Happy 3rd Birthday!

As we approach the 3rd anniversary of the day our store opened, we can't help but to feel a little nostalgic.  Three and a half years ago, we thought we were going to build a business on our own little nursing covers.  Then we decided that selling other people's products might be more up our alley...since we don't actually sew or make patterns!! 

We went to SCORE workshops and visited showrooms in LA.  We had to beg them to sell to us since we didn't actually have a store yet.

Once we had a few sellable items, we started pitching a tent at the Scripps Ranch Farmer's Market.  Then the Del Sur Farmer's Market.  Every week.  And we hardly sold anything.  Ever.  It's hard to sell someone a $50 baby dress when they came to the market for an apple.

But we had faith, so we rented a little space in the Scripps Ranch Marketplace.  We ordered products and had them sent to our house.  They filled the dining room, and we spent night after night tagging them.  We knocked down store walls, installed our ugly, ugly slatwall (bad call!), and painted the store in our "beach" colors.  We even had our friend spend most of the night one night painting butterflies on the wall.  OK, we don't sew, and we don't "see" interior design very well either.

The night before we opened, we took all the inventory to the store and stayed up all night arranging our products in just the right way.  And finally, on October 9, 2010, at 10:00 am, we opened the doors for business. 

I'm not sure if anyone came that first day.  As a matter of fact, there have been a lot of days that nobody has come.  This has not been an easy journey by any means, but it's been a great one! 

Our family and our staff have endured cancer and divorce and new babies and college applications and good sales and poor sales and every emotion you can imagine as we've tried to juggle our personal lives against building this business.

We've met wonderful, supportive customers who praise and "spread the word" to the friends and neighbors.  We've met plenty of "negative Nellies" who cannot be pleased by anything.  And a lot of indifferent shoppers that we keep searching for the keys to their hearts.  Every one of them has helped us in our journey and taught us something about how to improve ourselves and our store.  Thank you for being our customer!

As we head into our fourth year at the Scripps Ranch location, we have a new name on the building, and new merchandisers that have helped the store look amazing!  We have fashion shows and fundraisers coming up, and we feel really excited about our future. 

We look forward to celebrating the experience of Baby Vie with our customers this week with a big sale, so come on in if you're a Frequent Buyer Club member!  You will receive 25% OFF your entire purchase from 10/7/13-10/12/13.

Thank you again for your support!!

women.

Women are so strong, compassionate, complex, capable.  We are mothers.  We are wives.  We are friends.  We are workers, artists, caregivers...For thousands of years, in every state and country and continent, women have shared common goals, roles, burdens, and joys.

I wonder where the world would be if women consistently supported each other and mentored each other...Not just when the teacher or the church or the tv camera are watching, but all the time. 

Too often, a spirit of competition dominates female relationships, and I wonder how all of our lives would improve if we chose to lift each other up, love each other, be there for each other instead of looking for ways to tear each other apart.  Imagine how our children would benefit and thrive if we helped each other raise babies.  What if we said "Can I help?"  or "Do you know what trick I use for that?"  or just said "You're doing a great job!  You're a great mom!" instead of raising eyebrows and comparing notes about when our children reached milestones, how much we spent on our nurseries, or what preschools our children were admitted to?!?

At Baby Vie, one of our fondest goals from the start has been to support other women and mothers.  We seek handmade goods like hand knit diaper covers and home made hair bows.  We stock handmade sock monkeys and handcrafted jewelry, onesies with hand cut appliques, and upcycled furniture.  Our walls are graced by the art of our local female "Artist of the Month," and we regularly host trunk shows for women starting their own businesses and open our store for classes taught by women who want to start modeling schools or health education courses.

 

These women are beautiful in their creativity and their strength as they balance businesses with the care of their little ones and sick parents and volunteer obligations.  Their products make our store unique and fun to shop in.  Their presence in the store makes our jobs more fun and interesting and rewarding.  They are truly our friends, and we hope we can promote and support them and many more new vendors in the future. 

If you recognize yourself in a "Mean Girls" character, maybe it's time to reconsider your female relationships...time to honor our womanhood and lift each other up without judgement or jealousy.  And if you need to take a break from your neighborhood "Mean Girls," come visit us at Baby Vie!  We can't wait to meet you!



Two of my new favorite quotes are in one great article.  Click HERE to read the Forbes article I love so much!
Quote #1:  “There’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.”  --Madeleine Albright
Quote #2:  Isn’t it about time women stopped undermining each other and started thinking of other women as allies?
~ Lisa Quast

patience.

If kids teach you anything, it's patience.  See, kids do things that aren't socially acceptable.

And kids cry.

They get sick.

 

 

You can't give them back.  Most of us don't want to give them back, but there are those moments sometimes, like when you've been up for 36 hours straight because the baby has colic, or you get that phone call from the school, when you would like to send them back somewhere, anywhere, for just a little bit while you catch your breath...Yet here they stay for 18 years or 28, or in some cases, indefinitely, and we love them more than chocolate, more than money, more than our own lives....So we learn patience.  "Love is patient, love is kind" (1 Corinthians 13:4–8a)

Nine kids later, I'm still learning and still working every day and every night on being more patient.  Tonight, we missed open house at school because of the screaming and the napping and the ear infections and the chicken dinosaurs, and when I thought about writing this blog entry, the only word that kept coming into my head was "patience."

