Indulge Your Shelf

For those of you with an Etsy shop, this tool is invaluable. It's a query where you put in the name of your shop, and it instantly tells you if you've been featured in an Etsy Treasury! For those unfamiliar with Etsy , a Treasury is a page that any old user creates (or "curates" ) by choosing 12 items they love and listing them together on a page, usually with a theme, like "Bright Colors" or "The Ocean" or anything they see the items have in common. The Treasury remains up on the site for 3 days, I think, and it's just another way for buyers to browse through and enjoy all the beautiful things on Etsy! Here's an example of a Treasury . I need to bookmark the Treasury Tool and check it daily, really. I thought about it today, put in one of my stores , and found out that, although it wasn't actually featured in a Treasury today, one of my items was waiting in the wings as an alternate! Fun! I know for sure that one of my items ...

I thought it would be fun to show you this antique window makeover I did a few months ago. I bought the window for $10 from The Barn in nearby Castle Rock; they have a huge stack of them out in the back of the store, and many other architectural elements as well. I nailed three small shelves to the front of the window at the sash. The window originally had white paint trim but I painted it and the attached shelves brown. Right now it's hanging in my dining room, over the buffet. During different seasons I put small items on display on those handy shelves and drape silk flowers over the top of the window. Right now I have the metal and mirror piece hanging from two small nails to decorate it, instead. I like the window on this particular wall because the painted hydrangea wall treatment shows through nicely.

Graduating from college in mid life makes me feel sort of out-of-place; I'm not just starting out, and though I have dreams and goals for the next, post-graduation part of my life, they're not the same as those of someone half my age. I don't relate to most of the graduation-speak, but today I found a commencement quote I can relate to: Sooner or later we all discover that the important moments in life are not the advertised ones, not the birthdays, the graduations, the weddings, not the great goals achieved. The real milestones are less prepossessing. They come to the door of memory unannounced, stray dogs that amble in, sniff around a bit and simply never leave. Our lives are measured by these. - Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) I remember the day I stood in front of a convenience store clerk in Germany, dripping water onto the floor and sputtering incoherently. It was one of my "stray dog" moments -- an unexpected milestone. On that day, I was 23 and...

We had a snow storm here in Colorado a few days ago. It wasn't as big as our usual spring break blizzard, but we all had to stay indoors and out of the blowing snow for a couple of days. I used some of that indoor time to sew a few more small pillows for my Etsy shop . Take a peek!

This morning was almost like Christmas for me when I was a little girl: I awoke early (7 ish on a Saturday ) and pitter-pattered downstairs to...feed the cat, let the dogs out, feed them, too...and eventually I was able to sit down at my computer, go to Random.org, and choose a winner for my "Breakfast at Tiffany's" prize package, which goes to (deep breath): Barb Congratulations, Barb! You are the winner of this tribute to Audrey and her wonderful, memorable role in this movie! I want to send out my heartfelt thanks to everyone who entered this little giveaway. I wish you all could have won, I really do. I'm very happy to have made the acquaintance of the newest followers and hope to get to know you all much better in the coming days!

Today's the last day to enter my "Breakfast at Tiffany's" giveaway! Any entries after 11:59 PM Mountain time will not be considered. Remember, all entries must be on the original post . I'll leave you with a stellar moment from the film:

It's spring break at my house, and my son is off of school for two whole weeks. My husband has also been home, last week and this week, due to a shut down at his company. You know, where they close and make everyone use their vacation or take the time off as unpaid. It's the third time in 7 months his company has done that. It's a Major Bummer. But anyway, my husband and son's "breaks" have overlapped one week, which has been fun. The other day I had a chance to get together with a good friend and her kids for a rare, mid-week visit. She was in the mood to craft but didn't have any special project in mind. So, I packed up all my paper crafting stuff, and printed out a wonderful photo tag tutorial that Nikki had posted several weeks ago on her blog . You must go see her stuff -- it's great! There were three of us - me, my friend and her 11 year old daughter (our sons were otherwise engaged) - and we each made two photo tag folders. We used my...

