YAY!

Just wanted to say "YAY" one of my favorite sites is back.... Tastespotting.com
check it out!

Quote of the Day - Sage advice

"Do yourself a favor, overlook at least two things today."
- M.J. Ryan

A to Z favorites..... "L"

The Leila Texts.... http://theleilatexts.blogspot.com/ leila gets lots of text messages from strangers on her mobile phone. she got a new cell from the American network - Verizon and just started getting messages.

She thought the phone had been programmed wrong — that it was accidentally linked to someone else’s number — but apparently not.

The texts kept arriving from all over the states. Leila realised that they were not directed to one other random person, but that she was getting every text meant for a "leila" on the verizon network — so long as the sender used the keypad to type in her name, instead of calling it up from the address book she gets at least one unintended text a day and records them here. the leila texts. cool!

Jennifer Lommers

Jennifer Lommers is a fine artist from the Pacific Northwest. I love her vibrant colors and playful style!

these are the ones I have in my apartment......

find Jennifer Lommers here and here and her blog is here.

Looolo uses all organic materials and has a watchful eye over the environmental footprint their products leave. LoooLo sources the best organic fibers, dyes with the least environmental footprint and manufacturers who respect the philosophy behind the products. All looolo textiles products can be safely composted at the end of their useful life.
Made from a beautifully soft organic Melton wool, the Madame's texture was inspired by a refined Parisian dress. No zippers or other non-biodegradable closures are used on the cushions so they will biodegrade within one year when placed in a composter—don't worry. they will last for years to come! ... photos courtesy of DesignPublic.com
Live Funky ...

and on the other side of the country (Northern Connecticut) we have Live Funky by Jessica Torrant

who doesn't want to "live funky"??

In her own words...

Standing up art is intuitive (livefunky), unpredictable, energetic and intense, with an exploration for new ways of manipulating paint/form/color - never to be reproduced in that exact way again. This is when I paint ever so physically - I truly attempt to make paint dance.

I am a believer in loving art just because it moves you. (LiveFunky)

Well these move me....

You can read her blog here. ...and find her artwork here

pssst... she's having a sale!!!!

Friday funnies

Sally was driving home from one of her business trips in Northern Arizona when she saw an elderly Navajo woman walking on the side of the road.

As the trip was a long and quiet one, she stopped the car and asked the Navajo woman if she would like a ride.

With a silent nod of thanks, the woman got into the car.

Resuming the journey, Sally tried in vain to make a bit of small talk with the Navajo woman.

The old woman just sat silently, looking intently at everything she saw, studying every little detail, until she noticed a brown bag on the seat next to Sally.

"What in bag?" asked the old woman.

Sally looked down at the brown bag and said,
"It's a bottle of wine. I got it for my husband."

The Navajo woman was silent for another moment or two.

Then speaking with the quiet wisdom of an elder, she said, "Good trade."

Quote of the Day

"After all is said and done, more is said than done."

- Aesop

Community Organic Gardening!

My friend and neighbor, Leah, (you might remember her from here) and I are doing a garden at a local park in Lakewood through "LEAF":
http://www.leafcommunity.org/

it's great - all organic!!
we got a 10x10 plot through the whole season (and we can get the same plot next year too) for $25.00 - they water (ok - the water fountain/hose system hasn't been set up yet so...) but heck!

we started about two weeks ago, and we planted:
thyme, sage, basil, parsely, cilantro
romaine lettuce
red leaf lettuce
onions/scallions
cucumbers
white cauliflower
purple cauliflower
tomato plants (3 varieties; 2 plum, 1 pirifoam, 1 goliath)
bell peppers
jalapenos
serrano peppers

we're so excited!
talk about the best salsa and tomato sauces this fall!

it was so fun to measure and stake it out and turn dirt!
i have wanted a garden for so long!

it's our first year so we're kind of going light - we may get all crazy and do two plots next year!
it's literally a 5 min walk from our apartment and I just found us a wagon (on Freecycle) so we can walk our water over instead of driving - until they get us our water supply

we've met some really nice people
hooray for gardens!

Is it worth the time?

