always sunny

long time no see!

2011-02-13T20:44:00.000-08:00

well hello!

fancy meeting you here...again!

many changes have happened since i have been here last. many new products, and my most favorite...all new labels and packaging! 2010 was an exciting year for Orange Thyme, and I can tell that 2011 is going to blow it out of the water. In one more week I will be re Opening rachel323 (my jewelry shop) with lots of exciting bright bold pieces. If you have not become a FAN yet, now is the time. I have a SALE coming up, and it's for fans only.
here are some photos to catch you up in case you have not seen the product lines lately. enjoy! *warning, massive photo overload!*

exciting things have been brewing for fall!

2010-09-12T17:45:00.000-07:00

crazy i know. i am not one to wish upon summers end. aside from massive seasonal allergies, fall is gorgeous here! here are a handful of items that are new to get you in the mood.

{pumpkin & leaf} soap set $8.00

a lovely blend of oak moss, chai and gingersnap

{candy corn!} lip balm. limited edition, while supplies last.

New {Mon Petit Secret} Perfume oil. $ 8.00

{White Ginger & Amber} Perfume Oil.

New {Perfume Sample Trio}. You pick 3

{Rosemary Mint) Perfume Oil

Peppermint and whisper of rosemary on a bed of vanilla.

(ok, so this is a tad wintery, but let's face it, that's unfortunately around the corner too!)

...and even though it smells like fall in here, it's 73 degrees out, and i am going to enjoy my last week and a half of summer.

xoxo!

i have an internet business, do i charge tax?

2010-08-25T09:16:00.000-07:00

Since I was Featured, I have gotten this question probably 20 times.

The Internet takes tax-free shopping to a new level. In fact, no-tax shopping has become a prime lure of online retailers looking to hook consumers on click-and-charge buying. Despite what you sometimes hear, however, some Internet sales are subject to sales tax, and even when a site doesn't collect sales tax, consumers are technically responsible for remitting any unpaid sales tax on online purchases directly to their state.

If you a run business with a physical storefront, collecting sales tax is pretty straightforward: you charge your customers the sales tax required by the jurisdiction where your business is located. So, if you operate a retail store in Nashville, Tennessee, you collect both state and local sales taxes from customers buying merchandise at your store.

Now, suppose you start selling your products online. Does mean you charge them the same sales taxes on those coming into your store? It depends.

If your business has a physical presence in a state, such as a store, office or warehouse, you must collect applicable state and local sales tax from your customers. If you do not have a presence in a particular state, you are not required to collect sales taxes. In legal terms, this physical presence is known as a "nexus." Each state defines nexus differently, but all agree that if you have store or office of some sort, a nexus exists. If you are uncertain, whether or not your business qualifies as a physical presence, contact your state's revenue agency. If you do not have a physical presence in a state, you are not required to collect sales taxes from customers in that state.
http://www.business.gov/business-law/online-business/sales-tax/

new things have been brewing.

2010-07-10T22:19:00.000-07:00

tons of new items in the shop for summer.

new perfume oils are in!

my new fav is Refresh. Blood Orange, Ruby Grapefruit, Lime and Ylang Ylang.

Four New Soaps! Glycerin and Goats Milk soaps

Marble Rings in 4 colors

Lavender lemonade Lip Balm

Rosemary Mint Lip Balm

...and orangethyme got a new etsy banner!
***

and please give a giant welcome to my newest lovely wholesale account: Melissa of Wool & Honey! and of course, you can become a FAN on facebook! i recommend it, the shops is adorable! don't you just want to go hangout there? i know i do.

oh! and!!

what's hotter than a cute boy with an etsy shop? not much.

my husband is now selling his art in his etsy shop. take a peek.

ok, so...what IS a treasury?

2010-06-02T10:40:00.000-07:00

i have actually been getting the question a lot

from my not-so-etsy familiar friends.

i am going to break it down the easiest way i know how. it's a collage of pieces, that someone has put together of their favorite items, or just plain items that look good together. there are bajillions of treasuries on etsy that you can browse. when you are at the front page and you see that pretty collection...that IS a treasury that someone has put together. AND how they made it there, was by you clicking on the items in the treasury. the more popular the treasury, the more it moves up to the front and has a chance to make it to the front page! this is wonderful exposure for an artist. but treasuries expire! so it's important to get that link out there as fast as you can and get as much exposure as possible.

because most will never see the light of day.

treasuries are not used for self promotion, so the items in my treasury here, are other artists that i am promoting.

i feel badly about how many treasuries i am in, i am kind of a treasury hog. i wake up to usually 3-4 a day. i cannot promote them all, as i feel like 3-4 postings a day is really too much. i hope that no one ever thinks that i do not appreciate their efforts, but if i posted all of them, i'd see my fan base drop from over posting.

some are really pretty, some are funky and some are quite 'interesting'. i end up promoting the ones that i feel have major eye appeal in hopes it will get some serious clicks. well, for the first time ever, i made my own. and let me tell you, it took me close to 2 hours. it's really time consuming going through your favorites, browsing, and just making this look like a piece of art on it's own. you then have to contact everyone you feature, and let them know so they as well can promote the link. so, here you go. my very first treasury created by me. please, click your life away.

spokane comicon is this weekend!

2010-05-19T09:52:00.000-07:00

want to get a really sweet gift bag this weekend?

holy hawk tails! it's this weekend!?

where has the time gone?

spokane comicon is the inland northwests' only Comic Book and Pop Culture show, created and ran by my wonderful husband! we work really hard all year on this, and the last 3 months leading up to it are especially busy. well, if you are in the area, or in washington in general, i promise you this will not disappoint. who does not want to meet and hang out with some seriously awesome Star Wars peeps? this is such a wonderful family event.

it's only $5.00 to get in and most of the activities are FREE. you can get your photo with a Star Wars Character, meet Charlie Schmidt, the creator of Keyboard Cat! yes! charlie will be here! he is a local spokanite and he will have all sorts of cool keyboard merchandise. The Lilac City Roller Girls will be here too! So much more, it's hard to list it all. But really, come check it out. There is a costume contest at 5pm, that is always such a hoot! Lanna will be going as Wonder Woman this year.

