My best friend gave birth to her first child, a beautiful daughter, last night. I’m too excited right now and just had to post it. 🙂 Congratulations to Rachel, her husband Robert, and their beautiful daughter, Ariana Lelde Elizabeth! My prayers for you and a blessed life.

I’m coming to visit you later! 🙂

Congratulations!!!!

Thank you to the three who entered! It was a small entry number, but it’s only my first giveaway. 🙂 You’ve got to start somewhere. ;-P
Enjoy the necklace, Jean!

You may remember, dear readers, that I mentioned an idea for a collar necklace in one of my past posts. Well, I made one! I’ve had this little guy done for a few weeks, but just haven’t had the time or inspiration to post him until now.
I have a couple more in the works for the shoppe, but at the moment they’re on hold while I finish a custom softie order. In the meantime, I’m giving this guy away! ( The necklace pictured is the prototype; you’ll receive a new necklace made from the same fabrics. )

the contest rules are as follows:

1. Leave a comment, telling me your favorite color to wear = 1 entry

2. Become a fan on facebook and/or leave me a comment there! = 1 entry

3. Become a new follower of my blog and let me know via a comment = 1 entry

To sum it up: each person can submit up to 3 separate entries! The contest will run through the end of the month, at which time I will throw all of your names into a hat and blindly pick one! You’ll be notified via email or facebook message, so if you don’t leave a message on facebook, please include your email address with your comment here. Otherwise I will have no way to reach you, and the prize will go to the next name chosen from the hat.

Thanks to all & good luck! 🙂
I took a few quick snapshots before going to work on Tuesday. The trees looked so gorgeous that I couldn’t resist! And boy am I glad that I got the photos when I did………..today is a wet, sloppy, dreary mess.

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My favorite design from Riordan’s current line
Here’s a new video that I found on Etsy today. I love the world of fashion and designers, so a little peek into this Etsian’s line really intrigued me. I wish that I had the patience to draft adult sized patterns. I used to do it for my Kinder Cottage line for dolls, which were about the same size as a young child’s clothing would be. But drafting patterns for full size people seems too monotonous……maybe someday I’ll change my mind. I love the idea of every other process…… except made-to-order. I much prefer people to buy what I already have. Unless I’m able to make orders for different types of things. If I stick too much to one type of art, I get bored. why do I have to be so finicky? 😉

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this glimpse into the life of an independent fashion designer. 🙂

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Found on Etsy; by LightFantastic
(One of my very FAVORITE Etsy photographers. And super sweet + helpful too!)

I made myself an omelet……….yummy. I love omelets, but only if they’re done right. To me, that means sauteing chopped green pepper, mushroom, turkey lunch meat and a minuscule amount of onion in a skillet with butter. Then pour two beaten eggs over the top and add salt and pepper. I turn the heat down to low and put a lid on top so that everything gets evenly cooked. I’ve learned that this is the secret to a perfect omelet {at least my idea of one}. Once it’s cooked through, I add little daubs of cream cheese in various places and roll the omelet up. I paired this one with a sliced kiwi and English muffin. I wish I could eat this right now!

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Take a peek at this great video from Etsy. Dottie Angel is one of my very favorite Etsians and bloggers……….love her house, style and art. 🙂 I hope you enjoy this little peek into her life as much as I have. And if you do……check out her blog and shoppe:

BLOG
SHOPPE

My favorite Christmas treat is definitely Norwegian Kringla. My grandma used to make them at Christmas, as did my great aunts, Thelma and Dolores. This is their recipe.

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1 c. sour cream
1 c. buttermilk
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. vegetable oil
3-5 c. white flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Mix sour cream and buttermilk together and let sit at room temperature for 1/2 hour or longer. The longer you let it sit, the more “sour” it will be………..which sounds nasty, but it’s a good thing with kringla! Mix remaining ingredients into sour cream mixture, one at a time, ending with the flour, one cup at at a time until no longer sticky. {Last year I worked really hard to get my batter unsticky, but I wasn’t as picky this year and it resulted in a fluffier kringla. So don’t stress. As long as the batter isn’t too frustrating to work with, there’s enough flour}

On floured surface {I use a dish towel, covered moderately in flour and weighted down by two big glasses. I’m sure there’s a better way to do this, like buying a pastry cloth, etc., but I have yet to do so}, roll dough into thick pencil shapes and twist into a figure 8. {I roll my logs first and then pinch the ends together to form a circle. After that, you can just twist, and wha-la! A perfect figure 8.}

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Bake on a parchment lined cookie pan until the bottoms are light brown, but the top remains white. Approx. 10 min.

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Enjoy! Yum, yum! 😀
Yields: approx 4 dozen

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Top: Present Moment top
Cardigan: Architectural Walking Tour Cardigan
Pants: Show Promoter Jeans
Accessories: Circle Scarf of Life, Head in the Stars Hat, Cold Snap Mittens
Shoes: Pefect Photo Op Flat

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