Weekend Forecast...

It's supposed to rain in Jacksonville this weekend...might be a good time to swing by POPIN and pick up a pair of Mary Jane Rain boots!

Bella is wearing them with style during one of her "modeling" sessions, isn't she ADORABLE!!


Wendy, our fabulous in-house photographer, is currently open for a mini photo shoot with your own little model.
Call or email us today about pricing and availability- 904-886-3947

10-4 Good Buddies, AKA Jamie's Birthday Dinner

Just thought I would share some of the pics from my little b-day dinner thrown by my awesome friends at the Cheesecake Factory...to say I was spoiled by these beautiful ladies would be an understatement!!! Maybe 32 won't be so bad after all... ~Jamie

On a personal note...

When Jamie and I opened POPIN in 2004 we were not fully prepared for everything that we were going to experience. We feel very fortunate to have learned so many things along the way and especially meeting all of the wonderful people we have met. We have a POPIN family and if you are reading this then it probably includes you! We never dreamed that we would form some of the friendships we have just by owning a children's boutique. But, you have touched our lives and we feel connected with you. Each one of you who have encouraged Jamie through her very long, very difficult journey to motherhood...we can't express the words to thank you enough. She has had a month full of emotion, from heartbreak to hope. We aren't going to guess what God has planned but we are going to ask everyone to please keep praying. I know that there will be a happy ending, we just can't control the time frame. We'll let you know more details as we can. Thank you so much!!!

*We are going to skip the Sept. MITI but will continue in Oct...we had so much "stuff" going on this month, time just got away from us. Those of you who pre-pay your spots, your class fee will roll over to October. Thanks!

Tagged, We're it!

How fun, We have been tagged by our friends at The Vintage-Flea...we are always up for playing along, so here we go....

Here are the rules:
1. Link back to the person who tagged you
2. Mention the rules on your blog
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
4. Tag 5 bloggers by linking to them
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged bloggers blogs letting them know they've been tagged.

Here's our list our unspectacular quirks (Wendy & Jamie combined just to make it a little more interesting):
1. We know every single line to the original Chevy Chase classic "Vacation"
2. We went to see "The Full Monty" together in the theater something like 21 times before it left, we followed the movie until it was only at one theater in Orange Park.
3. We never hold grudges with each other, if we get in a disagreement usually we can't even remember what it was about in twenty minutes or so.
4. Wendy & her husband went with Jamie & her husband on their honeymoon
5. Wendy had never had a Starbucks coffee until last year when Jamie got her hooked.
6. We both hate cleaning and filing which is not a good thing when you run a boutique together.

Now, we will tag the following awesome people:
1. Jenn from Noodle and Lou
2.Liz from Vintage General
3. Jeanie from The Southern Nest
4. Suzanne from Pink Roses
5. Kari & Kijsa

We hope everyone plays along and you go check out their blogs, these are all wonderful people!
Thanks ~ Jamie & Wendy

It is officially Nie Nie Day

For those of you that don't know what Nie Nie Day is all about let me explain. Here is the story of one our fellow creative souls/blogger moms as posted on The Stephanie Nielson recovery blog:

"On Saturday, August 16, 2008, Stephanie Nielson was in a plane crash with her husband, Christian Nielson, and his flight instructor, Doug Kinnear, near St. Johns, Arizona. Doug Kinnear passed away soon after arriving at the Maricopa County Hospital.

Christian & Stephanie remain in critical condition at Maricopa Burn Center. Christian has sustained burns on over 30% of his body. His wife Stephanie’s body was burned over 80%.

For the past four years, Stephanie has welcomed us into her charming abode through the NieNie Dialogues. Far from being a product of creative editing, the Nielson’s don’t just shine through the selective lens of a blog. They are ingenuous examples of family devotion, eternal romance, and Christ centered faith. This site is dedicated to their welfare & recovery"

Today has been designated as Nie Nie Day by fellow blogger Design Mom A ton of sites will be holding auctions starting today for all kinds of awesome items and the best part is that all of the money raised will go towards Stephanie and her husbands medical bills which are sure to be astronomical. So today, check out the auctions, bid high bid often!!! I've already started my bidding - don't miss out.

If the auction isn't your thing and you would like to donate to this cause directly you can access the paypal account set up for the family on our blog sidebar.

Locks of Love!

