ROLL CALL! (pretty please?!)

Hello my dear, sweet, lovely friends and readers! Have I mentioned how gorgeous you look today? I haven't? Well, let me tell you - from where I sit, you look gorgeous, darlings. That color really brings out the brown/blue/green in your eyes. You should totally wear it more often.

Do feel as if you are being buttered up? Good call. You are.

I need a favor!

As I mentioned yesterday, we have less than a week until The Big Bloggy Move. This feels like a good time for me to stop and think on my readership. For some sorta crazy reason, traffic through this crunchy spot has grown dramatically since last summer. (And by dramatically, I mean that I can be pretty sure I have more than six readers now.) Although SortaCrunchy is my lil' home on the virtual range to share that which is important to me, my readers are never far from my mind. I would love to get a snapshot of who is reading these days.

Plus, as you regulars know, I've been known to toss out a random giveaway now and again (and if you like giveaways, you will DEFINITELY want to be around next Monday on Moving Day!) and it would be tremendously helpful to know what you guys are "into." (As far as giveaways go, I mean. I am sure there are other things you are "into" but you most assuredly do not have to share those things with me. Unless you want to. I'm always up for some inspiring ideas!)

Anyway, could you guys indulge me in a roll call? If you stop by here fairly regularly, I would love to know two things - if you have children (how many?) and whether you consider yourself not at all crunchy, totally crunchy, or sorta crunchy (like me). Those two pieces o' information would be supremely helpful. If you just want to share other things (where you live, how you found me, just whatever), then you go right ahead and do that, too.

Many, many, many thanks, friends!

Inspired

Got five minutes?

Watch this.

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We survived Project Birthday Party, but Operation Clean-Up has yet to be stamped Mission Accomplished. I'm off to finish that and if I get a chance, I'll get some pictures up later.

BY THE WAY, don't forget The Big Bloggy Move happens one week from today. So exciting!

Ducking out for a bit . . .

Loved the discussion from yesterday's Another Way Wednesday. Looking forward to more of that!

Princesa D is having her birthday on Saturday morning, and this Queen Mum has about ninety-seven things to do between now and then, so it's gonna be quiet around here for a bit. I'll be back early next week and will (hopefully) have pics to share.

Be gentle to yourselves and others!

He Speaks to me . . . about STUFF

Let it not ever be said that the voice of God is always hard to hear. Sometimes, I gotta get still and quiet to hear Him. And sometimes, He pulls up a chair next to mine, turns my eyes to meet His, and says, "Listen to Me."

In the past few weeks, I have been bombarded with subtle hints that He wants me to deal with my love of stuff. It started out simply enough with my sweet friend Jen (from The Things you Didn't Do) encouraging us to watch The Story of Stuff. She created a poweful and challenging list of ways she is responding to the message of the Story of Stuff movie, and I kept thinking, "Okay, okay . . . I know I have a problem with stuff. I can stop anytime though. Really."

The truth is I didn't wanna talk about my problem with stuff. Because I, um, love stuff. I can package it however I want . . .

(but AJ needs these new cloth diapers! just doin' my part to save the earth! D needs this sweet stuffed puppy dog! she's still suffering from displacement angst! I need new boots since my feet have expanded a whole size in the past three years and my beloved black dress boots have proven to be unwearable and what's a girl to do without a trusty pair of darling black boots?! 'Cause I get all dressed up to go to the library a lot these days!)

. . . but at the heart of it all is the fact that I just love stuff.

And I read Jeana's (Days to Come) But I WANT That, and I knew He wasn't going to leave me alone about this.

And then AJ woke up at 5:30 this morning and after she agreed with me that 5:30 is far too early to start the day and drifted back to sleep, I found myself wide awake and hankering for a good devotional. So I looked up one of my favorites - My Utmost for His Highest.

This would be when God pulled up a chair next to me.

"A warning which needs to be repeated is that 'the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches,' and the lust for other things, will choke out the life of God in us (Matthew 13:22)."

Oh, and it gets better from there. Go read it yourself, if you're feeling brave. And if devotionals aren't your thing, take twenty minutes from your day to go watch The Story of Stuff. I did. It's very much worth the investment of your time.

So get ready 'cause Mama's been convicted, so you've not heard the last of my battle with stuff. Oh no, gentle readers - it's just beginning!

But first, I have to say that at this moment, precisely three years ago on this lovely January day, I went into labor with my sweet D. And you know I'm gonna have to write about that.

