taking action vs. waiting until the path is clear to us ...

Oprah always says when you don't know what to do ... do nothing.

This has always worked for her I guess. But, I suspect Oprah is able to get very clear, very fast and this "do nothing" period doesn't last very long for her.

(for me, I have a strong suspicion that doing nothing until I am clear on what I want to do would result in many many afternoons, weeks and maybe even years of ... well.. doing nothing)

I think it may usually be better to take some kind of action even if we need to change or reverse course later on. There aren't that many decisions that are so final, we can't redecide them to get a happier outcome.

Taking action allows us to focus. It gives our attention an intention. I usually find the best actions are those where I am less attached to the outcome and just seeking the experience - the outcome has a way of working out better for me when I haven't decided exactly what it should be.

Taking action allows us to decide. Deciding creates direction. It breaks our usual patterns of doing the things we think we should be doing or the things we have always done in the ways we have always done them.

Lingering in indecison and inaction can make us depressed - it can make things seem larger and more important than they really are - it can turn our feet into cement combat boots and our brains into mashed potatoes.

(and not the amazing kind with the white cheddar, butter and chives either)

Since 2011 is my year of deciding - I decided to do some shows this summer (mostly wholesale) that I hadn't done before. Shows that involved traveling by plane (this has always made me a little queasy, although I mostly love airports)- often alone and spending money that I would normally be uncomfortable spending since it took me so long to make and the outcome was so unclear.

Yesterday, seeing the kids waiting for the school bus and the leaves beginning to pile up in my front yard (and also noting my bank account balance) I was kind of regretting some of my choices. I feel like I missed the summer and now am headed right into my busiest retail season (I do 60% of my annual sales between Halloween and Christmas) with a head cold/sinus infection thing, exhausted and kind of pissed I never got to wear my awesome gladiator sandals and it's almost time to break out the Uggs (ugh)...

I am still glad I took action though (although my actions will be a bit different next time) and I still think deciding is better than waiting for something to happen or someone to come along and "discover" or "save" us ...

(and I think this is the same lesson for those of us who voted for Obama - and for the people who deny global warming because they are waiting for the rapture - no one is coming along to save us, it is up to us and that this is good news, great news actually ...)

We're all busy but we're not all engaged. Taking action locks us into full on engagement with ourselves. We connect. Maybe not right away when we’re just getting our feet wet - this action stuff doesn't have to be giant steps toward big, huge things. But eventually it brings us closer to ourselves - we learn what we want (or what we don't want) - it brings connection

... and autumn - which is my favorite season actually and as for my gladiator sandals I think I have decided to wear them until Christmas even if I need to wear my new wool socks with them - which I bought at an alpaca farm in Oregon last week with wool supplied by this guy - is this the most amazing face you have ever seen?! and to think I might have missed meeting him ...

* in the waiting room print by broke bot

Giveaway SUMIKOSHOP Handmade Jewelry $30.00 Gift Certificate! CLOSED

AND THE WINNER IS:

Chosen by random. org
True Random Number Generator Min:1 Max:129 Result: 7
I am amazed! Congrats I am amazed!

The giveaway is back with a bang!

SumikoShop is the gorgeous handmade jewelry shop of the amazingly talented Evelyn - the 29 year old maker and mother of a beautiful boy named Brian.

Evelyn lives and works in a tourist town by the sea in gorgeous Italy.

Many of her items are one of a kind and others are made in limited quantities. Her accessories are mostly female and whimsical. She sometimes mixes vintage with modern materials to create simple everyday pieces that are just magical!

We are so lucky to have your choice of SumikoShop's gorgeous work for this week's giveaway.

WHAT YOU GET:

One lucky winner will receive a $30.00 Gift Certificate at SumikoShop!

HOW TO WIN:

It's easy, peasy - just leave your contact information below!

For additional entries:

(5) Twitter this post
(5) Blog about this contest; linking to this post
(5) Follow my blog
(5) Facebook this post

Let me know if you have done these things so I can give you additional entries. This contest is open to everyone.

DRAWING:
Enter by midnight on Sunday 9/25! Good Luck!

10 years ....

I am back from Seattle and Portland - the last of my big travel shows done for the year (thank goodness) - I haven't done a music festival in years

(my thinking was that people do not go there to shop; now this is my 'knowing')

girl at show (pointing at item with price marked) : "how much is this?"

me : "that's twenty four"

girl : "dollars?"

(it was that kind of show)

but it paid for my trip which included a day in Seattle when I wasn't working and 4 days in Portland visiting my sister and her family, so I am definitely not complaining. A great big thank you to Bill from House of Six Cats who loaned me 2 tables and my niece Miranda (locket2you) who loaned me everything else.

Today is back to work for me and a day of remembrance for all of us ..... there are some wonderful tributes here

I have been trying to think of the good things that have come out of 9/11, but have been having trouble with that one ... in the immediate aftermath, before it all became politicized and the people who profit from our fear set to work to capitalize on it, we came together around the world in a wonderful way .. so I am going to keep that feeling in my heart today ... that sense of connection.

xo all
the giveaway will be back tomorrow folks

It's Bumbershoot time!

