I always have so much to be grateful for on a daily basis. When I was pregnant last year and near death, one of the only things that kept my spirits up was writing down my lists of gratitude. I couldn’t do it every day as there were days I could not even keep my head up, but just writing everything I could down and being able to go over it made me feel so much better and luckier than if I didn’t.  I unfortunately have not kept up the practice, but plan to start again today, any day is a good day to start, but of course this day our Thanksgiving is very apropos. I am always thankful for your visits and this community. I have met so many amazing, kind, warm and wildly creative people by having this space on the interwebs, one of them is Ez Pudewa. I have been a fan since day one of discovering her blog(she’s had a few under the Creature Comforts label), her writing was so honest and moving. With each new step in her life I was able to see her progression from a place that was less than ideal to a place filled with light + love, her daughter always being a driving force and motivation. I got the pleasure to meet Ez and her daughter Kaia in February of last year, it was on the heels of my deciding to finally give up trying to get pregnant (after years of disappointment), I was wistful that I would never be able to experience what was obviously an extremely close and loving mother/daughter bond that they shared. I don’t know if Ez & Kaia had sprinkled magical fairy dust on me that day but when I came home from my trip I found out that I was pregnant!  Grateful, yes indeed.

Ez & her daughter Kaia are continuing to spread fairy dust in their newest endeavor-Petit Pippin.  They of course explain it best:

“Petit Pippin is a reflection of our passion for beautifully crafted goods and our belief in embracing the everyday moments of childhood. The messy and the fun, the scraped knees and wind-tousled hair, whispered stories and boisterous laughter…every moment is precious and we love it all!”

Their collection of soft toys and art prints have already sold out twice since launching a few short weeks ago (upon this writing). I knew there would be a huge demand for their offerings, how could there not be? E. was gifted both an heirloom quality bear (Isabelle) and an art print (Firefly wishes) for her birthday and as unbelievable as this may seem (since Ez’s photographs and styling are aces) the products are a million times better in person! Every detail is attended to from the receipt of your Petit Pippin parcel, they are lovingly wrapped, almost too pretty to open, the art print is signed by the artist and looks as though it was a watercolor original, it is that good a quality of print. Isabelle the bear was an instant hit. E. hadn’t taken to any of her other soft toys, even though I have tried relentlessly to get her to, but the minute Isabelle was removed from the box, E.’s little fingers wrapped around Isabelle’s sinewy arms and she spent hours examining and taking in all her details. To be honest with you I hadn’t planned on actually allowing her to play with Isabelle, but I could not deny her and it looks as if their friendship will be a long and lasting one.

I am hoping that the future holds a series of books for Petit Pippin (E. as I know they would be filled with magic). I am really looking forward to following Ez and Kaia’s journey and celebrating their inevitable huge success.  I hope that years from now our kids will remember their Petit Pippin filled childhood memories and that they pass on their Petit Pippin friends to their own children, but for now this Tom Robbin’s quote keeps playing in my head-

“It’s never too late to have a happy childhood”. Tom Robbins, Still Life with Woodpecker

I think Petit Pippin is for everyone that wants to capture and hold onto a little childhood magic. May your day be filled to the brim with magic, joy and reasons to be grateful. I know I am so thankful for you!

P.S. Of course all the soft toys are sold out (why would they not be? They are so flippin’ delightful!) you can still get the art prints, use the coupon code besotted10 to get 10% off until November 28, 2014! Happy Thanksgiving my US friends and the happiest of Thursday’s to everyone else!