A Blondie Day

Will Serenade ever sing?

I'm still not sure.  My Mom is home from the hospital now, and although she is doing much better, she is still weak.  Her and my Dad need some help now, and that is what I need to do.  And believe me when I say that with the kind of parents they have always been, this is truly not a sacrifice on my part.

As you know,  all of the orders on Serenade would be handmade by moi, and I do not want to take many orders that I might not be able to fill.  I am most definitely sad about that, as I worked many long and hard months on Serenade and was very happy with the line.  But, there is always next Spring and many other possibilities on the horizon.  And one way or another, my song will most definitely be sung.

 

Back to School

Back to life, back to reality, back to the here and now...  Remember that song?  Anyway, that's what I always think of when school starts again.  Always a little sad for me, always a little exciting.  Some pictures to share..

 

 

 

 

 

My Girl, taking Second Grade by storm...

 

 

 

World, I bequeath to you one sweet little girl.  Please treat her kindly...

 

 

 

Coming up for air...

I will tell you that the last 2+ weeks have been hell.  My Mom, who I love more than I could ever put into words, has been so deathly ill I thought that we were losing her.   My world was more than rocked.  We finally found out what was going on, and I think (and hope) that she is improving, and will continue to do so.  Time will tell, and I thank you all for your prayers, good wishes and kind words.  That means so much.

So, at this point, Serenade is on hold until I know what's going on with the rest of my life.  I'm heartbroken, as I really loved this line, and put so much work and time into it.  But my place is with my family, and they will always be my first priority. 

I got to work with some awesome photographers on this line.  Here are some pictures from the amazing Stephanie.  I can't say enough about her work, her talent and her professionalism. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I will know better in the next week or so, when and if Serenade will launch.  In the meantime, check out Stephanie's website for some more eye candy.

 

 

 

Thanks everyone.  Sending out hugs to you all...

Prayers

Someone I love beyond words is very ill.  We don't know all of the facts yet, but I am asking for all of my dear friends to say a prayer.  I am trying to be strong and stay strong and get through all of this the best I can. 

I don't know when exactly I will be launching Serenade, and I will know more in the next week or so.  I thank all of you for your kind words and encouragement.  Actually, trying to think about business right now keeps my mind occupied and helps me to not go crazy.  Although I am fighting the urge to just put anything and everything aside and just focus on this person,  I know that is not what she would want.

 

 

 

 

 

Be A Fan

Please come and join my new Blondie and Company Facebook Group!  Members of that group will have access to special discounts and offers.

Please go here to join, and invite your friends!

 

 

 

Thanks for you continued love and support.  Have a great night.

 

 

It's OK

Well, we have been hit with a super hot day here today, and because most of this summer has been abnormally cool, we never set up our downstairs A/C – soooooo, you can imagine how much I’m lovin’ this heat and humidity right about now.  Thank goodness the bedroom A/C’s are installed and ready to rock tonight, because there would be no sleeping otherwise.  And when I don’t sleep well, I get cranky.  Just ask BD.

 

The rest of the Serenade line has been shipped out to my photographer, so I’ll be real happy to get those pictures.  Then I can open up my Etsy shop and start taking orders.  Oh, and I’ll also have a special little gift for the Moms for the first 10 orders placed!  It’s very cute, and I think you’ll like it.

 

 

 

 

I’m already starting to design clothing that will be sold next Spring and Summer at Art and Craft Festivals, which I’m really looking forward to.    My plan is, after all orders have been filled for the Fall line, Serenade, I will go into full speed ahead mode and start making and stocking up inventory for sale at the Festivals.  I’m truly thinking of hiring a few  talented seamstresses to help with sewing up the inventory – so if you think you might be interested, drop me a note! 

 

Designing clothing for Art Festivals is so much fun.  I can really get a little crazy with the designs and not worry too much about coordinating with anything.  Somehow, everything goes together.  Sorta like those Crazy Quilts I love so much.

