Fall in love with Ren Dear.

My friend Lauren just opened a beautiful embroidery shop on etsy called Ren Dear. I'm smitten with everything in it! 

From her description of her happy little embroidery shop: You can find simplistic, sweet-and affordable!- designs made with needle and thread. 

Lauren specializes in lyric & movie quotes like the above, a great line from one of my favorite books (I agree with her description on this listing--we all have a bit of Charlie in us). I need this for above our bed! 

 ^Hands down, my favorite movie line. Gets me every single time

These would make the perfect gifts for any occasion. Housewarming, baby shower, birthday, or for yourself because you deserve a treat. They go with every decor and are everything you'd want in a gift- so pretty (+ handmade!) and incredibly thoughtful.

Such beautiful details:

the back of the embroideries are double-felted for protection

I love she offers a great price on custom orders. I know Lauren, and I know anything she made for you will be with a lot of thought and heart. 

*Lovies, definitely check out Ren Dear on etsy because right now through May 10th, Lauren is offering 30 % OFF with coupon code FELIX. 

Felix's Mama Doll.

Last year for Father's Day, I surprised my husband with a custom Who's Your Daddy doll from Duke & June. I have loved watching Felix play with her daddy doll. Imagine how excited I was when Mandi started making Mama dolls! 

My sweet twinkie Marianne ordered one for Felix for our birthday and lovies--- I am so in awe of Mandi's work yet again. 

Her attention to detail (like my side part, beauty mark) makes the doll one of a kind. Marianne chose the floral dress I wore during our maternity shoot. How Mandi found fabric exactly like my dress makes her (and my doll) even more amazing! She even made sandals like the ones I was wearing.

I love these dolls so much and think how special I hope they will always be to Felix.  I would have loved to have one of my parents when they were young and first figuring out their little family.

We're best friends, didn't you know?

 and then my heart exploded!

Her poses kill me! Oh Felix girl, you are something else.

Marianne, you couldn't have picked a more perfect gift for us. We love you and your thoughtful heart! XO 

Mandi, we love your thoughtful heart too. Thank-you for taking the time to make another extraordinary doll, even with nesting and being 30+ weeks pregnant. I know I say that over and over, but I am a huge fan of your dolls. You are awesome, my friend. THANK-YOU!!! Our best wishes for baby Duke ♥

Why go anywhere else than Etsy?

Etsy really is my go-to place for any occasion that calls for a gift. I thought I would share my last couple of purchases that went out to sweet friends. 

To me, nothing is better than handmade. I believe in sharing Etsy shops where I wanted to hug the shop owners in person. I love when they go that extra mile-- like when you tell them it's a gift going directly to the recipient and ask if they could include your note. Not only will they gladly do that, but they'll put it on pretty paper. Things like that make me want to recognize these shops (and again, hug their owners!) and always want to buy from Etsy. 

For Christmas, I sent Lauren a plush Narwhal (two things she loves) from Pink Chocolate. Chanel makes her plushies by hand and without a pattern. Because of that, I couldn't believe how reasonable the prices were for great handmade quality. 

For our friend Phoenix's birthday, my twin sister Marianne and I purchased this beautiful embroidered pillow from Sincerely Micah. Phoenix's husband calls her bunny so we thought this pretty would be perfect for their home. 

Remember my ornament swap? (the one I swore I would post a showcase about and then motherhood happened? I promise to showcase them in November during sign-ups. Ugh forgive me!) Christine was so understanding when her swap partner had something come up and wasn't able to send her something in time. I wanted to surprise Christine, just like when she made these ornaments for me. I sent her this cute vintage Santa ornament from Sweetgyrl and Pops.

I asked Anne (the shop owner) if she would include a note for me and look at the notecard Anne sweetly printed it on. 

For our future sister-in-law's birthday in January, Marianne and I played detective and surprised Christina with this open back yoga top that was in her Etsy favorites. Sexy for her 30th birthday and practical since she's a yogi. It's from Lychee Grove where you can find handmade, hand dyed fitness/loungewear apparel.  

Another Etsy and shop owner to love is Maria of Minimalista Clothing. Marianne and I sent this Frida Kahlo onesie to our friend Jessy, who just had her first baby, a beautiful girl named Frida. Maria included our note on her pretty stationary. 

It's these little touches that make me want to shop handmade always. 

Don't get me wrong, I love me some Target. But when it comes to getting something for a one of a kind friend, they deserve something one of a kind.

What was your last purchase(s) from Etsy? (even if it was a gift for yourself, I wanna know!) I'm always on the lookout for new Etsy shops to love. 

Roscoe & Felix.

Kitty is a blog friend that I hope I get to meet someday. I just love her and her adorable son Roscoe (who just turned 1! How cute was his circus themed birthday?). We've exchanged care packages before but it's even more fun now that we are Mamas. Here's a little exchange between our baby pen pals. 

