our trip to france {part 2}

May 21, 2013

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catch up here with part 1.

our 2nd day in france was probably my favorite.  we were docked in conflans, a small town outside of paris.

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sean and i woke up and went for a quick run before breakfast.  run?  yes a run.  no, i don’t run at home.   but i almost always run on vacation.  weird, i know.  but i finally think i figured out why:  at home i have to make sure 3 little people are taken care of, fed, dressed, chores done, etc before i can leave.  and on vacation, i get to run whenever i want to, without making sure someone can watch the kids.  and the best part: i get to run with sean.  i still hate the physical side of running, but i love spending time with sean and doing something he loves (any form of exercise), and running is also a great way to explore new areas.

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while i was running up a hill, i was quickly heating up and struggled to take off my layers.  sean thought it was hilarious to just take pictures rather than to help.  me vs. the running shirt = i won!

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as with all the towns we stayed in, we immediately found cathedrals and palaces.  we get to see the town waking up, or sleeping in, as it seems most do in the suburbs of france.

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after our always yummy breakfast, we took a short bus ride to auvers-sur-oise, the small town where van gogh lived his last few months and died.  the tour was amazing!  our guide was awesome and had great details i have never learned.  and so many of van gogh’s famous paintings were painted in auvers-sur-oise.  van gogh rented a room over this restaurant, which has remained the same.

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i loved being able to stand in the exact location where he set his easel and see the same view he did, virtually unchanged.  the town has set an ordinance to stay as it was in van gogh’s time and to not become touristy.

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van gogh was supported most of his life financially by his brother, theodore.  theodore died after vincent and was buried elsewhere.  his wife found letters between the brothers and realized how dearly they loved each other, so she moved theodore’s body to be next to vincent’s.  at one point someone tried to make the gravesite fancier, but it was quickly changed back to just ivy since van gogh lived a modest life.

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some of the tombstones were amazing in the cemetery!  we learned that in this cemetery, if the grave site isn’t maintained by a family member, after a certain amount of time the city will exhume the body and re-rent out the space for the next “tenant” – crazy!

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according to our guide, van gogh couldn’t afford the expensive pigment for the bright yellow paint, which was made partially of cow urine.  so he made his own with his own urine – gross!  he said his yellows would stay vibrant years after he was gone.

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this was just outside of the room that he rented.

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after our tour we had a little bit of time to wander around the town and grab a crepe for the day!

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once we got back to the boat we set out for our next stop, vernon.  the areas surrounding the seine were so beautiful, full of history and amazing architecture.  look at this huge estate with a castle above and fortresses built into the hillside!  this was a common site on our route.

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and so many cathedrals!  i love the tiles roof on this one.

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our boat had a great roof deck, and most days it was nice enough (still pretty cool) to sit on top and watch the areas we were passing through.

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or to just stare at one of God’s most amazing creations ;)

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how about this little villa to spend your summers at?

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we passed a lot of our time playing cards.  we’re both pretty competitive!

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and naps happened almost daily!  this day the temperature was so mild i was able to have our door open while we were cruising!

day 3, coming soon!

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Filed Under: vacation

one purse, many purposes

May 20, 2013

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wristlet clutches are probably my favorite product to design and choose fabrics for!

they have such fun details:  ruffles, doilies, contrasting base fabric… all with fabulous fabrics!

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as with all of my products, the lining fabric is fun and bold!

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one great use for a wristlet clutch is as a purse for your diaper bag.  unfortunately, i hadn’t yet designed the clutch when my babies were babies, because this would’ve been so useful!  instead, i let all my necessities float around in my diaper bag with diapers and burp cloths!  finding my wallet was a task on its own!

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the clutch is compact and won’t take up much room in a diaper bag, but with it’s gusseted base, it has plenty of room to hold all your necessities.  in mine, i can hold my wallet, sunglasses in their case, my phone (in its own pocket – easy to find), chapstick, lip liner, and a couple hair elastics.

the best part?  well there’s 2:  it zips closed, so nothing gets mixed into your diaper bag.  and it has a wristlet handle making it easy to grab out of your bag.  if you are running a quick errand and don’t need your whole diaper bag, just grab the clutch and go!

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and another use for the clutch is to simply organize a bigger bag.  i’m a big fan of big bags (hello messenger bags!), but sometimes the smaller items can be left floating around the bottom.  you can use this clutch to corral all the smaller items!

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or if you’ve moved from the baby stage to the toddler stage, you’ve probably happily moved from a diaper bag to your regular purse (yay!), but still need to carry a couple diapers and wipes.  the wristlet clutches hold a small case of wipes and a couple diapers perfectly!  toss the clutch in your purse and you’re good to go.  even better, once you’re out of the diaper stage, you can use your clutch as a cute purse!

