success!

So the garage sale today was an enormous success! It was a warm, sunny day, we had a huge turnout, and sold just about everything :) Yay!! Aside from getting a tad bit sunburned and being utterly exhausted, I feel like we got so much accomplished today and we can go forward with our move without feeling bogged down with extra stuff. Now it is time to take a hot shower, get cozy and turn on a good movie!!

Oh.

...and PS.

Here are a couple things I learned about Andrew today:

1.

He doesn't like "weird faces" on his stuffed animals. He tossed a bunch of his cute little stuffed animals in the garage sale pile because, and I quote him... "He's nice, but I don't like his weird face." Hmm. :) I wonder where he gets that??? (I too am SO weird about faces.)

2.

He is not a girl. I should never again push toys on him that I loved when I was little. Dollhouses with tiny animal creatures that you can dress up and "play house" with... no. He got rid of those as quickly as he could. And our "play kitchen" also was not hard to pry away from him. I believe he has played with it about three times in his life, and he was so very happy when he saw a little girl dive in to play with it today. Note to self: don't spend money on stuff like this!! I understand now that my son is a child that we should strictly get "cool, awesome" guy things for. Boo, no more playing "Calico Critters" for me! :)

and 3.

The child can throw a mean dart!! He saw the magnetic dart board in my aunt's garage and was officially obsessed. :)

Hope everyone is enjoying a happy weekend, xo!

please pray for them!!

I don't know this family, but they need a massive amount of prayers from you all right now. Their darling little daughter Cora has been diagnosed with stage four cancer that has spread all over her body, and she is currently undergoing some very aggressive chemo. Please go to their blog, read about their family, and pray all you can. No family should have to go through this, and I'm positive that every small prayer of yours will help to heal that little girl!

not domino!!

You know, I really hate this stinkin' economic crisis. Aside from jobs lost, homes losing half their value, and the country being in a true bind, this darn "recession" is also contributing to the loss of my FAVORITE magazine!!! Do you love Domino, too?! Well, it is no more after March.

{silently crying over here}

Can you believe it?! First Blueprint, and now this. Read the NY Times article about it here. Now I am off to drown my sorrows in my Diet Coke and watch Gossip Girl. Ugh.

new room, new decal.

What do you think?!

We are moving next week and I need a fabulous decal for my bedroom... isn't this one amazing?! You can find some amazing decals on Etsy, and this is my new favorite shop! :)

PS.

Thank you to everyone who purchased things for my blog garage sale, it was a success! Garage sale closed, and now it is time to prepare for my real life garage sale this weekend, eek!!! :)

Blog Garage Sale... take a peek!! :)

Welcome to my Blog Garage Sale!! :) If you see something you would like to purchase, email me at hollyndevlin@gmail.com and I will send an invoice to you via PayPal. Shipping costs will be included in everything, so the price is one set amount. First one to email me about an item gets priority and I will update my blog as soon as things sell so you will know what's still available! :) And be sure to visit Lottie Lou Design as well, because she has some fabulous things for sale as well!! Thank you for looking!! xo!

Pair of cherub sculpture-ettes - $20


Sweet green birdie - $5 (SOLD)


Beautiful golden crown - $9 (SOLD)


Scrapbook grab bag (lots of great supplies!) - $4 (SOLD)

Lots of letter stickers - $3 (SOLD)

Small stack of (approx) 5inch square fabrics! Perfect for a patchwork quilt or several small projects! There is around 100 squares in this stack - $11

Large stack of hundreds of 5 inch squares- perfect for a patchwork quilt, or several small projects.. tons of different prints! - $16 (SOLD)

Red prints, around 7 yards or so! - $15 (SOLD)

Light aqua green fairy frost, two different prints, 1 1/2 yards each. Three total yards - $10

The following are all fabric grab bags, with lots of scraps, small yardage, all in different prints! Each fabric grab bag has lots of different things in it, and each grab bag is $11. In your email, please tell me which color you would like! :)

Brights #1- Fabric Grab Bag! All fun, bright prints! - $11 (SOLD)

Blues - Fabric Grab Bag! All various blue prints! - $11 (SOLD)

Burgandy and Earth Tones - Fabric Grab Bag! - $11

Pinks! Fabric Grab Bag - $11 (SOLD)

Brights #2! Fabric Grab Bag - $11 (SOLD)

**Remember to email me at hollyndevlin@gmail.com if you would like to purchase something and I will email you an invoice via PayPal! :) Thanks so much!! xo!

update!

