the biggest sale yet

Want to give me one less thing to pack? ;) Three days only get 40% off at the shop with coupon code MOVINGSALE.

Thank you so much for your support this past year, I truly enjoy sending off these little gems.

finally

I know I have been absent from this space lately and I hope you will forgive me. I owe you an update at the very least, not to mention a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! To begin where I left off, we did not move in before Christmas like I was hoping. We just couldn't get everything done in time and that was fine. No need to put added stress on ourselves - we have had enough of that in 2012 thank you. We did some traveling for the holidays and were able to relax for a few days with family, but mostly we just worked, worked, worked on the house... And I am happy to say we have set a move in date for this coming Saturday!

As I type there are boxes stacked behind me and many more empty ones waiting to be filled. And that picture up there is proof of the amazing family support we have received. My entire family came over and cleaned our house quite literally from top to bottom. There is no longer a speck of dust or a single cobweb hanging from those ceiling beams and the floors are shining. I also would be entirely ungrateful if I didn't mention my wonderful in-laws who traveled four hours one-way every weekend in December to help us finish not only the main floor, but the basement as well. We never dreamed we could get so much accomplished before we moved in and it was because of them it was possible.

We will still have some renovating to do mainly in the bathrooms and we haven't gotten around to the kitchen back splash, but other than that it is basically a new house.

We can't wait to start 2013 off in our very own home, and I can't wait to show you what we've done with the place! I better get Husband working on our internet connection... ;)

shop update

Red Plaid Double Collar Dress//Red Paisley Dress

 Green Striped Mod Dress//Red Dress with Green Flowers

Blue + Green Gingham Dress//Red Floral Smocked Dress

I updated the shop with some cute Christmas-y dresses for older girls. You can see them all here. Thanks! 

stuff and things

This tiny tree is the little bit of Christmas spirit I have brought out for the girls so far... If I get my Christmas wish (there is such a thing, right?) we will be unpacking the big tree along with all of the other decorations in our new house. Which would be perfect because we won't have much else to fill it with at first.

I am feeling pretty antsy about that fact. That we won't have everything we need to make our home feel like home. We have been working so hard on cosmetics, but now that stage is coming to an end I find myself focusing more and more on the filling part. I am trying my best not to feel like I need everything now, but this nesting that has been building inside of me the last few years is telling me I need stuff.

Like curtains, and rugs, and towels, and dishes, and artwork, and pillows, and things.

And typing that out makes me feel silly and shallow but it's true. So I am going to be working a lot on my patience and frugality, and keep reminding myself (and that pesky nesting bug) that it's not the stuff that really matters in our home, it's our family. It's our love for each other. And if we keep focused on what's most important, our home will be filled to the brim.

home stretch

Oh, hi there. I blinked and it was next week.

We are still deep into house projects around here. Living and breathing to-do lists that somehow seem to get longer rather than shorter even though we are checking things off left and right. It's the little finishing things that add up (and sooooo much painting). But, we are starting to see all of our hard work pay off and it is some kind of awesome. We are doing this and it is starting to look like a normal-put-back-together-livable-waaaaaay-better-than-it-used-to-be house. I know no one else will realize just how much sweat and tears we put into this place, but we know and we are so proud.

I can't wait to show you more of our progress, but more often than not I am there late at night after the girls are asleep (my dad stays home with them in case they wake up) and it's too dark for pictures. It will look much better after we give it a nice deep clean anyway - ooh, that's going to be nice!

Thanks for sticking around while I put all of my creative energy into painting baseboards.

giving thanks

We are making a last BIG push to get our house ready enough to move in, hopefully before Christmas. That means Husband has been going from his day job to what has become his second job at the house almost daily, and I am pulling solo-parenting duty. I know a lot of you can relate to how draining taking care of kids with no break can be...it's just harder, so I haven't had much time for this space lately. Nor have I had time for much creativity. I don't want to sound ungrateful though! We are surviving just fine and I can handle some loneliness knowing this short life phase will bring us a HOME. Good grief, I have everything to be grateful for, really. 

And YOU are a part of what I have to be thankful for.... I appreciate every single comment and friendship I have made through this space. You are all awesome, really, truly!

I wanted to let you know that this weekend I am running a 25% off sale in the shop with the code BLACK25. All proceeds will be donated to The Children's Justice Center, an organization devoted to helping abused children feel safe and loved. Also, today is the last day to enter the $50 shop giveaway, on the blog or instagram. I will be announcing the winner on that post later today.

Have a lovely weekend!

shop update: holiday collection 2012 + a GIVEAWAY (closed)

The 2012 Holiday Collection is in the shop! I am proud to offer many darling options to dress your little one this holiday season... and as a THANK YOU for your support and all around awesomeness I am offering a $50 shop credit to one of you! For a chance to win simply repost the picture above on your blog and leave a comment here with a link, or on your instagram with the hashtag #hsvintageholiday. If you follow me on instagram (@stacyhartsew) I will be posting the picture there, so you can take a screenshot. The winner will be announced on Black Friday. Good luck!

UPDATE: Congratulations to @katiesgrasso, winner of the $50 shop credit! Thanks to everyone who entered.

In the meantime, you can use coupon code: HSVINTAGEHOLIDAY for 15% off! 

Oh, and also somewhere in the middle of those pictures down there is, ahem... underwear. Yep, the dreaded vintage underwear. It was bound to happen eventually, right? I thought I may as well throw them in for the holidays. I promise they were not, shall we say, well used - they really are cute! ha ha... Sometimes I don't even know how I end up with these things ;)

White + Red Pointelle Dress//Mod Plaid Dress

Gold Button Jumper//Large Collar Plaid Dress

Bird Romper//Red + Black Plaid Pants

 Plaid Blouse//Red Peter Pan Collar Dress

Candy Stripe Dress//Lace Yoke Dress

 Navy Blue Velvet Romper//Flower Corduroy Jumper

 Green Plaid Smocked Dress//Red Floral Dress

 Red Hearts Dress//Strawberry Dress

Maroon Velvet Dress//Red Lace Nightgown

Bloomer Lot 1//Bloomer Lot 2

Undies Lot 1//Undies Lot 2 

Petticoat 1//Brown Plaid Dress

Petticoat 2//Petticoat 3

Red Striped Flannel Pajamas//Red Blue Plaid Dress

 Plaid Romper//Red Overalls

 Rick Rack Plaid Dress//Red Velvet Jumper

Leaf Pointelle Sweater//Red Polka Dot Dress

Soldier Outfit//Green Plaid Eyelet Lace Dress

Happy Holidays!!!