expanding endeavors: The Honeysuckle Shop

I have a dream of owning my own shop one day. It would be tucked into a picturesque street somewhere lined with buildings full of character. The front would be all windows. I would offer coffee and biscotti, always. I would chat and make friends with people who come into my shop. It would be filled with all sorts of beautiful and unique things. Some vintage, some not. One whole wall would hold my stationary line. It would be the kind of shop that was always new and surprising. You would walk in and wouldn't be able to help but smile.

But until that day, I'm carving out a little niche for myself in cyberspace.

And my little etsy shop is expanding!

Formerly Honeysuckle Finds, and now The Honeysuckle Shop, I will now be offering graphic design prints, invitations, and various handmade goods along with my vintage finds!

Here's a little sample of the new kinds of things you'll find popping up in the shop.

Birthday Invitations

Baby Shower Invitations

Bridal Shower Invitations

Wedding Guest Book Prints

Art Prints

Custom Silhouettes

Birth Announcements

And more.

All printable and affordable.

Grady: Three Months

Oh how I love watching this boy grow!

And the winners are...

The winner of the boy set is:

Colleen Wallace

The winner of the girl set is:

Brittany Goodman

Please email me at honeysuckleblog(at)yahoo.com for directions on how to claim your prize!!

Even if you didn't win - you're still a winner because Lora from Tater Tots is offering 15% off in her shop - just use the code: honeysuckle

Thanks to all who entered and helped spread the love! 

I get it

The first week we brought Grady home, I look at Josh and said, "We're not having any more." As I struggled through those first weeks of breastfeeding, I thought, "Why would anyone suffer through this more than once?" The after birth healing process was not fun to say the least, "One time is more than enough."

But now, I get it.

I understand why you have more than one baby and why you'd do it all over again in a heartbeat - even the really sucky parts. Because the joy that Grady brings outweighs all the terrible parts by a million. He is the product of Josh and me and I love him more than I ever thought possible. Everyday I get to wake up and see and feel our love in the form of a sweet baby boy. Seeing him grow and learn things feels like my greatest accomplishment. Having him look up from feeding and smile at me feels like I could die a happy and complete woman.

I totally get it.

I get why you would want to bring this joy and love into your life over and over again. But I don't know how it's possible to love another child this much. My heart already feels full.



Today is the last day to enter the Tater Tots giveaway!! TWO winners will be announced tonight at 8 p.m. - spread the word!!

upcycling

I have a habit of finding things that need a little love.

This used to be the bane of Josh's existence, but he has recently jumped on board and is helping me give these castoffs a little TLC.

This vintage yellow Cosco stool had a huge rip in the vinyl.

I hunted until I found a perfect vintage printed vinyl to recover it with - still totally vintage, now with a little bit of flair.

Same with these two vintage folding chairs for kids - the print on the vinyl was fantastically ugly, so I used the same awesome vinyl to give these a new and much prettier life. The tag on the bottom says that these chairs were made by The Modern Crafts Co. and indicates that they have materials dated back to the 1920's.

These wooden folding church chairs are missing the back rung - still totally comfortable but look a little odd. I added a hand painted mr. & mrs. banner and now these are primed and ready to be used in a vintage wedding!

This bench was another casualty of a not-so-great fabric, recovered with a vintage striped fabric that is right on trend - mint green, gray, and mustard yellow stripes!

All of these are for sale in the shop.

Remember - blog followers & Facebook fans get 10% off with the code: honeysuckle

Free local pick up is also available.

p.s. Several people have informed me that they aren't getting my facebook page updates.
Be sure that after you like the page that 'Show in News Feed' is checked!

p.p.s. Don't forget about the giveaway going on til Friday!!

2-3 Month Baby Essentials

1. Infant Swing - This swing is my hero. Grady loves it. He will lay happily and look in the mirror and watch the mobile and then often doze off to sleep. This swing helps me get things done.

2. Play mat - Grady haaates tummy time, but I still make him do it every so often. But flip him over and he's happy as a clam to bat at the hanging toys, watch the musical light-up cat, and smile at himself in the mirror.

3. Camera - Once Grady started responding to us, I wanted to capture every single gummy smile and facial expression. I keep my camera out and handy to take pictures of his sweet face.

4. Sound machine - I give some credit to this sound machine for Grady sleeping so long at night. The noise is soothing and it makes it so that we don't have to tiptoe around after he goes to sleep.

5. Baby carrier - Some days a boy just wants his mom. And on those days, it helps to carry him around hands free and be able to get things done. Need to breast feed while cooking dinner? Done and done.

6. Target - Grady loves to be out and about. I think the new sights entertain him and the noise of being out in public puts him to sleep. I can often be found wandering around Target with baby in tow.

7. New jeans - I was kinda bummed that I was missing the colored denim trend while I was hugely pregnant and wearing anything that fit. Luckily, colored denim is still in and I enjoyed treating myself to a new pair of jeans with a waistband. Kinda felt like I rejoined society.

8. What to Expect the First Year - This book has everything you'd ever want to know about a baby's first year and breaks it down month by month. I enjoy reading it to see what milestones Grady will be reaching each month.

9. Redbox - Once Grady started going to bed at 7:30/8, Josh and I had several hours a night to spend together. Date nights in are the new norm. Thank God for Redbox.


p.s. There is an awesome giveaway going on this week and TWO lucky winners will be chosen on Friday. Be sure to enter and spread the word!

Easy Oversized Art

I'm over on Fresh Mommy blog again sharing how to make some easy oversized art for your home!
Check it!

 

I'll show you guys how it looks in my whole room once I wrap up another project I'm working on ooooorrr when I can clean my house, whichever comes first. ;)
Stay tuned!

Not a Wreath

Somewhere along the way I lost my fall foliage pieces that I used to stick in my grapevine wreath when fall rolled around. So when I went to adorn my front door for fall, I was at a loss.

In my typical thrifty fashion, I went hunting around my house for things I could use to make something for my front door for fall.

Here's what I got:
An embroidery hoop, some burlap, ribbon, leftover wooden tags, and letter stamps.


I cut the burlap to fit the embroidery hoop and then laid strips of ribbon across it.


Then I took some of the leftover wooden gift tags Josh made for Christmas gifts last year and stamped a little message on them.


I used a little yellow string to attach them and tied that the top of the hoop.


I love the way it looks on my front door.




Proof that you don't need a wreath to decorate your front door!

Donut Love

I wondered what having a baby would do to Josh and me. To us.

It's rocked our world in so many ways. We can often be found in bed at 9 p.m. We have full on conversations about Grady's bowel movements. And we celebrate the smallest of things he does.

We definitely have to be more intentional about making time for 'us' and making each other a priority.

So when I get the chance to make a special treat and surprise Josh at work, I do it.

Josh and I made jelly donut holes last year and they were awesome, but adding the jelly was messy.

So when I wanted to make him a treat, I decided to go for the same method, but just make regular donuts, sans jelly. 

All you need is Pillsbury Grands and some vegetable oil for frying.

I used cinnamon sugar, powdered sugar, and sprinkles for toppings.

Spread out your biscuits and then cut holes in the middle - I used the cap of the Crisco bottle for this.

  

Heat up your oil and then stick in your biscuits - do not walk away, they cook super fast.

Flip them with tongs when the first side turns brown.

Once they are done, roll them in cinnamon sugar, top with powdered sugar, or add some sprinkles.

And don't forget to cook up the donut holes!

Stick them in a box and deliver them to someone you love!