WHERE: Spokane Community College Lair Bld 6

WHEN: saturday may 22nd 2010

TIME: 10:00am-5:00pm

(the costume contest starts at 5:00pm, so don't run off!)

we have some really special friends coming from Seattle to hang with us for the day, and i have to say...thank you! this means a lot to us that you are making the time and joining us in something that is really special and important to us. we love you so much!

2010-04-25T16:05:00.000-07:00

i just love the feeling of sunday, don't you?

we all had a really relaxing, but productive weekend.

i managed to get all of my lip balm orders done. made, filled, labeled and packed. and it's only 3:00. normally i am starting this process at 7:00pm, so i feel pretty excited about it. i got a handful of really scrumptious soaps made. aside from causing ruckus, satchel has been sleeping most of the day. here are a few photo's of that i finished and satchel's comfy day. since i still have a good amount of light out, we are headed out to mow the lawn. we are having sausage and mushroom pizza for dinner. just made the dough, so it should be good to go by 6pm. hope you all had a nice weekend.

blueberry pomegranate

blood orange

lilac

tranquil lime: lime, fresh air and basil

gardenia

what's your pizza like?

2010-04-11T08:58:00.000-07:00

there are plenty of *snobs out there. you know, movie snobs, music, wine, coffee, beer...we all have our one little thing that we just hold to a really high standard. admittedly, i am a pizza snob. i loooove pizza, but it has to be a good one. and for me, that would never come in any frozen variety. and this is not the part where you need to convince me that said frozen pizza is great, trust me, im not interested. for me, it's all about the crust. it's a make it or break it deal. i like my crust thin. my perfect pizza would never contain pepperoni or olives. i love very few toppings. i am not a combo lover. to me the 'more the merrier' is not merrier. i do have a very small handful of favorite combo's but the one that melts my heart immediately is Pizza Margherita.

fantastic pizza in spokane? look no further, you are not going to find it. i mean *really* great pizza. sure, we have some good pizza, even some tasty pizza, but not that authentic-crave it immediately pizza. my husband works directly with many executive chefs and in one of if their meetings in seattle, this was a topic. and to my delight, they all agreed. fabulous pizza does not reside in spokane, and we long for something really great. i love Pagliacci in seattle and village pizzaria in langley. i miss the pesto pizza so badly.

one thing i love to hear about is what other people love on their pizza's. and it's ok if you love frozen. i'd never say yuck to your favorite pizza.since crust is so important to me i have really been on the hunt lately. i have been happy with something i found at a local safeway. there are two safeways by me and only one carries it. fresh pizza dough made daily in their deli section. it's only $1.73 for the big round beautiful piece of dough. this makes for a very cost effective pizza as well. lately in a pinch, we have been let down that they are out. i have never actually made my own until last week. and why not? it's too dang easy! it's about the least expensive thing you could make. the problem is, you have to let it rise for 1.5-2 hours. not the ideal i need it now dinner idea. but if you have the time, it's perfect.

here is the recipe that i looked at. i love that it has a visual.

with my new fresh dough making skillz in hand, i was able to craft my perfect pizza. i am one happy camper.

i'd love to hear what your favorite pizza is! and what you like to have with it.

here is the process of my pizza:

i roll my crust thin

(we don't have an actual pizza pan, so as you can see it needed to be trimmed.)

spread on favorite marinara.

add fresh mozzarella

add fresh tomatoes and basil

pop that beauty in the oven

baked beauty. let rest for a few minutes.

slice it and eat it!

there you have it. my very favorite pizza, that makes me really really happy.

share your pizza with me!

and i won't be offended if you hate tomatoes. i look at it like this, for every tomato you don't eat, i get two.

a little bit of stuff

2010-03-28T14:24:00.000-07:00

* i have just entered this photo into a contest. would you be kind and vote?*

it was a really nice day yesterday, it was sunny and although we didn't spend any of it outdoors, we got a lot done! i was able to gt all of my orders packed and shipped by Noon and a little more inventory made. After that we went in search for some paint for Husbands art room. i took him our of his comfort zone a bit and got a dijon yellow for the cubbies. i could tell he was not overly excited, but i knew once it was up he'd love it. this dang cat of mine is just too cute and i can't help but post a million photos like a crazy cat lady. today is overcast and cruddy looking, so we opted for a bit of cleaning, a pot of turkey chili and the mariners game.

sounds good to me.

above: the before

the after

gray and yellow. it's matches batman nicely.

welcome Satchel!

2010-03-21T09:13:00.000-07:00

this is our newest family member.
he joined us friday evening, and blended in very well.

he is super sweet, soft and snugly and loves to play. he can fit in your pocket.

tuck is still *trying to get used to him.

2010-03-07T09:06:00.000-08:00

it's been a quite a year for me already. i had something come into my life that i never in a million years thought i would. it was a surprise that i never expected to be so happy about.in the past, i had briefly imagined what it might be like one day, and of course things are never as you imagine or plan. this far exceeded any of my thoughts. and i like it. it has been really exciting to think of all the possibilities and memories that i am about to create. here is one of them...

this weekend we created some felt food for lanna. they re quite adorable!

if you have a little one, or just like to make cute things, i highly recommend this. it's easy, but time consuming. and completely worth it. *much like getting to know someone. here is where you can buy this cute breakfast set. there is much more to this set, and we plan on making them all! unless we decide not to of course. because that's a possibility too.

pop tarts. I KNOW. how cute are these?

MARSHMALLOW PEEP lip balm.

2010-02-27T10:09:00.000-08:00

also in the shop!

sugary, marshmallow goodness!

sweetened balms.

if the real deal is not for you, this very well can be!

JELLYBEAN easter lip balm set

2010-02-27T08:19:00.000-08:00

a super cute new easter set!

this is a set of 5 lip balms that are in jellybean colors and flavors. this little set is wrapped in a cello bag with natural wood shavings that looks like grass and tied with a pretty ribbon. the natural and neutral colors will be great for a boy or a girl.

sometimes it's hard for the easter bunny to find the right goodies, and he will surely like this one.

they are listed in the shop.

*while supplies last!

candied citrus peels.

2010-02-25T21:18:00.000-08:00

have you tried it? it's a slightly long, well worth it process. i have seen all over that it's common to use oranges, but i was curious about grapefruits. it worked wonderfully, and i think tastes much like an orange version. i dipped half of mine in a good dark chocolate, and i love it so much that i will be dipping the rest soon. here is a blog that i found that is super useful. i highly recommend trying these, they are a wonderful little treat, or gift.

my little sunshine giveaway time!

