Hump Day Humor

I was so busy today, that I almost forgot to put up my humor for today! And that really would've been a shame, because this is really funny. I came across this print in Dan Jackson's Etsy shop. Enjoy! :)

(108 Print Guitar Hero, $22.00)

I Knead Noodles

Ha, get it? Yep, I'm a dork.

The lasagna turned out pretty yummy last night, but I can't say the same for my first attempt at homemade noodles. Apparently I didn't knead the dough long enough the first time, because when I put it through the roller part, the dough fell to pieces. So I kneaded and kneaded, and kneaded some more, and tried again. Came out fine, and I cut it into lasagna-sized strips. But when I cooked them in the boiling water, a bunch of them came apart. When I drained the water, I had a few whole noodles, and lots of little bits of noodle. So I ended up having to use the store bought no-cook noodles anyway, which ended up working out great.

And speaking of lasagna, here's a good looking one I found in GulfCoastCottagePDF's Etsy shop. (Italian Feast Felt Food PDF Pattern, $5.99)

Music Monday

Tonight starts my New Year's Resolution, and yes, I know it's a little early. Oh well. I was inspired. (And if you have no clue what I'm talking about, check yesterday's blog update.) One month of cooking from my newest cookbook, How it all Vegan! by Tanya Barnard & Sarah Kramer. My mom is coming over, along with possibly a couple of guy friends, and I'm making Classic Spinach Lasagna, with homemade Traditional Tomato Sauce from the same cookbook. (Homemade pasta sauce rocks, and is super easy!) I'm also making Easy Garlic Spread and cooking it in some puff pastry to make garlic bread rolls. Yum! I bought some lasagna noodles just in case, because the closer it gets to cook time, the more chicken I'm getting about making my own pasta. We'll see... I might save homemade pasta for another night when I won't have company...

What about Music Monday? Hold your horses, I was just getting to that. I was putting groceries in the trunk of my car today and had a very "hippie" moment. In the Whole Foods parking lot, wearing faux-suede boots and an organic cotton skirt, putting reusable grocery sacks filled with tofu and organic veggies into the tiny trunk of my Beetle...

Needless to say, I listened to some Beatles on the way home.

This is one of my favorites. Enjoy!

Whew!

I hadn't realized that it's been so long since I updated my blog... Oops! The holidays are busy for everyone, so hopefully you didn't miss me too much. ;) All I know is, we were definitely Christmas-ed out. Five is a little much, but there's not really much to be done about that. It's nice to be able to spend time with so many different family members, though!

During my week away from school, I've been doing some thinking. And no, it didn't hurt, thank you very much.

Ben and I have been going out to eat most nights, and not cooking at all. For a while I was doing pretty good about cooking at least one dinner per week at home, but the last couple of weeks the only cooking I've done is to take to Christmas Eve dinner at Ben's grandmother's house. The way our schedules are, Ben and I really only eat together Monday and Wednesday nights, plus the weekend. So ideally, one (or both) of those nights would be staying at home for a home-cooked meal. Then, since Mr. Picky Pants doesn't really care for leftovers, that would leave me with lunches to take to school or leftover dinners for nights that I eat without him.

So I've decided that my New Year's resolution this year is to cook one or two dinners per week. That being said, I am a cookbook-holic. Yes, I admit it. I love to look at cookbooks, but the problem is that since I don't cook often, they don't get much use. This means that part of my Cooking Resolution is going to be to use those books! Right now I'm thinking of spending one month per cookbook, so I can try out as many recipes as possible. And I'm not afraid to admit that I was inspired by watching the movie Julie and Julia while wrapping presents. I'm starting with How it all Vegan! by Tanya Barnard & Sarah Kramer, which my mom gave me for Christmas. Oh, did I forget to mention that I've recently started cooking vegan at home? Except for Christmas Eve macaroni and cheese, that is. My mom is coming over for dinner tomorrow night, so I'm making something from my new cookbook. I'm also trying my hand at handmade pasta, to use my brand new pasta attachment for my Kitchen Aid. Wish me luck!

It's the Holiday Season!

It's finally starting to feel like Christmas in our house. First of all, to give you a little background, we're "not allowed" to put up Christmas decorations until *after* Ben's birthday at the beginning of December. Yes, he has a complex. And since I don't have any Fall/Thanksgiving decorations, the Halloween decorations stayed up inside the house until the weekend after Thanksgiving. I know, I know, that's way too long. Halloween is my favorite holiday. Sue me. :)

When we bought our house a couple of years ago, we thought it would be a good time to upgrade our tiny, apartment-sized Christmas tree to a house-sized one. Well, it barely fit in the 2-door Civic Ben drove at the time. I sat crammed in the corner of the backseat while the front seat was folded backwards so the giant box could lay in the entire passenger side of the car at an angle. Putting it together was a big adventure. You'd think a pre-lit tree wouldn't be so bad. You'd be wrong. Two years of listening to Ben yell and curse at the tree, and several broken light bulbs later, he decided he's not putting it together anymore. (Taking it apart was just as bad.) Oh, and did I mention that the darn thing was too big for the room anyway?

