Giveaway Winner Announced!

Hi, all!  I meant to announce the canvaspop winner yesterday, but we've had a crazy week - getting back from a whirlwind visit to Michigan and taking pip to his first ER visit (you knew it was bound to happen...) SO.  I'm a little late.

First off, thanks for entering the giveaway!  Our winner, chosen at random by rafflecopter is:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Jesslyn W.!  Yea!  So happy for you.  You will receive an email shortly with details.


If you didn't win, use this code (which is good through July) for a 35% discount!
BUGABOO35


I appreciate all of my readers - thanks for sticking around!  There're are a lot of projects and ideas I want to share with you that I haven't gotten to with my copious amounts of break taking lately, so stay tuned!

You may have noticed...

...my ridiculously long absence.  No?  Well, that's ok, too.  Did you think I was never coming back?  I don't blame you.  I admit it.  I dropped the ball.  I checked out.  Big time.  It's not like I've never done it before... but, yes, this lasted months.  And months.  

I've been meaning to post something, but the more time stretched on to the expanses of the universe, the more I felt like it had to be something amazing and eloquent and perfect... and I just didn't have it in me.  Plus, I felt like my blog needed some updating (probably because it DOES) and I didn't have that in me either.  And now that my sabbatical officially reached three months, I feel like I'm completely starting over.  

So, hello.  You may remember me as Kimberly.  The "me" in bugaboo, mini, mr & me.

You may also have realized I have a new header.  Have you popped over from your readers?  Did you take a gander?  If so, you're already aware that bugaboo, mini, mr & me is expanding.  (in more ways than one!)

So does it help that you know I had a pretty good excuse?  That I was horribly busy cooking up a pretty huge project?  Hopefully so...

If you follow me on instagram (@bugabooblog), chances are good that months ago, you saw this:

Which I posted with the caption, "It's true.  My oven and I have something in common." (Which at first, some people did not understand. "You're clean?" "You're hot?")  But I apologize to those of you NOT on instagram who were left hanging in the dark thinking I died three months ago.

Though I feel a bit awkward approaching you after all this time (you still there??), and this post is nothing grand and eye-opening, I hope we can all consider this my big come-back - at least part-time.  I feel I've finally got my feet under me (somewhat) (and boy do I hope this isn't premature).  Truth is, the past few months have KNOCKED ME OUT - pretty much literally and I've experienced things I've never had to in the past (i.e. morning sickness, which as we all know should be called "all the time sickness") and I'm still exhausted much of the time.  I have managed to accomplish a few things in recent weeks, and I'm eager to start sharing with you all again!

Since every post needs pictures, I will leave you with this.  Best cure for morning sickness? Ginger snaps?  No.  Ginger ale?  Hardly.  Saltines?  Ha!  But I WAS able to finally figure it out.

Yep.  That's what this baby's been living on.  And I'm guilt-free, I tell ya.  GUILT-FREE.  Despite the two bags currently in the cupboard.

Thanks for sticking with me.  

*Be sure to check the right sidebar for all the fun parties I link to!

Because I Dread and Avoid Change.

Did you know that change is hard for me?  It is.  Truly.  Very, sometimes excruciatingly, hard.  It is for a lot of people, I know.  My mom insists I've been this way since birth.  I was a baby strung tightly to a schedule.  Alter that schedule in the least - throw me a curve ball like a different set of arms or a disgusting plastic bottle - and the universe would know that all was not right.  I never really grew out of that... just learned what was socially acceptable behavior.
Did you know that I've never liked New Year's Eve?  Never.  (I don't think it had anything to do with the debilitating migraines I encountered not once, but twice as I was growing up just as everyone was gearing up for the big party - though I could be wrong).  I hated it all.  I did not like the hoopla - everyone screaming down numbers and kissing as if it was a magical moment.    Resolutions seemed useless if they were lost by the second week - and in general they all seemed to be.  Besides, I always felt that one should be allowed to resolve to be better anytime at all.  I never could quite put my finger on it.
I believe the two may be connected.  A sort of resistance to the "out with the old, in with the new" thing.  I've decided I may need to alter my frame of thought or my stubbornness and inability to "roll with the punches" (as I often tell my 4 yr old) will be carried down to my littles, and I hate to plague them like that.  In any case, this is an extremely long introduction to simply tell you that this may be why I drag out the end of the year thing until halfway through January.  (a slight exaggeration, but only slight).  What does that mean?  It means I have one last 

Only one, and then I'm done with it, I swear.  Promise.  Pinky swear.  Cross my heart.  All new stuff from here on out.  I just couldn't resist sharing a few of my very favorite posts that didn't make it to the "in crowd."  I didn't want them to feel left out, you see.

