Big Girl Booster!!

We are finally car-seat free!!

Kapri got upgraded to a backless booster seat today - and we all could not be happier! She's so tall for her age:  3 ft & 7.5 in. tall -- which is in the 90th percentile...

...so she definitely fits the height/weight requirements, so that was our main concern. At Target I found the Graco Affix Backless Youth Booster Seat with Latch System  - in the 'pierce' tan & black color (latching was a big PLUS for me!)...so I bought one for both James & my cars. According to their description: "It’s designed to help keep kids from 40 lbs. to 100 lbs., from 40 to 57 inches tall and from 4 to 10 years old safe while riding in a vehicle."

At first she was definitely confused...and said it was 'not cozy'...but after a bit she warmed up to it. It's so weird looking back & not seeing her so high up from being in a car-seat....she looks so 'little', but like such a BIG girl at the same time. She still needs a little help getting the buckle on herself, but over time I know she'll get it down. And she knows that she absolutely CAN NOT unbuckle herself until "mommy turns the car all the way off"!

Can't believe how quick my little girl is growing up - it really just blows me away at times.

Craft HEAVEN - at the Queen Bee Market!

OMG - died & gone to craft heaven!!

The 2nd day of the annual "Queen Bee Market" or "QBM" was today in Oceanside, CA. and HOLY creativity overload....it was like, ETSY come to LIFE!

Can you tell I was/am excited???

I had seen a posting for 'behind the scenes' people to help work the event...and I jumped all over the Opportunity. They asked us to submit an application and in the comment section I wrote:

"I cravvvvve to be around like-mided crafy people, who have a similar passion for making goodies with their own glue-bun blistered hands and ridiculously creative brains! I would be SO honored to get the opportunity to work behind the scenes the the QBM in November and soak in all the sweat, glitter and glue that will surely permeate the air!"

I know - I'm crazy. But since I couldn't afford or have the time to prep...I figured just BEING there would be fulfilling enough.

So I got to work the entry from 8am-noon, doing admissions...and of course seeing people leave with some awesome goodies! I even got the CUTEST little engraved wooden name badge to wear (see pic below). It was great working with the event creator, Mique (aka: The Queen Bee"), and her friend Katie - such lovely ladies (THANKS to you both for letting me be part of this AWESOME day!!)

Definitely going to lend a helping hand to them for their future events!!

Booths pictured below: (top 2, & bottom left were of the main entry) Joyful Joyful Designs, Creme De La Gems, & Bloomies

There was just SO much going on... luckily though since I got there on the 2nd day, and early in the morning before the vendors arrived...their booths were already set up and stocked from the day before!! So I had free rein to cruise around and take all these amazing pictures, before the crowds arrived and the inventory flew off the shelves!

Booths pictured below: She Does Justice, Salty Bison, The Printed Palette, A Handcrafted Home, Flea Market Sunday, &  Sweet Funky Vintage

So. Many. Crafty. People!!!!  Talk about being inspired to your CORE!

Booths pictured below: DeeDee Motique, Junk Art Gypsy, Stuck in the Coop, Fresh Baked {Paper Goods}, Little Bird, Inspire Lovely, & Bubba's Basics

First Street Fair Booth - What I learned...

Just realized I never posted this, after the Encinitas Street Fair in April! haha...(it's 7/12/13...but I'm post-dating!)

Wow.

Cannot believe it's over... kinda like a wedding... months & months of planning all for one day. One day that goes by in a blink of an eye. One day....and it's over. The day/night before, I literally was on ZERO amount of sleep, and an entirely too much caffeine - my heart was racing & I was going about 1500 miles a minute finishing last minute things!

I would've hoped to start this post with something more along the lines of "holy crap I just made 5 billion dollars!!!" - sadly, I did not.

BUT - it was an AHmazing experience, learned a lot of what I would do again...and what I would NOT do again. And it was definitely fun! I had sooooo many people come by my booth & express there well-wishes and/or how proud they were of me...so that felt tremendous and really lifted me up. So much love from so many...I just feel so blessed to have people (family, friends, co-workers) around me that support my love of sewing/crafting! I remember I kept thinking, "wow...I'm a VENDOR - finally....at the same street fair I grew up going to every year, I'm actually on the other side of it now!" I felt really grown up...which sounds odd saying, considering I'm 30 years old, haha!

So - first things first... Our BOOTH!

