I'm Going to See Tom Petty Tonight!!!

Thursday evening, I got a direct message on twitter from @LiveNationPhila telling me I'd been chosen to win a pair of tickets to see Tom Petty in concert! So exciting!! So then on Friday, I got a call from a woman at TomPetty.com congratulating me on my win. She called to let me know I need to pick up the tickets at the Band will call. She also said our seats are in the first 15 rows!! How cool is that?! I'm super-psyched! I'll be sure and report how the show was tomorrow! And Tom...I'll see you tonight! :)

Friendly Friday

Yep, It's Friday already! This week went by so fast, don't you think?! 

Friendly Friday is a great way to find new readers and followers for your blog! It's hosted by three lovely ladies: Christi at The Frugal Novice, Xenia at Thanks, Mail Carrier & Charla at Healthy Home Blog! Be sure to follow their blogs and say hello! And if you want to join in, add your blog to the linky on one of the above named blogs and start following. Also be sure to follow the 3 featured blogs this week!

 Thanks for stopping by! Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!!

Sharing

Rather than typing up a whole bunch of individual blog posts, I'm going to share a bunch of random thoughts in one post. Bear with me.

In my last post, I was talking about taking a cooking class. What I really want to do is learn how to bake. Really bake. I've perfected the recipe for chocolate chip cookies from the back of the chocolate chips bag, but I want to learn more. Last night I was browsing Amazon and decided to buy The Good Cookie by Tish Boyle. I've heard great thins about this book, so I'm excited to start trying some recipes. And I'll be sharing my experiences here as I make my way through it.

Last night on Big Brother, Matt was whining about "The Bra-gade" never getting a break. Seriously, Matt? All you had to do was put Brendon and Rachel on the block. Then this wouldn't be happening. You took away your own break. Quit whining.

This morning, just before 6 am, my cat, Willow, decided to climb into the filing cabinet in my bedroom. Now I admit, I left the drawer open, so it's really my own fault that I was woken up this morning. But she climbed in, made her way to the back of the drawer, and then jumped down into the drawer underneath it. Now she had no way to get out, because she didn't think about jumping back up into the open drawer. So she scratched and cried til I woke up and realized what was happening. I was a bit foggy at first and didn't know exactly where it was coming from. Why is it that cats get this adventurous streak at dawn? I read somewhere that it's pretty common for cats to go hunting or exploring as the sun's coming up. But sometimes, like when she wakes me up at 6am, it's annoying.

I just received a package from Fedex of new Yoplait Delights to try. These yogurt parfaits look delicious and they're only 100 calories! Yoplait is going to be doing some tasting events around Philadelphia next week and I was asked to try them and post about the tasting events coming up! I'll be giving you more information soon. I received 2 flavors to try. Lemon Torte and Chocolate Raspberry. Yum!! I'm not sure which one to try first!

Thanks for letting me share some random thoughts with you! I hope you all have a great day!

Career Options from TV?

Every time I turn on the TV lately, I find myself saying, "I could do that." I turn on HGTV and think, I would love to be a decorator. I turn on the Food Network and I want to go to culinary school. (Ok, that one stuck. I still really want to go to culinary school.) Do you ever get these pangs of career-envy? I would love to go out on a limb and try some of these things but the cost of the leap may just be too much. So I'm thinking about taking some smaller steps. Maybe a local cooking class to see if I can cut it? Part of me worries that I won't be good at it. I think that's what's holding me back. But then I think, you won't know unless you try it. I have done some cooking at home, but all from recipes. And every time I try a new one, it's a bit stressful. Maybe a cooking class would give me some confidence?

Have any of you taken a cooking class? Any tips or observations I should be aware of before I sign up for one? I would love your input! Thanks!

Follow Me Back Tuesday!

It's Follow Me Back Tuesday!! Welcome! Follow Me Back Tuesday is hosted by the lovely ladies at Little Yaya's, Survey Junkie, Review Retreat and Boobies, Babies and a Blog! FMBT is a great way to discover some great blogs and to gain some new followers!  If you want to add your blog to the mix and get in on all the fun, start at one of these blogs, check out the Linky and get to following!

This week's guest host is Dave from Musings of Life. Be sure to stop by and say hello to Dave! :)

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog! It's great to have you! Feel free to look around and join in the conversations. We're always talking about something new around here. Yesterday, we got on the subject of the reality show, Big Brother.  I ranted a bit about the houseguests, lol. Feel free to add your input if you'd like! And if you decide to follow my blog, please make sure you leave me a comment so I can follow you back! Hope you all have a great week!

