August 31.

Thinking of my husband.  Thinking of my mom.  Love you guys.

Guess Who?

Guess who is FINALLY getting an online store?  Buckle you seat belts ladies, because next week ZARA will be launching their online shopping mecca.  I have heard conflicting reports whether it will be September 6 or September 7, but I would start checking on the 6th to make sure you can scoop up your top picks as items are going to be flying off of those virtual shelves. For those of you who are not familiar with the Spanish clothing brand, here is a little taste of what you are in for.

Thank You Cards Shop Winners

And the winners of the Thank You Cards Shop Giveaway(s) are.....

Congrats ladies!  Shoot me an email and we'll get you your stationery ASAP.

It Was a Little Misty...

At the bus stop this morning.  My E Burger started FIRST GRADE!!!  No more drop offs at daycare, today I put my baby on a bus and let her go. New school, new friends, new teacher, new everything...  Ugh.

 She has to be at the bus stop at 7:15, so needless to say, it is going to be an adjustment for her (and us.)  It took me 20 minutes to wake her up today.  Mike asked if she was breathing.

There was quite a sendoff.

I am feeling so incredibly guilty, because I have to go to California all week.  I literally cried when I found out about this trip.  I was able to postpone my departure for this afternoon, but I won't be able to talk to her until tomorrow because my flight leaves right before she gets home, and I'll be in the air for six hours.

 Thank God for Grandpa and Helen who came to help out for the week.

The nerves subsided as she met some friends at the bus stop--- there are seven first grade classes at her new school-- 2005 was a baby boom in our community.

And off she goes.

My heart melted as she turned to blow a kiss.

This is the part where Mommy cries. Good luck today, my girl.  I love you.

Check out Lou's Party on Sweet Designs!

I am beyond thrilled that Lou's party was featured on Amy Atlas' blog.  Check it out for yourself here.

Beaded Heaven.

That's what she's been named by her creator, Lindsey Hamlin of Simply Salvage. who tirelessly worked to create a perfect replica of my vision.  She hand painted and strung over 4,000 beads (twice the amount that we originally estimated.)  Lindsey dealt with my incessant questions about parts, colors and finishes.  She made this baby with love, and I couldn't be more pleased with the results. 

Beaded Heaven is on her way home to Virginia as we speak.  I know a three year old who is anxiously awaiting her arrival.

Spell it Out.

It all started with a plan. 

Slowly but surely, things are moving along in Lou's room. Last weekend I finally made some of her pillows.

I just used iron-on transfer paper from Michael's.  I am thinking of having them stitched on to make them more durable.

 I also finally ordered two of these sconces for either side of her bed.

And, I am expecting her new chandelier to arrive by the end of the week.  

I am giddy thinking about that chandelier in her room.  I will be sure to share pictures as soon as I get it hung!

Thank You Cards Giveaway.

My love for the hand-written thank you note has been documented on this very blog. I was so delighted to receive an email from Amy Lowry, owner of the Thank You Cards Shop.  Amy started her business after her wedding 6 years ago ; working on all the details showed her just how much she loved design.

One of the benefits of blogging is that I have received emails from so many vendors that are interested in getting their product out there.  I don't highlight every product, only the ones that I believe in, or ones that represent my style.  Well, Amy's products speak to me!  And I am happy to announce that she will be sponsoring a giveaway of TWO $25 gift certificates to her shop to TWO lucky Kiki's List followers.

Her designs are happy and whimsical.  Just check them out for yourself:

Here are the rules for the contest:

1.) You must be a Follower of Kiki's List.

2.) To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment on this post between today, Wednesday, August 24, 2011 and Friday, August 26  telling me why you should win. A winner will be selected at random and will be announced next Monday, August 29. 

3.) To receive an additional entry, you can link to this post on your own blog (include the url to your blog post in your comment). It is up to you to return to this post to enter your second entry after blogging about the giveaway.

4.)Post about this giveaway on Facebook for another additional entry. You must enter the link to this post in you status update. It is up to you to return to this post to enter your second entry after FB'ing about the giveaway.

5.) Tweet about this giveaway for an additional entry.  It is up to you to return to this post to enter your second entry after tweeting about the giveaway.

