It’s time to announce the winner of the She She Made Anavini smocked outfit winner!

Congratulations to Kellynn!

Kellynn, just leave me a comment on this post to let me know you saw this and I’ll help you redeem your prize!

I am in the process of finalizing all of our Christmas card details. I’m editing my Excel spreadsheet of names and addresses and updating it with new friends.

I have selected our outfits to wear for our Christmas card photos with the photographer, but I had not yet selected Christmas cards. Last year, I ordered a great design from Minted and absolutely loved the quality and the look of the cards.

I love Minted because the paper quality is impeccable, they are consistently on time with their delivery and the customer service is just impeccable. But my favorite thing about Minted is the variety of design choices and just the overall look of these designs.

Minted gives designers from all over the world an opportunity to sell their unique designs on this wonderful site. The graphic designers are all independent, but they all sell their designs on the Minted site and then Minted uses the absolute best paper to print your designs. I have always been so very impressed with all of my orders, so I knew that I had to come back to Minted for my Christmas cards this year.

I was so excited when the kind people at Minted told me that they’d like for me to do a review of the cards.

Today, I’m talking about just the ordering process.

Because I’ve selected our outfits, I kind of have an idea of what I’m looking for in a card. So I went through the Minted site and selected four of my favorite designs that I thought would look great with our color choices.

Shop Minted’s 2011 Holiday Card Collection!

The Sketchbook Foliage Holiday Photo Card

I love the mix of modern and traditional in this design. The colors are absolutely gorgeous and the whole design is so unique.

The Christmas Plaid Holiday Photo Card

I love how absolutely classic this design is and I love the option to have three photos instead of just one. Because who can decide on just one photo?

The Confetti Scatter Holiday Photo Card

This design is so simple, but so modern and fun. I love the colors of the polka dots and thing it’s so cute!

The Berry Noel Holiday Photo Card

This one is my favorite. It’s so classic, it’s pretty, it’s crisp and it is clean. I absolutely love it. This is the one!

I placed my order, but I can still come back after our pictures are taken and upload them to Minted. Because right now there is a sale going on!

This weekend, Minted is offering $20 off and free shipping on all Minted holiday card orders with code SNOW20SHIP. This promo ends on November 14.

Shop Minted’s 2011 Holiday Card Collection!

I love that I can go in and customize so many aspects of each card. We can obviously customize the names, but also the colors and placement of some of the design elements. I just couldn’t be more impressed with the designers and the ordering process. The quality is impeccable and these cards look like custom cards.

So it’s a pretty cool day, huh?

This is the only time for the next 100 years that every digit in the date will be the same. 12.12.12 doesn’t work. 05.05.05 didn’t work. 11.11.11 is pretty cool, right?

And it’s my birthday. My 29th birthday to be exact.

I’ve been excited about this birthday for as long as I can remember. A few days after I was born, the Governor of Louisiana sent a letter to my house (typed on a typewriter) that talked about how great it was to have been born on November 11. And then he mentioned how neat it will be on November 11, 2011. So I’ve always looked forward to it.

My poor husband always felt the pressure because of my excitement, but really, all I wanted was to have a fun day and I wanted to celebrate the blessings in my life.

I’m so thankful for my husband, my two precious children, my loving, amazing parents and my fun little brother who is not at all little anymore. And I’m thankful for the family that TC brought into my life.

On my 25th birthday, I got a little bummed out. Not because I felt old, but because I was just feeling panicky about my life. I was settling down and wasn’t free to just move where I wanted to move or travel when I wanted to travel. I’m not sure why that hit me on my birthday, but it did.

Then the next day I realized how ridiculous I was being.

Now, thinking back on that day and reflecting on the present, I know exactly how fortunate I am and all that I have to be thankful. I have grown up a lot in the past few years and I know that I’ll continue to grow. I know that when I’m 39 I’ll read some of these posts and think about how young I was on November 11, 2011.

I know that today will come and go and another year will begin. In 365 days I’ll celebrate my 30th birthday and, just like today, it will be just a regular old day. But I love to celebrate on a birthday. It’s like everyone’s own little version of Thanksgiving!

