In the Kitchen

So I've been enjoying so time in the kitchen lately....Cheddar Dill Beer Bread and the best part...homemade Pumpkin Spice Lattes.  Yummy!

Here's the link the bread.  It's so simple to make.  My only comment would be not to use a dark beer.  Something light would have been better:)

 Here's the recipe for the Pumpkin Spice Lattes.  Loved these!  The recipe is for making it in the crockpot, but I just did stove top and it was great.

Get Your Favorite Bows Free!

Do you have a favorite Hair Candy Bow?  Have you been eyeing a few of our designs for your little one? 

Here's your chance to get it FREE! 

Simple go to www.haircandybows.com and take a look around.  Come back here and leave a comment letting us know which one is your favorite.  We will have a random drawing next week and choose the winner.

If you sign up for our newsletter while you're there, leave a separate comment and you'll get double the chances the win the bow you choose as your favorite.  Anything on the site goes, so go have a look around and come back and let us know what you'd love to have. 

Have fun shopping:)

www.haircandybows.com

Help for New Mommies!

So you're having a girl...congratulations!  Welcome to your new world of pink:)  You're going to need lots hair bows to go with all those frilly outfits you'll be soon be receiving and if you don't have a clue about hair bows, help is here! 

I've created a product guide to help you understand what you need to know about hair bows.  It covers all the basics on hair bows like what sizes you need and which clip would be best for your baby.  If you have any more questions, be sure to send them my way.  Enjoy the hair bow season while it last, because before you know she will be too grown up for bows and want makeup instead!!

ABC's of Hair Bows Introductions to our Products    If you're a first time mom to a sweet baby girl, welcome to the hair bow world!  To help you from feeling overwhelmed with all the choices, here are the basics you need to know when ordering hair bows and headbands. Hair Bow Sizes The sizes for the basic bows are as follows:  Tiny-1.5", made with 5/8" ribbon  Small-2.5", made with 5/8" ribbon  Medium- 3.5", made with 7/8"   ribbon  Toddler- 4", made with 1.5"  ribbon    Large- 5", made with 1.5" ribbon    The sizes for our over the tops bows are as follows:    Small- 2.5"-3.5"    Toddler- 3.5"-4.5"    Large- 4.5"-5.5"    We carry many other products as well including our hair bow holder, pony-o's and korkers. The ABC's of Headbands If you prefer the look of a headband, then you're in luck!  Any of Hair Candy Bows products can easily be turned into bowbands.  First, choose your headband, then simply slide the prong of the bow into the headband.    The first band is our crochet headband.  It is 1.5" wide and very comfortable on their heads. Fits 0-5yrs.    The second is a knit/nylon headband.  This has the feel of little girl's tights. It has a ribbon loop for attaching the bows.  It fits 0-3yrs.    The cotton/lycra headband also has a ribbon loop for attaching bows. It fits 0-3 yrs.    The woven headband is perfect for toddler through adult.  You can easily slide the prong of the clip into this headband as well.  What clip should I choose? If your little one has fine, thin hair then the pinch clip is your best option.  You may also request a gripper to be placed inside the clip to help the bow stay in place. For the bigger heavier bows we suggest the French clip.  The bows can also be attached to a pony-o.  The pony-o is an elastic band that is metal free and safe for the hair.    Custom Bows After you've found just the right outfit for your little one, you need just the right bow!  Send us a picture of the outfit or use our online color charts to choose the ribbon you need to match your outfits.    We've even had people send us pictures of cakes and yes...we matched it! If you have any more questions concerning Hair Candy Bows products, don't hesitate to email and we'll be happy to help.  You can always find us online at the following places:  The Official Hair Candy Bows Website The Hair Candy Bows Blog The Hair Candy Bows Facebook Page Have fun shopping for the perfect hair accessories for your little one!

My Weekend In Pictures

1. New hair!  Thanks Brandi:)
2. Taught a hair bow class
3. Did lots of cooking, that's a picture of Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese
4. Tyler is wearing 3 months clothes now
5. We had church service on Friday, a Connect meeting on Saturday, then service on Sunday followed by a staff meeting:)
6. Got our weekly meals planned and To Do List ready

My Babies Are With Jesus

I was talking to God last week and He reminded that Baby Zee, our second child, has been with Him in Heaven for a year now. I was also reminded that it's been three years since our first baby met Jesus.

