things I won't miss.

As I begin to count down the days until we move,
I am doing my best to think of how awesome the new
house will be instead of how awful the moving part is.

So although there is a giant list of things I will miss
very much about this house, today I am starting a list
of things that I can say good riddance to.

Bye bye, tiny crazy closet.
Bye bye to the jumbled mess of shoes.
Bye bye to the golden doors.
Bye bye to the creepy popcorn ceilings.

Hello new walk in closet.

I spent the best $15 at Costco ever.
If you do not have these hangers you are an idiot.
They will change your life.

Each time I do laundry, I hang the clean
clothes on these AWESOME new hangers.
They are the best. I can't tell you how rad they are.

Then I put my hangers in a bag for Freecycle.
Not dry cleaner hangers.
The nice plastic ones you buy at Target.

So, I posted this on my Freakcycle group:
OFFER: Giant bag of adult plastic hangers

This is an email I received inquiring about them:

What color are they?

(No hello, no thank you... that's it. Four words.)

This is what I wanted to reply:

Greetings,
Thanks so much for your question.
Let me go get the bag and make a spreadsheet
of how many in each color there are.
Then I can bring them to your house to see
if they match your wardrobe, decor, dog, etc.

Oh wait...
they are FREE COLORED!!!!!!

But I didn't. I really wanted to. I should have. But I didn't.

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hmmm...

what to blog about?
when life doesn't feel blog-worthy?
or when I just can't seem to find the proper
words to finish the posts I have started.

locks of love?
my trip to kansas?
adventures in postpartum depression?
moving?
the real me?

nope.
not ready.
soon, I promise.
maybe.

but for today enjoy the remnant of my first sewing project.

dresses for the opening day of the Nemo ride.
now cut up into a doll pillow for Lucy.
a casualty of cheap fabric and expired disney passes.

take a look at old school Lucy
bald, spicy and 15 months old.
but that is what you get for waiting
3 hours in line for a ride that she cried through.

we may or may not have told our kids bold faced lies
during subsequent disney trips.
bummer. nemo is broken today.
still broken...
nope. broken.
I have no idea when they are going to fix it.

but they looked cute in spite of our deception.

peace out, girl scouts.

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new things.

crazy town as usual...

today we closed escrow.
so we are officially renters in our own home.
it is weird.
if something goes wrong we don't have to fix it.
that's pretty awesome...

we also set a moving date for the
not-yet-ours home.
I am doing my best to not freak out.
I need this print in wallpaper size right about now.


here is the last first day picture I will take in front of this door.
sniff.
Lucy loves preschool.
thrives.
wishes it was longer each day.
(I might too....)
for the first time I get alone time with Janey.
oh... how I love it.


speaking of miss janey,
she decided to sprout some really crazy chompers.
crazy.
they pretty much popped out on the flight from dallas.
she was ANGRY!!!!
forty five minutes of anger.
so if you were on American flight 1285 and saw someone who resembled yours truly, crying as she held an angry, inconsolable, screaming baby, lets just pretend it wasn't me.
not my finest hour.
nor janey's.
we might not fly together for a while.
or at least until she is done getting crazy teeth.
but then I will most likely be adding to her future orthodontist fund.
seriously, look at the crazy teeth!!!!
crazy!

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i heart lassie girl.

It is no secret that I love me some pinnies.
I am afraid to count how many my girls actually have.
They are sweet, timeless, versatile and hello... reversible
(a stain ocd mama's best friend)
Nobody, and I mean nobody makes them better than
the amazing Ashley of Lassie Girl.

Here is a little bit about the wonder that is


"I have no kids of my own, but I ADORE children's clothing. I love
to shop for it and I love to make it. Mostly for girls, but someday I
might venture into stuff for little guys!

I should actually list my love of fabric first. I am MAD about it.
I love buying it, holding it, looking at it, buying it, creating with
it, dreaming about it, sharing it, buying it...

Lassie Girl was born out of a desire to combine the best of both
obsessions and maybe make a little money at it. The first two have
been accomplished, not so sure about the third one... ;)

In my spare time ( because I have so very much of it ) I enjoy
cooking, reading, watching classic movies ( I am in love with Carey
Grant and I adore Myrna Loy and Audrey Hepburn's style ), spending
time with my fantastic family, gardening ( flowers only, veggies don't
like me ), obsessing over cupcakes ( ranks up there with fabric ),
traveling, dreaming up new things to sew, shopping with my mom and
sister, baking, trying new restaurants...
Bored is NOT a word in my vocabulary. I usually can't sit still
without having something in my hands to keep me busy and I hardly ever
watch TV. I do like cleaning house, laundry not so much.

