I enjoy packing school lunches for my girls every day... of course, this is mostly only enjoyable when I have planned the week's menu, which I normally do, and don't have to put much thought into lunches the morning of. An hour spent menu-planning on the weekend is totally worth it come 6:30am on any given weekday. *wink* Here's a peek at some lunches I've packed recently:
Today it was Sunbutter & Jelly for the little chick (bottom) and Sunbutter & Honey for my 5th Grader, both on whole wheat bread; Carrots, apples, Rold Gold Pretzles (they are nut-free), and a Cocoa Crispy Treat. I put wax paper around the sandwiches to keep the insides from coming out and so that the bread doesn't get soggy from the fruits/veggies.
This lunch included whole wheat waffles, that I had made over the weekend with my new waffle iron (which i love and can't figure out why it took so long for me to buy one!), Apples, Cukes, Strawberry & Kiwi mix and Sunbutter Dip (See below for recipe).
My youngest chickie goes to a nut-free school, so to make things easier, I just leave nuts out of both lunches and also don't include nuts in our breakfast so as to avoid cross-contamination. Some students have very severe allergies and I like to do my best to avoid anything that may affect them. Sunbutter Dip: This can be made with peanut butter as well. It's super delicious with graham crackers, apples, waffles, etc. 1/3 c. Plain Greek Yogurt 1 Tbsp Sunbutter (or Peanut Butter if you're not nut-free) 1 Tbsp Honey 1/4 tsp. Cinnamon Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate unused dip. Enjoy! XxOo~Melissa
I mentioned it on Twitter, but it's more official when I put it up here on the blog...
We're Moving!
I'm happy to say that my hard-working husband has been promoted from the beach to the mountains. I am so proud of him and how hard he works for our family, we're lucky chicks in this house, myself and the little girls that is.
What does this mean for SoChick?! Well, just that we're headed out west... to the western part of North Carolina anyway. I expect that I'll close the shop for a week or two once the actual move happens, but for now things will pretty much stay the same.
We are all very excited for this new adventure, things are pretty crazy around here and we figure we will be on our way come March... yikes! So much to do!
Blogging may be a little slow as I'm trying to stay sane while I coordinate and manage everything involved with the move, on top of day-to-day business. The SoChick Quilt Along will still continue as planned, have you checked that out?
Speaking of the SoChick Quilt Along, featuring Anchors Aweigh and Salt Water by Tula Pink, I still have a few Anchors Aweigh Quilt Kits left for pre-order. I am including one of my favorite lotion bars for FREE with the purchase of a Quilt Kit in my shop, while supplies last. I'd love to have you join in!
I'll update here as much as I can about the move, but I'd love for you to follow me on Facebook or Twitter. Do you have any tips for me to keep my sanity while prepping to move our lives across the state? Please share! XxOo~Melissa
If you haven't already, please stop into the SoChick! Fabric Shoppe (on Etsy) to check out the beautiful new prints listed yesterday! I will be offline and spending time with my family for the Holidays, so any orders placed through December 26th will ship on Wed. Dec 27th.
I'm happy to announce that I havewe have survived the first week back-to-school! It was like any other school week, except this year my oldest chickie is in 12.5 hrs of Gymnastics Practice and my hubs was away for work as Crisis Response for Hurricane Isaac... good times. Because Chickie #1 has practice three days during the week, we started prepairing a week in advance with early bed times and wake-up. I am super proud of myself for keeping to our schedule and staying organized. While I let the blog slip a little, I was still able to stay on top of some orders and make a plan for this coming week. Happily, I will be adding new items to both SoChick! shops this week... yep, there are two now!You can visit SoChick! Handbags for Handmade Handbags & Accessories, here; or, find pretty Fabric in my SoChick Fabric Shoppe on Etsy, here. You'll also notice that I've created two new ads for each shop over to the right:
I'll share my reasoning for two platforms in another post... for now, though, I'm leaving you with a coupon code for the Etsy shop... to save 20% on your entire purchase use Code LABORDAY20! Sale ends Wednesday, Sept 5, at Noon EST. Now, here are some pictures from our back-to-school week:
We're doing Bento style lunches and my 4th grader is loving them! I use the same idea for little chickie's lunches at home:
I scored this cute little pail from Target's dollar bin, I love that the chalkboard paint was already on it; more on this project in the coming week!