Lovelies For Less Than $20 Shipped

Canvas Robot Tote from Hilary C's

($16 shipped to US)

Big Brother

So I've been watching Big Brother. It's my summertime guilty pleasure every year. If I thought I had the right cut-throat attitude to do well at the game, I'd probably audition. But I don't. I also don't think I could make a video outrageous enough to get me on the show. And I wouldn't wear a bikini all day. Ok so there are lots of reasons why I wouldn't audition for Big Brother.

Are any of you watching this season? Is any else as annoyed as I am with some of the houseguests? I'm hoping the annoying ones will get picked off one by one until there's only likeable ones left.

Take Matt, for example. He seems to be a decent guy in the house. So then why do we get cocky, obnoxious Matt in the diary room. I'm tired of that Matt.

I also think it's ridiculous the way Brendon and Rachel are behaving. Brendon is a swim coach, for goodness sake! I think he's a high school swim coach. Way to be an example. Show some self-control! They seem to be attached at the lips 24/7. It's gotten real old, real quick.

Also, what is with the bikini-wearing every day?! Seriously, I know it's California and the weather is beautiful. But I've had my fill of boobs for the season already. Enough is enough.

Thanks for letting me rant. Feel free to chime in. I'd love to hear what you all think of BB this season!

Pear Tree Greetings Winner!

There were 70 entries in the Pear Tree Greetings giveaway and random.org chose...

#25 - Debbie from Suburb Sanity who said,

Congrats Debbie! I hope your kids enjoy getting some pretty mail from you when they go back to college! I'll be contacting you shortly by email. Please email me back within 48 hours to verify and then I'll send you your giftcode so you can order your cards!

Thank you to everyone who entered! Hope you all have a great weekend!! And another big thanks to Pear Tree Greetings for sponsoring the giveaway!

I'm Featured on Friendly Friday!

I was so thrilled to find out I was chosen as a featured blog for Friendly Friday this week! How exciting!! Thanks so much Xenia, Charla & Christi!! 

Friendly Friday is a great way to find new readers and followers for your blog! It's hosted by three lovely ladies: Christi at The Frugal Novice, Xenia at Thanks, Mail Carrier & Charla at Healthy Home Blog! Be sure to follow their blogs and say hello! And if you want to join in, add your blog to the linky on one of the above named blogs and start following. Also be sure to follow the other 2 featured blogs this week, Oh My Baby and Surviving Motherhood!

Thanks so much for stopping by to check out Jodibee Designs! It's great to have you! This is where I like to share my love of jewelry and other simple pleasures! I tend to browse (and sometimes shop) online for all sorts of goodies and I love to share my finds with my readers. I'm also a bit chatty. I love the conversations that get started on my blog. I'll talk about anything and everything. You never know what you're gonna get. I hope you'll stick around for the conversations! (If you do decide to follow me, leave me a comment so I can follow you back!) Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Giveaway Ends Tomorrow!

The Pear Tree Greetings Notecard Giveaway ends tomorrow,
Thursday the 22nd, at noon est! There are only 50 entries,
so your odds are good!

Tasty Treats

When I get a craving for something delicious, I tend to search the web for online bake shops. I know it's kinda like going to the grocery store when you're hungry. You just end up spending more money than you ever expected. But it is fun.

I like to limit myself during these "shopping trips" to spending $20. Sometimes I do even better and find goodies for even less. Here are a few treats I found this morning...

1. Lemon Sugar Cookies from Cookie Cutter Cafe [2 doz.]
$8 (+ $6 shipping)
2. Custom Package of Assorted Biscotti - From Artisan Hands [8]
$7 (+ $5.50 shipping)
3. Soft Pretzels from Starboard Cove Baking Co. [6]
$7.50 (+ $6 shipping)
4. Salted Almond Organic Toffee from Fahrenheit Goods [8oz.]
$12 (+ $4 shipping)

Don't they all look delicious? And they're all less than $20! 

Not too bad for a treat!

*I did not receive any compensation for this post. Just sharing some finds with some friends.*

Still One Spot Left!

There's still one spot left for my Pay (or Play) it Forward Event!

If you like giving and receiving handmade gifts, check out my event post!

Follow Me Back Tuesday!

It's Follow Me Back Tuesday!! Welcome! Follow Me Back Tuesday is hosted by the lovely ladies at Little Yaya's, Survey Junkie, Review Retreat and Boobies, Babies and a Blog! FMBT is a great way to discover some great blogs and to gain some new followers!  If you want to add your blog to the mix and get in on all the fun, start at one of these blogs, check out the Linky and get to following! This week's guest host is Sanity is Overrated. Be sure to stop by and say hello to Kyann! :)

Thanks so much for visiting! This week has been pretty busy already and it's only Tuesday! I can only imagine what else will happen this week to inspire interesting conversations. I hope you'll come back to see it all play out! This week is monthly movie night. My boyfriend live blogs a movie on Spark Notes each month for their Movie Club, so I always have a reaction post the next day. This month we'll be reliving Jaws. Stay tuned. It's been a very long time since I've seen it, so it should be interesting to see how I react. I also have a giveaway going on for a set of gorgeous personalized notecards from Pear Tree Designs. Be sure to enter and take your chance to win these. They really are beautiful! Thanks again for stopping by! If you do decide to follow me, leave me a note so I can follow you back!