OK everyone, my blog garage sale will be postponed until Saturday morning! School started again for me today, swaps need to go out, and I didn't get a chance to photograph everything!! So I will post it all Saturday morning around 8am! :) Can't wait!! xoxox

picture tag!

The lovely Lee Laurie from A Southern Rose invited me to play "picture tag" ... I'm supposed to pick the 4th folder of my photos here on my computer and then pick the 4th picture, share and tell something about it. Since I am in the process of re-arranging all my photos and uploading them to Shutterfly, this should be fun!! ... Or at least, that is what I thought before I saw which picture it was LOL.... it is actually quite frightening hahaha!! My sister and I were at the movies one night and saw one of those cardboard movie posters with the cutout so you can peek your face through and "marry" McDreamy (or Patrick Dempsey for all of you non-Grey's Anatomy watchers hehe!) We were taking these pictures and literally cracking up.. this one is me next to McDreamy and it looks quite real haha!!! FREAKY, right?! :)

And I also have to say thank you to my friend Alaura who gave me a sweet blog award.. thank you, thank you!!! :) xoxox!

PS.

Don't forget to stop by on Friday morning for my blog garage sale!!

blog garage sale! :)

An idea was sparked a few days ago... a lovely blog friend, Molly from Fleur de Bee, suggested that I post some of the things I am selling at my garage sale to see if anyone in blog-land is interested. My garage sale here is on the 31st, so I figured, why not post a few cute things here to see if anything can find a new home with one of you! I also want to invite anyone else to participate too... January is such a nice time to get rid of the things that are superfluous in our homes. So if you would like to post some things in this "virtual" blog-garage-sale, let me know and I will add a link to your blog on January 23rd. (Make sure you post some cute things, nothing crappy- this is more of a tag sale sort of deal, not a way to send away your junk! Just leave me a comment here if you want to participate- make sure you leave me your blog and email address so I can get a hold of you!)

I will be posting my things on January 23rd and then leaving them up until the 25th. If they don't sell, no big deal, I will just sell them at the real garage sale haha!! I will just give you all a heads up on what I am needing to get rid of and you can decide whether it would work in your own house! We are looking to move to a more central area of San Diego very soon, and into a smaller house, so I need to get my possessions down to a minimum!! :)

Here are some of the things you will find at my blog garage sale:

*FABRIC! Lots and lots of fabric... fabric grab bags, yardage, etc! I've got a lot of cute fabrics to get rid of because of space issues and I know all of you crafty girls will love it!

*Scrapbooking supplies, paper, etc!

*Crafting supplies

*Decor accessories (Lots of different cute things to adorn your house!)

*etc, etc, etc!

I will be posting photos and prices on each item, and if you are interested in buying anything, you will email me and I will send an invoice via PayPal. Shipping costs will be included in everything, so the price is one set amount. First ones to email me about an item get priority and I will update my blog as soon as things sell so you will know what's still available! :) I think it will be fun, and hopefully some things get sold this weekend!

Feel free to post the button on your blogs and share it with your friends. And remember to let me know your email address and blog address if you want to participate and post your own garage sale finds this Friday!! :)

PS.

Who likes the Miley Cyrus song on my blog???? LOL.... I feel like such a freak listening to that song, but it is so darn catchy hehe!!

our plans tonite...

...involves very large monster trucks!!! :) We are taking Andrew to "Monster Jam" tonite... he is ecstatic!! Enjoy your weekend, everyone! xo!

The Lunch Date Blouse GIVEAWAY!!!!

The Lunch Date Blouse GIVEAWAY!!!!

winners! :)

Andrew drew the names for the giveaway and I want to share the winners with you all!! (And my camera is MIA, so the picture above is purely to make this post pretty.. I can't have a post with no picture hehe!)

