Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from The Kearls!

Edith Head

Since my kids were toddlers we've been going to the library regularly. I let them pick out their own books and I usually bring a few home for myself. I've always loved books and magazines. I read a little of everything, a while back I picked up a book in Costume Design and was fascinated by the costume Designer Edith Head.

As you can see in these pictures, she has a very unique and unforgettable look. Later on when I saw "The Incredibles" I thought she looked a lot like Edna Mode, right?

Edith was "The Costume Hollywood Designer" for decades, from the 20's to the 70's she was very influential, successful and awarded. I really admire the incredible amount of beautiful costumes she created throughout the years, she was nominated for 35 Academy Awards, including every year from 1948 through 1966, and won eight times, that's more Oscars than any other woman. I think that's pretty amazing.
One of the most interesting things I found about her was that she was never trained as a designer, she went to school to be a Spanish teacher!? For her first job she actually borrowed her friends sketches, but in the end she proved to be the best at what she did.

Here are some of my favorite Edith Head's creations:




She is also credited with the fashions Audrey Hepburn wore at "Breakfast at Tiffany's" but most of the dresses were designed by Hubert Givenchy (who I also love!) under Edith Head's supervision, I hope to write about him soon.

Fashion finds

I like fashion, I don't have the time or patience to shop very often. Plus, I usually have little William attached to my front with a carrier, so trying things on is a little difficult :)

I do really enjoy reading fashion blogs/websites, magazines, watching shows like "What not to wear" and I looooove project runway and I wish I was on it :)!

But I digress, I wanted to share with you a few things I found at this awesome site called ASOS, it's new to America (it started in the UK I think), but now they sell in the US and they have free shipping both ways!!

Here are a few of my favorites:

This is cool, edgy but sweet, I love this biker jacket.

I'm not a big fan of Capri pants,
I think they make legs short and they age women,
but these are young, hip and stylish, I want them!I love a nice blouse that doesn't look matronly,
this one is perfect!

This top is a stylish option to a sweatshirt,
it looks so comfortable but not frumpy at all.

Which is your favorite?

How to get that thing out of your kids nose

Every night we have homework. I say "we" because it's not just the boys that have to sit there and do it, Matt and I have to supervise, help and correct the homework. They have lots of homework and they get bored and distracted, I mean they are 6 and 7 they have so many other things they'd rather be doing.

The other night I was helping Nico while Joey was across the table doing his work, the baby was in his play pen and Matt was on the phone. All of the sudden I look over at Joey and see that he's about to start crying.

Me: Joey what's the matter?
Joey: I did something really dumb (crying now)
Me: what did you do Joey? Tell me, I can help.
Joey: I put the Orbeez up my nose and I can't get it out (crying harder now) BTW Orbeez are little gel like balls that grow when you soak them in water, he got one from a friend at school.
Me: It's OK Joey I'll get it out, don't worry (very worried inside, but I faked being calm really well)
Joey: I'm I going to die?
Me: No honey it will be OK (trying not to laugh and cry at the same time)

I looked up his nose and couldn't see anything, to top it off the Orbeez was clear and it was way up there! I remembered that one of my friends had something similar happen and that the solution at the ER was pretty simple, something like blowing your nose while you cover one nostril and keep your mouth close. I asked him to try that a few times, it did not work! It was not good, I really didn't want to go to the ER.

I told him to stay calm and I ran to my computer and googled it, I found an answer right away at this blog and I went to work following the directions.

First, I asked him to lay down, then I covered the open nostril and put my my mouth over his as if I were going to perform CPR, I then blew into his mouth as hard as I could and voila! the Orbeez literally shot out of his nose and hit my leg (along with snot). I was so relieved, Joey was so happy he couldn't stop laughing. Actually Nico and I couldn't stop laughing either, I think it was because we were relieved, nervous, surprised and amused by the whole thing.

In the meantime, Matt was still on the phone and never even knew what happened. Lucky him!!

Now you know how to get that thing out of your kids nose, I hope you don't have to use this knowledge :).

isn't he sweet?

Inspiration

I save pictures and clippings of things that inspire me, not just clothes, but flowers, paper, furniture, toys, etc.

Here are a few things that I used for Spring 2011 that helped me with the design process:

Spring 2011 Sneak Peak

I wanted this collection to have be classic, whimsical, delicate, feminine, modest, comfortable and fun. I hope I achieved it!

The beautiful photography was done by Zenia Photography, she is so talented and sweet!

The collection will be available in stores February 2011. Here is a sneak peak, let me know what you think!

