We'll be fine.

This is the last week of my second trimester.
Do you, as observers, feel that the pregnancy's gone quickly? 

I feel like it's dragged on, perhaps because we don't find out the gender and, some days, it's hard to just not know! But I'd never do it differently. Baby's kicking me right now as if to say "ya got that right, Mom." I love this little sweet dolly lamb lovie baby so much already!

I've been enjoying beautiful blog posts from others. I let them do nothing less than encourage me (like make me feel less because I'm more relaxed about frequency of posts), because, as a friend said today, "You are growing a baby! Your readers will give you grace."

Will you?

Because when my sweets nap, so do I!

And we stay home a lot, in our pajamas. We color with 5 markers at once and "waste" stickers.

someone's gross trash in the street..not ours

I am relishing being able to give my attention to "just" two kids.

Things will be trickier with three.

 
But we'll be fine; yes, Lord!

Sponsor Spotlight and Giveaway: Yellow Heart Art!

You know Leonora with Yellow Heart Art, yes?

BLOG | SHOP | FACEBOOK | TWITTER

I love her shop, I love her quirkiness, I love her attitude. 

And I love that she is in my margin this month, and

that she wants to share some goodies with you..

Here's some background information on this super cute business:

Yellow Heart Art was created by me, Leonora, back in 2011 as a way for me to be my own boss and be 100% creative. I work full time as a graphic designer at my corporate job, which leaves little room for artistic freedom. I think I am one of the few artists out there who actually like it when people point and laugh at my artwork. 

Isn't she awesome?

I feel like I need these pillows in my life. They are pure awesomeness.

And this print makes me want to sing Allelujah!

**

Now onto goodies for YOU! 2 prints and a necklace, yo!
Graphic Art Print "Geometric Triangles and Arrows 8 x 10 in Multi Color-$10

YOU & Me Venn Diagram Perfection 8 x 10 Graphic Art Print-$20

Diamond Wood Necklace Original Artwork by Yellow Heart Art-$15

 Geometric necklace? Um, you shouldn't have!

Do the Rafflecopter thing to enter this giveaway!

Prizes go to 1 winner.

U.S. residents only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Valentine Gift Idea: Coupon Book Giveaway

 I have the cutest sponsors! 

This week, let's take a peek at Datevitation, the web's first online platform to create a custom love coupon book.

They sent me an adorable coupon book just for Shawn that I customized with some of our favorite dates, including a trip to the best flea market in town!

  Unlike the pre-packaged love coupon books on the market, you pick the dates and can customize the text to your liking.  Once you are done customizing the text in your book, Datevitation will print it out and ship it to you in a ready-to-gift box.

Their library contains over 200 date ideas ranging from skydiving to stargazing to foosball. Additionally, they have over 60 book cover options to suit any occasion. I felt "to my husband" was perfectly intimate:

Books normally start at just $20 so it makes for a thoughtful yet economical gift.  But as a special treat for my followers, you can use the code ‘MARIGOLD’ for $10 off your purchase through February 3rd.

That means you can get your sweetie a custom love coupon book for Valentine’s day starting at just $10! The order cut-off date for guaranteed delivery by Valentine's Day is February 3 so make sure to get your order in before then!

As if the $10 promo code isn't exciting enough, my friends at Datevitation are giving away a free Datevitation gift book with 5 custom pages.  

  

Winner will be chosen at random using Rafflecopter.  Winner will receive a promo code for a free Datevitation gift book with 5 custom pages.  Additional pages are $1 each.  Winner to pay $3.50 for shipping and handling.  Tax will be applied to books shipped to California.  Books ship to U.S. only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Dude, I have it guuuud!

My name is Mindy and I'm living a dream!

Masquerade party

Shawn's work holds a couple of events a year for its employees.

The winter party was masquerade-themed! It was really fun to get dressed up to impress my man. I found this non-maternity, gorgeous blue formal at Name Brand Clothing for $23. I felt pretty in it, even with a bump!

We were running late and I didn't have my camera at the event, so here are some blurry phone shots. I'm breaking a blogger rule by posting blurry, red-eye shots. Oopsie.

Valentine Button Earrings

Remember these from last year?

Go make some today!

Your friends will LOVE you for it!

A "you go girl" profile: Red Letter Paper Company!

 

Hey there! 

I'm Stephanie, the owner and designer behind Red Letter Paper Company. Mindy has been gracious enough to let me take over her blog for the day, and she had a couple questions for me to answer about running a business and balancing life, so let's get to it, shall we?  

1. History of the company 

 I started RLPCo in 2010 with the goal of making Christian cards with a modern edge, but I think my husband and I had been talking about it for almost a year before that. It was born because we could never find Christmas cards that had both the right message and a design that didn't look like something my grandmother would pick out. We wanted modern, simple, clean ... and Merry Christmas. So with a background in journalism and publication design, I made the jump to greeting cards.  

2. My favorite part about it 

The people. Sure you run into the ones that make you want to go crawl in a hole and eat a pint of Ben & Jerry's (ok, maybe I still do that Ben & Jerry's thing anyway), but for the most part, it's been a blast to get to know people through this business. Some of them are bloggers I've met through networking, some of them are customers who tell me the stories behind their purchases, some of them are people I've never spoken to or met who find my stuff online and blow me away with fun posts about me. But I love love love knowing that these cards are filling a need for people.  

