fff vol 68

Favorite finds from the past week:


Etsy find of the week:

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Love these cute little planters. I have fallen in love with a few teeny tiny succulents at the local garden shop tht I have been wanting to get to add to my ever growing plant collection. These little planters would be so perfect. 

Please can I move in?

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Check out this amazing bubble! While I don't want to live in this bubble, I would love to hang out inside. imagine hanging out in there while it was raining out?!

Get in my belly!

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As you all know I am horribly fussy when it comes to what I will eat. I'm trying to broaden my horizons and this looks right up my alley as a possible must try for the summer.

Tee shirt of the week:

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This tee shirt looks so perfect and cozy, soft. I also love tee shirts that are more short/ boxy than long/skin tight

So what is everyone up to this weekend?

As usual we will be at the Hamilton Farmer's Market (for any locals that want to swing by and say hello - hahha tho I don't think anyone local reads this little ol blog). We are then going to head over to the the spring antique show. Hoping to get a few other display pieces for our new set up at the market.

I'm so excited to show you the new set-up..well..when it gets done. The mister is hand painting some signs, it's going to be awesome!

Have a great weekend! 

updates in the front yard..

Our yard is slowly progressing (though we have gotten a lot of rain over the last 2 weeks so things are popping up all over!) We are trying to fill in this front portion as a barrier all with different flowers and small bushes. It's fill in even thicker since taking these photos.

These were all taken last week (I'll be a week behind each week in showing you the progress) But this is the plot with our broccoli, carrots, radishes and lettuce. It is so exciting to see how fast things pop up!

We decided we not only want to have all the boxes full, we also want to give the space dimension by adding large pots filled with goodies all around the yard. 

We filled this jumbo pot with eggplant, parsley, basil and thyme. (guess that wasn't in the pot yet when I took the photo haha)

This is pineapple sage. It smells amazing. You know how a lot of the mint plants - chocolate, marshmallow, and citrus varieties - none really smell very strong, you basically just smell "mint" - I always would get so sad when I'd smell them all. But this sage, it smells JUST like pineapple when you rub the leaves. So so good!! It will be awesome come fall when the flowers come out on it. They are supposed to attract hummingbirds and butterflies.

One of the best things I did last summer was move all our irises. They look so awesome lining the backs of the boxes and front of the house (they are on both sides) And this bottom photo is awesome because if you look in the window you can see Polly howling!

Next week I'll give you potato updates, it's getting exciting!!! 

How are your gardens coming? I'd love to see where you are at in your garden, if you post about them, share the links so I can check em out.

wiw Arrested Development

Streaming Netflix 

Season Four - Netflix Exclusive

Storyline

Michael Bluth, a widower with a 13-year-old son, named George-Michael, is forced to keep his large and dysfunctional family together after his father is arrested for shifty accounting practices at the family-owned conglomerate and the Bluth family assets are frozen, making each member of the eccentric family panic. Michael's snobbish mother, Lucille, finds herself living alone in a penthouse without the financial means to maintain it, while Michael's two brothers, GOB and Buster, and his sister Lindsay with her husband Tobias and her daughter Maeby also find themselves having to recreate their lifestyles to fit their new financial status.

Like many of you, the mister and I love Arrested Development. We even watched the entire first three seasons again this past week (he watched all of them - I watched most of them) in anticipation for the Netflix Season Four to come out this past Sunday.

I thought that once we started watching it, it would turn into a marathon of watching the entire forth season. Instead, it left me not so excited. My face was a little bit like "meh?" I'm not sure if there was so much anticipation I built it up to be something more? Or maybe it will get better? We have already watched quite a few of the episodes and while there are a few funny parts, to me, it's not a good as the first three seasons.

What are your thoughts? Have you watched it? (did you watch the entire thing, marathon style on Sunday?) Does it get better? Right now I'm left a little unimpressed. Please don't be upset if you are a complete die hard fan. I'm just not feeling it yet. The mister has told me to just wait and that maybe it will get better...but as of right now..I'm still at "meh?" phase.

welcome to our backyard..

Over the years of living here our backyard has transformed just about as many times as our front yard. And like our front yard, it's finally coming together just as we imagined it to be. Now to some, it might just look like an overgrown backyard wilderness. To us, it's just what we envisioned.

It's becoming this crazy life of it's own. It's so interesting to see what is going to pop up. Random ground covers, flowers and ferns are taking over the yard...and we couldn't be happier.

Some people may look at it as laziness. We look at it as being natural and letting the land do what it whats to. Who wants perfectly mowed grass and pristine lawns that are treated with chemicals? Certainly not the bugs and insects. Certainly not us. The girls LOVE the back yard as do all the insects, butterflies, bugs, bees and birds. It will only get better as more trees and wild flowers take over. Our little forest in the middle of the city.

and the winner is....

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations!! I will have Ashley get in touch with you for your prize!


I want to apologize for there not being an interview today, the scheduled artist never got back to me this week. We'll be back on track next weekend. Hope everyone is having a nice long weekend (if you work for a company that has tomorrow off!).

