GIVEAWAY! Enter to win a pair of Freshly Picked Moccasins!

The most excited I've ever gotten for a review and giveaway -- I am absolutely obsessed with my new bubblegum pink baby mocs for Babygirl Bauman and am so excited to be hosting a giveaway for another pair of little mocs to a very lucky one of YOU! ($60 value, PLUS free shipping to anywhere in the US). All you have to do is visit Freshly Picked and leave a comment on this blog post letting me know which pair you like best!
*See end of post for ways to gain additional entries

How to Enter:
1. Visit Freshly Picked and leave a comment on this post telling me which pair of mocs you would get if you won!

For Additional Entries:
1. Like Freshly Picked on Facebook
2. Share a link to this post on facebook & tell your friends about it!
3. Follow Freshly Picked on Instagram
4. Follow Mumma's Corner (either via google friend connect, bloglovin', or subscribe to posts by email)

*Please leave a separate comment on this blog post for each additional entry, and be sure to leave your email address on each post so I know how to contact you if you're the lucky winner!

Giveaway will run for 3 weeks from today and will officially close at 9:00pm cst on 8/19/13

Good luck!!

Non-toxic Nail Polish: Butter London

I've been giving myself my own manicures & pedicures for most of my life because a: I'm pretty darn good at it, b: My manicures barely last me more than 3 days, which to me isn't worth the $25 of getting them done, and c: I'm pregnant and I can't be breathing in all the toxic polish and acetone fumes that are (extremely) highly concentrated in salons.
Since becoming preggo this time around I've been super cautious about everything that comes into contact with my body, & in turn, my little baby girl inside of me. I decided to say goodbye to my beloved OPI's and Essie's for 9 months and have been looking for a perfect nail polish brand that was non-toxic and paraben-free but also high salon quality and that had a wide selection of gorgeous colors. Enter Butter London.
These nail lacquers are paraben-free and they come out amazing. I've been loving Cream Tea which is a gorgeous white hue and nothing short of perfection on tan summer hands. My other favorite is Cuppa, a light taupe hue for a professional polished, neutral look that goes with anything. Lastly, I've been sporting (and adoring) Teddy Girl a lot lately in honor of my new baby girl, which is a very flattering, bright pastel pink.
After a few coats plus the most amazing top coat ever, my nails look professionally done and I've been receiving numerous compliments on them everywhere I go. Butter also manufactures an acetone-free polish remover in some yummy scents like coconut mango.
I hope I've inspired you to go check out some of their polish, which is sold online and at most higher-end beauty departments like Ulta and Sephora. Trust me, I know $15 a bottle sounds expensive, but for gorgeous color, long-lasting polish, & most of all, a non-toxic formula that is safe for you (& perhaps a little developing life inside of you), I think it's worth it.

Bits of Life Lately

Night Belly. Officially 6 months pregnant :)

Sun showers

 Loving his new Radio Flyer wagon 

Bridal Shower #2 for a beautiful bride to be

 Beatin' the heat with our backyard waterpark (wading pool, sprinkler, hose, & slip 'n slide, come on over ;)) 

 Sick again -- Little pick me ups from the hubby.

a lil craftin' -- diy corset bachelorette wine bottles

beautiful Lake Geneva

slumber parties & girlfriends

& last, but certainly not least, this precious little sleeping nugget
<3

Random Bits, Snapshots, & Links

- I've been in crazy nest mode (already) and swooning over so many adorable items to fill baby girl's nursery. I have my major inspiration coming from Finley's Ecletic Nursery by Carley Kay (scroll down) and I started accumulating items on a master wish list already :) It's been super fun, but very addicting and extremely mind & time consuming. 

- I've also been swooooning over Julie Newell's Photography and would loove to do a maternity photo shoot with her as well as a newborn/family shoot right after baby girl is born. Seriously, check out her "in bloom" belly sessions and her "celebrated baby" pics under her galleries. I've spent legit hours perusing her site and blog as if I am at a museum just absolutely mesmerized by every aspect of every single photo. Gah!

- After our big Gender Reveal Party & 4th of July Holiday Weekend, I came down with a vicious, vicious stomach flu and was a sick, sick puppy for a week. And then, unfortunately but predictably, I passed it onto little Landon, who has been home sick on his last week of school for the past three days. Poor little guy has been throwing up everything and unable to keep anything down for the past 3 days and counting, the longest time he's ever been sick. But getting lots of rest, love, & cuddles from mama & papa.

