back to school special

can you believe it is almost time for kids to go back to school?
it seems like summer just started!
we have a great special for you! we thought it would be so cute for kids to go back to school in a girly tee or boy tee with their name on it and introduce themselves to their new teacher.



then we thought how cute would it be if they brought a large tote bag for their teacher? so that is when we knew we needed to have a special! purchase $45 or more and receive a free large tote bag for your child's teacher!



you MUST add the tote to your cart (this does NOT count towards your $45).
the tote bag can be found HERE

and use coupon code "backtoschool08"

the tote does not come with the ribbon pictured. instead, it will be purchased to match the threads you choose and it will be striped!

also, please let me know your child's first day of school so I can be sure to have the order to you by then!

this special is valid for only 4 days! july 31st, august 1st, august 2nd, and august 3rd so tell a friend and don't miss it!!

first grade

I can't believe it. my best friend's little girl grace is about to start first grade! I still remember when brooke was pregnant and I saw her a few days before grace was born. when she turned around and I saw her belly, my jaw dropped.


one of the fun things about starting first grade is you bring your lunch! and if you are grace that means you get sweet notes in your lunch box everyday from your parents! so gracie is getting this lunch box for her big day!


we love you gracie!

miracle?

the night before we left for our mini-vacation our air conditioner started making a grinding noise. we didn't think too much of it as the air was working. so as soon as we left it started acting up. my mother-in-law babysat her grandkids in a house that was reaching 89 degrees. we felt horrible. the day we returned we called our a/c guy out. it was 88 in our house and so sticky. he is one of those honest a/c guys and I knew it the first time I met him because he sat on the floor and played with our dogs for about 10 minutes. he came out, surveyed the damage and let us know it would be $850 to fix it. whatever I said. I don't get too upset about things like that. it happens and is part of home ownership. so after he left we set the air on 78 to see if it would work, left for dinner, came home and our air was on 78. it has worked every since. hopefully the a/c was just having a bad few days and has since recovered.


this picture has nothing to do with this post but I hate posts without pictures.

$1.50 cheesecake

today and today only you can buy a piece of cheesecake from the cheesecake factory for $1.50 (you have to dine-in though). they are celebrating their 30th anniversary and are selling a slice for the price it cost in 1978. YUM

new bedding

while we were in kansas city we were in an area that not only had pottery barn but pottery barn kids. I love going in that store and dreaming about nurseries and babies! they have this new bedding set that I love, love, love. I have wanted to do all the nursery in homemade goods but after seeing this set I might reconsider!



this would be a perfect match to the luna lou blanket
I have been saving for baby #1


my mother-in-law said last night that she had her friend had a weird feeling that this might be the month. keep your fingers crossed!

cottage living 10 best neighborhoods

I forgot to mention that on our trip we stopped by this house.

photography: Michael Hanson

it was in the july/august issue of cottage living's
10 best neighborhoods for 2008. it was fun to find the house. the street was really pretty and it was so close to downtown. you can walk to everything in kansas city and I LOVED that!

kansas city

we are back and what an AWESOME trip it was. kansas city is awesome. lots of hills, brick buildings and really friendly people.


it is historic


TONS to do









lots of fun places to eat


I had bry ask the guy if their potato salad had meat in it. laughing, the guy said, MEAT?! (we were at a TRUE barbecue place and that is pretty much all they had). good thing it didn't because it was SO good.

one of the greatest things about kansas city is they are a "green" city. this was the first thing I saw when we got off the plane in kansas city


you've gotta love that!

exciting day

today was good. I received a proof of my new tag.
not exactly the right colors but you get the idea.


