Embrace the Camera: March 31st

I'm starting to love Thursday because it means it is time to embrace the camera.  This week, I was prepared with a picture.  I had lunch with a great friend of mine earlier this week, Candice.  We have been friends since our freshman year of high school, and still remain very close.  Delaney started the lunch laughing and playing with her toys.  After about an hour and a half of us gabbing, I realized Delaney just wasn't going to make it through the girls' lunch.  I guess we just weren't entertaining her enough...

NO...she was not blinking...she was sound asleep:)


Linking up with Emily at:

What I'm Wanting Wednesday...

Okay, well I had planned to talk about some men's soap I found on etsy, but that will have to wait until next week!  Because.... I woke up, got on the computer, and saw that my dear friend Laura, from lillypieaccessories has debuted her Spring/Summer Collection, and I WANT IT ALL!!:)

My 7-month old daughter, Delaney, wears these headbands almost every day.  Seriously.  And I don't think I have been out of the house where someone has not asked me where I got it.  They are super comfy on her head, she doesn't even know they are there, and they are gorgeous!  They dress up even her fleece pants and a plain onesie that I seem to put her in every day (as seen in this photo

So, when I saw lillypie's spring collection, I let out a squeak (no really, I did) because she has a new headband named the "miss delaney" 

Um...Yes, I will take one of those please. 

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Inspiration for her collection...

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I'm also loving the "Miss Lorelei" that Laura's own daughter Lilly is modeling in this picture (love the live action shot!)

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These headbands can be worn by little ones AND mommies!  Some other items from her spring/summer collection can be found on her lovely blog:

http://lillypieaccessories.blogspot.com/

I love me a cheese-quake...

Oh my gosh...today is already Tuesday, which means tomorrow is Wednesday and so on.  Do you ever just feel like you have a to-do list literally a mile long, but instead you take the day to go shopping and to make a pit stop at Dairy Queen to get a mini-Oreo cheesequake Blizzard, or is that just me?

We launched our new website this week, have quite a few orders to make up, and have a two-day jewelry show on Friday and Saturday.  PLUS, my house is a wreck, I need to leave for praise team practice in a couple hours and Mr. Halsey has work and evening classes last night and tonight, is helping at our church tomorrow night after work, and my dog has training {yeah, that's right} on Thursday night...  You would think I stayed home today to get stuff done, BUT NO, I went to Target, Steinmart, Whole Foods, and the DQ instead...there is always tomorrow, right?:)

I shared a pic last Thursday of our trip to the ice cream parlor, but wanted to share a few more today of our fun weekend out.  Hope you're having a more productive week than me!

can I get a woop-woop {do people still say that?}

BIG NEWS!!!!!!!  WE NOW HAVE OUR OWN WEBSITE,

www.tagyoureitjewelry.com

{Woo-Hoo!!}  [confetti flying] {cartwheels}

We have had our etsy shop for a few years, and will continue to keep it open.  However, in addition to our etsy shop, we now have our own shop page, which is very exciting for us.  Stop on by and let us know what you think.  All the credit has to go to Brodi for designing it and doing all of the work for it, while I was constantly bugging her with "don't forget about this" and "why don't you add this..."  She's my hero!

Some New[er] pieces!

Over the last few weeks, we have created some new designs.  They can already be found on our website, but I wanted to share them on the blog also.

Okay, okay, this is NOT a new design.  BUT, we have started to personalize the moon with a child's name, so I wanted to share how cute it looked...


I'm loving this new mommy necklace and I really might have to make one for myself.  It's very simple, but sweet.  It can also be personalized with a name.



Drumroll please...Okay, this is my new fav!  I only have one kid, so I'm not ready to sport a piece like this yet, but if would notice number #3 has my daughter's name on it.  This necklace was made for my mom who also came up with the idea and then we ran with it.  It includes all three of her grandkids.  I'm loving the necklace, but not the photo...That one needs retaken on a more cohesive background I think.

Embrace the Camera

Last weekend, the 3 of us went to outlet mall to do some shopping with my 30% off Gap and Banana Republic coupon.  Afterwards, we drove about 15 minutes down the road, to Columbus, to this adorable old ice cream parlor, Zaharakos.  Mark and I chose hot fudge sundaes and Delaney had her first bite of strawberry ice cream, which she loved [of course].  Most of the pics I took were of the actual parlor, but here is one I took of Mark and me while we were eagerly awaiting our sundaes.

P.S. There must have been a spot on the mirror because I am not drawing on a Cindy Crawford mole.

Are you embracing the camera today??

linking up with:

Going Organic...

It's Wednesday!!  For the 39 of you who follow this blog, you know what that means... What I Want Wednesday! 

Okay, so I used to HATE the whole organic thing.  I'm serious, I was an organic hater.  I remember reading about how Sarah Jessica Parker always used organic detergent and then when she was all out she bought regular detergent and then her baby broke out.  I thought, "Well, if you just used regular detergent to begin with, they would have been used to it and NEVER would have broke out!"  And I always claimed that I would rather eat food with pesticides and NO BUGS than food that had a worm crawling around in it. 

