{things I carry daily}

These items are carried with me daily:

• my huge, red sunglasses
• Burt's Bees chapstick
• my bus pass {inside the green apple case}
• my purple wallet
• Clean & Clear oil sheets

and...

• pink Mace! Hah!
  

Not that I've EVER used it. And I seriously pray I never have to.
But I like to look at it inside my bag and giggle. Hah!


What fun things do you carry daily?

{little yellow}

I love this little stack of yellow stickies.

Sew useful when packaging orders.

And I love this folder, even more so lately, because it's packed full of papers!!!

***

What "things" do you love?

{a winner, Mother's Day, and purple ruffles}

Ruffle Gus checkbook cover winner:

Teri @ Pleasing to You


Teri, please email me and we'll get a checkbook cover to you!

---------------------

Lots of super exciting Gussy news --- and I'll share it soon! :)

For now, focus on all the new products I'm working on. Those checkbook covers are selling fast and would make a great Mother's Day gift.

---------------------


Aren't these purple ruffle ballet flats darling? Oh, yes...

{lists of 5}

5 most recent purchases:

• new fabric {from new designers!}
• this book
• a sewing print my friend designed {photo coming!} :)
• a coordinating red frame for said print
• a bookshelf for the sewing room. Organization, ya'll

Top 5 Etsy favorites {in order of being favorited}:

• this body scrub

• sweet leaves, circus dot fabric branches

• turquoise/gray damask painting

• 2010 desk calendar

• Mr. Darcy mug

First 5 links on my toolbar:

• Blog Analytics
• Twitter
• Gussy
• Big Cartel
• Facebook

5 thoughts running through my head right now:

• I love the sound of a ticking clock
  
• Zack is typing quietly. Thank you, Zack :)
• My eyelashes are ready to be free of mascara {random, I know!}
• Oops. There's an empty bag of Sour Patch Kids here on my desk...
• I miss the sound of my sewing machine
  

What about you?
What types of "lists of 5" do you have? :)

{giveaway winners}

[photo credit]

As promised, here are the giveaway winners:

• Middleburg garland winner :: Stephanie @ All Things Ordinary
• Designs by Tahra $50 credit winner :: Sarah Seitz @ Come and See the Seitz

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If you're interested in saving 15% on your Gussy order, you can sign up for my newsletter and the discount code will be emailed to you! Look for the orange Bravenet box near the top of this blog.

Do you ever have important phone calls and they just make you feel, well, so important? I do, and I love them! :)

xo!

PS. Thank you for all the Gussy love. You're spectacular!

{TGIF, baby}

Here's to the weekend,
which will be jam-packed with sewing custom orders AND new orders!!!

yeow!
♥

PS. There are a few giveaways below, be sure to enter them :)


What are your plans this weekend?

{fun little moments}

Hello, good morning {passes coffee with French Vanilla cream}.

Yesterday was so super great. I slept amazing well Sunday night and even though Zack literally dragged me out of bed Monday morning, well... I had a great day :) I am not even kidding about the pulling me out of bed. He was sure I would get up with enough time to curl my hair. Hah, my hubby is funny.

Because if the wife's having a bad day, everyone's having a bad day.
Hah, just kidding.
Kind of.

Anyways... It was beautiful and sunny in the morning {above photo, L} and I enjoyed the crisp February morning air. Anyone that knows me IRL knows I love my fresh air ;) After work I walked to Target {above photo, R} and got a few things. Just groceries, but I was at Target {swoon!} Lurve that store!!!

PS. My mom and her friend Denise are coming for a visit Wednesday evening through Sunday and "we're going to target" {insert singing voice for the quoted section}. Yes! Mama Gus + Denise + Gussy time + Hubbs ;)

Back to my day.

Then after Target, after dinner, after sitting with Z at the dinner table {love talking with him!}, I sat my pink-panted bum on the couch and read a bit of Real Simple {below photo, L}. I love this magazine! I bought it mainly because it has "10 secrets to work-life balance" on the cover. Plus beauty tips. Plus... it's Real Simple.

