Postcards to Love

I'm the queen of good intentions, and little follow through when it comes to the written note. I'm constantly thinking of things I'd like to say, but somehow get bogged down in the process of getting to my desk, picking the perfect note, stamping, addressing and getting it in the mail. This sound familiar? 


Therefore, I'm a huge fan of Marta's new postcard series. Her blog is chock full of beautiful pictures of her adventures, and she's decided to share. I'm planning on ordering the two sets above, Autumn: Set 2 and Homemade: Set 1, pre-stamping them, and putting them in a very accessible place in my kitchen. Three postcards out to friends a week seems like a worthwhile goal. Plus, these ones will look great on display while they're waiting to be written in. 

One Love Baby Boutique

Have you been to Montana lately? Beautiful "a river runs through it" kind of stuff. But beyond all that, they've got some great shopping too. 


Owner Jade and I met this week through Design Mom. My Three Sons products will soon be lining the shelves of One Love Baby Boutique in Helena, MT. I better break out the long-sleeved onesies early on their behalf. 


They have a great selection of unique gifts, new and gently used clothing and toys. Some of my favorite products are a great selection of Baby Legs, this Plaid Fedora Hat, and the Bug Pod for bath toys. So cute. 


Hope I make it to your neck of the woods someday. 

Giveaway Winner

Meet Tracey. Mom to two adorable toe-headed girls. They have a great family business, Lynch Creek Farms. You'll find the most beautiful Christmas Wreaths in the winter and Dahlias in the summer there. But her most endearing quality to me is that she's been my sister friend since Jr. High. They take an annual trip to a Kenny Chesney concert. (where they act like they're still in Jr. High. No offense  ladies). 


Tracey, you're the winner of this awesome stack of books. Peace. 
(email me) 

60 Minute Makeover

Being a professional homemaker has lots of "ups". In fact, the only major flaw so far is the drastic cut to my home decorating budget. I've been chomping at the bit since my visit with Elizabeth Irvine last week. All of these fabulous ideas and no dinero to get started yet. 


As is my standard fashion, I decided to do a mini-makeover to our back porch 60 minutes before guests were scheduled to arrive last night. I obviously thrive under-pressure (drives John crazy). 


While there will be some adjustments when the funds are available, here's what happened in that one, crazy hour while my kids watched Yo, Gabba Gabba. (don't judge me). 


1. Removed long black bench and shoe rack that blocked the porch "shelf". 
2. Had John cut down a neglected children's table to make a 20" center table.  
2. Re-arranged plants from other places in the yard to create a "green space". 
3. Quick teak oil rub on the IKEA plank flooring. 
4. Cut a round, natural weave tablecloth from my fabric bin 
5. Filled square glass vase with black river rock, surrounding votive. Arranged with other natural elements on table: wicker, pottery, lavender, glass. 
6. Made shelf seat from a thick piece of foam, covered in same material as tablecloth. Arranged pillows from around the house against back wall. 
7. Placed fragrant plants near shelf seat. Basil, lavender. 


Mission accomplished. We enjoyed the space so much we ended up having appetizers, salads and the main course out there. Looking forward to many more evenings on the porch with friends. 

Discover San Diego - Botanical Garden

This weekend John and I were invited to attend the San Diego Botanical Garden's annual fundraiser. We'd never been to the Botanical Garden before, and I was amazed at how beautiful it was. We'll be bringing the kids back another day to explore. 


I loved how the event was set up to encourage guests to see the entire grounds. Perfect for a date night. There were thirty different restaurants from around San Diego set up in stations. They each had something unique and delicious to sample. I couldn't stop talking about the macaroni and cheese with lobster and truffles. John hit the sushi table until they started giving him dirty looks. Plenty of drink stations around every corner. We loved being about hold the exotic birds and hear about them from their overly-zealous owners. (One lady said her entire dining room was filled with bird cages. Huh?) The event wrapped up with dessert, a short program and dancing. 


It was a completely eco-friendly event. All of the plates, utensils, napkins were made if compostable materials. They anticipated that the event of 400 people would only create one five gallon barrel of trash. Amazing. 


