...baby legs GIVEAWAY!!

I have a special place in my heart for leg warmers. I started loving them for fashion reasons. (SO CUTE!) Later, after I owned a couple pairs myself, I wore them for practical reasons. (Seriously...they have practicality! Now you can all go and tell your husband that you and your kids need 10-15 pair because they are a necessity. You can tell him I told you so.)

Even more cute than leg warmers on an adult are leg warmers on a baby. Cute, cute, cute!! BabyLegs makes them in TONS of different varieties and styles for boys and girls, and they have many ways to wear them suggested on their site. (See!? Functionality AND versatility!) My little Susu owns a pair of the SuperSoft Babylegs (they really are "supersoft!") and wears them EVERY DAY! They even keep her little legs warm when my "princess" decides to dress her part and wear her Cinderella dress shopping in 20 degree weather.(When the 100 degree temps rolls around, I am sure she will still be sportin' a pair with her swim suit.)

Baby C wore them when he was learning to crawl. I loved knowing that he wasn't ruining the knees of his pants and he loved that it didn't hurt to crawl on the hard floor. Win Win!

Want to win a $20 gift certificate to BabyLegs?? Leave a comment to enter!

Giveaway Guidelines:

1. To enter the BABYLEGS GIVEAWAY leave a comment on this post.
   
2. Blog about this for an extra entry.
   
3. Put the Sherbet Blossom Button on your blog for an additional entry.
4. Twitter about it for an additional entry. That is 3 possible EXTRA entries!!!
   
5. This contest will close at 11:59pm on Friday, March 6th. The winner will be announced the following day.
   

GOOD LUCK!!!

...the booties winner!!

The winner is Meg who said: "I would love to win some of these! I too love knit/crochet items for baby. I blogged about this giveaway, and your button is on my blog :)"

...writing

I'm joining THE CLUB! You should too!
Image via martawrites.

...more logos!

Just designed a logo and business card for a nutritionist. She works with young women and teens and wanted a business card and logo that would appeal to the young folk. It was a really fun project!

...favorite foods (part 1)

There are 4 people in my little family and we all have VERY different taste buds. I am going to do a little feature on each one of our favorite foods. I'll start with Little C. (Youngest first...)

I LOVE to cook and often look for new recipes to try whenever I need to relieve a little stress. This recipe was found during a very stressful time last month and it quickly became my little guy's favorite dish. He gets super excited whenever I make it and eats as much or more than the adults. (Not kidding. We sit with full bellies as we watch our C continue to shovel in bite after bite.) He is happy because it is amazingly good...I am happy because he is filling his little body with veggies.

Little C's Favorite Dish:

CHICKEN AND VEGETABLE POT PIE
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 onions, chopped
4 carrots, diced
3 stalks celery, diced (I added this. I need celery with baked chicken. Not sure why...)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cups 1 percent milk
1 10-ounce package frozen peas
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
Kosher salt and pepper
1 9-inch store-bought piecrust, thawed if frozen

Heat oven to 400° F. Cook the chicken in a pot of simmering water until cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes; let cool, then shred.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and carrots and cook, stirring, until they begin to soften, 6 to 8 minutes (do not let them darken). Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
Add the wine and cook until evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add the milk and simmer until the sauce thickens, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the chicken, peas, thyme, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Transfer to a shallow 1 1/2- to 2-quart baking dish.
Lay the crust on top, pressing to seal. Cut several vents in the crust. Place the pot pie on a baking sheet and bake until bubbling and the crust is golden, 30 to 35 minutes.

Check out Little C devouring:

...the easiest bread EVER

This isn't the best tasting bread I have ever made, but it is definitely the easiest and fastest. My sister in law, Hilary, introduced me to Pantry Secret's recipe, and I am positive my family will be asking for me to make it again soon. The recipe is a little too sweet for me...and I think it needs a tad bit more salt for flavor. (I think I am trying to compare this to the buttery bread I usually make...) I'll let you know if it makes a difference with my tweaks the next time I make it. But really, with the ease of this recipe, it can't be beat. We ate over half the loaf for dinner tonight, so that should tell you something right there...

Here is the recipe: (Lecithin is the secret ingredient...)

Pantry Secrets Bread Recipe
10 1/2 cups white unbleached bread flour (You can do 1/2 wheat flour if you prefer.)
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon salt
3 rounded Tablespoons saf-instant yeast
3 Tablespoons liquid lecithin*
4 cups hot tap water

Mix dry ingredients. Add lecithin and water. Mix for 1 minute and check consistency. If dough is too dry, add more water. If dough is too moist, add more flour. Mix for 5 minutes. (Do not add water or flour to the dough after it has finished mixing.) Spray counter and pans with cooking spray. Shape loaves and cover with a dish towel. Let rise 25 minutes. Bake at 350* for 25 minutes.

Recipe makes 4 loaves. Unraised loaves can be frozen for later use. My kitchenaide only allows me enough room to mix 2 loaves at a time, so I half the recipe when I make it.

*Squeeze or pour approximately 3 tablespoons (size of quarters to a half dollar) of lecithin directly into the bowl. Do not measure. You can buy your lecithin from Pantry Secrets for a really great price!

...serious cuteness

I am an aunt again! This cute little button was born yesterday and I am in love! Check out that hair...and nose...and mouth! Cute cute cute!

...GIVEAWAY!! Booties!