2010-02-23T18:45:00.000-08:00

Sweet Petula and i have teamed up for a product giveaway!
To enter all you need to do is become of fan of
My Little Sunshine on Facebook and a
Fan of Sweet Petula. Once you're signed up, you are automatically entered to win......
~
~a matching set of Powder Pink Earrings and a Necklace. This is a set of pretty vintage pink crystals. also, 3 lip balms! (on Sweet Petula's Page)

~OR~

~A set of three bath fizzies & soap from Sweet Petula (on My Little Sunshine's page)

tuck loves all of this sunshine!

2010-02-21T15:24:00.001-08:00

a few more pieces

2010-02-20T09:40:00.000-08:00

a sign of the times.

2010-02-17T12:47:00.000-08:00

last night lanna and i were watching Ace of Cakes and they were making a phone booth cake for a Get Smart movie party. it was a really cool cake that lit up and everyting. lanna says to me :

"what is that thing they just made?"

me: it's a phone booth.

lanna: so, how do you use that ?

me: there is a phone in it. you get inside and make a phone call.

lanna: you get INSIDE that thing? how weird.

i saw one of those on Scooby Doo once. A monster broke in and tried to sleal some treasure. I hope i never go in one. "

2010-02-16T08:36:00.000-08:00

it smells like spring!

2010-02-13T14:42:00.000-08:00

(bathroom window)

i am getting some serious spring fever.

i have started to buy my greenery for places that are lacking in the house.

the light flowing through he windows during the day really makes me happy. i have not been working in the basement for any of my etsy projects because it's just to dark and cold. i look forward to getting my supplies out of the living room again and putting them back where they belong. however, we got a lovely new bench that hides it all inside. isn't that just the best kind?

at a local antique shop i scored this adorable little bunny faucet adapter.

a super cute find for $9

we are trying to get out for a walk today, but would you wake this baby up?

i wouldn't.

2,000 sales

2010-01-31T17:49:00.000-08:00

i hit my 2,000th sale this weekend!

splendid.

adorable find!

2010-01-23T20:48:00.000-08:00

i am in love with this burro bowl. so many more cute bowls to view here at

A. Speer Studio

my new tea pot!

2010-01-19T19:36:00.000-08:00

world market is celebrating it's 'discovery days' and having major sale. i have been eying this cute cute tea set and i snagged mine tonight, there were only 4 left. i can't wait to use it. it's so bright and fun.

it's only $14.99
oh, and my new tea.
trust me, my brain cells need it.

2010-01-13T19:55:00.001-08:00

"i don't really like bugs anymore.
the only kinds of bugs that i like are;
ladybugs, caterpillars, butterflies and wiener dogs. " -lanna

the republic of tea

2010-01-11T16:24:00.000-08:00

i love it so much. it is one of my favorites. the selection is endless.
i love getting my little catalog in the mail with a new tea sample in it! even though, i am very closed in the 'variety' department, nathan usually benefits from the new tasty sample. this months sample is geared towards valentines day for sure. it a red tea, so it's good for you, and the flavor is Chocolate Strawberry. i think this might be a good dessert tea, or a great tea for kids. they have the cutest darn kids sets. i know special little people who i think need these. here is the latest that i had to share.
since it's the Year of the Tiger, they are certainly showing their ROAR to celebrate.
if you know little people who like tea parties, i think this is a wonderful gift option. they have a great little rain forest collection too.

some new things that have bloomed this weekend.

2010-01-09T09:48:00.000-08:00

i have been taking advantage of the sunlight the last couple of days, as well as my macro lens. here are some new additions that i finished and will hopefully have them listed this weekend. we have just a BIT of snow right now, and i am excited for it to melt. what is it like where you live?

2009-12-12T20:10:00.001-08:00

some new things i made this weekend.

2009-12-06T21:29:00.000-08:00

2009-12-06T14:28:00.001-08:00

2009-11-22T21:38:00.001-08:00

Etsy
Buy Handmade
rachel323

happy halloween little punkins!

2009-10-31T21:17:00.000-07:00

we left our festivities just giddy. we had so much fun! there is nothing cuter than a pack of adorable kids all dressed up. this was a "trick or trunk" affair. there was 5 of us that decorated our trunks (of our cars) and filled it with candy, tricks, and pretties. all of the cars were great. the kids lined up and went from car to car.

we started out the day with a craft session, and all the kids made bags and filled them with other fun goodies. then we had a Soup Cook Off ie: Contest, and a winner was announced. it was so yummy to test out 5 different soups. then they fished for ducks. after that, was a hay ride on a really cool tractor, and then...a pinata! but that was the trick! this pretty pinata was filled with "treats" like Carrots, Toothpaste, and Celery. a few of the kids were all, WTF, and some of them (lanna) was all "wow, this is the best pinata ever!" the poor confused dears. :) it was so funny. lanna grabbed ALL of the carrots and thought she won the lottery. it was gut wrenchingly hilarious.

i just can't help it.

2009-10-18T10:08:00.000-07:00

...posting my pretty tree everywhere i can. i love it!

yesterday we spent the day in Coeur d' Alene at Lightening Comics where Art Thibert was doing a signing. What an awesome guy! He is one of the nicest people we have met. He is super funny, very approachable and you just want to have dinner with him. He was at Nathan's show last year, and while Nathan got to talk to him, i did not. So i was happy to this time. Nathan waited in line for almost 2 hours to get to him and it was worth it. While he was waiting, lanna and i went next door to a cute bakery and had some treats and coffee. lanna had hot cocoa.

uh, is anyone missing the "notes to seller" besides me?!

