Friday FIVE Part 2

I know it's Sunday, but this year I am determined to get back to blogging and get ALL of my new products on the website so better late than never!

Baby C, I really need to stop calling him that, is finally feeling better.  We are going to see a specialist on Thursday to try and figure out what caused it, but for now he is happily watching hockey and singing Jingle Bells....yes in January!

SO this week's list is a combination of 2 of my favorite things:  gifting and wrapping up home projects.

1.  Puppies!
We  got 2 new puppies and they are super talented!  They sit super still, can hold flowers and can also serve up a mean punch.  They are Staffordshire and I ADORE them.  I have been wanting a pair of Staffordshire pitchers for awhile and a dear friend spotted these for me at an antique store and a trip to the UPS store later they are in my dining room!

2.  Take A Seat
I loved the shape of this bench the moment I saw it, but wanted to do something else in terms of fabric. I LOVE how it turned out and now have a pretty and functional place to sit in my master bedroom!

3.  Let there be light!
Mr. G knows I love pineapples (hello, Pineapple Grove Gifts) and found this antique majolica pineapple lamp on his travels for me.  A monogrammed shade is coming but we picked it up from having it rewired and I just love it.  There is something about lamp light in hallways and rooms that make houses feel like home to me.

4.  Take Note
January to me is the month of planning and thanking.  I know that spring is around the corner, even if the corner is big one and spring in our house is a lot of parties and gifting.  Right now we will double your order of flat or folded notes for FREE-no code needed, just enter in the TOTAL quantity you want to receive. I am in LOVE with these baseball notes for boys.  I have them for C with a 3 since he isn't playing baseball yet, but love that you can put your child's number on the back of the card.  A client just ordered them with her son's team name on the front and 14 on the back for the year and they are going to use them to give out awards, etc during the season.

5.  Sunnies
Spring is coming, but Valentine's Day and spring break will be here before you know it.  Mini K loves sunglasses and we found out this year at her eye check-up that while she has perfect vision they suggested she wear sunglasses outside because she reads so much on her kindle and ipad.  I am a BIG fan of Bonlook for glasses.  Bonlook offers prescription and nonprescription glasses at amazing prices.  Since she is my little rockstar, I ordered her the Rockstar sunnies in turquoise as part of her Valentine's Day happies.  You can take $15 off your purchase with code:  imback15 and if that isn't enough shipping is FREE.

These are my favorites for the week and I cannot wait to see what this week has in store!

Monday Mayhem

I wanted to pop in because I feel bad for not posting, but today has turned a little crazy!  So here is our summer thus far:

1.  Mini K has gone and returned from summer camp and LOVED every moment of her week away from us!  (We received 1 letter which stated:  this place is awesome, i have no time)

2.  Swim Team is a full time job

3.  We celebrated her half birthday party this past weekend and a great time was had by all...a complete post is coming

4.  Tonight we are packing up camp care packages for her 8th grade buddy, 2 family friends and her pen pal Miss M

5.  I have shipped out over 100 pairs of monogrammed sunglasses in the last 96 hours!  Stay tuned to our Facebook page as we think we might need to scare the rain away with a Thunder SALE on sunnies!

6.  Next week I will be in D.C., CA, TX, PA and back home...I am tired and I haven't boarded a plane yet!  I am already making lists of what to pack!

7.  I am still in LOVE with my Dry Bar hair dryer

8.  I am disappointed with the Nordstroms half-yearly sale, of course a half price Celine bag was probably too much to hope for right???

10.  Right now I will DOUBLE your order on flat or folded notes for FREE.  You can see all of the designs HERE.

11.  I am patiently (or attempting to be patient) the delivery of my newly lacquered quest room furniture this week.

12.  It is supposed to rain ALL week...I think this alone deserves a pick me up right?

13.  I am trying one of those home spa services this Wednesday...a manicure and pedicure at home with my DVR sounds like heaven right now.  Throw in a cold glass of white wine and I might not ever get up.

