Jewelry and Craft Display ~ under $30!

I've seriously thinking about putting some items in a local shop, so I've really been keeping my eye out for some inexpensive and creative ways to display my items. A lot of it is definitely luck, but one must always keep their eyes open and jump at any opportunity to grab the coveted. Such is my experience nearly plowing over some young children in a thrift shop the other weekend to posses a beautiful dress form for how much? $40!
So here are a few items that I've bought, and some I've not (yet), but maybe we can get the creative juices flowing and come up with an amazingly beautiful little cubby at that local artisan market you've been eyeing up.

My new favorite online shop, Elizabeth's Embellishments, carries a huge variety of
shabby chic jewelry displays, or check out this vintage ring, bracelet and earring card
catch-all from Jen's Closet on Etsy.





The perfect catch-all for rings and brooches is definitely a vintage ceramic egg tray, like this one from Cats Vintage Shoppe. Drape jewelry over opened drawers of a jewelry box, like this one from Urban Outfitters, or down a vintage pedestal dish like this one from Shabby Urban Cottage for an elegant look. Table mirrors with swirlies and sticky-outies, like this one from Elizabeth's Embellishments, kill two birds with one stone - customers can try on necklaces and check themselves out at the same time.

Items that have a little bit of height to them, like lacey cake trays or frames enclosed with mesh, can not only hold single earrings, but either purchase or make your own 'S' hooks (with heavy-guage wire) and they can easily hold your very own earring cards. Splendid!

Any other ideas that you guys have to share, I would LOVE to hear!

Pain in the Middle

Feeling a little under the weather earlier this week, I had to take a few days off, which meant that I also had to miss Yoga class on Monday. Boo. That left me with one week since my last class. Class didn't nearly feel as bad as I thought it would; it actually felt pretty good. Until this morning, when I attempted to sit up in bed.
I think my instructor calls it the t-strap, that underlying muscle of the lower abdomen and lower back that you wouldn't even know you had until you pretty much did some of the core-strengthening poses like boat and locust poses. Anyway, pretty much every movement I make today is on the achy side, but for some reason, I can't wait for more! I'm imagining the end of my pot belly coming very soon.
Do you hear that? Is that a positive attitude you are hearing from me? Coming with the onslaught of pain? Change is in the air...or in the middle :)

Beak of the Week: Anything Artquirk

I don't know how I missed this sale ALL MONTH ('til Tuesday), but in honor of this intricately-detailed artist's 500th sale, all of Artquirk's dainty illustration are half price! Love these line drawing because they sort of take me away into these overseas cityscapes (well for us in the US anway) where I, one day, hope to stroll through the local produce markets on the way back to my summer cottage. Hey, a gal can dream, can't she?

Flowers in Greece; Laundry Day ; Strangled Lamp Post

Beak of the Week: Mini Dreamcatchers

I've had my eye on these for quite some time ~ an adorable pair of 3" Mini Dreamcatchers, by Nest Pretty Things is sure to only let the sweet dreams into your little one's slumbersome mind. Or most likely into your own slumbersome mind.

New Items!

L to R: Peculiar Petals rest upon the prettiest vintage button; Queen Anne's Lace earrings add a little bit of garden to the seamstress in you; A Scoop of Strawberry earrings, actually,make it two scoops, please; Three Gals Nest Necklace warms the heart with a trio of delighful eggs!

Happy Shopping!

That's MISS Yogini to you

Back on track, tonight will be my fourth class this month and I can honestly say that I don't remember being this sore in January. But I do want to remind myself (and hopefully some others) of some of the noted changes (already!) and some of the wonderful benefits of this great practice:

I'm less of a hunchback
I can feel some of my back muscles that I didn't use before. And I have that awareness, sometimes, of how I stand. Not so much of how I sit, yet, but it will come.

Increased circulation
It was so cool on Monday when I could actually feel the blood rushing into my hands while returning to Mountain from some of my other poses. I have horrible circulation and unless I'm reaching for some cookies, my hands barely reach above my head.

More Confidence
Something about yoga, particularly when I've been at constant practice for a bit, makes me feel like a strong, confident woman. I think clearer and make better decisions, too.

More Restful Sleep
My mind is calm and my muscles don't ache (I swear, the older I get the more achy I get). That equals delicious sleep and more energy in the morning. Yay!

There are so many additional benefits, but for now I'm all pumped about tonight's class. My intention every time is always for a better me. And I think I'm on my way.

Style on the Cheap

Yeah yeah, I know, I'm a little old to shop here, but I just can't help myself. Forever 21 always has loads of beautiful clothes, with a tiny price tag. So I picked a few items from my wish list to share with you guys and guess what the total is? Just guess. $62. For the whole entire set. Whoa.

a. Pleated Neck Satin Top b. Jenny Sequin Ballet Flats c. Rose Petal Print Skirt
d. Simple Satin Headband e. Cordelia Flower Ring
(Keep in mind that clothing sizes run small)

Happy Shopping!

5 am

The best part of every day is at 5 am, when he kisses me gently on the cheek before he leaves for work.

Image: Kissing Fish by Dreadsky (Danielle Anthony)

Beak of the Week: A Bird Birdhouse

The Modern Silhouette Birdhouse, by William Dohman, will make quite a nice home for a few of your feathered friends. Available in a quad of colors and two different styles (modern & rustic), these natural beauties are truely bird-worthy.