Starbucks GC Winner!

 

The winner of the $5 Starbucks Giftcard is....

That Mama Gretchen!

Congrats Gretchen! I'll be emailing you shortly for you address.

Thanks for entering, everybody!

Yellow Rooms

I love yellow! It's bright and sunny but still clean looking. I think it's the perfect color to decorate with. I've heard, though, that yellow is not a very calming color, so it shouldn't be used in large doses in bedrooms. I have trouble sleeping sometimes, so I definitely need a serene color in the bedroom. But I think yellow anywhere else is fair game! Imagine a yellow kitchen. Bright white cabinets. Maybe some lemons in a bowl on the counter. So bright and happy!

Over the weekend, I was watching Sarah's House on HGTV and I had to share the beautiful laundry room they put together during the episode! My boyfriend laughed at me at how excited I got about it, but I thought it was gorgeous. A little fancy for a laundry room, in my opinion, but I'd love to do this decor in a kitchen!

Don't you love that back splash? Tiny glass square tiles in green, yellow and blue. I just think it's all so pretty. I love the cabinets up top too. I love the shape of them, horizontal instead of vertical. Although my boyfriend did have a good point asking why you would store the towels in the laundry room. I'm not sure. But I could definitely find something else to fill the cabinets with! What do you think? How do you feel about yellow in a room?

Hurry! Starbucks Giveaway Ends at Noon est!

My $5 Starbucks Giftcard Giveaway ends in just under 2 hours and 12 noon est. There aren't too many entries so your odds are pretty good! But you can't win if you don't enter! :)

10 Things That Make Me Happy - Music!

I love music! I have favorite songs for every situation or mood. I have a lot of favorite songs. Ask me choose my desert island discs and I can't do it. They'd have to be mix-tapes (or mix cd's) for me. I have too many songs I couldn't live without.

Here are ten of my favorites. I'm only giving you ten today but I'm not limiting myself. I'll continue to give you other lists randomly by situation/mood. So these are 10 songs that make me happy when I'm running. They aren't necessarily in order of how I'd like to ideally listen while I run. I do need slower songs for walk breaks in between sometimes,  but I'm always happier when one of these starts playing during a run. They give me an extra boost of energy and make me smile.


1. Hate On Me - Jill Scott
2. Munich - Editors
3. Fighter - Christina Aguilera
4. Fell in Love With a Girl - The White Stripes
5. How We Operate - Gomez
6. Life is Short - Butterfly Boucher
7. Louie - Ida Maria
8. Big Girls (You are Beautiful) - Mika
9. Barely Listening - Pilot Speed
10. Crazy in Love - Beyonce

I included a playlist at the end of this post in case you're interested
I hope these songs make your run (or other workout) more fun!

Giveaway Scout

Tonight, I learned about a great site to promote and find out about giveaways going on out in the blogsphere! Giveaway Scout is fabulous! You can search for giveaways by keyword and their database has a ton of giveaways listed. This is also a great way to find new giveaway blogs. If you like entering blog giveaways, you should definitely check out this site.

But the feature I love most about Giveaway Scout is the automatic listings! Once you get your blog signed up, Giveaway Scout will automatically list your giveaways for you! Isn't that cool?! I love that I don't have to do anything. They just scan for new giveaway posts and then post them when they find them. Automatically. I think that's very cool.

Lovelies For Less Than $20 Shipped

1-Up Baby Onesie from The Wishing Elephant

I know quite a few new parents who would love this!

($14.50 shipped to U.S.)

(thanks Twee Poppets!!)

Pay (or play) it Forward!

I was on Facebook (I know, surprise surprise) and I saw a post from SandandStarfish.com about a pay it forward event and I clicked real quick! I love to pay it forward and when I saw this one was for handmade goods, I was pretty excited!

I love handmade goods! Jewelry, pottery, artwork, crafts, etc. I'm always so impressed with people's artistic talents! I also love to make stuff so I knew this was right up my alley!

So when I got to Sand&Starfish, there were still spaces left! Yay!!!

So here's the deal! I will make something (it'll be a surprise!) for the first 3 people who comment on this post that they want to participate. I have 365 days to deliver, but I promise it won't take that long!

