Pink Saturday

I'm sorry, I completely forgot to do my Pink Saturday post last night, and then I left early for work this morning. I just got home, so I am really late getting this post up.

These little roses are actually soap. You just pluck one little petal at a time to wash your hands. I think these rose soaps, on a vintage china plate, would be so pretty sitting by a bathroom sink.

A little Valentines look for the bathroom vanity.
For more Pink Saturday, click below.
Thanks for visiting. Happy Pink Saturday.

Shannon

Bonne Volonte

Ok, some pronunciation help. True, we don't want to sound like a red-neck when we go shopping at our favorite store.

Bonne Volonte seems to be a loose translation of Good Will according to an online site. Bon Vouloir seems to be another translation according to English French dictionaries.

Bon or Bonne - I think it would be pronounced like "bone."

I have never taken a moment of French lessons. So I personally have no idea how you would pronounce Vouloir. (Could it be the same way we say "velour" - you know, as in the fabric?)

Volonte - according to a site online - I think it would be just as we would expect - "vo-lon-tay."

So I am going to pronounce it "Bone Vo-lon-tay." It is probably a good thing that no one French reads my blog. Because if they did, I feel sure that they would immediately categorize me as a red-neck.

I have gotten some hits on my blog from China, Japan, Australia, the Netherlands, and a few other places across the pond. But maybe they would not know the correct pronunciation either.

So, I wish you success on your next treasure hunt at Bonne Volonte. Maybe I volonte see you there!

Have a Bonne day!

Shannon

Correction: Francesca's Favorite Store is Bonne Volonte!

Many thanks to Debbie at Talking Trash!!! She was kind enough to give me the French translation for Good Will. I like the sound of Bonne Volonte a lot more than Goodwill. Don't you?

So, tomorrow I think I will go shopping at Bonne Volonte. Maybe I will find some new jewelry for Francesca.

Wanna come with me?

Shannon

Goodwill is Francesca's Favorite Store!

Yesterday I stopped at Goodwill. I was headed to the back of the store to the home accent area, and on my way down one of the clothing aisles, I spotted black lace. I pulled it out, took a one-second look at it, and knew it would be perfect for Francesca.
She loves it! Isn't it lovely on her?

Wish I was skinny enough to wear it. I guess I'll just have to be content to share her jewelry.

Shannon

We are hurtling toward Valentine's Day!

And I still have some of my Christmas decor up! How in the world did January disappear so fast? I am supposed to be losing 20 lbs by mid-March. So far I have only lost 8. And I can't tell. At all! Shouldn't 8 lbs at least make a tiny difference in the way my jeans fit?

I just listed some of these Valentine Gift Sets - two in my etsy store, and three in my ebay store. The links to my stores are over there ----------> or you can just click on the pictures.


I wonder if I should ask my hubby for a huge heart-shaped box of candy for Valentine's Day. That is what I want. Do you think it would hinder my diet? What if I ate the whole box in one sitting? Then I could just call it one bad meal, and resume my diet at the next meal. Does that work? No? Sigh.


Shannon

Do You Still Have Christmas Up????

I must admit that I do. However, most of it is intentional. The Dickens street lamp below was a Christmas gift this year from my sister. It is so cool that I couldn't bear to put it away. So I think it will live right here on my piano all year round.

This next bit of Christmas should have been put away. But when I filled this planter with Christmas greenery this year, I threw away the P.O.O.P.I.E. plants that were in it. So when I take this Christmas greenery out, I do not have anything to replace it. I guess until I can buy some non-P.O.O.P.I.E. greenery and feathers, this will have to remain Christmas-y.
My Christmas village is now my winter village. Because, you know, I can call it anything I want to. It takes so long to set up, I always leave it up until sometime in February (maybe March if I am lazy.)

I added this firehouse to the town the Christmas after 9/11.

This music store is where my daughter (the college sophomore music major) works. (You see, we live in this little Christmas village.)

This is Lord's Chapel (for you Mitford readers) - we go to church here.

This beautiful Victorian house on the edge of town is where my family lives.

This is our backyard - the woods with all the wildlife. The wildlife are all my other daughter's pets (the college senior biology major).

This little cottage with the blue roof is where my mom lives. Inside it is decorated red, white and blue patriotic.

And my sister's family lives in this next house, just down the road from us.

Yes, there are still Christmas decorations in the winter village. But, you know, the village residents just love Christmas soooo much that they leave their decorations up all year round.

There are two more little winter villages close by. With tiny little houses. And tiny little people.

Do you still have any Christmas, I mean winter, decorations up????

Shannon

Finally Off My Treadmill!

Well, I finally feel like I can begin the month of January. I work part time at Hobby Lobby. So, of course, the months of November and December are insane. Because y'all are all in HL buying carts full of Christmas!

Then right after Christmas it all goes on clearance. So those first two weeks there is more insanity as Christmas goes on 80% and 90% off. Because y'all are all in HL buying carts full of Christmas!

