i moustache you . . .

. . . a question: can you feel it??

i do. i feel another etsy collection coming on.

for some reason, moustaches are very en vogue at the moment.
& for some reason, i find them tres amusant.

so, without further frenglish frasing,
i present a baker's dozen of fabu facial-hair fenoms:

mr. moustache baby mobile
100% recycled paper & premium nut veneer
by jaell & tofta [germany]
$28

mustard moustache fabric fat quarter
18 x 27", lightweight canvas 55% linen | 45%cotton
by new mom designs
$12

moustache wall wear
3" hoop
by nea jewelry & stitching [canada]
$38

eggmen series: mr. blooey eggenmeire
5x7" fine art photograph
by happee monkee [australia]
$13

a field guide to typestaches poster
18 x 24", frame not included
by old tom foolery
$24

banana with moustache tote
recycled cotton, 15.75 x 12"
by kikichoo [england]
$11

moustache vinyl decal
135mm x 40mm
by oh, dear molly [england]
$3

handcut felt moustaches on a stick
set of 15 party pack
by red bird makes [england]
$30

10 fantastico chocolate moustaches
also available in white chocolate
by swankk
$11

blond moustache stud earrings
100% renewable bamboo
by isette
$10

just under your nose moustache ring
sterling silver
by melanie favreau [canada]
$55

rango the cowboy of love sock monkey
18" top to toes
by tweeling [canada]
$35


top image source:
brown moustache nuk
bpa-free pacifier, 6 months & up
by creative cuteness
$9

a couple of swell finds.

i always experience mixed feelings
when i come across a new website or blog
to love.

yay! online awesomeness!
boo. more methods of time-suckage.

nevertheless, i've recently discovered
a couple of swell sites i've just got to share with you.

& i accept no responsibility for your time-suckage.
you're on your own.

#1. life lift – the oprah blog.

this blog – not authored by ms. o herself,
but by several of her magnificent minions –
launched late may & is chock full o'
the good stuff – in its own words,
engaging news coverage, fresh inspiration &
the straight talk you've come to count on.

today, for example, life lift has posted
a thought for the day, a holiday recipe,
a book review, some ideas for something "fresh" to do,
a touching video of a graduating-sister-marine-brother reunion,
& yet another new website to love.

a couple of my favorite features of life lift
are mondays' the 35-second aha! moment
[my fave from last monday: a quote from
comedian louis c.k. in the season premiere of louie,
breaking down the rules of fairness for his daughter –
"the only time you look into your neighbor's bowl
is to make sure they have enough.
you don't look into your neighbor's bowl
to make sure you have as much as them."]
& fridays' gratitudes
[because i love me a reminder to practice gratitude!].
i also came across the above amazing video
of floating lanterns over poland at life lift.

anyway, for the daily dose of fresh oprah you may be missing
since her talk-show exit, you might give life lift a go.

#2. pinterest.

this website is a huge time-suck . . . & i love it.
in fact, it's become my internet time-suck of choice.
[sorry, facebook. somebody's got to be the understudy.]

so, what is pinterest? again, in its own words,
a virtual pinboard –
a place where you can create collections of things you love
& "follow" collections created by people with great taste.

the best way to check it out is to try it out for yourself.
just go to pinterest & search –
"july fourth," or "baby gifts" or "quotes" or what-have-you –
& see what comes up.

if you like love, then megan's sortacrunchy blog features
a great beginner's guide to pinterest –
definitely see what it's all about once you choose to become
in with the pin crowd.

as she sees it [& i agree], pinterest isn't
just another lovely float in a neverending parade of time-sucks;
it offers beauty, humor, useful information, unexpected connections
& above all, inspiration.

& who can't use more of all that stuff there?


image source: pinterest [of course!].

friday fave five.

here's a handful of my favorite things,
circa 1.2011 . . .

