First Time Mom and Losing It

I love sewing things for my daughter especially during the holidays. As things are getting busier I find less and less time to craft. I decided to set out some time and create something cute but easy. This is what I came up with.

Supplies:

• 1/2 yard red velvet fabric
• 3/4" wide elastic
• White Marabou Feather Boa
• 1 1/2" Wide Black Satin Ribbon
• Scrap of Gold Fabric
• Matching thread
• Small Piece of Velcro

I love pasta salads but can no longer eat them while I am on the Atkins Diet. I decided to create my own low carb version with the help of my favorite pasta alternative, the Zoodle!

Here is how I made my Greek Zoodle Salad:

Ingredients:

• 3 tblsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 tblsp red wine vinegar
• 1 ½ teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 1 cucumber, diced
• ½ red pepper, diced
• ½ cup radish, diced
• ½ cup kalamata olives, chopped
• ¾ cup crumbled feta cheese
• ½ cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 zuchinni made into zoodles

Directions:

1. Whisk the first six ingredients until well blended. 
2. Cook zucchini in boiling water for 30 seconds. Immediately transfer to a bowl and add remaining ingredients. 
   
3. Mix the dressing again and toss into the bowl.  
   
4. Let it sit in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 30 minutes. 

This has got to be the best time of year for both my husband and I. Since we are both first time parents it's super exciting to see our daughter get excited about Christmas time. Every time she sees Santa, reindeer or Christmas trees I can see her little smile from cheek to cheek. She saw Santa for the first time last week at a mall and was so excited to see him that she ran to him and gave him a hug. We got such great shots for our Christmas cards.

In keeping with the Santa theme and her excitment I was thrilled when I got to review a Personalized Letter from Santa package from SantaWillWrite.com.

I got to review the Deluxe Page which includes: 

• Personalized letter just for your child
• Shiny red huge envelope with fancy address label art
• Santa's TRUE signature on every letter
• MAGIC Santa dust in every letter
• High quality original stationery
• Newly written letters each year your children will always remember
• Postage stamp from NORTH POLE

As soon as I saw the bright red envelope I knew the letter from Santa had arrived. When I showed my daughter the envelope she saw the stamp from the Northpole and screamed out Santa! I opened up the envelope and showed her the letters. I told her this one was from Santa and read it to her. 

Then I explained that the next letter was from Rudolph and read that one to her too. I showed her how Rudolph had stamped the letter with his hoof. She thought that was hilarious! :)

Next came the Nice Certificate which I explained to her it was for her being nice throughout the year. I told her the things she does that are nice like bringing her dishes to the kitchen and picking up her toys. I can also see myself mentioning the certificate whenever she does something that is not so nice ;). 

I really loved the quality of the paper and the brightness of the pictures and the colors. They really did carry out the theme with the envelope, stamps and signature on the letters. My daughter loved the stickers that came with it too. We also got a little board game that we will be playing with when her cousins come over. 

I think that it is pretty special and a great way to start the Christmas season. This would also be great for kids that are a little older and starting to question Santa. 

You can check out the different packages available at: http://santawillwrite.com/. Use the code "SantaMF" to get 15% off the entire website.

If you want  a chance to win a Deluxe Package like the one I reviewed, enter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway No purchase is necessary to enter. One US entrant per household, per address. The Winner will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen. The sponsor will be responsible for product shipment to the winner of this giveaway. 

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.