* * *

* * *

I’ve had a crazy week of working in the studio, which is quite a bit different for me — but I love it! We are elbow-deep making the new products and it’s making me super happy to see our new collection come together. Lisa and Marjorie have been sewing and I’m so thankful for their help. We are working hard to finish in time for the re-launch date: January 23! Not only will we have new styles but we’ll have new products! And an updated website! Everything is turning out to be just beautiful!!!

Here’s a little sneak peek of what’s to come:

The fabrics I’ve selected are fresh + new. I like to describe them as “lovely sophisticated”. After nearly two full years of chasing after this dream full-time I’m so ready for this product + design change, YEOW!

More photos + updates are to come…

HAPPY {almost} WEEKEND!
xoxo

Related posts:

1. {my week in Instagram pics}
2. {2 new Gussy stockings + fun photo shoot pics}
3. {a quick Gussy shop update}

BRRR! The weather has definitely been chilly here in Minneapolis, which makes Christmas feel like it’ll be here so quickly! Lisa, one of my assistants, said she saw snowflakes last week. But I don’t know if I believe her… tee hehe.

Last week we launched our Limited Edition Christmas Stockings — did you see them? They are so cute and festive, but with a fun twist! This is our third year offering stockings and it’s one of my favorite product launches. Each print has limited quantity, it would be amazing to sell out three years in a row!

My parents, big brother and 2 nephews will be here {they live in Michigan!} next weekend to celebrate Thanksgiving with us. I know it would be early, but it would be soooo fun to decorate just a little {–wink!} for Christmas while they’re here ~ hang stockings, add some garland to the mantle, switch out the pumpkins for red and silver ornament clusters. Since moving here Zack and I haven’t been able to celebrate the holidays at our house with family, so this would be such a treat.

Share with us: does your family hang stockings on the mantle? How does your family decorate for the holidays each year?

Related posts:

1. {introducing our limited edition holiday collection!}
2. {Gussy stockings, hung by the fire ♡}
3. {home with the family}

we’re home! we’re home — we’re back in minneapolis! zack & i {and bauer!} have been in michigan for the past 10 days visiting our family and friends, but we are now home. i absolutely loved our trip and all the family time we were able to soak up! above is just a small handful of all the photos and stories and memories we made. we went camping, we stayed at our parent’s houses, we were at a cottage, we had a flat tire, soaked up the michigan sun ~ just to name a few of our adventures :]

i’m excited to share them with you. but first… i need to get some things organized – wink! i’ll be back soon with more updates & photos. yay!

PS. thank you to all my guest bloggers who shared their words with the gussy sews community while we were away: danielle b., erin, cate, casey, amy, mary and danielle h. SMOOCH — thank you all again!!!

♥ just a little reminder that August 1st brings opportunities for sponsorship. let us know if you’re interested in promoting your blog or shop! we have a few small & large ads for the first of the month, as well as an XL ad for August 15 – September 14, which includes an individual feature & giveaway blog post! please email my assistant cambria AT gussysews DOT com if you’d like to sign up!

BE BACK SOON! xo

Source: room269.tumblr.com via Maggie on Pinterest

Source: kellyraeroberts.com via Maggie on Pinterest

Source: kitchenisms.com via Maggie on Pinterest

Source: ohdeedoh.com via Maggie on Pinterest

Source: chiccheapnursery.com via lisaleonard on Pinterest

Hello dear friends — it’s Friday so to keep with the spirit of “I can’t work it’s Friday!” let’s daydream about homes. OK? Sounds like fun to me :] My dream home would be a few minutes from the city with lush green grass all around. In my mind it looks like a 2-story house with all the bedrooms upstairs and a wrap-around porch, and a cute yard in the back for the kiddies. One thing I love about my childhood home is that the upstairs always smells the same — like playtime and daydreams and sunshine pouring in the windows, with a dash of fresh laundry scent. Ask my mom, I often comment how much I love the scent of upstairs :]

Each room in my dream home leads to the other and is very open. There are lots of warm, cozy elements to the home. Blankets and comfy places to sit and read or chat. I also dream of a wall-long bookshelf. Speaking of walls, I see colors like cream or lite lite lite yellow, and hardwood floors with plush rugs/carpet in the bedrooms. I want lots of windows ~ love natural light ~ and I dream of not having to have them covered all the time. In the house we’re renting now there’s 22 windows!!!! Opening the blinds/curtains each morning is a chore. Hah! ♥

A sit-in kitchen would be fun. A craft room tucked away. Plenty of room to play and love.