First apron I've made entirely from scratch...love how it turned out!

Though it was primarily "Custom from Calista" goodies, a portion of it was stocked full of gorgeous hair accessories from my friend Danielle, who owns "Poisies Handmade" - adorbs!

I was so overwhelmed that morning from a combo of annoyances... didn't get into bed until around midnight... missed my alarm by 45 min... then my (& James') bathroom outlets mysteriously decided to NOT work - causing my already panicked mind to freak out. And guess what? The outlets worked just fine the next day...how does that happen?!

We arrived around 6:15am & set up pretty quickly, having 4 people there made that part easy. But then once James left, I felt like my mind was shutting down on me and I couldn't think. I didn't know where I wanted things or how to place different items. I was a silent MESS! Then my friend/co-worker Melissa showed up in the nick of time...She took charge of product placement & made everything look so brilliantly organized....talk about a LIFESAVER!! I could never thank her enough!!

The weather was nice for set up, overcast & cool...and we had a spot just outside a Whole Foods and a brand new restaurant/bar...so I thought for sure that would bring a ton of people our way. Around mid-morning...I started wondering where the HECK everyone was at! I've been to this street fair I don't know how many times in my life (being an Encinitas native), and I know how packed it normally is. You can hardly walk since it's usually so congested with people strolling along, stopping to check out booths. So I knew something was off.

Turns out there was some other events happening that weekend, and maybe the weather turned everyone away. Our booth neighbor told us he's been doing street fairs since the 70's, and this was the first time he'd seen this particular fair so low in attendance. Lovely. So that explains why I didn't walk away with 5 billion dollars, haha!

Anyway, onto 'what I learned' from this whole street fair thing...here's my TOP 10:

1. Get enough SLEEP. I cannot stress this enough. I was so tired, running on fumes the days leading up to the street fair. By the time it was all over, I literally felt like all my life force had been sucked out of me.

2. Make a LIST - a really super detailed one. I'm talking, down to "pens, tape, products, cash, etc". Check off everything the night before. And pack your car(s) up the night before as well. Here's MY LIST.

3. Have proper SIGNAGE. For everything... your biz name on a large & visible banner, product names/prices, etc. Super important. People want to be able to see things, and find info themselves, rather than asking "how much is this??".

4. Bring FOOD! I remember looking at other lists online, and thinking..."nah, there's tons of food at the street fair, I'll grab some yummy grub while I'm there". Nope. I only left my booth maybe 3 times to use the restroom at Whole Foods (& one time I bought a banana on my way out). And luckily, a sweet friend of mine brought me a sandwich, which I almost denied. So that was about the extent of my food intake for the entire day. Oh, and a butt load of coffee, yet again.

5. Enlist HELPERS! Super critical. You cannot do it all, seriously. One or 2 is good, depending on the size of your booth. I had one, and the girl I shared a booth with had one - space was a little tight!

6. SIT - at least a few times throughout the day. I did not. (except to pee! haha) Baaaaaaaad idea. I don't think I've ever been so exhausted (besides giving birth) in my life...and have NEVER felt the pain in my feet, as I did at the end of the day. Like I said earlier, I was running around like a mad woman the entire week prior, and the day before was on my feet crafting ALL day long. Then standing at the booth from 6:15am until 5pm... that'll do you in.

7. TALK to everyone that comes in your booth. Smile. Be personable. I had some great conversations & met so many nice people - I think that goes a long way when you're a vendor. No one wants to buy something from a grouchy person that barely speaks. Engage with them. Compliment something they're wearing. Show them around - they may see obvious items, but you may want to point out the less obvious as well.

8. Take CREDIT CARDS! I used the PayPal Here card reader & iPhone app. Both worked great! I loved that I could pre-load all of my products, along with photos & prices (either with or without tax included...I recommend adding tax into your costs so you don't have to fiddle with calculating tax on everything...especially for those paying with cash. Total life saver!

9. Do a detailed TRIAL RUN set up a week before. If I could do it over again I would've been more detailed in my trial set up. We set up the canopy & tables out on our cul-de-sac, just to get an idea of how long it'd take to put them all together - but I did NOT figure out where I wanted all my products to go and do a complete set up...that was a fail.

