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Southern Made Simple

Keeping things simple with a smidge of Southern charm

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My Favorite Things

Farmhouse Finds for the Kitchen on Amazon

April 14, 2016 by Laura Tucker 8 Comments

Southern Made Simple is a part of several affiliate advertising programs. Affiliate links are included throughout this post. Although I participate in these programs and have sponsored content, all opinions are my own.

If you love the “farmhouse” look as much as I do, this post is definitely for you! I catch myself daydreaming throughout the day of how amazing it would be if I could just “get the look” without spending a fortune. I also get a little overwhelmed thinking about going to multiple shops and antique stores hoping to score a few new things for my home. What if I go and I can’t find what I’m looking for, or if I get sensory overload and want ALL THE THINGS?? I’ll either spend way too much or leave with nothing. There is no in between. Both of those have definitely been the case for me every time I go out shopping.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could achieve that fabulous farmhouse look in a one stop shop with reasonable prices?? I thought so, too. And come to find out, you totally can thanks to Amazon! I’ll be the first to admit, Amazon was not my first thought of being a supplier of all things shabby-chic, but I have been very pleased with their selection!

Farmhouse Kitchen Finds

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Filed Under: Farmhouse Finds, My Favorite Things Tagged With: Farmhouse, Farmhouse Decor, farmhouse kitchen, farmhouse kitchen decor, how to decorate a kitchen, kitchen decorations, rustic kitchen, shabby chic kitchen

15 Mother’s Day Gift Ideas for the Work at Home Mom

April 8, 2016 by Laura Tucker 1 Comment

Southern Made Simple is a part of several affiliate advertising programs. Affiliate links are included throughout this post. Although I participate in these programs and have sponsored content, all opinions are my own.

Alright you guys. I’m going to let you in on a little bit of news here. In case you did not know, Mother’s Day is exactly one month from today. Only 30 more days to get her a thoughtful gift that she deserves.  No body panic! Everybody remain calm! I’ve got you covered. 

I’ve compiled a list of what I think are some pretty amazing gift ideas for the Mom in your life. These picks are geared more towards moms that works from home, but frankly these gifts would rock for any mom. Don’t put off getting her something for Mother’s Day until the very last minute. Honestly, that’s not very thoughtful. Not trying to make anyone feel guilty…I’m just saying. 🙂

15 Mother's Day Gift Ideas - Perfect for the Work at Home Mom! #mothersday…

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Filed Under: My Favorite Things Tagged With: gifts for mom, Mother's day, Mother's Day Gift Ideas, Mother's Day Gifts, WAHM gift ideas, what does mom want, Work at home mom gift

14 Farmhouse Bathroom Finds on Amazon!

April 4, 2016 by Laura Tucker 10 Comments

Southern Made Simple is a part of several affiliate advertising programs. Affiliate links are included throughout this post. Although I participate in these programs and have sponsored content, all opinions are my own.

I recently discovered the show Fixer Upper on HGTV. I know it’s been around for a while, but here lately it’s been unusual for me to stray away from my beloved Food Network. But y’all, I’m OBSESSED with this show! The hosts (Chip and Joanna Gaines) are entertaining, brilliantly creative, and incredibly adorable. I’ve had a running joke going on with my husband that if Miss Kay from Duck Dynasty and Joanna Gaines from Fixer Upper were blended into one woman, she would be my spirit animal. I may not be selling you on it, but really. You should watch it.

Anyway, Joanna Gaines is known for her obsession with ship-lap and all things “farmhouse” inspired. Farmhouse decor has a very charming, rustic and earthy character to it. It’s gorgeous. It’s amazing. It’s everything I want my dream home to look like. It’s all over the magazine covers at the store, and it’s flying off the shelves in stores nation wide. It’s the it-thing, and I’m jumping on the train!

I’m slowly working towards a goal of farmhousing my home. (I know that’s not a word, but it is now!) I figured I’d start small and begin with the bathroom. Since it’s not always super convenient for me to get out of the house and go to town, I decided to see what Amazon had to offer to help me complete my look. Hello, 2 day shipping! I was really pleased with what I found, so I thought I’d share it with y’all!

By the way, if you don’t have Amazon prime, I can hook you up with a free trial!