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i often use my clutch for church, or when i run some quick errands.  somedays its nice to not have a huge purse!

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the clutch can also be a great place to store all your makeup!  its wide base makes for a roomy bag and its long enough to fit all your brushes and pencils.

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so is there a clutch or 2 you’ve had your eye on?

today only, i’m having a huge sale on wristlet clutches:  20% off!

just use code WRISTLETCLUTCH20 at checkout!

don’t forget to add a coordinating tiny pouch or sunnies case!

 

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Filed Under: pleated poppy

meet the artist: molly garibaldi

May 18, 2013
Molly
i am so very excited for the second “meet the artist” post! our featured artist is molly garibaldi. she is super adorable and extremely passionate about her products.
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enjoy getting to know her!
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1) what made you decide to start your business in prayer journals, cards, etc?
Well, I didn’t set out to start a business by any means! I was an elementary school teacher for many years before I quit to stay home with my first baby. He was VERY colicky the first year and I spent many hours up with him in the middle of the night. I wanted to use that time productively – and there’s not much you can do at 3 am – so I decided I should use that time to pray over him. There were many prayers I had been praying for him even since he had been in my womb but in the middle of the night, this sleep-deprived mama would end up praying the same prayer over and over or be falling asleep in the middle of my prayers! I decided that I should write my prayers down on index cards and then I wanted to look up scriptures to write on the cards to tie my prayers to God’s Word. That way, I would know my prayers were God’s will for my son. I could use the cards to help me stay focused in my prayer time and could flip through them a few each night.
Since making prayer cards wasn’t high on the to-do list of a new mom, they actually never got made until my daughter had come along. I had a friend who was having her first baby and that was my incentive to make them for her as a gift, then make myself a set in the process! My friend’s baby shower was the weekend before Mother’s Day so I ended up making 6 sets of prayer cards in all – one for my friend and several others for the moms and grandmas in the family as Mother’s Day gifts. I had “How to Pray for Your Children” and “How to Pray for Your Grandkids” – and that was going to be it!
God had other plans though and those 6 sets of prayer cards turned into 15 orders for more! As my husband watched me doing this all by hand with my little scrapbooking scissors and crafty paper and then taking them to Staples to be laminated in big sheets and then cutting those all out by hand, he decided God was leading us to a new ministry. For our anniversary a few months later, he gave me a most nontraditional gift – a professional laminating machine! He also created digital templates to get me started designing prayer cards on the computer. I began getting requests to create other titles – a friend wanted “How to Pray for Your Husband” for her anniversary and another wanted a set of scripture cards to help her through labor and delivery. That last set became “God’s Word for a New Mom” and our line of Bible verse memorization cards was born!
A few months later I opened my Etsy shop and began selling at local boutiques. The business has now grown to more than 40 prayer card and scripture card titles, as well as prayer journals for adults and kids, plus a number of additional products! The longer I do this, the more I see a hunger for God’s Word from people in all stages and seasons of life. I’m eternally grateful for the opportunity to partner with God in this work of helping others live and leave a legacy of prayer!
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2) how long have you been in business?
5 years this month!
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3) how did you start your own business and what tips would you give to others who want to start one?
As I said, I didn’t plan on starting my own business so the honest answer is that I started it all backwards! I’ve learned the hard way in many cases and even 5 years later, I’m still in the process of trying to set things straight. Unfortunately, I think this is a common problem in the handmade business. You start out making something you love, selling it to friends, and before you know it, you have a business, but you’ve never taken the time to lay the groundwork. I’ve got five simple tips I would give to someone just starting out:
1. Pray and ask others to pray with you. You don’t want a business that God’s not leading and you’re going to need the support of others along the way. I didn’t humble myself and ask for prayer until I was about 2 years into it. At that time, I wrote “How to Pray for Your Business”and formed a prayer team of a few close friends and family that would be committed to praying for me and for Throne of Grace.
2. Be committed to keeping your spouse and family first - especially if this is not going to be a main source of income for your family! If the business is a winner – you can come back to it at any time, but you will forever regret time lost while your kids are young or when your spouse needs your time and attention.
3. Calculate the cost! Before you start selling your products, carefully consider all your costs (and potential costs down the line) – everything from materials, packaging, seller fees (if you are using Etsy or credit card processing companies like Paypal or Square), boutique fees, shipping costs, equipment maintenance, advertising, and of course, labor. If the business grows, you will need to hire employees to help! Be sure to build in plenty of profit into your price point. So often, particularly in the handmade business, we undersell ourselves! You can always lower your prices, but it is pretty hard to raise them.
4. Lay the groundwork - find financial software to use and set up a good system for your record-keeping. Get a fictitious business name, set up a business checking account to keep business transactions separate from your personal records, and learn about charging sales tax to customers and how to file sales and use taxes. It may sound a little overwhelming and like a lot of work – it is! But think how much easier it will be to do all that ahead of time instead of in the midst of a busy season of your business.

