Monday, September 27, 2010

The Bag Ladies


Grove Gal E and I love bags..handbags, clutches, and totes. We can trade down on t-shirts, make do without that extra pair of jeans, but when it comes to bags we have high standards.

I love my yellow Goyard, but there is one thing I don't like about it...no zipper at the top. Face it, we have all been there; your bag is on the passenger seat, you need to brake and the next thing you know EVERYTHING is on the floor.

But then we discovered these lovely totes! They come in so many yummy leather colors: think basic black, saddle brown, cornflower blue, orange, red, navy and white and are personalized. The best part, they have a zipper at the top! These totes are perfect for work, instead of a diaper bag, for the college student or for travel.
Our favorite part: these bags are $150 personalized!

Email us to place your order.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Fall Wish List


Well it's offically fall..just don't look at the forcast that says 85-90 degrees, in D.C., at the end of September. Since I can't exactly wear my fall clothes that I are in my closet, and I dont want to wear my summer clothes anymore, I planned out my fall wishlist. I will warn you some of these items, you have heard about before, I just want more...what I can I say.

Lululemon...I have heard every argument from friends as to why $98 for a pair of yoga pants is too much to spend, but you know what? My Lululemon groove pants from 3 years ago still look new and the Target ones that were only $19.99 have been replaced at least 4 times because they fall apart. I also wore my Groove pants all the way through my pregnancy (not saying they looked good at the end!) and they returned to their original size. So in the long run they cost me less per wear than my Target ones...and cost per wear is the equation that
I am sticking to!
I have to blame the Oxfords and Oysters gift bag for my next two items, because if it
wasn't for the Elizabeth McKay gift certificate and the Dixie Patches postcard I wouldn't have looked at the site, and fallen in love with EVERYTHING, but these two items will find a new home with me in the next couple of weeks.
How cute is this Bassett Coat? I love it...now to pick out a color!

I also fell in love with the charm bracelets and cufflinks from Dixie Patches. I am thinking I will start a southern themed bracelet for Mini K and cufflinks for Baby C.

And there is one thing I purchase EVERY season are my emi-jay hair ties and headbands. If you haven't ordered from these, LIFE CHANGING in humidity.
What's on your fall wish list?



Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Oxfords & Oysters


This past weekend Grove Gal E and I crossed not one but two bridges to head to Oxfords & Oysters. If you live within driving distance next year you must come. It was the perfect way to end the summer: great weather, on the water, preppy clothes and good company.

The gift bags: OVER THE TOP

The cocktails: Looked go nice and refreshing but I did not indulge with the 13.1 mile run looming a mere 14 hours in the future

The oysters: They were there..looking amazing but again said run stopped me

The talented team at Sky Blue Events organized the entire event and it was great to finally put faces with twitter names and websites! The SB team is planning a holiday event: Tartans and Tidings and I already cannot wait!

As mentioned, the gift bag did not disappoint!

Tomorrow it's officially fall...the weatherman is predicting 92 degrees. I am one of those people that when the seasons change I insist on altering my wardrobe...even if that means I fight with the weather. This year I am blaming O & O, because the gift bags contained a gift certificate to Elizabeth McKay and let's just say my wishlist is not short!



Monday, September 20, 2010

Head To Toe


Summer is officially over tomorrow...in my opinion it ended when school started. It also ended when I walked into Lowes to purchase paint to see them putting up the Christmas displays. At the risk of sounding old, wasn't it great when stores celebrated one holiday before they moved onto another one?

Fall and spring are my favorite seasons...maybe it is because they aren't extreme in either direction: hot or cold. I always think of fall as the season to prepare and spring as the time to start fresh. I woke up this morning wondering if I would feel sore after yesterday's run...I did, but I also realized as I raced to make my flight that life is ALWAYS going to be a work in progress soI might as well slow down and pay attention.

I promise there is a reason to my random musings. Hats and socks. Yes that is what I typed. How fun are winter hats and socks as adults? I am not talking about Derby hats, or the ultra hip ski attire versions or the my life could be a Patagonia catalog, but day to day hats and socks...the answer not so much.

But when you are a baby and a kid hats and socks can be fun! I started my search for hats for Baby C's first winter (thank goodness it is not predicted to be anywhere near as snowy as last year!) and rediscovered an old favorite and stumbled upon a new one ..both I wanted to share wth you!

