Happy Hanukkah

 

From Our Family to Yours

 

Concern for Big Bro's Safety

 

Happy Baby

 

Celebrating with the In-Laws

 

Hilarious card in Glamour Magazine this month



Deal of the Day

I just stumbled across these awesome gloves on Tanga

They are called "Thermo Wear Insulated Touch Finger Gloves" and they are $2.99 (originally $19.99) with $2.99 shipping, and this shipping is for as many pairs of gloves as you want.  You can purchase them here.  They would make awesome stocking stuffers and hostess gifts, etc.  I think I just sold myself on at least 5 pairs ;) They also have solid colors as well as gloves with a cute little button on the wrist.

25 Memorable Gifts Under $25

I've been featured on Etsy's blog in an article called "25 Memorable Gifts Under $25" seen here : It featured my "Brass Cracker Necklace"

 

 

 

 

It has become a *hot* item and you obviously want one too ;)

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend

I hope everyone is having a fabulous Thanksgiving holiday, we certainly are.  This is our holiday in photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

I have a necklace in my shop that has been flying off the proverbial shelves:

Apparently, it is very similar to the necklace worn by Emma Watson in "The Perks of Being a Wallflower."  A little over a year ago, this necklace was popular because as a similar one was worn by Dakota Fanning in "The Runaways."  I love when my customers contact me and clue me in (Thanks Ling and Corinne).

In other (much more important) news, my husband celebrated his birthday this past week.  Happy Birthday Rob!

My Handsomes

 



A Steal of a Deal

A few days ago on Mamasource by Mamapedia I saw a deal too good to pass up.  An infant car canopy for the price of shipping only ($12.95). I have been wanting one of these for a while, as everytime I'm caught in the rain with Tiny Mr. I wish I had something better to cover his infant carrier with other than a flimsy, too small blanket.  Look how gorgeous these covers are:

You can purchase these amazing canopies at  Carseat Canopy Just coupon code "MOMCANOPY" to receive $50 off your purchase (the canopies are $49.95 so you actually receive $.05 off shipping as well).

With my purchase, I also received a coupon code to buy a nursing cover for 100% off at Udder Covers ($34.95 value), just pay shipping.  Here is an example of one of their covers: Use coupon code "CARSEAT"

as well as a coupon code for 100% off the Seven brand baby sling at Seven Slings ($39.95 value), just pay shipping, again with coupon code "CARSEAT".  Here is one of the available slings:

I think these would make amazing baby shower gifts. Hopefully they really are as wonderful as they appear.

My Brush with Fame

Last night, my husband and I had a date at the local mall.  As we were leaving, Rob spotted Jermaine Jones, of American Idol fame.  After getting over my giddiness, we decided to approach him and ask if he was in fact, Jermaine.  He was and here he is (as sweet as can be):

Of course it was the one time I went out without my camera, so we snapped this pic on Rob's phone.  He is now a band promoter and has a new single coming out.  We are so excited for him...and so excited to have met him :)

My Latest Creation

Sorry I have been so lax in posting, I was busy creating this beauty:

James Patrick

Born: June 20, 2012

He has been such an incredibly amazing addition to our family :)

Look What (He) Made

A couple of weeks ago I received a convo from a customer who wanted to purchase the charm from this necklace (without the loop):

He told me he wanted to add them to the middle of a pair of glasses a la "Charlie Sheen as Rick Vaughn in Major League."

Look how amazing they turned-out, totally hot!:

He tells me he has plans to create other pairs of glasses...he has definitely found his calling...and you heard it here first!

Science Day

Okay, I'm going to brag about my husband for a few minutes here.  About a month or so ago he volunteered to participate in the Science Fair at our son's school.  He didn't have a well-formulated plan about the experiments he was going to do but this sounded like a fun opportunity for him to spend some time with RJ in an academic setting.

Fast-forward about 3-4 weeks and he came up with 4 amazing experiments to teach the kids about specific gravity, stages of matter, surface tension and conservation of mass (this experiment was shelved until next year due to time constraints).

Here he is a few nights before practicing his dry-ice/sublimation routine:

And RJ super into it:

Here are the boys yesterday in the school:

Yesterday afternoon we received this super-sweet e-mail from RJ's teacher that literally brought tears to my eyes:

"Dear Rob,

Thanks so much for joining in on Science Day! The kids had a blast with your experiments, and I'm sure you noticed how RJ shined with love and pride. You're excellent at translating complicated concepts into familiar material that the kids could really grasp. Here's a few photos from our time with you. Please come by with more dangerous scientific materials any time! "

 

 

I am a very proud wife...today ;)

I Heart Minnesota

Over the past few days, I've gotten quite a few orders for my Teensy State Charm Necklaces from people in Minnesota.

