Something for my wall

I apologize for my lack of posts, but I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things. So, I just wanted to share my latest purchase from Etsy. It is this fantastic block mounted photograph from f2images. Mark and Emi are a husband and wife team who started their company to share their photography with the world. Both my fiance and I love their work, so we just had to purchase something from their shop.


This lovely piece is currently hanging in our bedroom. I have a picture of it on the wall, but it just doesn't do the art justice. I strongly encourage you to check out their shop and read their blog.

Thursday Etsy Feature - LamaWorks

Today's feature is fun for me because Laura, from LamaWorks, also features fellow Etsy artists on her blog on Thursdays. So this week, we decided to interview each other. She makes a variety of things from knitted goods, to stationery to totes, so there is something for everyone.Tell us a little bit about yourself and where you are from.
I was born and raised in Milwaukee, WI. I went to Marquette University in Milwaukee and graduated with a bachelors and masters in Biomedical Engineering. So by day I’m a biomedical engineer at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago. I work with children with neurological disabilities in evaluating how they walk by turning them into a 3D computer image as they walk. I work closely with orthopedic surgeons in deciding what types of surgeries or therapies could help them walk better. By night I’m a crafty girl that loves just about any craft I can get my hands on. I usually go through phases of what I’m working on depending on my mood. Lately it’s been a lot of knitting, scrapbooking, card making and sewing.

How long have you been making totes and how did you get started?
I actually just started making tote bags last summer. I quilt, but I never learned how to read a sewing pattern, so I took a beginners sewing class last winter. I desperately wanted new tote myself and stumbled on this pattern that was a cross between sewing and quilting so it was great! I went through many drafts of the bag and kept changing it to suit what I was looking for and ultimately what was most cost efficient for the materials I had and before you know it, the batik tote bag was born! I took it to work and all of the girls loved it and suggested I try to sell some, which is where my Etsy store officially started.

According to your profile, you are well traveled and lived everywhere. Where was your favorite place to live?
I have lived mostly in the Midwest, with the exception to the summer I spent in Washington, DC. I think Milwaukee will always be my favorite place to live. It’s a small but big town if that makes sense. It has all of the amenities of a larger city, still has the small town charm to it. My parents now live up in northern WI, so that is my favorite place to visit as far as vacation spots go.

What is your most recent Etsy purchase?
My most recent purchase is actually a Vintage Babar Illustration from SimplySuzula's shop at www.simplysuzula.etsy.com

What do you like to do in your spare time?
Crafting actually takes care of most of my spare time. I am also involved in a women’s philanthropic and community service organization in my community. With that I spend a lot of time organizing fund raising events and helping out with other service projects.

What are your favorite foods?
Too many to list! I just learned how to make Crème Brulee this past weekend, so that is high on my list. Right now I really love soups and casseroles. Good hearty winter foods. I love to cook, so good home made meals are my favorites.

What plans or aspirations do you have for your business?
That is a developing image for me. For the short term I’d love to just get my name out there and get a steady flow of business. I’ve seen my sales increase almost every month since I opened, which is really encouraging. I’d really like to participate in a craft show this year, so I’m scoping things out and trying to decide what products in my store I should focus on. In the long term, I’d love to turn my business into my day job. I think ultimately I’d love to be a stay at home mom with my store on the side (which is definitely a future plan as I don’t even have kids yet …). I also think it would be a great achievement to see my scarves or socks for sale in a local boutique.
Do you have other places online where we can find you? (twitter, flickr, blog, etc.) If so, please list them here.
You can also find me on my blog at www.lamaworks.blogspot.com

Thanks Laura! Now go to her blog, and you can read all about me!

Wanted: Studio Shed

If you read my post on 6 random things, then you know I once wanted to be an architect. I no longer aspire to that, but I do still love to look at houses and browse through magazines such as Architectural Digest and Dwell. This month's Dwell is all about prefab houses. What is prefab? According to Dwell, it is basically where "a home is fabricated in one location and then delivered to another." Many are transportable, but don't confuse it with a mobile home. It's so much more than that. If you move to another city, imagine being able to move your house with you! Well, there was a feature on prefab sheds for a little get away in your own backyard. My favorite was this little cabana made by Modern Cabana that is simple, minimalistic and provides lots of light. Perfect for a little studio that I can call my own.

