Saturday, July 31, 2010

I heart Nordstrom!

Nordstrom Southpark Mall

Savvy/Via C.
4400 Sharon Road Suite 500
Charlotte, NC 28211
704-442-6000 ex 1360

I am not sure how many of you all live in the Carolinas. But for those that do, I am sure you are familiar with Southpark Mall. It is one of my favorite malls in the area. And I make trips to Charlotte just to visit Nordstroms! One of my good friends, Bri, is  working at Nordstrom in Southpark and she sent me an invite to her department's fan page on Facebook. You can check it out here!  It keeps you up to date with all of the current products they have in the store. I find it VERY helpful because Charlotte is a good hour away from where I live. So it helps knowing what is in the store before I make the trip up there. They currently have several adorable outfits that I thought I would show yall! Let me know what you think. I am in LOVE with the Milly dress!!

Milly



McGinn

McGinn



From J Brand Jeans and Habitual, to Milly, Vince and DVF, Savvy/Via C. has got you covered! All the newest fashions and Charlotte's best style experts are waiting for you!

So stop by Nordstroms and visit Bri if you are in the Charlotte area. I am sure she can help you pick out several AMAZING outfits!!

Friday, July 30, 2010

Preppy Giveaway


Check out The College Prep blog for your chance to win one of there adorable Nico and Lala gifts!! Don't you just love these!? So very cute! Go enter HERE! Good luck! :)

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Prayers for Lucy!

Hello all,

I am reaching out to all of you to ask for your prayers for Lucy and her triplets. Doctors hoped she would not go into labor for two more weeks. But it looks like the babies will be here within the next three days.

Loving God, thank you for the gift of life, especially for the lives growing within Lucy. Let Your strength be with Lucy as she's in labor. Guide her doctor, nurses, and all who care for her. Ease her pain and discomfort and remind her she's not alone during her labor. Be with her as she brings the triplets into the world. Please bless and keep the triplets safe and healthy. I pray that they all grow strong together and have a safe delivery. Amen.

If you would like to leave Lucy a message, you can go to her blog Here!

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Lilly Necklace Giveaway!


I love Lilly Pulitzer's choker-style necklaces. If you would like a chance to win one of these lovely necklaces, check out the Living In Lilly blog! Giveaway details HERE!

Team Preggo!


Last week I went to my friend Lucy's baby shower. It was such a great time. The decor was absolutely adorable and I loved watching Lucy open all of her sweet baby presents. She is having TRIPLETS! And she has been on bed-rest for the past several weeks. I was really glad she was still able to make it to her shower. We are having our babies at the same hospital so we are talking to the babies and trying to convince them to come on the same day. Wouldn't that be fun?! And wouldn't it be nice if it were that easy? haha

Monday, July 26, 2010

Puppy Workout Plan!

My hubby loves the P90X workout plan. I have a riot every time I watch him attempt to do his workout when our pup, Fender, is around. Fender tries to workout with his daddy! And it is hysterical. 

Here are some photos:












Gotta love my men! Aren't they adorable?

Sunday, July 25, 2010

The winner of the Nautical Necklace Giveaway!


And the winner of the gorgeous nautical necklace giveaway is:

Monica Carron from Ribbons N' Pearls blog!!  Congrats Monica!

Monica, please e-mail me at JaimeNHuffman@yahoo.com so we can get you your prize!

And I apologize for not posting sooner. I meant to post it at the beginning of the week but life happened! :) 

And ladies if you want a cute necklace like the one above, remember to check out Tuckoo and Moo Cow on Etsy! 

I Love This Camera!!


I am thinking about getting a new camera before the little guy gets here. I currently have an Olympus Stylus and I LOVE it! I love it so much that I am thinking about getting the same camera in the new model. The new model is 12 mega pixels! It also comes in several ADORABLE colors. I love the turquoise one above. Mine current one is orange (Clemson...BOO!) 

Here are some of the new models features:
  • 3.6x optical/5x digital/18x total zoom
  • TruePic III image processor which delivers vibrant colors, sharp images and fine picture detail for true-to-life pictures.
  • Face detection technology which isolates subjects in-frame and optimizes conditions to take the best pictures of friends and family.
  • Full range of scene modes including portrait, landscape, night scene, night portrait, sport, indoor, candle, self portrait, sunset, fireworks, cuisine, documents, beach/snow, underwater snapshot, pet and more.
  • iESP autofocus- with spot focus and auto tracking options. Super-macro mode focuses as close as 0.8" for clear photos up close.
  • Burst shooting mode which captures up to 1.2 fps at 3.0 megapixels (up to 0.3 fps at 14.0 megapixels) for fast-action shots.
  • White balance control which includes auto, daylight, overcast, tungsten and 3 fluorescents to help achieve natural tones under different lighting conditions.
  • Built-in auto flash with red-eye reduction for natural-looking eyes in portraits.
  • HD movie mode which lets you capture high-definition MP4 videos at 1080i or 720p resolution.
  • 632MB internal memory
  • Durable design
And the best part!!!! It is water-, shock-, freeze- and dust-resistant for your on-the-go lifestyle. It made it through several football seasons (which is impressive!) And I loved having a water-proof camera when I was in Jamaica and Maui!! 

Here are some of the photos I took with it:
















What type of digital camera do yall have? Do you love it? Does anyone have the newer Olympus Stylus? If so, I would love to hear what you think about it! 

I even took a fun video of the sea turtles with my camera. Take a look. I think it is pretty cool! 


And if you are in the market for a new camera, the Olympus Stylus is on sale this week at Best Buy. It is normally $229.99 but it is on sale for $199.99! You can find it here!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Patty Anderson Jewelry Giveaway!


Do you love gorgeous silver nautical/sea inspired jewelry!? If so, head over to the Sweet Southern Prep blog and check out this giveaway!! 

One lucky reader will win their choice of Patty Anderson jewelry and another lucky lady will win a box of Lilly Pulitzer cookies!! Good luck! :)

And if you happen to enter the giveaway, make sure you let her know I sent ya. :) 

Preppy Giveaway


I love this Baekgaard headband and key chain. If you would like a chance to win one for yourself, check out the Summer Wind blog. One lucky reader will win one here.  It is so cute!! GOOD LUCK.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Harper's nursery!

The new carpet has been installed! Which means I can finally start decorating the nursery. It is painted a gorgeous blue and I am trying to determine if I want to paint stripes on the wall or have the men put up chair rails and wainscoting.

Here is an example of chair rails and wainscoting in a nautical nursery:


And here is an example of it in a bathroom:



Here are some photos with blue stripes in the nursery:




We are going to have to choose one and that project is going to be the next big step in decorating the nursery. I try to pick up cute nautical items and decorations whenever I see them. And I am currently painting several canvases with cartoon sea creatures to hang on the walls. I just finished up a seahorse and I started on a crab. I think I am going to do a fish and and a whale. Then eventually I want to paint a larger canvas with a sailboat and his name. I need a full day to just sit down and paint. But life has been a little hectic lately. Now that my mom is out of the hospital I will probably have more time. And I need to have mom help with some of the paintings, she is actually an amazing artist and went to the Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale where she graduated with a degree in advertising. When we were little, my dad built us a playhouse in the yard, it was just like a real miniature home, and my mom painted the entire house with Disney life-size murals. It was unbelievable! She said she wants to paint one for Harper one day too! 

In the meantime I am trying to find other decorating ideas for the nursery. Here are some designs that I love!






This is the bedding we decided on! I received the bumper, quilt, bedskirt, and two fitted sheets at our baby shower and I LOVE it!! 










Do you ladies have any fun ideas for decorating a "nautical nursery?" Or do you know of any places that have good nursery decor? 

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Freaking China

Me and Chicken in a Chinese Train

Zhan Hu Tribe


Erik on the Chinese train

Taking press photos in China


Our cast

Well quite a few of you lovely ladies have asked questions about my Survivor experience. I have told the story so many times over the past few years that I feel like I can recite the story by heart. And I should probably take the time to write it all down one day. But I haven't had the chance. In the meantime, I came across a short story I wrote for a descriptive writing class at Carolina and it summed up my first week in China pretty perfectly. It is a little cheesy, remember it was for a descriptive writing assignment, but it is already typed and ready to go. So I decided to copy/paste it and post it as a blog entry. Please excuse its length. It was hard to condense that crazy first week into a "short story" so it is a little long!

Fear is a feeling of agitation and anxiety caused by the presence of imminent danger. It is a reason for dread or apprehension. On June 16, 2007, fear took over my mind and body. I was sitting in silence and scared out of my wits. We were flying on a Boeing 757. It was the largest airplane I had ever been on. The flight attendants instructed us to keep the window shades down. But I had to sneak a peek. I pulled the shade up a few inches. A bright stream of light poured in. Hefty rigid glaciers and a blanket of snow went on for miles. The North Pole was extraordinary.

"Close you window, please," whispered a petite Asian woman in a navy dress. I snapped back into reality. I stretched my arms and looked behind me. I wanted to check out my competition. Most of the other passengers were of oriental descent. My group stood out like a sore thumb.

Some of the cast!

Fifteen hours and ten packets of peanuts late we landed in China. I felt like a schoolgirl as I lined up, single file, and matched outside to our bus. We were under a "gag order." We could not speak and were not supposed to make eye contact with each other. This was pure torture for me. I was so curious. Where were these people from? What were their names? I did not receive the answers to all of my questions for an entire week.

We arrived at our hotel a few minutes later. They brought us into a conference room. It was the first time in my adult life that I felt completely powerless. The producers came in and introduced themselves. They explained what we would be doing for the next two months of our lives. One producer in particular caught my attention. His name was Doug and he described the danger we would undertake once we arrived at our island. This was no joke. Apparently China is full of poisonous snakes. We would come across Bamboo Vipers, rattlers, and many insects that were completely foreign to me. What the hell was I getting myself into?
Crazy Chinese bug!
                                
I spent the entire week in silence. We stayed in quaint cabins for most of the day. The view of the lake was spectacular. I had never seen anything like it! The water was royal blue and small green hills rolled into the sky. I would lie on my back, listen to my Ipod and gaze into the distance. I was intrigued with the Chinese countryside. Locals would paddle on small wooden boats. Every night I looked forward to a lightning storm. I would sneak outside on the balcony and put my face into the water. Pellets of rain would sting my face. I stuck out my tongue and caught rain on my lips.

Our cute cabins!

I woke up one morning with an eerie feeling in my stomach. We had been in China for about six days. I had a feeling the time had finally come to start my adventure. Sure enough my instincts were right. I went to breakfast and knew I needed to eat as much as possible. I started to stuff my face. I shoved large pieces of fatty bacon into my mouth. I doused my pancakes with syrup and butter. I started to gorge. I continued to eat five eggs, seven pieces of bacon, three pancakes, hash browns, and watermelon slices. Little did I know, this would be my last real meal for twenty days.

We loaded onto an old fashioned military truck. They sat us in a circle. I was next to the handsome curly haired boy so I was happy and content. The truck started to trudge through the mud. A helicopter flew overhead. It was so noisy I could not hear myself think. My hair blew wildly in the wind. I looked at the others and snickered. The Chinese locals waved and cheered as we drove by. I felt special, almost famous. This was the beginning of my fifteen minutes of fame.

We arrived at the Buddhist temple. They gave us our luggage. I had a fifty-pound black and white polka dot suitcase. They instructed us to head up the stairs. There were about five hundred and fifty stairs in all. We were allowed to speak as soon as we walked up the first step. I was thrilled. I could finally talk. I ran to the first step and introduced myself to everyone, "Hey yall, I am Jaime Dugan. I am from a small town called Spartanburg, South Carolina." The other fifteen people were all from completely different walks of life. There was a gravedigger, a lunch lady with a mullet, and a WWE wrestler who is also a Playboy Playmate, a hot musician/model, a sassy New York waitress and even a gay Mormon flight attendant. And there I was, the college student. I felt out of place. These folks were so unique and bizarre and I felt so normal.



About half way up the stairs, James the gravedigger offered to carry my bag. I handed it right over. By the time I reached the top I still felt winded. The Buddhist monks gave me a cloth to drape across my chest, cleavage was not allowed in the temple. We walked in a line. Men were on each side of us. A gong boomed every few seconds. The monks hummed a strange tune. They welcomed us to their land.

About 25 cameramen surrounded me. They continued to document my experience for the next twenty-one days. When I woke up in the middle of the night, a camera was hovering over my face. They followed my every move and recorded every comment we made. Initially the cameras were overwhelming, but after a few days I didn't even realize they were there.

After our welcoming ceremony we lined up on the steps. Jeff Propst, our host, began our initiation to the game. He informed us that were were leaving all of our luggage behind. We would only have the clothes on our back. That posed a huge problem in my case. I was wearing a full-length neon orange dress and a thong. Then another problem came to mind. "I am not wearing a bra!" I exclaimed. I thought they might feel bad and let me grab one out of my suitcase. I was wrong. Propst just replied, "Well I am sure that will make you a lot of friends." I was mortified.

We were directed to find our canteen and bag with our name on it. The bags were red and yellow. Each color represented a tribe. I had a yellow bag. I was a member of the Zhan Hu tribe. I looked around to see my other tribe mates. We gathered together and Propst yelled, "Survivors ready!?" My crazy Chinese expedition was on its way. We loaded onto our rowboat and paddled until we reached our deserted island. I spent the next three weeks trying to outwit, outlast, and outplay the other contestants. Luckily, I managed to survive!
 
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