Great Birthday and GREAT open house!

Wow, I am once again in awe of how wonderful things in my life are, especially the people! My phone rang off the hook all day with birthday songs, old age jokes and teary Grandmas who are proud of me (they are so cute!)
I had a fun little break for a lunch date with my Dad. We had so much fun, I wish we could do that more. Oh wait, we can! He's retired, a man of leisure ;)
Then when Ryan and the girls got home, they presented me with my colorful birthday socks that Audrey picked out, and a card, that nearly gave Chloe a heart attack; she was so anxious to give it. It was a picture of a dog, hanging his head, underbite and all, out a car window. The resemblance to our furry four legged family member, Spencer was so uncanny, we all laughed. The hubs was so kind as to get me a new vice to feed my addiction. A new smart phone. Good bye relic of a phone {that I am a bit embarrased to pull out of my ruffle purse} hello blogging on the go!

Here are highlights of the killer open house that rounded out my birthday. I can't thank those who came enough. My dear fellow crafters and their goods gave the guests so many great things to choose from. And the ladies who braved our cold, dark November night to come shop at my house. They brought so much joy and laughter to my world last night, and they liked my purses. So that makes it even better {wink}

A lovely birthday gift from my friend Amy of Good Riddance :) featuring my FAVORITE verse. So true, huh???



The front door, a constant hub of action. Amy and I didn't get to move from there all night!
On the far left, Amy is talking to what appears to be half of my good friend and carpool partner, Brittney :) Love her!
And me on the right, with two of my favorite ladies, Jan (in red, that's her rear end. Sorry Jannie!) and Lois. You've never met anyone with a heart as big as Lois'  <3

As you can tell, not only was there lots of shopping going on, but so much great conversation. It was a female wonderland. Not a man in sight. Wait, except for Chris, the guy who grabbed my camera while his wife (Joyce in pink plaid) shopped. And my hubs, who was safely hidden away in the basement, away from all the estrogen!

Check this one out. My friend Sara was showing off her warm rice pillows, while Ann shopped with her old Gathered & Sown bag, and, OH YEAH, that's a second, brand new Gathered & Sown ruffle bag on top! She is hard core!

Come on Julie, you know you need those l' Bri products.....dig your wallet out of your Gathered & Sown purse (s). There is an s at the end because she has multiples. My customers R-O-C-K!



So the pic is a little blurry, but check out my friend Laura and her baby Nadia. Such a doll! She makes these awesome earrings out of ancient Wolly Mammoth tusks. I am wearing mine as I type this. You all need some. Go to my website, I'll hook you up. And the girl in grey? Amy's sister in law, Holly. We love her! And you should see the fabric I got from Dena (that's her with the cute hair cut!) Vintage, yellow, flowery goodness. More to come on that later :)



Love of Jules and their super fun Jewelry. I saw so many hologram boxes walking out and realized at the end of the night what they were....cool boxes full of cool jewelry made my this mother/daughter duo. I'm totally jealous.

All in all, it was a great day. After worrying that no one would come, I was proven wrong by a landslide! My house was warm, crowded and full of smiles and happy voices. The perfect way to round out my 24th birthday. Seriously. 24. I mean it. Have I ever lied to you?!?!

Gathered & Sown has a professional photo shoot {I feel so grown up}

Last night, after I dropped my kids off for VBS, I was privileged enough to have my good friend Krissy Vanderlaan offer to take pictures of my bags. She has a super fancy camera, some mad photog' skills and photo shop. I would be a fool to say no! But when the time came to go, I had no model. As I called Krissy on my cell, I drove by my friend Laura's house. Lo and behold, there she stood, cleaning out her car, like a frantic answer to prayer! And don't gag, but as you look at the pictures, please know this is EXACTLY how she looked when I drove by. No foolin. I wish I looked that good when I was cleaning my car! Krissy was able to convince me that I looked presentable enough to be in a few shots, even though I was only planning on standing BEHIND the lens. Had I known, I would have tried to look at least a little more "laura-like!"

This picture was taken in the cutest little old fashioned soda and ice cream shop in the South Pier district.
If you are ever in Sheboygan, check out South Pier Parlor, owned by the sweetest little thing,
Michelle and her hubby Ryan.
{ I love to support awesome people and their small businesses, wink,wink! }

This was taken on South Pier in Sheboygan.
We are SO BLESSED to live right on the beautiful Lake Michigan.

Krissy thought Spencer felt left out. (he was waiting in the car the WHOLE time!)
SO we decided to get him in a few shots.
{Notice his body language. He was about to SPRINT after another dog.}

Laura and those L-E-G-S!
If I had legs like those, I'd be going around showing them to people, saying
"Hey, have you seen my legs? They rock!" :D

We had so much fun. The weather and natural lighting were perfect and I love what Krissy did with the pictures.

{Thank you Laura and Krissy for your time, talent and friendships!}

That's what I love about my job. I get to do what I love, with the people I enjoy being with and on top of that, get to see something I CREATED bring someone joy. Life is good :)