..setting up at Bumbershoot today in Seattle! If you are coming, stop by and say "hi" - I will be near the fountain!

Have a wonderful holiday weekend all!

xo

Please vote for Kella and Chris HERE Suburban Camping Co - they are competing against established stores (who are offering specials and giveaways to people voting for them- is this legal?) and need our votes!!!

some facts about the Canadian tar sands ...

Tar Sands Action's sit-ins in Washington DC are succeeding in informing people about the Canadian tar sands and the extreme price we pay for gathering oil from them.

The protest revolves around the proposed Keystone XL pipeline project, which would speed the flow of crude oil from the tar sands to US refineries.

Approx. 20% of US oil comes from Canada and 40% of Canada's oil production is from tar sands.

So what are tar sands and why should we care? Tar sands, or oil sands are a mix of clay, sand, water and oil and particularly bitumen, which is a heavy, viscous material. Unlike drilled oil, tar sands have to be mined to get at the bitumen and refine it into oil.

Bitumen is highly carcinogenic and requires extensive processing to make it thin enough to flow through pipes. Four tons of sand and soil are removed and dumped for every one barrel of oil gained from tar sands

(Al Gore wrote a great book about the devastation from soil removal- not his book An Inconvenient Truth, but an older book, I believe from before he was Vice President, the title is slipping my mind - like alot of things these days- but if you google it, it is a great read)

and three barrels of water to extract just one barrel of oil. More than 400 million gallons of water per day ends up dumped in toxic tailing pools which leak 3 million gallons of contaminated water daily.

Tar sands oil production emits 3 times more carbon dioxide per barrel than traditional oil production and the tar sands of Alberta, Canada are located under Canada's Boreal forest which is one of the largest intact ecosystems remaining on the planet. Removing the carbon-storing forest ecosystem to get at the tar sands will be more and more detrimental.

By 2020 the Tar Sands will release twice as many greenhouse gases than currently produced by all the cars and trucks in Canada!

Local production negatively impacts birds and caribou and moose and the indigenous people ... and all of us.

If the U.S. government approves the pipeline, renowned climatologist James Hansen says it will be "game over" for the global climate.

There is a petition to Obama to stop this pipeline HERE
and to focus on developing clean, safe energy.

BTW if you haven't seen Bill Nye tackle this brain-dead climate skeptic at FOX news (again) you will love this

this could be it folks ....

I mean, an earthquake and a hurricane all in one week? in New Jersey?

Global warming?

(Al?)

Well, maybe ... but my take on this is that God is seriously pissed off about all this Jersey TV - Housewives, Jersey Shore, Jerseylicious - she got one look at Snookie and said ... enough, already

(note to God - remember me, I'm the girl with the flat hair)

BTW at the post office the other day a bald man told me he has worked at the Jerseylicious salon for 15 years

(first he complimented another customer's hair, then looked at my hair and said ... nothing)

and only the mother and daughter on the show actually work there, everyone else is fake - I've never seen the show, so don't know how extensive this "fake people" thing is, but it sounds serious folks ...

As I am typing this my brother just called me and said his town is having mandatory evacuations and they need a place to go ... with their 5 cats and 2 birds - OMG

Then a friend called and said they are having an earthquake/hurricane party tonight and we are invited. I asked if I should bring some takeout

(and my brother, sister in law, 2 birds and 5 cats .. I kind of just whispered this part though)

and she said "I have a pot roast."

(grandma? sniffle)

Uh, isn't it still August? Who just happens to have a pot roast in August? But then she said the kicker that pretty much assured my participation

"I'll show you my new Dyson", she added

I mean a pot roast and a dyson demonstration just screams PAR-TAY in Jersey folks - unlike Snookie and the Situation this is how we really roll.

Off to clean my bathroom in case we have house guests this weekend .... stay safe and dry everyone.

xo

Olive Begs for Votes - no-bipartisan bickering with this one

Kella and Chris's new biz The Suburban Camping Company is a top 3 finalist in Daily Candy's annual Start Small, Think Big Contest!

The winner gets some expert business advice and since they are primarily getting their business advice from me they really need to win this thing!

If everyone could click over and give them a vote - you can vote anytime between now and Sept. 13th (and even every day) - we will be bestie best friends forever.

And of course I will totally do you a favor back - a biggie - email that old boyfriend and tell him off, prank call your mother-in-law - clean out that litter box, yes even those of you with multiple cat households - I am there for you - this is that serious!

Here is the link to VOTE for them!

(they are in the center of the bottom row)

I hate these popularity things - maybe because we are a super small family with slow clicker fingers and sporadic internet service ... plus we are very sore losers.

xo

Dig Yourself a Hole ....

I saw this quote on Seth and thought someone who doesn't read Seth (if there is such a person) might feel inspired by it today, too.



"Dig yourself a hole

Make big promises.

Burn your boats.

Set yourself up in a place where you have few options and the stakes are high.

Focused energy and serious intent will push you to do your best work. You have nowhere to run, nowhere to hide."

*do not fear print from iota illustration

Techie Textie Kids - what's too much?