Nothing like coming home to a delivery of beautiful Fabric to brighten a rainy day, you'll be seeing more of these, too... yep, three of these are Laminates.... Eeeep!
Finally,this Saturday was the first Game Day of College Football season; you will notice that I tweet about the game like it's cool... wait, it is cool! Here, my littlest chickie is wearing her UGA Cheerleader Uniform, a hand-me-down from big sister.
Plus, I have to share the fun with my friend Meagan of Fairly Fabulous, because she's a Dawg fan, too! Have a fabulous Labor Day, don't forget to use the 20% off coupon mentioned above, and check back during the week as I'll be celebrating my Shop's 2 yr Anniversary and my Birthday... yay! XxOo~Melissa
Friday already?! I know, I know... "Yay, Friday!" But that's hard to do when I feel like I still have so much to do. Last week was super productive, and while this week was productive, too (in it's own way), I feel like I still have a ton to do, work-wise. So, here is a list of what I did accomplish this week: -I'm 12 miles into my #42MilesinAugust goal. I'm confident that I can meet the goal by the end of the month... even though I had a few rain-outs. -I embroidered and sewed some more custom grips bags for my oldest Chickie's gym/teammates. This is my way of fundraising for the various fees and such involved with her Compulsory Gymnastics. The bags look awesome and save the girls from losing their things at practice and meets. -Speaking of meets, my chick has a mock meet today to start gearing up for her first competitive season of Compulsory Gymnastics... exciting! - I made an embroidery design which I will be listing for sale... more about that early next week. - School supply shopping is on the list for today, I also hope to deliver some new items for sale this weekend at Ali Smith Cake Design in New Bern. Well, now I feel like I accomplished something... off for school supplies... 4th grade, here we come! Have a great weekend!
We kicked off Saturday with a 2.5 mile run, my husband, littlest chickie, and I. (Our oldest was at Gymnastics Practice). It was nice to run with my husband, and have him switch off with the jogging stroller... a 3 1/2 yr old in a jogger is not easy, regardless that I've been running for a few weeks with her, ha.
We we got home I knocked out these SELF exercises from the SELF Drop10 Diet... I'm pretty much just using this for the exercise routines, and boy do I feel it. I love this workout.
After a few more chores, we headed out to pick up our oldest from practice and went down to Harkers Island, NC where we took a ferry out to Cape Lookout National Seashore. After living on and near NC's Crystal Coast for 7 years, I had yet to make it out to the lighthouse! My husband, kids, and parents have all gone... it was about time!
It was a windy day but beautiful all the same:
Father's Day started with the little chicks making breakfast for their Daddy, my hubby, with help from Mommy (aka me, duh) which was followed by a family run, well for the husband and I... Little Chick sat in the jogger and Big Chick rode her bike. We ended Sunday by grilling out at our house with my Dad and Stepmom. Just as an FYI- you have to try Grilled White Peaches, Bobby Flay style... here's the Recipe... SO GOOD!
The next few weeks are going to be insanely busy, followed by a week long vacation at Fripp... so here I go! Have a great Monday! XxOo~Melissa
I am taking this weekend off to spend time with my family...
There is still a pattern sale (18 to go, to kick-off that giveaway) and a healthy giveaway going on that i'd love for you to check out: Here and Here.
I hope you all have a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend. Take a moment to remember the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice so that we could have such weekends with our loved ones. Freedom isn't free.
I really need to get back into the blogging groove...
My biggest little chick is turning 9 years old tomorrow (May 18th). We have a busy weekend planned with the school's spring fest, her Gymnastics showcase, and Shopping at "The Big Mall" for her birthday... whew!