10. And finally...Don't Worry, be HAPPY!...just try not to stress yourself out  :-)

Here's a few other photos of our booth set up:

Online Shopping - hit or miss

We bought this 7-piece bedding set from Macy's about 7 months ago (on sale at that time for $75!)...I loved it in the store, but they didn't have a King. So we had to have it shipped to us. After only a few washes - the comforter (cleaned less often than sheets) started to come apart...tearing where the pretty embroidery meets the gray color block fabric. Sad day. I really loved the grey & green color combo!

So the hunt began...again. Blah.

I feel like I/we've never owned a bedding set that we've really LOVED... so I spent a hours & hours researching sets, comparing prices, number of pieces, exact size measurements, made sure it was machine washable and most importantly: REVIEWS.

Over a few days, I would email James over & over with new photos/links to check out & get his opinion - and we narrowed it down between a few. I think I looked at probably 10 different websites and hundreds of sets!

Finally, we took a chance & ordered THIS 12-piece set (yes, TWELVE) online through Overstock.com - without seeing or feeling it first. But the 137 reviews, with a 4.5 star average totally sold me. I was hoping to find something with more color...but I guess I can do that with fun throw pillows on my own. I was able to find a 10% off for first time customers (def not a first-timer, but created a new acct with a different email address, hehe!).

Shipping was INcredibly fast...I ordered it on the 25th, and it was on my doorstep on the 29th - that's awesome!

After I opened it all I was relieved to feel how SOFT the fabric was...before even washing it! The comforter was huge and suuuuper fluffy - I envisioned myself wanting to go to bed early just to wrap myself in this thing! I know from previous 'sheet buying' experiences with O.co - that's is best to first make sure things FIT on your mattress before washing them. If they don't, and you've washed them - they deduct more money from your return amount.

First I threw on the comforter - holy hugeness. There's a good 15" of material on EACH side and at the foot of the bed - amazing. Though the grey in it doesn't quite match our grey curtains...maybe I'll change that one day, but for now it's not so bothersome.

Then the sheet test. "yayyy they're super soft...Oh pleaseeeee fit!"

Happy to report - they passed the test - with PLENTY of room to spare. Isn't she purty?!!

I'm still waiting for my Euro Square Pillows to go in the very back...but I think this purchase was definitely a HIT!

The colors are so pretty and perfect to please both our tastes...not too girly...not too masculine - just right. The sheets are super soft and the comforter has the best amount of 'fluff'...it's seriously wonderful!

What to Wear - Teal 'n Taupe

Don't you just LOVE when you find pieces of an outfit that you *hope* will look as good ON as it does in your head?

I found this pretty teal (pic doesn't do justice), 'Cynthia Rowley' long sleeve dress at Marshalls a few weeks ago for $25!! Serious score. I tried to find out what it retailed for online but could not find that same dress for the life of me (and I consider myself to be a pretty damn good 'Googler'). Aw well. It honestly didn't look like much on the hanger, but I liked the color, and thought the sleeves would be nice while on a boat for the evening. Much to my surprise, the sleeves had slits in them (love) and it fit beautifully!

I knew that taupe-ish/nude colored heals would go best...so I started from there & worked my way up to the top for accessories. I found a FAB pair of slingbacks on eBay (of all places) for $35, with this fun fabric flower detail along the outside ankle/strap. So I ordered them & hoped for the best. 

Also on eBay, I found this peachy bib/waterfall style necklace for $15... check!

Then at Forever 21, I found these pretty earrings & ring ($5 each)... check, check!!

All together, I hope think it'll look FAB for this wedding we're going to up in Newport Beach on Sunday...yay!!

cell phone pics just don't cut it sometimes - especially when trying to capture true color... but I swear they all compliment each other perfectly in person!

On another "OMG WHAT A DEAL" note...during the same shopping trip as the above teal dress - I also found this insanely gorgeous, delicate coral dress that I fell head over heals for. It's made by "Romeo & Juliet Couture - Gossip Girl Collection", which I was actually able to find online....retailing for $160 - and I got it for only $30!!! That's seriously an INsane deal my friends:

Here's the link to it online if you want to buy there ;-)

http://www.romeoandjulietcouture.com/shop/G25704.php

It was a random buy... thought I would mayyyybe wear it for Opening Day... but since I didn't, it now hangs in my closet, desperate for a fun night out, haha! I'm thinking our Palm Desert trip mid-August...with a great tan this'll look amazeballs!

Bigger the better - Hat shopping!

Holy Hats!!! Chels, Kapri & I went shopping for hats the other day...never have I ever been hat shopping like this...