Farmhouse Bathroom Finds…

Read More »

Filed Under: Farmhouse Finds, My Favorite Things Tagged With: Affordable Farmhouse, Bathroom Decor, Bathroom Fixer Upper, Farmhouse, Farmhouse Bathroom, Farmhouse Decor, Farmhouse Finds, Farmhouse on Amazon, Fixer Upper Inspired, Joanna Gaines Inspired, Shabby Chic Bathroom

Sharing a Blissful Moment with Others – DIY Bliss Bouquet

March 17, 2016 by Laura Tucker 3 Comments

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BlissfulMoments #CollectiveBias

Just ten short months ago, my beautiful baby girl made her debut into this world. I dove right into the deep end of motherhood for the very first time, and my eyes were opened to things that only becoming a mother could prepare me for. It’s been an incredible journey, but it did not come without several major adjustments to my life.

One of those major adjustments was the loss of quality “me” time. All of a sudden, I had this tiny little human that depends on me for everything. I am there for her every moment she is awake, and in those very precious moments that she closes her eyes to take a nap, I tend to everything else around me that needs to get done. Very little of that time is spent on myself.

If fact, in 10 months I have only had 3 successful naps! While having a baby is amazing, it can definitely be mentally challenging sometimes. I know every parent out there can certainly relate to this in some way. “Me” time usually doesn’t happen, and when it does, it’s probably not about me anyway!

DIY Bliss Bouquet Tutorial - It can be easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of life, but it's important to make sure you take a moment to treat yourself {and others} to something special. Creating a bliss bouquet is a fantastic way to share #blissfulmoments with others who could use a reward!…

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Filed Under: DIY Projects, My Favorite Things Tagged With: #blissfulmoments, Bliss Bouquet, Candy Bar Bouquet, DIY

Sweet Southern Drawl Boutique – March Monogram Madness GIVEAWAY!

March 1, 2016 by Laura Tucker 5 Comments

I’ve been doing some deep thinking here lately, y’all. I’ve been pondering, daydreaming, and brain-picking trying to figure out this one very important thing: Is there ever a time in life when having something monogrammed isn’t appropriate?

Seriously. I can’t think of any time where monograms aren’t appropriate. If you ever ask the question, “Should I monogram this?”, I can just tell you right now – the answer is always YES! I mean, why not? What better way to add a personal touch to something than to add your initials in a super cute way?

As a Southern woman, I think my love for monograms just runs naturally. Macy Spear, the owner of Sweet Southern Drawl Boutique, asks us all this: “If it isn’t monogrammed, is it even really yours?” She’s preachin’ the truth, y’all! 😉

And speaking of truth, Macy truly has some of the cutest personalized things in her Etsy shop and on her Facebook page. Just when I started drooling over her beautiful winter items, she goes and steals my heart with her sweet Spring and Summer items!

SouthernDrawl1-1

Macy sent over this monogram floppy sunhat with bow to review. Isn’t it amazing?! I truly feel beautiful every time I wear it. I know once this cold weather leaves Alabama I’ll be wearing this hat non stop!

SouthernDrawl3-3

The sunhats are available to purchase here for just $28. You even get to choose the fabric color and monogram font! If you plan on spending any time in the sun at all this summer, do yourself a favor and pick up one of these hats. You’ll be basking in the shade and turning heads for sure!SouthernDrawl4-4

To pair perfectly with the sun hat, this monogram beach towel, beach/lake spikers and drink koozie are all calling my name!

 If you’re looking for the perfect gift to give someone, you really need to be shopping at  Sweet Southern Drawl Boutique! Monogrammed gifts are perfect for birthdays, Christmas gifts, graduates, bridesmaids, brides-to-be, etc.

Get the look:

Check out some of these fabulously adorable items that are currently available in the Etsy shop! You can click on each picture to view more information:

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To view even more super cute items, be sure to follow Sweet Southern Drawl on Facebook! Macy is always posting something new there!

Win It:

One VERY lucky Southern Made Simple and Sweet Southern Drawl fan is going to take home a loot full of monogrammed sweetness!

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As part of the Monogram March Madness taking place over on Sweet Southern Drawl’s  Facebook page, one person is going to be taking home a monogrammed beach towel, beach spiker, koozie and personalized sunglasses! Just in time for warmer weather, too!

SSWgiveaway

This giveaway will run from March 1st – March 8th. You can enter this giveaway by liking Sweet Southern Drawl on Facebook, share the giveaway post with your friends and comment saying you did so! Easy as pie, y’all! PLUS, if you follow me on Facebook (Southern Made Simple), you get an extra entry into the giveaway! Score!

Good luck to all who enter!

