Insta-Friday.

Paper airplanes at the eye doctor. Best appointment we've had so far.
(Not just because of the airplanes.)

No words.

Hugs turned wrestle match.

We've found a motivator for him. Money. Mommy finally has a helper.

Practicing for Kindergarten.

Late nights with this guy. I secretly love them.

Vacations with friends. The best.

Early morning scootering.

Click here for this week's giveaway from Sew Sweet Patterns. 

 Want to follow me on Instagram: managingmarbles


What have you been up to lately?

Pursue. {part 3}... and a GIVEAWAY!!!

I sure am loving reading about all these women who have pursued a dream, a 
hobby, or an opportunity that was laid in their lap. I hope you are too. If you've missed any of the last weeks, you can click here or here. 

They chose not to let their visions sit. They made something happen. 


I want to introduce you to another awesome mommy, friend, party planner, crafter {I could go on}... I have known Angi since I was a little girl. Our families have spent many holidays together, family vacations, and day-to-day dinners. She is now a wife and mommy of two ridiculously cute kids...and in all her spare time {yeah right} she and her mom are the brains and creative genius behind Sew Sweet Patterns.



I'd like you to meet Angi...

- Tell us a little about yourself. What dream did you pursue?
We are a mother/ daughter team that specializes in sewing patterns for kids and dolls. We started about 2 and a half years ago with a dream to provide simple sewing patterns for beginner sewers.


- How your dream started.
This started after my daughter was born and I decided I wanted to sew clothes for her. I picked up a store bought pattern and a few minutes into sewing it, I called my mom in tears! It was so confusing and hard to work with! She showed me a few things that made it clearer and easier. Then she put together a few patterns herself and I was able to follow those easily! So we thought maybe we could help others who were just beginning or as frustrated with store bought patterns as I was! So we started with 5 patterns in our Etsy shop and today we have 87! 

- Encouragement when hit with setbacks.
We haven't had to deal with too many setbacks yet! Thank goodness!! We of course have the occasional unhappy customer and it is hard not to take that too personally. We do our best and there is always going to be someone isn't satisfied, but we choose to use that to help make us better instead of getting too discouraged. 

- What you've learned.
We have definitely learned that you need to be doing something that you enjoy (which is cliche but so true). We love the whole process of developing new patterns and giving customers the means to create something for their children themselves! And to not get to frustrated if your first attempts just don't work. I think this is my third or fourth attempt at turning a "hobby" into an actual business. We just finally found our niche and it worked!

- Where you are now. 
We are currently working on 5 new patterns. That will get us up over 90 listings in our shop. Our goal is 100 by the end of the year! We have our own website now and a wonderful following on Facebook.


Thanks so much for sharing with us, Angi!!!

And, that's not all... Angi and her mom, Patti want to give away a 3-pack of patterns to one of my readers. Winner's choice!!!



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Six Kids and Two Mamas.

How two mamas are staying sane while on vacation with six kids...

Let them eat cheez-its for breakfast.

Buy them the .50 ghetto jewelry from the grocery store.

Let them eat popsicles...and run in the sprinklers at the same time.

Give group baths. Add bubbles for the big kids. LOTS of bubbles!

Take them on 3 mile scooter rides in the blazing heat {to tire them out}. Make our destination be a place that has beading, toys, and Wii...

Let babies eat on the floor. And... before bedtime bathroom games.

And to top it off... Boxed Wine for the Mamas after the kids are down.

Now, for the Daddies to get here...

Snapshot of a Statement.

Putting Archer to bed the other night...

Me: Hey, Arch, I love you soooo much. You'll never know how much I really love you. I love you more than the stars in the sky.

Arch: I love you more than the leaves on the trees.

Me: I love you more than the fish in the sea.

Arch: Mom, what else can we say? You know I love you more than anything in the world, except Lucy and Claire.

Me: Oh, really...

Arch: Well, I love you the same as them. But...do you know who I love the most?

Me: God?

Arch: YEP!

Kindergarten.

Kindergarten has been on my mind lately a lot. A lot.

First, I can't believe that my sweet baby is already headed to Kindergarten exactly two weeks from yesterday. I could cry thinking of this. It could even quickly go into the ugly cry, but I'll save that for when I drive home from dropping him off the first day.

I grew up in private school. Elementary. Junior High. High School. And College. It is all I know. I have NOTHING against public school, but the unknown can be scary. Whenever I pictured my own children in school, they were in small, private schools. They were somewhere that a biblical worldview was taught, where teachers could pray with you anytime, where Bible stories were read.  It's easy to picture that when you aren't looking at the price tag that goes along with it. A price tag that we can't afford right now. So... public school it is.

