Six Weeks To Christmas Giveaway #1

Can you believe there are only six weeks until Christmas? Aah!! I'm sure I'm not the only one freaking about Christmas shopping....I haven't even begun! Nevermind...it will all get done eventually, right? :)

Well to relieve some of the holiday stress and countdown to the holidays, I'm excited to start a Six Weeks To Christmas Weekly Giveaway. I'll be giving away at least one item per week and there will be multiple ways to enter. Sound like fun?? If so, let the fun begin!

Six Weeks To Christmas Giveaway #1

2010 StyleMark Designs Christmas Ornament

I love these ornaments! They come in multiple initials and even year numbers as well. The 2010 ornament has been a big hit so far! These ornaments look great in stockings, on your Christmas tree and even add the special wrapping touch to a gift. I know I'll be giving some as hostess gifts this holiday season.

How to Enter

To win this fabulous Christmas ornament, all you have to do is follow the StyleMark Designs Blog and comment on this post!

Extra Entry Opportunities

- Follow the StyleMark Designs Fan Page and leave a comment on the wall for entry 2
- Blog about this giveaway with a link back to my blog for entry 3
- Tweet about this giveaway with a link back to my blog for entry 4

For the additional entry opportunities, be sure to come back and comment again to make sure you get credit for the additional opportunities.

I'll announce the winner at random via random.org on Tuesday, November 16 at 9:00 p.m./CST.

In the meantime, all StyleMark Designs blog readers and Facebook fans can receive 10% off the Christmas ornaments today and tomorrow. If you're interested, visit our store or e-mail me at nicky@stylemarkdesigns.com.

Good luck, everyone!

-N

Things To Look Forward to in November

I'm so excited that it's November. I've been counting down the days for a few weeks now...Is that sad? Hopefully I'm not the only one :). It's funny because I've never really been a person to love November because of the weather, but this year it's different. Here's what I'm looking forward to this month:

Junior League Holiday Market



I'm excited about participating in this show again. Andrew, Kim and I will be out at the Central Park Hall at Expo Square this Saturday (9 a.m. - 6 p.m.) and Sunday ( 12 p.m. - 5 p.m.). If you're in area, be sure to stop by and say hi.

New Car



My lease is up in January, so we're ordering an SUV to replace my car. The plan is to have it in time for our holiday traveling in December. I can't wait!

An Affair of the Heart


Source: An Affair of the Heart

This will be my second craft show of the holiday season. I've heard that this show is a lot better than the July show, so I'm looking forward to seeing all of the different vendors...especially the holiday vendors. Bring on the Christmas decorations :).

Denver, CO



We're heading to Colorado for Thanksgiving this year. Andrew's grandma just moved out to Denver, so we're having a small family reunion. We spent one night in Denver last July before driving up to Breckenridge, so we can't wait to explore the city some more.

Christmas Decorations



I love Christmas and decorating! I wasn't able to decorate for Christmas last year because I was so busy with orders and traveling for the holidays. This made me sad, but you can only do so much. You know? This year, I have extra PTO, so I'm taking at least one day to deck the halls. Plus, we'll be having Christmas at our house with Andrew's family, so it gives me a reason to not skip the decorating this year. Hopefully, I'll be able to find some great buys at the upcoming craft shows. I'll be sure to share pictures as soon as everything is up.

So, here's a question for you...what are you looking forward to this month?

-N

Congratulations, Brian and Megan

The Thornton Family has a new member. Brian and Megan are officially married. Here are some pictures from the wedding weekend.

It was so nice to see all of Andrew's family. We hadn't seen many of them for a while, so it was nice to catch up with them.







The rehearsal dinner was at Andrew's parents house. We ate some delicious BBQ and had fun with bubbles....



and balloons.



Once the big day arrived, it was off to look pretty.







The wedding was really nice and we all had fun.









Welcome to the family, Meg!

