Weather

This Summer we have seen a ton of thunderstorms in this area! Some have even had tornado warnings attached... As far as I know there hasn't been any damage other than a tree falling here and there, but it sure makes for some green leaves and cute mushrooms. We've had rain and/or thunder almost every evening for the past few weeks.

Ambrose's Sink Bath

Couldn't help myself- I had to share this!

What I Wore: The Great Gatsby

 This is so much fun to wear! Can't wait for Fall so I can get more use out of the wool skirt.

necklace: handmade by me

shirt: Hanes with my own design added (freezer paper/acrylic)

belt: vintage thrifted

skirt: Plato's Closet

socks: Target

shoes: Target online

Where We Live

The other day, James and I went out with the kids and took some pictures of the part of town where we live. It is called San Souci ("care free") and it is a part of Greenville, SC near downtown. There is a big, new-ish strip mall that is the main focal point of the area, but I omitted it from the pictures, because -well, you probably have one just like it up the street anyway. Here are some local places that we see every day.

"ECHOLS" I don't know what it means, but those enormous green things spell home.

Random graffiti.

I love this sign and their old frilly garland!

I live in Dixie and here's proof!

Cherry Motors. That's all I have to say about that. 

This place has some awesome stuff and definite creep factor...

Life Without Television?

I love the name Evette. And I love to imagine the woman who ran and/or runs this used car lot...

Did you notice the Kudzu in those first two pictures? It is everywhere. I tried to keep it out of my pictures, but you can't control it. We tell ourselves that we've learned to co-exist, but inside each Southerner is the dreadful knowledge that someday the Kudzu will have the upper hand. It is slowly eating away at our landscape and we simply cannot win.

Hello Monday

So there was a good deal of screaming last night for no apparent reason. This is part of having kids. One screams, inexplicably. You get them to finally hush, but by then the other is screaming. Bottles. Hugs. Lullabies.

Beatrice always wants to sit with us on the couch when she wakes up in the night. What makes it particularly hard is that she calls it "home." She'll say, "Bea-Bea go home. Mama, take Bea-Bea home." Why do they have to be so sweet when it is sleepy-time??

Now it is the next day and they have all the energy in the world. Beatrice is shouting, "AMbrose! BEAbrose!" She saw the picture above and said, "Amby make face. On Trixie bed." She likes to call herself Trixie sometimes...

Once naptime rolls around, there will be no washing of dishes or folding of laundry. There will be a nice long shower and a fresh nail color. I'm thinking Barbie Pink...

Secret Project

I made merch for my friend Jake Xingu to sell at his show. I made (with help from friends/husband) 6 t-shirts and 10 cds! There are three different shirt designs, two of which are in this dark and blurry picture taken last night at the venue...

You can also see the cd cover, a drawing that I did based on a picture of Jake taken a few months ago at one of our parties-- back when he had hair and a beard. Jake was just as surprised as I had hoped!!!

The show was so much fun, but then I always love to see Jake perform! You can download some of his music here.

Unfortunately, Jake's wife Lucy didn't come to the show last night. They are expecting their first child and she is just getting toward the end of that not-so-pleasant first trimester. I do not miss the fatigue and nausea of those months with Bea and Am!

A Good Day

Today is a good day for a list

-Old Navy $2 tank top sale
-my favorite (leg and bum) gym workout
-working on our Secret Project (I'll tell you about it tomorrow)
-a cook-out with my side of the family
-going to see a favorite band play, totally worth the hour drive!!
-figuring out a way to fit Yogurt Mountain into my day once again... (why did they put it so close to our house?)

Super $3 Sale

I've re-listed a number of items in my shop at just $3 to make room for all the "new" vintage items coming in just a few days... It's mostly handmade goods, but there are a couple vintage items. I'm completely moving away from craft into the world of vintage. I still make stuff, but mostly for myself and family/friends. It's something I do because I love it and it becomes a grind when done for profit. You know? So if you need a new notebook and you like original art, you just might want to check this out.

(H E R E)

His Favorites

These are Amby's favorite toys. The little fish especially!

The fish, Woody, two ponies, a little green clicker, an orange chewy snail, the girl and the red letter "H" all stay in continual rotation and are close at hand in case a bout of fussiness descends.

Audience Participation (Desired)

I am swiftly approaching my 500th post here on tiny yellow bird! To celebrate, I will be offering a super cool GIVEAWAY along with a huge SHOP UPDATE and a special blog reader FREE SHIPPING coupon code!

