Thursday, November 27, 2014

THANKSGIVING SALE!


Happy Thanksgiving to you & your family!  Use this coupon code for all of the current styles in the shop until Midnight!  At midnight the coupon code will end and the regular prices will return.  New Styles will be listed at midnight (EST) for Black Friday Sales!!  The new scarves will be listed at a major discount, no coupon needed.  Grab the current styles while you can because some are starting to sell out!  If you order more throughout the weekend, just leave a note in the order and I'll refund the shipping overages and mail them all together Monday morning :)  Enjoy!

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Giveaway & Thanksgiving Specials!

Have you entered our Instagram Giveaway?  Open until 5pm Central tonight! 
This flannel plaid scarf could be yours ;)
 
Be sure to check back tomorrow for details on our specials on Black Friday and throughout the weekend of Thanksgiving.  We are so excited to offer some new styles and special deals- giving a HUGE thanks to those who are shopping small, handmade and supporting local businesses this season.  And then starting Dec. 1st, fun gift guides for every person on your list will posted here!  Let me know if you have any favorite shops or gift giving ideas you would like me to share with others and add to my own shopping list :)
 

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Honest Company- Recent Favorites

The Air & Fabric Freshener is the newest item this month in my Essentials Bundle.  I love the scent and how fresh it makes our room smell.  Now I need one for the guest room!
The Shave Oil will change your life.  It's amazing how little you need to use.  Although I do have it coming in my next month's order because Patrick has stolen it from me :)   Maybe a unique Christmas gift for your man with one of those old school razor kits...
The kids and I use the Conditioning Mist daily.  It's great to detangle hair after a bath or when their curls need a little boost without having to wet their entire head of hair.  I use it on my hair whether I am styling mine straight or scrunching it into curls.  Smells wonderful!
These two are our winter favorites!  The kids love the bubble bath- one more inside activity during the winter :) and the healing balm is essential through the winter.  We all use it- as hand lotion, chapped lips, all over!  JR's skin is really sensitive and his legs get pretty dry.  This Healing Balm has been a life-saver for his skin!

Click {here} for a free trial or check out their other Bundle options.  Target also has several Honest items in stock for you to try. (just a hint- they are way more expensive in Target- bundles save tons of money and you don't have to push a cart full of diapers and toiletries)

Monday, November 17, 2014

John Ryman- my Christmas Boy




John Ryman will turn 3 on Christmas Eve.  Such a little boy now. 
His precious little voice asks questions all day long.  And if he wants to talk serious, his voice takes on a deeper tone which makes me laugh every time.  He has been asking to get out our Christmas train, well, since last January.  So we said when we saw the first snow flurries we could get it from the attic!  Of course John Ryman spotted flurries while Patrick was out of town, so the next day when he got home, you better believe JR was waiting at the garage door ready to get the train out!  He takes his train job very seriously and makes sure everyone know the difference between the engines and the caboose and where the smoke comes out :)  He even introduced himself to someone at church "John Ryman Garcia and I have a Christmas train and there is an engine..." 
JR is always asking, always testing, and always smiling.  I love that at my most exhausted moments his little voice can tell me just what I need to hear.  Here's to celebrating this season with my Christmas boy!   


Friday, November 14, 2014

My New Creative Workspace

 I'm so excited to finally have an area for Everyday Pitter Patter! This is our guest room, so I still needed room to pull out the trundle & accommodate friends.  Thankfully the closet is huge! So I took down the old wooden sliding doors, painted all the walls white and the trim gray and accessorized with items I had around the house or already in here for the guest room.  The only things purchased new for this area: 2 white bookshelves from Target, fur throw & duvet from Ikea. 
 The paint was leftover from all our upstairs trim projects (getting rid of so much dark wood!!) and while I might have chosen a something a little different... I love how it opened up the room, allows for great light & background in product photos, and has a little sheen to it :)








I love having my packing supplies within reach & extra special having your kind thank-you notes on display! I'm so thankful for each of my buyers and I love having your encouragement as a reminder each day.  And those scarf shelves were just FULL- y'all keep impressing me with your early Christmas shopping.  Hoping to restock on the fabric that's still available soon!



