kindness.

I have the pleasure of working with some of the sweetest ladies (and gents) on the planet! I received this thank you card in the mail yesterday from one of my most recent brides and it made my week.  I have a group of corkboards hanging in my studio that I put up right after I started oatmeal lace to hold my first business card, ideas for packaging, a sweet 'you can do it' note from my husband and inspirational photos ripped from magazines.  its turned into my 'happy wall' where I keep all the little notes I receive from people I've worked with over the past year and a half.  when I'm in a funk or overwhelmed by my to do list, all I've got to do is to look up and I'm reminded why I do what I do.

so thank you to all of YOU. I am truly blessed.

xo

hometown love.

even though it takes me longer to pack the car for trips up to my hometown than it does to actually drive there (it's a 4 hour drive) it is so completely worth the effort.  I arrive and nanny & papa get a weekend of baby love while I get at least two days of 8 consecutive hours of work (minus feeding breaks for little man and eating breaks for me)

 as you can see from the  photos, mama is happy with the amount of work completed and baby is happy because he's the center of attention all day long.  

hope you all had a relaxing and fun filled weekend!  xoxo

tangerine tango.

love, love, love the pantone color of 2012. in its honor, I bought some fabric I'd been eyeing for a while and will be offering clutches made out of it for $40 until it's gone. come and get it while it lasts!! 

featured!

some mornings I'll go through my inbox and have a little too much fun with the 'delete' button.  typically this is after a somewhat sleepless night (little man likes to have dance parties in the wee hours), and it's all I can do to discern client emails from advertisements, what's currently on sale at gap and spam. 

so thank you to my dear twitter and etsy pals who kindly informed me that I had been in the etsy newsletter today. I was curious as to why there was such a spike in visitors to the shop- not that I minded, of course. :) I've learned my lesson- now there is a 'cup of coffee ingested' rule implemented before attempting to answer emails. if I could just get my son to sleep...suggestions are appreciated!

love my brides!

[lauren kaye photography]

it makes my day, heck, my month, when a bride that I've worked with sends me an email afterwards with photos from their wedding day.  it's even more exciting when I actually get to see all the photos that were taken. case in point: erica.  she was sweet enough to send me over the picture you see here. but you guys- you have to go to her photographer's website and check out the whole day. ah-maz-ing. seriously. do it!

thank you so much for sharing, erica!! hope married life is wonderful.

hallelujah.

these pretty little textiles all lined up in rows are all thanks to my friend and part-time helper, rev humb. (organization is just one of her many talents- she can also marry you if need be!)  I'm really not looking forward to disturbing them because they look so coordinated and nice and I have serious doubts that I'll be able to recreate her work.  oh, to be organized. such a lovely feeling!!

2012...get ready.

I am so excited to start the new year and jump feet first into the goals I've set for myself, both personally and professionally...but I do have to say that I am a little sad to say goodbye to 2011.  we talked about it today at our friends house, and over black eyed peas, turnip greens, black bean burgers & spicy wings (like my rhyme??) all agreed that we were blessed with a wonderful year on so many levels. 

I've said it before and I'll say it again (probably many times) - thanks to all of you for following along in this incredible journey. 2011 has been probably the most challenging and rewarding year of my life-  taking a leap of faith in my career, the birth of beckett, a successful business and family health scares overcome- we are so lucky.  one of my goals for the new year here on the blog is to post at least once a week.  I'm inspired by my friend, emily ley, who has taken on the challenge of posting every day. of course I want to keep you all coming back to see what silly musings I have (hopefully entertaining) but I also know that one day I'll look back on this and be so grateful that I kept a running dialog of daily life, back in my early 30's.  and yes- I'm saying 'early' even though I'm almost a few years in. ugh.

throughout the next couple of weeks I'll post about a couple of other goals I want to achieve this year. hopefully you'll help keep me accountable for them.  

here's to a happy and prosperous new year for us all! xoxo

Colossians 4:5-6  Make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.