I had someone email me a couple weeks or so ago regarding that little list on the right-hand side of my blog.... "Get your FREE STUFF here!" ... she was asking if it was really worth it to spend the time filling out the forms etc...


Well since then I've saved the "free" things I've gotten in the mail just to see.... so here's her answer.... three weeks of fun mail....

much more fun than those pesky bills ....

So you tell me.... is it worth it? I think so... I haven't had to buy toothpaste or shampoo or lotion in 6 months~

hey... I'm frugal - okay... cheap

Quote of the Day

"Some people make things happen. Some people watch things happen. Some people wonder what happened."
- Unknown

so many endings... :(

I don't know what it is lately but there are so many things changing... so many things coming to an end... I don't deal with change very well and it seems as though I keep getting a chance to practice at dealing with it on a regular basis.

Last week one of my favorites blogs shut down... tastespotting - it looks like someone else may take it over - but it won't be the same.

Also last week, one of the galleries that carries my work has made the decision to close her doors. Simple Expressions in Olmsted Falls. Frances (the owner) has a wonderful opportunity that she is really excited about, working with children - so YAY for her! but this fabulous little gallery and coffee shop will be missed.

And last, but certainly not least, - Carol Emma - one of my favorite people - has decided to pack up her blog. This one has me feeling particularly sad.... I've been trying to think of what I could possibly say to salute this particular 'ending' but the words just aren't there....

I adore this woman.. I aspire to be this woman... I love living vicariously through her writings about her quaint home in the mountains, her tales of the local characters: torn between two plumbers and Plumber #1 to the rescue ... her wisdom in jewelry wholesaling....

We seem to have kindred spirits, her and I. It is very odd to find someone so much like yourself and yet have never met. Our lives seem parallel... she makes jewelry too - you can see her beautiful creations here.

I will miss that glimpse into her daily life that I find so comforting. I will miss these photographs ....








this last one is my favorite......
Carol, have you ever thought of selling your photography?

I will sorely miss this blog... I will miss my friend... perhaps some day I will travel out west and I will see my friend and shake her hand.

Quote of the Day

"Success is a word in search of individual definition."
-Contributed by Eve Jeanette Blohm

Friday Funnies.....

The Best Headlines of 2007 Collection via

Crack Found on Governor's Daughter
[Imagine that!]

Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says
[No, really?]

Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
[Now that's taking things a bit far!]

Is There a Ring of Debris around Uranus?
[Not if I wipe thoroughly!]

Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over
[What a guy!]

Miners Refuse to Work after Death
[No-good-for-nothing' lazy so-and-so!]

Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant
[See if that works any better than a fair trial!]

War Dims Hope for Peace
[I can see where it might have that effect!]

If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile
[You think?]

Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures
[Who would have thought!]

Enfield (London) Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide
[They may be on to something!]

Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges
[You mean there's something stronger than duct tape?]

Man Struck By Lightning: Faces Battery Charge
[He probably IS the battery charge!]

New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group
[Weren't they big enough?!]

Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft
[That's what he gets for eating those beans!]

Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half
[Chainsaw Massacre all over again!]

Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors
[Boy, are they tall!]

And the winner is....

Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead

no matter who wrote it.. it's great advice

This has been floating around the internet for eons.. and has been credited to everyone from Microsoft head, Bill Gates - to Kurt Vonnegut - to Deluth state Representative Brooks Coleman.....

So who actually wrote it? I've tried to no avail to uncover this mystery. . .but regardless of the author.... it's damn good advice....

so just in case you haven't read it.... here it is.

Print it out to give your kids, your grandkids...

rules kids will not learn in school.

It talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2 : The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3 : You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4 : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5 : Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your cloth es and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and lose rs, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off, and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

If you can read this, thank a teacher!

Quote of the Day

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."
- Eleanor Roosevelt

A to Z favorites...... K

K is for......

KIPI...

in her own words.....

I like color.

I like biology.

I like graffiti.

I like kitsch.

I like pattern.

I like depth and layers....

I like blending these concepts in my work.

And, most of all, I like the idea of others living with my art!
simply beautiful.... find them here.

Kreativlink......just imagine what you could write in this book... perhaps little life stories to be discovered years and years from now, beautifully preserved in this handmade, leather-bound treasure. Hand-torn, tea-stained pages make this a beautiful legacy to be cherished forever.
just seeing one of these skillfully bound books makes me want to be a writer.... find them here.

