The Fishbowl

a woman with a plan

2012-01-23T08:42:00.000-08:00

Have you ever bought a baseball bat for a little boy that you don't have yet? Or a tutu for a ballerina who hasn't been born? Just got off the phone with a really wonderful Chicago customer! She needed a Christening gift and we had an adorable 6 to 12 month dress in stock for her (featuring pretty paisley pink fabric - one of my favorites). She told me that she has a maggie delaney dress at her house, but that she can't give it away! It is for the little girl she knows she will have one day! :)

keeping creativity in school

2012-01-08T12:18:00.000-08:00

maggie delaney loves creativity. With spring semester comes standardized tests and "getting through the material" -- the very things we loathe about teaching and learning this time of year. Our hope for 2012 is that every maggie delaney girl has a chance each day to be creative in some way. The readings today at church was about the 3 wise men bringing gold frankincense and myrrh. The story of the 3 wise men always reminds me of my favorite education reformer, Ken Robinson, who talks about creativity, frankencense, and schools in perhaps the best TED talk ever. Watch Ken's talk, listen for the story of the 3 wise men, and comment with your favorite quote.

Let there be light!

2011-07-12T10:06:00.000-07:00

Last night, after about 12 hours without power, the lights (and most importantly) the air conditioner turned on. However, my sister is still without power after a week of being in Texas, where I am sure it is not too comfortable. So, we're keeping our fingers crossed and hoping her power will return. The neighborhood generators that kept her up all night are in some serious peril, if not.

So what is the antidote to hot night, power or no power? Greek Salad. My favorite. It's what's for dinner tonight.

My favorite recipe is kind of a collaboration between myself and Dave Lieberman (the cutie from the Food Network):

4 Boneless breast of chicken (I use the thin cut, usually. You can use full breasts or tenderloins. For four of us, I use 3/4 to a lb.)

Marinade for the chicken:
1 lemon, juiced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp oregano (Dave says 1)
a couple of pinches of salt (I like Kosher or ground sea salt)
10 grinds of black pepper (I like more, but I think some might say I am a tad aggressive with the pepper)

Dressing:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 lemon juiced (if you don't have the extra lemon - it is more important in the marinade, just add about a tbsp more red wine vinegar)
2 cloves of garlic, finely diced (I use one clove because I don't strain them out. If you are going to strain them, use 2.)
1 tsp dried oregano
3 pinches salt
10 - 15 grinds black pepper

For the salad:
2-3 heads of romaine or 1-2 heads of red leaf washed and cut lettuce (Dave likes romaine, I like red leaf lettuce.)
1 cucumber (peeled or unpeeled chunks or rounds . . . you choose)
3 vine ripened tomatoes (cored and cut into 1/2 inch chunks) - sometimes I used halved grape tomatoes instead
1/2 red onion, very thinly sliced
1/2 cup pitted Kalmata olives
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Marinate the chicken in a zip lockish type bag in the refrigerator for a few hours.

To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a resealable container and shake. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Grill or put the chicken on a grill pan (cooking time depends on chicken you have chosen). Let the chicken for 10 minutes before cutting it (if necessary depending on type of chicken you used)

Assemble the salad leaving the feta for last. Add the chicken. Shake dressing and pour over the top. I like the garlic in there, but Dave strains the garlic using the top.

home again, home again, with no power...

2011-07-11T15:52:00.000-07:00

Kelly made it home to Chicagoland today from the weekend at the BSAF. She flew into O'Hare, so the delayed flight wasn't a shocker. But, she texted me to report that once she got home she was surprised at how strong the storms were when they went through Chicago this morning. Knocked off porches and destroyed garages. Lots of trees down. Her house is fine, but the power is out and she doesn't expect it to be on again for a few days. Yuck.

new! maggie delaney meadow top

2011-07-07T09:29:00.000-07:00

Trying to decide whether she likes the new maggie delaney Meadow top more than her maggie delaney dresses, our model had to pause to think about it... Finally, she decided she likes the Meadow top better, and this is coming from a girl who is all about dresss. Clearly, she knows cute when she wears it. We think she has room in her closet for both.

Hinsdale Arts Festival

2011-06-12T19:48:00.000-07:00

Hinsdale was beautiful today! Perfect weather. Fun people. Lots of enthusiastic little girls picking out their favorite designs. But the best part of the day was at the very end. After packing up, my husband and I decided to go grab dinner. Driving up Garfield Street on my way to the Country House ( because who doesn't need a burger at the end of two days at a show?), I spied a little girl on her roller blades sporting a maggie delaney with reckless abandon. Highlight of the day!

md checks out Destination ImagiNation

2011-05-22T15:33:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, Erin and her kids are going to Knoxville, TN for the Global Finals of Destination ImagiNation. 5 teams from the Aberdeen school district qualfied. Both Maggie's team and Henry's team qualified this year. So excited to go back to a place with over 26,000 people all engaged in the pursuit of creative thinking. It's definitely a place where everyone feels free to express their creativity. The kids made duct tape outfits to wear to the Duct Tape Ball while we are there. I'll post pictures on FB... stay tuned.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2010-11-04T07:10:00.000-07:00

First gift certificate order of the year with a Merry Christmas in the message!

