For some, this may come as a bit of a shock...

...but this will be my last post on this blog.

It's time for my lady and me to say "good-bye".

I have very much enjoyed writing this blog as an outlet for me - a fun way to relax. It has been nice to share/preserve some of the lovely things and people that I have found. I am thankful for those of you who have visited and chose to follow along, and especially for those of you who have written to me personally. I am thankful for those people who have donated fun and fabulous things to giveaway as well.

I don't want to go into all of the reasons for why I am choosing to say "good-bye" to this blog and to those of you who read it, I will simply say that it is time for me to let it go.

But I will leave you with this quote and with warm wishes that you will choose in your life to think upon the things which are true, right, pure, lovely, of good repute, those things which are excellent or deserving of any praise. And also that you will pursue and promote those things in your life daily, hourly...

"The very desires and intuitions of my inmost heart assured me that another and more lovely land awaited me, an abiding city." ~St. Therese of Lisieux

Blessings,
Susan

Extending and Expanding...

It seems there's a whole lot of extending and expanding going on around here lately.

I've extended the deadline for entering the secret snail mail valentine giveaway through to midnight tonight (because so many people don't check their blogrolls on the weekends and I want to be sure everyone gets a chance), so be sure to email me at theshoppeowner@gmail.com with you choice of valentines you'd like (the black apple set or the vintage valentine cut out booklet) and your mailing address.

And, for those of you who have any interest in Project Mulberry Bush, I've expanded upon the whole "go for the GOLD" daily schedule thing, as well as opened up a post for an questions anybody might have as a Maiden of Mulberry.

For those of you lacking interest in either of those things, here is an adorable picture of one of Heather Bailey's darling elephants.
I am in love with so many of Heather's patterns. Not only would they be fun pincushions - as they are designed to be - but how sweet they would be as soft toys for a baby or toddler??? I want to make a herd of them. A gray one, a bright pink one, a white lacey one, a yellow one just like this... Sigh...

Have a lovely Monday! This is a new day! A new week! And still, practically, a new month! Hustle!

Blessings, Susan

Monica is a creative genius

I've spoken here before about Monica's blog, Lick the Bowl Good.

If you crazily didn't listen to me the first time, please be sure to check it out sometime soon. You won't regret it. She makes terribly delicious looking things all of the time (lots of snacks and desserts, but sometimes some actual entree' type things, too) and very generously shares them with those of us in cyberspace who choose to visit her blog. She is very honest about the recipes she tries, and I love that. Today she had me cracking up with laughter.

Somehow I missed this super adorable, hilarious, genius treat idea from the end of last year. I'm so glad that I spotted it this time, though. I need to say that I have never much liked chocolate (which more and more I'm beginning to believe this is because I was never exposed to really, really "good" chocolate), but I am always up for sweets paired with something salty.

Enter Monica's recipe for Bacon & Eggs.

Now you just try telling me that these aren't the cutest idea ever to happen to an m&m or a stick pretzel!

And look at how simple the ingredients are! Genius I tell you. Pure genius. Even a vegetarian can might be able to enjoy these, right???

Monica, you are awesome. I totally want to make these for a meatless potluck I'm going to next week! Ha ha ha :)

Enjoy your weekend everyone! It's raining here, but I am always thankful for the rain. I can hardly wait for the greens of Spring to start popping up! I hear a huge blizzard is headed toward or already blanketing the east coast. Be safe, everybody!

Blessings, Susan

She's having a baby - and other news...

My cousin Michelle called me yesterday afternoon to tell me that she thought she was in labor. I am so excited for her. A little girl will soon be joining our family. Yay! I haven't heard anything, so who knows what that could mean.

Anyway. This is the gift I gave her for her shower which was a couple of weekends ago.

The lovely felted hair clips I used for embellishments are, naturally, from Ruby's awesome Etsy shop. Please, pay no attention to that ribbon end on the right that is about an inch too long... Sigh...