14.  I did 25 burpees today, followed by my Crossfit workout, followed by Ab Mat sit ups and now I am wondering if movement is necessary tomorrow.

15.  I have 2 kiddos begging to watch Ninja Warrior so off I go!

In With The Rain

The past 6 weeks have been a blur...a blur of wrapping orders, swim practice, lacrosse games, party planning, construction punch out lists, family travel, home decorating and the dream of sleep.  Today is the first day I feel caught up and I am celebrating it as a new chapter.

The flip flops are unpacked, the seersucker is hanging in my closet and the promise of summer soirees and bbq's is on the horizon.  The end of a school year and the start of summer have always been one of our busiest seasons.  We get so many emails from clients wanting to get a head start of holiday shopping, teacher gifts, etc.  I always struggle with how to best help and this year I am hoping I have picked the best SALE...you will have to share with your friends and let me know!

Starting tomorrow through June 3rd our ENTIRE paper site is on sale...that includes cell phone cases, ALL invites, stickers, if it is HERE it's on sale!  Simply add your items to your cart and your discount depends on your total purchase.  The SALE code is:  SWST13

20% off orders of $50
30% off orders of $100
40% off orders of $200 or more

Order your cards, invites, favor tags and more!

One of our biggest sellers this spring have been these tags personalized with:
Thank you for dinner or Thank you for having us!  Clients have told us they will tie them to homemade bbq sauce, bottles of bubbly, boxes of truffles and other hostess gifts!

Camp time is around the corner, turn our calling cards into K.I.T. (Keep In Touch) Cards.  I LOVE this one!  Simply personalized with your camper's name, email and mailing address and help them have a pen pals throughout the year!

Label their gear with our waterproof stickers!

No camper, no problem...a sale is the perfect time to finally order some wrap around address stickers!  Send your packages in style!

The sale starts tomorrow, but you can add items to your cart tonight!  I am going to spend my evening, catching up on all of your blogs and organizing our summer schedule!

Hump Day Happies

Today I am grateful.  I didn't blog on Monday because this momma was a nervous wreck.  baby C went in for major surgery yesterday.  We were supposed to stay overnight in the hospital for a couple of  days, but this flu outbreak meant the surgeon would be sending us home with instructions and less risk of complications.  Baby C continued his reign as one tough cookie and might be the only 2 year to ask for food within minutes of waking up.  In fact he found the apple juice a pain once he saw the icy pops!

So the Grove has a little helper this week and I find myself looking at him in awe of his smile and strength!  The one complication was not one we expected, he is sporting a bloody infected lip from the tape used for the breathing tube, but the ointment is working and it could have been so much work.

In fact he keeps saying "am I 3?"  Let's just say that he is loving get well presents.  Since many of you have been so kind as to pray for him, spoil him and talk me off the ledge of stress, I think this Wednesday calls for some surprises.  I mean who doesn't like a mid-week happy?

For our brides to-be and graduates to-be, I thought we would take 30% off ALL of our Save the Dates with code:  GLEE30.

These wedding save the dates remind of my friend Meredith who will be a beautiful bride this June.

And one of my favorite customers and friends has 3 daughters graduating from high school this year and she is going to order these with a photo of the 3 of them and all of the details for their graduation weekend?

For my customers that avoid the birthday card aisle at all costs (even if it is because you are shopping last minute), I am marking ALL calling cards and stickers down 30% as well with code GLEE30.

These are one of my favorite designs and ours say Happy Happy! so I can use them all year long.  You can choose whether to include the star or about 20 other designs.  I pair them with hot pink, white, red or orange ribbon and they will work with any holiday or event!

And for those of you that got a new iPhone 5 over the holidays we are taking $8 off ALL of our cases so they will be $50.  This includes the photo cases!  You can see all of the designs HERE, but this one is my favorite.  I think even I might be able to keep track of my phone with it!

