One of my favorite features of Spotify(a music streaming service for your computer and some mobile devices) is being able to hear what other people are listening to. You can use your iTunes account and share your playlists with your Spotify friends. (You can also search specific artists or songs and listen to just that.) So here I am listening to everybody’s music and I run across the lovely Alli Worthington’s 2010-2011 playlist. It included songs from someof my favoriteartists. And nestled in between those songs was “Hey Mama“, which I loved from the moment it first started playing. Go ahead and click that link. And then try not to dance. No matter what we’re doing when it comes on, our house becomes a dance floor for 3 minutes.
So when One2One Network had the opportunity to review the whole album, Young Love, I snapped that up immediately! I.love.this.album. Several of my friends were familiar with Mat and his music because he was at Blissdom this past year, but I was a little busy that weekend and missed out. But I’m making up for lost time! We have had this music on non-stop since I got it in the mail last week. The music is fun and catchy and the lyrics aren’t just fluff. “Count on Me” is full of brilliant play on words and it took listening to it several times and reading the lyrics before I finally caught it all.
It is not often that I can say this: I like every single song on this album.
And for those of you near me? Guess what? He’s going to be one of the first acts back in the Georgia Theatre! I was SO excited when I found out about that, but I can’t go because we already have something big planned that night.
Tickets are only $17! And I promise that you’ll see a fabulous show! (Doors open at 8. Mat starts at 10.)
Wanna know more about Mat and Young Love?
Run your mouse over the super cool widget below.
Or pop on over to iTunes and download the whole albumfor only $9.99.
I’ve written before about Carter’s “special feet“. For some unknown reason, he was born with only 8 toes – the typical 5 toes on his left foot, but only 3 on the right. It’s not something that bothers us, and honestly there are times that I completely forget about it. Until…I have to go buy shoes.
His feet are obviously different sizes, the right being almost 2 and a half sizes smaller than the left. And typically we have to purchase two pairs of shoes to make one “Carter pair”. In the beginning, there were some companies who were gracious enough to work with us by giving us a discount on the second pair, but we once got a pair of hand-me-down Crocs and slipped them on as we ran out the door one day. (We were running late. I know you’re shocked.) And lo-and-behold…they stayed on both feet! One pair of shoes fit both feet! The right shoe was still slightly loose, but I’d learned from experience (a sad, sad experience which left me shoe-less on vacation) that Crocs shrink in the heat. So I popped that shoe in the dryer for a few minutes and ta-da! A pair of shoes that fit perfectly!
Another little issue he has is that the ankle bones did not form properly and his ankle doesn’t bend left and right like a normal ankle. So if we suspect that he will be doing a lot of running, we try to use shoes that will stabilize the ankle. We have been using regular old hightops, but I was delighted to see that Crocs how has a new school-approved line of shoes with 13 options, including a Hi Top sneaker! (Although I doubt I’ll be able to shrink one of those…)
Today is PE day for Lydia. Last week I forgot and she scolded me for not sending her in tennis shoes for PE day. I have to admit that in all the school shopping, I’d completely forgotten about tennis shoes (because we live in flip flops and sandals until November). So I had to rush off and get some for her this weekend. (Carter’s still fit from last year.) Did you include new clothes and/or shoes in your school shopping?
If you haven’t gotten new shoes, yet, check out this interactive Crocs video…
[youtube]http://youtu.be/s1SIn-zwFMg[/youtube]
…and search for a little something near the end that may look a little like this:
Click on the hidden item and find a surprise for you from Crocs!
Thank you to Crocs for sponsoring this blog post. Please click here to learn more about Crocs’ new Back to School line. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions expressed here are my own.
So…I started a little etsy store. And I’m pretty darn excited about it.
And yet I realized I hadn’t pimped it on my blog.
Silly me.
Anyway…
You know those little stick people you see on the back of cars?
Well check out my alternative:
I have several different family options available for only $12.
Or I can custom design one of your family for $15.
(More than 6 people? Just add $2 per person.)
I can do black, white, red, hot pink or lime green.
(Note: Black isn’t very visible on most car windows.)
