Hello welcome to La Dolce Vita. I am a busy WAHM of a three year old who really keeps me on my toes. I blog about my Sweet Life (that is what Dolce Vita) means. I share many of my custom hand stamped jewelry pieces, as they are inspired by my every day life. I hope you enjoy fashion as I talk a lot about fashion and I am a total Product Junkie. Step into my world and please come back again soon. If I am not around I am off making some keepsake mommy jewelry for my customers.
I know, I know I am a bit behind the curve but I am just about wrapping up reading Eclipse and yesterday picked up the "Special Edition" of Breaking Dawn(had a cheesy poster and DVD so that wasn't anything special) I am quite bothered that one of my 4 books is in hardcover and the remaining three are paperback, but I could have worse problems. I need to find a new fabulous series to pick up so that leads me to my questions:
What are you reading right now?
Is it as good as the Twilight Saga?
What book do you have on deck next?
Last but not least are you Team Edward or Team Jacob?
What kid doesn't like to throw some water balloons? Never ask a kid how many water balloons they would like when you are the official water balloon filler upper..... he said 40!
Don't forget to enter in my giveaway for Earth Baby Shampoo HERE.
For more Thousand Words Thursday please visit my friend Jen of Cheaper than Therapy
For my bloggy friends who like to see pics of Kane with a hat on. Will and I had a huge giggle fest as usual and I hope it makes you laugh too. Happy Wednesday!
Pizza is one of my favorite foods, I seriously think I could live on pizza alone. I had almost forgotten how fun and easy American Pizza's or English Muffin Pizza's are to make until I came across them again in The Good Home Cookbook. I even had Will help me make these, they are that easy! When you have your kiddo(s) help they typically tend to eat more too!
If you haven't come across The Good Home Cookbook is is a collection of more than 1,000 classic American Recipes. Here is the recipe for the American Pizza's as a teaser:
American Pizzas:
4 English Muffins split 1 can tomato sauce or pizza sauce Onion salt Garlic salt Dried oregano 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (again we used more we happen to love cheese a lot) 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese Optional: Pepperoni a must in our house
1. Preheat the broiler or toaster oven.
2. Toast the English muffins in a toaster until golden brown. Arrange them, cut side up, on a baking sheet or oven pan.
3. Spoon some sauce on each muffin half, dividing the sauce equally among them. Sprinkle each with onion salt, garlic salt, and oregano. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of each cheese on top of the tomato sauce.
4. Broil until the cheese have melted and the muffins have reached the desired crispness, about 4 minutes. Serve hot.
You can find other yummy recipes in The Good Home Cookbook and this cookbook is a great classic cookbook that you can turn to when you need that classic basic recipe. You can pick up a copy HERE.
Hello friends! I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend! We had a very hot one and I have to say I jumped in Will's pool with him and it felt so good! Before you read about my featured reader I do have two fabulous giveaways Earthbaby shampoo HERE and Designgirl16 paper goods HERE. Be sure to enter and there are bonus entries available.
I am pleased to introduce you to Erica of Parenthoodforme. I was immediately drawn to Erica's blog since she also suffered from infertility. Although our journeys to motherhood are different, I too understand the pains involved in the journey and commend Erica for taking her experience and doing something very, very good! Erica has created a wonderful blog and non-profit organization to help other couples in the same situation. Grab a cup of joe and spread the word about Parenthoodforme.org and get to know my friend Erica.
P.S. The below notecards (bottom of feature) are fabulous so be sure to check them out!
Husband of 6 years, A.J. - 2 year old son. known as Min Man online
How did you start blogging?
When we started the adoption process we wanted to keep families and friends informed of our progress. It turned into an outlet after many years of frustration and sadness while going through infertility.
If you are a parent do you have a parenting philosophy?
My parenting philosophy is to be firm with rules an
d expectations but to not hinder my child from being their true self. My blogging philosophy is to be as open as possible with my posts. I am here to share and hopefully help others along the way.
You will never find me without......
My Blackberry
Day job:
I am a REALTOR for my father's business, hence the Blackberry glued to my side. My blog is about my non profit, Parenthood for Me, Inc. I am president and founder of this national non profit. Our mission is to provide financial and emotional support to those building families through adoption or medical intervention. We hope to ease some of the burden bestowed on those who simply want to be parents.
2009 is our year to build awareness and the endowment. We will be awarding our first grants in June 2010. Visit our FAQ page for more information.
Favorite Stuff:
Music: Everything from Louis Armstrong, Eagles, BNL and Coldplay Food: Bagels and Cream Cheese Tv/ Movies: I don't watch much tv. PS I Love You and Atonement Reading: Memoirs
If you had to wear a T-shirt with your favorite saying on it what would it be?
"Think before you speak" People can say some really rude and insensitive things.
Favorite stores to shop at:
Limited, Ann Taylor, Old Navy
If you could trade with a blogger for the day who would it be?