Le'ts start at the top, and the new find...and you need to look no further than Melondipity. This site is just too cute. I am ordering these two adorable numbers for Baby C and the frou frou pink for who else but Mini K! The prices are great and they have styles I haven't seen anywhere else.





Now to my old favorite...I am telling you these make the BEST baby gift, but your little one will outgrow them by 8-9 months or so. In other words, buy them early. I am talking about what I call foot poufs...Yo My Booties. They come in just about every color. I am ordering the navy below for Baby C and Mini K had the pink ones. Trust me they look cuter on and you will get stopped every 5 feet when you little one wears them.



Sunday, September 19, 2010

Feet Up, TV On, Taking the Night Off!


Today start at 5am...not by the sound of sweet Baby C who is 5 months old TOMORROW or a bad dream belonging to Mini K, but my alarms (yes I set two of them!)

I had a date with a bridge and I couldn't be late. Today I ran the inaugural Wilson Bridge Half Marathon...not my first, but my first since having kids and you know what...my time was only 12 minutes slower than my last one...considering I haven't been able to get a run in longer than 5 miles leading up to this race I am pretty pleased.

But, the race ended and duty called...Mini K had her first lacrosse practice today followed up by a car picnic (my fancy way of saying we ate in the car!) and a skating lesson. We are home now, lunches and backpacks are packed, kids are asleep and tonight I am putting my feet up, drinking my new favorite mocktail: the diet cherry limeade packet from Target, and watching Mad Men.

I know I have products to load, lists to make, plans to make, but tonight I am okay admitting:

Or I should tonight I am choosing not to try at all...

You understand I hope!


Friday, September 17, 2010

Friday, Where Did You Come From?


Can I just say that I had the BEST time in NYC meeting Beantown Prep! Seriously, this woman is fabulous.

Since today is Friday it means the week officially got away from me...but we did remember to pick a winner of the fabulous southern magnolia bracelet....
The lucky lady is...


The Grove is also entering the modern times of constant contact so leave a comment with your email address (we wont' publish it!) and we will sign you up for our monthly newsletter.

My big exciting night...deciding what to wear to tomorrow's event and sending out orders...this may require a cocktail!


Tuesday, September 14, 2010

It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time..


Anyone else had that thought recently??? I have finally sat down to blog this week..on a train...on my way to NYC, thanks Amtrak wifi!

Mr. G is calling this week the aftermath of a series of good ideas. I am calling it the controlled chaos of a working mom!

So I am in NYC for my day job today and tomorrow and squeezing in some fun with Beantown Prepster...so excited to meet her for dinner.

A stop at Levain to pick up cookies for the real brains at my day job: Anna. Seriously we would all walk around clueless without her! If you haven't tried a cookie at Levain well you haven't lived or experienced the hour on the treadmill aftermath! I figure it's Fashion Week so everyone else should be eating nuts and berries which will mean no line for me! Another quick stop at the third ring of hell...The American Girl Doll store of course to pick up a little something for Mini K.

Then back to D.C. for a work dinner tomorrow night and Oxfords and Oysters on Saturday. I am super excited that Grove Gal E and I are attending this event.

Of course only I would plan to go to an open bar event the evening before I run my first 1/2 marathon is 7 years! So Sunday morning I will be on the edge of a bridge...literally...The Wilson Bridge Half Marathon!

Yes I know I am crazy, but I love it. Today is the last day to enter to win our stylish southern magnolia bracelet so get your entries in!

I will post the winner tomorrow...probably courtesy of previously mentioned Amtrak wifi! You could start next week off with a new piece of jewelry!

Friday, September 10, 2010

Wrap It Up


I had this post planned .... for Wednesday...and then Baby C reminded me that when you live in a house with a baby control goes out the window. He has been under the weather, but still happy as a clam. We turned a corner today so I can bring you Wednesday's post..on a Friday night.

This has made come up with a weekend resolution, because those yearly ones, well yeah they don't ever seem to happen. I am going to learn how to schedule posts..before all of you stop reading and I am left talking to myself without the excuse of the blog!

This is going to surprise some of you, but for my love of paper, I am not a fan of wrapping paper. I save my gift wrapping swooning for RIBBON! A girl can never have too much ribbon. I dream of a walk-in closet full of grosgrain, in ever color, width and stripe...until I see a new pair of Reva's or some CLB's and then a walk-in shoe closet takes over.

