Katelyn and Leena

I am still slowly editing photos from Katelyn's trip to our house. Here is a cute one of her and her bright red hair!

And this was little Leena in the car saying by to James at HEB. Can you see why he fell in love with her? She was blowing him kisses and giggling at him... so precious.

We miss these girls!

PEACE,

Laura

4 Simple Goals

First of all, I just wanted to give a huge THANK YOU to everyone who is entering the giveaway on my previous post! I am loving all of the feedback and getting to know where you guys found Violet Bella and why you stay! I am so happy I asked that. And I know there if free stuff involved, which is why there are so many comments... but I am loving the interactiveness of that post, so I may direct some more of my blog posts towards getting to know all of you a bit better!!! (that is if you will still comment without free stuff being given away, he he)

I have decided to partake in Elsie's 4 Simple Goals! I think this is a wonderful idea for just a nudge of motivation for all of us! Here are my 4 goals.

(none of the photos in this post are mine, but you can click on the links below each photo to see the awesome artist behind them, links are from weheartit, so they may not be original source)

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*this photo is by one of my favorite photographers, Squidart*

1. to blog more regularly and stay a bit more connected with my little blog world. for too long now i have not because i feel like i dont have the time, but my nanna reminded me that this is a happy part of my day... a time to express myself... and i know she likes to get on the computer everyday and check to see if i blogged, so i know the more i post, the more smiles i will put on her face :) and i would like to make more posts about things i like and why i like them. just random little things in my heart. i think this will allow all of you to get to know me in different ways, and if you all respond, i can get to know you in those ways too!

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2. to hoop more often. or maybe even every single day. or any other fun but active activities, like jump roping, belly dancing, yoga, etc. i spend soooooo much of my day either at the computer, at my jewelry making desk, at my sewing machine, etc... and it really starts to wear me down sitting all the time, not to mention adding a few pounds :) so i think this goal will be fun, productive and motivating. allowing myself time in each day to take care of myself in this way, i think will help me in all other areas of my life as well...

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3. to have more tent parties and date nights. james and i were having regular tent parties for a while, but it has been a while. and its been forever since we have actually gone on a 'date'... not a night in town that includes grocery shopping and picking up pet food, ha ha. i want to take more time to actually get dressed up and go out, just the two of us, and do something that doesnt involve business or grocery shopping! Plus, i need a good excuse to dress up sometimes, i am usually in my pjs!

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4. to work just a little bit each day on some of my new goals for my business. i have two big projects i am brewing up behind the scenes and have not had any time to work on either of them. so i think by making a tiny bit of time for them on a regular basis i will be getting somewhere with them. sometimes when i feel like i have to sit down to a big project, i feel i must get it all done then... and so it seems a bit intimidating and overwhelming and then it never gets done, ha ha! so baby steps here...

what are some of your goals if you participated in this challenge? i would love to know!!!

PEACE,

Laura

a little just because GIVEAWAY!!!

A little giveaway... just because.

WHAT YOU WILL WIN:

...its a butterfly theme...

1. a set of 6 post cards

2. a butterfly necklace

3. a butterfly print

(all items are original works of Violet Bella)

RULES:

there are no rules!!!

you dont have to follow my blog, or go to my shop, or tweet or fb... unless you want to.

I want someone to follow my blog because they really want to, not because they wanted free stuff.

So... if you are feeling up to it, you can let me know how you found my blog and why you like it. Im always curious about this!

Giveaway will end next sunday, the 22nd!

Good Luck :)

PEACE,

Laura

Sneak Peaks... Help me NAME one!

SNEAK PEAK!

here is a little peak at what is coming to the shop next, plus many more!

I think this little necklace is just the sweetest! Want to help name it??? I was thinking something along the lines of 'Breakfast at Tiffany's', but that may be too cliche... Leave your thoughts in the comments! (and please dont be offended if I dont pick yours)

I am absolutely in love with these earrings, the color is to die for. It is a mint jade color, just like Jadite if you are familiar with china. Jadite has been collected in my family because of my Pap and his love for antiques...

Something about the simplicity and color of this little butterfly necklace just warms my heart.

I am very excited about these boho necklaces, there are four different styles and only two of each!

and how can you not love a colorful little owl necklace!

P.S. I am going to try to get back to commenting to each of you in the comment stream... starting with my last post. I have been slacking in that department due to lack of time, but you guys deserve it! So if you are ever curious if your comment got reciprocated, check back in the comments to see!

PEACE,

Laura

T.y.p.e.w.r.i.t.e.r.

My new Singer typewriter came in this weekend! I couldnt be happier with how cute it is. Now I just need to buy a new ribbon for it! Katelyn got one too and we are going to write letters with them!