2009-10-17T07:58:00.000-07:00

ETSY SELLERS:

as you may have noticed (i hope you have) etsy did an update a few weeks back. the email format in which we receive orders are different, and the notes to seller are moved. i don't like it. I am very much into the ETSY HACK section, and they all work so wonderfully. i am going to post some links here. some i have found, some have been shared with me. all of these are in the forums section as well.

i use FireFox as my web browser and i love it. so, if you have FireFox, these hacks will work for you. they have been created just for FireFox. if you use Internet explorer, these will not work. you are able to have both browsers, and if you'd like to install the hack to NEVER MISS YOUR NOTES TO SELLER AGAIN, please do. i did it, and it works just as I'd hoped. what it looks like is this: when you are looking at your SOLD ITEMS page, the notes to seller appear in RED directly under the order.
you do not have to open each order individually, they are all visible and clear.

you can find it here: http://www.etsyhacks.com/greasemonkey/buyer_notes/

you basically need three things:
1. firefox - http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/personal.html
2. greasemonkey - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/748
3. install buyer notes - http://www.etsyhacks.com/greasemonkey/buyer_notes/

also, this little gem. you can see who has hearted your shop, single items, ect...all in one place. it's the best!
etsy craft cult:
http://www.craftcult.com/heartomatic.php

if you know of other etsy hacks that are super cool, please be awesome and post them here!

pumpkin patch

2009-10-10T22:28:00.000-07:00

we had the most lovely day at the pumpkin patch. this was definitely our most fun trip. last year was so so cold, and this year it was just cold. we picked our own pumpkins, and got the biggest pumpkin any of us have ever owned. it's beautiful. we got a bag of fresh apples, a jug of cider, did the hay maze and petted a pony.

sweet petula's handmade trunk show is almost here!

2009-10-04T12:29:00.000-07:00

come on over to the Handmade Trunk Show at Sweet Petula
this Friday and Saturday
click the Sweet Anthem Perfume photo for details. hope you can make it!

Friday, October 9, 12:00pm- 5:30 om

Saturday, October 10, 2009 at 5:30 pm

this little kitten dressed for the fall makes me happy.

2009-09-18T13:55:00.000-07:00

click to see more festive kittens that need a home.

yah, it's that time

2009-09-07T20:57:00.000-07:00

i don't like to say it, but fall is almost here. you might as well take advantage of it.
enter the hotness.

August Giveaway Winner!

2009-09-02T13:46:00.001-07:00

Shooting Stars Mag was this months winner! Congratulations!

My September Giveaway will be put up tonight.

where did this weekend go?

2009-08-30T19:54:00.000-07:00

it was a nice long weekend for us. we started it on thursday and headed to idaho to have some water park fun. we had a great time and i really loved just being gone for 1.5 days. it was the best to get back from "vacation" on a friday and enjoy the rest of the day. i discovered a new medium this weekend. i worked with some fine silver and below i will have photo's. it was hard to wake up today, i still felt quite tired, and then i worked on my pretties for about 6 hours. and then BAM the day was gone. it feels like i just woke up and now it's bedtime. and i still have lots of orders to wrap. what did you do this weekend?

view of the gondolas

on the ride there

on our balcony

the indoor water park that was hooked to the resort

the courtyard
___________________
here are some of the things i worked on this weekend

lanna does karate

2009-08-25T19:05:00.000-07:00

Dove. Evolution of Beauty

2009-08-14T21:42:00.001-07:00

park fun

2009-08-01T21:10:00.000-07:00

at 7pm tonight we decided it was a good idea to take lanna to the park. tonight we went to Audubon Park, where they have a splash pad that is so so awesome for hot days. we waited until 7pm because it dipped to 90 degrees and it felt good to be out there. the sun was going down and the temp was perfect. normally 90 is not the 'perfect temp' to be in, but this was really nice. lanna went to this park twice last week with her class and she had been dying to take us. we brought a big container of watermelon, pineapple and sandwiches and had a picnic dinner after we played.

AUGUST GIVEAWAY

2009-08-01T08:20:00.001-07:00

i will make this for you in your choice of brass or silver.

this is a brand new necklace that i just finished this week. it's a tiny little .5" bottle of freshwater pearls-and it can be yours! just post a comment and tell me a suggestion on a new lip balm scent. i have some new fun ones planned for the fall and i want to hear some others! a few ideas that i have: caramel apple, marshmallow, s'mores, raspberry, caramel, blueberry pomegranate, chai tea latte, and pumpkin cake. tell me what you'd like to see!

it's 101 degrees today. and to keep cool we will be having an obscene amount of Strawberry Lemonade, popsicles, and nice cool dips like Tzatziki and chips, and salsa.

JULY WINNER

2009-08-01T08:11:00.000-07:00

the july giveaway was a small one and your chance of winning was good. i let lanna pick this one. i said "pick a number, one-five". she quickly said "FIVE, since i will be FIVE. i like FIVE" so....Mrs. FIVE it is!

congratulations to CALLISTA!

i will be listing the new one right now! make sure to enter!

it starts tonight!

2009-07-30T19:58:00.000-07:00

i am starting the SIDEWALK SALE tonight, and here are a few brand new items that will be in the shop. i am really starting to dread the end of my ancient roman glass. i came across a strand of "shards" on ebay today for $495.00. i was shocked. it was 11 beads. it really got me thinking. i knew these were special before, but maybe i underestimated them. different websites consider them far more valuable than diamonds, as these are over 2000 years old, and obviously when they are gone, they are gone. i have 7 pieces left and i have to admit, when i sell one- it hurts. i will have a few listed and will hold a few for a later time.

roman glass necklace with quartz

roman glass bracelet

glass bouteille necklace

s u m m e r b l o o m necklace

b u r g a n d y earrings on silver

SIDEWALK SALE

2009-07-22T21:04:00.000-07:00

ETSY SIDEWALK SALE starts friday july 31st.
come on over for some great deals and lots of new designs!

2009-07-22T16:38:00.001-07:00

"i wish i had caterpillar antlers" - lanna

san diego comicon is closing in on me.

