i know this isn’t much, but i don’t like feeling helpless when hearing
the aftermath from the storm. this is a little collage that i made
about the evacuation, the process of leaving home so quickly,
and how all of these people will be forced by nature to change
their lives forever.  all the proceeds are going to the red cross for hurricane
katrina disaster relief. click here to bid, and see the details.

yvonne sent me the most wonderful surprises in the mail today! i saw this on the doorstep and thought…oh, for me?

yes! some stroopwafels! (already half eaten! oh my!) and yummy “hema” cookies i haven’t even tried yet because the stroops just got me first. they are the best thing i think i have ever tasted. Mmmmy. i would be in big trouble if i lived in the netherlands. they have the best texture, i love how thin they are, and the filling in the middle is so delicious.

this pincushion is something i have had my eye on for a while now, thanks so much yvonne! and look at the japanese cuteness she sent too. also some pretty floss, ribbons and buttons, everything is packaged so sweetly.

last, but not least! is a really super pouch handmade by yvonne herself, even with her yvestown tag sewn in! Mmm, see those masks? pamper time…

i can’t believe all the goodness i have been receiving lately. it’s like a half birthday party at my place! :O my new new zealand friend helen and i swapped each other some collage scraps. but she was super sweet and included so many extras! the thickest packet of vintage papers i have ever seen all in one organized place without me having to go through them…now that’s great! i love the way they smell too…isn’t that funny? a sort of musty, old browned paper smell. and she sent some retro fabrics, which of course i completely love. some gummy snacks and pretty henna tattoos and a really neat mag from her country that isn’t pictured because its being read in my stack by my bedside!

one thing i wanted to mention about helen, she is having a keen contest and i plan to win. (wink wink) enter here!

can you tell i’m looking forward to sweater-weather? ahh, lovely crochet. so addicting. i wish i had an entire day just to crochet! i just snuck this into pockets of time this afternoon. next i want to make this pretty scarf. (lofty goal, i know.)

my first pair of knitting needles, acquired at my local craft store yesterday. a friend is showing me how to knit soon, aren’t these so cute?

also awaiting martha’s apprentice show, she’s my idol you know.

and this most adorable movie, just like heaven. i want to see anything starring mr.jon heder.

and visiting the national gallery of art this weekend, and hitting ikea on the way home.

what are you waiting for?

the shoes i wore today. they are actually quite comfortable.

Art is the only thing you cannot punch a button for. You must do it the old-fashioned way. Stay up and really burn the midnight oil. There are no compromises. ~Leonytne Price

lately i have been very naughty and staying up really late to create. i turn off the light, try to go to sleep, but then…idea! and the lamp goes on, the paper and pen scribble it down and off goes the light until a few minutes later when idea! hits again. over and over. so why fight it? i just stay awake unti i wear out. i wonder how long i can carry on like this!

i ♥ evening scrabble tournaments with my m.

i’m doing →this project with my lovely mum and little sister.

and my fingertips hurt from stitching, it’s a pin factory here tonight!

(i snapped this shot of my favorite wall from the bead store down the street from my house this afternoon.)

this morning i threw a baby shower for the a girlfriend of mine. what a fun time. i love get togethers. entertaining, serving, presenting food and gifts and happy times.

and because i am snap-happy with my camera, here are some (many) pictures from my place this morning.

now i’m exhausted! time to go cuddle on the couch with a movie now. see you soon.

the mailman arrived today with a pretty white box filled with the most wonderful treasures from cinzia in italy. filled to the brim with the most tasty and wonderfully wrapped sweets, some red candles, a handmade necklace (i’m wearing it right now) yellow soap, a fish topped pen and some exotic smelling bath salts from crabtree & evelyn, mmmm.

she also included some mayan “trouble dolls!” i remember visiting arizona where my mom grew up when i was little~we were picking something out at a gift shop. my two brothers wanted wooden pop guns and i went away with these very same miniatures that i’m so happy to have in my possession again! i used to rub their little rough heads and think of troubles to tell each of them. since i had a happy childhood, it took me a pretty long time to come up with one for each dolly…but then they would go under my pillow and i knew everything would be just peachy. such a great little girl ritual!

just added these…thanks for peeking at my etsy bitsy shop!
update——–pink corsage has SOLD!——–

update——–blue corsage has SOLD!——–

great for your: bag, hat, coat or whatever your heart desires!

“If your success is not on your own terms, if it looks good to the world but does not feel good in your heart, it is not success at all.” Ann Quindlen

i feel that is my theme song for this past year. so much has changed for the better in my inner world, and i can honestly recognize that i am truly happy with myself. most of this acceptance has come from building an internal frame of reference instead of comparing myself with others. and believe me whan i admit that it’s always been a struggle for me to find a place of content in my own skin. but somehow at this very moment in time, i’ve arrived.

it’s all so delicious coming to be well-adjusted. i feel so connected, adoring life and the possibilities. i feel open with everyone, i understand people more deeply, forgive them more readily…and incidentally, i don’t feel as attached to them. i feel more independant, alert to the details and satisfied with the gracious beauty in simple things.

a cheer of delight to a busy busy weekend ahead with a party here tomorrow~i’m off to get some fresh fruit and fragrant flowers for my table and tidy my dollhouse. as soon as all the girlfriends leave, i plan to find several hours in my refreshed studio (it’s all cleaned out!)

look at the great surprise that came in the mail (that always makes my day) the brightly decorated envelope was eagerly opened as soon as i noticed it was from mati rose! inside the delicious sounds of a great collection of music were waiting to play.  so max and i blasted the volume way up and baked some banana bread with streusel topping, the house is smelling so sweet now.

getting some more home improvements done before i host a party this weekend. i love this yellow ochre color. (can you see the bits of 1930s wallpaper on the stairs still? wall needs another coat too.)

i started on my new concept of embroidered pieced paintings last night.

i’ve also started a new blog, “tag sale tales” entirely dedicated to my thrifting adventures!

oh, and just because i cannot stand to wait until i’m wearing them to show them off, rachel is making me a pair of these!