Yogini Again

Last night was my first night of my Beginner's Yoga class. I haven't done any hardcore hatha yoga since January & wow has my body gone downhill! Nancy went very, very easy on us, the room wasn't even hot and I was still sweating like crazy. My poor, scrawny little arms were shaking, too. Ugh.

I'm going to try my darnedest to use this month-long commitment as a stepping stone to live a happier, healthier life. I took my first step a little over a month ago & have only been partly successful, so this is another step in the right direction. To push that even further, I'll share my exercise goals for this month with you:

Mondays & Wednesdays ~ Hatha Yoga, 1 hr
Saturdays and/or Sundays ~ 1 hr minimum hike, fast walk for first 30 min (with exception for pee/doo breaks. No! Not me, pee breaks for my dog! gross!)
2x minimum this month ~ 90 min hatha yoga class, whichever day fits.

Doesn't sound so tough, does it? Ugh. Today my shoulders and arms have a little soreness to them, but other than that, I feel pretty good. Looking forward to my energy increasing and feeling more confident.

Birds and the Bees

Picture this: a perfect Saturday afternoon & a delishiously extravagent one-year-old's birthday party (complete with a Moon Bounce, Slip-n-Slide, beanbag toss, piñata, shall I go on?) and me, attempting to make a descent first impression on my bf's cousins and in-laws, whom I am meeting for the first time. I think I do fairly well, no major issues. Until, that is, I am threads away from dropping my pants. Yea, I said it. Drop my pants.

I'm relaxing on the deck watching the cutest group of kids I've ever seen experiment on the Slip-n-Slide. Going backwards, attempting to use a boogie board, doing flips and the like. Deciding that an hour of this is quite enough, I head inside to check out the baby situation. All of a sudden, from within my pants comes a throbbing sting (just keep reading, you sick-o). Then another. I figure I'll run outside and pull up my pant leg to let the stinging culprit out. Except he gets stuck. And mad. More stinging.

By this time I'm freaking out - any sort of bug in my pants will make me cry and scream like a schoolgirl, but one that stings is another story. People are standing around watching this whole charade and I figure the only way to get the bee out is to take my pants off. You thought I did, didn't you? Naw, I ran into the bathroom and pulled my pants down the little buzzer hits the floor, all mangled from being smooshed against my leg. My leg: throbbing and stinging and spotty. I put my pants back on and, holding my tears back, I asked for a plastic bag and some ice. I'm told that meat tenderizer will work or I can go outside and rub dirt on it, but I really wanted to take my pants off because it felt like there were bees all in my pants, still stinging. So someone brings me a huge chunk of ice to put in a little sandwich bag, which didnt fit. Oh my God I just need ice in a bag! Its like I hit every red light.

Ah, finally! I took my baggie and ran upstairs and removed my pants. Insisting that my pants were infested with bees, I made Scott turn them inside out twice and hand-inspect the inside and outside for bees and stingers. Pants back on, I suffered through cake, ice cream, opening gifts from 40 people and jumping in the moon bounce myself.

Now that the swelling and itching has begun, I see that I have at least 5 stings that feel like mosquito bites. Funny, I don't recall that a bee sting itches. But I also don't remember what I had for breakfast.

Image: The Queen Beekeeper by Jennifer Trotter

Hatchlings: Keller Homemade

While searching for some pretty linens for my treasury this weekend, I came upon this lovely little shop, Keller Homemade. Not only have I officially fallen in love with all of her creations, but I seriously adore her shop banner, too. Ah, it all makes sense - a Graphic Designer by trade mixed with an avid crafter generates lovely products and a lovely shop in this Etsier. I totally dig the way she always seems to incorporate a little tiny pattern and illustration, keeping everything nice and sweet and dainty. Keep up the great work!

Top to bottom: Keller's Shop banner in one word ~ adorable; This Sweet Little Flower Bag will go perfect with a flowy sundress and comfy sandals; Adding a cute little pattern to soft linen makes one's scarf uniquely adorable; Hand-stamped and hand-bound, this little Leaf sketchbook is perfect for noting which birds and flora you've seen on your nature hike.

Happy Shopping!

Things I love

1. Little flowers added to anything! I just bought some adorable embroidered ones that I'm thinking of adding to my jewelry. Stay Tuned.
2. Croissants. I eat them for breakfast. Everyday.
3. Bows. Everywhere.
4. The First 48 on A&E.
5. Trader Joe's Kettle Corn. The perfect combo of salty and sweet. Exspecially at the bottom where all of the flavoring settles :)
6. Heather Ross and her delightful fabrics.
7. Wendy ~ the most adorable font ever. By Monotype imaging.
8. Laughing.
9. The word delight.
10. The Flea Market. Love it.

Happy Shopping!

Beak of the Week!

Straight from Etsy's Oh So Retro, this week's Beak of the Week is Hope Springs Eternal Embroidery Picture, $16. I love anything linen or hand-stitched, and this rosey message is the best of both worlds!

This might be the cutest thing I've ever seen on etsy...

Love Story Booklace, by All Those Trees. I want it. Can someone please tell Scott?

Happy Shopping!