happy new year!

happy new year's everyone! we're staying in tonight...becca & her family are coming over and we're putting the kids to bed at our place. we have a full menu of extremely unhealthy appetizers, followed by a bernard callebaut chocolate fondue...makes me think about setting new year's resolutions.

i don't know if i ever have ever set a new year's resolution for myself. i do set goals often throughout the year, but it seems that most of those goals are not related to my well being. i am thinking this year is the year to get a few things back on track. i don't want to be unrealistic and say that i am going to get up at 5am every morning (like i used to pre-ryan) and go to the gym. i think i would like to take up yoga...a little r&r for my brain! i am too darn wound up all the time...don't tell my husband that i am admitting that! anyone know of a great (beginners) yoga class? it has to be somewhat challenging or you will lose me after the first class. it also has to be in the evening. let me know if you have anything to recommend. i also want to drink more water...i know, lame right? but it's true...i used to drink 12 glasses a day, now i drink an average of 3 (i'm drinking water right now...although i know the martini chasers are on the way!). fresh start tomorrow!

anyway, i just want to say happy new year and thank you to all who read the blog and support our store!

here's to an amazing year ahead!

cheers,
j

getting out!

we had a fabulous dinner out last night. the time flew by and the next thing we knew we had been sitting for 3 hours (enjoying adult conversation!). i had to admit though that i was quite disappointed with our server. i don't want to bad mouth the restaurant on my blog, but when we asked him to split our bill for us (there were 9 of us), his response was that he could do it, but it would take him 15 minutes...he sounded so inconvenienced and was rude about it...i'm pretty sure we won't be back to that restaurant- there are many other great ones in saskatoon that i would prefer to dine at. anyway, it was nice to get out. ryan loves having the babysitter to play with and layla slept the entire time (she even slept in for me this morning!).

so, we had a huge breakthrough yesterday. layla took her first bottle from me. it is actually stressing me out quite a bit. she doesn't always take a bottle and now that we are introducing formula, she is being even more particular about when she'll take it. we are heading to toronto in a few weeks for a trade show and perry & the girls are coming (his brother lives in TO). layla has to take the bottle regularly by then because i will be busy. i am sure things will work out as they always seem to, but it's just one more thing to think about.

i know it's long overdue, but i thought i would post a few pics from our staff party (hopefully you'r reading, kristan!).

j

off to use my gift certificate from the cravings gals for an anti-stress massage this morning...SOOOOOOOOO looking forward to it!!!

sophie

one more thing i forgot to mention...last week's US weekly magazine, page 1...nicole richie and daughter, harlow, holding on to sophie the giraffe. sold at cravings! check it out...

http://www.sophiegiraffe.ca/

layla absolutely loves hers...one of the only things she will actually chew on while she is teething! oh, also forgot to mention, she has 4 teeth now!!

have a good one
j

SLEEP!

super busy day at the store yesterday, which was great! i apologize to those of you that had to try on maternity clothing in the washroom. we promise this won't happen in our new space!! i went to bed at 7:45 last night...i got 10 1/2 hours of sleep! that is the earliest i have gone to bed since i can remember. i obviously needed it. my body just doesn't seem to handle too much of waking up at 6am and working until midnite every night...and kids & running around in between! today is a new day. perry is working and then has hockey so i can't go in to work...a good excuse for a day away!

tomorrow is full force ahead with our leasehold improvements! can't wait for the paint and to get rid of that hospital green they had going on in there. can't believe we're almost in january and our move is fast approaching...lots of work ahead! we have ordered quite a few new lines for the new store- super excited for the expansion and to mix things up a bit!

anyway, off to watch hannah montana (ryan's new favorite show) and then i think we'll head to the book store...in a few hours when it opens!

have a great day!
j

happy boxing day!

well, my boxing day shopping was anti-climactic. i really didn't find much...maybe i just wasn't in the mood shop today (very unlike me!). i went early this morning and then enjoyed the rest of the day with perry home. i even managed to get a nap in- something i haven't done in months.

the store is open tomorrow from 12-4 so i will be there. it'll be nice to get a few hours in during the day instead of at night. i've been working pretty much every night that perry doesn't work and i find it so much more difficult after taking care of the kids all day, cooking, bathing, bed time...and then work begins...despite the fact that i'm not at the store during the day, i am still managing to put in some good hours....just not much "me" time right now. it is worth it though. i still feel that layla is too little for daycare. i'll probably start layla mid-late february. we'll start with one day a week and work up from there. it'll be good timing with the new store opening.

