Sunday Spotlight

For those of you wondering why I haven't posted anything in a while, it's because I've been busy! I had craft shows two weekends in a row, and this week I spent *not* feeling busy. It was nice. Of course, I still have crates of product sitting in the kitchen. Maybe this evening I'll finally put them away... :)

Today's Sunday Spotlight is yoopers. I bought one of her lovely craft show aprons to use the last two weekends, and it worked great! No more bending over to dig through the money box at every transaction, it was all right at my fingertips. Receipt book, calculator, pen, and change all in one spot. The only thing that would make it easier is to have a little coin holder like the car hops at Sonic have. :)

I bought one of her aprons with a zippered pocket in the middle. Very thankful for that zipper! (Festive Flowers Craft Vendor Apron with zipper pocket, $24.00)


You can also buy aprons with what yoopers calls "The Works." That means you get everything in the apron above, plus an extra business card or cell phone pocket and a key clasp. (Batik Circles Vendor Apron with the Works, $28.00)

It's a Girl!

Hooray! We had another doctor's appointment last week, with the answer to the question on everyone's mind... Is it a boy or girl? Well, drumroll please.... It's a girl! (Yay! Although you know I'd have been happy either way.) :)

So here she is, pointy chin and all, at 16 weeks along.

Music Monday

If you don't know this about me already, I enjoy musicals. Go figure, I teach elementary music and love musicals. Especially The Sound of Music. I had a student ask me the other day if I've ever seen it as we're in the middle of singing notes in the staff. I think it reminded her of the song "Do Re Mi."

I've only ever seen the movie, and thought it was interesting that the original Broadway soundtrack starring Mary Martin as Maria is sang in a higher key than the Julie Andrews movie version. Either way, it's still a great song. Enjoy! :)

Sunday Spotlight

Today's Sunday Spotlight is... Arbor Daze!

This annual festival in Euless, TX is a lot of fun. There are two entertainment stages, arts & craft booths, business expo, a Kid Zone, bounce houses, and games. Two days of fun! If you've been thinking of planting a tree, be sure to stop by their Forestry Village for a free one. Not sure if you'd like to come? How about free parking? Yay!

If you're in the North Texas area, be sure to come by next Saturday and Sunday, April 24 and 25. Come by the arts & crafts tent, and you'll find me at the back side of the tent, near the corner on your way to the potty. :)

See you there!

Hump Day Humor

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Music Monday

Today as I was working at my desk after school today, I had some Johnny Cash playing. This is one of my favorite songs of his. Enjoy!

Sunday Spotlight

Today's Sunday Spotlight is a bit different. It's not a crafter today, but a craft show! Next Saturday I'll be at the Bedford Library Bazaar. The bazaar benefits the new library building. I grew up in Bedford, and love the building that the library is currently in. But the new building will give them so much more room for books. Yay!

So if you're in the North Texas area, be sure to stop by. The bazaar will be held from 9:00-4:00 at the Pennington Field parking lot (see map at top right). My booth is at the back, at the corner of the isle near the restrooms. Be sure to say hi!

Sunday Spotlight

Today's Sunday Spotlight is another Etsy Veg teammate, Panda with Cookie! She makes plush monsters, garland, tote bags, and more, all from her own patterns.

Let's start with one of her adorable plush monsters. She has many to choose from, but one of my favorites is the Pirate Monster in bright purple fleece. Panda's monsters come in different sizes, but this particular pirate monster (yaaar!) is 13"x14" so he would also make a comfy pillow. And, since all of her monsters have hand-sewn faces, no two are ever exactly alike! (Purple Monster in Bright Purple Fleece, $25.00)


Continuing with the pirate theme, our next item is a Tofu Pirate Patch apron (yaaar!). This apron is not only cute and stylish, but is upcycled from a pair of curtains, so the fabric is thick and durable. The apron ties are 25" long, which is great for someone like me (whose currant apron won't continue to close around me in a few months...). (Tan Cotton Apron with Tofu Pirate Patch, $20.00)


Panda has many items in your shop that are sure to make you smile, including her Where's My Burrito pin. (Where's My Burrito One Inch Pin, $1.25)

Friday Five

Today's Friday Five is all about maternity clothing. I've bought a belt extender to make my own pants fit a bit longer than they normally would have, but I'm now getting to the point where I need to start thinking about buying some maternity pants. So this morning I browsed Etsy to see what cute clothes I could find for pregnant ladies. While you may look at the prices and think it's too much, keep in mind that buying handmade clothing means it will be custom-made for your size. For me--a tall, slender person--that's great news.