My local school is lobbying for our kids attention this year by embracing technology in ever increasing ways - homework on the computer, iPads in the classroom, classroom Facebooks.

A few years ago we all thought more technology was a good thing - kids had to know this stuff or they wouldn't be ready for "the real world", right? They had to learn this stuff young.

Now we're not so sure anymore. It feels like kids know too much of this stuff and the other stuff is starting to get lost in the shuffle. I read that the average child and teen spends over 7 hours a day in front of some kind of screen - and this doesn't include texting!

(and that most teenagers sleep with their phones ... or within arms length of their phone - just what kind of middle of the night emergency text requires this kind of diligence I am not certain, but when Jason dumps Amber everyone will know about it before breakfast .. thank goodness)

My teacher friend says kids will do anything to text during class and catches someone daily - pretend searching their backpack while checking their email and sending a fast text - aren't their friends in school, too?

When I am walking Olive around other dog walkers I am usually the only person without a phone to my ear - now this may be due to some degree to my inability to walk and chew gum at the same time (not that I actually chew gum except on airplanes) but I am always thinking who the hell is everyone talking to?

One day last spring I was in line at the post office just as the high school bus dropped off the kids right outside the post office window - every single kid getting off that bus immediately flipped open their phones .. every single one. None of the kids talked to each other (and I live in a very small town so they all absolutely knew each other).

Wrists flipped in unison like the Rockettes at Christmas.

(it was sort of amazing in a scary Stepford, robotic, the world is clearly ending so shoot me now, kind of way)

I've seen toddlers routinely given mommy's iPhone when they need to be quieted down; promoting fixation on techie devices at younger and younger ages.

(of course, I will admit to giving my daughter my car keys to play with ... ie chew on ... at such times ... and she hasn't developed a car key fixation, but I still think this iPhone thing could be trouble later as most quick fixes turn out to be ... )

School is about to start up again folks, maybe it has already where you live, and it is up parents where all of this is heading. We need to pull the plug whenever possible. Family dinners help.

Research has shown that the dinner table is one of the key places that young people learn how to engage in real conversation.

(and argue and have civilized and uncivilized debates and learn to come together after things fall apart)

Maybe family dinners can save us.

(just have 'em drop their cellphones at the dining room door)

*shut down computer print by bitso truth

10 Lessons Learned from Wholesale Trade Shows Part III

See Part I here
and Part II here

6. You Probably Need to Do a Show More Than Once to Make the Most Impact

(you need to be doing the right show though)

It was clear that the sellers who were doing the most business had been doing the show for many years.

(how many NEW accounts they were getting is impossible for me to know though)

I guess it instills buyer confidence to see a seller back at the show - makers wouldn't return if they didn't do well would they?

Well, I'm not so sure about that actually and different sellers have different ideas of what 'doing well' at a show is due to their different expenses, price points, expectations, etc.

I could do a show again if I lost money, but I wouldn't do a show again just to establish myself unless I had alot of confidence in that show or a good reason to stick with it.

(like happy hour in the afternoons - that was kind of nice)

7. You Need to be Thinking Like a Buyer

My lines need some explaining. I have my elevator pitches down by now because it is not immediately apparent when looking at my displays what the hell I am selling.

(although I try my best!)

So, I have to take time talking about my makings. This is a balancing act though, because it is not something all buyers care about. What they really want to hear is how this will sell in their shops and I found the more time I spent talking about their shops -

(this also helped weed out people who were not really buyers and there were alot of those at both shows)

asking them what price points did best for the jewelry that sold well for them, etc - that I connected with them. And that connection is the key to the relationship, I think.

8. In Order For These Shows to Be Worthwhile You Need to Get Reorders

If these shops are all one time orders then this is alot of work for not a lot of money, especially when you factor in airfare, hotel rooms, display, shipping and food

(I admit we ate pretty darn well because after standing in the booth all day I was starving by dinner and felt deserving of something especially yummy)

so, you need to be supplying your stores with the materials they need to sell your stuff - how will the stores display it, what kind of materials can you give them to help them sell it? I gave all shops clipboards with the type of display info their customers need to see to buy.

No one around me had any huge orders - no one got "discovered".

(and if you are doing a show hoping to be 'discovered', well, you could be very disappointed, most of the buyers walking these shows were mom and pop stores and being discovered is kind of like being rescued - it can happen, but we'd better know how to swim just in case it doesn't)

<--- this was a nice place to go at the end of the day I have to admit - trying to get hubs to throw something like this together on our roof

9. It is Very Hard to Look Dynamic and Approachable While Doing Nothing

Wholesale shows are not like retail shows - they don't have the same kind of energy; there is alot of downtime. It doesn't come in huge chunks, usually, although the first and last couple hours were killers.

You are like the goalie who has to be totally alert even while the game is on the other side of the field - it is hard.

(luckily my almost-OCD gives me things to do at times like this that help keep me on my toes - like count earrings in the booth across from me - 47 pairs btw)

10. Niche Products May Need Niche Shows

Shows are expensive (the least expensive part is often the booth fee) and there are many ways to develop wholesale relationships - more about this in my next series on wholesale selling - without exhibiting at them.

