Artisan Holidays

Hey Ya'll~

Monday is here & I'm prepping for an interview in retail this afternoon.
I've got to be honest, working retail sales {when selling something you really would want to buy yourself} is actually a lot of fun. Maybe it's the shopper in me that loves to live through the customers, but I'm kinda good at it! Being a "Nordy Girl" two years ago at Nordstrom was quite the fun gig where I learned just how well I can sell!

I'm a huge fan of holiday decorating {okay. and decorating in general} which means I get overly excited at the sight of all things sparkly, glittery, shiny, monochromatic and usually vintage-inspired or handmade. Immediately I picture "Where in my house could this pretty go?"
It's quite disturbing ;) but oh-so-fun!

In keeping with the West Elm theme of this post - I have to share my excitement to see that W.E. has linked up with Etsy {yes, I did just say that} to sell artisan items for the holidays.
Y'all! This is like a real-life-walk-in&shop Etsy experience! {I, for one, have always dreamed of an Etsy store where you can walk in and see items according to your "search terms"...but where you're able to touch, hold and feel the items before you buy them.}

So, I wanted to share some of the cool items they're offering this season - and how you can support small businesses :) because we all should love that!

Woodland Creatures handmade in Nepal:

Precious homespun felt wreath from Kathmandu, Nepal

Til Christmas Comes,
xo
B

Paring Down

Hey Y'all !

Well it's almost that season - the one where people eat in excess and buy in excess - yet here I am, moving apartments {long story} and shedding even more than when I moved three months ago.
As Momma says - "Haven't you gotten rid of enough??"
I thought I had ... but apparently I did not. If I did not like to craft or bake {of which I have 2 moving boxes full of each ... scrapbooking, paints, garlands, etc. and cupcake pans, frosting tools, specialty cupcake doo-ma-jiggies ..} my life would A) be boring and B) 2 boxes less than what I currently own.
I mean, what's two boxes in the grand scheme of things?? Exactly. Not much. ;)

So, as Thanksgiving and Christmas are just weeks from us, I have been focusing on just how much unnecessary "stuff" we have. Maybe it was working with the children briefly in my last "contract" job {we'll call it that, instead of them duping me} or just how many times I have shoveled through my own belongings, but I really don't feel like any of us NEED anything this year. So many have less than I do and yet they are happy with their lives. Why can't I be more like that?

I challenge everyone to give of your time or treasures to a non-profit or your church this season. You will truly be blessed more than any gift you could receive!

xo
b

Where's the Window?

The saying goes
 "When God closes a door, He opens a window."

Well, I'm waiting for the glorious window to appear. I am patiently trusting but goodness gracious - it's a tough world!

To make it short&sweet, hired & let go all within the 90-day period by "A wonderful Non-Profit Organization" here in my big city. Forget helping the kids - these people are more concerned to make an event successful & then let go the employee that they {really} only hired as a temporary fix.
Not. Cool.

As you can imagine, life is being topsey-turvey again, thankfully I'm able to move in with a dear, sweet friend of mine and hopefully become roommates more permanently in the next couple of months!! Thank God for supportive family, Handsome man and wonderful friends!!

Okay, so enough of "real life" troubles - on to "real life" hopefully soon!
I spent the past weekend beginning the design of my website for the future event design company I'll be running... and boy - hats off to all you web guru's - I'm just doing "simple" website building, I see why you now make a grand off of one website!!!
I'm excited to get 'er up and running in the next month or so and to see if I get any hits of people needing my creative services!! It's nerve wracking, but you never know the demand until you stick your neck out!
Special thanks to another Short&Sweet Creative friend, who designed a logo for me -- complete with pearls!! If it wasn't for that logo, I probably wouldn't have gotten my rear in gear to start the website.
Some research is needed to see what people would "Google" or "Bing" to find my services - so it's a slow process, but I really enjoy learning all the while!

I have my LifeGroup meeting tonight with some fabulous ladies, so I must be off!
I'll keep ya'll posted on my where'abouts .... now that I have a bit more time ... sadly!

xo
B

#1.0.2. - Dear Julia

Dear Julia,

I'm writing to you as one who looks up to your wisdom in words and as "la boulanger". You understand, you lived in France. If you were here today, I would eat up your wisdom like I was eating "le chocolat."

Your Friend,
B



Okay, so pardon my French Speaking / Julia Child / daydream. 
But in all honesty, the woman was wise beyond her years. And I'd love to sit in her rustic, French kitchen and chat like we were old girlfriends. I hope y'all have all seen "Julie+Julia" {and in no way am I being paid to endorse the film} but because it's seriously a great inspirational movie.