Now that it's after 10:00 at night, and the babies are still coming downstairs every 2 seconds and jumping up and down on the beds when they are upstairs, it's becoming a chant in my head "patience.  patience.  patience..." 

Moms and Dads and nannies and teachers and grandparents...Stay strong.  Stay patient.  They're worth it.  (And they'll pick your nursing home and maybe even clip your nails and change your diaper someday...Then they will mimic what they learned from you.  You will be hoping for a smile and a hug and a mantra pounding in their brain "patience, patience, patience...")

stories.

We all have a story to tell...something we hide, something we treasure.  Someone we love.  Someone we lost.  Now, Origami Owl offers a way to wear your story close to your heart with beautiful lockets holding interchangeable charms.

For under $50, you can build a beautiful necklace.  You choose your chain.  You choose your locket, and you choose your charms.  Buy a "mom" charm with crystals representing each of your children's birthdays.  Buy one for "nana."  The charms are only $5, so you can change the look of your locket regularly for very little expense.

The possibilities are endless!  You can SHOP ONLINE HERE!  You can host a home party...Just e-mail Susan Kramer-Swafford at sandiegolockets@gmail.com 

You can stop by Baby Vie Boutique's first trunk show on Wednesday 2/27/13 from 11:00 am-1:00 pm and receive a FREE charm with your first locket order.  We are hosting a second show on Saturday 3/2/13 from 11:00 am-1:00 pm. 

We have never been so excited to have the opportunity to share a product!!  We hope to see you at one of our trunk shows soon and have the chance to share with you in person!

spring.

Sunny.  Breezy.  Seventy degrees.  Fresh grass and tree blossoms. 

 

Hope.  Possibilities.  Love. 

 

 Leap.  Fly.  Try.
 

 

 Live.

inspired.

All moms have a story...a past, a present, and all the joys and heartaches in between.  All moms have had to be strong enough and brave enough to love, to teach, to comfort, to guide...Owning Baby Vie gives me a unique opportunity to meet a lot of moms, and I am continually fascinated by their stories, the way they love, the way they grow and change within their role as a mother.  They are all on a powerful journey, one that lasts a lifetime, one that takes courage and artistry and love...so much love... 

Sometimes, Baby Vie moms are artists and crafters, and I have the opportunity to share their art with my customers.  Most of my hair products are handmade by local mothers.  The ones above were created by Sarah of DawsyClair boutique while she also tended to a busy toddler.

My Three Sons is a local company owned and operated by Jenn, the mother of three sons.  One of them has Down's Syndrome...All of them have busy schedules that keep her hopping!  I don't know how she finds the time, but she creates some of our all time favorite products!

Dana Robinson is also the mother of three, and she designs and hand makes all of the gorgeous jewelry in her Dana Robinson Jewelry line.  I love this series with the hooks and links because they remind me of a mom and a dad (the hooks) with little links representing their babies.  Dana custom made mine with nine links...striking and one of my favorite pieces of daily wear jewelry.

Next Friday night, March 1st from 6:00-8:00 p.m.., Baby Vie is hosting a happy hour to introduce our March "Artist of the Month," Emily Burrough.  A local mom, she is also owner of Salvaged Surf Designs.  She saves surfboards, skateboards, snowboards, and other interesting items from the landfill and creates amazing mosaics on them.  Her art will be on display and for sale at the store for the entire month of March.  If you can, please welcome her to the store and enjoy a glass of wine with us on Friday March 1st.

We are so fortunate to know moms that inspire us daily, and we feel so grateful to be able to experience some of their art and share it with other customers and community members.  We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

dance.

In San Diego it happens rarely, but today was cold, windy, and wet.  Having discovered that sand in their toes brings smiles to their faces, we've been taking the kids to the beach lately.  When I woke up and saw the gloom, I knew our beach trip wasn't going to happen today, but 3 year old Dylan pulled his hood over his head and told me that we would put our shoes and socks on and pull our hoods up and go anyway!  It reminded me of one of my favorite quotes, "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain."

While I used to dance...even considered  trying it professionally at one point, it's been a LONG time since I've danced in public, much less in the rain!  Today's mission, find a new way to "dance." In our hearts.  In our nice dry house.

Let me be clear, I am the farthest thing from an artist you will ever meet.  I literally cannot even draw a stick figure.  But I am on a personal quest to insert beauty into my world and fun into our lives and head off to Michael's to buy art supplies.

I put a plastic tablecloth down and opened the box of paints and clay and paper and "blank" bobbleheads and glue, and the kids came running like moths to the light.  And they danced.

Each of their little lives will be imperfect.  Each of them will have successes and failures.  Sunny days and storms to survive.  I just hope they can remember that without the rain, there wouldn't be any rainbows, and sometimes, you've gotta' just put that hood up, face that rain, and do a little dance.

