{sponsor shopping & free advertising}

i realized earlier this week that september was almost over. did it fly by for anyone else but me? insanity! i'm glad to welcome october and the cooler weather so i am definitely not complaining!

september being over meant that it was time to take a look at my sponsorships again. and that made me feel like i'd rather just crawl up in the bed and sleep. for a long time. so i have decided to change the way i offer my sponsorships hopefully to make it more effective for those who "sponsor" neathering our fest and make it a little easier on me.

first of all, i hate asking people for money. i don't feel like my blog is worthy of a paid sponsorship simply because i don't post on a daily basis and i don't have what i consider enough followers to warrant that. so starting october first, there will be no such thing as a paid sponsorship for this blog. and that makes my heart smile.



i will still have two premium ads per month which will still include a 200 x 200 button, an individual spotlight and the option for a giveaway. what will make it different is this: it's free! free! FREE! however i am putting a couple of limitations on it.

first, these premium listings will be reserved for handmade shops. it matters not where this shop is based as long as it has a web address. i will not be using these for personal blogs.

second, it has to be a shop that i fully support and enjoy their products. there will be no restrictions on what you decide to sell but if i don't really care for the products then i reserve the right to deny the sponsorship. (and who's kidding... there isn't a lot of things i don't like. except maybe peas. yeah. death to peas.)

lastly, i will do my best to feature two different shops each month. i would rather not do the same shop in back to back months. this is where i will need your help! if you know of a handmade shop that you think would be interested in some free advertisement, please have them email me! i would love to find new shops to work with!



the sponsor swap sponsorship will remain the same in all aspects except that i will only be featuring four sponsor swap ads per month. this number is a reasonable number for me to manage and my obsessive-compulsive tendencies would prefer that there be an even number of buttons up over there.

so i guess that wraps up the business end of this post... now for the fun part!



as part of my premium ad space, your shop will receive an individual (dang, i'm having the hardest time typing that word today!) spotlight that will be part of a bi-monthly feature called sponsor shopping!

i love to window & virtual shop and this is the perfect opportunity for me to peruse some shops i love and share some of my favorite items with you! i will pick three or four items that i think are darling and that i think you'd like and write up a post about those items and include details about the shop.

i can't wait to get this started - it will be just in time for the holidays! :) so please send me an email and let me know if you are interested in becoming a "sponsor" of neathering our fest. i can't wait to hear from you!

{what i wore wedneday ~ 6}

hopefully this will be the first of a regular weekly post for what i wore wednesday. every week hundreds of women all over the internet come up with awesome outfits, take great pictures of themselves and link up the the pleated poppy and share them with people like me.

normally i just stalk the people who do this and day dream about having a sense of fashion and the personality and confidence that these women do. i hate trying to figure out what to wear in the morning, what jewelry to put on with it and how to stand in a flattering position while i take goofy pictures of myself.

i had decided that all this punishment didn't really justify the means. and then i found out that people i know in real life actually read my blog. what on earth would they think of me for taking pictures of myself and my clothes? i bet they think i'm a complete doob.

but i realized that when i force myself to do that, i feel happier the rest of the day because i know, regardless of how my outfit actually looks and how much a doob my peers might think i am, that i put some thought and effort into its creation.

so i say this to you - if you are on the ledge and trying to decide whether or not to jump in and play - remember you are not the only one that feels like a complete nerd while taking pictures.

on with the fashion show! :)

monday


gray & white striped top - gaudy me
cardigan, shoes & skinnies - target
belt - old navy
necklace - vintage (it was my grandma's)

i like this outfit because it is easy to wear and pretty comfortable. i have worn it before though so i feel like i cheated a little and didn't really get outside of my box when putting it together. but hey, it was a monday. :)

tuesday


teal top - downeast basics
racerback vest - old navy
skinnies - target
bracelets & necklace - salt & pepper boutique
shoes - blanco (shop in spain)

this is a pretty safe & standard outfit that i wear on a embarrassingly regular basis. i'd like to at least take a basic ensemble like this and learn to jazz it up with great accessories.

