Shabby Apple Giveaway: $75 Giftcard!

I'll be the first to admit that I am not a fashionista. I am generally a cheap person when it comes to spending money on clothes, which i'm sure J appreciates. That however does not mean I don't spend plenty of time day dreaming on sites of beautiful pieces, and that includes Shabby Apple.  I am totally in love with this perfect retro bow skirt: Or for those of you who are stuck in the snow and freezing weather, maybe just the thing you need is to day dream over summer time and fabulous swim suits like this striped swim suit: Today you guys are getting lucky, because Shabby Apple is giving away one $75 giftcard to a lucky winner! Even if your not the lucky winner, they are being awesome and giving everyone 10% their purchase- use the code dreambookdesign10off Heres how to enter: Mandatory-

• Must be a follower of Dream Book Design
• Must go to Shabby Apple and pick out your favorite item they have, and leave it in a comment on this blog
• Must follow Shabby Apple on Facebook

Extra Entries:

• Follow Dream Book Design on Facebook and let me know you do in a comment on the blog
• Follow @DreamBookDesign on Instagram and let me know you do in a comment on the blog
• Follow Dream Book Design on Vine {the new video app thats out- if you don't have it yet- get it! It's so fun!} and let me know you do in a comment on the blog
• For THREE extra entries, blog about this giveaway and leave me the link in a comment on the blog

Must have a US shipping address

Giveaway closes on February 7th, so get your entries in soon, and make sure your email is either in your profile or you leave it in the comment.

TERMS & CONDITIONS: Giveaway is open to US residents ages 18 and over and ends on February 7, 2013. By entering you give the right to use your name and likeness. Number of entries received determines the odds of winning. Approximate retail value is $75.00. One winner will be selected. All liabilities and responsibilities with product is directly responsible by Shabby Apple. Winner will drawn by random.org from all verified entries, contacted by email provided, and announced on this page at the end of the contest. Winner has 72 hours to respond or prize will be redrawn.

6,7, and 8 Month Baby Favorites

6-7-8 Month Baby Favorites

Green Sprouts Silicone Freezer Tray- These are my most favorite trays for freezing Brays food when I make it in big batches. They can handle any temperature, are super flexible so the food pops out easily, and freeze the food in perfect 1oz. cube portions. The Very Hungry Caterpillar Soft Book- We are big fans of soft books right now. Really, any books are awesome, but I personally love the soft ones since Bray is in the habit of putting everything in his mouth. He loves the crinkle noises they make too. Carlson Vitamin D3 Drops- I cannot say enough great things about these vitamin D drops. We have been giving these to Bray since he was just weeks old. Our pediatrician tried to give us these gross syrupy drops that were bright red, and expensive. Bray hated the way they tasted and tried to spit it out every time  which stained everything bright red...awesome. I researched and found these and haven't looked back. He gets one drop a day {400iU} and we just went past the 1/2 mark in the bottle..it lasts forever! Best part, no color or taste! I used to put a drop either in his dreamfeed bottle when he was having that, then we he stopped that I put a drop a day in his food. You can also put a drop on your nipple while breastfeeding- these drops are awesome! Joovy Spoon Walker- BEST THING EVER. Seriously guys- just get it! I know some people aren't huge fans of walkers because they say it slows down their ability to learn to crawl and walk. I believe that is true if you literally keep your baby in it 24/7, but for a few minutes here and there- I would like to think were fine:) I love this one specifically because it is totally gender neutral, modern and clean looking, and has no gadgets attached. I like that the tray is just that, a tray. This way I can put different toys on the tray, finger foods, etc. and when hes finished, I simply can remove the tray and wash it.  Munchkin Straw Cup- I gave Bray normal sippy cups for awhile and he liked them fine. However, he never seemed to want to drink too much from them. The second he figured out how to use a straw {and it surprisingly only took about 3 times} he couldn't drink the water fast enough. And even those these ones don't have handles he grabs them great. {Note- we didn't give him the straw sippys until he was 8 months, he got normal ones before that} Baby Bjorn Bib- These bibs are lifesavers for meal times. As hard as I try to simply keep the food in Brays mouth, it still ends up everywhere- esp. since he is now trying out some finger foods. These bibs are great because they keep him completely clean and dry, where as cloth bibs are usually too small and water leaks through to his clothes. Best part of them- when hes finished I simply wash it off with warm soapy water and its good to go for the next meal! Love not having to wash three bibs a day! Boogie Wipes- Ok, so this isn't necessarily a 6-7-8 month specific need, just a snotty nose need. I always thought these were SUCH a joke, and just something else the store was trying to make you feel like you need. But let me say, if your baby is anything like mine, and gets a snotty runny nose every time he cuts a tooth- you want these. They are so soft and gentle, and the saline on them helps grab everything! Boppy Shopping Cart Cover- This cover is great. Not only is it one of the cheaper options out there, but its easy to clean and has a soft book toy attached. It also has fit every cart I have tried it on! Love not having to worry about all the germs on the actual seat. Vtech Move and Crawl Ball- We got this crawl ball for Christmas and Bray loves it. He is still only army crawling, but this definitely motivates him to get going. It has all the annoying things a parent like me hates- which means its one of Brays favorites;) It lights up and plays music, and when it doesn't get touched for a little it moves itself around to encourage the baby to go after it. These are some of the things that have enhanced these past three months for us. I hope these posts help any of you mamas out there wondering about the future. I personally love seeing 'whats coming next'! I'll leave you with an adorable photo the amazing Melissa Young Photography shot for us this weekend. Love my little man so much!