 This little number is called the "Sunshine Shift" by La Petite Couture, and the shipment of these dresses arrived at Baby Vie late this afternoon.  I choose to believe it was a friendly little reminder that every storm passes, and we will be seeing that sunshine soon.  Just keep dancing.  Just keep dancing.  Just keep dancing...

sand.

Our day started with Kensie smacking Mike in the face...hard...to wake him up.  It went downhill from there.  Screaming, crying, fighting, repeat...Again and again until my head was about to explode.  So I made them all get dressed, even the 12 year old who wants to do nothing but sit in a bathrobe reading a fantasy novel day in and day out, and I took them to the beach in Del Mar.

Kensie hasn't spent much time at the beach in her lifetime, and she wasn't sure what to think about the sand in her socks and sandals.

It didn't take long to lose a sandal...and the bad attitude.  Who can stay cranky with a diaper full of sand and the sun shining on their nose?

The kids "built" a sand playground complete with slides and chairs, and they want to know if we can go back tomorrow.  I think I'll order sand toys and bathing suits for the store sooner rather than later and make sure we keep those smiles coming. 

I really don't think there's any problem in the world you won't feel better about after spending some time with sand in your toes, sun in your eyes, and waves crashing in your ears.

treasures.

This "lucky mama" necklace by Beth Quinn Designs is one of my favorite products in Baby Vie right now.  Since I loved it so much, it became my Valentine's gift from my family.  For me, it's reminiscent of all the times I've hugged Dylie close and told him "I am such a lucky mom."  Or the sweet afternoons when I pick Jack up from kindergarten, and as he hugs his face into my knee, I say (and mean) "I'm so lucky to be your mom."  When I find things like this for the store, my sincerest hope is that they will make someone else light up with recognition of something that makes them happy.  A person.  A dream.  A memory.  A love.  Not just a necklace or a bracelet or a platter anymore, it becomes a symbol and a souvenir of happiness, and I love being a part of that journey and that joy.

Spend some time in Baby Vie when you have a chance...Spend time reading the inscriptions on the bracelet cuffs, sniff the candles, stroke the blankets.  Somewhere in the nooks and crannies, wooden crates and seagrass baskets, I hope you find a something you will treasure and enjoy as much as I love my necklace.

try.

Yesterday was Valentine's Day...A day to celebrate romantic love for most, but for our large family, it's also become an opportunity to celebrate family love.  Instead of my husband and I going out alone for a romantic dinner, we decorate the kitchen table, cook a "special" dinner, and dig up any dishes that have hearts on them to serve up that meal on.  Lately, our 6 year old, Jack has been grabbing cooking magazines off the racks every holiday season saying "We should try to make these Mom!"  As he helped me pick out Valentine's and boxes of chocolates, he spotted a Martha Stewart Living magazine with beautiful pink  heart cookies on the cover and said "Hey mom!"  We bought the magazine and all the ingredients we would need for these sweet desserts, and late yesterday afternoon, I headed to the kitchen to start preparing our family feast. 

Jack played in the living room.  "Jack, I'm starting the cookies.  Do you want to come help?"  Jack played.  I beat butter and sugar, rolled dough between sheets of parchment paper, chilled, rolled again, and finally hand cut the dough into hearts (because I had not been able to find heart shaped cookie cutters during my many hour frantic search through San Diego which consumed my entire morning).  Several times, I called out "Jack, do you want to help make these cookies?"  Jack played.

I forgot the pink cookies in the oven, and they burned.  The chocolate cookie recipe was dry, and I felt like I was trying to convince sand to become a malleable ball of cookie dough.  It was 8:30 before I was finally mixing the cookie filling (which was just frosting, and I could have bought that pre-made if I had realized!!).  Then, the moment of truth...I served the family the cookies that took me half a day to make for them.  And I will emphasize ME because except for the brief moment he came in to play with the roller, Jack did not have any interest in helping me make those cookies.

Nobody liked the cookies.  Including me.  They were hard.  They were burned.  The frosted filling was grainy, and the ingredients weren't nearly as tasty as Oreos or store bought sugar cookies.  Still clinging to the hope that baking will engage Jack and give me a little helper some day, I say "That's OK.  We can try new recipes for the next holiday."  Jack says "Yep.  But you don't have to wait to try new recipes.  We can try those any time we want."

It struck me...Jack thinks he's gifting me with an opportunity to cook for him.  To try new things.  He thinks I'm having fun, and he's suggesting that I have fun more often.  Why wait for the holidays to try new things?  Why wait until the next holiday to say "I love you?" or plan a special dinner or decorate the house? 

Sleepless night, busy days, juggling work with babies with romance with home repairs...The load a parent carries seems to get heavier and heavier as time goes on and children grow bigger and busier.  Faster than we imagine they will, the days of innocence fly by, and our precious babies who see possibilities and celebrations in every day grow into responsible adults like us.

Thank you Jack for reminding me to love and celebrate and try new things because I can.  Because the possibilities exist.  Not because the calendar says it's a holiday, but because I am alive and well and have the beautiful opportunity to raise amazing children.