Catch up

The white noise in blog land has been heavy lately huh. When I say the last few weeks have been busy I mean THEY.HAVE.BEEN.BUSY!

But honestly, don't you hate when people say that, like DUH WE'RE ALL FREAKING BUSY!

So sorry for saying that.

Moving on!

The shop has been crazy lately but its been amazing, no real complaining there! If you are following on Snap or IG stories you'll know that because I usually chat with you while I'm in the basement filling orders. A HUGE thanks to everyone for all the love from Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday, that shit has been NUTS!

I've been busy printing shirts, wrapping merchandise and trying to get to the post in time for last pick ups. Doing this all while working a full-time, attempting to be a great mom, wife and friend has been a little tricky. Sorry to any friends or family in advance, or I guess not so in advance. I suck.

Oh and as if I wasn't already overbooking myself this month; something I love to do, I decided to do Vlogmas over on my YouTube channel, OUI! Vlogmas is vlogging every day in December (or some just do 25 days, but I'm doing the whole month).

I've been nostalgically watching old videos and missing all the vlogs I had time to do. There's been a lot of life changing things that have been happening to friends and family close to us and it's been pulling on my heart lately. I wanted to make sure I'm getting back to where I started, the roots, the recording of our everyday lives. It started so casually as documenting my life living from the very beginning and I feel like I've been pulled in so many directions (while good directions, but all different ones) that I haven't been capturing nearly as much as I'd like to.

So this month I'm bringing it back to the basics.

Didn't Brittany say that? Maybe not.

This weekend we went to the tree farm we went to last year and picked out a cute little baby tree with some of Jerek's family. I dunno why but I wanted a smaller one this year. This however resulted in the tree stand we already had being too big for the little tree we got and Jer had to DIY that shit, nothing a tree skirt can't cover!

We are 16 days away from Tracen turning 6 and my mind body and soul just can't handle. I guess that's another post for another day though. Last night after bath time the boys were running around screaming, playing and laughing hysterically. I tried to reel myself back from being a party pooper and making them calm down before bed because they were so cute and having fun. They were acting the way I had dreamed about years and years ago when I wanted to be pregnant again. Laughing and playing together like best friends do.

Then the noise stopped and we found this. Sky was begging to sleep in bubbas (Tracen's) bed.

Before I get too sappy and start crying I bid you farewell for today that is!

Don't forget, if you want to see what we're doing ever day this month come over and watch us in real life, or as real life as 7-10 min of a 24 day hour can be!

Click HERE to watch the first 4 days in case you've missed it.

xx Chel

Printable 2016 Calendar

With 2016 almost here I knew I needed to find a new calendar for my dressing room/office wall. The one I was using was a printable that I found on Pinterest last year. I liked the simplicity of it but for this year I wanted to try my hand at making my own. I was so happy with how they turned out so I figured I would add to my Etsy shop for anyone interested in it as well.

I have mine hung by a clipboard on my wall so it's easy to change out every month but you could easily frame it and use a dry erase marker to cross off the days. The boxes are not really big enough to write notes but that is not what this calendar is for. I have a planner in my purse for that, this one is for quick references on what day it is and as a decoration to my gallery wall. It is not meant to be written on but if you would like to, go for it!

You could also attach this to your cabinet at work or fridge by a magnet. One of my favorite months is April. No it's not my birthday, it's our wedding month! I thought the couple under the umbrella was cute and had a wedding feel since we are getting married in April so I thought it was fitting. Printables are great because you can print them on regular basic paper or take the PDF files and have them printed at Kinkos, Staples, etc on nice card stock, the option is up to you!

Don't forget to follow along on Instagram because I plan on adding more printables along the way. From time to time I'm going to have 'free printable days' where for 24 hours I open them up to print for free and you don't want to miss out on that do ya!

Cyber Monday Deals Gone Crazy

Did you go out shopping on Black Friday? I did, but not at 4am like all you freaks, I was out at a casual 10am with the boys and my mom while Jerek worked. We hit up Panera for some brunch and snagged a M&M cookie to bribe the boys with for later. Then we headed off to Target and walked around like normal people because all you walnuts were fast asleep relishing in your $159 50" TV's and $10 blenders.

Now if basement remodels were on sale Friday I guess I should have been up and out at 4am because currently about 75% of our basement is sitting in our garage due to water in our basement. So if any of you guys happened to snag new drywall, flooring and paint on Friday and want to sell it to me at a discounted rate, I'M ALL FREAKING EARS.

Moving on from my basement pity party lets talk Cyber Monday deals! This is something I can get down with! When you shop from your computer, no one can tell you that you should be nice to the retail workers because they are sacrificing "their" time for you to shop. Side rant; did you know that there are people that are police officers, fire men and women, nurses, doctors, cafeteria works in the hospitals, clerks at 7-11 and CVS and many many other jobs that ALSO work holidays and are away from their families, hmm, imagine that.