wednesday


orange top - old navy
ruffled cardigan - maurice's
trouser jeans - dillards
shoes - american eagle
belt - old navy
necklace - handmade - bought it at a christmas boutique years ago!
earrings - northeast trading company

the big step out of my comfortable box in this outfit was to tuck my shirt in and wear a belt. i'm still not sure exactly how i feel about it as a whole but i can say that i love that belt. definitely the best $14 i have spent clothing-wise in a while.

thursday


dress - target
cardigan - bent oaks boutique
belt - salt & pepper boutique
necklace - gift from a friend in high school
boot - cavenders (old gringos)

this is definitely way outside of an outfit that i feel stylish in. but now that i look at the pictures it isn't too bad. i just worry about combining too many colors at once. bonus - it was super comfy to wear all day!

so tell me what you think? any ideas on how to style a basic outfit and make it really stand out? how do you feel about boots + dress + cardigan + belt? any bits of advice you think i could benefit from? (don't worry - i take constructive criticism very well!)

ps - if you want to see previous posts, of which there are only five, click here.

{broken bones, agent booth and business}

oh my word does time every fly. i cannot believe that it has been a week since i posted something. it was never my intention to go this long but we had some crazy stuff come up that has kept me from being super active around here.

first of all, my co-worker broke her arm. while this left me very busy at work (and therefore a little happier around here than usual) that left little time for the three-r's of blogging... writing, reading and responding!

then, at home, our internet isn't working. we aren't sure if it is the internet provider (cox communications) or our wireless router which is about 8 years old. thankfully someone in our neighborhood has a unprotected wireless signal that we have been piggybacking on but hopefully we can get ours fixed soon.

mostly so netflix comes back and i can continue my infatuation with agent booth. it's ridiculous. (ps - spoiler alert for those who have yet to catch up to the upcoming season seven)

then i made a last minute trip home to see my dad for the weekend (this weekend being sept. 9-11) and i don't like to blog on the road. i'd rather focus on seeing my friends and family!

i got home early sunday afternoon, unloaded the dogs and all my belongings, went to hang out with my wonderful kiddos at the church and then came home. around eleven we got news from our best friends (jared & alina) that jared's dad had passed away.

{ps - click on the links to their blogs to read their latest posts both concerning jared's dad, john.}

so monday evening i repacked all of our things, took the dogs to be boarded at the vet, and prepared for a sure-to-be physically and emotionally draining week. we scooted down to baton rouge tuesday (sept 20) and stayed through saturday morning.

once we returned from that it was all i could do to wash a load of clothes. i'm still not particularly lucid but i am getting there. i have a few posts up my sleeves for the next few days. i have also reopened my etsy shop from vacation mode (i wasn't sure how much access i would have to computers and didn't want requests to go unanswered) and i am ready to get to business on the business.

i am trying desperately to catch up on my reader but for every post i actually read and comment on i swear three more show up! it is a never ending madness i tell you!

what have you guys been up to???

PS - come back wednesday and you will see me doing something i HATE but that i need to do. because it makes me a better person and shows a lot of my vulnerability. for reals.

{what'll ya have?}

what'll ya have? what'll ya have?

once you have been to the varsity in atlanta, you know if these words are directed towards you, you had better have your order ready or they will move on to the next customer!



the varsity is the world's largest drive in and is located smack in the middle of atlanta, georgia. it is across the street from georgia tech and around the corner from centennial olympic park. it is always hustling and bustling with people getting their hot dog fix. you can read all about their history here



last year when we had lunch here after a grueling ikea trip there were three SEC football games going on... georgia, georgia tech AND lsu were all playing games in atlanta that day and it was INSANE. this year the crowd was much thinner so we were actually able to walk in, order and sit at a table instead of being stacked three-deep in the drive thru lanes.

what do you get when you go to the varsity?
what they are famous for of course!


hot dogs
fresh hot dogs, made-from-scratch chili, american cheese and mustard all on a crispy, toasty bun.


