My tummy is so thankful

Posted on September 1, 2010 by twopeasinapoddesigns

Life is busy.

Each of us runs our own race.  Work.  Family.  Obligations.  Trying to figure out just what it is we were made for.  At many points of your life it may not seem so obvious.  But then unexpectedly, someone, something, gets you to stop just long enough to take a breath and remember what is important.

Frequently for me, it’s Carla.  Carla is our business partner.  Spiritual leader I call her.  When my anxiety gets the best of me and I feel like I’m not good enough, I can’t get it all done, or I feel paralyzed from pressure (right?  we all get that sometimes?  tell me I’m not alone here)  Carla comes to the rescue – she is quick to pull out scripture that hits home.  I’ll read her emails and they’ll say, “We need to talk about the profit and loss plan, period.  Next sentence, God loves you, he will never abandon you…and beautiful scripture and discussion about a particular verse.  Her emails make me cry.  Sometimes because of the deadlines for the business…LOL…mostly because they keep me grounded in keeping my eye on the true prize that we have in Christ.

I have come to realize that many of my close friends do that for me…they are really good at lifting me spiritually when I need it.  I feel like such a slug because I have been so “needy” these last months…ok year?  Maybe?  Challenging ourselves, dealing with punches that roll our way, pulling ourselves up…I wonder if I give back as much as I receive.  I want to be better at it…and I feel like sometimes I’m so wrapped up in ME that I’m missing out.  I’m going to focus my prayers there for awhile…

Carla, aka the gardeners Aunt, is the bestest cook eva!  She showed up at our house for one of our meetings with this…In this cooler, in the boxes, bags that accompanied it contained precut, precooked, prepared meals for lunch, dinner and snacks for an entire week.  I know, spoiled aren’t we?!  Check out the menu she brought!

Can you see it?  Seriously spoiled are we!

You should know something about me.  I love to eat.  Good drinks.  Delicious foods.  It’s by far my favorite form of entertainment.  I love to go out to eat at good restaurants.  I love going to parties.  I love potlucks.  I especially love when a gourmet cook brings me a weeks worth of dinner…made with love.

It was a great week…

Giveaway?  Oh yes, we do have a winner to announce.  Mr. Random Number Generator…#30, thepurplecloth!

Thanks Chantelle for sharing your talents!

{ps forgot to mention!  I have some cute fall and halloween shirts up in the shop…limited supply.  A few more sizes may be available but mention “fat and happy” in the comment section of your purchase and receive your shipping costs refunded! }

xoxo,

Trish

Filed under: faith, sponsored giveaway | 1 Comment »

Pouring. Down. Rain. Miracle.

Posted on August 30, 2010 by twopeasinapoddesigns

Would you guess that as this shot was taken, the rain…started…to…POUR!  BUCKETS!  I can’t believe how awesome this came out for as hard as it was raining!  We were a bit under the trees so we got lucky!  LOVE IT!

This is my Pocket Full of Posies banner and I love how cute our little model looks with her fairy wings enjoying our tea party we set up.

Before the photo shoot for our patterns and pending Quilt Market…we spent time sprucing up the playhouse my Dad and husband built.  Dills Nursery loaned us some fabulous plants and it looked stunning!  

The gardener (aka my husband) really out did himself!  He repainted everything, powerwashed all over the place, hauled plants, watched kids…super Dad for sure!

I’ve been writing writing writing working on text for the patterns and really, not much else.  I’m kinda feeling out of sorts because my sewing machine broke as I finished up the last sample for the photo shoot.  And it’s been down for more than a week now.  Can’t remember the last time I stayed away from my machine that long…

So I’ve started daydreaming about Halloween already…I know, I know.  It’s my favorite holiday…I think I might start decorating in a couple of weeks so I can really enjoy my entire vintage collection I’ve amassed over the years.  I’ve started browsing on etsy…found this fun little item!

I’m gonna have some serious fun watching what pops on etsy over the next few weeks.  I seriously LOVE vintage Halloween decor!  Fun!

Do you have a favorite holiday you like to decorate for?