5. Love what you do! If you are not passionate about it and you don’t enjoy doing it, you won’t last for the long haul. There will be times where you’ll be up until 2 am getting ready for an 8 am boutique and you’ll ask yourself, “Why am I doing this??”. If you see a greater purpose, you’ll be able to push through those tough moments.
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4) what is your favorite item currently in your shop and why?
Oh, my! Hard to pick, but I think I’d have to say our set of prayer cards, “How to Pray in Challenging Times” and the companion scripture cards, “God’s Word for Challenging Times”. I love these sets because there are so many hurting people out there and I’ve found these cards to be a great tool of encouragement and opportunity to share my faith. Whether people are suffering through loss of a loved one, financial struggles, divorce, cancer, or even the daily challenges of life, there is no greater gift you can give them than the blessing of God’s Word. 
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5) which item is your best selling item?
Lately our Legacy Prayer Journals have been our big seller.

These were created out of a desire to take the many prayer needs I feel burdened to pray for throughout the week and divide them up into manageable daily portions. I’ve found that having a cute, organized journal keeps me motivated and helps me be consistent in prayer. I had a very godly great-grandfather that recorded his prayers for our family in journals. My mom also modeled writing out her prayers and taught me the blessing of being able to look back and see the way God has answered prayer over time. Our prayer journals are all handmade and unique. We love seeing our customers get excited about using the journals to create a treasured memorial of God’s faithfulness in their life!

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6) describe your style in 5 words
This is tough! I had to ask my husband for help so here’s what we collectively came up with: timeless, simple, whimsical, practical, and genuine.
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7) how do you find the time to manage your business, family life, and make new products?  got any secret tips for us?
Well, since I was a day late getting these answers in to Lindsey, I guess I still need help in this area! :)
Balancing all that is on my plate is certainly a challenge! I need to be very organized and segmented with my time. Though I do some work every day (when kids are at school or sleeping), I only have designated work days with my employees 2 days a week. When my kids and husband are home, I try to be present with them and only work when I am up against a deadline and have their support! I have to be pretty structured in keeping certain days of the week for grocery shopping, laundry, housecleaning, volunteering at school, and church ministry – or it won’t get done!
One of the decisions you need to make in starting a business is how much you are willing to work. The blessing of working for myself is that, for the most part, I’m in control of that. I’ve found that my customers are wonderfully supportive of my family life and as long as I’m clear upfront about turn-around time for my products, they are willing to wait. It is important to set limits for yourself and be okay with turning down opportunities if it will cause your priorities to get turned upside down.
There are three tools I use that I couldn’t do without: my Much Ado About You planner, my organizational notebook (a product of my own creation that I hope to have available for sale soon!), and a daily quiet time studying God’s Word.
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8) what inspires you?
Beth Moore and Lysa TerKeurst are two of my top inspirations! Their Bible studies have been life-changing for me! I also get a lot of my inspiration from my sister, Emmy, who is much more creative and business-savvy than I am. I have very little time for surfing the internet, but when I need quick creative inspiration, like many of you, Pinterest is my go-to site!
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9) what do you like to do when you’re not creating, marketing or selling?
In my free time, I like to spend time with my husband (of almost 12 years) and my kids (ages 7 and 5). I love to take walks through our town, play at the park, and play board games (our current favorite is Payday – we recently found my original version from childhood, created in 1975!). I also love to read books with my kids. They are both becoming avid readers so we take trips to the library just about every week. We are currently reading through the Little House on the Prairie series and have been humbled by the amount of physical labor that went into accomplishing the simplest task in those days! It sure makes my work load seem easy-peasy!
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see, i told you. super honest, transparent, and sweet. thanks for sharing molly!
this week, throne of grace is giving away a legacy prayer journal on their site! be sure to visit molly to enter and to learn more about her ministry!

molly is also offering 10% off your next purchase using code POPPY10 at checkout! thanks molly!

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Filed Under: ramblings

insta {FREE!} friday

May 17, 2013

i’ve got a fun combo today:  instafriday and free friday!