3. Where I glean inspiration 

Real life. So many greeting cards are full of epic novels that don't resemble anything I would actually say to someone. I try to think about words that would really come out of my mouth. For my husband, for my bestie, for my mom. I also take inspiration from what's popular with my audience. Many of them are young and hip like me (*cough*) and they use things like iPhones and Facebook and have a close personal relationship with their coffee cup. 

 

4. How I juggle life 

 About as well as I actually juggle. It helps that this is now my full-time gig. And I don't have kids, unless you count my German Shepherd. So that helps, too. I've always been a list-maker, but I'm still learning how to manage my time working from home and not spending all day on Pinterest. It's not always easy to fit in walking the dog, making meals, grocery shopping, post office runs, blogging, designing, marketing, etc. Some days I do well, some days I don't. But on the days I don't get it all done, I extend grace to myself — and then make a plan for tomorrow. 

5. Questions? 

 If you have questions about starting a business, starting a Christian business, selling on Etsy, or anything else about the cards or my dog or my ice cream or anything, I'm happy to answer them! Just leave a comment or you can email me at stephanie@redletterpaperco.com. 

P.S. Shameless plug: 

If you saw a card you gotta have in this post, you can sign up for my newsletter and get 10% off your next order!

25 Weeks-Bump Update

dress: borrowed

cardigan: hand-me-down

shoes: Payless

necklace: Origami Owl

earrings/bracelet: Target

We are 15 weeks away from meeting the newest Harris family member. This has been a great pregnancy with few complaints. I still get scared when I think about all that we went through post-partum with Wilder and Story (click here for some background), and I'm so determined in my prayer life about that. That is a separate post I want to prayerfully write, so I can share something that's a real fear for me while still giving God the glory.

Thanks for your patience as I don't post as often. I've been giving 110% to Origami Owl, and I nap when I can.

Real Royalty

Real Royalty

I've not a mansion nor minks

Nor precious jewels

Nor an infinity pool off the veranda

We've but one bathroom for the 4 and 1/2 of us

He drives a beater

And we keep down the heater.

I don't don those glass slippers

But rubber flip flops

That pit-pat-pit-pat

As I walk over crunched Life cereal

Lego accoutrements

Dust balls and squished fruit snacks

My daily attire doesn't bear sequins

But a tattered hole or two

And the roots of my hair

Are as dark as a lair

My sleeping gown 

Has morphed from teddy to tee

I'm still a lovely she

There are crayon marks on the walls

Bearings of little hands

Little memories

Little naughties and no nos

I could clean the windows

But I just shut the curtains

The curtains on my castle

My palace. My fortress.

Though royalty doth not enter here

Unless you consider appearances by

The Burger King

 I am the richest

The richest of the richest

Surrounded by love, joy, dreaming, and Jesus

Which are, you see,
everything
~mindy harris

 

Lessons in Motherhood

Each week I find myself recommitting to my job; I find that it really shapes the success or failure of the week. Gosh, being the heart of the home has so much truth to it!

 The kids do better when I'm committed to being faithful to my choice to stay home full time with them...instead of acting like they are "in the way" of "my stuff" (how selfish), like blogging, Etsy, friends, Origami Owl, Facebook, etc. Things that when I'm an old lady I'll look back on and not have much to gush about!

That is all at the bottom of the ladder for me.

PERIOD. 

I'm not trying to be rockstar at 100 things. I'm trying to excel at the couple of hugely important things on my plate! (marriage and parenting keep me busy enough)

On another note, I am certainly a nurturing type (ask my friends who's kids I love and dote on, as well as my own), but those more mundane "task oriented" things/demands of motherhood drive me a bit nuts. It takes intense motivation and self-discipline to complete all those things.

You need me to pick up your dropped spoon again?

What? There's dishes?

As if it's a surprise or something.

I'm growing in all of that. It helps to think of this: Shawn's grandpa and grandma, who are both in heaven now, had, like us, those family trips that involved the stress of packing. They too did laundry and watched as piles of dishes mocked them. They had to discipline sibling fights and get up early to make it to church on time. These are not surprises about being a grown up. These are the things that come along and have to be done. 

 

Chet and Dorothy's legacy of devoting themselves to family, lives on. 

They made it through with flying colors.

 

We can, too.

Baked Mac N Cheese

I don't claim to be a cook, but when I come across a mouth-watering recipe (I'm always trying new things), I can't help but share. 

A good friend let me have some of her leftover baked mac-n-cheese during a playdate; it swept me off my feet. 

Food can do that, yes? Having stumbled across this simpler recipe in an old issue of Simple and Delicious, I decided to see how this one competed with hers.

Yep, yummy!

 Spirals and Cheese/source

Ingredients

• 3-1/2 cups uncooked spiral pasta
• 4 tablespoons butter, divided
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 cups 2% milk
• 2-1/2 cups (10 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs

Directions

• Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, melt 3 tablespoons butter. Stir in flour until smooth; gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add 2 cups cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.
• Drain pasta. Add to cheese mixture; toss gently to coat. Transfer to a greased 11-in. x 7-in. baking dish. Melt remaining butter; add bread crumbs and remaining cheddar and Parmesan cheeses. Sprinkle over top. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Yield: 6 servings.

It's a New Dawn, It's a New Day!

 

Happy New Year to all my lovely readers who come back to MarigoldRoad again and again.

I hope you always leave with a smile on your face, warmth in your heart, and encouragement that you're not alone in whatever you're facing.

***
Tudor Rose Designs giveaway winner is Dara Granoff; please email me for deets!