loving, pinning, and a GIVEAWAY!!

This week I am linking up with Jaime for WILW and with Michelle for Oh, How Pinteresting. I am also having a fantastic GIVEAWAY which is featured at the end of this post!

 and

I'm Loving...

that it's Halloween!! I love Halloween solely for the costumes. Rowen is a super cute doggy this year. He got to go trick or treating this past Sunday @ our trunk or treat at church so we aren't going out tonight. We will probably head over to my parents house to help them hand out candy and Row can stay inside since it't suppose to be super cold here!

I'm Loving...

that Rowen likes to eat his snacks in his Pottery Barn chair. He loves that chair and it's the perfect size for him! It was definitely a great birthday present( given to him by his great grandparents! ).

I'm Loving...

this necklace from Stella&Dot! 

It's the Tree of Life necklace. I love unique charm necklaces. I have a gold leaf charm necklace that I wear all the time! 

"Oh, how Pintersting" pins from this week...

I adore all the decor on this front porch!

Source: bhg.com via Rachel on Pinterest

This made me laugh!...

                               

        Source: hahafunnylol.com via Rachel on Pinterest

                                  

         Has anyone tried these?! They look delicious and I plan on making them this weekend!

  

       Source: shugarysweets.com via Rachel on Pinterest

giveaway!!!!

Who loves Stella&Dot jewelry?? I know I do! My friend, Erika who is a stylist with Stella&Dot decided that she wanted to give one of my lucky readers a $30 credit towards anything on her Stella&Dot website!! How awesome is that?! Check her website out HERE. 

This is one of my absolute favorite pieces on her website...

The Bahari neckalce

Now, it's super easy to enter! All entries are through Rafflecopter, below! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway
**be sure to read the "terms & conditions"! Giveaway ends on Saturday @ 12:01am**

Oven S'mores

Friday night we gathered in Lebanon with people from Brent's high school graduating class and hung out at a bonfire. There were of course all the fixings for s'mores! I love s'mores and so does Brent. We don't eat them often b/c well...we don't have access to a backyard fire. We craved them the entire next day and decided to make them here at home. He suggested making them in the microwave. Have you ever had microwave s'mores? They're disgusting. We tried that awhile ago...never again! So, he found a little tutorial online about making them in the oven. That's the way to go if there's not a fire available. 

You just place the graham cracker and marshmallow on a baking sheet and pop it into the oven for 5 minutes or until the marshmallow gets a little golden on top. 

After they're golden brown, you pull them out and place a piece of chocolate on top of the marshmallow and place the baking sheet back in the over for about 60 seconds. And ta-da! Oven s'mores! They were actually really good. Ooey and gooey and just as messy as the bonfire ones!

Oh yea! Perfect.

Trunk or Treat 2012

This time last year Rowen was 4 days old so needless to say we did not make it to trunk or treat! And on Halloween he was a week old so we didn't dress him up. So this year was his first year for a costume and I must say, it's a pretty cute costume. We always take my car and decorate it. My dad couldn't make it this year so it was my mom, Brent, myself, Rowen, and Brent's mom came! We had hay bales and pumpkins left over from Rowen's b-day party so we used those things and added a few more decorations to make it a farm/Autumn theme.  

It was pretty chilly yesterday afternoon. I am so glad Row's costume was super plush and warm! It was the perfect costume for the weather that's for sure. I'll leave the rest of the post for the most precious little puppy dog you have ever seen :)

Our Family.

(Love my gigantic flannel shirt?! It's my dad's! haha.)

Sweet sweet puppy dog

Love the top left picture...can we say HAM?!!

I have no clue who was in that Koala costume but it was pretty funny. Rowen actually loved it. He gave the koala a pat and just stared at him. He wasn't afraid of it at all. 

We pulled him around the parking lot in the wagon a couple times so that he could see all the other kids and dogs! He LOVES dogs!

...and dogs love him :) Love all the pictures of him digging in his kettle for candy( no he does not eat candy yet! ).

Trunk or Treaters

We always have a lot of fun @ trunk or treat and especially now that Rowen can dress up! We love our sweet puppy dog!!

