Confessions Of A Serial Etsy Shopper

As a special friday series in honor of Lent, I will be confessing to my shopping "sins" once weekly, tune in and you may find some really cool new shops!

I am here to freely confess to the fact that I am a serial Etsy shopper. Somebody call a cop! I had a inkling of this, but when doing my taxes I realized just how bad it really was. My husband asked me, do you spend some of your money you make from the Etsy shop on yourself? Um,,, Why yes, yes I do. I support handmade! I feel it is my duty as an Etsy seller to also be an Etsy customer. So I have decided to share with you some of the shops in which I am a repeat "offender". Because let me tell you, if I like what you make I will most certainly be back. I am a "shopaholic." And when it comes to yarn, I am an addict, yup I admit I am powerless over my addiction to yarn (guess it could be worse!). So Moving on here, and I implore you to visit some of these shops, I promise, you will not be disappointed!

First up, ThirdFloor designs one of my favorite Etsians, fellow EtsyNJ peep, leader of the FDLteam and a dear friend. Her talent is multi, she creates the most beautiful jewelry and she sews the most awesome bags/cowls/wraps. I am the proud owner of many of her beautiful creations! This stunning cowl that I spotted when we did a craftfair together and by the time I got home I emailed her to please save it for me!

These gorgeous earrings that I spotted in her shop around Christmas, I love them!

We did a collaberation together themed "Copperline" and I bought the necklace she created to go with one of my cowls. It is by far one of my most favorite pieces of jewelry. I L*O*V*E* it!!!

My latest purchase included a pair of earrings to match this rockin necklace, aren't they super cool??

I also bought these very pretty earrings, a great piece of green for the upcoming spring, I wore them to work yesterday....

And this woman is so talented! I also bought this groovy little "retro" material bag, it is super groovy...

The Most Painful Spa Visit

Okay, a little heads up here. My mother would roll her eyes and say "you didn't" if she knew what I was about to blog about. Sorry mom, but, I have always been a bit of a rebellious child. So today I had quite an experience at the day spa. Let me tell you, all the relaxing music in the world couldn't have calmed me down. I went for a Brazilian. Oh yeah, first one. Ouch! Really Ouch!!! I am so glad that there was noone else having a massage or other relaxing spa treatment done at this particular time because, I do believe I moaned/howled quite a few times. And let me tell you girls, this is not for the shy. If you are shy or embarrassed about your body...Not for you. The technician said alot of women say the pain is not bad because they have had a baby. Well, since I'm out of the loop there, I tell you this was some serious pain. It made an eyebrow or upper lip wax seem like a walk in the park. Soooo, this being said will I do it again? Oh yeah, you bet I will !!!

Sorry mom, don't be too mad, I think of it as reporting research for those who want to know!

Lake Effect snow, knit cowls and Bella

This weekend I experienced what is called in North West New York as "lake effect" snow. Mom and I decided to rent an SUV and drive to see my sister and niece. If anything it was a true adventure, which I love! It was not bad going there but I was amazed at how on the way to dinner the roads had a small coating and by the time we came back from dinner I could not see where the curb or the lines on the road were. About 2 hours and it was near whiteout conditions! That being said by saturday am, roads were clear. So fittingly I worked on my newest Incognito knit cowl while mom was driving. My pics of my sweet sister (the model) did not come out as well as planned (duh, now I know to take a pic out in the snow not standing under the carport!) but you can see it snowing in the backround. Saturday night we finally got to watch Twilight together. We tried to catch it when she came home in December, but it was too busy. So I waited to see it with her. Awesome! I loved it. I can't wait for the sequel. My only problem was with Esmee. Come ON the chick from Gray's anatomy was what they came up with for Esmee?!? I always pictured her as someone really beautiful and sophisticated. That being said all the other actors were perfect for their roles, and my first thought on Dr. Cullen was that he would have been perfect to play Lestat instead of that Tom guy they cast. But all in all, a great flick. Rach agreed. Driving home was more snow, bad, we saw 5 accidents within 20 minutes. But thankfully, nothing too bad and we actually made it home in record time. Don't forget to leave a comment for the Cowl giveaway here.

