Yummy Breakfast Casserole

We spent last Saturday with our good friends in Philly and Sunday morning my dear friend Shannon made a wonderful breakfast with this amazing French Toast Casserole that I had to share with all of you. It's sooo good. I highly recommend it. It is definitely going to be my go-to when we have company.

French Toast Casserole

1/2 cup butter

2 TBSP pancake syrup

1C brown sugar

5 eggs

1 1/2 C milk

1 esp. vanilla

cinnamon

1 loaf french bread (Pepperidge Farms cinnamon swirl bread)

In a saucepan heat butter, syrup and brown sugar until melted and bubbly. Pour into 9x13 pan. Lay slices of bread on top. Mix eggs and milk and vanilla in separate bowl and pour over bread. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate over night. In morning, remove plastic wrap and bake at 350 for 30-40 min. until golden brown. Serve warm. Enjoy!!

Help Decorating the Nursery

I need some help deciding what to put on the walls of our baby girl's nursery. I will warn you this is going to be a long post because there are for walls and nook. Let me know what you think of my ideas and please feel free to suggest any new ideas.

This is the main wall in the nursery and is fairly long. The crib is about center to the wall with rocker on one side. I definitely want to do something with her name of first initial as the focal point in the center above the crib and then maybe something on either side.

For letters we are looking at these adorable ones that would be customized to match the bedding. Her first name is short (four letters) so it won't take up too much space.

Source: etsy.com via Christina on Pinterest

OR just do a large letter above the crib in a light pink

Source: etsy.com via Christina on Pinterest

So which do you like better? Are there other letters that I should be looking at or maybe a different idea all together? What should we put on either side of the crib?

Next up above the changing table. I found inspiration through this and I think I want to recreate it on this wall.

Source: madebygirl.blogspot.com via Mar on Pinterest

I found these frames at Land of Nod and I'm thinking about getting two and decorate them with a mix of books, prints and stuffed animals? What do you think...two frames on top of each other?

Source: landofnod.com via Christina on Pinterest

Next up the wall above the dresser and small space in between the two windows. I think the space in both of these areas can be a mix of ideas. Please ignore the no window treatments...that's another thing I need to add to my list. The items on the dresser other than the lamp and sound machine can be moved. I just put them their because I want to include these pieces in decor.


I really like this idea of using nice planters on the wall for stuffed animals. I think it would work great in either spot. Which spot do you like better?

Source: centsationalgirl.com via Christina on Pinterest

So if the planters go on one wall then what do I do on the other wall. I definitely would like to incorporate this print somewhere. Thoughts?

Source: etsy.com via Christina on Pinterest

I just threw a lot of ideas out there and I'm really hoping you all can help me pull these ideas together into a beautiful nursery for my baby girl. Let me know your thoughts on my decorating ideas and any new ideas you may have. Thanks is advance for all the feedback!

First Post Pregnancy Outfit...I think?!?!?!

Thanks to Jenni at Found in my Closet, I think I have found my first post pregnancy outfit. I might not be able to fit into till late summer (baby is due end of May) but I'm loving this outfit she put together so I've added it to my Anthropologie birthday shopping spree...hopefully its still available in June.

Maxi Dress

Split Surface Belt

Belt

If I'm not in the mood for a belt since it's already cinched. I'd pair it with lovely necklace.

Drawing Room Necklace

Necklace

And if it gets chilly, I can pair it with this nice cardigan.

Forever Hooked Cardi

Cardigan

Definitely check out Jenni's blog. She has amazing style and I love how she styles the latest pieces from stores like Anthropologie and J.Crew.

Product Review - Maybelline Lash Stiletto

I'm a big fan of Maybelline mascara so I was really excited to try their latest creation Lash Stiletto. As you know I'm a HUGE fan of Maybelline's Colossal Mascara and have yet to find one that works better until now. I absolutely LOVE Lash Stiletto. I think part of what won me over the the wand. It really helps lengthen and separate without clumping. I also like the thin tube...its supposed to look like a heel. Lately I've been finding the mascara I try has been flaking off my eyes (not sure if its the pregnancy hormones) but this one doesn't at all. Looks great all day long. And of course one of the favorite things about buying this mascara is that there are ALWAYS Maybelline coupons in the weekend mailer. The mascara may replace favorite thing #173. I need to try it for a few more months before I officially replace it! :)

Willow House Giveaway Winner

Congrats to Darci at The Good Life for winning the Willow House giveaway. I can't wait to see what you end up buying.

Stay tuned for more giveaways and other fun posts. Things have been crazy for us with no plans of slowing down so I'm trying to post as best I can.

Time for another giveaway!

I'm super excited to be giving away a $50 gift certificate to Willow House to one of my lucky readers. For those of you not familiar with Willow House, they have some of the cutest things for your home, decorating, entertaining and more. Some of my favorite pieces are their vases and hurricanes. Such cute stuff! Check out some of the things you could get here.

Entries will be accepted till midnight ET on Feb 16. Winner will be announced the following week. You have a few different ways to enter and get extra entries:

Must follow my blog through friend connect and leave a comment letting me know you are a follower

For Extra Entries

• Friend Christina's Favorite Things on Facebook
• Tweet about this giveaway and be sure to include me (@xtinafavthings)
• Post this giveaway on your blog
  

Please leave a comment for each entry. Good luck!

Thrifty Thursday - Biggest Ebates Check Yet!

Since I got pregnant I feel like I haven't been doing nearly as much online shopping as I used to so I was shocked when I got this email from Ebates over the weekend with my latest check amount - $204.27! It's my biggest one yet. A bulk of what was on this check was from Christmas shopping. We were so busy over the holidays that I tried to do as much online (and via Ebates) as I could. Here are some of my big cash backs from this check -

Snapfish - $17.92 - I will never order our Christmas cards without Ebates again!
Boden - $6.58 - Had a fairly larger order for maternity clothes (most of the clothes were on sale)
GAP - $13.11 - This was only a $131 bill for Christmas clothes but GAP was having 10% cash back at the time
Drugstore.com - $6.03 - Again a small order only around $50 but thanks to a large cash back percentage I got a good amount back

For those of you new to this blog, this is by far the easiest way to earn FREE money by shopping online. All you have to do is go to Ebates, log in, search for the store you plan on shopping at, click the link and voila you are taken there and all you have to do is shop! Each store has a corresponding percentage of cash back. And the money just adds up. Every quarter Ebates will send you a check and all you have to do is cash it. My next Ebates check will be for over $100! If you haven't already signed up, I definitely recommend that you do. You get $5 just for signing up! Click here to start getting free money!