Gifts Under $31

I really love this list of 31 gifts under $31 by Real Simple. Just click dates on the calendar and new gifts will come up.

Giveaway: LAST DAY!

Today's the last day to enter the Strawberry Fields Forever headband giveaway! Make sure to sign up! xoxox!

Holidays At Ikea

I love love love Ikea's holiday gift wrap! I think I'm going to take a trip this week and get some myself! I especially love these cute gift bags and card set!

Two Cent Tuesday: Baby Ear-Piercing

Dear friend and reader Etta wrote to me asking for YOUR input! That's right! She has a 3 month old baby girl and is debating wether or not to get her ears pierced now, or wait until she's older. One of the reasons she wants to get them now is so that she can clean and take care of them herself, as opposed to when her little girl is older and may possibly get infected if not treated and cleaned properly.
To be honest I'm glad I don't have to worry about this right now because I have a boy, but I can't WAIT to hear what you have to say. So I ask you:

What do you think about piercing baby's ears? At what age, baby or older child, do you think is appropriate for getting their ears pierced?



*Do you have something you'd like to ask The Coterie readers for Two Cent Tuesdays? If so, feel free to e-mail me at heather (at) thecoterieblog (dot) com.
Please note, I try to stay away from political/controversial topics but like to ask things that people have strong opinions about. Thanks!

Jonathan Adler Ornaments

I always love holiday decor from Jonathan Adler! Aren't these Christmas ornaments great?

Sneak Peek...

Meet the Banks family! They are so so so fun! Can't wait to show you more soon!

Strawberry Fields Forever Giveaway!

Have you stocked up on the latest fashions for winter yet? It's sneaking up so fast! Kayti of Strawberry Fields Forever crochets the most adorable headbands and ear warmers that are must-haves for the season!



Strawberry Fields Forever is offering a headband or ear warmer of choice to one lucky reader! Exciting, huh?! Here's how to win:

-Check out Strawberry Fields Forever
-Leave a comment here stating your favorite item in the shop
-You may enter a second/third time by tweeting/blogging about it with a link back here. Make sure to leave a separate comment here for your tweet and a separate comment here for your blog post
-If your comment doesn't link back to a way to contact you, please leave your e-mail address, otherwise your comment will be discarded
-This giveaway ends on Thursday, November 12th at midnight and the winner will be announced on Friday, November 13th.

-Good luck!

Introduction To This Brutal World

Friday afternoon. Matt and I were in friend Leland's garage getting our letterpress on for his final project (cool...I know!). I had Cole in his stroller letting him look around and take in all of the excitement. I picked him up and was showing him neat things like the airplane in the sky and other fascinating things. I set him down in his stroller to go check out a project that Leland had done that caught my eye. I walked about 7 feet away, not even gone for 15 seconds when all of the sudden I heard a "THUD...........WAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!" Naturally I FREAKED out and instantly checked out his body to see where he had landed! He had crawled out of his stroller and landed smack dab on his forehead! I watched as his forehead turned white, then red with scrapes. It was one of the worst feelings I have ever experienced. Not knowing what to do I instantly strapped Cole into the car seat, called my mom and cried. It was my fault...the one and only time he wasn't strapped in he FALLS OUT ON HIS HEAD! I toyed with taking him to the emergency room, but thought that might be a little dramatic, so I went to his Dr.'s office. They checked him out and he was fine...of course. No concussions or anything. The nurses tried to make me feel better by telling me about children falling out of two-story buildings and shopping carts and stuff. They say it happens all the time?! Luckily I think Cole has already forgotten about the incident, but every time I look at him I relive it!

Do you have any child-falling-out-of-things stories? I wanna hear....it'll make me feel a little better (or maybe worse)!

Have A Happy Weekend!

photo via flickr

It's Here (TOMORROW)!

Is anyone as pumped as I am about tomorrow's Bijou Market?! When you come, make sure to stop by the shabby little booth with the posters and say Hi to Cole and I! Please don't be shy!

Remember, it's in a new location, directly behind Stan's Diner (in the same parking lot).

Indie Pop Pillow Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations Erin! I'll forward on your e-mail address so Meg of Indie Pop can get a hold of you to discuss further details about your custom pillow!

Thanks you everyone who participated! If today wasn't your lucky day, head on over to Indie Pop and order a pillow!

