Favorite Etsy Seller number 1...

I love Etsy. You can often find a seller who produces the most beautiful work and has the most original products. I've decided that every once in a while I need to feature a seller that I find who does just that truly impeccable, incredible and original work here on the blog. Cassandra Norton is just such a person. Her Fussy Couture shop is fun and original. I have purchased quite a few of her items and they are made with perfect attention to detail and come in a darling package. Neiman Marcus would be lucky to carry these items. Visit Fussy Couture HERE...

Favorite Etsy Seller 2...

The Daily Pincushion sells the loveliest pincushion anyone has ever seen. I love to stop by Cathy's shop.. she is very prolific and there is always another lovely pincushion beautifully photographed to admire. See Cathy's shop here.

Favorite Etsy Seller 3...

Simbiosis is such a fun shop. All the items are very reasonably priced and the pieces are sewn just so. Most of them are made from very fun Japanese import prints... darling. See Julia's shop HERE!

Kipper My Love part 2...

If you know me at all, you know I'm a big fan of this guy! I am hoping he will have as positive an influence on l as he was for c. I have already ordered up a few more DVDs for our collection, but this will always be my favorite I think... Two years ago I wrote the following, which I still firmly believe...

I love Kipper. What a lovely little dog he is. I am one of those people who feels strongly that media very much influences the behavior of children. I am often disturbed when I see that some children are learning their etiquette from Bart Simpson rather than their parents. I believe in the Eliza Doolittle concept; you are a princess when you behave like one.
This is why I give Kipper videos as baby gifts these days and for birthdays through age 6. Kipper is a prince because he behaves like one. Exposure to Kipper is a wonderful influence on a small child. If your child takes to watching Kipper like mine did, you might find them speaking with a bit of an English accent... but it sounds just lovely especially when they are using words like "please" and "thank-you."

Kipper now has his own site HERE...

Treasury...

My art work is featured in this beautiful Etsy treasury. See it quick... it expires tomorrow!

Pink Panther Classic Cartoons...

C rented this for c and she can't get enough of it. They just don't make 'em like they used to.

Camelot...

I love this production of Camelot. Richard Harris plays a near perfect Arthur I think. Anyway, I rented this so that little c could see it the other day. It's been a long time since I'd seen it and although I remembered the story well, I had forgotten how sad this is too see. Anyway, it is the perfect morality play and illustrates well how the breakdown of the family equals the destruction of society. It made for an interesting discussion with c... she's a smarty.

Bath Salts...

This is a calorie free treat and a great gift for Valentines day, but a recipe that I don't want to forget anyway.. so I'm posting it here and you can enjoy it as well if you like. You can use a beautiful bottle that used to hold fancy dressing or another food item or you can purchase something new. There are lots of cute plastic bottles available at craft stores, but I like the idea of recycling something lovely that would otherwise get tossed.

3/4 cup Epsom salt
1/2 cup baking soda
1 1/2 cups coarse sea salt
10 drops of essential oils
2-3 drops of vegetable food coloring

Mix it all up. You'll need a large funnel to transfer the salts from a bowl (I suggest lining the bowl w/ a large plastic bag, or using a 1 gallon zip lock to make these in just so your next choc. cake doesn't taste like flowers...)

Becky's Sugar Cookies...

These are my favorites.. the Valentine cookies my mom made for us growing up.. they are the best!

1 cup butter
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
4 tsp. baking powder
5 1/2 cups flour

Directions...
Chill thoroughly before rolling out. Bake @ 375 degrees for 8 min.

Caramel Cob...

This photo doesn't really show how cute these are... a marketing misstep... but, they are darling and would be perfect for a summer kids party or part of a fun invite.. See them here.

Made in UTAH! Delish by the way...

Valentines...

Lots of Valentines... in the SHoP...

The Kingfisher...