There will be 2 rules:

1.) You must live in the U.S. (Sorry International Friends, funds are a bit tight right now.)
2.) You must have a blog and be willing to post on your blog with the same offer I'm making here. You have to be willing to make something handmade and offer it to 3 people who agree to pay it forward also. We need to keep the chain going! :)

*If you decide you want to participate, leave a comment here telling me. I'll contact you via email to verify that I see your post as one of the first 3 and to get your mailing address. Then you can post your pay it forward post. Please post yours within 2 days or I'll choose another participant.*

Sounds fun, doesn't it?! I'm excited. I'm already beginning to dream up what I'm gonna make for you all. Make sure you sign up quickly so you can get in on the fun!

Friendly Friday!

Friendly Friday is a great way to find new readers and followers for your blog! It's hosted by three lovely ladies: Christi at The Frugal Novice, Xenia at Thanks, Mail Carrier & Charla at Healthy Home Blog! Be sure to follow their blogs and say hello! And if you want to join in, add your blog to the linky on one of the above named blogs and start following.

Welcome to Jodibee Designs! Thanks so much for stopping by! Look around and make yourself at home. I hope you'll decide to follow me and come back again soon! (Leave me a comment if you do follow me so I can follow you back!)

We have 2 giveaways going on this week. One for a $5 Starbucks giftcard and one for a set of lovely, personalized notecards from Pear Tree Greetings! Be sure to enter while you're here! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Thanks again for visiting!

Pear Tree Greetings - New Collection & Giveaway!

**Giveaway is now closed! I will announce the winner shortly**

I will admit that I like to keep things. I still have essays I wrote in 4th grade, a copy of my literary magazine from middle school & my ticket stub from the first movie my boyfriend and I saw together. (Mr. Deeds.) I'm a bit sentimental about these things. I go back to them when I need comfort or when I just want to smile while looking back on good times. I have a few special letters and cards that I go back to time and again.

I have letters from my boyfriend's mother from before she passed away. It was early on in my relationship with him and those letters feel like she sat down with me and showed me his baby pictures. Everytime I read them I think of her and remember the love she showed me so willingly, so immediately and how included she made me feel. I also have a letter my grandfather wrote to me when I was a kid. It's special because my grandmother always wrote out our cards. Sometimes my grandfather signed them, but this letter was from my grandfather. It's in his handwriting. 2 pages front and back. It's one of my most prized possessions. There's nothing like a hand-written note or letter in your mailbox to make you feel loved.

I know what these personal letters and notes have meant to me, so I like to share that love and send letters to my friends and family. And I love to use stationary to express my personality. Along with the message, it's like sending myself to my loved ones for a visit!

Pear Tree Greetings wants to help us connect with our loved ones through letters, so they are giving one of you a free set of personalized note cards (up to 16 cards) from their new collection!

Check out their new collection! I'm loving the new designs.

They really have something for everyone. Classic, flirty, funky, whimsical or chic. There's a card to strike everyone's fancy.

And these are the personalized cards I just received. Isn't the design fun?! I love the black & white damask pattern and the bright pink band!

Pear Tree Greetings began with the goal of offering fun, unique stationary at affordable prices. In my opinion, they really have surpassed this goal. Their designs are fresh and their products are great quality. I'm thrilled with my notecards. They are printed on heavy duty card stock and the colors are sharp and bright. They're really lovely, don't you think?!

And Pear Tree is giving one of my readers a chance to win a set of personalized notecards from their new collection with free shipping! (Either 12 or 16 cards & envelopes, depending on the style!)

Here's how to enter:

For Your First (& Mandatory) Entry: Leave a comment telling me about a handwritten note you received once and why it meant so much to you. Or tell me one person you'd like to send a hand-written note to and why. *Please be sure to leave your email address so I can contact you if you win.*

After you've posted the mandatory entry, you can do the following to earn extra entries. (Please leave a comment for each one you do!)

Extra Entries: 

Follow my blog on Google Friend Connect - 1 entry
Subscribe to my blog via email - 1 entry
Tell me your favorite design from Pear Tree's new collection - 1 entry
"Like" Pear Tree Greetings on Facebook - 1 entry
Follow @JodibeeDesigns on twitter - 1 entry
Follow @PearTreeGrtngs on twitter - 1 entry

That's it! Giveaway will end Thursday, July 22 at 12 noon est. I will choose 1 winner via Random.org and notify the winner by email. Winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email or I'll have to choose another winner. Giveaway is open to U.S. residents. Good luck!!

**Pear Tree Greetings is also offering readers free shipping to all orders of $29 or more. Use code PEARJUL10.**

Disclosure: As a Pearista, I have partnered with Pear Tree Greetings to bring you deals, giveaways and new products from the company. Pear Tree Greetings, on occasion, will send me free product samples to get my opinion and also offer free products to readers as giveaway prizes. The opinions in these posts are all mine and I receive no other compensation from the company.