Etsy Dreamin'

I've been seriously considering opening my own Etsy shop for quite some time (it will be named Chirp Shop ^-^). But, I keep stopping myself from actually doing it... mostly because I can't decide what to sell!!

Here's the problem: I'm not sure if things that I make are unique enough (i.e. are they too much like what's already being sold? And, what are the rules about selling similar items?) or if anybody would even be interested (my own fear of failure >.<). I need input!!

Here are a few things I'm considering stocking in Chirp Shop:

Option 1: Tutus with "tiaras" and princess wands (the adorable tutu model is my niece, Jasalyn)

Option 2: Zipper flower headbands (plus, hair ties and possibly pins or bracelets)

Option 3: Record bowls (below) and record clocks (not pictured) - they can be painted and stenciled, or just shellacked

Option 4: Scented bath salts in Mason Jars

My favorites the tutus and the record bowls, but I'd love to hear your thoughts. Any opinions or advice will be greatly appreciate :)

<3 Brittany

Post-It Note Tuesday

I learned about Post-It Note Tuesday, hosted by Adventures of a WannaBe Supah Mommy, last week from Steph of A Grande Life. I couldn't resist joining in on this fun meme.

Here is my first (slightly snarky) installment of the virtual, yellow posties (it's been "one of those days"):

If you want to join in on the fun, go visit Supah Mommy for all the info.

<3 Brittany

Gratitude

Earlier today on Twitter, this tweet from @Peaceful_Daily caught my attention:

"Today is Gratitude Monday on our Facebook Page. Visit our wall and tell us what u r thankful for http://www.facebook.com/peacefuldaily".

I really love this idea, because, I don't know about you, but I spend way too much time being pessimistic and getting down on myself for one thing or another and not nearly enough time being thankful. But, I am incredibly blessed and have SO much to be thankful for. I decided to take time today to focus on all the wonderful in my life.

Here, in no particular order, are some of things that I am grateful for, from the serious to the silly:

1. My wacky, wonderful husband <3

2. My family - the one I was born into, the one I married into, and all the others who have become a part of it along the way

3. My friends, both near and far

4. Our furry felines - Phoebe, Bella, and Edward

5. Coffee - nothing beats that first sip in the morning!

6. My camera (even though I'd like a nicer one, mine still gets the job done)

7. Disney World... and really, all other things that have to do with Disney

8. Having an education

9. Having a job that I enjoy and that keeps a roof over my head and food in my stomach

10. Books and bubble baths (my favorite way to relax)

11. Knitting needles, crochet hooks and soft, lovely yarn

12. My sewing machine (although, I never thought I would take up sewing)

13. Target (duh?)

14. Little ones - babies and children with all their innocence and joy

15. Laughing - from little giggles to gut-busting, uncontrollable laughter that makes you cry

16. Sleep (and having a bed to sleep on and a husband to snuggle with)

17. Chocolate... mmmmm

18. Wine... mmmmm

19. Snow in the winter, flowers in the spring, sunshine in the summer, and pumpkins in the fall

20. Holidays - most especially Halloween and Christmas

21. Bowling (and my pink, sparkly Minnie Mouse bowling ball)

22. Being able to take a warm shower every night

23. Having shoes on my feet and clothes on my back

24. Flickering candle light on dark nights

25. Movies and music (and, let's not forget Netflix and Pandora)

26. Craft stores (my favorite place to wander)

27. Daisies

28. The mountains (and hiking)

29, The beach

30. My computer

31. The Great Garden State (you can take the girl out of Jersey, but you can't take the Jersey out of the girl)

32. The Keystone State (I'll even forgive you for your frightful lack of street lights + overabundance of deer)

33. Fruits and veggies (especially broccoli)

34. Prayer and healing

35. Hugs (and kisses, too)

36. My lovely red Kitchen Aid mixer (makes baking a breeze!)

37. Inspiration and experimentation (comes in handy with cooking and crafting)

38. Kitchens for making yummy things

39. 24 hour diners

40. Good conversations

41. Times of quiet

42. Records (to manipulate into fun and functional gifts)

43. Board games (even Monopoly, which I'm terrible at)

44. Tea kettles, tea cups, and tea with cream and honey

45. The sun and the moon and the stars

46. Guitars (and the lovely music my wacky, wonderful husband makes with them)

47. Thrift shops

48. Vacations

49. Flip flops (can't wait to bust them out for another season)

50. Being warm at night when it's could outside with cozy socks on my feet and my husband's arms keeping me safe

The best part? This list is barely the tip of the iceberg (also, if you read it all the way through, I am really impressed :) )! I am one lucky lady.