Happy (fashion)Friday!

Skinnies are all the rage right now...as you all know! I have 2 pairs. A red pair and a royal blue pair. I was curious to what I already had in my closest that would go with each pair. I found some tops and thought I would share! Happy Friday...skinnies edition!

I love polka dots...always have always will. The shirt at the top is silky and has a bow on the left of the neckline. At the bottom, a casual dot cardigan. The top outfit could be made into an evening outfit with heels and some jewelry and the bottom look, totally casual!

It was easy to gravitate towards black to go with my red skinnies but I found a few other color tops that pair nicely. This grey flowy top gives the red skinnies a holiday feel, don't ya think? And below, I love a chunky knit! This brown one goes perfectly.

I was surprised what I found in my closest to go with the royals...

Both of these sweaters look great with the blue color. 2 totally different looks but with the same shirt.

This is one of my favorite Fall shirts. It's from Urban Outfitters and the blue splashes are the exact same color as the skinnies. I'm not a huge matchy matchy person but I think this would work.

Navy blazer paired with a top with little specs( actually they're horses! )of turquoise. I had more in my closest than I thought! Do you have colored skinnies?!

** remember today is the last day for the giveaway! If you haven't entered, head over to this post and do so!! And if you have entered, you can keep doing so to collect more entry point!!**

-Rachel-

Rowen, you are 1 year old!!

(remember to hop over to yesterday's post and keep entering for a chance to win an adorable birthday party hat from Dainty Couture! )

Yesterday was Rowen's 1st birthday! The whole day while playing, watching him eat(feeding  himself), reading to him, etc...I just couldn't believe it had already been a year since he entered the world. He has been such a joy to his daddy and me. He is the best baby. We were/are truly blessed. From the moment we brought him home from the hospital, he has given us no trouble what so ever! He rarely ever cried as a tiny baby, he slept well( slept through the night @ 2 months ), and was just super content whatever we were doing. He never even had his days and nights mixed up! I would like to say I knew what I was doing and made that happen but once again, we were truly blessed :) I did however follow the eat, play, sleep routine and I will say that I think that got us off to a great start and he got into a routine very early. 

Rowen, you are such a happy baby! Your daddy and I love you very very much and can't even imagine our life without you. You are such a cutie too! You definitely have both me and your daddy in you. People said you looked like your daddy when you were smaller and you did. But I think you look like me more now that you are older. I can't wait to watch you continue to grow and thrive. 

These were our first few days in the hospital. You were very kind to me and made my labor and delivery very easy. I even told my doctor right after you were born that it was so easy...all thanks to the epidural :) You loved to be held tight and snuggle in the hospital( well, when you came home too! ). Even though we were walking zombies those first few weeks, we loved every minute of it. We had you and you were all ours and we couldn't be more thankful to God for you. 

And here you are...12 months later at 1 year old! Look how big you are. We don't go for your 12 month check up till next week but I am going to go ahead and say that you have to be at least 26 or 27 pounds! Believe me, I can sure feel it if I carry you around for even just a few minutes. You are getting heavy sweet thing! But I love having you in my arms. I don't want that day to come when you are "too big" and won't want to be cuddled and held by me. Let's not even go there, ok?! Sniff. Sniff. Rowen, you love to laugh and make funny faces. I just love sitting back and watching you sometimes. You love books, puzzles, and toys that light up and play music/makes noises. You jibber jabber all day long...all day long! We talk back and forth all the time as well but it will be so nice when I know what you are telling me! You have said a few words numerous times...outside( ouh-sigh), dog( dawh), star( sar ), & what's that( wah-thah). All while pointing around at everything. 

You  are a really good eater Rowen. You love just about everything we feed you. You are such a big boy now and can feed yourself finger foods like shredded cheese, well cooked veggies like carrots, small pieces of fruit, and puffs. Yesterday you had a special birthday breakfast...pancakes!!

...with a complimentary "R"! You liked them. But who doesn't like pancakes?! This will not be an every morning kind of breakfast. It was your birthday though so you deserved something special! 

