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jenny + mike.

April 22, 2011

I just wanted to share a couple of photos that my friend Jenny shared with me that were taken at her wedding last month. These are especially close to my heart because Jenny was my best friend growing up. It was such an honor to make the bags for her bridal party.

Isn't she beautiful??? Congrats to you both!

{whitney fletcher photography}

baby bags!

April 06, 2011

So I finally took the plunge and set up a section of the shop for baby/mommy products. Makes sense considering in less than 4 months I am going to be a mom myself...Is it normal that it still feels surreal that I am pregnant? I mean, I feel baby p kicking away at me throughout the day and I definitely have gained some lb's (the number will not be shared) but seriously! I am going to have a baby- ME! Crazy. Ok, enough about that. Back to the baby bags!

Right now I've got the hobo style diaper bag in my production line (see below). Try and ignore the grainy-ness of the photo- I lost my more professional photos on my computer that died (that'll teach me not to back up files!!!)

The plan will be to add more styles, but right now I'm KISS (keeping it simple stupid). Helps me balance the demand I have for bridal clutches while letting me still have fun working with soon to be moms. I'm actually working with a sweet lady right now who is due 3 days after me with her first- so fun!!!!

I have two options for the diaper bags in the shop.

Option 1: You tell me color/pattern design that you are envisioning and I find it and create. Option 2: You have the perfect fabrics for the bag laying around your house or saw 'the one' at your local store but have no interest in actually making a bag out of them. Ship those puppies to me and I'll sew it all up for you!

Obviously the price varies between the two options as well. If you are anything like me, you like to see and feel the fabric that is going to be used for your new creation. At the same time- if you're pressed for time and already making 5,000,000 decisions regarding the new baby, etc. leave the looking to me. You know I enjoy shopping for new fabrics!! :)

You can check out the new listings here.

Hope everyone has a great Wednesday and thanks for stopping by!

For Japan with Love

March 18, 2011

{Click HERE to Donate}

Please help. Every little bit makes a difference.

St. Patrick's Day = Gratuitous Wedding Shots/Inspiration

March 17, 2011

Green is my favorite color and back when I could drink, beer was my alcoholic beverage of choice. Of course those equal out to make St. Patrick's Day one of my favorite holidays. :)

This morning I was uploading new photos of bags and started looking through our wedding photos- um, one month from today we will be celebrating a YEAR of marriage. So crazy.

Anyways, I digress...my blog posting has been sporatic and super light lately and I'm trying to get back on the bandwagon. What better way to start than to share some of our wedding photos that incorporate today's colors?

{our pretty green and white poms made by my sister}
Thanks for bearing with me, y'all! Please make sure to drink a beer (or two) for me today. I promise to join you next year with a little munchkin on my hip. Unless babies in bars are looked down upon...don't judge.

{all photos by the amazing matt miller from Our Labor of Love}

Sparkle & Hay - Bridesmaid Clutches :)

March 10, 2011

{photo by Anna Sawin Photography}

Love me some Sparkle & Hay, or Mrs. Erin, as she is now known. :) Today she has featured as her 'thursday purseday' pick one of the clutches I made her for her wedding. If you want to see some seriously gorgeous wedding photos go check out her feature on Style Me Pretty- amazing doesn't even begin to do it justice. I felt so honored to have a photo included- did a little happy dance in front of my computer when I saw them. And yes, my happy dance totally resembles Elaine from Seinfeld. I am so sexy. ;)

Sparkle & Hay - Bridesmaid Clutches :)

March 10, 2011

{photo by Anna Sawin Photography}

Love me some Sparkle & Hay, or Mrs. Erin, as she is now known. :) Today she has featured as her 'thursday purseday' pick one of the clutches I made her for her wedding. If you want to see some seriously gorgeous wedding photos go check out her feature on Style Me Pretty- amazing doesn't even begin to do it justice. I felt so honored to have a photo included- did a little happy dance in front of my computer when I saw them. And yes, my happy dance totally resembles Elaine from Seinfeld. I am so sexy. ;)

coolest photo project I've ever seen.

