Frecklewonder

blog love :: keith's notes from the country

my friends keith + chris bought the cutest little country home earlier this summer and keith has been blogging about their weekends spent up there ever since. just wanted to share with you a few of my favorite posts, in case you hadn't stopped by the fred flare blog in a little while.

i double dog dare you not to smile.

the original notes from the country post:

honor market:

 

37 flowers:

 

 

and beautiful bottle:

 

i love reading keith's notes from the country- his perspective on life and everything else, big and small, makes me smile, makes me laugh, makes me proud and inspires me a ton. and i always wish i could give him a giant hug. he is officially one of the sweetest peeps i've met through frecklewonder.

and, ps- keith just celebrated his birthday, so head on over + say hello, wish him a happy birthday and tell him freckle sent ya! 

congrats again, to keith and chris. the little country cottage is beautiful and i couldn't think of anyone more deserving :)

*all images courtesy of Fred Flare

dear dotty

thank you for bringing so much happiness to our family. it's a privilege just to be near you. at nearly 16 months, you are such a little person already, full of humor, sweetness, silliness and curiosity. and you just might be the world's most easy going baby. you love music and you love to sing and dance. you seem to love any music that you can rock back and forth to- in particular, you adore the amelie soundtrack, the curious george soundtrack and this funny little french cd that i picked up on a whim a few months back. you love to wear dresses, which of course, makes me really happy, as i have made it my business to fill your closet with a really nice collection of vintage beauties. you are a great eater, i think it might be one of your favorite things to do. some of your favorites include hummus + pretzels, grapes, banana milk, banana bread, steamed broccoli with lemon, graham crackers with creme cheese and a favorite treat is probably vanilla ice cream. you recognize so many words and phrases, probably more than we even realize. you are very observant, and like to point out things like rain, birds on the feeders, the cats coming and going, and you still have a big, big love for flowers. whenever you hear cars drive down the street, you stop what you are doing to say bye-bye and wave. you are unbelievably sweet, and love to hug anything- the other day you picked up a wooden bear puzzle piece and hugged it. you do that kind of stuff all the time, you love anything cute, it seems. you are turning into a little snuggle bug, and lately, you like to pull the pillows off the sofa in the living room and lay on them on the floor. and when i come into your room to get you after you've woken up, you flop back down onto your pillow and show me how you do your cuddles. you have the sweetest smile, the softest skin, the most darling little curls and you put up with me kissing you a thousand times a day.

and for that and so much more, i love you, little bird.

the cutest thing

so here's a little something about me. nothing makes me cry more than the good things. i mean, of course i will cry over anything sad, and i guess in general, i am a heart-on-my-sleeve kinda girl. but the real bite-my-cheek-to-keep-from-crying, oh-lordies-here-come-the-waterworks moments are usually related to my kiddos, and most often when i am feeling super proud. those are usually the tears that i can not hold back. that mom that cried at her son's kindergarten graduation? that's me. the mom in the crowd shedding a few tears during that first grade holiday concert? yep, me. i just can't help myself. these tears have a name in our house, and we all know 'em pretty well by now. we call them The Happy Tears. 

so henry's working on one of his first assignments of his third grade year: a little project on Heritage. he is supposed to interview his grandparents, aunts + uncles, and any other older relatives. questions about where they came from, what foods they ate when they were young, how they dressed, what music did they listened to, stuff like that.

since only my mom and dad live in town, henry had to send out some emails last night to his grandparents in minnesota, wyoming and norfolk, va. and by this morning, he's gotten all of his responses back. i laughed and yes, got a little misty at these emails from my parents and from matt's. they were the sweetest images, as our parents reminisced on days from their childhood- some of the stories were so cute to imagine. and what's nice is that matt and i learned some things too. funny how you don't necessarily think to ask your own parents what their favorite food was as a child, but it sure is heart warming to hear about it.

cheers to mrs willis for such a charming homework assignment.

vintage nursery decor

i meant to add these to the shop, and time just got away from me. in fact, i still have so many good kiddo treasures that i will just hang onto for a future kid update. though, i couldn't bear the thought of packing these wall hangings away for who know's how long, so i thought i'd make them available straight through the blog.

they have such a vintage storybook charm to them, i think they would be sweet as candy in a new baby's room, don't you?!

if you are interested in these, leave a comment letting me know which one, and i will reserve it for you and send you a paypal invoice with exact shipping cost included... first come, first served! they are $12 per set:

cute kitties:

 

 

 

star dusters:

 

 

 

thanks! and should you be interested, good luck!

