dots make diamonds...

2nd Annual Halloween in June

The crazies come out for Damon's birthday!

Zorro and Prefontaine:

Blues Bro #1 and Marilyn:

Blues Bro #2:

Ken (Freddie Mercury) and Barbie:

Dinner with {Soul} Friends

Do you believe in {friend} love at first sight?  Well you better believe it, cause Damon and I found it in our friends Lauren and Deron.* We've been an unstoppable, inseparable foursome ever since we met about a year ago.  We live a couple blocks from each other, have dinner together at least once a week, and they even pig-sit Paprika and Taco.  Friends of this sort really make you want to invest some stock in Fate.  Cheers to {soul} friends!*

* Who by the way, have never harassed me about not mentioning them on this lonely little blog.
* Thanks, Claire Fazio!

{I designed their Save-the-Date:  Download dl_savethedate_final.pdf }

My Monopoly Man

Check out my silly boyfriend's mustache (it was his suggestion to include chest hair in the pic.)  He's been growing it months in advance to sport at our friends' wedding.  It [the mustache] will also compliment his Zorro costume this weekend at his 2nd annual "Halloween in June" birthday celebration!

 

Aah & Hmm

I FINALLY got around to posting a couple of faces I found onto the Faces in Places blog.  Check out the Flickr group here.

I like to call them "Aah" & "Hmm".

Dear FutureMe,

Tune in:  FutureMe.

wiki what?

Ok you've all been holding out on me... I've only just now discovered WikiHow through a post on SwissMiss. Wikihow is a how-to dictionary that works like Wikipedia. It will give you step by step directions for doing most anything (doesn't tell you "how to kill a mockingbird"– I checked.) It does tell you "how to kill creepy crawlies" and boldly tries to help you "define love." Crafty kids must check out "how to make a pop-up photograph." Happy Tuesday.

exciting launches

Happy October, all! Today marks the start of two inspired online markets. One is the brainchild of my old friend {long time vs. age–wise}, Jessica. The Shiny Squirrel is a showcase for emerging designers and artists. And, one of my daily blogspots, Poppytalk has just posted a site along the same lines– Poppytalk Handmade. Sneak a peek!

Valerie Stewart

I'm obsessed with Martha's Everyday Food mag. As soon as I get my hands on it I bookmark the recipes that appeal to me and add the ingredients to my next shopping list. I've always thought that I'd never even begin to consider having kids until I was able to serve them hearty, homecooked meals. {Rewind} This is not to say that I've even come close to imagining creating a child– Let's just say cooking makes me feel like I'm on a straight path to adulthood (whatever that means.) Oh geez... point here is last night I attempted Martha's Chicken Potpie and it wasn't half bad.

here's my friend Rachel wearing much needed protective eyewear while cutting an onion...

lovin' from the oven {and notice my mini potpies for lunch the next day}...

my version Amy Sedaris's, I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence bookcover...

lobster bake

One of my biggest finds in Maine was my lobster cookie cutter. I used it to bake lobster cookies for my friend Xtina's birthday...

but nothing beat the gift that our friend Randi handmade for her– I like to call him Mr. Picklesworth...

he's my lobster

So Damon and I took a trip up to Maine with his parents about two weeks ago. Here's my better late than never report:

The cottage that they rent each year is supercute...

the view was worth a million words {and a sketch or two of Damon's}...

here's 'yer buoys and 'yer lighthouse...

From the moment we got to Maine I had planned on taking as many lobster pictures as I could. In the end,
I found myself purchasing snacks in cute packages and documenting them to share with you here:

Check out these super duper charming biscuits by ARTISAN BISCUITS

and I just had to have this lovely jar of locally made pumpkin butter {that looks yummier than it tastes}...

I've totally fallen for acorns {just as much as the next trendy, craftista}...

treehugging {literally}...

these are the only lobster pictures that made the cut & I'd say I look more like a possessed clam than a happy one...