And this little dude is from fishy fishy. I have never worked with felted wool, but I love how it looks. Just look at those big button eyes…

Fishy Fishy also does other really incredible stuff. Check out her shop at fishyfishy.etsy.com.

This little beauty is my good friend Nicole. I can only appropriately describe her as; authentic, loyal, empathetic, talented and STUNNING. She can sew ANYTHING, create just about EVERYTHING, and most recently she’s been putting her heart and soul into photography {and it’s working}.

Nicole’s photography reflects the way she sees the world. This is a happy girl, and you can tell from her photography through her composition and unique view of color. Add Nicki’s photo blog to your reader {nicolehoxiephotography.blogspot.com}, and if you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, schedule a booking now while her pricing is so affordable!

I just got back from a very fun weekend of camping: wakeboarding, foil dinners, s’mores, floaties on the lake, ice cream cones and playing cards. It felt like a retreat from the monotony. Coming home, as you can imagine, was bittersweet. Sleeping in my bed trumps sleeping in earshot of other campers and the unmistakable waft of their herb of choice, but coming back home meant back to the norm. I was ready for a change, ready for new attitude, and most of all, ready for a shower.

Cleansing Thoughts is created by the lovely and friendly Kris Jones, who wanted to make something more of her nine-to-five graphic design job. She created waterproof affirmation cards that you can stick in your shower and start your day off on a positive note. Not only are these cards durable and memorable, they are very well designed.

What I love even more about Kris is her quippy and fun greeting card site: Roast Greetings. Urban, funny, and slightly innapropriate, these are a great cards for your close friends and family. Here is a little peek at what the girls at the review party had to say about Roast Greetings:

Check out Tape Swell’s awesome decorative tapes, mailing labels, and envelope wraparounds at www.tapeswell.com.

And in with the new:

So, this time I put the Ikea furniture together *off camera* and I was a little less smiley, little more *holy frick when will this be done* about the process, made a big mess, and finished in a show-stopping three days. Oy! I’m happy with the change, and the type-A side of me won’t rest until I sew a really cool modesty panel for below the desk {I’m told that my on-camera Ikea assembly will be part of a National Geographic show due to air October-ish. Don’t worry… I’ll post links when it airs if it turns out that the camera DOESN’T add ten pounds}.

Links to my new Ikea furniture {and DO get the pasta alfredo from the food court while you’re there}

Vika Alex, Ung Drill, Vika Amon, Vika Curry

And my FAVORITE part of the room, my new sasea boutique pillow cover! These are one of my favorite products from the {oh Yes!} party, and everyone agreed. This polishes off my black and white croffice theme, and makes my green chair look SO CUTE!

They have more ADORABLE pillow covers in their shop, and I’m keeping them in mind for gifts… you can’t beat the price of $15 each, and buy two get one free!

Enter LobotoME. This product does a heap-load of weight-pulling by organizing my life! I am a busy bee: volleyball on Mondays, dinner with friends on Tuesdays, softball on Fridays, wakeboarding on Saturdays, and a myriad of odds-and-ends activities to fill my week to avoid having to sit down. Cooking dinner when I get home from said activities feels like I’m getting my teeth pulled without novocaine. I can’t stand it. BUT – LobotoME has cured me!

I’ve found that the root of the problem is having to come up with meals on the fly. I’m now using LobotoME’s “Meal Planning 101″ organizer to plan my meals ahead of time. I’m saving time, I’m whining less and spending less moolah at the grocery store with this organized list. Now, the teeth-pulling has transformed to a little arm-wrestling match between hubby and me; winner doesn’t have to cook. *wink*

With it’s contemporary design {LOVE the colors}, this is truly form meets function in my kitchen! {I have it on a mini clipboard I purchased at Longs for $2, with mod podged scrapbook paper. Oh, and what isn’t cute on a hook?} LobotoMe has other really great organizational pads {packing lists for trips, babysitter lists, honey-do lists} that are printed on recycled paper and are sold at The Container Store and on the LobotoME website.

And because I like things in pairs, I hung a framed print from 3-Lambs Graphics above my life-saving grocery list.

I think this print is so stinkin’ cute. It would have looked really cute in a sleek white frame, but I’ve got enough of those around the house, and my boring kitchen could use all the oomph it can get. There are some other really great prints at 3 Lambs Graphic’s shop {I love this one}.

And lastly, you may remember the chalkboard on the door from an earlier post. This is a vinyl decal that you can use as a chalkboard. I put it on the door because: A. That’s where I’ll see it, B. My hubby might actually read it there, C. It’s reminiscent of the frame on the door on Friends. {found at Paper Source for $6.95}