This happens occasionally where I'll sell a run of a bunch of necklaces of a particular state.  Most recently, it was New Hampshire.  I didn't think too much of it, and then one of my buyers let me know that Falen, a new DJ on the Dave Ryan in the Morning show had received my necklace and had been plugging them online and on the radio...I'm so flattered and she is obviously very loved by her fans.  You can read about her here: http://daveryanshow.iheart.com/pages/falen.html

If you would like your own state necklace, you can purchase it here

My Break-Up with Facebook

Yesterday, after much deliberation and a very insightful conversation with a new friend, I decided to delete my personal facebook account.  I have been mulling this decision over for a while now and after a few unsavory incidents, the time seemed right.

I feel liberated.  I no longer feel obligated to "friend" family members and acquaintances that I have no interest in actually being "friends" with.  I'm will not feel pressure to comment on every adorable baby picture, wish randoms a "Happy Birthday" or pretend that I all of a sudden care about faces from my past that I didn't care about (or even worse) back then.  I will continue to share my life and pictures with people whom I actually care about and who actually care about me.

There are a few things I will miss about Facebook, the biggest ones being our secret book club group and playing "Words with Friends" on a large screen, however, a little birdie told me Zynga is branching-off from Facebook so even this point may soon be moot.

Here is something that actually IS important:

My Guys

Sean Rich vs. Pawn Stars

A little over a month ago, my husband and I were watching Pawn Stars, you know, the "highest rated show on cable television."  Anyhoo, we wondered where Sean Rich, the expert in antique arms and armor, had gone. 

They paraded a few new gun "experts" on the show, but it just wasn't the same.  That night, I was inspired to compose Sean an e-mail.  I looked-up his email address at Tortuga Trading (his store) and this is what it said:

"Hi Sean,

Why haven't we seen you on Pawn Stars recently? We miss you!

Rachel and Rob"

A few hours later, this glorious letter was in my inbox:

"Hello Rachel and Rob,

Thank you for the e-mail. At the moment: Unfortunately, to make a very long story short, the production company and History Channel wanted me to sign an ‘exclusivity agreement’ to lock me down, control me, my business, future, my appearance, how I make a living to provide for my family, and expect me to do it for free or very little money without any negotiation (with no guarantee of being used !). So basically, I told them to ‘go pound sand…’

Please understand, that my decision has nothing to do with Rick and the Harrison’s, I love those guys. It is the unfortunate nature of the production company and Network greed when they have a successful show. Who knows, if enough fans cry out, maybe they will get the message and come back to the table of ‘reality’…

Thank you for your support !

Sean Rich

TortugaTrading Inc."

I don't know about you, but I think we should all "cry out" and get the History Channel execs to return to reality!

PS- I have no idea why that white box is on this post or how to remove it.  Nor do I understand why the font is a million different sizes...technology..meh!

Office Organization

One of my goals of 2012 has been to organize my studio closet.  Thanks to my generous husband, our amazing carpenter and some sweat and tears, here are the before (embarrassingly messy) and after pics:

Before

After (a coat of paint to follow)

And a lazy cat pic:

Notice Basil in the napkin tray...napkin anyone?



New Ottoman

As referenced in an earlier post, I have been in the market for a new ottoman since my son both chewed the leather off and pulled out one of the buttons from a "tuft."  Yesterday, my new ottoman arrived.  Within 5 minutes, this was the scene:

Newly Christened by a tushie-in-(potty)-training!

Fab.com vs. Overstock.com

I was recently persuaded to join Fab.com while playing "Words With Friends" on Facebook.  70% was just too enticing to pass-up.  So, I joined, got a $5 off coupon (score!) and began browsing.  While the stuff on the site is beautiful, I just wasn't sure the prices were so "fab."  Yesterday, I opened-up the site and found these pillows from Safavieh which I



love!  The original price for the pair was $113, marked-down to $59...a steal of a deal!  I had remembered reading a review for an ottoman on Overstock.com earlier in the week where the reviewer stated it was a Safavieh ottoman they had purchased and the Overstock price was the best around.  I

I headed-over to: http://www.o.co/ to see if they sold other Safavieh items and if I could spot the same pillow and see what they were selling for.  Lo-and-behold, by typing in the name of the pillows "Isadora" the same exact 22 inch pillow came up for $43.99 for the set.

The moral of the story is that even though a price seems "fab" you should still look around because you never know, you may find a better price.  And yes, I did order those pillows, from where, I will not say.

Item of the Day

I'm am so obsessed with my Hoover SteamVac.  It is by far, one of the best household purchases I've made...ever

I use it at least twice a month to either rid my office area rug of marks from foot traffic or use it clean cat vomit from various rugs around my house (of course they can't just puke on the hardwood floors).  It cost under $150 -- a steal of a deal.  I don't have any wall-to-wall carpets in my house and I STILL think it was a great buy; I can't imagine how amazing I would think it is if I got to clean an entire room of carpeting with it.  I also recommend the Hoover cleaning solution, it is the best around.

Snow 2012

Today is the first "real" snow day of the year.  I'm using to today to catch up on work, laundry and relaxing....ahhhh... Here are a couple of pics from the day.

Very sad about having his hood snapped to keep him warm

Two seconds later...chilled and chillin'