Holy Thrift Score, Batman!

So, maybe it felt more exciting than it looks but I went thrifting yesterday. ALL. BY. MYSELF. It was my one and a half hour reward for catching up on the major priorities on my to do list for the last three weeks. There are plenty of things left to catch up on but I needed a breather.

I managed to find this lot, minus the little cowboy boots, plus another pair of shoes and a vintage cardigan, at Red Racks which is run by the Disabled American Veterans. How fitting that I should score so big on Veteran's Day, eh?

Speaking of checking off the to-do list, if you've been waiting on one of my Thought Bubble Chalkboards they've been restocked at Red Velvet Art. They've been in high demand ever since the lovely Ashley Ann shared how much fun her family had with them here, here, and here. Like... they sold out within six hours of her posting about them the first time (Umm...THANKS, ASHLEY!!) and Emma has been getting daily e-mails asking about them. It's the best kind of problem to have and I'm working hard to make sure we can meet the demand through the holidays!

As always, if you've purchased one of my chalkboards from RVA and taken photos with it I'd love to share them on Smile And Wave. I'm saving up for another round of customer show and tell in the following weeks so send your photo(s) to racheldenbow(@)gmail(dot)com to be included.

I owe you a dollhouse post and a felt board tutorial. It's on the list. Promise.

xoxo,
Rachel

It Was A Business Meeting, I Promise.

I went into the new Red Velvet shop yesterday afternoon strictly on business. I needed to take some helpful photos of my Felt Doll Fashion Board for an upcoming tutorial (um, hello Christmas present idea!), and needed to discuss the details of some cupcakes for Ruby's birthday celebration. I fully intended to take home at least one cupcake for Sebastian, the supreme lover of cupcakes at our household, but once I got to the counter I had to have one for each of us and a caramel apple just because I hadn't had a reputable one all season.

I was powerless to the Salted Caramel Cupcake that should've appeared in this photo but never made it home. Emma makes the most moist (and I really don't enjoy that word 'moist') cupcakes I've ever indulged in and each one feels like a little party of it's own! The bubble tea is pretty exciting, too. Just ask my kids. In fact, here is a photo from my iPhone of Sebastian devouring the Snickerdoodle cupcake I picked out for him. He's always just been a frosting man so to eat the whole thing was kind of of telling. They're that good!

I may need to limit myself to one business meeting at the shop per month.

xoxo,
Rachel

Interview and Giveaway at Poor Pitiful Pearl

Head on over to Poor Pitiful Pearl to read an interview we recently did and find out what I let Ruby do when Sebastian's not home. Shauna, of PPP, recently made her 2,000th Etsy sale and threw a big party to celebrate! She offers reworked clothing with laid back, California style and donates 10% of all profits to Casa Hogar Orphanage .

all photos belong to Shauna

Her stuff totally reminds me of the beach! Ahhh....the beach....(trailing off in thought)...(okay, I'm back). You can see Ruby wearing one of Shauna's beautiful, patchwork tops here.

While you're over there checking out photos from her blog party, read my interview and enter for a chance to win a free Mini Ad space for the month of November on Smile and Wave!

Thanks for reading! I'm in full sick mode over here and still have a little costume to make for my sick little girl that I am determined to get done before 4:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. It will happen! Check back later on Thursday to see the BEFORE and AFTER photos of the children's space I designed in the new RVA dress shop on Commercial Street!

xoxo,
Rachel

I Heart Etsy!

I've been wanting to buy Ruby a simple, wooden doll house since before she was born but felt like I should wait until at least her first birthday. I was doing some research (avoiding the laundry) on Etsy and came across these adorable vintage Fisher Price sets from Toys of the Past. I have vague memories of playing with these original Little People at our church nursery or maybe a friend's house and love the color scheme of the furniture!

I had them sitting outside after opening them and Sebastian came out and took an interest in them right away. He was telling the baby that she was in trouble for making a mess. Supposedly the baby had knocked over ALL of the furniture. It seems I need to be a little more patient with my mess maker.

This is the nursery set.