The big sellers at Wells Street

2010-06-17T14:46:00.000-07:00

What did everyone want at the Wells Street Art Festival this weekend? maggie delaney. We were hopping all weekend long and loving it. So, what was the big hit in the maggie delaney booth? The perfect dress - the Monarch and the maggie delaney bandana. Spring in Chicago has been chilly and rainy, and everyone was drawn to the Monarch sun dresses, floating in the breeze.

The other hot item was the maggie delaney bandana. We noticed a couple different moms buying one bandana for their baby girls and then coming back later to buy 3 more! The babies can't easily pull them off, and they look especially adorable on the baby girls who are not sporting a lot of hair.

summer arts festival time and maggie delaney give away

2010-05-21T11:56:00.000-07:00

maggie delaney is excited to see our adorable dresses hanging on clothes lines at two of our favorie summer arts festivals: Wells Street in Chicago June 12 and 13 and the Brookings Summer Arts Festival in South Dakota July 10 and 11.

In honor of all of the great summer arts festivals out there, maggie delaney is hosting a drawing right now on the maggie delaney Facebook page and the maggie delaney Fishbowl blog. Post your favorite summer arts festival on either our Facebook page or blog, and you will be entered into a drawing to win a maggie delaney monarch in the orange you glad it's spring fabric combination (you choose the size). Post by Wednesday, May 26 to be entered in our drawing.

orange you glad it's spring?

2010-03-20T08:29:00.001-07:00

Having lived in the Washington, DC area for a good portion of my life, I absolutely, positively love spring. The cherry blossoms around the tidal basin make me smile. I remember waddling around the tidal basin when I was super pregnant with Miss Maggie, just wishing she would be born. And, I remember when she was not quite a year old, she and I woke up really early (probably 5:30 am) on a Saturday morning and I packed her and the stroller in the car, drove into DC and watched the sun rise as we walked through the cherry blossoms.

At any rate, what I love most about spring is seeing color again. After the dreary skies of late winter and the white snow and brown grass, the colors of spring are so encouraging and hopeful. I never get into the newness of the New Year, but I love the newness of spring. Spring must be the season for optomists.

To celebrate the optomism of spring, maggie delaney is featuring a fabric combination we call Orange You Glad it's Spring in the ready made/store portion of our website. Order the dress in sizes 3-6 months up to 8 years now, and we will ship it to you right away.

To a t

2009-11-18T08:40:00.000-08:00

We are trying some new t shirt concepts . . . we'd love to hear what you think of this one.

This was designed to go with the alien flowers skirt for our Facebook contest winner, Su. When I went to drop it off at her house, there were two storks in her front yard. She had twins! So exciting. I am hoping that the outfit will make her oldest daughter feel special as she finds out what having siblings is all about.

A Chicken in Every Pot

2009-11-02T19:10:00.000-08:00

I made a stir fry yesterday from "Cuisine at Home," and it was not good -- at all. So, I had to redeem my dinner-making prowess tonight. I ran to a Giada for help. I love her family cookbook.

I made this amazingly simple baked chicken tonight for dinner, and Maggie said it was the best meal she has ever had! It really was delicious. Here's the recipe:

Giada's Garlic Citrus Baked Chicken

That's Giada photographed above, not me... I'll have to work on that one. I don't think there's a recipe.

Halloween Sugar Cookies, oh my!

2009-10-18T15:08:00.000-07:00

Just a bit confused Saturday morning... I woke up thinking Halloween was this week and I needed to make sugar cookies for Henry's Halloween party at school this week. It's opening pheasant hunting season so the kids and I were husband/fatherless on Saturday and I started sifting powdered sugar and mixing the dough, using the delicious sugar cookie recipe my mom always used from the Betty Crocker Cooky Book. I usually double the recipe, which means I have to use 3 cups of powdered sugar and a whole pound (gasp) of butter. Wouldn't Julia be proud? At any rate, I must need to brush up on my multiplication tables because I went to double the eggs... and, well, the recipe calls for 1 egg and soon I realized I had put 4 eggs in the dough! I was a bit sad about needing to dump a pound of butter when Maggie suggested that I quadruple the recipe instead. I decided we could easily give away sugar cookies and went for it. It was 6 hours later, when I was on the phone with my mom, that I realized Halloween is two weeks away... So, now I have a bakery size lump of sugar cookie dough in my fridge. I'm steeling myself to roll out all these cookies. I think they'll keep okay in the fridge if I bake them now and frost them just before Halloween? Any bakers out there with some advice?

Early Fall in maggie delaney

2009-09-28T21:21:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Maureen for these adorable shots. How did they know that hydrangeas are our favorite?

And the winner is . . .

2009-09-18T20:12:00.001-07:00

And what an adorable winner she is! An alien flowers zebra style skirt is what Su has selected! We're going to surprise her with the other fabrics! Hope they love it.

Thanks to everyone who shared their great pics with us. We will definitely do another give away soon. Keep an eye out for our md emails!

New Skirts: Part 2

2009-09-16T19:38:00.000-07:00

The other cute Boden t-shirt that came is screaming to be paired with the Kaleidoscope purple. What do you think?

