How I Wore It: (Easter Edition)

We had such an amazing Easter this year! Unfortunately my chicks were pretty under the weather most of the weekend, so the plans of decorating Easter Eggs and doing a few fun festive activities didn't quite happen. Thankfully, they were much better by Sunday and can I just go ahead and say that I don't think I've ever had more fun at an Easter Egg hunt than watching my kiddos go crazy over it!?  We hid 30 eggs, thinking between my girls and my one year old nephew (who really didn't pull his weight in the "finding" aspect;) we'd have plenty...and the eggs went so quickly into their baskets and when they couldn't carry them anymore they recruited the grandpa's to pick them up. ha ha. And when the grandpas had all the eggs and the baskets were full, they'd say "Mo' eggs! Mo' eggs!" So my hubby pulled the old trick of "hey-let's take the eggs that they already found and re-hide them while they're not looking", and what do ya know, it did the trick for a while ;)

 (hoarding never looked so cute) 

(What a good sport my little nephew was-we may have coerced him into wearing a pair of Two Sparrows bunny ears over his hat;) 

I love Easter...first and foremost for it's importance in remembering Christ's death & resurrection for us, but also for it's promise of spring, warmth, and new things to come. It was the perfect bright & sunny day and we were able to celebrate at my parents house both my and my hubby's family.

(My mama was the hostess with the mostess, even down to the deviled eggs that looked like baby chicks!)

We kept things fairly simple this year as far as what we wore, and honestly I don't even think I ever got a full picture of what I wore, but made sure to get a few of my ladies :) I had been eyeing a few dresses for them online, and just never got around to ordering them and then it was the week before. I popped into Marshalls one afternoon and found these two adorable peach & white vintage inspired dresses! You know that moment when you have an idea in your head and just come across it and want to just scream?! For $24 total I couldn't really complain! I tried grabbing two of the same, but as you know the one downside of Marshall's is it's hit or miss, and they didn't have two of the same size. I love dressing these girls the same sometimes, but they are each so unique in personality that I love dressing them to express those differences too!
                
               


I was pretty busy with custom orders the week before Easter, but I had to whip up some pretties for my girls to coordinate with their dresses. Wanted to keep their headbands simple, and go along the same lacy, muted vintage tones that their dresses had. They were just the right amount of fancy but neutral enough to wear again with everyday outfits.
               

(My dress was a simple floral longsleeve that I got a few months back at H&M for $5! ore some rose gemstone earrings that I had and a gold and lace bow under my topknot in the back.) 

We managed to make it out the door in time (ok, ten minutes late..but with kids we consider this "on time") for the 8:30 am service at our church, all fed, dressed and happy, and the girls sat sweetly through the whole service with the help from kind grandparents and some pretty great friends in the row in front of us. We even got a picture together...!?!

(the squinty/tired faces on my chicks and diaper bag on the ground only add character right?) 

Happy Ressurection Day from our family to yours! 

xoxo Carolyn

The good, the bad, and the slightly embarassing.

Hi friends! It's been a while since my last post, so I thought I'd make it up to you with a whole bunch of embarassing pics and facts about myself :)

FACT: I'm 27 years old and I still love playing dress up. One of the things I love about my work is the photoshoots! The planning, the staging, shopping at my favorite thrift stores for the perfect outfits & props,color scheming, hair, makeup, I love it all!

                                                   

But the truth is, that isn't real life. Real life is flashing myself a glance in my kitchen mirror on my way out the door making sure I don't have food on my face from breakfast. Because, spending an hour getting ready every morning making sure my face is flawless and my hair is on point? HA. Not happening. In case you forgot, I have two sweet and BUSY little toddlers running haywire in our house daily. Things are less than peaceful while getting ready in the morning.

FACT: I'm pretty bias, but I think my daughters are just beautiful. From their fiery personalities to their huge eyes that are just like their daddy's, I just cant get enough of their sweet little faces. So cliche, but they are literally so beautiful on the inside that it just shines. They are sassy and inquisitive and smart and funny and just all around two of my favorite people.

But lets remember, they're two. They have tantrums that are bigger than they are. They yell things that are more than slightly embarassing in public. Every task is "all by yourself". They repeat E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G...which may or may not always be the best for mama over here. Oh, and despite what it may look like, posing for photos is not always their favorite pastime.

  (thrilled) 

(I mean, if you have an itch...) 

                                                                  
FACT: It may seem to you that I am a sweet, quiet, feminine person who daily wears flowy vintage dresses and the most divine shade of lipstick and high heels while I vacuum. 

In reality? I am a huge dork. Laughing is my favorite and anyone who can make me laugh or laugh with me can quickly win my affection. I love to joke around and feel like very few things should be taken too seriously. (Disclaimer: Despite my love for all things humor, I am a highly responsible mom/wife/human and make sure to be overly obsessive about safety and health. ;) I do feel that a strong reason I am like this is due to my nature that I am NOT an overly graceful person. I am constantly running into things, tripping, or saying "oops". If you can't learn to laugh at yourself, what can you do? :) 

FACT: Girlfriend doesn't "eat clean" all the time. Enough said. 

FACT: What you see isn't always the full picture.

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, I love posting updates of what my kiddos are wearing, what new collection I'm working on, or a new way to wear a Two Sparrows headband. However, what you don't see is my messy craft room (why I can't keep this one room clean at all times is beyond me), my mismatched t-shirt and sweats, or that somehow ALL of my socks get holes in them. ?

Go ahead, I give you permission to stare at this gorgeous Christmas-card worthy photo of myself. AKA if any of you ever have a reason to blackmail me, this photo right here is for you. I had an idea for a preview photo for my Christmas Collection last year, and my sis is an amazing enough photographer to make that first photo look so alluring and gorgeous. What you DIDN'T see when I posted that original photo was that I had no makeup on, my hair was far from done, and I was wearing socks. I can't. People, this is real life.

FACT: My daughters are such good sports. I love that I have a business that I am blessed enough to do from HOME so that I can be with them every hour of every day.

It has always been my dream to be a stay at home mama, and I'm beyond grateful to be living out that dream. I try to limit how much work I do during the day, so that I don't spend my minutes sewing and scheming rather than soaking up the precious moments I have with my girls. But when I do have to do a little work, my little chicks work right alongside me. And that includes photoshoots! I can't say they're always as thrilled as I am, but I hope that one day I can look back on these photos with them and share things like, "remember when I loaded you two up in the stroller and carried a rocking chair, pillows, blankets, snacks, baskets, AND a canopy all in my arms while pushing you just so I could set everything up without having to make multiple trips?" Oh, and I did all this without realizing that the stroller brake was on and the whole time I wondered "WHY is this thing so hard to push today?" Their mama is crazy. ;)

FACT: My family is amazing. From my ridiculously talented photographer who just so happens to be my sister, to my cheering dad & nephew who put up with a whole lot of estrogen during photoshoots, to my helpful & fun mom who herds the chicks, and my sweet-as-pie in laws who love to entertain my girls sometimes while I sew or catch up on orders. SO incredibly grateful for family. Couldn't do it without them.

One thing I hope I portray in my work is that I strive to be authentic. I never want people to think I have it all together, or that me & my chicks are dressed and ready to rumble every day by 8am, or that I know the secrets of balancing it all. Because I don't :) And I'm on that journey of figuring all of this out right along with everyone else. I love sharing small pieces of my life with you through my work, and I'm so grateful that you've allowed me that opportunity! xoxo