The quote below makes me want to follow through with every dream I have - based on every interest and love of mine - & who says that I can't spend my life doing just that???

She knew about love too - 

And if you ever wonder why "real food" tastes so good ... Julia {and Paula Deen} have the right idea ...

At the end of each day, it's the enjoyable things that will matter most ...

  Go forward with your talents, and be fearless! After all, who will know what you don't accomplish other than you?? 

xoxo

B

Creative Brain-Drain

It's been an embarrasingly long time y'all - do forgive me for the lack of posts on my behalf...

BUT I CAN EXPLAIN!!!!

You see, there's this tiny, itty bitty, teenie weenie, not-so-big-deal event that has consumed my every waking / working moment for the past 2 and 1/2 months. It's called only my non-profit's biggest fundraiser of the year. And ya know, being employed since only mid-August naturally, I was brought in to be  

Lead Event Coordinator for it all.

But really, it's been baptism by fire these past couple of months. And not to complain, I'm more thankful than ever that my supervisor and team saw the potential in me - but boy, I'm sure looking forward to not tackling this monster for another year after this coming Sunday! 

So, it didn't occur to me until tonight, while wandering aimlessly through one of my "happy places" {Tarjet} that the reason I have been basically brain-dead in the *CreaTive* department, is largely due to the fact that every day my creativity is drained, only to be slightly refueled by an hour or so of Pinterest'ing and 7-8 hours of sleep each night. And even then, no amount of wandering through the aisles of Jo-Ann's, HLobby or Michael's ~ 

has peaked my interest.

And y'all - that is just plain sad.

 And frustrating.

But all of that ends this Sunday. I must say, I'm amazed, but not so "amazed" at how peaceful I feel about it all. I had one minor "eeek" moment last week, and asked for prayer for peace and strength from my Lifegroup girls, family + friends. And wouldn't you know - my supervisor even complimented me on "remaining so calm and collected during such stressful times"

Ha!

Thank you DC, but - I have no control over it!! Thank God for that one :-) 

So, I've been "pinning" {or as I call it "Pinterest'ing"} last night and tonight, viciously adding to my "DIY to TRY" board, when I realize, I didn't ever lose my creative want, it's just not the time for it right now. 

So, I have quite a few things I'd like to try... and I'm excited that Christmas is only a mere 2 months + some-odd days from now, so I can begin Christmas shopping / crafting!! 

Yippee!! 

Since I don't have any photos of recent accomplishments {just you wait til Sunday - I'll be sure to upload some from the food+wine festival} I wanted to leave y'all with something pretty to look at 

...and maybe that will inspire you. 

 xoxo

b

 

Clear Frame + Decals = monogram art !!

Yarn Wrapped Letter for Door!

Love This "Where We Met" "Where We Married" "Where We Live" - too precious!!

Glass frame + scrapbook paper = chic whiteboard!

                                                                                                 

I already have about 5 of these types of books, but they're so fun & inspiring to make!

 

All That Glitters - My 100th Post !

This Is It ..

I Doubted I Could Make It ...

My 100th Post !

When  I began this blog, my goal was to just write about things that inspire me, make me happy, recapping my adventures, sharing my thoughts ... and I surely never thought I would stick-with-it enough to see 100 posts! Of course I've gone through times where I thought 

"I have zero creativity going on in my brain"

I was able to find my creativity through the blogs+photos of others that I follow and I'm so thankful for a fun little community that inspires me. 

And I must admit, I started off with 2 followers: Handsome Man + Momma - only because they probably felt like I should have someone who reads this crazy business! 

So I began the journey into blogging.

2 Followers. And now, amazingly, I have 23! I know that's not much compared to some of y'all - but it fascinates me that I have people who enjoy what I write to the point that they would keep up with a post here-or-there! Thanks to all of y'all that I don't "know" but for glancing over my little space in blog-land. :) 

I've come to really enjoy blogging - not just as a "oh I should blog it's been 2 weeks" kinda way, but genuinely reading others' and feeling inspired to share my stuff. 

I wanted to just say a measly "Thank You" to those who read this -

and share with you something that always makes me smile ...

*Glitter*

There are just some things in life that make me happy + I wanted to share that with y'all! 

Created By Me @ BHLDN

xoxo

B

 

 

A is for Apple

Hey Ya'll!

