BASICS

It's finally here, and I'm so excited to introduce you guys to an idea I had months ago that I couldn't wait to get started on....Two Sparrows BASICS.

If you've been following Two Sparrows a while, first of all thank you & high fives:). But you may see that I put out about 4-5 big collections each year, each with their own little theme or twist. This has been so much fun for me, whether it's centered around Christmas time, a specific style etc. I love being able to create a whole line centered around one focus. But as I started doing a little research and getting feedback from you guys, I found that one of the things that we were missing was just a BASIC go-to, throw-in-your-bag and take it out when you really need it accessory! Sure, I try to make versatile as well as creative items, but I really felt a need to focus on making a collection of headbands and accessories for every day. Because, well, I myself am a busy lady and a mom and let's just be honest, 99% of the time I'm not running around in wildflowers with my hair and makeup done in perfect lighting without a single stain on my clothing;) BUT! I still want to look put together, and I think we can all agree on that right?! So therein lies my reasoning for creating this line.

Ok, so ready to hear the second part about why this is so fun and exciting?! All of the other collections I have made are released, and then once everything's sold, it's gone. I realized that trends can come and go, but your go-to accessories are a constant. SO! In my shop from now on, there will ALWAYS be BASICS available to you! I'll always have some staples you can choose from, whether it's a simple black bow that you'll end up putting in your child's hair 5/7 days of the week (trust me, you will), or a super stretchy and comfy head wrap that you'll throw on when you have to go grab something at the grocery store. There will always be something you can choose from! As if that weren't already fun, I'll constantly be adding new things to the BASICS in my shop!

I still fully plan on creating specific collections as the seasons change (hello access to NYC and the garment district right before Christmas this year?! Let's just say your holiday head wear will not be lacking), so don't worry! But know that your go-to's will always be here too!

A few other important items to check off and explain...

1. I've added a few different listings in my shop as "bundle" or "specialty"  purchases, to make things even sweeter! For instance, if you're interested in purchasing an adult head wrap and a baby head wrap, you can make it a "mini me" set by purchasing the "Mini Me Bundle" Listing...and you'll save a few bucks when you do so! Make sure to check out these listings when my shop opens tonight before you check out, to make the most out of your current and future purchases!

2. Shipping has typically been 3-5 days for my shop, and I always like to get orders out quickly so they're to your doorstep and on your head asap! However, with things getting busier this year, I'm changing my shipping time to 1-2 weeks from when your item is ordered. Some of my items are pre made, but others are made to order, so they may take a few days longer to ship. ALL orders will be shipped in the order they are received (as my policy has always been), and I will typically ship closer to one week rather than two. But if you're in a rush, please consider this or purchase the "RUSH MY ORDER" listing for an additional cost and your order will be pushed to the top of the line.

3. As you've been following along, you may have seen that personally my family and I are going through some pretty big changes with a move happening in the next few weeks! I really wanted to get the BASICS out to you guys before we moved, to give you a chance to share in what I've been so excited about they last few months:) So that's why despite the craziness of my life right now, I'm opening up shop tonight! I'll have the shop open for a limited time and then it will be temporarily closed for a few weeks as we transition ourselves into our new home and I can set up my "office" again;) So if there's something you see tonight that you have to have in the next week or two, make sure to grab it quick!

I love you guys! Seriously, I know there are a lot of shops out there and I'm so grateful you chose to support mine! It goes so much deeper for me than just making a few bucks, but you're supporting my passions and sharing in making things happen that I have dreamed of for a long time. Can you tell I'm getting all sentimental & slightly emotional with all this moving business?! ;) (but seriously, thank you.)

Don't forget to check out my shop TONIGHT at 7:30 pm EST to shop your new BASICS! (you can find my shop here.)

xo, Carolyn

*All photos courtesy of nancy noble photography*

NYC or bust

Where have I been? You may or may not be asking yourself this question. I'm still here I swear! My mind is still going a million miles a minute with new ideas, I'm still pulling all nighters sewing and cutting and prepping for things to pretty your heads with! I just have a few other "small" things going on right now as well...

