a berry sweet gift {birthday party dress}

I love birthdays, I love hand embroidery, and I love vintage designs. So what do you get when you combine all three? Major cuteness!

I should be saving these photos until AFTER the little pumpkin's birthday, but I can't help myself I'm so excited about her outfit and all the love that went into it that I just have to share...and journal a little bit about it too so that when I FINALLY get around to printing our blog book it'll be recorded for Grace to read about one day.

So let me begin with the piece that started it all:

My good friend Angel of TaDa Creations made that sweet little apron as a gift for Grace! Three years ago when Grace was born our lives crossed paths when I bought a dress Angel designed and from there we became friends. I'd say 90% of the cuteness in Grace's closet came from Angel - he, he, he. She's one talented designer, a loving mother and wife, and most importantly one of the nicest, Godly women you'll ever meet. She's got a super fun blog too - check it out HERE, you'll love it! When the package arrived, Grace was awestruck. She flashed me one of those sweet, sheepish, I'm-so-excited-I'm-about-to-start-jumping-up-and-down smiles I love so much. Then she said, "I looooooove it. It's my favorite. Thank you!" in the sweetest southern drawl you'll ever hear. So from the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU ANGEL!!!

Now, she can't just wear an apron and nothing else, right? So in comes Noonie to the rescue! She made THE sweetest dress for Grace to wear.
I. LOVE. IT!!! And Grace said she's ready to wear her strawberry dress and "twirl, twirl, twirl until I'm dizzy". This was another one of those "I have a project for us, mom!"...and then my only contribution to the sewing: these cute little buttons. THANK YOU, THANK YOU NOONIE!!! We will cherish this dress forever! Cheesy as it may sound, I LOVE that her birthday outfit was made by hand with so much love by such special people.

And finally, a few little details...sort of like the icing on the cake. I LOVE how sweet these little piggy tail bows turned out. There's just nothing cuter than little girls wearing piggy tail bows...except maybe little girls in knee socks :)

And I'm over the moon happy with two super great deals I've scored lately. I lucked out and found a pair of brand new red puddle jumpers in Grace's next size for just $15! We love puddle jumpers around here!

And then, I found a pair of my most favorite Target sandals ever for just $1.75 on ebay!!! This is my fourth pair to purchase - that's how much I love them :)

So we're all set. Can't wait to see the little pumpkin dressed up in her sweet birthday outfit...now, the turning 3 part? I'm in no hurry for that one. My little baby is turning 3! Where did time go? *sniff, sniff*