New Skirts for the Girls

2009-09-15T22:18:00.000-07:00

Received some really cute t shirts from Boden this week . . . have been working on md skirts to complement them. This is what I have decided: pink cord, fabulous cream and minnie. I am loving it!

I'm not here to make friends . . .

2009-09-12T11:07:00.000-07:00

In the craziness of the first soccer Saturday of the season, I managed to catch a couple minutes of NPR's This American Life. This week's topic is frenemies. A segment of the show covers the reality TV phenomenon known as, "I'm not here to make friends." I love this. . . Where else in life would you say this? I think I'll walk into the kindergarten coffee on Wednesday and just throw out a, "I'm not here to make friends." That will go over big. I will definitely be voted off the island.

Marvel at this . . .

2009-09-08T21:07:00.000-07:00

If you haven't found Jane Marvel and you are looking for an affordable bag, luggage, wallet or make-up case, go to www.janemarvel.com. So cute and practical. I bought the ALL DAY LONG HANDBAG. Let us know what you choose!

Spice Up Your Life

2009-08-31T21:52:00.000-07:00

My girlfriends from high school can COOK. All of them. When we get together for dinner, we usually skip the restaurant. We do a pot-luck evening. I cannot get a recent birthday dinner out of my head. Click on this link for the amazing shrimp that Nellie made. Her friend from college dreamed this yummy creation up.

This is perfect for Labor Day weekend grilling.

love the name bubbles

2009-08-24T20:28:00.000-07:00

We got our name bubbles in the mail just 5 days after ordering them. And, they turned out really cute. The kids and I put name bubbles on everything this weekend - tap shoes, sweat shirts, coats, and folders. Here is Maggie's favorite snoopy folder that she added a "fun sticker" name bubble to -- right on the surf board. They are easy to apply without getting air bubbles (except the very biggest fun sticker, which is probably 4 inches long - we used them on their pencil boxes), even for my kids. I have not washed any clothing with a name bubble yet - need to wait 24 hours before washing after applying. I'll keep you posted. So far, we are excited about the purchase!

Give Away - maggie delaney zebra skirt

2009-08-23T19:09:00.000-07:00

Enter the maggie delaney give away on facebook. Post a picture of your favorite girl in her favorite maggie delaney on the facebook wall for maggie delaney, and you will be eligible to win a zebra skirt featuring either alien flowers blue or alien flowers cocoa.

On our model: zebra skirt in Tammy blue, alien flowers blue, Lexie blue, size 8, $32.

If you don't do facebook, you can email the photo of your girl in her maggie delaney to Erin at: erin@maggiedelaney.com

We will choose a winner for the zebra skirt give away on September 15, 2009!

labels for school days

2009-08-17T06:24:00.000-07:00

So, I secretly want the label making machine on that episode of Seinfeld... but then I never buy one because I just really want to be that organized and am not. However, I'm really tired of my dear Maggie losing her sweatshirts at school. They never reappear in the lost and found, either. Last week, I was packing for our family lake vacation, and I couldn't find her favorite sweatshirt anywhere. The answer: labels. Cute labels. I figure it's kind of like me and my reusable grocery sacks. I use them all the time because they are cute:

http://www.envirosax.com/products/graphic_series/

If I want Maggie to label her clothes, lunch box, water bottle, and all her school gear, I must go for cute. I found cute at Name Bubbles: http://www.namebubbles.com/labelpack/school-labels.html

I just ordered them this morning. She went with the "aren't I bright" color series, not this one. Looks like she will even be able to label her tap and ballet shoes with these. I'll let you know how they look and work when they arrive.

Happy back to school preparations, everyone!

fashion design on line

2009-07-28T06:56:00.000-07:00

maggie delaney lets you design your own dresses and skirts online without fear (check out the new maggie delaney return policy). And, did you know you can design your own fashion magazine? Totally just came across this site on the New York Times website when I was procrastinating this morning. It's called Polyvore.com and you can look at fashion magazine pages designed by others and you can also design your own. Too much fun -- cannot get started this morning or I will never get anything done!

maggie delaney size chart

2009-07-20T11:25:00.000-07:00

We posted the maggie delaney size chart under the "info" section of the maggie delaney website yesterday. The measurements are of actual maggie delaney skirts and dresses and are given in inches. The range on the skirt waists shows how far the skirt will stretch at a comfortable fit. Please remember that every maggie delaney garment is custom made, so if you need something tweaked to make it fit your little girl, just contact one of us:

kelly@maggiedelaney.com

erin@maggiedelaney.com

summer at maggie delaney

2009-06-07T19:16:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe it's summer. In our house, summer does not start with the solstice, it starts after Henry's birthday (a Super Mario theme this year for turning 6). The kids have been on summer break here for two weeks already, but I know Chicago area is just getting out and NY has a couple of weeks left.