I can not believe it's been 9 years since our chick-a-dee came into our lives, five and a half weeks before her due date, our little 4lb 14 oz burrito. Always the little one, always big on personality... Seriously, the tears well up when I think about it... ugh, she's in double digits next year... holy crap!
From our trip to the UGA Gym Dogs meet (Vs. NCState) in March Um, ya don't go to Athens without eating at the Varsity.
I am so overwhelmingly proud of my little girl. She is an excellent student, a Girl Scout and a gymnast... her most recent accomplishment is being invited to join the Compulsory team at her gym. I'm becoming a Gymnastics Mom. At her request. Because she loves it. So, the 12.5hr/week practice starts on Memorial Day. A new adventure on the road of life.
To celebrate, I'm giving away a free Fat Quarter with every Fabric purchase of $25 or more, May 18th - May 20th. All US orders over $10 ship via USPS Priority for $5, always!
Simply leave a "Note to Seller" at checkout telling me which fabric you'd like a FQ of, and I'll include it in your qualifying purchase.
Also, don't forget about this Sewing Pattern Sale/GiveAway opportunity which is going on through Memorial Day... only 20 Patterns to go! Will I meet my goal of 25 sold by Memorial Day? Will you help me?
Have a super wonderful weekend!
P.S.- In between birthday festivities, you can find me catching up on Spring Quilt Market via twitter... you can follow along, too, with hash tag #quiltmarket... woot! XxOo~Melissa
I'm here; working hard at being a Mommy, Wife, and indie business owner... it's quite the juggling act, I tell ya! This week I am photographing pretty fabric so I can re-open the Shop and you can buy it up. You will LOVE it, I'm sure! I'll go into a post later this week about what you can expect from SoChick! Handbags ~ The Shop, the shop is in maintenance mode right now as I fill it with fabric fabulous-ness.
For now, grab a cup of coffee and check out what I've been up to:
I love sending out pretty fabric packages and i'm looking forward to doing it much more often.
These Sunglasses Cases were sent as Swag for the Fairly Fabulous Crafting Slumber Party... I'm making more to add to the shop, using the new fabrics... yay! I love these because they fit the big shades us Chicks like to wear *wink*; their soft structure allows them to form with any pair of sunglasses and the little magnetic tab keeps them secure... I LOVE THEM.
Some more Sunglasses Cases, at the Farmer's Market, featuring Art Gallery Fabrics. (Shown with the Mini-Tote I made a little while back.)
I made some of these little zippy cases for the Farmer's Market, using some of the Soul Blossom fabric that'll be in the shop... great for pens/pencils, makeup brushes, travel, etc.
Pearls and a Tee with Jeans was the outfit when a spur-of-the-moment trip to the Apple store at the mall in Raleigh, NC was in order this past weekend. My husband's iPad crashed and I needed to have the camera fixed in my iPhone. We were happy to have both fixed under warranty. Whew! (This means no more white dot in all of my iPhone photos!!!)
What's a trip to the mall without some retail therapy?! I am SO happy to have walked past Lush Cosmetics... the lovely sales gal gave me a demo and I needed this cream, I love it! Thanks to Reggie who packaged it in April of this year... his photo is on the side of the container.
For Mother's Day, I've discounted my SoChick! Market Tote sewing pattern to $6.00 (from $9.50). You can visit my Craftsy Pattern Shop to purchase the PDF download. This pattern has full color photos, printable pattern pieces (which are easy to put together and shouldn't require resizing), and extra tips to encourage you to be creative. I'm working on getting a button up over here on the blog to make Pattern shopping much easier.
Yesterday afternoon was spent in the doctor's office checking on my almost-9-year-old's ears, which were fine... she got a day off from school, but had to miss out on gymnastics practice and outside time with her friends... becuase if you are too "sick" to stay in school, you shouldn't be outside playing, right? Right!