Things I really, really, really wish I could do - graphic design,
fabric design and photography

Things I heart ( besides cupcakes, which is obvious if you know me)
- ANYTHING chocolate, cokes WITH lime from Sonic, and
whoopie pies from Creme de La Cookie ( sorry, if you don't live in
Dallas, you will have no idea what I am talking about! ). There's
really not a food I will turn down except raw oysters or pickles."

How cute is she?
Don't you want to move to Dallas and live
in her sewing room eating whoopie pies?
I do!
But for now how about winning
your choice of rad pinafore?

Yes please.

How?
(Remember, leave a separate comment for each entry.)

1. Visit Lassie Girl.
come back here and tell me your fave.
it will be really, really hard.
2. Visit her blog.
Leave comment love.
3. Make a purchase from her shop.

A winner will be chosen on Friday October 2nd.
Which, by the way, how in the world can it almost be October?
impossible.

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fight on.

Still Trojan fans.
(please don't un-friend me drew!)
Still fighting on.

Please continue to pray for Carter
and his fight against cancer.
benefit CHOC's amazing work.

I heart Erin and Haute Tot's for her heart to help Carter in his journey.

Here are the winners of the fun rainbow hair candy.

(if it is you, email me your info...
if it isn't peek around and find a new blog.
win. win.)

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frayed fabric ribbon

Let's just say that you are sort of moving.
over half of your craft stuff is in a storage pod.
then you daughter, who has a much bigger
heart than you do, gets her hair cut for
her new short hair is different.
you try not to cry about it.
she wants ribbons for the end of her
{really, really, really short braids}.
what do you do?

make them of course.
supplies:
5 minutes before school
rotary cutter, ruler and mat
fabric
sewing machine

cut two strips 1 inch wide by the full 44 inch width of the fabric

line them up, wrong sides together.
for two short ribbons cut the strip in half (22 inches each)
for one long ribbon cut the strip to 36 inches (or longer if you so please)
sew the all four sides of the two piece together as close as you can to the edge
clip threads
instant charming ribbons.
instant cuteness on my little hero.

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unpacking

i came back from kansas
with a lot of work to do.
unpacking my thoughts and feelings about the
beautiful,
devastating,
encouraging,
heartbreaking
weekend that I had.

the road through grief to healing
is long,
scary,
difficult
and painful.
then when you think you are finished
and your journey is complete,
often you find that it isn't.

I am so thankful to have met Joel and Jess, as well as their beautiful family and friends. I pray that as they continue on their road that they will find hope and comfort as well as the strength and encouragement to continue letting the Lord heal their hearts.

more later.

i need some time alone with Jesus.

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Did I just make that? Me? That?

Some people in the world are just too stinking talented.
Ashley of Little Blue Boo is the valedictorian of that class.
There is no end to the many facets of her awesomeness.


When I saw this pattern I wanted it.
Bad.
But I doubted my ability to sew something so rad and so knit...
How could you not try the cuteness?
I am ever, ever, ever so glad that I did.
It is by far the most well written pattern I have ever tried.
I learned so many new tricks and skills and actually succeeded in making something I never thought I could on my simple sewing machine with my crazy A.D.D.

In fact I made two.
That is just the start.
I rarely make more than one of the same thing...
but I am eyeing Jason's t-shirts when he is not home.
When we move and get everything out of storage you better bet I am raiding his old band shirts to make the girls dresses from their daddy's rockstar past.


But for now, I found some fun touristy Cali shirts
in a rainbow of colors and am bringing a little surf style
to some cute midwestern girlies.

Raid your husband's closet, get out your old sorority tees or hit up a thrift store for some funky randomness.
You will love it and wonder if it was actually you that sewed it.
It is that good.
She even came out with two more gorgeous patterns that I simply cannot wait to get into my sewing machine.

Ridiculous.


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a good one.

This week is a good one.
A really good one.
Because I love this girl.
She makes me want to be a runner.
Her kids are crazy cute.
She is in love with her husband.
In love.
I love that.
She is funny, encouraging and sweet.
But most of all has a huge heart.

