have yourself a cozy little easter [egg].

humpty dumpty egg cosy pattern available @ hand made awards.

truly, what is more uk-ier than an egg cosy?
well, other than a tea cosy. but so much less obvious.

tiny. whimsical. unnecessary. sort of froofy. oddly humorous.
they're like something a monty python sketch might revolve around.

nevertheless, they're out there, in many different iterations,
awaiting homes abundant with chilly soft-boiled eggs
for them to work their warming magic on.

here's a selection of egg cosies i found @ etsy.com,
ready for their biggest yearly season: easter.
enjoy!

colorful caps available @ my crochet shop.

yellow rose of t-eggs-as available @ mary matthews handmade.

modren bunnies available @ one legged goose.

mama duck available @ denizas decor.

shurprised sheeps available @ kooshka london.

darling sharks available @ my knitting world.

so many hats available @ grahams bazaar.

eastery ears available @ lemon cucullu.

his + hers easter bonnets available @ it took two.

10-gallon toppers available @ 13 hippies.

lizard heads-or-tails available @ spring fresh.

she-cars & her-pens.

ok, just going to say this once:
um, product development people? just fyi, it's two-thousand-twelve.
& women don't need or want special "lady" versions of stuff.

aka i love my gillette mach 3 razor —
turns out it gives just as close a shave
on my "lady" pits as it does on a guy's face.

but maybe japanese women feel differently.
that's what honda japan is hoping,
as it has launched the honda fit she's
[she's what? she's got a heart used for her apostrophe, yo. for realz.],
a "lady" version of the fit subcompact.

the japanese designers say their intention was to make
the regular fit model "adult cute," i.e., pink pink pink.
pink color, natch, plus pink stitching in the
floormats, seats & steering wheel, pink metallic bezels
around the displays & shifter. but she's also available in
shades of grey brown & white, which a honda exec
told a japanese newspaper match the color of eyeshadow.

but the fit she's rosy-hued feminine beauty isn't just tone-deep.
the she's also comes with special windshield glass that
reduces 99% of wrinkle-inducing ultraviolet rays, &
a "plasmacluster" air-conditioning system that
honda claims can improve a driver's skin quality.

which is all good & well . . . but what about potential wrinkling effects of
being forced to deal with the day-to-day stresses of
maneuvering through all that aggressive man-traffic?
i'm beginning to think maybe women shouldn't be driving at all . . .
not if it's going to take such an ugly toll on our porcelain complexions.

oof.

the fit she's leaves this she fit to be gagged with a little pink driving glove.

but if a "lady" car revs your engine,
then you may want to be taking notes
with a pink or purple bic for her pen.

i'll leave it to the extraordinary ellen degeneres
to tell you more . . . beginning with,
it's about damn time! where have our pens been?
can you believe this? we've been using man pens all these years.

blech!




image source: www.car1.hk.

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