Tutus and weddings

New on the greeting card scene is Prima Creative, with a shop over at CafePress. I'm digging all the different holiday dress/tutu cards, and the all-pupose wedding cards would be great for shower invitations or as thank you cards. My favorite design is the Lavendar Sparkle Tutu (left) - I love it!

Prices are $14.99 for packages of 6 cards, or $8.99 for packs of 8 postcards. That's a steal for such chic cards!


P.S. I'm doubling up on posts today because I have a paper deadline coming up, and I won't have time to post this weekend. Sorry!

Round and round...

Shoshona Snow's etsy shop has incredible pottery - the pieces are beautifully made and beautifully glazed. The designs are so chic too, and can fit in almost any decor. I love her modern vase ($25), this gorgeous blue and white pitcher ($28, see image), and the adorable porcelain earrings (various styles, $5.95 and up). The artist makes all her own glazes too - pretty incredible!

I'm back again!

Hello, trusty readers! I apologize for the long hiatus. Between my last health tip and the tryptophan from a delicious Thanksgiving turkey, it seems I took a lot more sleep then usual this past week.

I'm back with a really awesome site, though - Elsewares! This place has great jewelry (baseball cuffs!), housewares (ticket bowls!), toys (whatever this thing is!), and more. Some favorites:

• pearls for $50, shown below
  
• record bowls for $26
• telegram cards for $12
• these sweet purses for $50, $60, and $95, respectively

Happy hunting!

Weekly health tip #6 - Sleep in!

If you aren't getting 6-8 hours of sleep each night, your immune system doesn't work as well, you won't have as much energy, and you won't be as mentally sharp as you should be. So make sure to leave yourself enough time each night to become fully rested. If you are having trouble falling or staying asleep, try some of the following:

• Exercise every day, but always more than 3 hours before you go to bed. Daily exercise will help regulate your neurochemistry, but the endorphin rush can keep you up if it's too close to bedtime.
• Don't watch TV or stay in rooms with bright lights for 30-60 minutes before you hit the sack - the lights will make your brain think it is earlier in the day than it really is.
• Make sure your bedroom is dark, quiet, and the right temperature.

Dishtowels

To go with the lovely apron a penguin featured recently, how about a wonderful set of retro dishtowels? These towels are $12 for a set of two at Sweet Pea Handcrafts. Each set becomes ready for gift-giving in a takeout style box, and the holiday designs come with a mitten cookie cutter too. How sweet!

There are 10 designs to choose from. Sadly, the KitchenAid stand mixer is not included, but matching aprons are available for $27, if that makes you feel any better

Word verification

We've had a few bots come around to spam the comments sections of some of the posts here, so I've enabled word verification for comments. I know it's a pain, but I think it is better than the alternative. Sorry!

Delicious!

Anne recommends this pumpkin pie recipe from epicurious.com. I tried it myself this weekend, and I have to say, it's truly delicious! Like her, I skipped the homemade crust in favor of a store bought one (thank you, Pillsbury dough boy!) even though I'm sure Tanya Patrice could write a book on how bad those crusts really are for you. So next time I will make my own pie crust, from scratch, and also probably add a teaspoon of ground cloves to the recipe.

But now I should eat something really good for me to make up for the pie. Any suggestions?

Weekly health tip #5 - Pair up!

If you have trouble with motivation, either in terms of sticking to a food plan or an exercise plan, get yourself a partner. Being accountable to someone else will help you reach your goals. So recruit a friend so you can both make sure you stick to your plans, or find an exercise partner who matches your level of athleticism and your exercise interests, at a website like ExerciseFriends.com, or by posting an ad on your local Craigslist (of course, be careful when meeting anyone over the internet).

So get a partner (or two, or three) and see how much it helps you to get, or stay, fit.

Awww...

Okay, Ashley Peldon looks so adorable in this photo! She looks fresh and bright and pretty, and I love her dress even if the Fug Girls don't. (I do want that dress, so if anyone knows where to get a reasonable approximation, 'fess up!)

Evidently Ashley has started her own perfume line, and while I can't vouch for the quality of the products, I do think the whole Hollywood theme is pretty cute. (By the way, she looks really cute in that photo too, except for the mildly excessive cleavage. Maybe I should get bangs.)

Clearly Ashley's degree in psychology is warranted, because now I totally want to buy her perfumes. So here's the deal - if I hear from my readers that the perfumes are a good deal, I'll buy one and review it here.

smitten

It's getting late. Takeout is too expensive (also, often it is the unhealthy choice), so you have to cook, but you're already dolled up. What you need is the perfect apron.

Smitten has the most gorgeous, frilly aprons. I know they're not everyone's cup of tea, but look at this pink one! Gorgeous!

Sprout cocktail earrings!

Okay, I know the title of this post looks like a spam subject line, where several random words are strung together, like "Cardigan jar six-pack" or "leftover cliche heaven" or even "aborigine certified mail". But no, I am referring to the earrings currently on sale over at sprout studios; each is named after a different cocktail drink, and they are all lovely! My favorites are the bird of paradise pair ($14.50, shown left) and the bellevue pair (sold out - oh no!). Snap up a pair, for yourself or a friend, before they are all gone!