On our way out of the event every guest was given a beautiful lavender plant. The perfect end to the evening. We'll definitely be back. 

Vintage Jewelry

A few weeks ago I made my way down to the Little Italy Mercato. (My favorite market in the area) My best purchase of the day was from Lizzy B. Vintage Jewelry. I've been wearing my vintage typewriter key necklace daily ever since. The owner/artist, Gina, is incredibly creative and fun to talk with. 

I especially love her vintage spoon and chandelier creations. If I was doing my wedding over, I'd definitely have her make some of these cuff links and bracelets for wedding party gifts. 

Re-purposing with style. 

Giveaway Monday

Happy Monday! You need this set of books. That's right, you'll get three books that will change your life. Incredible ideas for healthy living, creating balance and peace in your life. A Moment's Peace & Healthy Mom, Healthy Child from Elizabeth Irvine. And a great bonus book from Kirtsy. Creative ideas from top bloggers. You'll love it. Don't you need a little creative inspiration this week? 

Leave a comment. Any comment. And go ahead and enter yourself twice if you share this giveaway with a friend. 

Giveaway ends tuesday night. Books are cool. 

Garden Deals

Did you know Target is closing all of it's Garden Centers? I love cruising those aisles before going into the store. 

Found some great deals today, including these lime green garden tools and Kitchen Aid Grill Tray. Most things are 30-50% off. Head over soon...all of them close up shop Sept. 30th. 

Dancing Girl Press & Studio

I stumbled across Dancing Girl Press the other day while looking for schools supplies. I've keep coming back to look at more of their unique offerings. What a fun mix of vintage, paper & decor. Right up my alley. 

Some of my favorites to give as gifts are the Lotus Flower Necklace and Crochet Clutch. I'm ordering these Compass Tags and Typewriter Notes to have on hand for dressing up packages. 

Visit Dancing Girl Press & Studio and let me know what you can't live without. 

Birth Order Onesie on Design Mom

Don't you want to pinch these baby thighs? This is Design Mom's (Gabrielle Blair) baby June. Beloved baby #6 in their family. That's DOUBLE the size of my brood. And they're all this cute. 


Got some love on Design Mom as June debuted her Birth Order Onesie. What a perfect little model. Thanks!

Back to School - Part II

I can't believe I've got two of my boys in school. My baby boy Ben is a kinder and Lincoln feels like second grade is more his style than first.  "Math is much harder" was today's comment. 

Linc's teacher has been at McKinley since 1975. (that's not a typo) Lincoln said she likes cats, owls and singing in the class. I need to get to know this woman. 

Ben's already class favorite after just two days. He's learning "quiet hands" (i.e. don't throw things at people's heads) and came come covered in marker and paint. The messier the better. Bring it. 

It's good to be a Cougar. (McKinley Cougar, that is) 

Kirtsy Party with Elizabeth Irvine

Remember when I told you awhile back about winning "A Moment's Peace" giveaway on Kirtsy? Yesterday was the day! Author Elizabeth Irvine came to town and spent the whole day with me. It was incredible. I'll share the details of everything we talked about in another post. A "before and after" post. Get excited about that. 


But first things first. Here are some pictures of the dinner party we hosted for a group of my friends. We had "happy hour" first, followed by Elizabeth sharing wisdom about creating peaceful homes and balancing our lives. Priceless. We ended with dinner from Bread and Cie, and desserts from Cardamom. It was incredible evening and I feel so blessed to have won this treat. Thanks Elizabeth and Kirtsy! 

Vintage School Style

I love the start of the school year. New clothes, backpacks and lunch bags. Here's some non-essential, but fun finds for back-to-school.

Backpack Tag 

Vintage Style Pencil Box 

Re-usable Snack Tote 

Octopus Book Labels 

Captured

What? 

The self-professed cat hater 

Scooter Buddies 

New in the Shop

Lots of new items in The Shop today. Dinosaur & giraffe onesies, to name a few.  New fabrics and monogrammed items available. More new fabrics coming next week. Thanks for your business!