• Decorating tips
• Cleaning tips
• Entertaining ideas
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• Parenting tips
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• A life changing lesson
• A quote you find meaningful
• A product you can't live without
• Tips on making your business successful
• A person or event that inspired you and why

Please feel free to post your comments here and share anything that you think will be of value and share as many things as you would like. Need a little time to think about what you want to share?...go right ahead, I'll be here when your ready! I will compile everything into a booklet and contact all contributors who would like a copy and and send them out to you in January.

Tell me your secrets...I can't wait to see what you all come up with!

Getting lost in a great book...

Enjoying a yummy treat...

A relaxing bath...

Completing a craft project.

What's your favorite simple pleasure?

images via corbis images

The wonderful and generous Christine of Brush Dance sent me a fabulous selection of her gorgeous products to check out and I must say the below pictures do not do justice to the beauty and quality of her lovely products! They are so gorgeous and I thought for a second of hording them, but then I came to my senses and decided to offer them to one lucky winner!

First up is this gorgeous hard back journal with a magnetic closure. It truly is stunning and I love the message on the cover, it says "Three things cannot be hidden, the sun, the moon and the truth. - Buddha

Hi Sweet Friends! As you know I love repurposing and I came across a few repurposing projects that I thought were so clever and I wanted to share them with you.

photo source: country living
I just love this old chair that has been repurposed into a towel rack and shelf...super clever!

Isn't the work of Su Blackwell stunning?! This tree sculpture is made using a recycled book!

photo source: country living

And look at these vintage jewelry pieces repurposed into magnets! Refrigerator jewelry at it's best!

I'm sure my blog pal Hanna of Good Girls Studies is shuttering at the thought of using vintage jewelry as refrigerator magnets. She makes the most gorgeous and creative jewelry out of deconstructed jewelry and vintage finds.

Here is one of her creations "The Backstabber No. 9" you have to check out here etsy shop and keep her in mind for your gift giving needs this holiday season.

Finally, I want to thank all of you for your lovely comments on my last post and I also wanted to clarify a couple of things. I stated that I started my blog 6 months ago, it's actually 8 AND based on some of the comments, I must have given some the impression that I wanted more comments and/or followers. As I tried to explain in my post, I do enjoy seeing your comments but it's not why I blog. The REAL joy for me is the connections that I have made with so many wonderful and talented ladies who inspire me each and every day.

Not making myself clear is one of many good reasons I should not complain on my blog...darn hormones!!!

Thanks for stopping by today!!

Yes, I could stop blogging today and that would free up a little time for me, but that's simply not an option for me. Aside from being one of the very few things that I do just for me, blogging has brought some really wonderful women into my life that I am incredibly grateful for. I don't want to imply that it's about how many comments or followers I can get, although it's nice to see a comment...what the REAL joy for me is the connections I've made with so many amazing women and the constant source of inspiration I get from all of you. I truly adore each and every one of you!! I guess I just need to know my limits and I can only do what I can do.

I'm just keeping it real, maybe you're feeling the same why I am...just know, you are not alone sweet friend!

I love that no matter how old I get...I never stop learning!

I also love that not only does "The Italian" make amazing meals, he does dishes! How lucky am I?!! (He's going to kill me when he sees this!)

Hi Sweet Friends! I hope you all had a lovely weekend! I came across this image and find it a little haunting, yet a bit dreamy. I would love one year to decorate my house all prissy and girly style for Halloween...I'm not sure that would go over well with "The Italian" though. Goodness knows we all have a few hideous bridesmaids dresses that would be perfect hanging from a tree all lit up!

Thank you all so much for always taking the time to visit with me and for leaving such lovely comments. Many of you have been with me from the beginning...way back in March lol! I have also been fortunate to meet a lot of new bloggers lately! I cherish your friendship and generosity! There are so many wonderful and talented women out there and I am continually amazed by the support and creativity that is freely offered up in blog land!

If you've been reading my blog for anytime, you know that it has been my dream for a long time to own my own business again.

I've had so many different ideas and I recently told my friend Maggi, I feel like the Lucy Ricardo of hair brain business ideas!

I've gotten discouraged at times and I'll take a little break, re-evaluate and jump back in. There are a few quotes that I just love and these words have really helped to keep me going. The following three quotes are all from Thomas Edison, a brilliant man who invented and developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera and the light bulb.

I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.

I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.

