Almost Time for Spring and Cherry Blossoms



Washington D.C. - Cherry Blossom Trip - April 2010

There are officially 16 more days until the first day of Spring!  In Pittsburgh though, it seems that the weather has already started to become less wintry. Today it is supposed to reach a high of 52 degrees and tomorrow 51 degrees.  This is absolutely fabulous! I will repress the fact that when I went to check the weather the headline on weather.com was NEXT POTENTIAL BLIZZARD and that in 1993 Pittsburgh received a total of 24.6 inches of snow on March 12 and 13. Instead I will simply focus this weekend's lovely forecast.



Michael, our cherry blossom host, at the Tidal Basin

Each Spring for the past three years Anthony and I have traveled to Washington D.C. to visit our dear friend Michael who is at Catholic University studying to become a priest.  We have been fortunate enough to time our visit around the cherry blossoms. With milder weather just in general, it is always such a treat to travel to D.C. and escape some of the greyness and chill of Pittsburgh. Michael does a fabulous job playing tour guide to us and taking us to all of the wonderful spots in D.C. for eating, drinking, and general sightseeing.

So far the blossoms have cooperated with our travel schedule and have been in bloom when we visited. I diligently check the Bloom Watch which charts and predicts each phase of the bloom process. Unfortunately, last year my friend Steph ventured to D.C. only to find what she described as a "Stick Festival" since all of the blooms had fallen early.

Anthony and I--not in wedding regalia

Each year that we have gone we have taken loads of pictures (despite the fact that one cherry blossom generally looks the same as another cherry blossom). I am always envious when we see couples in full wedding regalia posing for their wedding pictures with the beautiful blossoms. I often think how lovely it would have been to have a cherry blossom themed wedding or shower--perhaps next time :) Of course I am just kidding! (mostly)

With the lovely wedding pictures as inspiration, I made these bridal shower invitations. I just love how pink they are.  You will find much more elaborate Cherry Blossom invitations on Etsy, but I just wanted to focus on the blossoms--obviously the main attraction. 

After our first visit to D.C. to adore the blossoms, I really wanted a memento of the beautiful blooms to keep in our house. At the time, I had to settle for a print from Art.com, but now Etsy is absolutely filled with cherry blossom items that I wanted to share with you. I am thinking that I will be purchasing some of these. I just have to decide what and how many.  I don't want people thinking that I am obsessed with cherry blossoms (even though I am slightly).

To see more of Nancy's work or to purchase these paintings visit her shop.

I found these lovely paintings by Nancy Jean at thePaintedSky.  In her shop she features breathtaking paintings that truly capture the beauty of nature with an aura of warmth about them. In Asian Inspired Love, the nest and the butterfly just bring such optimism to the piece and with its simplicity it is positively stunning. Her other cherry blossom painting, entitled Love Song, is equally charming with its two lovebirds. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that she also does custom pieces and I must admit that I am very drawn to the Custom Love Nest Painting too. Perhaps because it already has my name on it--but who is this Mark guy? Is he interested in a cherry blossom themed wedding? In all seriousness though, despite the fact that there are so many artists on Etsy, it is truly rare to find one who offers paintings, not prints, for a reasonable price, but Nancy manages to do it.

At Whitefish Style they have captured the beauty of cherry blossoms on both a screen-printed tank top and tunic.  A family business, based in Whitefish Montana, Scott's shop has many lovely items that are inspired by nature.They are also environmentally responsible and use nature friendly water based inks and "especially love to use organic cotton and/or garments produced with wind and solar power." Offering tanks, tees (for men and women), dresses, hoodies and jackets, Whitefish Style creates the perfect balance of casual beauty. I must admit that although I am very partial to the cherry blossom styles, the owl tees are also fabulous.  One of the perks of ordering from Whitefish Style is that they do FREE shipping to the U.S. and Canada--how wonderful is that?

Visit the shop to deck yourself out Whitefish Style.



Visit theshagbag and ohhh and ahhh over the pretty things

I also found the perfect cuff bracelet to complement Whitefish Style. Actually, I found three of them.  Alyssa at theshagbag creates some truly splendid cuff bracelets, earrings, and necklaces with lovely florals and a nod to Asian design. Based in Portland, Oregon she creates unique bracelets that seem to make everyone pause and adore them. Part of their lure is in the polymer clay that she uses to create these amazing designs. I am especially fond of the "jade" bracelet that even takes on some of jade's translucence. She even creates coordinating earrings to complete the look. Some of the wonderful things about her shop include that she offers discounts through facebook, she includes a perfectly sized box for gift-giving, and she will do custom orders to accommodate any sized wrist.  She also offers a deal if you purchase four bracelets at once--come on friends let's get together on this one.