Don’t forget – the Chantelle Nicole Giveaway ends August 31st!  You still have time to get in and explore all the wonderful jewelry items she creates!

xoxo,

Trish

Filed under: quilt market, sewing pattern, sponsored giveaway | 2 Comments »

Chantelle Nicole Designs Giveaway

Posted on August 26, 2010 by twopeasinapoddesigns

{sponsored giveaway}

Meet the beautiful and beautifully blessed with talent, Chantelle.  She joined us on the Two Peas blog in August as a blog sponsor and I’m so glad she did…because her products are amazing!

Chantelle designs handstamped gorgeous jewelry.  Stuff that is pretty enough to wear for a night out and sweet and sassy enough to pair with your favorite jeans and t-shirt.

One of my favs is the leather cuff bracelet.  I think I’d have my hubby and I’s anniversary date stamped on it…as a reminder of our family foundation.  {have I ever told you we were married on Valentines Day?  Sweet, I know…and easy to remember!}

I love this necklace too…too cute to wear your kids on your neck.  Or your dogs, whatever babies you happen to have!  I just think these are stinking adorable!

I was so drawn to this locket.  I love the rose but then browsing her blog, gasp, I found THIS!

Something new she has coming out…don’t you love the little rose with it?  I’m not one to shy away from color, ahem, clearly…so I love the pop of color the rose adds!

Chantelle is super busy with a new house she and her hubby just bought…and they have even started a new blog to record their renovations adventure on the over 100 year old – arts and crafts style? – home.  It’s a fabulous little nest and it will be really exciting to see how it all transforms.

Well, lucky you today!  Chantelle has been sweet enough to offer our Two Peas readers a chance at a $40 gift certificate to her sweet little shop.

To enter is simple:

1) Go and visit Chantelle Nicole Designs shop and come back here and tell us how you would spend the $40 gift certificate!  1 entry

2) Follow Chantelle on her blog then come back here and leave a comment telling us you have done so.  1 entry

3) Because I LOVE her leather cuffs…tell us, what would YOU have stamped on your bracelet.  1 entry

3 chances – super easy!  This giveaway will be open until Tuesday, August 31st at midnight, EST.  I will choose a winner via random.org and post the winner after Tuesday.  Ok, on your mark, get set…go give Chantelle Nicole Designs some love!!

Thanks Chantelle and best wishes for success in all you do!

xoxo,

Trish

Filed under: sponsored giveaway | Tagged: , , , | 44 Comments »

Two Peas in a Pod

Posted on August 24, 2010 by twopeasinapoddesigns

Sewing, planning, writing, prepping…so many things to do before we launch big with our sewing pattern line.  This weekend, we had our big photo shoot with the awesome of awesomeness photographers, Britt Lakin of Britt Lakin Photography.

I love Britt because it’s like she gets inside my head and totally sees in my minds eye what I was dreaming for the shot.  For every single item, 16 or so, we prepped and set a “scene” for that shot.  Plus lifestyle shots to be used elsewhere for marketing, etc.  In all…it was a lot.  It rained, we had models, here, there, in town…it was crazy!  But fun in a great way!  Can’t wait to tell you more about the great mud river and how we almost “lost” Britt to the muddy mess!  Soon, I promise!

I’ll keep updating with more of our progress as we go along…plus I have a little tutorial coming as well for a quick and easy maxi dress!

xoxo,

Trish

Filed under: Sprouts Sewing Patterns, two peas in a pod homegrown designs | Tagged: , , | 5 Comments »

Making Summer last…

Posted on August 16, 2010 by twopeasinapoddesigns

We usually take a summer vacation but this year…it just didn’t work out.  The girls and I were both sad to miss the beach as this is the first time since they’ve been born that we couldn’t go.  (Um wait…maybe second, I think we skipped the year Sprout was born too).

So we decided we would stay home and do loads of fun things.  And we did…my feet are still aching from all the walking and my thighs…enjoyed the pizza and pop and other goodies we had as well.

One of the things I liked best was that I got to sleep in my own bed every night.  And I didn’t have to pack.  And there weren’t any long drives…well, except to Cincinnati.  That was a couple of hours.  But it was a fun week.

