{Hi......}

It's kind of a thing in Texas to round up your kiddos and go trample our beautiful state flowers for a photo opp.  (Illegal?  I think it may be....)  But man, it sure is awesome!

One a side note, I was really enjoying the ease of creating collages in Picnik and as you may or may not know, Picnik is NO MORE!  SO, do any of you use a free website for creating collages quickly and easily?  That's the name of the game folks,... QUICKLY/EASILY.  Let me know your thoughts.

I'll be back with a Dallas Flea update, promise ;)

{Faces Of Cash}

Really, are there any words?? I think not.

{Just A Little Photo Shoot}

A few weeks ago I found this really cool place to take pictures. I want to go back everyday. It's so pretty. We went to brunch one Sunday morning then headed out to take pictures of Cash. He is growing SO fast!

I don't think it's possible to have more beautiful eyes than this little boy right here.

This started out as pictures of Cash and a lady showed up and asked if we wanted a family picture. While I hadn't really planned for family portraits that day, but I LOVE how this turned out!

It's FRIDAY!!! (12:09, so I guess technically, it's Saturday) Any awesome weekend plans? I am going to try to hunt down a ladder. I have been looking for an antique ladder like this to display my quilts in my sewing room and at the Dallas Flea. SO, it looks like Cash and I are headed to First Monday. Wish me luck!

{Wednesday...9+ Months}

Hi! It's Wednesday! Not that that means anything, but the week is more than half way over, so there's that,... :)

Last week I took Cash to the park because we've been having this AWESOME weather here in Dallas. We tested out the swing and he wasn't a fan on that first try. I took him back this week and he LOVED it! I guess he was just having a bad day last week. He hung out in that swing for like half an hour and giggled and smiled and admired all the other kids playing. It was so sweet and these are quite possibly the cutest pictures I have gotten of him! I will mark this a nine month post,.. even though he was nine months like two weeks ago. What's new??

NINE months:

22 pounds

30 inches

crawling, climbing, pulling, scooting, about to be walking

teething,... still

but no teeth

loves keys, balls of yarn & the swings

wearing 12 month clothing

playing with his fav toy "Elefun ball popper" EVERYDAY, and at like 6 am.

Clapping when I say "YAY"

waving backwards when I say "BYE BYE"

raising his arms when I tell him he's "SO BIG"

The sweetest little 9 month old I know. I'm pretty lucky.

In addition to chasing my baby around, I'm currently preparing for Paper Box Quilt Co.'s debut at The Dallas Flea!!! That's right! I will be setting up a booth and selling my items in PERSON! I'm a little nervous about being ready in time, but also super excited at the same time. I am planning to have quilts, pillow covers, mini quilts/table toppers, crochet dish cloths, wall decor, bunting, pot holders, clothespins, some small paper items,.... I think that's it,... for now,... SO, if you're in the area and want to stop in to see me, mark your calendar!! April 21 in the South Side building downtown. I will be among a TON of awesome vendors so you will have PLENTY to look at, shop & admire. Are there any local readers out there??? Any already planning to attend the Flea?? I would love to meet you!

Photo courtesy of Craigslist

The final thing on my Wednesday agenda is this cute little hutch! I found this on Craigslist for $30 and I plan on using it in my booth set-up at the Flea. I thought it was a bargain! Gotta love Craigslist.

What draws you to a booth at a flea market/craft show?? Does the set-up matter?? Would you pass up a booth that didn't have a pretty/unique set-up no matter what they were selling?? Just curious. I think I am more attracted to pretty booths. Is that bad? I might pass up the most beautiful handmade goods because I couldn't see past the card table they were sitting on. It's the same on Etsy. If the picture is bad quality or effortless I almost always skip it. Does that make me an Etsy/Flea market snob?? I think it might. I'm a little ashamed. BUT at the same time, I like it when people make an effort to draw me in. Make me want to step into your booth. Right?? Oh man,... I've just made myself even MORE nervous. Crap. Gotta go. I have to plan out how to make you want to step into my booth.

{"Winter" walk}

Upon returning from Maryland for a long holiday, we discovered some BEAUTIFUL weather!! Cash & I took this walk about two weeks ago and the temp this day was about 70 degrees and as you can see, beautiful skies!! I want to go on record and say that this is not typical Texas winter weather! It does actually get cold here. No really! I wasn't living here last year, but there was snow!

It was the perfect day for a walk with the boy and some photography!

