shops update....

Happy Monday!
Another beautiful day today. I feel blessed and very thankful just to be alive. Lots of fun stuff are planned for this week. It's a big week for me. The vintage shop is opening this week. I am planning for this Wednesday. I'm trying to polish up few little details tonight and tomorrow then DG Vintage is back to business this Wednesday evening! Yay for me.

If you love vintage jewelries, you definitely want to check out DG Vintage. LOTS of beautiful vintage jewelries will be listed this week. As always, I keep my prices reasonable. As a single mom, I know how challenging it is sometimes to juggle budgets buying neccessities while still have extra cash to look fabulous! Don't worry friends, you'll find prices on my vintage jewelries to be very budget friendly! And since you will be buying vintage jewelries, you can almost be sure that yours is one-of-a-kind!

Another update is that I am going to put DGD shop on hold for now. Sad decision but it is for the better. I'll be reopening my baby shop, Max and Olivia, between March-April this year. After much considerations, I am planning to focus my time and energy on my vintage and baby shop at the moment. The plan is to grow Max and Olivia into a baby + mommy online boutique. And that's going to take a whole lotta work lol! I am doing everything on my own while raising a toddler, living with 6 dogs, and holding a full-time office job. So, it's going to be a crazy busy for me.

Max and Olivia will not only carry pretty little things for babies but also for mommies too! Chic diaper totes, diaper wristlets, to-go pouches, some make-up bags for pretty mommies! They would make wonderful baby shower gifts not only for the baby but for the momma too. Why not make baby and momma happy, right ^__^

So, that's all the update for you right now. See you tomorrow!

Welcome February!

Say hello to February :)

Can you believe we are entering the second month of the year already? I am so very excited for this new month. Here's why:
**I am reopening my vintage shop
**Valentine's Day is this month!
**Lots of plans for decorating the house with my vintage finds
**Taking a break from spending major money to fix my vintage home!
**Visiting Lakeland to go to the annual sewing expo later this month.

So, yes my vintage shop is reopening this month! Yay
I have lots of cool vintage finds to list. If you love vintage, make sure you check out my vintage shop! I plan on slowly to reopen my two other shops in March - April of this year.
Things are kinda hectic at the house now, friends, so bear with me.

Yay for Valentine's Day this month. This year, I am going to celebrate the special day with my lovely daughter, Audrey. She is my forever Valentine. Not sure of what we're going to do yet. Perhaps we'll hang some pink pom-poms in her rooms and have special dinner at home for just the two of us. Or maybe we'll watch Elmo and Strawberry Shortcake movies.

As a vintage lover, you can almost certain that I have lots of vintage finds laying all over the house. Well, yes. Sorta. Almost everything in my house is vintage. I do mix them with modern pieces, however. Perhaps I should post pictures.....mmm....

Last year, I spent lots and lots of money: buying and fixing a vintage home. I managed to find a good house for great price so I paid cash for it. But the house did require some fixes, which cost money.
This year, I would like to earn those money back. I want to prepare a brighter future for my daughter. I'd like to provide her with everything she needs. Simple as that.

Ok friends, I need to start working on my to-do list!
I'll let you know when my vintage shop is opening okay :)

via happythings.tumblr.com

on being a mommy.....

Nothing says tough work like being a mommy. I am not only a mommy to my precius little angel, Audrey (who just turned 2) but also to my six fur babies. It's a constant work. All day. Everyday.

Thanks heaven I have a healthy toddler.
My fur babies, however, are not doing so well lately. Peanut, my little chihuahua, was just diagnosed with tumor. Charlie, one of my black labs, is having issues with his internal organ. Both of them have lost significant weight in the last year.
Then last weekend, Chewy, one of my little chihuahuas, was accidently attacked by Charlie. I almost died when I saw her laying helpless in the driveway. Bleeding from her head. We had to take her to the ER vet last Saturday. She spent 2 nights at the ER. On Monday, I transfered her to my regular vet, Monument Road Animal Hospital (which is VERY, VERY awesome! highly recommend it!!! Dr Wilson is my favorite vet! Ever. The staff are super friendly and helpful). They monitored her progress and fed her foods. She came home last night and ate foods I gave her. I put her in my master bathroom and she walked around in there. I signaled her to sit on my lap and she did just that. What a good girl she was!! So proud of her improvement in short period. I hope she will keep doing better. I know she will. She is a fighter!!

I love being a mommy. Seeing my little babies happy. Giving them endless love. I'm tired 24/7/365. I am just human, so yes I complain sometimes and I am far from perfect. I make mistakes. There are days when I want to pull my hair. Or scream to the top of my lung. But when I sit down to catch my breath and look at my babies, I know that they love me too... endlessly.
Being a mommy: Love, love, love it!