I have taught in public schools. I know amazing people who teach in public schools (including my husband). I know amazing people who grew up in public schools. I know amazing kids in public schools now. Why don't I feel amazing about sending my boy...

To be honest, I have more peace about the journey we are about to go on. I have prayed about it. Peace, please! Within the next couple weeks, I ran into FOUR different people that were connected to the school he will be attending. All four had nothing but GREAT things to say about it.

Just three days ago, I took Archer to his Kindergarten Assessment at his soon-to-be-school. The classroom was clean, colorful, ready for little kids to fill it with learning. I got to meet a few of the K teachers. They were so nice too. I felt like Archer was on...so excited about being there, learning, meeting new friends, his teacher... He clearly doesn't have a problem, just his mommy does. I know that all this is natural, especially when it's the first one...

Another sweet sign that everything WILL BE OKAY... When we got back in the car after the assessment, a new song on our VBS CD was starting. Nice and loud...

You You You You can trust God.

I smiled. Because I know it. And I'm thankful I can. 

I'm linking up with Alissa from Rags to Stitches today for a Coffee Date. 

Pursue {part 2}

I am so excited to introduce you to my friend Sarah. 

We met at a home Christmas boutique five years ago. I had just finished walking (waddling - I was pregnant) around looking at all the cute stuff. It all was cute, but I had no problem walking by without making a purchase. 

Until I was walking out the door. 

 She was set up right by the front door. I looked to the left - inside her "booth" - and couldn't help myself. I just had to peek...especially at the prices. I picked out an adorable Bohemian style dress figuring it would be WAAAAAAY out of my price range. I was wrong. I bought it. I saw another adorable dress that I had to have. Checked the price tag and bought it. You get the idea. 

Rad stuff and affordable. Win- win. 

Please read how Sarah "went for it." She went from home parties to an amazing store of her very own. If you live in or around Orange County, you've got to check it out. While you're there, get a coffee. Portola Coffee Lab, who I featured last week, is located in the SAME SPOT. 

Please meet Sarah: 

Tell us a little about yourself. What dream did you pursue? 

Name: Sarah K. Dowdell

Dream: Owning my own clothing boutique

- How your dream started.

My dream was born from 18 years of working in fashion and retail at South Coast Plaza.

In 2007 a friend was doing home parties and church/school boutiques with her kids line and she approached me about doing women's clothing. I took my small savings bought 2 rolling racks and some clothes and did my first home party. It quickly became apparent that people loved my style, selection and prices. That was the start of my first company Bird Street. The name later changed to Deer Lovely. 

- Encouragement when hit with setbacks.

In the fall of 2010, Mike and I decided to liquidate our stock and get out of the traveling boutique business. A new pregnancy, dwindling sales and an over-saturation of home parties and church/school boutiques made it very difficult to justify all the manual labor that went into setting up each week. I was really sad, but agreed at the time that it was the best thing for us as a family. I did my last event at the start of November 2010. Two weeks later, I read an article about The OC Mart Mix and convinced Mike to go with me to "just take a look". A few weeks later we signed a 6 month lease for a 175 square foot space at The OC Mart Mix and few weeks after that I lost my job. Setbacks are just part of life, you have to let doors close so that new ones can open. We opened the Deer Lovely store on January 26th, 2011. 

- What you've learned. 

You will always have competition and if you are doing something successful someone is going to copy you. Believe in what you are doing, stay motivated, be inspired and GROW your vision. My favorite quote and my next tattoo is "dreaming instead of doing is foolishness". 

- Where you are now. 

Deer Lovely is now over 650 square feet. We have expanded our women's collection, brought in local artists and  introduced our men's concept Whiskey Tango 1977. Next on the horizon is the launch of our online storewww.deerlovely.com. 

About Deer Lovely: Deer Lovely was born from a desire to provide feminine, colorful, bohemian styles at exceptional prices. A love for combining the old with the new, mixing patterns and layering has led to Deer Lovely's signature style. 

The Deer Lovely Boutique is an independent retailer that offers a uniquely curated selection of clothing and accessories. Inspired by our favorite items, Deer Lovely believes in the beauty and excitment of finding those special pieces that you have in your closet for years. 

Location: 3313 Hyland Ave

Costa Mesa, Ca. 92626

949-705-7878

Thanks for sharing with us, Sarah! 

Now, if you're local, get up and go. She is offering 20% this weekend to my friends and followers if you mention this blog post. I promise...You won't be disappointed! And if you aren't local, click here!

P.S. She is the mom to an adorable 15-month old named Lenox. Can you get a cuter name...and face?!?! I didn't think so, either!

WIWW. {getting rid}

So... I have this constant struggle EVERY TIME I look in my closet. I have too many clothes in there for the amount of outfits I wear.