I have a few more emails to send tonight, but ALL orders are shipping on time and I am crediting my cute little assistant this week!

Night!

Thankful

SO happy we are 2 days into this week.  I am feeling thankful that last week is OVER.  Mini K is feeling almost 100% and back at school.  She practically sprang out of bed yesterday and was dressed in her uniform, teeth brushed and backpack on in record time.

Since she wasn't feeling up for cake on her birthday, and we didn't have a party due to pneumonia (we will be celebrating her half birthday with a party instead!), I let her take in cake push up pops for her class celebration.

As you can see from the photo, cake push ups are essentially a tube of frosting with some sprinkles and cake crumbs thrown in for good measure!

The Valentine's and Easter candy are out at the stores and so far I haven't even felt tempted.  I am crediting being back at the box so to speak.  Now that my feet have healed, I am back at the cult of CrossFit and while I am brutally sore, it makes me feel like the workouts are working.

You will start to see some of our new items on the website this week.  I have been photographing and designing and hope you like what I have come up with.  I love a good challenge, so let me know if you think we are missing a particular price point or what items you would like to see.

Several of you have emailed saying you missed the thank you note sale, and we believe in second chances so.........starting tomorrow if you order 25 or more cards, we will DOUBLE your order for FREE.

I ALWAYS give stationery as a gift to the bride to-be or mom to-be when I am hosting a shower.  The guest of honor can thank her guests in style.

These notes are perfect for the stylish mom to-be:

And what bride wouldn't want to say thanks with these cards:

Tonight, I am leaving my comfort zone and attempting something that my friend Jane is an expert at:  menu planning.  Not my usual menu planning of takeout or cereal, but 5 real meals.  House construction scares me less than what I am about to tackle.

Before I go, I have one last treat.  How does a year of Garden & Gun magazine for $3.99 sound?  Just enter in code: STRETCHINGABUCK HERE and you will have a year's worth of fabulous in your mailbox!

Weekend Sale!

Please excuse the lack of posts!  Tuesday threw me a curve ball!  My internist had told me that my foot was badly bruised and my arched had fallen.  It hurt so I went with it.  By Tuesday morning, I could barely walk so I called, or Mr. G actually insisted I call my orthopedic surgeon.  One appointment and 2 x-rays and a shattered sesamoid bone later, I am in a walking boot on my right foot.  I have a cat scan on Monday to see if surgery is needed which I pray I can avoid.

SO while I may be moving a bit slower, I think we really need to celebrate the weekend and look forward to the holidays....hopefully a walking foot free holiday!

A lot of our clients have asked us if we are going to do a sticker sale and we thought we could do a little better than that!

So.................

From tomorrow until Sunday ALL stickers, bag tags, coasters, gift enclosures and hanging tags are 30% off with code:  HGIFT12.

These coasters make a great hostess gift, stocking stuffer or present for neighbors, coaches and college kids!  Help someone entertain in style!

These classic khaki coasters are one of our best sellers!

I love giving people gift stickers as gifts.  You always need them and you could do a couple of designs and wrap them up in a box.

Bag tags are the perfect stocking stuffer for everyone on your list!  Your black suitcase won't be mistaken again!  I LOVE these square orange and pick tags!  Personalize them with name and address or your child's name on one side and emergency contact information on the other.

Baby C has these gift stickers and I can just write in the name of who the gift is for and off we go!  At 30% off each one of these stickers is less than 1/3 of the price of a birthday card and you don't have to make a trip to the store!

I love the clean modern lines of these stickers and often give them as hostess gifts.  I simply wrap them in a cello bag and tie a lollipop or two for the hosts minnies and know they will get more than a one time use like a bottle of wine.

As much as I love a good sticker, there are times, when I just need an enclosure card so I can write a little more!  The Grove carries both flat and folded enclosure cards, but I am partial to a folded enclosure in a tiny little envelope.  There is something about the envelope that I think is better suited for more formal and special circumstances.  Polka dots are everywhere this season, including on my enclosure cards!

