***UPDATE. This Giveaway is over, but check back soon for some more FREE stuff!! The winner who was randomly selected is. . .

Comments #4- Jennifer T, who said, “I already like you, thanks to my good friend Courtney Jade sharing you with me. ” Congratulations Jennifer T!” ***

I’d like to first start off by welcoming any one who has just joined my blog. (Don’t worry, you haven’t missed out on too much! You can check out all of my previous entries under my “Archives.” It will be ONE year in May since I started blogging!) Secondly, I’d like to thank the wonderful and amazingly talented girls at Hostess {with the Mostess} and the TomKat Studio for featuring my recent work. The response has been amazing! I couldn’t have asked for more! Thank you Jenn, Kim, and Toni for being so kind to me, it means the world to me!! Lastly, I’d like to thank my LOYAL followers for supporting me, referring your friends to me, and for all the wonderful support you’ve given me, even before I had a blog to share with the world. I truly have gained some amazing friends through this process and I couldn’t feel more blessed.

**I also made a few quick updates to my blog. I made it easier for you to find me on facebook. Please go to facebook and “LIKE” me {because you know I like you}. I’m feeling sad only having 100+ friends. You can also check me out on twitter, I’m making a conscious effort to tweet more. You can NOW also subscribe to my RSS feed really easy!!! **

So. . . now that all the mushy stuff is out of the way, I’d like to share with you something I designed recently! As many of your know, my brother-in-law, Ryan (check out You Look Nice Today Photography and tell him I sent you!) is a professional photographer. We are lucky to have him take our family photos several times a year. I always have a ton of shots that I display in a large photo arrangement on my wall, but I’m never sure what else to do with them.

I’ve been drooling over these mini Accordion Photo Books for months now (who am I kidding, at the rate it takes me, it could be years. So much to design, so little time! Oh, the story of my life. Yours too?). I finally designed one and can I just say that I LOVE it!!! Yes, I LOVE it. I keep it in my purse and every time I look at it, it makes me smile.

I created a calendar out of mine, but I am planning on designing ones with all photos. What a better way to display some of your most cherished photos. The good news is, they are pocket size and fit nicely in your purse. The cover and back have a magnet in them to keep them closed too. How cool is that? They also make great gifts for mothers, mother-in-laws, etc.

I’ll have these available in my shop shortly with all the details. They come in sets of three so get one for yourself and share the rest. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

xoxo,

Jessica

PS- Since I have had so much support lately, I feel like I should “pay it forward” and give back. Give and you shall receive, right? I am giving away a set of 3 of these mini accordion calendars to ONE random follower.

1)To enter to win, leave a comment on my blog and tell me what you do with all of your beautiful photos.

2)For an extra entry, go to facebook and “like” me and come back and leave a comment on my blog (Do you already “like” me? That’s nice of you, just tell me by leaving a comment saying we were already friends.)

BONUS ENTRY- Facebook or Tweet about me in your status bar and then come back and tell me that you were so kind to spread the word about me! All entries must be received by 11:59 PM (PST) on FRIDAY, January 14th, 2011. Good Luck!

So my darling husband is off work this week. I’ve been trying to relax and not be my usual neurotic self. I typically check my email 100+ times a day. For Christmas, my hubby bought me an iPhone just so I could access my emails when I am out and about. I think he was secretly embarrassed I was rockin’ such an old school flip phone too. Plus, he thought I “deserved” it. Isn’t he sweet?

We’re back into the whole regular swing of things with the kids. No more sleeping in. No more all day jammie days. The day goes like this. Drop one kid off at the bus stop. Next kid off at Preschool. Frantically clean before kids come home. Errands. Pick up said kid number two. Pick up kid number one. Meanwhile, all of this is being done while holding/chasing after/playing with a tottering one year old. YIKES! No wonder I am tired at the end of the day. Then throw in lunch, some play dates, personal projects, and the rare happy hour with the girls and it doesn’t leave a lot of time for anything else. You all know how it is. Sound a bit like your life?

I literally didn’t sit down to check my email until 8:30 pm last night. There seemed to be an unusual amount of comments that I needed to approve for my blog. Lately, the spam bots have got ahold of my blog and the majority of the comments are SPAM. I hate SPAM. It should be illegal. I started reading through the comments and they were intelligent, heartfelt, kind even! I knew it wasn’t a spam bot this time.

I can’t act entirely shocked about the post though. I kind of knew it was coming. Jenn from Hostess Blog had sent me an email after I posted Emerson’s party and had asked to feature it. She told me it was going to be featured a few days later. With the holidays and all the time sensitive parties she had to post, it got pushed to the back burner. Lucky for me, she didn’t forget about me!

Check out her amazing post and all the other amazing inspiration from her site. I can’t help but be proud that my adorable little Emerson is famous now!!

Thank you Jenn for featuring my work! You have no idea how much it means to me!!