Y3W

I'm late...I know...but look!!

Video will be posted on monday!

Thankful Thursday

How appropriate that Rememrance Day falls on a Thursday this year..

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved, and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders Fields.

- John McCrae

Almost 5mo

Seriously...where did the time go?!

I've been so busy with Sweet Stella's and life in general that I only now realized that I haven't really blogged about the kiddo in a while.

What's he up to? Well, he plays...all. the. time. Right now, he's sleeping on me, but typically, we're on the floor playing, kicking, singing and giggling.

He loves his soft toys, in particular Ellie...his cute little elephant. It goes with us everywhere. If he falls asleep, Ellie can be found being snuggled. If he's awake, he has one hand on each ear and her trunk in his mouth.

Speaking of mouths...teething sucks. Owen started sleeping through the night a few weeks ago, only to have that lovely, blissful pattern interrupted by teeth. That one at the front is poking and prodding through, and two others are on their way. He'll be eating pizza by Christmas!! (kidding)

Oh! And he sits!! He can go almost a full minute sitting unassisted, before he weebles and wobbles over and face plants on the floor...leading to giggles. He must think it's a game, because we do it over...and over...and over!

Anyhow...here he is!

Ah-mazing!

HUGE thanks to everyone who's clicked on the Sweet Stella's button off to the side, those following me on Twitter, and everyone who has linked up with the facebook fanpage. I have news!

I received an email on Sunday while C and I were out at the Bills game (so much fun!) from the web hosting provider...

www.sweetstellas.webs.com is the highest ranked site for webs.com and is in the top 1%!! The traffic is through the roof, and I am thrilled with the response.

It's led me to consider a few things, one in particular that I'm hoping you all can weigh in on.

1) purchasing the domain name...I'm forging ahead with this one
2) expanding the site package through webs.com to be able to offer more products...forging ahead with this too
3) offering more products

This is where you can weigh in...what products would you like to see??

I have a fabulous idea for handpapered and stamped board books, mini albums and memory keepers...but I got thinking...what else could I offer?

The ornaments are obviously seasonal, and while I have some ideas for new collections (inspired by one of my favourite online mom's actually!) it doesn't translate overly well into spring and summer.

So here are some options I'm thinking of

• wedding decor - hanging decorations and personalized items such as favours and favour boxes
• coordinated party items...what that entails, I'm not sure!
• art - I'm an abstract painter, so perhaps I could do some paintings for the store

What else could I do? What would appeal to YOU?!

I appreciate your comments!

It's GO Time, People!

As in go-live!!




Sweet Stella's is LIVE and I'm loving it!



I spent a good hour last night transforming out spare guest room into a guest room-office combo...and a good hour this morning taking product photos out in our frosty backyard.



I'd love for you to check it out, and leave me a comment about what you think...and any suggestions you might have!



Thanks so much!

Y3W

I'm SO excited!! I've decided to open an online store!!

I've spent most of yesterday making samples, and waiting for the rain to stop so that I can take artsy-fartsy pictures of said samples for the website. I've spent most nights writing "Welcome" and "About Us" pages. I've spent most early mornings snuggling with Owen...dreaming up new ideas!

Stay tuned....I'm hoping to go-live on monday!

In 7 months...

...I will have to formally decide if I am going to go back to work.

This stinks.

I'm already dreading it, for a few reasons.

1) my position probably won't exist when/if I go back, so I have no idea where they would put me to work and in what capacity. Imagine, running a small litigation collection company for a law firm and going back to....what? Getting coffee? Running bank errands? Working for C? Oi!

2) Daycare here is crazy expensive, and I can't imagine shipping Owen off somewhere on a daily basis. Yes...lots do it, but I'm not so sure it's what's right for us.

3) We can't really afford for me to not go back to work...so something's gotta give


So...I'm looking into options. An online store...a bakery...something crafty and artsy-fartsy. I recently discovered a love of paper, doing hand painted Christmas ornaments and have always enjoyed doing crafty things...so I'm sorta leaning in that direction.

The bakery idea would be awesome, however the bylaws here in our dear city are super strict about commercial kitchens and we don't have the money for me to open my own business right now. A few years down the road...perhaps. But right now, it's definitely out of the question.

Will an online store generate much of an income? Probably not, but it sure would be fun, and will give me a good creative outlet...and it's something that I could start now before the holidays.

Thoughts and comments are definitely welcome here!! I could really use some advice!