orange you excited?!?

We finally have the much anticipated, talked about, and blogged about 'Type' line {and awesome new note sets} from Orange Beautiful. And they're every bit as awesome as you've read & heard about ... enjoy!

stroller envy

I know you mom's understand what I mean when I say 'stroller envy' ... we've all experienced it. You can't deny giving a passing stroller the once {or twice} over. Maybe whispering to a friend what a cool stroller, trying to get the name of it, then going home to google it ...

Or is that just me and my obsession?

I will be the first to admit that I collect strollers. I have a fleet of them ... seriously. In fact, maybe that's why I kept having babies ... so I could keep collecting strollers.

Example: We took a trip to Denmark when Hunter was a baby and I fell in love with the strollers. I bought one. It was my cadillac of strollers. Sadly, it wasn't so handy to use in the states and a little difficult to maneuver around Target.

Anyhoo, I have a problem with the older girls {mostly Wynter, 4 1/2} getting "very tired feet," and wanting to be carried or sit in the stroller. With our Europe trip pending, I started thinking about dragging them around and thought I would look for this cool stroller I've envied, where an older child can either sit or stand in the back. I did some online research and came up with the Joovy caboose. Can I just say this is one of the best purchases I've ever made? {Sadly, I just found it in pink ... for anyone that purchases one in pink, and I see you out and about ... rest assured, I will look at that beauty with a fresh case of stroller envy!}

This stroller is pure genius! The babes has her rule up front and the older girls take turns sitting in back. That was until they figured out a way to both sit back there. Piper has a pretty tiny bottom, so it works perfectly ... all three girls contained in once place. Also a great way to keep track of them amongst the crowds of Europe. And when I can get Taylor to push the three of them, I've got my girls all in one place and I'm free to take photos! How much better can it get?

Wait, did I just see a mom eyeing up my stroller & adorable girls? :)

{look closely and you'll note a leg of the Eiffel Tower in the background of above photo}

happy fourth!

{photo courtesy of linda & harriett}

Since we won't be celebrating the Fourth in the States this year {or celebrating at all actually ... if I were supermom, I guess I could've still gotten festive outfits that proudly announced we were Americans celebrating our independence in a foreign land ... and planned some kind of fun celebration, but at the time of planning/packing, that all seemed like a little too much trouble}.

Instead, we'll be safely tucked away on an overnight train to Paris, while I quietly let the Fourth slip by.

This post from Linda & Harriett today made me homesick for bbq, fireworks, parades, mosquito bites and family! Thank you Liz for putting together such a festively beautiful image!

Happy Fourth everyone!

I *heart* hello!lucky

I'm SO happy they're back ... at bwp anyway! I didn't have a rep or whatnot, so somehow Hello!Lucky fell off my radar ... but we reconnected at the stationery show and I couldn't be happier! How yummy is the chair patterned wrapping paper??

We're putting a new addition on our house that will include a new office for me and one bedroom to house three girls {am I nuts?!} ... and I would LOVE to paper one of my office walls with that wrapping paper ... thoughts on how to go about that?

il papiro!!

I made it!! Il Papiro must be a stationery store chain in Italy ... I was in Venice a couple of summers ago and went into a store exactly like this one. Down to the same monogrammed correspondence cards! Same marbled paper, same pencils in marbled paper cases ... well, you get the idea. It was exciting none-the-less ...

This is an adorable paper music box and then of course, a wall of wrapping paper. Every great paper store needs a great wall of wrap. :)

These are the two window displays ... I love how put together and understated they are.

The best part? This {Il Vittoriano} is right down the street ... imagine your lunch break here! Ciao!

stationery? stationary?

Total pet peeve of mine!! Does anyone else feel my pain {visibly cringe when you see paper referred to as stationARY}? Finally LaFamilia Green gives my peeve validation!

And for today's lesson, check it out ... direct from Webster's:
stationary |ˈstā sh əˌnerē|
adjective
not moving or not intended to be moved : a car collided with a stationary vehicle.
• Astronomy (of a planet) having no apparent motion in longitude.
• not changing in quantity or condition : a stationary population.
ORIGIN late Middle English : from Latin stationarius (originally in the sense [belonging to a military station] ), from station- ‘standing’ (see station ).
USAGE Be careful to distinguish stationary ('not moving, fixed') from stationery ('writing paper and other supplies').

stationery |ˈstā sh əˌnerē|
noun
writing paper, esp. with matching envelopes.
• writing and other office materials.
USAGE See usage at stationary.

