What I Discovered on Your Blogs This Week

Happy Friday y'all.  Boy are we ready for the weekend!  Husband has been working crazy hours (long story) that will likely continue until the end of February and Lallie has been on allergy meds for a couple of weeks due to the horrible pollen situation down here right now.  If you have a child on allergy meds, you know that they are NOT good to their personalities!  We are looking forward to a fun weekend at the local children's museum tonight and possibly heading to Disney for the day tomorrow (pending how Lallie feels).

Anyways, I found some really great new things on you blogs this week!

I love ballet flats.  Particularly the J. Crew ($125) and Tory Burch flats ($178) in the gold/neutral colors.  But as you know, I like to Spy It, Buy It, so I recently purchased a similar version from Old Navy on sale for $13.99.  You'll see them in my Work OOTD below.  (Thanks Southern Curls & Pearls and Pink and Fabulous).

J. Crew                                         Tory Burch

I'll go ahead and show my Work OOTD with my cheap knock offs ;)  I'm not a big fan of Old Navy clothes for myself, though I do love them for Lallie. They have cute styles and she's going to destroy anyways!  But lately, I've purchased several of their cute cotton striped dresses for casual days and I've purchased four of these crepe shift dresses (in blue, below, black, hot pink and a blue/green/neutral print).  They are comfy and versatile.

With it I'm wearing a J. Crew necklace (from Lallie for Christmas....good taste), a Stella and Dot bangle and my Old Navy gold bow flats.  Pardon the lack of my head....horrible hair day.  :-)

On Sweet Southern Prep today, I was introduced to Design Darling. I'm loving their monogrammed office accessories!  

Also on Sweet Southern Prep, Emi-Jay Hair Ties. They are super cute, go check them out.

Over on Lily Lemontree, I found some great new reads to add to my Goodreads list.  Particularly Ketchup is Vegetable and Other Lies Moms Tell Themselves.  As a parent, it will be nice to read this book and poke some fun at the every day frustrating, but rewarding.(...you know...disclaimer) issues of raising a child.  I'm looking forward to checking this one out.

The following is from Amazon.com

If you don’t have anything nice to say about motherhood, then… read this book. Robin O’Bryant offers a no holds barred look at the day to day life of being a mother to three, running a household and the everyday monotony of parenting. 

It’s not always pretty but it’s real. Whether she's stuffing cabbage in her bra… dealing with defiant yet determined daughters… yelling at the F.B.I... or explaining the birds and the bees to her preschooler… you’re sure to find dozens of humorous and relatable situations. 

From the creator of Robin's Chicks, one of the South’s most popular blogs on motherhood, misunderstandings and musings, comes a collection of essays that will not only make you laugh and cry, but realize that you’re not alone in your journey. 

Sit back and relax, pour yourself some “mommy juice,” throw a fresh diaper on your baby and deadbolt the bedroom door to keep your kids out… because once you start reading you'll be too busy wiping away tears of laughter to wipe anybody's butt.

One last little tidbit for the day, I'm looking for a new clutch.  I love these monogrammed ones from White House Monogramming on Etsy.  Of course, I can't decide.  Should I get the cream with navy or the black with pink? Decisions, decisions! 

Happy Friday Y'all!

My Etsy Shop

Good morning y'all!

I've come to a decision about my Etsy shop and I've decide not to re-open. 

(Keep reading though).

Reasoning?   

Well, most of the things I make are too darn cute for Lallie not to wear!  :-)  I'm working on Christmas and Thanksgiving dresses, skirts and shirts and I just don't want to give them up! 

But the other reason is I just don't have time to build up an inventory.  What am I going to do?  Put one dress and skirt on the site and hope someone buys?  Not great marketing.  In addition, I'm not one to buy a whole bolt of fabric.  I choose what I like in just enough fabric to give me variety for Lallie's closet and that's it.  I don't have enough customers (or money!) to buy a full bolt and just hope someone wants me to make something in that fabric.

So what does that mean for y'all?  I will customize design and make whatever you want.  We can just go over it via email and pick out designs and patterns etc. etc. etc.  It's super easy and that way I can make items for the few of you that have bought from me before and not worry about dealing with the masses. 

After all I do really enjoy sewing but it's not my full time job.

Sew....(pun intended)....what do I have in the pipelines for Lallie?  I recently completed her Christmas dress and she'll wear it in her Christmas pictures this coming Friday.

It's a reversible A-Line dress with a white frock to go underneath.  Monogrammed on one side with rick rack trim....the other side simple with a cute little pocket (and Lallie LOVES pockets!)

If interested in this style, email me at SLPreppy@gmail.com!

Happy Tuesday Y'all!

Birthday and Embroidery

Yes, my birthday was Saturday!  Nay thirty-something birthdays.  Yay birthdays!!  It was a great day starting out with breakfast in bed from Lallie and Husband and then being allowed to veg in bed until 9 am.  It was fabulous.  Husband waited on me hand and foot and I didn't have to clean a thing! 