I wish I had these because today I received a call from a client in beverly hills for an order for a celebrity. so so so excited. she said I am not to add it to my press page, etc and I understand. I am really not into that but I still think it is really cool since it is being delivered to her on monday as she ordered the gift basket for her baby girl.
she will be receiving these goods:


maybe, just maybe, she will be wearing my outfit while out and about.

on another note, these sweet diaper covers were added to the site recently


I need to make a pair for my nephew who is about ready to walk!

have a great weekend! my husband and I are headed to kansas city! we are so excited to getaway! the bags are packed, the dogs are sad but will be happy when their grandma comes to see them tomorrow!

back again

this might just work. a rental. they take dogs. however many. YAHOO!

we'll miss you sophia!

estelle getty
july 25 1923-july 23 2008


thanks for all of the laughs!

do you hear me

SCREAMING?

today all the paperwork needed to send to the lender was nicely organized and paper clipped together (I even bought cute paperclips) ready to send. so excited. then about 5 p.m. I received an email stating that fannie mae has put restrictions on people who are trying to obtain a 2nd home loan while renting their current home.

check out how ridiculous these terms are:
*must have 30% equity in current home & a current appraisal
*6 months reserved payments for new and existing home

oh yes, and if you can't meet those requirements (seriously, who could?) then you can try this:
*use a non-occupying co-signer to help with additional income.

yeah right! I would NEVER ask anyone to cosign on a HOUSE for us.

so it looks like we will be in florida for
a bit until this market crisis is fixed.


frequent flyer miles here we come!

it is the sunshine state

but NOT the friendly state.
I think florida has rude and angry people that reside here. it is probably the heat. being from the midwest, people are just laid back and friendly. tonight while I was playing ball at the park with santos and stewart a lady was riding on her bike with her 2 kids behind her. she said loudly, when they chase behind you be sure you kick them. then she yelled, your dogs are supposed to be on a leash. I responded, they aren't hurting you. she then said, you are breaking the law!

indiana can't come soon enough!

total excitement

so I have been trying to brand tiny sprouts a bit more. I have never been one to buy clothing with a designer name printed all over it (except in the 7th grade when GUESS was big). however, these past few months finding people copying my designs and ideas, I decided that I needed to do something subtle on my products. normally I iron in labels into my clothing. this is a timely process and the labels eventually come out. I found these IRON ON WOVEN labels for my clothing. they are AWESOME. I am so so so excited to add this to my clothing. it won't be for about 6 weeks as production and ordering take a bit. so once I receive my new tags I will then ship a garment to my photographer and have her take a picture of someone wearing it. just had to share my exciting news!

music

I have been wanting to get one of these lately for the kitchen.


just a radio that mounts under the cabinet. I think they are pretty 80's but they remind me of growing up. we had a cassette one and I remember my mom baking lots of cookies and pies around the holidays while listening to music. I have been into baking cookies lately (and eating, of course) and moved a radio into the kitchen. so whether it is in this kitchen or our next, I will be stylin' up my kitchen with an under-counter radio.

i like it a lot

I already wrote about this house but I L-O-V-E this house. that rooftop deck is so cool and I would love to have my tiny sprouts office in that room and leave the door open so sophie can lay out there all day.

circa 1910, 3 bedrooms, 1.5 bath, 1 car garage, unfinished basement.
no fireplace though.

pillow covers 101

yesterday morning when I was at target I spotted these napkins on clearance by dwell studio. I love their stuff, especially baby! they had enough napkins for me to make 4 pillow covers. the napkins are size 20x20 and happen to be the size pillow inserts we already have.


since I can't sew, I bought some permanent fusible tape. you use it for 3 sides of the pillow cover and on the other side you use a temporary fusible tape so you can peel it apart if you need to wash the cover.


total cost for 4 pillow covers: $9.90

NEXT

so this house hunting, apartment hunting, trying to find a really inexpensive place is really getting to me. the place I had already decorated but hadn't bought says that even though you own it you can only have a dog(s) that weigh up to 40 pounds. how and WHY do people have restrictions on dogs? I think it is discrimination. we live directly across the street from a dog park and the little dogs are the ones who bark all the time. in that high, annoying bark. and the owners of these smaller dogs are the ones that tend to not pick up after them because they think their poop is so small that no one will see it or step in it. so as a BIG dog owner, we are responsible dogs owners and just because my dog weighs 98 pounds does not mean he is not cared for, he is crazy or he is destructive. okay, there, I can come off my soapbox now.
in the meantime, I found this super cute house that is the same size as the condo we were going to look at and it is about a mile and a half from my brother and swil (sis-wis-in-law).

love the front porch.


