Happy Birthday to.....

...Me! This is my favorite kind of cake - one with lots of frosting! And my mom and sister are so sweet indulging my delusion that I am still 29! Not that I really mind my actaul age (35), it's just that I don't really feel 35. Truth be told, I don't even feel 29! Today we celebrated my birthday with one of my favorite meals, tacos, and this fabulous cake. My family is the best!

Godspeed, Endeavour

Before moving to Cocoa FL, I never had much interest in the space program. I never had dreams of becoming an astronaut, finding martians, or exploring other galaxies. When I was in Girl Scouts (and my dad was our leader), our troop made a plaque for the first teacher in space, Christa McAuliffe. But now that I live less than 10 miles from the Kennedy Space Center, I am beginning to develop a fascination for the shuttle program. I have been to several launches and they are just amazing. You can feel the shuttle take off....even the walls in my house vibrate a little! With only a few launches remaining, I'll be sure to catch every one.

Writer's Block

Or maybe, more accurately, crafters block! I have been in a funk this past week, having no desire to sew or craft. Maybe it's because I'm feeling under the weather. Maybe it's because it's summer. Maybe it's because my Noodle is out of school and I can only sew during naps (which are becoming increasingly rare). So, today, in an effort to get my creative juices flowing again, I bought this really cute kids fabric:

And un-sewed this wristlet that had a funky zipper thing going on.

And made this luggage tag for the vacation I am NOT going on anytime soon :(.

And, finally, made this fabric covered beaded necklace.

Tomorrow, I have a big to-do lost: resew my wristler with the now fixed zipper, cut out wipes cases from the cute kids fabric, iron interfacing on a stack out wristlets, and cut out a purse for my mother. Yeah for Saturdays!

Am I OCD?

Over the holiday weekend, I discovered that my sister has the same strange egg obsession that I do! And even stranger.....my mother does it too!
I CAN NOT have an odd amount of eggs in my carton. I just can't....it is not physically possible for me. I loathe any recipe that calls for an odd number of eggs. I have been known to make egg salad simply to even out the number of eggs left in my carton.
But wait, there is more!
Any remaining eggs in my carton have to be stored in a symmetrical pattern. And the first egg I always use is from the lower right hand compartment.
Why do I do this? Is it hereditary? My mother does this. My sister does this. Do you?

Be a Lucky Ducky and get something FREE

So, here is the deal. Follow my blog and when you make a purchase from my Etsy store anytime in July, I will send a FREE gift with your order. Just mention in your notes to seller that you are now following my blog and you will get your little surprise. It could be a change purse, key fob, card holder, or something new that I am working on!

Stuff

I think the pictures in my etsy shop stink! I am not a photographer so I've really been struggling with lighting, backgrounds, and up close shots.....basically everything! I've been reading blogs and esty forums for advice and I think I've picked up some useful information. I took this picture of one of my new bags and I used some of the things I've learned. I took the picture in natural light with a solid, neutral colored background. I used a louvered door (from my craft show display) as the background but I am not sure how much I like it. I thought the louvers would add texture without overpowering the actual bag. But, I'm not sure. I do think that this background works better than the turquoise fabric I was using. I guess I'll keep experimenting:)

Pedal to the Metal

So....my noodle FINALLY learned to pedal his bike! Yeah! For over a year and a half, he has been content to just scoot along, but today he pedaled! Unfortunately, we had to cut our ride short. Summer in Florida = mosquitos! My little guy kept telling me "'quito bite, mama, 'quito bite", even with bug spray applied before we left the house. Oh, well. My Noodle pedaled the afternoon away indoors.