1. the book of awakening by mark nepo.
full disclosure: i read that oprah reads this every morning to help guide her meditation, & figured, hey, if it's inspiring for lady o, then it's worth a try for me. not that i meditate － i'm not that enlightened quite yet. but nepo's daily entries are like little spiritual confections you can chew on throughout your day.
loving yourself is like feeding a clear bird that no one else can see. you must be still & offer your palmful of secrets like delicate seed. as she eats your secrets, no longer secret, she glows & you lighten, & her voice, which only you can hear, is your voice bereft of plans. & the light through her body will bathe you until you wonder why the gems in your palm were ever fisted.

2. paul mitchell lavender mint moisturizing shampoo.
i heart lavender [the essential scent, not the floral wannabes], & am a longtime paul mitchell product user. this pricey but pacifying combo of lavender, mint & tea tree is a yummy way to begin the day.

3. karen drucker.
this songwriter/singer/chanter can be too woowoo for me, but some of her songs hit just the right note. let it shine, the power of women & three little words are some of my faves.
life is good . . . let it go . . . 
play full out . . . yes, i can . . . 
tell me more . . . i am blessed . . . 
be here now . . . i love you.

4. thanks-a-lot girl scout cookies.
despite their new eco-packaging, these cookies are pure evil. i'm fairly sure they contain some sort of highly addictive substance, like magical pixie sprinkles or crack. whichever, i've already gone through two packages almost on my own, & am running the other way from darling girls with card tables in order to avoid the third time "charm." yeah, thanks a lot, girls.

5. my brand-new iphone!
my husband & i were still using our matching nokia flip phones [with some sense of shame, sure] until this week . . . mine was being held together with a rubberband following a christmas-time tile-floor collision, & his finally, thankfully, gave up the ghost, giving us our excuse to move into the cellular 21st century. just getting to know all the good stuff i can do with my new toy, but already loving it. words with friends, anyone?


so, what are a few of your favorite things nowadays? do share!

etsy whooooo??

a few weeks ago, big girl turned
"twelve-teen," as my mother always called it,
& she wanted her birthday party
to feature an owl theme.

[we always do themes at our house;
last february, little boy celebrated
turning seven with a pig party,
complete with pink snouts & little curling-ribbon tails!]

well, birthday express doesn't have
owl-themed party paraphernalia, so
i turned to etsy.com, the e-marketplace
for handmade goods.

& wow, did etsy deliver!

immediate caveat:
our homemade invitations [above] were actually
from paper source [not etsy-associated];
an owl placecards paper-piecing kit
i simply put together & stuck onto
squares of colored cardstock.

i wrote the invite language into a word doc text box,
prettified the formatting, printed, cut out,
& stuck it onto the back. it read:

~ for our friend [name, so it was personalized] ~
please come to our hootenanny
celebrating [big girl]’s twelve-teenth birthday!!
sunday, october 24th, 2010
5 - 7 p.m.
the cards’ home @
[street address]
~ little critters to pet ~ owlish games to play ~
~ pizza supper to eat ~ good times to enjoy ~

~ plus, cake! ~
please rsvp – we want to know whoooo’s coming …
[number] or kcard@austin.rr.com
it’s gonna be a hoot – don’t let it fly by!

here's what the table looked like all decorated.
orange & green are her favorite colors,
so i went with a brightly autumnal color way.

the centerpiece [at top] is mostly what i typically have
out on the table, with some owlish accents added:
white cakeplate with jim shore seasonal angel &
two little jack-o-lantern votives
+ orange-with-pale-blue-dots bookend owl
by i sew lucky, a la etsy －
one of big girl's favorite birthday gifts －
& a melty-bead owl from michael's
made by one of our kids a while ago.

we served fruit salad [ocean bowl, right rear]
& veggies with dip or hummus [fiestaware, left rear].
later, we ordered pizza for the main course.

but the piece de resistance definitely were the owl cake pops,
courtesy of sarandipity sweets @ etsy.

they came through usps from atlanta, expertly packaged
with disposable coldpacks & thermal bubble wrap,
each individually wrapped & tied with
a little polka-dotted ribbon. not one so much as cracked.

such attention to detail
[can you see the teensy candy beaks & feets?],
& full of the moistest, chocolatiest cake
ever.

stuck into colored dixie cups
full of "harvest blend" plain m&m's,
they were a huge hit.

