happy bloglidays!

my life is requiring all my attention right now, so i'm taking a break from blogging. a blogliday, if you will.

dry your tears my one & only reader, this is just for now, not for always. besides, i may miss you so madly that i'm back tomorrow! one never knows.

if i don't get a chance later, i want to wish you all the happiest of holidays, a glorious start to winter (summer to you upside-downers), and a wonderful new year.

in my absence:

~peace.

a challenge of challenging proportions

it's quite easy to stick to the rules of the challenge when i'm not out, visiting my favorite shops. i did get a few yearnings when doing my online holiday ordering for the menfolk, but i stayed the course.

what nearly did me in was a trip to my beloved japanese dollar store!!!!!! they were so sweet to stock their shelves with all the things i love. being there was wonderful! it also was horrid, evil, painful agony.

i don't know how, but i did it. i kept from buying things for myself, & let me tell you: it nearly brought me to tears the entire time we were there a few times.

why kat? you're saying to your computer screen, why did you torture yourself by going there? well my dearest one & only reader, thehobbit wanted to get holiday prezzies for his bestest friends, & he insisted that was the place he needed to go.

he wanted special things, cause they're special. how could i have not taken him there after hearing that? so the belfry clan piled into bella, & spent a few hours shopping for special prezzies.

thehobbit bought them all notebooks & sketch pads; choosing styles & patterns he thought each friend would best like. i'm not sure why, but the japanese store has the best notebooks & pads. i know i've chatted about them before. i'll try to get a photo of the ones he chose - you'll like them.

so you don't feel too terribly sorry for me: manlyman bought me a few things i was fondling. new tongs, linen oven mitts, & a teapot that matches these - though he not only won't let me have them until xmas morn, i'm not even allowed to photograph them.

what are you getting for the holidays this year?
~peace.

sorry for the lack of photos, i'm stranded beneath a sleeping bebe.

waldorf winter faire aught nine

my assistant/bebe & hobbit wrangler/carrier of heavy items/eye candy had to work a tournament saturday, so i was left to do the show without his hoped-for help. manlyman has never helped at a show before, but i wasn't sure i could do it with a squirmy bebe on my hip.

not only did i manage, but i braved the rain to do so! ok, i didn't stay the whole day, but that was the fault of a clothing mishap, not my freaking.

i think what made the day possible (besides the support of my fellow dragonflies) was the elimination of as many stresses as possible. such as bringing my lightweight small table, in lieu of my heavier behemoth. the wisest choice i made was to bring only the barest of stock, & all things for which i didn't need shelves or other cumbersome display. when i realized i had to go home, i was able to quickly pile it all into one bin.

my tiny table in all it's wrinkled glory:



for having a small number of things for sale, & only being there a short time, it was a pretty darn good day. & now i'm off to go holiday shopping with my earnings :-)

~peace.

in which my bebe gets a booboo

fortunately, it doesn't seem to be bothersome.

~peace.

shop update!!!!

hurry! get to my shop & buy my wares before someone else does! here are a few new items:

mini market bag

corduroy market bag

chocolate brown pouch of colored pencils

mini mushroom set

there's much more newly listed, & more on the way! had the temperature not dropped to the 50s well below freezing, thehobbit & i would still be outside, snapping photos & humming xmas ditties. well not literally right now, i mean it's dark now. you know what i mean.

free shipping (to the usa only. sorry) until the end of the year. happy shopping!

~peace.

the keys to my shop

ok, i'm finally excited about the holidays. would you just look what santa is putting in my teeny one's very first yet to be sewn stocking!

image :: property of mama made it

i found them at this etsy shop. take a look around her shop, she has some great stuff - after you've lingered here awhile, that is :-)

lately i've been discovering all sorts of etsy shops that thrill me. do you have a favorite? leave it in the comments, so we all can see!

***

speaking of etsy shops - i'm in the middle of tweaking mine . today, if the sun stays, i'm going to reshoot a few things already in theshop, shoot pics of a giant stack of new items, upload the said giant stack, & the reshot items.

in the past i was happy to have my little corner shop on etsy, but i focused more energy on my in-person sales. there's nothing like watching people fondle your wares, ya know? hmm, that sounded delightfully naughty ;-)

as much as i love doing craft shows, i think it's time to make my etsy shop the focus. hence the afore mentioned tweaking. wish me luck!

