Sunday, March 28, 2010

The Final Stretch

I have been frantically working to get everything done before Mini #2 arrives. It seems he might have other plans, because as of Friday we are on baby watch. I know this makes most moms think of sleepless nights, but all I can think of is how much I cannot wait to get back to Bikram yoga. I was finally starting to get the hang of it when I found out I was expecting.

This upcoming Saturday is also the day I officially become AMA: Advanced Maternal Age. I really didn't have a problem turning 35...that is until I was introduced to that phrase.

Grove Gal E had a HUGE event for her day job this past week and it was a huge success. I am hoping she is enjoying a cocktail right now as she is hosting what I am calling Manfest tonight for her husband's birthday.

I finally picked out Mini #2's birth announcements...you would think it would only take me a second, but it was a hard decision.

It should be a busy week at the Grove with orders coming in, donations to packaged and delivered and the final items of Mini K's that no longer fit will be on ebay tomorrow night.

I do need you to help me with one thing...I have monogrammed t-shirts for just about every holiday that Mini K has outgrown. Rather than put them on ebay I would like to just pass them on to someone who loves monograms as much as I do (if that is possible!). So if any of you know of a little girl, under the age of 3 with the monogram: kGe PLEASE let me know.

I am off to finish a few more must do's tonight, before my brain remembers I am 9 months pregnant, or my Sunday shows start. I promise to be back tomorrow!


Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Easter Prepping...

I can't believe it has been almost a week since my last post....especially since I do not feel like I have stopped. We have been processing orders and ordering updates and more items to prepare for spring shows and events. I also found out that the Grove in-laws are coming for Easter...next Thursday to be exact...8 of them. Yes you heard me, 8 in-laws coming for a 5 day visit less than a month before this baby arrives. I should also say that 5 of them are staying with us...Mini K will be thrilled to have her cousin here for an Easter Egg hunt. I have ordered the food (no I am not cooking AT ALL and do not feel one bit bad about it!), and Easter is my favorite holiday so I am frankly finishing up, ok starting and finishing the decorating this weekend.

With that in mind, I had to share two great websites I have discovered that can save you money. I will confess my orders have not arrived, but the prices are amazing and I am hoping the quality is the same.

I try to always have a wreath on the front door. The Grove door is black and surrounded by brick so it can be dark. The porch project will not occur until we do the upstairs rennovation so I am trying to be patient. The good news is that while I wait I have found a new website for wreaths...and they even offer a price break on sets of 2.

The Easter bunny will know he has arrived at the Grove when he greeted at the door with this cheery wreath. I love the giant yellow bow and Mini K will simply adore all of the colored eggs. I usually prefer the more pastel Easter egg wreaths, but Mini K is so excited to hunt for eggs and I think this sets a fun mood that will get everyone in the mood for fun and friends!
Easter Egg Wreath

This will be my summer wreath...if I can't live at the beach this summer, I can think of it when I arrive at my casa every night!
Seashell Wreath

Spring always makes me think of one flower: PEONIES! I have a favorite photo of First Lady Nancy Reagan in the sitting room surrounded by revere bowls and julep cups filled with peonies and a needlepoint pillow that said "Peonies Bloom In May." Well May is still a ways away, but you can have a new set of julep cups ready to go, and at 7" tall they can even add some height to your display.

Julep Cups
$14.40

I don't like serving becerages out of pitchers. They can be so messy and let's face it, sweaty in the heat. I have had my eye on a couple of beverage servers in the Horchow catalog, but then I found these...at less than 25% of the price! How fun to serve your sweet tea, lemonade and cucumber water out of these?!?!

Beverage Server
$49.99

For the last two months I have been focused on champagne...probably because I cannot drink it! These champagne coolers are a steal and at $22 you can order more than a few and space them around your party. For a personal touch use mini champagne bottles and crazy straws instead of one big bottle and glasses.

Champagne Bucket
$22.00

For those of you that follow me on twitter, you know I have been trying to hold myself to finishing my daily goals. Today's to do's were: exercise, blog post, client meetings and email. Well I have now officially completed my list and with that I am going to sleep!

Night.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Bags To Pack...