Visit Sheliah's shop to purchase this lovely bag

When we visit D.C. we spend most of the day out and about and rarely return to the hotel room, so I am always in need of a great bag to hold all of our goodies and faithonearth has the perfect one!  Sheliah creates these lovely handmade bags and matching wallets without a pattern! She is so crafty and talented that it is all in her head. The bag measures 11" high by 14" wide. The handles measure 27" from end to end and is secured with a magnetic snap closure. I am in love with the cheery pink fabric and the whimsy of the butterflies. In Sheliah's shop she has chosen many whimsical fabrics that really bring lots of variety and fun to the typical tote bag.   This bag will be ideal for for the camera, souvenirs, some sandwiches, and some fruit especially for my fruit-a-holic husband.

Finally, last week I featured the wonderful Sock Monkey dog harness by Terrier Trousers and so I felt compelled this week to find a cherry blossom collar so that even my wiener dogs could participate, even though they will not be joining us on the trip. I found this lovely collar from k-9closet for them to wear. It is just perfect with the blue background and the pretty pink blossoms.  Notice the pink satin inside for some extra fanciness. They even offer an upgrade to a swarovski crystal buckle---ohhh the possibilities! Perhaps that is why their phone number is 1-877-DivaPet. I happen to know of a few Italian Greyhound owners who might be interested in this and, as luck may have it, k-9closet even has this picture of an Italian Greyhound wearing the bling encrusted collar. I think they might also be interested in the fluffy cushion that the dog is perched on too! I suspect my silly wiener dogs aren't sophisticated enough for the sparkling upgrade because they have been known to conspire and chew each other's collars off.



Visit k9closet to buy only the finest collars for you pooch.

Please visit these lovely shops and check out all of their wonderful products.  Have a lovely weekend!

**All photos are provided by the shop owners and they retain original rights to them.**

Spoon Cute and other Colloquialisms

Today I received my first order from Hawaii! I have had orders from all over the Continental United States, England, and Australia. One of my favorite things in dealing with customers from outside of Pittsburgh is noticing their regional colloquialisms. Pause for an English teacher flashback--"a colloquialism is a conversational, informal type of speech. Colloquial  is often mistakenly used with a connotation of disapproval, as if it meant 'vulgar' or 'bad' or 'incorrect' usage, whereas it is merely a familiar style used in speaking and writing." (Dictionary.com)

Back to reality, Pittsburghers (yes, that is what we call ourselves), are notorious for some colloquialisms.  For example, every morning I ride my husband to to the bus stop.  What I really mean is that I give him a ride, in a car, to the bus stop, but Pittsburghers eliminate those pesky "unnecessary" words.  I will not even get started on Yinz (similar to the southern y'all) and pop (at least we are not alone on this one). We call it Pittsburghese and some of us refer to the speakers of Pittsburghese as Yinzers.  Check "aht" this site for a whole list of words spelled phonetically for your pronunciation pleasure. http://www.pittsburghese.com/

By the way, even though I was an English teacher and promoted more formal speech, there is still a place for all of the Yinzers.

The whole point of this ramble is that I was working with a customer from Georgia and when she sent me the pictures that she wanted included on her card they were soooo cute.  Since I was away from my computer, I used my phone to respond to her message and wanted to tell her how cute her pictures were. The only problem was that my phone "helped" me with the message and instead of "sooooo" it inserted "spoon."  The message read:  "Those pictures are spoon cute!"

The next day when I looked back at the message I noticed the error and wrote back explaining the error, neurotic English teacher that I am.  She replied that she thought it was just one of my sayings and that it was real!

Now, I must start using it.  Spread the word.  I want spoon cute to become a phenomenon.  Anthony joked that it must be real and that I did not make it up. He googled it and he came up with the picture above.  I like it. It definitely is spoon cute!

Have a lovely night!

Vroom! Vroom!

As you may have seen this week, I created a pedal car with a lovely sock monkey driver for a customer (see below). I also got a request for a car without the monkey--shocking, I know, considering the recent boom in sock monkey requests.

But now it is time to for me to buy my own new car. Somehow the end of the month snuck up on me and when I was planning to go to a dealership at the end of February, I was thinking next Friday not today or Monday.

I try to be a savy female car customer and use my feminine wiles to get a good deal. I go alone, without my husband, Anthony, to the dealership. This is partially because he almost lept over the desk at a salesman who was playing games with us a couple of years ago and partially because it plays into my plan.

The Plan
I go to the dealership within an hour or two of closing time so as to limit the amount of time that they have for their reindeer games.



I pretend to have no interest in the color (the first thing car salesmen asks a woman is not what model they would like, but what color!). 

I listen carefully to all of their pitches and ploys and feign apathy when they talk about all of the bells and whistles, pretending to only be interested in the price of the vehicle.



Then when the big moment comes and they ask if I will buy the car today, I revert to a meek housewife and tell them that I can't  make any decisions without my husband and he would be very angry if I bought the car without him (in reality he could car less). 

