I HEART the Mailman

I really do :) Some days he just really seems to know when I need some goodies to lift my mood. Last week was a little rough - things breaking, things not getting done by the time I wanted to... you know how it goes... Then Friday came and hubby came in with the loot from the mailbox!

1) Books from Amazon.com (mind you, I ordered these FOREVER ago, but didn't realize that they were scheduled to be sent with the two fantastic books that I preordered - one by Amy Karol of ANGRY CHICKEN , and the other by fab designer Lotta Jansdotter). I figured out the glitch and they were in the mail to me within 2 days. These were worth the wait though: Denyse Schmidt Quilts and DIY: Design it Yourself. I am always in awe of the creativity of fellow crafters and want to know "how'd they do that" re: blog set-ups, etc. The DIY book helps figure it all out - I still need to do an in-depth read, but so far it looks great! The Denise Schmidt book I've been wanting to get for a while, as I have seen it mentioned in numerous blogs - there are definitely some fantastic projects in there, like this apron - love it!






2) Next came the most adorable cards I've ever laid eyes on! They are from Paper Stories, and I found them through www.designspongeshop.com. I love that all of the $ that I paid goes directly to support a scholarship for designers.


3) My last little goodie is a quirky one - a new hose for my beloved Dyson. This one of the things that broke recently (a day before my sewing machine) and I've felt a tad lost without it :( We have 2 dogs and a cat at home, so fur management seems like a part time job sometimes. I know that some people don't believe in the hype around these things, but as an animal owner I SWEAR that this is the best vacuum that I have *ever* used. We found a good deal on ours in Costco a couple of years ago and snatched it right up!

The mailman should be good to me this week as well :) My sewing machine should be returning from it's vacation in MD today, and any day I should be receiving the fantastically cheery set of magnets that I won through Portabellopixie's site last week. Her work is amazing! I can't wait until Sydney stops growing for just a bit so I can splurge on an outfit for her. Check it out!

As for projects, I finished up my niece's Valentine's Day pouch last night and actually kind of like it! I tried my hand at a crocheted flower as a little adornment... definitely need to practice some more. I finally had the opportunity to use this adorable cherry willow fabric that I bought from fabric.com months ago - it's perfect as the lining and now I'm inspired to make a cute spring outfit for Sydney with the rest of it :) Have a great week everyone!