It was the pinkest shower you've ever been to (if you look really closely you can see that the gift above is on a pale pink tablecloth - this picture was very difficult to adjust to get the colors right so that I could share it with you. There was so much pink everywhere that when I took the picture it all turned out pink-ish, but I think I got it adjusted pretty well), but it was so lovely to see how much love her friends and family have for her. Michelle's husband was the chef and made a really delicious authentic Italian meal for everyone. Deliziosa!

So, my thoughts and prayers are with her today.

In other news... Please peek about and check out the wee changes I've made around here and over at my other blog, too!

Oh! And if you haven't already done so, be sure to enter my Valentine Giveaway before it's too late! It's easy and a whole lot of fun, so don't miss out!

Blessings,
Susan

What's a gal to do?

Have you ever received something so amazingly wonderful from someone, even though you knew that you were completely undeserving of such a blessing, and then found that you were completely stumped as to what to do or say in return? Because a "thank you" seems completely inadequate?

Well.

If you have, then you know how I feel right now.

Last night the UPS guy brought me a very special package - a belated birthday present from my friend Jenn who presently resides in the Sunshine State - that would be Florida for any of you who are thinking it might mean California, which is a common error for obvious reasons, in my opinion.

Anyway.

So, my friend Jenn in Florida sent me a birthday present. It is so awesome. Just wait until you see it! I can hardly believe that it is really mine. I even slept with it last night. Yes. That's right. I had to break it in A.S.A.P.

I don't have any pictures of it in the box or beautifully wrapped and tied as it was when it arrived, but I do have these (click on any of the pictures below and you'll be able to see it all up close and personal):

Can you even believe it? Look at this quilt! A quilt! Someone - I mean she - spent the time making this beautiful quilt... for me!

Hexagons! I've never made a quilt, but gosh golly gee... The hexagons don't look easy!

It even has Heather Ross' little mermaids and seahorses... Sigh... I love Heather Ross fabric!!! And some gorgeous Heather Bailey fabric, too... I love Heather Bailey Fabric!!!

Aside: I don't know why I haven't ever talked about fabrics on this blog (outside of Anna Maria Horner's, that is). I need to do that. I love fabric! I don't know how anyone can resist the many gorgeous fabrics available today.

Back to the quilt.

Speaking of the back. You should see the back! Here, let me show you a bit of it:


Tiny hexagons! And you should see the lovely swirls all throughout this thing. I love them.

Okay. So now you've seen the quilt. Isn't it wonderful? I love it.

Funny thing about Jenn, though. She just doesn't know when to stop. Not only did she make me this lovely quilt from an Amy Butler quilt pattern (love that Ms. Butler, too!), but she also made up this adorable and quirky little book for me:

Of course I took pictures of it. How could I resist?

It's a little diary with a darling little recounting of the things that took place between her first envisioning gifting me a quilt...

to little bumps along the way... there's even this little picture of me...

and finally through to the end when all was said and done.


Jenn... I love it! I am so happy that we are friends. You are awesome. I totally feel undeserving on so many levels. Thank you. I hope you don't hate me for posting about this!!!

Love, Susan

P.S. Go and visit Jenn's blog! The woman oozes with creativity. Wait. Oozes doesn't sound very flattering... Well, anyway. I think you know what I mean!

Vintage Valentines

I am a day late in doing this, but I think you will not be too upset once you see what I've got up my sleeves (a giveaway - with special requirements so be sure to read the instructions well!) this morning.

On Tuesday I shared a few lovely cards that I thought would be perfect for Valentine's Day or any special day, most of which were made via letterpress - and isn't letterpress just magical? However, my very favorite sorts of valentines are those with a vintage flare. I cannot express my excitement enough in telling you about the awesome ones I found this year!!! I love them and I hope you will, too, but I know that everyone has their own favorites.

Take a look at these little beauties:

A sweet panda bear who loves you "beary much"
and a darling hippo who says "hip hip hooray for you valentine".
...Sigh...
The only thing that could have been better is if I had been able to find a choo choo train...

Not only did I find those (and some very special people in my life will be receiving those in the mail this Valentine's Day so be sure to be double checking your mailboxes special people!), but I happened upon this awesome little book of cut-out/pop-out vintage valentines by Golden Books.


