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I have this friend...
She is very dear to me. She is stuck in this terrible rut and keeps going around in circles. She won't speak to me for weeks, and then when things get bad, she'll call me and ask for my advice. I will give it to her and she will aknowledge that it's all correct, but then she'll hop right back onto that train of destruction and start the cycle all over again.
Another few weeks will go by and I won't hear from her. She doesn't answer my texts or emails, and often her cell phone message service is so banked up that there's no room for me to leave a message. But then eventually she'll call me, and it will be because things were worse off than the last time she called me, and she'll want my advice again. I then give her the exact same advice I gave her the last time, and again she agrees with it all, and even tells me that many others have given the same advice, but then she goes right back into her rut.
This cycle has been going on for months and months and months.
What do I do?
(PS. On a brighter note, the winner of the Yevgenia Giveaway is Shealennon).
Cake and Flowers.
....
That pretty much sums up the past weekend.
We hosted an Open House for an Art Gallery the other night, and I was able to abscond with my favorite flower bouquet from the evening, hehee. It's been sitting on my table, and I can't stop staring at it every time I walk past.
And along with the pretty flowers, I decided to bake myself a pretty treat. Molten Chocolate Lava Cake. All it includes is a block of Dark Chocolate, sugar, two eggs, a tablespoon of cream, a drop of vanilla essence, about a tablespoon of flour, four tablespoons of butter and lots of love :). The key to keeping the center velvety and gooey is to freeze the batter for a few hours before baking. That way it doesn't bake all the way through and stays firm and moist on the outside, but rich and gooey on the inside.
I love Cake and Flower weekends!
People-watching can be fun, can't it?
Sitting at a quiet coffee shop, observing different lives playing out before you. It's interesting to watch the way others interact, perceive and behave. God really made life interesting, didn't He? We all have different tastes, priorities and preferences jumbled together to form mankind.
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If people were to observe me, they would see that I am a list maker. I like to compile long lists and constantly rework the list, updating and re-writing. Brian laughs and asks me why don't I just type it up in an Excel Document to make it easier? I think part of it is because I like the process and the art of it. I like the organic feeling of manually recording things rather than zapping things into my "saved" folder.
That's why I am in love with my new toy. Isn't it magnificent?
The other week I had a typewriter giveaway from Sarah Anntiques. Every piece in her store is an artistic machine. I love that typewriters manage to combine efficiency and art. I couldn't resist those lovely pieces and just had to get one for myself.
I feel like they are a lot like me. I like to be creative and free-flowing, but at the same time I like to be detailed and organized. If I was a machine, I would be either a type writer or a camera.
What machine would you be?
With fall upon us, it seems to be entertaining season. During the summer everyone likes to go out to have fun, but in the fall, we see a lot more home entertaining. One of my favorite things about Fall is the "togetherness".
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To me, the table is the heart of the home. It's where you come together to eat, sit around to play boardgames - the table is probably the most social piece of furniture in every home. That's why it's my favorite.
It's also why I love the New York based store Yevgenia. It is a beautiful collection of homeware, perfect for prettying up my favorite piece of furniture. Each piece is handpainted in Yevgenia's signature whimsical style.
Her inspiration comes from happy childhood memories with book illustrations imprinted vividly in her mind. Maps and nature are also strong influences in her design, in addition to her city of New York. Yevgenia calls it a "concentrated ball of energy", with it's large population of artists and stimulating events happening all the time. She loves the color orange because it is fiery and warm and passionate, but without as much drama as red - and uses it a lot when painting on glass and ceramic - her favorite hobby. I love that her hobby has branched out into an etsy store.
Yevgenia has been creating art for as far back as she can recall. Her most recent series include painting on reclaimed old windows that light up and serve dual purposes - an art piece and a light fixture. You can see more of her art here. 
Yevgenia is giving one lucky reader one of her beautiful hand-painted glasses. To enter, please leave a comment here telling me what your favorite piece of furniture is and why. I will announce the winner next week.
(PS. The winner of the Pillipilli giveaway is Domestikate. Congrats!)
One of my prerequisites for anywhere I live is GREENERY.
Even if it's in the midst of the city, I need to be close to expansive parklands, or wooded areas. Anywhere to go on a quiet daytrip with a picnic blanket and book in hand. Last night some friends and I were talking about "sacred moments" - moments where we feel at peace and connected. We agreed that being out in nature is when we feel closest to God.
