Calling all my Ju-Ju-Be Pink Ladies!

Shortly before Mabelle was born, I discovered Ju-Ju-Be--the makers of the most awesome diaper bags on the planet. My first bag was a gorgeous Blue Bouquet Packabe! It was the most versatile bag and a backpack to boot! Best of all, it was washable! So began my fantastic love of all Ju-Ju-Be bags and my relationship with the other "Pink Ladies". I really connected with these moms--in the forums online in the "Pink Room" and on Facebook; we chatted about our fab bags and most importantly our lives as moms. In 2012, I was fortunate enough to be able to attend a Pink Lady Get-Together in Colorado Springs, Colorado! We were on vacation in the area and my sweet husband made sure I made it to the party! I was able to meet several Pink Ladies in real life and we had a great time playing games, laughing, and talking about mama stuff! At that GTG, I was lucky enough to win my very own One-of-a-Kind Ju-Ju-Be bag: a gorgeous tan re-colored BeLight! I named her "Desert Jewel" and have loved her ever since! What other company sends free bags in never-before-seen prints to their mamas? I was also fortunate enough to host a GTG in Saint Louis, prior to our move, and again had so much fun connecting with fellow Pink Ladies--and handing out the goodies JJB gave me to distribute--again totally awesome and kind! 

I can't say enough good things about Ju-Ju-Be. Their products are fabulous and their customer service and the community they have created has meant so much to me as a young mom! However, now I feel it is time to let my sweet little OOAK go. Why, you ask? Well, for some time (especially since our move to Kentucky), hubby and I have been praying about and dreaming of adopting! Because of severe illness after both my pregnancies, we decided after our youngest was born, it would be better if I didn't go through that again--and we'd always said there are so many children in the world already that need homes! So, we are preparing to make our final decision on an agency and move forward with that application and a home study. As many of you know, adoption can be very expensive. After a huge move last year, this seems like the most inopportune time to make such a commitment, but after much prayer, we feel it's time to start this process! We are pursing a domestic adoption and if you want more details about that, feel free to email me or ask questions below. 

So, I will be doing a special "Envelope Sale" for my neat-o BeLight! To enter, you will need to send $10 via the paypal "gift" option to paypal@thingsinc.com. Please include your Pink Lady Name (if you have one), your real name, and an email address. Each person who enters is guaranteed to win an virtual envelope--some of those will contain a special recipe and one will contain the OOAK BeLight! 

How will it work? I will generate numbers for each entry via the time stamp once the payment is sent to paypal in a spread sheet. I will create the total number of envelopes IRL in accordance to the total number of entries (100 envelopes for 100 entries).  Then (we'll video it) my husband will let my girls draw out the winning number! That person will receive the BeLight and a Ju-Ju-Be Shopper Tote! 

I will post photos of the Light below. We are a smoke-free, dog friendly home. I did carry the bag a few times, but it looks beautiful. There is one tiny pen dot on the inside bottom as photographed. She is fresh out of a bath and all dry! 

The Envelope Sale will be open from the date of this posting till Monday, November 24th at 6:00 P.M. EST. You may enter multiple times. To do so, please send separate payments. You may want to space them out at different time intervals if you want really different numbers (ie 1, 35 VS 1, 2). At least 10 envelopes must be purchased before the drawing will proceed. If they aren't I will refund all money and try something else :). If you are in the US, I will cover the shipping cost. If you are in Canada or an International buyer, you must agree to pay the shipping costs to you. 

The funds from the envelope sale will be used to pay for our application fees and initial home study. I will update this blog with the total amount and confirmation when we start the process. I have been a Pink Lady since March 11, 2011, have feedback records, etc.

I also promise to post, in both the Pink Room and on the Facebook pages, progress on our adoption and when the baby arrives, I will most certainly be sharing those famous "baby in the bag" photos!

Even though I will be selling most of my Ju-Ju-Be, I look forward to the day when we are holding our newest little one and can shop for those cute BFFs and BePrepareds again! This baby will be a Ju-Ju-Be Baby! I may never have another OOAK but our little one will be my true OOAK :D 

And, for those of you who read my blog and have no clue what I am talking about, check out www.ju-ju-be.com for their awesome products and information! 

