an etsy kind of day

I have kind of been neglecting my Etsy sites a little...but for a good reason.  For the past few weeks I have been freelancing at Martha Stewart Living working on a very exciting project... A beautiful Easter Show (more about that later once it airs).  Then this morning I found out that one of my newest items, the felted egg bird nest placecard holders, were featured in the Etsy Newsletter yesterday!  So today, I wanted to take a moment to thank a few of the other great Etsy artisans who have been choosing some of my pieces to put in their treasuries on Etsy.  For those of you who are not all that familiar with Etsy, treasuries are beautiful collections of artists work put together by other members and it works as a cross promotion tool on the site.  Treasuries are also sometimes chosen to be "front page" or the "home page" displays for the website.  When that happens, your site gets tons of traffic and you are almost sure to make sales!  I put together a small collection below of some of the artists who have chosen my work.  Please check out their sites to see more of their work as well.  Spring is finally here...why not treat yourself or someone you love to something fresh, new and handmade ♥

it really does work!

At 9:50pm on the Vernal Equinox I balanced an egg in its end. 20 minutes later it is still standing!

can you really balance an egg on its end?

Today is the Vernal Equinox ( Vernal meaning "spring" and Equinox meaning "equal night"); which is the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere.  Many of us here on the East Coast have been looking forward to spring after a very long, cold, snowy winter!  Yesterday I was having a conversation with my family about how it has been said that on the Equinox it is supposed to be easier to balance an egg on its end than any other day of the year!  I must admit, I have tried it in the past and had no luck...but it did get me thinking, so I decided to get to my computer this morning and start a "Google" search!  I found many scientific explanations...but perhaps I can best sum it up like this.  "This Vernal Equinox is one of the two times during the year when the sun crosses the celestial equator and the spin axis of the Earth points 90 degrees away from the sun. The premise is that aligning the gravitational pull of the Sun with that from the center of the Earth should somehow make it easier to balance any object." (courtesy of Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D)

So tonight I think I may give it another try...why not?  I have a dozen fresh eggs in the fridge from the farmers market...and what if it actually works?  What do you believe?  Have you ever given this little test a try?  Or perhaps you may think it's just another urban legend?

for the dogs...

February is filled with notable holidays such as Groundhog Day, Chinese New Year, Valentine's Day and President's Day.  Today however, is the less recognized holiday of International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day!  My husband and I adopted Mel from the Yonkers Animal Shelter this past December and have been smiling every day since.  So when I heard about this fun holiday, I thought it would be the perfect time to make some delicious homemade dog biscuits and bring them over to the shelter to share with the rest of the dogs who are still waiting to be adopted.  Hopefully the treats will brighten their day and soon they too will find warm and loving forever homes like Mel's.

Peanut butter dough rolled & cut...

I used this recipe from all-natural-dog-treat.com, 

I left out about 1/4 c flour because my dough seemed a little dry,

so just add your flour slowly to see how much you need.

I doubled the recipe

and made almost 200 cookies...that's a lot of bones!

Mel "helping"...baking can get very tiring...

Bones all packaged and ready to go

I made tags w/ Mel's photo so everyone at YAS

could see how well he is doing :)

Mel making final packaging inspections

Taste test...Approved!

If you are looking to add a new pet to your family...why not think about adopting, rescuing or even fostering a furry friend?  

Mel & I highly recommend it ♥

valentine labyrinth

This past Valentine's Day I walked a labyrinth for the first time.  I have always been intrigued by them and what made this one even more special is it's unique location of Playa Chiquita, Costa Rica, which means "Rich Coast".  We (my husband and I), just spent the past week on the Caribbean Coast of one of the most peaceful, serene, and picturesque countries.  We were lured in for an early afternoon snack of fish tacos at a sweet little eco-lodge called Miraflores.  While we were waiting for our food, Pamela, the owner and builder of Miraflores, invited us to walk her labyrinth.  It is nestled in the back of the property and "was placed in the medicinal and sustainable organic vegetable and fruit garden, complimenting the 12 year old Heliconia gardens, which Pamela collected from all over the tropical rainforest world."  The Labyrinth Society says "A labyrinth is a single path or unicursal tool for personal, psychological and spiritual transformation. Labyrinths are thought to enhance right brain activity."  It's very informative to read more about them on their website.  Check out this link for a research study I thought was interesting and perhaps worth further investigation.  It also reminds me a lot of mandala study one of my professors was working on in graduate school.  I am very grateful we stumbled upon Pamela's labyrinth...it is a true treasure.

view from afar of the Pamela's labyrinth...up above was a sloth looking down on us!

coral with moss...everything was so lush

close up of ferns growing in the labyrinth

Tom dreaming of fish tacos in Miraflores Rainforest Cafe :)

wish we had some now...we never made it back for a second serving, 

will just have to plan for our next trip!

my beach valentine on Playa Manzanillo...how did you spend your special day?