hello to those who read…

what a beautiful day in the neighborhood…i am so grateful for the cooler weather although it does add a sense of urgency to the clothing shipment situation….OH THE PRESSURE….kidding….well, not really…

we moved a great amount of the workroom today so it is a good thing that i took pictures before we got started….wow…let’s just say that afternoon errands included large garbage cans and cleaning supplies to be promptly delivered tomorrow morning…i am always so encouraged by new seasons of  life and this is definately a change…

so here is before…..

i think they played with that broom for an hour…too bad it wouldn’t sweep off those animals and stuff….they sure tried to get them off….but …..new plan….

oh….and this room…the green one….will be the new home for this…..

but i think she needs a name….here are the specs….

female for sure, names of any ethnicity, think “big as a mini-van” names…..she is a hard-worker, obviously a beautiful shade of green (or is it blue?)…..she is VERY loud…..and she is our newest BBTN family member….oh…and she has a fabulous sense of humor… she is going to have to work with all of us….so be nice….

what’s in it for you?  name the machine….BBTN girls vote SATURDAY….you get a free shirt….comment with your full name for your entry…..

(don’t know how to comment?  it’s easy…don’t be a lurker anymore…just click the words “add a comment” and then fill the blanks in…it does let you comment without leaving your mother’s maiden name…)…try it, you might like it, and i know we will….

REMINDER:  SATURDAY, MT LAUREL FESTIVAL….bring the kids, be there…it will be fun…10-4 

SAMPLES:  20% off….

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one of my absolute favorite memories of childhood, next to taco bell on christmas eve?  playing in the rain….you know, garbage cans floating down the street- the whole thing….. so after torrential rain (WHILE we were moving tees to the new workroom…)…the kids had a blast, just in the gutter…..

****boy do i wish that photoshop offered an action to change mia’s outfit- this is the 120th post she is wearing this outfit…funny isn’t it….her favorite and always her pick….owell…bigger fish to fry in life i think….

ok friends….i have inundated you once again….

we hope to see you Saturday and i need a name for our new friend…

all of my love….

hello to those who read….

wow, what a week….we are drowning in airborne and trying our darndest not to get sick (logan has already had flu and stomach virus)…the schools are missing tons of friends and i am hoping your families are staying well….

so much to tell you….after pulling my brain back from “worrying about paint and chandelier mode”- (NOTE:  this things are not that important really just have to be done, right?)…

Mt Laurel Festival is OCTOBER 3rd- this weekend…in birmingham, in front of our new space….so we are moving from our usual spot across from the grocery to the right side of the firestation for those familiar…holler if you are not and you need to know how to find us…..the festival has inflatables, characters, food, music, tons of vendors, CARYS ROSE DESIGNS will be next to us along with BOWS by sherry and shelly..huge fun!!  See you Saturday, 10-4

We will have only samples at  the festival….all regular orders are shipping quickly and on time….but we do have to get rid of samples to make room for the spring samples to start to come in…we need our racks girls!!!! (HA…..racks!!)  Samples will be 20% off this weekend….workroom sale will be coming after all orders have been shipped….but this time it will be open for birmingham area visitors to come and shop along with phone and email….how fun!!!!

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As you may have noticed my blog sidebar changed a little while ago to include two things…..ads….all of the money that is generated from your clicking will go to neverthirst…so clickety click click….it is a per click payment so find out what is there….even if you really aren’t interested, think of it as you are donating by clicking….

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there are  billions of people without clean water…..the founders of Neverthirst are friends & acquaintances of ours from church that have formed a company that coordinates the provision of clean water through digging wells across sudan, india, and the south african republic…..

I have decided, along with my husband and the BBTN girls that we would like to make Neverthirst an important, integral part of our financial planning to adopt-a-village as frequently as possible…the neverthirst staff does not take any administration fees or running expenses out of the money given…100%  of your donation goes to provide clean water in your adopted village….one well will give water to a whole village for 20 years…if that is not amazing…

We are so excited to make Neverthirst our philanthropy and i can’t wait to update you with pictures and news….i share with you cautiously because i want you to know that my intent is not to share what “we” did….but rather what you did with buying clothing….on the same note…i am convinced that this is along the same lines as a tithe for this company… given whether it is comfortable or not….we (my family and BBTN) all think it is important to give sacrificially when the Holy Spirit lays it on our hearts….so please take these statements as i mean them to be received…we are humbled by what God has entrusted us to do and therefore the resources to do it….

i will be able to update you in the near future as documentation trips will be planned to go to these places that will be receiving wells…please visit their website for more information…any group across the country can adopt a village through neverthirst….there is a movie under media that helps alot to understand what they are trying to do….

WWW.NEVERTHIRSTWATER.ORG

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i promised more pictures of the workspace….so hopefully in the next post….

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meanwhile, fulfilling another promise…..and to answer several emails….(so sorry for the delay)

my camera:  i chose to purchase a nikon d60, the smallest body of all of the nikons in this class simply because i take it everywhere… however, i would choose the d90 if i had it to do again (it is not much more cost-wise and it has video- it does weigh more though)….all of the d-series nikons take fabulous pictures if you understand your camera and how light affects each of your exposures ….i bought the d60 “outfit” which includes the camera body and the two standard lenses….**** read www.thepioneerwoman.com !!!!!!  (especially her post about “what the heck is apperature?”)

if your goal is to take better than average pictures but not necessarily to take tons per week and truly understand and grow your knowledge of photography then the d60 outfit would be perfect….if your would like to truly learn your camera and pictures are a really big deal to you then i would buy one of the nikon d-series camera bodies and then add a portrait or 50mm lense…(1.4 preferably) and eventually whatever other lenses that would fit your needs (you will know by then)…i use my portrait lense 99% of the time- except at a baseball game and now when i need the wide-angle…

what i didn’t know was that although the d60 was less expensive the lenses that you add will be more expensive because they have to have an autofocus motor in them…because of the lower end camera (d40 & d60), make sense?  so in short….you end up around the same price point…please comment with any questions….

fellow blogger darby www.flythroughourwindow.com did a question and answer session on her blog with her friend and photographer marla…look there for helpful things…

DISCLAIMER:  this is my non-expert, ask someone who knows more than i do opinion…..i do not claim to know tons but this is just what i have done and learned…hope it helps!!

i know i went through alot…sorry for the “coffee on board motor-mouth”….

until next time…

all of my love to my precious people….you are a more than special part of my thought life and prayer life…i love you ….

hello to those who read…
i wish i had pictures of everything we are up to ….but let’s just face it, it’s just not pretty (not the girls…just the piles)…two or more girls most of the time in a room full of clothes….packed….we are completely covered up and any doubts that i had about moving to a place where there is more room…..gone, vanished, no more…..nada

however, life as i know it is really about to change…going TO work….  it will require real clothes not a nike ensemble….hmmmm….or will it….?  TAKING lean cuisines to work instead of rummaging and hoping for a possible trade with AC for her pizza or asian potstickers….what you take is what you get…. oh the space…..oh and maybe most importantly just space…space…space….

we are not excited at all about not having to hurdle a serger to get to packing supplies…can you tell?

so i will send pictures soon but i feel like i am renovating or building another house…kindof…our new space was in need of a little bit of color correction…alot as a matter of fact….crucial…the floor especially…nope, all of it…

what i am finding is that this is nothing like picking things for a house….for some reason the soaring ceilings and industrial fixtures are really presenting a challenge for my thoughts…so i promptly called one of my people…bebek…and nothing short of begged for her to bring her decorator self (and sam) to rescue me from the inevitable hall of shame for store owners that cannot decorate….

through a series of phone calls it became evident that paint colors would have to be chosen with only an emergency phone call…one, with bebek….mainly to confirm my thoughts and validate my perminant choice for the floor….ok well that was dramatic, it COULD be painted over……but who does that?

so i am sharing my thoughts just because my thoughts are spinning and gosh darn it i just wanted to include you guys….

so here we go….

the chocolate one maybe??

to hang in the EIGHT windows that need to look cute?

hmmmmm- kids?

for the floor…..

and for the walls….mocha cream…

now that the floors are dry…some before and afters on the way…maybe today….

oh…whose blogs do you all read?? i love those that i frequent…but i would love to know who your favorites are…AC told me about a new one….www.kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com….i wonder if there are more i just can’t live without including yours?