onion rings
hand cut, hand battered and fried to a perfect crispy crunch


fried peach pie
warm and gooey peachy filling inside a flaky crust handmade from scratch every single day


frosted orange
like an orange dreamsicle with a dose of steroids and a straw!!

one thing that kept us laughing during this meal was me taking almost 100 pictures of the food. i'm used to the strange looks and whispers but i kept getting this look from most people... like "who is this weirdo taking pictures of hot dogs at the varsity? what is so special about them?



one of liz's favorite foods in all the universe is a good hot dog so needless to say she was really excited about eating here.



together liz and i put away four hot dogs, two orders of onion rings, a coke each and we split a fried peach pie. it is safe to say we could have been wheel-barrowed back to the car. in fact we probably should have run home behind the car.



and of course no trip to the varsity is complete without a picture wearing the highly-recognized paper hat that is essential to the varsity uniform!



we had a blast, our tummies were full to the brim and i can't wait to go back next year! :) have you ever been to the varsity? wanna come with me? put it on your calendar for next year - something tells me i will be heading back that way!

{favorite shop - inspiration workshop}

one of my favorite etsy shops, that i happened to just stumble on without realizing i was about to lall in fove, is bow wow beds. this one is for all the dog lovers out there!



bow wow beds makes simple but durable duvet covers for your pet beds. they are made to fit over a specific number of standard sleeping pillows so your sleepy pup can be comfy on a really soft pillow or a super firm one, whichever they tell you they prefer!



these duvets can also be personalized for each of your pets so they can all tell their beds apart!



they have a great selection of colors to choose from. my favorite at the moment is bungalow. such a great soft mellow yellow!



i also love their couch covers. i have tried different ways to keep the dog hair off my couch (including banning them from the couch altogether) but this canvas cover is simple to just lay over the couch and wash when it needs it. no stuffing it down in the creases, no yelling at the pups. all one big happy family on the couch together again. (they also have loveseat covers and chair covers too!)



but my favorite favorite thing from bow wow beds is this awesome crate cover. i have been searching for a way to cover sadie's crate without emptying my bank account to do it. have you looked these up? they can be pricey! these are all reasonably priced and made from super durable canvas and can be personalized also!



i am saving up my pennies to get one of these for myself for christmas. i am loving this shop! it takes some of the hard and less rewarding parts of owning a dog and makes them easier and easier on the eyes. i'm all for that!

i'm linking up at gussy sews today! come find a ton of new shops to lall in fove with!

{olive you}

after the blood, sweat and tears (and not to mention bug spray) that went into cleaning the duplex before we moved in, liz and i decided that our first meal there should be easy, quick and memorable. plus we hadn't had the time or the energy to go to the grocery store so we basically had to pull a tim gunn and make it work.

we scavenged through our collective food supply and came up with these.



these guys are the perfect combination of salty, sweet, spicy, crunchy and creamy. they go perfectly with a bottle glass of chardonnay and several consecutive episodes of friends from season three. they are best served on my grandma's china and enjoyed in paisley print wing back chairs.



the recipe is simple but requires some specifics. stack a cracker, cheese, hot sauce & pickle and balance the olive on top. don't pretend to be lady-like. just stuff the whole thing in your mouth. trying to bite this thing in half is futile. it will win.

ps: we couldn't find vlasic zesty bread and butter pickles so we had to substitute regular bread & butter pickles. not quite the same but we made do.



a couple of additions or substitutions can be made. you could always swipe a smear of goat cheese or mild cheddar on the cracker instead of sharp cheese. if you have access to woody's smokehouse hot asparagus bullets you can replace the olive with one of these or balance both on top if you are feeling dangerous.



i think one of the most important elements of this recipe is one you can't buy in a store. it is essential that you share this snack with a friend. someone you can laugh with when the olive rolls off the top of the mountain and bounces across the floor. one who will scour the terribly-laid-out grocery store in search of the perfect cracker. one who appreciates the finer things in life - like a $8 magnum of chardonnay to share. i think that is what makes these snacks so delicious.



and of course the pickle. the pickle is imperative.

