happy birthday little man!

the baby turned 1 yesterday. hard to believe. the last year on my life has been so busy with work, i feel like it was just a whirlwind. it's been challenging, it's been fun. i'm hoping that this year will be much easier! (i can hope, right?) either way, i wouldn't trade him for the world. here are some sweet photos from yesterday where there were actually a few moments of calm....something very unusual with him....so i took full advantage!


waiting for guests to arrive.


aren't i just so cute and innocent? ("hah! i have them fooled!")


as the "destroyer-of-all-things" (as we so affectionately refer to him), i was shocked that he didn't just rip into his cake. he was very delicate and gentle and didn't even eat much of it. it was way past nap time and he was so zoned out that i don't think he knew what was going on!


before the guests arrived again. of course you can't take photos of just one kid without the other one wanting to get in the action, so here's a brotherly photo.

a day for websites

oh, yeah, and we also re-launched our wholesale site a few days ago! we didn't want to spill the beans though because it links to our new site (fin+roe) which wasn't ready at the time. if you'd like to know where to find marzipan inc. products in your area you can check here. marzipan inc.

it's here, it's here, it's REALLY here!

i wasn't sure the day would ever come, but it finally has! our new site has launched!

so what is fin + roe all about?
fin + roe is marzipan inc.'s new photo correspondence division. here, you will find great products to fill your every need! we're going to be offering everything from photo birth announcements, holiday cards, birthday invites, graduation announcement, mommy & daddy cards, address labels, notecards & more. the best thing of all.....you can find them all in coordinating styles! (of course you want your thank you notes to match your birthday invite....who doesn't?)

please take some time to peek at our new home, and keep us in mind for your next big (or small) event! and because you're a fantastic reader of our blog, please take advantage of the discount code above!

edited: it would probably help if i added the link! fin+roe

woe is me

we have this little scooter from when the little dude was a baby. we brought it out a month or so ago to see if the baby would like to try "walking" with it. he's been way more interested in playing with all the toys on it than actually walking with it. here are some photos where he actually decided he could walk behind it. however, he thought it was appropriate to cry and whine about it the whole time as if someone was forcing him to do it. it was actually quite entertaining to watch! i especially like the second one where he's being all "shy" and crying about "having" to walk behind his scooter.

swimming lessons

it's a little embarrassing to say, but at 3 1/2 years old, the little dude had never really been in a real pool. heck, we had a hard time getting him to go through the sprinklers! so a few weeks back i signed him up for swimming lessons. i picked a class where the parents could go in the water with the children for the first 2 classes to ease them into it. the little dude was technically too old for the class by 1 month, but i convinced them to let him in anyway. i know my kid, and i know he never would have gone anywhere near that pool without me the first time.

so, i went in the first two times and he adjusted surprisingly well! i was so proud! granted, he was the oldest, and least likely to try new things, but hey, he was in the water! it was more than i was expecting. there were no tears, no screaming, just a well behaved little boy. (unlike the other children in the class.....but that's a whole other story)

the lighting was horrible in there, but here he is on the last day of class sitting on the edge waiting for his "turn". the second one is him hamming it up for the camera. i just wanted one nice photo of him next to the pool, but of course he couldn't cooperate. oh well. i shouldn't expect perfect photos from a 3 year old!

daredevil

i've mentioned about a thousand times before what a little mover the baby is. he's just crazy. no fear. he'll climb up on anything, any height, any time. you name it, he'll do it. here are a few photos of what i caught him doing the other day. you probably can't quite tell from the photos, but that's a rocking chair! it was given to me by my grandparents when i was just a little girl. i can't remember, but it was either my grandmother's or grandfather's when they were little. they had "re-furbished" it and handed it down.

anyway, here he is standing right up on it. you can tell from the second picture and all of it's blurriness just how much he gets that thing moving. of course i should have probably been snatching him down from there, but instead i grabbed the camera. he was having so much fun. hopefully he gets all of this energy out now so that he's a mild mannered teenager! what? one can dream, right?