Lori at Weebleswooblog.com. She has helped me tremendously as I tried to build my blog and following.
Other good stuff:
Below is a sample picture of stationery cards that are a part of our Artwork for Building Families Project and are available for sale HERE. We have more art donated and will be adding items to be purchased on the website. All net proceeds go towards the endowment. You can click HERE to purchase a set of note cards. Take a peek at the other items also available. Check back to see our new additions. Buy a gift and make a donation at the same time!
Please be sure to leave Erica some comment love!
If you would like to be featured here at La Dolce Vita please send a link of your blog to klacustomcreations@comcast.net
I think there is nothing better than a freshly bathed kiddo and the scent of freshly washed hair right out of the tub . When using products on Will I always look for products that are organic and gentle on his skin. I also like products that smell really good at the same time. Earth Baby shampoo first passed my sniff test and then after washing Will's hair with Earth Baby Tiny Bubbles Baby Shampooit also performed really well, it had a very nice lather and rinsed out well, tear free too! Did I already say that it smells amazing? My husband even asked what smelled so good. I also used the detangler and it also smells amazing and works like a charm. Will has thick hair that always needs some conditioning. When I brushed his hair out the brush went through with ease. Our kiddos deserve the very best don't they?
Here are a few other things I love about Earth Baby products:
hypoallergenic
tear free
certified organic ingredients
pediatrician recommended
OleoSpheres™ technology
manufactured in the U.S.A.
Would you like to win a bottle of Earth Baby Tiny Bubble Shampoo? (retail value $15)
First entry: Please visit Earth Baby and tell me what other product you like.
Extra entries: (leave a comment for each extra entry)
Follow Earth Baby on Twitter for two extra entries HERE. (leave a comment for each extra entry)
Follow my blog 1 extra entry.
Add my blog button to your site 2 extra entries.
Tweet about this contest 2 extra entries
Contest is open to US residents and closes on August 22nd at 11:59 PM. Good Luck!!!
Ever since I was a little girl I have had a fascination with paper goods. I have more stationary than you can imagine and any excuse to embellish even a cupcake will make my day! To me you can never have enough! This is why I am very excited to be able to offer one of my lucky readers a $20 gift certificate for paper goods to Designgirl16's etsy shop!
Designgirl16 has all your hand made party favors, party decorations, and invitations of all types. They can custom design and make favors, decorations and invitations for all occasions including, weddings, birthdays, baby showers, bridal showers, gift bags, etc.
Designgirl16's just a few of my favorite items include the Birthday banners, Cupcake toppers, and thank you cards and that is just a few of their fabulous items. Take a peek at just a select few items below.
Hello friends! I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend and managed to stay cool! We hit 95 degrees on Sunday which is hot for us, we have had a mild summer. Just a reminder that if you would like to be a featured reader please send me a link of your blog to klacustomcreations@comcast.net.
Monday's are always fun since I have the great pleasure of introducing you to a fab reader! It is funny how the web has millions of bloggers and yet we mom bloggers tend to bump into each other, Eileen of Sane without drugs happens to be quite fond of one of my favorite bloggers, Stacy of Stacy's Random Thoughts, so it is no surprise that I enjoy Eileen's blog. Grab a cup of joe and get to know my friend Eileen!
I started blogging over the April 2009 spring break. My sister had written a couple of political blog posts that she wanted me to read. After I read the posts, I thought I should give blogging a try. I had what felt like a million funny stories running through my head that I love to tell.
What is your parenting philosophy?
My philosophy for my two boys is to help them find their happiness and their purpose in life. I love to point people in the right direction. My poor boys get tons of advice from me on how to make friends, get good grades, things to do,..... I got both boys involved in music. The older boy (Austin) has really found his passion with his guitar and saxophone. He won a very nice award this spring from his band director. It was given to him in front of about 1,000 people. Kinda a surreal moment for me. All our hard work has paid off.
You will never find me without.... Chocolate in the pantry.
Day job:
I am a math teacher. I adore the students I teach. They do not know my blog name. I would never write a post directly about any of them. They know that I do blog. If they knew my site, I would probably get another 100 followers easy.
Favorite stuff:
Music: Eric Clapton, Beatles, and new music especially cranky women like Alanis Morissette
Food: Fancy salads with chicken or salmon
Tv: Weeds, Dexter, Rescue Me, Big Love or anything funny.
Reading: I like non-fiction like current autobiographies.
If you had to wear a T-shirt with your favorite saying on it what would it be?
This is tough! It would probably be something sarcastic that unfortunately only I understand to be funny. This happened with a quote in my high school year book. I make a joke about wanting to marry someone that only the kids from physics class knew. The man was the physics teacher in a video tape series that we had to watch every Friday. Most of the students asked me who it was like I was really going to marry him!!! I was so embarassed that only a few people knew the joke.