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buy any 2 items (or more) from my shop and i’ll include a patriotic posy pin in your order for free!  each posy is made by hand and has layers and layers of ruffly patriotic fabric.  pin one or 2 to your top and call yourself patriotic!

*     *     *     *     *

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now on to instafriday!  i’m linking up my weekly phone pics with my girl jeannett again.  i’m thepleatedpoppy on insta-g if you want to follow along!

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while the kids and i were visiting my sister in santa cruz, we got a sitter and had a sister date!

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we stopped in the coolest store called stripe.  i want to move in.

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i was helping my sister renovate a house while we were visiting, and i decided to pack my old painting overalls to get a good laugh.  it worked.  and yes, i used to wear these in public before they were my painting overalls.  i think i owned maybe 6 pairs through college, even a “fancy” black velour pair.

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we treated the kids to a few rides at the boardwalk since they were so good all week.  we lucked out and had amazing weather!

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this. makes. me. happy.

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the kids and their cousin had a little dance party for us on mother’s day

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when we got home, i found this little treasure tucked away for me from our school.  as a 5-year family, they gifted us these pretty necklaces that say semper discentes – always learning.

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i listed a bunch of patriotic posies in my shop – grab a set of 3 for memorial day!

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i made 5 of these for my sister-in-law’s wedding next week – half glued, half sewn.

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after practicing for over a month on his poem, the recitation night finally came.  and went.  without his poem recited.  poor guy totally panicked when he got on stage and barely mumbled his name before running off.  maybe next year…  and lily rocked her poem – yay lu!

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lily is my super helper!  she loves to cook and serve.   this day she let me sleep in with silas, while she made me coffee and toast.  then while i enjoyed my breakfast, she made smoothies for gracie and herself.  so sweet!

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listed.  sold. making more.

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one of my favorite things is to hear my kids worship.  since a christmas cd got stuck in our car a few years ago, we only listen to the radio.  and when i realized that gracie memorizes songs very quickly, and i heard some of the songs she was singing as a bitty kid, we now only listen to christian radio in the car.

she caught me snapping a pic of her in the moment of my pure joy!

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i love stacking fabric in rainbow order – so lovely!  this was my first stack of prepped fabric for bunting where i had to cut into my stash.  up until now, i have only been using scraps, but i ran out!

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i listed a handful of patriotic scrappy bunting last night!  i’m hoping to make a few more sets before its too late to ship them for memorial day…

what are you looking forward to this weekend?  i’m hoping for a clean house, some family time, maybe a day at the beach, and sprucing up my front porch!

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Filed Under: instafriday, pleated poppy

our trip to france {part 1}

May 16, 2013

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a little less than a month ago, sean and i were blessed to go on a vacation together for 9 days!  his mom stayed with the kids for the first half, my parents for the second half.

our trip was rewarded to us by hunter douglas, the window coverings company.  sean’s company onesource is a hunter douglas dealer and one of the great perks of that is these amazing trips that are rewarded!  this is only our second hunter douglas trip (a few years ago we went on a mediterranean cruise), because we share the trips between partners, managers and sales people as well.  no complaining on the wait here – 3 years in between all-expenses paid vacations is fine with me!  all that to say, i am a big hunter douglas fan!

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(clockwise from top left: paris metro, grate in a cathedral in conflans, just outside van gogh’s house in auvers-sur-oise, in monet’s kitchen in giverny, in our room on our boat, at la couronne in rouen, on the beaches of normandy, at the normandy memorial and cemetery, under the arc de triomphe in paris)

this year’s trip was a seine river cruise in france!  we started in paris, then conflans, vernon, rouen, les andelys, then back to paris.  i’ll be honest with you – the only places on the trip i had heard of before were paris and vernon (where monet lived and painted his famous waterlily series).  but we love an adventure and were up for anything!  this trip was also different for us because all of the guided tours were included.  since we’re cheap, we usually opt out of guided tours because of the added expense.  and because we didn’t want to be on a hot bus for hours with a huge group of people.  but because these were free we decided to try the tours out.  i am so glad we did because some of them were the highlights of our trip!  and thankfully, our tour groups were relatively small and the few bus rides we did have to take were short (other than the couple hours to normandy).

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so, our river cruise… the mediterranean cruise was the first we had been on and it was a huge ship!  our boat was much smaller this time.  despite its small size, it was really nice!  it was a pretty new boat and our room was great – best bed i’ve ever slept in!  the biggest difference about this boat compared with the ship we were on is that this boat is small.  the living spaces consisted of a small coffee lounge, a larger cocktail lounge, the dining room, and the roof deck.  on a big cruise ship there are tons of activities: casinos, pools, shopping, mini golf, rock climbing.  since this boat didn’t have any of that, it left us to do a lot of relaxing.  sean and i rarely slow down, almost never do nothing, so this was great for us.  in order for us to slow down, we literally had to be forced to!

