School's Out!

With all the shrieking and hollering this morning, it was obvious that there had been a desperate longing for a snow day. Hurray!

"There is something joyful about storms that interrupt your routine. Snow or freezing rain suddenly releases you from expectations, performance demands, and the tyranny of appointments and schedules. And unlike illness, it is largely a corporate rather than individual experience. One can almost hear a unified sigh rise from the nearby city and surrounding countryside where Nature has intervened to give respite to the weary humans slogging it out with in her purview. All those affected this way are united by a mutual excuse, and the heart is suddenly and unexpectedly giddy. There will be no apologies needed for not showing up to one commitment or the other. Everyone understands and shares in this singular justification, and the sudden alleviation of the pressure to produce makes the heart merry." from The Shack

Finally!

I have new items in the shop. I'm so excited that I completed something because I've been playing catch-up ever since I caught the flu!

Eliq Art

My good friend Angel's artwork is featured on Juxtapoz.com. Yeay Angelique! I'm so proud of you!

Yeay for Stina

I've enjoyed browsing the ethereal watercolors of Stina Persson whose art work has been used for biggies such as Chloe', Absolut and Target.

Yeay Cartolina!

Fiona Richards from Cartolina Cards sent me these exquisite birthday cards for my birthday. I feel so special! Thank you Fiona! They are much more beautiful in person than they are online, so if you love the traditional pen and page, as I do, get some of these to send the next time you want to make someone's day.

Happy Birthday Emet!

Two years ago today will go down in my history as one of the most exciting days ever. It was the day Emet was born. Happy, happy birthday, sweet baby!

Moo...

Yeay! I got my new cards and stickers in the mail just in time for my show Thursday night! (I'll post more on the show later.)

The Weekend

My birthday weekend has been so much fun! Seth took me shopping at Serendipity on Thursday night for the perfect little black dress, then he took me to the Melting Pot for a scrumptious four course fondue dinner. A gorgeous bouquet with my name on it was waiting at our table when we arrived and they took our picture and framed it!


Friday, Seth and I checked in to the Doubletree downtown where we got ready to go meet everyone at PM's (where I wore my little black dress.) About twenty of us were at the restaurant until 11, and then we went to hear Julia sing karaoke and dedicate a song to me! Ha! But that girl can sing. We didn't go back to the hotel until we had done a little dancing, so it was a pretty late night for me. A room service breakfast was a really nice treat especially considering I didn't feel guilty eating it in bed and getting crumbs everywhere. Hey, I didn't have to clean it!
Oh, and I have to give Kristen G. a mention for the Sweet16 birthday cupcake that she gave me at her dinner party Saturday afternoon.
So, there's the download of the best birthday I could have asked for. Next week I'll get back to posting about other stuff besides me. Now that my birthday is over, I'm thoroughly sick of myself.

And the winner is...

So it's Wednesday, and I said I'd post the winner of the bracelet today, so here goes...da ta dada...

Lucky number 8!
Congratulations Sandra, you won! Email me with your address and I'll ship your prize to you.

Hurry up and enter to win the necklace giveaway. I'll announce the winner tomorrow.

Jewelry Give Away #2

I'm giving away this cool sterling silver and pearl rectangle necklace! Enter a comment on this post from now until midnight on Wednesday and I will announce the random winner on my birthday! Don't forget to sign up for the first giveaway too. (Scroll down to enter that post.)

A Party Frock and All Its Accoutrements

I want a new outfit to wear on my birthday.

Seychelles T-straps would be a splurge but definitely worth it. The metallic handbag is a cheapy-but-goody from Charlotte Russe. I think I want to wear a frilly party frock like this one from Forever21. To top it off I'll need a jacket, and I love that Dove Calvary jacket from Ann Taylor, but I'll probably end up wearing my trusty jean jacket from LOFT.
Oh, and I can't forget the jewelry- I'll be wearing my Waterfall earrings that I made to peek below my new short cut.

Can't wait to get all spiffied up!

I did it!

Thanks for the pep talks, everyone. They really helped! It's hard to get a good picture of the way it really looks, but this one comes close (although the curls seem a lot crazier than they appear on film.) But over all I'm happy. It feels like a fresh start, which is good 'cause Seth thinks I'm having a "30's" crises. I swear I'm not...I just don't want to get stuck in a fashion rut. I am, after all, already driving a mini van! But I completely refuse to give in to the mom jeans, so I think I'll be o.k. Seth thinks I'm cool and (for now) my kids do too, and that's all that counts in the "cool" arena...I'm feeling pretty good...

I love this month

Well, it's time to take the Christmas decorations down...*sigh*...so sad. But I love January! Here's why:

1. I love routine, so getting back into it will be nice.
2. January's stone is garnet. It's sooo be-yoo-tiful, and God made so many yummy flavors of it!
3. The time for long awaited winter season premiers.
4. My brother, Emet, and my birthday are all in January.
5. We might get a snow day! (image from flickr)


6. All the sales!!
7. My mom's garlic butter shrimp that she makes for me every year.
8. I'm doing a jewelry/art show with Seth to open for Andrew Osenga (Caedmon's Call) on January 31st.
9. Did I mention my birthday is this month? Yeay birthdays!
On January!!!!

Making me happy...

I love sales! If you need any cheapy, wardrobe filler clothes and you have some leftover Christmas money, check out the ALLOY sale. Use the code AEXAFF to get free shipping on orders over $25.









I'm waiting on these boots in tan (sorry, I got the last ones) and these jeans to come in mail:)

All Lit Up

I finally got all of the Christmas decorations up (except for our front door wreath which I still have to make.) My husband was trying to figure out how we could keep all the twinkly lights up year round (don't worry I talked him out of that.) But it's true, the house just feels warm and special when Christmas rolls around. I'm already super excited and it's still 22 days away!

Etsy E-zine

I'm part of the Etsy Storque showcase today!

Thank You

Thanks to Rachel of BlackEiffel for posting about my new shop! See her post here.

Shop Opening!

My Bijougirl Designs shop is now open on Etsy! I'll be adding new items throughout the week so stop by often!

Cock-a-doodle-doo!

Elijah was in his first play today. He played the part of Cocky Locky in "Henny Penny and the Sky is Falling". It was very cute and he remembered his lines! Yeay Elijah!

The Puppies Are Here!

The puppies were born last night. Twiggy had them under the deck and the boys got under there and put them all in a laundry basket to bring them inside. She had ten babies but nine survived. NINE! Can you imagine? I am listening to all their little cries right now. Fortunately I was able to go upstairs to sleep last night because I know they didn't stop crying all night. As soon as some of them are satisfied, there are still more mouths to feed! Poor Twiggy. We might have to start helping her feed them. But all the crying aside, they're adorable little pups!