Kelly and I mark summer by the twirl of maggie delaney sun dresses. Put away your t-shirts and cardigans and throw on your maggie delaney sun dress! Check out these beautiful images from our photographer, Heidi Peters....

maggie delaney in Disney

2009-03-08T10:59:00.000-07:00

We made the trek to Disney World at the end of February. I had to order a skirt for maggie with the Minnie dot fabric in it, and since she's old and bold, we paired it with Tammy blue and PB stripe. It looked great with her bright yellow crocs (my least favorite shoes - but don't get me started on my shoe issues). Right before I took this photo at Animal Kingdom, we rode Expedition Everest. Maggie had a cute kerchief with Tammy blue and PB stripe on it, but it flew off on the big drop of that wild roller coaster. So, whoever cleans up Animal Kingdom, be on the look out for a maggie delaney kerchief. Or, maybe the Yeti is wearing it :)

Stephen Colbert takes over the Smithsonian

2009-01-22T20:01:00.000-08:00

I was in Washington, DC the first week of January... two weeks before the inauguration of President Obama. The crowds were non-existent, and we flitted around the city, except for the buffer of street closings around the Hay-Adams Hotel where the Obama family was staying. We went to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History which was recently reopened after a major renovation. The new exhibit for the star spangled banner is the first exhibit when you walk in the door, and that exhibit is far better than it was in the pre-renovation museum. Another new addition is Julia Child's kitchen, and I could have spent at least an hour in there watching the videos of her and inspecting every detail of her entire kitchen from Cambridge, MA, that was dismantled and reassembled in the museum.

Three renovated exhibits were disappointing. The fashions of the first ladies used to be in the basement, and it's now on the main floor, but the new exhibit space feels smaller than the old one, and they do not have all of the fashions I know they have in their possession on display. The display of the lunch counter from the Woolworth's in Greensboro, NC where the sit-in occurred in 1960 is poorly done. You can see a picture of the counter in the original Woolworth's, and you can see four seats from the lunch counter, but the display does little to help people appreciate the significance of the counter or the broader context of the civil rights movement. Finally, you can no longer see the Fonz's leather jacket --- it's not on display! The museum still has an "American Memories" exhibit, which displays the Americana memorabilia including Kermit the Frog and Dorothy's slippers from the Wizard of Oz. A huge painting of Stephen Colbert (the one he used to have on his set) hangs to greet people walking into the "American Memories" exhibit. I just can't count Stephen Colbert as a "memory" when he's still on TV! In 20 years, maybe... but right now, he's not a memory. Bring back the Fonz.

the weather outside is frightful.

2008-12-14T20:20:00.001-08:00

We are in the middle of a blizzard in South Dakota. We got the call from the school at 7:30 pm, telling us that school is cancelled tomorrow. Today (Sunday) was definitely a snow day, too. We only made it outside to shovel one side of the driveway so that we can hopefully get out of the house tomorrow. It's 20 below zero and the wind is swirling the snow in all directions. We had a cookie baking afternoon. Thought I'd share my favorite no-fail fudge recipe with you. I have an awesome toffee recipe too, but it fails a good bit before you learn to get it right (or maybe it's just that I failed multiple times). This fudge recipe though, is fail-safe, and I like to buy the cute take out containers that you can find now at craft stores and hand out fudge as gifts to neighbors and friends.

Fudge:
Butter a 9x13 inch pan lightly, place parchment paper inside (should hang over two sides), and lightly butter the parchment paper.
Bring to a boil: 4 1/2 cups white sugar and one can of evaporated milk.
Boil for 8 minutes, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and add: 1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1 cup of milk chocolate chips, 1 cup of butter, and 3 tsp vanilla. Stir until all is melted (I do this in my stand mixer and add the sugar/milk to these ingredients). Then, stir in 3 cups broken up walnuts (optional).
Refridgerate overnight. Loosen the sides around the parchment paper with a knife, and then lift out the paper with fudge inside and cut to desired size.

time flies

2008-12-13T15:39:00.000-08:00

Kelly and I won't win any blogging awards any time soon - we haven't blogged since September! Sorry! We are here, alive, and well. maggie delaney has had an incredibly busy fall. A tinge of insanity on all fronts, but the good kind, not the bad. I can honestly say this is the first Saturday I remember since September where I've actually sat on my couch, watched tv, and had time to blog. We are watching the American Girl Samantha movie on tv, and I just needed to tell you all that I'm a bit sad AG is retiring Samantha and Nellie this year. One of my friends thinks that AG will retire the historical dolls and bring them out of the vault every seven years - like Disney does with movies. I just hope Samantha and Nellie are not gone for good.

Fear Itself

2008-09-28T20:28:00.000-07:00

Geoff Williams of Entrepreneur.com, the online magazine, recently wrote an article about entrepreneurial fear. Our maggie delaney Country Living Pitch-Your-Product experience is highlighted. I can hardly believe that our CL mention was a year ago. All we really had to fear was fear itself!

Not to change the subject, but how good does that cover turkey look? I hope my vegetarian sister isn't reading this.

the girl effect

2008-09-18T11:14:00.001-07:00

I was reading about Product (RED) today, and I ended up reading their blog, and I happened upon this video produced by the Girl Effect:

As a geographer in my other career, I like the video a lot, but they didn't really think through the implications of the cow... environmental, especially.

My Guilty Pleasure

2008-08-15T10:41:00.000-07:00

I may need support from you other moms out there, but I have a new secret favorite television show. . . The Wonder Pets.

I had to present an all day, 8 hour seminar in Texas in July, and the next day, I flew home. I wasn on the plane, and I needed a mental release from the stress of the previous day. I grabbed my iPod and watched the Wonder Pets save the baby dolphin in Hawaii ("Aloha, Hawaii." "Oohh. It's very tropical.") -- it was an episode I put on my iPod for Henry to watch when we flew to Florida last spring.

