fall

good morning,

had a pancake breakfast and perry & the girls are now grocery shopping. ahhhh, a moment of silence! a few minutes to write!!

went to the store yesterday after my big trip to costco. the store was SOOO busy. i truly love the vibe of our store when you walk in and there are so many people you have difficulty counting. i love seeing our sales gals running around trying to get to everyone to help them find what they need (or want!). i know our staff love it too!

fall is settling in and we see more and more people getting ready for the cooler weather we know is going to come. i can't believe we're already stocking up for the x-mas season...can't wait to set up the new toy displays!! ph yes, i almost forgot about hallowe'en...we have the cutest baby costumes that should be arriving within the next week or so!!!

i think i hear the garage door opening...guess i missed my opportunity for a shower without interruption!

have a great day!
j

quick update

still not feeling so hot, but it's still morning and by the afternoon yesterday i was feeling much better. perry is on call today so that means it's just me and the girls. going to head to costco this afternoon for our bug outting! now that fall is coming i feel as though i need to fill my freezer...strange, i know!

had a great night last night at the simpson's. it was noah's 6th birthday. kids birthday party isn't for a couple of weeks but glad we could celebrate with the family last night on the actual day. can't believe noah is already. he was just 2 years old when becca and i started planning cravings!

had a great meeting with the technical brains behind our new project yesterday. becca and i are really excited to launch this new phase of cravings. we've got lots of people working hard to make it happen. our launch date of december might actually be realistic!!

have you been in cravings lately? we have so much great stock right now! i am seriously IN LOVE with the noppies line NB-4T right now and up to 6T next season! we do have 6T in MEXX and Blu right now! i have picked up so many cute outfits for the girls this season! our new Corky and Company coats for girls are absolutely to die for!

anyway, guess i had better shower and get ready for the day!

have a good one,

j

i'm not sick

i'm not getting sick, i'm not getting sick, i'm not getting sick...if i say it enough, will i feel better in the morning? i woke up with a super sore throat this morning and i got worse as the day progressed. i have NO TIME to be sick!! i just sent myself a note of a dozen things i want to get done at the store tomorrow...on top of the usual ordering and paperwork...we'll see how i feel in the morning...

was helper parent at ryan's pre-school today. all the kids were asked to fill out a family page for their memory books. when asked what our family enjoys, ryan replied "going to the mall, starbucks & winners"...i am still laughing! kids are too cute!

just got off the phone with becca, talking about our to-do's for tomorrow...i am now heading to bed so i have the energy to tackle our list!

j

happy birthday perry!

just finished some weeding outside while layla is napping and ryan is at pre-school. supposed to be 30 degrees today...so wishing the spray parks were still open. we actually have to run out and buy a little something for perry's birthday- which is today. he's getting some road bike gear with a gift certificate, but i want to get him a little something to open as well. hopefully we have some success finding something.

going to fuddruckers for his b-day dinner with the simpsons. hopefully layla cooperates so we can spend more than 10 minutes wolfing down our food! she's at that age where she doesn't want to sit still and being tied down makes her mad! she actually took 7 steps last night after i bribed her with an oreo cookie ice cream sandwich! the girl just doesn't want to walk and she's 14 months already.

new cravings project is underway. have our crew of people tackling things and we're hoping for a december or january launch. so excited for the new phase of cravings!! it was this time last year that we were solidifying the deal on our current space. can't believe it's been a year already (and can't believe we've managed to fill up 3000sq ft of space with product!). we just keep growing and growing!

enjoy the sunshine!
j

merchandise arriving by the truck loads!

busy day at the store today! the fall & winter merchandise just keeps pouring in! we also received our belly bandits for those of you who have been waiting!! have you seen the new Robeez booties? i have my eye on 2 pair for layla...they are TOO CUTE!!!

our replenishment of maclaren and uppa baby strollers should be in this week too. we just can't keep those strollers in stock!

j

fall & winter merchandise arriving now!

just put layla down for her nap and i thought i would write quickly before i shower and get ready for the day.

