And today is the day that Gabe and hos class get to tour Matilda Jane. Little nervous about that one!  Okay, a lot! They have been to so many cool places from the Court House to the coldest freezer ever at McDonald’s to Vera Bradley.  For those of you who have been to 435 Art Fair know we lay pretty low. We are certainly more a warehouse than a place of “show and tell”. Gabe assured me as long as I had lots of cookies it would be the best field trip ever.  I’ll keep you posted on that! Wish me some luck.

I  imagined really liking the women but never knew I would fall in love with them this much.

I knew that this experience would be life changing but I didn’t know that that it would not only be changing their lives but mine too. Working with these ladies and hearing their stories has resulted in one of the best weeks of my life…and I’m sure that sounds crazy since being here I haven’t found much food that I enjoy and I am pretty sunburned. It’s funny though…Saturday was the first day that I went without sunscreen and it was also the first day that the sun was out all day.

Yesterday, after going to the Memorial Museum, we went and had lunch at one of the ladies’ house. Surprisingly, we had the best food we have had since being in Rwanda! I am also not a tea drinker but they made us some traditional African tea and it was AMAZING! At the end of the meal, in the African culture, you are supposed to give a little speech to the host to say thank you. So, Kayla, Alicia, and I got up and said a little something to the ladies and to thank them for everything they have done and for welcoming us with open arms. We also brought them a little MJC for them to wear and I have never seen such excitement in all my life. These women have never owned anything new in their ENTIRE lives! We put together a couple outfits for each of them and delivered them in Joey bags, a pretty simple gift but to them we have just brought them “one of the best days of their lives,” as many of them kept telling us.

Being in Africa has been a very humbling experience. Living in America has never seemed like anything special…it is just life (not that I am not grateful, cause I am…very much!) . But being here has taught me that I am a very materialist, selfish, well off individual who takes the things that I have for granted.  I have everything I need to live my everyday life while they are here dreaming about that life. BUT it is through this trip that we are bringing them hope. Hope in change, from where their lives are now to what they could be. I see the hope they have for their families, to be able to properly provide for them and to offer them a better future. I see this hope–through the way they carry themselves, from seeing them more and more confident as each day passes, and seeing how they open up with us a little more each day…and it makes it all the harder to leave!

I wish I could form the words express to you everything that I am feeling. Everything that we have been seeing and experiencing for the past week. If I could bring you all here to see for yourselves, I would!

We also got the chance to snap a few photos with some really cute kids from the neighborhood…and about two seconds after this photo about 100 kids came running over wanting their picture too…it definitely made my day!

I hope that I haven’t jumped around too much! Can’t wait to come back and share so much more about our trip with you guys…so many photos to share too!

-Kiara

• Our shared love of Diet Cokes from McDonald’s- I come by it honestly! She just gets it that Diet Coke tastes better from McDonald’s (sorry, Dad!).
• She graduated with her Ph.D last December! Not only that, but while she was writing her dissertation she still worked at her regular job, she helped planned the most amazing wedding ever for my sister, and she took care of my grandfather when he was extremely ill for a period of time. She is SUPER WOMAN!!!
• Our little code words and inside jokes that no one else would even think are slightly funny, but we can laugh about them until we cry. (HGA??!)

  

• Even though my sister and I are all grown up now, she still goes out of her way to make holidays, and even just normal days special. For the first time ever, I didn’t get to see her on Easter morning this year. So she made arrangements and gave my Easter basket to my friend’s mom whose family I ate dinner with- so that I could still have an Easter basket on Easter. Isn’t that the cutest?
• And lastly, but most importantly, the thing I love the most about her is that she is MY mom. She is the only person in the world I can just sit down with and unload everything to- the good, the bad, and the ugly. I can talk to her about things that I am so excited about, but I can’t tell anyone about yet so that if it doesn’t work out I won’t have looked dumb in front of everyone. I can act completely ridiculous and silly with her, or tell her how completely overwhelmed I am by life and how I hate that I can’t control it- without having to worry about keeping it all together in front of her. Even when I’m not with her, one of these talks over the phone makes me feel better than a thousand new pairs of shoes or trips to Zesto for ice cream could make me feel! She always knows exactly what to say (or what not to say), even if it is something I don’t feel like hearing at the time! And I have definitely been finding out lately that she is pretty much ALWAYS right. There, Mom, I said it- You were right!!