here are some of the goodie bags,
assembled by me, decorated by little boy/brother.
he did an awesome job making sure
every owl bag had its own expression/personality －
wackadoodle owl, sad owl, sleepy owl,
singing owl [my favorite], chubby owl.

he was so, so happy to help
with some part of the party,
& big girl/sister was actually happy with his work,
which thrilled him even more.

the goodies within the bags included
tootsie pops [remember the 70s commercial
with the owl who discovers how many licks
it takes to get to the center of a tootsie pop?],
dark-chocolate molded owl pops
c/o mandie's candies via etsy
[gobbled up too quickly for photo procurement],
& a handful of other treats,

along with these darling owl-themed
scrabble-tile necklaces,
a different design for every guest,
by global pendants from － you guessed it －
etsy.

big girl said all her friends wore their
new owl jewelry to school the next day.
yay!

she loved her etsy-assisted owl party,
& i love her.

& yes, i heart etsy.

lost in translation.

so, the big girl celebrated her twelve-teenth birthday
with an owl-themed party
[which i intend to blog about later].

naturally, i got her a few owl-themed gifts,
too, since she's into the big-eyed birds.

& one of her gifts,
a forest owners solar-powered owl bobblehead
[above], was clearly manufactured
in an asian nation, & had the loosely
translated-to-english warning label
to prove it:

Attention:

In order not course thedanger of asphyxial, pleaese do no to put the spare parts into the mouth.

In order not course the danger of swallowing, forbidden to give the toy playing by the Children who are not enough 3 years old.

In order not course the danger of asphyxial, please do not cover the plastic bag on the head or face.

In order to avoid accident, please safekeeping the toy that make sure the children not shake and haul the toy.

Please do not shake and haul the toy.

Please do not use the sun energy battery tough and don't throw it away.

[is it racist that i find this amusing?]

i can't help but think of the newsradio episode
"jimmy james: macho business donkey wrestler."

if the bobbled translation didn't garner a giggle,
this video for sure will. happy friday!!

think pink:

with the world series underway, "save 2nd base” products seem like a timely tie-in between sports, humor & the fight against breast cancer. click here to shop for these "pink with a wink" products.


image sources: paper source, save 2nd base

'tis the season.

on one hand, i,
like you, i suspect,
loathe when it
begins to look a lot
like christmas
even before hallowe'en.

on the other hand,
i much prefer to
get a jump on the holidays earlier
rather than
have the holidays
jumping up & down on my skull later.

which is how i became
a christmas binder person.

yep. each year about this time
i begin putting my binder together,
complete with tabbed & pocketed dividers
[this week | priorities | gifts | home |
eats | cards | traditions | new year]
& printable forms to complete,
courtesy of my christmas binder guru,
cynthia ewer of organizedchristmas.com.

i discovered the "oc" about five years ago,
& began following ewer's christmas countdown plan.
the countdown begins six weeks before december 1,
& ends on 12.1, in order to give you the whole
month of december to just enjoy the holiday season
[or, in my case, to give me the whole
month of december to complete the countdown stuff
i haven't quite gotten around to just yet].

over the years, i've shaped the countdown
to fit my family's holiday
[gift closet inventory? yes.
"black friday" holiday sales planner? uh, no.],
but i still follow the basic countdown.

each week has a theme －
get organized | reality check | gifts & giving |
get cooking | decorate | celebrate －
with accompanying checklists, printable forms
& tip-filled, thought-provoking articles to read.

the site is delightfully comprehensive,
which is one of my favorite things about it －
stuff doesn't slip through the cracks of
i-can't-remember-everything-with-these-
jingle-bells-ringing-in-my-ears ...

& my other favorite thing about
organizedchristmas.com?
it's *f.r.e.e.*
yep, checklists, forms, articles －
the whole holiday tamale
is available for the sampling,
&, if you likey, then help yourself
to the santa-fied organizational smorgasbord.

so, how do you keep it all organized during
the most wonderful time of the year?
& if your answer is some sort of snort
of preposterocity, then you might want to
join me, &
embrace the binder.

think pink:
paul ecke ranch & north carolina state university's horticulture department are working together to develop a pink poinsettia which will bloom earlier in the season － in october rather than december － to help honor & promote breast-cancer awareness month. click here to read all about it.


image sources: the container store, nature & flower wallpaper

pink postscript.

i didn't want to lump a breast-cancer message
together with my latest, rather vitriolic post.

so here's my think pink item du jour:


breast cancer action, the self-proclaimed
"watchdog of the breast-cancer movement,"
wants you to beware of pinkwashers.