Do you love monograms as much as I do? What are some special occasions that something monogrammed would make a good gift for? I’d love for you to leave a comment below with your ideas!

Filed Under: Current Giveaways, My Favorite Things Tagged With: Monogram Giveaway, Monogram Sun Hat, Monograms

15 Egg-cellent Easter Egg Fillers (That Aren’t Candy!)

February 18, 2016 by Laura Tucker 3 Comments

Affiliate links are provided throughout this post for your convenience and at absolutely no cost to you. All thoughts and opinions expressed within this post are completely my own!

Easter egg hunts were a big deal in my house growing up. Like, a really big deal. To put it into perspective for you, every year my mom had an extensive list of rules, clues and prize information on deck at all times during the hunt. Easter egg hunts were of course just for fun, but we all knew what they really were: full blown Hunger-Games-style take-no-prisoners competitions amongst the siblings. Maybe that’s a little dramatic, but it’s not far from the truth! There were clear winners and losers in our hunts. Feelings would sometimes get hurt (mostly mine), but they were always a good time and were definitely memorable. My mother always had fun surprises along the way, and even the “rotten egg” got a really good prize!

My mother never hid candy inside the eggs that we hunted. We always had candy in our Easter baskets, but never in the eggs. If anything was in the eggs, it was money. It was always a blast finding an egg and hearing coins rattle inside! It made me start to think about  other really fun things you could incorporate into Easter egg hunts. While I don’t know that I’ll want to do competitive Easter egg hunts with my children, I do plan on making their hunts really fun in ways similar to what my mother did for us. One way I’d like to do that is to put all sorts of different surprises in the eggs that they find!15 Easter Egg Filler ideas that aren't candy…

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Filed Under: My Favorite Things Tagged With: Easter egg fillers, Easter egg fillers that aren't candy, non candy easter egg, non candy easter egg fillers, Toy easter egg fillers

I Can’t Even! {But He Can} Tote from OriginaliteeToo

February 11, 2016 by Laura Tucker 46 Comments

I received these products at no cost to facilitate my review. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed are completely my own.

This past Sunday, I had a discussion with a few 4-6th grade students in my Sunday school class about sharing the Word of God with other people. I asked them to tell me a few different ways that we can share Christ with others. They were very quick to tell me that there are numerous ways to do it – and very simple ways to do it at that. They were full of wonderful examples and fabulous ideas. They’re very creative!  But then I turned the tables a little bit on them and elevated the conversation.

“So, why do we have so many excuses as to why we don’t do all of the things you all mentioned?” I said. There was silence. I could tell the wheels in their heads were turning. I may have struck a nerve, but the biggest nerve that was struck in that room was my own. They had several different answers to my question, ranging from things such as being intimidated, fear of rejection, not feeling qualified, fear of offending, etc. It seemed to me that a lot of our excuses (including in my own life) boiled down to having some sort of fear about something. I have been allowing fear to sweep over my life, telling me over and over that “I can’t”.

OriginaliteeToo on Etsy - Review + Giveaway Ends 2/25/16

“I can’t do this, because…”. How many times have I said this in my life?…

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Filed Under: Current Giveaways, My Favorite Things Tagged With: canvas tote, giveaway, I can't even, tote bag

Do Your Kids Tend to Lose Their Stuff? Mabel’s Labels Can Help!

February 4, 2016 by Laura Tucker 2 Comments

 Affiliate links are included in this post. I received these products at no cost to facilitate my review. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed are completely my own.

Picture this: Your child comes home from school without their lunch box. You assume that they just left it in their cubby or at their desk at school, so you remind your child to check the next day. Your child never finds their lunch box. It was unknowingly placed in the lost and found box in the office that neither of you even knew existed. It stays there for months, and then it is ultimately donated or thrown away because no one knew who it belonged to.

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Sad story, right? But how many times does something similar to this actually happen? Most parents can probably think of numerous times that their child has lost something. And if we’re perfectly honest here, I can think of a few times where I was the one that lost something that belonged to my daughter, Taralynn. We can all be forgetful sometimes!

Do Your Kids Tend to Lose Their Stuff? Mabel's Labels Can Help!

My daughter is currently 8 months old. She is not old enough to lose things on purpose, but she has definitely had things turn up missing before. She is at the age where throwing things on the floor, kicking off shoes and socks, and swapping toys with others is just part of her daily routine. It is so easy for her bottles and juice cups to wind up thrown across the floor without me even noticing. I’m also really bad about setting something down and never picking it back up. This is definitely not a good habit to have when you’re in a public place!