There has been a MISTLETOE INVASION here!!! Amongst all the dead, brown, lifeless trees are patches of beautiful, green, vibrant mistletoe! Is this happening all over the country? I didn't do any research on this or anything, but I am a little curious why it randomly grows from these dead trees?!?! We actually discovered this a year or two ago when we were here visiting. Quite the phenomenon,.... or maybe not?? Do you have mistletoe growing near you?

kiss kiss ;)

We were surrounded by all kinds of cool things. It's not the first time we've taken this walk, but it's always different and I always find new things. (for some reason I must have a slight obsession with moss??? Weird)

I was finally able to get a bit of lens flare in the picture above! I LOVE it! I have struggled trying to get pictures with flare,.... I guess it has to do with where the sun is in the sky??? Anyone have any tricks for getting lens flare?? It's just pretty!

Speaking of the SUN, I am so thankful for the longer days!

Big blue eyes is 8 months old! TODAY! It's seriously been an entire 8 months since this little guy was born?!?!? He is, no lie, the size of a 1 year old! Such a big boy!

At 8 Months Cash is:

STILL teething!!! When are those things going to come IN!?!?

Crawling at warp speed all over the house

LOVING his animals. Just the sight of them makes him giggle

A bit of a mama's boy

Sleeping straight through the ENTIRE NIGHT!! 11 WHOLE hours!

Pulling himself up to standing on chairs & ottomans

clapping!!

He is so much fun!! (and so much work) The light of my life!! I wish I could just go back to 8 months ago, just for a minute, and hold my little tiny baby boy again!

Please pay no attention to the skeleton jammies he wore on our warm "winter" walk.

Sewing,... yes, there has been a very little bit of sewing going on right now. Cash was sick for a while, I've been kind of lazy since the holidays, then I was sick. I am hoping to get back into the groove and have some new things for the shop soon. I am even planning on a couple paper items! You know, to go with the "paper" part of Paper Box Quilt Co. :) Stay Tuned.

XOXO

{5-ish Months}

He was 5 months 20 days ago,.............

The picture above was taken a couple days ago. The one below was taken in Maryland about a month ago so neither is actually Cash at just 5 months.

At 5-ish months old, Cash is:

-Teething

-Loving Sophie the Giraffe (Thanks Santos fam!)

-Rolling front, back, sideways, upside-down, around and all over

-Weighing in at a hefty 17(ish) pounds!

-Smiling alllllll the time (when he isn't crying over those teeth!)

-Eating cereal, apples, pears, carrots, sweet potatoes and squash

-NOT eating green beans

-Sleeping approx. 6-8 hours at night (THANK YOU!)

-A social butterfly

-Having a bit of separation anxiety

-TEETHING

He is the sweetest baby ever and I love him more and more everyday!

{It's Fall!}

FINALLY! I thought the heat would NEVER end! We spent a few days in Maryland with family and friends last week. It was nice to see everyone and introduce Cash to some of his Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Grandparents,.... etc.

We spent a day at the pumpkin patch and saw:

Barns filled with little animals!

Cotton that I wanted to take right out of the ground and bring home with me.

Pumpkins, of course, and more animals.

Here we are!!

Cash loved being surrounded by all of his girls,... Aunts, Cousin and Grandmom.

Sweet baby snuggles for Aunt Veronica.

Cash was so good in Maryland! He enjoyed being a social butterfly and spending the night at his Aunt & Uncle's house!

We did have quite the disastrous flight home. Cash was wonderful, but a 3 hour flight turned into 7 hours when the nasty weather diverted us to Houston and we weren't allowed to get off the plane! UGH,... cramped, stale air, getting home after 2am,... Cash was a trooper. I was cranky as hell!

I also went out with my sister-in-law, a few weeks ago, to some markets. Pumpkins galore!!

That's all for now,... lots to catch up on though! I hope you had a wonderful weekend!

{4 Months}

Again,... missed the 4 month photo shoot. I know I'm going to regret that later. But these were taken a week ago when Cash and I joined my sister-in-law for some flea/thrift/art/antique/farmers market shopping fun. BIG smiles!!

{Hawaii}

Me & the Mr. on Megan's wedding day

We're baaaaack!!!

Oh,... I guess that's old news. Anyway, here are a bunch of pictures from our trip to Hawaii!!

see that person waaaaay out there on the paddle board,...

I'm sad that my baby won't remember this trip, because it was so pretty.

Thanks, Megan, for being my friend.

{3 Months}

LOOK at those baby blues!!! He is such a SWEET baby! He smiles at me when I say "hi" and we can get him to laugh at the craziest noises.

These pictures were taken in Hawaii, Cash was a little older than 3 months, but I forgot to do a 3 month photo shoot, so these should do. AND... since he is now 4 months, stay tuned for that post. :)

I love this guy,... probably even more tomorrow than today.