So after us not putting up a tree at all last year, I finally convinced him that we should get an aluminum tree. You know, the kind that they put up way back in the day. (I found this awesome vintage tree ad on Curly Wurly's blog. Lots of great stuff to look at!)

I already had my grandma's old color wheel in the attic, so all we had to do was get a tree. Low and behold, they sell aluminum trees on Amazon! So tonight we put it together, and it was *way* less stressful. Almost peaceful, even! So I'm ranking our new vintage-looking aluminum tree among my top purchases ever.

In no particular order: ski gloves and jacket for car rider duty at school, Neti pot, tiny whisks, and the aluminum tree.

Friday Feature

Today's Friday Feature is Designs by Kari, who I met on a BNS thread on Etsy. Kari makes gorgeous jewelry. In fact, I've ordered from her a couple of times. :) Not only is everything in her shop beautiful to look at, she is currently running a 25% off sale! All you have to do is put "Happy Holidays" in the notes to seller at checkout to receive your refund.

Honestly, I had trouble picking just a few items to feature today, so I started with something I have a weakness for... Rings! Kari's Raspberry Coral ring is made with a raspberry coral cabochon on a silver plated adjustable base. I personally love buying adjustable rings, because I can make them smaller in the winter when my hands are cold and shrunken! :) (Raspberry Coral Ring, $10.00)

Another beautiful item in Kari's shop, her Rock of Love Necklace, is on sale! The focal bead is jasper, with fuscia, black and green all swirled together. I love how the green Czech glass beads pop and give the necklace sparkle. (Rock of Love Necklace, $22.40)

Hump Day Humor

It's Wednesday. And you know what that means. It's business time - conditions are perfect. :)

Thanksgiving Weekend Sale

This weekend in all of my shops I'm offering a free lip or cuticle balm with your purchase of a bar of soap, sugar scrub, facial scrubbing mask, solid perfume, or fizzy milk and mineral bath. Wow! Buy a great gift for yourself or someone special, and get a free stocking stuffer! Sale ends Monday, so be sure to check it out before it's too late.

My Etsy.

My 1000Market.

My ArtFire.

Hump Day Humor

This morning I was searching for a Thanksgiving joke to post, but stumbled across this picture. In the spirit of Monday's post, I thought it was appropriate. :)

Music Monday

Since Sesame Street (one of my all-time favorite childhood TV shows!) celebrated its 40th birthday recently, today's Music Monday is full of Sesame Street goodness. Seriously, you can't listen to this and not smile. Enjoy!

Support Your Local Businesses

Today I came across an interesting article in Etsy's blog, the Storque, about why you should support your local businesses. Stacy Mitchell from the New Rules Project discusses how big chain stores, like Wal-Mart, have caused all sorts of problems, from increased greenhouse gas emissions to a decreased middle class.

Basically, buying locally benefits your own community. Not surprisingly. By purchasing from local businesses, indie crafters, or farmers, you help keep people in your own community employed. My own town was into a form of this idea over the summer. I saw "Shop Mansfield" signs on most of the store entrances I went past. Of course, most of these were chains anyway... Kind of defeats the purpose of Stacy's article.

Some cities, like Portland, have really embraced the whole buy local idea. They even have their own website. So if you're in the Portland area and are wanting to support your own community, be sure to check out the Portland Buy Local website. I did my own search to see if there was anything like the Portland site for my own community. Unfortunately it doesn't look like a comprehensive site like that exists for the Dallas-Fort Worth community. But I did come across the Go Local - Buy Local site, which looks promising. Here's hoping the north Texas area can get on the buy local bandwagon!

That being said, if you live in the north Texas area, you're definitely buying local at Bohemian Rose Bath & Soap! ;)

Hump Day Humor

Today's humor is brought to you by Gordon Keith of The Ticket, a sports talk radio show in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. I listen every day on my way to and from work... They're hilarious, you should definitely take a listen. Anyway, this morning Gordon mentioned a photo of Wade Phillips, the Dallas Cowboys coach. Hope it brightens your day. :)

Two New Soaps

Tonight I'd like to introduce you to the two newest members of the Bohemian Rose Bath & Soap family - Carbon and Cranberry Fig.

Carbon is a soap I've been making for a while, but it has recently been reformulated a bit. Activated carbon gives the soap it's lovely gray color. I also included Bentonite clay in with the soap. Lavender, tea tree and lime essential oils complete the herbal scent blend. Ben and his friend Joe like using Carbon on their faces. (I use it on my face in the summer when my face is feeling more oily than normal.)

Oh, and Joe made up a tag line for it... "Carbon - for when real men want to get clean." Thanks! :) (Carbon Soap, $5.00)

Cranberry Fig is a sweetly tart scent. The tart cranberry and sweet fig balance each other out. It's the best of both worlds! Plus, I included cranberry seeds in the soap for some exfoliation. If you have sensitive skin, be gentle with the cranberry seeds. (Cranberry Fig Soap, $5.00)

Music Monday

In honor of next week, which happens to be Ben's favorite holiday, today's Music Monday features the theme song from the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special. Classic. Enjoy!