*Ju-Ju-Be is no way affiliated with this post or the sale. I just love them :) 

This is Erin (Erinrachael26) and I (my Pink Room name is Pippy) the day we won our OOAKs back in 2012. Looking at this photo makes me realize how lucky I am to have had her (and how much I will miss her). I hope she goes to a mama who will love her as much as I have! 

Much Love <3, 

Priscilla aka "Pippy" 

I've broken my own rule...

Well, I've done what I said I would never do...decorate for Christmas prior to Thanksgiving! However, I am full of several good excuses for throwing caution to the wind: my brother-in-law, sister-in-law and their four kids are coming for Thanksgiving (!!! happy dance--and obviously I must do some decorating prior), Kurt will be out of town next week, and we're not putting THE TREE up yet--I mean, that's what counts right? Frankly, I've told Kurt and everyone else who rolls their eyes at me that I intend to celebrating Thanksgiving, and count my blessings just the same--only surrounded by these pretties! 

Why do I care about decorating? It's not very hard to answer that question. For me, it isn't about having the best or being so concerned with how our house can "look". It's more about celebrating home, family and, most of all, continuing the traditions that meant so much to my mom, dad and I. Many of you know I am an only child and I spent a great deal of time doing activities with my parents. One of those, and my favorite, was decorating for the holidays. I loved helping my dad check the big, bright bulbs each year, running around outside "helping" hang lights, making homemade outfits for the church Christmas play, decorating the tree, and baking. I remember falling asleep at night watching the colored bulbs shine through my frosty window with a profound sense of peace and love. Shouldn't one of the grandest celebrations we throw throughout the year be to celebrate the Savior's birth? So each year, I love to drag out my favorite items and remember the moment love poured down from Heaven and the blessings of home and family. 

Here are a few of my early projects! We did hit a snag when we realized that several of our boxes are still in our attic in Saint Louis! Good thing we didn't sell the house! I might have turned up on America's Most Wanted for murdering my husband-- just kidding! Hee hee! 

Forget those $100 decorated, lit garlands at the stores! I made my own from a $10 garland and a $12 bucket of ornaments! 

I love the 1950s and I think this love probably stems from watching "I Love Lucy" with my mom and from cherishing my grandmother's ornament collection that stems from the 50s-60s. So, I finally found my 1950s aluminum Christmas Tree! Sorry, Charlie Brown! This thing is even more awesome with the color wheel projector and the fact that the base rotates and can play a music-box version of Jingle Bells. Yes, that did drive us insane after about five minutes. I can't wait to add my grandmother's decorations and share those memories with my girls! 

When we moved into our new house, I went crazy with paint and settled on this creamy, light orange color for an accent wall in the living room. About two months later, it hit me. What in the world would I do with an orange wall at Christmas?! Well, this seems to work! I just replaced the fabric in my hoops with some Christmas versions and covered my "J" with,  you guessed it, aluminum foil :) It was a cheap and cute solution to my orange wall situation! Now, I just need to add some presents to the wire basket and nix the magazines and get my type writer back out--and add a typed letter to Santa, of course! 

I can't forget my Pyrex collection! Pieces have been few and far between this year, but I love this! My dad did buy me the cute cherry tea tray recently! He's the bestest! 

Savannah bought me this adorable tea towel last year! 

I'm also currently obsessed with 1950s-1970s Blow Molds. We're saving for adoption right now, so I haven't given into my desire since I got my tiny little Pumpkin man for Halloween. However, I am an only child and my dad can't help spoiling me. He loves to go to antique stores/malls as much as I do and bought me this adorable Santa, toy soldiers, and the candles. 

While we do have some Santa things in our house, we haven't pushed the idea too much with our girls. However, this guy did prompt some great conversations about the real St. Nicholas and about the reason we give gifts at Christmas. The girls have already had fun with their Little People Nativity (one of the best toys, for you moms!) and are talking about baking Jesus a birthday cake again this year! 

We're celebrating with even more joy this season, as we have decided to pursue a domestic adoption and are currently saving for all of the fees involved. This season of hope and love is truly overflowing in my heart as I think about how I have been graciously adopted into God's family and anticipate welcoming a new little person into our family! 

With a thankful heart, 

~Priscilla