Denver Blogger Meetup Recap

Last Friday Kim organized a total kick-butt Denver blogger get-together.
I, for one, had never been to such a thing... never met up with other bloggers at all in fact.
Oh, except for that one time I saw Kim at a local market and totally ran up to her like,

"Hey girl! I love your blog! And oh your shop. It's soooo cute!!" & she was all "um... thanks!?"

Yes, ma'am it was a little on the awkward side.

But I never let a little awkwardness stand in the way of a good time... or meeting a new fun friend. 

And it's a good thing too.
If I hadn't, I may have never known about this sweet meetup!
Check out all that ballin' swag up there.
I can't wait to get my craft on with all of those paper goodies from Katie at Lemon Jitters!



A big giant thank you hug (I wish) to Leonora of Yellow Heart Art.
If you're not in love with her yet, just head on over to her blog & I just know you will be.
She's the absolute sweetest & her art is CUTE.



I was reminded that the world is smaaaaall folks.
The lovely Anne of Anne Franklin Designs turns out to be friends with lots of my friends.
She also happens to have been at tons of the same markets & shows.
AND she just so happened to be at a good friends house the night Hunter & I accidentally showed up and crashed their book club... because we were headed to a chili cook off & went to the wrong house.
Again with the awkward. I'm serious guys.



Love this cool Colorado print from CAPow!
I'm always up for finding new fun shops & I'm ALWAYS up for free amazing stuff from new shops ;)
You're awesome Crystal!



Last but not least... (actually I saved my fave for last.)
How darling is this cup cozy & coaster hand-knitted by Kirtley of Snowdrift Designs.
Or crocheted? I really wish I knew.
It's hand-made & it's mustard and it makes me really happy & cozy when I'm sipping my coffee.
Good enough for me!

PS these girls are really rad & I'm so glad I got to meet them all!

{Allie, Lizzie, Meghan, Liz, Rebecca,Anne, Keely,Katie, Erin, Elaine, Anne}

(I'm linking up with Erika & Beth again to share my favorite local ladies.)

Book Club

I really love to read. Love it! 

I also love baking and parties (duh). 

So why have I never joined or started a book club?! 

Who knows? 

The important thing is I've seen the error of my ways and I'm teaming up with Alyssa @ Impractical Composition, to do a book club!

Source: goo.gl via Lacota on Pinterest

And the best part is your invited :) 

The book club starts on the first of the month when we announce the book that we are reading. 

Then, at the end of the month we have a linky party and link up our posts about the book. 

You can either answer the questions we come up with or write your own post! 

Or just post about any great book your reading, because I'm not picky. 

Pretty exciting right?!

Source: designsponge.com via Anna on Pinterest

Oh and PS I'll have a new recipe to go with each book!

So, first off we need to get some ideas from you. 

What do you want to read?! 

I always have a super long list, but right now I really want to finish Travels with Charlie by John Steinbeck (you remember how much of a Steinbeck fan I am, right?)

I would also love to read Ellen's newest book and I never got around to Tina Fey's either.

What sounds good to you?

Thrifty Love Gift Exchange

**Don't forget to enter the giveaway for Carina's gorgeous necklace.**
Speaking of Carina...
A couple weeks ago she had this amazing idea:


You get paired up with another blogger and thrift for their gift!!!
So Fun!
I was paired with the lovely
Laura of Smallgood Hearth. And a few weeks later this appeared on my doorstep:

 

 Laura did such a wonderful job as my personal thrifter :)
 How darling is this vintage cookbook?

 I can't wait to try out some of the recipes.
 And these fun little illustrations are too precious!

 

 She also sent this lovely little cake plate made from a plate and a tea cup.
 I LOVE IT!!!!
So much in fact that I felt the need to fill it up with muffins immediately :)

 

Thank you for the fabulous gifts miss Laura.
It was a pleasure thrifting for you & I'm truly loving my sweet gifts!

*PS I also linked up with Simple Design's "Share your thrift haul".

Follow Along {with me}

Today is going to be fun!

I was invited to co host a facebook party with Aimee from byAimee.com

I've never hosted a blog hop before... or a facebook hop :)
She explains everything so just keep reading but basically link up your fb page and find some new buds!

Huge thanks for Aimee for hosting and for letting me in on the fun!!

we want to connect with YOU!

this week we're focusing on building & connecting on Facebook. every other Friday we want to connect with you on Social Media -- Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook...

we are featuring five fabulous blogs this week:

how to connect:

1: "like" my Facebook Page using your personal page AND THE FIVE lovely FEATURED HOSTS by clicking on their buttons above or the {hosts} linked up below! {using your personal page is great because then these awesome women will show up in your personal feed & they get the benefit of watching their fan numbers grow with new friends & connections.}

2: Link up by following two EASY steps!

Step #1: Fill out the "submission" form below & enter your FACEBOOK FAN PAGE URL into the "URL" section.

Step #2: On the next screen, select "Upload from Computer". Consider selecting your brand or logo to help build brand awareness of your blog or business. {Or your pretty face is fine too!}

3: go to as many links as you can {leave them some comment lovin' and i'm SURE they will return the follow-back favor.} come back in a few days & check out a couple more!