A few of the things we did included a boat ride down the Ohio River.  It was a lunch cruise and it was yummy.  Sprout ate a ton of food!  And perhaps two pieces of cake…or at least licked all the frosting off of two pieces of cake.  ”Banjo Bob” played old time music and gave us a lot of history about the area.  It was really nice and the kids loved it.

After our lunch cruise, we hit the Newport Aquarium.  The shark tank…SO COOL!  The girls even got to pet a shark!  Who pets a shark?!?  That’s crazy!

One thing the girls had been looking forward to for weeks and weeks was WEDNESDAY.  We had decided to let them get hamsters but not until our vacation week.  So Wednesday, we adopted Poppy and Daisy.  I am now somewhat regretting this decision.  They are so excited and love them.  Me…they are cute and the novelty has already worn off, soon after the stink.  It’s mild but the big one, Daisy, stinks.  Sigh.

The Columbus Zoo is amazing.  The animal exhibits…fabulous.  But we didn’t go to the zoo to see animals.  Because our zoo also has a golf course, huge water park and an amusement park area.  We went for the rides.  We never ride the rides at the zoo.  Because we go to see the animals.  But this week, we went JUST to ride the rides for once.  And to see the new polar bears.  Both…wow!  So much fun!

I think I rode the elephants at least 8 times with Sprout.  Um, the girl is like the energizer bunny.  Never stopped.  Never fussed.  Loved every minute.  Until about 5pm.  Then she totally just passed out in her stroller.  So cute.  Woke up 30 minutes later asking to go back on the elephants.

But for the Gardener and I, the Polar Bears were amazing!  You can view them from underneath or from the water surface…they played, they chased fish, they stuck their head in a bucket.  I was standing like 3 feet away from a polar bear.  3 FEET!  It left me speechless…squeeling and laughing with delight but no words.  Just…wow!

It was fun to watch the girls have such a great time.  Watching your kids just enjoy themselves, smile, laugh, run, play, ask for things and we said yes, yes, yes, all week…it was really nice.  Really joyful.  Really blessed.  How are you making your summer last these days before school begins?

xoxo,

Trish

Filed under: columbus zoo, family | 3 Comments »

{party girls}

Posted on August 13, 2010 by twopeasinapoddesigns

I love making things for events for special little people, don’t you?

Recently, I had the pleasure of making my Carol Jane dresses for a client whose daughter was celebrating a birthday and she wanted her baby sister to have a coordinating dress.  These Carol Jane patchwork dresses fit the bill perfectly with an initial monogram and accessorized with one of my little hair flowers to boot.

The Carol Jane dress sewing pattern has 7…SEVEN…versions of a simple dress that you can make and I can’t wait to share them all with you!  (we have a BIG photo shoot this weekend for all the pattern covers!  eeeee!!)

Just look and sigh…because, I don’t think two little girls could get much cuter than these two!

Filed under: Sprouts Sewing Patterns | 5 Comments »

Sausage fingers

Posted on August 9, 2010 by twopeasinapoddesigns

Can you see me? {muffle…muffle…snip…snip…whir…whir…tossing fabric….}

How about now?  I realize it’s kind of crazy in here with all the cutting and stitching and the ipod playing in the background and the iron steaming and the hair pulling and all…and that stuff is kind of thrown all over the place.  That’s me in front of the machine…where I’ve been sitting for a very long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long time.

The two peas spent the week at my parents house.  Local Grandma came over to watch Sprout.  And I spent many hours this week holed up in my sewing room – sewing like mad.

Friday I…wait for it…Friday I sewed…are you ready?  Ready?  18 hours.  Ok, Maybe 16…I did stop to eat and I did sit down for about 20 minutes while I waited for my friend Kristen to come over.  I texted her at 8pm something like, “I am losing my mind.  Busy?  Please come to my house.  I need reinforcements.  Please.  PLEEEASE!”.  Being the wonderful friend that she is, she called me immediately and said, “What’s wrong?”.  I shared with her my insanity and that I couldn’t even see to thread my needle anymore and she zipped right over.

As I sewed over a tube in a pillow I wasn’t supposed to for the 3rd time at around 2am, Kristen says, “don’t make another stitch unless I say so.”  You know how drunk drivers weave all over the road way?  That was me…sewing all crazy and haphazardly.  I was losing it.