2009-07-20T20:30:00.000-07:00

what does this mean to me? it means that in three more days i drive my husband to the airport at -now get this, 4am. oh-so-worth-it for him. we aren't attending this giantamous sold out celebrity ridden show. maybe someday. i loose him for three long days. is anyone else out there going? (besides the 150,00 strangers that i know of) this year is their 40th anniversary. nathan is especially excited for the dollhouse panel, but will miss the LOST panel. look at this massive layout. that george lucas. what a space hog. nathan will get to see a few of his friends there as well. daniel and dawna from steamcrow (monster commute comic) have a booth! lucky. i can't wait to see pictures. he better take some.

some summer activities

2009-07-19T12:54:00.000-07:00

swimming lessons

her shining moment, about to get on her first bus. coolest activity ever.
lanna riding buttercup.

lanna and omie at el corral

2009-07-12T18:46:00.000-07:00

such a hot & sunny weekend. it was sunny/overcast off and on today. it looks like it going to rain right now and it's still 80 degrees. how confusing. saturday we got a new patio set. it's a couch style, with 2 big comfy chairs and a coffee table. much more conversational than the other 'new set'. my friend chris and her husband were kind enough to pick it up for us and bring it over to unload it at our house. we finally got out and walked the centennial trail today for the first time in forever. it was perfect. there is this place along the way c.i shenanigans that i have wanted to try since we moved here. no reason, but they have beautiful seating along the trail outdoors. today we finally tried it. we both got the same to.die.for sandwich. it was a fresh piece of grilled french bread that was sliced, buttered and garlicky. it had a cream cheese spread of crab and bay shrimp. it was topped with scallions, tomatoes, onions and melted parmesan & it came with sweet potato fries. i can't stop thinking about it. the whole way back we 'i' kept saying, that was soooooooooooo good! i have to say, i am happy we liked it. i feared that we built it up so much that we were going to hate it. the menu is small and limited, but we sure picked a winner! hope your weekend was nice.

2009-07-05T19:15:00.000-07:00

lanna just made me 2 notes. they are all random letters, but as she handed them to me she said "here, this one says: Never play with salt. and the other one says Never steal candy".
noted.
hope you all had a sunny and happy 4th. we did!

happy 4th!

2009-07-04T11:56:00.000-07:00

we have a fun weekend planned. it's so hot out right now. perfect Popsicle weather. yesterday we caught the ice cream truck for the first time here. we have few plans today, but to just sit and bask in the sun and drink iced tea and have popsicles. tonight at 6 we are headed to the spokane indians firework baseball game. tomorrow...a pig roast! can hardly even stand it. have a fun 4th!

july giveaway!

2009-07-01T10:24:00.000-07:00

ok, here it is!

first...wow. it's JULY. can you believe that?

i swear time did not go this fast before.

how about a little something pink for summer?

a cute pair of sea glass finish beads in light pink. below is 2 pieces of oval brass. so very cute!

just post a comment to enter! *if you post this on your blog, there will be an extra surprise if you win!

congrats to jocelyn for last months win!

june GIVEAWAY WINNER

2009-07-01T10:02:00.000-07:00

wow, june came and went so so fast! i have a random winner of the june giveaway!
i am happy to announce that Jocelyn won! thank you to callista for referring her. i will get another giveaway up and have at it. way to go you big winner!

2009-06-21T10:32:00.001-07:00

this is a 3 mn. slideshow of photo's that we put together for grandparents. it's says it's 7 mn, but i assure you it is not.

im sure she get's this from her dad...

2009-06-10T20:09:00.000-07:00

two night ago i did a load of laundry. it was primarily lanna's clothes.

i dumped the warm clothes on the bed and like a fly to a lollipop she ran into our room, jumped on the bed, grabbed a handful of her underoos and yelled "WARM UNDIE FIGHT!" nathan was all "ooooh my god..." and then 20 seconds later they were into a full on warm undie fight. the next day i was out watering the lawn and she comes running out and chucks a pair of her undies at me. 'warm undie fight!" she yelled agian. i told her that was an indoors game and that our neighbors were not to see us playing that. last night nathan worked late and on our way to pick him up from work a pair of undies flew past me as i was driving. 'warm undie fight!' she yells from the back seat. no, not in the car and definitely no undies being thrown while behind the wheel. i then toss them back to her. this morning nathan dropped her and i off and as he glances in the rear view mirror he says "is that a pair of lanna's undies in the back window?"

i know nothing...

the ETSY YART SALE starts today!

2009-06-10T12:19:00.000-07:00

i am offering: 10% off and a free lip balm with every order over $20.

there are so many great sales right now, if you are getting that shopping bug, now is the time when you can save some serious loot!

you can read more about the YART SALE here.

here are a few more shops that are participating too!

sweetpetula

studio cherie

ragnazidnar

new lip balm alert!

2009-06-03T19:04:00.000-07:00

apricot plum

sangria

June Giveaway!

2009-06-03T14:51:00.000-07:00

ok, it's here! my june 2009 giveaway.

this is a necklace that is a one of a kind piece. it features vintage beads, czech glass and oxidized copper components. above the cluster is a beautiful swallow that had a hand patina in a light green. this is such a sweet piece. TO ENTER: leave a comment on this post.

this one is easy, just tell me anything!

post this to your blog for an extra surprise.

may giveaway winner!!

2009-06-01T21:43:00.001-07:00

congratulations to the May winner, Rachel! (no, not me silly) another rachel! yay for you! You are adorable and you have really cool books!
The next giveaway will be up this week.

spokane comicon came, went and rocked.

2009-05-30T22:23:00.000-07:00

man, this show gets better and better every year. my husband puts this show on and it was a monster this year! we already have the location picked out for next year and it's bigger and better. here are a few of my personal favorites. enjoy your weekend everyone.

even captain america has to make a call now and then.

new pretties

2009-05-21T19:54:00.000-07:00

vintage eye chart bracelet

sugar earrings

in a cute coffee treasury!

2009-05-19T07:49:00.001-07:00

and look! i have that cup cozie, by RagnazIdnar! they are so cute! using is right now.

go click it up, so we can make the front page!

2009-05-17T18:34:00.000-07:00

i found this antique bottle at a local shop here. it is an original hires root beer bottle that says "for making root beer at home. hires household extract". and i though it made a darling background for some new pretties.

2009-05-12T19:53:00.000-07:00

here are a few photo's from last weekend at riverfront park.

spokane comicon is almost here!

2009-05-07T08:21:00.000-07:00

saturday may 30th.

this is a blog about pretty things and lanna. lanna, also being a pretty little thing. why comicon?

this is not a comicon crowd...

well jump on board! nice to meet you! 3 years ago my very hot husband founded and started the Spokane Comicon. its been a big hit the last 2 years and we are approaching the 3rd show. this is such a fun event. there will be dudes in medieval costumes throwing things, there will be drawing lessons, heroes and so much more. this year we have added anime. take a look at nathan's website for all the info. and if you are in town, come on by! and yes...i will be there. lanna too.

spokane comicon

this is lanna and darth vader last weekend at an event on 'free comic book day'

MAY GIVEAWAY!