I feel so crazy blessed and lucky and everything else to have realized NOW while I’m still young just how awesome my mom is. I am not normally a sentimental or emotional type of person, but right now I’m totally tearing up- she’s that good!! And maybe all of you lucky ladies coming to Art Fair will get the chance to meet her. I think she is just as excited for it as the ladies who have little girlies to buy for!

Happy Mother’s Day to all!! I hope you have the most amazing weekend ever!

love, desi

First off , three of our very lovely MJC Gals are leaving for Africa today. For TWO WHOLE WEEKS! We’re going to miss them around here. Safe travels girls, we’ll be thinking of you!

Second, I got to spend the afternoon with the most important little guy in my life, my son Lincoln. He had his Kindergarten  Mother’s Day Tea today. It was so cute and I had a really great time.

They preformed the play “Jack and the Bean Stalk” for all of us Moms. Lincoln was the giant, he only had three lines, but man did he deliver them…lol. We had a fun little questionnaire that the kids filled out for us. It had little questions like favorite color, movie, song, activity, etc. I have to tell you that Lincoln knows me pretty well, I think he guessed almost two thirds of my answers right. It made me realize that I must talk about Vampire Diaries an awful lot!….lol. We also had snack time and by that I mean “SWEETS” time. Lets just say that I am happy he is going home with his dad tonight, because he is all jacked up on sugar….lol!

Then it was present time; my favorite part! Don’t get the wrong idea, I do love getting presents, but this was my favorite part because Lincoln was so excited about me seeing what they had made. His smile would have melted an iceberg on a freezing day! He was so proud. The class painted little canvas banners using there hand prints. They also painted tea cups. Mine is purple and pink, my two favorite colors! He did such a good job on it I can’t wait to put it to good use.

I can’t say that I have gotten a whole lot of work done today, but sometimes it is nice to slow down and enjoy the little things.  I know that it was only two hours out of an afternoon, but it is a memory that Lincoln and I can share for years to come.

Have a great weekend! Go make some memories!

xoxo

<3

Carrie

I loved reading everyone’s responses, and a few even had me almost in tears! I think that Lauren’s words that she would speak to her children summarize what everyone said, and I could imagine even saying them to my younger self:

I am a new “Jane” and I’m in LOVE!! BUT… I, too, need to slow down and seize the day more often! I have 3 beautiful children that remind me more often than not that they growing and getting bigger. My four year old tells me that he can’t wait to drive and my two year old tells me that he wants to be big so he can chew gum! I want to say, No, just love being your age and in time it will all come but for now: love that u are four and that you get to help daddy now the grass by sitting in his lap and steer and to my two year old: love that u can now officially say you wear big boy underwear and not diapers. Finally, to my 6 month old baby girl: You must Always and forever wear Matilda Jane! Lol…or just love being a girl and be comfortable in your own skin because it’s perfect the way God made you! So, I say all this to say: I’m going to slow us down to enjoy that ages and stages we are in…and…we will also be going to the pool almost everyday!

Congratulations, Lauren! Just email Kiara at KiaraA@matildajaneclothing.com with your info, and she will send your hobo bag right out to you!

love, desi

http://blog.thegoodones.com/here-we-go-again/

“You must not ever stop being whimsical. And you must not, ever, give anyone else the responsibility for your life.”