With Pinterest, it’s so easy to daydream… sigh…

Source: tumblr.com via Rebecca on Pinterest

Source: freshvintage.typepad.com via Marilyn on Pinterest

Source: tumblr.com via Aen on Pinterest

Source: tumblr.com via Aen on Pinterest

What about you? What’s one dream home room look like?
xo.

Related posts:

1. {a peek into our home}
2. {7 pretty things on Sunday}
3. {so sweet to be home in Michigan}

My mom left early this morning and I’ve been re-playing all the fun moments from her week-long visit all day. It was so, so, so great to have her here. We had such BEAUTIFUL weather and spent a lot of time outside with Bauer, playing with him in the yard and sippin’ a Coke while having a good chat ;] Zack grilled for us one night {pork, bell peppers, red potatoes}, we ate out twice, I made homemade meatballs & sauce with pasta for another meal. It was really, really great to spend so much time with her. Our 4 visits a year are never enough.

Since her birthday was last Sunday, while she was here she picked out some fabric and I made her a knitting bag. I can’t wait to share photos of it later this week. It is soooooo cute and I love the color palette she selected. This was the first time she’s seen me sew! I learned while we were living in Detroit, MI and then was still practicing when we moved to Minneapolis. She had an old Gussy pouch in her purse so I made her an updated one and we joked that she could put the original in a vault. Hah! She watched me make her knitting bag from start to finish — it was a pretty special moment for both of us :]

What else did we do? Shopped lots, talked lots, laughed lots, snuggled Bauer lots, sipped Starbucks coffee, put on our make-up together at the kitchen table. I sewed, she knitted.

Despite that I’m sad over the distance between us, I’m celebrating that we were able to have some amazing time together. Love you Mama Gus!

—

Tonight over dinner Zack and I had an impromptu Gussy Sews meeting. I’m excited for this next week of work. My new assistant starts Monday and my energy level is super high!

[Can I just take a minute to say how proud I am of the work we accomplished? I'm sooooo very glad we were able to meet all of my goals.] What’s that word I like to use? Yeow!!!! It’s been a great week and now I’m so ready for our holiday break. Family time, yummy dinners, coffee, giving presents, and of course sleeping at our parent’s houses. It’s going to be amazing.

Gussy Sews is taking some time off — we’ll be closed Dec. 18 through Dec. 27. No sewing ruffles for me! ;] However, what I do have for you will be encouraging and fun. I’ve got some great blog posts scheduled — can’t wait to share those with you!

And, when we get back, I’ll be working on the new tote & laptop bag prints in these colors ~

Uhmmm, yeow.

Happy day to you! xoxo

Related posts:

1. Christmas shopping and lots of visits :)
2. {Christmas tour}
3. {Merry Christmas Eve}

our Northern Michigan summer vacation spot to began our journey downstate. Three hours later we arrived at my parents house. We pulled up their long drive way and in the rear view mirror, as we were parking the car, I saw my mom and 2 nephews standing on the back porch.

Oh my sweet heavens, I haven’t seen these boys since Christmas!!!!

My have they grown :]

…into such handsome, smart, chatty, sunshine-kissed skin boys.

We spent the next hour or so outside. The boys were playing, my dad and Zack were grilling/laying our tent out to dry {it had recently rained and was still damp}, and my mom and I were chatting away.

Look, we even SIT the same way when we chat :]

And wear the same shirt.

The next day we took the boys to the Splash Park. It was super overcast but the boys had fun. They are little BFF’s and I love it!!!

Mom, Collin, Jack & Gussy, at the splash pad:

My parents watch my nephews in the afternoon while my brother is at work, so I got to spend SO much time with them ♥. Since we haven’t seen them in months we arranged to have them stay the night at my parents, too.

Auntie just can’t get enough of them — yeow!!!

The next day Zack and I drove to my parents cottage for the weekend. We took Collin {5-1/2 years} and Jack {almost 2-1/2 years} with us…

Ummm, I felt like a mom the entire time: trying to keep Jack awake so he didn’t fall asleep before lunch/naptime; talking with Collin and answering all his questions; helping Z remember where to turn.

I gave Collin my phone and he snapped some pics of his favorite puppy {and Uncle Zack}:

We’re here!!! Ready to totally relax at the cottage by playing games, sitting in the sunshine, playing in the lake, reading, and grilling out! We’re so thankful to be able to share in our favorite summer activities — for Zack it’s being on the family boat, for me it’s being at the family cottage :]

Yay, big brother Matt is out of work and finally at the cottage with us for the weekend {top left photo: Matt & Jack} –

Sunday evening came and it was time to leave the cottage. We drove back to my parents house, met up with some of our best pals, and then crashed around Midnight!

