what i love wednesday linky party {No. 15}!!

hi! did you miss me last week?
i heard you did ;P

here is what i love this week...

bicycles :)
particularly the vintage type.
and a basket full of flowers is a must!
check out more in my bicycle pins on my pinterest

hmmm, i have an old sweet aqua Schwinn - i think i need a basket for it...
i already have the wine, bread, and flowers!

this has me thinking picnic and photo op ;)
or italy. i think the first is a bit more do-able.

xoxo,

<a href="http://www.lollipopscards.com/search/label/what%20i%20love%20wednesdays" target="_blank"><img alt="lollipops" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ9_XYUUYAXJiCLm3sQ3sWjgxnbKNG_nG4PYhheWlO07gp_NuIk-C6RL0OeY1driw_ZKR-9-LxCXLL2dFs7Acljw0DV_7eYiNAYm7k-98TqEjxh3lLswrOG-f60VLP4omnfP1AEhydyyRs/s150/DSC_0305_2-1.JPG"</a>

new goodies!

lots of preparations for the stitch market and the queen bee market...

have produced some sweet new goodies for you!!

i have started sewing on cards - "sew" fun! it's my new sew retro stationery, you dig?!!
these were big sellers at both markets as were my new vino tags and my new retro covered notepads =) so i made some happy birthday banners for the queen bee and they were also a hit!

check out my shop throughout the day for new items. i will be updating on twitter -follow if you want the latest news!

xoxo,

Happy Mother's Day!

i am taking a much needed day off. i am putting my feet up and relaxing... a bit... well i will be updating my shop and blogging and tidying the house and the laundry from our trip to the queen bee market - nope you know what? no laundry, i refuse today :) and that is that!

i hope you had a wonderful mother's day weekend.
i know i did! the surfer guy spoiled me with taking the kids all weekend so i could sell my wares at the queen bee, then he took me to dinner saturday night at the yummy fish market in del mar, then made me a nice breakfast yesterday morning. what a guy! and the kiddos gave me lots of hugs and we danced together. my boy made me a painting

soleil sent me on a scavenger hunt around the house with adorable rhyming riddles to solve. and the prize at the end was a coupon to watch the boy for free for one entire day :)

and my little francesca gave me a coupon book she made, complete with a massage last night, sigh. 'twas needed!

feeling pretty blessed right about now :)

oh, btw, did you read my mother's day guest series?

it was a hit! i loved having all my guests 

and i really enjoyed what they shared :)

check out my shop later today for an update 

and a queen bee market recap on my blog later this week.

happy monday!

xoxo,

what my mama taught me {by Rubyellen}

Hello. I am Rubyellen from Cakies and I am excited to share about "what my mama taught me" with all of you!

I think the most important thing my mom taught me is prayer, though I haven't exactly gotten that down pat. Every morning she could be found in her closet, on her knees, pouring her heart out to God. In this book that I am reading a quote that stood out to me most is, "The best parenting is done in prayer." I think that is so true.

Another important aspect I learned from my mom is passion for your husband. That lady loves and adores her husband (my dad)! Of course, she gets mad at him too, but my parents were never shy in showing their love for one another and I think that is good for children to see. It made me very excited for day that I could adore my own husband and boy I really do adore my husband too!

Regarding work, another important thing my mom taught me was be mom. She wasn't a stay home mom because they made bad financial decisions when we were younger, so she had to work, but she would cry and cry because all she wanted to do was stay home with us. She always told me, "Take care of your own kids and don't have someone else do it for you." I know everyone is in a different situation and you do what is best for your own family, for us from the moment we had our True, we did whatever we could, so I could stay home. Now, we might not be able to take dreamy vacations to far off places, but I am getting to do what I always wanted to do, be home with my kids all day long. We just have to budget and save for all the extra little things we want.

I love my mom and she has been one of the greatest influencers in my life. She is a godly woman who I long to be like!

what my mama taught me {by Melissa}

My mother taught me how to make scrambled eggs, a skill I still utilize every day. She taught me how to do housework. As much as I hated it, the Saturday cleanings she forced me and my sister to participate in were useful. She also taught me to love books. She never said no to the books I wanted from the Scholastic book forms I brought home and she took me to the library until I'd read every Nancy Drew book on the shelf.

But the most important thing my mother taught me was about God. I've been in church since I was a baby thanks to her. We rarely missed a Sunday. Even when my dad didn't go, my mom got us dressed and took us to church. She took us to Bible school and revivals, and when I was about eight years old, I was saved at a Vacation Bible School.

Now that I'm a parent myself, I realize the most important gift we can give our children is a relationship with Jesus.

So many of the things we do as mothers seem inconsequential. We give baths, hold cranky babies, make lunches, clean up spills and change diapers. We do them over and over again every day and sometimes we can feel discouraged by these small routines. It can seem that our small jobs are not as big or as important as what we could be doing.

But the truth is God gives mothers a unique mission field: the ability to reach our children's hearts from the very beginning and feed them the truth right from the start. With God's help, our influence could last generations.

