Ornament Swap fun!!!

Hi Lovies!

I can't believe the most magical time of the year is here again. I also can't believe this is the 5th year of this amazing swap that has brought so many friends together. It's a swap dear to my heart and I hope (if you've participated in the past) it's been one of your favorites too.

Since I'll be having baby Noel (our second daughter) this December, my lovely friend Erin will be hosting this year's swap over on her blog Pugh's News. Not only is she the perfect hostess but it's pretty amazing that our friendship happened through this very swap five years ago. Erin was who I sent to that very first ornament exchange I hosted. She is such a close friend and it always makes me smile to think of how we "met."

For details on how to join this year's ornament swap, head over to Erin's blog post here. {Sign-ups start today and close on the 12th of November} 

Getting to spread Christmas joy while connecting with another blogger is my favorite. I hope you'll join and welcome our new hostess while you're at it. If you don't know her, you'll instantly fall in love with her like I did, I just know it. 

Erin, thank-you again for always being such a wonderful friend! love you xo

Speaking of portraits... the sweetest gift.

My vintage soul sister Amanda seriously has a heart of gold.

A couple of months ago, she shared an art swap she did with another artist, Danielle of too you to be hippies. Amanda made her a beautiful embroidered pillow, lavender filled sachet, and a water color and Danielle drew the most incredible portraits of Amanda's beautiful children. 

Amanda, I hope you don't mind I borrowed this from your blog but dear readers, you should check out Amanda's blog post for better details. They're so wonderfully done! 

Imagine my absolute surprise and delight when Amanda sent me the sweetest Mother's Day card with a note saying my gift was a custom portrait of Felix by Danielle. What a perfect gift for my first Mother's Day! That's simply just the kind of thoughtful person Amanda is. 

I wanted to share the awesome portrait Danielle sent me. I love the photo and the style she went with:

I LOVE IT! Danielle, it's amazing and something I (and Felix. plus, my family since they'll all get a print!) will always treasure. 

Amanda, I am so lucky to know you and one day I hope to hug you in person and tell you so. Thank-you with all my heart! xo

(You can contact Danielle for a portrait of your little by getting in touch with her through her IG @tooyoungtobehippies. You'll be happy you did! trust me)

Baby Pen Pals.

It is as cute as it sounds. 

Jasmine (we met when we were paired in this fun swap) emailed me about an idea she had with her sister Emma Kate. 

Emma Kate and I actually had the same due date so our daughters are days apart in age. Felix was born on September 17th and Emma Kate's beautiful girl Scarlett was born on the 21st of September. 

It's no secret I love old fashioned letters. I love putting together happy mail and receiving it means even more now as a stay at home Mama. 

Jasmine asked if Felix would like to be Scarlett's pen pal. For now, Emma Kate and I will write for them until they are old enough to take over. 

In their first letters "they" told each other how they got their names, what foods they were eating, how Scarlett loves swim class and Fe, story time.

Obviously, we hope they will love writing like their Mama's ;) but hopefully this will help get them excited about it for sure (someday this friendship will even be a sweet learning tool for writing/reading).  

Some of my very best friends started out as pen pals. In fact, one of my closest friends is my pen pal Sanja who lives in Slovenia. We started writing each other when we were 12 and though we have yet to meet, I love that we text almost daily. 

I hope Felix will have those amazing kind of friends in her life. 

They were destined to be pen pals --they have the same ring rattle and they live a world away from each other (Scarlett and Emma Kate live in Australia).

Scarlett, Felix can't wait to hear from you next. She says she hopes you got her postcard from Virginia XO

Why go anywhere else than Etsy?

Etsy really is my go-to place for any occasion that calls for a gift. I thought I would share my last couple of purchases that went out to sweet friends. 

To me, nothing is better than handmade. I believe in sharing Etsy shops where I wanted to hug the shop owners in person. I love when they go that extra mile-- like when you tell them it's a gift going directly to the recipient and ask if they could include your note. Not only will they gladly do that, but they'll put it on pretty paper. Things like that make me want to recognize these shops (and again, hug their owners!) and always want to buy from Etsy. 

For Christmas, I sent Lauren a plush Narwhal (two things she loves) from Pink Chocolate. Chanel makes her plushies by hand and without a pattern. Because of that, I couldn't believe how reasonable the prices were for great handmade quality. 

For our friend Phoenix's birthday, my twin sister Marianne and I purchased this beautiful embroidered pillow from Sincerely Micah. Phoenix's husband calls her bunny so we thought this pretty would be perfect for their home. 