Design Inspiration Monday

Did everyone have a great weekend?? I sure hope it was better than ours;) I am recovering from my THIRD freaking cold this winter, and J worked a ton on the house- mainly on some projects that were really frustrating. Can we have a second-try at this weekend? Maybe we will just look forward to next:) via
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New House Update

There is so much progress happening on the house, it's amazing!!! Here are a few sneak peeks of some of my favorite things happening. 

Here is Brays room. J had quite the fun time painting his built-ins, they are stubborn to say the least. We will do a full tutorial on how to make painting stubborn wood a little bit easier. We are still changing out the hardware on these, and obviously putting the closet doors back on, but I am just in love with the 'changing table' counter.

Floors are now almost all the way in. The stairs and our bedroom still need to be finished, but all of down stairs is D>O>N>E. And guess what, they are freaking stunning!!! We used our favorite floor guy Steve, who installed all of our floors in our old home. Him and his guys managed to get the whole downstairs finished in one week.

Our cabinets are getting installed today, and then countertops hopefully will follow 7-10 days after that. We are looking to move in the beginning of February! I am giddy just thinking of living in our home. It's been very weird owning a home, working on it, and not living in it for a full two months. We have loved the time spent at Js parents, its been a big blessing, but we are so excited for all the projects awaiting us. Thanks for being patient with us in slowly disclosing more and more details. 

Revive Bloggers Conference

I can't tell y'all how excited I am to share this info with you. For all you local AZ readers, this conference is something you should not pass up! If you already have a blog and want some help and inspiration, this is for you. If you are thinking of starting a blog and don't know where to even begin, this is for you. If you own your own business and want inspiration and even help with photography, this is for YOU! 
The speakers are some of my most favorite local ladies, I can't wait to learn from them. J and I laso will be speaking, and would love to meet you! So come hang out, get inspired, learn a lot, and find me to give me a hug, hand shake, or a punch, whatever floats your boat;) February 23, can't wait to see you all there.

Design Inspiration Monday

I hope everyone had a great weekend! I finally accomplished one of my long-time goals, I did a half marathon! I'll tell you all about it later. Happy Monday! via via via three above via

Finding The Right Doorknob

Who knew it could be so dang tricky and time consuming?!
I have been scouring the internet looking for doorknobs for our two sets of french doors that will be in the family room. I feel like I should instead be scouring Estate sales, but for today- thats not an option. Here are some of the best options, some realistic, and some not {you'll see why}:

via Home Depot
similar one, with different knob: via Amazon via Amazon

via eBay

Yes, this one is just a lock, and yes it is $270- but how freaking rad would it be?!

via eBay

via eBay

via eBay

Not sure what we are going to end up with, but were for sure thinking antique brass knobs of some sort. They have to have a lock on them as well since they will be leading outside. So,  if any of you genius friends of mine have any bright ideas as to where we should look- please don't be afraid to share your secrets:) Happy weekend!!

Okite Countertops: An Alternative To Carrara Marble

Can I get a Hip, Hip, Hooray?! We finally chose our counters for the kitchen, and we are pretty freaking excited. We went through a few options with y'all here and shockingly enough, went with one that we hadn't even heard much of at that time. Our final choice was Okite.
Okite {pronounced Oh-KEE-tay} is a compound of up to 93% natural quartz and resin. It is made in Italy and stocked in the US, and it is B-e-a-utiful! It is "highly heat, stain and scratch resistant and is extremely durable- five times stronger and more durable than granite- and non-porous. It never needs sealing."-Okite Co. I put their statements to the test, and I was amazed. I cut on it and then set out a sliced lemon, marinara sauce, and red wine, and left it all day and overnight.

In the morning I held my breath while I wiped everything off, and then smiled HUGE when this is what I saw:

It came out spotless! I was so impressed because this stuff is truly white and I thought for sure there would be at least a little stain, but nothing!

Not many local shops stock Okite, so if you are wanting a sample just go to Okites site and ask for a free sample to be sent to you. If you like the small sample, then contact your local dealer. We used Jennifer and she was fabulous to work with {her email: j.kittoe@okite.us}. She brought over a 12x12 sample for us so we could really get a look at what our option is, and we just loved it.

Okite, Silestone, Cambria, and Caesarstone are all the same concept- a compound of Quartz and resin. So when it comes to choosing between them, our best advice is to just choose which color option is best for you. We went with Bianco Carrara, which shows as a bright white with only grey 'veins'. I love that its a true white and grey option, since Cambria {which is what our other option was} has white, grey, and tan. 

Best part of choosing this counter- we saved $800 by getting this instead of the Cambria- SCORE!!

I hope you guys are excited for us, because we are pumped! Other great news- floors are being installed as we 'speak', cabinets are going in on the 24th, and counters will follow about 10 days after that. We are praying we will be in there by the end of this month. And that, well that is when the real work for us begins! So excited!!!!
Have any of you ever had Okite as your counter?? Can you even believe that we found something stronger than granite, and yet its white?! Dreams do come true!

Baby Number Two: When Is The Right Time?

This is Brays stinker face, and I love it!

I asked a few questions over at Scottsdale Moms Blog today about when the right time for baby number two is. Go check it out and please give your input..
And NO, we are not pregnant {nor wanting to be yet!}!!!!! Just wanting opinions:)

Design Inspiration Monday

via via Um, just take a quick look at this door/wall..heavenly!! above three via via via Hope you all had a great weekend!! If you think of it, please say a prayer to Jeremy feels better and that my knee gets better so that I can easily run my 1/2 marathon this Sunday! Thanks friends, you're the best.
PS- Bray started giving kisses and it is hands down the best thing ever. Any time {unless you know, hes being an 8 month old and just not in the mood} you ask for a kiss he looks right at you, open his mouth, and usually pulls your face in to his. SOO in love with this kid its stupid!