Our 30% off sale ends on Sunday!  We hope this makes your weekend a little brighter!  Just enter code:  HGIFT12

Hump Day Happies

Tomorrow is my big post surgery appointment and one footed pedicure (I knew I could find one!) so my mood was instantly lifted by 10am.  Throw in a haircut scheduled for Saturday morning and a new pair of earrings on hold at The Shoe Hive and I am one happy working mom!

My Julep box arrived today and since I have a pedicure tomorrow morning, I can't wait to use one of my Julep polish.  I have posted about Julep before, but I am still impressed with the company.  A friend from Seattle says the nail parlors are great and known in the city for hosting fab events, but my only exposure has been the monthly box.  For $19 you get $40 worth of product and I can tell you I have NOT been disappointed.  So many of these monthly box companies send you sample sized products and you cannot select what you actually want to receive....Julep is different.  Each month you can select your two nail polish colors, or you can let them select for you based on your profile.  This month's box contained 2 polishes, one arrived with a magnet and a notice that it was magnetic polish and you could make stripes...the new crackle, a full sized pedicure foot cream and a callous file that I can say works better than my uber expensive one from Bliss.

You can join Julep HERE.  I was on the fence about trying Julep and a coupon code made me bite the bullet and order and I haven't looked back.  In case you are in the same boat, I wanted to share a discount with you.  If you enter COLOR2012 at checkout you can get your first box for 1 cent.  I mean how can you not try something for a PENNY?  I just ordered a couple of subscriptions as gifts today.

For those of you that actually didn't fall asleep reading yesterday's post, I realized it might have sounded that I dread throwing parties and it is just the opposite.  I love them, from thinking of the theme, to the favor to the menu, parties for me are the chance to spend time with family and family by choice.

Sometimes the hardest part can be picking a theme and finding an invite.  So starting tomorrow through May 15th take 25% off ALL party invitations with code:  PTIME25.

Our clients always give us the best ideas so I thought I would share some them.  Movie parties seem to be the new thing for the 8-12 age group.  We had a client order these movie party invites today.  Here is the best part, the movie is being shown on an inflatable screen in her backyard.  After a few emails back and forth we helped her decide to serve the snacks in the beach pails that are in the $1 section at Target and monogram beach towels for each of the guests to serve as their "seat" and their favor.

Another client has a great farm about two hours outside of Washington, D.C.  Every spring she orders direction cards to the farm.  Clean and simple cards that she personalizes with directions to their farm.  She simply includes them in notes inviting guests.  I think this is a GREAT idea for beach houses as well. Another client prints these same cards and leaves them at their beach house with information on the area:  where to eat, a spa, where to shop.

Mini K spends half the year trying to figure out why our club pool isn't open for a pool party...in DECEMBER.  So I am thinking of letting her have a pool party this summer.  I confess, it might just be to  use this invite!

Babies On The Brain

Baby C turned 2 yesterday and let's just say my cute little baby boy is not a baby anymore!  The big boy bed is being delivered in a week, the bedding arrived today and he spent today chasing his big sister around the backyard with a golf club screaming "Fore Sissy Fore!"  He doens't have a clue what it means, but it makes his big sister laugh and that makes him happy!

So in honor all of you just starting on the crazy journey of motherhood or those of you that are so sweet to throw a baby shower for your friends we have decided to mark ALL of our birth announcements and baby shower invites down 40% this weekend only.

YES, you read that correctly, 40%!  I have already gotten a couple of messages on Facebook thinking it is a mistake, but it is true!  Trust you, you will spend enough plenty on diapers and wipes and formula and college so save some $$$ on your announcements and announce your little prince or princess with a statement!

I framed both Mini K and Baby C's birth announcements.  I opted for a non-photo announcement and included a photo with it, but I LOVE this double card set.  One card is your announcement and the other is a photo framed in matching style.  This design comes in both pink and blue.