So, a few weeks back I shared that my family and I will be moving closer to the NYC area for my husbands job. While this isn't a HUGE jump for us on the map (we are upstate now), it is a HUGE jump for us in every single other way. And I mean every single. We currently have a house, two cars, are within 15 minutes from both of our families, and have developed great friendships for us and our kiddos. This has all been such a huge blessing to us and we are so grateful for that season, and are now just as grateful for this new season that will bring about a lot more change (and a lot less space, if you know anything about NYC living;)

Jordan & I have always LOVED the city, and when we first got married even talked about moving there for reasons totally unrelated to our current situation. Needless to say, we are SO grateful for the opportunity and excited to see the journey that the Lord has us on. Our families have been so kindly helping out with our girls while we've done a few weekends of "house hunting" which has been great. Let me just say that I never quite realized how many options there were when you make the move to NYC. We took a weekend JUST to scout/drive through areas and we started in Jersey City, drove through Hoboken & a few surrounding towns, and then explored Brooklyn & Queens.

We realize what a huge move this is going to be for our family, and especially for our girls who are used to a big space to run around, a playroom and a backyard to freely go wild in. We are really trying to do our homework to figure out the best possible scenario for them as well as what will be the best for Jordan's commute into Manhattan every day.

While we considered searching for a spot in Manhattan to be close to Jordan's job, we *quickly* realized that a 600 sq ft apartment in our price range just may not be the wisest decision for our family (or my sanity:) So we started looking in some surrounding areas.

Park Slope, Brooklyn

Oh Park Slope. You're where I go in my dreams. Walking brownstone lined streets, watching little kids set up lemonade stands outside their doorsteps selling not only homemade lemonade but an assortment of their moms shoes/books, and well that just sent me right over the edge for the cuteness factor alone. Don't get me started on the abundance of parks, quaint and local coffee shops on the corner or the farmers market that was completely calling my name. We truly fell in love with this spot! It's so charming and seems like such a perfect place to have kids in the city.

Queens (Astoria & Forest Hills)

We checked out quite a bit of Queens. It was super cute and full of hidden art and character. There's an adorable street with a strip of stores in Forest Hills that's great for walking. Tons of food trucks and food in general (always a plus here). Astoria was a little less busy, more laid back (or so it seemed to us, maybe just the part we checked out) and such a huge range of people from all walks of life, which we really liked. 

Hoboken, NJ 

We could not have loved this cute little area more. Hoboken is like being in the city but on a more relaxed scale. It's like the perfect "coming from upstate" transition area if we had to pick one. There are adorable boutiques, local restaurants, parks all over the place, families, brownstones (I may be obsessed) and did I mention the piers? Our first visit we didn't even get a chance to check out the piers, but a friend of mine told me that we couldn't make that mistake twice. I mean, are you kidding? A walk down this little pier overlooking Manhattan, oh and there's a playground for the kids? Tell me where to sign. 

Jersey City, NJ 

We stayed in Jersey City as kind of a central location to checking out the whole area when we were scouting, and I can tell you right now I don't know if I could ever get tired of these views. I woke up early one morning to the sunrise and was just so in awe of how beautiful it was.

Jersey City has a ferry that goes right over to Manhattan, which we took to go check out an area in Manhattan that we were considering. It goes right over to Battery Park, which is also a super cute area to have a picnic or take a walk. 

 Freedom Tower during the day and night from Jersey City.

We LOVE NYC. Like, love love. After a ton of discussion and prayer and confusion and more discussion and more prayer (ha), we decided to concentrate more on looking on the outskirts of the city to settle on for looking for our new home. We spent a good amount of time around Hoboken this past weekend, as well as the little towns surrounding it. We're kind of leaning towards these surrounding areas just because it's a decent commute into Manhattan (30-35 min to where Jordan needs to be exactly), it's pretty family friendly and it's more affordable than living in the heart of the city, while still having a lot of the conveniences of being right there.

Spent a lot of time walking up and down this path wondering if the next time we're walking it it'll be outside our back door so to speak. There is so much to consider when you move, right? Especially with kids in the equation. Anywhere we end up we are so aware of the huge blessing it is and the adventure that we have the privilege of being on. And it's been great to do so much research on surrounding areas along the way. 

Being in NY my whole life I've never been to so many areas in the city or outside of the city as I have in these two weekends.  It was exhausting ;) 

So with all this being said, what does this mean for Two Sparrows? Oh, only that it's going to get EVEN BETTER :) I mean for starters...when you put this girl 35 minutes at most from the garment district, watch out. Dropping me off in the garment district for a day is like putting a kid in a candy store with $100 bill in their hand and telling them to go for it. There is SO much at your fingertips and I can't wait to get my hands on some amazing fabrics exclusive to NYC for you guys! I can't say how much I appreciate your continued support as I know I've been a little off the map and tied up with these major life decisions, but it seriously means so much to me that you're still following along! 

