Vanessa and Company

It’s November, Thanksgiving is right aqround the corner, and Halloween seems like a distant memory.  That’s time for you. It just keeps humming right along, without a thought or care, while some of us simply hope that it will slow down, so we can get off the ride for a while. Since it’s been so long, I think the past month  in review, is in order…in pictures. I’m pretty sure  I “borrowed” this idea from Beki’s blog, but since it’s pretty brilliant, I’m sure she won’t mind.

We celebrated Christmas early with a super fun “Vanessa and Company” Holiday Open House. It was great, and I got to spend time with some of my favorite people, which was so nice. We are also prepping to get braces…well, not “we” per se, actually just Sabrina. She will get them next week, and is not happy about it, but the end result will be worth it, so I keep telling her. We also made a trip to the Emergency Room at CHOC, always one of my favorite places (Ummm, NO), but thankfully Chloe was’nt admitted this time. Big sigh of relief there, but she was still pretty sick, quite sick actually, and is just starting to recover. I hope she will be spared for the next couple of months, her poor lungs need a break. The picture of Sabrina and Chloe is two years old, but they still look pretty much the same, and I love the expressions on their faces, it captures them just as they normally are, sweet as pie, and perfect angels…..hahaha, only kidding, but they do look pretty sweet in that pic.  The scary witch picture of Sabrina is also an oldie, but she wore the same costume this year. She ditched the witches hat, added a cape…and “Presto!” a vampire was born…I liked the recycling part. What would Halloween be without oodles of candy (maybe I’d be thinner)? M&M’s are my favorite, and I especially liked the neat-o colors they added this year. I scored three bags yesterday at Ralph’s, 75% off, my kind of deal.

There’s never a dull moment around here, so I’m hoping for an uneventful November, and a stress-free December.   Until next time, happy Sunday!

This is one of my favorite Halloween-ey pictures. My sweet godson. It’s from two years ago (I think).

It’s almost October…how did that happen? It’s almost scary how fast the months seem to fly by. I’m still waiting for the “Fall” weather to arrive though, maybe by Christmas, haha only kidding (but it sure seems that way)!

I like October. It’s a good month for a lot of reasons.

Pumpkin Spice Lattes are back at Starbucks. Oscar hates these, but I think they are the bees knees.

Cool, crisp weather.  Okay, not here (yet), but a girl can dream right?

Halloween Decorations. Go crazy, people!

Halloween costume brainstorming. So far, a leprachaun, a banana, and Barney have made our list.

Sweaters.  Again, not quite there yet in the weather department, but I loves me a good sweater.

Pumpkin Spice Kisses.  Kisses, as in Hershey’s Kisses, but imagine a smooth, velvety, pumpkin-ey taste. Kudos to you Hersheys!  Seriously, if you like pumpkin, you must hurry out and buy yourself a bag…actually make it two, because they won’t last long. I had no idea these existed, but apparently, they do. I was enlightened, when I visted this blog, and saw this recipe that had me drooling.

On another note, I will be hosting a Holiday Open House on Saturday October 17, from 10AM-3PM.

I had one a few years ago, and had hoped to host them annually, but sometimes life gets crazy, and even the best laid plans are swept under the rug. Anyway, I will have lots of great stuff for sale. Kitchen towels, table linens, hostess aprons, holiday decor, and maybe even some sweet treats. I also have some kid’s items, and embellished tees for ladies, still in my inventory that will be available for purchase. It will be held in my home studio. If you are in Southern California, and are interested in attending, e-mail me for location details. I will also be taking “pick-up” orders. Browse the shop, and if there is something specific you would like to order, let me know, and I will have it ready for you to pick up on the 17th.  I’ve also set up an “Event” page on Facebook, woo-hoo, fancy, I know (haha)! Please hop over and RSVP if you can make it.  I will continue to post updates to the V&Co Facebook Fan page, and would love it if you became one…a Fan that is Feel free to pass the Open House invite along to anyone you know who would be interested in attending.

I’m really looking forward to it, hoping to see you there!

Happy Monday!

Sabrina is celebrating your win…actually she is celebrating her birthday, the big 1-0.

There’s good news, and ahem, bad news (I hate bad news, but who doesn’t).  The good news is, it’s Friday… it’s officially Autumn (so nice, although you wouldn’t know it here in Southern California, land of perpetual heat), umm, there’s only ninety-one days left until Christmas (some might put this one in the bad news category), oh and there’s officially a Givewaway Winner!  The bad news, you say? Well, there’s only one winner, but don’t despair, I hope to give away some more treats soon, maybe next month.

Okay, this was my first “Giveaway” and let’s just say that for those of you who entered, your odds of winning were quite spectacular!!  Seriously though, I love you all, and really appreciated your sweet comments, thank you!

So, I won’t keep you in suspense any longer, I mean that is just cruel…

The Giveway Winner is…….drumroll please……

Peggy De La Rosa

Yay Peggy! You will soon be the new owner of some fun Dia de los Muertos Goodies.  I will e-mail you for some info, so I can get your loot to you.