Obama Insight

It's been quiet here, but only because things are not quiet offline. We've been weathering tummy bugs and teething woes and those two things have been more than enough to keep my hands too busy to type.

I did come across something at Christianity Today I wanted to share. I hear there are some emails flying around (again) about Barak Obama practicing Islam. If you have received such an email, or even if you haven't, I encourage you to check out this article for a Q&A with Senator Obama. It's a quick read and highly informative!

Christianity Today Q&A with Barak Obama

Seven Rooms, Seven Days Challenge!

The packing, the unpacking, the travel, the being at home with no schedule . . . it's all taken it's toll on my SortaCrunchy home.  

Plus, there's something about the start of the new year that makes me want to mend broken relationships.  I've been thinking about it for a while now, and I think I'm ready.  I want to get back together with Fly Lady.

Fly Lady and I have had a sometimes happy, sometimes rocky, on-and-off again relationship for about six years now.  When it's good, it's very, very good.  When it's bad . . . well, it's ugly.  I broke up with her sometime around September 1st and we haven't been on speaking terms since then.  The thing is, I really need someone to tell me what to do on a daily basis so my home is the warm, welcoming, organized, happy nest that I so desire for it to be.  But, I also have these complex authority issues, and when I feel like Fly Lady gets a little bossy, I turn into a five year old with her fingers in her ears chanting, "You're not the boss of me!  You can't tell me what to do!"

And that's when things around here get bad.  It's shameful, really.

Now, I know Fly Lady well enough to know what she's going to want me to do to get back together with her.  Baby Steps.  But she doesn't know the depths of clutter and junk that have joined forces to overthrow this house.  So I am doing my own little kick-start challenge before I go crawling back to seek her good graces and helpful (but bossy) guidance.

I am giving myself SEVEN DAYS to tackle the SEVEN ROOMS of my house.  And if I learned nothing else from NaBloPoMo, I learned that there's something about public accountability to motivate me to follow through on an idea.  Now, I know this is all going to be terribly exciting, dangerously fascinating stuff.  Reading and watching a woman declutter her house - I mean, really, it's why you started reading blogs in the first place, right?

Just bear with me.  Stay after me.  Pray for me.  

I start today.

Been a long time since I been carded!

Missy at It's Almost Naptime has carded me with this. (I'm not sure what carded means here? *scratches head*) I am so sorry, sweet friend, that it has taken me so long to get it done!

Ronie Kendig altered this CARDED meme to include a Spiritual Wish list so we can know how to pray for each other, both spiritually and physically. Isn’t that a great idea?

THE RULES:
1. Each player starts with 5 gifts that they would want for Christmas (I'll say the New Year, since Christmas is over!)
2. People who are “CARDED” need to write their own Blog about their 5 things & post these rules.
3. At the end of your Blog, you need to choose 5 people to get “CARDED” and list their names.
4. Don’t forget to leave them a COMMENT telling them they’re “CARDED”, and to read your Blog.

My Materialistic Gift/Wish List:
1. Clothes that fit my hey-this-baby-weight-isn't-coming-off-quite-as-quickly-as-it-did-the-first-time post-partum body.
2. A new car seat for AJ.
3. Heck, why not? A new vehicle. (For what it's worth, SortaCrunchy Mama is currently driving a trusty 1996 Avalon with over 200,000 miles on it. I am delighted to test and prove the reliability of Toyota vehicles, but part of me fears that the end is in sight.)
4. The services of a professional organizer to come in and completely declutter my home since evidently I am incapable of doing it myself.
5. You wanna know what I really, really want? A personal assistant. Just an extra set of hands, that's all. Can someone explain to me the algebraic formula wherein the number of children I care for has doubled but somehow I am only one-quarter as efficient as I used to be?

My Spiritual Gift/Wish List:
1. DISCIPLINE. I need discipline in all areas of my life, but particularly the discipline to spend quiet time each morning in the Word and in prayer.
2. Discernment and direction in our ongoing "is this the church we are being led to?" journey.
3. Willingness and opportunity to use my gifts for the furthering of the Kingdom.
4. To be daily reminded that this world, this life, is not. about. me.
5. As my friend Melissa recently wrote, I want to live more like Whole Foods.

The People I have Carded:
1. The above mentioned Melissa of how 'bout the etheredge fam
2. Laura of Sweet Awakenings.
3. shoeaddict of Diary of a Shoe Addict (when she feels better!)
4. Amanda of ohamanda!
5. Sheila of the day of small things

Enjoy!

