{etsy finds}

As many of you know, Etsy has some awesome things for sale. Here are some of my recent favorites:

1) Wiltshire Hare (by Suss): This wonderful stuffed bunny is made from a vintage sweater. I wish, wish, wish I had a little boy to buy this for. I can see him now, my sweet little Christopher Robin, dressed in a nightshirt on his way upstairs for his bedtime bath. His mousey brown hair drooping over his sleepy blue eyes as he drags the Wiltshire Hare behind him clutched in his chubby fingers. And just before he goes to sleep, he kisses that perfect pink, wool nose and rubs the long ears against his face to soothe him to sleep. OK, now I'm just mixing up children's books.

2) Luggage Disguise (by Bumbles and Lu): I recently scored a great deal on some Victorinox luggage . . . and I mean a GREAT deal. It would break my little frugal heart is someone snatched it up at the airport luggage carousel. If I were to have one of these disguise luggage tags, I have a sneaking suspicion that if a prospective thief were to think about stealing my new luggage, they might see the moustache and chuckle to themselves and say, "Anyone with that kind of humor deserves to keep such a splendid piece of luggage." and I would be home free! What do you think? What's your favorite color of tag? I can't decide.

3) Blue Sky and Cherry Pie Reversible Scarf (by BCharmer): BCharmer is one of my favorite Etsy designers. Her profile alone is worth a second glance. "I consider myself a farmer in the city, growing my own fruits and vegetables and have, in the past, kept bees for pollination and honey (and also for their good company). Knitting was my first three dimensional art form, which led to an interest in spinning my own yarn." I long to be her friend. Don't you? I also long for this cheerful reversible scarf. If only the high today weren't 82 degrees . . . I'd have to wait 7 months just to wear this.

4) Starfish Ring (by Sarah Hood Jewelry): Besides my wedding ring, earrings and the occasional necklace, I've never been a big jewelry fan . . . and then I met this Starfish Ring from Sarah Hood Jewelry. Isn't it lovely? I would wear it to the beach, for sure. Or, at least, to dinner at George's At The Cove in La Jolla.

You can also check out my Etsy shop here.

{reuniting and painting}

I've been painting like crazy lately. 4 paintings in two days. I guess I'm just excited for M to come on Thursday! I cannot WAIT! The wall in the guest bathroom was painfully bare but not anymore! I'll try this one out for a while.

The itinerary o' fun for the reunion of M and E starts Thursday morning with a trip to Last Chance (many hours will be spent in this heaven), lunch at La Grande L'Orange, shopping in downtown Scottsdale, browsing art galleries and shops and then a Valentine's dinner at home of steamed artichokes, ginger chicken with roasted peaches and red onions and hot co-co-cocoa for dessert while watching Jane Austen's Persuasion. It'll be great . . . even without our manly men. I'll be missing David while he's in Reno for a construction convention and M will be missing her man, Steve, who's alone in Utah because I begged and pleaded for her to come visit me on Valentine's weekend! Besides, their love lasts all year long! They can celebrate on Monday like we are! Updates to come.

{etsy updates}

Hey pals - I could not be more proud of some of my new Etsy items! Check out this delicious fork silhouette for your kitchen:

If you're looking for a funkalicious piece - look no further. My "Hop Skip Jump" creation is pretty dang cute:

Look at this hipster bird. Seriously, her vintage glasses make me crack up every time I look at this pretty girl. Don't you just love it? Purchase these here!

{recap and a bookcase}

I know it's been a while . . . and it's probably going to have to stay like this for a bit. I need to focus on life without computer for a time. I've forgotten how much I miss my "spare time". I've accomplished so much! I've read 1 1/2 books, cut and painted my guest bedroom, reorganized my craft area, cleaned my laundry room, purchased new bed linens (twice), slept and cuddled and repainted a bookcase. Speaking of the repainted bookcase, here's my journey to a much cuter version of the above. When David and I moved into our home, the previous tenants had left behind a battered, cheap bookcase. I mean, the one from Wal-Mart. I mean, the $15 one. With veneer. Peeling off. Anyway, I hated it. I mean, REALLY hated it. So, after over a year of hating, I decided to not be a hater anymore and bought some primer, "French Bulldog" paint, scrapbook paper, modpodge glue and went to work. I put on two coats of primer and then anxiously awaited the time that I could put on the dark blackish blue paint that I love so much. While I waited for the bookcase to dry, I set to work on the back. I layered the adhesive onto the back of the 12 x 12 scrapbook paper and glued the corners to keep it down. Someone suggested that I spray a clear coat on top but I couldn't wait that long. I did 3 coats on the bookcase and nailed that bad boy behind it and voila! I'm so happy with it. What do you think? I'll show you where it goes the next time I blog. I'm trying to get the guest room ready for M's arrival in two weeks. I can't wait!