- I finally made the switch over to Bloglovin' to keep up with my favorite blogs. If you didn't know, google reader has shut down, so if you'd like to follow my Corner over on bloglovin' you can do so here. I also cleaned up my own blog list, which was getting a little out of control, to just my favorites (no preference given, in alphabetical order): 6th Street Design School, A Beautiful Mess, A Good Life, Atlantic-Pacific, Centsational Girl, Heart & Habit, Oana Befort, Ohdeardrea, Petite Biet, Primitive Mommy, & Under the Sycamore. 

- I'm just about 23 weeks in with baby bauman 2 and only about a month left in my beloved 'honeymoon' trimester before the big ballooning third. I feel baby kick and flutter around extremely frequently as I'm going about my day (and trying to sleep at night) but I love it. Baby now weighs just over a pound and is about the size of a cabbage in length. Have her first & middle names all picked out (sorry, it's a surprise!), booked for the hospital tour, completed/submitted all the pre-registration docs for the hospital, and minus the nursery and despite my baby brain, I'm feeling pretty on top of it lately. 

- I'm really looking forward to having no major plans this weekend, just getting some projects done around the house with Chris, returning to the gym, & for the most part just laying low and spending some quality family time. It'll be the last low-key weekend before a big bridal shower, bachelorette weekend in Lake Geneva, a downtown Chicago wedding weekend, & then our big east coast trip. Oy!

- One month from today there will be a fundraiser for my beautiful twin nieces and Landon's sweet cousins, Emma + Norah, who were both recently diagnosed with autism. Please help support their family to raise money for an autism assistance service dog -- You can "like" 4 Paws For The Fitz Twins on facebook and visit their website, www.4pawsforthefitztwins.com to learn more about the girls, autism, 4 Paws, as well as their fundraiser on August 9 and ways you can help donate and show some love.

- Finally, a few random snapshots of little bits of life lately, (most of which can be found on my IG):

Loving my new arkansas quartz crystal pendant I may or may not be guilty of buying and wearing to bring more positive energy and heightened spirituality to baby bump. c/o Love Bullet

"Landon did you make a new friend?"

Little girl: "Say yes."

Oh yes. c/o Freshly Picked

 Having tons of fun @ Kohl's Children's Museum when the weather wasn't exactly cooperating outside

 Bridesmaids @ bridal shower #1 for a beautiful bride to be this September!

@ Wagner Farm, obsessed with the "Feep!" (sheep)

Finding little vintage treasures my MIL kept. Peter pan collars & puffy sleeves, oh my! 

L + baby belly <3 (The only thing the stomach flu is good for is cuddling).

 "I'll eat you up I love you so" <3 The same bedtime stories, over & over & over...

Beach Daze

<3

Just Watch The Fireworks *

A few pics from our 4th of July. Happy Independence Day & hope everyone has a wonderful weekend :)

Raspberry Peach Prosecco Punch

Made this punch at our Gender Reveal BBQ last weekend and was a huge hit! Perfect for a daytime summer party and SUPER easy.

All You Need:
- fresh or frozen raspberries
- 1 jar of sliced peaches (nectar/juice included)
- 1 or 2 bottles of Prosecco. (I used Cupcake but any kind will do).
& then just combine all the above into a punch bowl with ice & voila!

Enjoy!

Summer Pasta Salad Recipe

The best pasta salad you will ever make, I promise. What I like best about this is that it's a light summer side dish that isn't running with mayo. It tastes super light and is loaded with fresh veggies and herbs to make this extra healthy & tasty. Enjoy!

What You'll Need:

For the Dressing:
- 1/2 Cup white wine vinegar
- 1/3 Cup canola oil
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/2 tablespoon kosher or sea salt
- 1/2 tbsp ground black pepper
For the Salad:
- 16 oz bag fresh spinach
- 1 pint/package cherry/grape tomatoes
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley
- 1/4 cup fresh basil
- 2 cups or 1 head broccoli boiled

Directions:
1. Cook pasta, drain, transfer to serving bowl.
2. Boil broccoli for 1 minute just to soften a little.
3. Combine pasta, broccoli, parsley, basil, & fresh spinach in bowl and toss.
4. Combine dressing ingredients in jar and shake well, pour over pasta, & toss.

IT'S A GIRL!!!!

Absolutely over the moon and so absolutely thrilled that we are having a little girl. We had such an awesome day at our gender reveal party, was so cool to find out and share with everyone. I love that my mother-gut instinct was right on & I can't wait to go shopping for our little princess ;) & to answer the recurring question-- we DID NOT know ahead of time! We found out with everyone at the party. How? At our 20-week ultrasound we had the technician write the sex down on a piece of paper and seal it in an envelope, and then took that envelope to party city with my box and had them fill the box up with either blue or pink balloons and tape it shut. So fun right? 

A few pics of our beautiful day yesterday: