winner winner chicken dinner.

A quick announcement about our baby guessing pool: prizes are in the mail!

I thought it'd be cute to package them in ice cream containers - especially these flavors, since I'm desperate for coffee most of the time and Phoebe is already quite the chunky monkey. :) Plus, I got to eat the ice cream! Win win.

The "date" part of the pool was a bit tricky. Melissa B. was technically the closest, so she wins the grand prize of birth date + birth time + birth weight of $16.32 at a favorite local ice cream shop. But Alyssa was suuuper close too, and had the date right, so we sent her a consolation prize for the amount of $8.17, Phoebe's birthday.

The name pool didn't have a grand prize winner, because no one really guessed the name correctly the first time around except my mom and my brother, who eliminated themselves from competition for fairness purposes. But Ann came up with the name due to some pretty amazing sleuthing on her part - and we wanted to reward her with a little something (in the amount of Phoebe's birth weight, since her birth time of 1:04 is a little stingy as a prize) for being such a super name detective!

Check your mailboxes this week, ladies - and congrats!

baby pool - the votes are in!

Thanks to all of you who entered our baby guessing pool! It makes the anticipation and wait for our new baby girl more exciting - and it was so much fun for us to read your name ideas (you're awfully good at pinpointing names we love!).

image

Here's the calendar of guesses as to date/time - and below you'll find a list of the names you submitted (in no particular order). Will any of them be the name of Lorelei's little sister? You'll have to wait and see...


NAME GUESS LIST
Eleanor
Alexis
Charlotte
Scout
Trixie Elizabeth Bennet
Camille
Flannery
Adelaide
Penelope
Winifred
Marin
Josephine
Violet
Elizabeth
Hadley
Pearl
Cersei
Sophie
Piper
Willow
Maggie
Madelyn
Phoebe
Amalia
Amelia
Iris
Philomel Terpsichore
Lillian
Torpal*

*This is Jason's "guess" - can you name that show?

guess that baby! [ENTRIES CLOSED]

All the anticipation about Baby George is finally dying down, and there's just about one month until my official due date - which means it's time to play "guess that baby" here at (she always loved) larking on a much less royal scale!

You all already know that Baby #2 is on team pink - which was confirmed (again) by my 35-week ultrasound - so no need for guessing in that department. But two big questions remain: when is she coming, and what will her name be?

that's me at 35 weeks - and the basketball under that dress will be born on...???

From now through July 31st, I'll be taking your predictions in either/both categories to be entered to win a fabulous prize sent to you once I can manage to get to the post office post-birth (not looking anything remotely as pulled-together as this, I'm sure).

Details you might want to know: my "official" due date is August 23rd, though my ultrasounds have indicated that an earlier date of August 18th might be more accurate. Lorelei came 8 days early. We've had a name picked out for quite a while now - one that was somewhat of a compromise for both of us but that we're both really thrilled about (to even things out and help you with your guessing, here's my husband's top five "not in contention" list to match my own top five from that link: Brooke, Mallory, Alice, Claire, Miriam).

Other info: for the "when" pool, the person who guesses closest to the correct date/time (NOT "Price is Right" rules; for example, if the baby is born August 1st at 3:43pm, a person who guessed 5pm on that day could still win) will be declared the winner. For the "name" pool, you need only guess the first name - and only the person(s) who guess it correctly will win (no "closest" prizes here). One entry per category only, please!

If you'd like to post a comment here (or on my Facebook page - scroll down for my post about this!) with your guess(es), feel free. If you want to keep them secret so as not to influence other people's entries, send me an email to larkingshop at gmail. On August 1st, I'll publish a calendar and master list of name guesses so you can see your competition! Good luck!

cleaning house (want to get some mail?)

I have waaaay too much stationery. Boxes and boxes of cards, pretty papers, different sized envelopes, you name it. And in my current nesting state, I've decided the best use of my time is to purge our guest room (aka my "office" and crafting space) of all kinds of "unnecessaries" including a lot of my stash.

image source

Interested in profiting from my craziness? I have 7 manila envelopes stuffed full of all kinds of goodies just waiting to be dropped in the mail...to you! Just leave me a comment with your email address so I can contact you and get your snail mail info so I know where to send it. :)

Happy corresponding!

UPDATE: All 7 packages are claimed! I plan to do this again with crafting supplies fairly soon, so stay tuned for more...

