Thursday, November 28, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving





I am spending today with Mr. G, the minnies, their cousins and family.  I hope you are spending the day with loved ones and friends doing what you love.

I pray that military families who are without their loved ones today know how THANKFUL we ALL are for the sacrifices they are making so that we can all enjoy this day in peace and freedom.

The holiday rush will no doubt ramp right back up tomorrow, but today all is calm (well as calm as life with Baby C ever is) full of good food, drink and football and surrounded by my family.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

The SALE Has Started

While my printer won't be working on Thanksgiving day, it will be in full steam ahead mode every other day.  Our photo card SALE  is on and this is one of my favorite times of the year.  I love seeing what our customers choose for their holiday greetings.

Some of you got a little WILD this year...

From our beach loyalists....



To our pink and green lovers....


And we would never forget our traditional red and green loyalists...


But some years, the perfect is just too perfect and there is no need to add anything else!


Regardless of your style or taste, ALL photo cards are 20% off through Sunday with code:  BLKFR13

Just Say Cheese!

Friday, November 22, 2013

Friday FIVE

This week has been crazy....both crazy good and crazy bad.  I have shipped out over 90 orders, been to a meeting in Phoenix for my day job, started wrapping the little Christmas presents and still need to tackle the packing for our Thanksgiving trip.

I was able to catch up on my blog reading on the flights and am so happy to know that I am not the only one with a crazy schedule this time of year!

This week's Friday FIVE are a little bit mom, a little bit practical and a little bit beauty!

1.  Phoenician Lip Balm
Who doesn't love hotel room bath products right?  One of the little touches at the Phoenician is they leave you lip balm in your bathroom.  I am not sure who makes it for them, but it is better than my La Mer lip balm.  I think I have developed a slight addiction over the past few days!


2.  Cursive Handwriting
It drives me insane that Mini K is in second grade and there doesn't seem to be a focus on handwriting.  She has been wanting to learn to write "fancy" aka cursive and I was thrilled to find these FREE printable worksheets!  I thought I would share the source in case your little one wanted to practice too!

3.  Calendars
I still have a calendar on my desk.  It is monogrammed, of course, and sits on a gold easel.  It is one of my favorite things we carry at the Grove and I think it makes a great gift for friends, assistants, teachers and neighbors!  It is under $50 and next year you can just order them the refills so it is a ready made gift for years to come!


4.  Chalkboard Gift Wrap
I was so excited to see chalk markers in my Target's dollar section.  I picked on up with some gift tags and gift card holders and cannot wait to add some festive ribbon this gifting season!


5.  Photos
I LOVE photos, but combine photos with 25% off, FREE shipping and 10% cash back from EBATES and it's like a gifting trifecta!  You can save 25% off your purchase and get free shipping on your Snapfish purchase with code CHEERS13 and when you shop through your Ebates account you get 10% cash back!  I promise you all of this cash back adds up!  Custom coffee or tea mugs with your own photos, or your kids artwork will only cost $8.24 and you will get almost a dollar back on each one thanks to Ebates.  If you use Artkive you can put your children's artwork on the mug instead and add your own hashtag to the back of the mug.  How fun is that?  If you haven't joined Ebates, join HERE and start saving!

One last thing that is always a favorite is the Grove!  We kicked off Black Friday today, a week early!  ALL photo cards are 20% off with code:  BLKFR13!  You can see ALL of the designs HERE.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Wednesday Wish List

I am a list girl.  I always will be...I make list for groceries, for CVS, for what I need to finish each room in the house, for my businesses, my kids and yes things that I think should find a home in my closet or drawers.  Some are frivolous and some I considered needed staples.  This year I am all over the map!

A Fur Trimmed Parka
This is SO outside of my usual uniform, but I want one!  They can go over everything from workout clothes to a cocktail dress.  For me this will be as wild and crazy as I get!  I treated myself this week during the Piperlime 30% sale to this one and love that I used my Ebates and saved even more!


Tocca
Let's just say I have a slight addiction to this brand.  The candles, the lotion, the solid perfume has been a staple in my carry on since right after 9-11.  This year I have my eye on their new fragrance sampler. How fun is this?


Airplane Blanket
No, not an actual blanket, but a chic casual jacket that I can pair with jeans or crops that will keep me warm and cozy.  As you are reading this I am probably airport bound to return from a 36 hour cross country trip for a client and there is something about being on a long flight that always makes me want to wrap up and drift off to sleep to bury myself in my iPad with non-work movies (Love Actually this trip!) and music.  I am LOVING this one from Zobha......maybe the asymmetrical lines will make me look skinny.....


Shoes
Two broken feet in one year, one from surgery and one from an accident have made me realize that life really is too short to wear cheap shoes!  I am a BIG fan of my LK Bennett black and nude heels, and my Valentino rockstud wedges in basically the same colors, but my eye keeps seeking out these colorful rockstuds!  Santa, if you are listening a size 9 would be perfection!

I know I am not alone in wish lists, so what's on yours friends????

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Tuesday Tornado

This morning around 2 a.m. Baby C said his throat hurt.  By the time we drove Mini K to school I could tell something was wrong.  Well it turns out that the little man had 2 inner ear infections and a sinus infection for starters.  So like all moms, when you kids get sick, you rearrange your schedule, come up with a new one and take care of your little one.

SO that is what today has been.  My fun post on teacher's gifts will have to wait.  The good news is Baby C is now on meds, we can fly for Thanksgiving next week so the kids can see their cousins and after a long night tonight not one order will have been delayed!

