am/pm Archives - A Girl Named PJ

DeNai Jones: A day in the life of the Petunia Pickle Bottom founder

December 23, 2013

Every so often I like to chronicle a day in the life of a busy mother to explore how all different types of moms juggle their responsibilities — from stay-at-home moms to moms who work full time outside of the home. If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “I don’t know how she does it” about another mom, read on!

Today we’re talking about life as a working mom with DeNai Jones, founder and head designer of Petunia Pickle Bottom. Petunia bags make a statement with ornate patterns and eye-catching color combinations made from long-lasting, easy-to-clean materials. If you don’t already own a Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bag, you’ve surely seen one on the arm (or stroller) of the most fashionable mom on the playground.

Recognizing a hole in the market for fashionable and functional diaper bags, DeNai founded Petunia Pickle Bottom in 2000 with her husband and a close childhood friend. Oh! And in case you’re wondering — the name “Petunia Pickle Bottom” came from a silly sentimental phrase coined by DeNai’s father when she was a toddler!

Read on to learn how DeNai manages motherhood while working alongside her husband at Petunia Pickle Bottom.… READ MORE!

AM/PM: A day in the life of Haeley Giambalvo from Design Improvised

October 16, 2013

AM/PM chronicles a day in the life of busy mothers to explore how all different types of moms juggle their responsibilities — from stay-at-home moms to moms who work full time outside of the home. If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “I don’t know how she does it” about another mom, read on!

Today we’re talking motherhood with Haeley Giambalvo of the DIY decor blog, Design Improvised. A creative crafter with a penchant for pom-poms (check out her super easy pom-pom balloons here!), Haeley’s work has been featured on Babble, Apartment Therapy, and BHG Style Spotters, among other blogs.

Haeley and her family relocated to San Antonio this summer, and shortly after they arrived in Texas, Design Mom featured a tour of Haeley’s old digs back in Chicago. What a farewell gift! Since the move, Haeley has been busy turning their new house into a beautifully decorated home.

Read on to learn how Haeley juggles all of her responsibilities!… READ MORE!

AM/PM: A day in the life of Emily Meyer from Tea Collection

September 24, 2013

Today we’re talking about motherhood with Emily Meyer, Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Tea Collection, one of my favorite children’s clothing companies. If I could, I’d happily outfit Levi exclusively in Tea — I love their modern designs, especially for babies and toddler boys.

Tea has been growing rapidly since its inception in 2002 (in fact, it won the 2012 Cribsie award for Best All-Around Children’s Wear For Stylish Tots), which means Emily has years of experience being both a businesswoman and a mom. Let’s take a glance at a typical day to see how she gets it all done.

Q. How old are your children?

A. Clement, 4; Georgia 2

Q. Do you have the same job that you had before becoming a mom?

A. Yes, same job!

Q. Walk us through a typical work day… What time do you and your kids wake up?

A. 6:30AM

Q. What does your morning look like?

A. Get dressed…figuring out what to wear! Breakfast with the kids. Chat with mom or my sister on the way to work.

Q. What time do you eat lunch?

A. 12:00PM

Q. What does your afternoon look like?

A. Working with design on the next collection. Reviewing e-commerce business. Select images for the upcoming catalog. Catch up with emails. Brainstorm, discover.

Q. When is dinner?

A. 7:00ish

Q. What does your evening look like?

A. Playing with my kids. Reading books. Lights out at 8:30 (for the kids)! A bit of TV with my husband and a glass of wine. We love Mad Men!

Q. What time do you go to bed?

A. 10:30PM

Q. What do you most look forward to doing on the weekends?

A. My husband and I have townie bikes with seats on the back for the kids – we love riding around Palo Alto, visiting the Cantor Art Museum at Stanford or going to nearby parks. Sometimes my husband brings his guitar out to the backyard, strumming while the kids do water play (in the warm weather). Outdoor time is paramount.

Q. How do you de-stress when you’re feeling overwhelmed?

A. Sleeps solves everything. A nap is one of the most luxurious gifts anyone could give me.

Q. What’s your dream job?

A. I have it! But when I retire I want to be a Blues singer.

Emily’s weekends with her family sound idyllic, don’t they? One of these days I’m going to own a bike — and live someplace temperate where I can ride all year long! To learn more about Emily and Tea Collection, please visit teacollection.com or follow Tea on Facebook and Twitter.

P.S. — Did you know that Tea also sells women’s clothing? This season I’ve got my eye on a Tea Collection fashionABLE Scarf, which was designed by Tea and hand-woven in Ethiopia by fashionABLE artisans. fashionABLE is an organization that helps build small business cooperatives in Africa, providing meaningful work with fair wages to women. Each of their scarves comes with a note that tells the story of one of the courageous women who works with fashionABLE.

AM/PM: A day in the life of Jen from BRIKA (and a giveaway!)

September 3, 2013

AM/PM chronicles a day in the life of busy mothers to explore how all different types of moms juggle their responsibilities–from stay-at-home moms to moms who work full time outside of the home. If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “I don’t know how she does it” about another mom, read on!

Today we’re talking about balancing work and motherhood with Jen Lee Koss, Co-founder and Builder of Business of BRIKA. BRIKA is a new online shopping destination that offers a curated selection of heirloom-quality crafts while celebrating the makers behind them. (It also happens to be a Bunny & Dolly sponsor, although this is not a sponsored post!) I was inspired by Jen’s short presentation on storytelling and passion at Alt NYC and couldn’t wait to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of her day-to-day life.

Q. How many children do you have?

A. I have two kids – Aksel who is 2.5 and Annabelle who turned 1 on June 8th!

Q. Have you always been a working mom?

A. Yes, I have always been a working mom. I moved to Canada five years ago, so I was really blessed to have been able to spend an entire year at home on maternity leave before going back to my private equity job.

BRIKA was a little side-project before I left on my second maternity leave! My co-founder Kena and I brainstormed this little idea that eventually took shape and formed over the following months. I decided to leave my job in finance to pursue it full time!

Q. Walk us through a typical work day… What time do you and your kids wake up?

A. WAY TOO EARLY!!! Typically between 5:30 and 6:00am.

Q. What does your morning look like?

A. Aksel usually wakes up first and we get downstairs to prepare breakfast (a bowl of oatmeal with yogurt and fruit). While he’s eating, Annabelle usually gets up and she is eating a bowlful of the same! Meanwhile, I’m usually drinking a latte and eating a big piece of toast with almond butter and honey. We’re creatures of habit!

Q. What time do you eat lunch?

A. It’s typically close to noon.

Q. What does your afternoon look like?

A. It’s filled with meetings, emails, more meetings, more emails and couple of phone calls thrown in there. My days have never been more jam-packed since starting BRIKA.

Q. What time do you eat dinner?

A. Sometimes it’s with the kids–super early, around 5:30pm or sometimes it’s after the kids go to bed so around 8:00pm. It depends on how hectic my day has been!

Q. What does your evening look like?

A. Once the kids are in bed, I am the most productive! I am right back on my computer and working like a mad woman!

Q. What time do you go to bed?

A. Typically around midnight. TOO LATE!

Q. What do you most look forward to doing on the weekends?

A. Going to our favorite French bakery with my husband and kids, pizza nights where my husband and I make a big pizza from scratch and drink some wine, and catching up with great friends!

Q. What’s your most effective way to de-stress when you’re feeling overwhelmed?

A. Exercise! There is nothing like a runners high!

I love to browse the children’s products on BRIKA and absolutely adore these stuffed animals from Hazel Village. One lucky Bunny & Dolly reader will win the Hazel Village stuffed animal of her choice courtesy of Jen and BRIKA!

To enter, visit Hazel Village on BRIKA and note which stuffed animal you’d like to win. Then fill out the Rafflecopter prompts below! There are six different ways to enter, so please read the directions carefully. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The giveaway is now CLOSED. Congratulations to the winner, and thanks to everyone who played!

P.S. — In addition to growing their community of makers and expanding their inventory of beautiful, well-crafted objects, BRIKA is teaming up with Madewell to present the Storyteller Series contest. Sign up here to win a trip to two to Austin, plus a Madewell gift card.

AM/PM: A day in the life of Lauren from The Little Things We Do

June 17, 2013

One of the things I struggle with as a mom is finding enough hours in the day to get everything done. From my work to household chores, I’m constantly trying to prioritize and juggle responsibilities. More often than not, it’s the cleaning, cooking, and laundry that get neglected because, frankly, writing and blogging are just more fun. (And slightly more profitable.)

Always curious about how other moms manage, I’m launching a new series today called AM/PM that will chronicle “a day in the life” of busy mothers, from stay-at-home moms to moms who work full time outside of the home. This column will hopefully provide insight into how all different types of moms balance their responsibilities, while offering reassurance to those of us who constantly feel like we’re dropping the ball (or multiple balls).

My first interview is with Lauren, a wife, mother, stylist, and blogger at The Little Things We Do living in Portland, Oregon. I’m not sure when I first stumbled upon Lauren’s blog, but one of the things I noticed was how much she does. The girl is always writing, as well as working on cool projects that take her to places like Disneyland and the Radio Disney Music Awards. She also has an adorable daughter whose style I envy. (Yes, I envy a toddler’s style.)

If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “I don’t know how she does it” about another mom, read on!

… READ MORE!