Hump Day Humor

I'm having a really hard time this week remembering what day it is. In fact, I have said to a couple of my students that I'm having a long week. Their response: "But it's only Tuesday!"

I played in a Veteran's Day Wind Symphony concert Sunday night, then had a PTA program at school Monday evening. Usually on Tuesdays we have Wind Symphony rehearsal, but yesterday's was cancelled. Ben and I were watching TV, and I had trouble remembering that it was Tuesday, since I would normally have been at rehearsal. So today I have my Orffestra kiddos after school, but it doesn't feel at ALL like Wednesday to me.

For any of you having issues like I am this week, here's a funny picture. I laughed at the kitty, because my little Booger is the exact same way. Cat-like in so many ways. :)


see more Lolcats and funny pictures

If You Love Autumn...

...then you should pop on over to CJ's Fine Designs. My Pumpkin Spice lip balm is included in a lovely Autumn feature. Thanks, CJ, for including me!

Music Monday

Today's Music Monday is all about easing you back into the week. Did you have a busy Halloween weekend like we did? Feeling like you need to chill? Then sit back, relax, and listen to some Josh Groban. Trust me, you'll feel much better afterwards. :)

Happy Halloween!

It's time for my favorite holiday at last! I have a grocery list ready and cleaning underway all to get ready for tonight's Halloween shindig. I can't wait to dress up in my costume, most of which was bought on Etsy, and hand out candy to all the little trick-or-treaters in the neighborhood. We bought extra candy this year, because we usually run low as it is...but with us having friends over tonight, our porch light will stay on longer, which will probably mean more little monsters and goblins wanting candy.

I will be making a yummy drink called Pond Scum tonight. Don't worry, it tastes better than the name sounds! :)

Pond Scum

3 oz. Club Soda

1 oz. Vodka

1/2 oz. Bailey's Irish Cream

Pour into a highball glass and float Irish Cream.

Oh, and just because no Halloween could be complete without some Charlie Brown... Happy Halloween, everyone!

Friday Feature

For today's Friday Feature, I thought I'd do something a bit different. Since tomorrow is my very favorite holiday, today I'm featuring some wonderful handmade Halloween goodies! Enjoy!

Let's start off with an adorable lampwork pirate pig bead. There were so many beads in Gelly's shop, that it was hard to decide. But the pirate piggy's name made the choice for me... Take a look at Capn Jack Sparerib! (Capn Jack Sparerib lampwork bead, $30.00)

The doggie costumes in Spoiled Bratzwear's shop makes me wish

that my own doggie would wear a costume. But alas, Booger doesn't like to wear anything but his fur. :) But if I could get him to dress up, I'd totally buy him this ladybug costume. Maybe next year I'll get one for my brother-in-law's dog, Holly. I bet he'd *love* that idea. :) Ladybug, Ladybug, fly away home, $30.00)

No Halloween could be complete without a survival kit. The Canton Box Company carries just such a necessity. Vampire problem? Have no fear! (Just make sure you have your kit with you.) (Halloween Survival Kit, $33.00)

Halloween Humor

Happy Thursday-before-Halloween, everyone! This is one of my favorite Halloween funnies. Makes me laugh every time. :)

Music Monday

As one of my friends put it in her Facebook status... It's Halloween week! Halloween is my very favorite holiday. Seriously. I had my costume picked out a long time ago. (I even planned ahead and bought parts of it on Etsy!) I love all of the decorations, spooky music, movies, all of it! Surprisingly enough, I'm not big on horror films.... the Halloween movies are about as horror as I'll go.

Anyway, the point of all of my rambling is to let you know that my blog postings this week will be Halloween-ish, if that's the right way to describe it. Starting today with Music Monday, featuring the intro song from one of my favorites, The Nightmare Before Christmas. Enjoy!

Hump Day Humor

Fall is a busy time of year for me at school. Between getting ready for PTA programs, Fall Festival performances, and a 4th grade field trip to the symphony, I sometimes feel like I'm running around like a madwoman here at school. Since I have school on the brain at the moment, today's humor is brought to you by one of my second grade students.

Why didn't Beethoven like the chickens?

Because they say, "Bach, Bach, Bach."

:)

Etsy Veg Team Rocks!

This week I've been making my To Do list for this Saturday's festival (and checking it twice, don'tcha know). Meanwhile, I received a nice message from Kylie, fellow Etsy Veg teammate, letting me know that my Cuticle Balm was included in a treasury on the Etsy Veg blog. Definitely check it out, Etsy Veg-ers make some fabulous products!

