family rules linky party!!!

remember way back when i featured my guest blogger nicole

and her fabulous idea of a family rules canvas?

 (sorry i didn't have a better pic!)

and then i made my own?

well, it has been so much fun seeing so many of yours!

thank you to all of you who have added your link to the comment sections of those posts 

or have emailed me links.

it is amazing how each of you have taken that original idea and totally made it your own!

so i'm thinkin' about some linkin'.

who's up for a linky party for the family rules canvas?

if you haven't made one yet,

i'll leave this linky open extra long so you can get off your duff and make your own -

you won't be sorry!

i can't wait to see all the pretty canvases all lined up together!

-lindsey

back to school blues

i write this the day before school officially starts.

and i'm a bit sad.

tomorrow is a BIG day for our family.

BIG changes.

little ones turning into BIG kids.

ugh.

let me 'splain our school situation to some of you that i have seriously confused.

yes, we are home schoolers.

but yes, we also send our kids to school.

here's a link to our school (the website is being updated, but you should still get a good feel for it).

we are part of a classical school that is part time home school, part time at school.

so on mondays and wednesdays, gracie (and now lily, too) will be going to a regular classroom setting with other students and get a good portion of their learning done there.

then on tuesdays, thursdays, and fridays they are home with me.

i feel like its the best of both worlds:

i get to keep them home and spend more time with them, but i am given direction on most of their curriculum.

one thing that scares the bujeezers out of me is the thought of choosing all our curriculum and planning it all!

but the kids also get classroom time, but with just 14 kids per class, 

so the teachers really get to know the kids well.

so that's the school in a nut shell.

get it?

so my lily, my little not-even-5-yet lily, will be going into kindergarten tomorrow.

*tear*

and to make matters worse (or on some days... better) silas will be going to preschool on mondays and wednesdays, too!

such a happysad day!

on one hand, my nest will be empty for 2 partial days a week.

on the other hand, MY NEST WILL BE EMPTY FOR 2 PARTIAL DAYS A WEEK!!!!!

so you can see where i'm torn, right?

to have 2 days where i can work in daylight hours rather than the wee dark hours of the night sounds wonderful.

but to not hear little voices, or get kisses for no reason at all, or get snuggles.... well that just stinks!

*****

so if you are in a funk like me, how about some retail therapy?!

i don't know if my shop has ever held a prettier palate, so i am officially here to tempt you.

ready?

how about a bloom bag,

filled with...

a zippered pouch,

and...

a checkbook cover???

or instead maybe...

a sunnies case,

and...

a pretty pink petal pusher (like alliterations?),

and...

a coordinating checkbook cover?

so there are just a couple options for you.

head on over to my shop and see all the fun you can find by mixing and matching 

to make the perfect set for YOU!

 feel better yet?

-lindsey

toile tales winner

congratulations to.....

Laura Stewart

send me an email laura and i'll forward your info along to the ladies at toile tales!

thepleatedpoppy@gmail.com 

-lindsey

new products?

for my mom's birthday, my dad got her an ipad.

it really is the perfect gift for her, since she is a decorating blog fanatic

and now she can take her blogs anywhere she goes!

 

so i decided to make a little case for her ipad, to protect it when its in her purse.

i still haven't perfected the pattern (it's reeeally a tight squeeze to fit it in through the zipper)

but hey, that's what prototypes are for!

and i'm not sure if the zipper is going to stay or go.

thoughts?

so i've been toying with lots of new products lately,

creating prototypes, tweaking versions, doing a lot of seam ripping...

but i thought who better to ask than you:

what would YOU like to see in my shop?

is there something that you would love to see done in the pleated poppy style?

i am all ears!

not that i have any extra time, 

but new designs are always so fun to work on into the wee hours of the night.