And a bit thanks to Meg for hosting this awesome giveaway!

Check back next week for another fab. giveaway!

winner chosen by Random.org

TOMORROW: Piper & Chloe!

Don't forget, tomorrow Piper and Chloe kick off their two-day showcase! With the most fabulous venders and superb location you just can't go wrong! Make sure to head up and check it out!

Fall Down Tree

How adorable are these prints? Fall Down Tree has a large variety of fine art for little ones. Check out more on the website. These would look so cute in Cole's nursery!

C Jane's Guide To Provo: Giveaway

Make sure to head on over to C Jane's Guide To Provo and enter the giveaway! One of our lovely posters is being featured for the Bijou Market, along with other pretty loot!

New In The Shop!

We have some new, fabulous shower invites in the shop right now! They're PDF files so you can print them out yourself! Exciting, huh? Tell your friends!

*They look great printed on cream cardstock and if you use a corner rounder, it just finishes the look off beautifully!

NYC Spaghetti

How amazing is this spaghetti packaging that someone made for a student project?! Cool huh? You can read more about it here.

Found via Packaging of the World

Our Halloween

Better late than never, right?
Our Halloween consisted of a fabulous dinner party hosted by the lovely Cousin Linsday and Ms. Kayti and wonderful company to go along with it! Pictures were posted on Emily's blog as well.

Cole was a dragon/monster thing for his first Halloween. I feel like it was a successful costume because a. it was all one piece b. it was warm. Thanks to reader Bree who saw my hopes for a dragon costume on this post and ever-so-kindly suggested I try Crazy 8 (a Gymboree partner). It's a kids clothing store that had a similar costume priced a fraction of the cost of the one I posted about. I went into the store and the costume was one SALE, so I snatched it up asap!

As for Matt and I, I was Coraline and Matt googled "last minute Halloween costumes" an hour before the party and came up with a refrigerator magnet...typical Matt!

Chelsea and a guy friend (not pictured) came over earlier that day to receive their Halloween suckers that I made them, too!

Two Cent Tuesday: The Best Way To Fold A Fitted Sheet

I H-A-T-E folding fitted sheets! I never knew it was even possible until I married Matt and he magically folded one into a perfect little square without even batting an eye. He's tried to teach me for the last 3.5 years and I still don't get it. So I ask you:

How do YOU fold your fitted sheets? or do you just wad them up into a ball like me? Please...teach me your ways!

Teeming Tree Tablecloth

Anthropologie has a plethora of fabulous tablecloths in stock right now! I especially love this Teeming Tree one.

Giveaway: Last Chance!

Today's your last chance to enter the Indie Pop custom pillow giveaway!

Machinarium

BEWARE: This game is HIGHLY addictive! I dare you to play the demo and only do one level...I DARE you! You won't be able to do it.

*click around and figure things out. If I didn't have a child I would buy the full version and spend all of my time on it.

Indie Pop! Custom Silhouette Pillow Giveaway!

I've been looking forward to this giveaway for weeks now! Meg of Indie Pop has set up shop and is taking orders to make your custom silhouette pillows! They're the cutest things you've ever seen, huh?! There are a plethora of colors and options to choose from, too!



Indie Pop is giving away a custom silhouette pillow to one lucky Coterie reader! Here's how you enter:

-Check out Indie Pop
-Leave a comment here, any comment will do
-You may enter a second/third time by tweeting/blogging about it with a link back here. Make sure to leave a separate comment here for your tweet and a separate comment here for your blog post
-If your comment doesn't link back to a way to contact you, please leave your e-mail address, otherwise your comment will be discarded
-This giveaway ends on Thursday, November 5th at midnight and the winner will be announced on Friday.

-Good luck!

Halloween Movie Roundup!

Here's a small list of some of my favorite Halloween movies. Matt and I aren't into TOTALLY scary movies, so we keep it family friendly :) Watcher In The Woods is as scary as it gets!

Would you add any to the list? What are your favorite Halloween movies?

Nightmare before Christmas, Watcher In The Woods, Hocus Pocus

Casper, It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, Harry Potter...Azkaban

Haloween Costume: World's Best Dancer!