Music Monday

The PE teacher at my school really doesn't like roosters. As far as I know, she doesn't have anything against the actual bird. She just can't stand rooster decorations. You know, the country-looking home decor with roosters. Anyway, over the weekend some teachers at our school (who shall remain nameless....) decorated said PE teacher's office in the gym. Needless to say, there were rooster decorations involved. All day long I had a children's folk song stuck in my head (not surprising, I teach elementary music after all). I tried to find it on You Tube to put in my blog for you today, but no such luck. Instead I found this really neat Rolling Stones cover of "Little Red Rooster" from 1965. Enjoy!

Oh, and cock-a-doodle-doo! :)

New Soaps!

It's that time of year, when the weather gets cooler (sometimes...this chilly weather really is unusual for us) and you just want to curl up under a blanket with something hot to drink. While I always say that my favorite season is Spring, I'm absolutely in love with Fall scents. Recently I listed Autumn Afternoon, which to me smells just like I imagine an Autumn day should smell -- crisp and clean.

Today I'd also like to introduce you to my two latest Fall soaps -- Pumpkin Spice and Apple

Cinnamon.

Pumpkin Spice smells just like it sounds. If you're like me, and your favorite dessert at Thanksgiving is anything with pumpkin in it, you'll love this soap. My Pumpkin Spice soap is colored with a small bit of copper mica to help give it a little of that orange color all of us pumpkin pie fans know and love. (Pumpkin Spice Soap, $5.00)

As much as I love my Pumpkin Spice soap, I have to (secretly)

admit that Apple Cinnamon is my new Fall favorite. To me, cinnamon and apples are a yummy combination of scents. Not only can you smell the cinnamon, but I also used some ground cinnamon to make the brown swirl in the soap. These soaps look like marbled apple cinnamon cake. Yum! (Apple Cinnamon Soap, $5.00)

You can find both of my new soaps in my Etsy and Artfire shops.

Music Monday

Lately I've been listening to Pandora Radio in the mornings when I'm getting ready for school. I love having this app on my iPhone, because I can put the phone on the counter and listen to music, but I can also see the time...which is great, because I'm definitely not a morning person at all.

Anyway, one of my favorite channels is the Simon and Garfunkel channel. If you haven't noticed, I love folk and folksy music. :) The first Simon and Garfunkel song I really fell in love with was "April Come She Will." I remember listening to the LP that my parents had, and playing this song over and over again. My mom loved that I enjoyed Simon and Garfunkel. I don't know how many times I heard about how they played at Miami when she was in college. (And this is the "good" Miami, the one in Ohio, as my mom would say.)

Music Monday

My husband showed me this last night, and I thought it was pretty much the neatest music remix I've seen in a while. If you like science, space, Carl Sagan, or Stephen Hawking, this video is right up your alley. Oh, and if you're like me, and you enjoy all of those things too, you should check out The Universe. This is pretty much the coolest science show ever. Seriously. Then again, I love learning about space. Maybe I'm just a nerd.

Hump Day Humor

This week was a tough choice... There were two kittehs that made me laugh pretty hard. Since my September blogging hasn't been as regular as I'd like, you may enjoy two--yes, two--laughs today. You're welcome.

Music Monday

Wow, I can't believe it's so far into September and I haven't blogged! Well here to kick off the month (even if it's a couple of weeks late) is a song from Chicago. I love musicals, but we're playing a medley from Chicago in the Mansfield Wind Symphony for the Mansfield Pecan Festival later this month. So I've especially had this song stuck in my head for a couple of weeks. Enjoy!

Friday Feature

Today's Friday Feature is Elemental Dragons!

At Elemental Dragons you can find precious polymer clay dragons from one of seven different clans, each with their very own story. One of my favorites from her shop is Hankie of the Water Clan. I just love his little ears! Hankie also has lovely wings and glow in the dark eyes. You know you want to give this little guy a home. (Hankie of the Water Clan Elemental Dragon, $15.00)

New at Bohemian Rose!

Wow, I can't believe it's been so long since my last blog post! Although I really shouldn't be... Two of my busiest weeks during the year are the week that school starts and the week before. So if you haven't guessed, I've been doing the back to school thing. Which means I've been really tired in the evenings, even taking a nap yesterday! And I don't nap that often.

Even though I've had my hands full, I've still had soap on the curing rack. So I'm happy to introduce you to Minty Lavender, one of my favorite scents.

Refreshing peppermint and spearmint blended with soothing lavender. This scent brightens my day every time I smell it. It goes well with my Minty Lavender lip balm and sugar scrub too... (Minty Lavender Soap, $5.00)

Friday Feature

Before we get any farther, let me just say that it's just about lunchtime here, and I'm starting to get hungry. That being said, today's Friday Feature is.... Heaven Baked Sweets! I just got a box of goodies from her the other day, and they're all fantastic.

