Morning

We have a pretty awesome routine down in the morning:

Papa leaves for work.

Miles and I sleep in.

Kid eats a banana every morning with eggs, cereal or oatmeal.

I make my rounds throughout the house to draw the blinds, straighten out the couch, pick up toys.

Miles watches cartoonies.

Mom catches up on computer stuff then joins baby on the couch.
By this point Miles has tried on a billion hats, made a mess of his breakfast, thrown his books around and turned on the record player while watching t.v.
And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Feeling festive

 Well, I'm pretty sure this is everyone's favorite time of year. Am I right!? Holidays and sweaters and all things pumpkin! It's been some time since working on any crafts for my home, so I whipped up this wreath to greet the first days of fall and I LOVE it! I've never made one before and to be honest I always thought wreaths were a little "old lady-ish"  but seriously, I'm a changed woman! I can't wait to make one for winter too. I didn't want to go too crazy with Halloween decoration but I love our spider garland and Miles had fun putting the bats on the windows. Holiday's are so much better with kiddos! I can't wait to celebrate Halloween with him this year. Last year he was just on the verge of walking and even though he had the coolest strong man outfit, he was still just too little to enjoy the holiday fun but this year is going to be so much better with my big boy!

It's been a while...

Well, hi friends! I can't believe it's been over a month since logging on here. I mean, I can believe it because Cristin and I have been working hard the last two months to launch Camp Wolf. Which by the way, WE DID!! Please go take a look at what we've been busy with at Www.Camp-Wolf.com! The last few weeks I'm trying to find a "balance between being a good mama to Miles and finding time to work on the shop. It's freaking hard, I tell ya! But I did find a terrific nanny to watch my little pal a few hours a week so I can have some time to sew by myself that isn't at one am! I'm actually really excited about that! Cristin and I have so many exciting plans for Camp Wolf during the holidays and we can't wait to share what we've been working on! By the way, Cristin is AMAZING! I am so thankful to have her as my right hand lady through all of this. Plus, look at her cutie pie boys in our baseball tee and bow tie!!

This & That

Camp Wolf is pretty much consuming my brain these days and as it should be because we are set to launch in a matter of WEEKS! Cristin and I have been working our buns off to make this happen. It's pretty surreal that a tiny dream is now becoming a really exciting reality! Besides CW business, I have been day dreaming of Autumn, cool weather, layers of clothes and fun holidays. Is that crazy to be wishing for these things when we have that weather pretty much 9 months out of the year here in Portland!? With thoughts of fall comes the reality that my little pal's second birthday is in four months and I know that time is going to FLY by. Lately, we've been working on Miles' room, making it geared more towards him and less about my office/storage space. We recently got a big boy bed for him and even though we still plan on co-sleeping, we wanted to introduce him to naps on it to eventually make the transition easier. I'm so excited about painting his walls and adding new art and shelves! I'll be posting a DIY tutorial of felt pennants I made for his walls soon. I haven't been working on too many crafts lately so having to re-due his room is an excellent excuse to surf Pinterest for fun, affordable room ideas.

My little pal

 My sweet friend Jamie was visiting from Phoenix a few weeks ago and took a few photos of us for the "about me" page for Camp Wolf's website. I love how they turned out and it's great to have updated photos of my little pal and me.

Pendleton chairs

It's been a while since I've done any DIY's around the house. Been pretty wrapped up with Camp Wolf lately but with a broken car and Steve on a camping trip, I decided to tackle two house projects. I've been eying this gorgeous red Pendleton fabric every time I go to the Pendleton Mill and finally found the perfect thing to use it on, my dining room chairs! This was my first ever attempt at reupholstering so the underside is definitely not as clean as I wanted it to be but they turned out SO awesome, They honestly make me so happy every time I glance over at them!

First wedding anniversary!

 Happy first anniversary to my sweet, sweet husband!

It's hard to believe that this time last summer we were getting married.

Thank you for the most precious year of my entire life.   

I love you, I love you, I love you!