I hope the weekend was good to everyone! After the busy {and car-less} work week I had last week, I needed a really relaxing weekend. It consisted of brunch, running "fun errands" {bookstore, The Fresh Market, Tarjet, outdoor mall} and lots of football! My Seminoles gave it their best last night, which sadly didn't equal a "W" for us. But I'm certainly glad it was a fight of a game! And the Bucs won today - so that was much needed! :)

On Saturday I ran to TFM and picked up some delicious produce and burgers to grill for the FSU game. I was really excited to see that my favorite apples "Pink Ladies" are already being harvested for the fall!! If you've never had a Pink Lady - you probably should run to your nearest grocer and get some! Apples are one of my favorite things of fall!! On the way home I stopped by our locally owned Ace Hardware - their entire store front boasting huge pots of mums - already in bloom!! I picked up two tiny pots of mums and one larger pot, to sit by my front door. I planted the baby mums in the pots I had made last fall - and they're nestled on my front porch. . . the larger mums are accompanied by a hand-painted FSU "Funkin" {pumpkin, faux}, some decorative berries, and an orange fall-scented candle! Little did I know, that today would be the most perfect fall day yet!! It was so enjoyable to sit out on the porch and read with a blanket over my legs!! In Florida, y'all!! :) It was heavenly.

In addition to craving fall's produce, I couldn't help but get excited when I passed the Methodist church where Handsome Man and I went pumpkin patch'ing last year. The men were out front putting up the stakes, fence and strings of lights... Pumpkins are due out Oct. 1!!!

I got to thinking during dinner {which consisted of my first soup of the season - Tuscan White Bean - yum! and a Pink Lady apple with peanut butter} - that there are so many ways that I love to eat apples. So I thought I'd share with you a couple of them ....








Slow Cooker Apples - Perfected by Mama B.

• 6 large apples
• 1/2 stick of butter
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 2 tsp. cinnamon 
• dash of allspice

Place your cored and 1" thick apple slice {we leave the skin on} into a medium-hot skillet with melted butter. Add in sugar, cinnamon and allspice. Stir until the brown sugar has dissolved. Cover and simmer til your apples are soft. These are perfect as a side dish to dinner or as dessert!!

Apple Pocket Pies - Recipe from Williams-Sonoma, Cute Pie-Maker from Williams-Sonoma
I'll admit, I first only bought this apple-pocket pie mold {2 yrs ago} because it was so stinkin' cute. I'm a sucker for "fun kitchen gadgets" - like, badly!! I've only used it a few times, and my first pocket pies were sad looking - to say the least! But they were delish!
Here's the recipe according to Williams-Sonoma:
Crust:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 t salt
• 2 T sugar, plus more for sprinkling
• 16 T cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 6-8 T ice water
• 1 egg slightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon water

Apple Pie Filling

• 2 or 3 baking apples, cored, peeled, and sliced. (I used one macintosh and one granny smith)
• 1/3 cups sugar
• 1 T flour
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• pinch of nutmeg
• pinch of salt

Mix all together, fold / cut crust into the mold - Once assembled and filled, I freeze these for 20 minutes so that they retain their shape {blame it on the humidity down here} ... Bake on 400* for 15 minutes. Cool for 10 and then enjoy~ perfectly portioned for 1 pocket pie per person {say that 5 times fast!}









That's about it y'all - I'm going to relax and watch the Emmy's ... I usually hate awards shows... Probably won't make it past the red carpet preview! Enjoy your upcoming week! I'm praying that mine isn't too crazy and that next weekend will be here before I know it! And, maybe that it stays overcast and breezy and fall-like all week and next weekend. That's not too much to ask for, right??

xoxo
B

Menswear For All This Fall

Good Evenin' Y'all ~

I hope everyone had a beautiful weekend - remembering those who serve(d) our country, and finding hope in the 10th anniversary remembrance of 9/11. Our church service was all about hope, and I'm so thankful that I have hope, no matter how bad things in this life get.

This weekend I made a quick trip home to my parent's and enjoyed some quality time with family and grandparents. My sweet cousin Dan and his beautiful new bride Lindsey were also in town and it was wonderful to see them again! The drive back to my BigCity was quick+easy, and may have included a pitstop at the J.Crew outlet ... :)
With fall weather rapidly approaching, I scored a pair of slate colored matchstick corduroy pants and a sweet sweater with a zipper on one shoulder. My pants were 40% off and my sweater was 30% off, and then a 15% discount ... worked out to get it all for less than the pants alone at full price!! 
Earlier this weekend, my Momma and I scored some fall deals at Loft, all at 30% off and received $25 gift cards! I think all I lack are boots now to have a good basic fall wardrobe!

In the meantime, I put together a pretty awesome Men's Wear Fall 2011 moodboard ... hoping to see lots of these trends in person this fall :)

 

That's all I have for tonight... resting up for the work week & looking forward to FSU's first BIG GAME of the season next Saturday!!! 

xoxo
B

My Little Pumpkin

Hey Ya'll ~

Hope you enjoyed your last summer fling this Labor Day ... for me&mine it was mostly a day of relaxing.
I met with three awesome girlfriends of mine for brunch and pedicures, and then relaxed the remainder of the day.
 After an always-uplifting chat with one of my *bests* -talking about everything under the sun ~ I realized just how low I was running on creative projects. And in my current state, more projects would probably be really beneficial to my mindset. I have some small projects to learn {i.e. embroidery kit sitting in the craft closet} but earlier trials have left me frustrated. Then I got to thinking, it's officially the end of summer, so I can start decorating for fall - right?!
Well, fall colors aren't exactly in my seaside-cottage color palette, so I'm going to have to get creative.
First, I want to know when the pumpkin patches start to pop up around town ... I really have a thing against buying pumpkins in a grocery store. That is just not how it's meant to be. You buy pumpkins & indian corn where they cover the ground with hay. Outdoors. When it's supposed to be cool.
Now, back to the pumpkins and my decor. . .

 

ya'll saw above - that "orange" {I prefer "Creamsicle"} is my accent color

and when I say accent, I mean, use sparingly. As in, do not place orange in every corner of the cottage. 

So, pumpkins are orange. And pumpkins can be tiny. So I'm thinking of taking the inspiration from here on making this precious fall gem, match my decor. 

Instead of using all real pumpkins, I will use a few "Funkins" from my local arts+crafts store ... have you discovered "Funkins"??  They're just fake pumpkins. And they're awesome if you're going to put some time+effort into your fall decor and won't want to watch it rot by Thanksgiving.

Here's what I did with one a few years back ... 

FSU Funkin

  So, I'm going to score some Funkins, maybe a few of these awesome "albino" babies

and get to makin' nice. 

I think I'll paint some, add some ribbon, maybe run some ric-rac up and down the seams of the pumpkins, make a bow or two out of aqua bakers twine ... and nest them all in one of my very favorite antique finds from Raleigh, N.C. : a pretty little footed ceramic bowl, she's so crackly and perfect! {photos to come}

Sadly, I'm allergic to hay - but that doesn't mean I can't get a small bale or two to put on my porch. I'm thinking some mums would be the perfect addition to a welcoming fall front porch ... to me, nothing says 

"Welcome Friends + Lovelies" like mums and a festive porch:

That's all I have for now, hope to post some pictures in the next week or so of my little fall projects.

In the mean time, I'm looking forward to my upcoming back-to-back weekends of out of town trips. My little heart needs that right now. Have a beautiful week! 

xo

B

Farewell Summer !

 Hey Y'all ~

Labor Day is almost here, and that means kissing summer good bye!
It doesn't seem that long ago that the sunsets lasted til 9 p.m. When the beaches were packed with sunbathers, and I shopped only to seek air conditioning from one store to the next! I do love summer, though...  {http://sassafrassandsouthernness.blogspot.com/2011/07/summer-lovin.html }

Fall is 19 days away, officially. The sun sets earlier now, the beaches, well - here in Florida they'll probably be packed for another month or so. And the heat - well, she can excuse herself any ol' time! Thanks to some tropical activity ... we've had a bit of a break from the 110% humidity and added cool breezes instead. Woo!

Now is the time to break out the grille, gather your friends for football watch parties and tailgates, look ahead to the fall decorations, and colored leaves on the ground. I saw my first leaf fall today and I almost squealed with joy. It was reddish yellow. Who cares if it was already those colors ;)

It's been a decent weekend thus far - FSU is 1-0 at the start of the season and  I can't complain much about that! And tomorrow is Labor Day and no work! {although, I know that will come to bite me on Friday when I'm at deadline for 1209324 more things for our upcoming fall fundraiser!}

Here are my

Top 25 Loves of Fall

1. Changing Leaves
2. Pumpkin Bread
3. Bonfires / Fireplaces
4. Decorating my house with fall stuffs
5. Pumpkin patches
6. Indian Corn
7. Cool breezes
8. Football season
9. Crunchy leaves
10. Halloween
11. Camping trips
12. Fall Flavors at Starbucks
13. Shoe Sale Time at Nordstrom
14. Mums
15. Fall's Bumper Crops - sweet 'taters, apples, butternut squash
16. Outdoor Festivals
17. Trips to the mountains
18. Thanksgiving
19. Trick-or-Treating {okay, not  me recently}
20. Christmas decorations come out
21. Boots 
22. Cranberry bread
23. Corn Mazes
24. Pumpkin Carving
25. Christmas is the next holiday after fall!!

That's all I have for tonight - running low on creative thoughts and my usually bubbly personality has been flat lately :-\

xo
b