Category Archives: Blogger Shout-outs

Lazy Sunday

3 Replies

This Sunday is anything but Lazy for me, I’m trying to finish building my desk and I have products to sew as well.  For those of you who are enjoying some lazy couch surfing and blog-reading today, here are some awesome things that I had to share.

Did you know?  My business trip to Orlando, FL 2 weeks ago was a total disaster as far as missing flights was concerned.  Apparently flying out of DC the day after the Inauguration of The President is a logistical nightmare.  Hundreds of us missed our flights, and the later flights were all booked.  My conference started the next morning, so as soon as I made it to the gate, I told the agent Please just get me on a flight to somewhere in Florida. I can drive from there. 

The end result?  I ended up flying into Ft. Lauderdale moments later.  As soon as I landed, I realized I was only 3 hours south of Orlando and 30 min north of Miami, my most-favorite-city-on-the-East-Coast.  Cue the squeals.  I managed to stuff my face at my favorite Cuban restaurant, visit my grandmother’s grave, and meet up with one of my good blogging friends Sunny at Life In Rehab during the drive to Orlando.  We completely failed to get a traditional “bloggers meeting up” photo.

I also managed to miss my flight home that Friday by locking myself out of my rental car at 6 am while getting gas. 

Let’s move on to the truly lazy Sunday:

Wendy and Alex of Old Town Home are finalists in the Apartment Therapy HOMIES awards for Best Home Project & DIY Blog, and oh my gosh I’m so excited for them!!  I like all the finalists, but want Old Town Home to win because they tackle serious, mind-blowing renovations in their 1880′s Victorian home with an impeccable eye to detail. Their idea of DIY is not just squirting some spray paint on something.   Please vote!

Speaking of Sunny, her mother bought a house, so Sunny is showing us how to widen doorways to let a wheelchair through.  If you’ve got aging parents (and who doesn’t ?) this is good to know.

Curious about painting upholstered furniture?  You MUST see this gorgeous stenciled chair by Ainhoa at A Little Bite of Everything.  Go on, I’ll wait . . .

I’m a fan of keeping things simple, and have long been horrified by the avalanche of baby gear that floods new parents.  Therefore I had to pin this post on “less-is-more baby gear” by Small Notebook.

I’m officially envious (in a friendly way) of Jeannine’s new Sheep print by John Matthew Moore, a DC-based artist.

I’m trying to get back to a healthy, lower-carb diet this February, otherwise I’d be baking up these cinnamon colls shared by Finnskimo, an eskimo blogger in far north Alaska.

Features & Favorites: Handmade Packaging, Fabulous Art, & Organized Blogging

4 Replies

In the last few weeks I’ve found so many goodies around the web that I wanted to share them all in one quick post:  Enter the Friday Favorites category. I enjoy this series on Sarah’s blog each week, and now you’ll see it here from time to time – but not every week, because I’m not quite that organized. ;)

Vintage Gas Pump Features & Favorites | TheBorrowedAbode.com

My favorite Portland blogger, Jenn / A Home in the Making,  is hosting a Fall Favorites series right now.  I popped in, craft fair on the brain, to share my favorite handmade packaging ideas as I prepared for Art on the Avenue.

Speaking of the craft fair, a huge thank you to local bloggers Wendy & Alex from Old Town Home for including me in their Art on the Ave recap post.   I was so excited to meet them in person – they’re so friendly and nice – and I even got to meet their pug Lulu.  They’re tackling some serious renovations in their Alexandria, VA house, and they blog about it in detail.  Points of note:  they both write great blog posts (so cool to see both halves of a couple blogging), and they’re parents to an adorable cat and dog duo.  :)

Rachel, the artist behind Funnelcloud Studios, also exhibited at the festival.  If you’ve got a sense of humor, you must check out her Things That Are Awful illustration, the result of a late-night, wine-fueled, (and possibly immature) pre-festival discussion between the two of us. On a more mature note, she DIY’ed a sweet wooden Bathtub Bench, which is perfect for a glass of wine, a book, and a candle.

When I saw that Jen of iHeart Organizing fame had released this comprehensive Blog Planner Printable set, I had to order one.  I still have to set it up in a binder, but I already know I’m in love. If you, too, are trying to get a handle on blog writing and planning, this might be just the tool you’re looking for!

Finally, the three ladies who make up the core of my local handmade business group will each have a booth at the Fairfax Fall Festival this weekend: Steffanie with Old Town Suds (eco-friendly soaps and detergents), Toya with New Family Naturals (healthy snacks and fresh juices), and Rachel, mentioned above.  Saturday from 10 – 6 in Old Town Fairfax, Virginia!

What are you loving lately? Now that I have time to surf the web again, I’d like to know!

3 Awesome Reader Projects

4 Replies

Happy Friday! Are you ready for the long weekend? I know I am – so many projects to do!

I thought I’d wrap up this week by highlighting a few thrifty and clever reader projects that were submitted to me.   I’d like to do this every month, so please feel free to brag about your own accomplishments!

1.  Lauren’s wedding-to-home decor:

Lauren at Our Big Fat Farm Wedding is one smart cookie. Not only did she have a gorgeous farmhouse wedding – she saved a whole mess of decor from that wedding to re-purpose as art in her home.  Check out  her coffee station at the wedding: Continue reading →

Giveaway Winner, and a Q&A with Janery!

3 Replies

First, congratulations to the winner of this week’s Janery giveaway – Ashley at Design Build Love  – this is your lucky Friday!   The floral forest pillow cover you love can now be yours!    Drop me a note so I can hook you up!


Second, I was recently interviewed  by Cat at Budget Blond – not only was it my first interview as a “business owner” but also my first interview in blogland in general!   My favorite question to answer was one where we discussed whether the blog and shop originated together or if one came from the other. . . and even though I knew the answer, that questions really provoked some interesting observations about the whole process.

Photobucket

So I hope you’ll hop over and check it out, and say hi to Cat while you’re there.  She recently moved to the island of Grenada with her husband, who’s completing medical school there.  And I’ve got to say, even though she says there’s no crafting stores in sight, I’d rather be there than here on this chilly November morning!

Thanks to Cat for your patience as I took forever to complete the questions, and also for even wanting to interview me in the first place! I’m super flattered!!