Now that I’m a mom, I think about birthdays differently. I think about my parents and think about celebrating them on my birthday and on my brother’s birthday. They’re the ones that sacrificed and dedicated their lives to raising us. Just like when my kids’ birthdays roll around, I’ll be celebrating all that we’ve accomplished in addition to celebrating the day of their birth.

Today will be fantastic because I’m spending it with my best friend in a beautiful town.

Happy 11.11.11 to all the November 11th babies!

Just because I think it’s funny, though not my favorite memory, I wanted to post this picture of TC and me from November 11, 2006. We were in The Swamp in Gainesville, Florida and had just watched the Gamecocks lose to Florida by one point. It was my birthday, so I was convinced we’d win. But we didn’t. This is why we’re not spending my birthday in Columbia watching a football game this weekend!

I don’t really have any cohesive thoughts, so here goes!

1. It’s here! It’s here! My big birthday weekend is here! TC and I are leaving this morning and driving up to Asheville, North Carolina to stay at the Inn on Biltmore Estate. We’re so excited to have a fun, relaxing weekend away. I’ve never been to Asheville as a destination in the fall- I’ve only driven through. I know that it is going to be absolutely breath taking with the mountains and the gorgeous colors of the leaves. We have some fun outdoor activities and dinners planned– and I’m sure my sweet husband has a surprise or two for me. I’m so excited!

2. Of course I will miss my little munchkins while we’re away. They’ll be here with their grandparents and I know they’ll be spoiled rotten while we’re gone. I know that the grandparents will have gotten their fill by the time we return!

3. I’m super excited to be taking my camera with us this weekend. I have gotten a lot better at shooting in manual mode and I got a new Canon lens (for a steal on Amazon) that I want to try out in fun, gorgeous, outdoor settings. In case you’re curious, I got the Canon 50 mm f/1.8 lens. I’m loving it so far. It is a great lens for an amazing price.

4.  This is a little bit disgusting, but I had to clean my Uggs before we left. I was “anti-Ugg” for a long time, but ended up buying some when Hudson was a baby because I was spending so much time at home and they’re great shoes for lounging and hauling a baby around in the winter. Well, last winter, when I was pregnant with Hayes, Hudson got the stomach bug. And he got the bug all over my Uggs. (That wasn’t supposed to rhyme. I’m a poet and didn’t know it.) So I just didn’t wear my Uggs again last winter. I had tried to clean them with water, but it didn’t work. So I bought the Ugg cleaner and cleaned those boots up so I could wear them this weekend in Asheville.

5. Putting together outfits, schedules, bottles, formula and gear for two kids to be left in someone else’s care is really overwhelming! This is why we rarely go anywhere without them.

6. I got a birthday gift yesterday from my Mom, Dad and brother and I’m so excited! Mail doesn’t run on my birthday because it’s Veteran’s Day, so I was really excited to get my present. They gave us a Keurig! I have been wanting one for so long and I even thought this morning how much I want one. And now it’s here! Yay for Keurig!

7. That Keurig came at just the right time because I. Am. Exhausted. Seriously. I have always loved the whole “fall back” and gain an hour thing, but I am pooped! I have gone to bed by 10:30 every night this week and we’re usually going to bed at midnight. Both boys caught on to the time change after three days (just like Moms on Call says they will), but I am just tired. Every day around 3:30 or 4:00 I start to fade. So I think having my little one cup instant coffee maker will be fantastic as a little late-afternoon pick me up!

8. I had to share this picture of little Mr. Hayes sitting up on his own. He’s such a happy guy! And I just love those Stretchies from The Children’s Place. Nina and AP recommended them to me and I really love them! I think Hayes is a fan, too.

9. Have y’all seen the Chevy truck commercial with the little boy who’s driving his toy truck around the living room? His dad pulls into the driveway in the same truck and the little boy runs out to greet him. Totally makes me cry. I love it!

10. When I go out of town, I insist on getting my house spick and span before I leave. All the laundry must be washed, folded and put away and things just need to be in their place. So I spent a good bit of time last night packing up our stuff and tidying up the house. Now when I come home everything will already be ready for us to unpack our suitcases and start more laundry. Yay for vacations and tidy houses!