If your product has a very tight niche your challenge may be to find shows your target shops might frequent and they may not be general handmade wholesale shows.

Hope this series has been helpful to someone- I'll write more on this experience in a few weeks when I have a better grip on the outcome. I did get some sales reps which was a primary goal for me, so I'll also post on how all of that works out, too!

More Lessons Learned at the California Gift Show

See Part I here

#3. Alot of makers selling wholesale do not sell retail.

This surprised me because the idea of a 100% wholesale income seems challenging, but maybe my price points are lower than many makers. I was told by quite a few sellers that the headaches of selling retail are not worth it to them. Also I heard quite a bit of anti-Etsy ramblings

(and I feel only people on Etsy are allowed to rant against Etsy - this is the same way I feel about New Jersey)

about the junk sold there. And, of course, we all know there is alot of junk on Etsy (and I don't mean the good junk called vintage), but there is alot of amazing stuff on Etsy, too and the truth is the cutting edge stuff - well, for better or worse, it's all on Etsy.

And I did have a couple sellers tell me they look on Etsy for ideas and I was hoping by ideas they meant inspiration and not any ideas resembling "oh, I should make that".

Some also said they didn't sell on Etsy because it wasn't worth the hassles of taking new photos all the time and that they thought they would be copied if they put their work there (both valid issues).

I don't think I can go cold turkey off my retail sales (although maybe Etsy's new relevancy search will change my mind about this), but it was inspiring to see people making it work for them with just wholesale sales.

#4. Rules get broken at big wholesale shows, too.

I thought that unlike retail craft shows where we all see "makers" whose makings have everything but a Made in China sticker on the bottom - a big wholesale handmade show would be pretty much exempt from this.

Sometimes I can see where show organizers can be fooled, but if putting an NFL metal charm on a chain is handmade enough for a premier handmade show someone needs to give me a new definition of handmade.

This type of thing was definitely the exception though.

#5. People do amazing work.

The work at both shows was amazing. The displays were amazing. The people were amazing. I often saw work that made me think - what the hell am I doing here? - and displays that made me tired just thinking about all the work and money that went into them.

(make sure your act is together before doing one of these shows - not to scare anyone, but you kind of need to be amazing or have amazing packaging and an amazing display and it kind of helps to have all of these things, but we knew this already, right?)

These shows are located within larger gift shows that are not handmade so buyers have walked through an incredible collection of colorful, exotic and stunning giftware - think almost everything sold in Bloomingdale's and Target, Fred Segal and Urban Outfitters before they get to your booth. We need to sizzle.

(luckily I had my day-glo orange roots to help me stand out in California - I did get my hair fixed in the one day I had home before Chicago though so they didn't help me there)

More lessons next week. Have a wonderful weekend all!

xo

10 Things I Learned from Exhibiting at Last Month's Wholesale Tradeshows

Last month I exhibited at Beckman's Handmade at the California Gift Show and the Chicago Market - if anyone is thinking about exhibiting at these shows and has any questions that I might be able to help with don't hesitate to contact me by email.

I am still processing some lessons, but some things I have already learned are :

1. Wholesale selling requires an entirely new vocabulary - customers are now buyers (this is easy to remember if you continue to think of the customer as the end user, so your buyer's customer is your customer, too)

sales are now orders
(again, easy to remember if you continue to think of the sale as the final transaction with the end user or customer)

Most of the wholesale lingo I already knew and you probably do, too if you have done any research on wholesale selling, but a couple terms I heard last month that I was unfamiliar with were:

"Open to Buy" - this is the amount of money the store has budgeted for new purchases that they have not yet spent. Some buyers told me their "open to buy" dollars were very limited and they needed to make good choices.

This was when I would talk about my online success with my lines in a very competitive marketplace and delve a little deeper into what sells best in their shop -

my entire reason for developing wholesale accounts is to build an ongoing relationship and create multiple orders from them, not just get a onetime order, so I want to be a good fit for them so we can both make money!

"RTV" - which I thought for a second was some kind of recreational vehicle television system actually means return-to-vendor. Stores obviously want RTV's if merchandise arrives damaged, but what about if it gets damaged in the store or is just not selling?

From the shopowner's point of view they want sellers with RTV's that benefit them, but from the seller's point of view it may be hard to accept returns on handmade items damaged in the store or nonsellers.

I have always offered wholesale tradeout on my locket lids allowing them to swap out nonsellers for new options. I decided to be as flexible as possible with my RTV policies at these shows.

I would rather swap out things that are not selling and keep a relationship going with a good shop than have them mark the items at half off just to move them out and then never order from me again. Plus I have found that offering this option instills confidence and allows the buyer to make quicker decisions -

(I have a large selection that can make decision making hard for buyers and this way they feel they are covered if they make some wrong choices in the beginning)

I have also found buyers seldom take me up on this offer. This is definitely not something you need to do, it may not work for you, but something to think about.

2. Setting minimum order dollars is challenging

I know that gift shop owners (unless they have a very specific niche) need a certain amount of my jewelry (this is especially true of picture jewelry) to have a broad enough variety to sell well with their walk-in customers.