I LOVE this kitchen. those are the original cabinets and there is a faucet coming out of the wall! LOVE that!!!


original hardwoods under the carpet.


my husband joked that that is probably a day bed because the room is probably too small to fit anything else.

do you have your receipt?

today I visited GAP to exchange shirts I had purchased a few weeks ago that ended up getting holes in them after I washed them.
what an experience.
today was the day I realized that our world has changed drastically in the last 10 years. what I thought would be an easy thing, it ended up ticking me off for the next hour. I didn't have my receipt and I guess that was the first thing that ticked the girl off. why would I keep my receipt when I had no plans of returning anything? I did have my credit card that I purchased them on so that was helpful. I was given a refund even though I went in for an exchange but was never once given eye contact. at the very end of the transaction the manager looked at me and said in her demeaning tone, we have sold 100's of these shirts and we have NEVER had anyone return them because of a hole.
yep, you are right lady, I didn't want the shirts anymore so I created a perfect hole on two shirts right around the seam. maybe customer service is a thing of the past?

not giving up hope

I heard back from the apartment. no dogs allowed.
I am NOT GIVING UP! now we are in the process of trying to get approved for something small. really small. all I ask for is a safe area, no drugs or murders, please.
this is on our list for our visit in august.







it looks awesome from the pictures. it is a 2 bedroom, 1 bath townhome/condo (not sure the difference). it has hardwood floors throughout, original doors and lots of light. this weekend I received my rejuvenation catalog. what perfect timing. I love this light.

special mail

I love to get the mail. it is not as fun as college days because in college you get letters from family and lots of cookies! today it is mostly junk and bills. so yesterday when I opened the mail was this little package. I was so excited to open it and when I did this is what I found.


it is called a peace of mind bracelet and has gemstones that promote fertility and good health. my sweet friend jen made my day!

and the winner is....

MEGAN POTTS!


who wrote
"Everything is DARLING and it is SO HARD to pick. However, I think I would pick the chocolate corduroy dress for my daughter Natalie. She loves getting dressed up and I think it would look adorable with her brown hair. Thanks for this fun chance to win!
Megan Potts"

megan, please contact me by
wednesday, july 16th to claim your giveaway!!!

crossing fingers

please take 3 dogs





here is a picture from 1928 of the same building. I love history

give-give-giveaway

alright, are you ready for my first EVER tiny sprouts giveaway?
DRUM ROLL PLEASE.
here it is...
















one lucky reader will win the dress or overall/shortall of their choice. this is what you need to do to enter.

RULES:
*you have until monday, july 14th, 8 a.m.(EST) to enter this giveaway.
*just make a comment ON THIS POST to enter with your FULL NAME
*let me know what you'd like to win.
*anonymous comments will be ignored/removed.
*ONE entry per person, please.
*the winner will be randomly picked and announced on monday.
*you CAN be my friend and enter!

GOOD LUCK and HAPPY FRIDAY!

pure excitement

I rarely get excited about clothes. I am not into the purse or shoe thing either. I am not fancy, just very plain and simple. my wardrobe consists of white t-shirts, jeans and flip-flops. however, when my sister and I attended our first ever matilda jane trunk show last month I understood why people get excited about clothing.


we both bought a pair of these pants and elsa a mini pair. these pants are so comfortable and the best part, they look great with flip-flops!

summer

isn't this the perfect summer bedding? I am in love with orange.


