All Packed and Ready to Go... Sort of.

We move this weekend.

Normally, I'd be really relieved that everything is done and ready to go.... but we still don't have a new place to live and the paperwork for getting our current lease transferred to another tenant hasn't been completed.

Yes, I am freaking out. And the best part, is we are moving to Abilene. That would be Abilene, Texas. "Why in the world would you ever choose Abilene?" Some people ask. Everyone else just jumps in and says, "No way. Don't do it. Don't move to Abilene."

Hmmm... too late. My husband is being transferred with a promotion, so it is going to be good for us, but really we'd love to be in California again. Or maybe Portland, Oregon which is a place we both would really love to live eventually.

But no, instead we will be homeless in Abilene and paying rent for our apartment in Austin. The good news is, Gracie and Annelie are now handling this moving business like pros, unlike a month ago when life was one big nightmare. That is good. I'm so stressed out I want to curl up and die until it is all over.

Think happy thoughts for us. We applied to rent a house in Abilene and it is a really cute three bedroom with a large fenced in backyard in a nice(ish) neighborhood. Man, do I want that house!!

My 100th Post and a....

It's hard to believe I've hit my 100th post. Not because I didn't think I could post that many in just a few months, or that I could even find that much to write about...

No, I find it hard to believe because when I scroll down to the bottom of my blog and count up how many posts I have made in 2007 and 2008, I only get a grand total of 91 posts. However, according to my dashboard when I log in, this is indeed my 100th post, and since I'm not in the mood to argue, I'm having a giveaway instead.

A totally awesome giveaway.

The rules are simple --

Leave me a comment with your two favorite prints from my shop (please give titles and not just the URL links, because I'm not going to mail URL links since I find them annoying to look at) and on Sunday, June 8th (you've got two weeks to get this done, folks) I'll announce the winner and send out the fabulous prize... your two favorite prints!!

So, come on into Elegant Snobbery and take a look around. Then be sure to run back as fast as you can and leave me a comment with the titles of your two favorite prints (no paper goods or originals, please -- just prints) from my shop! And of course, just be sure to leave me with a way to reach you!

Enjoy and Happy 100th to me!

But Whyyyyyyy?

I was well warned about the incessant questions stage of a preschooler's development. I also saw parents roll their eyes when talking about their own kids reaching that annoying little milestone. I knew about it, I expected it, but I always just shrugged it off and looked forward to answering my inquisitive little genius' questions.

I underestimated the stage greatly.

Gracie's questions have been going on for sometime now, but lately they have been fired fast and furiously. I was prepared for questions like, "Why is the sky blue," or "Why is the grass green?" But instead, Gracie leans more toward the ridiculous.

"Is that a girl? Is she a tink? Whats a tink? Is that boy a tink?"

-or-

"What time is is? Is it forty-thirty o'clock? Is it nuffernatter o'clock? Whats nuffernatter? Does that mean its bedtime? Is is bed time o'clock?

-or-

"Is that the color orange? Whats orange? Orange starts with G. Does orange start with G? Is orange a tink? Is it orange nuffernatter o'clock?"

And it goes on and on and on, all day and all night. So far, Gracie doesn't understand the rules to the "No Questions" game.

And of course, in perfect Gracie fashion, when my eyes are bugging out of my head and the veins are throbbing in my temple from the insanity of all the questions, she chooses to ask, "Do you love me, Mommy?"

Lucky for her, I do. Even with all the questions.

Shop Update: For the Paper Lovers!

I'll be updating my shop through the next few days and filling it to the brim with paper goodies. I have received a lot of positive feed back from friends and family, about my paper items such as my note cards, stationery, large gift tags, and mini gift tags, so I am updating my shop with a new selection for every occasion.

Here is a peek into the Cards and Stationery section of my shop, so you can see just what I have been putting together lately.

You'll find handfuls of note cards featuring my illustrations, covered with gorgeous papers and tucked inside a cello sleeve with a hand-folded envelope and an elegant sealing sticker to close it all up.


These little gift tags measure 3 x 3 in. and come in sets of 8. There are a variety of sets, including a Love Bunnies set, an Elegant Snobbery set, a Silly Sock Monkeys set, and an awesome variety pack filled with select prints and gorgeous papers, perfect for all occasions and if you just don't know which you like best!

There will be a handful of large hang-style tags, which measure 3 x 5 in. and come as a set of three. These tags are so beautiful and colorful, and will add the perfect touch to gifts and scrapbooks.

Be sure to come on over to the shop and check it out. There just might me something you love!

***** And as a bloggers exclusive, mention this blog post in notes to seller at check out and receive *free shipping* from now until Memorial Day (Monday, May 26th). Wait for a revised invoice after checkout, or else I will refund your PayPal account after purchase.

