I have to admit, I'm in the midst of a particularly murky Monday. May be a bit hungover from copious amounts of jellybeans and chocolate consumed over the weekend. (Good-bye Lent, hullllloooooo chocolate!)
On a side note, if you almost single-handedly consume an entire bag of Starburst jellybeans in a single day, you will have some pretty strange dreams that night. (Think, like "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" sort of dreams.) Not that I know from experience or anything. *cough* Anyone else indulge just a little too much in the Easter sweets this weekend?
Once again, the Easter bunny was exceedingly good to me. Not only did he deliver a ton of chocolate, the flowers pictured above, and a beautiful apron (which I could have used when I splatter melted chocolate and butter all over my cashmere sweater while making a flourless chocolate cake on Saturday), he also brought a little companion (picture below on the right) for one of last year's Easter surprises.
For the holiday, my parents came up on Saturday afternoon and spent the night. We enjoyed the beautiful balmy weather on Saturday (50+ degrees! Sunshine! Mud!) by punting around the neighborhood and sitting on the deck sans jackets. Yesterday morning, the weather had shifted a bit and it was cool enough for a two mile hike up to a nearby scenic overlook (where it was very, very breezy at the top) without spending the whole hike punching through melting snow. We came back for a midday meal of lamb tagine over couscous, a big salad, and chocolate cake. T'was another lovely Easter for the record books, but I have to admit that a 6+ day workweek followed by a holiday weekend was enough to take the wind right out of my sails. After my parents took off, I promptly fell asleep for over an hour. Hosting is hard work. ;)
I did rally to get the first of my seeds started. More on that later this week.
I'm giving away a pair on the Handmade MN blog. Click here to learn how to enter. Hint: if you follow this blog, or me on Twitter and Facebook, you've already earned yourself a few giveaway entries. I'd love to ship these off to a loyal blog reader, so don't be shy - step right up and enter!
Happy Easter Monday and April Fools Day! May your pranks today be good-hearted and tricks pulled on you truly amusing! Side note: I really hate April Fools Day. As someone whose humor is heavily grounded in sarcasm, I've never found April Fools Day antics very funny, since they tend to hinge on ignorance. And I think we can all agree, ignorance is no laughing matter!
I'm once again participating in a giveaway with fellow bloggers and Etsy shop owners over at Ashley'sAfter Nine To Five.Check out the fun prizes and enter to win below! -Ada
Happy Wednesday! We have a rockin' giveaway for you today from a great group of bloggers and handmade business owners. These girls are crazy talented so be sure to stop by their blogs, visit their shops, and say hello on Twitter or Facebook after you've entered to win this fabulous swag. And if you're interested in taking part in next month's giveaway (the theme is Eco-Friendly/Earth Day) - just let us know! We'd love to have you :)
I partnered with Ashley from After Nine to Five to bring you this amazing Valentine's Day giveaway. You could win a set of my heart cup cozies from my Etsy shop and a whole lot more. Ashley was kind enough to share the giveaway code with all participants, so you can easily enter right from this page. You have through Wednesday to enter. Good luck!
Almost twenty bloggers joined forces for a HUGE Valentine's Day themed giveaway to celebrate the month of love! Not only can you win tons of goodies for you, your loved ones, AND even your blog - but you can also win $75 to Amazon to shower that special someone (even if that special someone is you!) with gifts this year. There's a TON of ways to enter to win and TONS of awesome blogs and shops to check out. What are you waiting for?!
Lil' Alice essential zip pouches are one of the most popular items in the shop! For the sweetest holiday of the year, lil' alice has a limited edition set for YOU! The set includes 1 - 8x6 & 1- 7x4. Perfect for makeup, money, receipts, sunglasses & more!
Small clutch featuring two applique hearts in two darling prints. Great size for fitting all your essentials & much more, also great for organizing a bigger bag. Perfect for the sweetheart in your life, even if that sweetheart is you!
Similar to the one in the enclosed photo but only in Valentines Day colors and themed. Very warm but light, sturdy, and extremely cute. Perfect for Valentines Day.
A set of sweet coffee cup warmers with a sweetheart design from Of Woods and Words
One red and one pink - from my Etsy shop, Yes Sir, Yes Sir! Handknit from 100% wool yarn, these sleeve for your coffee cup will keep your coffee (or warm beverage of choice) hot and your fingers cool. A charming gift for Valentine's, but can be used year-round, because who doesn't love their coffee?!
Everyone deserves a little extra love + pampering on Valentine's Day...even your online space, so let's show your blog some love! We'll start with our Mini Social Media Design Package featuring a custom Facebook Timeline Cover + Twitter Background + then after reviewing your blog/social media platforms, we'll provide 5-8 personalized ideas on how you can improve/grow in the online conversation - we'll talk about design, reader engagement, content strategy, + more! We'll wrap it all up with a free enrollment + the necessary materials for an upcoming Blogger Playdate workshop - great for newbies to the blogging world to give you tips, tricks, + resources for maximizing your online space!
"Grink Splatter"" thank you cards, set of 14 from Gourmet by Janae
Show the love to someone you're grateful for! Give one of these stylish thank you cards to someone who has truly touched your heart. Blank inside, measure 3.5 inches by 5 inches, envelopes included.
Chocolate Lip Balm Trio + 3 Month Lip Balm Subscription from The Gnarly Whale
You'll receive three vegan lip balms - chocolate raspberry, chocolate strawberry, and chocolate banana - PLUS a three month lip balm subscription to help ensure that you have totally kissable lips even after Valentine's Day is over.
On Monday I was sitting at the computer, working away, when I heard a knock at the door. I figured it must be the last Christmas present I'd ordered arrived, but when the FedEx lady handed over the box, it looked a little big for what I was expecting. I flipped over the box and found a pleasant surprise: lebkuchen from Paula over at Love is a Journey had arrived!
Lebkuchen is a traditional gingerbread-like cookie baked at Christmas time in Germany. When I opened the box, I found an assortment of charmingly packaged lebkuchen of all different shapes and size, which I tucked under the Christmas tree.
"Hey what's this?" Andy asked, spying the assortment of goodies beneath the tree when he got home from work. He opened of the boxes. "Oh my gosh, did you see these?" he asked, his eyes growing wide. "HUGE chocolatecookies!"
Everything is so beautifully packaged that I'm hesitant to open anything. We are nibbling our way through the package of HUGE chocolate cookies and I have to admit that the package of Butterzeug (butter cookies) are nearly gone. (Hey, I like my butter.) I love holiday traditions, and I'm thrilled to be incorporating German Christmas traditions into Christmas 2010 at the cabin.
The closest I've ever come to being in Germany at Christmas is switching planes in Munich for a J-term trip to Italy back in 2006/07. But this isn't my first brush with lebkuchen. Back in high school, I worked on an online teen e-zine and one of my fellow editors lived in Germany. One Christmas, she sent all of the e-zine editors an assortment of German Christmas candies and included a small lebucken ornament in the parcel. There's been a piece of plasticized lebkuchen hanging on my Christmas trees for years!
While studying in Ireland in 2005, I had a chance to visit my fellow editor and experience Germany for a long weekend. Although this picture of snowy Heidelberg in the Rhine Valley was taken in March, this how I imagine a German Christmas: all snowy castles, brightly lit storefronts, lebkuchen and mulled wine.
Thank you Paula for a taste of German Christmas. That first sweet bite of lebkuchen brought back equally sweet memories of Christmases and travels gone by.
