A horse sweater, fake shoes and lots of gift cards

sweatshirt: forever 21   jeans: ross maternity  shoes: tjmaxx

I wanted this horse sweater from Forever 21 for a really long time.  By the time I actually bought it I was already pregnant and felt that tight clothes at the beginning of pregnancy did not work well.  Needless to say I have not gotten much wear out of it.  

I do have some concern that animal prints may not be quite so trendy next year, which would be a shame since I own quite a few things with birds or elephants on them.  So I figured it was time to wear it, even if it barely reached the bottom of my belly.  

On another random note I would love to own a pair of TOMS some day but for now these copy cat $5 pair from TJMaxx will have to work.

And if both of those topics completely bored you, then at least I can offer you the chance to win gift cards to Starbucks, Amazon and three of them to Target.  Along with some other sweet prizes! 

heart necklace from Peace it Altogether

$10 gift card from Everyday with the Jays

$15 gift card to Litva's Jewelry

$15 Target giftcard from Bella Cene

Large ad space from by the porchlight$15 Amazon giftcard from a Heart Full of Frost

$10 Starbucks gift card from This Little Blonde

$10 Target gift card from The Hinton Hook-up

Enter below! Winner will be contacted after the 29th!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I can't believe that April is almost over!  I have a few large ad spots and medium spots available for May! Email me at katiejvale@yahoo.com this week for 10% off ad spaces!

A shower, a dancer and a giveaway

Today I had my first baby shower! Another teacher at my school is due soon with her little boy, so my school threw us a combined shower.  I am feeling quite blessed and lucky to be showered with gifts for our baby girl.  Each step of this pregnancy makes it more and more real that this baby is coming and I couldn't be more filled with joy, excitement and a little disbelief!  You can expect that I will be spending some time tonight in our baby room staring at her sweet gifts.

I'm really excited to introduce Ashley to you today.  Ashley is another blogger who I met pretty soon after I started my blog, and I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know her.  Besides her beautiful blond hair, adorable boys, and cute style, I love Ashley's sweet personality, her honesty and genuine heart.  You will be lucky to get to know her! 

Hi!!  I'm Ashley and I'm so excited to be here today!  I blog about fashion, family, and a little bit of everything over at Dancing with Ashley.  I hope you'll come say hey!

I'm also giving one lucky For Lauren and Lauren reader their choice of monogrammed stationary. 

one     two    three

Enter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you Ashley for a sweet giveaway and thanks for entering!

Ignoring the weather

I got this dress almost a month ago and have been waiting until it was warm outside to wear it, but am deciding to ignore the cold weather and pretend that it really is indeed Spring outside.  I was so excited to get a chance to pick out something from a store with such fun and beautiful maternity clothes. 

Pink Blush Maternity is filled with trendy maternity clothes and I had the hardest time deciding on which item to order as there are so many cute options from dresses to tops to skirts - I would like to own a lot of them!

I am very happy with my choice and know that I will be able to wear this throughout the rest of my pregnancy.  Cute, incredibly comfortable and it could be dressy or casual.  

Pink Blush Maternity is giving one lucky reader a $25 gift card to pick out whatever maternity clothing you'd like. Enter below: 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And despite what the weather around here says it is almost April.  Which means a month closer to summer vacation, a month closer to this baby coming and another month of new sponsors. 
I can honestly say that some of my favorite relationships I've made have been ones that I've meet and continued to connect with through sponsoring.  I have some large and medium ad spaces for April and would LOVE to have you! Email me this week and take 20% off either size.  (katiejvale@yahoo.com)

dots, movies and chili

After being gone all last weekend, I was so ready for this weekend at home.  Saturday I had a relaxing morning and then got to meet one of my best friends for coffee.  Wearing dots on dots for the day.

 Then I had big plans of being productive on Sunday but ended up sitting on my couch with Chris watching these two movies after he got home from being out of town Saturday and Saturday night. 

If that doesn't sound lazy and relaxing enough, I also got to enjoy Chris' delicious chili for dinner.  

And I have sweet giveaway from my lovely sponsors.  It's especially sweet if you love coffee, as there are three giftcards from Starbucks.  Plus ad space from me! 

from a mile in her boots

CHEERS banner from nestful of love

from peace it all together

ad space from imma walking fashion crime

$5 Starbucks card from exodus 31 three

medium ad space from me

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks for entering!  Winner will be contacted after the 2nd! 

Want to be part of next's month's giveaway? Check out this discount for March and April sponsorships!

Valentine's Day in the Vale House

Want to know how we do Valentine's Day in the Vale house? 

Well on Sunday Chris unpacked the groceries when I got home and found two Cadbury cream eggs that I planned on giving him on Valentine's day.  Yep.  Easter candy and four days early.  Oops.  

Our plans consist of Chris making a stir fry dinner and watching our regular Thursday night tv shows.  And I really am completely content not doing much to celebrate..  I would however like flowers or candy on a random day in the future, "just because."  

Are you reading this Chris?

Something that is much more exciting than how we celebrate Valentine's day, is a guest post from a sweet girl named Kendra.  I've read Kendra's blog for quite awhile and think she has one of the cutest families out there.  You are in for a treat.  Plus a giveaway at the end.  That is better than a Cadbury cream egg.  



