there are no do-overs...

but there are always try-agains!
I just finished having a heart to heart with my dear brother and this little gem of knowledge popped out while we were chatting. It's so true. You can't do anything over completely the same way, but why would you want to? If you feel you need to redo something it's because you need to change and by simply trying again the outcome will be different!
I feel like a motivational speaker or something. But oh well.

xo

Thoreau'n it right at cha

“To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of the arts.” Henry David Thoreau

This made my day good. A brand new teacup from my favorite company, Vietri, in Italy.



And this made it even better. Look at how lovely this tea is. The details. The bags are muslin and the tags are stitched on and the box is gorgeous. What a great color palette. The tea itself is delicious too.





xo

good morning sunshine

So, I read this article in the paper yesterday and I was so blown away that I,
1. tore it out of the paper and
2. decided I would share it with you.
Discussion to follow. Here goes:

COLORADO SPRINGS
SCHOOL BANS TAG

An elementary school has
banned tag on its playground
after some children com-
plained they were harassed or
chased against their will.
"It causes a lot of conflict
on the playground" said Cindy
Fesgen, assistant principal of
the Discovery Canyon Cam-
pus school.
Running games still are al-
lowed as long as students don't
chase eachother, she said.
Fesgen said two parents
complained to her about the
ban but most parents and chil-
dren didn't object.
In 2005, two elementary
schools in nearby Falcon
School District did away with
tag and other similar games in
favor of alternatives with
less physical contact.

I almost don't even know where to start. Maybe it's because I had a wonderful, tag-filled, childhood or maybe because I will be a parent at some point in the not to far future, but COME ON, give me a break.
Those poor children, they're probably the same ones that have to take rolling, carry-on luggage to school because they have too many books to physically carry.

All I can (should) say is that my children will not got to a school like this. They will have a childhood full of tag, kick the can, and ghosts in the graveyard. And I will lovingly bandage every skinned knee and elbow that result from the aforementioned games.

Besides how are you supposed to learn how to flirt if you can't play tag!
Why is this world so serious?

xo

overflowing with ideas

I had a very successful day thrifting the other day. I'm getting ready to post this new stuff on my etsy site. The response has been great! I've been selling all kinds of stuff. Here's a sneak preview:


These are vintage carnival prize pins. I have about seven all different old school names.


Super cute purse 'Made in British Hong Kong'. Even comes with the retro book of matches I found inside.


yum yum yum.

I have been getting orders for my custom silhouette pendants too and I thought I'd share a couple of them with you!

This is my lovely Gretta.


This is a darling little girl, whose name must be kept secret because she is a gift.


And this is Stevie, another woman's husband. (that sounds devious, but it's not. I made it for her.)

So hurry up and place your orders for this holiday season. No pushing. Please form one line right here.
xo

we need more maps

xo

balance

I feel slightly out of balance lately. Which to me is more unnerving than feeling completly out of balance. Because at least when things are really out of whack it is all together different, even new, but when things are just slightly out of tune, I constantly feel off kilter.
To describe it visually I would say I feel like I'm walking on a tightrope that is swaying under the pressure of my feet. The problem is that I don't know what is on either side. I don't know what is throwing me off balance.

I suppose I do have a lot of things going on right now. I'm starting and running three different businesses and I really don't know which one I want to give a lot of attention to.
I also feel a little suffoccated by all of the things we've acquired lately. We got so many wedding presents (all of which are wonderful, of course) but they make me feel a little uneasy. I'd like them to go to someone who really needs them. I know 'someday' I may need to use all the 24 wine glasses we own all at once. But for now, there are 2 of us. Two of us a a few friends (most of whom drink beer anyway). I don't know, I feel very thankful for all of the kind gestures and I know this will only happen once in our lives (untill we have a baby) but it still throws me off balance.
Yep, I think it might be my physical life that's making my mind feel off balance.
Maybe it's time to purge.
xo

all shiny and new

good morning!
I finally finished setting up my new etsy sites. There is now www.junkenvyEtsy.etsy.com where you can find lovely treasures for your home. There is also www.whitneyleigh.etsy.com where you can find all of my paper goods and art. And of course there is still www.luckymebeads.etsy.com where you can order a silhouette pendant of the one you love...

Other than that, I finally broke down and bought a real cell phone last night. I'm very inept when it comes to those things but with a little help from my husband I think I'll get it. We spent Saturday garage sale-ing and thrift store-ing. Goodwill was having a 50% off the whole store sale! We got some awesome stuff. It's hard to pick favorites but if I had to I'd say my new old camera and this painter's box.





A final thought.
I just finished the book The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood and this was my favorite part:

"They didn't realize that her clumsiness was not the ordinary kind, not poor coordination. It was just because she wasn't sure where the edges of her body ended and the rest of the world began."

That is why I have so many bruises on my legs.
xo