Exciting news for my oldest Daughter, though: She has been invited to join the Compulsory Gymnastics Team at her gym... this means 12.5 hrs of practice weekly, and eventually competing in meets. We are SO proud!!!!!! Of course this means more juggling for me, but I'm glad to do it, she loves gymnastics... probably as much as I love fabric. Almost.
How do you juggle blogging/business/work/family? Any tips? Are you looking forward to shopping fabric from SoChick? Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts!
A super quick post today as I am packing up to head out for a weekend Camping trip with my oldest Chick-a-dee, her Girl Scout Troop and about 2000 other North Carolina Girl Scouts as we celebrate 100 years of Girl Scouting. Good Times.
I wanted to share this custom order diaper bag I made recently. Again, I used Lisa Lam's Multi-tasking Tote pattern, from The Bag Making Bible... which I love. I also love my customer's choice of the black/white Damask with Red combo. So Classy, So Chic, So Chick!! I also included a coordinating Wipe-able, Roll-able, SoChick Changing pad... which is topped with Vinyl for easy cleaning.
Bag Exterior and Accents: Black & White Damask and Polka dots 100% Cotton Home Dec. Canvas
Lining: Red 100% Organic Cotton Twill
I included a Removable Base Insert for easy cleaning as well as the vinyl-covered, roll-able changing pad.
What an awesome bag to take you through the baby years and beyond!
Have a fabulous weekend! I'll update you when I make it back to civilization. *wink*
P.S.- This is my 200th post!!! Ahhh! Can you believe it?! *happy dance* I ♥ all of you for following along with me!
I'm struggling to find motivation, there are things that need to be done around my house and I just can't find the motivation to do them... I'm feeling overwhelmed.
The weather today is not helping:
Then comes the guilt for putting things off and procrastinating, if only I could take a break, but wait... by putting off some tasks haven't I already 'taken a break'? Funny, it doesn't feel that way... more guilt.
My to-do lists are getting longer and time is getting shorter... so many things to-do... seriously. The thing is, these "to-do's" aren't just the standard commitments for business, school, girl scouts, & family, it's also 'extra curriculurs' that I want to do for the holidays with my kids, crafts and decorating, etc. I know I need to make these a priority.
On top of my lists are things out of my control... mainly stuff to do with my house. It seems the closer we get to finishing up on repairs from the fire, the more that happens non-fire related. For example: The other night while the girls were in the shower I noticed some water dripping behind the faucet. Now there is a water spot on my living room ceiling, which we just painted. Why is it that in the 5 years we have lived in this house, that has never happened till now? Really.
I need to remember this Pin from my Just Sayin' Board:
I'm not one to give-in. I aim to please. I don't settle for mediocre. I'm a plan-for-the-worst-hope-for-the-best kind of gal... because if you are prepared for worst case scenario, anything but is a step up, right? Probably that is why I have a hard time accepting that I need to step back when things happen that are out of our control...
{Hurricane Irene}
The girls, pups and I, followed by my Dad and Stepmom, went to my in-laws house in GA to stay safe during the Hurricane. We anxiously watched the weather channel and news updates to see how the coast was faring through the storm. That Sunday we made our way back to NC, so blessed to not have had any major damage to our homes, others were not so fortunate... the major headache at our house was that the power was out, the least of some folks' worries.
Sleeping that Sunday night was miserably hot; we were all tired and cranky trying to get as comfortable as possible in our living room where it seemed coolest the least miserable. Needless to say, a good nights rest was had by none. Monday morning I took the girls and dogs down to my Dad's place so we could all stay cool... my friend called me later in the afternoon to tell me the power had come back on. *Woo Hoo!*
{The Fire}
Happy to have air conditioning, a running refrigerator (though empty due to everything spoiling while the power was out for 3 days), and clean laundry, we all went to bed for the night... ready to get a well deserved good night's sleep.
About an hour after going to bed, my husband and I woke up to such loud beeping which we realized was the smoke detectors in our bedroom and upstairs hall. In a daze we went downstairs trying to figure out why... we didn't see or smell smoke, yet.