Images courtesy of Modern Cabana

Here's one designed by Modern-Shed.

Image courtesy of Modern-Shed

Prices for Modern Cabana start at $11,500 and for Modern-Shed start at $7,440. If I win the lotto and we buy a house with a big yard, I might just get me one of these.

Who says

that wedding shoes have to be white or ivory? I just came upon this site, Style Me Pretty and saw these beautiful red shoes. The site only credits the photographer, so I don't know the shoe designer. I went shoe shopping last week and was only looking for white, ivory or silver shoes. But after seeing this, I will be broadening my search. I love the splash of red!

Photo from Orchard Cove Photography

Etsy Feature - Funwallart

This year's first featured shop on my blog is Fun Wall Art. Janice creates beautiful and unique picture frames and trinket boxes, and her items look professionally photographed. It's no wonder her items are constantly appearing in a multitude of Etsy treasuries. Very shabby chic! Here's a sampling of what she has to offer. The rest speaks for itself.

Images taken from funwallart

Craft Classes at Anthropologie?

I just found out through The Budget Fashionista, that select Anthropologie stores are holding free craft workshops. Sounds like fun, yeah? I haven't found my more information on scheduling or anything, so I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Image from Anthropologie

I am out of the loop

When I used to work 9-5 in front of a computer, I was always up on the latest gossip, and fill in my friends on the goings on of Hollywood stars. Now, I don't even know who half the "celebrities" are anymore. Who are Heidi and Spencer and why do we care about them? I just read that Ben & Jen had their second daughter a week ago. I didn't even know she was pregnant! I guess I spend my time browsing through shopping and indie artist blogs now, or just a product of getting older. Well, congrats to Jen & Ben, and welcome baby Seraphina Rose Elizabeth Affleck.

Image from babble.com

Sybile Bookmark

A few months ago, (actually, it's probably almost a year now), I got myself a library card. Namely to save money and space. Last month, I finally used it to borrow The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. I'm about 200 pages into it, and looking at the due date, I'm going to have to read faster. In any case, the point of this post is that I bought myself a bookmark from the artist, Sybile, who's work I've been admiring for a while. While browsing through her shop, I noticed that she had bookmarks and thought it's the perfect item for me and have a piece of her work. It arrived today! I had such a hard time deciding which one to get, but here it is!
I may have to buy a few more in the near future. :)

Tagged - 6 Things

I've been tagged again by local celebrities, Lauren and Catherine of the Asian Cajuns. So here goes:
The Rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they've been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

My six random things:
1. I recently found out they made a movie for Confessions of a Shopaholic and I can't wait to see it!

Image from Stylebakery.com

2. I just got a rip in the butt of my jeans.

3. 10 years ago, I backpacked through Europe, but skipped Spain. I hope to go to Spain one day.

Image from Flickr

4. I started playing the piano when I was five and took lessons for the next 10 years.

Image from flickr

5. In high school, I wanted to be an architect and the drafting class was my favorite class.
6. I like to watch reruns of the show Charmed every morning while getting ready for work.

Image courtesy of sidereel.com

6 people I'm tagging:
lillyella
nuvonova
Licia
Style Discovery
Tracy & Natalie
Feminine Personae

Shoe Lust - Bridal Edition

The dress has been found, so now I just need to find the perfect shoe to go with it. It'll be hard to choose just one but it has to be done. Here are a few that I found online. I also love strappy sandals, but since I'm getting married in February in NY, I think I'll go for a little more coverage. Now, the first two are my fantasy ones, but way out of my budget. They actually cost more than my dress! And besides, if I'm going shell out that much for Christians or Manolos, I am going to get as much wear out of them as possible.

Christian Louboutin Satin d'Orsay, $895

Manolo Blahnik Satin d'Orsay, $745

Touch Ups Jasmine, $81.00

Grazia Valentine, $210

Stuart Weitzman Sashay, $208.40