Modern Furniture for a Much Needed Makeover

The nasty carpeting has finally been pulled up in my former dining room and I have what is essentially a blank slate for William's future toy room (when I last wrote about this, the room was to be his bedroom, but we decided to have him share a room with his big brother and create a space for toys, coloring books, crafts, and learning).

I've been thinking that it would be great to decorate with a bit of a Mid-Century Modern vibe to echo the architecture of the house. And I turned to All Modern, a branch of the wonderful CSN, for aome fabulous Modern Furniture to and set to dreaming.

Right now, there is a coach style lamp that hangs down too low into the space. I Love the George Kovacs Bling Bling Pendant. It has all of the clean lines that I'm looking for at the reasonable price of $200.

The walls will be a very pale blue grey and the floor is going to be painted brown. The room will need and area rug and the Soho Blue and Brown Accent Rug by JoJo Designs fits the bill, should hide toddler stains well, and comes in at the great price of $34.99.

These Eames Storage Units by Herman Miller are fantastic! They address the storage needs of a kid's playroom, have classic lines, and can grow with William. Herman Miller also offers a matching desk, and both the desk and storage units can be bought in all blond or dark wood. Starting at $449.

The Arper Catifa 53 Four Leg Stackable Chair is available in White, Light, Black, and Sand with a frame of Brushed or Stainless Steel. Better yet, it is made of Polypropylene, aka amazingly easy to clean stuff for a kid's room. The chair comes in a set of four only, but is priced amazingly well at $244. I think they'd look great in a dining area as well (and my dining chairs are on their last creaky legs.

Right now you can share in the love as CSN is giving me the opportunity to give away $40 to any of it's wonderful stores. To enter, leave a comment telling me what you'd love to have in your home from All Modern.

For a second entry, become a subscriber to my blog and let me know in a separate comment. If you are already a subscriber, just leave a comment letting me know that you are.

If you blog about the giveaway, you'll get another entry (just let me know in another comment). If you Twitter about it, you'll get another (you can use the following entry: $40 CNS Giveaway at Dropped Stitches! http://tinyurl.com/4f2vzld )

You have until Wednesday, February 9th to enter the giveaway. Good luck!

I'm Grateful: 1000 Followers!

Enter my giveaway for a $50 CSN gift certificate! Put a dent in your holiday spending!

Yee hee! I've broken the 1000 follower mark and am giddy! My 1000th follower is Nanny Anna and she writes a lovely blog with great advice, a giveaway linky, and some pictures of her gorgeous grandchildren.

And I have a 1001st follower, too! As of this moment, Rachel Crisman doesn't have a blog, but she's one of my new favorite followers! Hi Rachel!

11/21/10 - BREAKING NEWS! Rachel Crisman Does have a blog and is has the coolest title, The Dalai Mama! Her blog is a giveaway site galore. I'm starting to troll the giveaway sites more and also searching Twitter for #giveaway posts cuz I figure someone has to win these cool contests, and maybe it will be me! So visit The Dalai Mama and enter enter enter!

It's a blessing to know that my blog is reaching so many.

I'm Grateful: Sponsors with Giveaways!

Long time readers know that over the last year I've had a great relationship with CSN. Well kids, they've contacted me again and this time I have a $50 gift certificate to give away!

CSN is a wonderful online store where you can buy a great suitcase, bedding, lighting, and pretty much anything you need for your home. Speaking of suitcases, people will be packing lots of them around this time of year and this would be a great opportunity to pick up a new snazzy model to make you feel like a chic traveler. My suitcase is covered in paisley and what I love most about it is that when everyone else is sorting through endless rows of black luggage all I have to do is wait for my green paisley suitcase to come down the chute - no one else has ever had another one!

You'll always spot your Lesportsac 30" Wheeled Duffle in Fresca! $180


Leopard print luggage - you bet! Heys USA X-Case Exotic Carry-On in Leopard, $99.99


I want this suitcase as my next piece of luggage! Diane Von Furstenberg Signature Six 25" Expandable Rolling Suitcase in Fuschia, $115.99

And now is your chance to win a $50 gift certificate from this great online store. There are a few ways to enter (each entry should be a separate comment):

1) MANDATORY entry: click on the "suitcases" link above and tell me what suitcase or piece of luggage you absolutely adore.

2) Become a follower of Dropped Stitches. If you are already a follower, tell me!

3) Follow me on Twitter. If you already follow me there, let me know!

4) Friend me on Flickr. If you already do, let me know!

5) Blog about the giveaway. Let me know about it in a new comment.

6) Tweet about the giveaway. Let me know about it in a new comment

The winner will be chosen with a random number generator next FRIDAY, the 26th. Good luck!

What Are the Odds? And a Giveaway!

