Valentime's Day

There's a mushy gushy heart-throbby guest post written by yours truly over on my friend Melissa's blog, Hot Culture. It includes some unconventional ways to spend time with your Valentine today, including two ideas that won't cost you a penny.

My man and I are playing it low-key this year because of some recent unavoidable emergency expenditures. Nevertheless we still plan to make it a special day by going out to dinner. Not to mention, Brandon was a dear and sent flowers and chocolate to my work on Friday and, unbeknowst to my honey, I have scheduled a couple's massage for the last weekend in February. We said we wouldn't buy gifts, but... in the hustle and bustle of day-to-day mayhem, we get so few reminders to cherish what we've been blessed with.


Happy Valentime's Day everyone!

Teased...

I hate when I think I've FINALLY found the ONE THING I was looking for... the ONE THING I need to complete some project...

...only to discover after completely falling head over heels in love with it that the item is completely out of stock. Nowhere to be found. Unless, of course, I want to pay triple the price or fly across the country.

I've been searching for an olive green tall-ish lamp at an affordable price that was also curvy and hollow. Those are some really specific demands, right?

I thought so, too. Up until I found the LJUSÅS SALBO lamp from Ikea. I do a couple backflips out of my desk chair, pump my fists in the air, scream YES!!! about 30 times at the top of my lungs and then...

... just out of curiosity, because this is too good to be true, I check the stock availability.*

Sold out at the store in Ohio. That's okay, I'll just check the...

...sold out at the Atlanta store, too?!

Nooooooooo!

*At the time of writing, this lamp is only available to folks visiting the Carson, California; Costa Mesa, California; or Seattle, Washington stores.

A steal!

I feel like I robbed Target today! I picked up this beautiful silver cracked metallic Hollywood Intuition wrap bracelet on CLEARANCE for $2.98!

These are a hot item right now, so I can't figure out why it was marked down from $10 to $3. I'm not complaining, though! I almost never find a deal this sweet. I love it so much I'm wearing it right now.

Now I'm going to have to stalk the clearance racks for one of these babies:

It's regularly priced at just $30, but the thrill of the hunt today has got me thirsty for more!

Etsy Envy

I've always had the girly dream of crafting something so awesome that I could sell it on Etsy. Not only could I make money, but I could be crafty and be my own boss. Sounds perfect, huh?

That dream has sadly not come true yet, but if I were a savvy Etsy crafter, here are some things I would want in my shop:

A camera bag just like this one by Bankgrrl. I know what you're thinking: THAT'S a camera bag? Yes, it is! It's beautiful and functional, and for how much my wonderful boyfriend spent on my camera I shouldn't even bat an eye at $165 to keep it safe. I want one so bad...

An adorable and versatile print like farouche's "Crocodile Scales." I love that it also incorporates the famous poem "How Doth the Little Crocodile" from Lewis Carroll's book, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Felted pieces, like this lime felted bowl by shanineal. I love the color and the texture. Felting is definitely high on my list of things to learn how to do!

A magazine holder like paperdollwoodshop's "M is for magazine" in white would be a beautiful house for my new subscription of  "House Beautiful."

Necklaces made of buttons are my new obsession, so you can bet my shop would have something like minski's Golden brown button necklace. How cute!

Upcyclying is the repurposing of a material into a product of higher quality. I would love to be able to save tons of potential landfill space by making upcycled bags, like this Upcycled Sunburst Fused Plastic Wristlet by curiousdoodles.

Maybe someday, like when I am making tons of money on the side selling my own Etsy creations, I will be able to buy all of these treasures. But then again... wouldn't I be able to make my own? Argh! Catch-22!