6.) Lastly, like Thank You Cards Shop on Facebook for an additional entry.  It is up to you to return to this post to enter your second entry after becoming a fan.

There will be TWO lucky winners this time.  Good Luck!

Aftershocks.

So... unless you are living under a rock, you heard that we had an earthquake here in Virginia today.   Although it lasted maybe 30 seconds, I must say, it was a bit scary.  I work on the 6th floor of an office building.  I was on the phone with a colleague in California and I saw my computer screen shaking.  At first I thought that someone was jumping around outside of my office.  Then it got worse.  I told my colleague that I thought we were having an earthquake.  Being from California, he was very nonchalant and said "Yeah, they can be scary, but they pass quickly."  Then I looked outside of my window and saw the pictures falling off of the wall in the office across the street. So, I hung up and then we were evacuated from the building.  

Thank God it was minimal and nobody was seriously hurt.  The first thought that crossed my mind were my kids and husband.  Phone lines were down, but I could text, so I knew Mike was ok.  He was on his way home from DC.  When I got to  school to pick up the girls some of their friends were really shaken.  As we were leaving E said "Mommy, I don't want to leave my friends in there, what if the school falls down on them?"  My little humanitarian.  

While I am so grateful to have them home, and beyond thrilled that everyone is okay, my workload is not going away.  So, I am trying furiously to ignore these kids and get some work done.  Here is a little taste of the chaos that is my life- E is apparently now a music video producer.

Now, I know what you are thinking... I am a horrible mother that my kids know the lyrics to "Baby's Got Back."  Here is my weak attempt at defending myself: During a long trip to Ikea, E was sitting in the backseat of the car.  I thought she had her headphones on and Sir Mix-A-Lot was playing on the radio.  She heard the first verse, and memorized the entire thing on the spot... and hasn't forgotten it since.  Now she has successfully taught her little sister all of the words as well.  Oye.

I Love You Like A...

Next week, Mike and I will celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary.  We are pretty simple, we don't exchange gifts, and as some of you may know, this is a bittersweet day for me, so I like to keep it low-key.  I always like to get one funny card and one meaningful.  Unfortunately, I will be in California all of next week, so I'd like to leave a little something behind.  So I started my search for the perfect card.

This is like Mad-Libs.  I love you like a                      .

A back-alley hooker loves crack.

A Fat Kid Loves Cake (I have signed cards to him saying just that.)

Fried Chicken.

A lemon?...  I guess this is a love/hate thing.  Probably not appropriate for our Anniversary.

Ok.. Maybe I should search for something a bit more meaningful....

Found it.  Our relationship started as a long-distance one.  So, when ending any email or text we have always signed OJ, or Olive Juice for I love you.

Fleabags.

Strange name, I know, but I spotted this brown suede little beauty in last month's InStyle and haven't stopped thinking about it since.  Me likey.  It makes me think of Fall.  I imagine myself rocking this baby with a cream cable knit turtleneck and some weathered jeans.

Fleabags was started by two women who were in the design industry and were frustrated with the environmental hazard and waste that plastic bags created.  They wanted a dapper, large and versatile bag to carry all of their goods.   While this is much more expensive than your average Envirosax bag, I dig it and would love to have one for a gym, overnight or laptop bag.  

Just look at these babies....

Orchid Obsessed.

Last week while taking to a friend, I proclaimed that my color for the fall is officially orchid.  Everything that I have purchased in the last few months seems to be in this hue.  Luckily, this color works with my skin tone.  ;)

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Instagram.

I am officially obsessed with Instagram.  I downloaded it a few weeks ago, but didn't really have the time to play around with it until our 2.5 hour trip to Dutch Wonderland last weekend.  For those of you that are unaware of this addictive (free) iPhone App, do not hesitate,  download now.  It allows you to take your standard picture and turn in into a gem.

You can turn this average iPhone pic:

 Into this:

I just love the vintage feel that this app brings to any picture.  Here are some more shots from our weekend:

You can also follow other users and get a running feed of their photos, much like Facebook or Twitter.  My username is klnsalmon if you want to follow me.