Peppers!

In May my mom gave me some pepper starts and I managed to keep them healthy and now I have peppers! I have no experience with peppers so I'm not really sure what to do with them. If you have a great idea or recipe for me, please leave a comment.

I would really love to do some wonderful things with these peppers. I have grown sweet banana peppers, cubanelle sweet peppers, and jalapenos.

I'm Sew Like My Mom

Every day that I spend in my studio sewing is a really great day! I never used to like sewing and just thought it was a tedious chore. I very quickly realized I was bored with sewing because I'd been using commercial patterns. Now I do what I call "freehand sewing." (The totebags I make that feature images of climbers would be the best example of this technique.) And now I LOVE to sew. It's become a very satisfying creative outlet for me.

It's no surprise that I sew, as I was introduced to sewing at a very early age. My mom is a talented seamstress and made most of my clothes as I was growing up. She'd make costumes for my dance recitals, holiday dresses, and school clothes. (Do the go-go boots give away my age????)


Thanks Mom, for passing on your appreciation for sewing to me! I love you!

Dessert ... It's What's for Dinner ... AKA Cherry JackPot

Fresh Picked Cherries and Vanilla Yogurt for Dinner (Hubby is out for a few hours so why not?!)

When we first moved into our home I thought that one of the fruit trees in our yard grew sour pie cherries. I was bummed, because I really, really love fresh-picked cherries. I don't want to have to cook them or make them into a jam to enjoy.

The past couple of years the tree didn't seem to yield any fruit. Or, all the birds were getting to them before me. But last week I noticed a ton of cherries on the tree and they looked ripe and healthy!

I decided to pick one and taste it and get an idea of how tart they were. I really wanted to make something with them if they weren't suitable for eating raw. To my very pleasant surprise they were sweet and I realized that they're Rainier cherries!



Rainier cherries are one of the premier cherries of the PacificNW and they're SO expensive in the stores and at the produce stands. I never buy them and to suddenly realize I have a huge tree in my front yard that has ripe Rainier cherries was like hitting the Cherry JackPot!!!! Now I'm jazzed for the pears, plums and apples to get ripe. It's gonna to be a great summer!

I also posted a couple of new things to my shop today, but this bag has to be my favorite. I had a really hard time listing it! I love the 1970's vintage fabric and the vintage tassel trim.

If I won a $50 gift certificate from Etsy, I'd buy...

What would you purchase if you were to win a $50 gift certificate from Etsy.com?
You can purchase as many items as you want as long as they add up to $50 and to make it easy you'll get all shipping for free.

Here's what I would get:

For my hubby, a leather cuff from STRAPS NW, strapsnw.etsy.com, $17



For me, this leather and ribbon cuff from Baroque And Roll Cuffs, baroqueandrollcuffs.etsy.com, $16



For my studio, this moss terrarium in a coffee carafe from Dew Garden Crafts, dewgardencrafts.etsy.com, $12



For my home, these gorgeous vintage linen postcards of Yellowstone from Prairie Ghost Vintage, prairieghostvintage.etsy.com, $5



What would you get?

My blog's new home!

I decided that the level of blog-living here is much better than at my old blog address, so today I've made the move.

To celebrate, I'm giving away a pair of my handmade barefoot sandals, Sublime Soles!

They're really fun to wear! I had mine on this weekend when I was tubing the river with some friends and everyone thought they were awesome! I love to wear a lot of toe rings with mine, too. My husband calls them my "sexy feet bling."


To Enter:
Go to my online store - sublime.etsy.com - and find the pair of Sublime Soles Handmade Barefoot Sandals you like the most.

Leave a comment on my blog telling me which pair is your favorite and where you would wear them. That's the pair you'll get if you're the winner!

The Rules: A valid email address must be given at time of entry. You must be at least 18 years old to enter, please. I'll notify the winner by email and their name will also be posted here after the completion of the contest. Your sandals will be mailed by USPS First Class Mail. If no valid email address is given at time of entry, or if the winner fails to respond within 3 days from notification, that winner will be null and void and a new winner will be chosen. All entries must be received by 12:00 p.m. PST on 07/17/09. The winning entry will be selected at random on 7/20/09.