[pinkwasher: (pink’-wah-sher) noun.
a company that purports to care about breast cancer
by promoting a pink-ribboned product, but
that manufactures products linked to the disease.]


think before you pink™, a breast cancer action
program, launched in 2002 in response to
a growing concern about the booming pink-ribbon marketplace.


the campaign advocates for
more transparency & accountability by companies
participating in breast-cancer fundraising,
& more questioning & discernment by consumers
buying into pink-ribbon promotions.


seriously fascinating stuff.


click here for the five essential questions
you should ask before you purchase pink.




image source: usatoday.com

envirosax － beauty in the bag.

you might not remember, but i sure do － last year's earth day had me lamenting that i was still consuming plastic grocery bags even though i knew better & had known better for a while.

no more.

finally, around autumn, i found the reusable bags i knew i needed to make the change.

big. beautiful. bold. botanical.

hello, envirosax.

the choices are myriad. 13 different 5-bag graphic sets [i got 'botanical' & 'mikado', & gave a few to friends as holiday gifts].




organic options － bamboo, cotton, hemp, linen.


9 different quirky kid designs.

+ 20 solids for the more conservative consumer, water bottles & shower timers.

i surprisingly almost never forget these lovelies out in the car － maybe because i get compliments on them almost every time i use them.

& bonus x2 － they hold a ton, so fewer trips to & from the car once i get home. & even packed full & heavy, the broad, strong straps mean they're easy & comfortable to tote.

envirosax have made the difference for me.
now i'm the one making the difference.

:)


image source: envirosax.com

sunshine happy dance flowers.

oh, people of japan. how you love to create fake things that behave like real things, only plastic-ier.

and, occasionally, irresistible.

just discovered these happy, dancing & oh-so-plastic solar-powered flowers.

googling around, it looks like maybe flip flap was the original. but i found them [& yes, acquired some] at solarflower.us.

just try to watch them dance for a half-minute & not smile.



so this clearly doesn't qualify as something green for earth week ... but it is solar-powered!

ok, & i'm going to acquire some topsy turvy planters as well, to introduce our family to homegrown produce [the tv way, i realize, but hey － we black thumbs must ease into these things!].


image source: ebay.com

tgif.

a day late [& almost always a dollar or two short!], i'm weighing in on the brilliant brene brown's weekly tgif post . . .

i'm trusting the right amount of work will continue to come my way － enough financially without being too much physically/mentally/emotionally . . .

i'm grateful for norma @ the blue egg's "the way the seasons travel" series, which i just acquired [spring is above] . . .

summer . . .
autumn . . .
& winter . . .
a fab four, yes?

i'm inspired by my dear friend & garden blogger diana, who just got published for the first time as a freelance journalist on the gardening page in the austin american-statesman － holla, di!!

my friday, by the way, was fantastic . . . double workout, clean house, sensational shower, baby playtime, italian supper, buffy reruns & couple reconnection. good day.

happy weekend!!

:)

bird + french fry = :)

Just bought this print from Etsy's Studio Mela [tagline: surround yourself in positivity].

Love it.

Happy Friday, all!! :)

goy mezuzah.

I just bought this beautiful plaque to hang up by the front door of our home [considering hanging it up on the front door itself, but I do enjoy my seasonal wreaths ... ] as a reminder to all who enter here － mostly and especially us － that, to quote the wall above our hearth, we wish our home to be a place of happiness & health, of contentment, generosity & hope, a home of creativity & kindness, and for them to know only blessing & peace.

The quote is a Jewish blessing, though we are sooo not Jewish. And the concept of putting up such a reminder at the entrance to our home came from one of the women at the Slow Family Living blog, who was inspired by the mezuzahs on the doorposts of Jewish households.