I was clapping my hands like a total dork when I discovered them, especially because they were such a steal of a deal. I didn't purchase them online, but I did find them here for you, just in case you just had to have them straight-away. The books aren't as cheap as I found them for, but they are still under $5 each!

Take a little peek inside:

Aren't they awesome?

Yes, yes they are. There are also little envelopes for you to make inside.

This book is also neat-o, but it isn't meant to be cut up.

And, because I am thankful for this blog as a fun way for me to relax as well as share with all of you, and for the little friendships that I have been building with some of you (no matter how small), I would like to do a fun little giveaway of sorts. I have the pleasure of giving away one full book of these Vintage Valentines by Golden Books, as well as (hold onto your seats because I know at least a few of you are going to LOVE this) one set of The Black Apple's Anytime Valentines I mentioned in my last post. I know. You are so excited now, right?


Okay. Here's how it's going to work. I think this is going to be fun, but you'll have to read carefully to be able to participate, okay? If you email me at theshoppeowner@gmail.com, and send me your name, your mailing address, and also name the set you would like to receive most (The Black Apple set or the Golden Books set), you may walk to your mailbox someday very soon (before Valentine's Day this year) to find that you, indeed, have won one of these sweet prizes. Because there is very little time left before Valentine's Day, you must have your info emailed to me by midnight on Monday evening, February 8th!!!

I am not going to announce the winner online. It is going to be a snail mail surprise. If you are weirded out about sending me your mailing address, remember that you are not to leave it here publicly in the comment section, but to me personally via email. And, also, consider this: anytime anyone wins a giveaway on my blog, they always have to send me their mailing address in the end. No one is forcing you to participate, so simply do not do so if you aren't interested. It is as simple as that. I have a feeling you will all enjoy the outcome if you do join in, though!

Have a lovely day!

Love, Susan

P.S. I have another post to come soon that has to do with the lovely quilt in the background of most of the pictures I've shared with you this morning. So, if you just so happened to notice that particular detail, well... Then you must be somebody rather special :)

I'll send you all my love EVERYDAY in a letter...

and seal it with a kiss, of course!

In yesterday's post I promised to show you some lovely cards meant to be shared, not only on Valentine's Day, but any special day that you should choose to express your love with a handwritten note.

Here they are, without further ado, and in no particular order! Keep in mind, also, that most of these shops have many more adorable love note worthy cards for sale as well. These are just some of my favorites.

The Black Apple, Emily Martin, has aptly named these the Anytime Valentines. Love notes should be given all of the time, after all! These are the second version of these little note cards that she's made and I just love them. You can find out more about them here.

Pup & Pony has a few really fun love cards that I have fallen for. Particularly this Be Mine octopus card, for - I think - obvious reasons.

Mine mine mine mine! Hmm... Maybe a little creepy? Nah! Do you ever have that weird feeling that you've possibly spelled something wrong once you've written it more than four times in a row? Even though it's a super simple word and you know you've spelled it a million times. Or at least one hundred other times before... I just had that feeling.
Night Owl Paper Goods has a slew of fabulous letterpress as well as wooden cards that are amazing. I love this otter card, but the grammar girl in me is crying, "There are! There are!" All of their 'love cards' are currently on sale at 20% off through February 9th!

Linda & Harriet have an adorable little piggy card. I'm sorry, I know pigs and love don't seem to mix, but Charlotte's Web has caused me to forever have a soft spot in my heart for little piggies.

GRAMKIN paper studio has this little card that is actually specific to Valentine's Day, but I couldn't pass it up because I love it, you could say, for sentimental reasons.

This little tour would not be complete if I failed to share this awesome Valentine Card Sampler Pack by Orange Beautiful with you. Lovely letterpressed goodness for so many days beyond Valentine's Day. Truly.
Eight lovely cards...
In true Orange Beautiful beauty...
You really are "gonna love this".

Well, I hope you enjoyed that little shopping trip down the "card aisle" with me. Tomorrow I'll be back with three more cards that I just have to hold off on sharing, because they are just that good. Be ready for a fun little giveaway, too :) It'll have to be a quick one in order to get it to you in time, so like I said, be ready!

Blessings, Susan