And then, things began to change. 

 I saw a TODAY show episode about toxins in our cosmetics.  I looked up my hairspray on the cosmeticsdatabase and on a scale of 1-10, it rated a 9 for toxicity.  That can't be good for me, right? 

Oh, and then I saw the movie Food, Inc. which made me want to empty my fridge, write some nasty letters to food companies, and demand that cows eat only grass.  I even stopped eating at McDonalds {for a couple of weeks}.  I am TRYING to make better choices when it comes to food, cleaners, and cosmetics, especially since Delaney is new to this world. 

One of my fellow classmates in Indie Biz 3.0 sells organic baby products with a line called Nourish, such as this organic coconut balm.  Delaney already has eczema, so I think something like this would be good for her skin, and I imagine it smells amazing.  This is what I am wanting this week- Nourish coconut balm- for Delaney's dry skin, and maybe my dry elbows...

What are you wanting this Wednesday?

My Chunky Monkey

I knew before having a kid that babies are chunky.  I knew they were full of rolls and wrinkles.  However, I can't help but smile AND laugh when I look at my daughters legs.  They have been covered up in pants all winter long, so when her pants were pulled up the other day while she was jumping, I had to pull the camera out. 

It doesn't seem fair that when a baby has cellulite it's cute and adorable, but as adults it's gross and disgusting.  I can't WAIT until swimsuit season {for her}... 

Friday Night Hockey!

On Friday night, we went to an Indianapolis Ice Hockey game.  I have never been to a hockey game before, and Mark loves to watch hockey, so I thought it would be fun to surprise him with the idea.  I'm not gonna lie- the highlight of sports games for me is getting something from the concession stand-I'm like a five year old.  We opted for a hotdog, popcorn, and a Pepsi, so I was set to go for the evening.  It was a fun game to watch- the teams were tied at the end and had to go into overtime.  During overtime, I was busy texting the following to my mom, who was watching Delaney:

"if shes doing a whiny cry with eyes shut then she is just fighting sleep but if she is doing a screaming cry with eyes open then she wants another bottle"

While I was texting of course, Indianapolis scored the winning goal {is that what you call it in hockey, I don't know}.  I looked up and everyone was screaming and cheering.  Mark jumped to his feet and in his excitement yells,

"WE WON!!!!  YOU MISSED IT!!!!!" {Thank you for rubbing it in, hon}

Of course.  I couldn't even watch a replay cause the Indianapolis Ice aren't an NHL team, so they don't have the equipment to film the games:)

All well- I guess that's the life of a mommy.

The Daily Grind

The reason my sister and I started Tag...You're It was to have a job where we could stay at home and raise our kiddos while having some side income money.  I think that is the dream for a lot of moms out there.  There have been situations where we get an email from someone who assumes that we are working out of a large company, which is flattering, but they don't realize that we are two moms in a small house working out of a spare bedroom. 

I hope to be the kind of mom my own mom was- playing with us, coming up with fun and exciting things to do, taking us places- even if it was just to grandma's everyday to swim in the pool or to the library to check out books.  Therefore, when we realized that on a sunny day, our kids were plopped in front of the tv watching Sesame Street for the thousandth time and I was singing along to my favorite "Preschool Musical" skit, while polishing a necklace, we both knew that it was time to come up with a better system. 

I think for any work-at-home mom, it is hard to find a balance between getting the work done and wanting to spend quality time cutting, pasting, playing, building, and creating with the kids.  I am in no way complaining about being able to stay home- I feel completely blessed and so fortunate that I am able to do so.  I just have realized that unless I prioritize, I could spend my ENTIRE day working on Tag...You're It, while Delaney is in her Johnny Jump Up smiling at me and waiting for me to play with her. 

So, the question remains,

How do we increase our sales while putting LESS work into it? 

Haha- I guess that is somewhat a contradiction.  We are working on a better organized system though where we can work more during the evening or morning hours without having to get together as often in the afternoons {not that I get tired of seeing my sweet niece and nephew}.  So, I'll keep you updated on how it works:) 

We were able to get a lot accomplished yesterday, while the girls took naps and Isaac played outside.  Isaac made sure to show me the "neighborhood" he drew with chalk, which you can see below.

Hmmm..Okay, don't be disappointed...It must have been a neighborhood that lost money in the market and was unable finish production, resulting in only three houses:)

Embrace the Camera!

Happy Thursday and Happy St. Patricks Day! 

Okay, I'll admit, I don't really "celebrate" St. Patrick's Day.  I'm not Irish, I don't drink, and green is not my best color.  However, with it being "embrace the camera Thursday", I thought I would share a St. Pat's picture of everyone in the family:

My cousin bought this shirt for Delaney in Ireland last year before she was even born.  At the time, I remember thinking "This will be HUGE on her next March!"  But, I had to SQUEEZE it over my little chunkers belly this morning:) 

Here are photos of Mr. and Mrs. Halsey LAST YEAR in Chicago.  We decided to drive up for the weekend.  I was about four months pregnant with Del.  We were going for a getaway weekend, but when we arrived and saw people walking the streets dressed in green hats and tights, we realized it was St. Patrick's Day weekend. [duh].  So...we were able to see the river dyed green, which was fun.