Meet Erin.
I have a feeling you will love her too.


I am living my dream.
I have a soft spot for Sapphire martinis. I Google everything. I have Ab Fab girlfriends. I constantly have 5 projects in the works. I bake. I blog. I garden. I can't say no to fresh flowers. (Or the beach.) I have a love/hate relationship with Diet Coke. I love being at home. I'm hot for Teacher. (He's also a football coach.)
A big piece of my heart is in Chicago. I don't like coffee, chocolate or peanut butter. My mom says that's unAmerican. I'm a bit of an insomniac. I buy my blonde. (But I didn't used to have to.) I read. I sing Showtunes. I spend way too much time (and money) on Etsy. I love Jesus Christ, Barack Obama, and Miley Cyrus. (Yes, it's possible to love all 3. Yes, I am 33.) I both found and lost myself the day my first born was laid in my arms. A boy called Munchie has me double wrapped around his pinkie.
I'm wife to Mr. Burns (remember that teacher I was talking about?) Together we are Co-CEOs of,
Bringing Up Burns - a family owned business of raising happy kids!
I'm the maid, laundress, dolly dresser, chef, chauffeur, accountant, owie kisser, personal shopper, train track assembler and occasionally the exotic dancer. He's the bread winner, anything electronic fixer/setter upper, trash man, dog walker, lego engineer, football coach, and my secret weapon.


His Love is to me what spinach is to Popeye.
Today is the Grand Opening of my Etsy shop, Erin's Haute Tots! What a way to arrive, right? With Joy's Hope trumpeting your entrance. I'm Blessed. Silly so! Haute Tots has been incubating in the back of my brain for some time. A little boy named Carter Kipp finally gave me the push I needed to bring it to life.
Carter is my girlfriend, Kara's son. He is 2 years old and already 5 months into the fight of his life. He was diagnosed with Liver cancer in April. Since then he has endured chemo, going bald, MRIs, central lines, vomiting, a million medications, rashes, needles, losing 1/3 of his total body weight, and hospital after hospital. He spent over a month on the transplant list. 5 weeks ago, another family's tragedy was the Kipp's answer to prayer. An almost perfect match donor liver became available and Carter has accepted it even better than his doctors expected! Good thing too, because last week his Mom and Dad gave him a baby brother. He already has a big brother. (Kara is proof my life is really not that crazy!) Carter still has two more chemo cycles to go but is still smiling.
I have formed a team for the CHOC Walk at Disneyland on October 18 in honor of this little fighter. We are called "Carter's Crusaders." I am donating 10% of Haute Tots total sales from now until the CHOC Walk to our team's fundraising efforts. The money raised benefits all the little Crusaders CHOC helps, especially Carter. (I need very little excuse to shop on Etsy, but isn't Carter a GREAT one?!)

Whatever struggles you face today, refuse to give up or get down. Put a smile on your face as big as Carter's, and tell yourself "A 2 year old is rocking cancer...I can do THIS!"

((HUGS)) Erin

Not one, but two of you will win a magical set of
"Somewhere Over the Rainbow"
6 covered button hair accessories
1 of each Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, "Hot Blue" and Purple
(Hot Blue is what my girls call Turquoise. Makes sense right? I mean we all know the difference between Pink and Hot Pink. Once I thought about it, I agreed. Turquoise IS hot Blue!
These can be made as ponytail bands, clips, or elastic headbands.
The ponytail and head bands can also be made in all black or all white if you prefer.
They come ready to gift!
Packaged up so sweet complete with colorful mini lollipops, hot pink crinkle shred and a lime green polka dot bow.
So yummy! Almost pretty enough to eat.

How can you win some of your own yumminess?
(please leave a new comment for each entry.)

1. Visit Haute Tots.
Come back here and tell me what you love.
2. Visit Erin's Blog.
Leave some comment love.
3. Visit Carter's Blog.
Shower them with encouragement and love.
4. Make a purchase from the shop.
Help support Carter's big fight.
5. Pray.

As a bonus, Erin has treats for you if you do a few simple things:
blog about Carter's Crusaders and send Erin the link in her comments and you will receive free shipping on your purchase.
Commit to organ donation online at Donate Life America and get a FREE covered button hair accessory of your choice.

What did I say about her big heart?

Two winners will be chosen on Friday September 25th.
Go Carter!!!!

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