Yes...we live in Florida
Yes... it is 100% humidity all the time
and Yes...this is what Jamie did this morning:

You'll just have to come in the store to see the front... :)

VIP experience

Hey Y'all, Have you missed me around the shop lately? Well...I have had a once in a lifetime experience these past few days that I just have to share. I was invited by my sweet friend Jeanie to go with her to Paula Deen's house for three days of filming a Christmas TV Special. You see, Jeanie was selected from thousands of women to be on the Paula Deen Christmas Cookie Special, she was to bake one of her favorite Christmas cookie recipes with Paula (Peppermint Sugar Cookies - um, yeah..they were DELICIOUS!!) The special was being filmed two days at Paula's house and the third was at The Lady and Sons Restaurant in Savannah. I tagged along which meant I hung out with the crew on the second floor of Paula's house for about 17 hours and got to meet some of the sweetest people while I was there. There were two other ladies that were selected to be on the special, Christy and Susan. Christy is the publisher for an awesome Southern Family magazine called Belles and Beaus, and Susan, ironically enough, works for an adoption services center in Alabama. Paula herself was very spunky and sweet as sugar, and her production crew (head up by the infamous Gordon Elliot) were so fun. I also got to meet Jamie and Bobby Deen (cute as can be!) BUT - being that I am not much of a chef myself (although I am going to attempt this recipe for the gals at our MITI) the BEST part of the trip for me was the surprise that David Bromstad of HGTV's Design Star/Color Splash was flying in on Day 2 for the special to show Paula how to decorate the cookies they baked for gift giving. I was over the moon excited, I tried to explain to the other girls who he was...it wasn't until they saw him in person that they understood what I was going on about... :) He was sweeter and cuter (if possible) in person than he is on his show and was so down to earth. We got to chat about what it was really like behind the scenes on Design Star and what you really need to do to win, so basically I'm all set to enter now! (haha, with the way I break out in hives I could never be a TV star!!) Here are some of the pics we took along the way, it was such a great experience!!!

Paula's home kitchen...


A gorgeous built-in in Paula's kitchen...

Bobby and some of the crew...

Jeanie's famous peppermint cookies...

Susan with Paula's husband Michael....


Jeanie and Gordon...

My favorite shot, me and David... my Mom says
we look like we could be brother and sister, I was
thinking it would make a great Christmas card photo!!!


a gratuitous shot of David from behind....


Christy and Jeanie....

The special should start airing on the Food Network right after Thanksgiving so stay tuned...you might just see someone you know on TV!! ~Jamie

Happy Independence Day!

Hope you all are enjoying the 4th with your families in this great country
God Bless the USA!

*POPIN is closed July 4th, but we will re-open Saturday at 10am ~ See you then!*

Yet another visitor...

WOW, today was a busy day at POPIN - Thank You to all of you that came in - it was overwhelming!

We had another special out of town guest in our store today who came bearing gifts, the super talented Rosalyn-Sue of The Little Bluebird Diaries, she brought us this goodie with the sweetest note..We met Rosalyn-Sue a while ago, she was an avid blog reader of ours and decided to make a trip to come into the shop, it's always fun to meet like-minded people. Today she and her family were in town and I was fortunate enough to visit with her again, we got to talk about Silver Bella and our Make-it-take-it's (which she is going to travel back to Jax to attend...we are so lucky!) ~J

Our little Visitor...

We had the sweetest visitors in the shop today, Miss Jenn and her sweet son Grant came in all the way from Georgia, we'll post more pics soon... but check him out, he has stolen Jamie's heart completely!!! added 7/22 - here's a group shot Grant, Jamie, Wendy, Jenn, & Jeanie

Say a little Prayer...

Wendy's son Preston has been sick for some time now with a myriad of symptoms. The doctors have had him on super strong antibiotics but nothing has worked.
Today she took him to a specialist and they think they are diagnosing him with Kawasaki Disease.
He has been admitted into Wolfson's Childrens Hospital where he has to undergo more tests as potentially a 12 hour intravenous procedure.
We'll keep you guys posted, right now he is in good spirits but just keep the family in your prayers.

Baby Shower for Baby K

Yesterday we had the pleasure of throwing a baby shower for one of our favorite customers/friends. We had it at Buca di Beppo in the Pope's Room (hence the Pope's picture in some of the backgrounds). Thought you might enjoy the pics...We made Heather a diaper cake that was used as the center piece of the table too. Baby K should be here in a few more weeks.The Mom-to-be loves cupcakes so we made sure everyone had their own to take home.
A memento for everyone to sign.
Congratulations Heather, can't wait to meet him!

