I {Heart} Mondays - Notebook Hunt

Last month, while doing a wrap-up of what I learned at Creative Estates I had mentioned that I needed to get a notebook. You can read a little bit about that here.

Basically, we were told that "every girl needs a notebook" and "by writing things down you are freeing up real estate your mind". These things make complete sense. Why had I not thought about them on my own? Maybe because all of the real estate has been taken up with the loose ideas floating around? I'm going to go with that.

The girls leading up the Happy Chaos session told us that we should have one notebook to store all of our thoughts in. It was recommended to have one that was a 2 subject notebook, for short term and long term goals and ideas.

I promised myself that after Queen Bee was over, I was going to get more organized. I need to implement what I learned. I have sketches of new products all over the place in my office and it is not acceptable. I am so type Z personality. Queen Bee has come and gone (amazing by the way). So, it is time to fulfill my promise. I want a notebook, I need a notebook. And so the hunt has begun.

I have searched high and low for a notebook that I like. Okay, I lie, I have looked at Target twice. But both times, I failed. I am thinking that my best bet is to buy a basic spiral notebook that has two sections to it and then cutesy it up with a cover. That is wear the items I love come in. Here are some things I have found.

Two of my favs are from The Pleated Poppy. I mean you can't go wrong with anything from The Pleated Poppy, they are adorable, always fun fabric combos. The ones I would love to have with me always? Black Damask and Jade with Red Dots. I love them both so so much.



The other route I was thinking of going was one of these beauties. Downstairs Designs In Touch Clutch. Super cute. Not really for a note book though. Maybe a notepad on each side. One for Short Term and one for long. They are just so cute that I want to make them work.



So these are my thoughts and my wants. Ha!
What do you think? What do you use? I would love some input from you all.

What I Wore Wednesday - Mothers Day

This mothers day was extra special for me. Not only was it my first mothers day with two kids, my second born was also dedicated. The original plan was to dress nice for the baby dedication and then tone it down a little bit before our annual motherhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifs http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifday dinner. I was too busy in between to change anything. This is what I wore the entire day. Do not pay any mind to the fact that it is almost the exact outfit that I wore on Easter. Mama is on a budget!




Dress- Urban Outfitters
Boots- Ross
Headband- WhippyCake...the band itself is from a local boutique
Bracelet- Premiere Designs Jewelry
Necklace- Amy Cornwell . That's right I got the necklace that I dropped a few subtle hints for.

Toddler Talk Tuesday

Welcome to the first linky party of Toddler Talk Tuesday! I am so glad you made it over. I was hoping to have a spectacular first party post lined up. Maybe next week. Bear with me as we get this whole thing to what I envisioned...

This last week was crazy. I think, I mentioned that on Thursday. I knew that it would be a tough week on me but did not know the toll that it would take on my 2 1/2 year old Rhiannon. She was pooped and she let me know it. Although it was a struggle, she provided me with some funny quotes to share with you.

By Wednesday, she was tired of being a career woman. I turned on her light bright and early in the morning to grab her and head to the office. Before I could even get to her bed or try to wake her up, she screams at me in her angry voice "NO! I No work today! I tiiiiirrrreeedddd!"

Thursday while driving to work Rhi began to cry. When I asked her what was the matter she responded "Anbo" (Anbo is one of her little buddies) I repeated her "Anbo?" and she said "yes, Anbo, I miss her". Sweetest little friends.

Although it was a rough week, we had a good time. We hit up the park a few times and shopped around the Queen Bee Market on Saturday (I'll share more about that later this week). It ended up being okay but my poor girl is just not cut out for child labor...

I wish I had more fun stuff to share with you since it is the first linky week but we just had sooo much going on. So share your great stories!

How this works:

Simply link up your posts talking about your toddler. It can be anything really; crafts, games, trips, suggestions on toys, tips or just fun stories. We simply are going to talk about our toddlers and experiences being parents of toddlers. {multiple links to different posts are fine}
Grab the button in my sidebar and link back here. Help spread the word about Toddler Talk
It's as simple as that.
{The first 4 weeks will be a trial period to see how this goes. Be sure to link up so we can keep this going}

EX-hausted but excited

Today, although I want to blog about something profound and wonderful, I've got nothin'. I am exhausted and overwhelmed. So can I just pout and complain instead?

This week has been wearing. I have been stretched thin.

