Introducing... The Pink Rose Boutique!

Today I am excited to share with you something that has been a few weeks in the making! 

Meet:

My new baby! 

The name is inspired by my Grandma. My inspiration and the one I can give the credit to for teaching me how to sew. When I was little I can remember going to her house and making blankets for my dolls, pillow cases, little dresses, and also hand embroidery. As I got into high school, I did not sew as much, it was easier to just take my clothes to Gram if I needed something fixed. :)

It was after having Taylor that I really felt inspired to start making things again. My mom bought me a sewing machine for my birthday and I had Gram come over every week to sit with me while I sewed. 

Bows, dresses, blankets, shirts you name it, I tried my hand at making it.

And I loved it! I love watching a pile of fabric transform into something that is usable! 

(Like this recent trip to Hobby Lobby...This picture makes me EXTREMELY happy!) 

I have since ventured out into some other items: aprons, pillow covers, camera strap covers, and appliques. It is a very fun hobby. 

It was in the middle of my vow renewal planning that I had the strong desire to turn this hobby into a business! 

Obviously, March was a little busy, I was making decorations for the wedding. But in the back of my mind I kept thinking of a shop. First order of business was to think of a name. This next part might sound cliche' to you but it is meaningful to me. I prayed for God to help me decide on a name. I was stumped. Then one night I had a dream about my Grandma. She was sitting outside of her house smelling the roses in her flower bed. She told me about her rose plants and where each one came from. 

Nothing life changing, just a nice conversation with my Grandma.

I woke up with the name The Pink Rose on my mind. And it stuck. ;) 

Off to the courthouse to register, sign up for an Etsy shop, create a Facebook page. Check, check, check.

Quick side note to share with you. On the way to sign up at the courthouse, there was one single rose plant  blooming, and guess what it was? :)

Something so beautiful and simple, and it made my day. :) 

So now that I have all the groundwork laid, all that is left is to SEW. :)

I have been working on a few pieces that I will be posting soon.
In the meantime,
How about some "likes" for my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/thepinkroseboutique
My Etsy shop is here: http://thepinkroseboutique.etsy.com 
(Items should be listed by tomorrow! :))

 I am excited to share with you! Have a happy day! :) 

Garden Tradition

Tomorrow is the first "official" day of spring! Can I hear a yippee! ;) 

I love spring. I love to watch the transformation of  a grey, dry pasture, turn into a crisp green field of coastal. I love to look at the little buds coming out of the otherwise dead looking tree branches. I like to see the wild flowers pop up on the side of the road, and especially love when the babies bring their Momma a handful of flowers that they found. :) 

And my most FAVORITE favorite part of spring? 

If you read the title of this post you can probably guess it. Gardening. 

My family has been gardening my entire life. I wouldn't know what to do if there was no gardening. Ha! 

But in all seriousness, I love it. I absolutely love to watch a plain patch of dirt, transform into a full, green garden, full of things that you can eat! :) 

Growing up, my very earliest memories of my Grandpa and Grandma's house, is going out to the back and picking things out of the garden. I especially remember picking carrots, taking them to the sink, and standing on a stool helping Grandma wash them, and then eating them. 

With the exception of meat and dairy, my Grandparents pretty much lived off the land. Every kind of vegetable you could think of, fruit trees, berry patches, they had it all. Grandma cooked, canned, preserved, pickled, froze, and baked with it all. Moving to the hill country my parents continued the tradition and started their own garden. And since moving out on MY own, I have continued the tradition on to my own family! I want my kids to grow up with the same love for the outdoors and gardening, that I have. And so far I have been blessed with them loving it too! ;) 

We planted ours this evening. I am excited because we have expanded our space from last year, and we now have room for 17 different plants! 

Corn

 Okra

Green Beans

Peas

 Cucumbers

Tomatoes - large and cherry size, the kids love to eat the cherry tomatoes right off the vine. 

Green and Yellow Bell Peppers

Jalapenos

"Blaze of Glory" variety of hot peppers

Strawberries

Watermelon

Cantaloupe

Squash 

Zuchinni 

Sweet Onions & Green Onions

And last but not least... Carrots. :) 

The kids really enjoyed the planting process this year. They are really starting to get the hang of it! (Tear... my babies are growing up...)

Wyatt's favorite is the corn

Tay is most excited about the watermelon and cantaloupe. 

 

Sneak peek of  mommy and daddy behind the scenes! ;) 

I of course will be taking pictures of the progress, and hope to update with a few posts along the way! :) 

Happy Spring Y'all! :) 

Life Lately

For me, right now, life is BUSY. John and I are renewing our vows in THREE weeks. Yay! 