*Alaura from Cottage Rose

*Allikaye's Mama

*Kimberly

Email me at hollyndevlin@gmail.com and send me your address! Congrats, girls! Gift certificates and Valentine's tags will be on their way to you soon! Thanks for reading my blog, xoxox!

fabric love!!

In addition to my cleaning frenzy that has recently commenced, I have quite a lot of sewing to accomplish in the next few weeks. So it is natural then, to be obsessively shopping for fabric on Etsy.... right?? ;)

I found this amazing Japanese eiffel tower print, which I think would make the most perfect spring dress! :)

And oh my goodness, Tina Givens! Are these not the most spectacular colors in these prints?! Treetop Fancy is the name of this line, and it would be so perfect for just about anything! I love her fabrics, they are so whimsical! :)

And of course, I LOVE Amy Butler's new prints... this one is one of my faves and it comes in a variety of colors!

And speaking of Amy Butler fabric, pop over to Suzee's blog and sign up for her fun new swap! She is hosting an Amy Butler Bag Swap, how seriously fun is that?! You can use any purse pattern you would like, but it must be made out of a cute Amy Butler print!! :) I am already doing quite a few sewing swaps, but I think I'll have to go sign up as well hehe!!! So much for my New Year's resolution about not signing up for too many swaps! BUT they are just too fun! So go sign up, yay! :)

Now I am off to continue my cleaning and put together some swaps! Have a lovely Friday, xo!

new items!

New items up

in the shop!!

**Remember...

Mommy Holly blog readers get 25% off everything in my shop until Friday!! Just mention you read my blog in the "message to seller" when you check out! xo!

simplify.

With the new year welcoming itself in, I am so in the mood to simplify. Like, to an extreme. I don't want any unnecessary clutter. No knick-knacks. Nothing hard to clean. Streamline. Yep, it's a hard concept for me to get through my head- Simplify??? But how?!! Well, I think the answer to that question is.... a garage sale!!!! I am using these photos as my pictorial inspiration as I purge all of my unused, unnecessary items and sell them. Extra cash and extra space. Sounds good to me...! :)

Ahhhh, I already feel like I've given lots away just looking through these photos.... :) I guess now I've actually got to get to work haha!! The garage sale is on the 31st. It has been over four years since I last had a garage sale and I seriously can't wait! :) Although... wish me luck going through ALL. MY. CRAP. ugh.

a new love for hiking!

Whew, I am making good on my resolutions for the new year already!! I have been getting Andrew outside, and I have been getting my butt in gear for that "slammin' bod"!!! Hiking is our new favorite thing... my sister, Andrew and I have been enjoying local hikes and it is seriously amazing. Why did I balk at this idea before??? There is something about hiking to the very top of a hill and then looking out over the view, realizing that your own two feet took you up there. And to get Andrew outside, hiking and getting healthy with us, makes me oh-so proud. Although when he gets tired, he gets a piggy-back ride... I wish someone would carry me around too hehe!! I love this photo that my sister took of Andrew and I a few days ago and I adore the view behind us. Even though we are minutes from a busy town, it feels like we are the only ones up there hiking. The views are fantastic, it is great to be able to walk and chat with my sister and little bug, and it makes me feel so strong to finish a good hike.

Next up on the adventures of Holly? Camping!!! My sister and I have an unusual urge to go camping lately.... anyone have any handy tips to a girl who has been strictly a hotel vacationer up to this point????? ;)

swap closed!

The apron swap is now closed!! I will be sending out partners sometime today or tomorrow, so please be on the lookout for an email from me! I added a list of all the participants for the swap on my left side bar, so check it out and make sure your name is on the list. If not, and you know you sent your questionnaire to me, contact me ASAP at hollyndevlin@gmail.com ... hope I didn't skip anyone! I have made a huge effort to keep things VERY organized for this swap.. I want everyone participating to make and receive wonderful aprons and have a super time with this!! :) **And remember this is a SECRET swap... don't contact your partner and give yourself away haha!! You will be sending your apron to your partner, and receiving an apron from another secret swapper!!! :)

PS.

Make sure everyone enters my giveaway for my 200th blog post, yay!! I will draw names next Friday! :)

happy 200 posts!!