I love this classic blue shortall announcement for a boy.  So simple and sweet, and now two years later free of dirt, mud and all of that other "boy" stuff!

This shower invitation is one of our best sellers and one of my favorites.  I mean what is not to love about classic prep in blue and red!

We have gotten so many orders today with notes of thanks for the discount and all we can say is you DESERVE it!  Parenthood shouldn't mean changing your style, but for this weekend, it does mean saving  your money for a little something for yourself.....maybe our personalized sunglasses to hide the aftermath of those 3am feedings!

Double Up

We came back from spring break to find our mailbox full of invites and our email full of engagement and pregnancy announcements! Who knew April would be a popular month!

So with so many events on the horizon, we figured everyone else's stationery drawer might need a little freshening up...on us! From April 18th-May 1st we will double your quantity of flat notecards or folded notes for FREE. If you order 25 notecards with return address printing, we will ship you 50 and ALL 50 will have the return address printed! Just select your card or folded note of choice and order the total quantity you wish to receive...we have adjusted the cost to reflect your free amount!

Even before we started the Grove, I have always thought that personalized stationery was a great gift. It seems the art of writing a note has taken a backseat to email, but we all still love the thrill of finding a note, just because, in our mailbox. These would be the perfect graduation or Mother's Day gift.

I love these notecards for end of the year teacher gifts!

If your little minnie is heading out to camp like Mini K, make sure to pack them some pre-addressed and stamped stationery. I already ordered these sunny yellow owl postcards for Mini K!

My mom saved the letters I wrote her from camp, and the ones I brought home and put them all into an album for me. She hid that album in my boxes my freshman year of college and I discovered it when I was unpacking! It was one of my favorite things to look through those first few weeks when I found myself missing Texas up in Boston!

Babies on the Brain

I lost count at 6 friends who told me they are expecting a baby in the last month. Grove Gal E and I LOVE to help our clients and friends throw parties and every good soiree starts with a invite. I know a lot of people have switched to evite and paperless post, and they are cute, but they don't give me the thrill of finding an envelope in the mail!

We don't know if any of you have been getting calls, emails and hearing from friends that they are expecting, or maybe you are, so in honor of all of the babies on the way we have put ALL of our baby shower invites and birth announcements on sale for 30% OFF. You can find all of our baby announcements HERE.

You can find all of the shower invites HERE.

Just enter code: JOYFUL30 to receive 30% off your shower or announcement order.

As you know, I love to give the mom of honor thank you notes as one of her gifts so she is ready to say thanks after the shower. We have extended our DOUBLE your flat or folded notes for FREE special so you can take advantage of both sales and save on shipping. You can find all of our notes HERE.

I don't know about you, but I HATE it when stores don't let you stack discounts...at the Grove we DO!

I love this invite for a baby boy. Who doesn't love a bowtie? (I confess I almost used this invite for Baby C's 1st birthday party, and you might want to look around, because you can find a lot of possible invites for your little ones under 4!)

This is one of my favorite invites for when you don't know boy or girl? Even our clients who don't like yellow and green love it!

And pink is always the go to color it seems for girls. This is one of our best sellers.

Double Up

You know the phrase about the cobbler's children having no shoes? Well in this case it would be me running out of notecards! All of my meetings last weekend left me with a stack of business cards and with 2 handwritten notes left to write I run out of my notecards!

So since I have to order some for myself, why not pass on the deal?!?!

ALL of our FLAT and FOLDED notes are now DOUBLE your quantity for FREE. So if you were planning on ordering 25 you now get 50!

I am ordering these for myself. Since I always have a hard time deciding between a block and a script monogram they are perfect!

I also love this design for tweens...a bit of modern but still a classic.

There is something about a stripe that I love and who doesn't like red, white and blue.

You can see all of sale notes HERE.

