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Beeautiful Blessings

July 31, 2013

My name is Kaity, the voice behind {Bee}autiful Blessings and I’ve got a confession to make:

I’m terrible at guest posts.

Counter to what people may believe about me and my blogging habits, I’m super uncomfortable talking myself up. It’s not modesty by any means, I’m just a super shy, introvert who prefers to keep her distance from the spotlight…even in cyberspace. I just happen to enjoy writing.

But I digress.

When Logan offered me the opportunity to guest post for her, I jumped at the chance. I love highlighting my favorite bloggers on my site and love to see other bloggers doing the same. So guest-post-writing-suckiness aside, I’m here to introduce myself and the city in which I reside: Pittsburgh!

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In the summer of 2011, I was officially accepted into the Master’s of Food Studies program at Chatham University in Pittsburgh. I spent a year learning about our broken food system, figuring out how to make organic, local and sustainable food more accessible and hypothesizing how to end the obesity epidemic in the Western world, as well as global food insecurity. It was awesome.

And then one day I realized that I couldn’t actually afford to attend graduate school. So I got myself a big girl job working at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and two years later, the husband and I are still living the city life. Although our hearts reside in Southeast Ohio, we’re making the most of our time here.

These are some of my favorite things about the Steel City:

The Food Culture

There are so many fun restaurants to visit, markets to shop and gardens to see!

The Strip District is a must! A few blocks near downtown devoted to farmer’s markets, local food and home to the original Primanti Bros., a Pittsburgh staple. Other places of note are Hofbrauhaus, modeled after the original Hofbrauhaus in Munich, Germany, and the place my husband will not shut up about: Wholey’s, a fish market that Chuck swears have the best cod sandwiches.

Pirates Games

Although my husband is a Reds fan to the core, we live so close to the stadium that attending Pirates games has become one of my favorite things to do in the city. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that they’re currently ranked 2nd in the league!

Date Ideas

There is never a shortage of places to go in Pittsburgh on Date Night. Chuck and I have an ongoing list of places we still need to check out, but our favorites so far have been the Dependable Drive-In, The Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium and The Heinz History Center.

So if you ever find yourself in the Steel City, be sure to look me up! I’d love to be your tour guide. Until then, come say “hi!” to me over at {Bee}autiful Blessings.

Meet Blake from One Eighty

July 3, 2013

Hey y’all! I feel like I blinked and it was July. Wow. I hope you all have a wonderful fourth of July with family and friends! I will be spending mine by the pool. 🙂

I have a special guest post for you today! Meet Blake who blogs at One Eighty! Be sure to stop by her blog and say hello!

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Hey! I’m Blake, and I blog at One Eighty. I am a 23 year old Texan who likes to have fun, go on adventures, and then share my stories with the world. My friends will tell you I’m loud, quirky, and random. And, well, I don’t disagree with them.

I’m a little sarcastic at times, like in this post where I (by the way, I’m currently single… very, very single) imagine what I’ll be doing with my life in 5 years.

Let the imagining begin:

I will be happily in love and married to some man who is happily, whole-heartedly in love with me.

My husband and I will live in a small house with two bedrooms and one bathroom. And we’ll have parties, and he’ll love to BBQ and I’ll love to make the drinks and appetizers and desserts. Our backyard will be small, but spectacular–with a surround sound system. And my husband and I will spend quality time sitting outside at night having deep conversations and listening to Texas country. And sometimes he’ll surprise me by asking me to dance in the grass. And sometimes I’ll surprise him by blasting techno and hip-hop and dancing like an absolute fool. And he’ll laugh at my enthusiasm and join in.

There will be fresh white roses on my dining room table at ~~all~~ times. There will also be candy dishes around the house and our pantry will be full of bite-sized candies.

After spending the first three years of marriage enjoying each other and traveling, my hubby and I will start having babies. While I’m 28, I’ll announce that I’m pregnant with TRIPLETS!

My husband and I will switch our second bedroom from an office to a nursery. I will spend hours ~~and hours~~ each day flipping through magazines for design inspiration.

I will also spend too many hours reading Get Ready for Baby books. I will read chapters out loud to my husband while he tries to sleep. I will also make my husband watch baby shows on TLC, and I will get scared and intimidated, and he’ll laugh and tell me I’m fine.

Getting ready for the babies, my crazy hubby will have to sell his two-seater sports car. Although he’ll be sad to see his convertible go, he knows it’s all worth it. He’ll buy himself a family car. And as a surprise, I’ll buy him a new car accessory: three car seats!