-lindsey

happy birthday mom!

i love my parents.

i mean, of course i do - they're my parents.

but really, they are just good people too.

sean and are are actually blessed that both of our parents are still married and are wonderful people.

since building the loft, my parents are here once a month for about a week.

i am always so thankful for this time.

not only are they really helpful with the kids, but they love projects!

sean and i used to love projects, but then we started 3 "little projects" that take up all our time now!

and if it weren't for having my parents around, nothing would get done around here!

sorry dad :(

so guess how my mom chose to spend her birthday?

with us (yay!).

cleaning up our yard.

hauling 2 box trucks full of junk away to the dump!!!

so sweet!

so i rewarded her with a present from lisa.

she has another necklace i gave her years ago that she wears all the time,

so i knew she would love this!

then we brushed the dirt off our bodies and snuck away during naptime to go get pedicures together.

nothing better than having someone else do your dirty work while you veg 

and get caught up on celebrity gossip!

so is jen pregnant?

i never found out!

yard pics (in progress):

we've had this fireplace built since before our house was completed (4 years now),

yet we never finished it!

it needed firebrick inside to be functional

and a lot to be aesthetically pleasing!

we hired help for the masonry work.

we had the firebrick layed in a herringbone pattern and it just looks so pretty all done!

we also finished off the benches attached to either side of the

fireplace with stone that was original to the house.

after clearing years of pile up form the side yard, 

we (aka my parents and sean) were feeling ambitious.

so my parents and i tore down the beautiful gazebo that was original to our house.

a tough decision, but the thing was so rickety that it was beyond repair.

in fact, we have always had it blocked off so no one could access it for fear of injury.

it felt really good to go at it with a sledgehammer!

almost all down!

*****

and here's the yard now, all cleaned up!

ok, mostly clean with a few rugrats thrown in.

view from the back door.

there are 3 tiers to our yard - 

1st is the concrete area - great for tables (that aren't broken and splintery like the ones we just tossed), 

and bike riding. 

2nd level is the grass and garden. 

3rd is the empty spot where the gazebo was. 

this was my little project area.

there were already plants here, but smooshed together then a lot of voids, 

so i moved and repositioned and love it!

this bed sits right outside my kitchen window.

we have visions of a fountain going against the non-window wall.

when we win the lottery.

the wheel barrow was my grandfather's.

remember it, gram?

this is the view from in front of the garage.

you can see our giant playpen at the end.

my lovely potting bench with a huge chalkboard beside it.

the fireplace all done...

for now.

see how pretty the seats look?!

my goal for the summer was to get our ugly cinder block walls coated with a smooth stucco, 

but i think i'm out of luck.

i'll take this progress any day though.

planter on one side of the stairs on the 2nd tier.

our little garden.

our thumbs aren't entirely green, but we get better every year.

we have planted:

sugar snap peas, corn, strawberries, 3 kids of tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, basil, watermelon, cucumber, artichokes, carrots, cantaloupe, bell peppers, and green onions.

the cleared off 3rd tier.

future home of a hot tub.

but until we win the lottery that we don't play, it will get paved with stones and be a seating area.

not sure what we'll be sitting on other than the ground,

but it'll still be a sitting area.

with a  really good view.

our teepee, covered in sugar snap peas.

so good that the kids can just go and grab the fatties and snack on them fresh.

love that!
 

a few apples on our tree.

just enough for each of the kids to pick for their first day of school.

the planter bed filled with flea finds and hydrangeas.

doesn't get much better than that!

window box outside the loft.

i think i need one of these outside my kitchen window.

dad?

view from the loft stairs.

the pretty loft.

why do they make kid's slides so ugly?

-lindsey

what i wore wednesday

top - target

jeans - local shop

shoes - gap

necklace - lisa leonard

never. again.

this outfit was so uncomfortable!  

and it looks way less cute in the picture than i thought it did in person.

totally frumpy.

i just can't wear a belt at my natural waistline - maybe it has something to do with the fact that my hips, waist and chest are pretty much all the same size, so the belt wouldn't stay put!

sweater - old navy

dress - target

belt - target???

jeans - local shop

flats - target

now this was comfort!

but also exactly what i'm trying to get away from.

we were heading to the beach and it was foggy, so i'll cut myself some slack.

hat - gap

tank - old navy

sweatshirt - target

yoga pants - target (too baggy)

flips - rainbow

my girls had to get in on this day!

they *love* to dress up as "twins".

sweatshirts - hand-me-downs

bathing suits - old navy ($5!!!)

top - forever 21

pants - forever 21

shoes - gap

i tweeted about these shoes long ago when i was trying them on.

the consensus was to get them,

but i still think they look like caterpillars!

see my pretty pedi?!

more on that soon....

top - local shop

skirt - gap

sandals - mervyns

i just didn't have it in me to put any effort into my clothes this day.

most of the day we were cleaning, but i even went to the store and a playdate like this.

ug. ly.

hat - local shop

shirt - local surf shop

shorts - cut off and hemmed by me

flips - rainbow

link up!