It happened so fast after that... realizing our dryer had burned (was still burning), my husband going to get a fire extinguisher from our neighbor, me running up to get our girls out of bed while grabbing the phone to call 911 when we got outside. Honestly, it didn't seem that bad... until I had my 2 year old in my arms while trying to walk my sleepy 8 year old down the stairs and we walked into a wall of smoke.... the only way we could see out of the house was by following the glow of the front porch light through the smoke and out the door. [Yes, scary.]
Once outside I called 911... then my dogs... Conrad came from the back of the house and sat at my feet, thinking back, I am so amazed at how he knew what to do. Our smallest dog, Marilyn, was still in the house and ended up being rescued by a firefighter ~my hero!~.
I am so thankful we were all safe! Aside from smoke damage to the downstairs of our house and the loss of our laundry room, everything in the home is okay. After the fact, I was also so grateful that the door to my studio was closed and all of my fabrics, my machines, etc. were neatly put in the closet... after all, I hadprepared for the worst from the Hurricane; doing whatever I could before heading out of town to ensure that our valuables, including my business, would be safe should anything major (like broken windows, leaking roof, etc) were to happen.
My hubby turned the dryer on before heading to bed so that we'd have clean, dry, clothes in the morning after the crazy weekend... I can't tell you how many times we have done this, that I have done it! Never again.
{Gotta keep my head up}
I have been doing my darnedest to maintain a normal flow for everything, my family, my business, etc.. but it's starting to catch up to me as I prepare to ship custom orders, deal with the Insurance company, prep for fall product launch, Farmer's Market & festivals; schedule contractors to do repairs, blog, tweet, email, bring my chickie to gymnastics, and drive our laundry to my Dad's house for the next few weeks.
After talking to my hubby about it (mostly for some reassurance that everyone won't think i'm a failure), I have decided to take a break from my blog and the Farmer's Market while dealing with repairs to the house; to allow myself time to focus on my current orders and build inventory. I feel that by narrowing the things I have to focus on, the more I can ensure quality in my work without feeling stretched too thin... like I've always said, "quality outweighs quantity".
~I have some posts already scheduled for the blog, so you won't be completely lonely while I recoup. *wink*
~I will not be at the New Bern Farmer's Market this weekend, but will return for Mum Fest, October 8 & 9, with new products in tow!
~Fall product launch is scheduled for the weekend of October 8th!
I really feel that this is going to help me to better distribute my time and energy to keep us all happy. I thank you, my customers and readers, for your understanding.
"Only rainbows after rain
The sun will always come again.
And it's a circle, circling,
Around again, it comes around again."
This weekend we visited Beaufort, NC (which is only about 20 miles from us) to attend their annual Pirate Invasion!
Beaufort is part of North Carolina's Crystal Coast; Pirates run deep in Beaufort's history with Blackbeard himself having claimed it as a coastal haunt.
Beaufort's Pirate Invasion is a two-day reenactment of when Pirates, well, invaded Beaufort's Taylor Creek in 1747... that's a long time ago.
My little chick's were ready in their Pirate Hats...
We arrived as the villagers, and pirates, were getting ready to march to the waterfront:
We ran into Captain Jack Sparrow... wait, is that historically accurate? *wink*...
he was kind enough to pose for a picture with us Chicks.
I was thrilled... Natalie, not so much.
Then the Pirates Invaded! Cannons were blasting and smoke was billowing:
The Pirate camp was set up within the village.
Here's Blackbeard's digs... he must have been out when we stopped by, sorry we missed him:
This poor guy just looks sorry:
It was super hot out, I thought we might melt, but we had a great time! Next year we're planning to dress up for the event, lots of folks were. In fact, I'll admit I felt a little left out that I left my wench outfit at home.... *sigh*
Also on my to-do list is to take a tour of Beaufort on their darling red Double Decker bus!
Be sure to stop by tomorrow, I've got something sweet planned... literally!
Linking again with Gussy Sews for Inspiration Workshop # 7! This week's prompt was Sunshine.
