am I losing my mind?

every day from 3-5:30 it is hectic. this is when I package all of the orders for the day and print shipping labels. it is a process. at 5:45 I rush to the post office and ups to make the last drop. today I left at 5:48 p.m. granted the post office is 5 minutes away but I always get nervous I won't make it. I got there at 5:55. whew! I always stop at usps first and then ups. on my way home I was feeling great. I got 20 packages out today and that always makes me happy when I feel really productive. I got home, opened up the back door of the car to grab my basket and guess what was sitting there? you guessed it, all 15 orders to go out ups today. how in the world did I forget that? I am officially losing it!

fun colors

a few more of my favorites. sad to see them go.

coming soon in 2008

can't believe 2008 is almost here. I am excited for a number of reasons and 1 of them is the new product arriving at tiny sprouts. here is a little hint.

TDF towels

I want these towels. all of them. and I want to put them in this cute cabinet.

new collars

I love hemp. our grocery bags are made of them. I found new collars for our dogs on etsy made of hemp. love those colors!

i heart this house

I posted about this one before but it was a collage. we have looked at this house twice. it has been on the market for 8 months. good for us. hope it stays because I really love this one.
it is the least expensive, would be almost half of our mortgage now. how great would that be?

only downfalls, the basement is nice as is BUT not finished. so in the winter it would be really cold.
I am in love with this attic but the only stairs to it are pull-down stairs and the basement stairs are directly below it.
we are trying to find a way to have stairs added, if possible. if those things could be accomplished I would love to move into it! there are a ton of built-ins and an old-school milk drop!

it is right next to a park and during the spring they have weekly farmers markets.

bubbly

this is my new favorite cd. my husband surprised me with it the other day. colbie (love this name) is an unsigned artist who was discovered on myspace. she is awesome and very refreshing. the song that makes me dance and sing the most is #4.

christmas in san fran?

so we were talking today (my husband and I) about taking a trip. our birthdays both fall a few days after christmas. his the 28th and mine the 29th. birthday's have never been fun because you always get the 2-for-1 gift. here is your birthday AND christmas gift. we have never really done anything fun for our birthdays so we are thinking about heading to san francisco the day after christmas. we stayed here last time and loved it. we haven't been on a vacation for 2 years so we are ready for one!

christmas tree, oh christmas tree

a few weeks ago my mom asked me for christmas list ideas. I would rather have a puppy than the book but I am pretty sure my husband would either divorce me or divorce me and keep the puppy. and if my husband does divorce me, then I will take this guy so he can sing to me.

breakfast is served

this made 2 glasses. the recipe: 2 large carrots, 2 small tomatoes, 1 cucumber, 1 bunch of parley. it wasn't my favorite but I drank it!

one christmas gift down

how sweet is this. I know my niece will love it. she has a play kitchen and spends a lot of time in there. I can only imagine what she will put in that pocket!

nothing better

than babies and pumpkins. check out this little guy. how sweet is he?! I love his eyelashes.

"live like you were dying"

do you remember that song by tim mcgraw? I always sing that song really loud in the car when I hear it because I love it. when I was 22 I was diagnosed with stage II melanoma. no one can tell you what it feels like when you hear those words "you have cancer" but I remember when I heard them my life changed. I watched oprah today and sobbed during the show. it is amazing the truth that is revealed when you think you might have a little time left to live. that truth is that most of us don't really live. I feel like that in my own life sometimes. so what I learned today is that I am going to start juicing again AND I AM going to skydive (I am afraid of heights).

heart strings

it has been about 2 months since I have seen my niece. I knew at the time I booked my plane ticket for august I should book for october. I thought that plane tickets would be reasonable in september but they weren't. so today I made the mistake of looking at pictures of elsa from birth until now and have included a few of my favorites. I can't EVEN imagine the love a parent has for their child...she is just my niece and I love her SOOOO much. she just brings tears to my eyes. of joy and from missing her.

so delicious

have you tried these? they are SO good. veggie MINI corn dogs. they taste like real hot dogs but without the cows lips and chemicals! target finally started carrying them. they are the only place in the tampa bay area that I can find them. I suggest you try, you will be hooked

new find

right down the street from our house is a great little furniture store. everything in it has been salvaged and painted. the prices are so great. every room of our house has a piece from there. all solid wood and all of the dressers are dove-tailed (my dad always told me this is how you can tell if a dresser is good quality). I picked this gem up today for $130.

porches

wow! this house. just looking at it and imagining being on the front porch during the fall or during a light snow fall. I have always wanted a big porch and love that it has one on the 2nd floor. how great is this house?


love this fireplace


and this kitchen is great. updated but with original features



these kids bedrooms are exactly how I want to decorate our kids rooms one day. I love how simple and classic they are.

future tiny sprouts home?

my dream for a while now has been to have my own big office. an area dedicated solely to tiny sprouts. right now I have 5 different places I keep things and throughout the day I am running around trying to find things. not only the disarray but I keep the house very messy for my husband! so when I found this house in indiana I thought, THIS is what I need. a wide open space AND it has a fireplace IN THE ATTIC! that would be so fun in the winter! and I love the little bath with the apple green medicine cabinet. I would have to have a sign made that says "employees must wash hands before returning to work" just for fun!