{new thumbprints in the shop!}

i realized the other day that i have added several items to the shop and haven't told yall about them! silly me! :)

here are a few new items i have added!



trick or treat chevron thumbprint



peace, love & rebels thumbprint (for my west monroe football peeps!)



lighthouse thumbprint



rustic initial thumbprint



family mini thumbprint



hope mini thumbprint



chevron thumbprint

i am still working on a bunch of stuff to add to the shop! i am also preparing for a home boutique in november that a friend of mine and i are hosting and i am SO stinking excited about it! you can read a little about it here but more finalized details will be posted as it gets closer!

thanks again to everyone who has supported me and pushed me along in this little process. i cannot tell you how much it means to me to have a great web of support under me! :)

{friday favorites @ skinned knees}

when i reached out to all of you and asked you to be friends with me (mmmkay) one of the lovely ladies that contacted me was christy at skinned knees. aside from having a lovely blog and being a beautiful person all around, i was really interested in her favorite friday series. you can read all about it here.

i was looking for a reason to carry my camera more often and take more pictures and i think i have found it. i am definitely not a "photographer" so i am a little leery of big blogging photo link up parties. yeah my pictures are nowhere near professional but i want to learn and be inspired. so this week, and following fridays if i can remember... i am linking up to her favorite friday series!

this is my favorite picture this week because i think it just shows sheer determination. this is hannah, one of the girls in our youth group, and her task was to eat this entire donut hanging off a string that another person held and be the first to complete it. {please totally disregard that name tag that says danielle - that was part of a bible study we had done earlier that day}

did i mention that this donut had been sitting in the sun in 100+ degree weather for around two hours? this girl is a trooper. just the thought of that makes me gag.



come on over to skinned knees and see some other pretty and fun pictures from this week! :)

{self portraits 101}

this post could also be titled {narcissism 101} but i though 'self portraits' sounded a whole lot... well... less narcissistic.

totally random fact: i just got a text message that said i was the "bomb dot com" and it totally made me smile. what an awesome and unexpected day brightener!!

anyways, back to the subject at hand. i have found a couple of really interesting posts about taking and owning self portraits.

the paper mama - owning your self portraits

a beautiful mess - five tips for better self portraits

so one morning a couple weeks ago i decided on a complete and total whim to snap some pictures of myself. you can tell there was no actual planning involved because i am sitting in front of my mirror in my guest room and had just finished getting ready for work. the lighting is terrible, i'm wearing jeans and a t-shirt and my hair desperately needs to be washed.

BUT i did at least get a windex wipe and clean the mirror.

however, these pictures are me. they are what you would encounter if we met on the street. i would probably be wearing a t-shirt and jeans with flip flops. my hair would probably be dirty. my nose will definitely be a little crooked and i will most likely make a silly face because (well duh) i am so excited to meet you!

so here are a few of the bazillion i took this morning.



can i just say how awkward and totally weird it felt to do this? first of all it was at about 6:15 in the morning. and some of the positions i was in felt really weird. like i was posing for an inappropriate magazine instead of a picture of my face for my blog. i kept thinking how funny it would be for chris to walk out and see me sprawled out on the bedroom floor taking pictures of myself. yeah. weird.

and i have to say that my mirror and my camera have two completely different ideas of what i look like. or maybe i just learned that some of my imperfections are just part of who i am and i no longer see them. i mean, i can promise i never saw a double chin in the mirror but man did my camera ever pick up two, three.. sometimes four of them!

and then there are some things i never see that my camera so nicely pointed out for me. like how much volume my hair has. or how every time i look up, it is always to the left. weird.

so i have a few favorites picked out but i let my own biased, judgmental view of myself dictate that. so i want to hear from you lovely friends. which ones do you like? (i have them numbered for your benefit!) do you see how crooked my nose is or those lovely scars on my forehead? i'm thinking about doing some more outside for some better lighting. (for shame - wonder what the neighbors will think of the crazy girl laying in the grass like a playboy model taking pictures of herself...)

do you have issues with self portraits? or tips on how to take super awesome ones? ones that make me look like eva mendes or maybe katherine heigl?  yeah that is a stretch but hey - it's fun to pretend! :)

{september sponsors}

i am pleased as punch to introduce you to my sponsors for the month of september! i encourage you to check out their blogs & shops - these are a talented, witty and fun group of gals!