33 FREE!!!

I am so incredibly happy today, I can't stop watching the reports of the rescue. I've been following the news of the rescue efforts ever since the miners were trapped, but when the countdown started yesterday I just couldn't stop watching. I get emotional each time a miner comes up, seeing them finally embrace their loved ones, meeting and hugging the rescuers, having the President greet them and hug them, is just all so touching, did I mention I can't stop watching?!

It's so cool to see great news on TV for a change, reality TV can be about nothing important, many times news can be about silly celebrities getting in trouble, but this, this is real and it matters.

These miners are amazing, simple, hardworking, salt of the earth people. I'm still amazed at how they organized themselves, they made the little food they had last 17 days when they only had enough for 2 days. They made sure they were disciplined by having a hierarchy and following their leaders. They had shifts and planned ahead, they even made dominoes out of pieces of cardboard and played together to pass the time. Once they knew they had been found they danced, sang and gave their families words of encouragement. All the stories about their brotherhood and endurance inspire me and it makes me want to know more about their ordeal. They are a great testament to the human spirit and an I feel they are an example to all of us.

I talk to my parents almost daily and they tell me how Copiapo is doing and how this has changed them, my mom cries with each story (my dad too, but I'm not supposed to tell you that) she calls me when there are news she thinks I'd like to know.
I'm so far away from them, yet I feel so close to all of it right now. I will always remember these events, I hope my children do too. It's been wonderful to see people come together in such a positive way; the miners underground, the workers trying to rescue them and the world watching, hoping and praying for the miners safe return. It just fills my heart with pride and joy.

I taught my kids the CHILE chant, you probably have heard it a dozen times by now, here it goes;

C - H - I , CHI! L - E , LE! CHI CHI CHI LE LE LE VIVA CHILE!!!


Here is a video of Mario Sepulveda, he is such a fun guy, he kept this cheerful attitude even while he was underground!

Winner and other updates

I said I would post the winner this morning, sorry for being late. Pinters, you won! please email me and I'll send the little dress your way.

I'm late writing because this morning I was busy=late getting the kids ready for school, then I was off to the California textile show. I had to take Mr. William with me, I was a bit worried about bringing him along because I usually go on my own and I didn't want him to be bored and tired, but he was such a doll. Everyone kept trying to talk to him and he had a smile for everybody. It took me way longer to see everything and place orders while taking care of him and answering questions about his age and hair (he has long hair at 6 months) but it was so much fun. Most of the designers that attend these types of shows are single or have no kids, so William was a novelty, I even had one of the reps ask me if she could hold him.

It's always a very interesting crowd to say the least, I usually try to dress nice when I attend the show, everyone there is so stylish and original. Having my baby attached with an Ergo carrier doesn't really allow me to be very fashionable, so today I was wearing yoga pants and a t-shirt, it made me feel a little "frumpy" around all the skinny jeans, layered tops, heals and hats, and that's just what the guys were wearing!

I found a few fabrics for Fall 2011 and lots of trims and embellishments, oh the possibilities!! I'm not even done with Spring 2011 and I'm already dreaming about Fall. But seriously; ribbon, buttons, flowers, fabrics and bows are so cool, can you blame me? I could really spend all day at the show, some people spend all 3 days looking, but I have kids to pick up, piano lessons to drive to and homework to get done, so a few hours has to do. I'm not complaining here, I wouldn't have it any other way. I mean, I love everything about designing and fashion, it's a little bit of an obsession, but I have a few (4 at home) loves that are way more important.

I'm having the Spring line photo shoot next week. I'm so exited that Zenia from ZeniaPotography will be taking the pictures. Zenia is a great Los Angeles photographer, she so talented and has such a great eye for children's photography, I just know the pictures will be amazing. I can't wait to share them with you!

Well, I have to go get some more sewing done before I crash tonight and dream some more about fabrics and color combos. Do you have "little obsessions" that you love and dream about?

Litlle Silk Dress Giveaway

I really love how this little dress turned out.

Thanks to my wonderful customers the Courtyard Collection 2010 has been one of my most successful lines so far. I only created a few pieces for this transitional line (between Summer and Fall).

I was a little nervous when I decided to design this line, most stores just stick to Spring/Summer and Fall orders, but I was out of Spring items and stores wanted more inventory. I tried many different colors before I settled on navy, steel blue, green and white, I added some ruffles for fun and gave it a bit of a bohemian vibe.
I only have a handful of dresses left, I didn't even get to sell them on my site :). If you are interested, you can play and win one of them. I have sizes 2/3 and 8/10 left (retail value is $50++)

To play:

All you have to do is follow this blog then to go to my site www.alejandrakearl.com-> Collections -> Look Book Fall 2010 and then leave a comment on this post letting me know what you think of the current Fall collection before Tuesday Sept 28th.

