SHIM + SONS

pillows :: take two

We had loads of fun at Big J's birthday party over the weekend. Of course we're a little wiped out from the festivities and it doesn't help that another wave of colds has hit our house. [Please, oh please let this be the last of the illnesses this year!] I'll share photographs from the party later this week. In addition to preparing for Big J's party this month I have been fully immersed in spring cleaning. After a few trips to Goodwill I've been able to clear out some closet space around the house. I've also written lists for changes I would like to make in each room of the house and have prioritized the list. It feels so good to have a "game plan" and to dedicate some time each week to make it all happen.

One of the projects on my list was to make new pillows for our family room sofa + club chair. Last month I picked up the grey tree fabric from Bolt even though I wasn't crazy about the colorway.

Sure enough as soon as I made the pillows I knew they were not going to work for me. I love the print, but the color palette just doesn't look right in the room.

So earlier this month I ordered a few pieces of Cake Rock Beach fabric [designed by Joelle Hoverson of Purl] from Sew Mama Sew. I think these pillows are keepers, or at least until I can replace them with some textured pillows like this or this.

P.S. The shoppe will be celebrating its 1st anniversary on Thursday! I was originally planning to have a big update on May 1st, but I am going to push it back a week or so since this week is packed with volunteering in Big J's classroom, going on a field trip and working on a few project deadlines. Stay tuned!

cute + mad

:: a little bug has hit our house again ::

:: being sick is no fun ::

birthdays all around

Thank you for the birthday well-wishes! Having my dear friend Sumi in town for five days was such a wonderful treat. I had no idea she was flying up here from California, so you can imagine how surprised I was when we drove up to the airport and saw her waving at us! We have been friends for over ten years and even though we've lived in different states for almost 4.5 years, we have remained the closest of friends. Our five days together went by quickly but it was a nice mix of lounging around the house, shopping in the city, eating yummy baked goods [our weaknesses], working on a few craft projects, making dinosaur terrariums with the boys and of course, hours of chatting. I'll share some photographs of our projects next week.

Big J + I are not the only ones celebrating our birthdays this month. Our sweet friend Sam celebrated his 4th birthday last week. And yes, Melissa's baked goods were as DELICIOUS as they look!! I was complaining about my full stomach on the drive home and I'm not sure if Sumi was more amazed or disgusted by the quantity of food I consumed [I suspect the former]. Melissa even gave us a plate of baked goods to bring home and we devoured them within a few hours. And of course this all convinced me that I need to buy "the book" Melissa + Amy have been raving about so I can make my own bread-y goodness.

Anyways, back to Sam's birthday [I get so easily distracted by food]. We gave him an alphabet print [Melissa hinted she wanted one] as well as some personalized everyday + flats.

Since I knew he wouldn't be very interested in the paper goods, we also included a dinosaur/train book and a matching tee. Can you see the Shims are trying to force our love of dinosaurs upon Sam? Although based on what I saw the other day I think he may be coming around. Oh, and you know there will be lots of dinosaurs popping up here very shortly since Big J's party is in three days!

an early birthday present

:: Appah surprised me by flying in one of my best friends from California :: non-stop chatting :: eating good food :: shopping :: brainstorming creative ideas :: wishing five days would go by s-l-o-w-e-r :: best birthday present ever :: thank you, Appah! ::

the photo shoot + the invitations

:: my favorite 4 year old is turning 5 in a few weeks ::

:: which means time for the annual birthday invitation photo shoot [despite the poor lighting conditions] ::

:: since we're having a dinosaur party Big J is sporting his dinosaur tee [my idea] ::

:: and playing with his dinosaur finger puppets from Martha [his idea] ::

:: selected my favorite shot :: 

:: Big J picked out the postage stamps ::

:: the invitation :: the triceratops is "walking" on Big J's name [which you can't see since I erased it via Photoshop] ::

:: the envelope ::

:: the invites were sent out last week :: more party prep in the works ::   

big j's lunch bag

:: before = regular ol' lunch bag ::

:: removed the label :: added a dinosaur fabric applique + alphabet ribbon ties [used Fray Check on the ends]::

:: after = Big J's new dinosaur lunch bag ::

:: he even helped handstitch a bit of the applique ::

:: handmade dinosaur stickers [used our handy Xyron] ::

a little more yellow

What a fun and full weekend! The weather was beautiful and I was able to spend time with family + friends. I'm a little pooped out from all the activity, but it is a good kind of tired.

On Saturday night I met up with Hannah, Melissa and Amy at Cava. [Dinner was delicious and this cookie club offered by their pastry chef is so tempting!]. We had a leisurely dinner sans kiddos and it was SO nice. Good food, good friends + good conversation, can't beat it!

I put together a little bag of yellow goodies for Hannah, since I know that girl loves her yellow! And I was so happy that I was able to spend more time with her this time around [we hung out again on Sunday evening]. 

In between the socializing over the weekend, I was able to print out a few new everyday + flats that I designed last month. I always have fun playing around with new color combinations [I'm loving peacock blue lately].

And I also made some prints for the boys' playroom which I am in the process of redecorating now that the boys are older. More on that later.

P.S. #275 is the winner of the 300th post give-away. Megan, I'll send you an email today. Thank you again for all the funny stories + jokes + kind words, you all know how to make a girl laugh.

lemon + mustard

My search for new yellow flats is officially over! Oh, did you even know I was looking for them? Well, last year I made the mistake of leaving my favorite yellow flats in the house while we were on vacation and our furry friend decided to use it as a chew toy. He must have a thing for yellow shoes because he also chewed up one of my yellow flip flops. Anyways, not only did I find a pair of lemony yellow patent leather flats for super cheap, a few weeks later I found a pair of mustard flats. Yes, very similar styles, but you know just in case Mr. Golden Retreiver gets a hold of one pair.

So I'm all set for spring shoe-wise, now I just need to add a few fresh pieces to my wardrobe. I'm pretty certain that I'll be relying on my good ol' Built By Wendy pattern to whip up a few new dresses/tunics [I know, I need to expand my garment-making repertoire!]. I'm also dreaming about a few dresses/tops from Uniform-Studio and Wiksten's spring collections! Oh, and this lovely yellow Church & State dress [minus the belt, I don't do belts] is right up my alley, although I'm pretty sure I don't look good in yellow. And while I'm making my wish list, I also love this eyelet dress + shift dress [in black].

Thanks for all the lovely comments and funny jokes. You all have given me some good laughs the past few days. I need to upload some photographs today so I can share with you the things I've been working on. In the meantime, check out Yu I's beautiful new prints [I was SO tempted to order the letterpress print, but I already have the same print in canvas] + Hannah's cute new shop [I get to see her this weekend, yay!].

three-hundred

This is my 300th post in this journal. Wow. There are so many things I could say about how keeping an online journal has changed my life, but I don't have the brain power to do it right now [it has been a long weekend!]. Instead I just want to say "THANK YOU" to each and every one of you who stops by to visit me each week. Words cannot express how grateful I am for your kind words, encouragement and support over the years. Wishing you all a bit of creative wonder each and every day!

Now for the fun part, leave me a comment/joke/funny story and I'll draw one name on Sunday, April 13th and send that person a little box of goodies.

yellow + white

:: billy buttons scattered throughout our home ::

:: some more paper + stitching ::

:: inspired by the calendars I made last month ::

:: in my studio ::

:: my new favorite find :: ikea paper table covers ::

Oh, and I just realized this is my 299th post in this journal [I had 162 in my old journal]. Gosh, have I really been blogging for 2.5 year? Yikes! Anyways, I think a little giveaway is in order for the 300th post. If you're interested, come by next week!