The first cookie that drew me into her shop, and ultimately I ended up buying, are her Andes Creme de Menthe Cookies. How can you pass up a cookie with bits of Andes mint in them? If you know me at all, you know that mint/chocolate is one of my favorite flavor combinations (ahem...Mint Chocolate lip balm, anyone?) of all time. When I told Ben about the cookies we would get in the mail soon, he asked if I was planning on giving one to his dad. My father in law *loves* Andes mints. When we go to Olive Garden, he's always happy when the server brings a giant handful to the table at the end of the meal. (Andes Creme de Menthe Big Bite Cookies, $13.00 for one dozen)

Not sure if you want to commit to an entire dozen of cookies? Heaven Baked Sweets also offers sample sized orders of many of her goodies. I ordered a sample of her Pomegranate Cream Brownie Bites, and they're full of tart chocolatey goodness. Even Ben enjoyed the bite I let him have, and he's a majorly picky eater. :) (Sample Pomegranate Cream Brownie Bites, $4.25)

Hump Day Humor

One of my favorite websites to read is Totally Looks Like. Seriously, it cracks me up every time.

Old Tree Totally Looks Like Clint Eastwood

see more Celeb Look-A-Likes

New Lip Balms!

Today I had the chance to take photos of the two newest editions to my lip balm line -- Vanilla Mint and Irish Cream. (And of course you'll find them in both my Art Fire and Etsy shops.) Both of these wonderful new flavors are also part of the Pick Two lip and cuticle balms. You can find that offer here.

The brightness of peppermint softened with sweet vanilla. Such a lightly refreshing combination of flavor! (Vanilla Mint Lip Balm at Art Fire and Etsy, $3.00)

What could be better at the end of the day than a glass of Irish cream over ice? Smooth, sweet and chocolatey all at once. Cheers! (Irish Cream Lip Balm at Art Fire and Etsy, $3.00)

Music Monday

Ben and I were in Austin this weekend. Friday night we were at a breakfast-for-dinner party, and Saturday night was game night. Lots of fun times! Yesterday for lunch we went someplace I hadn't been before -- Shady Grove. Not only was the food really good, the scenery was great too. Huge shade trees cover the entire back patio area, which keeps the whole area nice and cool.

The entire time we were at Shady Grove, I had a folk song stuck in my head. I played it for everyone when we got back to the car, and got it stuck in my friends' heads too. This version is different than the one I played for my friends. I played the Jean Ritchie version for them, which I posted in my blog back in June. This version is for all you Dead Heads out there -- Jerry Garcia's version of Shady Grove. Enjoy! :)

Hump Day Humor

This morning I was browsing Graph Jam, and came across the following graph. Now I have Sesame Street songs stuck in my head. Thanks, Graph Jam.

see more Funny Graphs

What's Going on at Bohemian Rose?

Well thanks for asking! The answer is... a lot! I have a batch of NEW lip balm waiting to be labeled, along with restock of Minty Lavender lip balm. And this afternoon I'm making another NEW lip balm flavor. I just have to decide which flavor I'd like to make next. That's the hardest part. :) Look for two new lip balm flavors to be up in my Artfire and Etsy shops soon!

Speaking of new, I also have some new soap on the curing rack. How about Minty Lavender soap? Smells just like the lip balm, but you can use it in the shower! Amazing! This one should be up in my Artfire and Etsy shops in a couple of weeks. Also coming up soon soapwise - Fall scents!

Yesterday I spent four hours at the car dealer waiting for them to do my 40,000 mile check up on my car. I knew it would take a while, but I was thinking two, three at the most. By 1:30 I asked how much longer they thought it would be. He told me that ETA was 2:30... So I called my amazing friend Alana, who had just finished up with teaching the flute sectionals at band camp. She lives about 8 minutes from the dealer, so she came to pick me up and we went to lunch. By the time the dealer called, it was after 3:00. That's a crazy long time! Good thing I brought things that I needed to work on, otherwise I think I would've had cabin fever about an hour into it. Even though it took a while, Rusty Wallis always does a great job with their service. All the service guys are great, they do a wonderful job, and they're (usually) pretty fast. Plus, my car is all shiny and clean now. Bonus!

So since I missed it yesterday, here's Music Monday for your listening pleasure -- some dueling banjos arranged for mountain dulcimer.

Friday Feature

Today's Friday Feature is Laura Bucci!

Not only is she a member of the EtsyVeg Team, but her handmade wallets, pouches, and cup cozies are wonderful! I recently bought a flat pouch and cup cozy, and they are lovely. (Laura currently has a special -- if you buy a flat pouch and cup cozy, you save $3.00!)

The flat pouches are great little clutches -- the perfect size to toss in my phone, car key, and flat wallet thing, along with a lip balm or two. And with so many great fabrics to choose from, you can't go wrong! I love retro-looking fabric, so it's not really a surprise that I bought Laura's Pink Garden Maze flat pouch. The pouch is stiff enough to hold its shape, and feels durable. (Pink Garden Maze Flat Pouch, $26.00)

Laura has a wide selection of cup cozies, but my personal favorites are the Save Our Planet cozies. Not only will they protect your hands from a hot paper cup, but they're also stylish with their "green" message. Laura offers three different Save Our Planet styles, so you can pick your favorite at checkout! (Save Our Planet Eco Cup Cozy, $12.00)

Hump Day Humor

From Cracked.com, a pretty hilarious website, the number 1 most ridiculous band name in rock history. (Click here if you want to see the other 24.)

