Little Pink Pansy has been nominated for an award!!

You're the first to see our new logo!

Please help my business, Little Pink Pansy, win a fantastic award sponsored by NBC and American Express. We've been nominated for the Shine a Light award and if we win, we would receive $100,000 to use for marketing and promotion. WHAT AN AMAZING OPPORTUNITY!!!

Here's where you come in....we need help to get 50 endorsements by tomorrow (Sunday, Sept. 13th) by 11:59PM EST. Please visit http://shinealight.ivillage.com/sbo-profile/?ProfileID=9545 to endorse us. We are a small business and need all the help we can getting noticed!

Please pass along the word to all your friends!

Thanks!!!

Celebrate Mama event tomorrow - Bethesda, MD

Tomorrow is the Celebrate Mama event in Bethesda, MD. This is a great event for "mamas of all ages and stages"! Vendors have something for everyone and there are children's performances like Rocknocerous, a ballet performance, storytelling, belly dancing, and more!

Last year, Little Pink Pansy was a vendor and had a great turnout. Unfortunately we weren't able to do it this year but we will probably be attending. It's a lot of fun and a great chance to support some other local businesses.

If you live outside of the metro DC area, check the Celebrate Mama website for a location near you.

Strides for Success

Are you a runner, jogger, or walker? Do you enjoy helping women and children?

Come join us for the Strides for Success 5K & 1K Fun Run/Walk on Sunday, April 26th, 2009 at Fairfax Corner Shopping Center (11950 Grand Commons Avenue) in Fairfax, VA. This event is put on by the Junior League of Northern Virginia and proceeds go to benefit women and children in the Northern Virginia area through various outreach projects such as our Back to School Health Fairs, JamPacks (stuffing backpacks for kids who wouldn't have school supplies), shelter projects, and a partnership with the Children's Science Center, among many other things.

The event is lots of fun and features two separate races - a 5K and also a 1K Fun Run/Walk. Strollers are welcome in the 1K only but sorry, no dogs or headphones allowed. Last year, Olive and I did the 1K Fun Run and let me tell you, it was FUN!

Registration Information: 5K: $30 through April 20; after April 20 the fee is $35.
5K Children 10 and under - $15.00
1K Fun Run/Walk: $20.
Children 10 and under $15.

This year, I am much too big to participate so I'll be volunteering instead. This is a great event with lots of fun for the whole family. There is also a post-race brunch and a tent with children's events. The 5K starts at 9:00am, the 1K will start shortly thereafter, around 9:15am.

For more information, please visit http://www.runwashington.com/archive0209/features/stridesforsuccessinfo.html# where you can register.

Hope to see you there!

Check out PIXIE BOWS!!!

My dear friends and colleagues (Holly & Sharon) have been working on their Pixie Bows business for quite some time. They finally have their new website up with their fresh new designs. Their styles are pretty much all that Olive wears and gets so many compliments on them. I'm really excited about their new line, with lots of new funky clips besides just pretty bows. I will soon be carrying them on Little Pink Pansy too so go visit them at Pixie Bows and post here which styles/colorways are your favorites so I can be sure to include them on the Little Pink Pansy site too!

They also have a blog that will keep you updated on their business and feature some great hair accessories. You can also follow them on Twitter.

Post a comment and let us know what you think!

Inspiration

Sometimes I am totally inspired by a person, an event, a book, or something else. Most recently I have been inspired by reading the blog Green Mamma, written by an eco-conscious mom with a beautiful toddler girl and another one on the way. I do actually know this woman personally but not very well. I like her blog as she provides tips on green living, great kids activities, books to read, and other anecdotes on life. She is an advocate of attachment parenting and breastfeeding well into toddlerhood (two things that don't exactly describe me) but I like reading her thoughts and ideas. Most recently she has inspired me with a post from last Thursday, March 5th titled "Books . . . this is a long one". In this post I was reminded of many of the things I wish to accomplish in my life - one important one being empowering women. If you know anything about my business (little pink pansy), you know that it seeks to help women achieve their dreams. She is also into photography and posts some beautiful pictures, like the ones in today's post "Chirping Frogs". Check out her blog and see if it doesn't make you want to do something great for yourself, your family, your world, and others.

Searching for a web designer

I am in the process of searching for a new web designer for my site - www.littlepinkpansy.com. The site is cute for now but I did it myself and would love to have it redone and made very user-friendly and a little more eye-catching. I know several good designers but since the focus of my business is to support women-run companies, especially mom-run ones, I am looking for a woman with a woman's eye to do it. Thing is, I've sorta stumbled upon how to do this and now that the site has been up for 2 years, I'm a little rusty on the details. I am looking for new ideas and possibly a new host to help make things simple to upload and change. If you know of any great mom or woman designers or have any pertinent information, please leave a comment with a link!! And if this describes you, please advertise yourself!!!

Book Review: The Chic Mom's Guide to Feeling Fabulous

The Chic Mom's Guide to Feeling Fabulous

by Nina Sutton

I just finished reading this handy little guide about how to be both a mom and chic. Both? you may ask. Is it possible to be both chic and a good mom? The answer is yes.

Nina Sutton is a beauty and fashion expert and mother of two who tells us how we can keep up our chic side - we do not have to sacrifice it to be a mommy!

This is a quick read guide with some tips and inspiration to help you feel your best, which also makes you a better mother (bonus!). There are chapters on skincare, makeup, hair care, fitness, nutrition, style, friends, professional lives, romance, kids, cooking, finance, and attitude. She gives you recommendations for keeping yourself looking and feeling your best, even when you are exhausted from the day-to-day grind of life with kids. She shows you at-home tips in case you don't have time or money to go to the spa or gym. It also includes a few simple recipes for quick mid-week dinners for the whole family. She includes tips from experts in all these fields but since beauty and fashion are her background, these chapters are a bit more in-depth. I think this is a guide that helped me remember that I deserve to look and feel my best too and this will be one that I will look at many times in the future to remember her skincare tips or quick and easy exercises.

Nina has also created a fantastic website called Deals for Divas. There are lots of things here that will help you look and feel your best for a fraction of the price (deals, coupons, etc.). This is definitely a page worth bookmarking.

To learn more or order the book, click here. You can be a chic mom too!

Pixie Bows blog

Two of my favorite people in the world are also some of my best suppliers for my business. They make the most adorable hair bows and accessories. They have been in business for several years, working side-by-side making bows and attending craft shows. However, a little over a year ago, Sharon relocated from Georgia to California and they decided to dissolve the business. Sharon continued making bows and other great items such as tutus while Holly became a mommy again to a darling little boy. But it seemed that the universe was pulling them back into business together so they have rejoined forces and made it a bi-coastal venture. Since they will no longer be able to easily attend events together, they are creating a wonderful new website with some standard designs for hair bows, flower clips, and other great hair accessories. I can't wait for this site to be launched ~ target date is October. In the meantime, they have set up a great new blog to discuss their business progress. I still have lots of bows left over from their previous collections and they can be found here. Just as soon as their new collection is complete, I assure you that they will be up on the Little Pink Pansy site. Their bows are probably our biggest seller - they're a huge hit and almost all customers are repeat customers. So browse at what we have now and be on the lookout for what's to come in the future. And check out their cute blog. Yay for moms and friends making their business dreams come true!!