Ummm, hello ♥

After I read a 'lil RS I sat down to type this {below photo, R}. {It is so weird to type in past-tense when you're talking about current-tense. I mean right now-tense. Hehe.} See my Valentine's mug? It has tea in it. Lemon Vanilla Chamomile tea. Delicious-o.

Tee he he -- look what I did last night while Z was busy. Of course I muted my iMac so he wouldn't hear my "camera" shutter. Hah!

What magazine(s) do you love to read, and what cover-story articles draw you in?

{follow-up to managing stress post}

What a day!!! If you haven't read the post below, please do. And be sure to read the comments, they are so encouraging! I am feeling so much better now that I've written out my thoughts on stress. And to those of you that have commented -- yeow! Ya'll rock :) I love the discussion going on.

Melissa shared this bible verse in her comment and I love it!!!


Psalm 127:1 says,
Unless the LORD builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.


I can really relate that to my sewing business -- ok, this gives me the shivers :)


After writing that I did a little sewing. Tomorrow evening I'll have 20 new items in my shop. I tried to take a nap today but I couldn't relax enough to sleep. I feel like my body is just in overdrive, trying to process all this stress and rid it. I took the bus this afternoon and met my friend Nikki for coffee, then we went to Target. We started out carrying our items, then I got a hand basket, then we got a cart! :) It was sooooo nice having some girl time and not thinking about work stuff :)

I did my hair differently today. I actually curled it with a curling iron! I know, that seems silly because I have naturally wavy hair, but I wanted something different. I needed some girl time this morning so I curled my hair ♥. Then I gave myself a pedicure. Orange polish {if you were wondering} for my toes, hah...

I feel like it's going to take a few days before I can really get the stress out of my body. My MOH {maid of honor} used to give me back rubs all the time -- when we lived in Michigan -- and she'd push really hard on the knots. Said there are toxins in our muscles {which causes the knot} and they need to be released. Ummm, MOH, can you come over? ;)

***

I have started a Blog Frog community for this blog -- Gussy Sews -- and I've posted a question about Gussy products for men. I'd love for you to click over and chime in with your thoughts or ideas. You can also click on the community box {it's in the right sidebar of my blog...} and post your own discussions that we can all reply to. I thought that would be fun, since there are just bunches of you reading my blog daily. Certainly we need another way to interact with one another :)

Look for this on my blog:



I also deleted my old Maggie Whitley Facebook fan page and added a Gussy Sews Facebook fan page -- like with my twitter account, people know who Gussy is but they don't always know my name is Maggie. And actually, my birth name isn't even Maggie! hehe -- that's a little secret that I'll save for another day :) Shush to those of you that know this info! :)

So if you'd like, you can join that too :) I'll post updates there about Gussy stuff. And... you can upload photos of you and your Gussy item if you'd like! Since the fan page is a Retail page, you can write reviews and post them.

***

Photos from my day:

{L} working in the Sweat Shop :] -- {R} waiting at the bus stop; going to Caribou Coffee!

{L} waiting at the bus stop to go home -- {R} my goodies from Target. and my purse with the recovered handles ! :]


***

We're having Salsa Chicken for dinner tonight.
What are you making?

{managing stress}

For quite some time now I've been juggling waaaay too many balls.

It started with moving to a new city, in a new state... Setting up a new home, starting a new job, remembering which bus route to take home... Then I needed to get my Gussy business going again {I had accidentally taken a month off because our 2-week trip to Minneapolis turned into hey mom and dad, we're moving to Minneapolis}.

Then Christmas came and went, slapping me hard in the face how much I miss my family. Then Blissdom came and went, then my grandma passed away last week.

Then, then, then.

Since August, I've been adding to my plate, never once taking something off in exchange for something new. I've always loved to multi-task, to organize, to coordinate.

About 2 months ago I started forgetting things, silly little things that I normally wouldn't forget. Actually, it's very easy for me to remember a handful of things. Zack has always commented how crazy it is that I can remember the most random of things :)

This forgetfulness was my first sign that I was doing too much. Yes, my body has given me warning signs here and there, but I figured that was normal for working 70 hours/week.

Really?
70 hours?

