for the love of a boy....

This really all started with a darling boy, Charlie. *Isn't he a sweetie?*

This blue-eyed, mostly bald little guy stole my heart immediately.  It was love at first sight!  Even before he arrived, I was a busy beaver, stockpiling away.  I think I had clothes up to at least size18-24 months before he was born.  It was such fun!  Having two girls, now teenagers, I never had the opportunity to buy boy clothes, so off I went!

One thing to know about me.  I never pay full price.  For anything, if I can help it.  You can almost always find a coupon, discount or promo code out there somewhere!  So my deals were fabulous, and I found myself running out to Lowe's to buy more storage containers as the clothes piled up ;0)

Did I mention I have sold on ebay for years?  My user name is laurenjane  (Lauren and Jane are the girls' middle names)  My ebay "career" started waaayyyy back when I could actually buy things for the girls they would wear -- totally cute stuff, they'd outgrow it, then onto ebay it went.  I distinctly remember the day when 4 year old Belle (now 14) ran her hands down a pair of super cute Gymboree leggings and frowned, saying "Mom, these are NOT wide enough!"  She wanted flares.  And so began the downfall of being able to shop for the girls without their "approval."  I didn't have an ebay store then, but built up my sales, and of course, did some buying here and there as well.  

Fast forward to 2010, and my ever-growing piles and containers.  My husband actually posted this one on Facebook.  *thanks honey* 

BTW, this lovely room was our formal dining room *sigh*  Oh, and I am slightly more organized than this now.... I have more bins!

I really wanted to open my own resale shop, but the timing wasn't right to leave my full time job.  So, the website was born, and our online store, CharlieWarlies was in business!

I branched out from just Charlie's clothes to finding TONS of adorable girls' items as well, and rather quickly, my inventory grew. 

My goals are really twofold:  first, to grow CharlieWarlies into the premier children's online resale destination for fabulous bargains on brands like Baby Gap, Ralph Lauren, Crewcuts, Mini Boden, Gymboree, Janie & Jack and more! 

Second, by developing this business, I can pass along GREAT deals on super cute, designer kids' clothes to you, AND quit the "day job" and spend more time with my little cutie, Charlie, and the girls before they are off to college!!

And since I love to talk about my children (and shopping and clothes) just as much as the next guy (or gal), this blog was born!

So I hope you will join me on this fabulous journey!  I plan to have feature posts like "Fabulous Find Fridays" where I will share my "fabulous find" of the week, whether it's an adorable outfit, a piece of furniture I plan to makeover, or great deals/links/blogs/ websites, including *FREE* stuff and coupons!  Who doesn't love free?

You'll also find another feature post, "A Smackeral of Something to Think About" where I may discuss current topics relevant to baby, kids and family (nothing too heavy, but hopefully thought-provoking and comment-worthy!) 

Another recurring feature will be a "Did ya Know?" post, with fun, crazy, interesting, educational or just plain neat facts you can use in your day-to-day life.  Who couldn't use a little fun fact about random things here and there right?  Stay tuned!

In between, you can join me on my tumble down the rabbit hole, on my adventures into the crazy, wonderful and sometimes scary world of motherhood!

Looking forward to the journey.... and to think, it all really started

for the love of a boy...