Anywho, back to shopping from your computer braless.

When I sign up to be on store email lists I have a spam folder things go into through out the year. Occasionally I check when I'm looking for something that way I have coupon codes at my little finger tips, because paying full price is BS yo! When Black Friday and Cyber Monday comes along I stalk my spam folder and I mean STALK! Remember, just because you weren't at Target on Friday at 4am doesn't mean you can't score something online at Target on Monday, yaaa feeelll!

 kids PJ's : tie : stocking : backpack : dress 

This year I'm scooping up some new pj's for my kids that grow faster then the weeds in between your driveway cracks. With our wedding trip a few months away the boys will be getting new backpacks to take with them as carry ons and since I don't do that characters that they will not like 2 months later, I'm getting them cute but versitile ones.

Jer may or may not be getting some new work attire but only if it can fit in these new stocking's I'm getting because we have a no gift policy between the two of us. And who could resist not picking something up for themselves, this shift dress is too damn cute! Tights and boots for the winter, wedges or booties in the spring

Also, don't forget to sign up for Ebates BEFORE you start Cyber Monday shopping! Each website gives you different amounts of money back on things you are ALREADY buying! Free money sounds good to me! 

Some sales I know that have already started below. Please leave any other good deals you know of in the comment section!

JCREW- take 30% off your purchase, including things that are never on sale! Plus 40% off all sale items. Use code HOLIDAY at checkout.

ANTHROPOLOGIE- 25% off everything with code SHOPTOIT

OLD NAVY- 40% off EVERYTHING! Use code BESTCYBER for Monday only

COLOURPOP- 20% off EVERYTHING! (No code needed)

Nume's Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals continue through today for the following until sold out
Hairdryer's are $39, code DRYBOLD. 
Magic wands are $24.99, code CYBERCURL
White truffle hair collection (is normally $130!!!) is $29.99 for 5 products!!! 
Classic wands are $17.99, code SUCHADEAL 
Straighteners are $15.99, code BFIRONS

Last but not least my Etsy shop, East + Willow, is having 25% off the entire store with the code CYBERMONDAY at checkout! This goes for all the SALE items as well! All orders will be shipped out by December 8th with 2 day priority shipping to ensure delivery for the holidays. Check out the shop for more adult and kids shirts here!

Huge Black Friday Sale

Hello and Happy Monday! Yes, HAPPY MONDAY! I'm here to tell you about the black Friday deals I'm having at my shop and lucky you, they start TODAY!

Black Friday sales are getting earlier and earlier every year and while I'm always down for a good deal I can't stand sitting in line at 4am for a freaking blender, or better yet a TV that is only $50 less then normal price but everyone is popping boners over that 60 inch they just can't liiiiiveeee without! Barf.

So shop away in with no bra and yesterday's makeup on because I'm giving you coupon codes to use from YOUR COMPUTER! No waiting in line, missing work and hell I'm giving these codes to you 4 days before black Friday even begins! The codes are good from today, the 23rd and they are valid through December 1 so shop away!

All orders will be shipped out by December 11th (if not sooner) and arrive 2-4 days later depending on the post and where you live.

In case you missed my big announcement post I'll recap it now. Any shop orders that have come in from 11/2-12/1 will have 10% of the profits donated for gifts for the NICU babies at The Children's Hospital of Michigan, which my family will then contribute on top of that.

These meaning behind the shirts mean a lot to me. Being in the hospital with kids is never fun and over holidays is a million times worse. I want these babies to have a little something special from a fellow NICU mom who spent Christmas there almost 5 years ago. Hopefully the parents may shed a smile when they read the cards and see the gifts that all 43 beds at the NICU will be getting from us!

>> ADULT SHIRTS <<

one. two. three. four.

Buy 1 Adult shirt, get 1 Children shirt 50% off: Code BLACKFRIDAYADULT

Buy 1 Children shirt, get 1 Children shirt 50% off: Code BLACKFRIDAYKID

Buy 4 Adult shirts get $20 off: Code BLACKFRIDAY4SHIRTS

Spend $100, get $20 off: Code 20OFF

>> KIDS SHIRTS <<

one. two. three. four.

There are also still a few of the 'House of Twins' and 'House of Girls' shirts on sale right now that also are available to get in on the Black Friday deals!

All shirts can be gift wrapped and sent to whomever you choose (in the US) and a holiday card can be added at no additional cost. Please make sure you just leave a message in the notes and I will ship accordingly!

Please email me if you have any questions on sizing, colors, etc at eastwillowgrove@gmail.com

Big Announcement- Giving Back

For the last few months I've been busy planning a wedding, traveling for work, spending time with the boys and enjoying life. But over these last few months I've also been trying to brain storm a way where I can give back to others and showcase this to my boys, get them involved in other peoples lives.