For Christmas, Kitty and Roscoe sent Felix our favorite gifts to get. I mean Madeline on vinyl? Two things I love. Before Felix was born, Kitty sent us the sweet handmade dolly above. She is so beautifully made. As you can see from the photo below, dolly is Felix's PBS watching buddy. 

We found Roscoe's gifts on one of mine and Felix's thrifting dates. I'm always telling Kitty she should have a What Roscoe Wore series because he really is the best dressed little boy I know. I especially love when her blue eyed babe is in a sailor collar. You can imagine how happy I was when I came across this yellow lined one. Yellow is such a happy color so it was perfect for Baby Coco. 

Here he is wearing it during a weekend jam session. LOVE. 

We have the best of friends. We love you Kitty & Roscoe! xo Micaela & Felix

a sweet holiday tradition.

I'm so in love with our White Christmas tree. I love that this year--as with every year--I got to decorate it with new ornaments from dear friends. 

I ordered an owl ornament (which you'll see below) from Christine's etsy shop and she was so sweet to surprise me and Felix with this penguin cutie and a crochet heart. Don't you love random kindness? 

The twinkle star is from Gracienne to Felix. Precious!

I love that I met Erin through my first ornament swap and we've been exchanging ornaments ever since. This year she sent me a fluttery pink (pink for baby girl's first Christmas) paper ornament that she picked up at a Christmas craft fair she goes to every year and a glittery reindeer from here's the thing on etsy. She included that amazing vintage fawn candle while at an antique shop for Felix's nursery. Erin, every year you outdo yourself. I love you sweet friend! xo

Rhianne made these two for me. Handmade are my favorite! 

Speaking of handmade goodness, check out this one of a kind ornament my darling artist friend Phoenix made of Felix! It's Felix in her Halloween costume, one of the first times I caught her smile on camera. love love love. 

My vintage soul sister Amanda sent me three most thoughtful ornaments: vintage rudolph, a handmade cross stitched ornament that looks magical with twinkle lights shining through, and a photo one that we've already put a picture of Felix with her Santa hat, to always remember this first special holiday. 

Please take a peek at Amanda's blog post because her photos are much better than mine. While there, you should really follow her too. Her blog is such a cozy corner of the internet. 

some I sent out : 

photo borrowed from Amanda's blog : I scored these vintage beauties from an etsy shop called by the wayside. I just loved the gold snowcap and the gold and pink ombre one was from Felix. I thought they were perfect for my vintage soul sister. 

 The owl I was talking about earlier from Christine's shop, Dela Chic. Christine makes so many adorable owls it was hard to narrow it down, but I chose the pink and tan one for Lauren-- so she'll always remember it was Felix's first Christmas year.

These were in Erin's etsy favorites so I decided to surprise her with something she loved. I love that there were four bells and there are four Pughs :) (look how pretty one looks next to her favorite angel ornament)

Such a sweet holiday tradition among my favorite girls. 

Last Day to Enter the Pretty You & Me pick your own jewelry GIVEAWAY!

If you have't entered the Giveaway yet, PLEASE DO! the winner will be picked tomorrow.

Pretty You & Me is my friend Sarah's jewelry line. I'm really proud of her and think each piece is so unique and beautiful. I know we're good friends, but I truly mean it. I dress up my outfits (or pjs now that I'm a Mama of a 3 month old) every day with a bangle set or feather earrings. 

wearing one of my many bangle sets during my girls' trip to California (hello baby bump Felix!)

So do me a favor and support handmade because up for grabs is any piece of jewelry of YOUR choice. Doesn't get any better lovies and Sarah was so excited when she came to me about hosting a giveaway. ENTER HERE!  

Pretty You & Me Pick Your Own Jewelry Giveaway!

This beauty is my friend Sarah. I've blogged about her Pretty You and Me jewelry before-- and today she's offering one lucky reader a chance to win a one of a kind piece of jewelry of their choice!

Her pieces have a bohemian feel with a rockstar edge and yet at the same time are girly and romantic. I've purchased many bracelet sets and what I love most about her jewelry is that you can mix and match your pairs, wear them stacked or a few at a time.  

I didn't think I could pull off longer earrings or the single set look until one of her jewelry parties and I tried on (what is now) my most favorite pair.  It's the easiest way to dress up an outfit. 

Win your choice of PY&M jewelry (necklace, ring, earrings-- it's up to you!) simply by doing any/all of the following:

+ check out Pretty You And Me and comment which piece is your favorite 

+ like the PY&M facebook page *where you'll find a 20% off coupon 

+ extra entry if you follow my dolce vita

+ tweet about this giveaway // my twitter name is dolcemicaela

+ put my giveaway button on your blog, linking to this post

+ blog about this giveaway

SIX potential entries - pretty please leave separate comments for each

i'll pick the winner a week + a day on December 18th! xo

UPDATE: Shelly you're the lucky winner. hurray! please email me your shipping info and which jewelry piece your heart desires. I'll pass it along to Sarah to send off to you. ♥

thank-you to everyone who joined!