welcome to hadley lane

hello everyone! welcome to hadley lane!

My name is Marissa. I'm a wife (almost 12 years now) and a mom (to a sweet, adorable 4 year old named Hadley).

I'm starting this blog because I want to share with you some of my favorite finds from Etsy.com (I may throw in a few non-Etsy finds too but for now I'm focusing on some great Etsy treats). I love online shopping. I love finding special and unique gifts for myself, my family and my friends. And I LOVE Etsy. I love that you can communicate directly with the seller and you can really tailor an item to exactly what you're wanting...or you can buy a ready made item right from their shop and it's also the perfect gift.

My love for Etsy started when I was trying to find my daughter's first Halloween costume. I asked her what she wanted to dress up as and right away she knew she wanted to be a Bumble Bee. So off I went in search of the cutest Bumble Bee costume known to mankind. It was harder than I thought. Etsy did not first come to mind when I started my search. I started with the more typical places you would normally find a Halloween costume and I just wasn't satisfied with anything I was finding. For one, this was going to be my daughter's first Halloween costume and I was determined for it to be extra special. Second, some Halloween costumes can get pretty pricey, especially when you start adding in all the accessories and doodads and sparkly things and this and that and the other AND it's probably going to get worn all of ONE, maybe TWO times.....so I definitely wanted something I felt I was getting my money's worth on.

After miss after miss after miss, the idea came out of nowhere to search on Etsy. I had heard of Etsy before but all I knew was that it was a place where people could sell handmade items. Ummm, helllllooooo, I did not get the memo that it was the best, most addictive, most unique shopping site ever! As soon as I started searching for the Bumble Bee costume, I was hooked! And, of course, once you start searching for one thing you start to think of the other thousand things that you just so happen to need....why, yes, I do need those hanging kitchen towels (this is no joke--the towel is hanging on my refrigerator door handle as I type and I LOVE it....it's one of those things that's reminiscent of my childhood....awwww).

So, yep, now I'm hooked. I did a lot of my Christmas shopping for friends and family (and myself) on Etsy last year and I already have some favorites saved for this year's shopping list. I'm very excited to showcase some wonderful Etsy finds.

I know it's only the end of June right now but Christmas will be right around the corner before we know it......and really, isn't every day a great day to give a gift :)

**I should note that I am not receiving any compensation for any of the items/shops that I may mention on my blog. This blog is simply a fun hobby for me. I do not make any money from it and I am not being compensated for my opinions. Any Etsy products that I currently own or have given as gifts were purchased by me....or the hubby ;) Also, some of the shops I showcase on my blog are not necessarily shops I have bought from so I do not always have first hand experience with some of these items...they are shops that I have come across through my searches and their products have caught my eye and I wanted to share their items with my readers. Just thought I should mention that.**

Happy Shopping!!! 

~marissa

This is me and my cutie patootie, Hadley. This picture was a few years ago (she's 4 now) but this is one of my favorite pictures of us :)