After reading all those design magazines, I’ll decide it’s time to refresh the entire house. My husband won’t understand the need to repaint each room, including the laundry room, but he’ll chip in. I’ll come home from work with a case of his favorite beer and some paintbrushes. Once the painting is done, I’ll ~~force~~ ask him to go antique and garage sale shopping with me at 5:00 AM one random Saturday morning. He’ll be grumpy, but I’ll point to my belly and assert, “This, darling, is for our babies!!”

On regular days, I’ll come home from work and start laundry and maybe start some sort of dinner. My husband and I will eat and talk and talk and talk and then watch some tv. Or he’ll read a book while I’m watching TLC reality shows. Or I’ll read magazines or blog while he’s watching some car show. I’ll tell him my opinion about the things that happen on these reality shows, and he’ll pretend to care. He’ll tell me about the latest car gadget, and I’ll tell him something like, “oh just go buy it already.”

My husband and I will sometimes lie in bed tracing each other’s tattoos with our fingers. We’ll fantasize about tattoo designs. He’ll tell me about his latest idea, and I’ll be ecstatic and anxious to see it inked. Our families will think we’re crazy, but we’ll be excited to show them our newest additions each time.

My husband and I will spend some Sunday mornings strolling through memorial park with our puppy, Maxwell. We will also shoot hoops and have picnics. Some Saturdays we will wake up and decide to go on random road trips, spending the weekend in San Antonio, Gruene, Galveston, or Austin.

On Wednesday nights, my husband will have poker at our house with his guy friends. “Guys night in” he’ll call it. I’ll go out to eat with my girlfriends or family or stay upstairs in bed watching HGTV and TLC or putting together a scrapbook or working on the triplets’ room. I’ll go downstairs to get ice cream and pickles and my hubby will give me a kiss and grab my waist and politely ask if I can fetch them a few beers out of the fridge… “of course, hun!’ I will say as I waddle to the fridge.
Isn’t my future husband going to be a hottie?

Sponsorships and Monday Mingling Co-Hosts

May 9, 2013

Hi ladies! First off, I want to say thank you to all of my readers. When I started this online journal of mine, I never thought it would grow to 100 let alone almost 1,000! I woke up this morning and saw that I have 999 GFC followers. WOW! That’s not including my Bloglovin’ followers and friends who follow via social media. I am so humbled that so many people would read my random thoughts.

I wanted to write this post because I have taken a break from having sponsors. I got really tired of doing giveaways every month and trying to keep up with everyone and give them the time they deserved made me feel overwhelmed. After this break I have reevaluated and decided to make ads available to you again. I have simplified the ads and lowered the prices accordingly.

I will offer 2 ad spots:

Venti – will run for 60 days and offers social media shout outs as well as the option to guest post.

Espresso – will run for 30 days and offers social media shout outs and the option to guest post.

If you are interested in sponsoring my blog, I’d love to have you! I’m giving you 20% off for the next 2 weeks using code MAY. You can purchase the ads on my sponsor page.

Thank you for understanding and giving me my much needed break over the last month.

Also, we have spots available if you are interested in co-hosting Monday Mingling! Please fill out this form and I will email you with a date ASAP.

Jackie’s Spring Decor Inspiration

March 28, 2013

Hey lovies! I have a special treat for you today! Jackie is taking over my blog and will be sharing some spring decor with us! Please stop by and visit her! Welcome, Jackie!

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Hi everyone – I’m Jackie and I am so excited to be guest posting on Logan’s blog! I blog over at Jackie Jade – where I talk about decorating and updating our 1940s home. I also blog about what is inspiring me in home decor and in fashion. We are also slowly starting to plan out our wedding and I post tons of photos of my pugs too!

I don’t think I am alone in my dreams of spring. I live in western Pennsylvania and it seems like winter is lasting forever. I can’t wait to wear t-shirts and sandals. For my home, I can’t wait to bring some spring in as well.

One of the easiest ways to update your home decor is to change up your pillows. It’s a great way to change the whole look of the room and there are some great affordable options out there too.

Here are some of my favorite spring pillows out there right now.

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8

What’s your favorite place to buy fun new pillows? I hope you’ll come check out my blog – Jackie Jade and say hello! Thanks to Logan for hosting me!