4. IF you want to share our little get together, please tweet: “follow along with @byAimeeSki today at http://wp.me/p1yWH4-bM." or you can always tell your lovely Facebook followers too!

5. Come back and leave a comment at the end of our post telling us who your favorite page is... or the friendliest commenter... or the sweetest product offerings... or the loveliest timeline. Our features & I will take a vote and pass out some blog badges on Wednesday!

thanks for stopping by today. we look forward to following along with everyone that links up!

{don't want to miss another one of our fancy dancy Follow Along parties? sign up for email news in the sidebar!}

Thankful again :)

So I wasn't planning on doing a Thankful Thursday post again today... let's be honest. I wasn't planning on posting anything today. I was actually feeling pretty sorry for my poor self.

I've got a sick baby who also happens to be teething :(

AND a sick hubby.

And a headache and a sore throat.

Plus I cooked dinner last night and it was gross and the house is a serious wreck because sweet sick baby wouldn't sleep all day yesterday... or all night!

But then it hit me.

That's a perfect reason to post about what I'm thankful for!

It doesn't matter how bad the day is, there is always SO much to be grateful for.

Amen?

So today I'm thankful for:

-My brother, who wrote this awesome article that pushes me to stay focused on what really matters. Tyler is the most passionate person I know and he constantly inspires me to not settle for what's popular and/or easy.

-Our general health. Colds and coughs are a bummer for a few days but really we are so blessed to have healthy bodies!

-The blessing of being able to be home with Lily. We've sacrificed a lot to make this possible and at times I've even doubted myself for doing it, but I am 100% positive this is where I should be and I'm more thankful than ever that I can be at home to take care of my sick baby.

-My new leopard print flats from Target. I "splurged" and bought them at the full $14.99 instead of waiting for them to go on clearance. They feel like spring :)

So there you have it. I'm thankful again!

Penny for your thoughts?

So last week was SO FUN!
I loved seeing what everyone linked up :)

I love working with other bloggers & connecting with Paige through this link up has been so great!

I did receive some valid feedback about the linkup last week, though.

As fun as it is to share, it doesn't seem to make much sense to have recipes with gluten, dairy, eggs and/or meat in them.

So I'm opening up this post for comments.

What do you think? What would you like to see?

A new gluten free/ vegan linkup? No link up? Stay with The Sweet Spot?

Consider this your invitation.

Let me know what you want from Sugar Mama Bakeshop!

But I would definitely love to know if there are things you would like to see different/ improved around here!

In the meantime, please do check out The Recipe Party at Paige's blog.

It's full of delicious inspiration like always :)

Oh, and I'll be responding to all comments in the comment section, not by email, so that the answers are available for everyone!

PS- The new store front is opening sooooooon! It's looking good & I'm real excited! It's chalk full of cookie/ cake pop goodness. Hurray!

Thankful Thursday

My friends Carina and Cami are both hosting Thankful Thursdays on their blogs & I'm feeling inspired to focus on the wonderful things I'm thankful for right now!

#1: This sweet sweet face. Holy cow I'm so in love with this precious baby.

#2 Booking my first wedding for this summer!! These are the cupcakes I made the cute couple for their tasting :) So fun!!!

#3 This hard-working, sexy, supportive man that I'm blessed to call husband and best bud ;)

#4 Exciting Sugar Mama opportunities that are coming up. (New storenvy store front coming soon!)

Have a blessed day!! What are you thankful for?

Recipe Party

It's party time!!

(ps- Sugar Mama's peanut butter cookies are linking up tomorrow! Woo!)

-Remember: Link any & all recipes but label it if it's:

gluten free (gf)

vegan (v)

sugar free (sf)

or any other specialty :)

-Link up your recipes ALL week long.

-Link up as many as you'd like!
-Don't forget to follow The Sweet Shop & Sugar Mama Bakeshop so you can see if you are featured later in the week.

-Hop around & be inspired!

-Please link back in your post or grab a button to share the love :) The more the merrier, remember?

<a href="http://www.sugarmamabakeshop.com" target="_blank"><img alt="Go Greeno" src="http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa326/ashgreeno/DSCN3482-2.jpg"/></a>

The Recipe Party {it's a link up!}

I'm excited!
For awhile now, I've been really wanting to host a recipe link up.
It seems so fun! Like hosting a PARTY right here on the blog!
You all know how I looooooove parties :)

(Um, I also love cookies shaped like cupcakes. But that's not the point. Nice work by Bridget Bakes.)

I wasn't exactly sure how I wanted to do it because obviously I'm all about the gluten free & vegan baking around here...
BUT I don't want anyone to be excluded on ground of ingredients.
In my opinion, more is definitely merrier when it comes to parties... and dessert.
Plus I get most of my inspiration from non allergy friendly recipes.

And that's when I found Paige.

Paige has a fabulous blog called The Sweet Spot where she shares delicious dessert recipes and her beautiful pictures that will make your mouth water!

Paige hosts a weekly recipe link party.

Paige likes to feed her family fresh, healthy, organic food when possible.

