This looks like fun for the creative types and designers out there.  The Vistaprint Design Challenge goes from August 3, 2010 to October 4, 2010.  Vistaprint is a popular online retailer of printed materials including business cards, stationery, and signage. 

Did you ever come up with an idea for a tee shirt that you thought would be cool?  Or for the designers, have you ever had business card design samples that a client did not use, but that you still like?  This is an opportunity to cash in on creativity.  Vistaprint will pay $250 for each accepted business card design and $150 for each accepted t-shirt design.

All of the rules and regulations can be found on Vistaprint’s website including dates, guidelines, and other information about submissions. 

My niece, Baby S., will be celebrating her 1st birthday in a couple of weeks!  I have had such a good time looking at little clothes and toys for her.  Baby S. is my younger brother’s little girl.  She is a sweet, happy little lady who started walking a few weeks ago and loves to give big kisses.

I love to give books as gifts and board books for a baby or toddler are easy to handle and durable.  I just know that Baby S. would get a giggle out of hugging and kissing a soft dolly like the Corolle baby doll shown below.  And of course I have to find a couple of sweet little outfits.  I love just about everything from the new Tea Collection catalog but adored the color in the Autumn Leaves romper.

Do you have any go-to gifts that you tend to give for a first birthday present?  Here are some of the things that I am looking at getting Baby S., with the links.

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365 Days.  365 New Outfits.  365 Dollars.

I found out about Marisa’s very cool blog, New Dress A Day, through a friend on Facebook.  Inspired by the movie Julie & Julia, Marisa wanted to “do something that would get my creative juices flowing everyday.”  Cooking is not her thing but Marisa had another idea.

She loves to find old clothing with the potential for a re-work, from flea markets, garage sales, and vintage shops.  Marisa gets out her sewing machine, works a little (or sometimes alot) of magic, and a new dress or blouse or skirt is born.  I am impressed not only by her sewing and tailoring skills but really by her vision and creativity.

Marisa started her year-long venture last November, so she is fairly far through it but I (being new to her blog) am going to enjoy reading back through her archives, as well her keeping up with her over the next couple of months.  She has vowed to not do any traditional shopping and only use things for her outfits that she already had or bought for a re-work.  This is one very cool and creative lady!

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Jemma is 21 weeks old today.  I just had to snap this photo of her because I thought it was so funny that she was conked out taking a nap right beside her bed, rather than in it.  Silly girl.  She was exhausted after running around playing soccer with the kids for about two hours.  I used to snap cute pictures of my kids sleeping too.

This dog is so full of energy and a great match for my on-the-go kids.  We had heard that English Springer Spaniels will run all day long if you let them and I believe it now!  After running and playing all day, Jemma is pretty much ready to lay around and snuggle from about 8 p.m. on and she still sleeps another eight hours at night with no problems. 

Wow, Miss Jemma is 20 weeks old today.  She is growing up fast.  This week we got her a pretty new puppy collar.  In this photo, Miss Jemma is modeling the 1" collar in the Puppy Love style by Lupine.  We love their products and got the matching leash too.

Lupine collars and leashes come in a variety of sizes and some adorable styles.  They are made from a coated webbed nylon which is extremely durable and easy to keep clean.  They even offer timely replacement of their products if they do become damaged, “including chewing mistakes”.

Did you know that Lancaster, Pennsylvania has a professional baseball team?  The Lancaster Barnstormers have been playing at home at Lancaster’s Clipper Stadium since 2005.  The team is part of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and they play against other teams from cities like York, PA (York Revolution), Central Islip, NY (Long Island Ducks), and Bridgeport, CT (Bridgeport Bluefish), as well as several others in the region.

Dave and our oldest son, P. Dude, try to make it out to a couple of games every season.  This year was the first time that our little son, H. Man, was actually interested in going along too.  It is really neat to have a professional baseball team locally and is a very popular activity for those that live in Lancaster and the surrounding towns.  The people that run Clipper Stadium do an excellent job of scheduling fun family events during the baseball season, as well as during the off-season.

I recently found out that there is a blog covering the Atlantic League teams and players.  Queen of Diamonds is written by Lisa Winston and is a fun way to get to know current teams and players, as well as find out where past players, coaches, etc. have ended up over the years.

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Did you know that Lancaster, Pennsylvania has a professional baseball team?  The Lancaster Barnstormers have been playing at home at Lancaster’s Clipper Stadium since 2005.  The team is part of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and they play against other teams from cities like York, PA (York Revolution), Central Islip, NY (Long Island Ducks), and Bridgeport, CT (Bridgeport Bluefish), as well as several others in the region.

Dave and our oldest son, P. Dude, try to make it out to a couple of games every season.  This year was the first time that our little son, H. Man, was actually interested in going along too.  It is really neat to have a professional baseball team locally and is a very popular activity for those that live in Lancaster and the surrounding towns.  The people that run Clipper Stadium do an excellent job of scheduling fun family events during the baseball season, as well as during the off-season.

I recently found out that there is a blog covering the Atlantic League teams and players.  Queen of Diamonds is written by Lisa Winston and is a fun way to get to know current teams and players, as well as find out where past players, coaches, etc. have ended up over the years.

Read more...

Award-winning designer Suzanne Kasler has collaborated once again with Ballard Designs on a new line of home accessories.  Ballard Designs is one of my go-to stores for pretty items, as well as for inspiration. I love Ms. Kasler’s classic designs.  Her work has been featured in some of the best decorating magazines such as House Beautiful, ElleDecor, and Architectural Digest. 

Also, did you read her interview at Lonny Magazine (Page 36)?  You can purchase an exclusively autographed copy of her new book, “Inspired Interiors” by Suzanne Kasler at Ballard Designs.  Below are some of my favorite items from Suzanne Kasler’s new line at Ballard Designs.  I love that these new items would work with a variety of styles.  Do you have your eye on any pieces from this new line?

Gourd Lamp by Suzanne Kasler at Ballard Designs
Jacque Bracket by

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My kids love these English From the Roots Up flashcards.  I first read about them on The Pioneer Woman last year and knew that they would be helpful in our vocabulary and spelling lessons.

There are two volumes, each consisting of 100 flashcards with Latin and Greek words – the Latin is in red and the Greek is in green.  The fronts of the cards have the root word on them and the backs of the cards show the meaning of that root word as well as other related words.

These Latin and Greek flashcards are quite fun and the kids love quizzing each other on them.  We love anything that can be made into a game of sorts.  There are some books that go with the flashcards but we have never found the need for them.

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Our curious English Springer Spaniel puppy, Jemma Jane, is 19 weeks old today.  She is so into whatever the family is doing whether computer work (or shopping) or housework.  Jemma got very excited when we were moving some furniture around this weekend.  Then of course she conked out for an afternoon of napping.  Such is the life of a puppy.

Jemma, in true Springer form, is a great jumper.  She has been jumping up on the furniture for a few weeks now.  We all thought it was cute at first but as she gets bigger it might not be so cute.  After I shot the photo above, Jemma actually climbed onto the desk.  Oops!