And these are the kitchen and sewing sets. The sewing desk is what sold me in the first place. It was such a major part of women's lives when these toys were first introduced and I'm glad Ruby will get to enjoy making up stories about what to sew in her doll house. I'll probably add pieces over the next two years, although, I've never run into these in all my years of thrifting.

She's also getting this adorable, handmade owl hat from Bzzyfingers. You can customize your colors so I chose the purple base with a light blue border and I will show you as soon as I can wrestle it on Ruby's head long enough to get a photo. That girl is quick! I'm hoping she'll start getting used to it so that her bald little head won't get frost bite this winter!

I saw that pink screen-printed stocking from Gingiber Snap on Twitter and went straight to her shop to make it my own. Ruby never got a proper stocking last year so this will be hers.

I was hoping Stacie would be offering a boy version and she soon added a green one so I snatched that one up for Sebastian. The colors match our holiday decor and the playful, vintage theme is just the right style for my kids. I'm so thankful to have that part of our holiday checked off the list because last year's good intentions to make family stockings out of recycled wool suits was a bust.

What have been some of your favorite Etsy purchases (or on the wish list)?

xoxo,
Rachel

Guest Posting on Under The Sycamore Today

Ashley Campbell of Under The Sycamore has been running posts this month featuring 10 things from some lovely guest bloggers and I was happy to be included. If you'd like to take a peek at 10 new photos from corners of our home head on over and check it out. Then take a peek at Lori Danelle, Meg Duerkson, Julie of Joy's Hope, Jess M., and Emily Anderson.

Have a lovely weekend, folks, and thanks again for always stopping in!
xoxo,
Rachel

Oooh, I Like It!

Brittni from Paper n Stitch recently shared this lovely DIY on her blog and I am in love with this idea! She's combined form and function in her new art wall piece that utilizes the beauty of vintage book covers without changing their intended purpose.

It's going to send you to the thrift store to find pretty canvas hardbacks this weekend!

And in case you haven't heard, the fourth edition of Cupcake Magazine is now available online or in print.

I did a little interview with Amy that you can find almost in the middle.

I suggest 'flipping' through to see all of the beautiful photography and some lovely illustrations throughout the magazine. Thanks, Amy, for letting me be a part of all that eye candy!


I also want to tell you about a giveaway/fundraiser that I'm taking part in that is raising money to help the Gumpy family. They've recently lost their baby after he was born ten weeks premature and their friend Ashley has organized this fundraiser to help offset the costs of medical and funeral bills. Every donation is a chance to win one of two prize packs full of generous donations. If you'd like to take a look and hear their story you can find it here.

Back soon with a sponsor highlight and giveaways!

xoxo,
Rachel

Pretty Packages

I'm slowly getting better at the presentation of gifts rather than stopping at the thoughtfulness of gifts themselves. Although, I also sent off a package this afternoon for which I had to use unorthodox packing materials due to the nature of the contents and couldn't find my tissue paper or anything else cute to make it work. My apologies to that online friend! I'm anxious for all recipients involved to get their special deliveries if it means they'll be half as thrilled as I was to get my own package in the mail today! I've got a few things to share in that department this coming week so I'll save it for then.

I hope your weekend has been extra special!
xoxo,
Rachel

Link Love

Hiding art for people to find. This is a fantastic idea found via Aesthetic Outburst.

Just found this via Poppytalk.

Danielle's fantastic arrow DIY found on Modern Kiddo is one of the best I've seen this year. Love it.

Elsie's in the latest issue of BUST! I'm grabbing a copy tomorrow. So proud of you, E!

Have a lovely weekend!
xoxo,
Rachel

La Petite Magazine=Lovely

In case you haven't yet seen this lovely collaboration between Rachelle of Kenziepoo and Jennifer you need to hop on over! I've long admired Rachelle's penchant for fashion and design for the little ones and always look forward to her Turn This Room Into An Outfit posts!

Issue One was absolutely lovely and Issue Two is full of pretty dresses, unique illustrations, and links to great online shops.

One of the contributors to Issue #2 is one of my longtime sponsors and online friends, Stacie, of Gingiber! I love her illustrations so it was great to see her work showcased in this lovely online mag.

