If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!Our family party this month was a ride on the Sundance ski lift up Provo Canyon in Utah. It was a beautiful drive, and riding up and up and up on the ski lift gave us an amazing view […]
Filed under: Family Fun | 14 Comments »
The Bible Salesman is an interesting story about Henry Dampier, a young Bible salesman who accepts a job as an FBI agent, only he’s really working as a car thief. The story is about Henry and his boss, Preston Clearwater, and their adventures in the car thief business.
Here’s what I didn’t care for: The […]
Filed under: Book Talk | 1 Comment »
A friend directed me to a website where you can download 6 books for free. There are others that you can purchase, but if you have a library card, you probably don’t need to. Most libraries offer access to an online library where you can download audiobooks, so check with your librarian. […]
Filed under: Education, Media, & Literacy | 10 Comments »
We have our finalists! A day late! I’m really sorry about that, but I promise I have good reasons - you can read my sob story at the end of this post if you’re interested.
Congratulations to the 20 finalists - you will need to email me (kelsey[at]vanillajoy[dot]com) a 200 word essay explaining why you […]
Filed under: Blog Giveaways | 21 Comments »
A while ago a reader commented that I should write a post sharing my craft storage organization ideas and hope that you all comment and share yours so we can all learn from each other, so that’s what we’re going to do today.
Because not everyone can have a Minibox for their craft storage/organization, having some […]
Filed under: Organization, Around the House | 9 Comments »
I realize it is no longer morning and I have not yet posted the 20 finalists for the MiniBox giveaway. I have a sick boy who will not take a nap, so I’m finding it nearly impossible to add up all the extra entries people earned and choose the finalists. I promise I will post […]
Filed under: Uncategorized | 19 Comments »
For my very first cooking club meeting the theme was “Things on a Stick” so I made Cupcake Pops (recipe from Bakerella). I wanted to do my own version of a tutorial, so here’s how you make them. They’re super cute and would be a great dessert party choice or neighbor gift.
Ingredients
1 - […]
Filed under: Tutorials, Food | 12 Comments »
I would probably never picked this book up on my own, but my husband works with the author’s husband who recommended it to me. I was glad he did because I really enjoyed it, and like I said, would probably have never found it otherwise.
The story is about Beauty, an extremely shy and self conscious […]
Filed under: Book Talk | 6 Comments »
Martha Stewart is doing a giveaway on her blog - check it out! I found out about it from Org Junkie, so thanks Laura!
Filed under: Randomness | 4 Comments »
The Oh Sweet Sadie Gift show is happening again this weekend. This is one of my favorite shows around. I love walking through a very large and beautiful home looking at all the vendor’s cute and crafty stuff. Fortunately for me, Oh Sweet Sadie is happening this coming weekend, next weekend, and […]
Filed under: Reviews | 9 Comments »
I can’t believe I forgot to tell you that Jeri is offering a 10% discount to Vanilla Joy readers on all her baby announcements! Remember how she gave a set away to her readers and you all choose your favorite design and loved them so much? Well now the one you wanted is on sale! […]
Filed under: Randomness | 5 Comments »
We have tons of tomatoes from our small garden so when I read that my cooking club’s theme was “Garden Fresh,” I decided to make bruschetta. My last few cooking club dishes didn’t turn out quite like I’d hoped, so I decided this time I’d better do a trial run first.
Fortunately, I did it […]
Filed under: Food | 12 Comments »
My church operates on a volunteer basis - no one is paid for their service in any position. I was recently asked to be the secretary for our women’s organization called Relief Society, and since I needed a clipboard, I picked up a cheap one from Walmart and gave it a little Mod […]
Filed under: Crafts | 20 Comments »
Since we had the giveaway yesterday, I thought I would bump Book Talk to today. I didn’t want to miss this week because I am almost finished with the very fun Peter and the Starcatchers series by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson.
I remember reading Dave Barry’s humor column in the Sunday paper while I was […]
Filed under: Book Talk | 20 Comments »
***This giveaway was originally scheduled to end Sunday at midnight, but it has been extended one extra day. You can enter to win The MiniBox through midnight tonight. Good luck!
I have been talking about this giveaway for weeks, and the anxiously awaited day has arrived!!! And, just like all other Vanilla Joy contests, […]
Filed under: Blog Giveaways | 563 Comments »
The winner of the Jerilyn Photo Announcements is Aleah Spencer, who said, “I love Maddie! Adorable! Plus, I could use them! My lil’ sis is pregnant and due in couple of months with her very first! Yeah!” Congratulations, Aleah! Email me at kelsey[at]vanillajoy[dot]com and I’ll put you in contact with Jeri.
