For the first time in my adult life, I am trying to grow plants. I’ve bought a few plants in the past for my cat to play in, all of which she has utterly destroyed, but I didn’t care, because that was their purpose. This summer though, I am growing a few of my own fruits and vegetable to hopefully save a bit of money and eat some truly fresh food. After relentless weeks of a few new plant limbs branching here and there, I was excited last week to finally see tomatoes sprouting. This week, I have not only seen the existing tomatoes grow, I now have about five new ones starting. I can’t wait until my other plants start sprouting, too. I have squash, cucumbers and watermelons growing as well, but have not yet seen any sprouts. Now that Bonnie has moved into her new home, she has avocados, oranges and grapefruits growing naturally in her backyard, and she plans to plant some fruits and vegetables soon. If our family keeps this pace up, we might be able to have our own fruit and vegetable stand :)

The Tomatoes are Coming!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Comfort and Harmony for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Have you ever wanted a do-over?  Like when you are perusing Pinterest wedding boards?  Sometimes I wish I had a do-over at my introduction to motherhood.  Don’t get me wrong, the actual birth went well, and the baby was fantastic ;)  But sometimes I see all of this fabulous baby gear that makes me think, “that would have made things sooo much easier.”

Nursing was hard for me the first time around.  I remember my husband and I in semi-yoga poses trying to just hold still once we would finally find our son’s latching position.  I had a Boppy.  It was alright for baby lounging, but it left much to be desired in area of nursing support.  In fact, I would have needed two Boppies stacked on top of each other to even get the right height.  I was recently sent a Mombo infant nursing pillow to try out (its just a few years too late) and instantly got that “I want a do-over” feeling.

This pillow has a unique Firm2Soft design–one side is firm and supportive for proper breastfeeding support while the other side soft and cuddly for lounging.  It provides all of the functions of a Boppy—head propping for better digestion, a soft cushion for tummy time and body/back support to help baby when they are learning to sit up. But what really sets this pillow apart from all of the others I’ve seen is the removable vibration button.  It creates a gentle soothing vibration throughout the pillow that is helpful for tummy settling or lullabying baby to sleep.

We sent our test model over for Lindsey’s brand new baby niece, Alice, to test out and she took to it right away :)  Baby tested and definitely mom approved!

The Mombo is only available at Toys R Us and Babies R Us.  They have a great selection of super cute designs to choose from, including a few Disney options.  But one of our lucky readers will get one delivered right to your door for free.

We are giving away one Comfort & Harmony Mombo Nursing Pillow in Pinehurst (the same one Alice tried out).

To enter it is mandatory to leave a comment below telling us why you want a Mombo (is it for you? a friend? a relative?)

For additional entries:

• Like Comfort & Harmony on Facebook
• Follow Comfort & Harmony on Twitter

(Be sure to leave an additional comment for each entry telling us your Twitter and/or FaceBook user name.)

Open to U.S residents 18 years or older.  Entries must be received by 11:59 pm PST on May 29, 2013.  Winner will be chosen at random and announced the next day.  Good luck!

Mombo Nursing Pillow Giveaway

I have been wanting to talk about this for soooooo long. I just kept putting it off. But now it’s time to talk Pallets. Yes, those nasty wooden things that are used to haul heavy shipments around in trucks. But somehow they are magically able to be transformed into gorgeous pieces to make your home feel cool, rustic and interesting. After looking at some of these, I’m ready to scour my city so I can use pallets as home decor around my place. Check out these ideas and my thoughts on them.

Pallet Wall Art from Love of Family and Home

I love this idea and its really so versatile.  You can do what they’ve done here and put words or you could paint something. I love the idea of painting it and then spray painting stencils of … really anything!

Garden Pallet from Our Little Acre with a full photo tutorial!