Do you find it difficult to find good children's music that both you and your children will enjoy? You may be happy to know that Meredith LeVande of Monkey Monkey Music (a 2005 Parenting magazine pick) will be releasing a new CD on August 31. What Are The Odds is a blues infused CD with touches of 80's New Wave and a few lovely ballads. These are songs that you and your kids can sing and dance to, while at the same time learning odd and even numbers ("What Are the Odds?"), poetry ("Frogs Eat Butterflies" after Wallace Steven's 1922 poem of the same name), and unity ("Circle").

I really enjoyed this collection of songs, and found Tim secretly finger drumming to a few of the catchy tunes. Meredith's voice reminded me at first of the early girl group singers, like the Shirelles, but then seemed to morph into early 80's new wave pop sounds (Belinda Carlisle and Jane Wheadon come to mind). I tend to love the ballads, like "Willow Tree in the Wind", but also found myself bopping to "In The Garden."

Meredith LeVande is committed to writing children's music that is not only fun and catchy but truly kid appropriate. She says "I find it fascinating and somewhat disturbing that many parents are so conscious of their kids' nutritional diets, but pay very little attention to their children's media intake. I think there's a definite corporate movement to force kids to grow up quicker in order to turn them into consumers." These are great songs that one can find no fault with; I find it refreshing when an artist strives to keep our kids innocent and, well, kids.

Overall, a great collection of songs that both you and your child will enjoy.

What Are The Odds
Ages 2 - 7
Release Date: August 31, 2010
SRP: $14.99
Run Time: 46 minutes

Right now, Waldmania, the PR firm that generously sent me this great cd to review, is offering to give away a CD to a lucky reader! I will be choosing a winner by random number generator next Thursday, the 29th, at noon.

To enter:

1. Leave a comment below.

2. Become a follower and let me know in another comment (if you are already a follower, this counts, too!)

3. For another entry, blog about this giveaway and in a separate comment let me know and supply the link.

4. Tweet about this giveaway and leave the link in a separate comment box. One tweet per day = another entry (just let me know about it in another comment!).

Good luck!

Giveaway and Dining Room Dreaming

Currently, our dining room is our middle son's bedroom. It hurt to give up that room. We actually used it, sat down as a family to eat Sunday meals, did the whole Norman Rockwell thing.

I've been fantasizing about decorating the room when we get it back. Pale yellow walls, my grandparent's secretary, and a few pieces of carefully chosen dining room furniture.

So I got myself over to CSN's Dining Room and found a few items that I could stand to live with!

I've always wanted an Oriental Sideboard. The Ming Dynasty Sideboard is a thing of beauty, understated, yet oriental in feel, and that great Oriental red mahogany color.

We need new chairs. Our table has two leaves and can seat 8, but the chairs are loose, squeaky, and I'm sure they are going to break out from underneath us any day now. I love the glamorous styling of the Woodbridge Home Designs 5312 Series Side Chair, and the color would match my existing antique table well.

And I found something for my kitchen. Remember, my kitchen is vintage, pink, and aluminum. And it is really large. With the table out of the center of the kitchen, I'll be able to place an island, something I've wanted since I moved into this house almost 10 years ago. I am totally in love with the John Boos American Heritage Grazzi Butcher Block Kitchen Island. I could just marry it.

CSN has more than 200 stores selling everything from pet accessories to bath towels, furniture to light fixtures. And right now they are giving away a $40 gift card through my site!

There are several ways to enter the giveaway:
1) Leave me a comment below about the giveaway.
2] Follow me - if you already follow, this counts, too - and let me know about it in a separate comment.
2) Post something about this giveaway on your blog and let me know in another comment.
3) Post about the giveaway on Twitter (I'm erinswallace on Twitter) and let me know in another comment

I'll be determining the winner by random number generator next Thursday, June 30, at noon. Good luck!

And the winner is . . .

I received 107 entries (107!) to the Super Delicious Yarn giveaway. The numbers were plugged into the super scientific Psychic Science Random Number Generator (yes, psychic science! It just keeps getting better and better!) and the number 20 came up, which means Jeanne from Cleveland (aka Sourire11) is the WINNER!

Jeanne had this to say about what makes a good blog:

"Let's see... things that keep me coming to a blog...

good stories
good photographs
not too much text to wade through
mix of topics - not all just crafting/knitting but i like to hear about a person's life a little bit, too.
bad grammar sends me packing as does anything center aligned or otherwise hard to read."

Her comments are a good summation of every else's; however, I will be reading through all of them again and may write an article about the comments I received.

So Jeanne, I need you to contact me via email (a link is on my profile) and let me know where to mail your package to. Congratulations, and I hope you make many lovely things with your yarn!

Necklace Giveaway

Jessica of That's What She Said is generously hosting a giveaway for JacDesigns. Go to her blog for a chance to win a beautiful necklace (up to $18 value). Contest runs through May 8 and there are a zillion different ways to enter, so go check it out!

1975

Another one of Pip's brilliant ideas: Go to Flickr, type in a random year, and post your favorite photo. What I found was amazing.