In the meantime, I do have some pretty fab-u-lous things coming out in the next week or two and I'll just leave you with a little sneak peek...but you'll have to come back for more :) This stuff has been in the works for a while and it's screaming at me to get out there! You're going to love it so don't say I didn't warn you :)

EEK! Can't wait to show you more:) xo

Freshly Picked & Two Sparrows (Giveaway)

What an honor to team up with Freshly Picked and run such an incredible giveaway for you amazing people!!! First of all, I can say with 100% honesty that I admire and respect Freshly Picked as a whole SO very much. The owner & founder, Susan, has an infectious drive and passion for what she does, as well as an amazing consideration for helping out small businesses (like me!).  Grateful for the opportunity not only to team up with FP, but with nancy noble photography (because, who else?) to bring you these adorbs photos, a giveaway, and a full out honest review of these amazing moccasins! So let's get to it...let me take you on a little Freshly Picked journey through a review of their product and three crazy toddlers.

Freshly Picked Moccasins...if you haven't heard of these yet, may I ask, where have you been hiding? Not only are these the most sought after and adorable moccs on the market, but they come in so many delicious colors that are absolutely TO DIE FOR! When I was asked to write up a review, I was able to choose which color I wanted, and if you know me, you know that wasn't a very hard decision....gold it is! I said :)

When I got these moccasins, I took them out of the uh-mazing little drawstring bag that comes with every pair ordered (who doesn't love great packaging?!), and showed them to my girlies. "OOOooooo slippers!" was their response, and clearly they wanted to try them on RIGHT. AWAY. Slipped these buttery metallic gems on my girls' feet and off they went to test them out! As a mom, of course we want shoes for our kiddos that are comfortable, but we'd be lying if we said we wouldn't want them to also be adorable too right? I love these for the fact that they're a breeze to slip on and off, my kids are comfy in them, and this color in particular goes with pretty much any outfit.

Another plus to these is that they are unisex! As you can see, my girls are rocking their gold moccs hardcore, but my sweet nephew is also rocking the Butterscotch pair! And lucky for us, they're just about a size apart so if my sister & I were feeling adventurous, we could swap and they'd look just as cute on my girls as they do on her little man!

As far as cost goes, these puppies are $60 per pair, and worth EVERY PENNY. Now, I have two girls, and can I get an amen for how quickly clothing/shoe costs can add up when you have girls?! (I'm sure it's the same with boys!) But let me just say this. I can feel comfortable spending this amount of money on a product that I know will be high end, GOOD quality, and USA made. I can also say that anytime I have dealt with Freshly Picked and their customer service team, I have gotten a reply within the same day, and nothing but friendly and helpful service. These are all things that mean something to me when I'm spending money on a good quality product that I know will LAST.

One more thing I'll say about these moccs is that they wear really well. I'll just go ahead and say that my girls did not get their father's graceful and poised balance or way of carrying themselves. They are more like their mama in that respect;) and can be pretty rough on things...especially their shoes. These moccs are durable and well made, and I fully anticipate keeping them and handing them down to our next kiddo when they grow out of them.

All in all, we LOVE FP! I am so impressed with this company and all opinions on these moccasins are completely of my own.

Now, let's talk giveaway! You guys, this is a pretty INSANE prize! You have from today until Saturday, May 31st to enter. One lucky winner will receive:

1. One pair of Freshly Picked moccasins, color and size of YOUR choice.
2. ONE YEAR of Two Sparrows headbands or accessories! You will receive one hair accessory per month for one year starting August 2014. At the time of winning may choose either adult, child, or some of each.

(oh, and I didn't forget to mention these brand spankin' new bows, clips & headbands...but you'll have to wait a few more days to find out more about those ;)

To enter this giveaway, head on over to my instagram page to find out more! (Click the instagram icon under my photo at the right!)

