PresentPast Collection

Calendar Giveaways!

Hello everyone! I was going through the stockroom this weekend and cleaning up a bit and came across some of these 2008 Cavallini & Co. desk calendars. So I thought I would give them all away to you my friends! I have a total of 10, there are 5 Birds & Nests and 5 Vintage Letters. I figure with 10 to share it might increase the odds a bit!

Just leave a comment to be entered into the drawing. Ten random winners will be drawn on Friday. They are such adorable little calendars and the images are ones you'll want to keep long after the year is over! Good Luck and Thanks for playing along!

Temecula Barn Sale Preview

The La Maison Rustique Barn Sale starts Friday the 25th. We'll be open Friday through Sunday from 9-6 and hope some of you local gals can come by and say Hello! My friend Linda, who owns the barn, made this adorable slip covered ottoman. Wouldn't it be perfect in a bathroom?

There are vignettes of Spring all around and plenty of unique finds to add a touch of vintage to your home. Looking forward to meeting some of you! La Maison Rustique: 39195 Avenida Antonovich, Temecula Wine Country. For more information contact lamaisonrustique@hotmail.com or call 951-699-9609.

New in Shop: Little Somethings

I've added a new product category to the website called Little Somethings. I'm always looking for a "little something" to pick up for a friend or family member to show them how much they mean to me. I plan on keeping my eye out for just such gifts to add to this growing collection. You can find these Silver Heart Tokens there along with a collection of beautiful bookmarks and precious petite dream boxes.

This might fast become my favorite section of my shop and I'm looking forward to adding new treasures! Also updated today is a new selection of ID Card Cases, a must have for every entrepreneur. More to come this week: new earrings, necklaces, Cavallini, and incredible artwork. Thanks for letting me do this shameless plug! Happy Shopping!

Fun with Sweet Girl

Sweet Girl and I have been having some fun with the camera lately. She's very interested in photography and is entertaining the idea of studying it in college (along with becoming a chef and owning a cafe near the ocean). She's a very artistic and creative young lady. We took some shots so she could learn about lighting and editing photos and she made the perfect subject!

There were so many favorites, I loved all the jumping shots. I think her hair looks so cool in them and I like the way her jewelry is scattered from the motion.

I've heard that teens are a tough subject group to photograph, perhaps this one was made easy since she's my teen and I know her personality so well. I love having a shared interest in photography with her. Not only will it capture so many special moments but I can't wait to see how she blossoms with her craft.

I'm still busy working on photographing and updating the website. Also, there are plans already in the works to redo the site with a fresh new look for 2008. I hope to have that finished by February. In the meantime, lots of money was spent at the LA Gift Show and I'm excited to be adding new product categories and gifties. There should be some items available this week including a restocking of the ever popular Copper Nests. Thanks so much for your patience, you gals are the greatest!

Books in Review

Amazon has been making frequent deliveries to my house. Besides magazines and bath products, books would be next in line to absorb my earnings. Why don't I share my humble reviews with you?

Crafting a Business- A great inspirational read for anyone wanting to start their own business. It's very similar to the Business of Bliss published by Victoria magazine a few years back. There are feature chapters of well known women entrepreneurs and a few I'd never heard of, all with insight on how they did it.

Eat Pray Love- Hmmmm, I have to say first, the only reason I ordered this was because of all the "hype" about how fantastic it was. Can't say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. I felt myself trying to hurry up and finish it. There is a lot of self dialog, reflection and soul searching by way of food and yoga. In fact, I think that about sums it up.

Shrines- A gorgeous picture book for grown ups. It's full of fantastic old buildings and images from Italian shrines, cathedrals and the surrounding countryside. It's a perfect little book for the armchair traveler.

Vintage Vavoom- From the editors of Romantic Homes magazine comes this delightful eye candy book filled to the brim with beautiful photographs of bedrooms, baths, kitchens, charming vignettes and entertaining ideas. A delightful addition to my bookshelf and I'm sure will be loved by all who embrace the vintage style.

How Not To Look Old- Don't laugh! You know that secretly we don't want to grow old, let alone look old! Not as many pictures as I would like for a book of style but I did come away with a few new ideas and encouraged by some I already practice. In a nutshell, no fake nails, wear pink lip gloss, buy a pair of the latest jeans, color your hair and combat your wrinkles! How's that?

French Country Living- Oh how I would love to live in France. But since it's not possible, devouring every book on the subject will have to suffice. How is it that the French make such humble, old buildings look so effortlessly chic and stylish? Is it their fantastic brocante markets? Is it their attention to quality fabrics and linens that age beautifully? Or could it be their herb gardens with gravel lined paths? I'm trying so hard not to be jealous of the French! Which is why I continue to purchase any and all French style books I can get my hands on.

Well, that's it for today girls. What books are you reading? What books would you recommend? I prefer to read non-fiction, memoirs or style and design books. I can't seem to enjoy fiction, I'm always thinking.......this would never happen in real life! What about you, what are you favorites?

Bits & Pieces

I'm a Swap Newbie. I've never participated in one before but when my friends Karla and Beth asked me to join in their fun I decided to give it a try. Well, that and the fact that I only had to make 1 thing, then photocopy it 42 times. Sounded pretty simple and in return, I'll be getting a beautiful Valentine book filled with Sweets & Treats. When I get my book I'll share it with you and the recipe I submitted. I'm sure there will be lots of yummy things to make!