What are you thankful for today?

<3 Brittany

I am Grumpy.

My husband works grounds. This means that with each impending snow or ice storm, he needs to come in to work to help clear paths and parking lots. Needless to say, weather does not always choose to begin at a decent time, and he often needs to come in at random, ungodly hours.

And, the fact that we only have one car means that I also have to come into work at random, ungodly hours.

(this is my highly unattractive grumpy-face)

For instance, today it is currently 4:57 a.m. and I am at work.

I really do hate to complain, however, what makes me grumpy is not so much the fact the we had to come in early... it is the fact that we are here... and the snow/ice is not.

No slick spots in the road and nary a drip from the sky.... When I have to get up early for weather, there better be some stinkin' weather!

The coffee will surely be a-flowin' today.

<3 Brittany

I Has a Header!

Not sure if I'm 100% in love with it yet (I look kinda goofy in the photo... although, I suppose that kind of fits with the whole "scatterbrained" theme, eh?), but it's prettier than just the plain text. I'll keep it up for a bit and see how I feel about after a couple weeks... I can always change it :)

Any thoughts?

<3 Brittany

Wordless Wednesday: Works in Progress

Some of them, anyway... *^-^*

<3 Brittany

Weekend Photo Rewind

I feel like I have been going non-stop since about Wednesday evening when Dan decided that he wanted to bake a cake with our good friend Bob (surprising news to me, since he doesn't usually bake). And this was no ordinary cake.... it was a Jack-O-Latern shaped, M&M covered, pumpkin flavored cake. Facny-shmancy!

I wanted to devote a whole post just to the cake... but, Thursday, Dan and I left directly from work to go to New Jersey. We spent the night and all day Friday enjoying time with my sister, my nieces, and a large portion of the rest of my family.

We left late Friday night and I planned to write a whole post just about that day.... but, Saturday we woke up early to take Edward to the vet and after we got home, we left almost immediately with Amy and Derek to go to Lancaster for Bowlerama - the first fundraising event for You and Me on a Comeback (an amazing cancer comeback intiative founded by Jed Morris, my good friend Genevieve's main squeeze).

This was another event that I wanted a seperate post for... but, well, Sunday, aside from a few small projects around the apartment, I admittedly, was just plain lazy. Around 3:00, we left for center city Philadelphia (yes, Dan drove into the city willingly!) for our friend Rebekah's apartment warming.

Monday, I was going to do the post that you see before you now and mash all the events together. But, sadly, I was ill with stomach issues (I will spare you the gorry details) into the wee hours of Monday morning, so the rest of the day was basically a wash.

Today, no more excuses! Here is a summary of my weekend in photos:

There's my weekend (and then some!) in a nutshell.

<3 Brittany

Mwen Renmen Ayitti

My heart aches thinking of the wonderful, beautiful Haitian people and the devastation of yesterday's earthquake. They had so little to begin with, and now, so much less.

I had the opportunity to visit Haiti twice and in light of these recent events, I would like to share some of my photos of this amazing country. I cannot think of the people in these photos without wondering where they were yesterday when the earthquake first began, and where they might be today.

Tonight, remember how lucky you are to be safe.

Please pray for the people of Haiti and please give generously as you are able - even small donations make a difference.

The Way to My Husband's Heart

Tonight, at Daniel's request, I made pineapple stuffing for dinner.

