two yummy recipes + a happy little planter/tub

With 4th of July weekend right around the corner, I'm thinking of all the fun stuff I want to make. I love holidays! I made {this} yummy no-egg chocolate chip cookie bar recipe twice in one week! Once for Pop's birthday and then to share with a sweet friend. It's soooo good and super easy too! 

Kimberlee has some really yummy recipes archived on her {blog}. Be sure to check them out.  And while you're at it, why not bake a batch of these and surprise a friend with them. Spreading joy is what it's all about!

I also plan to make my favorite trifle and add some of the blueberries {we just picked} along with strawberries. It's so super easy and so yummy! Here's {my recipe}.

Look what I recently found at a local antiques store!!  I'm so super excited about my new planter that moonlights as a beverage tub for parties.  It was already painted the perfect color and I love how it coordinates with the fun wreath I made at {Craft Weekend}!  I love a good find!!

So back to recipes...what are your favorite 4th of July recipes? I'm always up for trying new ones!

BOY RESELLS!

30+ listings...go check it out!  And help me spread the word :) 

{Strawberry Wellies & Dinosaurs}

To answer a couple of questions:  Yes, I do combine shipping.  For clothing, pay the listed shipping price for the 1st item and $1.00 per item for any additional clothing items.  For shoes, pay the listed shipping price for the 1st item and $2.00 per item for any additional shoes.

Payment is via Paypal ONLY and I will invoice within 24 hrs. of you marking SOLD.  Please make sure you leave your Paypal email when you post SOLD on a listing.  Paid items will begin shipping on Tuesday, May 28th.

No holds please.

Questions?  jessica @ littlepumpkingrace . com

Thanks!! 
  

Girls Weekend & Canton Finds

If you have little kids...or big kids for that matter, I bet you would agree that May has to be one of the busiest months of the year...maybe THE busiest!!

So excuse me while my head is spinning in a million directions because today all I'm sharing are completely insignificant, but perhaps pretty-to-look-at things from our Girls Weekend last weekend. And can I say that moms don't get enough of those...girls weekends, I mean???! I think a quarterly Girls Weekend sounds like a FAB idea!!  And well, any weekend that starts out with this is bound to be a-mazing...

That's my bff Heidi in the pic below...as pretty on the inside as she is on the outside!  We were talking and shopping out on the fields at Canton {"the fields" are where you find all the really great deals, although this time they were a little disappointing), when we had the sudden realization that we just don't have enough pics of us together so we quickly remedied that with a phone selfie ;)

You've already seen my {prayer board}, but everything else I got was just kind of random.  I LOVE these fun bottles and I can't wait to use them for our {North Pole Breakfast} this year.  I never drank these as a child, but when I brought them home, Lance said he drank these ALL the time when he was little!  Love that!

What's a Canton trip without some fun linens, right?  Totally scored on this sweet granny honeycomb quilt at just $30 buckaroos!  I see a picnic in my near future...

This next purchase is totally inspired by my friend {Jenn} and her fab {guest bathroom}!!  I have no clue where I'm going to put this painting-by-numbers print, but I love the colors!

I never find many boy clothes I like in the Arbors {the more shop-like section of Canton}, but I always find some fun girl stuff!! 

Worry not though...last week on our way out of town to the visitation for Lance's grandma, I picked up Hudson from school and he was covered in blue and green paint so I had to make a mad dash to Gymboree to find him a suitable outfit and they had WONDERFUL deals on shorts/tees/polos for little guys, so he totally scored! 

Okay, back to my point....this little dress I found in the {Cici & Ryann} booth is a-do-ra-ble!!  I love the blue on blue chevron.  The gals over at Cici & Ryann never disappoint and they are as sweet as can be to boot!

I bought a size bigger than Grace wears so she can wear it as a dress instead of the tunic it's meant to be.  LOVE the criss-cross back!  I have a slight nautical obsession in case you didn't know. *wink*

Then there was this little {Mimi & Maggie} dress in the clearance rack of another booth that just screamed Indian Summer to me and for less than $20 it had to come home with me!  Thank you tax refund :)

A little unexpected back-to-school shopping with these fun {Morgan & Milo} sneaks but they were a steal!

I also found some sweeeet Mother's Day gifts for my mom and mother-in-law but I can't show you those just yet!! :)

We had to cut our weekend a little short because I had our last PSR {Parish School of Religion...sunday school in the Catholic church} with the sweet first graders I help out with and although I was a little sad to not get to stay an extra day, seeing these sweet faces and receiving the sweetest card made it all A-OK!  And the three amazing ladies in the picture with me are Kristi, Amanda, and Trisha...the three other teachers...and they are just Godly women and I adore them all!

And of course, I missed my sweet littles!!!  This is Hudson's "May the 4th be with you" shirt/pose :)))

Sweetest little pumpkin!  So excited to receive her own PINK rosary at church on Sunday!

But the best has to be this adorable tea party I was greeted with the moment I walked in the door Saturday night!!!