February 22, 2011 1 Comment

{source}

Photographer Irina Werning has started a project that encompasses taking an old childhood photo and having the person reanact it in present day. I know I couldn't really do it with the bags I make, but let me tell you- this just bumped it's way up into one of the top 5 ideas to include on the picture wall I plan to make in baby p's nursery. Check out her site here for all of the photos.

friday cuteness

February 04, 2011

I cannot get enough of dog with baby photos these days. love love love! happy friday everyone. :)

photoshoot! photoshoot! photoshoot at lunch!!

February 01, 2011

Anyone know where the title comes from? High fives to you if so! :)

Anyways, back in November I had the opportunity to work with Cindy Slusar, an event planner with An Enlightened Event in Ventura County, California. She contacted me to see if I would be interested in creating a few bags for use in an Tuscan style wedding shoot that she was organizing. Of course I was thrilled to participate.

She recently sent me over a few photos that were taken that day and I thought I'd post them here for you all to see. All photos were shot by Lavendar & Twine (love their name!). Thanks for sharing with me, Cindy!

Real Wedding, Krishann + Chris in Altadena, California

January 25, 2011

What better way to begin 2011 (a few weeks late, I realize...) than to kick it off with a beautiful wedding that was shared with me by Krishann Wesley. She was one of the first brides I worked with after starting Oatmeal Lace so I'm thrilled that she allowed me to feature her wedding here. Here's a little bit from Krishann:

Shortly after getting engaged Chris and I decided to put our wedding plans on hold so that we could focus our attention and funds entirely to finding and purchasing our very first place. After months of searching we closed on our first home in April of this year. Despite focusing all of our time and energy into our new house, I often found myself looking at wedding blogs and websites in the wee hours of the night. One night, I came across this beautiful and charming venue. I read the reviews and immediately contacted the owner. I didn’t hear back from her right away and convinced myself that I should just let it go. After all, our kitchen could use some updating. :) I remember talking to my mother to let her know that we were going to go ahead and go to the Courthouse, since what was most important was to be married and coming together and becoming one - family. While on the phone with my mother the owner of the venue, Susann called. I didn’t recognize the number so I didn’t pick up. She called again and we set up a time for me to see the venue at the end of June. We were instantly in love (well at least I was). What we learned is that many others had also fallen in love and as a result we ended up booking the venue for August 28, 2010. So in two months we planned our wedding.

As for our special day, what mattered most to Chris and I was the fact that he, my daughter Jalayla, and I would be coming together before God and becoming a family. Although Jalayla already saw Chris as Daddy, he marrying us both was something she could not wait to have happen. It was really important to us that Jalayla felt a part of this and knew that it was her wedding too. She went with us to cake tastings, helped me look up ideas in magazines, was there for the bridesmaid dress fittings, picked music (her top pick was a song from The Princess and the Frog), helped pick out her wedding dress and had her very own maid of honor. (I LOVE this!)

After we said our “I do’s” the three of us walked down the aisle together. During the father daughter dance while I danced with my daddy, Jalayla danced with her daddy. Another favorite moment for me was when the DJ played our first dance song. I had spoken to her manager and asked that they start by playing a song that I selected and then changed it to Chris's all time favorite song. He was so surprised. It was beautiful to see how something so small could mean so much. It is moments like these that still make my heart smile.

Chris’s aunt and my mom worked so hard to help us organize and plan our special day. My bridesmaids assisted me in many ways, from taking me to the flea market where I scored some great finds, sampling savory sweets at the bakery, researching reception decor and calling vendors. I had even started a blog as a way to update the bridal party on the planning and to share ideas. Chris’s cousin catered the appetizers (we had a hors d’oeuvres and dessert reception with wine and sweet tea), we were referred to a wonderful(and affordable) florist, our friend and designer Tina of Cowgirl Heaven made the bridesmaid dresses (amazing!!) which were beautifully complimented by their Oatmeal Lace Design clutches, and I was able to get some great finds from Esty vendors!

(how cute is the kid's table? fun!!) Sean asked his friend Gib to take pictures for our photo booth, but he surprised us and didn't just stop there! Chris’s cousin Rakeem also took many pictures. Along with our photographer they captured so many moments perfectly...The funny thing is the day of the wedding there were things that were missing and no where to be found and things that didn’t turn out the way that we planned, but in the end no one noticed and what was supposed to happen did. Honestly, I could go on and on about this joyful occasion but the saying goes a picture says a thousand words so I will let the pictures do some talking :)

When I look back it almost feels like I dream and really it is a dream, a dream come true. Jalayla and I married the most wonderful man. He loves us with his whole heart. In my vows I thanked him for extending both of his hands to us so that we might each hold one. He adores us and the two of us are quite fond of him ourselves. Now, if we could just get back to all those little projects…

Thank you so much for sharing your wedding day with us Krishann! You have a beautiful family. Congrats again!