-Mary Oliver

One of my favorite things lately has been using Instagram to capture my favorite things- anything that is happy and whimsical and instantly makes me smile- it’s getting Instagrammed! My favorite place in the entire world (my apartment), my 90 lb puppy, the first flowers of spring, my niece (actually my bff’s daughter, but more like a niece! And she is going to be a big sister next month!), everything! I realized that since I moved to Fort Wayne last summer, my life has been just one big blur and flurry of activity. First it was July, and then it was Thanksgiving, and now it’s almost time for Art Fair??? How did this happen?! So I decided last week that every single chance I get I am going to force myself to slow down and just appreciate the little things that I’ve been rushing through.

I think I’ve got the always being whimsical part down pretty good- there’s nothing I love more than a little silliness in the middle of being serious. But the taking responsibility for my own life- and not letting my own life be so busy that it passes me by- I am definitely going to be working on that. Starting yesterday. So thank you, Mary Oliver, for penning those words that have already begun changing my life.

And because I’m looking at the shelf where the hobo bags live, and we haven’t done a contest in a while, how about a hobo bag giveaway?! Just leave a comment sharing one way that you plan on slowing down and enjoying this summer, and I’ll pick a lucky lady on Monday to receive a braaaand neeewww hobo bag!!

Happy Weekend!

love, desi

]]> http://matildajaneblog.com/a-little-whimsy/feed/ 124 http://matildajaneblog.com/one-fine-day-and-a-little-fate/ http://matildajaneblog.com/one-fine-day-and-a-little-fate/#comments Thu, 26 Apr 2012 13:58:51 +0000 Denise http://matildajaneblog.com/?p=4010 We were getting ready to grab a cab last night taking our time dragging our tired, dirty bodies down the airport corridor and I noticed a girl who looked so familiar. I’ve never met her but I really thought I knew her. We were a few steps behind her and a gentleman, when I realized maybe it was Jeff (First trip to China) and Emily. So I casually said “Jeff” in a little higher than normal voice. The rest is just a great happy story.

Jeff and Emily will be here till Saturday so we are hoping to meet up tomorrow night. Those of you who may not know Jeff, he hung out with us on our first trip to Shanghai. He just happened to be here at the same time and good thing cuz we would’ve been lost without his guidance and few, very few, Chinese words.

Now we are just boarding the train for Changzhou after 3 hours of sleep. At least we got a shower and are clean! I sure wish the plane was even 1/2 as comfy as the train. Just wishing.

Now a problem. They announced the Changzhou station while I was typing but I swear it never stopped. Carla and I are laughing so hard we totally missed our train stop. So we are heading to Najing, wherever that may be. Wow! Here’s to new adventures.
This is so funny trying to figure out how to get back. And it’s a good thing Carla is a chatterbox.

Mission 1/2 way complete. Got off train and they said to get back on train. So here we sit with the cleaners and the seat mover. Yup, I said seat mover. The train does not turn around but the seats too. She literally walked the train and flipped them all around facing the opposite direction. Crazy. Well, lights just went off, train quiet and here we sit in seats that we have no tickets for. I’m just following instructions of “Get back on train.”

Stay tuned….

We stepped off the plane and it was foreign territory.  It is quite crazy how you need a cab driver to take you where you need to go. We simply showed him an email with directions and trusted we’d get there. No worries, we did, but the entire time we were talking about trust and cab drivers. It’s a funny thing.

We had a quick meeting and for the past 4 hours we’ve just been strolling around the fanciest mall.  Ya, you gotta love Carla trying on a pair of $15,000 pair of earrings for fun and me saying “you totally need to buy them”.  Seriously, who just walks in a store and spends 15k? Better yet, who spends 15k in one day? Certainly not me.

Now we are sitting in a hotel Lobby. Yup, just sitting.  Luckily the chairs aren’t too comfortable or else I’d certainly be fast asleep.  The view is amazing as you can see….well actually you can’t because I can’t get this photo to upload.

Oh, oh, there’s a Walmart across the street. So weird to see that. A little scary in the sense Walmart is everywhere!  We’re gonna venture over there in a bit.  I admit I’m quite interested in seeing what’s inside.  I watched a story on CNN once and it looked like a bunch of fish and weird live animals. Hmmm let’s see.

Tomorrow we head to Changzhou on the fast train (which we think we r super cool). It is seriously so fast. And as Carla keeps reminding me, we get to sit in First Class. This is a big deal cuz we can’t afford first class on the plane but hey, we can on the train!

And that’s about all I have to say today besides I am so super tired.
-Denise

I went home, cried, broke a few nic nacs (I have plenty to spare, trust me!), took a muscle relaxer and slept for 5 hours. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt so disappointed in myself, not to mention worried for one of the people I love, admire, and care about most in this world–Denise! I hated imagining her alone on the 14 hour plane, although I knew she would make friends. She makes friends everywhere she goes, but she didn’t even get the window seat. I know it sounds like a small thing, but I know how much she loves that spot. And there’s always a comfort in the familiar. Ugh, I hated not being able to give that to her.

On the bright side of all of this, I now get to bring Lauren to China even sooner. Much sooner. As in FRIDAY! Denise and I were texting and making a plan the moment she landed in Detroit, our favorite airport to fly out of.  Denise didn’t feel comfortable going over the Spring 2013 line alone, so we decided I would fly out as soon as I can get Lauren a Passport, a visa, and myself a new visa! This is going to be a very busy week for us.

So now we have an appointment in Chicago at the passport agency for 9:30 AM tomorrow and I’m driving to Chicago for the first time. Heck, if I can go to China with Lauren and be the leader for once then driving to Chicago should be a breeze, right?

Wish me luck, you guys!

LOVE,

SAM

Some of you might be wondering whether or not you want to bring the kiddos. I know they would have a great time at the pre-party and if you could bring along Dad or a babysitter for Saturday(so you can shop and not have to worry about the kiddos) we have a really great Children’s Zoo. I always have a great time when I take the kids. There are over 1,000 animals and fun rides for the kids. There is also a nice park that you could go to for lunch if you want to pack a picnic lunch. We have Science Central which is a great place for kids to learn and have a great time. On Saturday night the kids could go to a Tin Caps game. They are our local baseball team and the Stadium is amazing. It is also within walking distance of the hotels.

Now if you like to eat as much as I do then you need to check out Pint and Slice. It is on Calhoun street right in the middle of the city. If you plan on staying at one of the Hotels in the city then you will be  within walking distance. I’m thinking that maybe after a morning of shopping you might want to grab a slice of pizza for lunch. We also have the Friendly Fox which is on South Wayne. The have great soups and sandwiches. My all time favorite is the Mad Anthony Brewing Company…they have the best Vegetarian hamburgers in town (don’t worry the have great beef one’s too for all you carnivores out there). For breakfast Cindy’s Diner is a must. Be warned though, it is tiny in there (I think only about 15 bar stools), but so worth the wait.

Regardless of what you do in your spare time while visiting in Fort Wayne I am sure that you will have a great time. I know that I am looking forward to meeting all of you and spending some time with your families.  Art Fair will be a great time for families or just a great girls weekend whatever you decide to do.

xoxo

<3

Carrie

Yep she keeps me busy. But man the stuff we’ve been busy with has been the prettiest stuff EVER. I mean it. I know I should bite my tongue, but Spring 2013 might be my new favorite. Don’t tell Serendipity! Especially when there’s even MORE cuteness to be released soon! Just you wait for those Jane Exclusives…

LOVE,

SAM

Even though we Platinum girls don’t get to play too much with Serendipity or any of the Trunk Show line, we still LOVE every single piece that comes out, and we are always dreaming up combos of Platinum and regular MJC. So we thought in the spirit of mixing and matching this week, we would share some of our favorite Plat/MJC outfits!