I started by looking through the maternity pants section, since that's going to be my own first need. Gaia Conceptions is a lovely shop that I have bought skirts from a couple of times. Handmade custom-sized clothing with organic fabrics, and eco-friendly dye. It doesn't get much better than that. Plus, the Love me 2 Gaucho looks just as comfy as the skirts that I already have at home. Perfect for wearing during summer vacation while we're working on the baby's room. (Love me 2 Gaucho, $75.00)

Herban Devi also has a cute pair of capri legging-type pants that would be great on their own or underneath a skirt. The folding waist looks very comfy. These Devi Capris are made to order, so be sure to take your measurements before ordering. Be sure to check out her shop policies for tips on finding your measurements. (Devi Capri, $50.00)

This morning I also came across a great shop, MamaSan Maternity Apparel. Everyone needs a little black dress, but the Mended Heart maternity dress also features three pink embroidered hearts. (Can I call them cute? I hope so, because they are.) :) I love that the dress has elastic and an adjustable tie below the bust line, so that pregnant ladies can wear this great dress throughout pregnancy, or even afterward. (Mended Heart black maternity dress, $45.00)

Clementiny Clothing uses re-purposed, recycled, and vintage materials for her clothing. Since she also makes your items custom for your size, she says that any clothing in her shop can be made into maternity clothing. Groovy! Oh, and she also has a link to a YouTube video to help you with your measurements, just in case you need the extra tips. I love her Vintage Summer Wrap Dress. It looks so cool for a hot summer day. Just what I'll need! The dress wraps and ties through a button hole, so you can change up how you wear the dress each time. Put the tie in the front, back, or side for a different look. (Vintage Summer Wrap Dress, $51.00)

There are so many cute maternity tees on Etsy, it was really hard to pick just one. But I decided to go with the Kick It tee from KSS Maternity, because it made me smile when I saw it. The t-shirt itself is made from bamboo, which I know is a very soft fabric, and is long in length to cover the mama-to-be's tummy during pregnancy. Yay! Plus, the measurement of each size of shirt is included, so you know just what you're getting. (Kick It maternity t-shirt, $25.00)

Sunday Spotlight Update

Last Sunday I featured EtsyVeg teammate Miss Munchie in my Sunday Spotlight. Well after a lot of thought (and mouth watering) I eventually decided on a variety pack to share with my mom. Small pretzel loaf, baker's dozen of nuggets, and a batch of cookies. A wonderful bit of everything. My mom and I decided on the garlic topping for the loaf, and let me tell you that when I opened the box up yesterday after school, all I could smell was garlicky goodness. Oh, my.

Since I couldn't decide on just one flavor of nugget, I ended up buying an extra baker's dozen so I could try two flavors -- Cinnamon Raisin, and Everything. A few of the Cinnamon Raisin nuggets made a great breakfast heated up this morning. Everything bagels are my favorite flavor, and will make a great after school snack.

Oh, and I can't forget the Peanut Butter 'n' White Chocolate cookies. Yummy! Our package even included a sample of bite sized Chocolate Chipsters. I felt so spoiled. :)

Not only is everything delicious, the packaging tags are so cute too. One of my favorite purchases, and I'll definitely come back to buy again in the future.

Sunday Spotlight

Ah, Sunday. The most relaxing (and chore-ful) day of the week. I mean really, it's hard to get excited about laundry day. But you *can* get excited about today's Sunday Spotlight. It's Miss Munchie, a fellow Etsy Veg teammate. Miss Munchie makes delicious-looking pretzel bread goodies, along with some enticing cookies. Yum!

Not sure which flavor of pretzel bread to try? Then you could start out with a baker's dozen of pretzel nuggets. Pick your topping, like The Original (with sea salt), Garlic, Cinnamon Sugar, or Chocolate Chip (stuffed with chocolate chips, topped with sea salt). They all sound so good, I'm having a hard time deciding which flavor to try first. (The Original Baker's Dozen, $10.00)

More interested in making sandwiches with your pretzel bread than snacking on it? Then you can order an entire loaf of pretzel bread with your choice of yummy topping. The sandwich bread listing is for a rectangular pretzel loaf topped with sea salt, but if you'd like a different topping, just take a look at the topping choices at the bottom of the listing, and include it in your notes to seller. (Sandwich Pretzel Bread, 1 loaf, $12.00)

In a snacky mood, but craving something sweet instead of salty? Miss Munchie has got you covered. She offers a variety of cookie selections, but the one that caught my eye is her Peanut Butter 'n' White Chocolate. Normally I don't go for chocolate cookies, but chocolate and peanut butter are one of my favorite flavor combinations, and the photograph is making my mouth water. Chocolate cookie, Reese's peanut butter chips, Nestle white chocolate chips. Oh, my. (Peanut Butter 'n' White Chocolate, 1 batch, $20.00)

Music Monday

My personal taste in music is pretty eclectic. I like classical/jazzy/folksy/pop/rock type music, with some musicals thrown in for good measure. I guess I like variety? :) So in the spirit of variety, today's Music Monday features Bela Fleck. Enjoy!

Sunday Spotlight

Today's Sunday Spotlight is Charmed Gifts! She makes a variety of goodies, from jewelry to kitchen and bath items to fleece blankets, and much more. If you need crafting supplies, you can click on over to her supply shop, Creative Goods.

Let's start with an item I've bought for myself, her kitchen scrubbies. The ones currently listed in her shop are a beautiful light purple color, but she makes them in other colors too. Mine are dark green, and I bought my mom a set of cheerful lemon yellow for Christmas. These scrubbies work great on dirty dishes, but I especially love to use them to clean up after making soap and lip balm. They make cleanup nice and easy! (Scrubbies - Set of Three Pansy, $7.50)


Now that it's Spring (although yesterday in North Texas we had snow, after having sun and warm weather the day before...), it's time to think about warm weather accessories. What on earth could be a warm weather accessory, you ask? Anklets, of course! And Charmed Gifts has a few beautifully delicate ones in her shop. My favorite is the Sapphire Swarovski crystal one, although they're all lovely. Charmed will also make a custom color anklet for you if you don't see your favorite colors in her shop. (Swarovski Crystal Anklet - Sapphire and Light Sapphire, $11.50)


I'm a big fan of pink, especially if it's bright and cheerful. My favorite earrings in Charmed Gift's shop are the Fuchsia Links Earrings. (You can find a matching necklace here.) The fuchsia beads are foil resin, and each earring measures 2 1/2" in total length. Beautiful! (Fuchsia Links Earrings, $5.00)

Hump Day Humor

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone! Whether you're Irish or not, here's a wee bit o' Irish humor for you. :)

Oh, Baby!

For anyone who doesn't know yet, we're expecting our first baby. (Yay!) He/she is due September 25, so I can be really big right when we're in the middle of hot Texas summer. (Yay?) I had my second doctor appointment today, and everything seems to be doing just fine so far. We listened to the heartbeat again, and this time could hear the baby moving around and kicking too. At next month's appointment we can find out the sex of the baby. (Yay!)

No ultrasound today, but here is our first glimpse of the baby from February 25. :)

Music Monday

Ben and I usually don't go to the movies in the middle of the week, but this week is different -- it's Spring Break! Yay! So tomorrow night we're going to go see the new Alice in Wonderland movie. I've heard mixed reviews about it, but I'm really excited anyway, just because I think Johnny Depp does a great job in anything he's in.

I came across this video/audio mix created by a teenager in Australia using video and sound from the animated Alice in Wonderland. It's pretty neat. Enjoy!

Hump Day Humor

Apparently sometime after the Academy Awards (which I didn't watch), Jimmy Kimmel had something funny on (which I also didn't watch). But Ben showed it to me the other day, and it was pretty good. I literally lol'd several times. :) Enjoy!

Music Monday

Another rainy day here in North Texas. But this rainy day happens to be on the same day that I have my 2nd grade program, and the art teacher is hosting a school-wide art show. Awesome. I hope you enjoy this folksy version of "Rain, Rain, Go Away." I sure did!

Hump Day Humor

Today our 4th graders took one of their TAKS tests. The rest they'll take next month. Since some students were testing in small groups throughout the building, all of the students had to be especially quiet in the hallway today. So enjoy some standardized testing humor. :)

Music Monday

Since today is a chilly, rainy day, I thought this seemed appropriate. Relax, and enjoy! Oh, but you might want to go to the bathroom first.... ;)