Bonnie has been all over these Garden pallet ideas right now. She and her family just moved and she really wants to great an herb garden on her new back patio using a pallet. I think I just might copy her especially since I live in an apartment where it’s hard to plant, but I do have a small patio that would hold it perfect. However, I also love the idea of mixing my herbs and my gardening supplies on one pallet {since they currently hide under the outdoor stairs of our complex. Shhhh… don’t tell anyone.}

Hanging Patio Pallet Bar from Today’s Nest

This one might be a little more complicated to create, however it seems like a great idea. Now, I’m not a drinker but I’d love to make something like this as a coffee bar. I’m obsessed with coffee…. Drinking my home made iced coffee now…. yumm….

Pallet Coffee Table from Mango Tomato with tutorial!

I’ve seen this idea all over the internet but I just loved the stain and gloss on this one. Plus, I’m happy to share a tutorial for it.

Pallet Coat Rack from Decor Racks

Now this is a beautiful thing. Such any easy and cheap coat/hat rack. Plus, it’s just half a pallet painted. So simple.

Pallet Walkway from Funky Junk Interiors with tutorial!

Oh My Goodness Gracious! This is a fabulous idea And the tutorial helps so wonderfully.  I might pass this along to Bonnie too :) You can use the pieces of a pallet or just some 2×4′s

Pallet Bookshelves from Sas Interiors with tutorial!

I have wanted to do this for a long time.  Either putting books or picture frames/decor pieces in them. What do you think?

Using Pallets as Home Decor? Whaaa?

Happy Mother’s Day!

This post brought to you by American Osteopathic Association. All opinions are 100% mine.

Running a website is a great job that I love for many reasons. I can set my own hours and write about anything I want, but there is a downside as well. The biggest pitfall of being a blogger is what most other Americans face in their daily jobs as well: too much sitting. 70% of office workers sit for at least five hours each work day and over 100 million Americans experience back pain. And, chronic pain can make it difficult to perform daily activities and even affect your work performance. Sitting too much has led to serious back pain, especially lower back pain due to the fact that my muscles simply are not stretched enough. Regular physical activity is absolutely necessary to stay heatlhy, but usually that lasts only for an hour or so a day. When you sit, like I do for at least five hours a day, you need to stretch not only at the beginning and end of your workout, but throughout the day. Fortunately, you do not need to be able to do Pilates to perfom the simple stretches that relieve the tension in your body that leads to back pain. The American Osteopathic Association made a helpful  to teach everyone how easy it is prevent and avoid pain in the workplace. I tried these two stretches and I love how quick it was do them, and the fact that they are so simple that I can tell the other people I know that experience back pain from sitting to try them as well. Give them a try and see if they work for you! For even more help from the American Osteopathic Association, to go Break Through Your Pain. And, be sure to share this post and the AOA’s tips on your social networks, so your friends can learn to relieve their back pain while they sit!

Ease Your Back Pain with Two Simple Stretches from the AOA

This post brought to you by Private Selection. All opinions are 100% mine.

Have you ever had one of those days as a mom where you would like to have a treat for your family, but you are too busy to make it? Or, have you ever had friends stop by unexpectedly and did not have any food for company? Or, my personal favorite, have you ever found out at the last moment about a potluck dinner you need to bring a dessert to? I usually love to bake desserts for my family and guests, but sometimes I just do not have the time. At Kroger though, they have just introduced Private Selection Upside Down Cakes. With these delicious cakes, you just warm, flip and serve. They are made from real eggs, milk, butter and semi-sweet chocolate, so when you need to substitute a homemade dessert with a gourmet-like dessert, these can be wonderful. Premium Selections is a private brand carried exclusively by Kroger and its affiliatesThey come in three flavors: Amber Honey Apple Spice, Double Chocolate Molten and German Chocolate Fudge – premium flavors without the price. What is your dessert of choice when you are running low on time?

To get the word out about their new cakes, Kroger is hosting a Spread the Love campaign until June 2, 2013. During this time, a special Private Selection Upside Down Cakes coupon will available online here for the cakes: http://www.privateselection.com/cakes/. And, if you share the coupon on your Facebook page, you will received a $2 off coupon. Once you claim your coupon, you will directed to log into your Kroger account, so you may add the coupon to your store card. To find a Kroger store near you, use this handy tool: http://www.privateselection.com/store-locator/

If you like these cakes, follow Private Selection Upside Down Cakes on Facebook and Private Selection Upside Down Cakes on Pinterest!