Cut from premium vinyl which is made to last 3-5 years in outdoor environments.
Depending on family size, finished product is roughly 5×7.
I’m hoping to soon add some fun ones(family, singles and pets…I hope) so if you have any great ideas, let me know!
P.S. Heather, I’m still working on yours. A little harder than I first anticipated. But I will get it!
-Winner chosen with help by random.org.-
-Congrats to Punkinmama! Birthday luck FTW!-
The very first Groupon I bought was for Mixbook.com.
It was a great deal and the reviews for the product looked great.
Aaaand…even though Asa was already 2 and baby #4 was about to make her debut, I still hadn’t made him a baby book.
(Oops!)
Carter’s baby book is about 4 inches thick and was scrapbooked as we went along.
Lydia’s baby book is maybe 2 inches thick, with a lot less details because I didn’t do it as I went along.
(You think you’ll remember all that stuff, but when you sit down to write it down…you don’t.)
And poor Asa had nothing.
The week after Alden was born, my mother-in-law was here and I decided that it was a perfect time to get this book done!
(Besides…I couldn’t let the Groupon go to waste!)
I spent a lot of time gathering my photos and putting them in one easily accessible file.
I went to Mixbook.com and couldn’t believe how much fun it was.
I’ve always loved scrapbooking-the cutting, the pasting, the tactile part of it.
And I always thought that I wouldn’t like digital scrapbooking because it wouldn’t be hands-on.
But this site-unlike several other sites I’ve used before-gave me complete creative control.
(Don’t worry! If you aren’t computer-savvy or creative, they have templates where you can just plug in pictures!)
I started Asa’s book by picking the “Scrapbook Baby” theme
(They have over 60 themes available!)
And started clicking away.
I downloaded my pictures directly from my computer,
but you can also upload pictures from places like Flickr, Facebook and Picasa.
You can either drag and drop your pictures into the pre-made template pages
OR you can move things around or design it yourself…even down to the tiniest details.
(They have “stickers” that you can use, but you can even upload your own if they don’t have what you want!)
Here’s the page I did for his 9 month pictures.
The top is the template,
the middle is the online preview of my page and
the bottom is a picture of the printed version.
You can see that I changed a few things:
I took out the bees, the bug sticker and I changed the words.
I also changed some of the frames and added a few pictures.
You think I was excited much when it came in the mail?
Another great feature?
You can add multiple contributors!
Think about all the possibilities there!
Siblings could work together on a Mother’s Day gift, even if they live miles apart.
Co-workers could all add their own touch to a retirement gift book.
You could even do a wedding gift that allowed people to add their own pictures of the couple and a note to them.
Something else I’m excited about is the save function.
In order to not do what I did with Lydia and Asa, I’m doing Alden’s book as we go along.
There is no time limit on how long you can save your projects!
So I’ve done her birth day and these first 2 months and at the end of the year, I’ll print it!
The best part is that it won’t break the bank!
They have a variety of sizes(hardback or soft cover) starting at only $6.99!
I’ll admit that for this price, I wasn’t expecting the print quality to be very high.
I was very impressed with how clear everything was and how true-to-color all the pictures were.
Have 30 more seconds?
Watch this and see how easy it is!
So are you excited yet?
Do you want to start your own Mixbook right now?
Well…I have a complimentary 20-page, 11×8.5 landscape, hardcover photo book for one of you!
There are 3 ways to enter, but you must leave a separate comment for each way:
2. Post about this giveaway on Facebook and then let me know that you did in the comments section.
3. Tweet this giveaway and leave the link to your tweet in the comments section.
Giveaway closes at midnight(EST) on this Friday(March 25th).
Winner will be selected at random and contacted by email.
(That means I have to have a valid email address for you!)
Just can’t wait to see if you won? You can use this 20% off coupon code: IVEYMIX20 (No expiration date, but it can only be used once per customer.)
I purchased my first Mixbook and fell in love with this product.
I was so excited when I had the opportunity to write a review for them!
As compensation for my review, I did receive a second Mixbook for free.
I can assure you, however, that I will be a long-time Mixbook customer.
