Bree and i met almost 5 years ago through mutual friends. funny thing is. we would sit at the same table amongst these mutual friends and never really speak. i was scared of her. she was pretty, uber cool and to be quite honest, i thought she was a bitch. (it’s ok, she knows all this). i would tell my friend Alex “she hates me! she looks at me mean!” and he would be like “what? Bree is the funniest person i know”. i would side eye him whilst sipping my vodka tonic and think, nuh-uh. she’s a meanie!

after a while we’d start talking as her bf, Scot and all of our other man people who play music would talk about man music things. slowly but surely i realized Alex was right. she WAS the funniest person ever. and one of the most unique, amazing friends i would ever have.

she’s pretty right? like, unfairly.

Bree loves robots. one of the first times i realized how freaking ridiculously funny she was was halloween a few years back. she showed up in a robot costume that was made for kids (she is super tiny and petite so it fit). it was a head piece and robot hands and she’d grab her drink and anything else in sight with these robot claws while saying “meep, mop, boo beep”. I KNOW RIGHT? she has amazing taste and recently graduated from fashion design school. if i ever have questions regarding my wardrobe (can i even wear skinny jeans? how do i tie this scarf? what should i wear to my 10 year reunion?), i call her. better yet, i just pretty much take her shopping with me every time now. no seriously.

i think people  think we are nuts when we go shopping, because of our silly banter. this is a LEGITIMATELY accurate conversation we have on the regular at h & m:

me: “this is dumb”. ::holds up super cute top:: “i hate it”.

bree:: “that IS dumb. if you don’t buy it i will. it’s so stupid”.

me:: GASP “what the hell is this dumb shirt doing? ::hangs on stroller:: i buy you now”.

bree: ::holds up dress:: “why do i want to buy this? i kinda want to buy this.”

me: “you should, it’s hideous”.

I KNOW.

besides the being adorable and helping me shop thing, she’s incredibly caring and is the best listener i know. she tells me when i’m being a bit ridiculous and tells me when i’m not. she LOVES my kid and my kid LOVES her (last night Bree was over and Harper just went over and hugged her before bedtime. she never hugs without asking. it was precious and my heart melted).

Bree not only listens to all of my blog talk, she reads it daily and has even told me she cries regularly over it. i suppose this is my way of telling Bree how much i love and adore her, and am so grateful for her friendship. i tell her frequently IRL, but who doesn’t like to hear it on the internet, too? weird people, that’s who.

and no. you cannot have her. no really, you can’t. she doesn’t blog or tweet so you have no way of stealing her. last night we were gonna drink wine and i was gonna show her how to tweet, but instead we ate hummus and dark chocolate toblerone and cried like girls whilst watching Parenthood (not even possible to NOT cry at that show. Parenthood: 4 Mandy: O). i’d give you her number for fashion advice, but i’m super selfish so no.

Bree my darling, i love you. you’re amazing, beautiful, talented and a kick ass friend. even though most times my face hurts for hours after hanging out.

because of the giant face hurting smile, obv.

post summary: i will totally let you all know if Bree cries at this post.

i tend to get really excited about giveaways. true, true, i’ve only had a few, but i still really enjoy getting a chance to give my readers something cool and fun. this is no exception. you may have already seen the Spunky Stork button on my blog, and hopefully you’ve already clicked on it and checked out all the cute, fun, 100% organic cotton clothing.

they were kind enough to send Harper the adorable lavender “love” long sleeved onesie (someday the little nugget will graduate to toddler tees…). it’s not only cute, but super soft and environmentally conscious. and with tons of other fun colors and sayings, you may find it hard to choose which one(s) to buy. next up on my list is the joint production onesie. so clever!

to add insult to injury (the injury being the hurting you’ll want to put on your wallet, and the insult being the cool thing i’m going to say next that will help you justify it), the shipping is free on all orders (to the US). and if you’re giving your purchase as a gift, please don’t even get me started on the cute options for gift wrapping (because seriously? the crib? i die).

the Spunky Stork has graciously offered a $27 gift certificate (the price of almost every onesie and t-shirt, and herro! shipping is free!) to one HH reader. squee!

to enter, leave a comment on this post.

for additional entries, do the following and come back and leave another comment for each. (that part is super important so each comment counts as an entry):

• follow Harper’s Happenings on Twitter or tell me you already are.
• become a fan of HH on Facebook or tell me you already are.
• follow the Spunky Stork on Twitter
• become a friend of the Spunky Stork on Facebook

winner will be chosen at random on Monday, February 1st. get to gettin’ friends, ’cause this one’s a goodie!

p.s. try not to squee as loud as i did when i noticed Harper is the baby model pictured for the lavender long sleeved onesie.

tonight she did something so cute and sweet that i need to blog about it so i won’t ever forget. because really? the internet never forgets, and frankly, i do. (p.s.? super glad the internet won’t ever forget my rad blazer).

Harper was all jammied up and ready for bed. i had put all her toys away in their basket while Scot got her set for tie-tie (that’d be night-night, and yes, our babytalk is stellar) and they came downstairs so she could hang for a few minutes before we put her down. she walked over to her toys and started taking them out. at first i was going to object (i mean hello kid, i just put those away). but she took one of the “treats” from her tea set (one that she usually puts to her mouth and says “mmm”), walked over to Scot with it proudly held in front of her and offered it to him. he said “oh, thank you!”, she smiled, turned and gibbered “oh yeah gibby jibby hey” as she headed back for the toys.

i kid you not, for the next half hour, she one by one took every toy she has and delivered them by hand to her daddy. each piece of her tea set, each ball from her popper, each shape from her sorter, and each circle from her stacker, one at a time until there was nothing left. every time, he said “oh, thank you!” and she said “oh yeah gibby jibby hey” as she went back for a new piece. i. almost. died.

Scot was covered in toys, looking like a room straight out of Hoarders, and i sat with tears in my eyes because she was sharing, and she was so dang proud and so deliberate and it was omg too much. she even gave him her binkie. her binkie, you guys. my only regret was not having the camera charged so i could a) video the cuteness and b) have a photo to show you guys of the hubs mountain-o-toys.

she went to bed a half hour late and we had to put all her toys away again. it’s not even funny how little i care.

side note : so “oh yeah gibby jibby hey” either means “you’re welcome” or “here take this peice of crap, i am so totally over it. and since you’re so stoked on it, lemme go get you another one”. we’re going with the first one to keep the story cute and endearing.

i suspect there will be a few questions, possibly complaints, at first but i think we will all like it here once we’re settled in. i fully welcome your emails, tweets and comments here. i need to know what isn’t working or flowing so i can make it better. thanks in advance. and apologies in advance to my new homie, Mario, for any and all emails titled HALP! or I HATE THE INTERWEBS! or I’M DYING!

but seriously, if you guys see something weird, miss something about the old blog, etc, please holler. if it is something that is hard to do, please send accompanying wine/chocolate/excedrine migraine.

in the holiday craziness and moving crap, we slipped down the ranks at Top Baby Blogs. whilst i agree there are times i need to be knocked down a few pegs, this is not one of them. click below to help me climb the ladder and therefor feel better about myself.