I leave them hanging and then they almost always throw something extra in or lower the price a little. Cue the maniacal laughter as they have given in to my master plan :)



We will see how well the plan works today.  I am thinking that I really want a red car and it has to have a few bells and whistles. Anthony has requested the radio buttons on the steering wheel--so we will see. 

Have a lovely day!



Click on invitations to visit my shop



Employee of the Month - Sock Monkey!

In my small, one person business, it might seem silly to talk about having an employee of the month, but truly the award goes to my sock monkeys.  

They have just been so popular lately.  I completely understand why with their cheery red smile and cute tail.  The other night I was discussing the design of a new invitation with my husband, Anthony, he complained that I kept on referring to the sock monkey as "him" instead of it.  I can't help myself...we have just become so close.

My interest in sock monkeys started a few years ago when I found must-have sock monkey underwear and pajama pants.  Then I moved on to wonderfully soft sock monkey t-shirt sheets from Target. One of my best friends, Steph, received a bounty of sock monkey gifts from me for her baby shower including books, a jack-in-the-box, a knitted cap, and onesies from Gymboree.



Available at Amazon.com



Photo courtesy of TerrierTrousers

 
Now, with the wide availibility of sock monkey fabric, you can purchase almost anything, from a wallet to a dog harness with the little guys on it at Etsy. 

I just love this harness from Terrier Trousers.  It would be perfect for Emmie and Charlotte, my two miniature weiner dogs. Although, Clarkie, the cute Boston Terrier in the picture seems much more behaved than my two weiners; they act like someone is torturing them when they have to wear a new collar or harness.  Yet somehow Deb  has a whole gallery of pictures with Clarkie in every different style. I wonder if training is included with the harness?

The last search that I did returned 7, 468 results! Wine bottle covers, eye glass cases, and even fabric feminine pads are also some of the products available. You can find sock monkey necklaces with lovely little scrabble tile pendants and bracelets with little sock monkey heads dangling from them (for the low price of $45.00), but who am I to judge?

Don't forget sock monkey art with paintings, prints, and drawings of all sizes and subjects. One of the paintings, entitled Dirty Socks features sock monkeys having sex--a little too much for my innocent eyes--so no picture for you.

Let's just stick to the warm and fuzzy sock monkey items. On Etsy, one of my favorite sources for sock monkey children and baby clothes is sockmonkeyshop. Tracey does the cutest things for little ones.The Sock Monkey Shop features different colors and styles of security blankets, burp cloths, bibs, onesies, t-shirts, and party hats for special occasions. She also accepts custom requests to make you outfit perfect! Here are just a few of her offerings.

Photos courtesy of sockmonkeyshop

Even adults adopted the trend such as Whoopi Goldberg wearing a sock monkey hat on The View on February 3. (I scoured the web for pictures and videos of this, but sadly there were none, so I found these lovely pictures.) Urban Outfitters showcased their version of the hat on this cutie and at ShopAnimalHat.com they even offer matching mittens!



Here are the most recent sock monkey invitations that I custom designed:

 Visit my shop to purchase these and other sock monkey designs and as always, I offer a plethora of coordinating products.  Have a lovely day!

Bee Themes - Buzzing with Happiness!

One of the noticeable trends in Baby Showers is a lovely Bee Theme. While shopping this weekend I found some perfect items to compliment this theme and I created my own Bee Invitation.

• Hand painted Honeybee Stoneware from Williams-Sonoma - The perfect serving pieces for a Shower.

• Shea Butter Bee Soap, Vintage Style Honey Sign, and precious little bee hives from Pottery Barn

• Honey and Honey Bee Glasses from Williams-Sonoma and a Bee Hive Drink Dispenser from Pier 1

Why Dance in the Lightning?

I love a quotation that I thought described my life: "Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it is about learning to dance in the rain."


Rain no longer cuts it.

In today's economic thunderstorm I feel like it is about learning to dance with lightning--something far more frightening, shocking, and illuminating.

Here I am ready to be illuminated and hoping that it won't be too scary.

I heard yesterday that 35 is the new 40 for mid-life crisis time. I have always been mature for my age and now at 32, I might as well be 40.

I quit my day job despite the guarantee of money, fame, and satisfaction. In the interest of full disclosure I was/am a high school English teacher. The money was not substantial but enough; the fame was annoying (I could never buy underwear in a 15 mile radius of my house for fear of running into students lurking somewhere); and the satisfaction was sporadic, like lightning causing the occasional light bulb to flicker above students' heads in my imaginary teacher world.

Now, instead of illuminating 150 students a day, I am waiting for my illumination moment. What am I supposed to do with the rest of my life and which direction should I go in?

Today's answers to that question include hosting a party supply store on Etsy, and reading books on the pursuit of happiness like The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin.

I am ready to stop teaching and start learning.

Try not to get struck while dancing!