This is the first time I've made it for him (actually... the first time I've made it ever, which is astonishing considering how easy and delicious it is!). I knew he would be excited because he loves pineapple stuffing and often laments the fact that he only gets to eat it on holidays (does it make me a bad wife that it took me over a year to cook one of my husband's favorite side dishes?).

But, I didn't realize just how excited he would be! Daniel was positively giddy while the stuffing was baking. I think he asked me every 10 minutes how much longer it would be until it was done. He practically squealed when he could smell the sweet, pineapple-y goodness throughout the apartment.

And how did it taste? I got an immediate, contented, and drawn out "Mmmmmmm...." of approval upon the first bite (that certainly makes a girl feel good!).

So, I do believe that their is truth to the old adage of "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach", at least in the case of my husband.

This is how much we had left when all was said and done (and I'm pretty sure he'll polish off the rest at work tomorrow...):

<3 Brittany

For the Love of Produce

It's time to admit to my love affair... with vegetables.

Recently, I have found that I have been craving vegetables the way I usually crave chocolate. Ask Daniel... I practically shed a tear on the nights when we are out of delicious greens and then force grocery shopping upon him.

I have never been so preoccupied with vegetables before. It makes me wonder if my body is trying to tell me something? Am I lacking in iron or fiber? Or maybe the craving is so strong this week because of the unhealthy (yet oh-so delicious) things I stuffed into it during the Christmas break?

Currently, I am sitting here waiting for Daniel to pick me up, and lamenting the fact that I ate my entire bag of baby carrots yesterday. I wish I had saved a few so I could snack my chipotle hummus.

If this trend keeps up my goal of eating healthy will be a cinch. Especially since I've walked past the chocolate and caramel pretzel sandwiches in the kitchen at work at least a dozen times today and didn't even bat an eye-lash at them. Instead, I have been daydreaming about vegetable stir-fry and big plates of roasted broccoli all day.

I think, at least for me, broccoli could be the new chocolate.

(I also never thought the day would come when any food could replace chocolate in my heart!)

<3 Brittany

Wordless Wednesday: Simple Mid-Week Dinner

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<3 Brittany

Valentine's Day Blog Exchange

So, you may have noticed that I have a cute little button on the right side of my blog?

Aside form the fact that I'm very proud of myself for figuring out how to add it to the layout in less than 5 minutes (what next? a snazzy banner perhaps?), I am super excited for the reason I have added the button. I learned today that the author of one my favorite blogs, Domestic Dork, is hosting a Valentine's Day Blog Exchange.

What is a Valentine's Day Blog Exchange, you ask? Think of an Christmas ornament exchange, between bloggers, except with homemade Valentines-y goodies... and there you go.

I have a few ideas kicking around in my head already. There are several projects I've been wanting to do anyway, so this is the perfect excuse to try them out! However, I won't know my partner is until the end of the week, so I'll have to hold off on making any final decisions until I know who I'll be exchanging with.

But whoever it is, I'm excited!!

If you're interested in the exchange, click the pretty pink button on the right for all the information.

<3 Brittany

And Just for Fun...

A few snapshots from a wonderful holiday season:

Christmas Eve Eve (aka the 23rd) at my sister-in-law, Leah's, house - Mimi, and my little niece Ellie playing with Uncle Dan's hat (also, I love those PJ's!)

Daniel opening his Christmas Eve present (South Park pajamas)

Wearing the trimmings from my Christmas present from Madre

My beautiful niece Ashley...

... and her sister, another one of my beautiful nieces, Jamie, with my Pops

Peppermint chocolate donuts for Christmas morning. Mmmm....

Hello there, little duckies!

Christmas morning <3

You didn't know Santa was a SCUBA enthusiast, did you?

Not sure how this related to marine life, but here is The Bumble lighting the Christmas tree at the Adventure Aquarium in Camden, NJ

Another shot of Ellie :) This was New Year's morning, shortly after the Pork Fest (i.e. our excuse to eat gratuitous amounts of bacon and scrapple... what was I saying about eating healthy?)

Celebrating my sister-in-law, Rose's, birthday on NYE

<3 Brittany