DIY desk Organizers....

With back to school in full swing I thought I would share one of our ideas for organizing the kids desk drawers. We have older, second hand desks that sport deep drawers...easy to fill up with junk and hard to find anything in! After seeing what was available to buy in the stores I decided we could fashion our own that would be just as nice & personalized to match each kid.

for this project you will need:

1. empty boxes such as cereal, tissue, cracker boxes
2. tape (we used duct tape but packing or scotch would work too)
3. decorative paper - or if you want to be really eco-friendly, use the sunday funnies when you are done with them
4. pencil
5. scissors



Step One: select a height that you would like the organizer to be - probably a couple of inches...but if it is going into a shallow drawer you might want to measure the height of the drawer to be sure it will fit.



2. we taped our box together along the upper edges as it came open after we cut it...adds a little strength too....

3. trace the outline of the bottom of the box on a piece of decorative paper - cut slightly inside the lines and place paper in bottom of box



4. trace each side of box on decorative paper and tape to each side of box - we wrapped tape over the top edge to reinforce it





5. place in drawer and fill with goodies!



there are lots of ways to personalize these boxes...add your child's name, label the box with what will be put in it, for younger children they could cut photos out of magazines of what they will place inside....the options are endless!

Hope you have fun with this idea...if you make some yourself I would love to see your photos!

Halloween Giveaway from gock's frocks!

I thought it would be fun to do a little giveaway on my blog for halloween....

"Why Not ? " replied my daughter eily....so...this is what I am giving away...your choice of one of the following...

1. Halloween Skirt from my etsy shop
2. applique halloween tee to match a skirt in my shop
3. surprise handmade Halloween home decor item - I realize that not all of my followers have kids so I thought I would offer something for everyone!



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So...how can you win???? Easy...there are lots of ways to get an entry - for each leave a comment below letting me know that you have done this as I will use the random # generator to pick the winner :)
1. become a fan of gock's frocks on facebook
2. subscribe to my blog
3. join my mailing list (on my blog)
4. follow me on twitter
5. blog or tweet about the giveaway (leave me a link here to check it out!)
6. check out my etsy shop and let me know your favorite from my new fall '09 collection

whew....lots of chances to win some Halloween goodies from gock's frocks! remember to leave a comment for each entry !





Have fun!

Back to School...
.......or more aptly titled "Mama's got the baby blues!"....the kids headed back this week and to my surprise I found myself feeling very sad to see summer end.

Granted we had our fair share of squabbles and spats but as Monday drew to a close I realized the carefree days of summer were behind us ... our adventures at an end.

I met the buses with mixed emotions as I waved my kids off to another year at school... time marches on and each day they gain a bit more knowledge, independence, and stretch their wings away from me.

I only hope I can continue to influence them to be the best that they can be, treat others as they want to be treated and be a great citizen of this world....




my 7th grader...where has time gone?



4th grade...peace!



2nd grade...not so sure he wanted to go! mama's baby! look what he asked for in his lunch!



salami, mustard, and nicoise olives on a baguette! gotta love it...my little gourmet!

Fall Fun!

This summer I had the good fortune of being contacted by the talented Suymey Benson of Blossom Portraiture Art asking if I would be interested in working with her... I loved her photographs and jumped at the chance to send her some of my designs...Eily wasn't too sure she liked someone else modeling gock's frocks but she has gotten over it!

I am thrilled with the photos I received from Suymey and promptly got all of the pieces listed in my etsy shop yesterday...

I hope you like them as much as I do - and if you are in the Dallas area be sure to contact Suymey if you are looking for a fantastic photographer!

Introducing my new 3 way dress....features a removeable, reversible apron












a couple of new skirts.... and a new crazy daisy tee









and a fun new peasant style bubble top!




check them out now in my etsy shop!

Calling All Vera Bradley Fans....

do you like this



or this




and would you like to get them at about 50% off??? Then follow this link to Rue La La..but don't wait, the sale ends in less than 12 hours!

Dear Mr. President....

I recently sent 2 skirts to Sasha & Malia Obama in an effort to raise the President's awareness about the absurdity of the CPSIA. I am offering these new designs in womens sizes in my etsy shop!






made with the fabulous new fabric collection Mezzanine from Patty Young at Michael Miller and featuring my comfy yoga waistband. If you feel like making your own pick up some mezzanine fabric in my other etsy shop Betty's Closet

I think I am going to cry...sniff... sniff...

that would be tears of happiness! I just signed in to etsy and found the nicest feedback ever! I recently completed a special order for a customer for one of my womens yoga waist skirts (example shown in photo - not actual skirt)



she really took time to leave me thoughtful, positive feedback that has made my week!

"Is this a Lily Pulitzer? Why no, its a Gock's Frocks! Wear one of her pieces and you are sure to garner much attention. I ordered the skirt for myself and it is by far the most comfortable skirt that I own. The waistband is incredibly soft and is not constricting at all. I never want to take it off, as it is that easy to wear. I wear it with a white tank top and a pink cardigan and I look like I am ready for a stroll in Palm Beach. Her workmanship is phenomenal- it looks like a very expensive piece you would find in a high end boutique, as the photos cannot even compare to the real thing. She customized everything for me and really understood what I was looking for. Thank you very much!! I absolutely LOVE my Gock's Frocks skirt!"

thanks so much!