Birchbox Giveaway

March 26, 2013

I am taking a short blogging break this week to go on a spontaneous trip with the husband! No worries, I am leaving you with an awesome giveaway! I’ll be back later this week. 🙂

This month, I am sponsoring an awesome Alabama blogger named Ashley from Wannabe Green. She is hosting this great giveaway! Who doesn’t want a free Birchbox? Enter below using the rafflecopter!

Logan Southern Sunflowers & Coffee Beans

Ashlee ABpetite

Nichole Pinkie for Pink

Ashley Wannabe Green

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck

&

Stay Crafty,

Meet Samantha- My Bloggy Twin!

March 21, 2013

Hi ladies! Do you ever meet someone and think, why aren’t we best friends? Samantha from Designer in Teal is definitely that blogger/should be bestie for me! If you are wondering why, just read below and meet Samantha!

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Hi Southern Sunflowers and Coffee Beans readers! Whew, that was a mouthful 🙂 I’m Samantha and I blog over at Designer in Teal! I know guest posts are usually ignored because when you read someone’s blog you want to hear from the writer of that blog. Well, I am going to tell you/show you how Logan and I are alike and then maybe (just maybe) you will stop by my blog too!

1) We are both Newlyweds/ish 🙂

2) We are both Christians!

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3) We ARE NOT morning people! (and we both love our caffeine Samantha=Coke/ Logan=Coffee)

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4) We both LOVE to bake!

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Our Baking Pinterest Boards:

http://pinterest.com/sammy26/my-sweet-tooth/

http://pinterest.com/logancantrell/because-i-love-to-bake/

5) So you think you can dance…enough said!

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6) We love our Schools and the South!

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7) We adore leopard print!

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8) And it’s no surprise that we love blogging (and our readers!)

Thanks for reading! (and be sure to stop by my blog Designer in Teal and say hi!

March Group Giveaway

March 14, 2013

Hey ladies! I’ve got an exciting giveaway for you all today! My March sponsors are absolutely incredible. They all run amazing blogs and I am so proud to have them on my sidebar this month. Please be sure to visit each of them! They are giving away some amazing things including $50 Paypal cash, Ad space, nail polish, and more!

*This giveaway is for U.S. residents only. Please note that ALL entries will be verified so please complete all of the mandatory entries in order to win. *

a Rafflecopter giveaway

eKoffee Giveaway

February 26, 2013

If you have never heard of eKoffee, I highly recommend you check them out. If you’ve been around my blog for a while, you know that I am a coffee addict. I love coffee in any form – hot, cold, frozen, or in a drip. I love it! I was pretty excited that eKoffee decided to sponsor my blog and couldn’t wait to promote them, but then I tried their coffee and something magical happened. I’m not exaggerating! It is some of the best coffee I have ever had – and I’ve tried coffee from many places. eKoffee offers coffee from all over the world and provides them at an affordable price. I give my coffee 5 stars for sure! I can’t get enough and will definitely be ordering from them again in the future. If you’re interested in the roast I received, you can read about it here.

eKoffee is your online marketplace for fresh roasted coffee; drop shipped directly from small and mid-sized roasters all over the country to our customers’ doorstep. We carefully select and partner with only the best roasters and help them bring their local premium product of fresh roasted coffee to the national market. If you love coffee but have never experienced fresh roasted coffee before, we urge you browse eKoffee.com and try some of our amazing coffee offerings that are packed with flavor and freshness. Many of our customers have not gone back to their “other” coffee of choice after experiencing eKoffee for the first time. We hope that you will give us a try, see for yourself, and experience an upgrade to your usual coffee drinking routine.

eKoffee was founded in February 2012 by 3 people who share a distinct passion for Fresh Roasted cups of greatness. We are continually adding new Fresh Roasted Coffee offerings to the eKoffee Marketplace and constantly strive to provide our loyal customers with a reliable and trusted shopping experience as well as a variety of choices when it comes to Fresh Roasted Coffee.

You can follow eKoffee on Twitter or Facebook to stay up to date on their coffee selections and discount offers!

Now on to some exciting news! eKoffee is giving away 2 bags of 12oz. or 16oz. coffee of the winner’s choice! There will be 2 winners and each winner will choose 1 bag each. Enter below in the rafflecopter.

But wait!! They are also offering a 15% discount using promo code “SSCOFFEEBEANS” at checkout now through March 2nd!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Bookworm Review: “Big Cherry Holler” by Adriana Trigiani

February 22, 2013

Big Cherry Holler by Adriana Trigiani
The Random House Publishing Group, 2001

First Line: The rain is coming down on this old stone house so hard, it seems there are a hundred tap dancers on the roof.