Coupon ends 6/2/13. Official Rules. In order to load these coupons to your card, you will need to sign into your Kroger account or set up a Kroger account and enter your card number. Limit one per digital coupon. Digital offers are not eligible on Manager’s Specials, cannot be combined with manufacturer paper coupons on the purchase of a single item, and do not double. Not all items are available in all stores. A limit of 150 coupons can be loaded per household at one time.

Try a Private Selection Cake with Kroger’s Coupons!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Flood® Wood Care for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

So we are moved.  How come no one told me how hard moving is?!  I feel like everything we own is gone, lost, misplaced or otherwise forgotten.  Nothing is where it should be and now we have to take all of our belongings (85% of which are toys) and configure them into a (slightly) smaller house.  There is one glistening ray of sunshine in this new situation though.  We now have a playroom!  It is outside and entirely detached from our house.  So I can take that mountain of toys that I was always tripping over at our old house and move them all out there.

But first, although I am sure that its not going to last long, I have to bring some semblance of order to this chaos:

I have learned from living in tiny urban spaces my entire adult life, that vertical storage is a city girl’s best friend.  So when Flood® Wood Care contacted us about doing a staining project, my first thought was Shelving.  Lots of shelving.

This stain is technically made for exterior use, but I figured with three boys constantly going in and out of this little guest house, this wood will see some weathering.  We stained two 8′ x 1′ shelves and hardly made a dent in the gallon bucket that was provided.  I plan to use the rest to stain a few planter boxes and a garden bed that we will be building later on this summer.

The process was foolproof.  I just went to Flood’s Staining Made Simple guide, answered a few questions about my project and it told me exactly what I needed. They even gave me a printable shopping list and instruction sheet. I chose to go with their semi-transparent stain in Natural Cedar.

This stain met all of my needs and expectations. It goes on smoothly and evenly, it provides a beautiful color while letting the character of the wood take center stage.  But best of all, it provides TOTAL weather protection.  That means no mildew, no peeling, no fading–just natural looking wood that hold up year after year.  This is the big seller for me.  We do a lot of projects around here, and they are hard. work.  Hard work that is worth it, if your masterpiece stands the test of time. It is so frustrating to put all of your creative and physical energy into a something that gets dingy and worn after just a few months.

The boys and I stained the planks and my hubby completed the project by drilling them into the wall.  I am thrilled with our results.  And we are now one step closer to settling in to our new home.

If you have plans for your outdoor space this summer, check out the Flood Better Backyard Sweepstakes for a chance to win a $1500 gift card or one of 12 $10 gift cards that are given away daily.  Just like Flood Wood Care on FaceBook and share often for more entries.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Legal residents of the 50United States of America and (D.C.) 18 years and older. Ends 5/17/2013. To enter and for Official Rules, including odds, and prize descriptions visit www.facebook.com/flood.  Void in Puerto Rico and where restricted or prohibited.  This Sweepstakes is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or administered by, or associated with Facebook.  You understand that you are providing your information to Sponsor and not to Facebook.

Get Ready For Summer with Flood’s Better Backyard Sweepstakes and Staining Made Simple Guide

As Mother’s Day is coming closer, I thought I’d share with you what I’ve been up to real quick before the day passes us by.

Firstly, I’m making my Mother’s Day cards.

Not only do I love making things {especially with paper} but while browsing Target for cards to purchase, I realized that the only cards worth giving out ranged from $5-$8. What?! A card? For 8 bucks? My jaw literally dropped when I looked at the prices, standing in the semi-crowded card aisle. Hope no one saw me…. I was appalled. I shuttered at the thought of dropping $6 for a card and so decided to create my own. I took a few ideas from some great cards I’d seem and got to thinking.

This card was all my own but came via inspiration on Pinterest. I’d seen a card with a flower that said ” If you were a flower, I’d pick you!” Too cute, I thought but Moviestar was not keen on the cheesy saying and asked me to leave it blank so we could write our own messages. I’ll throw that saying in my idea bank for later :)

I wanted to do a layered flower and luckily I own a Cricut that has come in handy for more than scrapbooking, like now! All I did was choose my flower and lower each paper color by 1 inch in size. Then I put elevated foam on the back of each to give it a more 3D look.