Plus, throw in a four day trip to Texas over New Year's. (That was when we did Christmas with family, because we are not allowed any time off from HL until after Christmas.)

Then we started right into inventory. Can you imagine counting all that stuff at Hobby Lobby? Up and down 8-foot ladders a million times. And down on the floor to count the bottom two shelves. I have sore muscles where I didn't even know I had muscles. And for those two weeks I worked full time.

THEN, I left last Friday to go to the gift market in Dallas. We were at the market Friday through Monday, from 7:00 a.m. until about 6:00 p.m. every day. Walking and standing that whole time. My mom and I went together. So then, of course, we stayed up late - really late - till 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning - every night. And then got up at 6:00 and did it all over again.

I drove back home on Tuesday. I got to my house at 2:00 in the afternoon and had to leave my house at 2:30 to go to work at Hobby Lobby. And stand some more.

My body will never forgive me for the past two or three weeks of mistreatment.

But my mom and I both found WONDERFUL things at gift market. I can't wait till it all comes in. I am hoping to launch my new business in April. Is that pushing it? Hmm. Well, I will gear for April. And surely by May I will be there.

Francesca missed me while I was gone. I brought some new jewelry home for her. I will take pictures when I am able to move again.

I think I am going to go take some ibuprofen right now. And drink a Vanilla Coke Zero. My two favorite things.

I have MISSED y'all the last few weeks. I have only had time to read a few blogs here and there. I have been going through big withdrawal! Hopefully I am now off of this treadmill and can make my way around to you all on a regular basis again! And post regularly again!

So, now, let the fun begin!

Shannon

I Must Be a Computer Moron!

I am planning to go to a gift market this weekend. I want to look for some things for my new business venture. That I am hoping to launch in April. Which I am very excited about.

Of course, this depends on whether Hobby Lobby will allow me to be off on Saturday. I have asked three times. He just always says, "Let me look at it." Which is typical. It is almost impossible to get a simple, direct answer. But that is another matter.

So. I will need business cards for this market. I tried to use Microsoft Publisher's business card templates. The pre-set templates they have are not easy to use. You have to ONLY use the text boxes that they have set up. And the tiny logo box they have set up. And every template has a box for ONLY extra large font for your "organization" name - which would have to be very short because it WILL NOT let you change the font size for that one text box. I did manage to change the font type and size in the other boxes. But not that box.

Which meant that I had to just leave that box blank. And have a tiny logo right above it. With this BIG BLANK space below it.

All out of proportion. WHY!!!!!!

And in their blank templates????? I did manage to add a logo. I WANT a fleur de lis. But text? NO. In their blank template I could NEVER figure out how to type letters!!!! I clicked and clicked and clicked. I could not type ANYTHING.

So my choices - a card with a tiny fleur de lis and a BIG BLANK space, or a card with a large fleur de lis and NOTHING ELSE AT ALL.

So I asked hubby for help. I said I just wanted something quick. That looked decent. That had the necessary information.

He used Word. Found a template. Typed in the required info. I wanted it to say Treasures From Home dba Silver Trappings. My tax number is for Treasures From Home, but I want to launch this new business venture as Silver Trappings. But this template would not allow that many lines. This template already had a little flower at the top, and he could not figure out quickly how to change it to my fleur de lis.

But by now I didn't care. Flower. Fleur de lis. WHATEVER. Just make something print.

Done.

Now I just have to cut them apart. I am a scrapbooker. I CAN DO THIS!!!

Right????

Shannon

My New BFF

Wow. How in the world did it get to be January 5th already? The week of Christmas my mom was here. We had a blast. Then the week of New Year's we all went to my sister's. That was a great week, too. I have read some blogs off and on for the past two weeks, but not as much as usual. I have missed my blogging!

Francesca thoroughly enjoyed all the Christmas festivities. She was not able to go with us to Texas for New Year's. So she was very happy when we got back home. She is my new Best Friend Forever.
When today started my house was still fully decorated for Christmas.
My studio looks like there was an explosion. This is Francesca's room, so I really need to get a grip and clean up this mess!
The chocolate fountain is still sitting in the middle of my bedroom after we used it on Christmas Eve. I have no idea why.
I have a new business plan. My mom and one of my daughters came up with the idea over Christmas. It's perfect!!!! I'm so excited to get started on all of my new projects!




But . . . I decided that I had to undecorate from Christmas, clean up my studio, and have my house in order first. It's hard for me to really concentrate on something if I know I have a thousand things to do in my house.





I had to go to the dentist today to finish up a crown on a tooth I cracked, and have a filling on another tooth I cracked. Good grief.





Aside from that trip to the dentist I have worked on my house all day.





So now it looks like this.
And this. . .

I am getting there. I think I probably have about 2/3 of it packed into boxes. It takes for.ev.er to pack it all away!

Hopefully, I can now get back to regular blogging. And I will be around to see all of you soon.

Hope your new year is starting off wonderfully!

Shannon