Yes :(

I am building a business, I'm going to be tired, I thought...

There's so much that I'm feeling and it's weighing so heavily on my heart {in more ways than one} and I can hardly take it anymore. I need to make some serious changes.

I absolutely must. slow. down, because yesterday I met with a co-worker for our weekly update and all of this spilled out, a little unintentionally, but she shared some great tips for me to try.

It made me realize that I've been doing so many things wrong for way too long.

Like working myself to near exhaustion most days of the week.
Like not saying out loud that I've got too much on my plate {aside from thinking about it all day long...}
Like trying to do this all on my own {instead of praying or talking about it more}.

When you keep things to yourself I feel like it's way easy to blow them out of proportion and worry about them way more than need be.

At least that's how it's been for me.

The pressure to work a day job, build this sewing business, be a wife {cook, clean, organize things, etc.}, plus visit with the few friends I have in town, keep up with our family in Michigan -- not to mention relax and take time for myself -- was burning me out.

Zack offers to help with so many things, he's got such an amazing, gracious heart, but... there's just too much on my {our} plate.

It seems like we're expected to multi-task every waking second. And you know what? I'm sick of it. I don't want to. I want to read my friend's blogs, meet friends for coffee, go to work, sew, spend time with my husband -- and I don't want to be expected to do five things at once. I don't! I feel like yes, we need to constantly be learning new things and challenge ourselves. But no, I'm not going to be available 24/7. I'm not going to check my email 100 times a day. I'm going to "leave work" when my sewing work is done more often than I have done in the past.

Seems like most of this stress is because I am an emotional person. You talk to me, share your heart, and I will feel what you are expressing. I care about the people in my life so it's easy for me to carry their pain.

I've carried months of emotional and professional "baggage" that I feel myself slouching from all the weight.

And I'm only 5'4" -- c'mon, this Gussy girl needs to extend vertically, not the other way ;)

This makes me stop and think: Is this how Christ felt? Carrying the weight of others pain -- all the time?

It's really become more like anxiety for me, feeling like I have SOMUCH to accomplish and only thismuch time to get it all done.

Some days I feel like it's just too much. Like I can't continue to carry this weight for another hour. I need to talk these feelings out, realize that these burdens need to be brought to the feet of Christ. And then I need to leave them there and walk away.

I feel like I've worked too much these last few months, yet at the same time I feel like I never get enough done with Gussy. Sewing is so exciting for me that I don't ever want to stop being Gussy. There's always more that I want to do, that needs to be done, that could be done... New ideas, find new fabric designs, new blogs, new post topics...

If Gussy is going to grow any more, I've got to let God show me how that's going to happen. I can only do sew much.
:)

{This is a good time to say, It's not my problem, and let God take care of it.}

I've been too busy these last few months that I haven't taken enough care of myself. My life is too scheduled. There isn't any free time because any potential free time I find myself knee-deep in fabric and my sewing machine...

I don't give myself "Maggie time", just Gussy time.

Yesterday, I realized I need to force myself to sit on the couch. To take a nap. To breath some fresh air. I go from building to building and never take my eyes off the path from A to B. All of this commotion is causing me stress, anxiety, and just an overall dissatisfaction because I don't have any down time. And I don't want to feel this way because this is how God wants me to feel.

My friend at work suggested I get up early and take some time for myself. That "scheduling" time for myself will allow me to relax. How many times have I heard this, and when I am going to put it into practice?!

Umm, last night.

Last night Zack and I went out with some friends after work. That is step #1 {be more spontaneous}.


Here are some more steps I'm going to take so I can take better care of myself:

Learn to say no!

• I'm important and my emotional health must come first
• stretching myself too thin will only make things worse in the end {hello, isn't that the heart of this post?!}
• date nights with Zack are precious; continue to find time for these 1-2x/week

Turn off email alerts {computer and iPhone}

• I did this a few weeks ago on my home computer and it's been the most beneficial decision because I can focus more of my energy on my current project. Less noise = less distraction
  
• having a cell phone doesn't mean I'm available 24/7 {and I mean this in the most kindest way, specifically with emails}
  
• life is about living whole-heartily. How can I do that if I'm available to everyone/thing all the time??

