10 % OFF EVERYTHING IN THE STORE!

Now through the end of Cyber Monday at Petal and Thorn :)  Simply enter the coupon code TOHAVEHOLDWEAR in the notes to seller!

You'll find new beauties like this Snow Queen Tiara, made of hundreds of crushed glass beads and pearls.  Thanks to Joe for snapping these pictures!  I look pretty ice cold in these, right?

I won't be shopping today- it's Thanksgiving #2 with Joe's family!  But don't let that stop you :)

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So Beyond Blessed...

This Thanksgiving is the very first holiday without my Dad around.  I'm anticipating some tears, or at least some weirdness.  But despite the intense loss I've experienced this year, it has been a wonderful one.  I have so much to thank the Lord for, it's ridiculous!

For example, my little family of 5 :)

Happy Thanksgiving to you all! 

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Sud Splurge!

Because the kid in me is not a fan of "tubby time", I often NEED to splurge on new soap to keep the task interesting.  It doesn't have to be expensive or fancy, just new. I have a tendency to open up a new bar before the old one is even half way used up, and I try not to feel guilty about it.

These soaps by Aunt Nancy on Etsy literally make me excited to shower.  They smell fabulous, are completely handmade with yummy ingredients like goat's milk and coconut oil, and are soooo creamy and silky smooth.  Sometimes I'm tempted to eat them (pica maybe?) They are so natural that I probably could. 

I bought the pumpkin spice avocado oil soap and oatmeal & honey goat milk soap.

On my face, I normally use alba sea algae products- they are fabulous and affordable. But I decided to try something new.  Check out this mysterious looking facial soap by Spoiled Rotten!  Reminds me of a hockey puck.  I'll probably keep it in the shower- I don't like using bar soaps at the sink (too messy). 

I haven't received it yet, but it's chock full of charcoal and clay, which are wonderful skin detoxifiers and perfect for gentry treating acne.  Spoiled Rotten also makes body detox bars that are suitable for infants with eczema.  Keeping that in mind for my little Siena!

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Favorite (nonmaternity) Maternity T's

I've been very hesitant to buy maternity clothes throughout my pregnancy.  They are EXPENSIVE, and kinda frumpy and unstylish for the most part. We're on a tight budget, and I hate the thought of buying things I can only wear for a few months.

So I went on Craigslist and bought a huge grab bag filled with gently used maternity clothes for 20.00.  The lady I purchased them from happened to have the exact same body type as me (5'3", slightly pear shaped).  That trash bag of clothes had all the pants I could ever need, including jeans, cargos, capris, and black work pants.  Basically, I paid less than 1.00 for each item in that bag. They call me the Craigslist queen!

Among the few non-Craigslist items I've purchased so far are these soft, slouchy t-shirts from zara. They are flattering and fit nicely over my 8 month belly, have quirky images of animals on them, and are bedazzled with sequins and embroidery.  They're less than 26 bucks a pop.  Best of all, I can definitely wear them after Siena is born!

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Peacock Feather Butterflies for Gift Giving!

I added a delicate new item to the etsy shop this weekend... Sparkle and Flutter.  These mini peacock feather clips are adorable and girly and pop beautifully against any hair color.  Perfect to wear to holiday shindigs or to give as gifts.  They come in gift boxes tied with pretty ribbon :)

I've been on a crafting spree lately, making multiple items a day.  I  asked Joe to take pics of me wearing the pieces until I can find a "real" model and "pro" photographer to snap pics for the site.  He strategically avoided the big belly and I managed to not look so very pregnant in the pics. I'll be listing new items all throughout the week.  Check out the rest of the goods here!

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Project Nursery: fabric wall decal

My friend Trista was coming over in a few days to take my maternity pics, and we wanted some shots in the nursery.  Problem is, there was no nursery to be found. We hadn't even painted the walls yet!  If there's one thing the wedding floral business taught me, it's how to accomplish major creative feats, quickstyle. Here is Siena's nursery, a cheery, fresh, and colorful sanctuary from the rest of our dark, moody, oriental style home. 

Not only did we have to pull it together quickly, we needed to do it cheaply.  Now that I'm a stay-at-home-mom-to-be, money is tighter. I decided I would get all the furniture gently used off craigslist, and DIY mostly everything else.  We ended up decorating the entire nursery for about 350.00, including all the furniture, linens, knick knacks, etc.

The  fabric decal banner is one of the easiest ways to spruce up a blank wall.  I love banners, but don't love the idea of a kiddo pulling them off the walls.  I also think fabric is a bit sturdier than paper.  So I created a banner that would be flush against the wall, hard for a toddler to peel off, but easy for an adult to peel off if necessary.  This little project would be PERFECT for wedding backdrops, parties, or decorating apartments where you're not allowed to do anything permanent to the walls.

step 1:  make a triangle template for the flags.
step 2:  spray front of contact paper (the non-sticky side) with spray adhesive.  Spray it evenly without missing any spots.  Do this part outside- it gets hecka messy! 
step 3:  apply various fabric scraps onto the glue-y contact paper, making sure to smooth out any air bubbles
step 4:  trace your template onto the different scraps (I did this on the paper backing of the contact paper) and simply cut out your flags.
step 5:  remove the backing and apply to clean walls.  If you mess up, no worries!  You can stick and unstick these decals as often as you need to.
step 6:  I stuck little contrasting hearts on the flags to spice them up a little, and pinned two draping bows to the sides of the banner.

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Big Belly Pics- 28 weeks!

Welcome to the brand spankin' new Petal and Thorn blog!  If you found me through my now retired Treasured Petal blog, you probably know that I'm saying au revoir to the wedding flower business so that I can focus fully on Baby Brancaleone.  Here she is, in my belly, captured with love by my talented friend Trista Lerit...

I'm still managing to fit into non-maternity tops (not for long, I'm sure!).  This one is from Ann Taylor Loft.

In the background, notice our wedding pics, also taken by Trista!

Can you spot Basil?  She's enjoying her last moments as the family princess.

I don't usually do the crop top thing, but I'm pretty proud of my belly and wanted to show it off :)  My "inny" is almost an "outie" at this point.

I did my hair (thank goodness for hot roller!) and my sweet neighbor Chie did my makeup.  She actually gave me some eyebrows for once! 

I got this dress at Anthropologie for 21.99 on clearance.  Hopefully something I'll be able to wear after the birth!

Isn't Joe adorable?

Thank you Trista!  I will forever treasure these!  

I plan on updating this blog as often as life allows with fun Petal and Thorn news, family updates, DIY craft projects (including some of the projects I've been working on for the nursery!) and general housewifey stuff. Be sure to add me to your RSS feeds- you KNOW you are curious about how my home birth goes and want to read all the juicy details.  Maybe juicy and birth are two words that shouldn't be used in the same sentence ;)

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