Tangled!

Somebody is excited!

Tangled came out on DVD yesterday and Maddie couldn't be more thrilled! She and James both loved it when we saw it in the theater (more than once), we have the Tangled app on the iPhone so they can take their picture with Pascal and watch the trailer, and Maddie even got to meet Rapunzel at Disneyland a few months ago. The whole time we were in line Maddie kept calling "Apunzle, Apunzel, let down your hair!"

Our version of the movie came with a brush and comb, and Maddie has done everyone's hair - including James who has been very sweet to put up with the multiple hair stylings.

I have to admit that I love the movie as much as Maddie does, if you haven't seen it (and Mom, this means you!), I highly recommend that you do!

Maddie's Birthday Invitations

There's still time to enter to win some fabric from me! Just scroll down or click here!

Don't you just love it when the stars align and everything comes up roses?

Ok, everything is a stretch, but this is pretty awesome!

I recently won a gift card to Snapfish on Savings and Stewardship and the timing couldn't be more perfect because I was able to use it to get Maddie's birthday invitations!

Maddie is a having a Cupcakes and Carousels birthday party (see my inspiration board here) at our local carousel, and while Snapfish didn't have anything overtly carousel related, I was able to get these adorable cupcake and bunting invites:

Isn't it cute? I think it communicates the cuteness and cupcakeness rather well. Can't wait for them to get here!

Have you ever used Snapfish or a similar service for invitations or cards? We usually print our own, so excited to be getting these!

What I Did For National Quilting Day and a Giveaway!

March 19th was National Quilting Day (it is the third Saturday of March) and as I haven't done any sewing in months (gee, I wonder why), and I haven't had a chance to set up my sewing stuff here at the new place yet I thought I'd at least start moving my fabric bins into the correct location.

I am planning to use this walk through closet for sewing . . . isn't it cute?!

It is also the hottest part of the condo because the heater is in a secondary closet inside it - yes, a closet within a closet! It is basically the walk through area between our bedroom and the master bath. The bedroom has a regular sized closet, and I just do not have enough clothes to need a large closet. My other problem is I don't have a table to put in here yet to put my sewing machine on . . . however, I have now moved all my bins and other paraphernalia into the closet/sewing room.

(Maddie and James rifled through my bins, wasn't that helpful of them?)

And in the process I managed to break my toe! Yes! Note to self: bare feet + pushing bins of fabric + door jam = extreme pain! This is not the first time I've broken this toe - you would think I would learn!

I have not been able to put on shoes, or go anywhere, or sew (also missing in the move seems to be my rotary cutter) since the 19th.

Also, I feel like I haven't posted anything sewing or crafty related in ages, so to make it up to all you lovely sewing gals, I thought I'd have a little giveaway from my stash (partially inherited) in honor of my new soon to be sewing closet and the fact that it is spring!

Up for grabs I have 1 yard and 2 fat quarters of this lovely spring-like fabric. It is from a 2006 line from RJR fabrics called Bungalow. I think it looks very California Craftsman and really pretty . . . I have two fat quarters of the pink flowers (with some green and yellow designs) on cream, and 1 yard of the green print.

To enter just leave me a comment telling me where in your house you sew . . . or your favorite thing about spring . . . or pretty much anything you'd like!

If you'd like some extra entries you can leave one comment for each of the following:

1. Follow my blog.

2. Comment on another post.

3. Follow me on Twitter.

4. Tweet about this giveaway, make sure to include @narniamum and a link to this post, you can use this wording if you'd like:

Enter to #win the spring fabric #giveaway on @narniamum http://bit.ly/gEk8ad

5. Share another way (blog post, email or Facebook status) just leave me a comment for each that you do!

I will keep this giveaway open until Saturday, April 2nd at 7:00 p.m. MST, and it is open worldwide, so everyone please feel free to enter!

This giveaway is now closed, thank you for entering!

A Fairytale Challenge!

There are a ton of reading challenges out on the web right now, and honestly I really want to do all of them. I also really want to be Wonder Woman, but we must be realistic.

This, however, is a challenge I can do! One of the reasons is because I am already reading a lot of fairytale books because of my work on Sleeping Beauty. I heard about this particular challenge from Rebecca at A Word's Worth. It is the 5th annual Once Upon a Time Challenge hosted by Stainless Steel Droppings. The nice thing is it doesn't run all year (year long challenges translate to "11 months to procrastinate" in Jessica speak), but instead from March 21st - June 20th. So, there is still time to join in if you'd like!

There are several different "quests," the easiest of which is The Journey in which you don't commit to reading a certain number of books, nice and low pressure . . . but also very easy for procrastinators like myself to get away with doing nothing. Therefore, I'm committing to the next level which is Quest the First. I am promising to read 5 fairytale related books by June 20th. Lack of bullet proof bracelets and Lasso of Truth not withstanding, I am pretty sure I can do this!

I have ONE book on my list so far - Thornspell, a Sleeping Beauty variation juvenile fiction which I just picked up at the library. I am contemplating adding a Kiss in Time to the list as I have it reserved at the library, but wondering if I should add some non-Sleeping Beauty to the list to round me out (although if you are interested in a SB variant, I cannot recommend Spindle's End by Robin McKinley strongly enough! I know it is on Rebecca's list as well!)