The little pumpkin wasted no time wearing the necklace I found this weekend!!  She insisted on putting it on Monday for school.  A girly girl after my own heart, I tell ya!  Loves fashion, especially accessories! :)

And this wasn't a Canton find, but I'd forgotten I'd ordered this fun burlap bow from a local boutique until they called me to pick it up.  Chevron + Burlap...what's not to love!!? 

So a great big THANK YOU to my hubby for making this weekend possible!! 
Love you!  XOXO,
 

overjoyed with gratitude...and a little thrift store score!

I've been slacking on the blogging front because I've spent quite a few after-hours this week at Grace's school getting ready for the big kindergarten event - the Literary Ball...more on that later...it was super cute!...but this week in between several doctor's appointments, we received THE best news ever about my mom and this cancer journey. The special tests they were running on the tumor they removed at the beginning of January came back and she does NOT need chemo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What an answered prayer!!!

She will still need radiation beginning mid-February and undergo her second {and hopefully last!} surgery this Tuesday, so please continue to keep her in your prayers, but we are overjoyed with gratitude at the blessing God has bestowed upon her in not needing chemo. When she told me, I just couldn't stop shaking and crying because we have been praying so hard for this and we know so many others have joined us in this prayer request - Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!

-------------------------------
Work in progress
Grace is sooooo excited - she's very into mermaids lately...

I've had my trunk full of random stuff we have been needing to drop off at Goodwill since before Christmas and every week the pile just keeps growing and growing to the point I could barely fit groceries in the back of my SUV, so finally this week I was able to stop by - woo hoo!

My mom was with me so she stayed in the car with the littles while I ran inside really quick...I'm on the hunt for some old picture frames and vintage sheets for a project...I didn't find any...but in my 10 minute mad dash I found all of this:

Yup, that's a new Matilda Jane shirt in Grace's size for $3.99, misplaced and left with the picture frames...I think it was meant to be - ha ha!

I like all kinds of fun jewelry, so I was excited to find this fun beaded necklace too:

And the little pumpkin takes after me when it comes to accessorizing so she was happy I spotted these for her...

Hudson is into cards and puzzles and this brand new set was just too cute to pass up...

I also picked up a book for my mom. And my grand total: 8.65!

I've been having estate sales and antiques stores withdrawals lately and this was just what I needed - hahahahahaha. Yes, I'm just as likely to shop boutique and premium labels as bargain racks, I like to mix it up. But I've never been much of a Goodwill shopper...maybe I need to add it to the rotation?!?

Happy Saturday...off to a birthday party!
And still on Cloud 9 for my mom!!!!
Praise the Lord!
 

Sunday Sweetness...and more Resells!

The little pumpkin looked so grown up this morning on the way to church...

I loooooooooooove this sweet dress Noonie made her!
{it's the Nelle pattern by brownie-goose}
Thank you, Noonie!

Love these two sweet littles to pieces!
{even if I can't get them to be still for a picture!}

Know anyone with a little girl named Grace?
Check out the monogrammed and hand-embroidered items {here} on my resell blog!
I also listed a baby sling and new nursing cover.

Happy Sunday!
 

NEW girl resells are up!

New girl resells are up on my resell blog!

Strawberry Wellies and Dinosaurs

Dr. Seuss / Back to School / Etsy / Matilda Jane and many more!

Don't miss out!
 

Resells!

I'm slowly making my way through Grace's outgrown clothes...you can find new resells here:

Strawberry Wellies and Dinosaurs

I'm posting them as time allows, so this is it for today.
Hopefully more in the coming days.
Thanks!
 

super cute shoe alert!

Do you have little girls in your life?
Better yet, pink-lovin' girly-girls?

Then RUN, don't walk (yes, pun intented) to Target and snatch up a pair of {these} super cute shoes for your resident princess.At $14.99 they won't last long. And they're even cuter in person. They have sort of a vintage-y, asian vibe to them. Cherry blossoms meet ballet chic. Love 'em!

Her twirling-dancing-spinning feet will thank you ;)

little girl styles, mollie makes, and pattern sale

A few of you have emailed me recently asking about Grace's clothes and what etsy shops I like. That's a tough one - I like A LOT of them! I love handmade and I love supporting small businesses, especially those run by moms, so let's just say I do my fair share to support etsy - HA!

Of course, my most favorite "shop" is right in my dining room with the incredibly talented Noonie heading things up :)

But let's talk etsy for a moment...Three of my most favorite etsy shops are TaDa! Creations, owned by my dear friend Angel and her sewing partner Amy; Amazing Gracie, owned by sweet Christa; and Bridget & Co., owned by the incredibly talented Debbie.