The store buyers told me that in the current economy they want proven sellers or very small volume orders for new unproven items.

So, we had to kind of meet in the middle somewhere. I set a minimum of $250.00. Most of the sellers around me had minimums of $250.00 and often significantly higher price points than mine -

so I realized I was forcing the buyer to buy more items and also maybe losing any lower price point advantage I had, but I decided to stick to it because I know in my heart that orders for less than this will probably not generate a long lasting wholesale relationship and I was clear with my intention going into these shows that was what I wanted.

I will continue this post tomorrow or maybe next week - I am trying to blog less this summer (you might have noticed) to focus on this new direction for my studio and also to have some extra family time plus I've got these wholesale orders to fill ...

xo

(yes, that awesome old truck is part of my display - my lockets are fabricated from car parts after all - and yes, many people commented on it and wanted it .. badly .. and were pretty much begging me to sell it to them - I didn't want to make them any more jealous by telling them I have two - if my makings were half as popular as that truck I'd be bringing home the big bucks folks)

how are you? fine, I hope ...

I've been trying to post for an hour and a half - I've lost 2 posts, 3 pounds and a demented boggle (ie beagle/boston terrier, ie mutt) who fled the room when I screamed NOT AGAIN! at blogger ... sigh

I have no energy left to rewrite what was about to be my most phenomenal post ever - the kind of post that would be picked up by some blogger super-mega-group and catapult my blog readership into the stratosphere ...

oh well at least I have poptarts .. and you guys, you guys and poptarts make everything better

The only thing left to write about is my post office visit today - where

1. the postal clerk Joe told another customer that I was a painter

(huh?)

I just smiled and didn't correct him - I mean wth I did paint the kitchen once

but when I got up to the window I said "Joe, why did you tell that guy I was a painter?" and he said "I thought you were a painter" and I said "no, I'm not"

and he said "well, I thought you were a painter because you always have paint on your hands"

and I was all "huh? - paint on my hands, I always have paint on my hands? I don't always have paint on my hands Joe!"

and then I held up my hands ... and saw ... paint - wth ...

and 2. a sort-of neighbor asked me how my day was going and I told him I was very busy because I just did back to back shows and need to catch up and get back in the groove. And as soon as I didn't just say "fine", he looked all kind of annoyed that he asked.

Then I got all kind of annoyed because what kind of question is "how is your day going so far?" anyway? That's not something you ask someone if you just want them to say "fine."

That question is too specific and has too many syllables and demands an answer. Next time just ask me, "How are you?" So I can just say "fine" and not annoy you.

Ugh!

*hi, how are you? print by thebigharumph

the present moment ... taking what you love and making it what you do

I have been feeling pulled in alot of different directions lately - and this pulling

(totally self-imposed thinking of course, no one is actually making my body into salt water taffy)

is creating a state of busy-ness that is not a comfortable place for me. I can text and tweet with the best of them (sort of), but I also know I can't live in this perpetual state of distraction and lack of center.

I know all the answers are given to us in the present moment and this is exactly the place I am having trouble accessing lately.

So, this week, even as I fill my wholesale orders from my recent shows

(and production work is often a great way for me to get back into the present moment - especially when brazing because it is hard to be scattered when working with fire)

I will be taking more time for things that center me and getting back into my meditation practice which is the last thing I should let go of, but always seems to be the first thing to go when things get crazy.

Finding the pieces of what we love to do and making them into what we do is where our heart and happiness lies, I think ...

Summer is fading folks, let's not waste another minute of it ...

*I have everything I need and always will print by choosing beauty

All Occasion Cork Necklaces for Gift Shops!

Some pics of my new all-occasion cork necklace racks for florists, gft shops, etc. The category buttons are changeable on the metal test tube rack. How cute are these mini cork necklaces for birthdays, anniversaries and more!

home sweet home ....

Back from Chicago last night with a grateful heart for all I have learned these past few weeks and I am now getting caught up with work and life ... hoping to get my blog back on track this Monday, I miss everyone.

xo - Cat :)

* home is in my mind print by the amazing Danita and yes, we make a locket together, too

Olive Takes a Bite Out of L.A.!

Some pics from Cali! Back from L.A. last night and I am on my way to Chicago tomorrow ... so I guess this makes me kind of a world traveler ... kind of ...

me and my brother Vinnie (not my cousin Vinnie, my brother Vinnie and no, everyone in New Jersey is not named Vinnie)

xo all - will try to write from the windy city

alive and kicking and flying to L.A. in the morning ....

I never, ever play hookey like this - really, truly - I was the girl who went to school every day even on picture day when I had somehow managed to slam my lower lip into a closing car door and had 6 stitches the size and color of a fuzzy caterpillar - the creepy, crawly, huge, black gypsy moth kind - across my face, got teased and ran into the girl's room in tears until my bestest friend painted a magic marker gypsy moth caterpillar on her own face to make me feel better.

I am flying to L.A. in the morning

(yes, I like the sound of that - it is so not me, to be flying to L.A. in the morning, maybe driving to Camden in the morning, that is more like me - but I admit I like the sound of it and I found many occasions to say it today, it is really quite amazing how often it came up

- at the post office - when the girl asked me if I was mailing anything hazardous, liquid or fragile

girl - "are you mailing anything hazardous, liquid or fragile?"
me - "no, but I am flying to L.A. in the morning."