To double the chance of winning, please help me spread the word by writing a post about this give away on your blog, and then leave a separate comment. We will put your name in twice.

The lucky winner will be randomly selected. You will win one of the Steel Blue Silk Dresses (size 2/3 or 8/10) We will announce the winner of this give-away on the morning of Wednesday Sept 29th. So don't forget to come back and check! Free Continental US shipping only.

Missing Family

I love Holidays; Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Easter, 4th of July, well all of them. A few of my favorite things about Holidays are; family gatherings, trips, planning, gifts and special meals. But Holidays can be hard when you live far away from loved ones.

The month of September is a month of celebrations in Chile. Fiestas Patrias is the equivalent of 4th of July, it's spring time, people gather and have parties with lots of food, drinks and music. I miss that, I think I've always been "the glass is half full" type of person, but I can't help to feel a little sad when I'm so far from family during these Holidays.

I just talked to my family in Chile, they were visiting my grandma, today was her 89th b-day. The whole family was there, aunts, uncles, cousins, young and old. Our family parties are always loud with laughter, stories and there is usually some kind of "difference of opinion" happening amongst the chaos. But above all there's lots of love, I miss that too.

I have to say I'm very thankful I still see my family often, my parents and brother were just here for a month. I generally go to Chile once a year and we Skype 2 to 3 times a week. We also facebook and talk on the phone. I think many of you can relate, everyone has someone far away that they miss, it's OK I guess, it is true that absence makes the heart grow fonder.

I hope to see them soon, for now I'll just be thankful that we live in the time of Skype and I look forward to talking to them tomorrow while they have yet another party.

Who do you miss?

Decorating fun

Since we moved I've acquired a new love for interior decorating. It's been so fun to shop for furniture, fabric for drapes, pillows, rugs, plants, etc.
I've always loved making our house a home and this time around there is so much to do that I've been able to really have fun with it. I still have a lot more to do, some rooms are almost done, some are still untouched.
I get inspiration from catalogs, stores and websites. I plan on showing you pictures of some of the finished rooms soon, here are a few places that help me get inspired:

decordeprovence.blogspot.com

restorationhardware.com

decor8blog.com

dream-kitchens.com

What are your favorite inspirations spots??

33 Alive!

I was born and raised in Copiapo, Chile. A small mining town in the northern desert of Chile. I grew up around miners, generally speaking miners are hard working lower class men. I had uncles that were miners; 1 of them died a couple of years ago in a tragic mining accident and my dear uncle Pedro (Perico) died from stomach cancer last year, they think it was the result of being exposed to fumes for so many years. My dad also mined a few summers while he was a college student to make ends meet.

Just a few weeks ago on my birthday August 5th, 33 miners were trapped in the San Jose mine in Copiapo. The rescuers knew that there was a refuge where there might be food and water for them and it could last for about 2 days. Nobody knew if they had survived when the mine collapsed, 3 had escaped the accident and 33 were buried in the mine.

The President of Chile was involved and heading the rescue efforts from the beginning, he had the best of the best working to save these workers. Unfortunately days passed and the rescuers were unsuccessful in all their attempts to reach the miners. I would talk with my folks via Skype everyday and ask them for updates on the miners, I was constantly checking online and I saw no good news. The families were camping outside of the mine, they named the campground "Esperanza" Hope. It was so sad, depressing, tragic and I have to say after day 10 people started to lose hope (including me). It just did not seem possible that 33 men could survive for that long underground with no food, no water, no medical help.

But on day 17, a miracle.

I was home when my sister called, she said "Estan vivos!" THEY ARE ALIVE! I started to cry, It was unbelievable, what a joy! I ran upstairs and told Matt, then I asked my sister to give me the details: one of the drills had reached the shelter, the miners had attached messages to the end of the drill. One of the messages said "We are OK. In the shelter. All 33". What a miracle! My thoughts were with the families, their relief, their happiness. Husbands, brothers, fathers, sons, all safe. After I got off the phone we had to kneel as a family and thank God for such a blessing, it was such a wonderful overwhelming feeling of gratitude, I get chills just thinking back on it. I don't personally know any of the miners, my father knows some of them, he is a principal at an elementary school and 2 of them have children at his school. All the same, I feel a connection to them, to the families, to the pain/joy of the people in my town, my country.