I'm also reading a non-fiction about the Grimm's, and while that fits with the theme, it just doesn't seem very fun!

Here is my list thus far:

1. Thornspell

2. A Kiss in Time (yes/no/maybe)

3.

4.

5.

Any suggestions? (You should probably know if Robin McKinley's written it, odds are I've read it, so while I encourage you all to read Beauty & Rose Daughter, etc., I think the point of the challenge is to read things I haven't read yet.) Are you a part of any reading challenges this year? Interested in joining us in this one?

CSN Stores Winner

Thank you all for entering my CSN Stores giveaway!

Mr. Random selected:

And lucky comment #15 was from:

Congrats to Skooks! Make sure you follow her great blog too!

Just the Facts Ma'am

There is still time to enter my CSN Stores giveaway. Just scroll down or click here.

It's official, I am a card holder at the Lewis and Clark County Public Library! Woot woot! Which is great because I have finally started working on Sleeping Beauty again and I've been able to take advantage of the library's general peace and quiet (and Ed's day off) to get some writing done and to check out some fun research materials that pertain to my story.

Here is the fact-laden goodness I am currently reading. Yum!

A couple of odd facts:

1. The juvie non-fiction is interfiled with the adult non-fiction at ye ol' Lewis and Clark County Public Library, which means that picture book of Sleeping Beauty is on the same shelf as the "Hard Facts of the Grimms' Fairytales," which spends quite a bit of time highlighting the lovely subjects of rape, incest and cannibalism. However, I suppose you could argue so does the original versions of the Grimms' tales which I wouldn't be surprised to see filed in Juvie. Still, it's weird to me.

2. My many, many years volunteering, and working, in the Los Angeles County Public Library systems have permanently damaged my brain. I apparently have the Dewey Decimal system still random access memory filed away in my noggin. I didn't have to look at the catalog once, I just went directly to the 398s for fairytales and the 535s for the gemology - like a homing pigeon that's been set free in a forest of non-fiction. Bing! There I was in front of the right section without much conscious thought. It was actually disconcerting. I don't have room in my brain for this nonsense. I forget things that have actually happened to me and yet, I've got a whole numeric filing system in there? Couldn't that space be used for more convenient (like spelling words I've long forgotten) or romantic (foreign language anyone?) purposes?

I did, however, manage to get about 2,000 words our of my head and onto a page on Friday, so here is hoping new scenes of Sleeping Beauty can take up residence in my head and wait for their turn on the page.

Settling In - and a Giveaway!

We are starting to settle in here in Montana. I finally got to do a big grocery shopping trip yesterday (with two toddlers in tow, oh the joys!) and was a just a little bit shell shocked at the prices. It's also a little bit traumatic to be paying for fruit from California at more than twice the price I'm used to paying in California. Let me just tell you, I have taken oranges for granted my whole life.

I haven't had much time for decorating yet as are still getting furniture set up and organized - our living room is kind of a small, odd shape so the couches aren't fitting quite how I'd like them. The coolest part of our living room is this awesome fire place with a mantle and built in book shelves on both sides and a large space for a poster or picture highlighted by recessed lighting.

We haven't decided yet what to put up here. An option is to get Ed's reproduction vintage Disneyland poster framed and put up . . . it's of the original submarine ride (the plan is to get posters of all our favorite old school rides.) On the other hand it would be cool to have the mantle area free for holiday decorating, there are always cool mantle linkys around the net. But honestly, am I that on top of life? More likely I'd have St. Patrick's decorations still up in July. I also think it would be cool to have the vintage Disney posters up in Ed's office at church, so I am really torn.

The space is mocking me with it's blankness . . . I am sure we will feel more settled in once we've got stuff up on the walls.

Decorating a new place can be fun and intimidating all at the same time . . . who am I kidding, decorating a place you've been in for years can be just as intimidating! Are you doing any decorating? Maybe you need to breathe some life into an old room or add a new fun gadget to your kitchen? Well I bet you'd love to win $25 to CSN Stores to help out! CSN Stores is letting me give away a $25 gift code to one lucky reader and it's easy peasy to win!

Just leave me a comment on this post telling me what you would buy from CSN Stores (they have over 200 online stores!) if you won - and if you have any suggestions for above the fireplace you can hit me with those as well!

That's it! I told you it would be easy peasy!

If you'd like extra entries here are a few (please leave a comment for each entry).

1. Follow my blog.

2. Follow me on Twitter.

3. Follow CSN Stores on Twitter.

4. Tweet about this giveaway, please include a link to this post and @narniamum and @CSNStores in your tweet - or you can copy and paste this: Win $25 to @CSNStores - over 200 online stores to choose from! #giveaway on @narniamum http://bit.ly/fcH9AE

5. Comment on another one of my blog posts.

This giveaway will remain open until Wednesday, March 23rd at 7pm Mountain Time and is open to residents of the US and Canada. Thanks for entering!

This giveaway is now closed. Thanks!