Breakfast of Champions

Sorry I've fallen off the face the last couple of weeks.  To say that it's been busy around here would be a huge understatement!

It's almost Mardi Gras -- which means I have a great excuse for eating King Cake.  I'm a bit picky about my King Cake -- fortunately, we have a local bakery [Acadian Bakers here in Houston] that does it right.  My mom picked up a cake there yesterday and split it with us. 
Nothing like a big slab of King Cake to start the day off right!        

The Snow Day that Wasn't

Last Friday it was supposed to snow.  Snow is a normal winter occurrence for many people, but when you live in the Texas tropics, this type of news is met with a mixture of panic and excitement.  School was canceled, the news went crazy with constant the-sky-is-falling updates, etc.  As it happened, there was no snow, but what we got was worse -- freezing rain and freeways covered with black ice.  The hubs insisted on going in to work (despite the fact that he is neither a doctor nor a fireman, nor any other type of emergency worker), but the girls and I stayed home and enjoyed our "snow day."  The girls spent hours playing "restaurant" and watching lots of Disney movies.

I pulled out the scrapbooking stuff and decided to start making progress -- since at this point I'm almost 2 years behind on both girls' books.

I'm happy to say that I got 15 pages done on Friday, and have a whole new momentum! 

Just think: if I can keep up this pace, soon I'll only be 1 year behind....

I hope that those of you that were snowed in -- by real snow or ice -- also had a great time while staying safe and warm.  :)

Parisian Dreams

My oldest has had the same bedding since she moved into a "big girl bed" -- over seven years ago.  I still love that bedding (thank you, Shabby Chic for Target!) but she was ready for a change.  Lately she's intrigued by Paris and all things French, so when I spotted these Paris toile sheets in the Pottery Barn Kids catalog, I thought they might be perfect.  She loved them, so we took the plunge and placed an order.

The new bedding -- the sheets, along with coordinating bedding in pink and chocolate brown -- came yesterday, and I set it up for her while she was at school.  She was thrilled!  And how do I know for sure that she loves it?  She made her bed today:

One other big change -- the Barbie Dream House moved out, and a comfy reading chair moved in:

Her room is starting to look a lot more grown up, as is she.  (Sniff.)  Someday I hope to take her to Paris, but until then, the sheets will have to do.  :)

French Lace Overload!

I'm so excited about this lace!  It's all old French Valenciennes lace on cards -- and some of the cards still have their original labels.  I'm a sucker for original labels!

Here's my dilemma -- how best to sell this lace?  By the yard? By the card?  Or should I make some special French lace goodie bags?  What do you think?

I hope you're having a great day.  It is coooooold here -- COLD! -- so I'm enjoying a day inside, trying to catch up on a bunch of work.  :)

Of Pointe Shoes and Braces and the Speed of Life

My oldest got her first pair of pointe shoes this week.  What an exciting day -- one that she's been waiting for/working towards for years.  I was so happy for her, but between that and the news that she'll be getting braces next month.... well, it's made me feel like life is just speeding by and I'm running behind, trying to catch up.  Sometimes I wish they could stay little forever!  Pointe shoes and braces... and soon to come: middle school and texting.  EEEEK!

New Year, New Shop!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday season and a particularly happy New Year!  I, for one, sat misty eyed, wrapped in my TCU Snuggie, while I watched the Frogs win the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day.  What a thrill -- I think I'll be floating on air from the joy of that win for weeks!

I promised that I'd be back in the new year with big news, and here it is: I've opened a new shop on Etsy: Dishy Vintage Weddings.  I've spent a lot of time in the last few months thinking about how to continue to grow my little business.  My original Etsy shop started out as a mix of lots of things: linens, lace, vintage papers, crafting kits, etc.  Now it has evolved over the last 2 years to mostly be antique laces.  I love that, but I wanted to find a way to incorporate a bit more variety, while perhaps finding a new customer base.  So, after much thought, Dishy Vintage Weddings was born!

I'm still working on stocking the shop, but my goal is to have wonderful laces in yardage for seamstresses, people who make garters, and for wedding decor:

along with fun vintage wedding-themed paper ephemera for paper crafting and scrapbooking:

and heirloom linens and wedding hankies for the bride:

I also plan to list tags and journals made from my little stitched wedding dresses -- just as soon as I finish some.  :)

So, I've got lots of work ahead of me!  But it's exciting to have something brand new to work on in this brand new year.  (Aside from losing 20 pounds, which unfortunately always seems to be on my to-do list, so it is not "brand new.")

Of course, I'm still finding new treasures for the original shop.   I found this amazing flocked fabric over the holidays:

It's in the shop now.  And I've got piles of wonderful lace to list, too.  So, I hope you'll stop by either shop soon and browse around!   I'd love your thoughts on the new venture!

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  I hope your holidays are filled with joy.  I will be back in the new year with a big, exciting announcement!  See you then!  :)