I could seriously watch this show for hours. I love the little song ("The phone, the phone is ringing!" - wouldn't that be a great ringtone?). I love the tin can phone system at the beginning. I've been analyzing this guilty pleasure and trying to come to peace with it, and I've decided I like the show so much because it's secretly the peaceful world in which I would like to live - where in some Polyannaish way we could all take care of each other and appreciate each species (okay, person) in existence. But, what makes the Wonder Pets world so great is not just the Team Work... it's also that every animal is cheerful, polite to each other, has each other's best interest in mind, and every problem has a simple solution if we just think about it and work together. I'm old enough and cynical enough to know we cannot live in a world like this. But, I find a great mental release in imagining the Wonder Pets world.

"The dresses turned out beautiful!"

2008-08-11T22:00:00.000-07:00

I LOVE EMAIL! Sometimes I forget how great it is because it is such a part of our everyday reality. Melissa sent Erin and I a great email with the subject, "The dresses turned out beautiful!" and included pictures of their girls in maggie delaney. It made my day! The girls had birthdays in July, and she ordered coordinating dresses for them. The one year old is wearing daisy pink, kaleidoscope pink, candy cane pink, and the four year old is in daisy pink, kaleidoscope and Molly. Don't you just love the helmet and elbow pads with the dress?

introducing the book!

2008-08-04T10:10:00.000-07:00

Someone sent me this youtube link today, and it cracked me up so much, I thought you would all enjoy seeing it, too. I feel this way a lot with new technologies. I can't keep track of twitter and flickr and all the other r's out there.

If you ever feel this way when you are maggie delaney-ing, just email us or call, and we promise we'll help you figure out what fabrics you can put together:

info@maggiedelaney.com

or, call Kelly at 708.997.3423 or Erin at 605.228.8137

Bummer!

2008-07-31T19:44:00.000-07:00

It has come to our attention that we are all out of lace candy aqua. Gasp! Although this is not ideal, it is not as bad as it could be. Erin called today and confirmed that we can get more. It's just going to take about a month or so. We will let you know when it returns. We love lace candy aqua, and what would wild thing and cocoa dots aqua do without it?

Unfortunate Fabric

2008-07-18T09:51:00.000-07:00

Occasionally Erin and I challenge eachother to find the ugliest fabric around. Okay, so this is really not time well spent, but it is completely amusing. There is a lot of unfortunate fabric out there. Which one wins? Option 1, a lansdcape from the planet SCAREY, or option 2, HALLOWEEN GONE WRONG? I have to say that these two fabrics are made by one of our favorite companies. To each his own, I guess.

So my vote is option 2. Not that I am not deeply offended by the landscape, but I have always had trouble with thematic dressing. My mom's friends' are still presenting me with holiday sweaters after I made an edict that it is never okay to wear one. What do you think, option 1 or options 2? This is a toss up.

I can promise you one thing: maggie delaney will not be featuring either of these for Fall 2008.

LO

2008-07-17T19:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was listening to NPR All Things Considered . . . I love NPR. It is truly an addiction for me as my role of mother has evolved to full time chauffeur. So, Michele Norris of ATC interviewed a 35 year old Chicago actress who is currently living like Oprah. What does this mean? She is reading Oprah's books, buying her recommended Oprah's favorite things, and following the 'live your best life' mantra for one calendar year. I think this may be the funniest thing I have ever heard. It is inspired and insane. She is blogging about her experiences and her insight on 'Living Oprah' (LO) at http://www.livingoprah.com. She makes it clear in the introduction of her blog that she is in no way connected to the Oprah show . . . I think you could probably surmise as much from her posts. I am fascinated. Just what I need, another addiction.

Christmas in July... or is it back to school?

2008-07-02T20:43:00.000-07:00

Just got our first internet order for Christmas dresses. Love, love, love the Christmas playdate fabric, and this mom put it in two ringlet dresses (sleeves on Christmas dresses rock in this part of the country) for her two girls. I'm just hoping she's taking Christmas pictures in July and that she will be sending me a copy soon.

I'm not thinking much about Christmas, but it is only July 2nd, and I have to admit that I bought Maggie and Henry's back to school bags already. Laney and Charley in IL just got out of school a few weeks ago, but we have been out in SD since May 21 and the kids go back on August 20. Henry starts kindergarten; so, I had to find the right backpack for him and lunch box - he is allergic to wheat so I pack lunch every day.

Maggie, also known as the girl who will no longer wear dresses (thank goodness we make skirts), had to have a messenger bag this year - ditching the backpack must be a right of passage for third graders.

Okay, so I also bought three shirts with Maggie's messnger bag. Have you seen the super cute Junk Food shirts at the Gap? Had to order a couple Star Wars ones for Henry and a Snoopy one for Maggie. There was one with Smurfette on it, and I pointed at it and said, "Have you ever seen this show - 'The Smurfs?'" She looked at me and said, "No. And, I hope I never do."