Then I just added a stem and leaf and some cardboard letter stickers to complete it. So easy, you can do it too! Even without a Cricut.

I’ve also been working on a few DIY Mother’s day gifts.

One of which I’ve given to my Mother-in-law in the past: these Designer Dish Gloves. I had so much fun making these long ago that I thought I’d make a few more just before Mother’s Day.

If you want to make these yourself, just follow my tutorial here. It’s pretty simple if you can maneuver a sewing machine a bit. If you can’t but want to buy a last minute gift for her, head over to our Etsy Shop and I’ll be sure to get them to you in time.

Happy Mother’s Day all! Hope it’s a great one for each of you.

Don’t Buy Expensive Mother’s Day Cards, Make Them!

This post brought to you by CB2. All opinions are 100% mine.

CB2 has just partnered with Robert and Cortney Novogratz, a married duo of designers, to create a new vibrant line of home decor. I personally love this item. It shows the dynamic color that the Novogratz designers are bringing to CB2, which I think it has been missing. Meshing vintage and modern designs with vibrant colors, their line was inspired by their vacation home in Brazil. To celebrate the new line, CB2 is hosting a Brazillian vacation giveaway! Enter for a chance to win the grand prize: you and three guests to win a week long vacation in the very Brazillian vacation home of Robert and Cortney in Ranncoso, Brazil, which inspired their new home decor line. If you have ever wanted to visit the exotic and tropical land of Brazil, do not miss this free opporunity to enter for  a chance of a luxury trip to Brazil. Ten runner up winners will be awarded a $100 CB2 gift card along with a signed copy of the designers’ new book “Home by Novogratz”. With the gift card, you can buy items from the CB2 and Novogratz Collection or any other collection at CB2. So, enter today! You have nothing to lose and an extravagant vacation to win! Click the following link to enter to win the CB2 and Novogratz Brasil Sweepstakes.

Enter to Win a Vacation to Brazil with CB2!

This post brought to you by Scotts Miracle-Gro. All opinions are 100% mine.

Spring is here, which means lawn and garden care has become a priority for many. Bonnie has just moved into a new house and she is in the midst of sprucing it up for the spring and summer. She has a huge backyard with plenty of space for landscaping, so I have been helping find to design her new yard. Because she needs some help with bare patches, we thought something like this would be best:

She’s also interested in a table area to relax in the yard, and we are interested in this type of setup:

Or something without a platform:

We love the checkerboard pattern the last one. It could either work with the bare patches in the backyard or be covered with mulch.

For an undertaking such as this, the gardening supplies we would need are:

• plants
• shrubs
• bushes
• mulch
• stones (for lining)
• a metal frame arch
• shovels
• rakes
• landscape knife (for cutting squares)

This is quite an ambitious project. The most important component for a yard design such as this is the mulch. I’d recommend Scotts Florida Select Natural Eucalyptus Mulch. The Eucalyptus mulch is 100% natural, as a ground cover should be. Even though it’s all natural, it still is effective in preventing weeds and maintaining even temperature and moisture levels. Eucalyptus mulch also promotes sustainable gardening, because Eucalyptus is a renewable resource growing up to four times faster than Cypress in a year. For our Florida readers, this mulch is local for you, so buying this supports the local businesses. For readers is all other states, try another mulch in the Scotts Nature Scapes mulch line. There are three great choices to fit the needs of your lawncare: Classic Black, Sierra Red and Deep Forest Brown.

When using mulch, it’s best to apply three inches deep. At this depth, a two cubic foot bag of mulch will cover twelved square feet. It can be used around trees, shrubs, flowers, vegetables and other objects. Just be sure not to cover any plants that have not yet been germinated or are underdeveloped. Also, be sure to keep mulch several inches from any wood, such as trees, patio furniture or your home.

Backyard Inspiration with Mulching