1. !!!

The story: aka Chk-Chk-Chk. In the movie The Gods Must Be Crazy, the clicks in the Bushmen's native language were represented with exclamation marks in the subtitles. The band thought that was cool, apparently, and named themselves three clicks. (This also makes the second band that's completely unsearchable by Google.)

Why it's ridiculous: "Hey, Nic Offer, lead singer of the three-exclamation-mark band whose name I can't even begin to pronounce, even after I heard them masturbating all over you on NPR, why did you name your band three exclamation marks?"

"Have you seen the movie The Gods Must Be Crazy?"

"No."

"Oh. Well, then I really can't explain it."

(A Coke bottle descends from the sky and hits Offer on the head, sending him on an amazing journey of discovery.)

Hump Day Humor

And this is why I don't have cats....

Music Monday

As I wait (patiently) for the Fed Ex guy to get here, I can't help but remember one of my favorite movies, Empire Records. For those of you who haven't seen this movie, you're missing out--this movie is greatness! Basically, it's about some high school kids who work at a record store. But today isn't any ordinary day, it's Rex Manning day! Aged singer Rex Manning is coming to the store to sign autographs. Rex Manning day! I feel like that today....it's iPhone day!!!

Friday Feature

Today's Friday Feature is.... Elfling Creations! Meri's shop features lovely fantasy-inspired art, jewelry, bags, and more!

The first item I just had to show you guys is her Dryad's Dwelling necklace or anklet. Now, I'm very much a water person, but I just love this earth-inspired hemp necklace. The pewter tree, the leaf charms both large and small, and all of the green beads remind me of a green meadow surrounded by giant oak trees. Honestly, it's going to be hard for me to pass this one up. (Dryad's Dwelling beaded hemp necklace or anklet, $19.00)

Meri at Elfling's Creations also crochets plushie dolls. Currently there are several in her shop, but Scinlaece is one of my favorites. She's a dress-up witch plushie, and I just love her little pointed hat. By the way, if you were wondering what kind of name is Scinlaece, it's Old English for "sorceress." Appropriate for a little witch plushie, don't you think? (Scinlaece Dress Up Fairy Witch Doll Plushie, $28.00)

Meri can also make a custom plushie for you. Click on the link to read all of the details for ordering a custom plushie doll. My favorite example in her shop is the Death plushie. I love how you can see all of his bones! (Made to Order, Fully Customizable 12-inch Crocheted Plushie Doll, starting at $60.00)

Giveaway Winner and Some Hump Day Humor Too!

For my first giveaway, I wanted to find a winner the old fashioned way -- by drawing a name out of a hat. Or in my case, a bowl that I put lip balms in at shows.

Here are all the names just after I finished writing them all down.

Now they're all mixed up in the bowl, ready to be picked!

And here's our winner, Yours Truli! Congratulations!!

Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway. I was so excited to have so many entries for my very first one. Thanks!!!

Some of you had great suggestions, and I wanted to take just a minute to address a few of them.

Mint Chocolate - I'm actually in the process of formulating a soap that has cocoa butter in it for this one.

Rose Scented Soap - I have a new line of soaps that I'm formulating, and a few of them have rose in them. Rose Geranium essential oil actually, but to my nose it smells just like rose. Currently I have no plans for a rose-only soap, but you bring up a good point--rose is in my shop name, so maybe I should!

Fall Scents - I'll be testing a couple of new fall scents this month, and then working like mad to get my regular fall scents made. Expect to see them in my Art Fire and Etsy shops in late August to early September. Last year for fall I had Mulled Cider and Pumpkin Spice, which I also carried over into winter.

And now for just a bit of humor. It is Wednesday, after all. This photo is dedicated to my doggie, Booger. People sometimes ask if he's vegetarian because I am. No, dogs were meant to be carnivores, thank you.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Today's The Last Day!

My very first blog giveaway ends tonight, at midnight EST! If you haven't entered yet, you still have time. I'll draw a winner first thing tomorrow morning. If you've already entered, check back tomorrow to find out who will get their very own Bohemian Rose soap and sugar scrub!

Music Monday

OK, I'll admit it. I like alliteration. First I did Friday Features, then I added Hump Day Humor. Now I'm trying out Music Mondays. Hey, alliteration is catchy.

I love John Mayer's music, but I especially loved his last album, Continuum. I love that it's less "pop-y" and more "bluesy." And this song is one of my favorites from that album. Enjoy!

If you haven't entered my very first blog giveaway, it ends tomorrow, so don't forget to enter!

Friday Feature

Today's Friday Feature is... Lillian Skincare!