She's smurfing out on something ... isn't she?

adorable NC maggie delaney fans

2008-06-25T18:11:00.000-07:00

So fun! I got an email from a Jennifer, a customer in NC with pictures of her two adorable girls in their maggie delaneys. Jennifer explained, "There is a large age difference between my two girls. They enjoy dressing alike, but I struggled to find matching items in both age groups. Thank goodness we found Maggie Delaney. These custom made pieces allow my girls to match with styles appropriate to their ages. Thank you Maggie Delaney for giving my girls the opportunity to have the matching dresses that they dreamed of wearing."

Jennifer's older daughter, 9 year old Jillian, told us, "I always wanted to dress like my little sister, but if I got a dress just like hers I felt like a little baby. When mom showed me the Maggie Delaney dresses I was so excited. Now we can have matching dresses and I can look my age and she can still look like a baby."

I totally agree. Jillian looks like her 9 year old self in the zebra skirt, featuring lace candy aqua, copley aqua, and swirly flowers cocoa, and Lainie, age 2, looks like a 2 year old should, in her monarch dress (I'm betting she likes twirling in it, too), featuring the same fabrics. Jennifer was kind enough to send me three pictures to choose from. I chose this one because I love the smiles on their faces. I'm guessing Jillian is not only a great fashion designer, but also a wonderful big sister.

If you have a photo of your girl(s) in their maggie delaneys that you would like to post on the blog, please send them to me at: erin@maggiedelaney.com Include a quote, if you feel inspired!

Forgive the infomercial

2008-06-20T21:47:00.000-07:00

On Monday night I was on my way to my Ladies Who Launch Incubator Intensive, and I stopped at Old Orchard Mall. I was walking by a kiosk and a guy started talking to me about my nails. I tried to escape . . . I really hate it when they attack with fragrances, etc. It is an outdoor mall, though and it was so nice outside. I was more open to listening. Anyway, this guy showed me this amazing nail stuff from Dead Sea Skin Care and Spa Products. It is a buffer thing that make your nails glossy (they look as if they have a shiny clear coat of nail polish on) and cuticle oil that really works. Please forgive the infomercial. It is so cool, though. After a crazy fun, but busy weekend at Wells St. Art Fair, it was nice to treat myself.

Perfect Summer Night

2008-06-08T07:21:00.000-07:00

Last night, Rob and I took the kids to our friends' new home to help them unpack a bit and have a glass of wine or two. We planned to leave by 10:00 to get the kids to bed. We left at 12:45 am. What a fun night of conversation and laughter. The kids had a blast - running around inside and outside, playing in boxes and playing with glo sticks (the Halloween kind, which were unraveled in the unpacking). The adults got to have adult conversations and solve the world's problems. When we went downstairs to carry the kids to the car (thinking they were surely asleep) after realizing how late it was, only the two youngest were asleep. The others were fighting off sleep and wondering, with that bewildered, "Can you believe our parents let us stay up this late?" look, what we could possibly be thinking. It's 9:26 am, and the dog and I are the only ones awake in this house. Good thing church doesn't start until noon!

Summer Girl

2008-06-02T21:54:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is Charlotte's last day of school. (Okay, so I have to admit, I haven't bought the teachers' gifts yet . . . that'll keep my busy tomorrow morning. If you have any great ideas for what I can run out and get, please post!) When our photographer extraordinaire, Heidi , took this picture Charlotte was nursing a broken nose. Heidi somehow got her to smile.

Charlotte is my side-kick, and is turning 5 this summer. She's going to have another year of pre-school. I wish Charlotte was "ready" for kindergarten, but I am lucky to keep her as my partner in crime for one more year. Summer is here, Charley girl!

Anyone know Senator Obama?

2008-06-01T19:35:00.000-07:00

The South Dakota presidential primary is Tuesday, June 3 (Henry's birthday). We thought it would be meaningless since it's on the last possible day - but it turns out we are getting more presidential political attention than ever. Hillary Clinton was in Aberdeen 2 weeks ago. Barack Obama was here yesterday, and Bill Clinton is coming on Tuesday. Kel and I actually saw Bill Clinton speak back when we were still students at G'town (President Clinton actually went to G'town).

Kel is obsessed with us getting a zebra skirt and a monarch dress to Senator Obama's two girls. I have them in my possession. I just need to figure out how to get them to his people. Our angle is his discussion of small business yesterday, and our best possible connection is Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin - who also went to G'town and graduated a year behind us (and is a superdelegate in favor of Obama). Steph lived in the Fishbowl with us for a week or so during her sophomore year when she broke her ankle. I'm charged with heading to her local office here tomorrow to see if I can get these red white and blue maggie delaneys into Senator Obama's hands.

The dress looks a lot like the one in this picture - only we don't have holly berry (the red in this one anymore) - so we used new snow red.

That's our however many degrees of separation to Senator Obama. Seems like Kel should have a more direct link, she is afterall, in Chi-town...

Here's to small business

2008-06-01T18:32:00.000-07:00

South Dakota has its primary on Tuesday. Senator Obama passed through Aberdeen on Saturday. Erin and her family attended a town hall meeting . . . I have yet to hear what she thought. I did, however, find a little You-tube clip from yesterday's event with his thoughts on small business.

Brother and Sisters

2008-05-21T20:36:00.000-07:00

I love it when we get to see pictures of your girls in maggie delaney! These are Annie's kids on Mother's Day! (It must have been nicer in Garden City than it was in Chicago!) It's great when we actually catch our kids loving each other. I am hoping this picture will dull my memory of Charlotte hitting Delaney with a very large, heavy plastic Dora doll today.

must be that time of year.

2008-05-20T20:54:00.000-07:00

School is almost out. Maggie is done tomorrow, and I think Delaney is done next week. Kel and I talk every day, and we end up knowing so many more details about each other's lives that we would if we didn't have maggie delaney to bring us together every day. Our conversation today was about who made the more disgusting sack lunch for their daughter today. Our fridges were both pretty bare this morning.

Here's what the girls ended up with:

Delaney had:

a half a peanut butter sandwich (because there was only one piece of bread left and no jelly)

a box of raisins (not exactly fresh ones)

a small bag of pecans (the dregs of a bottom of a can of pecans)

two pickles (I guess Kel thought she needed a vegetable)

Maggie had:

green apples and peanut butter (this is actually a staple in our lunch boxes)

pepperoni (because doesn't everyone eat spicy pepperoni with sour apples?)

chocolate milk box (because I felt guilty sending her to school with pepperoni for lunch)

Which lunch do you think is worse?

Maybe there is hope for my golf game!

2008-05-12T09:28:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day 2008...

I took Maggie and Henry to the driving range. My golf lessons got cancelled because it rained the last three Thursdays. I was bitter about that and itching to get out there, so I took the kids and we hit the driving range, literally. Update from last year... my driver still does not work. I am still in love with my fairway wood, but other than that, the rest of my clubs don't like me very much. I just started golfing with my girlfriends last summer. We did the "divots and drinks" lessons and then did social league. I am a bit obsessed with the idea of becoming a decent golfer, and I'm thinking it's going to take at least 30 years to achieve this goal.

This morning, I had an email from my dad in my inbox. His dad, Ed Hogan, was a really good junior golfer in the St. Louis area many years ago. My Aunt Eileen found all these neat newspaper articles about my Papa Hogan's (who died in 1969, the year before I was born) golfing successes, and my dad's email included 12 articles from the St. Louis Post Dispatch that my Aunt Eileen had found. I am hoping that I got a gene or two of my Papa Hogan's. Maybe there is hope for my golf game. I'll keep you posted on the driver.

grow old with grace ... or at least fewer wrinkles

2008-04-08T20:01:00.000-07:00

love: philosophy hope in a jar

Kelly makes fun of my makeup and skin care obsessions because I'm a little naive when it comes to these things - I like the simple things. My mom always uses Oil of Olay, and she looks like she's 45 (she's not, but don't tell her). The facecream my children will associate with me some day ... the one I'll still be using in 30 years ... hope in a jar.

Earth Hour

2008-03-28T20:19:00.000-07:00

Have you heard about Earth Hour? Chicago and other cities around the the country will observe Earth Hour tomorrow night, March 29, 2008, from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. CST. All non-essential lighting will go out for the hour, dramatically altering skylines in a gesture to bring attention to energy conservation and climate change.

Over before it really even started

2008-03-26T19:57:00.000-07:00

The NCAA basketball tournament resumes tomorrow. Erin and I are definitely girly girls, but back in the day, we were devoted HOYA fans. When March rolls around, I easily fall back into that bracket-crazed mania that once was a way of life when E and I shared a dorm room.

No Sweet 16 this year, though.

Easter Haze

2008-03-23T20:38:00.000-07:00

Oh, the sugar coma has set in. . . why do I let myself, and my children for that matter, eat things I would not consider any other day of the year?

What a fun day! Easter is too early this year, though. Delaney and I went to Jill's for an Easter Egg Hunt, and the kids were digging the eggs out of the snow still blanketing the backyard.

Erin is back from Florida sometime today! Florida sounds pretty good about now.

Tres (or tray) Cute

2008-03-20T11:53:00.000-07:00

My friend Amy is headed to Arizona tomorrow. She stopped by today with the most unexpected and fun birthday gift. Just like Erin's ENVIROSAX, Amy's gift was inspired! It was accompanied by a recipe that I cannot wait to make!

See that cute tray in the lower right hand corner . . . that's the one. Jackie Shapiro is the name of the designer! I LOVE IT! Now I just have to do some research and find out if she makes fabric, too.

Tickled Green

2008-03-18T18:01:00.000-07:00

I opened my birthday present from Erin a little early. I knew that it was my birthday present. I still opened it. Good things come to those who don't wait, in this cute little case. Take a look at these adorable ENVIROSAX. This little pouch is filled with 5 cute grocery sacks and is no bigger than your standard make-up case. What a great gift! Erin is the best at finding gifts that are useful and fun! This almost makes me want to go to the grocery store . . . almost.

Color me happy!

2008-03-17T19:49:00.000-07:00

Three big boxes of fabric arrived at our production facility in South Dakota today. I can't wait to see the beautiful new ones that we ordered weeks and weeks ago, but I may be even more excited about the return of Kaleidoscope - cocoa . . .

It's back, better than ever, ready to be mixed and matched and worn by cute little girls everywhere . . .

