Apr 30, 2010 | Giveaways
Hooray Hooray Hooray it’s finally here! Today is the first ever Giveaway Day on carolinecollie.com! I’m so glad you could join us! It’s just in time for Mother’s Day and Cinco de Mayo! ¡Olé!
I am very pleased to introduce you to the talent behind Little Miss Priss Designs, Karen Congleton. Unless you guys have already met, in which case you know already, she’s talented.
Karen designs and paints these darlin’ precious hairbow holders. Look!
Aren’t they adorable? She personalizes them based on what her customers request. Look at that gorgeous free hand script!
Karen’s cutie-pie hairbow holders are 10 inches long and about 5 inches tall, and have three matching three-yard ribbons to clip hair bows to underneath, with decorative ribbon coordinating on top. ¡Accento!
This one is my fave. Polka-dots + Zebra = Whatever it is I’m probably gonna love it.
Dern I want a little girl!
So, good news! If you’re a Mom to three boys like Karen, (meaning you don’t need a hair bow holder) she does other cute stuff, too! Like these adorable picture frames:
It’s an 8 x 8 that holds a 3.5 x 3.5 picture in case you were wondering.
Isn’t this one adorable?
That’s a 9 x 7 which, as you can see, holds a 4 x 6. Sassy!
OR… this one… I love buttons!
That one is 6.5 x 7 and holds a 3.5 x 5 sized picture. Cute as a button!
Now here’s the really good news. Today, you can win a free personalized hair bow holder or picture frame from Little Miss Priss Designs. (Your choice!)
All you have to do is leave a comment at the bottom of this post, and tell us whether you’d choose a hair bow holder or a picture frame, and how you’d like yours personalized! Tomorrow morning I will quite literally put your name in a hat, and the Bear will have the delightful adventure of drawing a name out of the hat. And good news, since we’re six hours ahead, the news will probably hit the web long before you’re awake! Please just comment ONCE, and we’ll announce the winner tomorrow!
And one more bit of good news — if you’re not a winner, I’ll have the details on how you can still get something special from Little Miss Priss Designs right here. So come back tomorrow!
These are the nitty-gritty details:
This Give-Away Contest will run from 12 am to 12 midnight Eastern Standard Time on Friday, April 30, 2010. Once the winner is chosen, we’ll announce it here on www.carolinecollie.com, I’ll touch base with the winner with the good news, and Karen will contact you to talk about what you’d like! I am very sorry to say this, but this contest is only open to residents of the US of A. AND, if the Bear or I discover that you’ve been cheeky and commented more than once, you’re NOT gonna win. Cos that’s just cheeky.
So comment away (well, once)! Good Luck!
xCC
Apr 29, 2010 | Baby Photos, South Africa
In case you were feeling that our one and only was becoming a lesser-spotted species of Bear lately, here’s your fix on where you might spot the 20 month old wonder these days.
He was recently seen dancing and testing out musical instruments in Green Market Square in Cape Town. He tried to score a five-finger discount on a FIFA World Cup soccer ball — the special 2010 ones with the South African flag — but his Mom made him put it back.
He also recently did a little bit of a hike atop Table Mountain.* He found the uneven terrain slightly challenging, but preferred to make the journey without any hand-holding whenever possible. His Mom was disappointed that he didn’t find the heights to be good reason for caution.
*He intends to avoid the potties next time.
He was also spotted eating with a fork for the first time on Tuesday. Macaroni and cheese, no less. Shortly afterwards, he climbed stairs without the assistance of an adult or his hands. Sure, there were only three stairs, and they were only four inches tall or so, but who’s counting?
In his spare time, the Bear has also recently been spotted perusing his vast collection of Veggie Tales and Wonder Pets. (Thanks, Amiee, Sarah and Rory!)
He was also spotted on an adventure unlike most the Bear has seen before…
But he felt that he fit right in, and rather enjoyed it.
So, folks, those are the coordinates for spotting the greater-spotted African Bear. If you’re hoping to see him outside captivity, you’ll need to move quickly. He is known to transition from walking to running before you’ve got the lens cap off your camera.
Who says there aren’t bears on this continent? 🙂
xCC
P.S. Don’t forget there is a giveaway right here at carolinecollie.com, tomorrow!!! That’s Friday, April 30th! If you don’t drop in, you can’t win! See you then! Don’t ya love rhymes?
