Friday Featured Etsy Seller: Chakra Pennywhistle

Today's featured Etsy seller is Chakra Pennywhistle. Rikkianne is a member of the Etsy Eco Team and creates beautiful pillows and things inspired by early American design. (I had seen her shop before but forgot about it until I was reminded through Stephmodo's blog.) I really love the tulips and wreath.

Thursday Two Things: Missouri Botanical Garden/Garfield Park Conservatory

As we prepare for our move to Illinois, I've been reflecting on our time in Missouri. There are many things that I love about both places (believe it or not!). So I've decided to use Thursdays to post two things - one thing I'm going to miss about Missouri and one thing I'm excited for in Illinois.

1. Missouri - The Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis


2. Illinois - The Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago

Charm Bracelets

When we were teenagers, my grandma gave my sister her charm bracelet. It was the greatest gift ever. It is silver and full of charms that were given to her by former boyfriends (or, beaus, as she would say). Last year I started a charm bracelet of my own with a sego lily charm that I got during the Salt Lake Olympics in 2002. So far I've added the Statue of Liberty, a Midwestern squirrel, the Liberty Bell, a Nauvoo Temple star, a copper beehive from the Bingham Canyon Mine, and a few others. It has been so much fun. Here are some cute examples from Tiffany's (with the signature blue box) and the Met (using Russian animals).

Oquirrh Mountain Temple

The Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house is going on now. I like that they built a temple this size and shape in Utah - it reminds me of the St. Louis Temple. I especially like the tall, pointy trees that mimic the chandelier in the celestial room.

Turtles!

When my sister Sara and I were in Nauvoo a week or so ago, we found these two tiny turtles. Sara helped them off the road to safety. Aren't they the cutest things you've ever seen? Turtles are definitely something that I love about the Midwest. I just wish they'd stay away from the road!

Friday Featured Etsy Seller: Thimble Blossoms

Camille's quilt patterns in her Thimble Blossoms Etsy shop are adorable. My only problems is that I wouldn't know what to do with one if I got one! I need to take some more sewing lessons so that I can make this...

Thursday Tunes: Bruce Hornsby - again

We've been listening to Bruce again lately. This time it's been the second disc of the Intersections set. It has solo piano, tributes, country-bluegrass, and songs from movies. His piano solos are tranquil, and Shadowland is especially beautiful. Sample here.

Blik Surface Graphics

On the flight back from Utah, I saw a little article about Blik surface graphics in the airplane magazine. I know that vinyl lettering is trendy right now, but I really like their options. These farm graphics are so cute - and reusable. This would be a great way for renters to add pizazz to their abode, and the prices are pretty reasonable.

Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

Martha's new cupcake cookbook is out today. I ordered it last night, so it should arrive on my porch in a couple of days. I really have been into cupcakes lately, so I'm excited to try some new recipes. I'll let you know how they turn out!

HomArt

Sorry for the sporadic posting last week! My sister came to visit, and we had a blast - then I flew back to Utah with her to visit my family (including baby James). Tony joined me in Utah and then we flew back to Chicago on Saturday and drove home to Missouri yesterday. Whew!

While Sara was here, we went to Nauvoo for a couple of days. It was beautiful. As a souvenir, I got a bee box made by HomArt. Mine has bees in hexagons with beehive accents. It's kind of hard to explain, but this one's close. I've kind of had a thing for bees lately, being from the Beehive State and all.