don't go

sometimes after I embroider an outfit it is really hard for me to send it away. these 2 sets are being sent to canada but I LOVE them. I have always been partial to milk or creme brulee. when I started tiny sprouts I only had milk (white). the only reason I added hand-dyed colors was because of the request for them. I just love the simplicity of my embroidery on milk or creme brulee because I feel the thread colors are what give it color. I particulary love the bluejay and crimson threads on the elizabeth drew set. I am having new pictures photographed and this combination is sure to be found on our new site launching in january of 2008. I am SO excited about 2008. new products, photos and a fresh site. and tomorrow I will show you the cozy pj's I finished up today that I don't want to send away either. they are too cute, if I do say so myself

special blanket

a customer wanted her baby's name on the blanket as well as the meaning of his name. I thought that was really special. although these are not yet on the site, you can order one for your little one too. they are a forever keepsake and quite special!

best buds

aren't these brothers so cute? I love how my best friend dresses them! they are enjoying the fall in indiana and this picture was too great not to share.

early bird special

don't you love the sound of ice being poured into a cooler at 8 a.m.? that was our household this morning when my husband was preparing for his early departure for the game. I decided since I was up I might as well make some chai and go shopping. online shopping! $7.50 for a shirt? I bought 3 of the butterfly one because it has a yarn embroidered butterfly. I heart old navy.

cabin fever

sometimes after being home all day I feel like I live in the smallest house with the lowest ceiling. by 10:30 p.m. I had to get out of the house. I said to my husband, I have to get out of here. he said, now? where do you want to go? I said, mcdonalds to get a cone. he wasn't surprised. I probably get a cone 2 times a week. they are addictive. just like their diet coke. so we loaded in the car with our dog, santos. he loves to go to the post office every day and loves even more to go to mcdonalds because he gets the end of my cone. as I was driving to mcdonalds I had a flashback. 1986. do you remember the mcdonalds cookies? and grimace? (mom, do you remember the eraser you used to carry in your purse?) I sure do and I wanted cookies. luckily they still have them but they are no longer in the fun box. oh-well, it got rid of my cabin fever. we sat in the driveway of our house with the windows down listening to the crickets eating ice cream and mcdonalds cookies. life is good.

can I have this dance?

now these are just the cutest pictures I have seen. a customer ordered these outfits for a wedding her twin boys were attending (and the parents!). she wanted something comfortable as they would be there all night. aren't they SO sweet?

time frames

just an update if you are awaiting an order from tiny sprouts. orders take about 2 weeks to ship now. yes, this is longer than before but tiny sprouts has been busier than ever and we have been offering monthly specials as well. we are quite happy about our growth this year and our new customers! if you order a corduroy or pique dress or overalls those are shipping in 3 weeks. yes, this does seem like a long time BUT these are made to order.
does 2 weeks seem like a long time for you to wait for something customized? I hope not! please note that when you do order an item from us that it is hand-dyed and then hand-embroidered and packaged. it is a process but I LOVE my job.
sometimes orders may ship sooner than 2 weeks and some are right at 2 weeks. of course, if you are curious when you order will ship, just send me an email and I will let you know!

thank you for your patience AND your business!

customer service

I believe it is essential in every one's job. I have been really passionate about this since yesterday when I met my sister for lunch. as soon as the server walked up to the table and spoke I knew it would be a bad experience. after the meal was over I was very upset. more so than I would have been had I just been out to dinner with my husband because my sister and I don't get to have dinner together too often. I consider it a special occasion. my sister is also 7 1/2 months pregnant and her food came out cold. I really wish I would have had my camera so you could see how her lunch was served. I spoke to a manager at the end of our meal and it seemed he too didn't care either. it is obvious that in today's world MOST people just don't care about their jobs. they are either 1. rude 2. high or 3. irritated

having my own business I hope to ALWAYS have great customer service and hope to always be friendly and helpful.

super sale at target

have you been to target lately? if not, RUN! they have a super sale on sheets. I bought a set of sheets for $12.48 today! they had frames for $3.47 (I didn't buy because my husband says we have too many) and clearance towels. those might be my 3 favorite material things.
1. sheets
2. frames
3. towels

now if we are talking about a new bag, it would be here:

www.swellbystephanie.etsy.com

she is really great at what she does. she even made a custom bumper for my new nephew.

doesn't this look good?

it is after midnight and I can't get my mind off dessert. I am craving this right now from the cheesecake factory. the pumpkin cheesecake & the pumpkin pecan are in season now. yum!

good people

don't you just love people who devote their lives to help others have a better life? lena from www.operationshower.org is just that type of person.
here is a little bit about what she does:
"We are collecting items for military moms and moms-to-be who either (1) have a spouse deployed overseas during their pregnancy, or (2) are soldiers themselves. After collecting wonderful items for these women and families, Operation Shower throws a party and showers these women with a box full of goodies -- our "shower-in-a-box."
tiny sprouts is donating gift certificates for all of the moms-to-be. do you want to help, too? if so go to www.operationshower.org to find out how!

my sweet niece

she is just so sweet. the way she talks, her expressions, her personality, everything about her is just SO sweet. I miss her so much and it has only been about a month since I last saw her. she called and left me a message today thanking us for her halloween package. in her words, "Tank too, tia bwy". that translates to "thank you, tia & bry". we are not sure why she calls me "tia"!