Hi!!! I'm Michelle! I'm a former elementary teacher turned SAHM turned blogging fanatic. Some things you should know: I absolutely love that we have the chance to live overseas in England {hubs is military}, I think I'm a photographer, I think I'm a chef, pretty much I'm the CEO of our house. As far as my blog - I'm the author of Momma Bird. I started it back in 2007 just to keep our family up to date on our lives since we were stationed away from them. Since then it has turned into my source of new friendships, venting, and just sharing life with others out there. I love the community of Mommy bloggers and I'm always excited to have new readers!

blog | facebook | twitter | pinterest





My name is Kelsey and I am a twenty-something wife and mother who lives in a house full of boys. I am originally from Northern Illinois, but moved to Florida when I was 18. After moving to Florida I met my best friend and husband. Since then, we have had two little boys (our Poofy Cheeks), and they are the center of our world.

When I was pregnant with Poofy Cheek #1 I was given a renewed sense of love for all thing creative. I spent almost my entire pregnancy creating things for the nursery and sewing up cute little blankets. After I had Poofy Cheek #2, I came across a few craft blogs that sparked my interest. I remember thinking 'I can totally do that!' and so I did. Along came Poofy Cheeks the blog. Poofy Cheeks has been a saving grace from a house of three boys. I often need to see pink and get another girl opinion - which I can always find in Blog Land. My blog has been a place for me to share furniture rehabs, room redos, crafts, recipes and more. My favorite things are Goodwill finds, spray paint, cupcakes, party planning, and my treasured glue gun!

blog | shop | facebook | pinterest





Hi, my name is Andi and I'm fairly new to this blogging world. I started to write in early February of this year when we discovered that our 2 month old son had a rare condition called craniosynostosis (his soft spot closed too early). Since then, blogging has become a wonderful creative outlet for me, given me a place to document our memories and provided me with a supportive community full of new friends. I write a blog called the hollie rogue where i document my love for my family, organizing and decorating our home, crafting, cooking and photographing life's moments (while still learning everything i can about my camera). Every Friday I host a photograph linky party - I would love to have you stop by! Now that you know a little about me, I would be thrilled to get to know you better! Let's be friends.... mkay? Come see me at the hollie rogue and say hello!

blog | facebook | photo friday





Hey! I’m Cassie. The queen of ccy designs and the lady behind the blog of Live.Laugh.Love. I am happily married & I am a stay at home mom to our two beautiful little boys. I blog about everything that goes on in our little world. I started ccy designs because I love making handmade items. You can find signs for your home and many crocheted items in my shop. I’ll hope you’ll stop by the blog and say Hi and Stop by my shop and check it out! =D

blog | shop | pinterest | facebook



interested in becoming a sponsor at neathering our fest? click here for more information - i have very affordable rates and love to promote the blogging and handmade community!

{vintage fiestaware : inspiration thursday}

the prompt for this week's inspiration workshop was vintage. many things wandered their way through my mind... vintage cars, vintage music, vintage toasters, vintage lace runners, vintage bathing suits, vintage kitchen aid mixers...

but one of my many wishes in life is to own a totally mismatched, random and complete set of vintage fiestaware.


source

i love new fiestaware but there is something simple and pure about eating off dishes that have fed generations of people and that are classic enough in styling and color to still be desired today.

had i had my wits about me when i got married, i would have asked people to scour their local antique shops for random pieces to add to my collection but i was honestly (and ashamedly) more worried about towels, silverware and throw blankets at the time. tsk tsk. silly me.

as of today i have not one single piece of fiestaware but that will change. it is something i wish to own and pass to my nieces, nephews, god-children and surrogate children.

what does vintage make you think of?

come join us and link up your inspiration!