bliss

The girls are back from Florida, safe and sound in my arms. Two weeks was too long but oddly necessary for me to accomplish all that I accomplished. I was able to proof my strike-offs without any interruptions, work on Etsy orders, send & receive care packages, work on my little side project (which will be unveiled next week!) and even have some much needed grown-up fun in between. All of those things would have been virtually impossible with the kids around, but nevertheless, as the days passed I started longing for the smell of their hair, and the sound of their pitter-patter and the feel of their soft bellies.

But alas, they're here and we had such fun today getting silly with the camera.







We surprised them with a new desk from IKEA for each of their bedrooms. Sophie's desk displays her collection of Disney snowglobes and a few other favorite knick-knacks. And of course, some books, sketch pads and a new journal for her to jot down all those big thoughts in that silly head of hers.



Sydney's desk holds her favorite stuffies, small toys and books. These will also serve as homework and reading stations this coming year. Not to mention adding some much needed storage space and a pop of color to their rooms. :)



Then we got even sillier...





Such fun.

I've also had such a great time today reading through all your sweet comments regarding my Andalucia debut. I am thrilled that you all like it as much as I do! I just cannot wait to see what you guys make with it. As soon as the fabric is out in stores, I will open a Flickr group so you guys can share your Andalucia goodies. :)

And while I am in the topic of blogging, I'd like to express my sincere gratitude to a few bloggers who have taken time out of their busy schedules to blog about Andalucia. You all have touched me deeply and I cannot thank you enough. Please take a moment to visit these wonderful blogs:

Bug A Boo Baby
By Dana

Fabric Hound
by Myrinda

The Domestic Diva
by Lisa

(adding to the list...)

J. Caroline Creative Blog
by Caroline

True Up
by Kim

Vintage Chic
by Chelsea

Thanks again, girls!! And if I've missed anyone, please post a link here in the comments. I'd love to take a peek and mention you here. I've been looking around blogland a bit, but now that the kids are here I will have a lot less free time. ;)

I will leave you now with a few pictures I took of the house before the kids came back. It will probably never look this clean again, LOL! But I don't care... my babies are back! :)

We Painted Salt Lake City PINK!!!

I am back from my Girls Getaway Weekend with the fabulous ladies from Boutique Cafe and about 40 or so designers from the eBay children's boutique community. It was an absolute blast and definitely not long enough. For those of you who were there... guess what? I am still drinking FIJI water!!! LOL! For those of you who didn't "get that," FIJI water was one of our many sponsors of the event and they sent out dozens of cases of water bottles to keep us hydrated throughout the weekend... it was wonderful. By the end of the conference we had soooo much water left that everyone took some home with them. I didn't think I'd be able to fit any in my suitcase after the long day of shopping and all the wonderful giveaways, but I managed to squeeze in one of their 9-packs! Love you, FIJI!!

I also surprisingly won two of the best prizes there (well, in my opinion, at least, hee hee). I first won an original Amy Butler purse (sent in by the fabric diva herself!) and later on I won an outfit of my choice from GreggyGirl. I will let Sophia pick it out on her own tonight. :) Again, thanks to our wonderful sponsors.

I had an absolute blast chatting with the girls and hearing their stories. I am still chuckling to myself as I try to picture Dayna's marathon sewing days or when I remember Megan telling a half-naked guy who rode in the elevator with us that he was "Blinded by our hotness" LOL! OMG, the poor guy was a blubbering idiot and dripping wet from head to toe (he had just gotten out of the pool) as he rode in the elevator with, what?, like 6 or 7 of us. He missed his floor because he was too busy staring and not pushing buttons. Too funny.

Anyway, I have like 30 pictures posted on my website but here are a couple of teaser shots. Click HERE if you'd like to see the rest of the pictures from the event.

Below is a group shot (no, this was not all of us... only about half!)


Here is me sitting with a few of my favorite ladies! Sandi (portabellopixie) is the queen of blog, Eva (freshandvintage) our fearless LimeVine leader and the always beautiful and talented Amelia (sweetfeetboutique).



Last, but not least, I could not leave out of the sneak peek this super cute picture of me and Daria... her smile and laugh were contagious, to say the least!!!



OK, if you missed the link above, here is its again... the rest of my 30 or so pictures are HERE!!

Oh, and if you'd like to read Emily's awesome account of the event, click HERE. She's a much better writer than I am, so you're in for a treat! :)

Can't wait for the next Girls Getaway!!!

Insomnia

So I have to be up in about 4 hours so that I can get my entire family ready and in the car so that we can take a 2+ hour drive to Chicago's O'Hare Airport so that I can take a 3.5 hour flight to Salt Lake City to meet 40 or so eBay children's boutique designers. You'd think I'd want to get as much rest as possible, and my body would agree with you, but my mind begs to differ. I am as awake as could be but my body feels like it's about to collapse!

I have been up all day doing laundry, packing, getting last-minute things for my trip. Not to mention checking emails, sending newsletters and... as if that wasn't enough, updating my blog!

For those of you who are not aware, I am taking part in the very first Girls Getaway Weekend hosted by none other than the fabulous Daria and Megan of Boutique Cafe. We are spending 3 days in Salt Lake City, getting to know each other, listening to key note speakers, conducting interviews for future Boutique Cafe shows, shopping, dining, etc., etc., etc.

I am very excited to get to meet the ladies that I have been chatting with for almost an entire year!! This is gonna be a blast!

So, since it's 2 a.m. and I am feeling giddy and silly, I thought I'd share with you the project that I have been working on for the past couple of weeks. On May 1st, I will unveil The Costa Rica Collection, a line of children's clothing and boutique accessories inspired by the colors & textures of the Costa Rican rain forest. I grew up in that beautiful Central American country so this collection is very dear to my heart. Below is the logo I came up with . This will give you an idea of the colors I will be using as well as the imagery I used as a source of inspiration.




Here are a couple of sneak peeks from this collection. To the right you will see one of several sets I will be offering. The fabrics I will be using are rich in color and each design will be purely original and unique. Pieces will mix & match perfectly and there will even be some accessories offer that will compliment the pieces perfectly and can be worn by mother & child. Below is a sample of one of the fabric lotus pins that will be offered.


My friend Maria, of buddha*belly*babies, has an eBook on You Can Make This with easy-to-follow instructions on how to make this gorgeous fabric flower pin. She was so sweet to have shared this with me so I want to make sure I give credit where credit is due. You can purchase her eBook here.

So that's it! I will chat with everyone when I get back from SLC!! Have a great weekend! :)

Off To Chi-Town

That's what we Illinoians affectionately call the windy city. I planned a "girls only weekend" with a friend of mine months ago and it's finally here!

She will come to my house at 9 am today (so, in like 10 minutes) and we will drive to Chicago together (about 2 hrs) and stay at the Sheraton (right near Michigan Avenue... the Magnificent Mile) and shop and eat and drink and talk to our little hearts' content without being worried about kids or husbands! Ahhhhhhhhh! Can't wait!

Neither one of us is taking computers with us... just our cell phones and iPods and cameras, so I'll probably have eBay withdrawal while I'm gone, but I think it'll be good for me. I promise that when I get back I will share some awesome pictures of Chicago, plus I haven't forgotten about the cool pictures of the City Museum in St. Louis that I promised to share a few days ago. Boy, I've just been a traveling fool lately! ;)

Just wanted to let you know that I will be MIA for a couple of days in case anyone was trying to reach me. I will check back in on Sunday evening. Have a great weekend, everyone! I know, I WILL! :)