With Tracen's birthday rapidly approaching I always get very emotional the weeks leading up to it. For Tracen's birth story you can read it here. As many know he was born on December 21st 2010 at 36 weeks with breathing problems and was sent straight to the NICU. He stayed there for 10 days which we brought him home on December 31st, New Years Eve.

In hindsight 10 days is NOTHING compared to the hundreds, no thousands of kids that spend months or their whole lives there. I remember hearing the doctors tell us we wouldn't be bringing our baby home for Christmas and I was devastated, distraught. These are words that the parents of the kids in the NICU hear all the time. Birthdays and holidays are spent in confined quarters, limited visitors and strict instructions on what they can and can't bring into the hospital as gifts.

Recently my friend Jenny (of Monroe Fox Photography) was talking about a fundraiser called Snow Pile. Jenny is an amazing photographer but what many don't know is she is an art therapist at The Children's Hospital. She spends hours upon hours with many kids battling illnesses no child should ever go through. I knew right then I would sign up as a volunteer but it just wasn't enough, I wanted to do more.

Jenny mentioned that many gifts are donated but since they have a strict policy on what they can keep the kids in the NICU sometimes don't get as much due to the regulations. As a NICU mom I knew what I wanted to do. I was already in the process of creating all new items in my Etsy shop to launch in the beginning of November, why not make this about the kids!

SO! Here it is! 8 brand new kids shirts and 4 brand new adult shirts, all printed on American Apparel tee shirts! 10% of ALL profits sold from now until December 1st will be put in a collection for the 43 beds in the NICU at The Children's Hospital of Michigan. My family will then contribute on top of that in which we will purchase gifts for the families. New hard board books that they can easily wash, scrap book supplies for the parents to make memories and stuffed animals that don't have button eyes, since they are not allowed in the NICU. I hope that you are as excited as I am to give back to the children and families that are going through much more than you or I can even imagine!

You can also sign up to donate or work the Snow Pile and other fundraisers at the hospital here! All of the older style shirts in the shop are now sold at 20% off in the store [all proceeds of those sales will be put in this fundraising collection as well.] Per the hospital, all donations need to be in by December 15th so this is time sensitive. I will be sharing everything my Youtube channel and here with details on how much we raise and what we buy for the families. So if you don't live locally you can still visually see what is going to these amazing kids and families!

If these are for the holidays all orders need to be in by December 7th they are processes and shipped to you before Christmas.

Please share this post with others so we are able to give these families gifts for the holidays as many won't be at home for them.

Secret Project Reveal : House of Boys

After months of planning around work and family schedules I finally got everything situated and it's finally here! A goal of mine in May was to go all in on a project I had been working on. So here we go folks!

{Yes, those are knee pads, Tracen REFUSES to take them off}

I've mentioned recently that I love a great tee paired with jeans. Sometimes I can look more put together wearing this type of outfit than I can in a dress. As a mom I have to make a conscious effort to make time for myself because life can get hectic and I know I feel much better when I do. I also need to realize that I usually end up with boogers, milk and food all over me by the end of the day due to the boys so I try to find a mix of comfort and cute. That's why jeans and a tee are a go to for me, but I'm not looking for just any tee, fruit of the loom will just not do.

A while back I was telling Jer how I had all these ideas for T-Shirts, that I wished the cute graphic tee's you see in stores weren't so expensive, so we started talking. He's always been my biggest cheerleader, so when I started talking designs, types of shirts, style and printing he was there right with me telling me I should do it. After months of getting quotes for screen printing myself or with another company,  I went with working with a company but designed everything myself. I'm also the shipping, receiving, marketing, packaging and admin person, you get the drift.

{SIDE NOTE: look at the photographer in my glasses, he's SUCH a babe!}

For months you've probably seen me hashtag #houseofboys and this was why! I'm sorry in advance that but I'm not trying to dismiss the families that have boys and girls, I just haven't come up with a creative shirt for them yet! To me there's something unique about having a house full of boys or girls and it takes a strong man/women to raise twins so I started with these, I hope you mama's with both understand. Don't worry though, I have a plan to incorporate you too, I have a notebook full of different ideas, sayings, and styles that will be making it into the store in the future so stay tuned!

To see the other shirts you can shop here at East + Willow and take a look around! If you have any questions, comments or if there is a shirt but you want a different size feel free to email me and we will get a custom order going. Lastly, like I've done in the past, if you live in the Detroit area and would like to save on shipping use coupon code 'METRODETROIT' and we can arrange pick up. Or fly me out to where ever you live I'll personally hand deliver your shirt and we can have a glass of wine together!

I'm excited for these shirts and the other items that will be popping up in the shop!

XO

Jewelry Storage

Hello and happy Sunday!

