Frecklewonder

oh the suspense

lovely ladies. i am so, so sorry to have kept you waiting all day! i have been beyond busy today, and i am sorry to say that i am behind schedule with this update due to some very uncooperative times over the weekend! we literally had rain + thunderstorms all day and into the night on saturday, which made it impossible to get photos done, even indoors cause the lighting was crap. (we even lost power briefly a couple of times)

i am working furiously to get some items added right now!!! it will not be the massive update that i had planned for today, but i am managing to at least get somewhere around 20 items added today and i will pick right back up with it tomorrow. i kid you not- i have gotten some anxious emails from you guys, some of whom said that they were afraid to leave the desk for lunch!!!! and others telling me that you are hitting the refresh button and are "locked and loaded" and ready to snatch up some stuff. girls- you are too much. i am so happy that you look forward to these updates, but it makes me feel so terrible that you have been waiting all day like this!!! how's about i set a time for this batch of 20ish items to go live. would that be helpful? i have to leave right now (5pm EST) to pick up the husband from work, and i will likely be home around 7. how about this stuff goes live at 10:30 my time tonight? that's 7:30 for you west coasters. hopefully you will be home from work and finished with dinner by then, and hopefully 10:30 isn't to late for my east coast girls.

i promise you -- there is much MUCH more to come, so please do not fret.

big ol super duper hugs to you all. j

collections::vintage linens

i've got a major 'thing' for vintage linens. it's something that's always on my mental "must find" list when i'm cruising around an antique mall or junk shop. my eyes are always peeled for these bad boys. i just love, love, love funny tea towels, feedsacks, pretty floral, polka dotty + bird print tablecloths and napkins, and i find them incredibly tough to resist. no, i don't really need any more than what i already have and believe me, i have a gigantic collection. but. you know how it goes when you're in there and you find a little treasure! it's impossible to just leave it in the store!!!

anyhow, i thought it would be fun to share a few of my favorites. enjoy!

have a great weekend, all! thanks so much for the lovely comments this week! i try my darndest to get replies back, but it isn't always possible-- so please know that i really appreciate each and every one of your comments, questions, and peeking out and saying hello!

i'll be back on monday with a fully re-stocked shop! yahoo!

tidbits

my lunch today. edamame and a coke. is that unhealthy? i have already had a bunch of water today after my cup of coffee this morning (okay, i had two) and a nice, crispy cold coke sounded pretty good to me. fyi, i am highly addicted to edamame.

so, i played bingo the other night with my mom, my aunt and my grandma. it was seriously one of the best times. i love bingo! what a rush! my grandma won a hundred bucks 10 minutes after we walked into the door. i am SO going to bingo again. who cares if i was about 50 years younger than everyone else in the room (mom and aunt excluded). bingo is my kind of fun. something so great about those round bingo stampers in all the fun colors... and did you know that real-deal bingo players bring all their bingo stampers in specially crafted totes? well, now you do!

today i am working furiously to edit images for the next BIG shop update, coming at'cha on monday. i'm so excited about this one! some super cute stuff for fall-- fun, fun dresses, blazers, little cardigans and a whole buncha vintage totes (plus some handmade ones too).

ten quick things! (1) my favorite cartoon as a kid was TOM & JERRY. (2) my favorite kind of laundry to do is WHITES. (3) i am frightened by EXTREME WEATHER. (4) i prefer my coffee thick and dark from the FRENCH PRESS with just a little bit of brown sugar and creme. (5) i have best friends that i might not talk to very often, but we can always pick right back up LIKE IT WAS YESTERDAY. (6) i am both a NIGHT OWL and an EARLY BIRD. i have a hard time choosing between the two. (7) i could watch DIRTY DANCING any time and love it like it was the first time i ever saw it. (8) i had my first kiss in 7th grade while on a date at the movies. i think we both had gum in our mouths. it was very sweet, and totally scary all at once. (9) THREES COMPANY is one of my all-time favorite shows EVER. (10) in an hour, i am going to walk down the street to henry's school to pick him up and i think that is really cool.

around the house

goodbye, summer

the summer isn't technically over until mid-september, but for those of us with kids, it's feelin' pretty much over now that school is back in session.

it's the end of day trips to new places, afternoons by the pool, sunburns, picnics in the back yard, nighttime scooter rides, staying up late and sleeping in a bit, chasing down the ice cream man, catching fireflies, taking afternoon naps, spontaneous hikes + bike rides, watching thunderstorms + hoping it'll cool off just a bit, getting mosquito bites, bee stings and mid-day foot washings, and hitting early morning yard sales. and so, so, so much more.

henry started first grade today, without a hitch, i might add. and now, the house is quiet. eerily still, in fact. it's going to take me some time to adjust to all of this time.

shop update::getting ready for fall

I'm hard at work right now prepping another batch of goodies for the shop! Stay tuned, they'll be available really soon!