:)Kristen

Summertime silliness and more!

thought I would share a few of my favorite photos from the past few weeks of summer....a little Leo heavy as the other kids were off to camp last week.

snuck back to town for a quick afternoon show...





my #1 helper





trying out a longboard




leo and I went to our first auction! He really wanted this hat & goggles...






and I really wanted this old globe...





Leo met another Leo!





at a cool farm we visited





then we finally had a beach day and the kids covered themselves with ground up wet chalk!

2 great books for this summer!

while at the cottage I have the chance to do a lot of reading...we have a fabulous little library out here that gets in a great selection of current materials and delivers them with a smile! What more could you ask for!

I thought I would share 2 AMAZING books that I read this week and thoroughly enjoyed...

the first was Sarah's Key by Tatiana deRosnay



here is the review from Publishers Weekly

De Rosnay's U.S. debut fictionalizes the 1942 Paris roundups and deportations, in which thousands of Jewish families were arrested, held at the Vélodrome d'Hiver outside the city, then transported to Auschwitz. Forty-five-year-old Julia Jarmond, American by birth, moved to Paris when she was 20 and is married to the arrogant, unfaithful Bertrand Tézac, with whom she has an 11-year-old daughter. Julia writes for an American magazine and her editor assigns her to cover the 60th anniversary of the Vél' d'Hiv' roundups. Julia soon learns that the apartment she and Bertrand plan to move into was acquired by Bertrand's family when its Jewish occupants were dispossessed and deported 60 years before. She resolves to find out what happened to the former occupants: Wladyslaw and Rywka Starzynski, parents of 10-year-old Sarah and four-year-old Michel. The more Julia discovers—especially about Sarah, the only member of the Starzynski family to survive—the more she uncovers about Bertrand's family, about France and, finally, herself. Already translated into 15 languages, the novel is De Rosnay's 10th (but her first written in English, her first language). It beautifully conveys Julia's conflicting loyalties, and makes Sarah's trials so riveting, her innocence so absorbing, that the book is hard to put down.

the second one....be sure you are not hungry when you crack it open as it is mouthwatering good!

The Lost Recipe for Happiness by Barbara O'Neal



...while this book did not garner the same rave reviews as Sarah's Key...I would class it as a great "Beach Read"... entertaining & enjoyable if not predictable. There are some delicious recipes shared throughout the novel making it a book worth checking our of your local library!

Hope you enjoy them!

Mezzanine makes its debut....

in my etsy shops!

I have been eagerly anticipating the arrival of Patty Young's latest collection for Micahel Miller - Mezzanine.

You can find it by the yard in my supply shop on etsy...Betty's Closet or check out my new skirt collection on etsy in my gock's frocks shop.











be sure to check them out as I have some new styles avaialble!

Say Cheese....

After modeling for dear sweet mom for the past few years, Eily jumped at the chance to model for a bigger company and showed up at casting calls for Hasbro & Kodak last month....she booked both jobs!

I didn't think to take my camera to the Hasbro shoot but remembered at the Kodak shoot which was out on a farm and she had to herd geese! It was quite humorous watching about 8 adults trying to corral the geese to an area near her so she could run through and "herd" them. She was a real trooper as the shoot took 3 hours! Maybe now she will appreciate my 15 minute shoots a bit more!









and then she got to jump in a puddle!









look for her shots on Kodak.Com

Two for Tuesday!

just found out I have an item up for vote on etsy for best use of color or color combination!



pop over and cast your vote for your favorite!

Tasteful Tuesday returns....

in time for all of your 4th of July picnic celebrations I thought I would share one of our favorite and not quite traditional picnic salads! This has gotten quite a few thumbs up from family & friends!

This is taken from Moosewood Restaurant Lowfat Favorites.


Moosewood is a famous vegetarian restaurant in Ithaca, NY and this cookbook would be a great addition to any cookbook collection! I have changed the recipe from the cookbook version to fit with my families tastes but will note the alternate additions the author suggests.

Sushi Rice Salad serves 4-6 as a main course
(The way I make it I like to call it a deconstructed california roll! I double this recipe and it will serve 20 as a side salad.)

1C brown rice
1 3/4C water

SAUCE
1/3C rice vinegar
2T sugar
1t salt
2t fresh grated ginger root

1 large cucumber peeled, seeded, diced
1 ripe avocado (not too mushy) peeled & diced
1/2 package surimi (imitation crab meat)roughly chopped
1-2t wasabi powder dissolved in an equal amount of cold water
1 sheet nori seaweed
1T black or brown seasame seeds


Combine rice and water in saucepan, bring to boil. Stir, cover, reduce heat and cook until rice is tender 40-45 min (or cook rice in your rice cooker)

Combine sauce ingredients in seperate small saucepan, simmer 5 min, remove from heat.

In serving bowl combine vegetables, surimi and sauce. Mix in wasabi paste. Add cooked rice, mix well. Toast the sheet of nori by baking for a 1+ minute at 300 degrees, then crumble on top of rice mixture. Toast seasame seeds and sprinkle on top for garnish.

Note - you may also add blanched vegetables such as diced carrot or red pepper. May be served on a bed of greens if serving as a main course salad. may garnish with slices of pickled ginger also.

Much easier than trying to roll your own sushi with a bamboo mat - believe me we have tried! But still offers the mix of tastes and textured that you get in a california roll.

Enjoy!