Where: Village Hat Shop in Hillcrest

Why: For Opening Day at the Del Mar Races

So excited!! 

This place is seriously amazing...AH-MA-ZING! Such gorgeous hats... so many to chose from (though I knew exactly what I was looking for...which made it easier!). I highly recommend getting down to Hillcrest to visit this fabulous shop (or check out their website - link above next to 'where') for your future hat needs! We had a blast trying on hats... as you can see:

so many choices...from BIG to small, haha!

Seriously AHmazing creations in this place

photos of some historic hats

Couldn't help myself...maybe I'll do a fascinator head piece next year!

Kapri of course loved all the fun hats too!

I ended up getting this white, wide-brimmed beauty, aptly named the "Del Mar Swinger"...perfect for the Del Mar Races! Now time to jazz this thing up with my own personal *touch*! Stay tuned....

Operation: UPGRADE

This is an update to the Operation: Big Girl post  ;-)

Kapri's bed was FINALLY delivered. 

Just need to reposition her wooden letters to be centered over the bed

On Memorial Day, we went to Jereome's and got her fabulous new twin bed & dresser (and a King frame for us!). 

Her set was on back order due to it's popularity, so we knew it'd be well over a month til we received it. But I asked James to call on Thursday to check the status - and what do you know....BOTH our sets were ready for delivery AND lucky for us, they had a cancellation for Friday.... so our delivery was scheduled between 5-9pm.

After I got home from work, I started moving the remaining bits of furniture downstairs. James had to work late, but he had taken apart our whole bed (which we gave to my youngest sister...major upgrade for her, since our queen was only 3 years old!) and brought down the rocker. 

Then my sis & I moved each piece of the queen in 4 trips, to her house one street down from us...the mattress was the toughest, so we managed to get it up on top of my car and CAREFULLY drive it over, hahaha...it was hilarious! See:

As the rest of the night passed, while we patiently awaited the delivery truck. I was exhausted from all the heavy lifting & moving by 8pm. So glad Kapri nuzzled up in my arms while watching Tangled, so I could rest my eyes a few minutes at a time ;-)

At 8:30pm, I called to find out where they were...oh joy...running late, they'll be here around 10pm. At 9:45 I called again...oh joy....running super late, they'll be here around 11pm. They finally arrived at 11:15pm - I was in & out of sleep on the couch and Kapri was awake as ever, watching Horton Hears a Who. As they put everything together, I followed closely behind, setting up all the bedding. Thankfully, James came home shortly after, so he was able to take a video of Kapri seeing her new bed for the first time...at 12:30pm!!!  (Yes - I wrote them a very wordy nastygram!)

She was so excited...jumped right into bed, rubbed her eyes...then we laid next to her (YAY!) for some quick snuggle time, and she was out. 

sweet dreams big girl!

After she was snug & cozy, we got to work on our bed (old bedding here - ew)...

• Comforter set HERE from Macys... I just love the color combos so much!!
• 800-thread count Egyptian sheets HERE from O.co... sooo soft! 
• Foam mattress HERE or HERE - amazeballs reviews!
• Thermal Blackout curtains HERE, also from O.co - they are SO soft and really keep our room dark (at least from that window...we should get another set for our sliding window too!).

As we grabbed each corner of the fitted sheet, we quickly realized it was WAY too small...I checked the tag...crap. It's a FULL-size fitted sheet...dangit!! Ah well, we just slept on the flat sheet instead...and a new fitted is already on it's way thanks to helpful customer service at Overstock!

I have some old decorative throw pillows from our old queen set, so I'm going to make new/coordinating pillow cases for those. I had also made an 11x14 canvas with a pic of James & I that is so sweet...I mod podge'd it on & hung it above the bed...love!

Yippee for our new *upgraded* beds!!

Thread Love

Got a little package in the mail at work today that made me giddy...and brightened a rather stressful, exhausting week:

My order from "Pick Your Plum"...a box of THREAD! Only a true crafter could be so excited about this:

Loving all these fabulously bright, fun colors...scored this whole box of 10 for $6.50 + shipping....which is what I'd spend on 3 to 4 spools normally! Now I think I need a bigger thread holder...this one isn't going to cut it any longer, as cute as it may be...

Black Friday Mania - 2011

Okay, listen up Target, Best Buy, Walmart, Kohl's, Macy's....

