steal of a deal(s)

Well, have I got some goodies to show you!  Saturday, after my little baby-store-grand-opening-public-relations-event, I didn't go straight home. Oops, my cell phone was on silent and I missed the 50 calls from home asking, "where are you and what is for dinner?". Without the children in tow, I knew just where to spend my free time.  The thrift store.  Look what I came home with:

A sweet little blue dress for Laurel baby.  The tag said vintage, I bought it for $2.  It has that olivejuicekids look don't you think?  I really love it.

Then, being the daring fashionista that I am, I snagged this shirt dress for $11.  It is very cute with my tall brown boots. A little fallish, but I can wait.  (no, my waist is not 8" in diameter...but cinching the belt this tight was the only way to get it to stay up for the picture.)

Then, waaaay back in a dark corner I spotted a lovely green leather.  I reached up to the top shelf and pulled down this case:

I had been looking for a cute/practical way to carry my camera around and it was perfect except for the price- $39.  Yikes, for something old I wasn't sure I wanted to pay that much.  But it was cool... and green to boot, so I resolved that it would be best if it were mine-even if I had to pay $39.  Just then a voice from heaven came down (or maybe it was the shop's owner) and said, "Did you know that everything in that corner is on sale for $2/item?"  Glorious- it was almost too much. 

When I came home and explained my missing whereabouts, I added that the grand total of my shopping excursion was less than $15 and that buying similar items online at places such as jcrew and the like would have been HUNDREDS (for drama) of dollars more...he smiled and I was in the clear.

feathering her nest

I am off to a bit of a slow start this morning after coming in from a birth at 3:30am this morning.  It was a sweet scene to behold as the parents welcomed their little baby to life outside the womb.  I love it when the sex of the baby is unknown...it is always fun to watch the new parents discover if their fresh bundle is a boy or a girl.  Little Grace was her mother's prize after 20 some hours of labor!! 

Okay, onto the curtains I made!

They were incredibly hard to photograph against the glare of the window.  The fabric for the valance was left over from my Emmeline apron- red polka-dots (and the little red pom-poms as just enough whimsy don't you think?)  The other fabric came from a sheet that I thrifted, it is always a bit tricky for me to work with such big lengths of material.  Her window is huge so each panel was 60" wide by 100" long! I used the pattern for curtains in Bend the Rules Sewing.  It was so easy- straight line sewing!  My only regret was backing them in muslin vs. blackout fabric.  Emma's room gets the bright morning sun and heaven knows we would all like her to sleep in a bit longer on the weekends!

(shhh don't tell Emma that Laurel Baby was in her room while she was at school- a full fledged flip out would ensue. also, the curtains touch the ground when they are not pulled open.)

This project has been on my "to do list" for quite some time so I was very pleased to get it finished. I was also glad to appease Emma who would ask me about getting them made every time she walked past the fabric on my sewing table. Relentless I tell you!

Onto the next project: dining room drapes (in yellow)

stop the merry-go-round

I want to get off!  The last few weeks of my life have been busier than I have wanted them to be and therefore, my posts have been less regular.  We have really been enjoying the warmer weather and longer days.  Fresh air feels so good.

This past weekend I had the opportunity to do a little PR for my childbirth classes.  An adorable new store (the only of its kind) opened up here in town and I was invited to be there to hand out flyers.

It is the kind of thing that I am entirely uncomfortable with...you know, making easy and relaxed conversation with perfect strangers, promoting myself.  You never know how someone is going to react when you encourage natural birth. I read and article in our local newspaper last week that stated over 60% of women elect for an epidural at our hospital (that doesn't count Stadol or other narcotic drugs "to take the edge off") Natural Birth Nuts are clearly in the minority.  Everyone seems to have an opinion on the subject and I think they should, I just get nervous stepping out in a group of strangers like that. Thankfully, no one threw rotten tomatoes at me. None the less, it turned out to be a beautiful store and I was drooling over all of the merchandise.

Those cute Petunia Picklebottoms diaper bags are not helping me make a rational decision about having another baby!

In other news, I did some fun sewing and some awesome thrifting on Sunday.  I am running out of time for today though (hey didn't I say I wanted off this merry-go-round?)  Come back tomorrow and the next day to see the products of both.