Steve Gobeil

Go here for the story behind this photo. It's poignant and bittersweet. His Lost friends and lost loves photo stream is amazing.

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Looking for the giveaway? Go here.

Super Delicious Giveaway!

Hey there, boys and girls! It's giveaway time - just cuz! I have two types of my quality recycled yarn (available at my store, Howard Knits) to give away - another 770 yards of the silk/viscose/alpaca/cashmere blend that was featured in the previous giveaway and 990 yards of a 100% cotton in a cool denim blue color.

This worsted weight 72% silk/13% viscose/10% alpaca/5% cashmere blend is super soft and a dream to work with. 770 yards should give you plenty to make some mitts and a hat, an amazing cabled scarf, or whatever you dream of.

This multi-ply chunky weight 100% cotton would make some great mesh bags, a few cool wash cloths, or a heavy tee. Course, you could make whatever you want with it!

There are three ways to enter:

1) Leave me a comment about what attracts you to a blog. What really makes you want to read longer or dig deeper? What really turns you off? In other words, in your opinion, what makes a blog perfect?

2) Sign up to be a follower and tell me in a separate comment. If you are already a follower, let me know that, too, in a separate comment.

3) Blog about the giveaway and link back to your announcement in a separate comment.

I will pick a winner using a random number generator next Monday and announce the lucky winner in the blog! So get going, win some yummy yarn, and knit or crochet something amazing!

Super Yarn Giveaway

Allison if having an amazing giveaway in celebration of her 100th post. It's really really nice yarn. That you will want. Go enter.

Super Yarn Give Away Winner!!!

Well, kids, I never thought I would have such a huge response to the yarn give away. But it's hard to pass up silk and cashmere, isn't it! So, Without Further Ado, the winner of the fantastic yarn is:

Mary LeMaster!!

Mary is a beginning knitter and really didn't specify what she would do with the yarn (just that I am her hero -awwww!). But a lot of people were looking forward to making shawls, scarves, and drapey sweaters. My favorite idea was from Pam who is getting married in May and would make delicate flower broaches for her bridesmaids with the yarn. Candi wanted to make matching clutches for a friend who is moving far away from her - that way they would always have that bond. Many people wanted to make something for the person who taught them to knit, which I think is so cool.



To pick the winner, I used the random number generator found on Andrew Hedges website. I don't have any cool pictures of me drawing names out of pretty straw hats. Although I could put some sort of pretty picture here, I suppose.


xxx_crash_xxx, photobucket

So Mary, I'll contact you to get you the yarn so you can get your knit on!

Hundreth Post Yarn Giveaway!!

For my hundreth post, I'm excited to offer a yarn giveaway. This yarn is from my inventory of recycled yarns that I sell on etsy at Howard Knits. I recycle only top quality sweaters with luxury yarns. The only disadvantage that I have found about recycled yarn is that manufacturers use knots to do joins, so they are occassionally encountered in the yarn. But I would never offer up yarn that I wouldn't knit with myself, and this yarn is AMAZING!



Should you win, the yarn you will receive is a dove grey 70% silk/15% cotton/15% cashmere blend. You will get a total of 810 yards (divided into two skeins). At 15 wpi, it is appropriate for any project that calls for a sport/DK weight yarn.



The yarn is dry clean only.

If you tried to buy similar yarn at yarnmarket.com, you'd spend at least $80 for this much yardage. You'll get this for free! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below about what you would like to make with this yarn. I always love to see what other people are thinking about knitting!



On Thursday, I will use a random number generator to determine the winner. So let the commenting begin! Good luck! And thanks for sharing my hundreth post with me!


LisaWynnMist, photobucket

Faith Stone

My husband, who is well versed in my current faith dilemmas, gave me this stone. The picture shows it placed on my bed stand (it has a new place, though, since Will likes to take it and hide it. It's his thing. My phone is currently missing. And he turned off the sound.) Anyhow, I put it in my pocket every day and when I put my hand in my pocket, which I do a lot, I'm supposed to think about what faith means. I understand that it's "giving it all to God," "letting God be in the driver's seat," and all that, but I am so darn independent and bull-headed. Stubborn is another word that comes to mind. I want to be in control.

Oswald Chambers said, "I have to learn that the aim in life is God's, not mine. God is using me from his greatest personal standpoint, all he asks of me is that I trust Him, and never say - - Lord, this gives me such heart-ache . . . He simply asks me to have implicit faith in Himself and His goodness." Implicit faith. Get over the stubborn need for control. Easy enough, right?

So that's really it. Snuggled in after our huge snowstorm, keeping dry and warm (though the kids are not - they are getting as cold and wet as possible!).

And as a final note, this is my 99th post. For my hundredth, I'm going to give away some SUPER YUMMY yarn. Tell your friends! Let the yarnies know. To tempt you, I will tell you that silk and cashmere are involved. MMMmmmm!