That’s where Mabel’s Labels comes in to save the day, folks! Mabel’s Labels understands that sometimes things just get lost, and sometimes we’re forgetful and leave things sitting around for others to find. They’ve come up with a clever (and super cute) solution to help those lost items return to their owners. And it’s SO much nicer than getting out the ol’ black magic marker and tagging all of your items with your initials!

Do Your Kids Tend to Lose Their Stuff? Mabel's Labels Can Help!

Mabel’s Labels come in numerous sizes and super adorable themes. They even make labels for different purposes, such as iron-on clothing labels, shoe labels, organizational stickers for the household, and even scan and store stickers! (I’m fighting the urge to go through all of my closets and label EVERYTHING, y’all!)

I was sent a pack of 45 personalized peel-and-stick labels to review. They are such a perfect way to help this scatter-brained mama worry less about accidentally leaving things where they don’t belong. They’re even dish washer and microwave safe, so I know they’ll last a long time!

My daughter does not attend day care, but I can imagine that these labels would be extremely useful in that type of setting. No more wondering about what cup or snack container belongs to what kid! As my daughter grows older and becomes more independent, I can definitely see her taking after her mama and leaving her cups/toys laying around at our church or at a friends house and neglecting to pick them up. With these labels on all of her items, they’ll have no problem finding their way back to us. What a relief!

You can purchase these fabulous labels that I’ve reviewed for just $21.00 for a pack of 45.  Be sure to check out all of their other labels and combo packages while you’re at it! And as if Mabel’s Labels wasn’t already awesome enough, they offer FREE US shipping on all orders. No expiration date, and no minimum! Click the banner below to visit their site and start customizing your own labels!

Mabel's Labels Review

Filed Under: For the Kids, My Favorite Things, Product Reviews

Dreaming of Disney +$500 Disney Gift Card Giveaway!

February 2, 2016 by Laura Tucker Leave a Comment

$500 Disney Gift Card Giveaway!

I’ve been to Disney World three times in my life. The first time I was a baby, the second time I was 5 years old, and the third time I was 11. Unfortunately, I only remember just a few bits and pieces of the trip I took when I was 11, and that was in 2000 or 2001!

I am dreaming of the day I get to take my little girl to Disney World for the first time. She’s only 8 months old right now, but in a few more years I think we’ll be ready for our first trip. I cannot wait to see the twinkle in her eye as she meets the Mickey Mouse for the first time like I did. I can envision the magic that fills her heart when she sees the Disney princesses dancing and singing in real life. Ahh, I get chills!

$500 Disney Gift Card Giveaway!

Disney World – 1995

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Filed Under: Current Giveaways

Valentine’s Day Amazon Gift Code Giveaway!

February 1, 2016 by Laura Tucker 6 Comments

Have you “liked” Southern Made Simple on Facebook yet??

Head on over NOW, because we’re giving away a $10 Amazon gift code to ONE lucky Southern Made Simple fan!

The drawing will be held on Valentine’s Day. I thought it would be appropriate since I just LOVE all of you to pieces! 😉

Valentine's Day Amazon Gift Code Giveaway! Ends 2/14

In order to win the gift code, you MUST do the following:

  1. “Like” Southern Made Simple on Facebook & like the giveaway image (shown above).
  2. Leave ONE comment (on this giveaway image on my Facebook page) and tell me what recipe from Southern Made Simple you would LOVE to try! (Since Valentine’s Day is about love (and the love of food)…right?!) 😛

That’s it, y’all! Go ahead and get your entries in now, and don’t be a stranger to our page! I always love for folks to stop in and say hello!

While you’re at it, if you aren’t using Amazon Prime, here’s a free 30 day membership just for you! Hooray for 2 day shipping!

Limit one comment per person. Must be 18 years or older to enter. Giveaway is open worldwide. All entries will be verified and the winner will have 48 hours to respond to their winning notification before another winner will be drawn. This giveaway is not sponsored by Facebook in any way. Winner will be chosen by Random.org. 

Filed Under: Current Giveaways, My Favorite Things Tagged With: Giveaways

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"Hi there! I'm Laura, and I'm a child of God, a wife, and a mother of two. My roots are planted deep in rural Alabama. Monograms, crafting and Southern cuisine - yes, these are a few of my favorite things! Join me as I grow my family in the beautiful South where the tea is sweet, the accents are sweeter, & someone's heart is always being blessed." [Read more...]

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