33 reasons I love being a mother

1. Playing doll is totally acceptable.

2. Acting silly is fun again. 

3. I get to watch Disney's Princess movies over and over and over and over again. Or Strawberry Shortcake. 

4. Spending almost $500 on Walt Disney World's annual pass is perfectly justified.

5. I get to ride Dumbo and Mad Tea Party without getting weird stares from strangers.

6. Baby talk is actually fun. 

7. Tea party is twice as fun. 

8. Don't have to feel guilty about buying cupcakes cause you know I'll be sharing them with the babe. 

9. I get to create my own make-believe stories. 

10. Having a messy house is totally excused.

11. I read more children's book. 

12. I won't be alone for the next 18 years. 

13. Strolling around the toy aisles is totally fine now. 

14. My house has  more colors. 

15. Playing legos is fun again. 

16. Teaching the babe new words is precious. 

17. Buying cute little clothes that I wish my mom had bought for me when I was little. 

18. My baby is one of the reasons I take photography as my new hobby.

19. Therefore, I have the perfect excuse for spending $2200 on a camera. 

20. Pushing stroller at a park has become a new form of exercise. 

21. Who knew peek-a-boo could be so much fun!

22. I have an instant friend. 

23. Don't have to sleep alone at night. 

24. Everyday is a new learning day. 

25. Realizing that I am on earth for a reason or two. 

26. All of the sudden I look 10x cuter holding a cute baby in my arms. 

27. I eat more veggies and fruits. 

28. We get our own lane at the airport check-in line! awesome. 

29. Taking naps on weekend is totally cool. 

30. Realizing that I have so much love to give. 

31. Learning the new meaning of love. 

32. It's a good feeling knowing that someone is always happy to see you at the end of the day. 

33. Realizing that my life has a whole new dimension to it. 

been awhile.....

It has been a long while since last I blogged here. So much going on. Baby had her 100th day celebration in New York; then she turned four months; new daycare...

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately. About work, life and everything else. I don't know. I think I've got to the point in life where I am seriously asking myself: where do you want to go from here? what do you want to do? how are you going to do it? Ok wow this is deep.

Well. Memorial Day weekend is coming up. We don't have much planned. There is a Jazz Festival in town we plan to attend but that's because it's free. The zoo is also running buy-one-get-one special, so we might go. Other than that, I've got lots of crafting to do to stock up my shops.

Also another thing I'd like to mention is my plan to host an online fundraising to help Ayden Driggers. Who is he? Ayden is a 5-week old little boy who was born with a birth defect: a hole in his heart. My goal is to raise between $500 - $1000 to help his family pay for the medical bill. The plan is that I am going to donate every single penny my 3 Etsy shops make until the $500 - $1000 donation is met or until June 15th. So 100% of the proceeds from everything people buy at my Etsy shops from now through June 15th will go to the Driggers. You can read more the story of little Ayden here. I don't know the Driggers personally and I am doing this just because I would like to help. As a mom, I just cannot imagine myself being in Ayden's mom's shoes. So, please spread the word about my fundraising plan. Post on your blog, facebook, or tweet, I'd appreciate that so much.

Will post again tomorrow!

back to work...

this mommy is tired....

I really am. Today was my 3rd day coming back to work. Still not liking it. I missed my baby so much throughout the day. Saying goodbye in the morning is the hardest thing to do. I get teary-eyed everytime I think about it...

not looking forward to this...

I am going back to work this coming Monday. Baby Audrey has to go to the daycare. We're not looking forward to this. Monday is going to be a long day. For both of us. I have prepared all the things baby Audrey is going to need for her first day at the center. I hope they'll take a good care of her.

praise Jesus....

I seriously don't know what to say right now other than Praise Jesus, the Blessed Mother, and St.Anthony for interceding my prayers!! I spent sleepless night praying and Lord have mercy on me for He has helped my baby, Audrey, to get through the worst time and to keep her safe.

MRI result came back very good. The fluid that was shown during cat scan turned out to be crystalized blood from an old injury. Pediatrician confirmed it was an injury that happened when Audrey was delivered. The dr who delivered her had to use a forcep to pull her head out and that caused some kind of head injury to my poor baby. The small skull fracture that was seen on cat scan result is also from that same time. The good thing is the fracture is healing properly.

The fall yesterday didn't result in any major injury other than bruises on Audrey's forehead and knee.

The pediatrician has advised for us to monitor Audrey's development for the next few days. We also need to schedule a follow up visit to the dr's office sometime next week.

For now, the worst is over. Audrey is resting peacefully. She has eaten twice since she woke up from the MRI. They had to sedate her so right now she is feeling pretty drowsy.