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we got into paris early our first day, but since we were on a time schedule of a fairly large group, we didn’t end up getting into the city until almost noon.  we immediately went out on our own, starting in the tuileries garden.  it was fun walking through there, remembering when we had gone there with our girls when they were just nearly 1 and 3 1/2.  actually, a ton of fun memories with the kids filled that day and made me miss the kids so much right off the bat!
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our big plan for the trip was to rent bikes wherever we could.  fun, right?  well, if we were actually able to do it it would’ve been way more fun.  turns out, you need a special microchip in your credit card in order to rent from the machine, a microchip none of our cards had.  big bummer.
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so we walked, and walked and walked!   paris is such a beautiful city!
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our first stop was to the arc de triomphe, where the lift (elevator) was out of service, so we took the stairs.  apparently, the lift is always out of service!  walking back down these stairs made me very very dizzy!
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the view from the top of the arc de triomphe is pretty amazing.  i love love love getting one-on-one time with sean!  he’s my favorite ;)
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from the arc we walked a couple miles to the eiffel tour.
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my daily goal was to have a croissant, baguette and a crepe.  i think i ate about 3 croissants that morning and was grabbing a baguette sandwich and a lemon crepe here – mmmmmmm!
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after touring paris for a few hours, we were taken to our boat.  after getting settled, and changed, we headed to our first of many super yummy dinners.  and as you can see from the pics above, we ate really well!  3-5 course meals every night (dinners lasted for at least 3 hours each night!).
*ok, i thought i’d be able to compact this 9 day trip into 2 posts, but this has taken me hours so far, so this will turn into a longer series!*

 

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Filed Under: vacation

what i wore wednesday {5 minute challenge!}

May 15, 2013

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hey friends!  welcome to another edition of “what i wore wednesday”!  this week i decided to mix things up a bit.  actually, this grew a bit out of me realizing yesterday that i hadn’t taken any pictures of my outfits all week.  well, except this one.  i was helping my sister renovate a house most of last week so i was in grubbies most of the time.  so out of necessity i came up with a fun challenge for today.

i’m calling it the 5 minute challenge.

what i wore wednesday at the pleated poppy

i woke up super tired this morning (6 hours of sleep, after many nights in a row of only 7 hours… need more sleep), so i threw on yoga pants (that have never been to yoga) and dressed them up a bit with a sparkly sequined sweatshirt.  this was fine until around noon when i remembered we had some errands to run.  i have a hard time wearing yoga pants in public, so i gave myself 5 minutes to upgrade my outfit without changing entirely, and doing a little self-care/personal hygene while i was at it.

what i wore wednesday at the pleated poppy

here’s my starting point.  i’m usually wearing my fuzzy slippers around the house, but sean took us all out to breakfast down the street, so i already had my shoes on.  i have a hard time finding yoga pants to fit me – i can see from this picture that these are already a little too short on me.  rather than throwing on a plain sweatshirt, i wore this one with sequins on the front.  it really does feel a little fancier just being sparkly!  the tank underneath is a daily basic for me.

sweatshirt, tank, and pants – target

shoes – nordstrom rack

what i wore wednesday at the pleated poppy

first thing i did was head to my closet to throw on some jeans.  i knew i would keep on my “fancy” sweatshirt.  i was trying to hurry, so in the rush i nearly fell down trying to untie my shoes while standing up, getting one tied in a knot, and breaking a sweat.  then i the giant mass of clean clothes piled on my floor i couldn’t find the jeans i wanted (looser boyfriend cuffed jeans).  they were in the washer.  wet.  so i opted for my other favorite pair and called it good, throwing my shoes back on.

done.  dressed.

and then i added a necklace because one little piece of jewelry can make you look like you actually took time for yourself.  this necklace is new to me and i adore it!  also, i almost never change my fake diamond stud earrings, so my ears were already ready to go.

what i wore wednesday at the pleated poppy

on to the personal maintenance.

thankfully (for everyone) i had already showered and blown dry the front half of my hair (i was feeling lazy after a couple minutes).

what i wore wednesday at the pleated poppy

all i did was put in my contacts, swipe on a coat of mascara, add some blush, a quick lip liner and a lap around with the burt’s bees.  i ran a quick brush through my hair.  oh, and brush my teeth.  you’re welcome family ;)

i opted to ignore the giant zit under my lip and the ones on my nose.  not because i was in a hurry, but because i’m almost 35 and have no idea how to properly use coverup, or whatever it is you actually use to cover up zits.  when i do try to camouflage, it becomes more obvious than if i had left it well alone.