Growing up the only thing I wanted to do was to be a wife and a mother. I was married at the age of 23 and was surprised when after a few years of marriage, life was perfect and the thoughts of children still seemed far away.

Five years into our marriage I finally passed a pregnancy test. My husband and I always joked about my inablity to pass a test. I always failed my "tests" but this time was different because I had passed with flying colors!

Our frist Dr visit with Baby Zee

It was so exciting to be pregnant and my husband was already looking forward to being a dad. For the first time in our marriage we felt like we were ready to be parents. Unfortuantly, the pregnancy didn't go to term and our baby went to be with Jesus in Februray of 2009. We found out we were pregnant with our second child on July 4, 2010.

Once we passed the point in the pregnancy where we had lost our first baby, excitement began to build. I had a dream that we were having a boy and in the dream we kept calling him Zee. The dream seemed to give our baby an identity, something for me to picture and hold on to. It's amazing how that in just a few weeks you fall in love with a baby you've never meet. All Matt and I could talk about the next few days was baby Zee. Baby Zee had quickly become a big part of our lives.


Just days after the dream there were complications and I knew that our time with baby Zee would be short. The night we lost him was physically and emotionally hard. I don't think I was able to grasp what was happening. The only thing I knew is that I could trust God with all of this and He would be just what I needed.

While going through it, God reminded me of a video I had seen on YouTube a couple of weeks earlier. The video was of a lady singing while she was in labor. It was the most peaceful, anointed song I had ever listened to. I played the video over and over and it brought such peace to me that night. God always gives me what I need, even if it's through YouTube:)

My husband's mom died when he was a little boy. I miss the fact that I never got to meet her and often wonder what it would have been like to have known her. A few days after losing Zee, God gave me such a precious picture. Baby Zee would get to meet his grandma in Heaven. She would look after her grandson until I got there. It brought peace to me knowing that even though Zee wasn't with me, he had his grandma there with him. At that point I was able to let him go, knowing that he was in good hands with grandma and Jesus.

Ty, 2 months

Just 3 weeks after loosing Zee we found out we were pregnant again. Our third son, Ty, was born just 2 months ago in June and I treasure every moment I have with him. I know that someday he will get to meet his brothers in Heaven.

Before Ty came, I was reading the book, Heaven Is For Real by Todd Burpo. There is a part of the book where the wife talks about losing her daughter and her being in Heaven. That book really struck a cord with me and I would highly recommend it to anyone that has experienced the lose of child during pregancy.

Even now as I'm writting this, tears are flowing as I realize how much God has brought us through in only 6 years of marraige. God has been so faithful to us. I know that no matter what is going on down here in my life, my babies are safe with Him...and their grandma in Heaven.

Too much ribbon is a good thing

Getting started in the bow business can be expensive if you try to buy all your ribbon up front.  I started with just a few 100 yr bolts of ribbons and slowly added to my collection.  I was a year or so into my ribbon building when I met a lady that had made bows for years. 

She was giving away...yes...giving away almost 100 bolts of ribbon.  To a hair bow maker that's like winning the jackpot!  I can home from her house with boxes and tubs full of ribbons.  Solids, stripes, polka dots, holiday prints even some hardware and centers for bows.  I was so blessed.  Organizing all that ribbon was a chore.  I'll post about that some other time:)

Here's my first (sad) attempt at organizing ribbon.

In my business, if I can't offer a full size run in a color, I don't offer it.  That means I need 4 different sizes of the same color ribbon.  A lot of the ribbons that I got from my fellow bow maker had been discontinued and I couldn't get the other sizes I needed.  I was left with bolts of ribbon that I couldn't offer to my wholesale clients. 

After 5 years I decided I needed to do something with them!  That's where the "Discontinued Color" category on my website came into play.  I have a few solid colors loaded on there right now with more to come. 

I marked them down so I can get rid of them quickly.  Go shopping in that section and think Christmas and birthday presents!  Any mommy would love to have these bows for here little girl.

Growing baby boy

Our little one is getting big!  10 weeks old today. 

He's still our little guy weighing in a 11.5 lbs and 22"long

Clearance Section Now Open

We cleaned out the bow bins and had some stragglers left behind!  The ribbons or style of the bows in this section have be discontinued.  Prices range for $2-$6.  The best part...it ships the same day!  Here's a peek at a few products in the sale.