MY Top 10 Favorites

10. Chicken and Cream Cheese Stuffed Peppers

9. Catalogue of LOVE - a wedding present

8. Gift (a Tales From the Crib post)

7. Chicken Tot Pie

6. I Spy Pop - a travel game

5. Little Man Argyle Vest

4. Gingered Pears

3. The Easiest Skirt You Will Ever Make.  Promise.

2. Seeing is NOT Believing (a Tales From the Crib post)

1. How To Salvage Off-White Carpet (aka What To Do When Your Two-Yr-Old Gets a Hold of a Carton of Eggs.  Besides Panic.)

Other Favorite Posts I Can't Help Telling You About Again

5 more...Giggles - another Tales From the Crib post.

What Not to Say - when someone's having a bad day.

Baked Zucchini Fries with Sweet Onion Sauce - I'll admit it, they're a bit finicky to make, but so very delicious.  And the sauce is good on EVERYTHING (aside from maybe ice cream).

Travel Hair Organization - has saved my sanity on many an airplane trip.

The Snack Basket - which is still in use with major, better updates I'll have to share.

Scribble Heart Shirt - Valentine's Day is coming up!  Make this!

Hey.  Have I thanked you for sticking around these parts lately?  Well... thanks.

*Be sure to check the right sidebar for all the fun parties I link to!

Of all time. ALL TIME. Or three years. Whatever.

I couldn't resist.  To round out my list of "top tens" I had to pull out my most viewed posts OF ALL TIME.  (That's right, "all time" - meaning the past almost three years.  Since that's how long I've been around here.)  Since a lot of you probably haven't been around as long as that, you may have missed some of these, so here you go!  (Disclaimer: This is a list of the most viewed that haven't been included in the other lists.)

Top 10 Posts of ALL TIME

10. Book Lamp

9. Slimeade (er, I mean Brazilian Lemonade)

8. Upcycled T-Shirt Necklace

7. Lucky Noodle Wreath

6. Mod Podge Stained Glass

5. Crazy Cane Wreath

4. Stay-Put Bookmarks

3. Planes, Trains and Automobiles Birthday Party (aka, my cake failure) (Seriously, people??)

2. Candy Corn Sunburst

1. Farewell Summer Wreath

Aside from the planes, trains and automobiles party, I was pretty excited about all of these posts, and happy to see that they're still fairly popular.  Apparently wreaths are a hit, so perhaps I should go back to being the wreath lady?  We shall see.

And once again, thanks for following!

*Be sure to check the right sidebar for all the fun parties I link to!

List number one.

I always have a lot of fun looking over my popular posts and seeing what people have been drawn to.  Sometimes I'm kind of surprised.  Sometimes I'm a little embarrassed (as in the fact that my huge cake failure is listed over on the sidebar as one of my top 5 popular posts of all time.  Awesome).  In any case, the stats have spoken, and here are my:

 Top 10 Posts of 2012

10. Pedicure in a Jar

9. Valentine's Day Gift Ideas (with free printables)

8. Easy Cowboy How-to

7. Stealing ideas from other people - namely Delia and Kim.  (aka a lego mat, a lego belt, and distressed canvas art)

6. Herringbone Weave Wreath

5. Zulily Dress Knock-Off (and an upcycle!)

4. Shmelded Skirt (aka The Paper Bag Bubble Skirt)

3. Christmas Carnival - Part 1

    
(Here's Part 2, for the curious)

(also included are resources for throwing your own circus party - links to game ideas, cheap decor, inexpensive toys and prizes, paper goods (popcorn boxes, trays, etc.)

2. Sock Donuts

And the number one viewed post?  It was really no contest.  Far and away the most clicked on, viewed, pinned, and talked about:

1. Pixie Tutu

I don't say it enough, folks, but thank you.  Thank you for reading, commenting, pinning, and just, you know... following along.  Thanks.

(Ps.  I changed my header a little.  Did you notice??  There will be others throughout the year, too, so you should pop over from your reader every once in a while to see them!)

*Be sure to check the right sidebar for all the fun parties I link to!