• Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Collaborate
  • Blog
  • Parties
    • Children’s Parties Ideas
    • Holiday Parties
    • Adult Party Ideas
  • Holiday Ideas
    • Christmas
    • Easter
    • Fourth of July
    • Spring
    • Thanksgiving
    • Valentine’s Day
  • Seasons
    • Winter
    • Spring
    • Summer
    • Autumn
  • Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Beverages
    • Desserts
    • Main Dishes
    • Side Dishes
    • Soups
  • Project Gallery
    • Crafts
    • Decorating
    • DIY
    • Good Ideas
    • Tutorials
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Bloglovin
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

Where Ideas for your Home Meet Inspiration for your Heart

  • Book
  • Speaking
  • Meet Vanessa
    • Featured

July 7, 2014

Christmas in July $500 Giveaway!

Did anyone else notice the Christmas movies playing all weekend long on the Hallmark channel?

Did anyone else give into the irresistible temptation of love stories mixed with gently falling snowflakes and a healthy dose of sappiness?

Did anyone else find it strange that they were sitting there watching Christmas movies while it was 90 degrees outside and have their husband look at them like they were crazy?

Christmas In July Giveaway at ALittleClaireification.com 2

And did anyone else get a tad misty-eyed when the small town girl who had moved to the big city and had a big city boyfriend returns home and realizes that she was really in love with the boy next door all along but she doesn’t realize it until they are having a snowball fight and they ‘accidentally’ slip and fall into each others arms and lock lips passionately?

Yeah…ummm…neither did we! 😉

But, since we’re already talking Christmas in July, why not enter to win this AMAZING giveaway?? We’re teaming up with all of these fabulous bloggers and bringing you a chance to get a head start on that Christmas shopping!

Sponsored by:
A Little Claireification | At The Picket Fence | Chase The Star |
Cooking On The Front Burner | Cooking With Curls | C.R.A.F.T. | Dear Crissy |
Debbie Doos | Five Heart Home | I Should Be Mopping The Floor | Katie’s Cucina |
Little Miss Celebration | Live Laugh Rowe | Love Bakes Good Cakes |
Mod Podge Rocks |Mom On Timeout | Mom’s Test Kitchen |
Ms. Toody Goo Shoes | Sew Woodsy |Tatertots & Jello |
That’s What Che Said | The 36th Avenue | The Weary Chef |
What’s Cooking Love | Yummy, Healthy, Easy
 
 
 

Merry Christmas in July dear friends! Now enter to win why don’t ya?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

10 Comments Filed Under: Good Ideas

Subscribe

Get the latest goodness straight to your inbox!

Previous Post: « Leg Warmers & Last Minute 4th of July Ideas!
Next Post: Lemon Raspberry Cheesecake Bars »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Shirley@Housepitality Designs says

    July 7, 2014 at 5:14 AM

    Ha..so funny…the Hallmark Channel was on all day yesterday in my house…I am a sap for movies with a “and they lived happily ever after”….Great giveaway and Merry Christmas in July!!!

    Reply
  2. Patty says

    July 7, 2014 at 6:28 AM

    I am no longer on facebook, I don’t tweet and I don’t follow anything on Pinterest. Why can’t there be just one category that you leave a comment or a rafflecopter entry? I guess people like me are SOL.

    Reply
    • Dee says

      July 7, 2014 at 3:14 PM

      I totally agree with you. The only way to comment is through your e-mail address.

      Reply
      • Patty says

        July 7, 2014 at 6:02 PM

        Thank you Dee. I have cancelled my subscription to this blog because I feel I don’t count as a reader or anything else. I’m glad I am not the only one.

        Reply
        • At The Picket Fence says

          July 7, 2014 at 6:23 PM

          Patty, we are deeply sorry to hear that you feel you don’t count to us as a reader! That was never our intention and we just replied to your other comment explaining why the giveaway was set up this way but please know that we are taking your frustration into consideration when we look to future giveaways as we would never want to alienate our readers. 99% of the time our giveaways do offer an option for leaving comments but this particular one didn’t Again, please accept our sincere apologies and we hope you will continue to pay us a visit At the Picket Fence!

          Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      July 7, 2014 at 6:20 PM

      Hi Patty! We are so sorry that there isn’t a way to enter the contest by leaving a comment. Because of the way that this particular giveaway was set up with so many bloggers participating and sharing the same giveaway code we aren’t able to keep a record of the comments on each individual blog. We sincerely apologize for this and the frustration it caused you!
      Heather and Vanessa

      Reply
  3. June says

    July 7, 2014 at 9:05 AM

    LOVED THE HALLMARK WEEKEND AND LOOKING FORWARD TO WATCHING MORE HOLIDAY MOVIES THIS WEEK. I KEPT MY TV BUSY BETWEEN REGULAR HALLMARK AND THEIR MOVIE CHANNEL. IT WAS LIKE HAVING DOUBLE FEATURES GOING AT THE SAME TIME. SOME GREAT NEW ONES TOO WHICH I ENJOYED.

    SPEAKING OF HALLMARK…COUNTING THE DAYS FOR CEDAR COVE TO START AGAIN – GREAT SERIES. MISSING SIGNED SEALED DELIVERED. ANOTHER GREAT SERIES FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT ENJOY GOOD QUALITY TV.

    THANKS FOR THE GIVEAWAY!

    Reply
  4. Julia G. says

    July 7, 2014 at 9:40 AM

    Merry Christmas in July!

    Reply
  5. Kathy Banff says

    July 7, 2014 at 12:35 PM

    I am a Christmas movie junkie. Can’t get enough of them. I would have fun spending $500.
    Thanks for all you do.

    Reply
  6. Emily Dahl says

    July 15, 2014 at 2:14 PM

    Yeah, I DVR’d most of them so I could ‘hang on’ to Christmas for a little longer than a week! All that was missing was the Pumpkin Spice coffee creamer!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Search This Blog

Take the Quiz

Stay updated!

Get all the latest goodness straight to your inbox!

Get the book!

Invite Vanessa to speak at your event!

Must Reads

French country home entry decor

Recent Posts

  • A New French Country Dining Table February 3, 2021
  • Open Now December 17, 2020
  • Tradition and a Christmas Home Tour December 9, 2020
  • Tabletop Hot Cocoa Station November 29, 2020
  • A New Front Door November 10, 2020

Get all the latest straight to your inbox

Footer

Instagram

I've been watching our cherry trees bloom for 12 y I've been watching our cherry trees bloom for 12 years now and every year I ohhhh and ahhhh over the blossoms like it's the first time I've ever seen them. I gush and I take photos (that look exactly like the ones I took the year before and the year before that) and I make my family come outside and look at them with me which you know they just LOVE to do. 😉 I think that is one of the main reasons why I love spring so much. On the one hand, it's predictable and yet, on the other hand, it still feels like such a surprise after the long months of barren branches.

And yesterday, as I was staring at the gorgeous blossoms for the umpteenth time, I couldn't help but think that I hope this is how I feel when our lives return to some semblance of normalcy.

I hope that the predictable feels special and that the typical feels anything but. I hope that I ohhh and ahhh over the simple things I've realized I've taken for granted. And, most of all, I hope that feeling doesn't go away for a very, very long time! 💗
Are you living with great expectation friends? Bec Are you living with great expectation friends? Because He is risen!

Happy Easter from my home to yours!
Lemon bars all ready for tomorrow! It’s going to Lemon bars all ready for tomorrow! It’s going to be a different kind of Easter for sure but some things don’t change. Have you been baking and getting ready for tomorrow? What’s one thing on your menu that you have to have every year?
If this is Good Friday, why doesn’t it feel so “good”? It all seems backward doesn’t it?

What could be good about the unspeakable pain he suffered? What could be good about the shame and betrayal?

Easter Sunday is so joyful, bright and cheery. Shouldn’t that be the day we call “good”? It just feels so much better!

But, I don’t know how to rejoice over His resurrection, unless I have felt the pain of His death. I have realized that in life the sweetest victories are the ones which were realized after a pain-filled journey.

And, so it is with Good Friday. I know there will be victory over death, but I can’t skip ahead in the story.

Jesus knew what was coming. He knew what he would experience. And he knew why he would go through it. He did it for me. He did it for you.

Do you know that? Have you felt it down in the very core of your soul? 
Sometimes it makes me squirm a bit. Why would anyone do that for me?

Well, because, I can’t do it for myself!

There is nothing I can do to earn that kind of love and mercy.

That is why it is called GRACE.

His grace is freely given. We don’t have to pay for it. He paid the price for us already.

Do you remember that movie from years ago called “Ransom”? A couple’s young son was kidnapped and the parents went to hell and back trying to find him and pay the “ransom” demanded by the kidnappers.

Well, Jesus is our “ransom”. (1 Timothy 2:6) His life was the payment.

Why is it called “Good Friday”? Because that wasn’t the end of the story….
.
…It was just the beginning!
Raise your hand if there’s a table in your house Raise your hand if there’s a table in your house that’s become the landing zone for ALL THE THINGS! 🙋🏻‍♀️🤪 I’ve never been more thankful for our rarely used dining room table as it’s become command central for school books and laptops and games.

Where are things collecting in your house right now?
“Sighing, tears, frustration, anger.” Every si “Sighing, tears, frustration, anger.” Every single one of these emotions has made their way through our home in recent days and, my guess is, they have in your home too.

I SO needed this reminder today from the new book ‘Adore’ by @sarahagertywrites.

Adoration isn’t just sitting at His feet gazing longingly with stars in my eyes. It’s bringing my fears and my sorrows and gray roots in my hair that desperately needs to be colored and my messy house and all of the things that threaten to send me over the edge right now and laying them down before Him, soaking up His word and His presence so that when I stand back up, I am changed for having spent the time adoring the ONE who is... Healer, comforter, peace-giver, deliverer, redeemer.

What do you need to bring to Him today? I’ll share mine in the comments and I’d love to hear from you too!
I’ve always loved evenings, but since this whole I’ve always loved evenings, but since this whole lockdown thing began, I’ve come to appreciate this time of day even more.

It feels the most...normal. Daytime is strange and foreign right now. My husband has taken over our home office, I’m suddenly taking over the responsibility of managing my kids’ distance learning and let me just say that teaching 7th grade algebra to my daughter is hugely ironic since I struggled with math all the way through school. I’m trying to do my own work but it feels utterly futile with the constant interruptions which take precedence right now. In the daytime, I’m constantly reminded of how upside down life feels.

But, in the evening, I cook dinner like I’ve always done and we gather around the table like we’ve always done and we laugh and tell stories and then clean up and play games or go on a walk or watch a show. And that feels SO gloriously normal.

So now I love evenings even more than I ever did before and I’m so grateful for this little chunk of time where the rhythms we established years ago are helping to sustain us now when so much of life feels outside of our control.

What feels ‘normal’ to you right now? Whatever it is, keep doing it. 🌿
When I was in college I would frequently call home When I was in college I would frequently call home and pour my heart out to my mom, sharing with her all that was happening in my life in that completely unfiltered way that you can talk with the person who potty trained you. These phone calls usually took place at night and my mom would patiently listen as I vented frustrations about professors, roommates, boyfriends and the food in the cafeteria. And, inevitably, they would end with my mom saying, “Everything seems worse when you’re tired. Try not to overthink things or make any major decisions tonight, especially when you are feeling emotional.” Dear friends, may I pass along this advice to you today?

If you don’t absolutely HAVE to make a decision right now, I want to encourage you to wait until life gets back to normal. If you are finding yourself over-analyzing relationships and family dynamics, I want to encourage you to remember that everything seems more dramatic when looked at under a microscope. And, let’s face it, being homebound with our loved ones non-stop makes us all feel like lab rats in an experiment.

If you are tempted to quit a job, start a business, start homeschooling permanently, stop homeschooling permanently, move to a new city, buy a farm, quit pursuing your dream, join a commune or make any other major life decision just…wait. Because, if it is in fact the right decision, it will be made even clearer once our lives return to their ‘regularly scheduled programming’. Instead, in this strange season, let’s all just take a deep, collective breath and let it out slowly, releasing the anxiety that threatens to overtake us. Let’s help each other maintain some perspective and not slip into a posture of over-thinking every little thing in our lives. Let’s remember that the enemy of our souls would love nothing more than to use this time when things feel dark to manipulate us into thinking that aspects of our lives are worse than they actually are.

My prayer for you in these days is that you will have the clarity to know what is true and that you will be filled with peace even while we live in this season of so many unknowns.
Raise your hand if you’re doing more baking thes Raise your hand if you’re doing more baking these days! 🙋🏻‍♀️ I’m trying to avoid gaining the #corona15 but my daughter and I LOVE baking together and it does help to pass the time plus it counts as a science lesson right?

If you’re able to find flour in the stores (for the love people please stop overbuying!) and you’re doing more baking at your house too you need to add this apricot bread to your list of new recipes to try!

Normally I’d point you to my blog for the directions but I’m going to do you a solid and leave the full recipe in the comments.

What have you baked so far during this time of social distancing? I’d love some new ideas!
There are a LOT of people out walking in our neigh There are a LOT of people out walking in our neighborhood right now (but still social distancing!) and she decided that she wanted to bring them some joy and put a smile on their face when they pass by our house. Also, the square with ‘say no to coronavirus’ is priceless. 😂 I just love her so much!
Follow
Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 · Divine theme by Restored 316

Copyright © 2021 At The Picket Fence