I could have put a picture of the beach, since we live so close and love it... but the first thing that came to mind was the chorus of this song:
You are my Sunshine,
my only Sunshine.
You make me happy,
when skies are grey.
You'll never know dear,
how much I love you.
Please don't take
my Sunshine away.
-Doris Day
I swear my Nan sang it to me a time or two when I was little, to put me to sleep... I for sure would sing it for Trista, when she was first born... and still do.
This is my Sunshine Inspiration... my little chickies. :-)
Trista
Natalie
*Note: I sing to Natalie, too, but her song is 'Twinkle Little Star' *wink*
If you are a lover of fabric, be sure to come by tomorrow to check out my new spin for Fabulous Fabric Friday!
Typically on a Wednesday I'm linking with Lindsey at The Pleated Poppy to share my WIWW... I've done two and was looking forward to doing my third... then it hit me... it's Wednesday and I've not taken a single picture of myself this week! Doh!
So far this week I've gotten a custom order shipped and have started working on others, as well as planning what I'm making to sell at a Craft Fair on July 16th...
You read that right... I'll be at a Craft Fair at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Havelock, NC, on July 16th! Yay! I'll be sharing a booth inside with my friend, and fellow Handmade Biz owner, Tiana, of Tiana's Unique Designs. Should be lots of fun. :-)
In Lieu of WIWW, I'll share two snap-shots of my evening and morning... my two nieces slept over, which was fun. We went to a Pizzeria, near my Dad's house, for dinner...
Then the girl's took-over the living room...
When we head back to my Dad's later I'm hoping to hit-up the little sound-side beach for some more of this...
This past weekend was a fun-and-family-filled weekend for us. (Which is why I didn't post.) My step-sister and her family were down at my Dad's place (about 20 minutes from us), along with my little Step-Bro who just finished his first year of college up in NY. The older of my two little Step-Bros is working up the the Adirondacks and was unable to make it down this summer, boo, but he's having a blast, I'm sure. My brother-in-law was able to come spend some time with us, too, while he's in NC for his USMC training! Trista, my 8yr old, had a blast with her cousins... this week will be busy with the kids, too.
I did get some sewing done, amazingly, between beach time, cookouts, and visiting with the family.
Here is my 4th of July Weekend recap:
If you were celebrating, I hope you had a wonderful time, whether with friends or family; Thank You to our men and women overseas and at home, past and present, who work hard every day defending our freedom so that we can enjoy weekends like this past weekend.
Fresh clams on the grill, yum.
My step-mother has a knack for making simple look excellent without even trying.
She's got quite the collection of vintage, before it was the style. Hence this little mason jar caddy.
Boiled Shrimp, another coastal cookout must-have
Yummy summer pasta salad, mayo-free
Fresh Bruschetta... and a Hurricane? Yes. (That's the red drink you see.)
Fresh Bruschetta on grilled bread, that is.
Patriotic Bunting on my Dad's Beach-Cottage porch.
Miss Liberty, Trista. :-)
Morehead City has a great fireworks display and we are lucky that my Dad's home is close enough to the waterfront that we can enjoy the show from the comfort of the front porch... so while we wait for the big show to start... we have fun with sparklers.
This is our VIP seating for the show. *grin*
Like I said, fun-filled weekend. Some things I didn't take pictures of:
~ My Neice's 12th Birthday party at the baseball game.
~ Trista coming in one push-up short in the push-up contest at the bottom of the 3rd inning (against a boy who was a year older than her... she did 23 push-ups in 30 seconds!!)
~ The beach... I'm not brave enough to bring my nice camera around the sand and salt water, yet.
~ All of the hamburgers and hot dogs we ate... which was a lot... though we did mix it up with salmon on the grill, and BBQ chicken... yum.
A big "Hello!", *wave*, and Welcome to the new readers who have followed over the three day weekend... I'm happy to have you!
What did you do over the weekend? Share with me by leaving a comment below!