...All you crazy business who just HAD to open at midnight instead of the usual 4am on Black Friday....  "This. Is. Getting. Ridiculousness!!"

I got zero sleep since I hosted Thanksgiving, it was brrrr freezing out & it only got colder as the morning progressed, and those poor employees that had to go in to work extra early (or late rather) on Thanksgiving.

I mean, really?? I'm all for a good deal, and yes I know I supported it by actually going out at midnight - but this is mine & my sister's tradition. I'm not one to break tradition....but it was just really difficult, I felt like my brain was just not functioning correctly - no sleep and lots of wine just a few hours earlier will do that to ya.


Anyway - rant over - I just hope they go back to opening around 4am...even 2am if they have to....just not midnight. PAAAlease!!

So, my sis picked me up at 11:40 and we headed to 7-Eleven for some really crappy coffee. Ugh. Not off to a good start. Then we drove down the street to scope out Target & Best Buy...whoa lines! Nothing crazy like what I read/saw online or on TV...but definitely some dedicated people out there. And who knows how long they were actually standing out there! Same with the Best Buy line...which just happened to go past the Starbucks...only to find that they were open TOO, YAY! Better coffee here we come.

We tossed our crappy 'Sevie' coffee & stood in line for the good stuff - oh, and a sausage/egg muffin, yum. After we ate that, the BB line was gone. So we walked over & it was a mad house. Granted this BB location is definitely smaller than others, it was SO unorganized. Total chaos. I couldn't find the laptop or the external harddrive that I wanted. And Chels found her cheap Canon cam, but we couldn't even find the end of the line. So we put the cam back & left, empty handed. Weird for us.

Then we went to Target with higher hopes and it did seem better upon walking in...bigger store, newly renovated with better layout/grocery section/etc. But....then we got to the back where the electronics/toys were...and that was outta control TOO! Boo...we couldn't concentrate, we were flustered, we were empty handed yet again.


Walmart-bound. Definitely better. Picked over, yes. But easier to focus on the task at hand, yes! AND, I scored on this lil beauty:

Ahhh purty huh?! She was only $388 before tax...holy deal, yippee!! She's a HP Pavilion g7-1219wm laptop with AMD Dual-Core E-450 processor with Windows 7....this 17" screen is FAB and the keyboard is huge, feels as big as one for a normal desktop computer (has the numeric pad on the right side even!).

I also got K a few goodies like a Disney Princess table/chairs for her/my craft room...so she can sit & color or craft right next to me! Also some more Leap Frog Jr. Tag books, some cheapy cartoon DVD's, clothes/shoes/boots (at Kohls) and a couple little goodies for James too of course ;-)

All-in-all, within 5 hours, we went to Starbucks, Best Buy, Target, Walmart, Kohl's, Macys (could've napped quite well on this bed:)

soooooooooo tired!!

...then back to BB (Chels got her cam without even standing in line!), and finally grabbed some breakfast at Einstein Bagels right when they opened at 5:30...SO amazing and needed after that much shoppin. Phew. So glad we didn't have to settle for b'fast at McDonalds or Dennys...ick. We didn't encounter any psycho people with pepper spray or theft in the parking lot at gun point - so I'd say it was a successful shopping adventure - zero drama for this mamma!!

the goods...

Then on Cyber Monday I scored on eBay (using Bill Me Later I got zero interest/payments for 6 mo!) - got James a lil somethin, got K a new plush Dora doll and her very own "Elf on a Shelf" - cannot WAIT to start this super cute Christmas tradition with her!

For all you Bachelor Pad viewers...

I was recently invited by a dear friend to attend the grand opening of Jesse Kovacs new 'wine bar' - which is inside an adorrrable little La Jolla boutique, owned by his GF, Summer Albertson. Together they merged their respective businesses into one, appropriately named "Blended Industries". Love. They are one seriously hot couple!

My sister & I had a blast checking out all the fabulous clothes, sipping on yummy wine, conversing with a few of the people from the show...weird, & taking some fun pics. We also entered a raffle, I lucky me (think I'm on a winning streak at the moment)...I won a 1/2 case of Kovacs Brothers Wine - YAY!!

We then finished off the night enjoying some incredible food next door, at Sushi on the Rock...while sitting directly next to Kipton/Tenley (another adorable couple!) & Mike Stagliano (heart him...feel sooo bad for the news he was blind-sighted by on the season finale!).

Such a fab night!!