I couldn't resist doing this Thursday Thunks because, as the blog says, the questions are from the "Thunkers" themselves. 1. What is your favorite type of soda (if you drink soda)? I try not to drink soda. But, when I do partake, my current favorite is Diet Coke. I never, ever drink soda that's not diet - way too sweet (yuck!) 2. Do you believe in astrology? If so, what does your sign say about you? I don't believe in astrology. I'm a Virgo with Leo rising and find some of the characteristics to be accurate. 3. Who is John Galt? This question has been plaguing me since last summer, when one of the trainers at my gym said that the novel, Atlas Shrugged "changed her life." I was determined to read it to know why. But, even though I find Ayn Rand's writing lovely and entertaining, the story moves so slowly that I can't bring myself to finish it. So I don't know who John Galt is, and I fear I never will. 4. What is the last thing...

I've joined the Ultimate Blog Party for some community fun, and you should, too! In order to participate, you need to join up, visit 20 of the participating blogs (not hard - there are hundreds!), and then look at the prizes to decide which you'd most like to win. I've taken a good, long look. My top 3 choices would be: Int 36 , 58 , and Int 68 (in that order.) Besides those top three, I'd be thrilled to win: 2, 19, 21, 57, 57, 58, 88, 89, 101, 109, 123, Int 2, Int 7, Int 19, Int 23, Int 26, Int 33, Int 36, Int 57, Int 61, Int 66, Int 68, USC 5, USC 8, USC 16, USC 27, USC 57. Of course, I'd love to win anything, who wouldn't? This party runs through March 27, just like my own giveaway for "Breakfast at Tiffany's," which is open to all bloggers. So, go and have a look!

I found this beautiful, original watercolor in an awful frame and brought it home to let it breathe. I grew up and lived most of my life near the water until now, so I'm always thirsting for it (pun intended, sorry; I couldn't resist!) The artist will always be a mystery, but I don't mind. Thank you, Mr. WHC!

When the remake of the classic film starring Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart, "Sabrina," came out, I was living in California. One of my favorite movie houses, The Stanford Theater , responded with a film festival they called "Audrey Hepburn: Accept No Substitutes." I was able to see "The Nun's Story," "Roman Holiday," and of course "Sabrina" on the big screen. I recommend it! For beautiful pictures of her, visit Audrey's official site : Don't forget: the deadline for entering my "Breakfast at Tiffany's Giveaway" is March 27 at 11:59! Details here .

Well, I managed to delete my lovely blog background -- you know, the lavender fleur de lys sort of monogams on a creamy white background? If you find it, please let me know. In the meantime, after much back and forth, I uploaded this one. What do you think?

One memorable scene in the film, "Breakfast at Tiffany's" portrays Holly returning from an evening out with her Brazilian boyfriend José da Silva Pereira. In this scene they've been to a bullfight and she's wearing a sweet pink cocktail dress . I think my mother's pink rhinestone and pearl bracelet (above) would have gone perfectly with it, don't you? Besides the fact that José da Silva Pereira was Brazilian, not Spanish, I'm wondering where he and Holly might have found a bullfight to go to in Manhattan? I'm just sayin'.

Have you met Julia ? You may know her by her shop name The Spotted Sparrow ; she makes wonderful paper and altered art designs that she sells in her Etsy shop , and here , and here . You may remember that I blogged about some of her cards a while back. Tip: you don't want to miss her fun and informative tutorials ! Julia was kind enough to give me my first blog award: As recipient, I'm to blog about five fabulous things and then pass the award along to five others. Five things I think are fabulous: 1. Reading. I don't talk too much about it on my blog because, let's face it, there's so much other stuff to talk about. But, reading is my first love. My idea of relaxation is to put my feet up and enjoy a good book. Libraries are among my favorite places. Jane Austen is my hero. 2. Being a mother. I did not have an easy time becoming a mother, and my journey included infertility, multiple pregnancy losses, and becoming licensed to adopt. Ultimately, I was a...