Fit for a Queen shrug

Inspiration strikes me at the strangest times. Mostly while I'm laying in bed trying to sleep (lol). Yesterday morning I felt inspired, inspired to do my yoga practice. Let me tell you the yoga mat that resides in the house had quite a bit of dust on it (I keep 2 in the car for those times when the mood strikes to veer off into a yoga studio). So I rolled out the mat, lit up some incense, put on my favorite yoga cd (Kerala, which includes sounds of the beach in Kerala) and started my practice. It felt wonderful. I had to ask myself, why is it that I don't do this everyday anymore. My fellow artists, if you are looking to unleash your creativity, unroll your mat. My fellow sleepless friends, if you are looking for a great night's sleep, unroll your mat. I tell you this because this 45 minute practice made both of those things possible. I sleep like a baby the night after doing a yoga practice. I also was inspired to create my newest shrug. I had the shrug knit already, but I knew I wanted to embelish it in a special way. I felt inspired to add the beautiful vintage lace that has been patiently awaiting it's turn at greatness. And the pretty floral beads that I picked up in Pennington at a stellar bead shop that mom and I stumbled upon. I love the way it came out. I think it looks a little steampunk~ish, a little "royal". Different. In a good way. I'm thrilled with it, hopefully I can get Rae to model it for me this weekend. So my point here, roll out that mat, find your peace and inspiration, give your body the movement it craves!

Lucky Girl

I truly feel like the luckiest girl to have met my husband. I don't need Valentine's day to remind me of this. I did however cook yesterday. I cook most nights but not to the extent where I am rattling more than 1 or 2 pots. Last night I had all 4 burners and the oven going at the same time. Thanks to Heather for the gift of Giada's cook book. I recreated one of her yummy recipes for a timbale. Hmmmm, yup I had never heard of that either. But thanks to a couple glasses of-liquid courage- red wine (my preferred way to cook-with wine in hand) and some great company from one of my girlfriends (neighbor) I conquered this lovely dish. It was delicious. My husband really enjoyed it. I waited until he came home to unveil it. Holding my breath while I unlatched the pan and removed it. And it worked!!! I will also say it was super easy to make, no special skills needed!

Spring Fever

The weather here has been so warm I am starting to get spoiled. This is bad because any day now we will be back at 20' with snow. Don't get me wrong, I love it. A chance to open up the windows and get some fresh air into the house. Today is the last day of Boot camp before the break. I need it. Getting up at 5:30 am when it is dark and freezing is soooo hard. Once the weather warms up and it is lighter than it will be easier. Yes, easier for her to make us run outside. If you know anything about me, know this, I hate running. My father was a marathon runner. I tried to run with him even at the age of 12 I sucked at it. My lungs would start burning and forget it. Which adds to my frustration. Because I like to be good at things ( don't we all). I have this competitive nature while running at Boot Camp. Yup, competitive and at the back of the pack. I've even been lapped by someone older than me, arghhhhhhh.....Must use yoga breathing.....arggggghhhhhh....Then I'm sure my blood pressure goes up even further because I get really ticked off. My neighbor (who was in bootcamp) said, "wow, did you finally catch your breath?" because all you could hear was my loud struggled breathing ,for miles. Oh, yeah, I'm on my way to the later boot camp today(9:30 am), and it occurs to me, it's sunny, warm and light out here....Oh NO.....we will be running.... Oy.

I leave you with a pic of my latest creation. Very spring inspired..The double dose of spring Lariat. Lots of fun using the needle felting machine occured here :)

A Big Thank You and Giveaway

A great big thank you to Darcy from Graphically designing for giving my blog a much needed Makeover! In celebration of the new blog I have decided to give away one of my handmade cowls. Just simply leave me a comment and I will randomly draw a name on March 7th. (be sure to leave me an email if you are unregistered). Up for grabs is this lovely pink cowl. Perfect for brighting up the dreariest of days. Handknit with a super soft acrylic mix yarn, this gorgeous cowl just slips right over your head. A great alternative to a scarf. Knit in a rasberry color, I added a little super soft white fake "fur" yarn along the bottom of the cowl. Also included is this removable flower brooch. Hand sewn and attatched to a bar pin it adds a little sparkle~~Every girl needs sparkle! (If you are allergic to wool I can substitute a wool free cowl!). Also if you're in the market for a blog makeover, check out darcy's website, just click on the pretty butterfly!