It’s now Monday morning and we’re back on the road, headed for CHICAGO! We arrived in the city mid-morning and decided to stop for a few hours to break up the drive.

Turns out “a few hours” really meant 4 hours ;]

We hung out in Millennium Park…

…took silly photos,

…grabbed some deeeee-licious pizza at Giordano’s, and then got back on the road.

We drove for hours before we saw the Minneapolis skyline:

So, as a recap –

We drove from Minneapolis to Petoskey to Grand Rapids to Chicago to Minneapolis.

And throughout out summer vacation we…

*drove over 1,200 miles
*slept in 4 different beds
*spent 10 days with family & friends
*and wish we were still there with them all. Huff.

Related posts:

1. {our summer vacation, part 1}
2. {Collin: part 1}
3. {Collin, part 2}

We left Minneapolis earlllllly Saturday morning, early like 4:14am!, and headed northeast towards Wisconsin/Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. I can’t tell you the last time I saw a sunrise, let alone one I saw in the car while driving with my love.

The entire drive was so exciting. Not only we were on our way to visit family & friends, but seeing corn fields, grass, and the fresh air blow in the windows was the.best.ever! Living in the Twin Cities is super fun, but it’s definitely not what Zack and I are used to. We grew up with lakes, pools, cottages, cabins, and lots of sunscreen {OK, maybe not “lots” of sunscreen for Z, but definitely for me!} :]

We finally arrived in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Driving along Lake Michigan felt like home! There were so many cute families swimming at the beach. So many campers driving along… It was great! Zack and I took turns driving, and when I wasn’t driving {or talking} I was reading this book: The Handmade Marketplace. It’s fabulous and a great tool for beginners or establishes handmade businesses.

Yeow — we’re ALMOST on the Mackinac Bridge! Love, love the big white puffy clouds! The worst part is driving on the grated side of the bridge. I don’t like seeing dark blue water foaming underneath our car :]

After spending a night at Zack’s parent’s house we went camping for a few nights! It was so great to breathe in fresh air + have campfires + swim/boat. Michigan at it’s best :]

And look at our cute tent:

One day while camping we went on a 3-hour kayak trip and I spotted this retro white car at the kayak rental shop.

Last summer, also while camping in Michigan, Zack and I {and a ton of his family members} went kayaking together. It was our first trip last year and we can’t wait until we have a garage to buy & store our own kayak. There is an amazing river in Michigan that we went down — so clean and refreshing.

Family!

Camping snacks!

Gorgeous sunsets!

Fires! {and s’mores!}

It’s now Wednesday afternoon — we’re leaving northern Michigan and on to our next stop…

Related posts:

1. {this spring & summer…}
2. {Collin: part 1}
3. {Collin, part 2}

Thank you soooooooooooo much for supporting all the guest bloggers that visited here over the past 10 days. The Gussy community is my favorite ever :]

*If you haven’t read through them now is the time! There are tons of great posts on running a handmade business. Sigh. These pals of mine sure know how to make me happy…!

Here is one photo to get you through — do you know where we are?

OK, fine, one more:

PS. OH MY, it’s almost August…

Related posts:

1. {giveaway day = :] }

I tried so hard to not leave my sewing machine early… I had made a lovely to-do list and since the holiday weekend/my birthday was almost here I knew once I stopped working it would be a few days before I would start at it again. I wanted to work so badly, but Zack had other plans.

We sat down and ordered drinks and stuffed mushrooms {yummm!}, but Zack wouldn’t order anything else.

Hellooooo, please pick something to order, I kept saying…

Then my mom sat down next to me and a half second later I was looking at my dad’s brown eyes.

LET ME JUST MENTION THEY LIVE IN MICHIGAN AND WERE SUDDENLY WITH US IN MINNESOTA!

Surprise!!! Happy birthday, Maggie!, they said to me :]

From then on we spent the rest of the weekend with my parents. And it was so amazing! My dad had never been to our apartment in Minneapolis. We moved here from Michigan so quickly that he wasn’t able to continue on with us after helping to pack up our house. This was a special treat for me — yeow!