Sorta Reflective

Thank you, my sweet, sweet friends for the holiday greetings. What a delight to return home to such warmth!

We had a delightful, albeit it chilly, time up in Oklahoma. It was impressed upon me just how very spoiled to my mild south(ish) Texas weather I have become. Yes, I have grown quite fond of seventy degree winter days, and I am not one bit ashamed to say it. Like a plaintive but hopeful stray cat, the cold has followed us down here and my nose and fingertips are not the least bit appreciative of all this Arctic air!

I know there are those who don't really care for the end-of-the-year countdowns and look-backs that run so rampant in the days between Christmas and New Year's Day. As for me and my household, well, I can't help myself - I love them! A sentimentalist to a fault, there are few things as comforting to me at the close of another year than to think back on all the year has accomplished.

I mean, really, who IS this Santa Baby?



Oh, the difference a year makes. Miss Thang had no idea at the time that the coming year would crown her Big Sister. Her mom and dad hadn't a clue either, but just a few short days into 2007, Little Sister would make her presence known via two pink lines on a peed-on stick.

The beginning of the year also delivered to us a lesson learned the hard way about putting our trust in man rather than in God. That painful situation gave way to a rewarding outcome that included a long-anticipated promotion for The Coach.

Two thousand seven . . . the year in which I survived morning all-day-long sickness, terrible two-dom, turning thirty, and a move. D found her voice while Dad found the confidence to lead in a difficult season. God saw fit to once again deliver perfection wrapped in pink into our arms.

And then there's ya'll! What fun I have had this year getting to know so many amazing women. What blessings you have been to me - each and every one of you. I value your comments here and love reading about your lives in your internetty homes. Thank you, thank you, and thank you for sharing yourself with me this year. I esteem each of you highly and so look forward to getting to know more of you in two thousand eight!

The light, the tunnel, the end approaches

Almost there, girls. Almost there. Tomorrow is the 30th and I will be released for the self-imposed tyranny of NaBloPoMo. Again, thank you so much for your words of encouragement - especially here at the end.

By way of advance warning, I want to tell you after tomorrow I am taking a week off from publishing posts. I have been sorely neglectful of reading and commenting on some of my favorite blogs and I am craving some time to just luxuriate in all kinds of bloggy reading goodness.

I haven't done a Thursday Thirteen in a while and the lure of a list proves to be irresistible . . .

In Which I Reflect on NaBloPoMo'ing

1. I do not like to post every day.
2. I much prefer to take the weekends off from posting.
3. Answering questions from my readers really was quite fun.
4. I definitely appreciate all who submitted questions (and by the way, those I haven't gotten to will not go unanswered. I am saving them for a rainy day.).
5. Talking about my own views and history and experiences day after day gets really boring really quickly.
6. I did have fun guest posting at Velveteen Mind. I would like to guest post more often, I think.
7. Posting every day is a lot of pressure, and I don't know how mega Bloggers like Michelle at Scribbit do it.
8. I am so stinkin' proud of myself for following through and finishing a project!
9. There is much to be said for public accountability as motivation to stick to something.
10. I hope I win a prize, dang it.
11. Hmmmm, that's just about all I have to say about NaBloMoPo.
12. Just for fun, here's a few of the Google searches that brought readers to SortaCrunchy in the past month . . .

sugar makes teeth hurt - well yes, actually it does, doesn't it? Especially if you are drinking my Texas Sweet Tea.

mother babe breast - not sure what to say about that . . . I do one of the first and two each of the others if that helps you out at all.

t - Really? You did a Google search on a letter? And really? It brought you here? Strange, that.

moldy BREAD, BREASTFEEDING - and again, I am just unsure of what to say about that.

Back to my list . . .

13. So, NaBloPoMo. You and I are about to part ways. Knowing what I know now, would I do it all over again? Yeah, I sorta think I would. It's definitely been one of those things where if I hadn't participated, I would always wonder if I had what it takes to do it.

And that last statement strikes me as being just a bit too serious. It's just blogging, after all.

SortaCrunchy Q&A #10 - Celebrity wanna-be

This is my last question from friend Lori: "If you could be a celebrity for a day who would you be and why?"

Heidi Klum. She's a hoot! I love her on Project Runway. And I hear she cloth diapers.

What about you guys? If you could walk in someone else's Jimmy Choos for the day, who would it be?