Enjoy!

Wash 'N Dry

Lately, I have gotten into Etsy treasury making and of course I had to do a charming housewife treasury.

I do lots of laundry, as I am sure most of you do to... but I can guarantee that my laundry-doing experience doesn't even come close to the cuteness of the items in this treasury. I just want to buy everything in it, as this treasury inspires me to keep at my quest for brighter, cleaner, and sweeter smelling clothes!!

Here are some of my favorites featured:

These lavender sachets are made from vintage tablecloths and filled with pure blue/grey French lavender. They last about 10-15 loads and certainly beat dryer sheets for creating a lovely scent! What a sweet set! You can find these (which come as a set of three) at BananaSaurus Rex.


This laundry detergent from Soapalaya Soaps looks fantastic! It is good for 75/150 loads and is eco-friendly, perfect for sensitive skin, and is all natural and dye free! Can't go wrong, I say!



I'm in love with this print!!

This Tree and Underpants print from Constant Dreamer is just the cutest thing. It makes me want to hang all of my underwear out on a line, held by the beak of a sweet little blue bird, for all to see.

And I would, if all my underwear was made by Touch Me Not, because these knickers are seriously the cutest thing ever.

In fact, I want to buy the whole shop (which would be silly, as not everything is my size) just so I can admire everything in person. I'm not even an underwear loving kinda girl. I've always been the Hanes no frills type, so that is saying a lot!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy, all you laundry doers!

The Birth of a Garden Gnome

I have a thing for Garden Gnomes. I love the tacky little sweeties and can't wait to one day have a garden of my very own. It will be filled with brightly colored flowers, birds, bees and butterflies... and of course, a family of gnomes.

In the meantime... Meet Franz, the latest illustration on my drawing board.

I love how cute little sketches can be transformed into something vibrant and fabulous with only a quick touch of colored pencil.

Franz is a gnome that wants to be seen, and he pretty much dictated how he was going to look right from the beginning. I don't think I even used my eraser, as he just seemed to draw himself. I love when that happens.

I'm using Prismacolor pencils for this gnome, unlike most of my other illustrations which are done in Design Spectracolor. Since my coveted collection of Spectracolor pencils is dwindling quickly and I have not seen any on Ebay lately, I am weaning myself over to Prismacolor. They are working out just fine, so I don't think I will be too depressed when my lovely Spectracolors are all gone. It has been 10 years this April since they were discontinued, so I think they have had a good run!

I just love Franz's bright red rosy cheeks! And he has the loveliest blue eyes.

Franz is complete, but his garden background will be a surprise for you, as I'm not going to show you until my gnome collection is complete! Yup, I said collection. Don't worry... this little garden gnome wont be all alone...

He has a little wife called Gertie

And he has a little mushroom house to call home, sweet home.

I have big plans for these little gnomes and their little mushroom house. Not only will they be in my shop this summer, but they will be on my living room walls as well.

I just love them! And I think they will look fabulous next the prints I plan to buy from my favorite photographer, Lorissa Longfellow, at LJ Design and Photo.

Aren't they beautiful?

A Little and Lovely Gift to Make

My Grammy was in the hospital last week and it was pretty terrible for me. She went in for a surgery, but wasn't recovering as well as to be expected and it was pretty nerve-wracking for a few days.

I couldn't go and visit her, but I wanted to let her know that we were all thinking of her in our household and that she needed to pull through in order to see our smiling faces again. I thought bringing her a framed photo of the girls might be the thing to keep her holding on, but I figured the frame would be easily knocked over in her hospital room. I needed something that wouldn't break easily.

A pocket sized accordion album ended up being the perfect gift! I was able to fit 15 different pictures and a cover, and it folded up nice and neat with a black satin ribbon.

Making an accordion album like this one was very easy and pretty much just used what I had around the house. It was also a project that was completed, start to finish, in under an hour.

For materials I used:

*1 sheet of 11 x 14 Bristol Board (a heavy weight white paper)
a heavy card stock or watercolor paper would also be fine

*Gluestick

*16 images that I printed off of my computer
you can use up those photos you aren't sure what to do with

* 1 ft. satin ribbon

* Decorative scrapbooking paper

* Stapler

Directions:

1. Cut the Bristol Board (or cardstock/watercolor paper) in half. Divide each half into four sections like an accordion. Tape the two halves together to get a longer accordion with a total of 8 sections.

2. Cut scrapbook paper to fit nicely inside each section. Glue on. Cut photos to fit onto another piece of contrasting paper. Glue on.

3. Decide which end is going to be the back. Staple the ribbon centered evenly along the center of the back page. Make sure you staple in a way that you will be able to hide the staples by covering with the photos, on both sides of the back section.