Why the insanity?  Did I mention before that I’m working on a line of sewing patterns? We are actually working on 14 different patterns, have applied for, been accepted and paid for a booth at the International Quilt Market in Houston in October and are gonna JUMP!

I have had such great response from the trunk shows I’ve been doing the last few years that I’m taking many of the things I have been making for years and years along with some new things and putting them all together in patterns so you can make your own.  I mean really, I only have so much time and so many hands…I was finding it impossible to keep up with all the orders and requests.  So everyone…getcha a sewing machine and learn how to sew!

This first batch of patterns will have some home dec items, functional items, a quilt, lots of bags and some kids clothing.  A pretty fun mix that I hope everyone will enjoy making and using.

But I have to admit…my fingers feel like fat little sausages and now that all the samples for the pattern covers are done…I’m stepping away from my machine.  For a few days at least.  We are taking a little staycation this week…gonna go to some water parks, and the zoo, and tour around Cincinnati a bit.  I can’t wait to have a break.

{I swear, I know other people work really hard…but my husband and I work like 15 hour days everyday.  Day jobs, kids, chores, business stuff…its so exhausting but in an exciting, anticipatory kind of way.  This is something totally new for us and I, love having him be fully on board and working with me.  He even comes down here and says, “I’ve designed a new apron…” and proceeds to show me some crazy strap thing that only a guy could come up with…that I’ll probably have patterned for Spring :>)  Ha!  Ha!}

Next week, the marathon photo shoot.  Britt of Britt Lakin Photography who makes my heart swoon she’s so awesome, is gonna come hang at my house for an afternoon.  Last night, Carla (our awesome business partner, family, friend, spiritual mentor, fabulous cook – more on her later this week) and I mapped out all the shots and made a quick trip to the store for a few props.  This morning, the gardener woke up at 5am to finish painting the playhouse.  It has a fresh face for all these photos for next week and it looks so cute!

Can’t wait to share so much more with you in the coming months as this all starts to fall into place…

xoxo,

Trish

Filed under: Sprouts Sewing Patterns, sewing pattern | 6 Comments »

Life only gets clearer…

Posted on July 31, 2010 by twopeasinapoddesigns

Each passing year, it seems like my life only gets clearer.

What I thought I knew at 20 was like what I knew in the 1st grade.  Just beginning to let all of this new knowledge soak in.

What I thought I knew at 27 is worlds apart from what I knew at 37.  At 27, I had just gotten married, quit my job, moved to a new city and for the first time ever, left my little apartment life I had become secure in since I was 20 and lived in a home that was my very own with a yard and a garage and my own washer and dryer.

When I turned 29, I had two amazing little sweet peas blessed to my care.  I don’t know how we managed but somehow we did.  I learned a lot.  I learned that when my Mom and Dad tell me they love me, that the kind of love they are speaking of fills up the space of the whole world.  I never knew how much my Mom loved me until I had a child of my own to love.

When I turned 34, I made a lot of stupid mistakes.  I thought I knew what I was doing but the truth was I was so completely lost.

Now that I’m less than a year away from 40, I feel like I can finally see all the pieces of my past fitting together to lead me to this place.  The journey is so important.  Without the lessons, the learning, the making mistakes, the successes, the trying new things, expanding and pushing myself, working hard…without my husband, my children, my family…the journey wouldn’t be worth any of it.

From where I stand now, I can see why God chose my husband for me.  He is forgiving, and passionate, and giving, and the best Dad ever to our girls, he believes in me, supports me, fixes things that break, takes care of me when I’m sick, dreams big dreams with me, and never lets me go.

My children have these amazing endless imaginations, good spirits, positive attitudes, huge smiles all the time, good eating habits (ha!), and a faith relationship with God that I can’t even begin to comprehend.  I don’t ever remember having a relationship with God like my girls have at this age – the depth of their understanding in faith inspires me.

If I had gotten to where I wanted to go when I wanted to get there – I would have missed so many important things along the way that have taught me about myself and what I can and can not do.

It’s a forever kind of journey and so I guess, I’ll just keep enjoying where I am and appreciate what looking back does to remind me of how far I’ve come as a wife, mother, and as ME.

xoxo,

Trish

Filed under: faith | 3 Comments »

{A New Orleans Summer Wedding…}

Posted on July 25, 2010 by twopeasinapoddesigns

Several months back, I was neck deep in making dresses for a summer wedding in New Orleans.  Remember this?