Stop multi-tasking

• I need to protect my self {my sanity, my brain, my body}
• work harder at only doing ONLY 2-3 things at a time {for example: cooking dinner, talking to Zack, drinking some wine}
• give more of my attention and creative spirit to each individual project/book/conversation, etc.
  

Take time for myself

• get up early and read a devotional. Think about what I want to accomplish for the day and what types of fun memories I want to make.
  
• "schedule" time to relax on the couch, outside, etc.
• allow my mind to unwind so I can offer a clear, attentive mind to my projects when it's time to work

Slow down with the sewing

• if this business is meant to be, it will be
• try to be more realistic with what I can accomplish with the time I have to sew
• stop. freaking. out. if I can't get it all done on time
  

So what do you think?

{pop quiz!}

There are so many new readers here at Gussy has a lot to say {and sew}, and I want to get to know you better. I'm always interested in who reads my thoughts...

If you read my blog and have three minutes, can you please take my 'lil {anonymous} survey?
Click here to take survey

It will help me produce THE BEST Gussy products for you.
And really, this blog is all about you guys :)
♥

PS. There's a text box at the end of the survey if you have something specific you want to share with me {also anonymous}.

{signing off for the weekend}

There are so many amazing, fun, and exciting Gussy things for me to accomplish in the next few weeks. I feel, in order to get everything done, I need to turn my computer off for the weekend. Yup, I'm a little nervous. Hah.


I need to really focus all my attention on accomplishing my goals and projects:

• Blissdom about 2 weeks away. I need to stock my shop, sew myself something Gussy, and overall just prepare to leave for Nashville.
  

• My shop needs some new items :]
  

• Giveaway Day is Monday and I have to prepare 11 posts by Sunday night. That's right, there are 11 giveaway's this time 'round. Yeow!

• I'm also working on something new that I hope to introduce to you Sunday night
  

Gussy isn't going to happen by itself; I have to put a lot of work into this and while it is sooooooo super rewarding, it takes time to plan, organize, and output. I can do it, though :) I'm really excited.


Stay tuned...

xo.



PS. I finished the big 18 laptop bag project :]

PPS. There are a lot of Gussy giveaways going on now. All the links are at the top of this blog under Gussy + Etsy Shop News.

And remember to scroll down and read the Featured Artist post on Letter Happy. If you make it to the end there's a little surprise for y'all!

{I'm all over the place}

I thought y'all should know this is post #506. {After 1.5 years of blogging!}
Because I recently saw that. #506. That is a big number.
Sounds like Gussy has had something to say over this last year or so.

----------

There are a few great, great giveaways going on:

♥ Enter to win $20 shop credit with Gussy from Toddler Momma {winner is chosen on February 4}
♥ Enter to win $25 shop credit with Gussy from Knack Studios {winner is chosen on Friday}

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Blissdom is coming up... and fast! I leave in two weeks! EEEEEK! I am so excited. I should probably start packing soon. I hear there is a pajama party, a few cocktail parties, ummm, and other exciting things. Gussy's been working some serious OVER TIME to get prepared. Yeow.

----------

On another exciting note, I recently mailed some Gussies to a celebrity. A sa-lell-brah-tee. God has really blessed me by introducing me to some really wonderful people. {You know who you are!} :)

Yeowwwwww, I hope she loves her Gussies:






----------

Since opening up my new shop, I've been working on it here and there. I've added a few new pages: Wholesale information, my Policies, and Connect with Gussy. Also, you can now type www.shopgussy.com and it will redirect you to my new store.

AND, if you follow me on Twitter you can enter "Twitter15" at checkout for a special 'lil discount. xo

----------

What other highly interesting things do I have to type to you?