4. Glue photos onto all the sections, front and back. Let dry and tie up with a bow, cutting the ribbon down to the size you want your bow to be.

Admire!

I used a mini-print of my Love Bunnies picture for the cover of my accordion album and made a note by printing a greeting on the computer and gluing it in. Can't get any easier than that!

And best of all, Grammy was out of the hospital less than 24 hours after receiving my album, even though the doctors had thought she would be in for at least three days more. I told her it was the album that helped her get well so soon. She agreed.

Love really is the best medicine of all.

Murphy's Law and Bad Luck in Threes (or Fours, Fives, and Sixes...)

Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong, right?

Obviously. As if I'm not already stressed out from moving with two little kids, a dog, and a husband who hates to pack and clean as much as I do - in under a month -- just this week our DVD player broke, our TV on/off button broke and (the icing on the cake) the screen to my laptop went out.

That would be bad luck in threes, right? But also, my apartment complex wont let us pay to break our lease, my grandmother has been seriously ill in the hospital (she is finally home and recovering nicely), and we lost a library book. And Gracie has been throwing about four full out, kicking and screaming tantrums a day (combination of the stress of moving, being a three year old, and the nasty intestinal parasite she has been dealing with for the last few weeks... seriously, what gives?).

Plus, I have gained about three lbs from stress eating in only four days...

So, without further griping, let me just say that I may be gone for a few days.

No, I wont be at an all-inclusive resort lounging under an umbrella with a tropical cocktail in hand while the cool waves of the Caribbean Sea lap at my pedicured toes.

No, I wont be at a health spa, wrapped in a luxurious cream-colored robe, after being covered in a detoxifying herbal wrap while waiting for my Indo-Asian Hot Oil Massage.

And no, I wont be sitting outside a cafe with a pastry and a cappuccino, along the canals of Venice while sexy Italians sing as their gondolas float past...

I will, most certainly, be screaming my head off, tearing my hair out, and wondering if I will ever get my sanity back.

Not looking good at the moment.

You're Turning Violet, Violet!

I don't understand why babies feel compelled to eat permanent purple ink pads. Or to squish all the permanent purple ink between their fingers. Or to wipe it all over their legs and arms and shirt (did I mention it was permanent?).

But they do. Or at least Annelie does.

Its my fault, of course. After Gracie spent the afternoon playing with my rubber stamps, I noticed the purple ink lid was missing the stamp pad to go with it. "I'll take care of it later," I thought. And promptly forgot.

Annelie found it for me. What a helpful little girl!

And she was pretty pleased with herself and her purple fingers and tongue.

For violet lovers everywhere, here is an Etsy tribute filled with lovely violet goodness.

This original piece of art is a 5x7 watercolor and sumi ink and is just fabulous and can be found in the shop Karen Faulkner Art.

You can find this gorgeous watercolor flower as well as other beautiful watercolor flowers at www.karenfaulknerart.etsy.com

The pendants found in the shop Art Under Glass are just gorgeous!! I am pretty smitten with this lovely and glittery violet posies pendant!

This pendant and other equally fabulous ones can be found at www.artunderglass.etsy.com

These Purple Passion korkers by Winklepots are sooo adorable. I have several of Winklepots korkers, and I can honestly say they are just the cutest hair accessories for little girls.

You can find these, as well as gorgeous handpainted outfits for children (with korkers to match!) at www.winklepots.etsy.com

And last, because I can and because I will... here is a shameless self promotion. My Fruity Purple Cupcake print is pretty delicious, if I do say so myself.

You can find that in my own shop, Elegant Snobbery.

Enjoy!

Blogging Along

I've been tagged by Marie over at Bella Marie Designs (which is a shop that I love, love, love!!). I also love Marie's blog: The Villa Family, a blog about a sewing and crafting mama and her three kids who always keep her on her toes!

I have been tagged before, where I had to share 7 interesting facts about myself... a stretch, but perhaps an interesting read anyway. This time I am to share a bit about my life as a blogger. Here goes:

Why did you start blogging?

Since Gracie was born, I have wanted to keep a journal so that I could write a memoir about my life with her. I never did anything about it. I started and stopped about 10 journals and all the scrapbooks I planned on making were just left in their packages, completely untouched. By the time Annelie was born, I felt too overwhelmed to start a memoir!

After opening my Etsy shop (this was back when my Etsy shop was Tootsie and Grace -- a baby boutique), my mom gave me the idea to start a blog. It was supposed to be a way for me to promote my shop and promote other Etsy sellers, but it ended up becoming more of a Mommy Blog with a little bit of Etsy thrown in.

Now, I have something that pushes me to sit down and write our stories as they happen. The best part is, I am also printing everything up so that Gracie and Annelie can have the memoir I always intended to have for them.

