i know it’s a fanny pack, but…

As many of you know, while J is away I’m in charge of planning our belated honeymoon to Italy in September. One of my favorite things to do is imagine what outfits I’ll wear when we visit Venice, Florence and Rome. I don’t want to look like a tourist; I want to look like a young, fashionable newlywed! I picture myself wearing cute sundresses, slim capris, and comfortable walking shoes that are NOT made by Nike.

send me an angel

I need my own business angel like this one in Bubbo-tubbo’s Etsy store. I’m feeling totally overwhelmed with the business. I need some guidance. I know I have to write a business plan, and I’m pretty sure I can handle that. It’s the financial projections that are the tough part. And I’m confused as to what order thing I need to do things: get an EIN number, find (and secure) a location, get a loan from the bank, pick a name, design a logo… I have a couple of business books, but they’re no subsitution for talking to people who have “been there, done that.” If anybody’s opened their own shop, or knows somebody who has and would be willing to talk to me, I’d love to learn how they did it. Because right now I’m feeling pretty discouraged, and I want to be feeling as motivated as I did when I returned from the Rengade Craft Fair.

taco night

photo by me

Tacos + Margaritas + Project Runway = a great night

It doesn’t get much better than that. I invited LB over for dinner last night. Her husband left on Monday for an extended business trip, and I thought that she could use the company (I know I could). We agreed that we wouldn’t watch Project Runway when it aired live on Wednesday so that we could wait to see it together.

good buy: purity made simple

philosophy’s ‘purity made simple’ is quite possibly my favorite beauty product of all time. A facial cleanser with a subtle scent, it takes off everything - foundation, eyeliner, mascara, lipstick. You won’t need to use separate eye makeup remover or toner. It’s gentle enough for all skin types and, I like to think, non-gender specific; J loves it as much as I do.

I buy a bottle every year during the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. They sell an exclusive limited edition 32 oz bottle (with a pump) for $42.50 that I guarantee will last you until the following year’s Anniversary Sale. For comparison’s sake, the largest size bottle you can buy at Sephora is 24 oz, that’ll set you back $40. You do the math.

renegade wrap-up: mucca pazza

Mucca Pazza, a self-described “circus punk marching band,” performed Sunday afternoon at the Renegade Craft Fair, and the majority of their performance took place directly in front of the CraftStylish booth. Talk about great publicity! Here are some photos I took:

(photo taken from our booth — check out Michaela in the yellow shirt and greenish skirt)

I really don’t know how to describe Mucca Pazza’s sound. Imagine if a marching band was high on Red Bull and playing tunes with a little more funk than you’d expect. Nah, I’m not even sure that’s a good description. Why don’t you check them out for yourselves here:

in entertainment: rip “sophia petrillo”

I just learned that Estelle Getty, best known as the wise-cracking Sophia Petrillo on The Golden Girls, passed away yesterday morning. She was 84.

It always amused me that although she played an octegenarian on the show, Estelle was only in her early 60s.

You can read a well-writen article about her life here.

plantable cards

Round Robin Press creates “playfully modern plantable cards.” Shannon Lowry’s line of letterpress cards are printed on eco-friendly recycled tree-free paper and embedded with seeds like wildflower, basil and chives. After receiving and reading one of her cards, which are available on her Etsy site, you can actually plant it rather than let it become clutter in your home.

daily candy deals: charmingwall

I once came across this painting by Bailey Saliwanchik on Decor8 and was captivated by colors and by the girl, who has her eyes closed like she is deep inside a memory. Although the original painting is no longer available (from what I can tell), the print can be purchased from Charmingwall for a mere $20. Charmingwall is a NYC-based gallery specializing in a curated collection of open-edition fine art prints.

breakin’ records

I had the most amount of visitors check out my blog today than any other day since it’s been up and running. That’s cause for a celebration–and a cupcake! Thank you to everyone who is reading!

Now, here’s a question for you:

What are you favorite types of posts? I want to know what you like to read so I write more of those types of posts.

And one more — how can I tell if any other websites/blogs are referring people here? I thought Sitemeter.com did that, but apparently that feature doesn’t work on WordPress.

(image via jek in the box)

daily candy deals: maya brenner

Back in 2006, when I was a publicist at DK Publishing, I worked on Maya Brenner’s book, Beaded Jewelry: Create Your Own Style. Maya was a doll, and her story was inspiring: social worker turned jewelry designer to the stars. Not fully realizing how expensive jewelry-making is as a hobby, I signed up for a bead stringing class at the JCC with a friend. She and I spent hundreds of dollars on supplies and only made a couple of pieces each, but I took such pride in the earrings and necklaces I created. And that’s the point, right?