My hands are really dry right now. I did the dishes earlier and so now they are dry. My hands are used to the dishwasher. Hot water is not my friend. Tomorrow is another Featured Artist post. I'm excited for it... this Etsy shop owner is offering something special to you all. Woo hoo! That is all I can share :) I've been working on this really, really large project and I can now see the end of the tunnel. This project is something I've never done before, and it's been incredibly successful. I'm really pumped to share it with you in a few weeks. It looks like my mind is fizzing out. I just made that saying up. It means that I'm a tired Gussy and need to get in bed. Need to relax and shut my sassy brain down for the night. Down for the night? Yes, I know it's morning right now. But "right now" it's night time. When y'all are reading this I'll be enjoying a cup of coffee. Do you drink coffee? Also, some times I put my feet on the while when I sit at my desk. I hope we never move this desk because I don't want to get in trouble. Hah! {This is sort of funny.}


OK. No more rambling. Here is something that makes me warm up inside:

being silly.
xo.

{lots o' ruffles}

You know what I love?

Ruffles.

Hello, Maggie, do you think that surprises anyone?

You know what else I love?

Seeing this when I type "Gussy" in Compfight.com {Compfight is Flickr's search engine; Flickr is an online photo-management site.}


Ahhhh.

Gussy-licious.

{just me and him}

Dear Thread, I dream of you in my sleep...

Last night was so spectacular! Zack and I spent the entire evening together. Some how we were both busy bees from Sunday on. Thursday we tried to spend some time together but I was feeling a little sassy, a little grumpy.

I did my best.

I even warned Zack, I'm feeling kind of grumpy.

He said, I know and it's OK.

MELT MY HEART, yeow!

See what happens when you're honest? hah :)

And tonight, word on our Minneapolis street is that he's taking me on a date. I wonder where we'll go? One time we went to this amazing Indian restaurant, Bombay Bistro, but it had such a quiet atmosphere. The kind of restaurant where you whisper? Yeah, I had a hard time there. The food was sooo delish and our waiter was hilarious! Everyone had fun :)

I think some times I can easily let my work take precedence over having some R&R. I think my mindset is, Why take a break? I heart sewing. But... everyone needs a little break from everything once in a while. Recently, one of my good blogging friends Lindsay told me to, STOP! Take a break. Go on a date with your hubby. Take an evening off for yourself. 

While it was pretty much "duh" advice, it was totally needed. I needed her to slap me around via email.

What kind of Saturday plans do you have? I probably will sew for a few hours -- remember I'm working on a secret project ;) -- but then come dinner time I'm out of here like a girl that got burned on her iron.

What?!

Yeah, no clue where that came from.

Hope your Saturday is lovely :)

OH WAIT! If you want a chance to win $25 Gussy shop credit, please click here.

My Friday Featured Artist post is on Broken Hallelujah. If you haven't already, enter to win a pair of crocheted Mary Jane slippers {for adults!} Giveaway closes Sunday night.

And remember, Giveaway Day is a week from Monday {January 25}.

Lastly, if you'd like a Gussy at 50%-off or more, click here. Last night I listed some discontinued items...

See ya, friends

xo

{I'm baaaack!}

Holy Heavens, this post is the first personalized post I've actually written in like 3 thousand weeks. OK, fine, 2 weeks. Every post from Christmas on {maybe a few before even?!} has been pre-published. And I know, I know, they've been a little impersonal. I read your emails about the lack of Gussy stories and I apologize... I was away having the best 10 days ever!!!

You know what, though? I'm back. And Gussy has so much to say. Like, so much.

I really will have to restrain myself because as I type this it's Sunday night. And you are reading it Monday morning. And I just want to type, type, type the dozens of stories I have. But I have to wait.

Because I can't do it all at once, even though some times I try. And then I cry.

What?!

See, it's Monday morning and already things are getting out of hand. Hah! I feel I should use some bullets to keep my thoughts organized:

• The winner of the Jecka headband is Renee at Candy Stick Lane! Thanks a million to everyone who entered/tweeted/blogged, and congrats, Renee!!! :)
  

• Zack and I had an aaahhhhhh-mazing time in Michigan. Our flights, each way, were a breeze yet I hardly talked during the flight. I was a little nervous, mmmk?

• We spent 5 days with each side and traveled around the state every few days. We were a busy couple :) IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!!
  

• I seriously considered putting my 2 nephews in my carry-on bag. They said THE CUTEST things to me the entire time and I cried approximately 10 times the day we had to leave. Just ask my parents...

