Recent Snippets

:: Conversation hearts in a McCarty shell bowl. Swoon.

:: We still have Blue Submarine. He's really just my fish now. I'm the one that feeds him and keeps his bowl clean.

:: Legos. All day. Every day.

:: Vintage Pepsi and Barq's root beer crates from my dad.

:: Bourbon.

:: Gorgeous Blessing Basket.

:: Blind shadows on my artwork.

Pottery on Etsy

Our little family has really gotten into reading labels. We try to eat organic, we use sulfate free shampoo, and every light bulb in our house is a swirly. So, when I was trying to think of Christmas presents for William, the first idea was one of those old fashioned shaver bowls. You know.

That's where Pottery on Etsy came into play. I literally scoured Etsy for hours looking for the perfect shave bowl. And then I found it. A rustic clay bowl with a matching brush thingy.

Pottery on Etsy's owner, Sheila, was a doll to work with. She is the mastermind behind all of the pottery creations, like her new birdhouses.

But let me get back to the point of this post. William adores his shave bowl. He uses it every single morning. I bought a round soap bar to go with it. He just lathers the soap up with the brush. And voila, it makes a super thick shaving creme, without all the nasty ingredients that the store bought shaving cremes have in them. And plus, it's good for the environment. No aerosol and no metal bottles to throw away. Win slash win.

Be sure to check out Pottery on Etsy and buy a shaver bowl for your main man. Oh and THIS plate and cup set is too legit. My birthday is coming up! Hint, hint.

Winsome Words Wednesday on a Thursday

Guys. Sorry I haven't been around these parts much. I don't know what's wrong with me. I feel like I've been lacking in the blogging department. And it's not like I don't have a ton of ish to blog about. Because I do.

But that's just it. I have too many thoughts to type. I have too many photos to edit. I feel overwhelmed. I feel a lack of creativity. I feel like I'm a terrible blogger.

Meh.

So since I'm great at being a Debbie Downs right now, let me touch on a topic that's ticking me off. And it's an ironic topic. It's about ridiculous complainers. I know. That's what I've been doing since I started this post. I told you. Ironic.

Being a blogger gives so many people the platform to be able to voice their opinions. And a lot of the time it's to complain. Like those blogger moms that are all up in arms about Barbie being the cover of the Sports Illustrated 50th anniversary issue.

I mean, REALLY???!!! That's what you have to complain about over there?!

::crickets::

WHO. CARES. Question mark. Question mark. QUESTION MARK.

Ugh.

These mothers are all upset because, by having Barbie on the cover, it's supposedly sending a "bad message" to young girls. What? Barbie isn't wholesome?! Since when?

::wink wink::

::side eye::

Look, Barbies aren't going to raise your child. They aren't going to teach them right or wrong. That's YOUR job. But don't buy Barbies if it makes you feel any better. Don't buy Sports Illustrated if it offends you that much. But do buy that case of Cokes. And that McDonald's. And give both of those to your kid. Because that totally makes sense.

Or how about being a blogger and complaining about more important issues, like the crisis over in Ukraine?

Or how about actually getting out and doing something good for people instead of complaining and spewing negativity over the interwebs?

I'm going to heed my advice. See you folks tomorrow.

Rant over.

 Disclaimer: Barbie is indeed the most iconic slore around. And I love her.

Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's guys! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend filled with tons of love! Oh, and since when did this holiday turn into Christmas for the kiddies? Here is the loot Adrienne got this morning! #sheesh

Raina Hampton Art Giveaway [OVER]

This giveaway is now over! Congrats Christina K.! You have won your very own Raina Hampton original! Thanks to everyone who entered and showed love for this great giveaway. 

I'm bringing you guys a brand new giveaway today! I'm super excited to team up with an extraordinarily talented artist named Raina Hampton. 

Raina is a mom to four beautiful kids by day and a painting machine by night. And, boy, does she churn out some gorgeous pieces. Being raised in the south, Raina's art is a mix of everything found in nature. From birds, to fields of cotton, to stunning fall-kissed trees, everything she creates is eye-catching. Her medium is usually acrylics on homemade canvases that her husband puts together. And these canvases are super thick. They make for an incredible pop on any wall. 

I'm so lucky that my home is graced with not one, but two Raina Hampton originals! The first is my all time favorite. Adrienne fell in love with it as soon as she saw it, too. She even said that the little birds were us. #swoon.

The second painting is the incredible abstract one below. He's a pretty big guy, at 24x24 inches, and the colors are super vibrant.

Raina's passion for painting shows in every piece she creates. Her work makes people smile. And now I'm excited to say that one lucky Coffee and Cashmere reader will be beaming. We are giving away a Raina Hampton original! The winner will receive a 6x6 inch bird painting.

For your chance to win, just log into the Rafflecopter below (or make a new Rafflecopter account), and follow the directions for each entry. Please make sure to actually do what's required for each entry. If you just click enter and not do what it's asking, I'll know. If you are unsure how to do one, skip it and contact me. I can't stress this enough. I go back and check to make sure the winner actually did what was required. I will not let cheaters win. DON'T CHEAT. Meh.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway is now over! Congrats Christina K.! You have won your very own Raina Hampton original! Thanks to everyone who entered and showed love for this great giveaway. 

This giveaway will end Monday, March 3rd, 2013. One winner will be picked at random via Rafflecopter. The winner will receive a bird painting on a 6x6 inch canvas from Raina Hampton. The winner will be announced on coffeeandcashmere.com and will also be notified via email. The winner will have ONE week to respond to the email to claim their prize. If a winner never responds, a second winner will be picked at random.

A big thank you to Raina Hampton for creating such beautiful works of art.

Congrats to Elizabeth C. for winning my last great giveaway!

Love Day Outfits

Snow Day and Tree of Love Revisited

This morning it snowed. It hasn't snowed once in the past four winters. So, naturally we dressed as warm as we could and acted like straight hooligans in our backyard. 

One day Adrienne's parents will grow up. But I could totally be wrong.

I took the photo above with muh phone and grammed it. If you don't follow me on IG, do so now over @coffeeandcashmerelove. I also have plenty of real camera photos from our snow day to share soon!

Oh, and here is this oldie but goodie Valentine's craft, our Tree of Love.

Oreo Bites Revisited

Popping in real quick to share a Valentine's recipe from last year. You will want to make these guys.

Personal Creations

I was all set for Christmas this past year. I had all the gifts bought well in advance. Santa was bringing Adrienne a new American Girl doll. That was her big present. Then two weeks before Christmas, Adrienne dropped a bomb. She said she wanted Santa to bring her a train table.

Wait. Huh?!

Granted, my child has always gravitated towards train tables. She loves taking things apart and building them back. Her father's child if you will. They both sit for literally hours building Lego creations. Or playing video games. Or coding websites. Okay, the latter is just William. But, back to the point, my kid is a builder. And she tells me she wants a train table two weeks before Christmas? #thiskid.

Since I'd already over spent on Adrienne's presents, I told her that Santa does have to build toys for every little kid that believes in him, so she may not always get exactly what she wants. That statement went in one ear and out her little other (as they all usually do). She told me she was just going to wish really hard and that Santa always listens to her wishes. Because, magic.

Duh, Mom.

Well, to my disbelief, there really is a Santa. But he was posing as a company called Personal Creations. A few days after Adrienne was writing her fifth letter to Old Saint Nick, Personal Creations hit me up asking if I would review one of their umpteen-million personalized gifts.

I was all like, "Um. YEA!" I mean, I'm a sucker for personalized things. Maybe it's because I have an unusual name. When I was little it was always like, hey kid, good luck finding "JADE" on those personalized pencils. I think that scared me for life.

I scoured over all the different items I could have "Jade" on, but then I saw it. A Kidkraft train slash Lego table. And that's when I knew Santa was real. I still hear the bell!

Personal Creations sent my little creator the thing she wanted the most for Christmas with her name on it.

Needless to say, on Christmas morning, Adrienne freaked her little freak and was all like, American Girl who?

She has played daily with this train table since.

So, all you gift-buying-folks (twice hyphenated), do yourselves a solid and head over to Personal Creations. This is a magical company. Be sure to check them out on Facebook and Twitter for even more gift buying goodness.

Post script - I will share photos of Christmas morning sometime in the near future. Prom.

Winsome Words Wednesday

#radiatepositiveenergy