There is something about receiving a package in the mail...not the part where you have to stand in line for what is always longer than it should be at the Post Office, but when you pull up to your house and find an unexpected or long awaited for box sitting on your front porch. Our mail didn't come last night until, well it was so late, I found the box this morning!

And today of all days, I needed a pick me up! A big thank you to Maryland Pink and Green! I love everything you sent me.
Mini K came home from school and insisted on practicing her circle tracing skills and I can't wait to pack my 2 new bags to take to the hospital for Mini #2's arrival on April 20th!

Your package will be in the mail tomorrow...see first paragraph about said LONG line at the Post Office...how I wish every Post Office only featured those computer shipping centers with a big belt behind them so the package holders were never full.

In other news, we have ordered some great new lines for PGG and I am slowly knocking out my spring cleaning. Thanks to Miss Mermaid, I am taking clothes, sunglasses and handbags that I haven't touched in a year into Secondi on Friday and making some much needed space!

How is your week?

Monday, March 15, 2010

Whirlwind Weekend

Warning...there is absolutely nothing GLAMOUROUS about my weekend. I have been catching up on blogs since Mini K went to bed and it seems that quite a few of you had very exciting weekends.

I did receive a super fun swap package in the mail from the talented Just An All American Girl.

The frame will be perfect for the nursery as lime green is one of our colors and all of you know I love all things paper. This box of stationery is gong straight to my office tomorrow.


Thank you to the chic Maryland Pink and Green for organizing the swap....I know it is a lot of work.

Mr. Grove and Mini K attended their first Father Daughter Dance at her school on Saturday night and it seems she was a dancing queen!

Other than that it rained, and rained some more and tonight's fun activity is to finally finish posting my ebay listings of Mini K's now too small items. Sigh........

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

When Nothing Fits...


I HATE the maternity clothes part of pregnancy..which is probably why I worked out like crazy as soon as I found out I was expecting, but at 34 weeks, well, they are just needed. So since I refuse to make another purchase for myself, clothing that is, and Lilly P doesn't count, I have spent my energy trying to find some things for Mini K that isn't in every store in town.

Cue, my go to for all things fabulous and unique: ETSY

I think I have discovered some gems...what do you think?


I am in LOVE with the seller the Laughing Giraffe. Seriously, I want one of everything for Mini K! If you make a purchase tell her I sent you as I want her to save enough fabric for my order!!! The dress images below are from the Laughing Giraffe's store.

The Ava...$48




The Jane...$42



The perfect tunic for your little minnie from Dogwood Lane Clothes. The photo is from Dogwood Lane Clothes.



This headband from Nana Goat is perfect for tweens and grown ups too! I think it is a steal at $8...the perfect item to have a few on hand for that last minute hostess gift for Girls Night Out or birthday party. The headband photo is courtesy of Nana Goat



Mini K is going to look so cute in this rosette tank. I love the designer: Modern Frills from Dallas...okay well the Dallas part doesn't hurt either. Photo courtesy of Modern Frills



LOVE this teal bow clutch from esty seller Davie and Chiyo. At $75 it would make the perfect gift for your friend that has one of everything! Photo courtesy of Davie and Chiyo.


Monday, March 8, 2010

Easter Prep

Easter is a big deal in the Grove household. Maybe it's because it the one holiday that I can claim pink and green is a must, or maybe it is because I love spring, regardless no matter what else is going on in my life Easter is my favorite holiday. This year will be no different...I don't care that it is the day after my birthday, or that it is a little less than 2 weeks before Mini #2 is born, or that we will have Mr. Grove's sister, husband and 3 children staying with us. it is going to be a pink and green soiree.

There are a few changes this year...Mr. Grove is in charge of one mega Easter Egg hunt in our backyard. I think I have ordered more plastic eggs from Oriental Trading (via ebates of course) than I actually need, but who cares!

Mini K's dress arrived on Saturday and brace yourselves....it is blue, white and yellow...it seems the age of 4 is when one stakes her claim on her closet. I almost laughed at her reason for not wanting to wear Lilly...and I quote..." oh mommy, I just cannot sit still in Lilly, so I need a serious dress to wear to church! I promise to report back on if said wardrobe actually results in a perfectly behaved little girl at Easter Sunday mass.