Even worse? Come NSS time, I'm invited by stationARY companies to come see their wares. They spend thousands on postcards, booths, catalogs and spell stationery wrong. That makes me sad ...

{And on the European stationery front? I finally spotted "Il Papiro" as we were whizzing by in a taxi! I did my best with my direction dyslexic self to take note of my location ... if all goes according to plan, I may try to get there within the next day or so!}

i went to italy ...

and all I got was this lousy photo! I didn't even try for a re-shoot or do the crazy mom dance trying to get them smiling. I knew I was lucky to get this one, hot, sweaty, crabby looking shot. It's mid-90's and sunny and after the winter and spring we've had in Wisconsin, this weather feels like Arizona norm to my kids {and me for that matter!}. This is big brother Odinn with my girls and they're posing in the Colosseum.

I thought I may see some cute Italian boutiques or maybe even a stationery store that I could tell you about ... but after looking at the shot above, you understand that I'd be flirting with an early death if I even thought about dragging these kids into a 'cute boutique!'

After a crabby, touristy morning, we went back to the hotel for swimming ... the saying is so true ... if you've got a crabby kid, throw them in water! We had a much better afternoon and dinner ... and I couldn't resist sharing these photos of my baby enjoying her spaghetti!

Tomorrow the Vatican ... {and I promise some stationery posts for you too}.

OMGoodness!

I can't believe I missed it!! We've had a lot of turn over recently and I've been working like a maniac {when my goal was to take some time off and spend summer with the kids}. So today, I actually took off and spent the day with the girls at the pool {in between packing for our European adventure which starts tomorrow!}.

So I'm at the pool and ... What's this? Mommy's got a text ... WHAT'S THIS? LEANN RIMES IS IN THE STORE!! How in the world do these things pass me by? Although ... I did get to ride in an elevator with Nicholas Cage once! Man, is he tall!

Anyhoo ... LeAnn was gracious enough to pose with Emily AND she agreed to let us blog about it. {thank you Ms. Rimes!}. Of course the store was in a tizzy and I needed to call in asap to get the details. Word is she's as cute as ever, had just come from yoga, and was in need of some greeting cards and gift wrap.

And there, my friends, is your E! News of the day ... happy weekend!

greetalicious

Miss Emily was a busy bee today! Brand new Linda & Harriett greeting cards are now available to purchase online. Happy shopping!

more drooling ...

We received our GORGEOUS new Linda & Harriett custom book yesterday ... beeeautiful! These two designs are my favs ... I love {stress love} the lamp post, bench and yellow lettering. And the stella & patrick script font? Yummy!!

We've also got their fun new greeting cards ... I'll let you know when they're in our web store. {Maybe I should get Wynter the moose card?}

child labor?

My kids are all about nature, bugs, and the great outdoors. Last weekend when we took a camping trip to Montana, I was in awe of them hunting and gathering all the creepy crawly things they could find. They busied themselves the whole weekend ... but I particularly enjoyed the 'store.'

Piper & Wynter both took part in setting up and getting it ready, but it ended up being Wynter's passionate project for the weekend. She was constantly getting us to shop, always had a deal, and most of the time the items were free.

We found out pretty quickly why the items were free! One fascinating item was the 'cookie' ... but upon careful investigation, we found it to be ... MOOSE PIE {think cow pie}! Um, yeah, we all had a sanitizer bath after that sale ...

The 'cookie' ... {note the wrist bands & gum also for sale}.

Wynter's directing {bossing} her baby staffer, I mean sister.


So how can I foster her retail passion at home? Put the child to work! I brought her to the store with me today, gave her an apron and a list of chores. The best part? She works for product. She found all kinds of fun little items {thankfully she shops the sale shelf} to work off her wages.

{Every sales consultant needs a pair of sparkly shoes}

lobotoME

Lilsugar posted today on their great new find, the momME weekly planner. The whole lobotoME line can be mommy's new best friend!

bwp's very own designer ...

I am very blessed to have an awesomely creative staff! And have enjoyed encouraging a few of them as they're working on their own product lines {more to come!}. These cards are from photographer/designer Kate Funk. Enjoy!

feedback

We are always looking for ways to improve and encourage customers to give us their feedback. These are the comments we got today ... I wonder if we had a field trip in?

giddy with excitement

You would've thought it was the Fourth of July the way we were oohing and aahing in booth #3620 at the recent stationery show! Every which way we turned, it got better and better. One statement ... no two ... mini cubes and yellow & grey.

When our shipment came in yesterday, we were drooling all over again! Brand new Snow & Graham coming soon to a web store near you! {drool free}