- at the grocery store when the old lady accidentally banged into my ankle with her cart

old lady - "oops"
me - "I am flying to L.A. in the morning"

- to the pizza delivery boy while stopping Olive from knocking him off the front steps

pizza boy - " uh, does she bite?"
me - "no, but I am flying to L.A. in the morning"

it just sounds good, doesn't it and I think it only works with L.A. because next week I am going to Chicago and it doesn't have the same kind of bling about it, you know)

So tonight while I should be pouring shampoos and conditioners and liquid whatnots into little plastic bottles and then putting those little plastic bottles into a one quart clear bag which I am pretty certain I do not have anyway - I have spent the evening staring at my hairline and eating Bagel Bites, periodically opening the empty Bagel Bites carton to see if maybe more cheese stalactites were forming on the underside of the lid ... yum.

There is a little bit of a problem with my hairline - and by hairline I mean the "part" in my hair which I guess is not really my hairline, but it sounds less confusing than saying "part" somehow because I made the last minute decision to color my roots ... myself.

So, I bought one of those root touch up kits that actually GUARANTEES it will match your haircolor - how is this possible I wondered, but I knew they wouldn't say it if it weren't true, right - so I bought the medium blonde, brushed it onto my roots, waited 10 minutes, washed it out and I now have ... red roots, actually orange roots, I have orange roots, not medium blonde roots, orange roots ...

and I am flying to L.A. in the morning

Wish me luck folks - I will post pics from the California Gift Show - if you are in the neighborhood - I am in the Olive Bites booth, I will be the girl with the orange roots ....

xo all

forewarned is forearmed - a little heads up to the fish of the Atlantic Ocean

Nah, I haven't really gone fishing.

(you can exhale now Mr. Big Billy Bass)

I am getting ready for Beckman's Handmade Wholesale Shows in LA and Chicago and needing to exhale myself a bit before I head into that - yikes!

Have a great week all - enjoy your summer!

xo

*gone fishin screenprint by dmeyerdesigns

Happy 4th of July - from one firecracker to another ...

I am going to put the giveaways on hold for the summer and revive them after Labor Day! The final 2 winners are:

Cubit's Winner is (chosen at random.org):
True Random Number Generator
Min: 1 Max: 405 Result: 11 = Kaytee!

and the winner of the Inbook giveaway is:
True Random Number Generator
Min: 1 Max: 514 Result: 403 = Resolute Twig!

Congrats and thank you to everyone else who took the time to enter!

* photo by Grundlepuck

the last 168 hours ... - part ll

... sooo, I'm heading for Brooklyn and just about get to the Garden State Parkway which is about 10 minutes from my house when suddenly the skies turn black and a storm of pretty much Biblical proportions hits out of nowhere.

(a blinding rain, hail, end of the world type situation where sensible people pull over somewhere and wait it out, note - I am not a sensible person)

Actually pulling over is not really an option so I just inch along blindly with everyone else, hoping no one is dumb enough to actually stop and cause a 20 car pile up.

Within a few minutes either the skies have cleared or I have driven through the storm HALLELUJAH! - because the sun is shining again.

I relax.

I try to remember how long the Panera Bread ice tea in my console has been in my car and whether or not it is still safe to drink.

I recheck my mapquest directions and keep driving - thankful to be heading north when all the Friday traffic is heading south ...

until the traffic isn't anymore and I am inching along again.

I get on a highway somewhere at exit 5 or 7 and my mapquest directions tell me to get off at exit 28A, which I am thinking sounds pretty far since I am already passing a Welcome to Brooklyn sign but at least I'm in Brooklyn

(ex-home of the Dodgers, the bridge my great-grandfather once bought - for $17 and a pack of Lucky Strikes, Prospect Park, Coney Island, Junior's Cheesecake, Nathan's Hotdogs ... and Etsy)

so I feel some relief, but am still a little uneasy because the traffic looks endless and I have alot of exits to go before I hit 28A - by now it is about 6:00 (so much for girl math).

After another 30 minutes or so I am at about exit 15 and pass a Thanks for Visiting Brooklyn sign or a You Are Leaving Brooklyn sign or a Welcome to Queens sign or it may have just said You Have Gone Too Far Idiot - Turn Around NOW.

(if I was a cartoon, you would’ve heard the sound of a single percussive tinkle as I blinked at that sign)

I call my daughter and ask her to sign onto twitter and tweet the team that I will be late. I take the next exit, cursing out mapquest, pull into a parking lot and plug the Etsy address into my GPS.

(yes, I have a GPS and I know you are thinking, uh, why didn't you use that - well because #1. it screws up in cities and #2. it can't be programmed until the car is turned off - I guess the designers at Ford never stopped to think that one of their vehicles might have a person in them besides the driver who could safely program the thing while the car is moving, not that I had such a person, of course)

The good news is that I am out of the bumper to bumper stuff and moving along - the bad news is that sometimes my GPS is telling me to make a right when there is no right and sometimes it is telling me to make a left onto a oneway street going right and I have no phone number to call anyone and I am not exactly sure I am in Brooklyn anymore.