As many of you know, I am a work at home mom. I work for a company that is simply amazing to our little family. When it was just Rhi, I worked in the office. I brought her with me and it was tough but I had the best of both worlds. Now that I have two babes in tow, working with them is not as doable. Hence the whole WAHM thing. Anywho, the boss is out of town this week, so I am needed in the office. I have both babies with me. Enough said, right?

On top of working, this weekend is Queen Bee, so there has been lots of sewing and gluing and craziness to prepare. I have been working into the wee hours of the night. Luckily I have amazing support at home. Steven and his parents have helped me a ton with the kids. Although I have had tons of help, Talon is still a nursing baby. Translation: a cling to mommy baby...

I love my job and I love Rock-A-Bow. AND Queen Bee is my favorite show of the year BUT this working mommy/handmade biz owner is tired. No, beyond tired. There are a few things cheering me up though.

Like...
Last night we did a mock up of my booth. A few plans I had didn't work out but all in all I'm happy with it. BTW that is your sneak peek today. I'm in love with those felt flower headbands. You will be too, I promise!

Oh and the other thing making me super happy? I have these two adorable babies and an awesome hubby who have promised me an amazing mommy's day in San Diego, (we always have a ton going on Sunday so we do my day on Saturday). So on top of hanging out at the amazingness that is Queen Bee, I get a fun day with, get this, NO WORK!

Wordless Wednesday

And for a couple words…todays sneak peek! Felt Bow Hair clips!

Toddler Talk Tuesday

Okay, I have a huge announcement. By popular demand, I will be bringing back toddler talk Tuesday. In case you are new, Toddler Talk was a once a week series I was doing, until Talon was born, where I would share some funny stuff Rhi said throughout the week. I then opened it up for readers to share with me via email what their toddlers had said and I shared for them. Sort of a kids say the darndest things kind of post.

WELL, I’m changing it up a bit. Instead of just what kids have said, I want to know fun things they did, games you all played, crafts or really anything that you want to share about your fun toddlers and/or life as a mommy with a toddler. Basically instead of just sharing what our toddlers talked about, we are gonna talk about our toddlers. Make sense?

Here’s the fun part. I am going to go out on a limb and make this a, drum roll please… LINKY PARTY!!!.

So starting next week, come on over and link up your post about your toddlers! We will try it out for a month. See how it goes and hopefully make it permanent.

For now, let’s see our second sneak peek of products that will be at Queen Bee this Friday and Saturday.

Since we are on the topic of toddlers, I’ll let you see a product designed for them. Artfolios. These babies have been hot, so you will want to rush over and snatch one up before they are gone.

There’s this one as well as these cute lil things…

Meet me at Queen Bee!

I {Heart} Mondays + a Sneak Peek

On Friday, I mentioned on Twitter that I would be posting daily sneak peeks all week of products that will be at the Queen Bee this coming weekend. (Look here to learn more about Queen Bee). Sooo…this week look through each post. There will be some sort of sneak peek in each post.

Alright folks, are you ready for some cuteness? I am seriously dying over here and so excited to share this product and my friend with you. I recently met an amazing couple. They go to my church and are on the worship team with my husband. For some unknown reason (completely sarcastic), my husband thought Gaby and I would get along well.

Gaby is a fun, young momma like myself. The young momma part, not trying to inform you all of my coolness. Ha! She also happens to be an extremely talented crocheter. I know, crocheter is not a word, spellcheck informed me of that. Either way, she is amazing at it! After talking to her a little about Creative Estates and some of the great product trades, we decided to barter. Are you even ready for the cuteness you are about to see? Take a look!

Are you dying? I am! Did I already mention that this is killing me? Rhi just loves it, as I am sure you can tell. She refused to take it off all day. We seriously love Hello Kitty in our home, so this was perfect. We were even able to choose the color. We stuck with the trademark red because it is Rhi’s current fav. Oh, and the bow, it is removable. So, if we wanted to dress Hello Kitty up or down we could switch it up. How fun is that.

Gaby aka Nature Mamma, also had an aviator beanie that I am wanting to get for Talon and so much more. She is fairly new to the handmade world, so go show her some love. You seriously can’t beat the cuteness or her amazing prices. Go Go Go!

www.naturemamma.etsy.com

Oh, what’s that? I forgot your sneak peek? No! Here it is. The item that I am bartering with my friend Gaby. A custom bible case. Gaby went with one that was listed in the shop but there will be a few fun fabric combos at Queen Bee. Smarty pants me forgot to take pictures of the ones I am bringing but here is a little idea of what you can expect…