sweet autumn

I've just started to smell the fall coming, and I am really excited because fall is absolutely my favorite season.  We were married in the fall, we moved into our first house in the fall, and our son was born in the fall.  

This may sound crazy, but I believe each season has it's own smell.  It's hard to describe, but to me the smell of fall is crisp and earthy - like a cool day spent raking leaves when a few neighbors have started burning wood in their fireplaces.  And even if you don't buy my smelling technique, fall really is coming - I promise.  

Tomorrow is already the last day of August!

Another of my favorite signs that fall is on the way is our Sweet Autumn Clematis in bloom.  I've loved it ever since I learned about it back in my horticulture days.  So it was wonderful to find that we already had one established in our backyard when we bought our house.  It has just started blooming over the last week, and the fragrance is truly is sweet.  Our clothesline is also right next to it, so I love hanging laundry just because of the sweet smell.  

 

Hope you all had a great Monday!

Keep checking back this week for more details about my shop.

(and a giveaway or two!)

old friends, new friends

Last Friday my old (we've known each other since college) friend Mandy called to see if Ben and I would like to meet for lunch.  We live a little over an hour apart, but there is a small town pretty much halfway between us.  I thought about how much I was trying to get done around the house and for my shop, but decided to forget about that stuff and get out of the house.  I'm really glad we did - it was a lot of fun!

Mandy brought her youngest, Marlee, who just turned one and is as CUTE as can be!  After lunch in the local cafe, we headed to the city park.  Lots of fun and beautiful weather!  It was really great to visit while the little ones played.

 

Thanks Mandy, hope we can meet again soon!

cool

 Ben loves to put our sunglasses on and say "coooolllllll" - it's adorable!  Until last night I was never able to catch him doing this with the camera, but I was finally successful.  I think these photos are a great way to start the weekend.  

Have a COOOOOLLLLLLL Friday!

behind the scenes

Since many of my recent posts have not been sewing or handmade business related, I thought I should let you know that I really am working on my Etsy shop - just behind the scenes.   :)  I promise!

 For the most part I have finished all the items I plan to initially list, but that leaves me with lots of details.  Most of the details are related to setting up my shop - writing item descriptions, taking photos, organizing and pricing.  And some of the details are so new to me that they are requiring a little more research and work - like sales tax.  I know things can't be perfect when you are just starting out (surprises happen) but with that in mind I am doing my best to start with things as organized and thought-out as possible.  This translates into waiting just a bit longer before opening my shop. Until then I plan to keep blogging and working hard.  

I do have a little plan in mind for when to open my shop, and a couple of my items to giveaway in celebration of the opening, so please stay tuned!

just about a year ago

Someone in our house is turning two in less than a month.  I can't believe it!  

Where did the last year go?  

It seems to have flown by even faster than the first!  

I came across these photos of his first birthday the other day and had to share.  

They melt my heart! 

(and remind me I don't have a "baby" any longer - I have a little boy)

   

favorite (compact stroller)

We are so glad the mornings and evenings are starting to be comfortable again for walking!  That leads me to another of our favorites...

Maclaren Volo Stroller

July 2009

We decided to purchase this stroller after an entire afternoon of shopping for one. 

Here are some of the reasons why we chose it...

• Super sturdy construction - you could tell by just pushing it around the store where we "test drove" every compact stroller available.
• The highest weight limit of any comparable stroller (if you can't tell this has always been important to us!).
• Easy to open and close - really!
• Very lightweight - great feature if you have to carry it around at all.
• Compact - fits well in our Honda where finding space can often be challenge.
• Large umbrella shade that keeps it shady and stays open without a problem.
• Breathable fabric that seems to help prevent sweating or overheating.  I
• Comfortable height of handles for pushing - this really sold me on the stroller!  I didn't feel like I had to hunch over. 

I am sure I could keep going, but these are some of the top features that sold us on the stroller.  It was a little more of an investment, but we use it all of the time and are still completely happy with it.   Happy strolling!

thank you

How can it already be Sunday evening?
We've had a nice weekend at home, but it went too fast!