From the back cover: Eight years have passed since Ave Maria Mulligan married Jack Mack, moved up into the hills, and dug her roots in even deeper. Bust Ave Maria soon discovers that the mountains cannot shelter her from the painful lessons of the heart. As her life reaches a crossroads, almost everybody in town has advice to offer- including the Bookmobile’s self-appointed sexpert Iva Lou Wade, savvy pharmacy owner Pearl Grimes (“a very mature twenty-four”), crusty chain-smoking cashier Fleeta and of course, the always-wise band director Theodore Tipton, no unofficially “out” and about. But when Ave Maria takes her daughter to Italy for the summer, her passion for a seductive stranger will test her marriage- and push her to choose the man who is truly her destiny.

My Thoughts: I absolutely adored book #1 of the Big Stone Gap series, so I couldn’t wait to read book #2. Big Cherry Holler did not disappoint. It takes a wild twist that you don’t see coming which makes it exciting and devastating at the same time. This book introduces the reader to an older Ave Maria who has been married for over a decade and had 2 children, but after losing her youngest, her marriage starts to take a turn for the worst. This is a wonderful story about never giving up and working through pain and loss.

The story also takes us back to Italy (which I am a total sucker for) and gives you a taste of that Italian tradition. Ave Maria takes her daughter Etta to meet the extended family and she falls in love with her Italian heritage, and a certain Italian boy as well.

I love how these books incorporate a lot of comic relief in the middle of a sad or tough moment so that the books never get too depressing. This series is about real life. You’ll find no fairy tale love stories here. This teaches you to work at it. Love is never simple and it is something you must always work for and fight for.

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While I’ve got you here, meet Andi from Just Another Smith!

Hey there! I’m Andi from Just Another Smith, because (you guessed it) my last name is Smith, and there are just so many of us in the world. I mostly blog about my daily outfits. I have loved shopping and fashion since I was a kid! Now I’m in that awkward twenty-something stage where I still feel like a teenager, but I really shouldn’t dress like one, so I am trying to keep it professional and age-appropriate while still having fun with my clothes. Throughout February, I’m participating in the “Take One, Pass It On” challenge, which has been fun and, well, challenging!

In addition to being a wannabe fashionista, I’m also a bit of a bookworm, so I tend to post book reviews from time to time. And last but not least, I am aspiring to be a craftier person, so I hope to tackle more sewing and DIY type projects in the coming months.

I hope you will stop by and say hello! I’m always excited to meet new blog friends!

Favorite Valentine’s Dates

February 19, 2013

Today, my Extra Shots of Espresso girls are sharing their favorite Valentine’s dates. I hope you enjoy reading these beautiful memories. Please stop by their blogs and say hello!

Becca @ Faith, Love & Babies

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Favorite Valentine’s Date: Last year, KC took me out to a nice dinner and a movie and got me a nice gift too. 😉

Tarole @ One Haole Girl

Favorite Valentine’s Date: A couple years ago for our first Valentine’s together, Mike took me out for a sunset catamaran cruise right out of Waikiki. It was beautiful and so romantic. Afterwards he took me to a Pho style restaurant where you can cook your own soup! 🙂

Breanna @ Sweet Silver Lining

Blog | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram

Favorite Valentine’s Date: I’ve never had a date on Valentine’s! Is that bad? Besides, I’m pretty sure there would be too much pressure!

Kenzie @ Life According to Kenz

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest

Favorite Valentine’s Date: Never been on a date – so my favorite memory would be my siblings and I sending the same card back and forth each year with a new message to our Grandpa. 🙂

Myranda @ Pretty Living PDX

Blog | Twitter | Pinterest

Favorite Valentine’s Date: That would have to be revisiting our first date spot with my husband.

Jessinia @ Sea, Glass & Ribbons

Blog | Bloglovin’ | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

Favorite Valentine’s Date: I’ve been single all my life (by choice-read more about this on my blog). so, my favorite Valentine’s day date would have to be just hanging out with my friends and watching chick flicks.

Ashley @ Your Girl for All Seasonings

Blog | Facebook | Twitter

Favorite Valentine’s Date: Most of our Valentine’s dates are a low key dinner at home, sharing cheap chocolates and snuggling while watching our favorite shows or movies.

Don’t forget to enter our Valentine’s Giveaway!