Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner

Dear Baby Blakely,

I cannot wait until you are old enough for me to tell you the story of how you came to be a part of our family.  I cannot wait until you will understand how many people loved you, prayed for you, and cared enough to want to be a part of your adoption.

I am praying for you tonight, thanking God for our amazing friends and family, and anxiously awaiting the day that we will bring you home.

Love forever,

Mommy

 ........................................................

Wow... how can I possibly express how grateful I am to each one of you that participated in this raffle? 

My cup runneth over today.

Now for the news that you are all waiting for.

First of all... how much we raised.

I believe that we need at least $3,000 to finish covering our adoption costs.

Because I want to be able to pass some money on to another family, I had a goal in my head of raising $5,000.

We raised $6,085!

Six thousand eighty five dollars!!!

I am absolutely, positively blown away.

God is so faithful.

And now for what you are all really waiting for... the winners.

Drum roll please {da, da, da, da...}

The winner of the For the Kids basket is Lisa Frattone.

I am so over-the-moon excited that my dear friend Lisa won this basket.

After six years of infertility and one amazing adopted son, Lisa is pregnant with a little girl.

Yay, Lisa!!!  This is just another confirmation that God is taking good care of that little baby in your belly.

The winner of the Locals Only basket is Chrissy Del Real.

 When Chrissy and I were babies I crawled up on top of her and bit her on the cheek.

She still was nice enough to be my best friend for many years.

Does this make up for that bite, Chrissy?

The winner of the All Grown Up basket is Bonnie Faris.

Bone!  I'm so happy that you are my winner.

As my friend-in-law you have always been so supportive and such a wonderful friend.

Thank you for once again championing my cause.

Thank you all again so very, very much for your support.

We had so much fun running this raffle.

I got a call this morning from our Social Worker and our Home Inspection is scheduled!

I promise to keep you updated on our journey, and I promise to let you know when we are ready to pass on our "leftovers" to the next family.

Raffle CLOSED

Wow!  What an amazing, amazing week this has been.

The raffle is now officially closed.

Thank you so much to all who participated... those who bought tickets and those who donated prizes.

I cannot wait to reveal to you how much we raised and who the winners are!!!

Stay tuned... I promise to post this information later this evening.

Much Ado About You

You had to know that I would throw some stuff in these raffle baskets too, right?

In case you are unfamiliar with my shop, Much Ado About You, I sell calendars.

I had so much fun reading all my sponsors answers to these questions, that I thought... why not answer them myself?

Where do you live, and is it where you are from originally?

 I live in Ladera Ranch, which is in South Orange County, which is where I have been my entire life {other than the four years that I was on the Central Coast for college}.

When and why did you start your business?

I started my business in November of 2007 as an Event Planning and Custom Invitation Design business.  I had been selling jewelry for a Direct Sales company for four years, but I was tired of the home shows and I wanted a more creative outlet.  I quickly tired of the Event Planning... a very stressful, very demanding line of work, but I really enjoyed doing invitations.  Unfortunately, it was very difficult to make any money selling invitations.  About a year into my business, I accidentally started selling calendars {after making one for myself that friends and family were coveting}, and it quickly became my full-time business and passion!

What is your favorite part about running your business?

Hands down the best thing about my business is being able to employ my friends!  We have so much fun in our office, and it is truly a blessing that my business can provide a little extra income for my friends' families, and make it even easier for them to stay home with their kids.

What is your biggest dream for your business?

My fantasy-land-anything-can-happen dream for my business is that Much Ado About You would eventually be synonymous with Day Runner or Franklin Covey.  Obviously, the handmade element of our calendars is what makes them unique, and I wouldn't want to lose that in mass-production.  I would, however, love to have a "pro-series" line that could be mass-produced and could compete with those other big names.

Yours Truly Dear

I can't remember whether I found Yours Truly Dear or they found me, but I sure am glad that we connected.

Look at the darling stuff Jess and Darci sell:

Where do you live, and where are you from originally?

Darci and I both live in Utah. I am from Maine and she is from Idaho. Our respective husbands used to be roomates, which is how we met and became bffs!

Tell me a little bit about yourself and your family.

Jess just graduated from BYU in Wildlife and Wildlands Conservation. She works for the Forest Service for the summer and is looking for a full time job. She's been married for two years and has a cat named Jay-Z. Darci goes to BYU and is taking a short break since she is expecting a little baby girl in August (her first child)! She's also been married for two years.

When and why did you start your business?
Jess started an etsy shop a while ago but didn't have much luck with it. This year Darci and I decided to join forces and really get our Etsy shop up and running. We both love sewing and basically any other kind of crafting, and we both love cute things. So by joining forces we are just trying to make the world a bit cuter :]

Jess and Darci donated a $25 gift certificate to their shop.  

This item can be found in the For the Kids basket.

Vinyl by Design

I'm sure that you have all heard of vinyl wall lettering, right?

It's basically a vinyl sticker that you put on your wall that looks like paint, but is easily removable.

I love this trend!  It is particularly great for a renter.
We have vinyl all over our house.

 

All of this vinyl I got from my friend Nancy who owns Vinyl by Design.


Nancy also carries many home decor items like the plaque she donated for our raffle:

 

She also donated a wall clock that comes with lettering to out around it that says, "Time is not measured by clocks, but by moments."

It is the clock that is seen on the Locals Only button... sorry, but this giant clock is not getting shipped!

The plaque can be found in the For the Kids basket.

Trendy Not Spendy

I have a friend named Summer Thacker.

Every time Summer posts a picture on Facebook, it makes me want to go shopping.

She is the most stylish girl I know.

When Brooke and I shop, we shop by the motto WWSW... What Would Summer Wear.

Summer happens to be David Archuleta's Stylist.

Recently, she has decided to expand her Styling business to helping women shop on a budget, which is her favorite thing.

She has started a blog {although, it's not quite up and running yet, but stay-tuned} called 

Trendy Not Spendy.

I am so excited about this prize!

Summer has donated a (2) Hour Styling Consultation, with your choice of either a Closet Consultation or a Shopping Consulation.

This item can be found in the Locals Only basket.

Thirty-One Gifts

Remember a giveaway we had a few weeks back from  
Thirty-One Gifts?

Stephanie was so kind to offer to participate in my raffle so soon after her giveaway.

Now you can get a little more info about Stephanie:

Where do you live, and where are you from originally?

I live in NJ, but am a Carolina Girl! (South Carolina)

Tell me a little bit about yourself and your family.

I have a wonderful and supportive husband,
and 2 very sweet Boys (ages 3 & 6)

When and why did you start your business?

I started with Thirty-One a year ago because I needed some extra money, but I still wanted to be home with my kids. It has truly been a lifesaver!

 What is your favorite part about running your business?

My favorite part is helping other women get their business started and watching them grow their businesses. It is so great to be a part of that!

 What is your favorite item that you sell?

My favorite item that we sell is the Skirt Purse. It is so versatile! You can change the outside of the purse without taking everything out of it! And the Skirts are soo cute!

 What is your biggest dream for your business?

My biggest dream is to be able to show my kids that when you work hard, and put your heart into something, the rewards that you get are better than you ever could imagine!

 Stephanie donated this darling Zipper Pouch:

and a $15 Gift Certificate.

This item can be found in the All Grown Up basket.