From the bottom of my heart, I thank everyone so very much for your kind supports and prayers. They all helped me to get through the worst time. I'll be praying tonight thanking Jesus, the Blessed Mother, and St.Anthony for holding my hands during the tough time and for keeping my baby safe. I know they'll always be there when I need them.

please pray for my baby...

The littlest member of our family is in need of prayers.

She fell off the bed today when I was cooking downstairs. I'll never forgive myself for this accident.

I called the dr's office and they asked me to come in. Doctor checked everything and seemed fine but she recommended a cat scan anyways. So she sent us to the ER. Went to ER; did cat scan; few hours later result came back and they told us that they found liquid on baby's brain. They said looked like from old injury; not from today's accident. Our baby never fell before today. So, doctor told us that the baby would need an MRI. She is now admitted to the hospital. We're here by her side.

I feel so guilty. The fall today was my fault. I still can't believe I made this stupid mistake. I'll never ever forgive myself for this. For all of you who have infants, please NEVER EVER leave your baby unattended. Don't make the same mistake I made today. I didn't realize my baby was capable of pushing herself off the bed.

Please, please, please pray for my baby so that everything will be okay. She is too yoing to go through all these. She just turned 11 weeks old today.
Please pray for her....

----UPDATE----
Wed, April 7, 10:14AM: Baby had to fast for 8 hours (but ended up more like 9 hours) since 4AM. They wanted to do an MRI at 8AM this morning but that didn't happen. They took the baby to have an Xray. Result won't be back until later this afternoon. As of now, MRI is scheduled to be around 2PM.

Wed, April 7, 2:50PM: 20 more mins to MRI.

Wed, April 7, 5:27PM: MRI was done. They had to sedate her. She is back in her room. Audrey just drank some milk. Now she is sleeping. We're waiting on the MRI result, which unfortunately won't be back until sometime tonight *sigh* Your prayers are very much appreciated.

here's to all stay-at-home mothers out there... (i envy you!)

"A Mother's love is something
that no on can explain,
It is made of deep devotion
and of sacrifice and pain,
It is endless and unselfish
and enduring come what may
For nothing can destroy it
or take that love away . . .
It is patient and forgiving
when all others are forsaking,
And it never fails or falters
even though the heart is breaking . . .
It believes beyond believing
when the world around condemns,
And it glows with all the beauty
of the rarest, brightest gems . . .
It is far beyond defining,
it defies all explanation,
And it still remains a secret
like the mysteries of creation . . .
A many splendoured miracle
man cannot understand
And another wondrous evidence
of God's tender guiding hand."

- Helen Steiner Rice (1900 - 1981)

Please stay little....

I became a mom almost two months ago. On January 19th. I gave birth to a baby girl. One single moment and it changed my life forever. I knew it was love at first sight. I knew I would never let her go when I held her in my arms for the very first time. I never thought I could love someone this much.

We named her Audrey.

She is sleeping on our bed, right next to me, as I type this post. I can hear her soft breathing. So precious. I wish I could freeze moment like this. I wish time would stay still a bit longer. I wish forever existed. There is not enough words to describe how much I love this little baby. I thank God each and every day for trusting me with such a miracle. One day she's going to grow up but for now... please stay little....

Wishing you a Happy New Year!

This is it. 2009 is about to go away and very soon we'll be entering a brand new year.

I am very, very excited to welcome 2010 for several reasons. One, because our first baby is due next week. Two, I get to stay home with my baby for 3 months. Three, I am going to sew a lot more when I am home.

I have many goals for 2010 that I would like to achieve and one of them is to be able to craft more handmade lovelies for my shops.

As of right now, I am working on several clutches and bags for my Downtown Girl Designs shop. And as for my baby shop, Max and Olivia, I am working on finishing up several super cool travel changing pads. I haven't found many vintage items for Downtown Girl Vintage shop yet so I haven't been able to list any in a while.

Happy New Year!!!!

so many things to do so little time...

I am 37 weeks pregnant by now. I am excited to welcome our first baby. Up to now, I am still sewing things for my shop. I do get tired faster though so I work in a slower pace now than I used to.

My husband is trying to get my craft room done before Christmas. So far it looks really good already. I am hoping I can start moving all my stuff in there by tomorrow or Christmas morning. Will post pics of the new craft room for sure.
I am very excited about decorating it. I do have most furnitures to go in it ready already--using what I already have mostly. I am sewing the curtains for the windows myself. I am also planning on making my own small floor mat to go under my big sewing table.

Also, since I will be delivering the baby soon, I am planning on taking my maternity leave from my shops to start January 7 or 8 until the baby is born (due date is January 10).

In the meantime, feel free to browse around my Etsy shops. As of right now, I can squeeze in 2 - 3 custom orders in case you'd like to have some custom made baby items or any other handmade goodies.

www.downtowngirldesigns.etsy.com
www.maxandolivia.etsy.com