I consider it a win....so friends count the small victories in the win column because life is about the moments, not the years!

Monday, November 18, 2013

Monday Madness

The past 10 days have been a blur of my day job, keeping up with the littles, fulfilling and shipping orders and getting ready for our Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.

Thank God for Starbucks, protein shakes, Crossfit and the often unexpected quote from the backseat that just makes smile and remember that the days are LONG but the years are oh so short!

Mondays are always a blur and this week in particular.  Our after school nanny is out of town, Mr. G is out of town and Mini K had swim practice, homework, a needlepoint project she wanted to finish, post practice shower and deep condition and let's not forget dinner.

We got through it, we always do and now I am going to rely on my caramel tea to help me power through processing orders and wrapping up birthday luncheon favors to deliver to a client after morning carpool.

This holiday season I am grateful to be working, to be busy...I am tired, but it's a good tired.

We always play high low at the end of each day.  The kids get to say the best and worst part of their day.  It's my way of trying to coax info out of them about their day, but today the backseat was a road show in its own right.

Mini K started with a 1, 2 punch:
1.  There is a new band called N' Sync and I want one of their songs on my iPad.  LORD HELP ME

2.  Not to be out done Baby C marched right up to a 20 something sorority girl wearing an SMU tshirt at Chick Fil A and said "Momma, I want to sit next to this pretty girl to eat my chicken nuggets."  Big sister was NOT amused, I couldn't stop laughing and said pretty girls' boyfriend told C he had some good moves.  Baby C went to bed saying I have good moves Momma.

I promise I won't disappear again this week!  I will be back tomorrow with our best teacher gifts for under $25 and make sure to check in on Facebook as we will be posting discounts codes for the upcoming sales!


Tuesday, November 5, 2013

New Additions

I feel like I have been living in the Grove as soon as I wake up and as soon as the minnies go to bed.  I wouldn't call them late nights so much as early mornings, but my trusted Red Cup from Starbucks and the sea of monograms, ribbon and cello make it worth it!

I cannot say my desk is clean, but this is the reality of the holiday season!  Just keeping it real friends.

Every year I love to try and find new things for the holiday season especially.  I thought I would give you a sneak peek tonight!

Holiday Notes

I love these big notepads to give as hostess gifts or tie one up with a Starbucks card for the "nice" teacher on your list!

Some people always make sure to give socks or underwear to kids during the holidays, but I always give thank you notes, because a thank you should always follow a present right?  These stag fill in thank you's are perfect for the little man on your list!

If you are a fellow monogram addict, these patterned notepads are perfect!  Jumbo monograms, polka dots, stripes, just let us know your favorite color, and monogram of course, and leave the rest to us!

Warm and wild or carpool chic?  You decide, but wither way our our fleece and nylon jackets look even better with an applique monogram in Lilly fabric.

So many of you emailed asking for the best $25 gift and I will do an entire post on this tomorrow, but let's just say I think I have nailed it!

I need your help!  We would love to know what you would like to see on sale for Cyber Monday.  We have some ideas and treats up our sleeve, but we always like to know what our customers want!

And with that, I need to get back to wrapping and boxing so we can ship first thing tomorrow morning!

XOX!

Friday, November 1, 2013

Friday FIVE

Is it me or was today rough?  The littles had so much fun trick or treating last night that morning came much too soon!  We survived a day full of client meetings, spelling tests, a playground tumble (Baby C) and more conference calls than I can count!  This week, these 5 things have gotten me to today.

1.  RED CUPS
I am not talking about Solo cups, I am talking caffiene!  There is something about walking into Starbucks and seeing the red cups for the first time each year that make me smile.  Today was that day!


2.  LUGGAGE
I know TSA and the airlines destroy, but there is something about getting allof my stuff into a small suitcase that makes me feel like an Olympian.  Bric's is my brand of choice.  It is super light and durable.  I was thrilled to see it on sale on One Kings Lane today and several people on our list will never lose their carry on suitcase again.  Texas orange anyone??  My guess is it will sell out but you can check out the sale HERE.


3.  FINISHED PROJECTS
Technically this project is still missing carpet, but I am deciding on it this weekend.  I have a sweater chest that I have had since I was a child that my now 12 year old Scottie chewed as a puppy.  I finally found someone to repair it and paint it to match the guest the room.  It was delivered last week and of course I need PILLOWS and CUSHIONS.  My friend Elizabeth is an amazing seamstress and I love to support her business and she is the only one who can take my sketches and lists and turn them into exactly what I had pictured in my brain.  I love that this little corner of the room is now a cozy place to read a book.


4.  BOOKS
We all know I love a fun coffee table book, but from the time I was a young girl I have LOVED Pat Conroy novels.  The Great Santini is still one of my favorites and I downloaded the sequel as soon as it came out.  It is taking all of my willpower to save it for my cross country flight to a conference later this month.  You can order it HERE.


5.  PRETTY LITTLE EXTRAS
I love to tie a little something to the ribbon on the package.  As soon as I saw Julep's holiday collection I knew my nieces would LOVE the ornament lip gloss.  The best part is that Julep is now on Ebates and you can get 4% cash back.  Want to know something else:  the ENTIRE site is 50% off with code GOCRAZY through Sunday.  Their mascara, lip gloss and cuticle oil are some of the best products I have used and their nail polish stays on my nails better than a gel manicure.