Edited, Saturday, November 23rd - I wanna change my answer! Stacey reminded me that I lurve Jennifer Garner. She seems very classy, collected, sweet, and smart. Heidi Klum, you're fab and all, but I have to go with Jennifer G on this one . . .

SortaCrunchy Q&A #9 - Back to School

Can I tell ya'll something? You guys are just blessing my heart!

I have been a little complain-y about NaBloPoMo - which is stupid, really. I could decide to stop right now and I am pretty sure the universe wouldn't implode, but there's this part of me that really does want to just finish. One of my most ginormous character flaws resides in my inability to follow through on projects that I start. From housework to knitting to ironing to writing . . . ugh. I sit amongst a plethora of half-finished good intentions. So anyway, I am forcing myself to finish NaBloMoPo for reasons other than the chance at winning one of many! fabulous! prizes!

In the midst of my daily posting, however, I have started to get really sick of myself. Seriously. I am so over hearing what I have to say about anything! Looking back, I invited this on myself when I settled on a Q&A theme for the month. Yeah, I didn't really think that through very well, huh? But you guys have been lifting me up through your sweet and timely comments. Thank you so much. I really do read each one and have been treasuring them greatly this month!

On to today's question. Another from Lori who asks, "If you could go back to college for free, would you? What would you study?"

What beautiful irony - this speaks to another half-finished area of my life!

Right after The Coach and I graduated with our undergrads, he began his graduate assistantship at our alma mater which meant beginning his Masters work. We were full-time university employees (residence hall advisors for the freshman dorm. Fun!), so our tuition was free. Since I was basically an at-home wife with a husband jugglign grad work and coaching, I took full advantage of the university's offer and began graduate work in education with a specialization in library media science. If I ever return to the work force, I can't imagine a more fun job than being a librarian! (Oh yes, I am quite the uber-nerd. I told ya so!)

But life intervened and uprooted us from our ol' Okie home and moved us southward to Fort Worth. I started teaching full-time, and you guessed it - never finished my Masters!

So, yes. If it were free and my children were in good hands, I would love to go back and complete my Masters in Library Science. If nothing else, getting to read all of the latest and greatest in the world of children's and young adult literature would make it all worth my while. (And would be a delicious reward for the less glamorous courses on the ins-and-outs of copyright law and cataloging and classification.)

What about ya'll? Is anyone in school right now? As we speak? (Ha! I caught you not doing your homework!) Anyone with plans to go back to school in the Great Someday?

SortaCrunchy Q&A #8 - On birth order

Hey, you know what? Thank you so much for your encouraging words on last night's last minute posting. I had no idea how many days I actually take off from blogging until I found myself under the (self-imposed) gun to post everyday. This is kind of exhausting. I have no idea how daily writers do it!


Anyway, today's question is another from friend Lori. What are your thoughts on birth order? Do you think about how it shaped you as a person? Do you worry/think about it for your children?


Although I have never read any "formal research" on the topic, I personally think there is a lot to the idea of birth order and how it plays into the kind of people we become. I am the oldest of four and can be a bit overbearing, particularly when it comes to doling out unsolicited advice. I also feel the need to nurture and take care of those around me, although most of my nurturing energy is expended on my little ones these days. Before I had children, I spent much more time taking care of my friends. I actually think being the oldest has shaped who I am in many ways, but mostly in good ways which is why I don't worry about it too much with my own children.

What about ya'll? Are you a typical oldest child or the baby of the family? Do you have middle child syndrome? Has birth order affected the personalities/temperaments of your children?

de-lovely!

De-lovely is seeing the big ol' grin on AJ's face when she is getting ready to nurse. The big ol' grin is usually accompanied by a delightful excited baby laugh, as well.

I'd love to know - what's delightful, delicious, and de-lovely in your life this weekend?

Live first

Last night was the end of The Season for us, so we are celebrating with some family time this weekend. I'll probably just do some token NaBloPoMo posts over the weekend, because as Katherine at Raising Five reminds us, you gotta live first, blog later . . .

(Sheila -I'll email you over the weekend with my carrier suggestions!)

SortaCrunchy Q&A #7 - As long as there's football

Today's question is the first in a series of four from my wonderful friend Lori of Fairytales and Margaritas. I just love Lori. I have known her for, gosh, over two years now, but I am sad to say we haven't ever gotten to meet-up offline. She is a funny, passionate, smart, and loving mama to four, and she is also quite possibly one of the most generous people I have ever met. She's a lot of fun, and I highly recommend you stop by her place if you have time!

Lori asks "Do you think you'll ever move from Texas? Like maybe Arizona, we have football."

Well I never been to heaven
But I been to Oklahoma
Well they tell me I was born there
But I really don't remember
In Oklahoma, not Arizona
What does it matter
What does it matter

A little Three Dog Night there for ya'll. For some reason, whenever I think about Arizona, I think of that song. I love that song. I think it's one of my all. time. faves.

*returning from tangent*

Hmmmmm, will we ever leave Texas? I honestly don't know. The Coach and I love living here. Though both of us were raised one state to the north, Texas is definitely home to us now. The tricky thing about this profession (college football) is that until you get to be super successful, you don't really choose where you coach. The school chooses you.

And, of course, we both believe God's Hand of sovereignty is ultimately what is determining where we live . . . and actually whether or not we'll stay in this biz. It's been a tough season, and so often at the conclusion of tough seasons, we start kicking around the ol' is it time to get out of this thing? question.

There really isn't an answer for this question for us. I will say in my younger and more adventurous years, I would start itching to move after three seasons at a school. Now that we have children and I have found an amazing and loving and supportive community of friends, the thought of leaving here is quite unappealing.

Lori, I do have to say I would not be entirely unopposed to Arizona. I would rather have hot, hot, hot than snow, snow, snow any day of the week! But I hear the ladies are insane there, and they sure know how to use it . . . Or wait - was that Spain? What does it matter? What does it matter . . .

I figure if I am going to have that song in my head the rest of the day, ya'll might as well, too! Enjoy!

Construction

Sorta need to do some updating and fixing up around here today. And then I am off to catch up on the tons of blog reading I have been neglecting while I am pulling my hair out NaBloPoMoing!

I am going to be working with relabeling some old posts as well, so if you see a bunch of re-runs come up in your Google Reader or Bloglines, that's why.

Hope your Tuesday is gorgeous!

Have a handmade holiday

Last night was a pretty big night in our little casa. For the first time ever, Miss D (who is nearing three) tinkled in the potty! Oh, there was much dancing and celebration over that, let me tell you.

And so, fully aware that I am surely jinxing myself, I have been having such fun shopping for training pants. Only a real cloth diaper nerd would ever say something like that, but how could a mama not have a little fun while browsing training pants in the form of Bright Bots, Divine Trainers, and Ditto Daddy briefs?


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If you clicked on those last two links, you might have noticed they took you to storefronts found at Hyena Cart. Not familiar with Hyena Cart? Let me introduce you.


Hyena Cart is "A collection of earth-friendly shops" that started as a place where work-at-home-moms who were sewing diapers and knitting wool covers could sell their wares. I don't when it was created, but I do know it has gone through exponential growth in just the past year.

This summer and fall has brought a disturbing round of toy recalls, and perhaps this year you are hoping to be more plastic-free and earth-friendly in your holiday purchases. Here are some of the things you might stumble across while window shopping at HC:

For the kids
* wooden cars and trucks
* hand-sewn organic plush toys
* felted wool food from Wool Food Market
and all kinds of other fun stuff from the toys, books, and craft kits stores

For the ladies
* all-natural bath salts
* Goddess Wraps
* silk ring sling

For the menfolk
* all-natural muscle joint cream
* old-fashioned sandalwood soap
* maybe even some military ducks! (how cute are they?!?!)

That should be enough to whet your appetites . . . Happy shopping!

Sweethearts

Hate to post and run, but the SortaCrunchy hacienda is having a flare-up of Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome. Again. But yesterday we had the wonderful treat of driving down the road a bit and visiting my Sweet Friend Keara and her two gorgeous boys.

I think it's love . . .

It's the simple things, like a well-cooked steak

It occurs to me that I don't talk about The Coach much here on the ol' blog. He is an extremely private person, so I try to honor that by not revealing too much about him on the web that is world wide. You know, because I have a lot of readers and all. But I am going to make an exception today to share this with you about my man.

My husband really is a Renaissance man. Equally at ease with coaching up three hundred pound defensive lineman as he is with shopping for and hanging brand new drapery in our living room, there is simply nothing he can't do. Well, except change dirty diapers. As much as he enjoys some good old-fashioned toilet humor, there's something about coming face-to-face (hand-to-diaper?) with real life toileting that brings him to the brink of vomithood. I can only handle one clean-up at a time, so he gets a free pass on the dirty diaper changing.