I want to sincerely thank each and every one of you for reading my blog for 200 posts!!! Mommy Holly was created with the intention of sharing my life and crafting with you, along with starting my Etsy shop, and I am so blessed that I have met so many of you fabulous bloggers in the process. I feel like blogging has opened up a world to connect with like-minded individuals... gaining valuable inspiration, and being able to call so many of you my friends!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you... from the bottom of my heart!! I hope this blog serves as a small bit of inspiration for you all, and I hope you will continue to share with me here at Mommy Holly!!!

In appreciation, I am giving away three $5 gift certificates to my Etsy shop, along with some fun tags for Valentine's day, to three lucky winners! Please leave me a comment on this blog only and I will have Andrew draw some names next Friday, January 16th!

And...

to all my blog readers only, I am offering 25% off EVERYTHING in my store, along with an extra set of tags for each combined purchase, for the next week as well, through January 16th. So if you purchase something in my shop, write in the message to seller that you are a Mommy Holly blog reader and then either wait for a revised invoice, or pay and I will refund you 25% of your purchase before shipping!! **Remember, this is only to my blog readers, so you have to mention my blog to get the savings!!

Thank you so much for visiting my blog, and I hope you all continue to do so!! Thank you SO much to each one of you... xoxoxoxo!!!! :)

cards and swaps!

Valentine's cards were up in the shop yesterday, but they all sold out within an hour or so, YAY! Except for the card above, which is the cutest little thing... anyone need this sweet card for a special loved one this Valentine's Day?! :) Phase two of Valentine cards will be up later today or tomorrow!!
Also, there is a super fun swap going on for anyone with kiddos! Beth is hosting the Be My Valentine Children's Swap! Fun for kids and mommas alike.. go sign up, I already did!! :) Anything where Andrew gets a box in the mail is always at the top of my list!

And PS.
Friday is the last day to sign up for my Amy Butler Apron Swap... don't forget to send me your email questionnaire! I will be sending out partners sometime this weekend. Hope everyone is planning out those cute Amy Butler fabrics, I know I am!!! xoxox!

resolutions and a quiet january! :)

Here I am, I haven't fallen off the blog planet!! I have been so enjoying the quietness of January, not having to stress about Christmas presents, wrapping, baking, etc! While December and Christmas in general were very festive and fun, I am really glad to welcome in this calm month. No school to worry about at the moment, all the time in the world to work on projects and spend time exploring outside with little Andrew. And of course, he is enjoying the quiet as well, spending lots of time with his "teenage mutant ninja turtles," which are his toy of choice at the moment... he is also getting crafty with all of our recent scrapbooking store finds, as well as playing on his new felt board that my mom made him! Happily playing is when Andrew is happiest, and I am glad we are having the chance to indulge ourselves in these activities these past few days.

With the new year also comes resolutions, of which I am a huge believer in. While I don't always stick with them for the long haul, I think the idea of a new year is nice to be able to welcome in new routines. Here are a few of my many resolutions....

...Exercise, eat healthy, and get my "slammin' bod," once and for all! (Isn't that always the top one?!)

...Stay organized! There is no need for extra clutter around!

...Get myself and Andrew outside as much as possible. So far this has proved to be a successful resolution for me this year. Andrew and I are hiking and taking walks in new areas, and he is much calmer when he can burn off energy outside! What child isn't?! :)

...Use up my HUGE fabric stash... it is getting to the point of scary, so I better do something about that now! Hopefully projects to come will be featured right here on my blog :)

...Don't sign up for TOO many swaps, hehe!!

...Don't spend unnecessary money! Think about all of those silly little purchases.. I don't want to bring things into my house that I don't really need. Save, save, save!

...No more library fines! Sometimes I can be bad about that... there is a reason why libraries are free, and I should try to keep it that way haha!

...Make my Etsy shop a top priority!! I am so happy with the progress and success of my Etsy shop in the past few months, and I want to keep up the momentum! :)

OK, so what are some of YOUR resolutions this year?? Do you make them?? Do you stick with them? I am always so curious to hear about them!! Hope everyone is enjoying the new year.. xo!