Sending some positive happiness to you all!

Hi everyone!

I hope this Friday finds you all enjoying your day and getting ready for a wonderful weekend!

With the crazy things happening in this world (oil spill in the Gulf and Arizona immigration law) I wanted to send some fun, simple, positivity to you all.

I've been reminding myself lately to not get bogged down in the daily obstacles and stresses and the horrible sad things going on in other parts of the world.

Your worrying does no one any good. What does good is an energized and inspired person helping create a solution and making a difference in their own community. Its all connected. Feeling overwhelmed by the millions of gallons of oil soaking the oceans off the coast of Louisiana? Go walk some dogs and clean some kennels at your local humane society. Are you upset by the people starving in Uganda? Call your local soup kitchen and see if they need anything from Costco and drop it off to them. Everything has a ripple effect.

What's important is that you take time to enjoy your life. Its great, isn't it? No matter if you can't pay your bills or you work for a jerk or your inlaws drive you up the wall 24-7. Life is great. So go immerse yourself in what makes you happy and bounce along through your day and all the stressers. Just ignore them!

I love Kina Grannis and have been listening to her all day! (And will see her in SF in 2 weeks!) I love her cover of the peppy Train song.



(I dedicate that video to my great friend Monika because she is one of the only infinitely positive and happy and wonderful people I know. And she is my soul sister actually. Or biological one maybe. I get so stressed and she so CONSTANTLY encouraging and I never thank her enough for that. Thanks, Mon!)

Then this is Kina's new video that is equally as sweet and lovely. I love it.




Have a great weekend everyone! What are you all doing? Any fun plans?

Love,
Kyle

We are on Mini Social tomorrow!

Hi everyone,

We are trying to clear out some of our old stock on The Mini Social tomorrow through Friday! For those of you not familiar, The Mini Social is a members only sale sight like Gilt Group or Rue La La, where you can get your designers clothing at lower prices at the end of the season. Our excess tanks and tees from Fall2009 are up there for $10 or so. (:

This will help up fund our causes and make room for the awesome Fall 2010 things rolling in soon! Wahoooo!

Will you go sign up and snatch up some b&b? And tell your friends! Thanks!

(:
barley & birch crew

Inspiration & Pit Bulls

Hi All! I hope you had a lovely weekend and are beginning (or getting ready to begin) your work week full of energy and revitalized. Its been a while since I felt revitalized and ready for a Monday, as usually I spend my weekends getting caught up and ahead of the rest of the population that doesn't work 90hrs week. (Its like the P.Diddy philosophy.... or something?) But this week I feel rested and ready to go get 'em!

Anyway!

I am most inspired when I have wrapped up my work and get out and am totally exhausted. I used to surf alllllll day, head to yoga, and dream up the best way to build a children's clothing empire. My mind has been really cloudy with stress and growing pains and obstacles lately and I've really been needing some time to get away and get everything set and straightened out in my head.

So today we went on an epic hike.

Needless to say I've planned out the coolest stuff ever and figured out how to make it all work. I am giddy with excitement over these ideas. I can't wait to share them with you all!

I of course took time to pose for several million photos with my 2nd best friend (after Alia), Theopolous Wolverine Horatio Merstacules Smitley(-Barry) aka Theo, my 80lb 9 month old puppy. He is half Pit Bull and half German Shepherd and really the best dog in the universe. (Having an intensely overbearing and bossy human momma helps, I think.)

I just love this little guy and decided to create our Pit Bull shirt with the hopes of raising at least a couple thousand dollars to support rescues all over the country. The breed is often used for fighting and kept in incredibly cruel situations and, living in the Bay Area, I've seen these poor puppies with cuts mended with staplers and skin conditions treated with motor oil one too many times to just sit by and do nothing.

So I figured we'd make our Pit Bull shirt and hope that people loved these little pups as much as I do. We can print on any light color tee or on our own. For sizing reference, I am wearing a small. They run true to size and shrink up a little bit.

The pup on our tee is a rescue pup as well. Her name is Honey and she belongs to Eileen and Shawn, who are friends of Jodie and were kind enough to let us use her cutie mug on our tees.

For your Sunday evening enjoyment, here is one segment of our lovefest at the top of a mountain.

This is just the norm. Being smothered in attention and love.

I'm trying to move him to a more photogenic position.

He "gives kisses" that are more like really intense nose pokes with a drooly tongue flailing.

Chaos.
Please don't let the enormous tongue and sweaty grimace in this photo discourage you from snatching up one of our Pit Bull tees.

I'd love to hear how YOU get inspired? And of course would also love to hear about how much you love your dogs and all the crazy things you do for them, too. Leave comments below!

Love,
Kyle

"Wear it!" Wednesday

Oh my GOODNESS. How cute can you get?

Meet Genevieve! This little cutie (sporting her blue b&b Erin sweater) is the daughter of Sarah and niece of Alasandra, who owns Vivi Bambini in Ho-ho-Kus, New Jersey. Genevieve aka "Vivi" was a large part of the inspiration to start Vivi, actually!

Vivi's favorite color is blue (as demonstrated above) and her favorite TV show is Olivia. Alasandra reports that Vivi's favorite thing to do is to explore the stream behind her Oma's house (Alasandra and Sarah's mother.)

Well, we think that she is totally beautiful! We've met Genevieve's Aunt Sandy and her Oma and know that her mother is wonderful. We think Vivi will be the next in the line of wonderful women looking to improve the world. (:

Thanks to Sarah, Sandy, and Vivi for the photo! (:

"Wear it!" Wednesday

Meet Michael! Michael is rocking his adorable Bridge Tee!

Michael is the darling son on Danielle, who has the wonderful blog Getting Kind of Crunchy!

Thanks to Danielle and Michael for the photos!

Spring and Easter and Happy and Pretty.

Well who knows if its the grey weather or the overwhelming nature of law school or the headaches that I am getting from b&b lately, but I am feeling so discouraged, and crabby, and frustrated, and basically just like Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh lately!

Everything is glum and negative in my outlook lately which just is not normal.

So this weekend I am devoting some time to getting happy and catching up on sleep and some work that I enjoy and will enjoy to tie up.

How do you all get happy when you are feeling down?

I found this photo on the blog of my friend Catherine of Rikshaw Design and it cheered me up and I wanted to share it with you all!

I hope you have a fantastic weekend!

Love,
Kyle