Hello fellow admirers of "For Lauren and Lauren!" Isn't Katie quite possibly the most charming woman of all time? I love finding lovely blogger ladies, instantly feeling a connection and thinking to myself "yep, we'd be real life friends!" Luckily this blogging world allows us to forge friendships with one another :)

I could introduce myself by stating my name and where I'm from, but that's the boring part of me, so I'll let you get acquainted with the details first. I hate the crust on bread. I can eat a rittersport in about 1 minute and if practicing patience maybe it'll last two. I'm self conscious of my hips. I'm an organizational nutcase. My favorite fastfood is grilled cheese +tatertots+ cherry limeade from Sonic. I'm a Sprinkles Cupcakes fanatic. I studied abroad in London. I first fell in love after Jared asked me to Prom our Junior year and we were married 5 years later. I'm super frugal but don't like to sacrifice sophistication for tacky. I love taking in my surroundings and exploring every nook and cranny of any city I live in, which currently is Washington DC. And I am a mother to the two most beautiful babes, Evelyn and Warner! So, hi there! I'm Kendra. 

Over yonder on my blog, Kendra May, I love to document my experiences as a mother, our family films, and my coming of age. I remember years ago, I thought that once I got out of high school I would leave the awkward and ever-doubtful me behind because high school is the time of great self-discovery right? Then college came along and I re-defined myself. It was a better self. Then marriage. Surely, if there is ever a time to truly emerge into your own it is when you merge yourself together with another person and discover that you+him = you. You are forged together in unity and it is tough but it is beautiful. Then the two of you decide "hey, doesnt you+me+baby+baby = neverending happiness?! Let's dooo itttt!!" and before you know it you're like "hey, where'd I go in all this?" 

And so my blog is my travel log, if you will, of my road to self-discovery. Each day, each new experience, is teaching me that I am just now chipping away at who I really am and what I am truly capable of. I'm on a voyage to  re-defining myself as a mother, forging new paths, conquering anxieties, opening up vulnerabilities, testing my limits, growing patience, discovering my strengths and strengthening my weaknesses. And I blog about it all because that's what the internet is for, right? Sharing our intimate details with the rest of the world? And with Katie well on her way to assuming this role of being a mom, I can't help but be elated for her. Motherhood is one crazy world ;)

Whew, how was that for our first meet and greet, huh? A bit too deep? 
Well, if I have intrigued you in the least bit, I'd love to have you pop on over and say hello! 
Thanks Katie for having me, and congrats again!

Isn't she wonderful? I love that she married her high school sweetheart, love her cute family, but most importantly love how real and honest she is.  And yes, we could definitely be friends in real life! 

And a bonus is that she is super talented and is giving away any item from her shop, The Pink Rosette, to one lucky reader.  Enter below: 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

An early Christmas present

Right now I'm sitting on the couch at my parents' house, enjoying time with my family, including my sister and her family that got in from Vermont yesterday.  I love this time of year and am always reminded how full of blessings our life is.  I'm looking forward to spending Christmas with my family, as well as the rest of the week.

Before I take a few days off of blogging, I thought I'd leave you with a pretty sweet giveaway.  Which will make for a really nice Christmas present for one lucky winner!

Thanks to some great ladies and their generosity, I have lots of great prizes, like Target, Ulta, Bath & Body Works gift cards, jewelry, make up and other great gifts! 

from Stay Blonde Ski Local

from Head to Toe Chic

from Total Basset Case

from Keeping up with the Cyperts

from Heart Shaped Sweat

from Still in St. Louis

from Team Bowen

from Simply Here

from Come What May

from The Lady Okie

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Winner will be contacted after the 30th!  Thanks for entering!
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and enjoy some time with your family the next few days!

Fashion blogger? (plus a giveaway)

I'm super excited to introduce you to one of my blogging friends Erin.  She has such a sweet heart, fun personality and a blog you will want to read!  And she is quite funny too - her post will definitely make you smile.  Plus she is giving away one of her customized pallet signs, which I was a lucky recipient of this one a month or so ago.

Hello lovely For Lauren and Lauren readers!!!
I am Erin and I blog over at Cali-Land Chic. I am a California girl living in Maryland where I blog about my home renovations, exciting projects, cute & handy husband and even more amazingly cute dog!

I am thrilled to be here today guest posting for Katie, because she is one of my favorites! Katie is one of the sweetest bloggers I have ever "met" and I am lucky to "know" her. Now girl ... let's meet and hang out already, so I can borrow all your clothes??? Mmmmk. Great, not creepy or stalker-ish at all...

Now if you are anything like me...guest posts are either hard to get through or easily skimmed over - because they are in short, not the reason you came to read one of your favorite blogs! But because I share these sentiments and this happens to be my first (ahem - ever) guest post, I will make it short, include your beloved Katie and hopefully keep it funny and uncomfortable - a couple of adjectives that best describe my personality.
First ever guest post topic: Why I am the most kick-butt fashion blogger out there...not.
Picture proof that I in fact am the BEST fashion blogger out there and the reason to stop by my blog would surely be for fashion tips. But the pictures wouldn't be an accurate portrayal of how bad I really am with fashion; if I did not compare myself with my favorite little fashionista, our very own Katie!
Enjoy lovers, as this might be the only time you will see this over at my blog.

 {she is always adorable - i on the other hand refuse to take a picture without my mouth open}

{completely normal mirror pic vs. my version...more alien like. obviously.}

{i defiantly have the head down fashion blogger pose DOWN.}

You're welcome, and hopefully you are now done laughing, and you can take a minute to peel yourselves off the floor, because I would love to meet you! So come on over to my blog and say hi!

{me, my husband & dog - Rascal}

I am so excited to make you your very own customized pallet sign! So enter away and I hope you win!  Here is a picture of Katie's sign she showed you earlier...it will be similar in size and color but you can choose your writing and font!

My Etsy shop opens January 1st, where you can purchase your own, any shape and size! I am currently accepting customized pre-orders! If you are interested please feel free to email me: erin{at}cali-landchic{dot}com.

Enter below - good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway