The Uglier the Better

 

One of my favorite things lately is graphic sweaters, like this heart one from Old Navy last year.  Although I have to admit that the other day I dressed Addilyn and realized we pretty much have the same sweatshirt.  Which made me question my outfit choices since I seemed to be right on par with the wardrobe of a four month old.  

Speaking of graphic sweaters I was surprised to see ugly Christmas sweaters at Target the other day! It is a little funny to buy something with the intentions of having it look the"ugliest."  I have sadly only been to one ugly Christmas sweater party and I don't even have a picture to prove it.  Where was instagram four years ago? 

Thankfully I know that if I was invited to an Ugly Christmas sweater party this year I'd have a whole lot of choices thanks to Target.  Which is good because when I went in search for one at a thrift store a few years ago, I found nothing.  Here's a few other options: 

Do you have an annual Ugly Christmas sweater party?  Want to invite me? 

This post is brought to you by Target, but all opinions and content are my own.  Follow along with #hilariousholiday

as if I needed proof

dress: target ($11 recent)  necklace: groopdealz   flats: target

I know I've shared before that there is no doubt that Chris has ADD.  And while I do find it quite annoying sometimes, there are times when I just have to laugh about it.  

Which I did when we were looking through some of our maternity pictures and the multiple pictures we have where Chris is clearly distracted.  

Clearly it didn't bother me at the beginning.  See I do laugh at him once in awhile?

This would be mid sentence most likely telling him to stop doing that. 

There were about four pictures with Chris pointing to things.  A plane, an animal, a fish jumping in the water.

And this one I may look like I'm smiling but was probably more forcefully trying to push his head away, saying we were clearly done with the kissing belly photos.

I definitely do not need proof that Chris is easily distracted but clearly have it. 

Don't forget to enter to win $25 in Starbucks cards, an ulta gift card, design credit and some sweet accessories! Enter here!
Linking up to: Funday Monday

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!

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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!

Celebrity Connections

dress: kohls    sweater: old navy   boots: gojane

While Katie Middleton and Kim Kardashian may not dress their pregnant selves in a $3 Kohls dress and $2 Old Navy sweater, all three of us are due in July.  Which gives me some sort of celebrity connection to them. And if I didn't enjoy celebrity gossip and updates already from PEOPLE magazine, I'm especially interested any time I see articles about these two.  I'm also always interested when there are fashion recaps from awards shows, like the upcoming Oscars.  
While I don't always watch the awards shows, I always look forward to reading blog posts, magazines and tv recaps of what the celebrities wore on the red carpet.   I'll be even more excited to check out the PEOPLE magazine 2013 Oscars Double Issue, as soon as it is available on March 1st. (But only until March 18th.) 
Some of my past favorites that I am excited to see this year are: 

                      Natalie Portman                                  Amy Adams                                   Emma Stone

I'm sure it's no suprise, but if I was going to go run to a store to pick up PEOPLE magazine I would choose Target.  That way I can "quickly" check out the clearance racks and shoes as well.  Lucky for you, you can win a giftcard to Target today where you could buy your own copy of the PEOPLE magazine 2013 Oscars Double Issue, a shirt and maybe even a pair of clearance shoes all for $20. 

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And if you think you know your celebrity trivia, head on over to PEOPLE trivia for your chance to win one of hundreds of rewards cards! Click the link to play now!  Happy Friday! Hope you have a great weekend!

This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group ™ and PEOPLE Magazine  but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #PEOPLEforOscars http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO 

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

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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!

High Five for Friday

dress: old navy  boots: kohls  scarf: store in Lake Geneva

1. I believe that I do not need any more scarves, however I keep wanting to buy more!

2. Sisters. Target. Starbucks.
  Those three things make me very, very happy.

3.  Today we are off to cut down our Christmas tree.  This is probably my favorite day of the year and will definitely take up a whole post soon.  Here's a picture from last year:

4. I do have some Christmas presents already, and now that we'll have our tree after today it is time to start wrapping some gifts! I love this idea for making gift tags using paint chips.

source

5. December is drawing near and I have a few large ad spaces for $10 and medium for $5 available! Check out more information here and email me at katiejvale@yahoo.com.
I'd love to help promote your blog or shop!


Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are still getting to spend today with your family!

Target Therapy

shirt: old navy  skirt & sandals: target  necklace: discovery

I just bought this skirt at Target, and figured it was time I talk about my slight addiction to their store.

I don't even want to know how many times I have been to Target this summer and

I should probably be embarrassed to admit how often I go there.

This would be an accurate face when I realized the other day I had been to Target three days in a row.  

Many days during the summer when I was in a sad, lonely or in bad mood one thing I often resorted to was taking a trip to Target.

It was the perfect place to go by myself and spend a long time wandering aisles, trying on clothes, shoes, looking at home decorations and most likely buying some sort of goldfish to eat in the car.

So thank you Target for cheering me up.

If you would ever like to hire me to promote your products, you can pay me in clothes.

Want to know if you won the July Giveaway?
Check here and email me with your address if you are the winner!

rae gun wear   pleated poppy
rolled up pretty

Dear Friday

 tank: target  shorts: loft

wedges: old navy  necklace: ebay

Dear Friday letters. This is my first time participating in you, and I feel like I am betraying High Five for Friday.  Dear Old Navy.  Thank you for having yet another amazing sale and giving me these shoes for under $4.  Dear Lauren in Law. I am jealous of your long beautiful hair.  I'm happy to play with it, but wish I could do the same to mine. 

Dear Target. Please do not remind me that school is starting again soon. I do not care about your back to school deals.  Now if you want to entice me with deals on shoes, dresses and s'mores goldfish you may continue to do so. 

Dear chocolate chip banana bread. In my effort to eat less desserts I am counting you as left over breakfast when I eat you throughout the day.


(recipe coming next week)

Dear Goodwill.  Every time I enter you I feel optimistic and like a thrifty blogger ready to find a good deal and then leave with nothing.

Dear Lovely Readers.  Please do not forget to enter my July Giveaway for a chance to win some sweet prizes!

Friday's Letters  Casual Friday

Sunday Funday