This is by far the BEST Halloween costume I think I've EVER seen! This is my little 1st grade nephew Raleigh in his Halloween costume. *MAKE SURE TO READ THE STORY BEHIND IT HERE! It's soooo worth it!
*Disclaimer: My family and I have deep respect for the King of Pop. This was in NO way meant to me condescending or offensive.

Happy Halloween! I love you, Raleigh!

photo by Natalie

photo by Natalie

Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations Soria! E-mail me your mailing address and I'll have the Piper & Chloe girls send out your gift certificate!

Thanks to all who entered! Make sure to check out the Piper & Chloe blog and don't forget to stop on in at the two-day event!

Check back Monday of another fabulous giveaway!

Mummy Pizza

A few days ago I saw this on a blog (I'm SO sorry I can't remember exactly where...if it's you and you're reading this, let me know!) and thought it was the cutest thing I'd ever seen! Originally when I saw it the creator made it on halved mini baguettes or french bread, which was so so so cute! This picture will have to do! Maybe I'll be making this tonight...you can see how it's made HERE.

*Note: I found the blog I was looking for! Thanks Amy!

family fun

via Looking Through The Wright Lens

Invisible Pops

These adorable things would be great for a Halloween party!

Piper & Chloe Giveaway: LAST DAY!

Today's your last chance to sign up for the Piper & Chloe gift certificate giveaway! Enter here.

Coconut Ghost Treats?

Yes please! I can almost taste that buttery, marshmallowy flavor just by looking at this picture! I personally would cover the whole dang thing in coconut, though. You can find the recipe on the Rice Krispies site.

Playing In The Leaves

This note card reminds me of today. Isn't it just so pretty? You can find them on etsy.

The Snow Family...

more to come!

Night Owl Cookies

These cookies are so cute! I think I'd have a hard time eating them...at first.

Flashback: Gruesome, But Good

posted last year.

The Church Halloween party was a success thanks to many people! While brain-storming before the activity, my friend Jacqueline suggested the coolest idea for drinks. I've never seen it done before, and when she put it together at the party it was really neat! I hope it doesn't freak any of you out, but I liked it! What she did was she took cups and dipped the rims in honey with red food coloring in it. The honey just drips down and looks like blood! It wasn't too messy either. She then filled the cups with apple juice with green food coloring in it. Anyway, here are some pictures from it. It was really easy and looked awesome!

Leaf Dweller

When I was little I was always fascinated with pictures of kids playing in a big, giant pile of leaves. It was hard to believe that this sort of activity really went on in other parts of the world. In sunny San Diego things like this were only dreamt about. I would see these pictures in lessons at Church, on Sesame Street, and elsewhere.
This year, as I looked outside at our leaf-covered yard I didn't want Cole to miss out on his chance. I quickly raked up a big pile (no wonder I was sore the next day...raking is a workout!), threw him in, and let him go for it. He was very fascinated with everything! Here are pictures to document the thing that never happened to me.

Two Cents Tuesday: Trick or Treat!

You know how on Halloween you get those awkward really OLD kids (maybe college age) who come knocking on your door for candy? At what age do you think it's not appropriate anymore to go trick or treating? On the flip side, is there an age when they're too young? I saw a family once taking their little tiny baby (we're talking like 3 months) door to door and I felt a little embarrassed for them. It's one thing to go show off your baby to friends, but it's another to use your newborn to get candy for the grown adult parents. So I wanna know:

What age is too young and too old to go trick or treating?

image here

Flashback: Tricks

I posted this last year, but thought it'd be a good thing to share again!

Over the years I've learned that my mother-in-law has a lot of great tricks up her sleeve. This is one of them. You must eat them together, at the same time in order for your taste buds to have a party. I promise, you'll have a good weekend if you try this! It's amazing! (candy corn + peanuts).

Macfisto Movie Night!

Reader Carla wrote to me letting me know of a really cool Halloween movie premiering on Friday, October 30th at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center in SLC. The trailer is awesome and I have a feeling the event will be just as great! There is going to be a live band playing as well as a raffle for prizes from local sponsors! Check out their website, Manor Massacre to find out more!

MACFISTO from Ryan Sacks on Vimeo.

Scary Stories In The Attic!

This Friday, October 30th the Provo City Library is hosting an awesome event! In the attic of the library (only opened once a year for this spooky night) local storyteller Ginger Parkinson will be telling scary stories to older children and teenagers. See the flyer for more details. Too bad Cole isn't 10 yet...