Our weekend was full of adventures as we:

* ate lots of ice-cream {at least 1 serving per day, per person}
* rented bikes and rode around Lake Calhoun
* went swimming
* ate a hot dog lunch in the park
* saw Grown Ups {hilarious, by the way}
* shopped the Mall of America
* ate out for nearly every lunch & dinner
* enjoyed coffee and bakery treats and homemade bread in the morning {thanks, mom!}
* stayed up late which resulted in…
* sleeping in and giving each other sleepy morning hugs
* played cards
* had lots of good chats + laughs
* shared inside jokes + stories
* had an impromptu stop at a “Cowboy” bar
* rode on a train
* dodged the rain
* listened to a local Tigers game play
* visited Zack’s work {and the building next door where I used to work}

They took off for Michigan Monday morning and of course I went back to bed so I could dream of our super amazing, incredibly-surprised-to-see-them weekend of fun!

I’ll share what Zack and I did on my birthday later today :]

Related posts:

1. {Giveaway Day :: Sweet Harper}
2. {Giveaway :: Sweet Harper & Gussy!}
3. {preparing for next Monday}

[photo credit]

Related posts:

1. Secrets to a Happy Marriage
2. {Happy Gus}
3. {aww, happy 1 month + a winner}

We are so blessed to have them. We love you, Mom!

Maggie’s favorite memory with her mom:
It seems the older we get the more we have to share. I can easily call my mom with one thing in mind to share and suddenly over an hour has passed and there’s STILL more to talk about. I love how open we are with each other, how we “get” each other. My mom is such a huge part of my life. I’ve noticed, especially because we live father apart than ever before, that if we don’t talk enough I start to feel weird. Like something is missing. Chatting with my mom, whether on the phone or in person, is always a huge treat. I love it so much and that talking with her balances everything out. I love you, Mom! {smooches} :]

Zack’s favorite memory with his mom:
My mother and I spent a short time in a country trailer when I was young. I remember the front hill and how it was steep and the winters frosted it with a thick layer of powdery snow. I was hardly old enough, but I loved when I had a chance to sled. At some point I was given a shiny black Batman sled (aka “The Batsled”). I was the Dark Knight himself as I sped along. I would skid to a stop at the bottom of the hill with the Super Hi-Tech Braking System (two little handles that I could barely pull back on), and sit and wait for my mom to help me up (think A Christmas Story-type snowsuit). She would run down the hill, cheering and laughing, and scoop me up. After a big hug and many congratulations and bravos, she’d help me waddle back to the top, and help set me up again. “Ok Mom, watch!” I’d say. She always watched.

To me, my mom represents a true form of unconditional love and support. My entire life, she has been an unending font of affection, care, and day-brightening. I hope that I’ve reflected even a portion of that back to her. I love you, mom.

[photo credit]

I’m very much looking forward to next Friday. Ahhh. I can smell it now :] Everyone keeps asking me, What are you going to do Monday morning {May 17}? and I keep thinking to myself, Why is everyone asking me this?! I’m going to sew. It’s like when I was younger and everyone kept asking me, Maggie, how old are you? And finally I asked my mom why everyone keeps asking me that — why doesn’t anyone know how old I am?

{As a sidenote, I wish there were years of my childhood on videotape. Like every hour of my life for a few years, taped. I can only imagine the little child my parents said I was: A little girl who loved her purse, chap stick and puppy dog stuffed animal. Blonde sidewinders, white Keds, and a little sassy look that found itself on my face every so often.}

Silly people, Gussy is going to sew, talk, and of course talk some more come May 17 {talk as in write blog posts, of course}.

I put my feet up a little bit tonight {when they weren’t up against the wall} and thought of some ideas. My goodness… I just can’t really comprehend what this means… so I feel like it’s hard to prepare? Yes, that is definitely how I feel.

How am I supposed to prepare for something that only God knew would happen?

That’s what I keep thinking to myself…

Then I think:

Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart, Psalm 37:4

I did and I do, so I think that’s why I’m laying low for now.

I was in the car recently, looked out the window and saw this {above}. CRAZEEEE. When did we move to Minneapolis? Oh, right. We moved here in one weekend last August. Craziest weekend of my life, if I may say so. But! {There is always a but, right?!} Moving here has always been a part of God’s plan, and like I mentioned above, God has always known this plan. So we must have faith. We do have faith. And some times that faith is a very big security blanket for me. I really miss our families. Like tears-in-the-eyes miss our families. But thinking about that too much isn’t healthy. I must focus on the new opportunities this state brings us, like having our families visit us, how we totally live the downtown city life, how moving here has allowed me to 100% concentrate on Gussy, etc.

And so I remember: this is all God’s plan, so this is good.

See, I told you yesterday was weird. Lots of contrasting thoughts, an ebb and flow of happiness and heartache. Of really exciting events yet also living for today.