I love the US, is my new home, but I of course love Chile and I feel so proud of my people. Sometimes I feel like living in Chile is a constant test, the devastating earthquakes just happened a few months ago and now this! How much can the people take?! They endure so well, they do it as a family, they support each other, pray for one another, they suffer and rejoice together.

My mom told me that after the good news broke, people went to the streets with flags, horns, music and celebrated. It was a party, the whole country was thankful and happy.

There is still a long hard road ahead for the 33 miners. They now have food, water, medical help, even some entertainment. But it's going to take months to get them out, the whole country is still praying for them.

I want to share a little video I was able to find (in English) with images from when the rescuers first found out the miners were alive, enjoy!

P.S. This video will take you to youtube, there are more videos about this topic if you want to learn more.

William Alexander

I stopped blogging right before I gave birth to my 3rd boy; William Alexander Kearl. He is our little angel and has become our "Prince William". I now spend most of my time, feeding him, playing with him, putting him to sleep and just enjoying him. Because of that, many things (including this blog) have been neglected. He was born on March 12th and I hope to share more details of that great day on a future post.

I was a little worried about how our lives were going to change and how I would manage my time after William was born. Nico is 7 and Joey just turned 6, so for a while our lives had not gone through major changes. I was right to be worried! Life is very busy and without all the help we had from our families in the beginning we would have gone crazy. Did I mentioned we moved at the same time?? Yes! we had been trying to buy our new home for a long time and things finally happened right at the same time, life is crazy but we are very happy and feel so blessed (more on the new house soon).

William is a healthy little guy, he has a smile for everyone and is now 5 months old. We think he is the best baby ever (but we all think that about our babies, right?). I do know one thing, he does have the best hair ever, it does it's own thing, believe me I've tried to tame it!

Take a look:

Oops! Gotta run, William just woke up...

CHILE

Friday night I was getting the house ready, my mom was flying to LAX from Chile to come visit and help me with my upcoming baby.
My husband saw the news about the earthquake right after it happened and immediately told me. My heart just stopped. We were able to find out that the epicenter was in the Southern part of Chile, since I'm from the north and my family is all still there I felt very relieved. But, my heart was still breaking, we stayed up until 4am watching the news, the magnitude of the quake was so big and the damages were unknown that all we could do was pray for those affected and wait for more news.
My mom arrived in LA without knowing what had happened, she is here with me now and also very sad for what's happened to our beloved country.
We want to help and we will, so many people have contacted me to find out about my family and I'm so thankful for all the concern, they also want to help.
I will let you know how we will do this as soon as I know. Help will be needed, so many people are without homes and shelter at this point, I'm sure we can come up with something that will be greatly appreciated and useful.
Thanks again for your support and prayers!

Winner

Congratulations!

MALIASMOMMY

email me with your shipping info and I'll send this
cute little dress :)

The Lavender Twirl Dress Give Away

Out of all the Spring Designs, this dress seems to be the favorite.
I really love how it turned out and I specially love how little must twirl once they are wearing it.
During the manufacturing process there was a misunderstanding and I ordered (by accident) twice as many size 2/3 dresses as any other size. So, I'm running out of most sizes in this design, but I have a few left in size 2/3.

So I decided to have a little give away. You can get a free Lavender Twirl Dress in size 2/3 !

Rules: Become a follower of the blog, comment and let me know you are a new follower. If you are already a follower, just comment.

To double the chance of winning, please help me spread the word by writing a post about this give away on your blog, and then leave a separate comment. We will put your name in twice.

The lucky winner will be randomly selected. We will announce the winner of this give-away on the morning of Friday February 19th. So don't forget to come back and check! Free Continental US shipping only.

To my Valentine

Thank you for being my Valentine!

Thank you For:

Loving me
Giving me the most wonderful boys
Protecting me
Spoiling me
Making me laugh
Honoring me
Admiring me
Being my biggest fan
Comforting me
Understanding me
Giving me time for myself
Supporting me

And for the little things:
Doing dishes
Always gassing my car
Charging my phone
Bringing me treats
Being so neat
-------------

These almost 10 years of marriage have been wonderful, thank you!
&
Happy Valentines my love!

Hippo Valentine's Sale at Jackapotamus

Jackapotamus is the first boutique that started selling my clothing. It used to be called The Artist Web, my friend Cassie, designer of Jackapotamus (a cool t-shirt line) took over a couple of years ago and has turned it into a very successful boutique filled with handmade items by mainly local designers. The store is on 2806 Main Street, Santa Monica.