Is there really anything better we could be doing than that?

Melissa Stover
afamiliarpath.com

pssst, i have the perfect mother's day planned...

ok so i have a perfectly wonderful mother's day planned for you!

step 1. drive or fly to sunny San Diego
step 2. stay at the lovely hilton in Del Mar
step 3. spend a day shopping with your mother, MIL, daughters, sisters, and friends at the amazing Queen Bee Market conveniently located right inside your hotel

step 4. reap the rewards of meeting some pretty fabulous ladies, finding fun original goods that you love, and finding something for the gal who "has it all"
step 5. go to lunch at my fav - the fish market which is within walking distance to your hotel
step 6. walk on the lovely beach in Del Mar
step 7. watch the sunset
step 8. go to dinner at Jake's in Del Mar

there, now you're all set! enjoy your weekend!
oh, need some spending cash?
tweet:

Bee Calm & Shop On @queenbeemarket {Handmade Market} Perfect for Mother's Day!May 6 4-9pm & 7th 9am-4pm @HiltonDelMar http://bit.ly/eDnAwI

for a chance to win a $50 gift certificate!
leave your comments that you entered the giveaway on the Queen Bee website :)

i can't wait for you to see all the delicious goodies in my new line!! 

see you there!

xoxo,

what my mama taught me {by Ruthanne}

I've learned many lessons from my Mom over the years.

You are not defined by your circumstances.

Do not be afraid of failure.

and

No dream is too big to dream.

Among many others.

However, the two that stand out the most for me weren't ones I ever remember her actually verbalizing. She lived them out in her daily life.

Giving brings joy.

Someone in need? She steps up. Someone simply needing a hug? She gives it. Someone is aching for a word of encouragement? She voices it. A note in the mail to say, "I'm thinking of you." A meal for a mother who just delivered a baby. A bag of necessities for a family whose house burned down and has nothing. A surprise gift for no reason other than to say, "You're special."

The feeling you receive when you give is almost beyond description.

Pure, unadulterated joy.

You have joy when you give. My mother has shown me that.

You can always find ways in which you are blessed. Always.

We've all experienced bad days, family tragedies, disappointments, failures, frustrations and gut wrenching sorrow. We've all been there at some point.

How do we respond?

Count your blessings.

Name them. One by one.

You are blessed. You are blessed. You are blessed.

♥ Ruthanne from eclectic whatnot

what my mama taught me {by Leigh-Ann}

Every fall, there's the big weekend when we rake leaves at our family cabin, lots and lots of leaves. To save a bit of the work, we wait till most of them have fallen, then-- we go all out and it usually totals over 25 XL bags! 

Back in 2006, my Mom, Grandma and I raked & bagged all day long and reached the point of near insanity ;) It was clear we needed to stop and have some FUN and on that day, 3 generations came together like children playing in the leaves like best friends! It was magical and we got silly together!

My Mom and two Grandma's are amazing women and they have taught me so many things-- how to love with all your heart, take care of your family, the value of cooking amazing food and especially, doing what you love and being great at it. On this day in 2006, I saw them in a new way-- they were really fun!!

As Mother's Day approaches, I celebrate these amazing women in my life and look forward to 

every opportunity to spend time with them, learn from their lives and have fun, silly times :) Happy Mother's Day to all the Mom's out there, you rock!!!

xoxo, Leigh-Ann from Freckled Nest

what my mama taught me {by Gussy}

My mom and I have such a fun, full-of-conversation relationship, and being able to talk about so many things makes any road trip, any shopping trip, any summer afternoon on the deck perfect. My mom's favorite craft is knitting; mine is sewing, and the best "craft" she's taught me is the craft of chatter. She and I love to talk; to have a honest & open conversation. Her birthday is in early April, and it just so happened that this year she would be with us the day after her birthday {we live in Minneapolis, MN; my parents are in Grand Rapids, MI}. My sweet mom drove out here to visit us for the week :] I felt so lucky!!!

For her birthday gift this year I sewed her a newer, bigger Gussy Sews knitting/tote bag ~ and she was able to watch me sew it from start to finish, something my mom has never seen me do. CRAZY, huh?! When I was learning how to sew we were living just a couple of hours from family, and as my sewing skills progressed we had moved from Detroit to Minneapolis, so it makes sense not many of our family has seen me sew.

I think what's most special to me is that as I was sharing my love for sewing with my mom, we were talking and sharing our hearts with each other. Whatever the activity, we'll fill the background noise with conversation :]

I LOVE YOU MOM, and the "craft" you taught me early on. Happy Mother's Day!
xoxo

what my mama taught me {guest series}

hello,
i wanted to let you know that starting tomorrow i have a treat for you!
with mother's day coming up, i thought about being a mother, a blogger, a business woman, and a handcrafter and wondered about other bloggers out there. so i asked some very lovely mentors of mine to write about their mothers. i was thrilled at the response i received.

so please visit everyday this week to read 

a "what my mama taught me" post by each new guest.

(what i love wednesday will be back the following week)

enjoy!

xoxo,