Remember my ornament swap? (the one I swore I would post a showcase about and then motherhood happened? I promise to showcase them in November during sign-ups. Ugh forgive me!) Christine was so understanding when her swap partner had something come up and wasn't able to send her something in time. I wanted to surprise Christine, just like when she made these ornaments for me. I sent her this cute vintage Santa ornament from Sweetgyrl and Pops.

I asked Anne (the shop owner) if she would include a note for me and look at the notecard Anne sweetly printed it on. 

For our future sister-in-law's birthday in January, Marianne and I played detective and surprised Christina with this open back yoga top that was in her Etsy favorites. Sexy for her 30th birthday and practical since she's a yogi. It's from Lychee Grove where you can find handmade, hand dyed fitness/loungewear apparel.  

Another Etsy and shop owner to love is Maria of Minimalista Clothing. Marianne and I sent this Frida Kahlo onesie to our friend Jessy, who just had her first baby, a beautiful girl named Frida. Maria included our note on her pretty stationary. 

It's these little touches that make me want to shop handmade always. 

Don't get me wrong, I love me some Target. But when it comes to getting something for a one of a kind friend, they deserve something one of a kind.

What was your last purchase(s) from Etsy? (even if it was a gift for yourself, I wanna know!) I'm always on the lookout for new Etsy shops to love. 

7/52

"A portrait of my child once a week, every week, in 2013."

I always smile when we get an envelope addressed to Felix Maxham.

"She gets more letters than me," my husband joked as he handed me Saturday's mail.

It's true how lucky she is to be so loved and how I have the best friends.

Felix at 22 weeks with a collage valentine made by this sweet (and always thoughtful) friend. 

Happy Five Months my little Dream Girl! 

Roscoe & Felix.

Kitty is a blog friend that I hope I get to meet someday. I just love her and her adorable son Roscoe (who just turned 1! How cute was his circus themed birthday?). We've exchanged care packages before but it's even more fun now that we are Mamas. Here's a little exchange between our baby pen pals. 

For Christmas, Kitty and Roscoe sent Felix our favorite gifts to get. I mean Madeline on vinyl? Two things I love. Before Felix was born, Kitty sent us the sweet handmade dolly above. She is so beautifully made. As you can see from the photo below, dolly is Felix's PBS watching buddy. 

We found Roscoe's gifts on one of mine and Felix's thrifting dates. I'm always telling Kitty she should have a What Roscoe Wore series because he really is the best dressed little boy I know. I especially love when her blue eyed babe is in a sailor collar. You can imagine how happy I was when I came across this yellow lined one. Yellow is such a happy color so it was perfect for Baby Coco. 

Here he is wearing it during a weekend jam session. LOVE. 

We have the best of friends. We love you Kitty & Roscoe! xo Micaela & Felix

My 2012 Ornament Swap.

Dear ornament swappers, I hope by now you've received your ornament (except for perhaps international shippers) or at least have heard something from your partner and agreed to extend the mail out date together, which is fine. If you have any problems, please let me know!

I thought it would be fun to swap with another first time Mama who is just as excited about their baby's first Christmas. Felix and i couldn't have found better swap partners than Jessica and her adorable son Reeve. 

aren't they beautiful?

First, I love that Jessica thought to send a Baby Girl's 1st Christmas card. We were incredibly spoiled!

How girly is that first ornament? Jessica said she found it at this super cute etsy shop called LalaDangerous. Jessica wrote, "that if the pink ornament with flowers and tulle is super sweet and girly, then the puff ornament is sassy and full of personality. Shouldn't a little girl be both?"

Absolutely! As if I didn't love those two already, this last one is hands down my absolute favorite one. 

Jessica wrote, "the little girl ornament was just so sweet... dark hair, sweet smile, cheeks and has that vintage feel that I know you love." 

Did she get me perfectly or what? 

Jessica's little guy is named after Superman himself. She told me Reeve has already owned over 20 Superman onesies in his 8 months which they'll turn into a blanket some day. 

I couldn't contain my happiness when I found this Superbaby ornament for Reeve, from Felix. 

Jessica mentioned that they were having a hard time finding the perfect Baby's 1st Christmas ornament. When I found this sweet Giraffe (i mean look at that tail!) I had to get him. 

I always have fun with this swap dear to my heart, but this year was extra magical as a Mama. This year was extra special all thanks to Jessica who could not have chosen more beautiful ornaments. ♥

I love that she is most looking forward to sharing the Spirit and story of Jesus with her son. 

Check out Jessica's post on our exchange on her blog To Those Who Wait. 