2009-05-01T12:25:00.000-07:00

it's been 2 months of be being absent from my monthly giveaways, but i am back!

and i am giving away TWO things.

this is for any solid perfume of your choice as well as any lip balm of your choice. each will come gift wrapped in case you decide you want to be sweet and give it as a gift. but, you certainly don't have too. all you have to do is leave a comment on my blog and tell me what you favorite item is that i currently have listed. the winner will be chosen at random on sunday may 31st.

good luck!

*post this on your blog and i will double the prize!

new lip balm alert!

2009-04-26T19:59:00.000-07:00

cranberry strawberry

weekend in 6 sentances

2009-04-19T20:07:00.001-07:00

i know, why do i even bother? we worked outside from 10am until 7:40pm. it was a long long very sore and 'overcast' day. we rented a post hole digger and i hate it's guts. we got 6 of the 10 finished fence pieces finished and i still have a lot to do on an etsy order, or i'd write more. i hurt so bad-embarrassingly enough it was from the wii and then actual work made it lots worse. later!

what's hot:

2009-04-13T19:13:00.000-07:00

it is now a clear bottle with a little pump. beautiful looking!

this was one of my purchases over a month ago, right as we were packing up.
i had not even used it when i sadly put it in to my 'sweet petula box' because, i do have enough of it to fill a box. and no, it's not enough. i lost track of the box that i poorly labeled (ok, no label at all) and i just found it last night. i was searching for days because we desperately needed lotion in our bathroom without the words 'bath and body' printed on it. i needed it soooo bad. and wala- I FOUND IT. ooooh that was a good smellin' box...anyway...

you have got to try this stuff. it's not prefumy, oily, sticky, none of that. it's simply perfection. i put it on after a good hand wash from working outside in the garden that i own- and it feels so good. and smells so good. most of the time when i put lotion on that is scented, i feel that i have to wipe it off to eat anything. not this one. i went back for more a little later just so i could smell it all over again. i want this lotion in every room so when you come over, because you will, you can use it too. since it will be a while before you can come here, you can buy it here. i highly recommend it.
i am SO sure you will love it, that if you buy it anytime this month, tell me and i will send you a free lip balm. and another goodie!

easter dinner lineup (and brunch!)

2009-04-11T13:04:00.000-07:00

happy almost easter everyone.
also, last year i had to share my birthday with jesus and the white bunny and this year cam does. not the ideal date, so let's all wish her the best. poor thing is having a very tough time right now and she could really use some lovin'. or drugs. probably both.

now, this year i decided to do a pretty traditional easter dinner. this is very different for me because i hate ham. this recipe looked so fun, and my family likes ham, so here we go. we have a juicer now, so we will be making our own pineapple juice first.

pineapple-mustard glazed ham
scalloped potatoes with leeks
green beans with lemon butter

and before all this we will be making these for brunch!
oh, and i'm making the caramel sauce AND the cream cheese frosting. because i can.

lanna says

2009-04-07T11:58:00.001-07:00

i asked lanna last night if she was interested in painting the basement with me last night. she was super excited and grabbed her brush right away. nathan and i found a great color on the clearance shelf in home depot for $5. my favorite kind. the color on the lid looks like when you first stir your chocolate into the milk. "chocolate milk" is how i thought of it.

we open up the can and lanna says "oooooh, this is beige"

i said "how do you know what color beige is? that's a different color than what you are used to."

she says "i know beige, because it's boring."

"so, do you think the paint that we put up is boring"?

no. she says. it looks like hot cocoa (takes a mn to sniff the air...) "that smells like poop"

*the paint looks awesome. with the lighting, its a dusty purple.

*lanna knows about beige being boring from 'mr. knit knots' of the Imagination Movers.

lanna is a rockstar

2009-04-06T18:21:00.001-07:00

happy spring everyone!

2009-03-29T17:53:00.000-07:00

well!
i am not quite ready for an update, so you have to wait a little longer. i do want to say, happy spring and my etsy shop is now open. i am yet to get the newer things listed, but i assure you i will. i am writing to you from my new basement that is alllllll miiiiiiine.
i wish these were my tulips, mine are still 1" tall and trying. i say "trying" because it snowed today. not cool spring, not cool.

moving day!

2009-03-19T21:43:00.000-07:00

not our u-haul, but still a tad funny.

it's finally here.
friday. friday is moving day. today nathan and i worked a short day and then headed to pick up the me-haul truck. once we picked it up, we made a few stops here in town for some furniture pieces that we had picked out. we came home and loaded up about 40 boxes, the couch, table, lanna's room and some other stuff. i'd say half of the place is in the truck and we have another hour (maybe 2) or so tomorrow to get the rest in. the crappy part is hauling the boxes from the attic down. NOT looking forward to that. however...bring it on! we will get our call tomorrow to come sign our life away again and then we will get the keys. we wanted to have the truck filled, so we can immediately drive there and mark out territory. pee on the grass? what? no! nothing like that. maybe spit on the sidewalk.

lanna will be in school, so we hope to get a great deal done before we have to go get her. we have things to pick up like locks for the garage, shutters for the garage and a mailbox. we will still come back here and check the mail until march 31st. however we have activated the 'change of address' with the usps already. rest assured, mail will find me. (aunt doreen, your card came today and THANK YOU!!!) lanna's school is just a few blocks from here, so we will be in and out until the end of the month. last minute cleaning...things like that. ok, off to bed. i have a big day tomorrow with it being the first day of spring and all...:)

2009-03-15T21:18:00.000-07:00

muhahahaha!

i promise...

2009-03-12T20:06:00.000-07:00

random cute photo

i'm not trying to ditch my blog. i swear.
with all this packing and cleaning, i just feel tired. and no one likes to hear about that, so i'm not going to tell you about it. we've all heard it a million times. so...until i no longer feel like a bag of sand, i won't be doing short updates like i had originally planned. (i whine on facebook, not on here)

however i will tell you where we are.
we had the appraisal done and as soon as that gets submitted to the bank, things will start to circulate again. we called comcast today to have our service transferred. i know it's a love hate thing with most people, but i have to say comcast is very good to us. they love us in fact. we get lots of new things and extra stuff, just because they love us. i think we have been with them for 13 years or so now. they let us pick our date and time and if we need to change it because the close date gets pushed back, that's ok too. that's a load off.

saturday, not looking so hot. it's an 'open house' for us, and our landlord will be here and so will strangers. not lovely. anywhoo, i am on path to going to bed early. i intend to keep it, or i can only imagine i will get myself a timeout. have a lovely evening! off to dry my hair...