Apr 28, 2010 | Uncategorized
I have another story to share with you. I just wish I knew more of it to share.
I had the privilege of washing these tiny feet.
I’m not sure if this little one understood English at all. But Hero Hubs, being the Hero he is, managed to get her to smile.
Isn’t she beautiful?
The Sunday School teachers told us the kids went to borrow clothes and shoes to come to the distribution, and were probably wearing their very best when we came. That was really humbling to hear.
She was missing most of the top row of teeth, my best guess is due to malnutrition or a lack of hygiene. It also seemed that her eyelids had perhaps been infected and healed in a jagged fashion.
I wish I knew more of her story to tell.
But it was a privilege that our stories converged for a moment one sunny morning in the Western Cape.
Every person has a story.
It’s amazing to think that God knows them all.
xCC
Apr 27, 2010 | Stories, The Good Word
After spending time in the townships and taking a good look at how different my life could be were I born in a different place to a different family, I am suddenly newly thankful for things that I haven’t really thought to be thankful for before. The other morning, Hero Hubs was on an airport run, so instead of my special HH latte, I had a french press cup of coffee.
As I sprinkled in a little cinnamon, gave the coffee a stir and let it sit still for a bit, I was washed over with a wave of thankfulness for the simple pleasures that I enjoy day after day. I think it is really, really good for our souls when we take a moment to realise that we have so very, very much to be thankful for.
We are constantly bombarded with images that create in us a desire for more, for different, for newer and for better. We’re taught discontentment from an early age. But if we take a moment to consider that almost everything we have is something that many, many people around the world don’t, it might really change our attitudes.
When you realise that something as simple as this can mean so much to someone…
something as simple as this
might make you realise your cup is overflowing.
Might I leave you with some lyrics from a beautiful Waterdeep song?
A thankful heart prepares the way for you our God…
Come fall on us, we fall on you.
A thankful heart will be our rhythm.
Come fall on us, we fall on you.
A thankful heart will be our song.
Lord, let it be so.
xCC
Folks all over cyberspace are unwrapping thankfulness today. Join in the joy @ Chatting at the Sky. Don’t forget to come back Friday for the giveaway!!
Apr 27, 2010 | South Africa, Travel..ling Tuesdays
You already know it if you read the potty story last week. We ventured up Table Mountain last Tuesday, and a mountain as cool as this one deserves its own Travelling Tuesday. For sure!
You take a cable car up to the top (well you can hike it if you want but uh…with a 20 month old Bear…nuh-uh).
It’s pretty cool to watch the mountain approaching as you ride up in the cable car.
The view is really impressive from the top… There’s Lion’s Head, that next hill is Signal Hill, and the island out there is Robben Island! You can even see Cape Town Stadium where some of the World Cup games will be played this summer!
How tiny does the Bear look next to Manny? (The founder of Samaritan’s Feet who was visiting last week!)
Hold hands when you’re crossing a bridge, Bear!
You can see so far in every direction from the top. This is looking south toward Cape Point.
Isn’t it wonderful when you have moments in life like that, where you get a chance to look up and get some good perspective?
Our new friend and work colleague, Courtney, enjoying the view… (Just so you know we weren’t taking pictures of random strangers.)
And look, a mongoose like Rikki Tikki Tavi!
Remember how I told you about the Cape Region being a unique floral kingdomwith lots of species of plants that are found here and nowhere else in the world? Well, that might be some of the unique stuff right there, but I’m no botanist. And we’re heading towards winter, so the foliage was a little sparse.
But, look, here’s a dassie! Like the ones we saw in Hermanus, but better behaved.
We tried to get a family photo at the top, but the Bear just wasn’t cooperating.
This one’s better. Well it makes me giggle anyway. HH got the Bear to smile!
You may have seen this view around these parts before. 🙂 We took a picture at this exact same spot a little over three years ago, when HH and I visited South Africa, just a week or so before he asked me to marry him! I should tell you that story sometime.
So, that’s a slice of life atop Table Mountain! Lovely, hey?
Hope your Tuesday is going great, and you’re enjoying your adventure today!
xCC
Want to join in on the Travelling Tuesday fun? You can share some shots from your back yard last week, or a trip around the world you took ages ago. Just be sure to link to your Travelling Tuesday post (not just your blog’s home page) and please add a link back here so others can join in the fun!
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