ETA: measurements for the kitties: the biggest kitty measures approx 16" tall, the others approx 9" and the star dusters measure approx 13" tall for the moon and the balloon guy and 9" for the little fella on the star. star dusters are sold!

hope that helps!

melodie + matty :: cute couple alert

 

 

check out the adorable melodie in all her freckle fashions. this girl is somethin' else, i tell ya.

if i remember correctly, melodie originally discovered frecklewonder a couple summers ago when i teamed up with fred flare to present 20 vintage summer dresses. in fact, the dress she's wearing in the top pic is the one she bought from the fred boys! melodie has since been one of frecklewonder's shining stars. she usually snaps up at least one thing from each collection, and she always looks amazing in everything. i also love that i've been able to see her in so many of her great scores! thanks, mel for all the fun photos!!! i also wanted to mention that mel has a super cute vintage kid's shop on etsy called pink cupcake vintage (along with a blog under the same name!) so if you're hot to trot for cute vintage stuff for your little ones, head on over for a peek.

of course we can't go on without acknowledging that fabulous and handsome husband of hers. matty isn't wearing anything from the shop, but he's looking pretty dapper nonetheless! something tells me that if i ever offered up some men's stuff again, he'd rock a western snap shirt pretty darn well.

thanks so much to mel and matty for letting me show you guys off just a bit!

and to the rest of you- keep the photos coming, i just love to see you guys, and it's my hope that i can make this a weekly feature in the ol' blog. (hint, hint)

giant white clouds

 

otherwise known as cumulus clouds.

they're my favorite kind. and the sky has been full of them lately.

happy friday, a SALE + a customer gallery in the works

howdy, folks! hope you have had a great week. it's been busy and different here, trying to get adjusted to the school schedule and all that. packing lunches and making after school snacks + cramming in homework and violin practice and reading and dinner and baths into just a couple short hours in the evenings is something that takes some getting used to again, that's for sure. i forgot that i really need to have dinner on the table by 6, as opposed to just whenever. i will miss those non-structured days of summer, and at the same time, i am ready for a little structure. a bit more planning, a bit more knowing of what to expect and when. it'll be good. i'm looking forward to having some nice chunks of the day all to myself again, to focus on getting some work done, and possibly even finding some time to do some sewing- imagine that. i will admit, i have felt a little aimless these past couple days, with the house being so quiet. but perhaps by the beginning of next week, i will be settling into these new days and finding myself with some more oomph in my day.

i have begun work on the next collection- haven't given it a name yet, but it will be fall-ish. i have a lot of cute things that are all washed, ironed, and quietly waiting on the racks for their time in the spotlight. i just have to get photos done, and i will be on my way to making it available to you guys. the summer lovin' collection is winding down- i have just made most remaining things on SALE, so please have a look to see if there's something you might have wanted before but not snagged. there are some great deals on dresses, as well as a handful of other things. i would love, love, love to find some new happy homes for these treasures!

and now a bit on this customer gallery. i have been writing you guys little notes in your orders, requesting some photos of you with your freckle-stuff. a couple of you have promised me pictures, and a couple of you have already sent me some! i would love to see you guys, so please don't be shy!!! my hope is to have enough photos to begin a customer gallery, and feature you guys here in the blog. whaddya say??

here is the lovely cassandra, in her green 50s dress:

 

doesn't she look adorable?! thanks again, lady c for sending me the great photo!

xoxo

darn, i love this kid

this boy is a third grader today.

things were so quiet around the house, i didn't know what to do with myself. dotty was her usual amazing self, and took a huge nap, which left me a big chunk of time to check the clock and wonder about how mister henry's day was going. and then i found myself looking through a bunch of photos and wondering where all the time has gone. thought i'd share a few of my all-time favorites with you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

any minute now, he's gonna hop off that school bus to find a very excited sister and mama waiting for him.

i can't wait to hear all about his day.

wrapping it up

 

 

 

 

 

summer, that is. it's been a really great one for us. the perfect mix of full + busy and nice + slow- with visits from out of town family and tons of day trips, sleeping in, campfires, amazing food from the garden, bbqs, fireworks, sunburns, lightening bugs, hikes, afternoons floating in the pool, and so much more. it's been everything i had hoped it would be.

tomorrow, henry starts the 3rd grade. i thought i would be dragging my heels and really kicking and screaming on the eve of such a big day. on the one hand, i cannot believe my little baby is going to be in the third grade. i've found myself folding laundry lately and for just a second, i can't tell the difference between one of his tshirts and his daddy's. but last night, as we stood in his new classroom meeting his new teacher, i just looked at him, all proud and beaming, with his brand new backpack as he shared a story or two from his summer. he wasn't shy or nervous. he was really happy and full of excitement for a new school year.

so i will follow his lead, and look forward to this change. and really, there is something about the change of season- like there's this built-in sense of inspiration and excitement. like anything is possible. and i like that.