2009-03-11T07:04:00.000-07:00

welcome baby malaina makino!
march 10th 9:21pm
5.8lbs
18"long

two great lanna quotes.

2009-03-10T20:02:00.000-07:00

"sometimes i like it, and sometimes i don't like it. today, i like it."
-lanna, on just about anything.

"can you carry me? i have been walking so much that my thumb hurts really bad"
-lanna

spokane pups need a home

2009-03-07T17:04:00.000-08:00

news story

starting to pack...

2009-03-06T20:34:00.000-08:00

so, this whole packing thing has really gotten lanna confused.
she needs constant reassurance that we will not forget her things. i will blog more on this later but the best thing i have heard her say was yesterday and she just asked again. it must be very important.
she is in bed and calls to me.

lanna: mommy...i have a question!

me: ok, hold on. i will be in there in a mn.

lanna: it's a really important one...hurry!

now, i am thinking ok, she left her creamsicle out here somewhere...let me try to find h...
lanna: mommy hurry!

me: okok. what is it lanna?

lanna: we are going to take our gatorade with us RIGHT!?

saint patty's day celebration treasury!

2009-03-05T18:58:00.000-08:00

click me! click me!
look! i'm in a treasury with Guinness!

studiocherie created this fun one. now go click on it. click click click!

time for a little break

2009-03-02T20:09:00.000-08:00

this beautiful pink cosmo was made for me by hansie pants.

after a super crud -filled day it hit me that i need to take a break on lip balm. it's becoming difficult to keep up and it's sucking up every bit of time that i have when i come home. great, yes. but come on, i need a wee break. i pulled all of the lip balm from my shop and i will resume making and selling in april-when hopefully and i cringe when i say this...i will have more space. i hate just having a few scents avaliable, and i dont have the energy to make more right now. so, there you have it. call it a short hiatus if you will. wink. and yes, it really will be back.

sweetpetula and i in the same treasury!

2009-03-01T08:26:00.001-08:00

look how pretty!

better late, than never...right?

2009-02-28T08:46:00.000-08:00

last weekend we had a nice whidbey trip that was of course, all too short. they always are. you see, mondays are never an option for me to take off- so that makes it harder. friday's are nathan's inventory day, so as long as he gets that covered...we're good for a 3 day. we came up for doots baby shower that was on the way out on sunday. here are a few photo's of the trip.
we got to have a nice night at cam and nord's house and pop pop came to visit at oma's. it was more liek spring there than is is here. i hope we will catch up soon!

the short and sweet sale!

2009-02-26T13:10:00.000-08:00

shop this seattle area team this saturday february 28th!

all fun themes of 28. ooooh. neat.

www.sweetanthem.etsy.com ($.28 cent shipping)

www.babyhoot.etsy.com (28 products that are 28% off regular price with $.28 shipping)

www.sidneyann.etsy.com (28% off everything in the store)

www.sweetpetula.etsy.com (28 items multiple qtys. 28% off)

www.rachel323.etsy.com (28% off all jewelry) ME!

the first person who get me this on a mug wins

2009-02-25T20:59:00.000-08:00

i hate to blog this.

2009-02-24T19:44:00.000-08:00

i really do. i was not going to talk about it, but i am going to a little bit.

we are trying to buy a house. nothing is finalized of course and it will be 3 more weeks until close. so, please...no congratulations yet. it freaks me out. we put an offer on, they accepted. it was inspected, and it went great. it is now in appraisal and then heads to the bank. (ahhhh!)
this was house number 7 that we looked at. we fell in love with it the minute we walked in. the home owners have put so much time and money into a complete remodel. the house is beautifully quaint. it is a 2 bedroom with a den and a full basement. (hello ETSY room!) it has a garage, wood floors downstairs, a new sprinkler system and a big bad ass fireplace OUTSIDE. weenies will be roasted. period.
that's all for now.
now, shhhh. quietly be excited for us. :)

something really special just happened!!

2009-02-17T21:38:00.000-08:00

sweetpetula just sold her 1000th sale!! how fantastic!

it's treasury month.

2009-02-16T20:20:00.000-08:00

that studio cherie is at it again!

click it up folks! go ahead, the more clicks you make, the more awesome you are.

aaaand another one!!

2009-02-13T12:03:00.000-08:00

click away folks! your viewing is what makes its popularity grow, and it will have a chance to get to the front page!

another cute treasury!

2009-02-13T09:59:00.001-08:00

click it up! help get us to the front page!

in a fun new treasury

2009-02-11T10:35:00.001-08:00

random thoughts

2009-02-08T19:55:00.000-08:00

*what's cuter than a baby bunny? nothing.

this one will be just as scattered as i feel.
*after one cup of coffee i jumped up and started 'spring cleaning' before i could convince myself it was a bad way to spend my nice sunday. load after load of laundry. i packed up some winter stuff that i never really utilized, as well as 3 drawers of other clothing that has not been used in way to long. then the laundry moved into textiles, bedding and re washing upcoming spring clothing.
it finally ended at 7pm. we are all pooped and just finished a really yummy dinner.

*my heart hurts a little, i just sold my 'spring sprout necklace'. the pretty roman glass one.
i knew it was going to be hard to let these babies go, but i cant seal the envelope. i just need a few more minutes. i hope she likes it. i will be able to post another one, somewhat similar. i expect the same feelings when that one goes as well.

*i know nothing about childbirth. i am reminded of this every time someone i know has a baby. a friend of a friend had a baby this weekend. i would text constantly asking if baby was here yet. i would get texts back that said all sorts of labor terms that i cant even remember. my texts were completely inquisitive and totally unknowing. i got a text that said "she is at a nine" and i knew this meant centimeters. this much i knew. but...my inappropriate text back was "so, how far does a who-ha open up anyway?" the answer was "omg you nerd. it's 10". my response was " well, then tell her i am so happy to hear it's not 40."
because i looked at a ruler and it was very concerning.
i have never seen a birth, i have never wanted to, and i hope i never do. i barely know where babies come from and the only reason why i do, is because ann explained it all to me. i never really read book, i just asked her a million questions. i'm not sure what really went on in there the whole time. i had an emergency c section at 7 months (no, not because i am dumb) because she was done, cooked and ready. early. ;)
i had a teeny tiny little 2" cut and they slipped her right out in 90 seconds. piece of cake.
i saw nothing. i suppose i will read a book on it eventually. but nonetheless, i feel that i need to know more about this subject.

that's it. bath time. night all!

