m•o•m : stitch

what do you think?

tomorrow, sunday january 22nd our extended family is having it's christmas. we couldn't get our acts together in december -too many performers, athletes, and jobs that get busy that time of year.

in our family, all kids under 18 gets gifts from everyone. once you're 18 you join the grown-ups and we each just buy one gift. we play that fun game where every person gets a number and starting with #1 they choose a gift then #2 can either choose a new gift or steal #1's - you know what i mean right? it's actually a lot of fun... if people take from others!

our rule is that the gifts stay around $25 -makes it easy on everyone. there is usually some good beer or wine. and of course there is that one awful gift that gets recycled every few years. one year the gift i brought was a 24 pack of toilet paper, boy was that a popular gift! lot's of stealing with that one.

this year, at moms suggestion, i'm going to do something different. i've decided to offer a small photo session with me. obviously this gift is worth more than $25, but i think mom was right, it will help me get back in the saddle as it were.
so what do you think? will my family fight over this one?

i don't think anyone in our family reads this blog regularly, so no sweat in letting my gift out of the bag a day early (fingers crossed!)

be thankful and give thanks

 

• it's that time of year, so lots of stuff is on sale •
All Paige dresses (solid and patterned fabric) are 25% off - online and in the shop through Nov 30th
All Antoinette jewelry and accessories are 25% off - online and in the shop through THIS friday the 25th 

Dave and I are hosting Thanksgiving again this year at his apartment (he requested it - so cute). Potluck style works for our family; so mom is making the mains - turkey, stuffing, and gravy. Looking forward to my sisters dee-lish roasted veggies, and Dave has proved to be a whiz at mashed potatoes.

 

Mom and I wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving.

paige dress in colorful windowpane. more fabric choices available. 

antoinette collection: all are one-of-a-kind. bracelets, necklaces, earrings, brooches

We also have (1) Jane tunic and (1) Ginger dress on sale: 25% off through Nov 30th.

jane tunic in vintage red gingham tiny 2-4yrs


ginger dress in green floral: med 6-8yrs

the shop will be closed thanksgiving day; we'll be back at it friday. hope to see you at the shop or online this holiday season.

north carolina bbq. east coast trip, part 2

here are some more images from my visit to raleigh.

bbq tray from cooper's in downtown raleigh. it's been there since 1939.
and yes, those are hush-puppies and pork rinds in the center of the table. i asked what a first-timer should try and this is what they brought us. it was gooood. north carolina bbq is vinegar based, not sweet and no heavy sauce. i liked it. the hushpuppies were great; i could have eaten a whole basket.

clyde coopers

my cousin sarah ready for some good eats!

award winning!

pork rinds to go!

my first taste.

next up: the north carolina state fair! stay tuned.
also coming: pictures from the hawaiian day we had here in the parking lot saturday. food truck, shave ice, and ukulele playing!

have you ever had pork rinds? how about poke?

**********
42nd Prop House: vintage suitcase

this is a good summer

haley, my cousin leela's eldest daughter stayed with us again. this is her third visit/internship, and as before, we had a blast with her!

haley is now 14 and we figured that she wouldn't want to hang out with us any longer... you know, she's a teenager, so we're lame. but apparently we're still cool! or it's probably more accurate to say that haley is one of the coolest 14 year-olds we've ever come across!

mom taught haley how to crochet on her first day at the shop. beginning crochet -the chain stitch, and how to go in the round. well, miss haley made herself a headband and someone bought it off her head! a girl haley's age came into the shop and we overheard her tell her mother, "i like what she's wearing." the girl mentioned it again, under her breath, so i asked haley if she'd be willing to sell it. yep. that was the first of 3 headbands haley sold in her four days with us. we're calling it the wrap-around.
here's haley, just moments before her first sale.

way to go haley -you're hired!

our days were filled with scraps of fabric, sunshine, lots of customers, good food, and good conversation.

on the 4th of july we took haley home to imperial beach and stayed for a bbq with her family.

thanks for a great weekend haley - love you!

i wonder if she'll still like us when she's 15? we hope so!

goofing off

did you have a fun fourth? we did. the shop was closed -it was wonderful to sleep in and then spend the day with family.
here's more of our playing around with the iphone. i've shared the last video before, but i thought i'd include it here as part of our gallery of videos (ha!).

4th of July

Cookbook collection

Beading an Antoinette bracelet

Happy Mother's Day

Getting this in just under the wire... Happy Mother's Day to all the moms, step moms, caregivers, and moms to be! You are indespinsable and we love you!!

Today my sister Jessica and I surprized our mom with a little Mother's Day lunch at the studio. We actually surprized her, it was so fun! Here are a few pics.

We set the table for her arrival...


Happy and surprized! Jessica came up from Golden Hills.

Nothin' says celebrate like chamgagne in plastic cups along with chocolate.


The happy trio.