I can't wait to show off what everyone else swapped! If you've received your ornaments, please email me a photo {micaela.maxham[AT]gmail[DOT]com} so I can use it in an upcoming post. Thank-you lovies xo

for sweet dreams.

During my pregnancy, i had the craziest dreams and sometimes they felt so real it was scary. Since then, i have been on the hunt for the perfect Dreamcatcher for Felix's nursery. 

You would think since i live in El Paso, it would be easy to find one since they sell plenty of them here and in neighboring New Mexico. I even searched on Etsy knowing i would know when i found the perfect one. 

It's funny how God/the universe works. Tyra was of the first friends i met through instagram. She made this beauty for Felix and it was exactly what i was looking for. 

The quality and details are so pretty. I told Tyra she needed to sell these and it just so happens she recently opened up an etsy shop. You can find her beautiful creations at Eclectic Sanctuary (wouldn't the stormy skies dreamcatcher be beautiful in a baby boy's nursery?)

Right now, Felix is napping under her dreamcatcher.

Thank-you so much Tyra for this beautiful and thoughtful gift which just shows there is so much kindness in the world. xo

(speaking of happy mail, today is the last day to sign up for the ornament swap!)

Only 4 more days to join in the Ornament Swap!

Maybe it's too soon to be in Christmas mode but Thanksgiving is around the corner and if you're like my family-- the Christmas tree goes up soon after (um maybe even Thanksgiving night). 

If you haven't join this year's Ornament Exchange, you have until November 12th. 

DETAILS HERE. We'd love to have you!

This year i'll be hanging my ornaments from my past swap partners :  Kaileen, my very 1st swap partner in 2009 (the first exchange was round robin style so i sent ornaments to Erin. I met her through this swap and i honestly can't imagine my life without her friendship), Erin of c'est la vie in 2010, and last year from Bianca and Lauren. 

Every year has been so much fun and this year, i hope you join in. I think ornaments are special memories and it's a swap you can actually use no matter what you get. 

*special thank-you to everyone who's spread the word xo

(pin-up girl ornament from 12LegsCuriosities // 1950s glass ball ornaments from simplychi)

Ornament Swap!

Lovies, it's that time of year again...

I can't believe it's my 4th year hosting an ornament exchange on my dolce vita. I look forward to this swap all year-- I've met my favorite girls through it. Getting to spread Christmas joy while connecting with another blogger is my favorite.

to join:

*email me, micaela.maxhamATgmail.com with subject line : ORNAMENT SWAP

*include your postal address + blog link. If you don't have a blog, you must include your instagram, etsy shop, or fb page please. (also indicate if you can't send overseas)

*cut off date is Nov. 12th  i'll try and get everyone partnered by Nov. 15th // ornaments will be mailed out by Nov. 29th

*ornaments can be bought/vintage/hand-made... whatever you fancy but $10 is the max spend amount because i know it's about to get crazy with holiday shopping. PLEASE put some thought into your ornament--check out your partner's blog/links and see what their style is etc.

*DO include a Christmas card for your person. Tell them about your favorite Christmas quote, song, family tradition, or why you chose the ornament for them.

Have fun with this! snap a photo of your ornament sent/received so we can share them on our blogs (i love the actual exchanges and showcase them).

pic : such pretty things

feel free to use the button on my sidebar lovies. i hope you'll join-- the more, the merrier xo 

a special delivery.

When i was pregnant, my dear friend Alyssa asked me to write a little love letter to Felix on a piece of paper and send it to her. 

The ever so amazing and talented Alyssa embroidered my handwritten note. AMAZING. and because she knows my love of deers she added the pretty fawn you see. 

I would say this is a gem of a gift to me, but just like her package was addressed to-- it's a one of a kind gift for Felix. I love that she'll always have this and know how much her Mama loves her. 

Thank-you Alyssa for this and her embroidered name xo it's amazing, you're amazing! 

*You can find Alyssa's fabulous work at Red Bow Designs. 

sweet things + giveaway winner.

beautiful handmade gifts from Rhianne : bunting with felix's name & granny square quilt (her 1st!)

kissed feet after a diaper change

yes, SO VERY cute in response to Leesh's question (made by her mom Luckie) 

lips i can't stop kissing 

the sweetest bangle, a surprise gift from our landlord

+ the winner of the pumpkin spice cupcake soap giveaway is Meghan of The Perfect Compilation Tape! thank-you to everyone who entered.

and baby kissed filled thank-you's to Rhianne and Leesh from Felix xo