200 x 200 Super Fabulous Blogs from The Wandering Brain**300 x 300 Epic Sponsor from Epic Mommy Adventures**600 x 75 The Whole Enchilada from Mom's Test Kitchen**200 x 200 Flower Child Sponsor from Modern Hippie Momma**150 x 150 Reagan's Sponsor from Raising Reagan**200 x 200 Gold Mine from Nugget on a Budget**200 x 200 Full Ad from Handling With Grace**300 x 300 Platinum Ad from Serenity You**300 x 100 Mama's Spot from Juggling Act Mama**200 x 200 Cinderella Ad from Storybook Reality

Enter away and GOOD LUCK!

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Effie and Dru **GIVEAWAY**

I have a fun surprise for you today!!

Remember when I interviewed Brittany from Effie and Dru? Well, she sent me this ADORABLE dress and is now giving away to one of you, my lovely blog friends!!

**HUGE thanks to Drew for going out with me, taking photos, and editing them!! Best BF :)

I can't wait to wear this fun summer dress on its first real outing next weekend- a casual wedding! I also made Drew promise that we would go on a fun date before he leaves for basic so I'd have another reason to wear it ;)

How would you style this dress??

Maybe cowboy boots? Wedges? Sandals? I think it could go with all three!
Also with belts or a blazer or a variety of necklaces? Talk about versatility! :)

There a two lovely ladies who are helping me to promote Brittany and her new boutique- let me introduce them to you!!

Tawny from Tawny's Tid Bits

Sarah from the Racing Bassist

I hope you enjoy visiting them and saying hello- we hope you stick around and enter to win this fabulous dress!!

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Birthday/ Mother's Day GIVEAWAY!!!

**Prize for reading all the way to the end is a lovely GIVEAWAY!!**

Well, I made it. I'm 24 years old! Craaaazy.

Let me just tell you, 24 feels good. I absolutely can't wait for what I feel like will be a very new and exciting phase of life! 

I'll graduate with my second degree in music performance, send someone I love very very much off to the Army (ok thats not quite as YAY, but its still a new and important part of 24!), and I will move not only out of Texas, but out of the country! Wowzers. 

I've had several friends bless me enough to help with this birthday post.
They answered these questions for me:
What do you hope to accomplish by the time you turn 24? OR
What advice would you give to your 24 year old self?

I really hope you take the time to read these inspiring little snippets!!

Laura at Girl in Flight says:

Do not worry if things haven't gone to plan. Right now, I think "Oh we will have done this, this and this by the time I'm 24" but as lovely as my plans are, things change and life happens! Best to enjoy it and not stress! 

Kate the Reader says:

Well, since I turn 24 just four months (and ten days) after you do, I don't have very long to achieve something by the time I turn 24. I think I would like to challenge myself to do at least one exciting thing this summer instead of just sitting around working and researching. My advice to my 24-year-old self would be this: don't take the safe route when applying to PhD programs - find somewhere I might never have another chance to go, and apply. The worst that can happen is that I don't get in! (Partially inspired by you moving to England...)

Caitlin says:

And oh goodness what would I tell my 24 yr old self?? I wouldn't have thought this question would be so hard for me to answer! Definitely don't sweat the small stuff and to be grateful for each and every day I have without taking life or things for granted!

Lisette at Northern Belle Dairies says:

Doo all of the things you want to do before you're 25. I know...that was so anticlimactic. LOL. The older you get the more chicken you get.

Rachael at Home Sweet Harbor says:

I would say: "Hey you, you need to dump that guy you're dating because he is NOT the one and you're just wasting your time! Open a mutual fund and start investing!! Start exercising now or you'll just make it harder for yourself later. Spend as much time with your girlfriends as possible, they'll all be married and/or pregnant soon enough!"

Darbi at Table for One says:

If I could tell my 24 year old self something, I would tell her that almost nothing really matters. It doesn't matter how skinny you are, how pretty you are, how good of a flute player you are, how much better or worse you are than her or him or them... what really matters is how much you laugh and how much fun you're having. You'll never be perfect and that thing you're worried about, doesn't really mean much in the end. Just laugh, have fun, do the best you can. Don't worry, be happy!

Sar/Sarah at Life of Love Blog says:

1) What advice would you give your 24-year old self (and granted this was only 3 years ago, so not too long...): You're going to have to love with all your heart for the next few years because your best friend will pass away and it will be rough. But since she hasn't yet, you're gonna need to suck it up. Just because you live 2200 miles away from her doesn't mean you can't call her every damn day, because you have no idea when you'll talk to her last. Go home a lot and insist that you go with her to all the chemo appointments, not just the first half an hour. Hug her. People beat cancer all the time, but good people die from it too.

2) What did you hope to achieve before age 24? I wanted to complete my master's degree (I got it during my 24th year, so I'm gonna say that totally counts) and I wanted to live by myself away from home (check). 


Katie at Life, Love, and Pursuits of Katie says:


I'd definitely tell my 24 year old self to not worry so much. Things will figure themselves out and happen at the right time-- you don't have to have it all figured out right now. Oh and also to save more money! :)

Bethany at Before, During, and After says:

Dear 24-year-old Bethany,
Cameron? Yea, he's the one. You guys will get married in a few years. It will be really a wild ride to get there, and you'll doubt yourself and the relationship. But trust me - it's gets WAY better. I'm not going to spoil anything. :)
And chill out, for goodness' sake. You stress way too much about every little thing, and it's not good for you!
Enjoy your effortlessly skinny self now because in a few years, you're actually going to have to work out to stay slim. 
Life moves super fast! It's been nearly 5 years since I was your age, and everything feels...the same. It doesn't seem like it could be THAT much time that's passed. 
It's really hard to make friends as you get older and move to new places, and everyone else moves to new places. Keep in touch with the ones you have - it's important, even if you don't SEE them much. 
You're going to be fine. Things almost always work out. And don't forget about God. He's always there, waiting for you to come back around to Him, which you will. But honestly? Sooner is better than later! He helps out a lot with the stress and anxiety.
Sincerely, Future Bethany 

Sarah at the Racing Bassist

By the time I'm 24 I'd like to have:
- taken at least 1 professional orchestra audition
- taken at least 1 military ensemble audition
- visited Germany
- go an overnight hiking/backpacking trip in the mountains

Aren't they great???

Now here is a message from Tawny about our Mother's Day Giveaway!!

Who doesn't love massages?  Myself and the 3 lovely ladies below have teamed up to give 1 lucky winner a  Massage Envy gift card for $60.  Depending on your location, this should get you a nice 1 1/2 hour massage! Check them out, is there one near you? They have over 850 locations!

 

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Two Thirds Hazel April Sponsor Giveaway!!!

Let me start off by saying that if you don't keep up with Erin at Two Thirds Hazel, YOU CRAZY.

(Why? Because I freakin pee my pants laughing every time she posts a word. Thats why.)

I had the honor of being on her lovely little sidebar this month, and she/WE are pretty excited to announce her April sponsor giveaway!

Lots of stuff up for grabs (ad space, gift cards, web design, etc) from some pretty awesome people, so I hope you'll go check it out!

Thats all I got for you on this lovely first day of May (Happy Birthday Month to me!!)

Oh and heres a photo of my sleepy pup:

1) because hes cute (duh?)
2) because Erin needs a dog

Now, go enter the giveaway!!!

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Linking up with Because Shanna Said So

TWI and My Three Bittles 1,000 Giveaway!

This weekend absolutely flew by!!

We (the Baylor University Wind Ensemble) left Greensboro, NC at 9am on Friday morning and got home around 5:30am on Saturday morning. Yep, you read that right- all nighter on the bus.
Bring back high school memories, anyone? Yuck.

*If you're curious as to why the Baylor University Wind Ensemble was on the all-day/all-night bus ride from NC to TX, you can read my announcement post here, the "in-route" update here, the Nashville update here, and eventually I'll get around to writing about the conclusion of the trip ;)

So, obvs on Saturday I slept from about 7am until 2pm....woke up, cleaned, laundry, repeat. Fun fun!

I know you wanted documentation of that glamorous huge ol' pile of laundry....4 loads worth to be exact.

Sunday really wasn't much different- I feel like I'm still trying to recover from the trip and the billion hour bus ride (seriously too old for that....)

Quite honestly my weekend was NOT exciting, and for that I am thankful.

BUT THIS IS EXCITING! :)

Amber from My Three Bittles recently hit 1,000 followers (Go Amber!!) and decided to throw together this pretty stinkin' massive giveaway! I mean just check out the prizes >>

I hope you all had a great and more relaxing weekend than I did, and I leave you with this note from Amber!



"My Three Bittles hit 1,000 followers a bit ago.I want to thank you all so much, SO much!And a special thanks to these lovely ladies for helping me celebrate! $100 Target gift card.$75 Amazon gift card.$50 Forever 21 gift card.$25 Starbucks gift card.$25 Paypal cash.These lovely ladies.Bam!Need I say more?!"a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now (this is Paige again)- if you are one of my lovely new GFC friends, please leave a comment so I can find you in return!!

FREE KitchenAid Mixer!!

I am so excited to be a part of this wonderful giveaway with Emily (and friends!) from Newlywed Moments :)

This was possibly poor planning on my part to be helping with a giveaway while on tour and attempting to blog from my phone.... But don't you want a FREE KitchenAid?! (I do....)

**Here's a note from the Newlywed herself!

"Today is the first day of spring!!

To celebrate, Newlywed Moments and friends are giving away a KitchenAid Mixer!!

Why? Because it's a newlywed must-have.

I absolutely love my mixer. I can just leave it mixing while I finish up another part of dinner! It is so very helpful! One lucky reader will win this white-colored KitchenAid Classic Series 4.5 Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer! "

Rules & Information:-- Giveaway is open to U.S. readers only.-- The winner will be verified, so please enter honestly.-- The winner will be notified by email on 3/27/13 and will have 24 hours to respond.

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MK Valentine's Giveaway!

Thursday is super exciting day. Why?

Tomorrow is Friday, and tomorrow I fly off to the dream land of Illinois for my audition! What audition?

More about that on Monday.

(I am not doing well about staying away from the blogging world this week like I said I would...oops- you guys are too great!)

Today I just want to share this fantastic giveaway with you guys!

Hosted by Kaitlyn from Wifessionals and 17 other super awesome blogging ladies- can you believe they are giving away one of these beautiful Michael Kors watches? Happy Valentines Day to you, lucky girl!!!

So- give them a look and give yourself a chance at this crazy pretty wrist party!