I want to send a big THANK YOU! to everyone who has been giving me such great support lately.  Since I am doing so many things as a beginner lately - blogging, sewing, Etsy - I find that my confidence level can be a little low and I can start to doubt myself.  Encouraging phone calls, emails and comments from friends and family keep me going and give me more faith in myself, what I am doing and where I hope to go.   

Jake and Ben brought these home for me Saturday afternoon.
Aren't they beautiful?  I sure think so!

pearl snaps

One of my favorite parts of making bibs for my shop is attaching the snap - pearl snaps are my favorite.  (As I mentioned before, my husband is actually the one attaching all of the snaps for me.)  That means the bib is completely finished!

favorite (music for little ones)

Grandma Kathy first introduced us to Raffi when Ben was only three months old, and he's been a favorite in our house ever since.  We have two of his CDs (gifts from Grandma) and one VHS tape - yes, we still have a VCR. We came across the old VHS, dated early 1980s, at our local library sale table this past winter.  It has been worth much more than the fifty-cents we paid for it!  :)  I also have a Raffi station on Pandora.

diy

Living on a budget really makes you appreciate anything and everything you can do yourself.  My husband is responsible for most of the DIYing in this house.  That is because he is incredibly patient and willing to research just about anything until he knows enough to do it himself.  Over the years this has included such items as car repair, truck repair, computer repair, and household repairs.

previous employment = small business inspiration

I have had quite a wide variety of jobs throughout the years, but there are three previous employers that definitely inspired me to do something on my own.  I thought it would be fun to mention them as well as give you a little more background about my past interests and occupations. 

patience

Something I don't always do well.  

 Things seem to take so much longer than I think or hope they will - but such is life.

weekend

Here's to a relaxing weekend!

right sides together

I have a big pile of bibs and burp cloths sewn right sides together.  

My weekend will be spent stitching, turning them inside out, top stitching, ironing and snapping.  This may not sound like much fun to you, but I am really looking forward to it.  

It feels so good to see things coming together!

etsy finds

Since I hope things go well for my little shop on Etsy, I am also trying to do more to support other sellers on Etsy. I thought it would be fun to post about items that I purchase (or wish I could).
Here's the first...

Personalized 6-pack
by seller RobertoSand, Bullfrog Laserworks

This was a birthday gift for my father-in-law. He is a homebrewer.
We think he was pretty happy with it - and so were we.

favorite (coffee)

Time for another favorite - Radina's Coffeehouse & Roastery

our weekend

I honestly can't believe that it is Tuesday!
Our long (HOT) weekend went by super fast and now it is already the middle of the week.

favorites

I thought it would be fun to start occasionally posting about some of our family favorites. These may be baby items, toddler items, household items, books, movies, etc - anything we really like! Here's the first one...

Britax Roundabout

We love this car seat!

garage sale items

Earlier this week I received an email about a local family who just had a baby girl at only 24 weeks. The baby will be in the hospital for quite some time. Friends and family organized a garage sale for this Saturday to raise funds for the family. Donated items for the garage sale were requested. I decided to send along a couple of bib sets from the cotton tree with my other garage sale items.

(Please forgive the photos - I was in a hurry,
did not have great lighting and I am in need a new camera.
Enough excuses?)

This set is a gift for the baby girl.
oval baby bib with pink pearl snap and oval burp cloth
100% cotton flannel & 100% cotton terry cloth

neighbors

(Our first picture as homeowners)

I never really thought about who we might have for neighbors when we were house hunting. I was 6 months pregnant, it was hot, Jake and I were living 3 hours apart and there were not many homes on the market. We were just ready to find a good starter home and buy it.

reality

There is no way I can open my Etsy shop this week...

I am disappointed, but there is no way - even if I stayed awake for the next 36 hours. July was even busier than I expected and with Jake super busy meeting deadlines at his job, I've had to do a little adjusting lately. I AM still going to keep focusing and working toward opening my shop, while I continue to do my best as wife and mom. I hope to be celebrating the delayed GRAND OPENING within the next couple of weeks.

georgia on my mind

We knew their visit would be fast, but it was even faster than anticipated.
We spent as much time with Paul & Lindsey as possible, but they eventually needed to get back to their home in Georgia