Last week and this week I am also wrapping up some house projects: a new window in Mini K's bathroom, new interior doors and trim, painting Mini K and Mini #2's bedrooms, a custom desk and cubbie hutch for the kitchen to house our family imac, cookbooks, backpacks and well, I confess clutter. I also had grand plans of ordering an outdoor dining set for our new patio, but I refuse to order from Ballard Designs without a coupon code. Am I alone in this insistance on waiting to order until I receive a coupon code? I promise to post photos on all of these projects as soon as they are completed this week! And Mini #2's crib bedding should arrive next week.

So that leaves the Easter baskets...

Usually, this is the easy part, but this year I need to make more than a few and I am stumped. We will have 2 tweens, Mini K, a younger cousin and one of Mini K's best friends....1 boy the rest girls. I should also say that Easter baskets in Groveland do not contain candy...hence the Easter Egg hunt, so I am trying to be creative. Any thoughts or suggestions just send them my way.

I was thinking I had been such a blog slacker, but I confess I am a little tired reading this so maybe I wasn't being lazy after all.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Weekend Recap

Yesterday Mr. Grove and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary. I must say it doesn't seem like 7 years on one hand, but on the other I sit back and think about how much we have done: 2 major renovation projects on 2 different houses, 2 kiddos (or should I say 1.5 for now), more business travel than I can count and his constant support for my love affair with my dear PGG!
Since I cannot get on a plane until Mini #2 arrives we decided on an unconventional anniversary trip...one that included Mini K and involved a road trip. So Friday morning, we packed up and headed to The Homestead. Two amazing dinners, ice skating, skeet shooting for Mr. G, a private ski lesson for Mini K and 1 run for Mr. G before Mini K insisted on multiple trips down the bunny slope and a much needed prenatal massage for me, we packed back up and headed home.
Our little L. Vonn!

It was a fabulous weekend, not counting the years Mini K took off of my life, by being fearless on the slopes! I got back just in time for my doctor's appointment yesterday and there is now officially a light at the end of this pregnancy tunnel...Mini Boy G now has a scheduled induction date of April 20th! I promised not to bore all of you with baby posts, but I will warn you...the nursery is being painted next week and the bedding should arrive shortly and I cannot wait to show you. Now for anyone that has little boys, I need to figure out what our little prince will wear home from the hospital....this blue world is quite different than the pink one we are used to!


Monday, March 1, 2010

140 Characters Can Make You Think

Image from www.laylagrace.org

It's no secret that I am on twitter. Facebook is just not my thing, and as with every working woman, life seems to go by so fast. In the past two months I have been drawn to the story of an angel on earth and her amazingly strong family: Layla Grace. I mean look at this little princess, how could you not fall in love with those eyes?

I cannot even remember how I found @laylagrace on twitter, but I can tell you reading her story has made me STOP and THINK. Layla is a 2 year old girl nearing the end of her fight with neuroblastoma. She will not win her battle with this aggressive cancer on earth, her victory will come when she is at peace with her Lord, but her story and bright smile I find constantly on my mind. No child should have to endure such pain and no parent should have to bury their child. It is just not fair!

Her story has also made me angry, angry that far too many families are dealing with childhood cancers. There are little angels all around us, fighting for their lives and I challenge ALL of you to STOP and read her story. When you are finished I think, or I should say I hope, it changes your life too.

In the past two weeks since Layla has been home with her parents receiving care from Hospice I find myself checking twitter constantly for updates on her health. In a world where we all seem to be in a rush Layla has made me stop....to be angry that children are faced with cancer, to think about what I do to help others and to be grateful.

It seems that a mess made by Mini K now makes me grateful, her tantrums and laughter both bring me joy and making her lunch is something I look forward to because it is a new day. Little Layla has taught me to be calm, to be grateful and to know that we must do all we can to live our lives with purpose. These children are the littlest victims and we have to be their voice.

I recognize that twitter will not cure illness, but it can make you STOP and think. Layla's fight may be nearing it's end, but we can all take her spirit and carry it forward...after all if only took 140 characters to change my mind.