  It looked lime green, but this was when I had my cheap camera, so the pics aren't too clear. 

The freezing cold rain was not fun, which explains why I'm dressed like a camp mom {rain coat and gloves with the

 hood up}

linking up with :

What I'm Wanting Wednesday!

Okay, can I first say that this is not at ALL my normal style.  My house consists of pretty neutral colors- beige, sage green, light brown (is that the same as beige?)... I have absolutely NOWHERE in my house where this wreath would fit.  Even my front porch has a dark green door and I don't think it would look right.  But, I am drawn to this wreath from come and knock and have looked at it on etsy numerous times.  I still wonder where I could put it.  Living room? No. Kitchen? wouldn't match. Bathroom? light blues...maybe...Bedroom? nope. Delaney's room? Bright orange with her pink- I don't think so.  

So, although I don't have a place for it, I still love it.  Maybe I need to add some color to my house in order to make the wreath fit.    

  What are you wanting this Wednesday?

Too Many Shoes?

A girl can't have too many shoes, right?!  I hope not because I bought Delaney 9 pairs of shoes at the Whale of Sale consignment sale.  My fav finds included Gymboree rainboots with tags for $5.00 and brand new Bugaboo Shoes for $10.00.  I also found two pairs of Stride Rites and another pair of Gymboree shoes! 

     It really is fun shopping for a little girl.

Whale of a Sale Weekend

It's Monday!!  My to-do list is about five miles long today. Laundry, dishes, vacuum, clean kitchen, work on jewelry orders, blog;), pay bills, run errands, and of course take care of Delaney...typical Monday.

okay, that's not five miles, but in my head it seemed a lot longer

We had a blast at Whale of a Sale this past weekend. It was one of our most successful shows to date.  It was Thursday night, Friday, and Saturday so it was a large show for us and I am still exhausted!  I think we literally saw over 200 pregnant women and probably over 100 babies under 6 months old- at least!  I think I "aawwww"ed at least 100 times.  We really had a great time though and can't wait to participate again this fall! 

We realized we really need a foldable wood screen to go behind our booth, so when other vendors are behind us, it keeps our look separate.

Delaney came to visit me.  Loving the cankles in the pic:)

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Embrace the Camera!

I am a very picky blog reader.  I don't really love a lot of recipes on blogs 'cause I hate cooking (I do it out of wifal obligation-I don't think that's a word, but I don't have to love it), I like artsy, but not TOO artsy blogs, their lives usually have to be more interesting than mine (which doesn't take much), and I usually prefer mom blogs, 'cause I can relate.  I have been following Emily from The Anderson Crew and have enjoyed reading about her four kids with one more on the way. 

Every Thursday she does an "embrace the camera" segment.  Basically, she talks about the fact that moms are so often behind the camera and love documenting our little ones, but we are rarely in the picture.  I know what you are thinking.  "yeah, we do that on purpose."  I would normally agree.  I can count on one hand the people in my life who have NOT seen me with mascara on, and that includes my parents, brother and sister.  Before a picture, I feel like I have to have my make-up on, my hair fixed, and I have to be turned in a certain way so I don't think I look "fat."  Oh, I also prefer it be taken from above slightly, so I don't look like I have a double chin.  But when I thought about her embracing the camera challenge, I realized that down the road, Delaney will want pictures of her and her mommy.  They don't have to be perfect pictures, just MEMORIES.  Sometimes great memories don't involve hairspray and a cute outfit, it might involve windsuit pants.  I took this pic a few days ago, and although I first thought I looked goofy and I would hide it away, I couldn't help but show it because Delaney and were laughing together and she was pulling on my hair which she often does when she wants me to get closer to her.  

My challenge to you is to also embrace the camera.  Even if you don't think you look your best, hold the camera out and get pictures of yourself with your kiddos because I think you'll be grateful down the road.   

linking up with:

...JENNIFER RUDE!!!  

Thanks for all of the great ideas!! 

We loved the idea "Live Simply" from Amy, so much so that we already made the necklace! 

This new design is on a 1/2" square, with the edges cupped (look for it on our website soon)

Amy you will receive a 25% discount on any purchase, just email us before ordering. 

Thanks again everyone!!

What I'm Wanting Wednesday

Happy Wednesday everyone!!  Don't worry, I will be posting the winner of the $40 gift certificate soon, but first I wanted to tell you what I'm wanting.

 I L-O-V-E yellow and gray together.

 It is like the sunshine meets a thunderstorm and I love them both!  So when I saw this tote/diaperbag over at Gussy Sews, I fell in love with it. 
Unfortunately, it is sold out. 
Haha!  That's okay because this is "What I'm Wanting Wednesday", not "What I'm Planning on Buying Today Wednesday".  That blog post would include a gallon of milk, men's tees with a pocket, and baby laundry detergent, which is much less fun! 

What are you wanting today?