The film "Breakfast at Tiffany's" was based upon a short novel of the same name by Truman Capote. Capote's story portrayed the mysterious heroine, Holly Golightly and her upstairs neighbor, the curious and observant Paul Varjack. When he wrote the novella in 1958, Capote had already received critical acclaim for his novel Other Voices, Other Rooms and would go on to write In Cold Blood next. Capote has been quoted as saying that Holly was his favorite character, and when she appeared in print many of his women friends claimed to be the inspiration for the part. But critics feel that she is really the alter ego of Capote himself; of her, he has said, "(Holly's) whole life is an expression of freedom and an acceptance of human irregularities, her own as well as everybody else's. The only sin she recognizes is hypocrisy." The title Breakfast at Tiffany's was inspired by an anecdote popular among Capote's social circle ab...

I'm in the mood for Spring. Why is everyone (i.e., the network news channels) calling today the first day of Spring? I thought all the first days were on the 21st of the month...? I see some buds on my lilacs, and the first bulbs are showing their green, barely. But that's it. Here's what the landscape looks like around here (taken when we walked the dogs this past Tuesday): That's Snoopy. Yeah, about the only thing green around here is my bright, flowery shirt! I did see a nest or two in the bare trees. It reminded me to remove the wreath from my front door, lest we get another bird family trying to nest in it like last year. Here's something spring-like: the print from some draperies I'm getting ready to list in my Etsy shop: I guess that will have to do me for now!

To play along, visit the Thursday Thunks blog and follow directions: 1. The last flight of stairs you walked up/down - were the carpeted? Ya-huh. They were the staircase in my home, and they are carpeted despite my cat Kyra's best efforts. Kyra says, "Who, me?" 2. Green or purple grapes? Either one as long as they're seedless. 3. Do you like Peeps? NO! My family loves them but I think they're so gross. 4. The smell of Vicks - like it? Yes; it's a good smell because it warns me to stay away from the person who smells like it = germs! 5. Do you put decorative cling-ons on your windows for different holidays? No - it would scare the neighbors, don't you think? 6. Finish the sentence - I spent too much money on ________ . German food. I visited a German deli with very authentic, delicious food the other day and went a little crazy on wurst and Milka chocolate. 7. Which celebrity should be flown into outer space or placed on a desert island? This is a toug...

A well-known fact about the making of "Breakfast at Tiffany's" is that Audrey Hepburn had a terrible time filming the opening scene because she didn't like the taste of the pastry she needed to eat while she looked in the window. How could anyone not like pastry? The only thing I can think is that it may have had something strange inside -- like marzipan. Lots of people don't like marzipan. Anyway, I remember when I first saw the movie thinking she looked very glad to toss away her uneaten breakfast. I also remember thinking, "That's how she stayed so thin!" In case you've never had the pleasure, here's the original trailer from the film:

As you know, I am a huge fan of Audrey Hepburn and the film " Breakfast at Tiffany's " has been a favorite since I was a teenager. After I received my Audrey , I became inspired and I decided to have a blog giveaway celebrating this charming film! Here are the details of my giveaway: The winner will receive a new copy of the video of the film, "Breakfast at Tiffany's." They'll also receive this vintage print of a Central Park, New York landscape, from roughly the same period as the film (artist unknown.) And, as a tribute to George Peppard, I'm including this vintage, new handkerchief which is a checker pattern in a pale spring palette. Finally, the winner will receive this small bejeweled heart decoration, hand made and beaded by me, in the robin's egg blue that Tiffany & Co. made famous. This giveaway is open to anyone who has a blog of their own! Here's what you'll need to do to win my "Breakfast at Tiffany's" ...