Sweet Treats (new headbands added)

I just refreshed the shop and it feel good to do that!  I added five new dainty headband colors.  I have five of each color made and they are just dying to have a happy home. (wink!)  I have peachy pink, cabaret magenta, sweet lilac, ivory, and classic red. Perfect pops of color to freshen up you and your daughter's winter wardrobe. I always feel ready to add more color in my clothing choices this time of year. To me--valentine's day is onnnnnneeee step closer to spring!

 

My customers always (lucky me!!) come back for my dainty headbands. They really are magical. They are just the right size for your little ones head (yes, newborns too!). They will fit newborns and stretch to fit adults. They do not lose their shape or get stretched out. You can wear it one day and share with your daughter the very next. My friends and I love these headbands and I'm sure you will too.


All new headbands are available for purchase in my SHOP. They are listed in limited quantities and are not guaranteed to be restocked once sold out.

blogging ((saved my life))

Silly- foolish- and heartbreaking.

Back in October my ohsodarling (insert crazy amounts of sarcasm) husband stepped on my laptop climbing on the countertops searching for a flashlight? to complete a pony princess tent/fort in the living room with lilly. I'll let that sink in.....Couldn't Make this stuff up if I tried friends. 

The result was a shattered hard drive and a very pissssssssssssssed wife. Because OF COURSE we climb on counters looking for flashlights ( because we keep them above our dishes?)  with expensive electronics under our feet. Nah--we don't need to move them. Nahhhh---You have excellent balance. Naturally that's a great idea. Duh.

Long story turned short---We lost EVERYTHING on the hard drive including all photos (wedding, honeymoon, and 12,443,223 moments of newborn, baby, and toddler lilly).  Yep, you're right----LOST.  Because while at first this  was a story of my husbands stupidity--it now has taken a turn in highlighting my OWN. Never backed anything up. It was always on a to do list. It was always something meant to be done during a free afternoon.  I never got around to it---and now  I'm heartbroken.

Big ugly cries commenced in Best Buy while talking to the Geek Squad. The poor poor awkward twenty something witnessed this mama LOSE HER STUFF.


I wallowed for a good month. I threw several fancy  pity parties. Our shattered Dell made several trips to other computer companies searching and hoping for a mommy miracle.

and then blogging saved my life. and my husbands.

I didn't lose ALL the images. My husband's life was spared. This blog---filled with my memories and thoughts was waiting patiently. This piece of space---my space had everything I thought was lost.

my first glance of lilly. our first photo as a family. my pregnancy photos. 1st birthdays. Christmases. funny moments. they are all here. this space is special to me. I'm so happy to have all these memories---right here.

OH HAPPY DAY.

shop talk (( on my heart))

I'd love to talk shop for a bit.  Care to listen?


The other day Scott and I were talking Lillypie and as I was venting a few frustrations-he said something that settled in with me.
You love it  and it completes you--then it gives you a twitch.  I've learned to just let you ride the wave.



I'm running low on time. I don't have the consistent few hours each day to devote to designing, creating, and  packaging lillypie orders that I did a few months ago.  I have these monsters to blame.

The second being that I just can't commit to being a night owl anymore. For the past two years I've stayed up until 2-3am several times a week to complete orders. I loved it. The house was quiet.  It was just me and my thoughts and  some awweeessoommeee dark chocolate.  I just can't do that anymore. Adding a child and subtracting a full time job hasn't really equaled the extra time I thought it would. Foolish, foolish girl.

I've always been a creative person that creates in seasons. I would say that in 2012 my season was April--August. I just couldn't keep the ideas out of my head! During  those few months I cranked out two  LARGE collections--lollipop and latte da. They were/are super successful.  I also kept my shop stocked all summer with new designs each week--all while being 9 months pregnant/ keeping my head above water with a newborn. I drew out designs in the middle of the night on a post it pad on my nightstand.  I came up with my most popular design to date (the orange ombre necklace) while rocking a 2 week old Noah.

lollipop collection

image via Sarah-Beth Photography

 

latte da collection

image via Lemongrass Photography

 

And here I sit in January---and I am all dried up on good ideas! . It suuuccks. It's like Lilly's  good friend Marlin says in Finding Nemo  "People expect you to be funny just because you're a clown fish".  I expect myself to ooze creative ideas just because I'm artsy.