Halloween Family Night- M.L. Bean Museum

Did you hear about Halloween family night at BYU's Bean Museum tonight? We're going to try to make it!

Piper & Chloe Giveaway!

This week Piper & Chloe will be giving away a $20 gift certificate to one lucky winner! You can use this gift certificate at the Piper & Chloe showcase coming up next weekend (November 6th-7th) in Farmington, UT. Make sure to check out their blog to see all of the adorable vendors that will be at the show!



If you don't live in Utah, still enter and give it to someone who does! What a great gift! Here's how to enter:

-Leave a comment here, any comment will do
-You may enter a second/third time by tweeting/blogging about it with a link back here. Make sure to leave a separate comment here for your tweet and a separate comment here for your blog post
-If your comment doesn't link back to a way to contact you, please leave your e-mail address, otherwise your comment will be discarded
-This giveaway ends on Thursday, October 26th at midnight and the winner will be announced on Friday.

-Good luck!

Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark

Growing up we had some of the Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark books. They were so fun to read to each other as kids, and I'm sure they would be just as fun as adults! Have you read any of them? (I think they must have changed the cover because ours looked a little different).

Halloween Week!

Witches and Warlocks,

Prepare yourselves for a scary week filled with haunted Halloween posts! I have some fun things in mind that I'm excited to show you!

If you have any neat Halloween crafts, ideas, or anything Halloweeny that you'd like me to post and share this week, send it to heather(at)thecoterieblog(dot)com and I'll put it up!

martha

The Dahl Family!

Check out more from their shoot on the photo blog!

Happy Weekend!

flickr

Sock Monkey Hat Winner!

Congratulations Anna! E-mail me with your mailing address and we'll make sure that gets out to you!
A special thanks to Marci of Marmalade Baby for hosting this great giveaway!

Make sure to check back next week for another giveaway!

winner chosen via Random.org

Don't Forget!

Today's the last day to enter into the baby sock monkey hat giveaway!

Being Prepared...

Getting ready today for the Bijou Market (coming up Nov. 7th)! Sorry if the blogging today is scant.

xo, H

photo here

Search For Shade's Biggest Fans!

Raise your hand if you love Shade Clothing! The lovely people at Shade are on a search to find Shade's biggest fan (I know you're out there!).

Just send in pictures, poems, songs, videos, letters, etc. expressing how much you LOVE Shade! There will be 5 biggest fans selected to win a fabulous Shade giveaway!

-Send your entries into ali@shadeclothing.com by Oct. 30th

GOOD LUCK!

Figured Tea Bags

If I drank tea, I'd for sure love steeping with these cute little figured tea bags! Darling, huh?

via Lovely Packaging

Lovely, Love My Family

Cole's absolute favorite show is Yo Gabba Gabba, and it's our daily routine to watch an episode first thing when he gets up. It just gets our day starting off right. Last week they played all new episodes every day, which was really fun! They always have great bands an d artists on the show, one of which was The Roots singing this wonderful song! I can't stop playing it! It's just so happy and catchy! Cole loves it too.

Two Cent Tuesdays: Sleeping Through The Night

So I've been wanting to bring a new little segment on my blog for a while now. I'd like to call it Two Cent Tuesdays because I love hearing all of you lovely readers two cents, opinions, suggestions and help! Usually once a week I think of something I want to ask you, so why not designate Tuesdays? Hopefully other readers reading my problems and your comments will help them out too!

So here's my topic for today:

BABIES SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT

Issue at hand: Cole is a sort of good sleeper. He likes going to bed fairly early, but then he's up by 5:30 or 6:00am and a couple times in the middle of the night, too...NOT working for me. Then if I try to put him down later at night so he'll wake up later in the morning, he STILL gets up way too early. My ideal sleep pattern for him would be 7:00pm-7:00am. I don't think that has ever happened. Well, I KNOW it hasn't. Sometimes he's still waking up at 2:00am wanting to eat, play, or just stand up in him crib to feel cool.

Friends, dear readers, is this normal?! Tell me what to do! I know so many other babies Cole's ago who have no problem sleeping all 12 hours perfectly with no problem. He's almost one year old now and I've got to get a hold on things....but trust me, I've been trying!