my poor little sophie is sick. she is on antibiotics for 3 weeks and had to have a steroid shot yesterday. apparently she is highly allergic to fleas. the vet combed through her and found ONE flea. she said that is all it takes. we have had the worst time with fleas this summer. we had the house sprayed (blah), the yard sprayed (blah) and have given lots of baths and flea medicine. nothing works. EXCEPT this new product COMFORTIS:


it kills every stage of the flea cycle. only downside is it is beef flavored. um, do you have any veggie flavored? she looked at me as though I were crazy. guess where comfortis is made?
only the best city in the united states, INDIANAPOLIS!
this morning I had to get up and give sophie a bath and give her her medicine except she won't eat a thing. so I had to run to the store to get some eggs and brown rice and give that to her. hopefully it will help. on the way home I saw the cutest grandpa driving a hybrid.
oh, so cute. I think he even had a cardigan on.
happy thursday!

sadness

a dear friend of mine ask that I make her her saddest order yet. a good friend of hers gave unexpected premature birth at 6 months. madeline jane was born but after 2 hours, her lungs failed and she could not breathe on her own. our hearts break for them. I woke up suddenly last night at 3 a.m. in a kind of panic. madeline jane should be in this world, along with anna who would be a week and 1 day today and emma would be a little over 1. please keep all of these families in your thoughts.
they are dear to so many.

daily routine

do you ever feel like you are in a rut? I DO! every day I wake up, check orders, wait for the dogs to get up (or I should say bry) and wait for our morning walk. sophie will get up with me but santos and stewart will not get up until bry does. must be their little guy time. so anyway, lately I feel like my life is so boring and then I become unorganized. I mean really, you saw my office, right?! I thought maybe I would try something new so this week I am starting off with getting up and immediately taking the dogs on a walk. except this time I want to do 3 times the walk we normally do. because I am sure if I feel like I am in a rut they do too!


I love this picture because it looks like stewart is laughing

organized

BEFORE


AFTER


my favorite part is my new ribbon holder.


there were holes already in the top of the work table and I fit a dowel in it and slid my ribbons on it. it spins so I don't have to worry about them getting twisted.

great buys

who said buying organic was expensive?!


all of this for $2.05

salvaged goods

they are one of my favorite places to visit. tonight I found this:


it is a "large rectory linen cabinet" and here is a little about it:
This is a massive piece of cabinetry! The overall height is 8'9 3/4"h. Salvaged from the second floor linen closet of a church rectory in Brillion, WI. All complete and original hardware! Right side is finished, left side is not finished. Back is fully wainscotted!!
and this is from the same church.
can you even imagine that in a kitchen?


would love to buy that fixer upper and use all salvaged parts.
love the details:




this is the kind of sink I want for our next kitchen.
BIG, VINTAGE and UNIQUE


what a sweet kitchen it would be if I purchased these 3 items!

handmade tags!

check out these tags from city bird designs.
they have my name written all over them.

project

I have this itch lately to get a fixer upper. my husband really wants to have a project like this when we move. a few years ago we purchased a fixer upper and it was an experience. it was awesome when it was finished but along the way we had much skepticism, almost as though we were the first EVER to take on such a thing.
this is the house I want:


keep in mind that the outside would be completely finished. it would just be the inside. honestly I can picture what it would look like already. a beaut.
here are some before and after of our last house.

master bath before:

master bath after:

master shower after
(I don't have a completely finished picture for some reason):

kitchen before:

kitchen after:

master bedroom before:

master bedroom after:

family room before:

family room after:

so the one I want obviously needs quite a bit more work but....

best magazine

I rarely check our mail but when I do and I find this


it makes my whole day. I love to snuggle up at night with bear (aka stewart) and read this in bed when we have fresh sheets.
these are my favorite ideas from their website on how to add any cottage character to a house.

farmhouse sink


even cooler farmhouse sink


and this one is my FAVORITE.


I thought they meant by adding a yellow lab
but they meant the dutch door.
love porches. this one reminds me of elisalou’s


love her house, her blog and her bags!