the pleated poppy - giveaway

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I think that the key to being a posh mom is accessorizing. (Not that I consider myself to be a posh mom, but I aspire to be one.) The normal fall outfit for me is a zip-up hoodie, dark jeans and a pony tail. Pretty ho hum. BUT....add some great earrings, a cool purse and actually put some effort into my pony tail...it might actually look like I tried.

The pleated poppy is my new favorite posh mom store. Not that you need to be a mom to shop there, but it is so causal friendly. Having a bad hair day?

Try a reversible headband!

Heading yet another PTA meeting? Show off one of these!

Wearing another boring t-shirt? Make it totally fabulous with a set of posy pins! (I wore a set of these yesterday and go so many compliments)

Win some pleated poppy wears for yourself! Lindsey, the owner and designer for the pleated poppy, has offered the most fabulous prize. One winner will get to choose a set of posy pins, a reversible headband, and a travel tissue case. A $32 value! (I am kind of jonesin for one of those tissue cases. So cute.)
Contest Rules:

1. Go to the pleated poppy and check out Lindsey's products. In a comment on this post tell me your favorite item between now and Thursday, October 16th,

2. For a extra entry, let me know in a separate comment that you are a subscriber or follower (see right hand sidebar) of Natalie's Sentiments.

3. For a third entry, let me know in a separate comment that you have blogged about my Fall Giveaway Soiree and that you have the icon on your side bar.

The winner will be announced on Friday, October 17th by random generator. Good luck!

Hailie Girl Giveaway...and a bonus for locals

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My daughter, Lydia, LOVES princesses. We dance as I sing "I know you" from Sleeping Beauty. We read dozens of princess stories everyday. When I swing her she always requests that we practice the "Princess ABC's" (Anyone have a princesses world that starts with X?) Our Netflix queue is almost entirely princess oriented. For the most part I love it. It is adorable to see a 2 year old having her own private conversation with her "Fairy Godmother" as she pretends to cry in the corner. However, I draw the line at Lydia's desire to constantly be a walking billboard for Disney. I don't mind her wearing an occasional princess tee, but everyday is a little excessive.

Our compromise is that I let her dress like a princess. Thus I am always on the lookout for girly but practical clothes.


That might explain why I freaked out slightly at the Hailie Girl Line designed by Cara. These are the cutest little princess skirts I have ever seen! They are totally durable, with an elastic waist that makes potty training and self dressing easy, and at the same time totally frilly and 2 year old approved.

Cara has finally set up an Etsy shop and for the first time these skirts (and other lovelies) are available to you. Cara has offered one skirt just like the one Lydia is wearing in the photo to one lucky winner. The size is from 12 months to 2T but if your little princess is thin like mine, the skirt will fit a 3T. Contest Rules:

1. Go to Hailie Girl and check out Cara's products. In a comment on this post tell me your favorite item between now and Tuesday, October 14th,

2. For a extra entry, let me know in a separate comment that you are a subscriber or follower (see right hand sidebar) of Natalie's Sentiments.

3. For a third entry, let me know in a separate comment that you have blogged about my Fall Giveaway Soiree and that you have the icon on your side bar.

The winner will be announced on Wednesday, October 15th by random generator. Good luck!

AND A BONUS GIVEAWAY!!!!

Loving this photo of Lydia? It was taken by Tony McDaniel of Tony McDaniel Photography. He has offered one lucky winner from the Chattanooga Area a free sitting and a $200 credit! If you are in the Chattanooga area and want to enter, send an email to me letting me know where Tony was before he moved his business to this area. Send the email to nataliessentiments@gmail.com with the subject of Chattanooga Photo shoot. I will email the winner a week from today!

Open to US addresses only.

Giveaway Details

Alright ladies, it is time for my Fall Giveaway Soiree! For the next 6 weeks (and maybe more) I will be hosting 3 giveaways a week showcasing the most fabulous shops and companies. Check out some of the sponsors in my left hand sidebar. Here are just a few details about how this is going to go down.