Clearance Section

Quick Sale 50% Simple Stacked Bows

Quick Sale!

50% off

50% off our Simple Stacked Hair Bows. 

Starting now and ending midnight, August 12th

Choose 1 or 2 colors for your simple stacked bow. 

Regular $8.95, now $4.50!

My new favorite dish.

Chicken Artichoke Pasta

This is one of my new favorites.  I found the receipe through Pinterest and "loosely" followed the directions:)

Here goes my version of the recipe. I highly recommend trying this!

2 chicken breast, cubed

16 oz of pasta shells

16 oz bag of spinach, thawed

4 oz cream cheese

2 cans of artichokes, quarted

2 C of shredded cheese, divided

1/4 C of Parmesan cheese

3 Tbs butter

Garlic powder

Pepper

Cook pasta according to directions.  In a frying pan, melt butter and add the cubed chicken.  Sprinkle some garlic powder and pepper, however much you'd like:)  Combine chicken, pasta, spinach, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, and 1 cup of shredded cheese.  Stir until melted, then transfer to a 13x9 dish and top with the remaining cheese.  Put in broiler for 4-5 minutes until cheese is brown, then eat up!

Seriously...one of my favorites.

Celebrating the rain {winner}

Congrats Chelly

You win the Flower Bowband

Contact me with your shipping info:)

The early days...

I was going through my HUGE file of pictures the other day and I ran across Miss Eden.  I had sent hair accessories to my friend Erin of The Vintage Pearl when sweet Eden was born.  She sent me the newborn picture and then a few months later she did some modeling for me.  Sweet baby girl...that's now 3yrs!

When I first started in the bow business I hooked up with Erin and her sister-in-law Jennifer.  Jennifer made the outfits, Erin did the jewelry and I was the bow lady:)  We teamed up several times and came up with some adorable sets that we sold on eBay.  Here's 2 that I found in my old files.

I enjoyed looking back:)  

Celebrating the rain {giveaway}

It rained.

Need I say more??

Let's celebrate with a giveaway!

This is a big one...the flower is 6 inches wide and is attached to a matching crocheted headband.

How to win-

For 1 entry: Leave a comment here on the blog or on Facebook 

For 2 entries: Send a friend over and tell me you did for an extra entry

Winner will be picked on Monday:)

I'm very interested in...

photography.

I've always enjoyed taking pictures.  Even when I was little I loved taking pictures with my camera, you know, the kind that takes the 110 film cartridge and that fit easily in my My Little Pony purse!  I went through so many of those little cameras!

I'd like to think that my photo skills have improved a little over the years, but WOW do I still have a lot to learn. After being somewhat disappointed in the newborn pictures that we recently had taken, I decided I would take some of my own with my little point and shoot camera.  I was more satisfied with my pictures than with the "professional" ones, though my still needs improvement.

I came across a photography series on brown paper packages, one of my favorite blogs, and it's been very informative and fun to read:)  Here's a link to the first post in the series.

Here's 2 pictures from my photo session attempt.  I love his little scrunchie head in the first one:)  I just grabbed a white sheet and threw it on my bed, then covered his boppy with a white blanket and that was oh-so-impressive back drop.

On my wish list is this camera, a Canon Rebel XTi and a few classes to go along with it!  I'm still researching, but I've heard great things about this one.

Anybody have any thoughts on this camera?  Would you suggest another one?  I'd love to hear from you:)

Back to Work for Me

My 8 weeks of maternity leave flew by. It was back to work today.  I am a spa coordinator for an upscale spa & salon and if there was ever a job that suited me, this one is it!  I've been there for 3 years now and still love it.  I only work 3 days a week so I can't complain about that!

Matt kept the baby today while I was at work.  He has a few weeks left at his current management job then he'll be a full time work from home daddy!  That makes going back to work for me so much easier!  Looks like they had fun today:)

What I enjoyed the most about maternity leave, aside from my precious baby, was spending so much time with hubby.  We have such crazy schedules I forgot what it was like to cook breakfast for him!   And while both my guys were still sleeping, I loved the quiet mornings with just me, my coffee and my Bible app on the iPad.  I do have to say though, having to fix my hair everyday now stinks!  I wore a hat or had a pony tail nearly everyday I was off!

My sweet baby is 2 months old today.