More mushy stuff!

 My friend and amazing photographer, Margaret Jacobsen, sent me a few photos from last weeks photo shoot for Camp Wolf. They look SO cool and I can't wait to see the rest!! Also, see that rad "Stay Local" shirt on Farrin? Well, I have Prefresh to thank MAJOR for giving all of my models really awesome tees for the shoot. It's pretty incredible how generous and supportive people are when you really need help. I am blown away by everyone who has been there for me during this time. Starting a business is tough shit! I mean, there are days where I am extremely overwhelmed to be doing this alone (not anymore thanks to my new right hand lady, Cristin!) and then I remember that there are people and businesses out there who believe in what I'm doing and are willing to associate their name with my line. These are all strong woman who offer advice, products and friendship and have all been in my very position at one point. I'm also so thankful to have an incredible friend and graphic designer, Danielle Rauto, bringing all of my ideas to life and is willing to trade products and take payments for her services. So amazing right!? Nicole from Lillies and Leon has been another huge supporter of us right from the start. She's written really kind reviews about Camp Wolf and is always offering to help spread the word. A huge thank you to Cristin for joining along on the ride and being as excited about Camp Wolf as I am! I can't forget to include my friends and family who have donated time and money, free sewing lessons (Yay, Val!) and countless hours to watch Miles (Thanks Meagan!!). My mom and sister have been by my side every step of the way and when I have a hard day and feel super discouraged, they are there to tell me everything's ok, which is all you really need to hear sometimes. And my sweet, hard working husband makes it possible for me to be with Miles all day and start a business from home. But lastly, my biggest source of inspiration every single hour of the day is my sweet pal, Miles. He's the reason for ALL of this, my mini muse. 

This didn't mean to start off as a rambling thank you list but I'm glad it did because life has become really exciting and overwhelming lately and sometimes I forget to thank those who make it all possible.

AWESOME!

 A few weeks ago I started following a mama blogger, Cristin, on Instagram and saw that she had made really incredible embroidered portraits of her kiddos. I messaged her asking if she would be interested in making a custom one of Miles and a week later she sent me this AMAZING embroidered hoop of my boy along with other darling things she makes. I still can't get over how thoughtful she was to make all of this for me considering that we had just "met" but I knew there was something really special in her designs and I wanted to encourage her to make more...

Well, I want to introduce you to my new Accessories Designer for Camp Wolf!!!

After a couple days of thinking about the options and the opportunities of having a partner join me at Camp Wolf, I decided to message her thanking her for my lovely package she sent AND asking her if she'd be interested in designing for my line. She was thrilled and I was excited that she was thrilled and after a few emails back and forth and a Skype date later, we worked out a really excellent plan to expand and perfect Camp Wolf as a team. She has such a fun and chic approach to design and I'm so thankful to have her on Camp Wolf's team. 

Cristin runs the sweet blog Doin, Doin, Doin and lives in Richmond Virginia with her husband and two adorable boys, Henry and Jack. She recently became a stay-at-home mama and besides from working on Camp Wolf, she is starting her own online store where she will be selling felt and leather bows, stuffed characters (like the awesome one she sent me!) and custom embroideries. Needless to say, we are going to be very busy mama's but at least we have each other to lean on for advice and support. Have I mentioned how excited I am!?

My helper

Miles has been such a good boy while I've been working on Camp Wolf. I try to always set aside time during my day to focus on him to go to the park, get ice cream or play in our backyard. He really loves helping me out too. It's so awesome to watch him grow into this amazing kiddo. He loves watering the front porch plans and he's pretty damn good at it too! He even helps feed the kitties which is just so cute. But with all of that said, I've also been letting certain things slide like watching Curious George alllll morning while I get to my emails or tear up the house so I can finish sewing a jacket. Nursing has been a doozy too. I wanted to stop breastfeeding after we got home from our trip but with all the excitement and craziness of starting a business, nursing was something that we could stay consistent with and stopping just sort of fell on the side lines. I've definitely cut him back a lot and I'm okay with waiting a bit longer to stop. He's still a little hellion with throwing and the tendency of not listening but man, he sure has a sweet heart. We got real lucky with Miles. He has a real love and understanding for animals, adores entertaining people, gives the BEST hugs and kisses and is genuinely such a happy soul. This boy has my heart. And even though our life has become more busy he is still by my side as my anchor, loving me each second of the day and you can't beat that.