what i wore wednesday at the pleated poppy

 i am not a fancy girl.  almost everything i use on a daily basis can be bought from a drugstore.  i love my crest spin brush toothbrush.  cheapest thing out there.  i was gifted covergirl lash blast volume mascara a few years ago at blissdom and was converted – love the stuff!  i use maybelline blush in deep coral and a drugstore blush brush.  my daily necessity of all of these is the lipliner and burt’s bees chapstick.  i hate the taste of lipstick, and love the taste of burt’s, so this has worked for years for me.  i use either radiant rosy by sephora or cork by mac (each mac stick lasts me years and years, even with daily use!)

what i wore wednesday at the pleated poppy

so not a huge difference, but i definitely feel better when i spend a few minutes on my face.

what i wore wednesday

this was a good challenge for me.  i think next time i’ll take whatever is thrown on my floor and see what i can make of it!

what about you?  are you up for a 5 minute challenge?

do you wanna join me?  yay!  just follow the rules:

1. link to your specific blog post, not your blog’s main page. ex: http://thepleatedpoppy.com/2011/09/what-i-wore-wednesday-fall-inspiration/ not http://thepleatedpoppy.com/blog/.
2. please only link outfit related posts. your craft project may be adorable, or that may be a great giveaway, but this linky is for outfit related posts only – thank you!
3. please please please link back here to me so all this wiww stuff makes sense to your readers. and its just nice to do ;) grab a button from my sidebar (see the code box?).
4. check out as many links as possible! i am constantly inspired by so many outfits each week! and you will definitely find some new blogs that you’ve never stumbled upon before – so fun!

 


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Filed Under: what i wore

red, white & blue for you!

May 14, 2013

memorial day is coming up!  rather than wearing a patriotic t-shirt, i usually opt for more of an overall patriotic outfit, without being too “stars and stripes-y”.

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old navy has a handful of really cute options.  i love when an outfit can fit a specific purpose, but can also work great any other time of year.  but there’s one way to make it just a step up from an every day outfit:

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add a couple patriotic posies!

these posies are made with layers of ruffly fabric and finished off with a covered button in a coordinating fabric.

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my all-time favorite outfits include jeans and a white t-shirt, or some version of that.  denim seems so all-american, doesn’t it?  these are the easiest outfits to dress up with posies!  imagine each of these outfits with a pair of posies pinned on – so cute!

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i personally like to wear 2 at a time.  my girls love to wear them, and you could even give away 1 to a friend!

these patriotic posies will be available for a limited time only, so get yours while you can!

even better, buy yours today and get $5 off!  use code PATRIOTIC at checkout.

 

 

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Filed Under: pleated poppy

monday update

May 13, 2013

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i had a wild week and a crazy long weekend (wednesday night to sunday night in santa cruz with my sister and our kids).  so i thought it would be nice to slow down and take a look at little glimpses from a slow afternoon last week, and give you a few updates!

gracie is constantly drawing.  nothing new.  this drawing was done in response to a rainy afternoon recess spent with girlfriends, making up a dance with their umbrellas.  adorable, no?

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she kills me, just kills me.  she has the sweetest heart of any kid i know.

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a hug accomplishment:  dishes done!  and a shiny clean sink to boot.  sometimes, its these little things that make the crazy things more bearable.  when my plate is full i tend to do one of 2 things (totally unrelated to the things needing to be done):  i either start a creative project or start cleaning.

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i love playing games.  i grew up playing games ad we are trying to instill a love of games (and good sportsmanship) in our kids.  there are some games i have to go easy on my kids with, but some i don’t, which i love even more.  mancala is one of those games where i don’t go easy and i don’t always win.  what i loved about the game this time:  lily set up the little glass stones in rainbow order before we started ;)

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still missing that one front tooth, but looking older nonetheless.

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did you spot that pretty pillow behind lily?  ah, i love it!  i ordered it from paisley sprouts on etsy after seeing it on instagram and at meg’s.  the workmanship is amazing!

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minimessengerbags

i have been restocking mini messenger bags throughout the week, and they keep selling, so as of today these are the bags i have left.  but keep checking back in for other styles!

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did you see my sponsor shout out last week?  i have a bunch of amazing sponsors and they have great deals for you all, so please go back and check it out!

 

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i'm always adding new products to my shop, so don't forget to check daily. happy shopping!

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Filed Under: pleated poppy, ramblings

instafriday

May 10, 2013

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i’m linking up my weekly phone pics with jeannett again!  i’m thepleatedpoppy on instagram if you want to follow along!