JANUARY GIVEAWAY WINNER!!

2009-02-04T17:02:00.000-08:00

well, now.
isn't this just very exciting!
thank you all so much for your wonderful stories and just plain entering!
studio cherie is this months lucky winner. chosen by drawing via lanna, this spokane artist makes some great bags and patterns worth checking out! also, she now has a pretty active and fun blog.
congratulation cherie! way to go lanna, eh?

i just want to lick it.

2009-02-03T21:22:00.000-08:00

i scored majorly tonight.
oh come on...i mean at the bead shop. there is this really eclectic place downtown that carries a lot of stones and actual artifacts from upwards of 2000 years ago. they have village tokens from greece that were never supposed to leave the village, super rare indian trade glass ect. tonight something really hit me (and my wallet) hardcore. but i just had to. there in the 'don't look over this way, i am waaay too expensive wall' was this beautiful strand of roman glass. i grabbed it thinking never have i touched glass this old, but i may never again. then came the light. it's like i was taken over by the romans. they whispered in my ear, get it. get it, it's almost your birthday and you deserve the world this year. yes, i said. i know, but i also need to eat. get it, they say. so i did. i walked to the counter sweating and purchased this glass. when i take it off the strand tonight and begin to make earrings and necklaces with it, i can tell already i will have a hard time when someone buys one. these are it. they will never have these again, and neither will i. ok, that's lie. i will totally make two pairs for myself and a necklace. it's delicious. it's aqua, lemon yellow, sea green and cobalt. it looks like sea glass in a way, but you can see the fossilization starting. i will be posting some tomorrow. tear.

* i held back, but what i really wanted to do was question her on how the hell did she get her hands on this and who did she rob to get it??

i found a dear friend!

2009-02-01T14:02:00.000-08:00

i am just thrilled beyond words.
the first day of 3rd grade i met this lovely girl named elizabeth. we were inseparable. i spent so many days and nights at her house, that i often wondered if her gracious parents wondered where the 4th child came from. her dad was a basketball coach and he would often let us shoot with his balls on the weekends. we were destined to go pro. i remember so many wonderful things about our friendship. remember fimo? we were addicted to it and it just so happened that she had a wonderful stash of it. we made everything- jewelry, furniture pieces, obscene things, you name it we made it. the whole house would fill up with that plastic/clay smell as you were baking it. it was so much fun. we even traveled to her grandparents house one year and they paid for us to take tennis lessons. we were destined to go pro. i think that was the last time i played tennis. weird. we also rocked the bad mitten court. ie: her backyard. ooooh man we were good. we were destined to go pro.

to give you an idea of when this was, ace ventura pet detective was JUST released on video. she got a copy as soon as it came out and she was a lucky duck and had the ace ventura i.d. card. i was so jealous. *side note: my husband has one and i call it mine. pump up the jam had just came out and one easter we would take out cadbury milk duds and lick the blue ones and put them on our lips. hot, i know. we were awesome. we also both loved fred savage soooo much.
i won't tell you what we did to reiterate that. (oh stop it, jeeze.)

sleepover after sleepover liz was an amazing outlet for me as my dad was formerly married to a major biotch of the universe. liz should be delighted to know that it ended when i was 13, and not soon enough. single handledy the happiest day of my life. seriously. i'm not sure how it happened or when, but we slowly started to lose touch. we lived so close, and i hate that it happened. it soon turned into doorstep greetings. every may day and valentines day we would leave each other a little something on each others doorstep. i remember my very last bouquet of flowers from her. they were daffodils. my very favorite. soon after that she started to attend another school and we never saw each other. i also started my first job. i worked at island bakery and by now, it was my freshman year in high school. with my job weekends became obsolete.

my sophomore year of HS i ran into her in a local store, i was so excited to see her. we had a small chat and i never knew that it was going to be our last one for nearly 15 years. i hate that i went through high school without her. HS is hard enough without a good support system and i definitely needed her as a part of my life. not a day passed that i did not think about her. i met my husband my junior year and i remember us leaving notes in her mailbox in hopes her parents or the new tenants could get it to her. i never had luck. years that seem like forever passed and i can't believe that i never once ran into her.

i feel like i just gained a huge part of my life that was missing for so long. even though she was not there physically, i have always considered her one of my very best friends. lucky for me she is still in the area and we hope to re-connect this year. not hope, we will. and i will count the days until we do. i can only imagine this is what it feels like to win the lottery-but way better. this is the best year ever.

saturday

2009-01-31T17:06:00.000-08:00

we are gearing up for superbowl ie: snacks. (national chicken wing day.)
probably one of my MOST favorite days.
it was a beautiful sunny saturday and i hear sun is in the forecast for the next week. so what if the high temp is 30, the sun is out and that makes it ok. poor lanna has gotten what nathan and i had. we both had our share of the stomach flu and now unfortunately it was her turn. i really thought she was in the clear. the little think has not gotten off the couch since 8am except for her quick bath. she has a temperature, headache and a belly ache. let's hope she gets better soon!
while she rests, i am enjoying this: and now it's time to make pretty things.

i made it to the front page of ETSY today!

2009-01-26T18:36:00.000-08:00

and i missed it.

randi was wonderful enough to catch it, and take a screen capture for me. i had sold these earrings right away this morning and then had convo's following asking for more. several hours later it all made sense to me. i was a celebrity for like one hour.
very very cool.

lanna's future partner,

2009-01-24T09:39:00.000-08:00

i blame oma for this one.
when i was a baby/toddler oma would scritch my back pretty much any time i asked as well as every night before i went to sleep. well it stuck. since nathan and i have been together, it has become a full time job. and he never complains about it. this is why he is so wonderful. well... as i am sitting here about to drag out all of my beads i hear "daddy, scritch me. no, right here. higher. a little over that way...yah!" and then...a teeny tiny glare pointed in my direction from the husband. this is a life long chore for someone. i just wonder who...
crap.
i apologize to her future spouse. and to be clear, it's oma's fault.