Taylor's birthday party is next weekend. Wow!

None the less, I am taking a break from sewing table runners and tutus, and I want to write about my babies.  :) 

I guess they technically don't fall into the "baby" category anymore but they will always be MY babies. 

Taylor is going to be 5 on Thursday. 

She is a sassy, independent, amazing little girl.Tonight, she told her daddy today that she would like a real computer, a real phone, and a real purse. Just like a grown up. When I told her that she was a little young for the computer and phone, she said but everybody has a phone, I will be so different, I want to be a grown up!

At first, I had no response... Thinking to myself, WHERE did that come from????!!!! 

Baby girl. You are FIVE. And I heard the words of my mom come out of my mouth, 

"Don't be in too much of a hurry to grow up baby."

And much like my own self  hearing that as a kid, I can tell she wasn't buying it. 

She keeps me on my toes. 

I am still coming to grips with the fact that in a few short months she will be starting kindergarten. I wouldn't say necessarily that I am in denial but they say admitting is the first step... ;) More on that another day...

For now, let's talk about my baby boy. 

He equally keeps me on my toes. Sometimes maybe even more. We have been potty training and this week has been a great success! For a few months now, he has done very well at home. But as soon as we would go out anywhere, I would put a pull up on just in case, and he would get lazy and use it as an excuse NOT to go. Even with no accidents at home he would act like he did not know a thing about the toilet and go in his pull-up. All that changed though, in the beginning of last week. He started telling me while we were in the stores that he had to go, and we would rush off to the bathroom and he would go! Accident free at home AND away for the past week now. Night time is still a work in progress, but today he woke up from his nap dry, and immediately went to the potty. I am a proud momma, and you can tell he gets so proud too. I just love that boy!

Feeling blessed and content tonight. ♥

A Look Behind The Scenes

Well hello there! Happy 2013! :) I am excited for a new year of blogging, and I have made a promise to myself to write more this year. No more excuses. I will spare you the "catch up" lines because I know, I know, I ALREADY have a couple posts dedicated to the usual "it's been a while, I promise to stay caught up, etc etc" And then 4.5 months go by without one single post. Ouch! 

I always have all these thoughts swirling in my head, it is just taking the time to sit down and write!

 So here I am. 

Making an effort. 

Because I want to look back and know that I took the time to remember the little things. 

To document my children's lives, because as I know too well, they grow up SO quickly. 

One thing that I have been pretty good at keeping up with is my Project365 on my facebook page. If you are not too familiar with it, basically it is taking a picture every day, something to remember that day by. I started in 2011 and JUST started my 2013 album. Yes, it is January 9. But, honestly, I had thought about taking a break for the year. I can't exactly pinpoint a reason why, but I thought I would give it a break nonetheless. Well... I changed my mind. I went through my phone and found that I had already taken at least 2 pictures every day up until now. Thus, Project365:2013 was started, TODAY. :)

 I love pictures. I love the story they tell. I love capturing a moment that will never be there again. 

Taking pictures comes easy to me, so why not take it a step further and document those pictures.

 I thought about making a book out of each year of pictures. What fun it would be for us to flip through, for the kids to flip through one day! It makes me happy to think about. :)

Now, here is where my title comes into play. 

"Behind The Scenes" 

Some days don't feel very picture worthy. Some days you wonder, what could I possibly find in this day that I would want to remember later? Yes, I have had those days. 

But, one thing that I really try to live by, is to find the good in everything. Find the positive. Thank God for His many, many, blessings on my life. 

Take for example this photo.

1/8/13 - Sweet brother and sister. :)

Taylor and Wyatt were watching TV together when Tay calls me into the room saying, "Momma! Come look at us! Take a picture!" I took the picture and both of them looked at it. (Wyatt likes to look and say "aww" at any picture. It is so cute.) Then I walk away. Not 5 minutes later, I hear Taylor SCREAMING, at a pitch I am sure only that girl can reach, it is so shrill. 

"Tay, what happened?"

Crying turns to anger.

"WYATT HIT ME IN THE NECK!"

"Wyatt, you do NOT hit your sister. You tell her your sorry."

"Sowwie sister."

Taylor pushes him because she is still mad. Now Wyatt starts crying.
"Sister pushed meeeeeeeeeeee!"

"Taylor, you don't push your brother."

Pretty picture right? ;) ;) ;) 

This is why I decided capturing these moments are crucial, even if they are brief. ;)

These pictures are proof that there is always some good worth finding, even if you feel like you have been a referee in the midst of a bickering filled day. 

I love my babies more than words can say. 

I love that they have each other to grow up with and I pray they always stay best friends. 

This is what I choose to focus on today. And, I hope you have a happy day too. :)