This is what's happening now:

Stop by and take advantage of all the great deals we will have; clothing for boys and girls from baby to size 12, vintage toys, eco toys and gifts all on Sale.

Valentine's Day Chocolate Cake

I'm a huge fan of Chocolate cake, specially the kind with the molten center. I can eat a lot of it, specially if I have vanilla ice cream with it, Yum!! I'm getting hungry just writing about it.
Amy Atlas has this amazing blog about high end dessert tables, she is nice enough to share ideas and recipes. Here is what she wrote today and I just had to share with you:


Chocolate Cake with Molten Center
Ingredients
• 1/2 cup butter
• 4 (1 ounce) squares bittersweet chocolate
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
•
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Butter and flour four 4 ounce ramekins or custard cups.

2. In the top half of a double boiler set over simmering water, heat the butter and the chocolate until chocolate is almost completely melted.

3. Beat the eggs, egg yolks and sugar together until light colored and thick.

4. Beat together the melted chocolate and butter. While beating, slowly pour the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture, then quickly beat in the flour and mix until just combined.

5. Divide the batter between the four molds and bake at 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) for 6 to 7 minutes. The centers of the cakes will still be quite soft. Invert cakes on serving plates and let sit for about 15 seconds, then unmold. Serve immediately with fresh whipped cream, if desired.

Recipes courtesy of Cooks.com


Did I make you hungry??

Travel Town

LA is full of fun and cheap places to visit. I know a few and I want to start sharing them with you, I would also love to hear about your favorite places in LA.

As a family we have many favorite spots, we visit them regularly and the boys love them. One of them is Travel Town, my oldest has had his birthday there a couple of times, we bring my parents when they are in town, or we just go get sandwiches at Giamela's, then eat and watch the boys play and always have a wonderful time. It is an outdoor train museum/park, there are lots of cool old trains kids can climb in, you can bring a picnic, watch the miniature train exhibition, ride the little train and shop at the gift shop.

Is Free to get in and only $3 to ride the train. This year we took our Holiday pictures there, Ashlee Raubach did a wonderful job, she was so nice and fun to shoot with. Here are some of my favorites:





What are some places you like to visit?

Picture Perfect

I love reading & looking at blogs with beautiful photography, don't you?
One of the reasons it took me so long to start my own blog was because I don't know how to take beautiful pictures.
I wanted to get a nice camera and learn how to take pretty pictures, so for Christmas the only thing I asked of Santa was a good SLR camera, "Santa" didn't know which camera to get, so he had me order it online :). The camera came, I opened it and it has been seating in its box ever since. There are just so many buttons, options and settings. I became very confused and intimidated by this camera, I was starting to think I should return it and just get a nicer "point and shoot" camera.

But then, I found this blog:Nicole is a professional photographer and also a photography teacher. I'm so exited Nicole is offering classes here in Los Angeles & they are affordable!
The event is called: The Mini Art Weekend. Classes are the weekend of February 19 & 20. The class I'm taking is Photo Basics, is a 2 hour class for $45. They have many other interesting classes, including an all day Crash Course.

I would love to go with a friend, let me know if you are coming, I hope to see you there!

Booties

I have not been shopping much for my upcoming baby boy, being my 3rd boy, I've saved a lot of my gear and clothes from my previous 2. But, I had to buy these:



They are the most adorable thing I've seen in a long time! Hand made from repurposed leather, they are so original, soft, simple and practical. These boots are made to order and cost $28. You can get them here: Kaboogie's Shop.

Is not often that I find "must have" gifts for my boys, but I had to have these little boots. What do you think?

What are some of your "must haves" for kids?

Helping Hand

I have felt so helpless watching the news and seeing all the devastation in Haiti. What gets to me the most are the little children, their scared faces and vulnerable situation just breaks my heart.

I want to help, but I'm always a little hesitant to send money to charities, I've often heard that with some charities 50% + of the money goes to managing costs and very little money ends helping the needy.

I looked around and was so happy to find a small way to help, there is an organization called K.I.D.S Kids in Distressed Situations, Giving back in a brand new way. The great thing about this charity is that 97% of all donations go directly to children and families.*

I was able to send 24 of my dresses to them and they sent them to Haiti, it was so easy! You go on their site, tell them what you can donate and they tell you where to send it. They even give you their UPS account to ship the items if you don't have one or don't want to pay for shipping.

Here is their site if you want to help:

http://www.kidsdonations.org

* I'm not affiliated with or represent this organization.