Rules For My Unborn Son

This book looks so intriguing to me. Some of the little blurbs I've read of it are funny, very honest and true! Take a look for yourself by reading the 1001 Rules For My Unborn Son blog. You'll love it.

A Tree Becomes A Book Becomes A Tree

I love love love this bookshelf by designer Shawn Soh. Wouldn't it be fun to have a room with two or three of them?!

found via 1 Design Per Day

Giveaway: Baby Sock Monkey Hat!

Marmalade Baby is one of the most adorable etsy shops I've seen! Marci of Marmalade Baby is an extremely talented knitter/crocheter. Her work is very creative and custom to fit anyone's shape and size, specializing in baby and children's wear.

This week Marmalade Baby is giving away this lovely baby sock monkey hat! It's just perfect for the upcoming winter season!



Here are some other favorites that you can find in the shop as well:



To enter to win the baby sock monkey hat:

-Check out Marmalade Baby
-Leave a comment here, any comment will do
-You may enter a second/third time by tweeting/blogging about it with a link back here. Make sure to leave a separate comment here for your tweet and a separate comment here for your blog post
-If your comment doesn't link back to a way to contact you, please leave your e-mail address, otherwise your comment will be discarded
-This giveaway ends on Thursday, October 22nd at midnight and the winner will be announced on Friday.

Cupcake Topper Giveaway!

winner chosen by random.org

Congratulations Carli! e-mail me your mailing address and Lauriann of Photographs and Fine Art by Lauri will send that right out to you!

Tutorial: Bag 'O Treats!

I'll admit it...I take my own treats into the movies. Let's be completely honest though- would you spend $5 for a water bottle, or $50 for a container of popcorn? These numbers might be a bit of an exaggeration, but probably not too far off. One time I asked for a cup of ice because I was pregnant and craving it, and they said they'd only give it to me if I paid full price for the $20 soda...Umm...I don't think so! If a manager approached me about my candy-smuggling I would let him know how I felt about their ridiculous concession prices (I'd try to keep my conversation PG-13 rated).

On a happier note, yesterday before we went to see Where The Wild Things Are I put together a little treat bag for all of my cousins and spouses. You could do this as a surprise for your little kids when you take them to the movies, or even as a party favor! (I can't wait to try this with bright, colorful bags and pretty ribbon!)

Here's how you do it:
(note, Matt was the main mastermind behind the construction of this project! He's so clever!)

1. Get some delicious, inexpensive candy and loot at the grocery store. I opted for M&M's, Jr. Mints, an assortment of sour candies, and some glow-in-the-dark fangs (appropriate for a monster movie, right?)


2. Find an image that you want to print on your brown bags. Bring it up in a program that will allow you to edit and print projects. Type whatever you'd like to on the bag, then just send it through the printer. The brown bags are generally 5" wide so set your printer accordingly. "Let the wild rumpus start!"


3. Fill the bag with your loot.


4. Fold the top of the bag down just a small amount, maybe 1/2 of an inch.


4. Get a piece of string or ribbon, about 2.5 feet, and place it under the fold.


5. Fold the bag over the string a few times...


6. Then tie it into a cute bow, and you've got yourself a handle!


As always, I love hearing when you try these tutorials! Let me know if you do! Enjoy!


*Movie Review:

The movie was great! Extremely well-done! I loved everything about it and definitely want to see it again! It was fun, adventurous, sad at times, a little scary...all around amazing! A definite must-see. Beautiful cinematography! I loved it!

This Weekend...

Matt and I will be watching this movie with Linds, Ashmae, hopefully Auntie Coco, and husbands!

What are you doing?

How To Open A Pomegranate

(I've posted this before, but think it's appropriate for the season!)





Pomegranates and I have a love/hate relationship. I love their delicious, tart taste, but I hate them because it's not even worth it to spend five hours trying to get three seeds out, staining my hands and clothes all at the same time. I haven't eaten one in years because they're impossible to eat.

Well my friends, what if I told you that you could get every single seed out of a pom in about six minutes total? Yeah, yeah, I didn't believe it either. BUT IT'S TRUE! You can. A while ago my dear friend Annie e-mailed me some amazing instructions on how to eat a pomegranate. It looked neat, but I never got around to trying it. You know how that goes.

So last week my mom called me in a frenzy. She said that she got a bag of poms and decided to give it a try. She said that it was the most amazing thing! By the end of the instructions she literally had an entire bowl of pomegranate seeds! I didn't really believe how easy (and satisfying) she said it was, but I was glad that she was so excited.

While we were at the grocery store a few days ago Matt mentioned that we should try it. We found the beautiful ruby fruits and bought a couple. I let them sit in the fridge for a couple days, and finally decided that today was the day. Without any other help besides the instructions to follow, I succeeded with the procedure, and OH WAS I SATISFIED! I tool pictures along the way so I could show you. Take a lookie:

1. Cut off the flowery bit at the end so it’s flush with the rest of the fruit.



2. Get yourself a bowl and fill it with cold or tepid water, whichever you prefer (it should be enough water to cover the pomegranate).

3. With a sharp knife, score the outside of the fruit into about 4-8 sections. You’ll need to go about 1/4 of an inch deep to get through the skin. You may also just want to simply cut it into sections, but I find it damages the seeds and gets juice everywhere.



4. Once scored, place the pomegranate in the bowl of water and leave it for about 5 minutes.



5. When the 5 minutes is up, start separating the fruit into sections while it’s submerged in water. While submerged, you’re less likely to get juice squirting out everywhere, unless your into that sort of thing.



6. Now, separate the arils (the red seed casings) by rolling them out from internal white supporting suff. This is the cool part: the seeds are heavy and will drop to the bottom while all the white stuff will float to the top. (do this under the water too...I just brought it out for the picture).



7. Remove the white stuff floating at the top and then strain the off the water.





8. This is what you'll end up with from ONE Pomegranate! (yes, the bowl is almost completely filled!)



Thanks Annie! ENJOY!

Halloween Card Winner!

Thanks for getting your tweet on, Jill! Just e-mail me your address and we'll get those out to you!

And a special thanks to Alison of Sprinkles The Pony for hosting this giveaway! Make sure to check out her shop for more great things!

*Make sure to check back Monday for the cupcake topper winner and ANOTHER fabulous giveaway too!

The Bijou Market

Sprinkles The Pony: LAST DAY!

Today's the last day to enter the Sprinkles The Pony Halloween card giveaway! Click HERE to enter!

Jake = Bachelor

(do you like how airbrushed the photo is?!)

TELL ME YOUR THOUGHTS! I'm dying to know! As for mine, here is a little blurb of what I commented on Erica's blog:

Mid-Century Masterpiece

So everyone keeps asking us what we'll be doing after Matt graduates in December. Well folks, we'll be buying this home and moving to Pennsylvania. Just kidding! I WISH! Matt sent me this link today and I decided that he knows my taste all too well!

How totally awesome is this house for sale though?! Apparently "The Mitchell Residence" was designed and built by Ehrman B. Mitchell (1925-2005) for his own personal home. Built in 1956, this is the first time it's been on the market! I want it so so so so bad!

Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup

Earlier this week I was majorly craving Zupas Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup. Have you ever had it?! It's something you dream about...trust me! Anyway, I looked up a recipe for it and found one! It was really, really delicious, although the taste wasn't exactly the same as the restaurant it will still definitely be repeated in my kitchen in the near future. Here it is! Try it! You'll like it!

photo via Zupas

recipe from Bake 'n Make

Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup
Yields: 9 cups or 8 first-course servings (or 4-5 hungry adults :)

2 tablespoons margarine or butter (1/4 stick)
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1 can (13 3/4 to 14 1/2 ounces) chicken broth
1 head (2 1/2 pounds) cauliflower, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup pepper jack cheese

In 4-quart saucepan, melt margarine or butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour and salt; cook 2minutes, stirring frequently. Gradually stir in milk, chicken broth, and 1 1/2 cups water; add cauliflower and heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 10 minutes. In blender (with center part of blender cover removed to allow steam to escape), blend cauliflower mixture at low speed in small batches until very smooth. Return cauliflower mixture to saucepan; heat over medium heat until hot, stirring occasionally. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in mustard and 1 1/2 cups cheese until melted and smooth. Garnish soup with remaining cheese to serve.

Let me know how it turns out when you make it!

Cupcake Topper Giveaway!

That's right folks! TWO giveaways in one week! Lucky you!