I've been doing a little shopping as well and thought I'd snap a few photos for Show-n-Tell. Seems a little pink theme might be happening since Valentine's Day is right around the corner. The wrapping paper was actually Christmas paper from the Martha Stewart line at Michaels. Good deal there. The rose napkins and French soaps are from another trip to Indigo Seas in Beverly Hills.

The Man went to a few antique shops with me as a belated birthday shopping trip. I found just a few bits and pieces of jewelry and a great school photo.

But my favorite items were the vintage Happy Birthday charm and the sterling crest charm from 1894. The front is monogrammed HCN with the year. And the back......

First Prize! Awarded to H. Newby for Roller Skating! Isn't that comical? I think it's a prize I could have easily won in the eighties. Ahhh, those were the days!

Come Away With Me

I think I've shared with you before that our home backs up to a protected canyon. It provides us with many hiking paths, streams and creeks, mountain bike trails and plenty of gorgeous picnic spots. In the photo above you can see part of the golf course and surrounding homes.

On Saturday my sister and I decided to take all the cousins and a few of their friends on a picnic hike. With our backpacks filled with goodies and water bottles in hand we started the hour long hike. The kids practically ran to the top, where do they get the energy?

This is my pink cheeked nephew on his Rock-a-Lounger. This little guy preferred to climb up the side of the mountain instead of using the trails. He's our little Dare Devil.

The hike back down was less frantic, maybe it was the tough climb or the lunch but they seemed a little more mellow on the decent even with the promise of ice cream. Happy Trails!

A Few Pretties...

Thought I'd share a few photos from one of my ongoing projects. I just finished this one today and I can't wait to be able to show the entire project to you! Until then, here's a few pretties.

Tomorrow starts my non-stop buying trip that will probably last a few days. My poor little shop has felt very lonesome due to all my happy distractions and it's time to give it my full attention! So, I'm off in search of vintage treasures and pretties. Boy have I missed flea marketing.

I have to give a shout out to all you Pampered Princesses! Just reading all the comments makes me feel pampered. Some of you really know how to do it up right! I think I'll go back and read some of your suggestions when I'm in need of a little TLC. What a great class we had, thanks for attending!

Pampering 101

Some women are masters at pampering themselves, others pamper their pets more than probably need be, and we all pamper our loved ones, which tends to come easy for most women. I thought it would be fun to have a Pampering Class and share ideas with each other on how we take some time for ourselves.

One of my daily pampering rituals is taking a long hot soaking bath. I'm the type who splurges on bath products while on vacation to bring home as souvenirs. They are my favorite gift to myself.

Another way I pamper myself is to sit outside in my backyard (weather permitting) and have lunch. Our landscape isn't completely finished or drop dead gorgeous but I still enjoy the birds, flowers and fresh air. This little break leaves me very refreshed and relaxed.

Finally, something new I plan on doing this year to pamper myself is to spend more time exploring. I want to visit new places, go to the beach more often, have picnics in the mountains and enjoy the opportunities to travel.

So...here's where you all come in! If you'd like to participate in our Pampering Class, just leave a comment answering these 3 questions.

1. What do you splurge on to pamper yourself?

2. What no-cost way do you pamper yourself?

3. What new way will you pamper yourself this year?

I can't wait to hear your answers and hope that we all enjoy reading and perhaps trying some of the ideas shared!  Happy Pampering!

Fresh Starts & Inspiration

I just love the start of something fresh! Whether it be a New Year, a new project, a new magazine or book or just new sheets they all give me such a burst of renewed energy. Fresh ideas are brewing around here and I'm looking forward to working on them and bringing them to fruition. It's that can't wait excitement of a child, ooooohhhh this will be so much fun (not thinking of the work part).

There's a project I'm working on that I can't share just yet but thought, "Hey, what's a few tiny sneak peek photos going to hurt?" It seems I'm always working in the future, things that will be happening down the road and keeping quiet can be so hard. And besides, talking about Christmas in June, and Summer in the Winter can make a girl crazy!

The fresh start energy of Operation De-Clutter is still going strong. So far, the troops and I have managed to conquer all the Christmas items, reducing them to 8 storage boxes, down from an unknown but very large double digit number. Along with that came the battle of the kitchen pantry, the refrigerator, the "plastic container" cupboards and the coffee cabinet. Whew, next will be the master bedroom closet. Wish us luck, somebody could get lost in there.

New for 2008 will mark the beginning of my Bijoux de Inspiration posts. These Jewels of Inspiration will focus on people that I find are full of inspiration, encouragement, creative passion, a generous heart and who share their unique talents in a way that sparks our imagination to live a beautiful life.

Suzanne of Pink Roses recently shared this very heart warming post on how she makes Mail Art for her daughter who is away at college. Her idea of creating weekly postcards for her daughter with a yearly theme of music is so original you just have to read about it! She also gives us a peek into her Holiday Home and my personal favorite type of posts, Flea Market Treasures! I encourage you to stop by her place for a visit, I know that you will find her to be a Jewel too!

P.S. The bijoux frame I made was my first try at digital scrapbooking and all the elements used were purchased from the fantastic site: Shabby Miss Jenn Designs.