Thank you again to Freshly Picked for being a part of this collaboration, as well as nancy noble photography for the incredible photos!

xoxo

Jamberry & TS Giveaway

Have you guys heard of Jamberry Nails yet?! I'm totally obsessed! I first heard of them through my sweet friend Marisa, who is an independent consultant for Jamberry. You can check out her website here! For someone that has painted her nails, oh maybe five times in the span of 2 1/2 years from having kids, I have to say these are the easiest and longest lasting way I've found to keep my nails looking polished! (haha, get it?) These are totally non toxic nail wraps that are super easy to apply and maintain. When I tried mine for the first time, I applied a coat of white nail poilish, and then put the metallic gold pinstripe right over my polish. They were super easy to place on my nails, and each one I did got a bit easier than the last. A little filing on the edges of my nails and I was set! These stayed on through washing dishes, doing laundry, playing outside, and all of my other daily mom activities :) No chipping and they looked amazing! Another thing I really liked about these was that they were only $15 for a set, which has enough wraps to last 2-3 applications depending on the length of your nails. For me, that's $5 a manicure!

There's so much versatility with these, and there is literally a design for every mood you're in. Oh, and did I mention that there are solid colors too?! My current favorites are these and these  and these.

Marisa so sweetly partnered up with me today to bring you a Jamberry & Two Sparrows giveaway! One pretty winner will take home a Gray Orchid lace bow from my new Golden Blush Collection, in addition to a $40 gift certificate to get some Jamberry's of your own! All you have to do is head on over to my Instagram (you can click right on the Instagram button to the right of this article, right under my family photo) and tag three ladies that you know! The winner will be chosen this Wednesday, May 14th at 7:30pm.

Did you know that Jamberry makes wraps for kids too?! Dying over some of the patterns they have for littles, and I absolutely plan on trying them on my sweet chicks:) If you'd like to place an order, make sure to check out the website mention Marisa DiCocco at checkout. 

Happy Monday! xo

(all photos courtesy of nancy noble photography)

B&C Top 5

Oh hey! Welcome to a new series on my blog...B&C Top 5! Let me give you a little background before we jump right in...

So, my girl Bianca & I have been friends for quite some time now...from our little cheerleading days in junior high/highschool, to her and her little (or not so little anymore) bro being pretty much the sole reason that my hubby and I first started getting to know each other. And in just a few months I'll have the sweet privilege of standing with her & her man as a bridesmaid as they say I Do. We've been through a lot! And this girl has been nothing but a sigh of relief to me the past few months especially as I've been getting busier and busier with Two Sparrows. Cutting fabric, throwing out ideas, typing up timelines, and giving me that little push and/or extra cup of coffee when I'm slacking. So grateful for her help and passion for Two Sparrows, to see it flourish and become more of what I've been dreaming of it to be! But more on that later...

We wanted to collab on a blog post once a month to break things up and bring you a little sass from each of us, so here you have it, B&C Top 5! Clearly it has taken us hours upon hours to limit our current favorite obsessions to FIVE THINGS, but we hope you can find some of these useful, or that they at least bring a smile to your face! xoxo B&C 

1. Made By Mary Design. NEED I SAY MORE! If you got here today through my instagram feed or look at the photo posted above, you'll see my *favorite* necklace of all time made by this talented chick. I posted a photo of it a few weeks back, but my awesome photog sis was able to capture a pretty legit photo of the detail of it! This is her shop, and she creates custom bar necklaces among other things.  I so happened to score this bad boy during one of her amazing sales, and literally PULLED my car over to the side of the road to order because I knew she'd sell out...and that she did, in an hour! Girl's got talent. You can find her on instagram (@madebymarywithlove). {C}

2. This bathing suit. I'm crossing my fingers that it comes with the sultry beach waves and mysterious caves. Or at least the fun bangles?! [Full disclosure: I just bought this and C has one almost identical to it already and LOVES it! So flattering] {B}

3. THIS print . Ahh, Lindsay Letters, another talented mama who I respect so much! Her beautiful prints & canvasas have me looking for hours, deciding which five, no six, no seven, to order at one time. I currently have this print and am planning on having it be a part of my gallery wall over my living room. THIS is what I'd love for my living room wall to look like when it's done...for that matter...my whole living room ;) {C}

4. This is beautiful, right?? I *love* flowers, and this would be an incredible way to have flowers in the house! Now I just have to figure out how to get them to stay... {B}

5. I constantly go back to this post on one of my favorite websites, APW.  It may be one of the most beautiful stories of love that I've ever read. The author paints a picture of a love lifestyle that I want to create in my own life, and helps me recognize specific moments in my day that I can choose to understand as love. {B}

Have a lovely day! 

(a little throwback from our last highschool/college days;) 

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