She chose an aluminum star stamped with the word peace to put up on her front door, as "a reminder to all of us to slow down, connect and enjoy family life ... to leave the mess out there and bring in the connection we all need, love and want." Every time she and her family enter their home, they've begun a ritual of touching their "talisman," absorbing its good vibe.

I love this idea, but wanted something cheerfully attention-getting for our home's entrance. I went to Sticks, a furniture + home accents company whose pieces I've coveted for some time, to see whether one of their wall plaques struck a chord with me, and － ta da! － discovered this perfect little gem. I particularly love the way the words "Love Life Together" can mean either that we should relish life to the fullest together as a family or that we should love our family life ... or maybe it's just three top-priority words: Love. Life. Together. Whatever － any and/or all work[s] for me!

A quick shout-out for Sticks founder, Iowa-based artist Sarah Grant-Hutchison, who began creating her inspirational wood-etchings almost 25 years ago, and today oversees almost 150 artisans all producing handmade furniture, home accessories and object art. Another woman making money while making the world more beautiful.

image source: Artcraft Online

one of O's favorite things: empowering women.

I heart Oprah. No big surprise there.

Her famous "Favorite Things" lists are hit-or-miss for me. Some of the stuff she/her staff suggests is adorable and affordable, some not, some OMG sooo not.

Regardless, at the beginning of December － the start of stuff season － Ms. O dedicated her show to dramatically disenfranchised women worldwide. Women beaten for trying to go to school, girls sold into sex slavery, mothers dying as a product of pregnancy. Women for whom the term "women's rights" is just an imaginary figment, a cruel joke.

Naturally, Oprah also profiled people who are helping. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton pledging women's rights will be one of her signature issues and a higher-than-ever American diplomacy priority. Husband-wife Pulitzer Prize winners Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn talking about their new book, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression in to Opportunity for Women Worldwide, and the movement it has created.

So here's the bottom line: It's the season of giving. Please give to empower women and girls globally.

Here's how:

• Buy the above-mentioned book. It's "a passionate call to arms, from two of our most fiercely moral voices, against our era’s most pervasive human rights violation."

• Give to Helen Keller International, which iodizes salt so that babies born to impoverished women get enough of the brain-developing element.

• Give to American Assistance for Cambodia, which helps keep girls stay in school and out of brothels.

• Give to Mercy Corps, which facilitates microloans to poor women to launch their own businesses, support their families and boost their economies.

• Read through these fascinating facts about girls in developing countries, then check out the Girl Effect Facebook page and become a fan.

Still iffy? Consider this: While American women earn 80 cents on the male dollar [unfair, for sure], more girls in developing countries have been killed in the last fifty years－ just because they were girls － than men were killed in all the wars of the 20th century.

Help a girl stay above-ground today. Give to empower women.

t-minus 23 days to freebies.

I'm rather a believer in "whatever you pay attention to grows," so I've deliberately tried not to focus my posts on America's current economic cluster-fest (not that I can inhibit the downward spiral single-handedly, but I figure every little bit helps).

But now, I'm gleeful to blog about something you'll be able to get absolutely *FREE* (for a limited time), and which I feel is even more relevant and necessary for women than ever, due to the skyrocketing stress afflicting American families today.

Here's the deal: Beginning May 8th — for 48 hours only, over Mother's Day weekend — Austin author and life coach (and my dear friend) Renée Trudeau will be offering her amazing and award-winning book, The Mother's Guide to Self-Renewal: How to Reclaim, Rejuvenate and Re-Balance Your Life, as a *FREE* download (a $20 value).

The book, which originally debuted two years ago, has helped thousands of women
— reconnect with who they are and nurture themselves,
— manage their energy and practice saying "no,"
— feel more peaceful and present, and
— tap into the transformative power of self-care.

The book is beautiful, practical and life-changing. Seriously. It will lift you up.

The *FREE* book download is part of the launch of Renée's intention to help women LIVE INSIDE OUT. Here's how she explains LIO:

More than ever, thousands of us are hitting the 'pause' button and reflecting on what’s really important in life. We’re realizing our external environment can change on a dime. And we’re seeing how essential it is that our actions, words, and thoughts align with our internal wisdom and core values.