PLATINUM: Hostess Flutter Top SERENDIPITY: Scrappy Leggings & Dizzy Leggings

PLATINUM: Gypsy Ruffle Pants SERENDIPITY: Vanilla Dot Top & Mint Tulip Top

PLATINUM: Lala Ruffles SERENDIPITY: Jane Exclusive Smoothie Tank & Celery 2 Tank

We hope we’ve sparked an idea of some fresh, cute, and spunky outfits for you little ones to wear this spring  and summer! And remember we ALLLLWAYS love seeing what YOU come up with! I just heard Sam say a couple of days ago that she would have never thought of wearing the Xanadu dress with skinny jeans until she saw someone’s post on Facebook. And guess what she was wearing when she said that… The Xanadu dress and skinny jeans!

Have an amazing and wonderful weekend!!!

love, desi

There have been lots of emails going back and forth, samples being sent to the seamstress, final decisions being made, and lots of talk of excitement as we are down to just 23 days until we get on the plane for our long trip to Kigali. We have gotten a couple videos of the ladies that we can’t wait to share with you guys! Also, with the videos, we got some photos of several of the ladies. Seeing the women’s faces makes this all so real, we are really traveling across the world, we are really taking two weeks of our lives to change theirs. I have never been in their shoes, my life has never been at risk, I have never been without the necessities of our day to day lives, in fact, I haven’t even gone a day with ONLY the necessities. But these woman have, they have moved from place to place seeking safety, they have lost loved ones because of violence, they have had to face days not knowing if there would be food to feed their families. The work we bring them will not take all of these past struggles away, but it will give them the money they need to provide for their families. I also hope to bring these women a sense of pride. Pride in the fact that they made it through their tailoring program and pride in their work that we are so excited to share with you guys!

This will be my second trip with MJC. My first was to Chicago to visit one of our seamstresses for Platinum. That trip was a lot of fun, it was just me, Desi, David, Kayla, and one of our summer interns at the time (“Sophie Kayla”). We have so many memories from that one day trip so (this is also the day Desi and I became true friends…love that girl!), I can only imagine how many more I will have from this two week journey! I am pretty excited to get to hang out with Kayla and Alicia for those two weeks. I don’t get to spend much time with them- they stay pretty busy in the office, and we are always busy in Platinum! So having time to work one on one with them and also just getting to know them will be a new and  exciting experience.

The three of us all got notebooks to write in during our trip and I plan on writing down as much as I can. I also plan on taking tons of photos that I will be sure to share with you guys when we get back! I really don’t know what to expect but I do hope to get a lot out of this trip. I hope to fall in love with all the women, learn as much as I can about their culture and lives, and makes as many memories as possible. And obviously to teach them how to sew all the items…our whole reason for going! I am sure this trip with be unforgettable and I can’t wait for this whole journey to begin!

Thank you to those who have and continue to supported our trip!

-Kiara

P.S. I watched Hotel Rwanda last weekend and I was told it was going to scare me out of going, and while it was the saddest movie I have ever seen, (if I was a crier I would have definitely been in tears) I am still excited and anxious to go!

ALSO, I am working on an “Africa Playlist” to listen to on our way there…any ideas? So for I only have two songs, “Africa” by Toto and “This time for Africa/Waka Waka” by Shakira…I really LOVE both songs, don’t judge!  : )

We are going to my mom’s farm on Saturday. She just got 10 new baby chicks, so cute! We are going to have a huge Easter Egg Hunt, so I hope the weather stays nice. We even have family coming up from Texas. I am really looking forward to it.

What I am most excited about is seeing all the little kiddos in their Easter Best. I’m pretty excited for Lincoln to bust out some TGO. I’m thinking Gentleman’s Western Shirt and Haberdash Tie! How cute! For P, I’m not quite sure MJC or Platinum that is the question?…lol What a dilema right? Do you have any Easter traditions? What are you dressing your little cuties in? Post some Pics to the MJC FB or The TGO one for those handsome little guys. I love seeing your pics.