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silas has been on a ticket system for awhile now.  we stole the idea from friends.  basically, he got 3 tickets every day (well, every day that we remembered), and they were his to lose or keep, all based on behavior and attitude.  he could earn extra tickets throughout the day with good behavior, kindness, etc.  his big ticket item that he saved up for was to build a skate ramp with sean.  he finally earned it, so they set to work last weekend on it.

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silas’ gymnasty class starts 30 minutes after lily’s, so we take full advantage of that time and have him jump ahead on the next days homeschool, usually getting handwriting and math done before he heads off to class.  then gracie and i leave for an hour and usually hang out at a coffee shop and do her grammar or just search thru craigslist together, dreaming about getting an airstream (not happening, btw).

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lily loves order, and organization, and cleaning, so i thought bill paying would be a natural thing for her to like.  and i was right!  i walked her through all my steps in paying a bill:  where to find the amount due, who it was for, where the account number was, then how to write a check, stuff the envelope, address, stamp and mail it.  she caught on quickly and was a huge help.  not that she’ll ever be using my checkbook, but its a good skill to learn!

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the ramo took a few days to complete, but once it was done silas didn’t take long before he was dropping in on his own!  sean’s arms were a sort of halo around him – not actually holding him, but there just in case.  it was so fun to watch!

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i really like my hair stylist, but this day i was not up for chatting much.  i had a stack of paperwork to complete to finalize the stitch market, so i was busy working on my lap while the blonded me up.  and i lost my voice the night before, so i really couldn’t carry on much of a conversation.  the voice is still mostly gone.

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its been awhile since the last installation i did at the kids’ school, but this one was worth the wait!

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silas had never had a professional haircut, only buzzes by sean, and trims by me when his hair was long and grommy.  but his bangs were in his eyes and i trimmed them up myself, and… chopped them too short.  then tried to level out the rest with it.  sean was hoping for a bowl cut to bring back his childhood, and i couldn’t do it.  so we went to my hair stylist to clean him up.  and make him look like a boy again.

unfortunately, what i got was a man!  he grew up a few years with just a few scissor chops!

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we drove up a couple nights ago to visit my sister again where she’s staying in santa cruz temporarily.  i took my nephew and the kids to the park for a bit and got some nice long snuggles from this post-nap boy!  i loved it!

instafriday at the pleated poppy

then we walked down to the cliffs in capitola (pleasure point) and watched the surfers for awhile.

we’ve got a full weekend planned with my sister, while sean’s at home cleaning for a dad’s school thing he’s hosting over the weekend.

enjoy your weekend, friends!

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Filed Under: instafriday

sponsor shout out {spring edition}

May 9, 2013

yay! every once in a while, i love to highlight my great sponsors and pass on some discount codes to my readers. if you haven’t checked them out or are waiting on a special item from one of these fabulous shops… now is the time!

for this round, i thought it would be fun to pick my favorite item from each shop!

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the vintage honey shop

one of my newest sponsors is the vintage honey shop. this is the shop for mamas-to-be, new mamas, or a great shower gift. they have cute teething necklaces to keep baby happy and mama stylish, cupcake toppers for showers, and cuff bracelets.

my favorite item from the vintage honey shop is definitely this! loving the fabric and practicality of it!

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use the code poppy for 15% off your order through may 17th!

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tiny seamstress designs

another new sponsor of mine is tiny seamstress designs (cute name, right?). if you sew or want to learn how, tiffany has some great patterns for making your own bags. i’m loving this adorable owl backpack. cute project!

if you are just starting out, i would recommend trying this bag.

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use the code POPPY for 15% off your purchase through may 20th!

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sunuva

have you seen sunuva? this UK-based company has the most adorable summer line that i was honored to review a few weeks back. a lot of my readers loved the red, white, and blue matching swimsuits. so cute!!! head on over to their site and find your favorite pieces! i love the dresses that my girls have from sunuva – lightweight, adorable, and super soft.

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use code POPPY to get 20% off your order!

ps- have you entered their contest to win a shopping spree on their site? the giveaway is open until may 27th!

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one little belt

one little belt is another great shop for little ones. you can never start accessorizing too early! i loved the belt they made for my girls. i’m taking a break on making new little boy ties in my shop, but kilee has some super cute ties and bowties!

this leopard print belt is my fave!

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use code POPPY15  for 15% off your next order!

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ike and co

i love ike and co’s jewelry. such sweet pieces. angie sent me these earrings which i love!