Na-Da Sale giveaway! [CLOSED]

I've had a good reason to be away from the blog lately - prepping for the Na-Da Farm Sale on May 17th and 18th! I've been using every minute of Lorelei's naps to work on my inventory, and I'm so excited to be (almost) ready for the sale! If you stop by my booth at Na-Da, you'll find 8 styles of pendants, 5 styles of earrings, hairpins, cufflinks, book bangles, journals, ornaments, clothespin sets, vintage illustration tealight holders and storage jars, teacup candles, greeting cards, and a small assortment of vintage items. Visit the sold items in my Etsy shop to get an idea of some of what I've made in the past!

Anne Marie of Na-Da Farm has been gracious enough to co-sponsor a giveaway with me, so I'm excited to offer one lucky reader/shopper an item of your choosing from my booth* plus two free tickets to the sale and two of Anne Marie's delicious cupcakes so you and your favorite vintage- and craft-fair loving friend can come enjoy the sale for free!

To enter, leave a comment here or on my Facebook page (please include email contact information if it isn't linked in a blogger or FB profile). I'll announce the lucky winner on Friday. For more info about the Barn Sale, click here.

Hope to see you at the sale - and good luck!

UPDATE: A winner has been chosen over on my FB page - congrats, Melissa!

*free item giveaway excludes book bangles and repurposed journals - thanks for understanding!

giveaway winner!

The winner of my anniversary shop giveaway is...Meghan! I don't know how to contact you so I hope you see this post and get in touch with me instead. Congrats!

one year and one day! {shop giveaway} [CLOSED]

Okay, I'm a day late celebrating this anniversary...but I'm still excited!

My Etsy shop has been officially open for one year as of yesterday. Thanks for all your support and business during the past year - it's been amazing to send my little packages made from books and love off into the world :)

To celebrate, I'm offering one lucky reader a chance to win anything currently listed in my shop OR a custom pendant, earrings, cufflinks, or hairpins (you pick the book and style/size!) OR a set of 4 handmade cards (you pick the book and colors). [Sorry, no book bracelets included - they take a really long time to make and I'm swamped at the moment!]

To enter, visit my shop and leave me a comment here telling me what you'd like to win most! My shop is a bit empty at the moment as I get ready for the big Na-Da Farm Barn Sale, so please browse through my sold items to see more ideas about the jewelry and cards I've made in the past.

Good luck! The giveaway will end next week on Monday (April 15th - what a nice tax day surprise for somebody, right?).

the larking. giveaway winner is...

...according to random.org, Leah!

Thanks for entering, everybody - and for your suggestions! I've already stocked up on several of your recommended titles, and I'm excited to have some new books to create with. Leah, email me your address and I'll get your necklace and card in the mail to you ASAP.

Happy Friday!

To Kill a Mockingbird necklace + stationery giveaway {CLOSED}

I posted earlier this week about everything I've been adding to my shop lately (and there's still more to come, if you can believe it!), but there are a few items I've been holding back on listing, because I decided to give them away to one lucky reader! (Will it be you?)

The winner of the giveaway will receive this 1" silver pendant on a ball chain and this handmade card, both featuring text taken from a repurposed copy of To Kill a Mockingbird  I salvaged from a vintage classroom set that was headed for the dumpster. Both the necklace and the card feature the name Atticus, in honor of one of my favorite literary characters of all time. The blank-inside white card is sewn with black thread and also features a sweet little dotted green apple design (the teacher in me couldn't resist making that visual connection to a classic "school" image!).

To enter, leave a comment below telling me what book you think I should repurpose next in my shop! For extra entries, become a follower/subscriber of my blog, like larking. on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter and tweet about the giveaway (and leave a comment for each extra entry to make sure I know!).

The giveaway closes 11/15/2012 at 10PM CST. I'll announce the winner here on the blog on 11/16. Good luck!

I'm also excited to let you know that, starting now and through the holiday season, Etsy seller extraordinaire ExLibrisPurses (oh yeah, my mom!) is offering 10% off anything in her shop to anyone who makes a purchase from larking. It's a perfect way to put together a holiday gift for a special someone with a love for literature! [The discount coupon code will be emailed to you after you make your larking. purchase] In the next few weeks, she'll be adding some new purses with gorgeous fall/winter linings in tweeds and plaids, and of course more of her super-popular Pride and Prejudice purses, too. I'm in love with this one, myself!

live chat with Lesley Kagen {wordy wednesday post}

PSA: Remember when I reviewed this amazing book? BookTrib is hosting a live chat with author Lesley Kagen next week on the 29th -- and 10 participants will be chosen at random to receive a copy of the sequel, Good Graces! Click the image below to learn more.