{how about orange}

I found this blog today: How About Orange. I kind of love it. Correction: I REALLY love it.

Great DIY projects. In fact, I'm going to use this one this week for my craft room/guest room/office.

Picture from How About Orange. Thank you Jessica Jones.

{rules to live by:decorating}

Two things I've learned from redecorating my living room: One lesson is from Domino Mag and one is from my charming sister-in-law, NieNie.

The first is that the placement of a sofa can do a great deal of good in a room. I moved my white sofa from against the wall to a great open area in front of our exceptionally large window. The natural light bounces off the white fabric and makes the room seem so fresh. I also noticed that all the pictures that I like of family rooms all have a coffee table of some sort. I especially like the bold fabric on this one.

NieNie and I shopped together for a few fabric selections when we were both set on recovering some upholstered chairs for our homes. I felt so lucky to have her there for her opinion and as we walked through the aisles of fabric, she looked through anything and everything and picked very different things. When she had selected a few seemingly "uncoordinating" fabrics, she asked what I thought of them to which I replied, "Well, they are very cute but they don't really match." And then NieNie's secret to her lovely decorating style came out. She said, "Oh, I don't really pick things that go together. I just pick things that I love." That's when I realized why NieNie's home is so wonderful. When you walk in, you feel something that you love but you can't put your finger on it. It's stylish, whimsical, charming and very pretty but it's also very lived in and very loved. Every piece of furniture, every piece of fabric is loved. She loves her home like she loves her family and you feel it when you enter her Dutch door and see the silhouettes hanging on the wall, the delicious green kitchen, the red armoire that my brother made, the leather couch that the children jump off of onto piles of blankets, the fireplace hearth where they sit together as a cozy family, the larged framed Family Proclamation on the wall showing their family beliefs, the uncovered windows leading to the backyard with orange trees dressed in lanterns and the soon-to-be Mulberry Bungalow. It's a very comforting sight for anyone. No matter who you are, you feel at home. I don't know about you, but that's how I want my home to feel. So, I bought a coffee table and purchased a few things that don't necessarily "go together" but I love them. I'll post some pictures after I complete a few finishing touches. Does anyone out there have a few decorating tips that they live by?

A delicious dinner includes: a tall glass of Pellegrino with lime, a bunch of seedless grapes and whole wheat pesto pizza with fresh tomatoes, marinated artichoke hearts, steamed asparagus, mushrooms and grilled chicken. I buy the pizza dough at Trader Joe's and then we pile on the pesto sauce and toppings. Yummy!

New "little ada treats" are up!

Check them out here!

2 bedroom changes:

1) Do you like my new headboard? Isn't it perfect, flawless and clean? Thanks. I painted it myself.





2) I thought some words painted on the wall might be nice. Check out how sweet they look. I love my last name.

Well, children. It's up and running . . . my "little ada treats" Etsy shop. Please, oh please, check it out here.

I really love the weekends because I get to do whatever I want. This weekend, I wanted to make a lot of things. So, here is what I made:

- 8 beautiful word templates for bedroom wall (more on that later)
- 1 dinner of grilled shrimp kabobs basted with honey butter sauce served with mango salsa
- 2 paintings
- 4 loaves of homemade bread
- 4 blog headers
- 3 decorated cards
- 1 handmade bird book
and I almost successfully convinced my husband to buy me an armoire from Goodwill for $40 so I could strip it, paint it, new-knob it and love it. He said no but I'm still working on him.

Next week, I will begin selling a lot of my "makings" on Etsy. Get ready!