I'd been using one of the Neutrogena liquid foundations for years, but when I started to run low, I thought it would be a good time to try mineral makeup. Since I've never used mineral makeup before, I ordered the Starter Kit. What I thought was great about the starter kit is that you get to pick two shades of the mineral foundation. So if you're not quite sure which shade is best for you, you don't need to buy two of the full size foundations! The Starter Kit also comes with one shade of blush, and a sample of the finishing powder, along with all of the brushes you need to apply your new mineral makeup. I never wear blush, so I honestly didn't put a whole lot of thought into which shade to pick. But Angela apparently thought that the one I picked was too dark, because she included a little baggie sample of a shade lighter blush. And you know what, I think she was right. Thanks, Angela, for keeping me from looking like a clown! :)

It's been about a week since I started using my new Lillian Skincare mineral makeup, and I love it. It's so easy to apply, and looks great all day. When I told my mom about my switch to mineral makeup, she started going on and on about how wonderful mineral makeup is for your skin. But if you're still not sure, you can read about Lillian Skincare's mineral cosmetics here.

When my Starter Kit runs out, I'm definitely ordering a full size of the foundation and finishing powder, but I think I'll also try their mineral eye shadows. Those colors are just gorgeous!

Hump Day Humor

For today's Hump Day Humor, I've prepared a joke. Why was 6 afraid of 7?

Because 7 8 9!

Ha! Seriously, that's not the only funny thing I have for you today. The following photo is from Fail Blog, and is definitely full of fail. Or something.

Don't forget to enter the Bohemian Rose giveaway!

see more Fail Blog

Bohemian Rose Giveaway!

To celebrate my birthday (which is today - yay!), I thought I'd try my hand at a blog giveaway. Since this is my first blog giveaway, I thought I'd include a couple of my favorite items to use. By the way, that didn't narrow down my choices at all, since I definitely use all of my own products!

First, you can soap up in the shower with your very own Bohemian

Rose soap in your choice of scent. All of my soaps are made in the cold process method, which basically means that I melt all of the oils, and in a separate container mix my water and sodium hydroxide. I let both containers cool to room temperature, then stick blend them together, add any scent or color, and pour into the mold. Once it's all in the mold, the chemical reactions heat the whole thing up to turn it into soap. Science is cool! :)

After you're all squeaky clean, you can exfoliate with your Bohemian Rose sugar scrub, also in your choice of scent. I make all of my sugar scrubs with a blend of sugar and raw sugar, along with oils and butters to help your sking feel soft and smooth. If you've never used a scrub before, don't worry! Just scoop out some of the scrub, massage it onto your damp skin, and the sugar blend will gently exfoliate. Rinse, pat dry, and you're good to go! I love to use my sugar scrub on my feet especially, but it's great as an all-over scrub too.

Now, on to the important part - how to enter the giveaway!

(Thanks to Roses. I used her blog giveaways as a guideline on mine!)

1. Stop by my Art Fire shop, come back and leave a comment on my blog with your favorite item there, and how I can get a hold of you if you win. That's all you have to do to enter! So easy!

2. For another entry, tweet about my giveaway, and post the link for it.

3. For another extra entry, blog about my giveway, and post the link.

4. Want yet another entry in the giveaway? Comment with a suggestion for products or scents you'd like to see from Bohemian Rose in the future.

5. Not enough ways to enter? Make a purchase from my ArtFire studio or my Etsy shop.

Easy peasy! Giveaway ends on Bastille Day (July 14, which was also my grandpa's birthday. Lots of July birthdays in my family!). :)

Coming Tomorrow - A Bohemian Rose Giveaway!

That's right, folks. In honor of my birthday tomorrow I'm starting a giveaway. Check back tomorrow for full details. But if you'd like to go ahead and take a peek at my Art Fire or Etsy shop, go right ahead. I won't stop you! :)

Happy 4th of July!

Friday Feature

Last weekend when Ben and I went down to Austin, we went ahead and bought my birthday present, even thought it was a week and a half early. I had asked Ben for a mountain dulcimer, but since he had absolutely no idea what it was in the first place, I did some research and found exactly what I wanted. We could either have it shipped directly from McSpadden Dulcimers in Arkansas, or, since we were going to be in Austin anyway, pick it up at a folk music store, Fiddler's Green, that sold them.

This is the type of dulcimer that we bought. Cherry back, and redwood top -- it actually looks much darker in color than in the picture. While we were paying for my dulcimer, several other customers were admiring the pegs, discussing what high quality they are. I know I'm still a beginner dulcimer player, but the sound quality is very nice (and I did try out all of the dulcimers they had in stock). If you're looking to buy a mountain dulcimer for yourself (and why wouldn't you be?!?!), you can't go wrong with a McSpadden Dulcimer. Or if you're in the Austin, TX area, head on over to Fiddler's Green. The guy who helped me was very knowledgeable and helpful. If I lived in Austin, I'd definitely go back for lessons!

Hump Day Humor

In honor of today being my mom's birthday, I thought I'd post something she'll think is funny. Happy birthday, mom!

And Finally... Part III

So you saw that I was out in Lubbock taking a two week class, and then you stuck around to read Part II about Orff Schulwerk. Now, the thrilling conclusion... Part III, all about Kodaly!