7 years

it's been 7 years today. i can' hardly believe it.

i was trying to think of what to write when i went back to past years to see what i said on this day. i think year 5 said it best, so here it is again, with a few edits and updates.......

it seems like yesterday that we met across the “line” at the restaurant where we were working together. you in your chef’s uniform and cool glasses, me in my horrible, horrible, waitress uniform. (the one you wouldn’t let me get rid of for years because it was the first thing you met me in….how sweet).

in the short time we’ve been together, we have managed to get through some of the most stressful things any couple can manage. we’ve moved 5 times throughout 2 different states and spent 3 years and more money than we ever thought possible just trying to bring our little dude into the world. you loved me through 3 years of up and down, out of control hormones, a long stint of shots in my rump, and sex on demand. you loved me through all the disappointment month after month. year after year. then much to our surprise 2 years later we were able to do it again! this time with much less assistance, but still full of heartache and hormones. our little miracle baby arrived almost a year ago. (and hasn't stopped moving since!)

now that we finally have our little family, you love me through t-shirts & jeans, no makeup, and hair pulled back everyday. you still tell me i’m beautiful even though i know you’d love me to “do myself up” a little more often. though you’d never say it out loud.

you’ve loved me through the start-up of a business which has forced you to stay at a job you hate. you have been such a support through the whole process. i couldn’t have done it without you. i’m a very lucky woman.

for these reasons and many more, i love you as much today as the day we were married 7 years ago.

happy 7 year anniversary baby. i love you.

sneak peek

here's a sneak peek at some new designs we've been working on for spring! our spring release includes 12 new designs and will be ready for reps to hit the stores sometime in early september!

mamma & a dog & a cat

last night the little dude drew a picture on the island while daddy was washing the dishes and mommy was working. when i saw it at first i thought "oh, a little family picture", but noticed there was one person missing. then he started to tell me what he drew. it was, in fact, not a family portrait but a picture of "mama and a dog and a cat". quite interesting since we have neither. either way i thought it was quite the little drawing and wanted to share. i especially love my fancy hair!

poppytalk handmade

i was recently accepted into the poppytalk handmade "school days" market. for those of you not familiar with it, it's similar to a craft fair, but online! you have to submit products and be accepted for the market's theme, which changes with each market. i believe each market runs approx. one month long. you can see our virtual "table" here! it's an honor to be among such talented artists!

for our loyal blog readers: if you enter POPPYTALK at checkout, we'll give you 20% off your entire order through the end of the market!

why i've been.....

such a bad friend, wife, & mother lately.


behold: the project of all projects! 53,000 hand embellished holiday cards are finally headed out the door today! although i couldn't get them all in the picture, there are 6 palettes full! i cannot even begin to tell you what a relief it will be when the truck pulls away today! may they have a very gentle trip and arrive safely. amen.

maybe someday when i'm recovered, i'll show you what's actually inside those boxes!

11 months

still a mover and a shaker! i can't believe he's nearly a year old! my how time flies.

big thing #2

it's about time i actually updated everyone on all these big things i keep talking about....but never really divulge any information!

so here it is....big thing #2!


i've officially signed on with a canadian distributor. i was originally talking with them about doing both the u.s. and canada, but being a handmade company makes it very, very difficult to make any money......as they take a 50% cut. yeah....50%. so, i'm going to start with canada and begin altering the way i produce my products so that down the road i can afford have a distributor in the u.s. as well. this will free me up to concentrate on other things....like actually designing instead of invoicing, shipping, and calling on past due invoices all the live long day! it's very exciting and scary all at once.

so, if you happen to be a canadian admirer of my products, you should soon see them filling the shelves of your local stationery shops! they will be debuting at the Canadian Gift & Tableware Association Gift Show, Aug 10-14 in Booth #10545 Hall 10 International Center, Mississauga.