(where's Toto or wait Olive ... where's Olive ...)

I get stuck in traffic again at the Pace University graduation, where groups of tall, gorgeous women in blue graduation gowns are all over the street - if anyone knows where this would be let me know. Then I am in Chinatown, which even I know is not in Brooklyn, I think, and on Canal Street and seeing signs for the Holland Tunnel. It is 7:30.

I am now sitting in traffic for the tunnel and feel some strange sense of calmness surrounded by the other New Jersey license plates. I call my daughter and ask if anyone has tweeted her back (not that I thought anyone would be checking twitter messages). She says no so I tell her to just delete her tweet as I inch my way into the tunnel.

(back to New Jersey and into another traffic jam heading to the shore for the weekend)

I got home around 11:00. Hubby asked how the meeting went without glancing up from his book, which kind of annoyed me, so I just said fine, pretend strangled him behind his back and went to bed.

(plus I was a little pissed he hadn't insisted on playing Hoke to my version of Miss Daisy's declining years and prevented this entire fiasco)

So, that is the story of how Cat almost got to visit Etsy -

(and yes, I like to talk about myself in the 3rd person, except I usually say 'the Cat' ... drives Olive crazy)

the next day hubby had a breathing problem and chest pain at work and we ended up in the emergency room where he would spend the next 2 days - well, not in the emergency room although it felt like 2 days in the emergency room, but in the hospital, having every test in the book including a stress test that he totally aced - he is 100% OK thankfully - and being waited on hand and foot ... poor Olive ....

Have a wonderful weekend everyone - I will post the winner of the last 2 giveaways of the season on Monday morning! (to steal one from Sherry - kiss the ones you love)

xo

* wounded and abandoned umbrellas by cat eye photography
* traffic jam by lolas room
* let's find some beautiful place to get lost by I screen you screen

the last 168 hours ... AKA the girl math controversy - part l

yes, I'm still alive and kicking, all 112 lbs of me

(or was that what I weighed in 4th grade. high school, although I can still wear the same earrings I wore back then, please don't hate me, so that pretty much guarantees I am still the same size - I think this is called girl math)

anyhoo ...

Friday June 24th (picture me typing this on an old black Royal, pencil behind my ear, slugging back a nasty looking mug of black coffee) - I wake up thinking about team EcoEtsy's meet up -

(for those of you who are not so up on things like this, and if that is you, please get up on things like this because I can't keep stopping to explain things to you (smiles sweetly), this is a new way of saying "meeting" but without any actual meeting-like things going on, such as note-taking, yawning and daydreaming about the coffee and donuts at end of said meeting)

at Etsy headquarters at 6:00.

Since 2011 is my "year of deciding" I had decided to see just how last minute I could make my decision about whether or not to go to this meet up - I like to live on the edge.

(this is the same part of me that likes to go skydiving and mountain climbing and parasailing or wait, that's not me, that's some other girl, but that's how I kind of see myself)

A Friday late afternoon drive into Brooklyn (ok, who am I kidding, any drive into Brooklyn) followed by a Friday night, in the summer, drive back to the shore (if you've ever done this you can feel my pain, if you haven't just picture bumper to bumper traffic; cars stretched out in front of you as far as the eye can see with people who look slightly like Snookie and the Situation screaming obscenities at each other or making out on the hood of their car, not sure which would be worse) did not sound good.

Of course, the actual "meet-up" part in the middle of all this driving would make it all worth it - I would get to meet some amazing people, force myself out of my comfort zone and get to see the actual, physical Etsy.

Anyhoo, back to Friday morning

(and yes, this is going to be one of those long drawn out posts, grab a cup of tea or maybe one of those mega-caffeinated drinks to stay awake here)

I wake up feeling very sleepy positive. I check my morning email and there is a message from Tarot.com about a free one card tarot reading - I type in the words - "should I go to the meet up?"

(yes, this is how a year of deciding is done people)

Then I swish the cards around with my mouse and pick one.

Of course, I have forgotten what card comes up - maybe the 3 of cups? - whatever it is the meaning is a group of like minded people and the picture looks like they are having a party - so I'm thinking this is amazing, quickly favorite the site for more year of deciding decision making later on, and decide to go.

I mapquest the directions and try to figure out how many people will show up. The team has, I think, about 400 world-wide members so I take a guess at 15 (girl math again) and decide (without another Tarot reading because I couldn't get another free one until tomorrow plus I have to do some actual deciding on my own after all) to make 30 EcoEtsy cork necklaces - my thinking here is that since I didn't RSVP I better not show up empty handed.

Of course the hours are getting later, the skies grayer and I have to work fast. At about 2pm I am in my bathroom with a hairdryer hoping for some miracle dry-time results. Now, I am not claiming brain surgery here and this is a process I could likely teach to an 8 year old (and if I had one and a respirator to fit her, she would have been in that bathroom instead of me - extreme times call for extreme measures folks), but it takes time and this living by the seat of my pants lifestyle I have going on is challenging, again please don't hate me for this.