We are having a small sale over at THE HIVE, use discount code "MEMORIALDAY15" to get 15% off all orders over $10 through tomorrow.

there's still time..

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You still have time to get in on the giveaway!

fff vol 67

Favorite finds from the past week:


Etsy find of the week:

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I would love these for our garden.

Please can I move in?

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This kitchen would be so amazing. I picture it attached to this small little make-shift cabin in the woods, surrounded by gardens. Or maybe I'm just describing my dream house 

Get in my belly!

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It's the start of cookout season. I would love to see one of these at one of the cookouts I find myself at this summer!

Tee shirt of the week:

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Another Zenthreads shirt..this time showing the love for my home state New York.

We are up to the forth week of the market, crazy how fast time goes. But I cannot express to you all how much I love my Saturdays, my time relaxing at the market, smelling yummy foods all around me, meeting new friends, laughing with my husband and experiencing and being apart of one of the nicest farmer's markets I've ever seen. 

After our market, my brother is home from DC for the weekend, so we are having a cookout. Fingers crossed the rain holds off. The weather keeps changing; sunny, overcast, rainy, cool..who knows..time will tell.

What plans do you all have? Any cookouts or parties for the long weekend? Ah yes, a long weekend! I definitely have been in need of a three day weekend and a day to possibly sleep in. 

welcome to my front yard part 2 potatoes!!!

Last week I shared with you the starting process of our front yard. The mister has gotten quite a bit done over the last 2-3 weeks.

Including my potato box! He built it using an old pallet. the slots on the sides will allow us to put our grubby hands in and pull out the potatoes.

He read that soaker hoses are the best to use in potato boxes. So we started by filling the bottom of the box with a mix of compost and manure.

You place the potato starters with their eyes upward - we are doing half purple (i forgot the technical names) and half gold potatoes. We then began to wrap in the soaker hose.

Covered the potatoes with more of the compost/manure mix we made up. We now will place straw on top (which is now on top- I was just too lazy to go take another picture). Once the potatoes begin growing you continue to add to the layers. Hopefully we get lots of potatoes because I'm a potato fiend! 

Next week I'll show you our awesome raspberry bushes we got (thornless in containers!) and our one plot that has our broccoli, carrots, lettuces and radishes. Unfortunately we don't have a lot of xtra cash this summer to spend on buying all the dirts/composts/peat/hummus etc. So we are going to do it the natural way- so not all will be plantable in this summer/fall. But we should have a bit going, next year tho...next year will be insanity! I can't wait. 

wiw vol 21

1953 NR 1 hour 58 minutes

Streaming Netflix

Storyline

Princess Anne embarks on a highly publicized tour of European capitals. When she and her royal entourage arrive in Rome, she begins to rebel against her restricted, regimented schedule. One night Anne sneaks out of her room, hops into the back of a delivery truck and escapes her luxurious confinement. However, a sedative she was forced to take earlier starts to take effect, and the Princess is soon fast asleep on a public bench. She is found by Joe Bradley, an American newspaper reporter stationed in Rome. He takes her back to his apartment. The next morning Joe dashes off to cover the Princess Anne press conference, unaware that she is sleeping on his couch. Once he realizes his good fortune, Joe promises his editor an exclusive interview with the Princess.

The other night we were searching for a movie and decided on Roman Holiday. I'm not sure I went this long in my life without ever watching it. I think we might go on a "classics" spree over the next few weeks. There is just something so pure about these movies. 

Any good classics I should put in our queue?

a little garden center of our own..

There is a local garden center/ nursery that is for sale that the mister and I keep dreaming of buying. If anyone wants to front us the $300k we would be forever grateful ;)

I've been trying to think of an actual way to buy it though. It would be perfect for us, especially the mister. He was born to work outdoors with plants and landscaping. He's just a natural at it.

We've been talking about the little things we would change and then he showed me this:

The mister has been interested in learning the art of sign painting and he has been reading THIS blog and been inspired by his work. (All images from his blog)

But wouldn't these be amazing? Such a great idea. Okay, now back to brainstorming (daydreaming) on how to come up with $300k....

Please head on over to The Hive today to see what's on the curing shelf this week.

meet spike..

A few weeks back a welcomed Karolina from Cats love Rats into my growing list of amazing artists I feature here each week. If you missed the interview, clicky here to read it now (or read it again)

Like a couple others I have featured, she said she wanted to send me a small present for featuring her. While I never do these features to gain anything for myself, I will say it is always such an amazing treat and makes my day when a piece of special mail shows up on my doorstep. 

This weekend this little package showed up...

I am totally smitten with this little guy. Thank you again Karolina! I can't even express how much I appreciate receiving one of your creations.

For all you reading, if you want a little bird of your own go check out her shop!

CATS LOVE RATS

Buy Handmade vol 60 PLUS GIVEAWAY!!

This week we head to Tempe, AZ

Name: Ashley Lauren Weber

Age: 28

Occupation: Metalsmith/Jeweler

Etsy Shop: www.ashleyweber.etsy.com

Tell us a little about yourself.

