The Dress

I completed the dress and thankfully it doesn't look like a knock off Gordon Gartell! I used white silk dupioni and this McCall's pattern. I combined the bodice from view F and a shorten skirt from view B. It was challenging but I'm happy with the results...and it seems Chloe is too.

Merry Christmas!

I hope you had a Merry Christmas. Mine was beautiful (and super busy). Things are still kind of busy around here so, I hope to get back to blogging soon. I have tons of things to show you guys...including the dress! Above is our Christmas card this year. I was able to get the quality and style I wanted for a fraction of the price. I love the design and styles of Tiny Prints and Minted but was looking for something more cost effective. I thought I would go with Pear Tree Greetings but couldn't find a style I felt complemented our photos. So, I went with the trusty Vista Print. I was able to get double-sided flat cards on 100lb matte paper for as little as 40cents each! To add more style and color I paired the cards with envelopes from Paper Source rather than the free envelopes that came with the cards. I was very pleased with the results, and especially pleased with the price.

Photo: Amy Tripple

Design: Hubby using PhotoShop

Printing: Vista Print

Envelopes and Labels: Paper Source

Christmas Pictures (This Year)

Back in 2004 my good friend was getting married and invited me to attend a bridal showcase with her. While there, I was introduced to photo-journalistic photography and fell in love. I loved the idea of telling the story and emotions of the day through photography, so three years later when I got married I knew exactly what kind of photography I wanted! This style was exactly what I was looking for over the summer as I started thinking about this year's Christmas pictures. Thanks to the internet I was able to find Amy Tripple, a photographer in our area with a style I adored. She's not only a great photographer, she also is such a sweet person. My son was so comfortable with her...and so was I (I even hugged her after our session!) I'm sure Chloe would have warmed up to her too--if it wasn't 40 degrees out! Below are a few pictures from our session. Hubby was out of town on business the day of our session. Also, I took the hat I made Chloe just in case we needed it and it ended up working out perfectly! I'll be sure to give details about our Christmas cards once they're designed and ordered...my goal is chic style with a meek price tag!

Photo by Amy Tripple

Photo by Amy Tripple

Photo by Amy Tripple

Photo by Amy Tripple

Christmas Pictures (A look back)

Christmas picture 2007: Super Easy and Affordable...we used one of our favorite wedding pictures and made a photo card through Shutterfly.

Christmas Picture 2008: Easy and Affordable...gave Caleb some ornaments and snapped a few pictures. We added the words "This year our biggest gift came in the smallest package."

We used Vistaprint for printing and saved on postage by ordering postcards rather than greeting cards.

Christmas Picture 2009: A little challenging but affordable...my friend took the picture on a random bench not too far from our home. It was cold and Caleb had a hard time sitting still. We managed to get this picture after many tries. We made it black and white then added text using Photoshop, again we used Vistaprint.

Christmas Picture 2010: Details coming soon...I promise! (As soon as I figure out the details)

Bows from Ban.do

How many different ways could you wear these bows from Ban.do? There's the obvious in the hair or on the shirt, but there are a ton of other ways too- on your shoes? on a belt? on a handbag? to close a cardigan? in a house? with a mouse? in a box? with a fox? here or there or anywhere?

Ok, so maybe they aren't as versatile as green eggs and ham but you could do a lot with them!

Petunia Pickle Bottom Outlet Sale

Almost two years ago I grew sick of searching through my bottomless purse-turned-diaper bag looking for wipes or car keys only to find the bottom of my bag was wet from the leaking Sippy cup (gross). It was then that I decided I needed an actual diaper bag. The first diaper bag I carried was a Petunia Pickle Bottom. I found it on Ebay (NWT) for a fraction of the price. I wondered "How are these people selling these bags so much cheaper than the regular price?" Then, I saw one for sale with an upside down logo tag- aha! I cracked the case ... there must be an outlet store. Imagine my surprise when I learned the outlet wasn't a store that was completely out of reach (e.g. Pottery Barn Kids Outlet ). It was an online outlet that was available to all. The only catch was that its only available a couple of times a year. Well, its that time of year again and you should check it out!

Petunia Pickle Bottom is having one of their lovely outlet sales. You can get a great diaper bag for 30%- 60% off retail prices. The sale begins today at 9am PST. One of these bags would be a great baby shower gift or Christmas gift for a mom. I wonder if they will have any of the new Sashay Satchels available-- you never know!