Anyway, one area where he really shines is in the preparation and grilling of meat.

(Vegetarian Friends, it's at this point that you may want to tune out.)

Last week, we had planned to celebrate a really big victory for the team with a really big steak dinner. However, in a week filled with the distractions of Halloween and intense game planning, the really big steak dinner plan never came to fruition. He hadn't forgotten the plan though, and called yesterday morning to say he had just received a nice bottle of red wine that needed some rib eye steaks to go with it. Off to the store I went and found some gorgeous rib eyes, marbled to perfection.

I set them up to bathe in our secret family recipe for meat marinade and spent the rest of the day comforting and cuddling a feverish Miss D. Because she was sick, the girls and I stayed home from last night's game, but by the time the last seconds ticked off the game clock, The Coach and I had another big win to celebrate! He skipped the post-game tailgates and hurried home for some quality time with his much-neglected grill wife.

Finally, a little after ten in the evening, we loaded our plates with pan-fried green beans, mashed potatoes, Hawaiian bread, and those gorgeous, glorious steaks. As we blew the dust out of the wine glasses, we joked that eating at such a late hour made us feel like them fancy New York types. And, oh, we were fancy, indeed! He in his wind pants and me in my gray running shorts . . . But the wine was rich, the potatoes were comforting, and the steaks were perfection.

D had long since gone to sleep and AJ snoozed peacefully in her bouncy seat. We talked about the game, the scores from the day, the weather, the future . . . It was the first date we had been on in ages. Our dinner last night reminded me of why I treasure simplicity so much. A great meal in the cozy comfort of our own home confirmed for me that in this season of life, simple is the new fancy.

What's that you say? You were wondering if I could share the secret family recipe for an outstanding meat marinade?

Well, if you are going to twist my arm like that, I suppose I can let it spill.

It's simple.

Combine equal parts soy sauce, vegetable oil, and lemon or lime juice (we like lime). Put the meat in a gallon size freezer bag and pour in the marinade. Let the meat soak for as long as you have . . . overnight is great, but even just a few hours will work. Before the meat is cooked, we like to generously dust the meat with garlic pepper. Works nicely for beef or chicken and is definitely, definitely good eats!

Feeling Notesy?

So, uh, here's the thing. Along the path from our bedroom to the laundry room, little piles of little clothes (mostly pink and purple) are beginning to form. Seeing as how dirty laundry is literally climbing the wall up and out of the laundry basket in our room, I do believe our clothes are now so overdue for a good cleansing day at the spa, they are trying to just up and walk themselves to the laundry.

Because random piles of laundry scattered throughout the house couldn't be a sign of my shameful housekeeping habits. Oh no, surely it could not.

But I am also kind of thinking the Toilet Fairy has gone on strike (again! ugh! good help is so hard to find . . .) because dem potties are lookin' nasty.

Which brings me to today's post . . .

The next question on the list for my SortaCrunchy Q&A is a good one, and I don't have the time I want to spend with it today (mostly because of aforementioned laundry piles and dirty toilets, but also because of other housekeeping horrors which I would feel quite shameful in sharing out loud), but what I do have time for is a work-at-home-mama-brag/recommendation/let-me-point-you-in-this-direction/you-need-to-shop-here! post.

Upon arriving home from this morning's prayer coffee gathering, I was thrilled to find the mailman had delivered my order from Just Being Notesy! Hoorah!! For those of you not familiar with this brand-new business, it's the newest project of the sweet treat of a mama over at The Wooden Porch. Take a minute to click on over there and check out her creations.

I was needing to find a gift for a dear friend of mine who can be a challenge to shop for (she can easily afford to buy the things she wants or needs the most), but she loves all things stationery. When Just Being Notesy opened, I knew I had found the perfect gift for her. Here's how my order turned out (but please ignore my bad photography!):
So modern! So hip! So chic! And working with a mama-run business is always such a treat for me. It's very obvious Lani has put a lot of thought into all aspects of her new business. Every detail is just right, and she included a sweet and thoughtful handwritten note which just topped off the whole experience.

Without a doubt, I will be back to order more cards - soon! If only I can ever decide on which design I want . . . Hmmmmmmm . . .

(This is not a paid-for endorsment in any way. I ordered and paid for the cards myself. I am just so happy with my order I had to share my enthusiasm!)