• Both sets of parents gave us little parties and Zack and I were able to see some college friends, in addition to family. Yeow! So much fun :) Thanks Mama Gus and Mom Whitley!!!

• I can already see this bullet thing is getting out-of-control...

• I hope to be sewing SOON! Yesterday I went to the fabric store and stocked for my January custom orders. Today I hope to cut fabric and sew, sew, sew. Well, of course after I iron on my new ironing board cover!!!!!!! :)

• If you have any suggestions or ideas for upcoming Gussy products, send them to me! And send them soon, I'll be cutting the Heather Bailey fabric, that's making me drool, soon

• My next Giveaway Day is set for Monday, January 25! If you'd like to be a part of it, be sure to read this post. I tried my best to make it super informative. A big thanks to those of you who have already have contacted me. Yeowwwww :)

• I better stop typing. I can't share EVERYTHING we did in 10 days in one post, right? :)

{vegetables}

There are like 2,984 reasons why I'm excited to be going home for Christmas, but one specific reason is for the food! Being that it's just me and Zack for meals sometimes we miss out on great family dishes. But... I love to cook so Zack and I have come up with some of our own family dishes :) Ohhhh, yes we have.

I love when he takes one bite of something and says OHHHH man, you have to make this again. This is my new favorite!

He makes me light up like a Macy's window display at Christmastime.

I found this article a few months ago and have kept it in my secret file ever since ;) I know my oldest nephew, Collin is a super great eater. He even asks for dessert... hah! My second and youngest nephew, Jack Riley, will be turning 2 in a few months so I'm not sure where he's at now with food. Last I saw him he was about 16-months-old.

I love when kids poke fuss over vegetables. While I don't think it's really funny, there is a small part of me {like 21%} that thinks it's funny when they scrunch their face over eating a vegetable.

Read on, and please share your stage!

The Five Stages of I-don't-want-to-eat-my-vegetables:

source

***

Surprise: “You want me to eat WHAT?”

Pleading: “Please, someone save me from the evil carrot! Anyone…anyone?”

Sorrow: “If I eat this carrot I will never be happy again. Never laugh, never smile.”

Anger: “I will not, I CANNOT eat this carrot.”

Sleep: “I’m so sleepy that I can’t eat it.”

I'll go ahead and share that my stage is Sorrow. Does that surprise anyone?! Happy vegetable eating! :)

xo.

{curiousity}

{I've always been a curious gal}

I like to know how to do things on my own.
Sometimes I like to cut my own hair.
But sometimes I just need a few tips.

So to help me cut my own bangs, I just YouTube it :)

Just remember,
if you want to learn how to sew, you can YouTube that, too.
yeow.

But you also have to practice, practice, practice :)

{QUICK!}

Hellooooo :)



I have spent the entire day sewing to keep my shop stocked; to sew some new items; to sew some custom orders; to sew some decorations for our home.

Please check back tomorrow afternoon for photos of all things Gussy -- 12 new items are coming your way.

Pretty, pretty please check back?

Also be sure to enter in the handful of Gussy giveaways. You can find more info at the top of my blog {GUSSY + ETSY SHOP NEWS}.


Gussy love.

{a very cozy evening}

What a day here in the city! Yeow! No heat on my floor at work = a very {merry} cold Gussy girl. Brrrr. I love the snow here; hate the wind + temperature. OK, I need to talk about something else. Because winter just started and I am not a complainer! Nooooo-oh!

Gave myself a little pedicure tonight. Now I'm enjoying a tall glass of water. Checking email. You don't care of those last two. Or three, probably.

I'm all cozy warm in our Christmas-decorated apartment, waiting for Z to get home from work. Going to snuggle up on the couch and catch some TV shows tonight {and last night's episode of Glee!}




Haven't heard from the desk gal yet. Sure hope that means it's ours...?


I found an adorable tutorial on hand knitting. I'm going to try it soon. Isn't this cute?:



Tonight I must continue on on Z's scarf.
Like I mentioned 82 times already, it's cold here in Minneapolis.


OK, enough Gussying. Time to knit :)


PS. my new boots: