Gymboree + Eric Carle

The lovely folks at Gymboree sent me some PJs from their new Eric Carle line and they're just fabulous! We're huge fans of Eric Carle books, so I was pretty excited to put them on the boys. Oscar keeps asking to wear them even when it's not bedtime and Ian got a kick out of seeing the same bear on his book and PJ pants. He kept pointing at the pants and the book while exclaiming "Same! Same!" I swear I didn't tell them to hold up the books in that first photo - they just thought it was so fun to have PJs to go with the books that they were just hamming it up for me. The cotton on these is so soft and plush. We have another older pair of Gymboree PJs and they're seriously the only ones that have held up through both boys!

The collection will be released next Tuesday, 9/2, and there will be a special Eric Carle event at all Gymboree store locations on Friday, 9/5, from 10am to noon. There'll be an Eric-Carle-themed craft and story time reading of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Be sure to check it out!

new things

A couple photos from this past week - some new patterns I was working on for the shop just before Ian arrived, and some new summer clothes for Oscar from Zara and Target (I know, still can't get enough of the stripes). Sometimes a trip to Target by myself really hits the spot when I just need to get out of the house for a bit.

easter

The weather was gorgeous this past weekend so we put together a simple impromptu Easter egg hunt for Oscar in the back yard. We filled the eggs with Cheerios since he had stuffed himself silly with plenty of sugar at Sunday school already. He didn't seem to mind though - the boy loves to eat. It was nice to get some fresh air, as I've been in a sort of lockdown since Ian's birth in keeping with Chinese tradition. My mom's been the enforcer, making sure I eat the proper foods (no salt, lots of protein cooked in sesame oil and cooking wine, and no fruit - this last one is the hardest!), but I can't help but eat some forbidden things when she's not looking!

The jar above is from a trade I did with Shelley from Vitrified Studio - pretty, right? It's sitting on some new tea towels that I need to iron and sew up. Speaking of which.. the shop re-opening probably won't happen until May or June, since we'll be busy packing and moving back to our own house in a couple of weeks. I'm so excited to be back at our own place (we've been living with my mom to keep her company). Things feel very transitional and temporary right now - I can't wait for life to feel a bit more normal again!

gifts

I celebrated my 34th birthday this past month and received some great gifts - the Moop Porter bag (with my big 32-week bump), and an Orla Kiely wallet. Thanks friends - you know who you are! The last photo shows a couple of little linen bags I made for some special girls. Working on them made me wish I was better about giving more handmade gifts.

This was a full month for us - a weekend in Monterey and a week in Hawaii (will share pictures soon!). And now there's only 2 more months before the baby comes!

tea collection

The lovely folks at Tea Collection contacted me recently and asked me to choose and review a couple of their pieces, which I would then get to keep. I had heard good things about Tea before and had seen some of their children's clothing, so of course I couldn't pass up this fun opportunity to score some cute new clothes for Oscar! I ended up getting 2 tees for him, both of which I love. I especially like the striped henley -- the little almost-3/4 sleeves and the colored buttons are so cute. And the cotton on both tops has a really nice feel.





I was pleasantly surprised that they make women's clothing as well, and was pretty excited when I saw this dolman-style top. I've been really liking this look lately but haven't actually been able to find many that I like (especially ones that are all cotton and machine-washable, a must when you're exposed to dirty little faces and hands everyday!) This may become one of my favorite tops - I'm tempted to get another in gray!

used books

I found these beautifully illustrated used books from a used book store near our house recently. The children's books are only 50 cents apiece, so I go there every once in awhile to look for new (old) books for Oscar. I was really excited to find the Paul and Ann Rand one. I've never heard of the other two authors but really love the illustrations.

new toys for oscar

So far all the toys Oscar's been playing with are gifts from friends. Well, he's finally starting to get a little bored with the same old toys, so I went poking around on Etsy and found these lovely wooden toys. The teething toys and car is from here, and the helicopter is from here. I'm saving most of them for later this month when we're taking Oscar on his first plane ride. I'm a little nervous about traveling with him but super excited to see friends!



And just for fun, here is one of my favorite recent pictures of my little man. He's been getting incredibly active these past few days. Every diaper change is a battle as he twists and turns and just will not stay still. He is soaking up the world around him. It's such a joy just to watch him.

ikea!

Now that Oscar is going down at bedtime easily and staying asleep, I have a little time for myself in the evenings. The other night I went to Ikea to get the Antilop highchair since Oscar will be starting solids soon, and of course got a couple other things that caught my eye as well: this super cute house print fabric, and a wool throw with a lovely graphic pattern. I haven't figured out what to do with the fabric yet - any ideas?

4 months!

Oscar turned 4 months today, and what a ride it has been! Our life is so different now. My time is not my own, and my attention is always split. Weekdays feel like a race: packing the diaper bag, rushing from home to the grandparents to work, rushing to pick him up and get him ready for bed, figuring out dinner, doing laundry. It amazes me how many women have done this and are still doing it. It really is so worth it though, I just can't get enough of him. I don't want him to grow up, but I can't wait to see how he turns out. I wish I can bottle up his smell, every smile - all of it.



Oh, I treated myself to this drika.b wristlet the other day. I've had my eye on her goods for quite awhile, and decided that it'd be nice to have something that I can throw easily into the diaper bag.

wings

I've had my eye on this necklace for awhile, and had it bookmarked in my Etsy favorites. Well, one of my friends looked through my favorites and got it for me for my birthday! I love it!

a little more crafting

Some recent little projects completed: fabric storage buckets for the baby room (i roughly followed this pattern), and re-upholstering an old chair our neighbor was trying to get rid of. I bought the fun yellow fabric on our honeymoon in Stockholm.

















And look what I found at Kinokuniya the other day! I've been eyeing all the cute masking tape that has been showing up on Etsy, and am thrilled that I can find them locally now.

thrift store finds

Once every few weeks or so I'll stop by the local Goodwill to look for treasures in the knick-knack section. Most of the time I leave empty-handed, but lately I've had a couple of fruitful trips. I was super excited to find this vintage Pyrex dish because I already have a larger one in the same design. Perfect for serving dips or fresh berries.




I've been looking for something to hold fruit in the kitchen, and this vintage wire basket does the job beautifully.




And last but not least.. a library kit! Complete with a date stamp!

renegade craft fair

Last Saturday I went with my buddies Susan and Traci up to the Renegade Craft Fair in San Francisco. I had gone last year as well and I must say there were definitely more sellers and shoppers this year. We had a blast, and I spent all the cash I brought and then some! Yikes. No regrets though - I love everything I purchased.

Some things for me: a cute card pouch from Midori, and some post earrings I just could not pass up (cute posts are so hard to come by! I'm always looking for them but never have much luck) from Meander and Figs & Ginger.








And some things for the baby & the baby room: a bib from WilloToons, a shirt from tinytinytiny, and a super cute print from Petit Collage.






And some of the cards I collected from the many sellers who caught my eye!

changes ahead

While at an outdoor market in France I found this sweet little dress (and later found out that it's made from Liberty fabric!) and just had to buy it for my brother's newborn baby girl.




And speaking of babies.. I wanted to let you all know that I'm expecting! I'm about 17 weeks along and just recently got past the nausea, which has been the reason I've been so neglectful of the shop and blog. It's been incredibly satisfying to be productive once again.

I've been doing a lot of thinking about the shop, and feel the need to make more time to nest and craft more for me, the baby, and our home. I have some ideas about changes I can make to the shop, but nothing concrete yet. I've been making most of the items as the orders come in, and I think at the very least I need to move towards making things in batches before listing them in the shop. I just hope I'll be able to make time for both the shop and personal crafting!

Pretty old books

Hello friends! Sorry for the long absence. Work has been busier than usual, leaving me with little energy in the evenings for blogging or crafting. I hope it lets up soon so I'll be able to sew and put new things in the shop!

This past weekend I went to the Alameda Flea with my treasure-hunting buddy, Traci. I saw these old books and loved the beautiful patterns on the covers. I love the contrasting labels too - so perfect.




Oh, we're leaving this weekend for France! This will be my first time in Paris - I can't wait!

orla love

I dutifully made the trek out to a couple of local Target stores this morning in hopes getting my hands on the new Orla Kiely line. It looked like much of the tableware had showed up on the shelves before today, as much of the items were picked through already. I still managed to nab a few goodies though.






I first discovered Orla when I was in Tokyo a couple of years ago. I happened to walk into an Orla Kiely store in a shopping center there and could not believe my eyes. Patterns that were simple and bold yet classy. Deliciously colorful but not in a way that was too loud or distracting. Everything was of course way out of my price range, but I was thrilled to be able to take a small souvenir with me: a catalog that is a piece of art in and of itself. I pulled it out the other day for some inspiration and thought I'd share some pages with you.















Oh, and I'm on Twitter now!

More garage sale finds

Ever since finding the globe at a garage sale, I've been on the lookout for more signs around the neighborhood on weekends. It's so much fun finding hidden gems for just a couple of bucks. Talk about guilt-free shopping! Below are my most recent finds - a genuine Italian leather vintage purse, a little coin purse, and an old Penguin book with an irresistible cover.




Oh, and everything was only $1.75. Crazy, huh?

It came!

As some of you know, I won this incredible giveaway a couple of weeks ago from the talented Sharilyn of Lovely Design. Well, the lovely address file arrived today! I am utterly smitten. There is some big-time swooning going on here, my friends. Sharilyn, thank you so much, I absolutely love it! Thanks for the personal note and tags too - such a sweet touch.