It's no secret I love paper, but I also like to gift paper. For those of your hosting a shower this spring consider ordering the honoree personalized notes as gift. He or she will be ready to say thank you in style. Notes are a great gift for expectant moms because you can personalize them with the family name (The Smith Family) and she can use them for shower gifts, new baby gifts and those wonderful dinners that just appear after you get home from the hospital.

Happy Happy

What a day! I have been looking forward to this post all day, because we know I LOVE a good deal. I intended to post it earlier, but Mini K lost the first of her two front teeth and I needed to assist the Tooth Fairy in finding some worthy gold coins.

We may have 6 more weeks of winter, but starting tomorrow the Grove is having a HAPPY sale! What is a HAPPY sale? Well how does 30% off ALL id tags, stickers, enclosure cards, save the dates and wedding invitations sound? Yep you read that correctly, 30% off from February 3rd-February 28th. Just enter code: HAPPY30 to receive your discount.

I lost track over the holidays of how many Facebook status updates for engagements I read so we wanted to do a sale that offered something for EVERYONE.

One of my favorite things to give are id tags. They are something everyone needs, but most people will not spend money on them for themselves. These are great on their own or pair them with a boat tote, a beach towel or as part of new baby gift if the baby will be going to daycare. We have a lot of military spouses order these with their name, cell phone number and email address and monogram on the other side. Since they move so much, they won't have to constantly being ordering new ones! I love the khaki and orange combination, but you can see all of our designs HERE.

I love stickers! Simply put one on a cello bag and you can save a fortune on birthday and baby shower cards. Each member of the Grove family has their own stickers, plus we have some from our entire family, and some from just Mini K and Baby C. I keep them all in page protectors in a three-ring binder on a shelf so when I need one I can just pull it out. My cercies are currently gifted with these stickers, but mine say Happy Happy xox, Grove Gal K. You can see all of our stickers HERE.

Most people think of Save the Dates for weddings. but lately we have had a lot of clients order them for Frist Communions and Confirmations. With so many families living across the country they are a great way to send all of the details, with plenty of notice, in style. This blue and coral design is one of our best sellers. I love the idea of including a photo of the special girl or boy, or use it as a traditional wedding save the date. You can shop all save the date cards HERE.

This is one of my favorite wedding invites. It is perfect for all seasons, has a big impact, but a simple classic style and the price is unbeatable before the 30% off so with the discount it is a DEAL! You can shop all wedding invites HERE.

We believe in sharing a good deal, so feel free to pass this on!

19 Days and Counting

What is with the calendar this year? It is only the 6th of December and yet I know I am not alone in feeling like Christmas is TOMORROW.

I just hung up with a client who was placing a photo card order. She was SHOCKED that her order would ship on Monday if she ordered it today. She was convinced she would have to RUSH it.

Her call is one of many today so I knew I had to write a post. Grove Gal E and I wanted to make our paper site easy for you: our clients and friends! You upload your photo AND approve your proof when you place your order so there is NO waiting for a proof to be emailed to you.

Orders placed today will ship next week and that leaves you plenty of time to beat Santa to the mailbox!

I do have to admit that I LOVE some of the New Year's Cards that people are ordering today! My favorite so far says:

We wanted to be early!

Happy New Year!

and the other says:

Fashionably Late = Happy New Year!

I love getting cards the week between Christmas and New Year's as it makes you remember the real reason for the season: friends and family and not all of the after Christmas retail frenzy.

As always, Grove Gal E and I are here to help so PLEASE email us if you need assistance with your photo or order.

And remember...you have 19 days until Christmas, so grab a red Starbucks cup (or solo cup), take a deep breath and enjoy the season and let us do the work for you!

Personalized Valentine's!

I LOVE these! Mini K is one of a kind and her Valentine's for her friends should be too! For a little more than what you would pay at the store for generic Valentine's you can send them to school with a Valentine as unique as they are!

Just email us to place your order!