How did you come up with your blog name?

Elegant Bloggery. It rhymes with Elegant Snobbery, my Etsy shop. I think it is kinda funny.

The memoir I am putting together for the girls, which pretty much just includes the blog posts about the girls, and a little bit about me and my shop (since that will become a huge part of their lives as they grow up with Etsy and Elegant Snobbery and my artwork strewn around the house) is called The Mommy Project.

Do family and friends know about your blog? What do they think?

My mom recently began reading my blog and really likes it. She also sat my grandparents down and showed them her favorite posts, which they loved as well. Other than that, the friends who read my blog are all the friends I have made here in Blogland. And hopefully they like what they read!! I love to get comments. Those are what really keep me going, as everyone is always so nice and encouraging.

How do you write a post?

Every post varies for me. It all depends on what category of my blog I feel like posting in. My Girly Girls is my favorite category so that is usually what I focus on. I usually have my camera on me, so I can snap pictures of the silliness in our household for blog about it all as it happens. Sometimes, I keep a list of blog topic ideas to pull out of the hat on the days when nothing is going on and I can’t think of something to write about.

I also tend to keep a pencil and some paper scraps on hand, so I can jot notes when I am out and about, or else don’t have time to sit at the computer and type. My head is always full of ideas and tidbits that I scramble to write down before they float away.

Have you ever had a troll or had to delete an unkind comment?

I’m not a particularly controversial person, so the answer is no. I’m not sure what negative things someone would have to say about my blog. But I had to add a ‘word verification’ to my blog comments (which I personally hate, as I always read the wrong letters and have to try and decipher again and again… I hate those things!!) after getting a nasty virus for a comment about a month ago. Luckily, I reported it before anyone had clicked on it.

Do you check stats or care how many people read your blog? If you care, how do you increase traffic?

I like knowing that people are reading what I have to say. And I always get such nice comments. My blog is my little soap box. Plus, I’m a very open person naturally, and I like sharing my life, my art, and my story with others.

I increase traffic by posting my blog link in the Etsy forums whenever I have a new post. I am also addicted to reading other blogs when I have free time. A lot of the time, people find my blog through the comments I have left on theirs.

Okay, that's done. Now its time for me to gush about Bella Marie Designs.

I discovered Marie's shop while browsing the forums one day back in the early Fall. I completely flipped over how cute her stuff was, especially this little skirt and hairbow set, which I grabbed for Gracie instantly.

Gracie has now outgrown the skirt, which we have tucked aside for Annelie to wear someday, but she still sports the hair bow.

Funny enough, I was not only Marie's first sale, but her 100th sale, as well. Maybe I'm just easily amused, but I thought that was pretty cool. And just goes to show how much I love this shop. Here is what I bought this time:

I'm actually jealous of my kids. I love these hair bows!!

You can find a wonderful selection of boutique gifts for children in Bella Marie Designs. I love these personalized pillows...

And this personalized initial shirt made with the Freshcut line of designer Heather Bailey's gorgeous fabric.


And her chalkboard roll-up place mats are toooooo stinking cute.


Whats not to love about this shop? Seriously, it is too cute.

And one last thing before I go.... Hey Nikki of Nikki's Nacs-- TAG! You're it. Now we can all read your bloggity blog answers.

Rolling in the Dough

We don't have kiddie-proof locks on our cabinets. Installing them is such a pain. Plus, if there were child proof locks on the cabinets, how would a 15 month old baby be able to get in, pull out the biscuit mix, and make a wallop of a mess?

When I came into the kitchen to see Annelie happily pulling chubby fist-fulls of biscuit mix out of the bag and carelessly tossing them onto the floor, I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Serves me right, of course. I hate installing cabinet locks, so all the non-toxic household items are a free-for-all... and anyone with kids knows that it takes literally seconds for a little tyke to make the biggest mess.

But the day was a bit boring with nothing going on but packing and movie watching, naptime and Barbies. Rather than get mad, pick her up, and toss her in the tub so I could clean up before it all got out of hand...

I invited Gracie to join her.

Together, my little girls rolled around and made angels in the powder. They took turns rubbing it into each other's hair and sprinkling it onto each other's backs.

They squished it in their toes and swished it with their feet.

And had more fun for the 30 solid minutes that I let them play, than I have seen them have in weeks.

The best part for me, besides getting to watch the girls interact and play with such joy, was that it took only a minute or two to sweep up and throw out... and another half an hour for them to play together in the tub as they washed it all away.

I probably wouldn't have made those biscuits, anyway. They were the heart healthy kind, meaning that they tasted like cardboard.

But that package was certainly worth the fun on an otherwise boring afternoon.