Photography and Fine Art By Lauri is an adorable etsy shop featuring her beautiful work, including cute little sets of cupcake toppers! She has so many great things in her shop, some of which are perfect for the upcoming holiday season! Check out these great photographs that are in her shop:






To enter to win a set of cupcake toppers:

-Check out Photography and Fine Art By Lauri
-Leave a comment here stating your favorite cupcake topper set in THE SHOP
-You may enter a second/third time by tweeting/blogging about it with a link back here. Make sure to leave a separate comment here for your tweet and a separate comment here for your blog post
-If your comment doesn't link back to a way to contact you, please leave your e-mail address, otherwise your comment will be discarded
-This giveaway ends on Sunday, October 18th at midnight and the winner will be announced on Monday, October 19th.

Door Handles of Love

Matt's little sister Rachel is getting married in a few months! So exciting, huh? I was able to take their engagements a few weeks ago and here is one of my favorite shots. I'm never a big fan of ring shots, but I think this one was pretty cute! Yay Rachel + Dylan!

Post Industrial Globe

How lovely is this globe from the Sundance Catalog? I need it.

Archways

Isn't this archway just beautiful? I love this post by Desire To Inspire on archways. Look at it..you'll like it!

your home & garden

Advertise Here!

Have a shop that you're starting up? Want to get the word out about a new product you have? The Coterie is a great place to share your goods and spread the word, featuring local handmade products as well as nation-wide goods.

I have great readers who shop online and love pretty, unique products! My rates are tailored with small businesses in mind!

Ad space, write-ups, reviews and giveaways are great ways of showing people your stuff!

For more details, e-mail me at heather (at) thecoterieblog (dot) com

Sprinkes The Pony Giveaway!

Halloween will be here before we know it... I can't wait! This is the perfect giveaway for the season!

Alison of Sprinkles The Pony (she also has an extremely entertaining blog called She Blogs She Blogs and She Makes She Makes, both of with I am an avid reader of) is giving away a set of 6 Boo Halloween Pony cards, hoofmade with love by Sprinkes The Pony herself! Here are the deets:

(Sprinkles in her ghost costume)

To enter:

-Check out Sprinkles The Pony
-Leave a comment here stating what your favorite Halloween costume was as a child (or one you've seen)
-You may enter a second/third time by tweeting/blogging about it with a link back here. Make sure to leave a separate comment here for your tweet and a separate comment here for your blog post
-If your comment doesn't link back to a way to contact you, please leave your e-mail address, otherwise your comment will be discarded
-This giveaway ends on Thursday, October 15th at midnight and the winner will be announced on Friday, October 16th.
-Good luck!

Happy Weekend!

photo via Dash It All

Happy Birthday Matt!

Today is Matt's 28th birthday! He's the world's best father and husband. I'm so lucky to have him in my life and I'm going to brag about him right now. Here 28 things that I love about Matt:

1. He knows what I'm thinking about before I vocalize the thought
2. He is very creative
3. He can cook really well
4. He can make Cole laugh harder than anyone can
5. He is really good at fixing cars
6. He sleeps with Wanda curled up against him
7. He is a really hard worker
8, He can clean better than I can
9. He is genuine in everything that he does
10. He is nice to me even if I'm not very nice to him
11. He can sing really well
12. He looks really good in suits
13. He can read faster than anyone I know
14. He still likes my hair no matter how short or long or dark or light it is
15. He is the best pumpkin carver in the world
16. He makes amazing biscuits
17. He makes really cute babies
18. He is really good at listening to me complain
19. He is a great listener
20. He doesn't snore
21. He tells me I'm pretty
22. He always opens the door for me
23. He doesn't complain when I have to make the bed before we get in
24. He lets me watch the shows I want to see before we watch the shows he wants to see
25. He pretends that some of my dinners are good when they're really gross
26. Sometimes on Saturdays he lets me sleep in a little longer while he plays with Cole
27. He is always so excited to spend time with Cole and I when he gets home from work/school
28. He is the most amazing, wonderful man in the world!

Shabby Apple Winner!

Congratulations Erica and Daren! E-mail me with your address and dress size and Shabby Apple will send 90WPM right out to you!

Thanks again to Shabby Apple for hosting this giveaway!

*Make sure to check back next week for TWO great giveaways!

winner was chosen at Random.org

Occupied.

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via Designboom