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she has some really dainty pieces and some great statement necklaces too! this would go with so many outfits! i love how tiny and quirky this one is. reminds me of making mix tapes in high school!

use code SPRING20 for 20% off your next purchase!

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red letter words

i love dee. i can’t wait for you to “meet” her too through my “meet the artist” series in the next few weeks!

if you are a regular reader on my blog, you know all about her great prints. but did you know she has started making fat quarters with her prints?

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just think of all the pretty things we could make with these!

use code poppy20 for 25% off your purchase, excluding custom prints. code is good through may 13th at midnight!

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jennifer dahl designs

did you read my new meet the artist series with jennifer? i love putting a face to the name and really knowing what inspires people to create handmade goodies like this.

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i love this happy necklace of hers!

jennifer has offered my readers 25% off through may 15th with the code PP25

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mirrormate

mirrormate is a new advertiser of mine. you may have seen them on other blogs, since they have the greatest idea. got a not-so-pretty mirror? with mirror mates, it turns into a custom, gorgeous mirror in minutes! check out some of these before and afters.

this frame would go perfect with my flooring!

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i have an upcoming project with mirrormate that i can’t wait to share with you. coming soon!

mirrormate is offering 10% off with code POPPY10 through august 9th if you need a mirror revamp too!

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scarlet thread quilt co

scarlet thread quilt co is a new sponsor of mine. i’ve made a few quilts in my day and they have some gorgeous ones! the patterns are available on their site and a ton of cute fabrics. i used a dear stella fabric for my ikat collection recently. finding and pairing up fabrics is one of the best part of creating!

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love this quilt and the pattern!

scarlet thread quilt co is offering 10% off with a minimum $20 purchase. just use code POPPY10. offer good through may 13!

if you have a small business, be sure to check them out. scarlet thread offesr a volume discount program to other small businesses who want to produce their own products with scarlet thread’s fabrics

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sunny little studio

i still can’t get over the great pillow that sunny little studio did for my daughter. this is a seriously high quality product. just take any piece of your child’s artwork, scan or photograph it and send it in. you will get something pretty special in the mail! thinkin this would be a great gift for a grandma!

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mention pleated poppy in the comment section at checkout and receive free shipping anywhere in the US! offer good through may 20th!

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oh nostalgia!

i love the bright colors that paige works with. her handmade jewelry works with any outfit. she has some sweet vintage pieces as well.

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i, of course, love this super cute bracelet! yay for coral!

use the code POPPY20 for 20% off next purchase!

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clean mama printables

are you a to-do-lister? i would totally put a hazelnut coffee at the top of my to do list just so i could check it off! clean mama printables has everything you need to get organized and spring clean that house! the best part is that becky’s printables are available immediately for download. no waiting for something in the mail. pick a to do list, print, and get moving! she even has an ebook to get you started on how to clean with the seasons.

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use code 20PLEATEDPOPPY for 20% off next purchase! good through may 31st!

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broward patch

jen at broward patch make some great accessories for cameras and keys. i love this cute keychain strap (hello, chevron!)! she has so many styles of camera straps perfect for toting your camera along on family outings this summer!

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i love this adorable camera strap, especially now that i have my new camera!

jen has offered pleated poppy readers 20% off their order using the code poppy20 at checkout!

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silly happy sweet

i’ve mentioned carolyn’s shop before and her great statement necklaces… but check this one out!

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how cute is this sweet peter pan collar??? it would be great over a fitted sweater! super creative.

if you have to have one too, use code MAY25OFF for 25% off your order.

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fridge coaster

i love how pretty my fridge looks after discovering fridge coaster! it is so colorful and i get tons of compliments on it. it’s pretty and super absorbent!

instafriday at the pleated poppy

use code Poppy10 to save 10% off your pretty order! they also have a mother’s day sale going on through may 12th, so double up the savings and have the cutest and cleanest fridge on the block!

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breelyse and co.

another new sponsor! kimberly at breelyse and co. makes such adorable banners. she has banners for baby, weddings, and birthdays. love this one for twins and this engagement banner too!

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use code pleatedpoppy15 for 15% off your banner purchase.

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gracious may

my last sponsor is my newest one! welcome to the pleated poppy, gracious may! i love that all of grace’s products are handmade right hear in the USA. how adorable are these tiny moccasins?

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this adorable jean jacket is just too much! so cute.

gracious may is offering 15% off with code GMpleatedpoppy – expires 6/15

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thanks again to all my great sponsors! i hope you found some new sites to visit and some great products to pretty up your outfit, home, and life!

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i'm always adding new products to my shop, so don't forget to check daily. happy shopping!

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Filed Under: ramblings
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