This past week while at work I was texting with my girlfriend Chelsea, and I was commenting that I was getting a ton of digital down loads for one of my print. She asked if I knew that people can save my prints without paying since I didn't have them watermarked.

DOH!!!!

Seriously, I felt like a nub right then and there. So I did what any normal person would do. Deactivated all my listings and had a pity party for myself at my desk. I needed to wait till I was sane again and at home on my own computer and could edit everything. I was pretty upset to be honest but I took this as a sign it was time to redo some prints, make things better, try out some different options and update the picture qualities.  With the kitchen refresh game going strong this weekend and my children questioning my sanity I've only been able to update a few prints right now but alas, stay tuned to later this week for a boat load more, think 20+. 

In last week's vlog I mentioned some new wood items coming to the shop as well. Without further mumbling here is the newest item to the shop!

So what do you think?! I personally love it! It's so simple but that's what I like about it. Nothing fancy or over the top and still has that natural and almost rustic look. When we moved I looked for jewelry storage for my necklaces for ages and never found anything I liked. I finally decided to DIY it myself and loved the way it turned out. Here is the shop link if interested.

I'm currently offering two different color options but if you are interested in something else just message me and I can get the color of your choice set up in a custom listing.

Just like I did with the growth charts, if you live in the metro Detroit area I will offer free shipping and arrange drop off at your home or workplace. Use the code 'METRODETROIT' when checking out to get the free shipping. 

That's all I got for now guys! I now need to go finish my cocktail & start editing the vlog before Skylor wakes up from his nap and Tracen has another meltdown since that's ALL he's been doing today! OY!

Sunday Funday, bottoms up bitches! XX

Black Friday Etsy Shops + a GIVEAWAY!!!

This post is brought to you by me, myself and my coffee. While 90% of the college population was probably hung over yesterday I was not. Probably because I've been out of college for 5 years and also because I can't fathom going out like that when we have kids to take care of in the morning. Aint no body got tiiiiiimmmeee for that! While I didn't participate in wasted Wednesday at the bar I am Black Friday shopping this morning. Now I'm not one of those people you will find in line at 4am waiting for a blender that's half price {although I do need a new one} but I tend to go out around 9 or 10 am today as well as I shop online. Ohhhh do I love shopping online!

In honor of Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday coming up I wanted to share some of my favorite Etsy shops that we've purchased from in the past. {PLUS theres an AMAZING giveaway going on thanks to Barbara from 'Hello Barbara' and shop owner of 'Markee Market'}

If you've seen my post on our half bath makeover you've seen how we transformed our unusable small space into a regularly used thrown! I recently ordered these little 'targets' to help Tracen aim and if were being honest here {which I try to always be} it's for any male that enter's this house! Pee on the dino, pee on the mother F#!*ing DINO guys! I also got this friendly reminder 'put me down' to remind them that when they are done to put that seat back down..subtle right ;) I purchased both of these cute little decals from Cover It In Vinyl. They came with very in depth instructions so any dummy {IE: me} could do it and even gloves, how thoughtful! Cover It In Vinyl overs decals for your shoes, doors, and even nails! These really are great stocking stuffers!

Next up is Jewelry, something every mama, sister and wife would love to get! Chelsea from Flower Child Alchemy specializes in handmade vintage jewelry that has a bohemian & whimsical feel. With 30% off all orders till December 6th you better order now!

I am currently in the process of uploading more design and chalkboard prints to my Etsy shop so keep an eye out for that! However I am offering 40% off all downloadable prints in my shop East Willow Grove: The Shop till December 24th using the code word 'CHRISTMASTIME' at checkout.

Last but not least this sign!!!! *Insert emoji heart eyes* this sign has been our newest addition to our family room! While we still need to figure out how were going to hide the wires {Jerek's biggest pet peeve} we are IN LOVE!!!

My friend Barbara and fairly new blogger, writes over at Hello Barbara and is the owner of Marquee Market. Barbara use to live in Michigan but her and her husband recently moved down south to Charlotte, North Carolina where she runs her blog and Etsy shop. Girlfriend escaped the winter just in time and is making a name for herself with these signs! With her most popular item being the 'LOVE' sign I opted for something a little different. OMG right! I had plans to put this in my dressing room but when Jerek started painting our back family room the other day we he had the brilliant idea to put it above the couch!

Barbara offers different material options at different price points so there is always something for someone! My sign has letters made out of 24" metal which are new to her shop! They can be painted any color you choose but I opted to keep the raw metal look and add some 'rust' spots. Marquee Market also takes custom orders so chat Barbara up on Etsy with any questions you may have. The icing on the cake is that Barbara and I am hosting a giveaway for one lucky winner that will win their very own LOVE sign! This is the ultimate gift in my book!

HAPPY SHOPPING!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway