Hosting Etsy Event tonight!

I'm hosting Etsy Shop Live again tonight. More great deals from some of my favorite indie-artists. More info on Heart Handmade. See ya there?

Signs of growth

I love checking in with our plants, vegetables and trees at the end of each day.




There are always new signs of growth on a daily basis!!

I had a vision

We had our walkway put in last month and there were tons of extra pavers from the job - I decided to keep them "just in case". I knew I'd eventually use them for something...


Here's how I spent the long-weekend. I'm really happy with the way it turned out. I like the little natural path between the two mirror-image borders. I'd like to eventually add a cute bench at the very end. I'm just waiting for a few more plants that I ordered and after that, the front will be basically done (for now).

still M.I.A

what are you up to? you ask.

dogsitting
sweating buckets (just got back from a jog and it's only 9:32 and it's already steamy out there. luv it.)
transplanting a bunch of hostas
getting in touch with a lawn doctor
planting lilies I inherited from lovely neighbor
working on HH redesign
working on H-tech facelift
working on finishing touches for Etsy Shoplive

OOooh cherries are starting to grow - I need to remember to take some shots so I can show you guys.

ooops forgot to say how happy I am that my man Kris won idol. Dear Kris, I was with you since day 1 man. And what's up with idol focusing and interviewing his parents last night?? Hello??? He has a freakin' wife!! He's not 12. Didn't they think she was proud, super excited, nervous and whatever stupid adjectives mr. obvious was using lastnight too?? I would've been like WTF?

M.I.A

Life has been rather boring these days, which is why you're not seeing too much action here. I've been busy with the redesign of Heart Handmade which took over the ENTIRE weekend. I knew it wasn't going to be easy transferring it from blogger to my own hosted version... but I'm just holding onto the thought that it will be all worth it in the end.

I walked the stationery show yesterday and didn't get home until 9:30, so annoying coz I missed an earlier train by 2 minutes and had to wait another hour for the next one. So, yes, at this point I was cursing out Jersey.

Today is going to be awful, I will be spending the entire day cleaning the house. Why? Coz I've been a slob and allowed the clutter and dirt to pile up for weeks... only if I could have the foresight to realize that if I just did a little at a time on a more regular basis, I wouldn't have to dedicate a whole freakin' day and then some on cleaning the entire house.

Argh.

Chateau Hillsy

I SHIT YOU NOT.
The boy managed to make his own wine. As for the taste and quality, well, that's yet to be determined. Will def keep you posted!

C'mon grass don't be shy

I've been told that less is more in this case but I just couldn't help but tinker with the instructions.


After pulling out a crap load of pachysandras underneath the Dogwood tree, we're left with nothing but a HUGE patch of dirt. We bought this stuff from HomeDepot a couple of weeks ago that's supposed to help you with patches. Now I know it's meant for small patches but since we have more than half a bag left, I decided to use it on this larger area. I also decided to spread a very sparse layer of shady grass seed on top of the PatchMaster. I'm well aware that the PatchMaster already contains grass seeds, but I have a bad habit of doing things my way. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't - I guess we'll have to wait and see!

Here's a picture of a patch that we used PatchMaster on, you can see some grass growth.

Stones and a Bath

I had so much fun gardening this weekend, despite the fact that every muscle in my body is sore from all the digging. My least favorite part of gardening would have to be making the actual beds. Digging up grass is no party.

I found some random stones around the house and decided to create a path out of them in the back. I love the quaintness that it adds, I also bought this cute bird bath from Lowes (for about $30).


Melissa kindly recommended some plants and I'm really happy with the way it all turned out. I'd love to create another plant bed in the back, we'll see how far I can stretch out our non-existent gardening budget!!


I also found random rocks and used them as edging. I decided that the bed wasn't wide enough, so I layed the rocks a little further out - I'll have to eventually scoop out the grass.

Dear Mr. Rain

It was cute for a couple of days and now I know what it feels like to live in Seattle, but this is just ridiculous.

OCM Update

OK so I promised I'd keep you posted on how my skin is doing under my new OCM regimen - (Oil Cleansing Method)... I'm happy to report that my skin is absolutely LOVING it.

It was touch and go at one point, my skin was getting dry on the outside but still producing oil so I decided to switch back to my usual Sonya Dakar cleanser but then I noticed that my skin was just getting worse and worse. So I readjusted the oil formula and further decreased the amount of Castor Oil and my skin is just loving this new batch. I also bought myself a couple of small face towels, which I use wet to wipe off the oil from my face. I think the warm towel is key because it not only removes the oil but it also acts as a steamer/exfoliator. Now I'm not suggesting you rub the crap out of your face, just a gently rub in your problem areas (for me it's my nose, chin - T zone).

I'm definitely loving this stuff. I do have to admit that it's not as easy as using a traditional "soapy" cleanser, but for me, it's definitely worth the effort. My skin is less cloggy and it's not too oily not too dry. I still get the occasional pimple but overall my skin is SO much better than it has been. I'll keep using it and will keep you posted as the warmer weather approaches.

Post Holiday

It's definitely nice to be back, specially since Hillsy stayed behind this time... but I'm finding it hard to get back into the swing of things.


This pic perfectly describes how I'm feeling. I woke up at 9:45am - something I NEVER EVER do. I'm a morning person... I have a lot of catching up to do.

Back from LA

I'm back from L.A. - it was such a fun family reunion. I ate an obscene amount of food while I was there and I'm feeling like I need to run twice as long and twice as hard. I'm feeling extra lethargic this morning and this crappy weather we're having isn't helping matters.

Hopefully I'll be back on track tomorrow.