The necklaces are dry enough to go into the test tubes without sealing themselves to the glass like your grandma's dentures (which I hope for her sake ... and yours ... are in there pretty tight) and I finally get into my car at 4:00 - mapquest has told me I need 1 hour and 20 minutes to get there so (again using girl math) I quickly calculate an additional 40 minutes or 50% more time for traffic ...

it was something like this except I used my right index finger and the air in front of my face or maybe an abacus I am kind of old ---->

Well, the morning is flying and I have to get ready to watch the Casey Anthony trial to work so will finish this up tomorrow ... one heads up about the outcome - girl math sucks folks.

GIVEAWAY - Cubit's - organic, rare and heirloom seeds! CLOSED

WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED 7/4!

Cubit's is the wonderful organic seed shop of Toronto foodie Laura Watt.

Laura is an artist and gardener and food blogger and her wonderful shop Cubit's is an amazing source for high quality organic, rare and heirloom seeds.

She believes that everyone can grow their own delicious organic produce -

and that people who have a good relationship with their food are happier!

We are so lucky to have a giveaway for her amazing seeds!!

WHAT YOU GET:

One lucky winner will receive a $24.00 Gift Certificate at Cubit's Organics!

HOW TO WIN:

It's easy, peasy - just leave your contact information below!

For additional entries:

(5) Twitter this post
(5) Blog about this contest; linking to this post
(5) Follow my blog
(5) Facebook this post

Let me know if you have done these things so I can give you additional entries. This contest is open to everyone.

DRAWING:
Enter by Sunday, July 3rd! Good Luck!

Happy Friday All and olive shares a video

Olive loves this pup Ricochet and since Ricochet is doing some fundraising Olive insisted

(ie refused to get off the couch, otherwise known as her bed)

I share this one. There is a little lesson in here about letting go of our expectations of others (yes, even our pups ... sniffle) so they can grow into themselves.



Last week's giveaway winner for Ophelia's Apothecary's $35.00 gift certificate chosen by random.org is = Min: 1
Max: 564 Result: 264 Ana Carina
- congrats Ana and thank you to everyone who took the time to enter!

Enjoy this first weekend of summer everyone!

Putting Our Money Where Our Mouth Heart Is ... the gift of investing in ourselves

Back when I had a "real job" at a desk that wasn't located within 10 feet of a washing machine, with a weekly paycheck and a dental plan, I didn't think much about investing money into it.

(it was more about getting money out of it)

I mean, I bought books related to my job and clothes so I would fit in and look the part,

(even the uncomfortable shoes that were way too uncool to be that uncomfortable)

and I took classes when the company paid for them - but it usually ended there.

I didn't think of these things as investing in myself.

(although of course, they were)

When we land, are pushed or jump into the world of the self-employed we need to evolve out of this employee-mindset.

(a mindset that is all about someone else taking care of us and getting as much money out of our venture as possible while putting as little money in as possible - the old employee paradigm that can keep us stuck)

It is easier to put money into our business when the return on investment is obvious and fast - a new piece of equipment that obviously speeds things up for us, a new app that streamlines certain routine tasks, buying things in bulk that we use all the time - it may be harder to put money into things that don't always have such visible returns right away.

Things like classes and books and ebooks and seminars are the kinds of investments in our business (and ourselves) that adjust our mindset from employee thinking to self-employed thinking

and

send vibrations out into the ethers that we are ready to invest in ourselves, that we trust our business will be around long enough to recoup the return on investment - that we aren't going anywhere - that we will be sticking around awhile ...

Maybe this summer would be a good time to invest in something that supports the long term goals of our business.

"As for the future, your task is not to predict it, but to enable it.”
... antoine de saint-exupéry (love that one)

*the past is the future - wood block print by lucius art

GIVEAWAY - Inbook - Upcycled Book iPhone / iPod Charging Dock! CLOSED

WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON FRIDAY!
know I said last week was my last giveaway until fall, but ... I changed my mind!

(which is totally allowed because this is my blog, although I did have to talk it over with Olive first)

I love books and I love upcycled books, so when I had the chance to grab us an amazing upcycled book charging dock from Inbook for your iPod or iPhone (Maccies pay attention here) I had to take it!

It looks like a mild-mannered book on a table or a desk, you almost don't notice that it's a charger.

No more dropping the cord behind the desk! The charging cord is well secured into the book, and it's designed to be compatible with all iPods and iPhones (iPhone 3G, 3GS & iPhone 4G).

Rich Neeley creates these in his studio in Southern California and I think these are super clever and would look amazing in anyone's home. He also has a great book selection.

WHAT YOU GET:

One lucky winner will receive a $57.00 Inbook gift certificate to choose your Inbook charging dock!

HOW TO WIN:

It's easy, peasy - just leave your contact information below!

For additional entries:

(5) Twitter this post
(5) Blog about this contest; linking to this post
(5) Follow my blog
(5) Facebook this post
(5) Follow Rich on facebook

Let me know if you have done these things so I can give you additional entries. This contest is open to everyone.

DRAWING:
Enter by midnight, Sunday, June 26th! Good Luck!