I always knew I wanted to turn my guest room into a creative working space... even more so after opening my Etsy shop and taking over our dining room table.  It can be difficult to try to get work done with little hands everywhere.  I wanted an area of organization & beauty where I could close the door and keep inventory out of reach!  I can shut the armoire doors and close the curtains to hide all of the accessories.  After planning & dreaming I was motivated to finish my creative area after seeing beautiful inspiration from WeWork.  It's a co-working company that aims to inspire creative people to do what they love.  And my goodness, if you need some more inspiration check out their pinterest board- so many amazing work spaces! 
And for small business owners or entrepreneur friends-- this magazine is full of great articles.
If you would like to know more about WeWork, check out their locations page to see if they are in an area near you!
 
 Now let's see how long I can keep this room organized!!
 
Curtains, Lamp & Shelving {Target}
Pillows & Art over bed {WorldMarket}
Custom Pitter Patter Hangers {HandcraftedAffairs}
Fur, Duvet & little green plants {Ikea}
and all of the others are from TJMaxx, my mom, or yard sales!
 

Saturday, November 1, 2014

November "Give" Family- Brandon & Nichole

You all were such an encouragement to the Blandford family (and me!) last month.  I am more than excited to bless another family and share their story with you...

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Brandon is from the Boston, Ky area and I am from Louisville. We now live in Bowling Green. We met at work in 2009 when Brandon was completing a physical therapy rotation at the clinic in which I was working. We have a really interesting love story, we met in July 2009, began dating a month later, got engaged in October 2009 and were married in April 2010. Most people give us that wide-eyed look when we tell them our story, but for us, we knew and trusted that God had brought us together.

Our adoption story really began when we started dating. My nephew was adopted from Guatemala in 2008 and after that experience, I felt God pressing on my heart to adopt a child someday. When I brought this passion of mine to Brandon, he agreed. We contacted our agency (Lifeline) in March 2014 and are now waiting to be matched with a birth-mother/birth-parents.


Most difficult (Nichole's perspective):

The most difficult thing has been reading over birth-parent profiles and knowing there is a child who needs a home and falling in love with every one, then hearing that we weren't chosen. Through each one, we prayed that God would provide the best parents for the child and He has. We also pray for the birth-parents and birth-family who will love this child and for their hearts to be comforted.

Most difficult (Brandon's perspective):

I found the homestudy process to be relatively easy. I was expecting it to be more difficult based on other people's statements and feelings about the homestudy process. I would say that the most difficult thing for me has been trying to raise the money for the adoption by ourselves. I had to come to the realization that we are not going to be able to raise the money without the help of God. Another difficult part has been hearing back from our social worker that we have not been chosen by the birthparents. We read the profiles, pray about them, and start to picture them as part of our family. Then, we get an email stating that we have not been chosen.

Most amazing:

We have been so impressed with how God keeps opening and changing our hearts with each birth-parent profile we read and pray over. We have so much love for these children and their first families, and it is easy for our thoughts and emotions to focus solely on what we are feeling But, as we pray for the children, their families and the adopting family, God reveals to us just how much adoption is a ministry, not just a personal event. For us, praying for the birth-family keeps our thoughts and emotions off of our personal feelings and points them to God.

 I (Nichole) also love how God has spoken to Brandon's heart during our journey. Going in, I did not have a positive view of open adoption, in which the birth-parents are involved. I had heard and read the stories and I was so afraid of what could happen. Brandon's heart for these birth-families is beautiful. He was immediately concerned with what they would be going through in making this adoption plan and leaving the hospital without a child. He said it would be cool to have a relationship with them. God has used Brandon to grow my own heart for the birth-parents. I look forward to being able to show the love of Jesus to them, and encouraging them.


Why we said "Yes" to God:

We knew that we wanted to grow our family through adoption, but the experience is different for each family, so it's hard to imagine what the journey will look like. It would be easy to say that we bllindly trusted God wholely and completely from the start, but that's not our story. God has provided just the right amount of faith, trust and strength as we have needed them. We have realized that God doesn't give us all we need for the journey at the beginning, but in small doses so we continue to follow Him for direction. we gain small glimpses of God's love for us as we have need. I think we have realized this more in raising the money for our adoption. There was time when we were doubtful that this was what God wanted because the idea of raising so much seemed impossible. But, it was God who provided again and built our faith up even more by showing us we were on the right path. If we had all the money at the start, I'm not sure our faith and trust would be as deep as it is now.
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If you would like to hear more from Nichole and Brandon, you can read updates on their blog {PrayLoveAct.blogspot.com} or give directly to their adoption {here}

100% of the profit from the November give scarf will go directly to help fund the Davis family's adoption journey.  

Click {here} to purchase a give scarf from my Etsy shop and share with your friends!