Notice anything different? Over there, a pink number in a yellow box?

I’ve got a really fun “thing” to share with ya’ll, and when that number gets to 100 it will be time. That’s the only hint you’ll be getting. We hope to be updating it every few days — and I’m seriously so excited. Visual reminders are always super great.

***

A few boxes of fabric arrived yesterday, along with a giveaway that’s scheduled for Monday. I’ve never done a giveaway with this company before, and this company provides product to Gussy.

Is that exciting or what?

***

One final quick thing to say: have you updated your links for Gussy? Remember to use www.maggiewhitley.com for your bookmark or this {http://feeds.feedburner.com/GussyHasALotToSayandSew} for your RSS feed.

I heart you all.

Hope your Thursday is awe-inspiring ♥

Related posts:

1. {the number is growing}
2. …She’s employed!

Related posts:

1. {our Collin}
2. {Collin: part 1}
3. {Collin, part 3}

Shriek with me?

Ready?

AHHHHHHHHHHH {jumps up & down}

I’ve got SUCH exciting news for you :)

Yesterday I received an email from Rene, who writes for the Los Angeles Times, saying she featured my Gussy products/blog in her recent Daily Dish post. You can click here to see it for yourself :)

I clicked over and sure enough, there was a link to my post on the many uses for your Gussy. Rene was speaking of my zipped pouches, saying, “Got supermarket coupons? Here’s an adorable way to corral them.”

Tee he he. I’m so… so flattered/excited/surprised/_____. All great things, of course.

AHHHHHHHHHH!!! ♥

This is my first real press experience for Gussy. And I can’t stop smiling. And being thankful. And smiling. And giggling like a little Gussy that could sew ;) I wonder what else is in store for Gussy {raises eyebrow} ?

—————-

Know what else makes me smile? Today is my nephew Collin’s birthday — he’s 5 years old! Very much looking forward to calling him later this afternoon to wish him a happy day :)

I am noticing in this photo that we have the same chin, hah.

This concludes my excitement for the day. My excitement so far…
Come back later — I’ve got a darling shop feature to share :)

xo!

Related posts:

1. {yeow! big news}
2. {breaking news}
3. {BIG NEWS, big news}

Zack and I live such adventurous lives. One minute we’re in Minneapolis, the next we’re in Chicago, then in South Bend, Indiana. Despite the sadness of this past weekend’s events {hooray for heaven, though!}, we had a good time. It was great to see my family, especially since we weren’t able to see them over Christmas.

We had fun sharing head phones, sleeping in a Princess bedroom {thanks cousin Hannah!}, and eating lots of yummy food. Also, I can’t forget about watching Napoleon Dynamite with my family and laughing with my cousins as they play in the snow {some of my cousins are from Florida and Georgia}.

We arrived back home after a few days of being away and the big city was absolutely gorgeous! It welcomed us home with blue sky and bright sunlight.

These pics were taken while on the Light Rail {aka: train}…

Anyways, since we were unexpectedly gone for Valentine’s Day, Zack re-scheduled our V-day dinner reservations for Tuesday night. We went to Buca di Beppo Italian Restaurant in downtown Minneapolis. AMAZING!!! AMAZING!!! I’m not going to type all that we ate… hah! Everything was super delish though :)

Just look at how cute this place is:

I know this is a little “late”, but what did you do for Valentine’s Day? ♥ ♥ ♥

Related posts:

1. Lots of stories, all rolled in to one!
2. Christmas shopping and lots of visits :)
3. whew! lots of work

What is new with y’all? Are you getting ready for Christmas and New Years? Anyone have awesome plans? We do! We are going to be visiting our families, whom we haven’t seen in about 4 months. Yeow! :) So very excited to see my two little nephews, along with everyone else. It’s just that these ‘lil guys change so much so fast. I hope I haven’t missed out on too much.

It’s now been a whole day with my new desk. Hah. Still love it. No, you can’t have it. And she can’t have it, either :)

I’ve had plenty of requests for Gussy stockings in my Etsy shop and now I’m so kicking myself for not having any extra sewn up. Remind me in the fall and I’ll take a poll to see if I should make a few and mark “for sale”. THEY ARE SO CUTE :)

Here, take another sneaky peek:

Don’t you just want to touch those ruffles?! I talked with Mama Gus a few days ago. Updated her that my Heather Bailey fabrics have come in. She said, Do you just want to touch them?!

Ahh, a woman with a mind like mine ;)

Related posts:

1. {an update, a giveaway, and a SALE!!!}