We went to Home Depot and bought all of our seeds and plants for the garden (see another post later this week about that).  We watched the Clemson game (go Tigers!) and then watched that other game where my team lost their rear ends.  (Hmph....moving on.)  My neighbor, Kim, made me mojitos which she refuses to give me the recipe for...they are so yummy and perfect.  I restrict myself to one (okay, two glasses filled to the rim with ice, they are strong.)

And then our friends came over for dinner, sans-kiddos.  We put Lallie to bed at normal time, and then hung out by the pool all night watching my team lose their rears hmph....moving on again.....while eating the seared tuna, broiled asparagus and baked mini potatoes my friend made for dinner.  It was fantastic.  We'll leave the part about them being Gator fans unspoken.

I got two pictures of the whole event.  The cake made by Husband and Lallie and the gorgeous flowers sent to me by Ashleigh. 

SO YUMMY!!!

The single pink rose is Lallie's :-)

So, what did I get for my birthday.  A new sewing and embroidery machine!! Yippee!! 

Husband was all worried about buying me something that plugs into the wall and sometimes I do think I would rather be surrounded by Lilly and Tory Burch packages.

...... {pause and insert "ahhhhhh....Tory.....ahhhh.....Lilly...."}.....

....but not this year!  I chose the new machine and didn't look back.  So pleased and happy with it!

Poor Lallie....she's going to be embroidered and monogrammed for the rest of her life.  It's like the label machine Husband bought me several years ago.  I labeled everything short of the kitchen sink (I do recall actually labeling Husband's name on his forehead ....as a joke.....no really!)

I can't wait to do a review on the machine.  I've completed one applique and one embroidered outfit, but still working out the kinks.  But here are some of the style Lallie will be fashioning over the coming season, all from Etsy shops.  Have fun browsing!

"Gobble, Gobble, Gobble" from Monogram Font Store

 

UK pattern from My Itty Bitty Design

The following three patterns are from Shabby Chic Now

These last two are from Joyful Stitches

Happy Tuesday Y'all!

Lil & Kalle Discount Code

Well, well....just when I think I'm free to get back to blogging about family and life in general, I get busy again!  I have four Junior League meetings this week in preparation for the upcoming fundraiser.  Next week will be less busy (I know, I know..... I say that "but!")

Plus, I'm getting sick.  This is not good....no sir-ee!  Not good at all.  I do have lovely pictures from this weekend, but that will have to wait (plus I left my camera at home).

In the meantime, remember Lil & Kalle?  One of the lovely Etsy shops I posted about on Friday HERE?

Well, today, and today ONLY, they are offering an 11% of discount code to ALL their customers in honor of 1/11/2011!  Use code 01112011





Uh oh, I sense a shopping spree coming on.  Hey, it'll take my mind off my stuffed up nose! :-)

Latest Fabulous Etsy Finds

I love to "pounce" on Etsy and find great new shops with unique things to sell.  Have you ever pounced?  If not, you should try it, it's a great way to surf etsy for fun and you just might run across something unique, that might already have needed.  It basically shows you shops that have recently had a sale.

Here are my latest faves and finds.

First up is Lil and Kal.  I have been following them on facebook for quite some time and I'm about ready to purchase one of their adorable personalized art portfolios for Lallie.  It's always a struggle to figure out something to buy a child for a gift or for a newly expecting parent.  I love the tooth fairy pillow, custom dress and baby basket.

   

I am a sucker for primitive country shabby chic, cottage type things.  And sometimes, they can get quite expensive.  Well, I LOVE this shop....Chunky Monkey Luv

My favorite is the mason jar wall shelf!  For $22.50, that is a deal!

Chunky Monkey Luv also has adorable gifts as well.  Lallie would LOVE this little personalized baby doll sleeper as she is very much into taking care of her "babies."

Sticking with primitive, these handmade decorations for Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day and Easter would look adorable on my antique drop leaf table at my entry.  I have lots of wooden bowls in this style that I've collected over the years.  These are from Homespun Annie.

I love to make little dresses for Lallie and several of my blogger peeps have bought some of my dresses.  Wouldn't these adorable appliques be a great addition to a little dress?  An extra pop of color?  And you can't beat the price!  I will be purchasing from Two Angels Supplies soon!  I adore the apples!

My toddler is no longer napping at school (sadly....as it can make for interesting evenings at home!)  I wish I had run across these Kinder Nap Mats from Annie's Pinking Shear, how perfect would this have been, the blanket and pillow are always together, eliminating the last minute seek and find!

Last but certainly not least, are these goat's milk soaps from Ariel's Secret Garden. 

A perfect excuse to run off and have a party in the bath tub...I'll take it!  Plus, I love goat's milk soap, so soft and nourishing.  I have to say, these designs are so pretty, I don't know if I'd use them, but keep them for decor!  They would also make fabulous gifts.

Hope you enjoyed this new finds!

Happy Friday Y'all!