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!