You have to sign up for an account to participate, but it's free. Hope you'll join me next Wednesday at 3:30pm ET!

monday morning mixtape {my three songs challenge}

Name the connection between these three songs in the comments below! I'll update this post tomorrow with the answer, as usual.







UPDATE: Congrats, Melissa (and Jacob) -- you got it! All of these performers are Jewish.

giveaway winner!

And the winner of Megan's e-book giveaway is...

D from Naptime in Suburbia! Don't forget that you can get your very own copy of More Milk, Naturally at a 20% discount by using code LARKING at checkout.

my three songs challenge #6 {mixtape monday}

It's back! Identify the connection between these three songs for massive bragging rights and a chance to get a super cool package in the mail from yours truly. :) (And speaking of giveaways -- don't forget about Megan's generous offer of a free copy of her new e-book!)









UPDATE: Good job, smarties! These three songs are all featured as part of the opening title/credit sequence for teen or high-school dramas from the late 1990s and early 2000s.

more milk, naturally: healthy mamas, happy babies {giveaway}

As you know, I'm a big fan of Megan from The Boho Mama, and I was delighted when she sent me a pre-release copy of her new e-book, More Milk, Naturally to review!

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Megan's 37-page booklet is a from-one-mom-to-another guide to boosting your milk supply and getting yourself started on the path towards eating healthy, nutritious foods that will sustain both you and your baby through your breastfeeding relationship. Even though I'm wrapping up my own journey as a nursing mama, I found the book to be really helpful and informative. When it comes to mothering resources, I always look for guides that are heavy on the scientific footnotes and provide a lot of straight-from-the-trenches ideas, and Megan's e-book provides both. Almost 10% of the book is spent on providing you with at-your-fingertips links and references to find out more about everything from breastfeeding twins to dehydrating your own nuts and seeds. And there are ten pages of easy-to-follow recipe ideas to get you started!

I'm excited that Megan has agreed to offer one copy of her More Milk, Naturally e-book to one lucky (she always loved) larking reader! Wouldn't this be a great gift for a new mom? (If you're like me, you know about a bazillion people having a baby in the next few months!) To enter Megan's giveaway, all you have to do is leave a comment below answering one of the following questions: what's your favorite "mother food" or what's your go-to milk-making recipe?  For bonus entries, share this giveaway on FB or Twitter (and please leave a comment to say you did so!).

This giveaway ends next Monday night (7/9) at 10pm CDT. The winner will be announced the following morning right here on the blog. But if you can't wait that long to find out if you've won, Megan is generously offering 20% off the price of her e-book for any (she always loved) larking readers! Use discount code LARKING when you place your order.

round 'em up, cowboy.

Some links to love for your Friday:

Hot off the presses -- Brent's intimate look at being a stay-at-home-dad. So nice to get the perspective of Melissa's other half! (Also, I loved this post of hers recently, since it relates so much to what I've been thinking about.)

Oh, fashion bloggers -- this guy has you pegged.

A feminist takes on the brigade of Disney princesses.

A post on Postpartum Progress has The Feminist Breeder in a tizzy -- what do you think?

Two great giveaways: one for baby and one for you!

A humorous look at how hard it is to be a parent -- even for a few hours.

Until next week...

(Chrissy Deming Photography)

books as comfort food.

(image -- and a really cute shop too!)

Do you have certain books that you return to over and over again? My husband never reads books more than once unless it's for work, but I am definitely a repeat offender when it comes to my favorite titles. I actually wrote one of my college application essays about the multiple times I read George Orwell's Animal Farm (not a favorite, by the way) and how I had come to realize that, though the book seemed different every time, it was really because it kept revealing to me how I had changed. Deep stuff for a 17 year old -- wish I still had a copy!

Here are some of the books I'm guilty of rereading:

Pride and Prejudice. Enough said.