So instead I have a couple of large drawers in the Grove filled with grosgrain ribbon, cell bags from Nashville Wraps and tissue paper galore. This is how I wrap orders and presents alike. We go through ribbon like water so we order ours from a supplier.

But, before the Grove was well the Grove, I ordered my ribbon from the ribbon retreat. Great prices and services and so many choices.



I also like to add a little something to the ribbon besides a bow: a couple of pacifiers for a baby shower or new baby gift, a keyring for a tween or housewarming, a bottle opener for my brothers, silly bandz for kids birthday gifts and a group of multi-colored sharpies for teacher's gifts.

This year though, I am trying to make things a little more streamlined to keep up with Mini K and Baby C, and am using the same thing in different patterns on all gifts. The best part: they ahve 2 uses! You can use them at Christmas as ornaments and all year long as luggage tags. I promise they will be up on the PGG site this weekend. The backs are blank so you can add an address in a metallic sharpie and use it on your suitcase, or add mom's cell number and put it on a diaper bag. Or order one for each member of the family and put them in a cello bag and tie it up with the ribbon of your choice.

They have already been a huge hit and i will even share some of the most popular sayings/text:

1. Basic monogram
2. Family surname or favorite team name
3. School names/teams...we had a client order in her son's school colors for his lacrosse team and they are going to put each kids name on the back for their stick bags.
4. World's Best Big Sister/Little Brother, etc
5. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Brown, established 2010

You name it we can do it. If you are thinking you need more than a few, email us and we can work out a discount for you!

Ornament/Tags will be priced at:
Set of 2: $25 (Doesn't have to be the same design/text, just a minimum order of 2)

Set of 3: $35

Here are a few of my favorites:


Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Giveaway with a Purpose

I logged in to write this post and saw we are at 189 followers and wondered if we could get to 200 by the end of this week. Who knows this might help!

Grove Gal E and I try to find products that we would like to give as gifts and that we think would be fun to receive. We found a new line this summer, southern, classic and they support a cause that we LOVE. Locks of Love! I am in the process of growing my hair out for the second time to donate to Locks of Love so when I found out that there was a jewelry line that supported the same great cause, well we were sold!

Here are some of our favorites...



We are adding more styles daily, check them out HERE!

We have never met a southern lady who doesn't have a soft spot for the magnolia...the flower, the movie, its home.

So this week we will be giving away this double magnolia silk cord bracelet to one lucky lady.

1 Entry Will Be Given for Each of The Following:

1. Follow this blog
2. Follow us on twitter: grovegifts
3. Become a fan on Facebook: Pineapple Grove Gifts
4. Retweet the giveaway on twitter

Just leave us a comment with what options you have chosen and you may be sporting your own wrist magnolia by the end of next week.


Monday, September 6, 2010

New Year

I realize I am no longer in school, but I still think of the Frist Day of School as a new year. I thought this after college before I had kids, but now with Mini K it truly feels like we are blessed with two New Year's every year.

I am officially the mom of a pre-K student. I am not sure where the time has gone, but I won't dwell on that, because, well it makes me sound like my mother!

I took last week off (if anyone still reads this, welly ou already knew that)....but we are back and have so much in store for our clients, fans and friends. Before I get to that I have to share a couple of photos from the big first day of school. We opted for the purple leopard print backpack this year...it seems Mini K knew that animal prints were "in" before Rachel Zoe said so.
The backpack, monogrammed of course!

As you can see, we had to drag her up the stairs!

Mini K loves her new classroom and teacher...

The Grove's first trunk show of the Fall/Holiday Season is September 24th in Alexandria...we cannot wait to preview our new gift lines and all of the new photo holiday cards.

There are too many specials to name but let's just say several involve the word FREE. Also if you are in the Dallas, TX, Washington, D.C. or Alexandria, VA area and are interested in hosting a trunk show send us an email. Since we believe in the power of presents, hostesses receive a hostess gift (you didn't think we would show up empty handed did you?), free shipping and a rewards gift depending on your show.

Also we are announcing a giveaway this week (hint, hint tomorrow!) on twitter/facebook and finally the blog so friend us!

Twitter: grovegifts
Facebook: Pineapple Grove Gifts
Blog: you are reading it so you found us!

Now I am off to list Mini K's too short items on ebay and finish my Christmas shopping list. Several of you have asked about Halloween, and the answer is Mini K still cannot decide!

Cheers!