To get the coupon code, LEAVE A COMMENT (here, not on facebook, people!) including your email address. Or email me at tinyyellowbird (at) yahoo (dot) com.

I really, really LOVE each and every comment that I receive here on my blog. So all you lurkers? Join in to make my day! I want to know who you are-- I track my page views so I know you are reading this!!

What I Wore: Vintage Sunday

Am I the only person who loves this dress? I love the whole outfit, but when I wore it to church, I got some funny looks.

What do you think, is this a DO or a DON'T? (be honest)

The whole look just makes me happy. I almost died when I found the shoes- vintage Faryl Robins, suede and color blocked! (And my size :) The purse is a loose mesh that feels very nice and the belt is really the only belt that could possible go with this dress. All from Goodwills around town- 3 separate ones.

Wendy

Just a pretty little picture of Wendy's braid falling out while the girls watched a movie:

Emma's hair looks really good too!

I Will Survive

But sometimes it doesn't feel like I will. These days are long-- sometimes I have a 16 hour shift with only a break long enough for a shower and quick meal. Then nap time is over. And they aren't sleeping well. I don't blame them. Besides, I signed up for this.

I need to paint on all those boards. I need to go for a walk out in the wild. Or a run. I need to bathe in the ocean (although I would feel really bad for doing it with Beatrice having to avoid water...).

But mostly, I need a little break every now and then.

My Sad Lady

Beatrice is a trooper, but I see her sad face more often these days than usual. She doesn't complain. She hasn't once asked for medicine. But she does ask me to take it off.

Beatrice is wearing a pretty tutu from my mama and a sling I made for her.

Beatrice

She has been much more of a handful than usual this past week and I think we've narrowed it down to this-- RED DYE. It is in her medicine and also her antibiotic. Whenever I gave her a dose of either, she was a wild, wild crazy (and dangerously impulsive) ruffian for at least two hours straight! Luckily, she has finished her antibiotic. And I went to the drugstore and found a dye-free baby pain med to give her instead of the red codeine. Today was much better!

I think she must miss modeling because these pictures and the look were all her idea...

Preview of Amazingness

Here are a few little things I've been saving for you. These and MANY more will be coming soon to my little shop.

You won't even believe how awesome this is. James is so hot in it, I don't know if I'll be able to bring myself to sell it..

I did a bit of modeling myself as you can seeeeeeeeeeee...

You know how I always say I can't stand teenagers? Well, good thing for Emma, she's only twelve. So I still like her. In a big ol' sweater...

Finally, here is my pretty girl before her accident. I cried when I looked through these pictures of her little hand intact, which is not even visible here.

COMING SOON!

Blogs I Check Every Day for Colorful Inspiration

Dainty Squid: Kaylah is a pretty cat lady with ever-changing hair color and lots of collections and bright clothes. I love her pictures so much.

image via Dainty Squid Blog

loveelycia: Elycia is a very silly girl! She always makes me smile and she posts some great video tutorials!

image via loveelycia blog

Where The Lovely Things Are: I don't know much about Mallory, keeper of lovely things. But I do know this- She has GREAT taste. And SEVEN different tumblr blogs!

sfgirlbybay: There's always something inspiring here, usually household swoons. Victoria Smith is the girl behind all this visual goodness.

image via sfgirbybay blog

Cakies: Life with three adorable little girls and a bun in the oven. Wearing vintage, making all kinds of things from dollhouses to shoes, growing food for the family, married to her biggest crush- this mama is quite a force!

What are some that you love and you think I ought to check out? (Of course, my favorites list is much, much longer than this. These are just some tops for inspiration...)

While Daddy Was At Work

We had breakfast.

We said our ABC.

We read stories, then Beatrice watched Baby Bach...

...while Ambrose looked for toys under Bea's bed before taking a little nap.

When he woke up...

...it was almost lunch time!

Then Moma came over to bring the new toy organizer and stayed to play a bit:

Uh-oh, nap time. But Beatrice didn't mind!

Amby took a little longer to settle and made a mess of some books on his way.

Ahh, one of Mama's favorite parts of the day! Both babies sleeping and a quiet house.

It was a nice long naptime and this girl woke up happy.

All that's left is waiting for our favorite person to come home!

Notice Bea had to have an outfit change after lunch? :)