-linds

toile tales giveaway

it's almost time to head back to school... eek!

is anyone else freaking out?!

i love summer - lazy days, sleeping in...

i'm totally not the type that is so excited to get the kids back in school.

may have something to do with homeschooling... hmmm....

but with back to school comes fall.

and fall, in most parts of the country, brings on the crisp air and chilly sunny days.

our family is a hat family.

i actually try to limit myself on how often i can wear a hat - 

because seriously, it would be every day if it looked ok.

my kids love wearing hats, too!

my girls each got a new hat from toile tales, which will be perfect for fall.

they actually wore them back in may when we went to yosemite.

i was so thankful i am over-anal about being cold and keeping my kids warm 

because i just happened to pack hats, gloves and jackets.

and it snowed!

in may!

in california!

i know - crazy!

lily is wearing the townie earflap in brown and baby blue with a posy pin attached.

gracie is wearing the aviator in mauve with a toile tales flower - i *love* this color combo!

i ordered them a bit big because i wanted them to last a long time, and i love that they can trade hats, too.

i even think that silas could wear the townie when he gets bigger.

the color combos are so pretty at toile tales and the braided sides are my favorite detail on these hats!

so raise your hand if you would like to win a $30 shop credit to toile tales!

just head on over to their shop and tell me how you'd spend your winnings - 

easy enough, right?

but for those of you who are either really impatient and can't wait to see if you win, or are reeeeally on top of early christmas shopping (remember they have hats for newborns to adults) the ladies at toile tales have been kind enough to offer my readers a HUGE discount of 20%!

just be sure to put BackToSchool in the notes to seller,

and the discount will be refunded through paypal.

good luck and happy shopping!

-lindsey

sunshine & aqua skies (and a winner!)

i have really been inspired this week to take one last look at summer.

school starts next monday for us, and my life as i know it, is about to change dramatically.

i will now be home schooling TWO kids 3 days a week (yikes!),

but i will also have 2 days a week with THREE kids in school.

yes, silas is going to preschool!

i am a teeny bit sad, but mostly thrilled for him since i *love* his teacher (each of the girls had her)!

so that leaves me 2 half days a week that i'll be a.l.o.n.e.

weird.

but good?

i'll need to get most of my work done in that time

because there will be no work happening while the kids are home.

i promise.

ok, i really need accountability on that one.

anyhooo, our summer vacation is drawing to an end

so i thought i'd share some pics of things around that remind me of summer

in the fresh palette of sunshine yellow and aqua.

clockwise, from top left:

owl planter from nicole's house

covered notebook

ruffle bag from blue corduroy

bloom bag (out of stock - more in process!)

lemons on an aqua cake plate from joy

ruffled checkbook cover

containers by my back door

my favorite petal drop necklace of the week

my still-not-functional gumball machine

my summer pillows

posy pins

gracie on the pier

lucy's sweet shoes

my illuminate necklace from lisa

posy headband

mustard dresser in my entry

well worn bench at one of my favorite taco spots in san clemente

craft inc.

*****

and the winner of the garland and joyful joyful banner giveaway is.....

cynthia!!!

she said:

it's so funny that you are had a julius party for your little one because we are having the same theme for my son's 5th birthday in a few weeks! this would totally save me from having to make the banner myself and instead of the tissue poms i was going to do, the i could totally use the garland!Courtney's shop is totally cute and i am in love with the thank you banner!

 

yay for cynthia!!!

email me at thepleatedpoppy@gmail,com with your addy and your treats will be on their way!

for those of you who didn't win,

you can still make your own circle garland and get some fabulous banners from joyful joyful.

happy monday!

-linds

you're welcome

because he's just so yummy...

i thought i'd give you all a taste.

you're welcome.

signed,

a totally unbiased mother