Just the other day, the bride sent me a few snapshots.  I was so excited to see the dresses on the big day – I think they fit perfectly for a summer wedding in New Orleans, don’t you think so?

{I also made their hair flowers...}

A reluctant ring bearer? Maybe just a little...

Super Nova, my seamstress friend, made the adorable tie to match the dresses. Melt my heart...how cute is he!?

The junior bridesmaid wore a similar dress with a bit of different styling. I love how they had her wear her sash as a drape. Gorgeous!

These dresses are Pink Fig patterns and we adapted them to work for the wedding by changing up the hemlines and adding some additional details, etc.  I think they worked really well for the occasion and the best thing of all…they can be worn again and again for church and other special occasions.

I had intended to announce our  Lisa Leonard giveaway winner yesterday…but as life would have it…”something came up”.  Last week, I got horribly sick for a few days with a nasty awful cold something or other.  Then one of the peas got sick.  And we both got better somewhere around Monday.  On Monday, Sprout fell off of a dining room chair.  Which seemed not to be a big deal but turns out she may have had a toddler fracture…and so I spent time running her around to the doctors office and then over for scans.  Came back negative.  Good news.  Then the other pea came down sick.  Then we had a swim team breakfast, a final practice, our swim team Championships, then I got sick again with fever for two days, then Sprout got a fever and they thought maybe her leg was infected so I spent last night with her at the hospital while that was all checked out.  Today…today all of us are well.  Sprout’s leg is fine, not great, but the second round of scans still showed negative fractures so not sure why she is still fussing over it.  She still has a fever but she seems to be doing much better.  And the peas are better.  And life is almost normal here.  Whatever that is.

Breath…ok, and so that’s why I didn’t get everything updated.  Old Mr. Random Number Generator…choose #8, Celeste.  Congrats Celeste!  Have fun shopping over at Lisa Leonard Designs.  And thank you to everyone else who participated.

And THANK YOU Lori, for featuring my pattern on your blog this week. LOVE HAZEL – go share some love with her, please?!

xoxo,

Trish

Filed under: pink fig, sponsored giveaway | 7 Comments »

Lisa Leonard Designs Giveaway

Posted on July 19, 2010 by twopeasinapoddesigns

{this post sponsored by Lisa Leonard Designs}

Have you had the pleasure of meeting Lisa Leonard?

“My desire is to create simple, lovely pieces that can be worn with jeans or your little black dress.  I want each piece to be meaningful.  Our custom jewelry is hand-stamped with your kids’ names or a special phrase or verse.  I love to touch my necklace throughout the day and reflect on my husband and my sweet boys.”

Lisa is the designer of all things shiny and fabulous…seriously, you’ve most likely seen her gorgeous jewelry before across blogland.  Can you hear the swooning?

One of my favorites includes this simple silver band bracelet

Baby spoons? What an adorable shower gift for a new mom!

I love this one...your kids birth order and names. Simply delicious

With the um, "small" obsession I have for owls...I'm pretty sure this one is screaming my name.

Lisa has been generous enough to offer one of our Two Peas readers at $50 gift certificate for her shop!  Yikes!  How awesome is that?!

Here’s whatcha gotta do to enter the giveaway:  THE GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

1)  Visit Lisa’s shop and take a look around.  Come back here and leave a comment on your favorite item.  (one entry)

2)  Tweet about this giveaway THEN come back here and leave a separate comment that you have done so.  (one entry)

3)  Blog about this giveaway THEN come back here and leave 3 separate (but duplicate, yes, that’s ok) comments with link. (two entries)

4)  Follow my blog and leave a comment that you have done so (one entry)

5)  Fan my Facebook page at Two Peas in a Pod Homegrown Designs (one entry)

WOW!  That’s six possible entries for this giveaway!  Good luck!

{This giveaway will close on Friday, July 23rd at midnight EST.   A winner will be chosen via random.org and announced on Saturday, July 24th. }

Filed under: sponsored giveaway | 52 Comments »

Next Page »