I thought that I was in for a tender love story... love the second time around type thing when I rented this film. No! This is not a tender story at all. It's dry English sarcasm. Rex Harrison plays the part of a rake who has spent the past 50 years "recovering from his broken heart" by having affair after scandalous affair throughout Europe only to find himself a lonely old bachelor (whose butler is in love with him... yep) and whose old love has recently been widowed... she stops by the house after the funeral to stay the weekend and maybe forever.

I thought most of this was hilarious.. but you have to enjoy your humor on the very dry side to enjoy this... it's not for everyone. And while the subject matter is scandalous.. the rating is really quite tame .. a few bad words and the rest is left to your imagination.

Crocodile by Emily McPhie...

I love this painting by Emily McPhie and the idea behind it.

Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed...

I love this silly book!

The Moth...

This is not Jane Austen or one of the Bronte sisters, but I liked it. Another one for your Netflix list... Michelle.. this one is for you. :)

Station Jim...

I mostly loved this movie... The ending was a bit off I thought, but it did make sense as it goes along with the old idea that if you place a gun on the mantle in the first act.. it has to go off in the second. Anyway, I liked the characters immensely and thought the production was very well done... except for maybe the makeup on Queen Victoria... yuckers.

Your Gonna Miss This...

You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days
hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this I used to be a huge fan of country tunes. Yep! But, I guess I just grew up and started listening to news and information instead of music really and then of course lots of books on tape. In high school, I had this pair of pale blue cowgirl boots with fringe on them... Oh they were cute! Then, the other day, I heard this song and started bawling like a baby. I know I'm hormonal, but this is ridiculous. I started thinking about all the really good days.. and there have been many and thought I might wear those boots again if I still had them.

When I was little, my parents were tight, but they did special things for us often and made so many days so fun... a celebration. My mom used to take me shopping in the city, just us sometimes and we would go to the fabric store and buy a piece of ribbon and maybe a little treat somewhere and then we would always pass by the temple and watch the brides come out and talk about how pretty they looked. My dad took all of the children to the park on Saturdays and pushed us in the swings really high.. almost every Saturday after the chores were finished and made us think it was his favorite part of the week.

I once picked raspberries with my Grandpa in his garden. I was really little and he tied a baby food jar around my waist with a leather cord. I was supposed to put the berries I picked into the jar, but almost none of the raspberries made it into my jar.. I ate them... all the raspberries I picked as we went down the row. My grandpa has always been a lot of fun. He ate lots of his too and we just laughed. I would love to have that afternoon again. Don't worry... I won't give you the whole history of my life here.

As I look at my two beautiful girls, there is almost no day that I wouldn't love to have back... maybe I could skip the night we took c to the Insta Care with double pneumonia... too scary. It's not that life has been perfect... there have been hard times and bad days, but there have been so many beautiful days too and I wish that I had recorded every one in a journal, or the perfect scrapbook. I didn't. But, the memories are there, not perfect, but there.

The other night C and I were looking at some photos of little c when she was a baby. C made the comment that I would have to excuse him if he started sobbing. I was just planning to join him. It's not that there are regrets... just a deep sense of gratitude for these little ones that we love so dearly and for all glorious days that are heaven's best gifts... for family and friends and for joy.

I've been so tired of all the bad news lately... It turns out that even in troubled times, there is much to be grateful for. Shine up yer boots.

Baby Nay Frida...

I love the color in this beautiful little outfit inspired by Frida Kahlo...

Yellow Roses...

These yellow rose boxes sold out of the shop a few weeks ago... but they are now back. I finished 4 this morning... one of which is now listed in The SHOP

Inside they read... "Give your hands to serve & your hearts to love... ~Mother Teresa"

Tea Kettle...

The first Christmas we were married, C gave me a larger size of this whistling tea kettle which sounds like a train. It still looks new and it's still one of my favorite Christmas gifts. Now Chantal has come out with some new fun designs like this 3 cup personal tea kettle. I think it's darling!