And just in case you’re itching to spruce up your kitchen for Fall, there are some new towels in the shop, and on ETSY. I’ve also added some Dia de los Muertos napkins to the mix, so go ahead, get into the holiday spirit and deck out your table!

I’m hoping to get into the Autumn spirit myself , and will be attempting to put up some Fall decorations this weekend. Let’s hope they (and I) don’t melt in the process! Enjoy your weekend

So, I’ve made the switch to WordPress, at Oscar’s insistence, uh I mean, gentle prodding. We’re still in that awkward “I think I like you, No, I don’t, Yes, I do, No, I don’t” stage, but hopefully our new relationship is a keeper. Anyway, if you’re wondering why I even made a switch at all, it’s mostly because I just finished a website re-do, and wanted to integrate my blog  into the site. Smart, you say? Yeah, well, I’m super technical like that…not. It just seemed like a good idea at the time.

So, the website. Well, honestly, it has served mostly as an informational site up to this point, since most of my sales are facilitated through the ETSY shop. I really wanted to make it fully functional though, and finally devoted some time to an overhaul.  I really like the shopping cart I’m using now, as it seems cleaner, and more user friendly. Let me know what you think, or if you encounter any problems with it.

One thing that is absent from the website, is childrens clothing. I’ve decided, after much thought, that I will no longer be offering kids clothing online. I will be focusing my attention on home decor items, but will still take occasional childrens clothing orders (if you want me to make something for your little one, just shoot me an e-mail).  When I started Vanessa and Company three years ago, I sold handcrafted home accessories. I have to say, this last year or so, I’ve really missed that! I am a major homebody, and love, love decorating. I am a graduate of  the “re-work what you have”  decorating academy. I am also a a fan of painting….and re-painting, thrifting, re-purposing, and love the feeling of a cozy “layered” home.  The new site, will showcase lots of unique and fun handcrafted home accessories, as well as new and vintage pieces. It is still evolving, but I hope you will stick around to see what happens!

I mentioned the three year anniversary of  Vanessa and Company, and well, I think that’s totally worthy of a celebration! So, I am hosting a giveaway. Yup, FREE stuff. F-R-E-E. I am a total sucker for giveaways. Did I mention, someone will be getting a bunch of free loot? What’s the prize you say? Take a look…

Looky-looky, it’s a Dia de los Muertos Grande Gift Set (the cake stand is just for show, sorry).

Set of four Placemats

Kitchen Towel. You’ll get one more of these. Two total, yay!

Potholder Set

Okay, so this is how it’s going to work. Leave a comment, telling me what your favorite item on the site is.  Post about this giveaway on Facebook,  and/or Tweet about it,  and/or Blog about it, and you’ll get an extra entry, each time you do…as long as you leave another comment letting me know that you’ve Facebooked/Tweeted or Blogged. If you become a V&Co. Facebook Fan, you’ll get yet another entry (just leave a comment letting me know). If you sign up for the V &Co. E-mail list you will gain another entry (please let me know in the e-mail, that you would like to be entered into the drawing for this giveaway).  The giveaway will run today, September 12, 2009, through next Monday September 21, 2009. You will have until midnight Pacific time to enter, and I will choose the lucky winner using the Random Number Generator. I will announce the winner by Friday September 25, 2009.  That’s it! Not too shabby huh?

The gift set is also available for sale on the site, if you can’t wait, and think it might make a great gift for someone.  They’ll love it, I swear!

I am so grateful to everyone that has supported my little business. THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart.

Oh, and one last thing,  because I love you all so much, please take 10% off your total V&Co. purchase (you must shop the website though). Just use the code THANKU  at checkout (code will be good through Monday 9/21).

Happy Weekend!

Welcome to the new Vanessa and Company blog! Yay!

The summer has been very busy for us, and unfortunately I have neglected my bloggerly duties.

I hope I’m forgiven though! I have been working on giving Vanessa and Company.com a makeover, which I’m happy to say, is almost complete. In August we celebrated our three year anniversary, which I can hardly believe, and I had hoped to host a giveaway, but I ran out of month…how did that happen so fast? No matter, September is just as good as August for a giveaway, heck, any month is good when it involves free stuff!

I am still working out the details for the giveaway, so please bear with me, but I promise to post again about that next week.

On another note, we have a bunch of new kitchen towels in the shop, and a few more that still need to be photographed. I’m also working on some new aprons, and other kitchen textiles. I am kicking around a few other ideas also, so definitely stick around for that.

I have also decided to offer Ready-to-Ship children’s items only for a while. All the kid’s stuff will be still be listed in the ETSY shop for now. There are some great deals, as I am trying to clear inventory so check it out. The holidays are right around the corner, start stocking up now!

Tomorrow is the first day of school for Sabrina, so we’re off to do some baking as a “Welcome Back” gift for her new teacher, and the office staff. Large piles of laundry are also (unfortunately) beckoning…bummer. Happy Tuesday!