Camp Wolf news!

This past Saturday I had my very first product photo shoot for Camp Wolf! I had the best photographer and the coolest kids modeling my jackets. The days following the shoot I was SO anxious and nervous about how it was going to turn out and the moment that we got all the kids together at Mt.Tabor park it all ended up being absolutely perfect! But really, my little models were so awesome and Camp Wolf looked great live in action. It's all coming together, guys!

 A few of the jackets I made for the photo shoot.

Stamps and buttons!!

Thrift shopper

I've been feeling a little burnt out from thrift stores since our trip a few weeks ago. How is this even possible? I don't know but I'm pretty sure this was the second time thrifting in the past three weeks I've been home. That's just crazy! We went to tons of thrift stores on the road and one of my main focuses was to make it a buying trip for my mall space. When we returned home I was pretty damn broke (hah!) and since my mall space is now full there's been no need to hit the thrifts as often as I normally go. But anyways, on Sunday I went thrifting by myself (absolutely heavenly!) and picked up all this from one Goodwill. I love finding baskets to stash Miles' toys in and you can't go wrong with too much denim or owls.

On the road- day seven, eight and nine

Day 7.  Today was family reunion day, so we tried to keep our stops to a minimum.  Drove through Indiana, stopped somewhere in Ohio to let the kids run around a massive field. And then, Cincinnati! 10 miles before our final stop, my mom began with the hyperventilating.  She was so excited and nervous to meet her sister, she could barely sit still in her seat. And then we were there.  Hugging and screaming, introductions amidst the tears.  A new aunt and uncle.  4 cousins and their 7 kids combined. It could have been very awkward, but it just felt like coming home. The rest of the night was spent looking through pictures and telling stories.  Looking forward to just staying put for a few days and being with our wonderful new family.

Day 8. Cora and I left everyone behind to swim, and went out sightseeing and thrifting. Oh Ohio! With your quaint neighbor hoods and your Amazing! thrift shops! We drove around Glendale, looking at all the sweet homes, built mostly in 1850's. Cora scored carts full of boots in the local stores, while I didn't do too badly myself.  Back to the family for dinner and more gettin' to know ya's.

Day 9. More thifting, more family time.  Our kids loved swimming in the indoor pool and they were so delighted to discover fireflies!  Running in their acre of a backyard, pushing each other on swings hanging from tree limbs.  Julia and Jocelyn were the perfect hosts, sharing their toys and putting on fashion shows with my Lily's clothes.  Chad, Katie, and Eric. Madison and Miley.  All were the perfect playmates.  And our cousin Lexie, 16, was the perfect baby whisperer, soothing Miles when no one else could.
The similarity's amongst the family's are outstanding.  My mother named us all "C" names, while her sister named her children all "A" names.  My grandmother and her siblings were all "J" names just as Julia and Jocelyn are "J's" and Madison and Miley are "M's". Lot's of family resemblances, including redheads!  My Ella, whom I couldn't find any family resemblance to, is the spitting image of Madison. Chad and Angel have our red hair.  Aunt Marie has the same profile as my mom and grandma and all of us kids were shocked at how much our mother's looked alike in some photos.
Marie and Mom have quirky things in common, like stuffing the glove compartment with straws for just in case moments, and being an hour late for everything. They drive the same car and have the same affinity to clutter just like Cora and I do, a trait handed down from our great-grandfather. We stayed up late each night, and slept past ten each morning. Of course the 3 hour time difference had something to do with that too. We really felt at home though. This was family and we bonded so strong. Pretty amazing how life has it's way of unfolding itself in the most mysterious of ways.