Stuff I love: Twisted River Clay

I love pottery. I'm not sure what it is about it, but I just love it. I even took a pottery class in high school, and enjoyed making it. I'd love to be able to make more one day, but for now, I'll just stare at it and want it. :o)

My mother in law also likes pottery. So, a few years ago, for Christmas, I ordered her some handmade mugs. I searched high and low to find the perfect ones, and I found them at Twisted River Clay. Unfortunately, he had a show the day I found them, and they were sold by the time I went back to get them. I sent a convo just to see if there was any chance he had some hiding somewhere, and he didn't. He did, however, create some just for me in the colors I wanted. He was wonderful to work with, and when the mugs arrived, they were even more beautiful that I had anticipated. Here are some beautiful things from his shop that I'd love to own one day.

For the record, I love large mugs. I love big cups of coffee, big cups of tea, and, of course, big cups of hot cocoa! This 22oz mug would be perfect for any of those things!

This mug is just gorgeous! I love the colors! I love the lines in it! I just love all of it!

Here is a gorgeous set of bowls....Serious, the only thing that would make them prettier would be a scoop (or two) of ice cream in them!
I don't necessarily need serving trays, but these are just so pretty! I love the colors and the swirl design. Finally, my husband has always been generous with flowers. Even when money has been tight, he'll take the dogs for a walk and come back with a handful of flowers that he picked along the way. This vase would be a wonderful way to display those.

My first treasury east!

It's been a very long time since I've made a treasury. The other night, I decided that it was about time that I try my hand at treasury east. I've been very fortunate to be included in a lot of treasuries lately, and it was about time that I start returning some of the love. Here is what I came up with....
You can click on the picture to be taken directly to the treasury so that you can check out all the fabulous artists featured. You can also search "Homefront" "Black" and "White" to find more lovely black and white items from the amazingly talented Homefront Team.

One for the dogs....

I've been a big blog slacker as of late. Part of it is lack of good ideas to write about, and the other part is that this past week has been stressful. I'm not sure that I can think of a time that was more stressful that this past week. I won't go into the details, but things are looking up now, and I couldn't be more grateful for that.

I have found that when I am stressed though, my dogs are always there to cheer me up. I know this might sound strange if you aren't a dog person, but these two babies are little clowns. They always seem to just know when I need some cheering up, and they always manage to make me laugh.

I've introduced my babies before, but it's been awhile, so I'll introduce them again. First is Batman, our 3 year old French Bulldog. We've had him since he was a puppy, and he has moved across the country and back with us. He's my first dog, and I he has convinced me that dogs are awesome!

Then we have Daphne. She is a two year old American Staffordshire terrier that we rescued (or maybe it's the other way around?) . We got her in February from the West Los Angeles Animal Shelter. She is the happiest and most eager to please dog that I have ever met.


I must say, even when times are tough, I am a very lucky lady.

Treasuries, treasuries, treasuries

I mentioned the other day, that since I swapped out my photos for improved ones that I've found myself in quite a few treasuries. Here's a peak at a few of them. (You can click on the picture to go directly to the treasury if you'd like to comment.)
How lucky am I??

Feature: Flawed Perfection Jewelry

I met the fabulous Megan of Flawed Perfection Jewels at the Queen Bee Market back in May. With her gorgeous and unique designs, I was immediately awestruck!
Since then, I've been following her on twitter, facebook, and her blog, and have seen her shop grow and expand to include some really stunning pieces, like this bracelet:
While I love her use of color, I also love that she has a collection designed specifically for your wedding day! It would definitely add to the look, without overpowering the look. Check out this necklace from her bridal collection:
Stunning, isn't it??!!! Lucky for us, right now, Megan is celebrating the one year anniversary of her business with some fantastic giveaways!!
You can check out all of the details on her blog, and trust me, you want to check it out!!!

A picture is worth 1000 words....

My pictures always have been, and will continue to be a work in progress. I am aware of this. I can do my best to take my pictures in natural, but not direct sunlight, outside, and without a flash, but sometimes they still aren't very good. My computer has some basic photo editing stuff on it, but when I make an attempt to use it, my pictures somehow always end up too red, or too yellow, or blueish....So, last week, I set out to find a free photo editing program online. Being that I have the technical skills of a moose, I also needed something simple, so I asked my friends on twitter for some advice. After checking out a couple of their recommendations, I finally settled on Picassa. It was simple, straightforward, and after a few long days, my pictures were transformed from this
to this
From this
to this
Obviously, I still have things that I can do to improve, (not having a wrinkle in my background for example....) but it's a step in the right direction. Currently, all of my photos have been replaced, and while I haven't seen an improvement in sales yet, I've found myself in a lot more treasuries lately.....

Take me out to the ballgame!

My husband and I didn't have any plans for the 4th of July. To be honest, we just aren't big planners. We just go with the flow and see what comes up. Well, on July 3rd, it occurred to me that we should go see a baseball game for the 4th of July. Let's be honest, what could be more American than that??

As you may or may not know, I am a Red Sox fan. I was born and raised in New Hampshire, which means that I root for Boston. I root for the Patriots, the Celtics, the Bruins, and of course the Red Sox, and had I not been a fan before I got married, I would certainly be one now. I'm pretty sure that my husband's family would kick you out of the family if you weren't a Sox fan. That's just how it is. Unfortunately, the Sox play in Boston, and we live in California. They do play the Angels during the season, but Angels tickets are expensive. So, if we want to see a baseball game, we generally go see the Padres. So, on a whim, we bought some $10 bleacher seat tickets, and that's how we spent our 4th.

According to the weather forecast, the 4th was supposed to be overcast and a bit chilly. To be honest, that kind of weather is perfect for me. With my health issues, bright and sunny days, or really hot days mean that I don't get to spend very much time outside. So, it looked like the stars were aligning for that day. So, we took our friend Michelle with us, and headed down to San Diego. We parked down by the airport, and took the trolley into downtown. The parking is often cheaper there, and the traffic isn't nearly as bad as it is downtown. Our seats were actually pretty good. I was expecting them to be terrible, but we definitely got more than we paid for.
All in all, with the exception of my sunburn, we had a great day. The Padres won, the game was good, and we had a lot of fun!