Kitchen stickers! (don't you just LOVE that fridge????)
according to their website,

"Yneko's stickers aim to combine usefulness and playfulness, to give the opportunity to anyone "to play the interior designer" by applying an original customised touch to our living space. The idea is to customise our everyday space by using something that we all have played with, at least once ..and maybe once upon a time ago ..the stickers!

The stickers are available in several designs, for the decoration needs of the entire house. ..And it is not all about decoration! By trying to meet the needs of today's hectic life-style, the stickers provide both a creative and an edgy solution for forgetful people
too. Too many drawers? Have you forgot your fork? We've got the practical sticker solution... for fun & find! So... spruce up your kitchen! The room that's the star of the house is no longer willing to settle for being just a functional space! They'll bring to your room an original touch, helping you find all stuffs! "

find them here.

Kast van een Huis.... The collection is designed as multipurpose furniture.The closets are designed as a storage for clothes, toys, books, crockery or even for office-equipment. If you place several models next to each other you create a street of closets or a room-divider.
What wonderfully lucky child wouldn't just adore these???

find them here.

Knife Hooks ... by tcstudio

found on DesignSpotter a bit odd... but so me... :)

KONZUK jewelry, with its innovative use of materials, is faithful to the clean, minimalist aesthetic of contemporary industrial design and architecture.

find it here.

I'm so disappointed!

I went (or tried to go) to one of my favorite blogs this weekend... Tastespotting... and this is what I found...say it isn't true!!!! I love this site... one of the things I loved most about it was the fact that many, many people posted their photos - which were fabulous- and their recipes from all over the world. So instead of getting one persons recipes etc... there was such a diversity.
I got lots of my, now favorite, recipes on there!
Anyone know another site that's similar?

I think I'm going to leave the link up on my favorites for just a little while in the hopes that this is all a sad mistake....

A to Z favorites.... J

today is J day.....

Jean Hutter..... Some of you may be familiar with Jean's abstract or fine art which has been exhibited at art shows, galleries, online and in professional settings but it was even featured on the HBO series The Sopranos! This method of work is called experimental painting - acrylic, watercolor, inks, colored pencil, collage and just about anything else can be used in a painting. It’s a very exciting way to work, but also very challenging and that’s what makes these works so unique.

find more of her work here.... or here!!!

Joost Wever (ok... this should be listed under "W" but what the heck...)

fabulous watering can, no?

...perfect minimalistic lighting... you can adjust the height by pulling the cable through a tube... great task lighting!

makes hanging laundry a bit more fun... and stylish~

find these products and more at http://www.joostwever.com/

Quote of the Day

"There is much pleasure to be gained from useless knowledge."
-Bertrand Russell

(I agree! )

Friday funnies....

Stupidest Courtroom Testimony

These are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now published by court reporters who had the torment of staying calm while these exchanges were actually taking place.

ATTORNEY: Are you sexually active?
WITNESS: No, I just lie there.

ATTORNEY: What is your date of birth?WITNESS: July 18th.ATTORNEY: What year?WITNESS: Every year.

ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
WITNESS: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.

ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
WITNESS: I forget.
ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of something you forgot?

ATTORNEY: What was the first thing your husband said to you that morning?
WITNESS: He said, “Where am I, Cathy?”
ATTORNEY: And why did that upset you?
WITNESS: My name is Susan.

ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn’t it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn’t know about it until the next morning?
WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam?

ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken?
WITNESS: Would you repeat the question?

ATTORNEY: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And what were you doing at that time?
WITNESS: Uh…

ATTORNEY: She had three children, right?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: How many were boys?
WITNESS: None.
ATTORNEY: Were there any girls?

ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated?
WITNESS: By death.
ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated?

ATTORNEY: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?
WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.

ATTORNEY: Doctor, how many of your autopsies have you performed on dead people?
WITNESS: All my autopsies are performed on dead people.

ATTORNEY: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you go to?
WITNESS: Oral.

ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.
ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time?
WITNESS: No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an autopsy on him!

ATTORNEY: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?
WITNESS: Huh?

ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY Did you check for breathing?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
ATTORNEY: But could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law.
via

Quote of the Day

"Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box."
-Italian Proverb

Save the Date! Meet your new best friend...

Meet Your Best Friend at the Zoo

June 14, 200810 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Find Your Pick of the Litter

...take home the purrfect cat or dog the very same day. The Zoo is teaming up with over 20 area humane organizations to find loving homes for over 100 dogs, cats, kittens and puppies most of which are available for immediate adoption. These rescue groups and shelters will also offer advice on choosing the right pet and how best to care for it. All dogs and cats will have received a medical check-up and age-appropriate vaccination. Each participating group sets its own adoption fees and policies.
The following humane organizations will be present (please note: each shelter has its own adoption criteria):

• Berea Animal Rescue, (440) 234-2034
• Brookpark Animal Shelter, (216) 265-3647
• Cleveland APL, (216) 771-4616
• Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter, 216) 525-7877
• ESRA English Springer Rescue America, (440) 243-5737
• FIDO's Companion Rescue Inc., (440) 666-3705
• For the Love of PITS, (216) 214-1149
• Geauga County Dog Shelter, (440) 286-8135
• Geauga Humane Society/Rescue Village, (440) 338-4819
• Golden Treasures Rescue, info@GoldenTreasuresRescue.org
• Greyhound Adoption of Ohio, (440) 543-6256
• Humane Society of Greater Akron, (330) 657-2010
• Marilyn's Voice, (440) 974-1451
• Middleburg Heights Animal Foundation, (440) 239-1961
• Noahs Ark Animal Rescue and Shelter, (330)823-0629
• North Coast Greyhound Connection, (419) 345-1259
• Northeast Ohio SPCA, (216) 351-7387
• Ohio Pet Placement Foundation, (440) 541-2812
• The Parma Animal Shelter, (440) 885-8014
• Paws 4 the Cause, (440) 212-1421
• Public Animal Welfare Society, (216) 536-1990
• R.E.A.L. Rott Rescue, (440) 567-5236
• Small Paws Rescue, (614) 208-1897
• South Euclid Humane Society, (216) 291-8773

The event is free and is held outdoors under tents in the Zoo's Ticket Plaza.

Meet Your Best Friend at the Zoo activities:(please note: activities take place between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. unless otherwise noted)

• Pet Supplies Plus & Purina - Stop in for discount coupons and other great pet products
• Jolly Pets - Check out some of the cool toys available to enrich the life of your dog
• Cleveland Metroparks Ranger & Buckeye Area Regional K-9 Noon - 3 p.m., see Police K-9's in action
• Cuyahoga County Auditor - Be sure to pick up a dog license for your four-legged family members
• Home Again -Stop by to learn about the #1 pet recovery service in the U.S.
• FOX 8 - Meet Cleveland's Own Dick Goddard from Noon to 2 p.m.
• Q104 - Meet Q104's Tim Richards from 1 to 3 p.m.
  

via

Quote of the Day

“The walls we build around us to keep sadness out also keeps out the joy.” - Jim Rohn

A to Z favorites... beginning with I

"our floral designs are described as modern, fresh, eclectic, gorgeous,
and always unique - reflecting your personal style"

Truly beautiful .... I've never seen a florist that uses such interesting things in such a unique way...

They even use vegetables, fruits, and such amazing greens!

Too bad they're in Oregon.... they have a fabulous lifetyle store that along with the floral design, combines new and vintage home decor... check them out here.

Info Bungalow....
no fancy stuff.. no pictures.. no funny stuff, but lots of great information on soooo many different topics! worth a look at! http://infobungalow.com/

INV/ALT design
is a product design and ceramic production studio based in Denver, Colorado, USA.
Angela Schwab specializes in INVention of new forms through ALTeration of existing objects in order to enhance the way people can use and interact with everyday functional products.

find them here.... or here.

Interrobang .... an independant clothing company located in Australia.

My favorite thing she makes is a bag made of recycled seatbelts! GO GREEN!

Because of the nature of the seatbelt material, this bag is incredibly strong.

.... a great addition to any outfit in basic black it is timeless for day and night, and the material also makes it a great conversation piece...

find them here.