• A new giveaway will be announced every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
• You will have 7 days to enter each giveaway.
• The winner will be announced the following week - Monday's winner will be announced the following Monday...and so on.
• Each winner will be chosen with a random generator, and you can win more than one giveaway.
• You will have three chances to enter each giveaway:

1. Your first entry is made when you comment on the giveaway post.
2. Second entry is letting me know in a separate comment that you are a subscriber. You can do this by adding my blog to your Google Reader, subscribe using one of the widgets in my left side bar, or becoming a "follower" on my right side bar. You get an extra entry on EVERY giveaway if you do this. Just make sure to let me know in a separate comment on every giveaway you enter.
3. Your third chance to enter is to blog about my giveaway on your blog and put my little giveaway icon on your sidebar with a link to Natalie's Sentiments. Let me know that you have done this in a separate comment as well. You only have to blog about the giveaway and add the icon to your sidebar once to get an extra entry on every giveaway you enter.

Okay. Enough with the details. Let's get into the giveaways!

Yawn...

I stayed up until the wee hours, but I finished. Mostly. I have updated my Paisley Lane Etsy store. I had a lot of requests to move my earrings from "trade" status to "sell" status, so I have. Just for you. :) I've added a couple sets from my Natural Grace line as well. And I am thinking of doing a new mother line. What do you think?

Check back on Monday for the start of Natalie's Fall Giveaway Soiree. Want to see some of the sponsors? Check the left sidebar.....

Ready to be jealous?

There are a lot of things I like about the company Shane works for. They provide a gym and healthy snacks for employees, they help put a roof over our heads, they throw a killer formal Christmas party. I do have to say though, this little bonus is especially nice. Every time Shane finishes a project, I get the most incredible flowers delivered to me. I used to be a florist. I know how much a bouquet like this costs. For the love, it is almost 4 feet tall. Oh and the hydrangeas. I love hydrangeas. So you could say that my weekend is off to a nice start.

Glitter a go-go

I'm not much of a "glitter gal" but when Hobby L0bby puts all of their glitter on sale for 50% off -what's a girl to do?! I bought myself a multi-colored pack of glitter, some modge podge and put jewelry making on hold for a bit. My friend Kristi is making the CUTEST glitter cups over at her site Kristi's Gifts, so I thought I would try my hand at one. I made this silver & black cup for my sis in law in NYC - I added the hair jewels as my personal touch. It is supposed to be NYC themed, but I really can't imagine anyone walking down the streets of Manhattan sipping out of one. :)
Next, I decided to heed Grace Violet's cry to save the birds. (Basically glittering the ugly little silk birds sold at Hobby Lobby) I made this bird and butterfly mobile for Lydia's room. I am going for an all handmade theme. Cute huh?
Lastly, I found these hideous black silk birds at the dollar tree. So I covered them in black glitter, sprayed some sealant and Voila - cool Halloween decor. I'm thinking next...glittered pumpkins!

Fall Traditions

I just gave a talk in church on the importance of having family traditions, so I thought I would share some of ours.

At least the ones we participated in last weekend.

We have a lot of fall traditions.

( Love the sign that says free water with $100 purchase. That must be bringing in customers by the hoards.)

Usually we are all about the pumpkin muffins, but this season we are switching it up and making tons of these. Why? Because they are CRAZY easy and the recipe doesn't call for eggs, which is great because my little sous chef cannot keep her mits out of the dough.

Every year since Shane and I have been married, we go on a fall date the last weekend in September. We go shopping at Target to load up on their newest Halloween decor and then get something fallish to eat. Usually it is Starbucks Caramel Apple cider and pumpkin bread, but this year we saw that our favorite Greek restaurant still had the patio open. We ate hummus and enjoyed the crisp night air. What are your fall traditions?

Tea for Two

Speaking of terrible twos, Lydia's best friend Kate turned two last week and to celebrate, her mom threw a "Tea for Two" Princess party. How cute is that! Click here to see even more of the celebration.

Terrible Twos

I know that they call these the terrible twos. But right now, I am wishing that time stood still. Last week Lydia and I were at the park (like almost every day since the weather has gotten cooler), having a picnic (like almost every meal since the weather has gotten cooler) and Lydia felt a cool breeze. Probably the first time she has been chilly for months. Suddenly she gasped "Oh mommy! We need to make a snowman cause it is cold and have Christmas with Papa and Grandma and Santa will come but I not sit on his lap, only the Easter bunny.

I just wrapped her up in my arms and buried my head in her hair. Please stay this little and sweet. Just for a little longer. Mommy isn't ready for her baby to go quite yet.