Favorite stores to shop:
Nordstrom. They carry unique clothes that fit me. I am kinda a amazon at 5'10". I have not bought anything new for about a year. I want to pay things off to travel. For groceries, I do WalMart, SO CHEAP!!!
If you could trade with a blogger for the day who would it be?
I knew I was a grown up when I started paying for m y own toilet paper and gave up on caring. I especially knew I was a grown up when I became a Mom. To me there is nothing like having to put your needs aside and care for someone else, that makes you grow up really fast. I wouldn't trade being a Mom for anything in the world and no amount of money could replace the love I feel for this little guy! ( I know toilet paper and being a Mom are polar opposites but seriously who likes paying for their own TP, it has to be a right of passage!)
I think you can tell by the pictures that Will is enjoying his new pool. Lately we cannot keep him out of the water. This pool is big enough that once it warms up I may join him, but for now I will just get splashed on the sidelines.
A friend asked me to design a necklace as a gift for a amateur photographer and I think it would be perfect for anyone who loves to snap a lot of pictures and especially mom bloggers! I know I never leave home without my camera. I just may make one for myself. Every picture tells a story... don't it?
The "every picture tells a story" is available in my shop HERE.
For some reason I have a silly fascination with putting hats on our greyhound, and maybe because it makes me laugh every time and Kane never seems to mind either.
Happy Wednesday make it a great day!
P.S. No animal was hurt in the taking of this picture, the only thing that was damaged maybe was his pride.
The winner of my Featured Reader Contest that closed yesterday is Dawn of Bee and Rose! Congratulations Dawn! If you haven't visited Dawn's blog yet please be sure to stop on by HERE. YaYa of YaYa Stuff kicked off a new round of readers just yesterday so be sure to give her some comment love too!
I added the "let them be little" piece to my shop about a week ago and have to share the story behind it. Often I look at Will and think to myself why can't he stay little forever and by that I don't mean just for me. I look at his innocence, pure joy in the smallest things and think to myself that we all should be that happen. I hope that his joy is never taken away. This piece can include the birthstones of your kiddos and be a simple reminder of their youth and innocence. Do you sometimes wish they could just stay little forever?
Hello friends! I hope everyone had a great weekend. We made our way to my parents lake house and had beautiful weather this weekend. It was so nice to have some time to unwind. We can hardly keep Will out of the water! Isn't that what summer is all about, just kicking back in the sun? How does the summer go by so fast?
I always enjoy Monday's since I have the pleasure of introducing one of my fab readers. What would a blogger be without fabulous blog friends? I am pleased to introduce you to Yaya of
Yaya Stuff. I am not sure how I stumbled on Yaya's blog but I was instantly drawn to her energy and charm. You never know what to expect from Yaya and she always speaks from the heart with a bit of sass, which is what I love the most. You may already be a friend of Yaya's, she has a very large following but if you aren't run do not walk over to her blog.... but read her feature first and leave her some comment love, we bloggers thrive on comments! Grab a cup of joe and get to know my friend Yaya!!
Just me and my hubby, Josh, for now. We are hoping to have children very soon through adoption and fertility treatment. We have 2 dogs, a cat and
a turtle, or as we call them, our "zoo".
How did you start blogging?
I started blogging in May of 2008 so that friends and family could keep up with what was going on in our lives. A friend of mine, Ashley, has a blog and I thought it was a great idea.
What is your blogging philosophy?
My blogging philosophy is to always comment back to people who comment me. I *try* to 'follow' back those who follow me but darn blogger won't let me follow any more people!
You will never find me without......something ORANGE!
Day job:
I am a full time nanny for 4 kids during the week and I clean offices on the weekends. I also teach a workshop for children with Tourette Syndrome. Phew, I'm exhausted when I realize how much I work! My dream job is to be a stay at home mom. I'm hoping this happens SOON!
Favorite Stuff:
Anything orange. Animals. Babies/Children. Lime Tostitos. Dry red wine. Dancing movies. Reality tv. Having things clean and organized. Baking.
...oh yeah, and that husband of mine!
Music: Joshua Radin
Food: Pizza
Tv/ Movies: reality anything
Reading: Sophie Kinsella, Twilight series
If you had to wear a T-shirt with your favorite saying on it what would it be?
"Live, Love, Laugh"
Favorite stores to shop at:
Target, Banana Republic, Gap, Old Navy
If you could trade with a blogger for the day who would it be?
I would trade with Julia from Our Simple Life (http://julia-oursimplelife.blogspot.com/) because she lives on a farm and I love how she gets to spend every day outside with her beautiful children, hiking and horseback riding. *sigh* sounds heavenly!
Other good stuff from Yaya:
Thank you for reading about me!
"We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop."
~Mother Teresa
Please be sure to leave Yaya some comment love and also visit her blog at Yaya Stuff
If you would like to be a featured reader please send a link to your blog to klacustomcreations@comcomcast.net