half way there

hey kids. the shop update is in full effect. i am a little over half done, and i'm going to take the rest of the afternoon away from ze computer. i woke up with a may-jah headache this morning that just doesn't want to relent. plus, it's the first beautiful (read: not oppressively hot) day in a while, so i am going to head outdoors with mister henry for a bike ride around the 'hood. i think i've got 25 new items up, and as i said, i have more coming! if you have any questions about anything, i will be checking in, but i'm just not going to be camped out at the desk for the next little bit :)

hope you like what you see so far! and don't forget, handmade items ship FREE. (US & Canada only)
xo

yet another way to beat the heat

eat something cold.

both matt and i love to cook. in the summertime, we try to use as many fresh-from-the garden ingredients as possible. we've already harvested our corn, cabbage, and onions, and it seems like our bell peppers and basil may be on the way out. but, we've still got loads of tomatoes, herbs and super chilis, plus some watermelon that henry planted that we're still sort of holding out for. we've never tried watermelon before, anyone know when it's usually ready? are we too late in the season?

saturday night we were hungry, and in the mood to make something yummy, but easy. so i was flipping through some magazines on the coffee table in search of something different. we decided on this yummy cold chicken salad from an issue of real simple. (if i can remember, i'll scan the page, or at least provide the recipe if you guys are interested) it was so yum, and exactly what we were wanting. don't you just love when that happens?

i also threw together some stuff for a cold pasta salad, but i couldn't provide you with the exact ingredients for that, since i was sort of just tossing some stuff together and tasting it as i went along. it had olive oil, lemon, s+p, basil, roasted red peppers, olives, red onion, fresh parm, and i don't know what else.

we also enjoyed some ice cold mojitos. and i mean, really. does it get any better than that?

hope ya'll had a nice weekend. remember: shop update tomorrow!

how to beat the heat: freckle-style

what better way to keep from having a heat stroke on a day when it feels like 110 than to hang out in some favorite thrift shops and antique malls? if you can imagine, it is so miserably hot out there that it doesn't even seem appealing to sit by the pool. it is just nasty, folks. plus, i'd pick an hour in a good junk shop over being poolside 9 times outta 10, if you really wanna know the truth.

here are a few of my amazing finds from today:

i'll be back on monday with a fully stocked shop! i've already had a few (slightly panicked) emails (which, i think is so cute) wondering WHAT TIME on monday. i am shooting for early monday, but not too early that my west coast buds don't have a shot at some of the new stuff. why don't we say... noon-ish EST, which means a little after 9 am for you california cuties. if that changes, i will keep you informed. but so far, i am ahead of the game in terms of having things photographed, i just have to buckle down this weekend with my measuring tape and creative copy writing. have a great weekend, everyone! xox

have mercy

i wasn't kidding. the weather, it just ain't pretty. what's it like in your neck of the world today?

thank you

i'm hard at work over here getting a new round of goods ready for the shop. i've got some great pre-fall vintage stuff: cute shoes, totes, a few lightweight jackets and dresses + funky tops galore. also, there will be a new batch of handmade totes and necklaces for those of you who prefer that sort of stuff.

i really want to thank all of you who have ever placed an order. i am especially grateful to you repeat customers, many of whom have become some good online buddies. i love you all! and hope that you are diggin' your frecklewonder goodies. a long time ago i used to have a customer gallery on the site. i was thinking about that last night, and wondered if any of you might be into sending me a snap of you in something you've purchased from the shop! come on, don't be shy!! a head-to-toe picture would be super, super awesome.

in other news, i am tired today. just beat. we have had about 4 days in a row of the most oppressive, disgusting heat. it is the official dog days of summer here, folks. upper 90s, very humid, feels like 110, supposedly. i ain't goin' outside today, so i couldn't really tell you first hand. i am hiding out in the ac, just trying to keep from falling asleep. heh! 

i also wanted to thank those of you who have made a donation to the bottom of the hudson fund. i suspect that $5 is probably a morning coffee + scone purchase for a lot of us, and $5 might seem like a drop in the bucket when we're talking about medical bills. but, i believe that it will help and that a lot of little donations add up to something big and truly helpful. thanks to those of you who sent me a private message letting me know that you donated. it means a whole lot.

that's all for now.

xo, jenny

give

last monday, we received news that a good friend/old band mate of matt's was involved in a tragic accident, along with the entire band, from which the bass player died and the drummer suffered a fractured skull.

i've been tossing and turning over this story for the last week, wondering what, if anything, i could do to help. and it sort of occurred to me: i could write about it here, and ask you, dear reader, if you might find yourself in a position to make a small donation to help these fellas and their families through what is no doubt a difficult, trying, sad time.

there are a lot of you out there who read this blog- i have seen the stats, and it amazes me on a weekly basis- so i'm asking a favor of sorts: if each of you were to donate just 5 dollars, it would add up to a significant amount.

perhaps you are a lover of independent music, or you found some cash in your jeans pocket yesterday. perhaps you've been lucky enough to see this band live, or maybe you are a believer in random acts of kindness. whatever the reason or inspiration, i'm certain that any little bit will help.
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