So---where am I going with all this? Well, I'm moving the shop over to strictly ready to ship. I did this over the summer and really enjoyed it. Here is my previous post about it. I won't be taking any custom orders until  late March when I'll open up the queue for custom Easter designs. I will make necklaces, headbands, and bracelets as I have time and supplies and will happily sell them. They will all be premade and will be shipped within 2 days of purchase. How awesome is that! No more week and a half turn around.  It also means that once my stock for the particular item has been bought--there is no guarantee when/if  more will be made. 

I had a half-assed collection put together to release in January. I'd say three of the ten designs are rad and I'm super proud of them. The others? Ehh... They were fillers. Is it okay for me to even say that?! Just being honest. So I'm dumping the ehh ones and will maybe release the awesome ones later. I was pulling together all the designs and wasn't too impressed. If I'm not impressed--how can I expect you to be?  It's just embarrassing and NOT how I want to do business.

Another little lillypie shop keeping announcement is that all designs and products will be FINAL. I inspect each item before it's shipped and  stand behind my work.  If an item  is too small and/or too large I'll happily resize it for you but will charge a "fix it" fee to cover time, supplies, and shipping.  All measurements are listed in the item description to help you decide on length/size. This goes the same with items that become damaged/broken. I understand things happen--my darling Noah ripped a favorite necklace off of my neck just this past Sunday. Monster thought it was food. I can no longer fix, resize, restring, or remake items without charge. While it's the nice thing to do---it's poor business practice.  You might disagree with me--but I have to stand firm on this. Thanks for understanding.



Lillypie has always been about what I'm passionate about and what I love. I've always said that I will change it to meet the needs of my family and myself. You all  are great--and I'm so happy that you're letting me do what I love. I'm even more grateful that you're letting me change what I love into something I'll love even more.

The shop will move over to Ready to Ship ONLY on January 14th. As a thank you, please enjoy 25% off the entire shop until then with code 'Awesome25'.

six months ((bubba update))

Last night he was up three times. THREE. I was frustrated, annoyed, concerned, and then ultimately full of love. I sat in the living room rocking my little nugget thinking to myself ---WHY is he getting up so frequently when he had been sleeping through the night so wonderfully? I shouldn't rock him each time he wakes---he's playing me. I'm so easily manipulated by a baby--suckerrrrrrrrr. Tomorrow--he's crying. I'll deal with it. This is the last night of this buddy ole' pal. And then---his hand reached up and cupped my cheek. I looked down and he smiled and did the adorably painful baby combo sigh and laugh. BUTTER.  He melted me into a big pile of mommy goo.

He's been doing that for six months.

He's rolling. He looses his mind when he accidentally rolls onto the hardwood. He has yet to figure out that he could simply roll back onto the rug with ease---he insists that I  do it for him. I'm the momma and I don't mind.

He's large. We've been hanging out in the 90th plus percentile for weight and head size consistently since birth. He eats 5-6 six ounce bottles per day on top of the rice cereal and green peas. Sometimes I wonder if I should really be feeding him this much---and my grandmother, God bless her, is already ranting about childhood obesity with him. She's nuts and watches too much Dr. Oz.  The nicknames bubba and tank have held up nicely.

He's sleeping in his crib. We've finally moved Noah into his shared room with big sister. Ooooh how I drug my feet on this!!  I've so enjoyed having him near me for so long. I loved waking up and hearing his sweet breathing each night---now I'll do it through the monitor. Lilly is over the moon excited to have baby brother in there with her.  We'll see how she holds up tonight when he wakes up for midnight snack in a few hours.

He's stealing my heart. My bubba bear is a snuggler and a flirt. He smiles a huge gummy grin then turns his head and buries it in my shoulder. He grabs my face and bites my cheek when he gives kisses. He purses his lips and kicks like crazy when he sees me walk into a room.  He has filled my already FULL heart with so much love and joy. 

I just love this boy so.