I believe that our inner life should be as rich as our outer life. What would this look like for you? For many, this means:

living more intentionally;

living a life driven by your internal values, as opposed to external or societal values;

living from a place of peace, rather than a place of fear (and making decisions that are reflective of this); and

responding to circumstances, rather than reacting to them.

I encourage you to take part in our celebration and begin exploring ways you can approach your relationships, work and life — from the inside out.

Renée will also be leading a *FREE* "sampler" one-hour Personal Renewal Group virtual living room gathering on June 11th, open to all (more about Personal Renewal Groups later; click here for more info or to sign up now).

And I will be hosting a gleeful giveaway of LIVE INSIDE OUT tee shirts and bumper stickers over Mother's Day weekend, right here on my little old blog.

Stay tuned for further details!!

slow down, folks!

I do my best to listen to whatever it is The Universe is trying to tell me — preferably before it reaches the "brick bat" stage (ouch).

So when I received the link to this post from the New York Times parenting blog, Motherlode, not once, not twice, but three times last week from three different sources, I figured I had better a) read it, b) pass it on, and c) try to live it a little more. In brief, it's an e-Q&A with author Carl Honoré, father of the Slow movement, specifically about something called "Slow parenting."

I've been tuned in — on and off, actually, since slow is not my natural speed — to the Slow Parenting thang for some time, thanks to body+soul and other like-minded publications, as well as hometown resource slowfamilyliving.com. Honoré — author of The Power of Slow, In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed, and most recently, Under Pressure: Rescuing Our Children from the Culture of Hyper-Parenting — provides some gems about the basis of the Slow movement and how it applies to parenting overall and in relation to our ebbing economy.

A few of my fave excerpts from the e-interview:

"'Slow' in this context doesn't mean doing everything at a snail's pace. It means doing everything at the right speed. It implies quality over quantity, real and meaningful human connections, being present and in the moment.

"To me, Slow parenting is about bringing balance into the home. Slow parents give their children plenty of time and space to explore the world on their own terms. They keep the family schedule under control so that everyone has enough downtime to rest, reflect and just hang out together. They accept that bending over backwards to give children the best of everything may not always be the best policy.

"Slow parents understand that childrearing should not be a cross between a competitive sport and product development. It's not a project; it's a journey.

"In these belt-tightening times, and after a period of wild and reckless spending, maybe people will begin to rediscover the simple pleasures in life. For families, that means spending time together that doesn't revolve around buying stuff, following a schedule or building the perfect resume.

"This transition will be hard, because we are all so marinated in the idea that we have to push, polish and protect our kids with superhuman zeal, that we have to strain every sinew in our bodies and stretch every dollar we earn to the breaking point, to give them the best of everything and make them the best at everything. But with time, I think many parents will feel relieved that they have been liberated from the tyranny of supplying the perfect childhood."

I find the notion that we shouldn't be trying to give our children the best of everything fascinating and refreshing . . . and you??

two weeks from today.

Two weeks from today will be October 30th － the day I launch my 29 days of giving.

The 29-Day Giving Challenge is a great idea from the creative mind of Cami Walker, who decided to try to change her life and others' by giving something away every day for 29 days. The Challenge is intended to be a sacred ritual — it's an opportunity to cultivate a mindful practice of stepping outside your own story for a few moments every day by serving others.

You can read all about it at the 29 Gifts website . . . then, won't you join me in a 29-day give, beginning Thursday, October 30th, and ending the day before Thanksgiving (Wednesday, November 26th)? What better way to honor and show thankfulness for all we've been given than to give to others?

I'll be posting regularly about my many giveaways － and believe me, I'll be following Cami's counsel about going for the "simple give" much of the time ... stuff like notes of gratitude, words of kindness, smiles with strangers. But I also plan to try to give away something I thought I could not go without . . . though I'm not sure exactly what it will be just yet.

Join me October 30th on this journey of giving, and let's discover together the magical and miraculous shifts we can experience in our energy for life!

Get ready to give!!