And Rachelle's daughter, Kenzie, has one of the trendiest little wardrobes ever! I'm always looking for unexpected things to add to Ruby's wardrobe and Kenziepoo never fails to provide that inspiration. Have yourself a little look see!

xoxo,
Rachel

A New Favorite Vintage Dress

I found this vintage striped dress in a Goodwill in OKC last month but had it stashed in the pile marked 'needs shortened' until this morning. I had a fun business meeting with Elsie and Emma over coffee so I threw it on, marked where my knee line was and just cut the rest off. Since it's polyester it's pretty forgiving in the short term. I plan on adding a rolled hem before it gets washed again but sometimes a girl needs a dress in a hurry!

I had Brett take this photo on his way out to class and Ruby made her way over in between takes. She loves to be walked around the house these days. She's like a stomping little duck!

She doesn't like it when I call her names.

She's also a biter.

Ruby! We're twinsies! Ruby of Cakies recently posted about how hard it can be to pose naturally for self-portraits and I couldn't agree more. I usually take between 10-50 before I can settle on a few that I like enough to share online because Photoshop can take care of those dark circles under my eyes but I've yet to learn to erase the ten pounds that slouching can add. I have to remember to pull those shoulders back, tuck that tummy in, smile with my eyes, chin up slightly, etc., etc...it takes awhile. I'm no Tyra Banks.

However, documenting 'dress days' is important to me. Being a work-at-home mom can sometimes leave me feeling like it doesn't matter what I wear since the kids aren't quite old enough to call me out for wearing my yoga pants all day. I do try to make the effort on a regular basis, though, in order to avoid cascading down that slippery slope of 'work out clothes' that suddenly make up 100% of your laundry pile. Plus now there is preschool drop-off and we're new.

Elsie has been around with a great dose of courage in this venture into vintage dresses. She owns a vintage dress shop with lovely dresses in all sizes and she recently gifted me a darling tulip print dress from her collection for my birthday that I can't wait to wear next time we hang out!

What I want to know is if you've ever gone out in public hoping you won't see anyone you know because it's been days since you've showered or done laundry only to run into the ex-boyfriend/girlfriend...I know you've got stories!

xoxo,
Rachel

p.s. I'd love to see your vintage wardrobe if you have links!

In Transit

The kids and I took a last minute trip to OKC to see my parents and both sets of my grandparents for the weekend while Brett had drill and worked on three major projects for school. We're headed back home this afternoon. I stopped at all of my favorite flea markets/thrift shops in all of my favorite places and found some lovelies including ANOTHER vintage globe in excellent condition, tons of pretty little linens for one of the projects I shouldn't be starting, and some sweet vintage jewelry. I'll do a show and tell soon!

My goals for the week are to let myself go to bed an hour early each night, finish up Small Craft tutorials a few days ahead of time, and to schedule some activities for us to do as a family to celebrate the changing seasons. Apple picking is one of them! I've also started thinking about a certain little girls' first birthday party that is suddenly just around the corner. (Wasn't she just born!)

I hope your weekend was swell! I can't wait to hear how Renegade went from Elsie and Katie and I'm looking forward to having coffee with one of my favorite New Yorkers!

xoxo,
Rachel

I Get To Wear A Pretty Dress To Elsie's Wedding

Elsie and Emma hosted a cupcake party under the guise of testing out Emma's recipes and getting photos for her portfolio but really they just needed a bunch of their friends and family to show up at the same time to invite us to be bridesmaids in Elsie and Jeremy's wedding. I can usually see these things coming a mile away but those two have twice pulled off grand surprises that I've been lucky enough to be a part of.

These were some random shots from my camera using the Hipstamatic while carrying Ruby in a sling on my other side. She was squirmy. Janae was there taking photos and Elsie has shared some beautiful ones on her blog here and here. I'm so thrilled to be a part of the unfolding story of their lives together and love that I get to share this piece with these lovely girls that I admire.

Be back soon with some projects I probably shouldn't be starting!
xoxo,
Rachel