Catch-up time

Hi all. Yep. It has been a little silent over here for a week or so. I'm just getting my bearings after being transported away to summer on our vacation. We came back and I walked smack dab into doing an art sale, three looming freelance design projects, and into weather that feels like winter. And my brain? Well, it seems like it might have decided to stay on vacation. I'm sufferin' from a major case of the space-case over here.

Par exemple: A swimwear catalog showed up in the mail yesterday and my subconscious said something like: "Swimsuits? Oh, these must be on sale, because summer is already over". Yep, I got my 10 days of hot sunny weather, which counts as a full summer where I live so my brain just went and checked that off my list. I was both greatly relieved and a little disturbed when I realized that we still have summer to look forward to.

And don't get me wrong, I am super happy to be busy, I just hope my brain will come back from vacation. Brain, I need you on my team this month!

Anyhoodles, A few days after returning from what I have dubbed 'first summer 2010', I was in a little art show and sale at Freshy's Coffee in West Seattle. It was a great time, and a good push for me to work on my packaging, order those business cards I've been meaning to order, and design some cool free schwag to give away. One unexpected bonus was sharing a table with three other Etsy sellers, all at different places along their Etsy journey, all selling extremely wonderful stuff. There was Maribel from Maribel Made who creates amazing bright sock monkeys, London from Such Sweet Tierny who makes candy-bright hand-painted buttons, and adorable jewelry, and Catherine from Modern Little Ones who makes modern hand sewn bibs and embellished onesies. Across the room were the talented duo behind Blackbird Tees who bought one of my prints (thank you!).

All the sellers were completely awesome, and I thoroughly enjoyed talking to each one, sharing tips on selling our wares. It was really empowering and reassuring to meet other like-minded people. Working for myself and selling stuff via the internet can leave me feeling super (Greta Garbo style) "ah-lone". So, meeting other arty, entrepreneurial types in person was fab.

I'm going to be looking at doing other (bigger) art shows in the future. Inasmuch as I love selling on Etsy, I feel like getting out and meeting people (both customers and sellers) is vital to my staying power.

Favorite Things Friday!

Traveling with a little one in tow last week made me really appreciate some of the travel gear we've amassed in the past two years. These are some of our favorite - and now, essential - travel items. If you are about to add a little one to your family or know someone who is - I'd highly recommend any of these for more enjoyable travels.

1. The Phil & Teds Traveller bed. I can't say enough about this thing. It fits in our suitcase, and our kid sleeps like a dream in it. It was a bit of an investment, but we've totally gotten our money's worth on this one. Getting a full night's sleep on vacation? Priceless. 2. The Skip Hop Pronto pretty much does everything but change the baby. I loved this thing. 3. Tell Me a Story cards. Forget having to lug around a huge stack of books, with these cards there are endless possibilities. 4. Bumkins bibs these are awesome - just wash them off in the sink and air dry (the dry very quickly) 5. Boon Squirt spoon this spoon was not only a great conversation piece when our kiddo was little, it was also super handy. I could feed her and myself at the same time. Nothing short of a miracle, folks. 6. Kiddopotamus Tiny Diner this mat is great to have rolled up in your purse or diaper bag - we used ours on a less than sanitary picnic table recently. 7. Maclaren Triumph Stroller another item I can't imagine living or traveling without. This thing is a workhorse! Sine they are so well made, many people resell theirs on Craigslist or the like. Since I knew ours would be thrown on planes I snagged a used one for $75, and love it. A a tall person, it is tough to find a stroller that is comfy it push but this one is great.

I'm back (well, kind of).

I'm back from our 9 day vacation to sunny, warm Arizona. It was an amazing time, and I felt instantly transported to my favorite season: summer. I'm right back at it today, but just 24 hours ago I was here:

If I were really hard-core about April Fool's day, I'd try and convince you that this was really a shot of my new backyard pool!

Please bare with me while my brain re-adjusts to normal life, and a 40 degree temperature shift. In the meantime, as projects loom and lists compile I'm going to be thinking about how my daily life can feel more vacation-like. Because I just don't want to lose that feeling.

Vacation, all I ever wanted

The Go-gos Vacation
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Hi readers. Just popping in to say "howdy". I've taken myself on a little vacation, and will be posting on a less than regular basis until next week. I still might pop in, but I just wanted to let you know I'm taking a little blog-break. Until next time, I leave you with this incredibly corny video from my teen years. This song plays in my head pretty much every time I go on any sort of vacation. Thank you, 80s.

Favorite Things Friday!

It's Friday again (how did that happen so fast?) Here are a few things that I enjoyed this week:
1. Butterfly chairs - I want to put some of these on my deck this spring. 2. Dipping into my kiddo's whole milk - I couldn't get enough of it this week for some reason. This could become a seriously bad habit. 3. Black licorice - the most recent addition to my stash came from Iceland! 4. This Gnome figure from the Tic Toc Apocalypse to series by artist Amanda Visell. Holy moley he is cute - I found him while researching gnomes this week. 5. My new foot soaking bucket I got at the H Mart. I love this thing, and anticipate using it to cool my swollen tootsies this summer. 6. Daffodils, which are everywhere these days, but I think they are so cheerful.

Say Yes!

Hey, guess what? This is my 36th post this year! This means I have blogged more in the past three months than I have any any other year total, and it feels pretty good. I actually miss it when I am not posting.

Here's another exciting thing, a few days ago I was emailed out of the blue and asked to be part of an art sale and show in my town. What is crazy is I have been saying, for about a year now "Oh, I want to have a show in a cafe this year..blah, blah, blah." I've really done nothing more about it than talk and say that it is something I want to do - and then I get this totally random email, from a woman who owns a cafe, asking me to be part of a show and sale. The universe works in mysterious ways, my friends.

Of course I hemmed and hawed for a few hours trying to decide if I should say OK, I'll do it. But I really think when you get handed these opportunities you just have to say YES!

What are you saying YES to these days?

March Giveaway: Eat 5 a Day!

Oh my goodness! It is already March 16, and I forgot to announce this month's giveaway item - the Eat 5 a Day print!

I'll draw a winner at the end of this week - March 19th - just to give you a bit more time to sign up for my mailing list (you can do so here).

For those of you on the list - a little "e-pology" for my lack of newsletter-ing in the past two months. I have been blogging here so much that I am feeling a little unsure what to report in my newsletter. I'm working on it though, and pretty soon you will see a pretty newsletter in your inbox.