Hello! My name is Ashley. I’m a dog-loving, tool-obsessed, nature-inspired, Arizona-dwelling jeweler. My passion for handmade art usually keeps me awake far into the wee hours of the night and there’s really nothing I’d rather do than bring my ideas to life through metal. Rings are definitely my favorite. I consider myself a skill collector. I love love love learning when it comes in the form of artistic medium or technique.

When did you start creating and how long have you been on Etsy?

I started my business somewhere around 2005/06 and I opened my etsy shop in 2007. It took quite sometime collecting tools, materials, and a space where I could run a functional business.

How did you come up with your business name, is there any special meaning behind it?

I had saved a foil from a dove chocolate that had sat on the dash of my car all through college. The foil said, “go against the grain.” One day, on my way home, (after thinking about a business name during class) I saw the foil sitting there, as I did every day, and that was it. It was perfect. Against the grain has a lot of meaning behind it for me. Going against the grain was about the path I had decided to take in my life. I was in college and getting my degree, but I was conflicted. Against the grain is about me swallow my pride, grabbing my courage by the horns, and diving in against all odds. Against the grain is about me perusing the life that would make me the most happy.

Has your Etsy shop become your full time job? If not, would you like it to be? 

It is very very close. I think 2013 is my year. My dream is to keep my etsy shop up as my retail space as I grow my wholesale business. I love etsy because it keeps me creative. I get to offer anything and everything and it’s 100% me. I have wonderful supporters, th sweetest customers, and it’s available to people around the world.

How would you describe your creative process? 

My creative process almost always starts with a plan and ends in something completely unplanned. I like to keep my mind open. The minute an idea isn’t flowing from mind to hand to metal, I stop. I never like a piece that I had to force. And forced piece never sell. There has to be complete fluidity, and sometimes that means being pushed to the side for days/weeks/months/even years. The nice thing about working in metal is there is really no time cap, no shelf life of the material. It will always be there waiting. 

Where do you get your inspiration from?

Nature. How can anyone compete? The forms are more perfect than anything I could ever imagine. I love the water, green grassy places, all of the symmetry and movement, sprouts, pods, the whole circle of life.

Do you also sell your work at craft shows? 

I do a lot of local street and trunk shows. A favorite of mine that I do every year, during Christmas, is called Crafeteria, which is at a local downtown boutique in Phoenix that also carries my work.This year I did my first really big weekend shows.Scottsdale Artfest a two-day show and Tempe Festival of the Arts, a three-day show, right down the street from where I live. I will hopefully be doing Tempe again this December.

• How long does it take you to prepare for a show? Do you have any special methods of getting ready?

It really depends on the show. Bigger shows take months. I try to work constantly to keep myself from having to be completely focused on working just for the show. I feel like it keeps my work more inspired and less forced.

• Describe an experience from a show (good or bad) and why that pushes you to continue with your work. 

The customers and the comments and the compliments. I have so many kind people tell me how beautiful my work is, how it’s some of the best they’ve seen in years, how happy it has made them or a friend or family member and that keeps me going. It makes me realize that I’m right where I’m supposed to be, and that my work is making some kind of difference. I love knowing that something I make can make someone so happy. I love knowing that I can make a living by doing something that I really truly enjoy.

What is your most cherished handmade item? 

I am lucky to come from a family of artists. I can’t say that I have a single item. I have furniture from the time I was born, made for me and my sister by my grandfather, I have blankets from my grandmother, metalwork’s from my sister, drawings from my boyfriend… handmade means the world to me. It’s time, and skill, and love… and it’s everything to me. 

Apart from creating things, what do you like to do? 

I love spending time with my family and my dogs. We take them to the lake, on hikes, camping, road trips… I really love nature and being around water and I love photographing it all... Usually as close up and macro as I can get.

If you weren’t an artist creating your craft, what would you be and why?

I would love to do art therapy and work with children or other less fortunate.

Five years from now you will be… 

right here, just with a bigger, healthier business, living off of my craft.

Describe yourself in five words: 

energetic, warm hearted, always ready.

Carrying on with the five theme, if I were to turn on your <insert whatever type of music player you use here>, what five artists/songs would I see on your recently played list? 

Oh man, I don’t even know… I guess Katie Nash, Lilly Allen.. I’m on this light-hearted, British kick right now… Sara Bareilles, Jason Mraz, the Lumineers… I can’t work while listening to anything with too many intense sounds or beats or it completely throws me off. I usually just let my Pandora station decide for me and I’m ok with that.

Lastly, do you have any advice for anyone thinking about opening their own shop or participating in craft shows? 

Do it. You will never know unless you try, but you have to give it all you’ve got. 

AGAINST THE GRAIN

Have you fallen in love with Ashley's work? Ashley is offering one lucky Veranellies' reader the chance to win a gorgeous pair of her earrings: (must be a reader/follow via either GFC or bloglovin to enter) Good luck everyone!

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a Rafflecopter giveaway