until next time…

all of my love to my people….

hello to those who read….
i am finally sitting down to write this post to tell you the exciting news!!

but from the beginning….

as most of you know, Blessed Be the Name is more than 5 years old…i cannot believe it has been that long since our very first clothing show…and really since it happened as an unplanned business there was not a dream in place or a business plan for that matter….

so from the beginning …there was a child that needed soft clothes to sleep in and play…the motivation behind the first wholesale order was to try to find a white tee to match with gingham shorts…and maybe we would put his name on the shirt…logan my almost two year old at the time…

my mom and i started researching raw goods and vendors and came up with our “famous tee” secret….since then the sales have been solely word of mouth and the business five years later is a full line of manufactured and customized clothing…

i have a nutrition major from auburn university with a limited background in sewing, quirky taste, but a resourceful mind….my mother offered confidence and the gamble that we took, expertise in sewing, great taste and resourcefulness. we worked together for the first almost three years and now i am on my own…

a little ways into the business my dad was insistant that we needed a business plan and the truth is that we did not know, nor did we realize what bbtn would turn into so we simply did not take the time to put it on paper…what an exciting adventure that God has orchestrated for my family….

my goals have always been to stay home with my children, utilize my brain, exercise creativity, and serve God Almighty with every ounce of my being…not necessarily in that order….goals have been added since we have started but initially that was all…new goals included working with some of the most wonderful people in the world, establishing a long-term financially stable business, and having a certain purpose when it comes to global missions. While i do not feel called to be a full-time missionary, my husband and i agree that we can be effective with the Holy Spirit as our guide by using what resources we have.

the quirky and longterm goal has been to eventually move out of our basement and into a warehouse space VERY close to our house in the town of Mt. Laurel….and possibly have a storefront, and most certainly a pink golfcart with flames….i can bold-faced tell you my goals and put in the hard work for all of the reasons i have listed but for some reason the golf cart brings tears as i tell you our good news….only those who are close know about the pink golfcart….

we will have our warehouse space as of October 1st in the most perfect spot in Mt Laurel…& i will wait patiently for the golfcart….but the best part is that i know without any doubt that this decision is Holy Spirit confirmed and peace abounds….

today, with one child sick and the other cranky because of the change in routine…..we have signed a lease, bought a commercial embroidery machine that is almost as big as my mini-van, negotiated a credit line, interviewed with an insurance company, and made it home for naptime.

tears flow as i know that this business plan wreaks of opportunities to give God glory for what he has done….4 moms staying home with their children, many more seamstresses & embroiderers who feed their families, tons of clothes with “Blessed be the Name” in them, and one grateful mom who sees no reason why i would deserve to be able to do this wonderful job…..

to my husband…your support is unwavering & priceless, your confidence in this company is endearing….thank you for having confidence in me as well…..and of course for your expertise in all of my deficient areas…

so to each of you who read….we will have a store in the coming months bearing a shingle with the name Favorite Laundry….the space will also be the home of the BBTN offices, embroidery, & a workroom….many diet cokes and diet mountain dews, lean quisines, and people who love the Lord….

i covet your prayers as we take this huge step…and thank you to all of the white embroidered tee wearing kiddos that still need more clothes….btw…we are shipping on time!

Colossians 3:23 (New International Version)
23Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men….

until next time….
all of my love to my people….

hello to those who read…
i am procrastinating in a big way….announcing BBTN and Favorite Laundry’s big news…

so on to share a funny…
don’t we all send our kids to “please clean up your room because…”?? kindof a bargain will our children…because i let you have a friend over…”you need to help me when they are gone to clean up” the damage that the tornado created…um…preferably before dinner is ready…

well….i remember this clearly as if it was yesterday doing the same exact thing….thinking my mom would not find my stash…but instead she got a rake from the garage and promptly used it to get all of my treasures that were “put away” from underneath my bed…..mia is just plain out of luck though seeing as i have not given her the luxury of a dust ruffle on her little bed…

and so it starts…normalicy of a child with her own little agenda….so i laughed with mia not present to see my reaction and then re-instructed her to “clean up before dinner”….lol…

until next time….