AND the winner of the […]
Filed under: Blog Giveaways | No Comments »
Almost 10 years ago I bought my first SLR camera. That was a Canon, and I’m still a loyal Canon customer today. My current camera of choice is the Canon Digital Rebel XSi, and I don’t know how I ever blogged, scrapbooked, or lived, frankly, without it. I use it every […]
Filed under: Reviews | 18 Comments »
I am pretty consistently incensed at the price of kid’s shoes. I go to the store and think - ARE YOU SERIOUS? FOR KID’S SHOES!!! The prices are outrageous. I am a resourceful woman, however, and have come up with two perfectly acceptable solutions to the evil that is overpriced kid’s […]
Filed under: Shopping | 20 Comments »
Another surprise!!! (For the first surprise, scroll down to see the other giveaway.)
My friend Jeri, who designed my blog header and giveaway button, is giving away 25 - 4×6 announcements plus envelopes. Her designs are all full customizable, meaning you can add or remove pictures, change colors, and add personalized wording. You […]
Filed under: Blog Giveaways | 32 Comments »
Surprise!!! A random giveaway!!! I thought some midweek giveaway goodness would put a smile on your face, so here you are.
Last week I tried out some Yoplait Kids Yogurt Cups. The nutrition value of regular adult yogurt is a little irksome to me because adult yogurt only comes in low or non fat. […]
Filed under: Blog Giveaways | 90 Comments »
Blowing bubbles is one of the world’s greatest family activities. We went to the park last weekend to blow some bubbles with Joel and we all had a great time. I took some fabulous pictures to help inspire you to get out the wand and bubble solution and get light headed!
Seriously, kids love […]
Filed under: Kid Stuff | 12 Comments »
I know this book came out over a month ago, but I just barely got around to reading it. And the first half I wanted to kill. I am just really sick and tired of 1. Edward’s “marble skin” and “golden eyes,” and 2. hearing Bella’s insecurities about her relationship with […]
Filed under: Book Talk | 23 Comments »
I’ve been posting 5 days a week for about a year now. Life is getting busier so I’ve decided to take Fridays off. I’ll still be posting Monday through Thursday, and hopefully I’ll be able to use Fridays to experiment and get some new ideas to share with you all. I hope to be able […]
Filed under: Uncategorized | 7 Comments »
Our last two winners. I wish this could go on forever. Well, we’ll be having more giveaways very soon. I’m hoping to start The Original Scrapbox giveaway next week, plus in September we’ll have some stuff from Yoplait and some birth announcements from my graphic designer friend, Jeri Huish. I’ll probably do one big prize […]
Filed under: Blog Giveaways | 10 Comments »
I saw a cute idea for a wall decoration a while ago in a magazine (I think it was Creating Keepsakes) that was easy and inexpensive enough for me to actually do for my house.
I got the frame at IKEA - a 10″ square shadowbox for around $7. You can use the glass or […]
Filed under: Around the House | 11 Comments »
Would you believe that I forgot I had a winner to announce this morning? I got so busy finishing up a couple crib quilts that the whole giveaway thing totally slipped my mind. I think I need a secretary…
Now that my memory has returned, random.org has chosen a winner for us, commenter #316, Carolyn Sharkas, […]
Filed under: Blog Giveaways | 6 Comments »
I’ve said before that my scrapbooking style is simple, and it really is. But I’m working on changing my focus from scrapbooking as many pictures in the shortest amount of time to scrapbooking actual stories and memories. I’ve finally concluded that if it’s mass that I want, can just use those photo sleeves […]
Filed under: Crafts | 22 Comments »
We still have 3 contests running right now: Fiskars, Digital Scrapbooking, and Loads of Scrapbooking tools. The Fiskars contest ends tonight at midnight, and the other two end tomorrow night. You can still earn extra entries. Click here to learn more.
The Original Scrapbox giveaway will be happening soon, so get ready for that. The contest […]
Filed under: Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
We weren’t actually able to go pick raspberries yesterday. Sad. Fortunately, I called the place before we left and found out that the farm was closed because of rain so our raspberry/freezer jam party was postponed.
Something else exciting happened, though, and I learned a great…
Furniture Buying Tip
I’ve been wanting a big comfy arm […]
Filed under: Shopping | 20 Comments »
Giveaways are just a part of Vanilla Joy. That’s just the way it’s going to be. I like giving stuff away to you guys, okay? And I want to know what you think about the way I’ve been doing it. If you could answer the 3 questions below, that would be […]
Filed under: Blog Giveaways | 10 Comments »