I didnt have a space for it, and my work corner desperately needed a makeover, so I buckled down the afternoon and got it done! There used to be a big yellow shelf where the typewriter is, full of mailers and such for my shipping. And the big black shelf was our china shelf. Well, we dont really use our china, or our wine glasses, so I packed it all up and made my china shelf my mailing shelf, but in a cuter way! Much more practical for me. And I drug this old drawer shelf out of my closet and decided to use it again. It is still a bit cluttered, but for those of you who havent been to my house, it is pretty small.

I got this sweet bird embroidery from In My Nest on etsy. It is the sweetest embroidery I have ever laid eyes on. So happy to have it in my home.

My china shelf turned mailing shelf!

I got a super rad package from my friend Katelyn yesterday. Look at the silly drawing on the back of the package, he he.

Check out all of this stuff! I ordered that amazing print from her shop. And along with it, she sent me a wooden fertility goddess, ha ha (with a note telling me to go get it on, lol), a set of handmade paper with peacock feathers printed on it (this was a project she had in the works for sometime, it was a project she created of making handmade papers inspired by certain people, and I was one of them!), a hoop sticker, my invoice origami-style and a sweet note. Love it all!

And my dad came over this afternoon and brought Noogs, his teacup chihuahua... a.k.a. my little brother. He is getting so old. It was so nice to see him though.

Ha, and this is an old pic of me, well, I guess last season, when I first got my glasses I think. I randomly saw it while saving files and it made me miss cold whether so much... it is so flippin hot here in texas its not even funny, at all. especially when your car has no a.c. At least I found some old Neil Young tapes at a garage sale last week, that is what keeps me sane while driving. And now I have his 'Decade' album on cd, vinyl and tape! woo hoo!

PEACE,

Laura

Thank You!!!

I just want to say thank you for all the sweet comments left on my blog yesterday, and always. I have the sweetest readers in the world, and have made some of the best friends among you. Sincerely, thank you.

And a warm hello to all of the newest people dipping a piece of their minds and day into my little blog. It truly makes me happy to know that for one moment I might inspire another person in some way. And from many of my comments, it seems I have done so. I do not think I could call myself an artist if I were not able to inspire someone in some way, even if that be an emotion. So thank you for taking time out of your day to join me!

And after yesterday, anything should be brighter and happier today. Gosh that was not my day! I still feel a bit in it, but I am mustering up anything Ive got to change my perspective today, b/c really that is all I can do. Most change in our lives starts with changing our perspective or attitude, its really that simple. Just hard to execute sometimes :)

I posted this photo for this entry because my husband James, has been my rock. No matter how I am feeling, he has been there for me. I truly appreciate who he is as a person. Most people dont understand him at all, ha ha, but if you ever take the time to really get to know him, he is very intelligent, thoughtful, giving and real. About as real as it gets. He doesnt take time in his life for bullshit. And beyond any of this, he really is the most handsome guy I know.

Anyway, here is to a better day! Time to get this show on the road :)

PEACE,

Laura

This Too Shall Pass

Dear mom,

I wish I could have one of these right now.

This week has been emotionally draining on top of being busy. Its times like these I just wish my mom were here to hug and to talk to. I have tons of orders in that I am working on filling. Which would normally be fun and wonderful, I am always grateful for the work I have ahead of me. But for some reason this week, mixed in with tons of errands, pet sitting, change of relationship dynamics, and general fatigue, I am just bummed.

Sorry to be a downer. These are the moments that make up our lives too. So why not share them? I am not all smiles and happy crafting 24/7.

This too shall pass.

xoxo,

Laura

Mexican Market

Yesterday James and I went downtown San Antonio to the Market Square with his parents. We have been talking about doing something like that with them forever, and it finally happened. It was really nice to spend the day with them, although it came and went so fast.

We went to our favorite little square, the mexican market. We ate at La Margaritas, which is the sister restaurant to Mi Tierras where my family always ate growing up. So funny that James parents have always gone to the restaurant right next store! I ate chicken verde enchiladas and has a mango margarita! yummy. I forgot how much mexican food makes me so sleepy. I thought I was going to pass out on the way home, I could barely keep my eyes open. But it was oh so good!

We finally got a huge jar of our favorite mexican vanilla at the market square, we love that stuff! As we walked around I found myself surrounded by beautiful mexican dresses I could not afford. But omg, they had some of the cutest baby ones, that I MUST get when we have a little girl!

Anyway, when James and I were dating we took a pic together in this same spot, so I got James mom to snap another one.

I wore my PPP shirt, this is the first PPP I ever got, I fell in love when I saw it, and luckily it was back in the day and it was actually in the shop long enough for James to buy and it surprise me with it! It my all time favorite shirt, ever! And after I got dressed, James pointed out that my outfit looked slight mexican-y, so I thought it was kind of cute and appropriate for where we were headed off to!

(speaking of PPP, you must go check out her new Austin oxy's, so adorable! I am getting one with flannel sleeves put on it, woo hoo!... shop here)

Now it is time to continue filling crazy orders!

Listening to alot of music and being inspired by words today, I may share a post on a song I currently love and can relate to on a very deep level...

PEACE,

Laura