Many of life's failures are men who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

Just think how different our lives would be if he gave up. I also recently pondered if balance was actually possible or if we just make choices. I received so many wonderful words of wisdom not to mention your words offered me so much encouragement. If any of you are struggling with balance or choices....I would love for you to read all the pearls of wisdom that I was so generously offered up here.

image courtesy of fffound

I'm getting close to sharing with you what I've been working on for awhile and I'm loving how it's all coming together! I just wish I had more time and a little more energy each day to get done all I need to.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if I had one of those wind up keys that I could wind myself up and get even more out of each day? Unfortunately that isn't how it works, I know I have to be patient, I know that things take time and I know that as long as I don't give up, eventually it will all come together and my dream will come true.

Thanks for stopping by today, I hope if you have a dream that you never give up! Have a wonderful week!

I recently bought a load of vintage hardback books with fabulous colors and graphics. I came across a project that I'm just dying to do...take a look at these fantastic purses made from hardback books!

Happy Friday Sweet Friends!

Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway that I hosted for Brush Dance. Such a lovely online shop with oodles of fantastic treasures. I hope you'll keep Brush Dance in mind for all of your stationery and gift giving needs. So without further ado....


Number 22 was selected by Random Generator and comment 22 belongs to "In my Tennis Shoes" Congratulations!

It's Halloween tomorrow and I hope you all have something spooktacular planned. Keep your eye in the sky...you just may see me flying around your neck of the woods...Boowahahahaha!

Isn't my blog makeover fabulous?!

I won a blog makeover from the super fabulous Maggi of Just Add Glitter and Stir way back in July and I thought it was going to be this long and painful process and put it off for the longest time. Silly me, the spectacular Traci of Sweet Cheeky Designs made the process so easy!

Traci asked me what I had in mind and presto...just like that she got it down perfectly! She was so easy to work with and if any of you gals are looking for a blog makeover I highly recommend her.

Thank you Maggi for having such a wonderful giveaway and thank you Traci for my super fabulous blog design...I LOVE IT!!

I'm finally feeling a bit better and I'm back at work today. I just wanted to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your kind words. I'm so fortunate to have such wonderful blog friends! I'll be by to visit you all soon!

xoxo
Karyn

Happy Friday Sweet Friends! I recently posted about the wonderful work of Kelly Rae Roberts and was contacted by Christine of Brush Dance to host a giveaway. Christine has generously offered to provide one lucky winner with a $25.00 gift card to her wonderful online shop!

Below is one of the lovely Journals by Kelly Rae that Brush Dance carries and is my personal favorite. The following quote is on the front of the journal "Happiness is a perfume which you can't pour on someone without getting some on yourself." I love that!

All you need to do to enter is checkout Brush Dance and then leave a comment here and you could be the lucky winner of a $25.00 gift card to Brush Dance! Thank you Christine for allowing me to host this giveaway!

Good luck everyone and have a fabulous weekend! I'll announce the winner next Friday!

xoxo
Karyn

I've said this before, but the only time in my life that I knew I was doing exactly what I was meant to do is when I owned my boutique in New York. I spent many hours at my store, a typically day was anywhere from 12 to 16 hours, but I never worked a minute! I spent my days playing! My feet ached at the end of the day and as soon as my head hit the pillow I was out...but it never felt like a day of work.

I can't stand my windowless corner in Corporate America and I'm going to be really honest here...I hate the back stabbing ladder climbers. Uggg...it is so zapping to my mind and spirit to see how selfish and self serving people can be. I've never been "one of those" and I detest these kind of people, they suck me dry!

I know many of my blog pals have their own online business as well as full time jobs and families. This is my struggle...how do you do it all? I've been accused of being a perfectionist and trust me I've eased up tremendously. I want to be all I can be in all aspects of my life, but is that really possible? Can I work full time at a very demanding job, create and take care of a home, be all that I should to my man, be a good friend, a creator, a business woman?

I'm looking to you for wisdom...how do I do all that I need to do but still have enough left to make my dream of owning my own business again come true?

xoxo
Karyn

With Kelly Rae Roberts! If you are not familiar with her work...do I have a treat for you!! Kelly Rae is an Artist, Author and Possibilitarian! How cool is that? I want to be a Possibilitarian too!

I recently joined Facebook and what possessed me to do so, I do not know. I already needed an additional 8 hours added to each day to get done all that I want and need to, however it did enable me to find this amazing artist!

Kelly Rae describes her work much like her own spirit, and that it expresses honesty and tenderness while remaining lighthearted and colorful. Her hope is that her work invokes a sense of clarity and peace within you as you walk your own path in life, and that it inspires you to discover your own limitlessness.