I have a serious infatuation with crocheted and knitted booties. If I can find them, I buy them for all my baby shower gifts. I also love crocheted items for me! Hats, scarves, headbands...they are beautiful. I found a business who does beautiful work! She sell some seriously cute stuff and I LOVE the items I own! Forever and a Day has been operating for 3 1/2 years and just started selling online. They make hand-crocheted items for newborns and adults. You really need to check them out!

Forever and a Day wants to give away 2 pairs of booties of the winners choice in any size! (Lucky! I wish I could enter my own giveaway!)

Giveaway Guidelines:

1. To enter the FOREVER AND A DAY GIVEAWAY leave a comment on this post.
   
2. Blog about this for an extra entry.
   
3. Put the Sherbet Blossom Button on your blog for an additional entry.
4. Twitter about it for an additional entry. That is 3 possible EXTRA entries!!!
   
5. This contest will close at 11:59pm on Sunday February 22nd. The winner will be announced the following day.
   

GOOD LUCK!!!

...the Fruit Rollups Winner!

The winner of the Fruit Rollups Giveaway is...

Crystal who said:
"My kid's would absolutely go nuts over these. :)"

Contact me and I will give you the winnings!

...nice to meet you!

Did you know that today is MAKE A FRIEND DAY? It is! And...in honor of Make a Friend Day, I want to get to know you all better.

Feel free to answer THESE few short questions so I can get to know you a little better. I can't wait to read all about YOU! (Thank you Marta for giving me this wonderful idea!)

***You don't need to be a stranger to fill this out! I would love to know who is reading Sherbet Blossom, so everyone, including friend and family, are welcome and encouraged to participate!!

...GIVEAWAY!! Personalized Treat Fun!

I don't buy fruit snacks very often, but we all know that they are every kid's favorite treat. My Little E has a Valentine's Day party this week, so what better way could we celebrate than by personalizing a fruit roll up?? (Seriously...you can do that. Did you know??) Check out the cuteness above! E wrote the message and picked out the pictures. The package arrived quickly and she can't wait to hand them out to all her friends.

They don't have to be valentine's themed, either. They have an enormous array of templates and images. You could buy some for your son's dino party, for the beach party we are all dreaming of at this time of year, or you could propose with a fruit roll up. (I mean...what girl doesn't dream of being proposed to on a fruit roll up? ha! Come on...it would be funny!)

In all seriousness, these things are dang cute. (And if I told you I didn't eat one...I'd be lying. They are actually yummy!)

WANNA WIN A $30 gift certificate and make you own?!? I know you do!!

Giveaway Guidelines:

1. To enter the FRUIT ROLL UP GIVEAWAY leave a comment on this post.
   
2. Blog about this for an extra entry.
   
3. Put the Sherbet Blossom Button on your blog for an additional entry.
4. Twitter about it for an additional entry. That is 3 possible EXTRA entries!!!
   
5. This contest will close at 11:59pm on Sunday February 15th. The winner will be announced the following day.
   

GOOD LUCK!!!

...Skin MD Natural with SPF 15

I received a bottle of a wonderful product, Skin MD Natural + SPF15, in the mail to try. It was great smelling, had a wonderful texture and included SPF15! (My dad recently had two surgeries to remove skin cancer, so we are pretty concerned about SPF in my family now.) When I told my mom about the product, she willing tried it out herself and wrote this review:

"I live in Hawaii, but spend time each winter with family in the dry high desert of the mid-west. That's when my skin goes into hydration panic - dry, itchy, flaky. This year I tried Skin MD and was pleased with the results. The "stretched" feeling was gone after a tiny application each morning. I even tried an experiment. I put Skin MD on the back of only one hand. After a few weeks I asked if anyone could see a difference. While it wasn't a dramatic transformation, many said the Skin MD hand looked less wrinkled. Now I'm back in the tropics. Skin MD gives me sun protection without the gunky feeling and the sunscreen smell. My skin is protected and can still breathe."

So, basically, we love it. We are converts!

...missing

Have you been wondering what happened to me or where I have been? Well...I wish I could report that I went on vacation to a beautiful sunny place, but I didn't. I have been trapped inside my house, trying to stay away from the cold, sickening inversion, and working my tail off designing. I have a received a plethora of orders (yay! Thank you!), but they have been consuming most of my free time. However, I have been keeping up with my tweeting, so if you want to read all my rants and raves over the last week...twitter would be the place to do it. (See my link in the sidebar...)

While tweeting a few days ago, I met a lovely woman who makes INCREDIBLE jewelry!
Pinar Sondal, owner of Toosis Silver Jewelry Design, designs jewelry with silver and gemstones using metalsmith techniques.

Here are some of my favorites from her shop:
Silver stacking ring bracelets with pearl and turquoise stones! (GORGEOUS!) 

These bracelets are hand crafted with pure and sterling silver. You can wear them together, separately , whatever your mood! I am seriously in love with these!

Turquoise - Pearl gold plated silver bracelet

. This bracelet is hand crafted with pure and sterling silver. (Yes, please!) I think this is incredibly beautiful. I would love to add this to my jewelry collection!
"My Beloved" custom made silver picture cuff links are beautiful. I have been wanting to buy J some cuff links for a while. How cute would it be to have little E and C's picture on them...

Deep Purple Amethyst Faceted Drop Earrings

. All her jewelry is hand crafted with pure and sterling silver. These are so elegant!

You can find more of her designs at:
etsy shop: http://toosis.etsy.com
web site: http://www.toosis.com/english


Gosh...it has been awhile since I have done any jewelry shopping. Her shop was pure heaven to browse through. So glad Valentine's Day is coming up!