 

The other day I was sewing in my little bedroom studio and My Girl comes in, asking if we can go swimming.  I told her sure, just let me finish what I’m doing, and off we’ll go. She went back to her room, where she was playing, to wait for me.  A few minutes later, I made a frustrating mistake in my sewing – and I started groaning and made kinda pretend crying sounds.  Ooh, how I hate to make stupid mistakes when I sew. 

 

Suddenly, I heard a little voice next to me “Mommy, what happened?”  I told My Girl I made a mistake and that I was upset.  She took my face in her little hands and said “It’s OK Mommy.  Can you fix it?”  I said, yes, I could.  It was just a little upsetting.  She put her arms around me, kissed me, hugged me and said “Don’t worry Mommy.  It’s OK to make mistakes.” 

 

 

And after hugs and kisses from her, it really was OK.

 

 

Lovely Day

We are heading out for the day on our boat.  Just wanted to leave you with another pic.  The weather is lovely, lovely, lovely here, and summer is going SO fast.  Enjoy it.

 

 

 

 

Owl Always Love You

Today is the first truly hot day we've had so far this summer.  And it's not just hot, it's humid too.  Usually, where I live, we have high humidity all summer long.  So there goes any smooth, sleek, long hairdos for me.  I have to give in to the curliness, and usually that ends up in a ponytail.  Now I am not a big fan of  "up-dos" for me, so basically I hate my hair all summer long.  And sometimes, I end up cutting it.  But this year, I've held out so far, and I'm hoping I can make it to autumn.  

With this heat, it's so hard to think about snuggly Fall clothing, but that's what I'm doing.  I finished up the last design sample for my Fall line, and it's shipping out to the photographer on Friday.  Yay!    Believe it or not, I'm already ordering some fabrics for Spring and for the Art and Craft Festivals that I'm hoping to have a booth at in the Spring and Summer.  I say "hope" because I can't even submit applications to them until January, and then you find out shortly after that if you've been accepted.  So far, I'm going to submit for local ones (of which we have many), and then, if they're successful, I may expand into some neighboring states.

Here's a quick pic from Serenade...

  

 

Cute, huh?  This is one of my Tea Dresses from the Fall line- with a cotton knit top and woven skirt, and I'm going to be doing alot more of them - short sleeves and sleeveless for Spring.

OK, back to work.  Have a happy day!

 

 

 

A Wink and a Prayer

Lately, My Girl likes to wink at me.  It's sweet.  It's her way of giving me a little message from across a room - everything's OK or I love you.  I caught one of these winks as she was getting into our pool the other day, getting ready to dive into the water - well, you know - her version of diving, which is just basically pushing herself off speedily from the ladder.

 

 

 

But she has gotten so brave, and often takes her swimmies off and swims without them - and very proudly so.  This has been a big summer for her, in many, many ways, and I couldn't be more proud of her.  She's an answer to my prayers.

 

I just have to share a few more photos of my Serenade line from the fabulous Holly.

 

 

Not only is Holly  kind, professional, beautiful (her whole family is stunning) and talented - the girl did tons of fabulous pictures for me while packing and getting ready to move to another state in 2 weeks.  Ack!  

 

 

And mind you, she never even mentioned she was moving until AFTER she already did all this work for me.  Oh, and you can't see her too well in these pictures, but the angelic little girl is Miss Peyton, Holly's daughter.  You can see her better in the pic I posted yesterday and in the new banner above.  You must check out Holly's website to see more of her work and lots more of Miss Peyton. 

 

OK, I'm off to snuggle with My Girl, watch Stuart Little and eat watermelon.

 

G'night!

 

 

A good kinda tired

We just got home from another really nice weekend on the boat, full of swimming and playing and walking and reading and eating and...well, you get the idea.  How nice it was to come home and find awesome pictures from the very beautiful, sweet and talented Holly.  Lots more about Holly another time, but for now I'll leave you with this...

 

 

 

And I'm ready for bed!