Happy Halloween!

A weekend ahead full of very excited children, lots of candy, a party at a friend's house and ending it with my birthday! Whew, it should be a fun one! Happy Weekend to you too!

little dancing girl

I was inspired by this little tutu tutorial (say that 3 times!) over at the Disdressed blog and had to try one for Kate. It is so adorable, my husband said he thinks I like it more than the 2 year old does! All this girl stuff is fairly new to us after having 2 boys, and the tutu is definitely the girliest thing that has ever gone through my sewing machine! But it was fun. It has 8 layers of pink and purple tulle and is reversible. It ties like an apron with purple grosgrain ribbon. So cute. The tutorial is easy to follow and does not take long if you want to make your own.

So with 3 Olliekate craft shows coming up in the next month, don't ask me why I am sewing up tutus!

GROSGRAIN MINI STORE OPENING NOVEMBER 6!!!!! AND BIG PREVIEW GIVEAWAY!!!!

So you know I love this little blog, Grosgrain. This woman is really talented and so generous in all the giveaways that she does. I am loving these little skirts she just posted. Thinking of making some for Kate, but I entered the contest too just for fun. Check it out.

On the Dot Feature

Olliekate was featured today at On the Dot Creations. This is a fun little blog we have had the pleasure of appearing in once before!

"On the Dot Creations . . . The Blog is just a little spot on the World Wide Web, devoted to showcasing great polka dot designs"

Julie features lots of etsy artists with great new designs. I have found several great sellers by stopping by her blog. Thanks Julie for positng our kite tee!

Happy Weekend!

biltmore in the fall

It was a perfect fall weekend to head over to Biltmore House for some outdoor fun. We hardly ever go inside the house when we visit because there is so much to do outside. The gardens were gorgeous with mums and roses and then off to the lake where we saw horses, geese, lots of bamboo to run through and even a grey heron. We were also treated to a bluegrass band at the winery. If only we could just live there too! Well, at least it is only a short drive away.

he won! he won!

I have to brag on my hubby for a second. Last night was this big awards gala dinner for the Parade of Homes. And guess who won the GOLD award for his category?? Non other than Longview Builders!

Kevin had to go up on stage and give his thanks and got this glass trophy, but most of all I think the rocognition for what an awesome builder he is was the best! Here are some inside shots of the house. It is prettu modern on the inside because that is what the homeowners like but the outside is total craftsman style.

vote!

Early voting started today! Get out there while the lines are short. and make your vote count!

photo shoot

On Monday we had the pleasure of having Deb Abramson come over to do a photo shoot at our house. I have not had pictures taken by a photographer since Kate was a newborn so I thought it was time. Deb is a fellow mom from our school and very talented. She made me and the kids feel so comfortable with a camera in the room. I wanted shots of them being kids. Not all dressed up and unnatural, you know? That is her style and it was just what I was looking for ; capturing this time of childhood and wonder that fills their days. She spent the afternoon at our house and from the sneak peek she sent me, got some great shots. That last pictures of all 3 boys was taken when she was actually leaving and they began to jump on daddy and go crazy. That is a very common scene in our life, I am glad she snapped it real quick and captured that!
She has a great website over here. Check it out if you are in the market for some new shots of the kiddos. New pictures has crossed a bunch of people off of my Holiday gift list. Now you know what you are getting grandparents!

Web site

Blog

oops

We have 2 grocery stores near us. The one that is really close is also really old and not very nice and if you go too late at night...well you just don't go late at night. The other one is all cushy and has a Starbucks, everything is brand new. But it is farther. So anyway, this evening while the boys were at soccer with dad I needed to run out to get groceries, but had a splitting headache and was not in the mood to be out. So we ran over to the close Ingles and got a few things to get by on until we can go to the Shangrila Ingles later in the week. No big deal.
When Kevin asks our 2 year old later what we did while he was out, she says " we went to the crappy Ingles, not the nice one!" I swear that is exactly what she said. I must have been talking out loud to myself! After laughing our heads off because come on, that is kind of funny in a 2 year old voice, I thought I better watch the other things I say when I think she isn't listening!!!

home tour

This weekend and next are going to be busy for us and I wanted to share. My husband is participating in the local Parade of Homes. He is one of the builders who will have his latest project judged and the public is welcome to come tour the homes on Saturday and Sunday from 1-5 for the next two weekends for free. He has just finished up this custom home for a nice couple who will be moving into it in just a few weeks. If you are in the Asheville area, you should check out the parade of homes. It is really a fun time to see inside all of these great houses and get lots of good ideas. So wish us luck, because it could be good for business and maybe he will even win an award!

Here is the link to the parade info and a map to our house too:

Asheville Parade of Homes

Oh and our website is almost complete. I have been working on it for the past couple months with our web designer. Check it out here!

Have a super weekend!

lazy days skirt

A new skirt for little miss using just about the easiest pattern I have tried. You can find the pattern for the lazy days skirt (it's free!) over here. I made it in no time out of a very fine whale pink corduroy and a brighter pink grosgrain ribbon. I am sure more of these will be on the way next spring!

lessons learned

Today I learned that 2 small legos, a teeny tiny hair barrette and a pen cap can indeed cause your fairly new Whirlpool washer to flood and your pump to indeed stop working! Thank you kids for filling up those pockets and giving me yet one more thing to remember! Oh, and one more person to write a check to for fixing it!
Here's to a week of everything working like it should!

perfect weekend

We had the joy of spending 2 uninterrupted days of sewing for Olliekate this past weekend. Let me say, it was just wonderful. It was amazing how time just flew on by but both of us got a ton of things sewn for the upcoming holiday shows we are paricipating in locally and to put on our etsy shop. I even made each of my own kids a new shirt that thankfully got 8 year old approval, which is not easy to come by! A weekend full of great conversation, yummy food and piles of fabric **plus a couple of good chick flicks** is just what I needed. I feel recharged and more on track.

The kids and dad got to go down to Charlotte for our annual trip to the Renaissance Festival with their grandparents so everybody had a great time, not just mama!

Red Riding Hood Jacket GIVEAWAY

Red Riding Hood Jacket GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

I am on the hunt for a pattern to make something like this for Kate for this fall. This amazing little red one is up for a giveaway at the following link. I stubled upon it while googling for a tutorial. I never win any contests like this, so if anyone knows of a pattern I should try that is similar, please let me know!

Isn't it so sweet?