I have lots to get done today, so I will keep this short and sweet.  I’m doing duty today for  TGO and Platinum. Desi is off today to prepare for her debut in a huge Easter performance at her church. BREAK A LEG DESI! I was supposed to go but today is also my boyfriend Mike’s B-Day! Happy Birthday Baby! I love you!

Have a very Happy Easter!

xoxo

<3

Carrie

And this weekend marked my 23rd birthday. I can hardly believe it. I remember being 17 and just hoping, waiting, and wishing to be 21, you know the age where you’re actually considered an adult! And now I’m 23 and I feel the same, I want to be even older! Isn’t that strange??

I think it’s because everyone I work with is older than me, and they make growing up seem like fun. I never knew I wanted to have a family until I met Denise and David, Becky and Adam, Sara and Nick… They have all inspired me to believe growing up is great as long as you have wonderful people to share it with.

And I certainly have the best people to share the future with. This year was my favorite birthday to date. My best friend Megan made it the perfect weekend for me, from having a cookout at her house, doing arts and crafts to decorate (SHE IS NOT CRAFTY LET ME TELL YOU), and getting me….EIGHT PAIRS OF SHOES. Yes, she’s amazing. And not just yesterday, but all the time. I’ve said it a million times the past few days, but I am the luckiest.

LOVE,

SAM

Paisley Cheyenne is my 3 going on 13 year old. She is a little firecracker and not just because her birthday is in July. This girl is full of  wonderment.  I have never had anyone keep me on my toes quite the way that she does. She is so smart and doesn’t forget a single thing I say, so if I promise something, I better deliver or she calls me out every time.

She is my little helper. She loves to cook, clean, or fold laundry. On special days when she gets to come to work with me she’s the little Platinum helper. She spends time with all the Platinum girls during her visits. She often helps Viv ship, hands buttons to Desi, gives stickers to me as I pack, but most of all she likes to spend time on the cutting table with Kiara. I think today she negotiated with Kiara to be the summer intern…lol. I’m pretty sure she has them all wrapped around her finger.

Some of  my favorite moments with her are when I am getting ready in the morning and she sits with me and plays with my makeup.  The other day she had on a tank top and white tights, for some reason she thinks that tights are pants….lol. I was getting ready to go out and she set with me to play in my makeup. She put on neon pink, purple, and blue eyeshadow, when she was finished she looked like a singer from a bad 80′s hair band. It was so funny. She was having a great time though and I live for those moments with her.

Paisley is a constant source of laughter and light in my life. She is rarely in a bad mood and always has a kiss or hug to share. One smile from her and you will be a pool of goo at her feet.

xoxo

<3

Carrie

But really I have BOAT LOADS to tell you. Let’s start with Spring 2013. I’m sitting at Denise’s desk at her house just staring at it. Ha. Right now it’s just 30 or 40 fabrics printed on paper, but it’s sooo pretty and girly feeling. And lots of colors. Even purples! Doesn’t it sound like we are off to a good start on it? Now all I have to do is wait for Denise to come back home so we can start designing! Yep, she told me I had to wait for her. Truthfully I’d never consider starting without her. We’re a team, aren’t we? And I think we’re best when we’re together.

Since I’m not allowed to spend my time working on Spring 2013, I’ve really had my eye on Art Fair! We have so much cut already for it. And so much sewn too! Boxes and boxes of it upstairs. And seriously, whenever Kiara is layering ANYTHING for Platinum, there is definitely 1 or 2 Art Fair pieces being layered at the same time. So we are literally receiving Art Fair pieces back everyday. Isn’t that exciting?? Art Fair is my favorite time of year. I love it when all of us at 435/433 are focused on one thing—a successful, fun, and memorable event FOR YOU! The people, the food, the clothing, the games, the parties…the karaoke!? Yep, we are having karaoke at the adult party on Saturday so you will NOT want to miss that!

And since I plan on blogging much more often while Denise is out of town, I’m going to end here. I don’t want to use up all my GOOD content in one blog, now do I?

LOVE, SAM