Entrepreneurachauns

2008-03-15T21:52:00.000-07:00

Saturday was the Country Living Women Entrepreneur Event in Chicago at the Renaissance Hotel. It was also Chicago's St. Patrick's Day Parade. As I walking to the hotel surrounded by a sea of people wearing the green, I was slightly bummed to be missing Chicago's best party of the year. It didn't last long, though. . . I had an amazing time even without green beer. So sad that Erin couldn't be with me, especially when I saw all the nervous women who had "pitched" their products to CL. Couldn't help but think of our "pitch" last year!

One of the highlights this year was the panel that included the 2008 Country Living Women Entrepreneur Honorees. Just loved seeing Mia Galison of eeBoo . . . her toys have saved me from so many birthday gift dilemmas. Monique Greenwood of Akwaaba Bed & Breakfast Inns was so funny and honest. She has inns in Brooklyn, Cape May, D.C. and New Orleans. Ann Marie Craig had pitched with us last year (I definitely remember meeting her) and her Century Farmhouse soap is heavenly. We were lucky enough to get some in our SWAG BAG.

I was so pumped hearing all of these amazing success stories that I forgot to look down when I left and see the Chicago River dyed emerald green. Happy St. Patty's Day.

Things that make you go hmmm...

2008-03-02T22:06:00.000-08:00

When Kel and I started ordering fabrics two years ago, we realized we needed to name them. Almost all of the fabrics we order already have names when we receive them, but we were certain we would never remember the names. So, we decided to rename them with names we could remember. When we received fabrics from Jennifer Paganelli's Girlfriends collection, we naturally renamed the fabrics for our girlfriends from college - Maria, Tree, Amy, Dana, and Lisa. Well... we got an earlier version of our website up, and we found out that one college girlfriend was none too pleased. You see, everyone's fabric was up there but hers, and she thought maybe we forgot her. We hadn't, it's just that she sold so well, we were temporarily out of her! I'm sure she's glad to know she's prominiently on our website, and that everytime we sell her namesake we think of her.

This Christmas, I was home with my sisters at my parents' house, when I started getting grief from my sisters -- why didn't they have a fabric named after them, they wanted to know. I explained that I hadn't seen a fabric that really looked like their taste yet. This week, we got a few new fabrics in. I opened the box, saw a swatch of fabric, and wondered if maybe the brown one with the small flowers in a geometric pattern should be named for my sister, Molly. I just couldn't decide -- did it look "I live in Boston. I'm an architect. I look straight laced, but I'm perhaps the funniest person alive?"

Went to a show that night, brought unnamed brown fabric with me. Customer was holding onto banana seat pink and asking me what went with it. She was designing a baby gift - a monarch dress in size 3-6 months. I said O's pink looks great - see the orange shades together. Then, I remembered the brown fabric. I held it up, and it was adorable. It made the bikes come alive - like a suprisingly fun fabric should.

I looked at the customer and asked, "So, what's the baby's name?" She said, "Molly. Molly Kate." This has to go in the category of things that make you go hmmm... My Molly is Molly Kathleen.

Now, Molly has her fabric, and I am on the lookout for a Bridget. A fabric that says "I am from Minneapolis. I'm a buyer. I juggle 3 kids, a husband, and a full time job, and I always pick out the perfect card and gift for every occassion."

Designing for sisters

2008-02-23T08:17:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I helped a customer design three dresses for her three daughters for Easter. I cannot wait to see the three of them in their maggie delaneys. The 3 year old is going to wear a skipper, the 5 year old will wear a monarch, and the 8 year old will wear a painted lady.

Each dress has cotton candy flowers and licorice stripe:

And, then for the youngest, we put Maria green in the dress.

For the middle daughter, we added Maria purple.

The oldest daughter's painted lady will have Maria brown. If you want to take pastel fabrics, like the purples and greens in cotton candy flowers and licorice stripe, and make them look more mature, Maria brown, or any brown fabric, is a great way to do that.

Do you need Tim Gunn to help you with your maggie delaney design?

2008-02-18T20:24:00.001-08:00

So, I'm watching the Daily Show right now, and Tim Gunn is on from Project Runway. He is perhaps the funniest person alive. They just showed the clip where he told Sweet Pea that her dress was "very happy hands at home granny circle," and it makes me laugh so hard. What I remember is that Tim told Sweat Pea (the designer) how to change the dress, and then it looked amazing and she almost won.

Kel and I are trying to figure out how to help serve as your Tim Gunn, should you need one. We are going to post ideas for fabric combinations here because it gives us a ton of flexibility and also a space for our designers - you, the customers - to give each other advice on your fabric combinations.

Here's one Erin is loving right now:

Erin Pink, Lucille's Garden, Bubble Fun Multi

so... this is a blog?

2008-02-17T18:59:00.000-08:00

hey maggie delaney fans, kel and i are new to the world of blogs. everyone says we need one, so here we are. we plan to use the blog to let you know what's new with the world of maggie delaney - when we get new fabrics, what new designs we are playing around with, and our often crazy experiences as entrepreneurs. so, play with us - post some comments, your thoughts, and even your pictures of your adorable girls in their maggie delaneys. aside from spending a lot of time on the phone together, our favorite part about this whole adventure is when we see a girl proudly wearing her maggie delaney.

http://www.maggiedelaney.com/