Her recipes aren't gluten free/ vegan but they are AMAZING.

(See. Seriously amazing. Told ya.)

So are all of the recipes that get linked up at her place.

Paige also has 3 little boys and is building a house. (aka she's B.U.S.Y!)

So what I'm trying to say is I'll be co-hosting The Recipe Party!

Hooray!!! I told you, it's exciting :)

Each Sunday evening a new Recipe Party will start and you can link up all week here OR at The Sweet Spot & your recipe will show up on both blogs.

We're even adding a key so that you can label your recipes Vegan, Gluten Free, Dairy Free or Sugar Free.

And then I'll be featuring my faves over here on Saturday.

(Like this one from Chocolate, Chocolate & More Chocolate.)

I hope you're as pumped as me.

Get your recipes & your party shoes ready for tomorrow night!

How Sweet It Is {Jacky @ The Sweetest Petunia}

I LOVE blog swaps.

They are seriously so so great!

This month I did The Valentine Swap, made another sweet friend AND got more presents :)

Jacky, from The Sweetest Petunia, is the sweetest.

I'm so glad I was paired with her!

Check out how cute her shop is: Petunia Blooms.

SO CUTE right?!

Make sure you come back tomorrow... She might just have something for you in the big giveaway ;)

Anyway, here is what Jacky sent me:

Thank you again Jacky :)

I love it all!

And now for Jacky's love story.

She also agreed to be part of the How Sweet It Is series so enjoy :)

I always have a hard time deciding what our "love story" actually is. H & I have know each other since we were kids, so sometimes it seems like we've always been together. ;)

There are things I do remember clearly. I remember the first time he told me I had beautiful eyes. I remember the 16 page, hand-written letter he sent me once when I was away. I remember how adorably shy he was when he was younger (now he's one of the most outgoing people I know!). I remember how I didn't like him at all, didn't want to be his friend, the year I was 15. And I remember how he never gave up on me...I think that's what I fell in love with.

We've been officially together since January 6th, 2007 - 5 years now! We've been married for about 4 months, and I must say, it's the best. :) You can read about the day we got engaged & our wedding day on my blog!

((after just a couple months being official. 2007))

One of my favorite dessert recipes has to be these dark chocolate espresso cookies - so yummy!

I can't wait to make these cookies gluten free & vegan. I will share them SOON. Yum! -Ashley

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I'm blushing...

Karla from My Serendipity Home gave Sugar Mama Bakeshop an award!!

Liebster is German and means 'dearest' or 'beloved' but it can also mean 'favorite'. The idea of the Liebster award is to bring attention to blogs with less than 200 followers.

The RULES are:
1. Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.
2. Reveal your five picks for the award and let them know.
3. Post the award on your blog.
4. Enjoy the love from the award brings to your blog.
5. Have fun and spread the love!

So check out 5 of my faves:

Natalie at Take the Canoli
Alyson at Eisley Rae
Mary at Mary in Marriedland
Skye at Neathering our Fest
Brooke at From Under HIs Feathers

These blogs are seriously wonderful. I know you'll just love them! Thanks for thinking of me Karla :) I'm honored.

New Year Blog Party

I stumbled upon this great blog party the other day and I decided to go for it.
I've never done a blog/ gift exchange before and it sounded so fun!

so I sent in my email & just like that I'm paired with Brooke...who has this GREAT vintage etsy shop, Clementine & Nellie!!
Hello! I LOVE that!

Anyway, Brooke & I exchanged gifts from our shops
& now I get to introduce her to you!
First of all, I believe I may be hooked on this kind of thing.
It was SO fun getting a little surprise package!

And is was SOOOOOO fun opening up these sweet vintage goodies :)

Isn't that hand towel the cutest? And the yellow apron is really precious...

(My camera is broken so I had to use photobooth on my mac book to get the shot of me in the apron. So I apologize for the quality, but dang it's cute, huh!?)

I just think it was so thoughtful of her to send baking gear :)

Also, Brooke used to be a baker herself AND has a gluten free son.

Nice job with the match up!!!

Anyway, Brooke came up with a few get-to-know-you questions that we exchanged.
I would love for you all to get to know her too.
So here are a few of my fave questions:

favorite time of day and why: I gotta say, I love the feeling after my kids are in bed, the kitchen is clean, and it's time to grab a glass of wine and sit in the bed with my honey and snuggle up, watch TV, work on the blog... when my mommy responsibilities are done and I can just be myself...

you're kid and husband free for four hours - what do you do? Head to Kennesaw Mountain for a short hike, then grab a coffee, and hit the thrift store or Classy Flea (an indoor "permanent" flea market near my house - eeep!).
favorite season: Fall - hands down.

you have $150 to go shopping with - what do you buy? That's tough. I always think I will go thrifting with it... then I think about my business and buying new inventory for it... then I think I might like an Ipod, or an Iphone, or I don't know. I'd probably go thrifting.
if you could live anywhere else in the US, where would it be and why? I would love to live in the Pacific Northwest... the mountains and the ocean within such a short distance of each other... what could be better?

Isn't she great?!
Head over and check out her blog & shop.