{tank by TaDa!}
{"vintage tablecloth" capris by Bridget & Co.}
{pose...all her own!}

Some of the things I like most about these sellers is their incredible attention to detail, like these cute buttons on the leg opening... the fabulous hand-embroidered designs from TaDa!... and the fun mix of fabrics at Amazing Gracie...But what I like MOST about all of these designers is that their creations allow little girls to dress like LITTLE GIRLS! No "hoochie" teenager fashions sized down to pint-sizes here! Oh, and the way their designs are sized means they last several years, at least that's been the case for us!

Speaking of designs...do you sew? Or would you like to try your hand at it? Well, now is your chance! I don't know if this is everywhere, but our local Hancock's has their Simplicity patterns for $1 today. These are some cute ones...2171, 2193, 2241, and 2574. And don't let yourself be turned off by the fabric choices on the pattern covers - fabric is EVERYTHING! I often wish samples on pattern covers were made with cuter fabric, don't you?

One last thing...

Have you heard of Mollie Makes???Oh my, while waiting on my hubs for an impromptu lunch rendezvous yesterday...lunch folks, just lunch...I ran into Books-A-Million and picked up this issue of Mollie Makes, a new British magazine. This is their second issue and they have a third issue out too. GORGEOUS. Simply gorgeous.

Making. Collecting. Thrifting. Crafting. - all the things I love rolled into one beautiful magazine! It's a bit pricey in the U.S. but worth checking out! It even comes with a cute little felt flower kit and the most adorable tutorials and patterns- LOVE, I tell ya, LOVE!

That's it for today...off to dream up more projects!

busy bee

I've got lots of sewing projects in the works and I'm hoping I can get them all done before school starts...which is now less than a month away...Eeeek!

First up, a sweet hand-embroidered Goldilocks inspired dress for the little pumpkin. Remember {this} sweet fabric? Well, I'm so happy and so sad I prewashed it. Happy because at least it happened BEFORE the dress was sewn. Sad because it came out of the wash with the background faded in spots...sort of like a tie dye fade. Slight but it's there. Boo hoo.

On to plan b. Lucky for me this sweet collection of Denyse Schmidt fabrics for JoAnn's just happened to work out perfectly and now I'm thinking the skirt portion of the dress will be a stripwork pattern using these gorgeous fabrics I'm in love with.Aren't they so pretty? Love them! And they happen to be 40% off at JoAnn's right now :) Speaking of great deals...our Walmart had these long-sleeve crew neck girly tees on sale for $1, yes $1! They had white, brown and light pink...mixed in with their short-sleeve mini pocket tees. Not sure if this is everywhere but worth checking out if you need some blanks for appliques or layering this Fall.One last project...these sweet fabrics from my stash...will soon become the little pumpkin's new nap mat for school! This one is all up to Noonie and I'm so excited to see the finished product.

And speaking of Grace...errr...Marbry. Yes, this little pumpkin of mine has insisted we call her "Marbry" for the past week. Such silliness! At least it's a cute name - HA!Hope your week is off to a great start!

a little Lulu & Co. loveliness...and resells 411

We're on the road again...New Orleans this time!

I'm tickled pink that one of my hats was featured on Hostess with the Mostess yesterday!!! Thank you, Jenn! Check it out {here}. Isn't this Preppy Pink Crab Birthday Party designed by Jess of Party Box Design so fun??!! Love it!
So while we're out mixing a little business with pleasure, let me share with you a few pictures of some
Lulu & Co. creations that shipped yesterday.

I've had several of you email me recently asking for more hat pictures because, like me, you're visual and want to see how different colors mix-n-match together. So I'm going to try and be better about posting pics here and there.

Yo-Yo party hat in candy pink & aqua blue polka dots
($25.00 + $6.00 shipping)Yo-Yo party hat in hot pink & lime green
($25.00 + $6.00 shipping)Basic Party hat in Dr. Seuss inspired red & aqua blue
($20.00 + $6.00 shipping)Basic Party hat in Pink, White & Black
($20.00 + $6.00 shipping)
{sorry for the crummy lighting on this one...I'd forgotten to photograph it for the customer's sneak peek and had to do an impromptu photo session right at the post office with less than stellar lighting or equipment!} You'll find my Q&A on Lulu & Co. hats {HERE} and if you'd like to place an order, please email me at: littlepumpkingrace{at}hotmail.com.

Currently taking orders for August 15th and forward birthdays (lead time is currently 3 weeks). Production calendar for the Fall is filling up - especially for large orders - please order early to ensure delivery in time for pre-party pictures, etc.!

RESELLS...
I've also had some inquiries about more clothing resells. Yes, I have some resells to go through, press & post on my resell blog (some little boy stuff too this time!):

STRAWBERRY WELLIES AND DINOSAURS

but I'm nowhere near ready and it'll probably be some time...not sure I can do it before school starts back...I'm just soaking every minute with my littles this summer. I'm sure you can relate!

BUT in the meantime, I've slashed prices on all remaining inventory that is ready to ship. Check it out HERE and be sure to become a follower of the resell blog so you can get first dibs on new listings.

Now, in honor of New Orleans...laissez les bon temps rouler!