Little Rue wants to know,

How are you doing a little good this holiday season?

I’ve been trying to buy local or through handmade vendors on sites like Etsy or Groopdealz. When I can’t do that, I try to make sure the item I am purchasing does double duty. Thats why I love gifts that give back. And that’s exactly what Nicole Kidman and Little Rue are doing for the Stanford Women’s Cancer Center this week.

Leave a comment about how you are making a difference
between now and Saturday night at midnight
and Rue La La will gift 1 do gooder $25 in store credit (good for 45 days).
Winner selected randomly.

Use your credit towards some of Nicole’s handpicked items,

Appaman Ski Jacket ~ $40
Rosanna Garden Tea Party Set ~ $40

Laura Ashley Pink Velvet Dress & Bloomer $26

Or purchase something yourself {FREE SHIPPING!} feeling good that 100% of the proceeds will benefit the Stanford Women’s Cancer Center. Amazing!

Disclosure: Little Rue contacted me and asked if I would spread the word about the Do A Little Good boutique happening right now and if I would be interested in gifting a reader $25 in store credit. I am passionate about programs like this, so I happily accepted. They also offered me a $25 credit for my time. This credit will be used to put something special under our tree this year. Thanks for helping that happen.

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The Kitchen Aid Mixer Giveaway is over and I am still in awe at how many of you took the time to enter. Thank You. There were 5,701!!! giveaway submissions and lucky number 1,201, Jessica, was randomly chosen as our winner. She received her mixer on Wednesday and I am thrilled that she is someone who will truly appreciate it. I’m betting her 5 kids will be pretty happy too!

As for me, I believe I have gained five pounds just sifting through your entries. Oh My Goodness, do you ladies know how to bake! You will have to give me some pointers because baking is one area in the kitchen, I don’t feel I have mastered just yet.

Maybe with all of the AH-Mazing dessert ideas I have, I will finally be able to conquer my baking fears. Want to see some of these droolworthy desserts I keep talking about? Oh, OK … I’ll stop talking and show you the good stuff.

I could probably do a years worth of posts on your comments alone, who knows — maybe I will? But for today, here’s a few that caught my eye:

Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread

Source: joythebaker.com via Cat on Pinterest

Individual Peanut Butter Pies entered by Nicola

Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

Source: tastebook.com via Lauren on Pinterest

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies

Source: recipegirl.com via Kim on Pinterest

Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes

Source: une-deuxsenses.blogspot.com via Allie on Pinterest

Triple Chocolate Pound Cake

Source: nancycreative.wordpress.com via Lindsay on Pinterest

See what I mean? … wiping drool away … I’ve had visions of these goodies and oh so many more since the giveaway started. I just barely scratched the surface of what you guys sent in. What do you think? Should we keep talking sweets and featuring recipes you guys submitted? Let me know, I’m all ears!

Lots of fun stuff coming up on the blog, you won’t want to miss a thing!

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Ok Ladies, I’ve got a fun little experiment for us today – consider it a “Getting to Know Each Other” exercise. I’ll ask a series of thought provoking questions and provide my own personal answers. Hopefully you’ll be inspired to answer one or all of the questions in return and we’ll all know that much more about each other. OK, here goes …

Are you what you wanted to be when you grew up?

Actually, Yes I am. Growing up I dreamed of being a roller coaster test pilot, a super sleuth, owner of a children’s orphanage and the World’s Greatest Wife. I may not have accomplished all these feats, but I am confident I rock at being the World’s Great Wife. Now, some of you may argue with me on regards to that title but if you were to ask MY husband, I’m sure he would say I’ve earned it and in reality, we only have to be the “World’s Greatest” according to that one very special person. Lucky for me, that one special person is not only my husband, but he’s also my best friend.

Do you have a true passion?

I’ve never felt more passionate about anything than I have about being a Mother. You hear folks talk about finding their “calling” and I honestly believe I found mine the day I became a Mother. Nothing else in my life has consumed me more, filled me with more joy or felt quite so right. So right, in fact, I felt the need to do it three times. So right, that if given the chance I would gladly do it three more times. And a few more times after that if God was willing. Have you ever seen the movie Cheaper by the Dozen? Well, it’s sort of a dream of mine. Really. For now though, I’m relishing all the moments I have with my knee high trio.

How do you center yourself?

Very Quickly. Being home with a 9 month old, soon to be 3 year old, and a 4 year old doesn’t leave much time for solitude, quiet time, or meditation. I steal my moments whenever I can. That’s why I do all of my soul searching, chatting with my angels, and spiritual contemplations in the shower. I try very hard to be as eco-conscious as possible and this 15-20 minute extravagance is probably my worst vice in regards to the environment, but for now I think Mother Nature would commiserate with me. I also try to recite this prayer everyday – it has really helped me stay focused and centered on being the woman/wife/Mom/friend/human I want to be.

Are you a prisoner of your possessions?

Proudly, No – I’ll be the first to tell you I’m a horrible pack rat but as you’ll be learning more about very soon, I have greatly downsized my personal belongings (by about 40% actually) but I still have a long ways to go (I’ve got another 30% to purge). It gets easier as time goes by and my “need” for things is diminishing more and more each day (Hurray!) This is something I’m incredibly proud of.

How old do you feel?

Well there’s a trick question. Much of me thinks and acts like a child, but with more wisdom and awareness. My body is more capable than it was in it’s early 20′s, but the Wii says I’m about 34 (what does it know anyway). According to my birth certificate, I’m 31 but it’s already full of spelling errors {Yep, I mean my name – story for another day} so I’m not too sure if I should believe that Guess I’ll go with how I feel, so I must be about … 24! Yeah, that sounds about right.

I hope you think this Q&A was as much fun as I did, if so let me know – maybe we can make this a regular occurrence. If you’ve got a question you’d like me to answer email me and I’ll add it to the next segment.

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