Vendors:

Venue: A Chair in the Garden
Officiant: Pastor Stephen Hamilton
Wedding Dress: BCBG (on clearance even!)
Groom's Suit: Kenneth Cole
Photography: Scott Sudduth, Gib Sarmiento & Rakeem Cunningham
Catering: B&C Foods
Wedding Cake & Dessert: Porto's Bakery
Invite Design: Sara Lauder
Flowers: Leomar
DJ: DJ Ksly

Etsy Vendors: Cowgirl Heaven, Oatmeal Lace Design, Shabby Chic Fairytale, More & More Originals, My Primitive Boutique, Hey Yo Yo, Simply French Market, Flirt Buttons, Little Retreats

making things happen. it's time.

January 19, 2011

tomorrow is the day. ever since I first started hearing things about MTH I have been intrigued. granted, the first whispers I heard were at the end of 2009 and at that point I didn't have a business and had no intention of starting one or doing anything in the wedding industry so that was it. sounded like an interesting concept, but not really pertinent to me or where I was going.

fast forward to the last 6 months. jumping into a new business with both feet, learning as I go, racing to keep up, making mistakes and readjusting. go, go go. if you know me, you know that this is NOT how I normally do things. I am the quintessential researcher. the planner; the one that knows every in and out of what could/should/will happen and has the alternate routes ready before taking the first step.

all the while, I've been reading about the MTH tour- following along with Lara, Emily & Gina's journey on tumblr, absorbing blogs written by those who have already attended. as scared as I am to go tomorrow (I am not one that likes to be in a group setting and talk about myself, my goals, my dreams) I know that I have to. if I don't I know I'll always regret what could have been. its that persistent nagging in the back of your brain that says 'do it, c'mon! being scared is not a good excuse' so I'm feeling the fear and doing it anyways. :)

2010 brought some amazing changes to my life that I'm still trying to process. I've decided tomorrow starts my 2011. I've got some big decisions ahead to ensure I am being the best ME I can be. both for oatmeal lace and for my family and friends. ready to get fired up!

2010, reviewed. 2011, ready.

December 31, 2010

wow, what a year it's been. i've been pretty quiet around here for the past few weeks- working on overdrive to get out christmas orders and finish out the year. ready to start 2011 with a bang. very excited/anxious about what I have in store starting out next month. so before the clock strikes 12, let's recap. we'll highlight the big things, otherwise I could go on and on and on...

january-march: basically all 3 months encompassed wedding planning and lots of trial and error in creating the perfect gift for my bridesmaids. :)
april: married the most wonderful man and experienced joy like I had never felt before celebrating with our family and friends. you can read more about that here. or just watch this. so so so fun!

may: a relaxing, lovely month. just enjoyed being newly married.
june: it's about to get wild in my household. our wedding was featured online and it seriously changed the course of the next half of 2010. all because of the picture used as the header in this blog (scroll up to see). it was the kick in the butt I needed to open my etsy shop where I had 2 orders before I even posted any pictures. whaaaa??
july: began learning about the power of social media. holy moly did I have a lot to learn (and still do!) so thankful for the wonderful community I've found. #TWIPS!
august: realized I really need to get better at time management because balancing a full time job, a household and a small business is really tough. oh, extracurricular activities? wine nights with friends? gym at my usual 545 am after staying up until 1 or 2? forgoing these more often than not stinks.
september- november: realizing how much I love working with the ladies that visit the shop. loving that I get to create something special and unique for each bride. totally makes late nights and long days worth it. especially since I'm starting to receive great feedback.
december: little bit crazy. note to self: have a lot of merchandise in stock next year for christmas orders. made some life changing decisions (I think) that are going to kick start 2011 into being an amazing year. starting with attending making things happen in tampa next month. hope you'll follow along.

i'll leave you with just a few photos that make me smile.

{ELD, Style Me Pretty, Erin Werner}

xo- mckay

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