Shutterfly Holiday Card Review and Giveaway

Hi friends,

The holidays are right around the corner and that means holiday cards are on our minds.  I love Shutterfly designs and I often send out their cards to friends and family, and I always get such nice compliments on them.

Here are my top picks this year for Shutterfly's holiday cards... 

What I love most about this card is the way the black and white images pop against the bright colors of the text.
 

The layout on this design is simple but colorful and cheerful!





Who needs a holiday message on the front if you have a really great shot? :)



Burlap is so trendy right now, I couldn't resist this design, and the cozy sense of the scrapbooked images.



This would be my choice if I had a fun story to write, or if I could find a way to summarize the year.  Love the idea of being able to share a bit more than photos and 'Happy Holidays' with your friends and family. 


Be sure to check out the new card design styles for 2013 - 5x7 folded; tri fold; and back of card designs:

o   Classic: Traditional colors, iconic illustrations, aspirational sentiments, snowflakes, monogram

o   Contemporary: trend forward colors, texture and layering, water color techniques, shine, glitter, Instagram pictures are perfect for this style

o   Whimsy: humor and nostalgia meet, fun sentiments

o   Merry and Bright: all about color and having fun

o   Religious: metallic type treatments, incorporated story ideas

o   Photo Basics: multiple colors, vertical type, family name highlights

Also, don't forget to take a peek at their awesome selection of photo gifts that are sure to delight grandparents and other relatives.


And now...a giveaway!  Shutterfly is generously giving a code for $50 off total order, plus free shipping, to one lucky reader!  Please follow the steps below...

1.  Required: Please visit the Shutterfly holiday cards site to check out their designs, and comment below this post with your favorite card.  Be sure to include your name so I can be in touch with the winner.

2.  As an optional form of entry while browsing the Shutterfly site, you can pin your favorite card  with the #PhotosYouLove hashtag.  Please link to your pin in a separate comment below. 



Disclaimer:  Shutterfly has compensated me with products in exchange for this review. 

We're Having a Baby!

Daniel and I found out the day after Thanksgiving. It was really hard to keep the secret for the past 3 months but we are beside ourselves with joy! The baby is due August 11th. Daniel is already busy researching cribs, strollers, and cloth diapers. I am thinking of paint colors and baby names. We have been to a few doctors visits and everything is going well so we decided to share the news with all our family and friends now. If you want the short and sweet of it, stop reading here. For the honest and unabridged version, read on...

The first trimester of pregnancy wasn't as bad as I heard it might be. I started getting morning sickness during our trip back West for Christmas. I put the barf bag to good use on JetBlew. :) I have increased my number of trips to the ladies room. My body is changing in some...interesting ways. But most of all I had extreme hunger during the first few months. Like "my blood sugar is spiking, get me food NOW" hunger. Except that it happened almost every hour. I ate often and a LOT of food. It was remarkable.

I remember the day I noticed the change. I went out with some friends for a fun dinner except that I couldn't function socially until my meal arrived. I proceeded to scarf down my entire pizza while the others politely shared theirs and chatted between bites. When I was done I eyeballed the table in search of anything else I could polish off. Looking back, I must have seemed really odd since I wasn't showing at all. For the next month I was eating 2 of everything...2 bagels and 2 pieces of fruit for breakfast...2 servings of leftovers for lunch (and on certain days I even bought the school lunch in addition to my food)...twice as much as Daniel for dinner (and 2 ice cream sandwiches for dessert), plus a bowl of cereal before bed because I can't deal with the prenatal vitamins on an empty stomach. Of course I snacked in between. If you don't believe me, ask my husband. The poor man couldn't keep up with me. When we packed all my food for the day we were in stitches with laughter because it barely fit in my school bag.

Because of the eating I gained 16lbs! While Daniel has always been very supportive and did not complain once about feeding me non-stop, one day a few weeks ago he gently reminded me that it's probably not necessary to eat SO much food, so I pouted for a little while but decided to be a little more disciplined now and I cut back to about 1.5 servings each meal.

I have also been so tired that I've fallen asleep at my computer at work and also twice at church. It wasn't even a nod-off sitting up. I removed my shoes and laid across the pew during our congregational meeting. After discussing these issues with other moms and moms-to-be, I've learned that pregnant women can be uninhibited and unashamed when it comes to meeting their basic needs. If they are denied these basic needs a hormonal wrath will descend upon anyone who comes between them and food, sleep, or a bathroom.

Speaking of bathrooms, Inauguration was an adventure! On January 20th Daniel and I ventured down to D.C. with a couple friends. The day was as inspiring as you would think and we were truly touched by the oath and the speeches on that historical day. We are blessed to have witnessed the energy and hope firsthand among millions of our fellow bundled-up Americans. An unpleasant memory of that day, however, began while waiting hours for the bus to go home that afternoon. I just simply couldn't hold it anymore and had to use the bathroom right that second. With no bathrooms in sight anywhere, I burst into tears (another fun pregnancy symptom) and then ran frantically across the street and made a beeline to the nearest bush, fully aware that the street was lined with police officers.

I guess during that time Daniel went to a police officer and told him the story. Daniel called me back from the bush and within minutes a squad car pulled up and I was whisked around the corner to a place of sanctuary. OK, OK, it was a disgusting port-a-potty. But I happily plugged my nose and never enjoyed squatting over something so much before in my life. I have a special warm place in my heart for police officers now. <3

That wasn't the only time we pulled the P-card during Inauguration. I knew it wouldn't be preggo-friendly but I couldn't bear to miss it. At one point as we were waiting for the program to begin and everyone was finding their places, I got separated from the group. Actually, it was during a separate quest for the bathroom. I was on a mission and figured I'd call and meet up with them afterward. But I found out quickly that moving through a crowd of millions of people, most of whom are both taller and wider than you is not easy. I wished I was a tad shorter so I could sneak through the sea of legs. When it got to be too much pushing and I could barely breathe I took one deep breath and screamed, "I'm pregnant!!...and I NEED to use the bathroom...please let me through." Magically, the sea of mini flag parted as people passed on the information while I moved, "She's pregnant, let her get by." Women who would've otherwise looked at me sideways as if to say, "Oh, you think we're moving to let you by?" turned instantly to my defense and I knew they had my back. So I placed my hand over my belly protectively and said many grateful thank-yous as I made my way to relief.

Currently in week 14, we are continuing to spread the joyful news slowly but surely. My belly is speaking for itself to those who see me, as it has been for a few weeks now. My appetite has settled down somewhat. I have almost no nausea, and I am feeling pretty good except for fighting off this cold for the past few days. I also continue to attend yoga classes 3 times per week and I recently began running again. It felt great to move my legs like that, although I had to stop frequently to use the bathroom. We are 1/3rd of the way through and it is just flying by!! Before we know it, we'll be holding our baby. Sigh...we're in love with our little Valentine already!!

Giving Thanks

I'm excited to say we'll be cooking our very first Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. The preparations have begun! Two of our guests are vegetarian so we had to consider that in planning, and they brought some dishes so that helped! We wanted to use as much seasonal produce as possible. Everything I've learned from all those years of watching my mom cook all day will be put to the test. Momma and Fairlington fire department, please STANDBY!

Our Vegetarian (except the turkey and gravy) Menu:

Turkey

Gravy

Cranberry Conserve

Celery, Walnut, and Apricot Stuffing

Pumpkin Soup

Butternut Squash with Ginger

Mashed Potatoes

Spanish-style Green Beans

Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Brown Sugar-Pecan Topping

Fresh Whole-Wheat Bread

Sour Cream Apple Pie

YUM!