B2B (Back to Blogging)

Well, it's been a while...a looooong while since I last blogged. Lately, I was getting the itch to start back up again. I actually made a "Summer Bucket List" and getting back to Madras Matters was the first thing on the list. Here are a few more items on my list...
~buy a hammock~plant a vegetable garden~paint a picture~run a 10K~make weekly trips to the farmer's market~reconnect with an old friend~start a cocktail club~write some poetry~bake a cake from scratch~read Jane Austen~bring flowers to a neighbor~visit an art gallery~take cooking lessons~learn how to meditate~
I'll keep you posted on my progress. In the meantime, I look forward to reconnecting with some old blogging buddies and meeting some new friends along the way.

What A Deal

I love Swoozie's!!! If you've never visited, either in person or online, you're missing out. It's fun and fresh name says it all...it's a shop full of fun and fresh items, from stationery to monogrammed everything to Tervis tumblers to those great new Lilly Pulitzer paper and gift items. I've done most of my holiday shopping there this year. Now, they're offering one item at 50% off. through October 31st Simply enter code ENJOY50. That means you could get one of those adorable Lilly P coffee mugs for less than $10. I'm off to choose my stuff right now.

Great Deal at Tucker Blair

I absolutely love the needlepoint belts, headbands and key fobs at Tucker Blair. The best news is that they're celebrating Columbus Day by offering 30% off everything on their site today with the coupon code COLUMBUS. How cute are these needlepoint headbands??? They are actually on sale for $25 plus the additional 30% off makes them a steal. Check them out plus the other fun stuff and have fun shopping.

More Fun Giveaways

With Bonus Baby being sick today, I've had nothing but time on my hands. I've spent a lot of that time right here on the computer and stumbled upon a bunch of fun giveaways from fellow bloggers who are giving away some really cool stuff.

The Pleasures of Homemaking is a great blog full of wonderful ideas. Right now Manuela is giving away two books that sounds great ~ a copy of Tracey McBride's fabulous book Frugal Luxuries by the Seasons (Celebrate Holidays with Elegance and Simplicity on Any Income) and Jonni McCoy's Miserly Moms (Living Well on Less in a Tough Economy -revised edition).

Lauren Nicole Gifts has some great monogrammed preppy things. Right now, Lauren is giving away an awesome Vera Bradley purse. Visit Lauren Nicole Gifts blog here to enter the giveaway.

Another fun giveaway can be found at Mille Fleur. Cathy is giving away a great collection of items from Williams Sonoma. Click here to enter.

One of my best finds today was this blog that highlights all sorts of giveaways from artists and crafters on Etsy. You can enter tons of giveaways here. It's so much fun. Here's just one of the great giveaways I found on the Etsy Giveaway blog.
http://stuffundertwenty.blogspot.com/2009/10/giveaway-beautiful-functional-beautiful.html#comment-form

I Love Surprises

Today's been a day sprinkled with several little unexpected suprises...some good, others not so much...

• First snowfall in the Twin Cities.
• Bonus Baby woke up with a hacking cough, runny nose and fever.
• I found several winter accessories I thought were lost forever.
• Have to cancel date with Mr. Madras since BB is sick.
• Discovered the great "surprise giveaway" at Nautical by Nature's blog. Click here to enter.

Twins Win!!!

It's been a thrilling week of sports around the Twin Cities. The Twins played their way into a playoff game and beat the Detroit Tigers for the American League Central Division Title. Brett Favre led the Vikings to a huge (a slight understatement) victory over the Green Bay Packers. Half the town is hoarse from all of the screaming and cheering we've been doing nonstop.

Even though I'm not much of a baseball fan, I must admit that I've caught Twins fever right now...not just because they're a great baseball team with really nice, classy players...they've also got some really nice players to "watch." ;) With the Twins playing the Yankees now, here's the one matchup where the Twins win hands down.

Best Looking Baseball Stud

vs.
Minnesota's Joe Mauer easily beats New York's Alex Rodriguez as baseball's "hottest" player

GO TWINS GO!!!!!!

Dandy of a Deal

If you've never seen any of the adorable products from Barn Dandy's then you've really been missing out. Their vintage-inspired items like backpacks, luggage, lunch boxes, thermoses, tents, tv trays and so much more come in the greatest designs and fabrics. I often visit the website and just oggle all the great stuff. So imagine my thrill when I got an email today announcing their biggest three-day sale ever -- 50% off EVERYTHING in the store. People that's huge!!! Just enter BIGSALE at checkout in the promotion code box and your total cost will be CUT IN HALF! This is a great time to stock up on some holiday gifts. Their fun tv trays are only $24; the adorable backpacks only $17 and half off all their luggage makes a sleepover so fun. Check out Barn Dandy's today through Oct. 4 to get HALF OFF.