Before I tell you about Kodaly, let's start with how to pronounce it. It sounds like "co-dye" with emphasis on the first syllable.

Alright, now that you know how to say it, let's get on with the show. The Organization of American Kodaly Educators has a wonderful outline of everything that is Kodaly. In a nutshell, the Kodaly Concept is that singing is the foundation of musical learning. The voice is an instrument we all have, and that we can use throughout our lives. Through singing, children learn how to read and write music, improvise and create. In a Kodaly elementary music classroom, children use folk songs, singing games, and chants to have these experiences.

Zoltan Kodaly was a Hungarian composer who spent much of his life advocating music education in Hungary. He believed that if people are well-educated musically (starting in early childhood), they become more informed and appriciative listeners of professional musicians. Kodaly also saw folk music as being important for continuing a culture's traditions. Along with Bela Bartok, another Hungarian composer, he gathered folk songs from villages all over Hungary. In fact, many of his compositions were inspired by Hungarian folk songs.

In my opinion, music teachers don't have to, and shouldn't, see themselves as solely "Orff" or "Kodaly." Both can and should be used in the elementary music classroom. In my own class, for example, I use singing games, rhymes, and folk songs. But with these songs, I also have my students play on Orff instruments, create, and move. All of these activities together make my students well-rounded musicians. Yes, they enjoy playing singing games to learn musical concepts, but they also love playing instruments. Why should I deprive them of one or the other, just so my teaching falls into someone's strict guidelines of what an ideal music class should be?

"Shady Grove" is one of my favorite folk songs, and is one that often will randomly pop into my head. Here it is as sung by Jean Ritchie, who sang many, many folk songs for children on her mountain dulcimer. Enjoy!

Where Was I? - Part II

Recently I posted about a two-week summer training I was taking. I mentioned the two main philosophies of elementary music education, Orff Schulwerk and Kodaly. Many music educators feel that you're either in the Orff camp or the Kodaly camp, but not both. I disagree. Both can, and should, be used together to create more meaningful experiences for the children in the music class.

The American Orff-Shulwerk Association has a wonderful explanation of what Orff Schulwerk is. Basically Orff Schulwerk is a way to teach music that involves a lot of student creativity using songs, chants, rhymes, instruments, and movement. Students use these materials to experience musical concepts before identifying them. In Orff Schulwerk, students are active learners, participating in both decision making (ex: helping to create movement to accompany a song) and music making.

Thanks to Carl Orff and Gunild Keetman (pronounced Kate-mahn) and their work together, we have such a wonderful methodology. You may have heard of Carl Orff as a composer -- Carmina Burana is probably his most famous work. Orff and Keetman wrote four volumes of music, Music for Children. These volumes are wonderful pieces of music that children absolutely love to play and create with. My favorite piece from the volumes is Street Song. It's very challenging, but so much fun to play.



If you're an elementary music teacher, and interested in taking Orff training, I highly recommend taking it at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. All of the teachers there are absolutely top notch, and they create an environment where you can feel comfortable to learn and grow.

Hump Day Humor

see more dog and puppy pictures

Sale!

Now that i'm back home, I'm having a weekend sale to celebrate! In both my Art Fire and Etsy shops you can enjoy free shipping with your purchase. So enjoy your Father's Day weekend, and I'll refund your shipping via PayPal. Happy shopping!

Where Have You Been, Bohemian Rose?

I've been to your Art Fire and Etsy shops, and they're both on vacation! Where did you go???

If you're asking yourself this oh-so-important question, you've come to the right place. Both of my shops are temporarily on vacation for two weeks, until Sunday, June 21. So never fear, they'll be back up and ready for your soapy needs in another week!

Right now I'm in the very flat city of Lubbock, TX, taking a two week elementary music education training. This summer I'm taking Kodaly Level I. There are all together four levels of training to take before I can say I'm Kodaly certified. My roommate is taking Level II this summer... Here's hoping I can stick it out to the bitter end!

If you're asking yourself, what *is* Kodaly anyway? read on.

There are two major schools of thought in music education - Orff Schulwerk and Kodaly. (As a side note, I'm already Orff certified. You'll see how Orff and Kodaly go wonderfully together in the classroom.)

Check back later for my gripping part II to find out exactly what Orff and Kodaly entail!

Friday Feature

Today's Friday Feature is Johnny's Sister. I recently bought a tote bag from her and absolutely love it. Not only is it big enough to hold all of my stuff, it also has pockets. Definitely a plus for me.

The bag I bought is similar to this one, but with different coloring. There are two pockets -- one interior and one exterior. And if you'd like to fasten your bag closed, it features a side button closure. (Dark Chocolate Yoga Bag, $65.00)

Johnny's Sister also makes unique jewelry. My favorite in her shop is the Spare Change Choker/Wrist Wrap. I love the brightness of the silk cord that the vintage Indian coin is strung on. (Spare Change Choker/Wrist Wrap, $18.00)