We love you mom! -bethany and jessica

Happy Easter

The shop is closed today and I kid you not, by 10am mom and I said to each other, "Well now what do we do?"
We figured it out; we're doing whatever we want. A little cooking, catching up on months-old magazines, and tonight church.

Source: maryruffle.tumblr.com via Laurel on Pinterest

 

Isn't this the sweetest image? While bouncing around the interwebs today I came accross a bunch of blogs I've never seen before, Kelli Murray Art and Design is one of them.

hello february, glad you're here

So happy to welcome the second month of the year because man, January was a tough month -well the last half of it at least.
In November, a few days before Thanksgiving, I got a call from Xina, my best friend from high school, she had been diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer. I was in shock, to say the least. She's 43 years old, how does this happen? Xina spent most of December in the hospital (her birthday and Christmas) and New Years Eve.
Another friend and I made plans to visit Xina in Brooklyn at the end of January. By Jan. 10th we were asked to visit sooner as Xina wasn't doing well. Flights and hotel reservations were changed and we anxiously awaited our departure date. We didn't make it. Xina died Sunday January 16th at the age of 44, less than two months after being diagnosed. I still can't believe it, and writing that sentence is just crazy.
Xina and I met on our first day of behind-the-wheel drivers training. I don't exactly remember, but I'm sure she said something outrageous, I laughed, and we were instant friends. Throughout high school, Xina had me singing to Chaka Khan, dancing at Club Zu, and staying out really, really late. What I gave her was a friendly ear, quiet moments, and a shoulder to lean on. Later in life she would refer to me as, "the voice of reason." 
She will always be in my heart.

Here we are at Xina's 22nd birthday party in '89.

This is Xina's senior picture. Her hair was awesome back then, She had a mohawk, a-la Annabella Lwin from Bow Wow Wow.

On my personal facebook page I've been sharing a few Xina memories, here are a few favorites.
Memory #12: On one of Xina's first visits to my home when we were in high school, my mother happened to be making brownies -from scratch, not a box. Xina couldn't believe it; she had never had homemade brownies. She later dubbed my mom, "the brownie queen of Cardiff."
A few years ago Xina graduated from The Culinary Institute in NYC. She regularly called on my mother for advice on techniques and recipes and she would always say something about those brownies.

Memory #3: A very proud moment for me whas the first time Xina said, "You gotta lotta soul for a white girl."

We knew all the words to this song and would sing it out while driving home from school. Thank God for good memories!

Get your '80s on. Turn up the volume and sing out loud! That's what Xina and I would do.

All the best to you and yours

let's catch up

Hi! It's been a while. Let's just dive right in with all that's been going on around here.

The minikin fashion show was a blast! It was great to see our clothes on a bunch of kids -we don't really get to see much of that, so it was a real treat for us.

outfit by m•o•m

skirt by m•o•m

outfit by m•o•m

outfit by m•o•m
Aren't they all adorable?

Sarah, my cousin from North Carolina came for a visit. We had sooo much fun! What a blast, we miss her already. We pretty much ate our way through her stay: The Kebab Shop, downtown; Bety's Taco's, Encinitas; Roberto's, Solana Beach and Siamese Basil, Encinitas. Sarah got a haircut from the awesome James Mendoza, bought a pair of Raen Optic sunglasses and has incorporated the word groovy into her vocabulary -she's an honorary Southern Californian now.

james, working his magic.

The Market Place at Magnolia Creek Atelier happened this last Sunday. We had a mobile portrait booth and captured some fun shots.

here is sarah snapping my picture.


jessica got this great shot of the our set up with her iphone. isn't it cute?


sarah, rockin' her new do and sunglasses.

one of my favorite guys, ben.

the super cute and funny keep-a-breast girls, kayla and brooke.


my sister jessica.


the talented and so, so pretty girls of modern crush; see their photo's of the day on the modern crush blog.

News at the store: The second shipment of Fashionary journals arrived last week. As before, we only orderd 5, so don't wait too long to come in a check them out. Plus, we found a few more books that we believe you will really like.

this is a great adult + kid craft book.


love the silhouette cup cozy and check out the robots!

saweet!

And now for the grown-ups... Paper + Craft is gorgeous, as are the projects.

Our store is small, therefore we only order a few of each title, so if you're interested in anything you see here, come in or send us an email: mom(at)42ndandorangeDOTcom.

We've also been busy making accessories. Our new favorite is the Happy Flower.



I'll get a picture of one of us wearing them, they look great in sets of three.

Well, I think that brings you up to day for now. Stay tuned, you never know what's around the corner.
Oh wait, there is more... for locals: I will be at the Encinitas Pannikin Nov. 26th (Black Friday) 10am-3pm with our book, Balanced Days, Balanced Lives. Come say hi, there might be cookies!


And then on Sunday, Dec. 5th out in front of our store and Univ wil be Zig Zag -an afternoon of craft. A great group of local talent will be at this event.


Okay, now that's it. Thanks for checking in.