Agatha Christie novels and Sherlock Holmes short stories. I can tear through them really fast, and I always know I'm going to enjoy them, so it satisfies my book craving when I'm in between reads.

Something Foolish, Something Gay and Freaky Friday. When I was in junior high and high school, I read each of these countless times (waaay before the Lindsay Lohan movie, thankyouverymuch). Why? I guess I envied the lives of the girls in them for some reason -- smart, sarcastic, independent, cute.

Ian McEwan's Saturday. I love how this novel reveals the power of stories (and the desperate need for them) in our lives, and I also feel a pretty strong affinity for the family McEwan portrays -- it reminds me a lot of my own, in certain ways.

M. Scott Peck's The Road Less Traveled, when I'm feeling like I need to do some soul-searching.

What books do you turn to time and again? I'd love to know your put-it-on-repeat picks!

And speaking of books I've read many times, I'm excited to announce the winners of Lorelei's Baby Book Club giveaway from last week. Thanks to random.org, the proud new owners of copies of I Love You, Mouse are Margaux and Finley! Send me your contact info so I can get your books in the mail -- and don't forget to post about the book sometime on your blogs, too. :)

monday morning mixtape: my three songs challenge #5

The My Three Songs Challenge is back! Comment below with your guess as to the connection between these three songs and be entered to win a giveaway later this summer (plus the reward of major bragging rights now!).

Friday faves round up.

A few things I'm into this week:

Lorelei's adorably chubby legs. I will be so, so sad when she's walking and these slim down!

These cupcakes over at bonbon mini -- can't wait to try them.
I have this problem and am so excited to have a solution, finally!
Scroll down to the bottom of this post to see the sweetest daddy-daughter picture ever.
PJ's new blog design -- and awesome giveaway!
And speaking of giveaways, don't forget to leave a comment on yesterday's post for your chance to win one of our favorite bedtime stories!

Happy weekend :)

this week's adventures in motherhood: I love you, mouse {baby book club giveaway}

Coming down off the high of Lorelei's birthday week...ahhhh.

I'm so glad we didn't do a big party, because as a result we've had some lovely small celebrations with the people who matter to us -- Lorelei got to enjoy several individual visits from grandparents, her uncle and soon-to-be aunt, cousins, and friends, and they got to enjoy having her all to themselves rather than fighting through the crowd at a raucous party. Not that I'm disparaging anyone's choice to throw such a party: I love a good bash and am in the midst of planning one myself (a detailed post coming soon!). But this worked out perfectly for us.

A few birthday-related pics:

On the night of the 24th, after a picnic lunch and a birth minute kiss and a feast of avocado and birthday cake followed by bath time in her very own brand new bathtub (look how excited she is!), Lorelei settled in for story time with Daddy. They read a book we received shortly after Lorelei was born that has become one of our most cherished bedtime stories:

I love you, mouse.
and if I were a mouse,
I'd build you a furry nest.
And we'd curly up together
and nibble some cheese.


I love you, cub,
and if I were a bear,
I'd find you a cozy cave.
And we'd hunt for some honey
and watch out for bees.


I love you, baby.
And since we're people,
I've built a house for you,
and given you a bed with warm quilts,
a cool drink of water,
a kiss on the nose,
and a quiet good night.

And since we cherish it so much, we want you to read it, too!

Lorelei and I have two gently used copies of I Love You, Mouse to give away! (The book is out of print or we'd get you some brand spankin' new ones.) To enter, just post a comment below. If you blog, tweet, or mention this giveaway on Facebook, come back and leave another comment too for more entries! Oh, and remember: for Lorelei's Book Club giveaways, the only requirement is that you promise to post about the book on your blog at some point and link back here. Pictures of your little one reading would be especially appreciated -- and don't be afraid to get creative if the "little one" lives far away from you or hasn't been born yet!

The giveaway will run through next Tuesday night (June 5th) at 10pm (CDT). Good luck!

first birthday week monday morning mixtape {my three songs challenge #4}

On Thursday, my little baby will be a year old. Sniff!

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To kick off her birthday week celebration, today's My Three Songs challenge is in her honor. If you figure out the connection, post your guess in the comments to be entered into the giveaway later this summer (including a "best of" Monday Mixtape playlist of your very own!).








UPDATE: Good work, everybody! I decided I was tired of using "L" and figured there was no better time than this week to share my daughter's name with you. Thanks for your kind words, too!