I have recently fallen in love with the store Pilli Pilli. What I love most about Katrien's charming store is that it reminds me of an enchanted forest with all it's lovely nature-inspired pieces.
Katrien eloquently describes her inspiration as anything from "a leaf falling from a tree, the bobbing poppies in a field, and a winter evening at home, with a fire crackling and the lights in the Christmas tree shining bright." Her love for sewing and sketching branched out to become her store, and you'll often find her creating in her studio or making time for mountain hikes on weekends.
As you can see in her darling store, her favorite colors are happy colors - bright red and lime green specifically, she loves how they wake her up and stimulate her to do something. Those colors definitely bring a pep to your step!
Katrien's Etsy store started out when she was in a long-distance relationship. She moved to Italy to live closer to her beau, and worked part time in a museum. With the extra time she had on her hands, she did a lot of creating, so much that she didn't know what to do with all her pieces. So she decided to open up an Etsy store to share her handmade lovelies to the world. 
Katrien is generously giving away a prize to one lucky winner. To enter, leave a comment here telling me which pouch you would choose from her store if you won, and where you find your "sacred moments". I will announce the winner next week.
What were your favorite games to play when you were little?
Mine were playing with my Barbie Dolls and pretending I owned my own little shoplet. I would make signs for my store and meticulously arrange all my "products" (which were just random items I had found around the house - half a bar of soap salvaged from the tub, anyone?). I would have sales and specials where I would give away the products for free (don't you wish that sales in real life were that good?!).
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I am sure by now most of you have heard about Etsy and Big Cartel. Both of these are communities where people who have always wanted to sell their own goods can set up their own online shops and sell handmade or vintage items. I have my own Etsy store here, which I have neglected big time over the last year - but Etsy is a great little community of artisans who can have an avenue of getting their work out there.
But now there's a new kid on the block. A lot of you know about the blog that I write for called Meylah. Meylah is a great resource for creative entrepreneurs to get tips on creating, marketing, branding, selling, you name it. Just recently they have created their own selling platform where people can sell their own items online. However, they have kicked things up a notch. In addition to selling, there's also the ability to blog on their platform, so not only can you sell your items, but you can blog a little about each product. You can share about the inspiration behind it, how you made it - whatever you like. I love how it makes the buying experience even more personal.
Here are a just a few of the Meylah stores that I have come across:
Courtney Rian Designs - The Bath Place - Designs by Maya - Mariel Eve Bennett
It happens to be baby Meylah's first birthday this month, so in celebration they are giving away free one-year memberships on Premium Storefronts (a $240 value). For those of you who are creative and have been thinking about selling your creations online, this is the perfect opportunity for ya. To sign up, just go to Meylah and sign up for a Premium Store Front, entering MEY1YF in the promo code field.
When you were growing up, were your parents big on teaching you "table manners"?
My parents were. I remember if us kidlets ever ate dinner with our elbows propped up on the table or were holding our silverware incorrectly, mum and dad would clear their throats, hinting that we were doing something wrong.
I am glad they did. I think that table manners are a dying pleasantry. People today think that table manners are reserved for the rich, stuffy or snobby - and I really don't like that society views it that way. The way I view it is as a way of respecting those you are eating with. I know that it's just something small, that there are bigger issues out there in the world to tackle - but it's just something I have noticed. Table Manners are becoming extinct.
I was thinking about this the other day when I was out to lunch with friends. I noticed that out of everyone in the restaurant around us, only our group were eating with what I consider to be "table manners". It's funny the things you notice sometimes, isn't it?
(PS. The winner of the Kiki La Ru giveaway is Melissa. Congrats!)
I have always loved taking photos.
During high school I remember that I would constantly be taking photos, and still to this day I can't help but be armed with a camera.
This weekend I styled an anniversary photo shoot for a couple that had won a contest that the Wedding Planning company that I work for (Precious Nuptials) held. It was a lot of fun and the perfect weather for it. The couple had gotten married on a road trip, so I wanted to give the photo shoot a 1940's roadtrip feel. I scouted for vintage gas pumps in the area and found one near a lovely old house, and immediately knew it would be perfect for the shoot.
Even though there was a talented professional photog taking the photos, I couldn't help but snap a few of my own behind-the-scenes shots. If you'd like to see shots I took of the couple, and more behind-the-scenes shots, come meet me over here.