My pants section is full.
My skirts section is full.
My shirts section is full.
My dress section is full.
Even my shoe section has no spare room.

But if you saw what I wore.
A few pairs of pants.
A few skirts.
Some more shirts.
A handful of dress.
And only a few pairs of shoes.

I want to get rid of clothes. Simplify.
But I'm scared.
Will it come back in style? Will I fit into them again? What if they'd go perfect with an outfit I haven't put together yet? What if...What if...What if...

Dress/Pants: Target

Shoes: TOMS

Shirt/Pants: Hand-me-down from sister

Whole Outfit: Target

O'Neill Shirt: Surf Store

Skirt: Anthropologie

Shoes: Rainbow Sandals

How do you make decisions on what to keep and what to get rid of?


Linking up with Lindsey from The Pleated Poppy.

Snapshot of a Statement.

As soon as we pull into a parking spot at the OC Mart Mix, Beau (2.5) looks out the window and says,

"Mommy, I pick red flower for you!"

Me: Oh, Beau, that is so nice, but we can't pick those flowers.

Beau: I pick blue flower? Are they baby flowers?

Me: Thanks, Beausie, but we have to leave the flowers there.

What are your kiddos saying?

Insta-Friday and A WINNER!!!

Couldn't find him anywhere. Looked inside. Looked outside. This is where I found him.
On the stage. On the drums.

Best flowers in the world. Picked by a 2 year old.

Date night. Much needed. Much fun.

Date night ended with a date with the tow truck driver.
Mommy waited too long to fill up.
Oops!

Hurt his finger in Trader Joe's.
"Can't put it down."

Sad, sick baby.
Roseola. Boo.

My alarm clock. Goes off too early!
At least he's cute.

Potty Training. Enough said.

Scaring Mommy with bugs is funny. Thanks, guys!

First baseball game.

Got to join the YMCA! Yes.
Thank you, Kid Zone, for letting me run by MYSELF.

Juice boxing it with one of his best buds.

I can't get enough of this one.

Breast feeding is done. Mexican food, I'm back!
Bean and Cheese burrito with sauce and cheese on top. Boom.

Want to follow me on Instagram: managingmarbles


What have you been up to lately?

Congratulations to Jess Ferini! 

You won a School Memory Book.

 Lucky duck!

Pursue. {part 1}

Since becoming a stay-at-home mom, I have met so many incredible women who have also had dreams and pursued them. They are so incredible that I want you to be able to meet them.

Incredible Woman #1: Christa and her dream... Portola Coffee Lab!

I had the privilege of meeting Christa and her son, Gabe, 3 years ago. My son, Archer, and Gabe were in a "feeding class" together. I was baking cupcakes on the side and she was making coffee. We'd talk about it. They were dreams that we both had...at that point, still small... 

Well, things have changed for Christa and her family because they decided to "go for it" and pursue their dream ALL THE WAY.

Meet my friend and her amazing business...

My name is Christa and I am a mother of 3 kids..ages 5, 3, and 3 months. My 5 year old has special needs and was born with a heart defect. Because he was in and out of the hospital pretty much for the first year, I was not able to keep my job. Our family had to figure out how to supplement my income and also allow for me to be at home. 

My husband was always roasting coffee at home and we loved to visit coffeehouses. We first started off small...we opened a wholesale coffee roasting company by sharing space in a bakery. Our bigger dream was to open a coffeehouse that was unlike anything we could find in Orange County. All of the coffeehouses that we loved were either in San Francisco or the Pacific Northwest. So...we started working on our next goal...opening a retail coffeehouse. We were able to do it with the help and support of our family.

We have been open for about a year and it has been quite a ride. It is our dream but it has been a lot of hard work. My husband is not home as often as I like and the first 6 months of opening I was not with my kids as much as I would have liked. But, in the end, we know that our hard work has paid off and we hope Portola Coffee is something we can pass down to our children as well as using our business as a platform to teach them many life lessons.

Life these days are hectic, crazy, and busy but on the flip side our life is rewarding, happy, and most of all I am so proud of what we have accomplished by following our dream!


Thanks, Christa!

So...if you live in South Orange County and love coffee or coffee-inspired drinks, Portola Coffee Lab is a must.

It is located in the OC Mart Mix which is just past South Coast Plaza on the right if you are headed north on the 405. 

3313 Hyland Ave

• Costa Mesa, CA  92626

• (949) 284-0596

Open Daily
6am - 9pm Weekdays
7am - 9pm Saturday
7am - 8pm Sunday

Stay tuned for more introductions. A sneak peek into the line-up...
**If you'd like to be a part of this series, please email me at kcdebaca@gmail.com with PURSUE in the subject line. 


Click here to enter this week's giveaway!!!