littleJULES

Introducing JULIAN & Co. Godmother Necklace . I love this piece - such a sweet sentiment for the godmother.

And a few more new goodies….

Check it!

My niece, Rachel is getting married in two weeks and she is having 4 flower boys including Lovebug.

That means I have only 14 days to beg, plead, bribe Lovebug to cooperate. So far it’s not going well.

Today we went shopping for the outfit: Bone colored khakis, a white button down dress shirt, a brown leather belt and converse shoes - any color. Rachel said she would supply the tie.

As I laid the selection over my arm at babyGAP, Julian protested, “No, no Mama, this one” - pointing to a pink striped shirt. “And these jeans”, he instructed as he pulled them from their rack. “The shoes I have are better”, he informed me. I explained over and over that those choices were fantastic, but Rachel has chosen “this” particular outfit for the wedding.

“No, no…. Mama call Rachel please”. “Mama, call Rachel now, I want this shirt”….

Rachel’s choice….

Everything in my life seems to be only partially finished, or on hold. On the home front, we live in a 100 year old house that is still being worked on after 11 years. On the JULIAN & Co. front, new products need to be added to the website. A much needed “up date” email needs to go to our retailers. Most of the photos need to be replaced, and I still don’t have a press kit - even though we’ve been featured in many loved blogs and magazines. On the personal front, I’m still on a diet after bla bla years, I haven’t worked out since last Thanksgiving and it’s also been a very long time since Mabel has been walked. Meanwhile, for the last year we’ve postponed taking Lovebug to Disneyland too many times to count.

So last week, I made reservations, Hon bought tickets from his work (at a great discount), and we made the 90 minute drive Wednesday evening.

It had been 12 years since my last trip to Disneyland. Things have changed on the outside.

The parking lot is now a multiplex - much closer to the entrance - and an outdoor mall was added as well as California Adventure. Wow. Even being a native Californian and native Southern Californian, I felt so out of the loop.

We arrived around 9PM-ish and what was once a relatively short block of quaint hotels leading up to Disneyland, has morphed into a freeway exit that takes you right to the theme park’s parking lot, and miles of sky rise hotels not leaving out any of them.

After checking in, we made it to Downtown Disney to eat a late dinner and shop at the biggest Disney store in the world….Parenting mistake #10,784: We bought Julian a toy monorail. He played with it until 1:30AM.

Needless to say we didn’t make it to Disneyland at the planned 7AM, but we did manage to get there by 9.

Lovebug had only one goal. Meet Mickey Mouse in person.

I learned that my cautious 3 year old is actually fearless (I’m in denial). After begging me to go on Thunder Mountain, the Matterhorn and Splash Mountain (all three of which he is too small) - we took him on the Pirates of the Caribbean and told him it had a “splash mountain”. After sliding down the second waterfall, I thought for sure he would be cured, but I was wrong. We had to actually wait in the roller coaster line 2 times in the dreaded and shadeless Toon Town to semi-satisfy his craving for a roller coaster ride.

All in all it was wonderful fun, although Lovebug did ask numerous time to go back to the hotel so he could play with his Monorail; and he didn’t meet Mickey in person… but he did meet Chip.

Our little photographer at the “Parade of Dreams”.

Navigating Dumbo

Hanging with Chip in Goofy’s Kitchen

Available in fine silver (.999) and 18K yellow or white gold. Check it!

We have a three year old now. Happy Birthday Julian.

What is a nursing necklace? It’s a necklace worn by moms during nursing or bottle feeding to keep baby’s hands occupied while they eat.
During nursing or bottle feeding, Lovebug inevitably grabbed a handful of my hair and held tight for the entire meal.
I wanted to come up with a nursing/feeding necklace that was safe, functional, and fashion forward. A necklace that could be worn anytime, but also with a purpose.
The washer style pendant is 1.5″ in diameter and is inscribed with our signature baby hands and feet prints with child’s name on the front. The back is further personalized with all the precious birth specs. It floats on a 30″ seamless 3.2 oval rolo chain that slips over the neck with no clasp. It is durable for strong tiny hands with lots of textures to keep her occupied while feeding. The necklace can be ordered with one or multiple washer pendants.

JULIAN & Co. Sterling Silver Nursing Necklace is timeless elegance, a precious keepsake for mom and baby too.
Click to view at JULIAN & Co.

I was inspired to make these precious coins by the many requests from moms and dads to use their own baby’s feet on the pendants. I wanted to come up with a way to do it that didn’t cost a fortune.

I played around with resin on silver and gold using prints of baby hands and feet. While they looked beautiful, I wasn’t crazy about them because the resin eventually turns yellow, and I also wanted the jewelry to be able to stand up to sweat and showering.

It’s possible to inscribe pretty much anything on to metal; with a 50K machine, but yuk! Not only is it expensive, but I’m not a fan of the look.

Then I got sidetracked…..

I took a Precious Metal Clay class a few months back. I wanted to find out what all the hype was about. PMC is a silver that, originally was extracted from 35mm film and then mixed with an organic binder (made up of paper and water) to make a clay. After fired it is .999 pure silver. I’m not sure how much of the clay is actually made from film these days with all the digital picture taking going on, but it’s a great medium to work with, and it also comes in gold.

Just one day into the class, I realized it was the perfect way to get any baby hand or feet prints inscribed onto a pendant. I love the look of the finished pieces. They are elegant yet a bit rustic, and can be as rough or as finished as desired. Being a diamonds and pearl girl, I like the super shiney polished look.

I took several photos I had and turned them into pencil drawings. I then transfered them onto the wet clay. I think I’ve made about 50 or so mug shots of Lovebug so far - I’m pretty addicted. They look like ancient coins, so I’m calling them “baby COINS”. Here are a few…

This pic is Lovebug at about a month old. He is still in the NICU, and it’s the first time I saw him open his eyes.

This next photo is Lovebug’s first morning home. You can kind of see the cord coming out of his blanket - he came home on a heart monitor which scared the crap out of me. I would have rather - at the time - him stayed in the hospital than come home on a monitor.

Off the monitor and sleeping in his crib after a day out on the town.

This was taken a few months ago at the beach.

baby COINS retail starting at $69…. The sizes range from 1/2″ in diameter to 3/4″.
Check it!

I learned from reading a few of my favorite bloggers that Dawg a daddy and blogger has lost his 5 year old son.  His story broke my heart and Lovebug has gotten tons of hugs today.
I found out you can go here to donate if you’re so inclined.