My New Favorite Blog - The Pleated Poppy

I love blogs! I might not be the best with keeping up with the StyleMark Designs blog (I'm trying to improve...promise!), but I'm a diligent blog reader at night. I don't start to relax at the end of the day until I've read my daily websites like People and Us Weekly and all of my blogs.

There is one blog that I'm just loving right now! It's the...

Image Credit: The Pleated Poppy

I just love Lindsey's story, product, blog...you name it! Plus, I'm in love with her blog design (hint of what's to come!). So, jump over to Lindsey's blog and check it out. I bet you'll become an avid reader like me!

What blog do you look forward to reading each day?

A Thank You From Texas

Last week, I received a thank you e-mail from one of my new customers, Amanda, that really touched my heart. Here is what she said:

We love our sign! My husband and I are both Active Duty Military (me - Air Force and my husband - Army) and we are stationed 13 hours apart. He will deploy soon to Iraq and I'll deploy shortly later to Afghanistan. This is such a nice way to bond us. Even though we don't live together and won't for another year and a half, we're still a family. Thank you so much. It's beautiful.

Along with the sweet message, she sent me these photographs.



I love receiving e-mails like this! To know that my customers love their items makes my heart smile :).

Thanks again for sending me this e-mail and for protecting our country, Amanda!

-N

Trick or Treat, Smell My Feet!

Are you looking for a cute trick or treat basket to pass out candy or am adorable sign to greet kiddos? Check out the fun designs I've just added to the StyleMark Designs shop.

Welcome - Leave All Brooms at the Door Wooden Sign

Don't make me get out my flying monkeys wooden sign

Trick or Treat Basket

Trick or Treat Basket

-N

Race Week

It's race week. I can't believe it's already here. With four days to the Chicago Marathon, I have a mix of emotions.

I'm nervous...worried...


and excited.

I just hope I can finish within six and a half hours and that my knees stay strong. ::Fingers Crossed::

If you're interested in tracking me during the race, you can receive text messages when I've finished certain sections of the route. All you have to do is...

- Visit http://www.textinterface.com/pls/text/TF_BACM_DT
- Search for me: Nicky Thornton, Bib #: 45026
- Press "track"
- Enter your mobile number and press "submit."

It's that easy! I'll be sure to give an update once I've finished the race. Until then, here's a few pictures from our trip so far in Chi-Town.




The wall of marathon runners at NikeTown:



-N

Weekend Re-Cap

What a fun weekend! It was productive, fun and filled with friends. I'm not sure if it gets any better than that.


Dinner and Yogurt with the Hump Day Crew
We kicked off the weekend with dinner and frozen yogurt with some of the Hump Day Crew. Many of us had to run on Saturday, so we ate at Olive Garden for dinner and Orange Leaf for dessert. Yum!

12 miles Done!
I can't believe I only have one more training run left until the Chicago Marathon. On Saturday, I ran 12 miles with many, many hills. I completed the mileage, but the hills kicked my bottom. Only one more training run of 10 miles before I'm done with my training. I'm looking forward to the race, but I'm ready to have my Friday nights back.

The Vintage Pearl
Have you been to The Vintage Pearl store at 81st and Lewis?? It's ADORABLE! I just love The Vintage Pearl and Erin's story. I didn't have time to stop and browse the shop, but I can't wait to go back.

Car Shopping
Since my lease will be up in January, we've been doing a lot of research over the past few months to find my next car. We know it has to be an SUV with towing capabilities. We were pretty certain we were going for a specific brand and model, but it looks like we're changing our minds again. We're test driving a few more cars tomorrow, so I guess we'll see what happens. The question is though....do we go with the car that we really want or do we go for the cheaper car so people won't judge us?

TU Game
On Saturday night, we went to the TU game with Eric and Jon. We had a blast! Not only did TU win (41-14), but we had tickets to my company's suite. Here are some pictures of the game.

Eric, Jon and Andrew

Andrew and I

Wood Cutting
I ran out of wood this week, so we had to cute and route wood for my signs on Sunday. I now have 51 routed pieces of wood! Yeah! I just need to fill and prime the signs now and then they'll be ready for future orders.

Purging the DVR
Andrew and I are TV fanatics, but we've been stressed lately because we haven't had time to watch TV. The Fall shows have only been on for a week and our DVRs are already getting full! So, this evening we had a review our shows and decide which ones to cut from the list. We decided it was time to say goodbye to Criminal Minds, Hell's Kitchen and Bones. We still have though NCIS, NCIS LA, House, Chuck, Fringe, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Brothers and Sisters, Cougar Town, Weeds, Rules of Engagement, Top Gear and The Big Bang Theory.

-N

Hump Day Dinner #129 - Fry Night

Yesterday, the Hump Day Dinner crew had a fry night at Katie and Chase's house. The Tulsa State Fair is just around the corner and we wanted to prepare ourselves for all of the fair food.


There are hundreds of food choices at the fair, so we thought it would be smart to try some of the food first...fry it before you buy it.


We had different types of batter and everything from hot dogs and egg rolls to Zingers and Oreos to fry. The cheese sticks, oreos and apple fritters were definitely crowd-pleasers.


Everyone had a blast! It was the perfect way to celebrate the official start of Fall.

-N

Oh My!

Guess what came in the mail this week?? My participant guide for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon and confirmation ticket for the Health and Fitness Expo.


I can't believe I'll be in Chi Town two weeks from today.


You know what's even more crazy! I received my bib number and it looks like my lucky number is...

45026

This is definitely going to be a wild experience!

-N

I'm Back

Wow...I'm a very bad blogger. It seems when SMD (StyleMark Designs) gets busy, social media and the blog are the first things to drop off my to-do list, even though they're some of the most important tactics. I just get so busy that my first priority is to fulfill my customer's orders as fast as possible. So, I apologize for neglecting you....I promise it's not you, but me.

I'm back though and I have lots of things to share...everything from pictures from weddings and vacations to new products. I have several trips coming up and a busy craft show season ahead, so bear with me over the next few months. I'm going to work hard at staying on top of the blog and continue to share with you things to brighten your day.

Wish me luck!

-NT

Off to St. Louis

We're off to St. Louis today for Andrew's brother's wedding. I won't be around to fulfill orders for the next few days, but I'll still be on e-mail. See you all on Sunday!

Interior Decorating Ideas Using Vinyl

Have you ever thought about creatively transforming a wall or room in your house with vinyl? It's really easy to apply and it makes the world of difference. If you have a clean, dry and relatively flat surface, you can pretty much do anything with vinyl.

Here's a quote we added to my Mother-In-Law's kitchen.


What do you think?

I Have a Crush

Recently, I've been having a crush on Poetic License. They make the most adorable shoes! I just love these sandals....you can dress them up and down.

I think they would be perfect for our upcoming trip to Las Vegas. They're a little out of my price range, but maybe I can find them on sale. We'll see.

Nicky's Headshots

I got my headshots back from Ashley with Ashley O Photo and I'm really pleased with her work...as always. Even though we had to deal with the Oklahoma wind and heat, she was able to get some great shots of me, as well as Andrew and I. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the shoot.

Photo Credit: Ashley O Photo

Photo Credit: Ashley O Photo

Photo Credit: Ashley O Photo

If you haven't guessed already, we decided to go to TU to take the photographs. Since, I'm a very symbolic person, it felt like a natural fit because I wouldn't be where I am today without TU...both in my career and with Andrew. Plus, I just adore its campus. There's a lot of great memories there.

Photo Credit: Ashley O Photo

Photo Credit: Ashley O Photo

Ok, I know this isn't a picture of my head, but check out my sandals!! Don't you just LOVE them?? I know I do :). I might need to find another pair before summer ends.

Photo Credit: Ashley O Photo

Photo Credit: Ashley O Photo

Photo Credit: Ashley O Photo

Here are some of my favorite pictures of Andrew and I.

Photo Credit: Ashley O Photo

Photo Credit: Ashley O Photo

Photo Credit: Ashley O Photo

Photo Credit: Ashley O Photo

So, what do you think?