anyway, off to relax and enjoy a quiet evening at home

j

a very long day

when you don't celebrate christmas there isn't much to do on the 25th. i have both kids tomorrow and perry is at work. he works every christmas to give those that celebrate the holiday the time off. for me it means a LONG day of nothing! we'll probably go to shoppers at some point for an "outting"! i've been going with ryan every year just get out of the house. layla's turn to share in the tradition! we rented a few movies as well so that will help. i'm not sure why tomorrow seems longer than any other day of the year???...maybe because boxing day can't come soon enough! i am a HUGE boxing day shopper. i haven't done too much damage since ryan was born and we stopped going back to alberta over the holidays. one of my best friends in calgary and i would go every year...we even had a system in place for the stores that had hour long line-ups. i'm not scared of the crowds, in fact i would probably say it makes it more fun for me! i am going to venture out for a bit on the 26th (sans kids) to see what i can find and maybe use a few gift certificates!

well, i wish you all a merry christmas...i am sure you won't be bored tomorrow!

j

cooking & baking

thought i would write quickly while perry & ryan get groceries, layla is sleeping and i am enjoying my first cup of coffee of the morning (one of my favorite things). i have a full day ahead of me- cooking & baking. tonight is the first night of chanukah. we are off to becca's place, which relieves me of cooking a big meal (thanks becca!). i am not, however, dismissed from making potato latkes and for some odd reason, i feel like making challah (bread). maybe it's the weather? i figure if i'm spending the entire day in the kitchen, i might as well make a real mess! i am actually looking forward to it and ryan is super excited to help me...we'll see how long that lasts!

aside from that, everything is going well at the new space! our flooring should be arriving at the beginning of january- we were a bit worried about that. just need to find a bathroom light fixture, a few mirrors and a couple more display tables (so excited to have so much more space!). becca and i have spent quite a bit of time seeking out some great new lines and have placed numerous orders over the past couple weeks. i don't want to give it all away now so watch your inbox for announcements over the next month or so!

i'm off to download pictures from our staff party...apparently a few people are waiting to see them!

have a great day and happy chanukah!

j

thanks so much to all of you who participated in this year's C95 food bank challenge. C95 filled a city bus (plus several other vehicles) with food on thursday at the co-op on 8th street! it is so great to see the generosity of people in our community!

here at cravings we will be collecting non-perishable food items and cash donations until the end of the month. we will be making the draw for a $100 cravings gift certificate on december 31st.

http://www.c95.com/c95-christmas-food-bank-challenge

staff party

last night was our annual staff holiday party. we had a great time at Wild Serendipity. we made holiday appetizers under the instruction of the owner, michelle, and was quite relieved that she did most of the work while we chatted away! so nice to get together socially instead of at a staff meeting...although we always seem to have a good time no matter what setting we are in. becca and i are so lucky to have a great team working with us. it's going to make the transition to our new & improved space to much easier.

http://www.wildserendipity.com/

we actually took the staff on a tour of our new spac last night and it was great to see the excitement on their faces as they walked in and saw how much more space we will have...kristan and lindsay (our "warehouse gals") were also pumped about our dedicated space for receiving merchandise and the abundance of onsite storage! we've been renting an off site storage facility for about a year and now it's full too! we'll have plenty of space to store everything and becca won't have to make trips to storage anymore!

anyway, gotta run (layla woke up). i will post pictures of our party when i get them off my camera!

have a good night!
j

monte chair & belle carrier

i forgot to mention, two products that we carry at cravings were featured in this week's Star magazine (yes, i love my gossip magazines!)

the monte glider & ottoman

www.montedesign.net

belle baby carrier

www.bellebabycarriers.com

have a good one!
j

drywall!

so excited to see drywall up this morning! i found becca at the space and we marked out where all our light fixtures will be. hopefully we've got it right! first thing she said to me was, "look at our office!" clearly we are excited about this new space, but not sure if we are as excited as our bookkeeper, heather, who has to work in our small hole and can't stand enclosed spaces! sorry heather- you will have your own desk soon!!

not sure what else is happening this week besides electrical and drywall, but i think some painting is scheduled for next week!

excited about our staff party tonight! we haven't told our staff what we're doing yet...we like surprises...but will let you know all about it tomorrow!

off to have a latte and keep warm!

j

pictures!

