Happy Birthday to Me!!

 Today is my birthday and I want to celebrate by passing along the celebration to you with some giveaways!

Venetia Kelly's Traveling Show: A Novel

First up is a book I am really enjoying by Frank Delaney.

 I love the premise, the tone and the colors in this book.

I am only a little ways in but I am loving it so far.

The only drawback is that it is like that last bite of the perfect creme brulee. I want to save it and savor it instead of rushing through.

Frank's website has some great podcast and sometimes he even does a fun Twitter contest.

Frank's publicist graciously sent me a copy to read and review and will also send one to one lucky reader!

So leave a comment on this post and you will be entered to win!

And check back tomorrow for another Birthday Giveaway!!

what it is like

waiting to adopt is like being 8 yrs old and waiting for Christmas morning.

you know enough to know that you can't make it come any faster.

that you cannot control what gifts you get or if there will be snow.

but you also know that it will come eventually.

and that you will love it when it does finally get here as much as if it was tomorrow.

sometimes you go days without thinking about it at all.

sometimes you think about it so much it makes you feel like you have ants in your pants.

sometimes it is the last thing you think of before you drift off to sleep.

light action

This is my current light fixture over our kitchen table. I have always loved this classic shape but the whole fixture needs a little face-lift.

The chain is too long. The hardware too silver. The globe too plain (and dirty!)

So I have gathered a few ideas to give my little light a make-over:

First, I found these  from Schoolhouse Electric .

Don't you just love stripes?
I think with some painters tape and some craft paint I could accomplish this look nicely...

And look at this great make-over from The DIY Showoff. I love the black detail on this one.

This is made from a candle base and a globe.

Amazing!

Now I just have to sweet talk Sweet Man into taking it down for me so I can work some paint magic...

36 is just around the corner

September is my birthday month.

It is also Sweet Man's birthday month.

I love this.

Our birthdays are 3 days apart, so we like to often celebrate on the day in between.

This year I do not think there will be much celebrating because we will be in the middle of a big project (to be revealed later) and there is the FEP to consider.

35 was a pretty wonderful year.

So many great things happened.

Makes me a little nervous for 36 to be honest.

I am not really a goal person.

I find that when I tend to put all my energy into aiming for a goal, it is a sure fire way to garuntee that it will not happen. Erghh.

That being said here is my list of wishes (not goals) for 36

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ride my bike more

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turn my photo's into postcards to sell in the shoppe

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practice yoga and prayer daily. even if it is just down dog for 5 minutes, breathing the words "help me, help me, help me and thank you, thank you, thank you."

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make more homemade snacks like granola and biscotti. 

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embroider more.

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read more.

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adopt.

(coming soon)

to give more.

jemimah b i heart u

Both of my sisters are amazing photographers.

their styles are totaly different but both are so creative and beautiful.

I recently saw this picture that Jemimah took and I was so excited to see her use of one of my banners!

I was truly flattered to see it show up in one of her photographs.

I feel like I am always mooching off my sisters talents - their camera skills, sewing skills, hair-cutting skills,childcare skills...

I often feel like I do not have anything to give them but a hug and a thank you, and occasionaly a couch to crash on. So it was nice to see Jemimah using my banner as a prop.

It is a small thing I know.

 But still.

To see more of Jemimah's work click HERE

To see Judea's work click HERE

the FEP

Part of  making our way towards adoption means that we have to make some cut backs.

cut backs in space and money.

We are calling this the FEP (aka the Family Expansion Plan)

so to that end I am making space by cleaning out my vintage goodies and craft supplies and I am selling them all @ Jolly Vintage, where 100% of all funds will go towards our FEB savings account.

I do not expect to make a fortune this way, not at all.

But I do think it helps me a little to feel like I am taking some sort of action.

That I am doing something productive in the meantime.

That I am working towards a goal.

Guess this is part of the adoption "nesting" process.

Yesterday I added a few more goodies to Jolly Vintage.

These great cake toppers.

The yellow one strikes me as perhaps was part of a whole bridal party of cake toppers.

Something in the face of the girl makes me think that perhaps she was not the bride...

Something in his face makes me think he is very glad he is not the groom.

The other, older cake topper is a classic.

Her in her tulle. Him in his white tux jacket.

Both of them looking like they would rather be anywhere than on the top of a wedding cake...

Who is he looking at I wonder?

Is her headpiece to heavy or is she just plain bored?

Maybe they are really happy together, it's just that they wanted a smaller beach affair, just the 2 of them, instead of the large catholic affair both of their parents insisted on...

oh the intricacies of life as a cake topper.

(find both toppers for sale here)

new old lamp

This is a lamp I bought at ReStore recently.

It was what I would call "grandma" looking. And not in a nice way.

A funky shade of mauve, gold base, random flowers.

But I adore the shape.

I adored the little beading detail.

And the price was just right.

So I brought her home, cleaned her up, and gave her a make-over.

I still need to make a permanent shade for her (just consider her to be in her curlers for now.)

But I think her new look suits her perfectly, don't you?

shoppe news

it must be the season.

something about the first wiff of autumn sends me into shoppe mode.

also, i need to start making room for our family expansion plan, and that means I need to CLEAN house.

so to this end i have created a new shoppe:

Introducing Jolly Vintage where I will be selling off craft supplies, vintage treasures and odds and ends

right now I have a few vintage Christmas items listed, but I plan to add much more as I clean out my studio!

also, not to leave anyone feeling left out I have listed some NEW Kits and retired  fall Storia HOME items over @ Jolly Goode 

I just love the pumpkin garlands in carnival. So happy!

lunch break

I love my job.

And part of why I love my job is because it is downtown.

I love that I can walk to the Rivermarket for lunch and get a yummy falafal sandwhich or sushi or bbq or fresh baked bread. And then I can sit outside and look at the river, or the sky, or my favorite thing  of all- all the old buildings against the backdrop of the sky.

I love that I can go to River Market Books & Gifts

i love all their silly bookish novelties . I mean who doesn't want a Jane Austin action figure??

and I can sit on my most favorite bench. isn't it divine?

and visit my true love. a world globe as big as me.

all this and books too.

heaven.

a thought

inspired by Rebcca Sower

chhhachanges

I really am going to do it this time. I know you are tired of hearing about it.

I am going to paint the red room.

But now I have to decide which color.

When we bought this house 7 years ago I wanted everyone room to be a different color. And I loved that. And now I am ready for a change and I want each room to be a different shade of blue or green.

So back to the red room. What color? A fresh lemony green like in the dining room picture

or a more gray-blue-green like in the living room picture?

Should I paint the beadboard a color or leave it white?

I think the sitting room will become the lighter green and my kitchen the gray-er green. But that is just my guess today...

One descision I have made is about these chairs I bought this weekend at ReStore.

I paid $15 a piece for them.I adore the shape, the size and the feel.

I hate the fabric.

I attempted to make slipcovers for them.

Ha!

Thank goodness my mother has had mercy on me and is going to take over this project.

Of course they won't be this fancy  but I think they will come out looking more like this than not due to their shape.

falling

The past few mornings, as we have walked outside, Miles has exclaimed

It's FALL!!!

He says this with such excitement and wonder that I know he must be my child.

Yes, fall has come. It has stuck it's big toe in the lake of change and is contemplating a full cannonball jump.

Of course we must still toy with summer a bit. But that is to be expected. Change is hard to commit too. Even for Mother Earth.

But still, fall comes and with it she brings some of my favorite things

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Rainy days & Boots to wear.

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Coats & Scarves & Hats... oh my!

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Campin'. 'Nuf said.

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Yummy Baking.

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Fall decorating.

So do you love fall too?