Sponsors
Well let’s backup. So you all know about Joules by now. I hope. They were the headlining sponsor of our event in Austin, The Hundred Event. They were also very kind to send me a number of items, including the one that was given away!!! The ladies representing the company were lovely, kind, and fashionable (of course). They kindly bestowed upon ALL of us a pair of their famous wellies. I present to you, courtesy of Joules, WELLIES! If you live where it rains, you need a pair of rubber boots that don’t hurt the soles of your feet. If you live where it doesn’t rain, you need to look fashion forward. Win. Win. Me and my bebe. In the sling. As always. I wore boots almost every day when I was a barn rat. I wore them mucking stalls. I wore them fetching horses from the paddock. I wore them before getting into my shoe boots at the horse show. So horsey friends, these are comfy and perfect for all of the above. But really, do you like pink mid-calf boots? What about horsey boots for your little lady love? Or ferociously cute dinos for the big little man in your life? Or an insulated one for your man who’s out shoveling horse poop? The insoles are cushy. When walking around our property in Wisconsin, my sister and I always complain about the bottom of our feet aching. There’s a trout stream ru nning through it and all the…
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Maybe your children are perfect. Maybe they never complain on walks that they are in a constant state of 1) hunger. 2) thirst. 3) needing to go pootttttttyyyyy. or possibly even 4) needing to sit in the stroller seat their sibling is sitting in. Well my little angels like to do all of the above it. All of it. Even wanting to have the baby put in the stroller so I can carry SweetPea. She adores her brother, but also adores getting away from her older brother so she can do something special. And yes, it was 46 degrees out when I took these pictures. Don’t say the kids are overdressed. One of our constant parenting differences. The beverages have gotten out of control. They both need their own special water bottles. And then they both want them down in the belly of the stroller because their hands are too full with leaves? gripes? hardened hearts & fists? Whatever it is, they want to relocate their drinks all the flipping time. And BabyLoves is big. And heavy. And my knee joints aren’t what they were. Enter Christie and her kiddo collection line. She made this really smart stroller attachment and was kind enough to send me one. It has TWO beverage holders, insulated, naturally, and a magnet sealed compartment in between. iPhone? check. keys? check. SweetPea’s random paraphernalia that she’s tired of clutching and chucking. check. And slotted pockets on the outside. Because Christie is a mom and knows you gotta…
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I met Monica Welch at the Edel Gathering this past summer. Her beautiful art caught my eye among the many vendors and we chatted for a few minutes. Her warmth just lingered with me so I contacted her and asked if I could interview her for the blog. For you guys. Because I love sharing about wonderful things and wonderful people! She kindly sent me this beautiful personalized piece of art to share about with you! It’s the wedding blessing from the Book of Tobit in watercolor. Hand-drawn text. Such an artist! You can have it personalized for you, too! Here’s the link to it on her shoppe. The kids are obsessed and requested it be in their bathroom. Odd place for it? Why not! They talk about it every single day. And then it’s not in one of their rooms where they could fight about it! We hung it between the windows, dangling down onto the subway tiles. The purples go so well and give the room a super warm loving feel. I love it. They love it. Lots of love here. She’s generously giving one lucky reader any print of their choice AND will personalize it for you. Scroll down for the rafflecopter. —>> Now to listen in on our conversation . . . . Find her on Etsy & Facebook. Tell us about your background and how you came to be an artist. My mom is an artist, and I was raised in a crafty home. I…
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So if you’re pregnant or parenting smallish children and want free information, free courses, free samples, and a chance to check out everything about the parenting world in the Twin Cities, where do you go? Oh did I mention food trucks, face painting, seminars, panels, and yoga? The Twin Cities Birth & Baby Expo, of course! This year it’s held on October 4th, Saturday, 9:30-3pm at the Burroughs School. Come on down. I’m an associate board member this year, and my mom is running a little vendor craft table for me, but this is about more than me and my sewing. Ha. {Jim Gaffigan voice here Why is she always talking about her sewing!? There are free seminars. All day long. In multiple rooms. See presentations & workshop listing here. Some of the ones I am psyched for? Healing Birth Stories! Belly Mapping! Yoga! Better Sleep for You & Baby! Financial Checklist! And literally dozens more. There will be dozens and dozens and more dozens of exhibitors. Full list here. The ones I always love to see? My sweet blog sponsors! See you next weekend! Friends in the Twin Cities, truly, stop on by! Food trucks, face painting, fun kid’s yoga, all great things under one roof!
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So my friend Mandi knows about hair. I need hair help. We all know this now. She sent me her Lilla Rose hair sticks. Check her site and find her on Facebook. We met through the blogging world and I’ve found her to be super sincere and sweet. Back to how she’s totally helping me . . . I have thick, postpartum, almost falling out, still thick, still likes to dreadlock itself hair. Me and my elastic hair binders just are not in a good place in our relationship. Enter hair sticks. Enter it’s out of my face and feels “cute” maybe even “presentable” maybe even “not a mom of three.” Let’s not get carried away here. Let’s just say it can be out of my face. And not in a hair binder. And I could even wear a special pre-baby days coat. Looking not like a mama. Who are we kidding. Easy peasy pudding pie. Yes, that was Blessed Mother Teresa on my teeshirt. Yes, those are the boyfriend Gap jeans Blythe talked about I found on Twice. And then she sweetly sent two pins for SweetPea. This is a girl who rips things out of her hair. ALL THE TIME. But this? She loved. For me? SO pretty, mama!! I’m going to wear it for sleeping time. And then she went on to tell her brothers that she is a sweet flower. No lack of confidence over here, folks. And showing off her fav new dress, a little Joules number…
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I posted on Facebook today that a big part of why I’m doing this healthy living bundle sale is because I want to empower you. “Empower.” Such an annoying buzz word. Along with “genuine” and “authentic” and “relatable.” I was texting about the way these words are like scraping a fork on a plate for both of us. Ha! Anyway. Back to business. It’s the last few hours for this healthy living bundle I’ve been talking about. The link to buy is here. Or this fancy button: Empower. I sobbed the other day in the car after leaving the coop. (natural foods coop.) I had bought organic crackers again!!! I hadn’t yet made my own!!!! Didn’t I pin those recipes? Couldn’t I save my family the money and make the most wholesome delicious crackers in the world? What kind of natural mother was I??? WAAAAAAAAAA —–reality check! I’m a great mom. And making my own crackers isn’t going to change that. After laughing about this with my sisters and a few girlfriends, I could exhale. I don’t have to do everything from scratch. I don’t have to make crackers. Whew.———— I grew up with a loving mother and father who both worked hard to provide food, shelter in a gorgeous house, plenty of hand-me down clothing, first rate education, amazing trips around the world, and siblings, built in frenemies. But the food. My mother is a baker, not a cook, and it was the 80’s. Food was kinda like science…
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