We went to the park yesterday and you were in the swing for almost 30 minutes! You almost fell asleep at one point! It must have been very relaxing. There were lots of other children there and a few dogs. You just laughed and laughed at the dogs. You love dogs! I think we have found your new favorite hang out spot :)

When we got home from the park, daddy and I gave you your birthday presents from us. I had to put your hat on for the pictures b/c I love it and this was the last of the "1st birthday" pictures. Well, that's not true...your 12 month professional pics are coming up. Are you going to hate the camera soon? Sorry! I take a lot of pictures of you. I can't help it really. You're just too cute! 

 You got a little piano. I love how you use your little pointer fingers to hit each key. We gave you a star stacker that lights up and plays music. And you got a Fisher Price purple and green snail that plays music and can roll across the room. That is your favorite thing to play with right now! 

Happy Birthday again sweet boy. You truly our our whole world and we love you so much! 

What I'm Loving...and a GIVEAWAY!!

I'm linking up with Jaime @ this kind of love again today and I have a super awesome giveaway to share at the end of my post!! 

I'm Loving...

that my sweet baby boy turned ONE YEAR OLD today!! I can't believe how quickly this past year went. I can remember his birth-day like it was yesterday. Every little detail is still so fresh. These past 12 months have truly been some of the best months of my life and I just can't wait to experience more weeks, months, and years with this little guy. Tomorrow I will be doing his birthday post. But a few pictures to hold you over till then :)

I'm Loving...

these slippers that I found at Target a week or 2 ago. They are super warm and cute! Shhh...don't tell but I wear them out and about with jeans. They really don't look like slippers and are really comfy. 

I'm Loving...

that Rowen loves to swing. There is a park about 5 minutes from our house and I think he would love going there every single day. We went yesterday and I am going to take him again tomorrow. Since it's so close, I plan to take him at least once a week. It's a really nice, small park nestled in a very nice neighborhood. 

Love the top left picture...hair blowin' in the breeze!

I'm Loving...

loving...loving...Rowen's party hat! 

I think it just MADE the pictures!! Don't you? I ordered it from Janet @Dainty Couture. Y'all, her Esty shop is fabulous!!! She is so good at what she does. You MUST check her shop out HERE. And guess what?! I love the hat she made for Rowen's birthday so much that she agreed to giveaway to one lucky winner a birthday party hat of your choice from her shop( your child's age and name included )!! How awesome is that?!!

These are just 2 of her designs. She has over 100!

Your little one will be so so cute at his or her birthday in one of Janet's handcrafted party hats!  Enter below for a chance to win one of Janet's party hats from her Etsy shop. And remember you get to choose the party hat that YOU WANT! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway
**contest ends @ 12:01am est on Saturday
if you have any questions about this contest please email me at rachelsimons82@gmail.com

Rachel

Rowen's first birthday party...part 2

Continuing on from yesterday's post. These pictures are of the birthday boy and the second half of his party...pumpkin painting and presents! Rowen was the absolute cutest birthday boy I have ever seen!! 

We had to get some pictures by one of the hay bales. They make for cute photo ops! 

Rowen had never been around balloons before. He clearly loved them! 

I was curious to see if he would leave his party hat on or try to rip it off. He left it on :) He didn't mind it one bit. Isn't it soooo cute! I will tell about his hat a little more tomorrow so check back about that...you really won't want to miss it! I absolutely love the picture on the left.

I was also curious to see how he would react when we put his cake in front of him! I don't think he loved it but he didn't hate it either. He has never had sweets or sticky icing stuck to his fingers before. He did try it on his own and seemed to enjoy the flavor...I think.

Diggin' in!

Sweet party boy.

Before opening presents, the guests painted pumpkins. Rowen missed that part because he was eating lunch. We have pumpkins left over though so we might paint one in a few days.

Cousin pictures!

Rowen got tons of wonderful gifts...puzzles, books, flash cards, bath toys, blocks, and that Pottery Barn chair just to name a few things! It was such a fun day and I am so thankful for the family that was there to celebrate with us!!