~peace.

in which tongs are evil

i popped online to search for a new pair of tongs. mine were freakyold & finally bit the dust yesterday whilst cooking lunch.

now before you get your proverbials in a bunch, i was not going to cheat on the challenge. my plan was to ask santa for a new pair. or 2.

i went to amazon, then sur la table, then ebay. the next thing i knew i was drooling over things of a non-tongy nature. it's as though i wasn't in control of what my fingers were typing! i blame the tongs. clearly they are evil.

in my imaginary world i bought these boots:

i have a pair similar, but they don't go nearly as high up the leg. the heel is low enough for everyday outings. i want them. hmmm. i wonder if santa will get them for me?

this coat is gorgeous! if it weren't yellow, i'd definitely have put in a bid straight away. i'm just not a yellow gal. well i was literally a yellow gal for a few months as a child, but that's a whole other tale.



i love how the coat goes in at the waist. & check out the neat pockets, & the big buttons! perfect, but for the yellow.


now this frock coat i simply adore. it's my favorite taupey color, has funky embroidery here & there, & is velvet!



so pretty. so not something one can wear when one's wee bairn is still spitting-up. sigh.


i never did find a new pair of tongs.
~peace.

images :: property of individual sellers on ebay.

blogger is messing with my spacing again.

sunflowers in the dark

my apologies for this terrible photo - the sun had already set when i was baking. i knew the cookies wouldn't last till morning, so had to take the photo then.

i was looking for a gluten-free peanut butter cookie, & found this recipe doing a google search. i changed it a bit, & they were simply divine.

sunflower seed butter cookies

1c sunflower seed butter (i get mine at "trader joe's")

3/4c evaporated cane juice (sugar that hasn't been bleached)

1 egg

1tsp vanilla extract

***

preheat the oven to 350, & grease your cookie sheet.

beat the egg, add the rest of the ingredients, & stir to combine.

with hands slightly damp: roll wanut-sized balls, & place them on your cookie sheet.

flatten each cookie with the back of a fork that has been dipped in sugar.

bake for 12 minutes.

gently loosen the bottom of each cookie from the sheet, & let them sit to cool.

notes :: they will be mushy until they cool, so try to stop yourself from eating more than 1 when they are first out of the oven. store them in a covered container in the fridge. if you don't eat them all at once, of course ;-)

enjoy! i plan to try these with dried cranberries; sort of a strange pb&j. i'm also going to try them with an egg replacer, to see if they can be made vegan. i'll let you know.

~peace

photos of thrifty goodness

in what has to be a speedy record on this blog; i bring you the promised photos! excuse the wrinkles please, the iron & i aren't the best of friends.

meant to look like 2 pieces, this sweater vest is actually sewn to the blouse. i was happy to find this, because it replaces a maternity version i loved. normally i don't go for polka dots, but i have to admit these teensy dots were what caught my eye. happily we have the odd warm days even in winter here, so i won't have to wait to wear it.


i wish you could feel this sweater, it is freakysoft! unlike the above blouse; which i bought solely because i could not resist; this one is very nursing-friendly. the buttons open easily enough, perfect for my impatient little bebe. it doesn't show clearly in the photo, but there are crisp, white cuffs at the wrist.

i'll still need a nursing tank beneath this beauty, because the closures stop midway down. it's a heavy, slightly satiny fabric. look at those wide 3/4 sleeves! this blouse/coat is flouncy & fun.

i saved my favorite for last. i saw this linen blouse/coat, & nearly fainted! manlyman disliked it immensely, & said sure, if you want to look like a 19th century artist. he meant that as a deterrent hahahaha! silly man that only intensified my wooziness for it.

i also scored a pair of gray/black plaid, tweed gaucho-type bottoms. they fit perfectly, but i'm not too keen on the flared legs. as soon as i get some time (hahaha) i plan on altering them into straight-legs. i'll post a before & after when i do.

oh my friend, there were non-clothing treasures galore at the shop. i tried many times to get to them, but manlyman would stop me with a just clothes reminder. he has a heart of stone, he does.

& now i'm off to go stare at my new pretties to start my chores. i hope you have a lovely day :)

~peace.

note :: only one piece is actually vintage, the others just give the illusion of times gone by. i didn't want anyone to misunderstand yesterday's proclamation of vintagey items found.