big plans for the weekend? can't believe it's 30 degrees outside! i wonder if the store will be busy today or if everyone will be outside enjoying the sunshine? despite the fact that we are FINALLY enjoying some summer weather, we have been receiving boxes & boxes of fall and winter goods! we have amazing winter coats, toques and scarves from MEXX, Noppies and Appaman. We have also received our super popular Stonz booties. you can even purchase liners to winterize them now and they have matching mitts with the same innovative design! they have already been selling like crazy!

well, i guess i had better shower...it's already almost 11am. i love weekends and not having to rush around :)

have a good one,
j

SALE!!!

we are passing some savings on to you!

britax boulevard CS in cowmooflage print is now on SALE!

buy 1, get 1 free summer baby & toddler clothing & shoes!

at least 50% OFF summer maternity clothing....some pieces are as low as $15!

remaining stock of Gdiapers now 50% OFF!

back from vegas

back from vegas all shopped out...did i just say that? bought some great stuff for the store and for ourselves. i think we shopped for 14 hours straight one day and i have the hugest blisters to prove it! anyway, we had a great time even though it was completely exhausting!

lots of strategizing today. getting to work on some great new projects! had a very productive staff meeting tonight as well. some new faces at cravings- welcome to jaclyn and krystal!

off to catch up on some tv i missed while we were away. so nice to sit and do NOTHING!

j

ABEX FINALIST!!!!

so proud to announce that we are a finalist for the 2009 ABEX provincial award for marketing!!! awards gala is on october!!

off to vegas tomorrow morning...looking forward to doing some shopping for the store (and myself!)

j

vegas

getting ready for las vegas this weekend! 3 more sleeps! so excited to get away for a few days, although i know it'll be hard work as well! have a few stats to run and reports to print off before the show so we can see what we need!

i'm really tired tonight. didn't come out from behind the computer screen for more than 15 minutes at a time today. working hard on getting our new orders in to our retail system and also working on our new project! yes, becca and i are starting yet another project. when it seems like things are slowing down, we need to get it going again...that's what we do best! not revealing what our next big project is, but we are hoping to unveil it in december. keeping my fingers crossed that this is a possibility!

aside from that, ryan started pre-school this week. she LOVES which is so nice! she loves being a "big girl", dressing up, getting her hair done, pretending to put make-up on. a real girly-girl. layla seems to be following her lead as well. she is obsessed with jewelry and barettes in her hair! so cute!

anyway, i am supposed to be cleaning the kitchen while perry is picking up our new camera! better go before i get caught...not to mention that i am seeing double from staring at a monitor all day!

have a good night
j

video

very informative...check out the video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMUlY1F1JBQ

britax is available at cravings maternity & baby

www.cravingsmaternityandbaby.com

j

one busy week

just waiting for perry to get home so i can run out to the pre-school meeting. ryan starts her second year of pre-school next week. she is so excited and asks every day when school starts. thanks goodness perry was able to get someone to cover his shift for an hour so i could go without kids this year. last year i had both of them. layla was 6 weeks old and screamed the entire time. this year i can go by myself and actually listen!

this week has been crazy busy. i feel like i've hit a wall. inventory monday night, trade show and dinner with doug & loretta (of fulton sales), wednesday at the trade show and out for dinner with jeff swartz and his gang (another vendor). had lots of fun, but too many late nights and now i am paying for it. back to work tomorrow and then i plan to relax this weekend.

count down now until the big trade show in las vegas. can't wait to go but know it's going to be a crazy busy 3 days.

if you haven't stopped in the store lately, we have received so much amazing fall & winter merchandise...maternity, baby & toddler. all new diaper bags have arrived and so much more!

hope to see you soon!
j

buying show

getting ready to head to the midwest market. we have a 6:30 appointment with doug & loretta. they are such sweet people. take us out for dinner when we go to vancouver, are bringing in dinner for us tonight while we order up a storm for next spring/summer. they also have the best coffee so i keep going back for refills! we usually end up spending a few hours with them so it'll be nice that this is our only appointment of the evening.

we have the buying show all day tomorrow too. it'll be much busier with appointments back to back all day. it is definitely one of my favorite things to do for the business. i love seeing what's new for the next season and all the great new products on the market for moms and babes.

anyway, i better start getting ready or i'll never get out of the house!

j

oh, forgot to mention that inventory went SOOOO well last night. they did it in 2 hours...can't believe it!!