Corners of our Home Wednesday

Today's photos are from the adopted child-to-be's room at Jamie's house. While going through the Foster/Adoption process Brian & Jamie were told that they needed to have a room ready for the age/gender of child that they are looking to adopt (Girl, age 0-4). Well, that was all Jamie need to hear to get her design juices flowing. With the chances of them getting a newborn being pretty slim she decided to start with a twin bed setup and add a crib later if needed. The inspiration for this colorful room started with a simple fabric sample from our friend Jennifer Paganelli's Girlfriends line called "Nicole". (see the Nicole fabric as the king sham on the bed) A large green Houndstooth fabric was made into a twin hugger and a ruffled bedskirt was custom made from Michael Miller fabric. The wall colors were next, this is one of Jamie's favorite color combinations (red and pink) and horizontal stripes seemed a funky choice to combine the two. POPIN's decorative painter Tricia tackled the stripes and they turned out great! (just click on photos to see larger...)
Wall cards by Eeboo and a myhaven chest...
A reading corner has a Little Castle Glider in an unexpected yellow plaid, a shelf with collector dolls that Jamie bought at Henri Bendel and some Oopsy Daisy art...
A close up of the Nicole fabric made into cute pinch pleat curtains by Jamie's mom...
no little girl's room is complete without a chandelier...
A custom made frame with the quote: "Delight in the Beauty that surrounds you... Dwell in possibility"

The room is still a work in progress, as is the LONG crazy adoption process....but for now at least someone is getting good use out of it.....
Hope you enjoy!!

It's Grandparents Day at POPIN

Are you (or someone you know) a seasoned or soon-to-be Grandparent? If so, today is your day at POPIN! The first Tuesday of every month is Grandparent discount day here at the shop, so if you have or will soon have grandkids that you simply must treat to something extra special, you will receive 10% off your entire purchase today!
On a not so entirely different note... Wendy has left me for sunny weather, tropical drinks and relaxation (she is on a week long luxury trip to Sandals for her 10th wedding anniversary) On her first flight down to Jamaica she had a pilot that also really respects Grandparents... you might recognize him from the Amazing Race... her pilot was Nick, the sweet guy who raced with his Grandpa and came in 3rd place last fall.
Since Wendy is a major Amazing Race fan, this started her trip out on a good note. Lucky girl.

I think it is supposed to pour down raining in Jacksonville today...I hope you guys bring your umbrellas up to see me ~J

Sweet Valentine Swap

Wendy and I were involved in a Valentine Swap this year and this morning was the "opening" of the gifts. I am so excited to share this with you guys (it's not too late to organize your own swap with a group of girlfriends!) The rules of our swap were the following: You were to send your swap partner something that you love and something that they love. The items can be handmade or store bought, can have a theme or not, must be sent to your partner by February 8th. Each person in the swap was assigned a partner (you didn't exchange with the same person that had you)
Well... Jeanie, Wendy, and I met at Starbucks this morning to open our packages...here's how it went...
First was Wendy, Suzanne Duda was her partner... this alone made Wendy excited... we just LOVE Suzanne. Wendy received some of her favorite items. Things Wendy loves... The Eiffel Tower...and her signature Roses scrapbook paper. The "Cupcake Bella" also sent yummy cupcake mix, handtowels and a gorgeous handmade art hanging:

Second was Jeanie, her partner was Jenn Hayslip... which we could tell just by looking at the pink oozing out of the packaging. Jenn sent beautifully packaged goodies including lots of valentine candy, a beautiful pink pearl heart and one of her signature Sweet Eye Candy creations, a Valentine fluffy bunny!

I was last, Jeanie was my partner... and oh how I was sooooo spoiled! I hate to tell my hubby but Jeanie is the best Valentine I've ever had. First, something she loves (which of course means I do too) she made me a Valentine ribbon topiary similar to the ones we made at POPIN's MITI. Then, for what I love... I've shared with you guys before my love of artwork...well my special valentine commissioned a piece for my house...see the 3ft by 3ft topiary painting... it is TOOO MUCH...I've already hung it in my house, isn't it perfect???? ~J

Something for everyone, even me!

I know it's been awhile since I've given any updates on the Walker family expansion plan...Brian and I are seriously considering adoption/foster parenting right now. It might be a long road ahead but you could imagine how excited I was when we got in these super cute baby books especially for Adopted babies. Each page makes it easy for the adopted parents to keep records that are special to their situation. It's nice to know that there is something for people like me! I'll keep you guys posted if/when we know anything but for now, if you would, just keep us in your prayers.
If you like the look of these albums we also have the traditional albums (they look the same on the outside, just different pages inside) in both pink and blue. They are 10"x11.5" (a nice substantial size) and cost just $40, call or email if you would like me to hold one for you ~J

Oh So Original!

Wendy and I are all about supporting artists, both local and national. Those people who create such unique items that you know you have something truly special. If you share our love for supporting handmade items you will be happy to know that our resident artist - Wendy- just brought in some of her one-of-a-kind albums and some special fairy wands that are so cute you'll want them all (I personally have already bought 3 wands... like every 31 year old woman needs right???)
I'll added a few of my WISH list art pieces for my home (you know, what I always list when my husband asks me what I would buy first if we won the lottery) you can click on any of them to find out more about the artists. Have a great weekend ~J

**UPDATE - 12/17/07 - it seems someone has shoplifted the album that I featured above - WOW, we are both just stunned. bah humbug!**