well, spent another few hours at the new space yesterday finalizing electrical and watching the progress! framing is done and we are so excited as we imagine how the space will be transformed in to our beautiful new store! i think rebecca and i are most excited about having our own office...we are currently sitting in a 2'X 5' space and it is not unlikely that a box or two will fall on our heads! our new office will accommodate 2 desks, book shelves, even a separate spot for our printer/fax! we are moving up! i have to say there are quite a few details that i am excited about, but i can't reveal it all on here...we need you to come and see for yourself when we open!

here are a few pictures....some from the first time we looked at the space (as you can see it used to be storage for another business) and others more recent since construction (below). after this, it'll all be left up to your imagination. but don't worry it won't be long, we plan to open in february!

have a great weekend!

j

our amazing staff...after our amazing holiday shopping party!

from left to right: lindsay, nicole, kaeli, meredith, kristan

becca, allison, me (jordana)

was at our new space today!! becca and i could have stayed there all day watching the progress. it is gutted now and the framing has started. framing should be done by monday and the walls will start going up! so exciting!! it seems like yesterday that we were doing this at preston centre, but at the same time we've grown so much over the last 3 years. the batteries in my camera were dead so i didn't get any pictures of the space today...but will tomorrow!

j

NEWS, NEWS, NEWS!!!

ok, i can't feel my feet. our holiday shopping party was a HUGE success!! there were people pulling on our door a half hour before we opened as we were rushing around trying to get things organized! the last person left at 9pm and was gracious enough to take our first staff picture before we closed our doors. i worked the till and didn't get a break until about 20 minutes before we closed. thank you, thank you, thank you to our customers for your continued support!

...and our other EXCITING NEWS...WE ARE EXPANDING!!!!! due to move in february 2009 to our new and improved and much larger location!!! no more walking down the aisles sideways, you can wheel your stroller around no problem, there is plenty of parking!!!! we are so excited for this move and have many new and exciting lines to showcase! oh, i guess i should mention where we're going...we are going to be located in the grosvernor park shopping centre, 2 bays down from the Real Canadian Wholesale Club...3000 sq ft!!!

i'm off...so exhausted from tonight...gotta toughen my feet up in heels again! will post our staff picture when i get it off becca's camera!

good night
j

more projects

really looking forward to our holiday shopping party! i guess the word is getting out as we've been getting phone calls from people asking to be added to our database. don't worry, we'll be clearing some stuff out of our store so you can actually move around!

another busy day of running around. will fill you after our big announcement! rebecca and i are obviously project junkies! i guess having a baby, selling our house and building a new house in one year wasn't enough for me!

just waiting for layla to wake from her nap so we can get going. did i mention tooth #2 has almost come through! she's been so good with it...just like her big sis was...

j

those of you that receive our emails know that our shopping party is fast approaching!! we've decided to announce our news at our party so hope to see you there!

we had a great night out on friday. i had 2 glasses of wine and felt hungover the next morning. is that possible? anyway, great food, great friends, great time! perry and i have said that we really need to make a point of going out a couple times a month...for sanity's sake! ryan loves the babysitter so that makes it easy and layla was asleep before we even left...

i am completely exhausted from the party friday and then work last night...i think becca and i finally left around midnite. layla is getting another tooth and was up at 4am...PERFECT!!! funny how they know when you REALLY need to get sleep. at least she went back to sleep relatively quickly and didn't get up until 7am.

gotta get to bed at a decent hour tonight...busy, busy, busy day tomorrow!

have a good night
j

EXCITING NEWS!!!

....but it's a secret and i can't tell you...not yet anyway...and NO i am not pregnant!! if you want to find out what the exciting news is, make sure you receive our emails. if you would like to sign up, go to

www.cravingsmaternityandbaby.com

....our VIP members will be the first to know!

j

not "work"

stopped by the store today for a meeting and it was so nice to see so many familiar faces. i truly miss the socializing in the store. it seemed like one after another, people came in that had had babies that i didn't know about or people brought their babies in and the last time i saw them, they were pregnant. i love getting to know all the people that shop in our store. it is one thing that makes my job so great.

i got an email from a friend today that said she could not imagine being back at work yet (her daughter is 4 days younger than layla). all i could think about is that cravings is not "work". don't get me wrong, life is chaotic right now, but i love what i do.

on another note, i am getting very excited for friday. perry has his staff x-mas party and it will be our first night out since layla was born! will be so nice to get dressed up and have somewhere to go!

j