Visions of Etsy Danced in Her Head

About two weeks ago I got the idea to start seriously looking into opening an Etsy shop. This idea has been lurking in the back of my mind for quite a while now, but I have never been able to focus on what I would actually want to sell or taken time to get a solid action plan off the ground.  

Over the last year I have seen friends open Etsy shops and heard examples of people crafting all year and just selling at Christmas, for instance. Some of these stories have convinced me that Etsy is something I can do, and not some far out, unattainable goal.

With the Etsy selling model I can spend a relatively small amount of money creating a few items to have on hand, and if they sell, great, I'll continue making. If items don't sell, I will have nice gifts for birthdays and Christmas. I can't go wrong. 

Before you start raising eyebrows, the point of my starting an Etsy shop is not to get out of the traditional workforce, but to have fun and see what comes of it. 

I will be putting a lot of groundwork into this, and I'm almost looking at it like applying to a job you know you won't get. That sounds a little pessimistic, but hear me out. When you apply for a job that is a far reach, you still have to put time and effort into updating your resume, asking for references, and writing the perfect cover letter to highlight skills and qualities the employer is looking for. All that work takes time, and though you will probably not get the job, you do all you can to shrink the margin as much as possible. 

In the last few years the Etsy marketplace has grown enormously, making for stiff competition. Going into this, I am not looking to make a full time income, but I do want to be able to sell something. In order to sell I have to take the shop seriously. I will write a business plan, spend time marketing the shop via social media, follow pricing equations, and create items that I will be proud to sell. I plan to treat the shop like a part time job, and dedicate a no excuses number of hours each week to it's upkeep and maintenance. 

Be on the looking for a new blog and updates about these ideas in my head. This blog might be sparse until then, as I'll be focusing a lot of my time figuring out the world of Etsy. My current goal is to give myself about two months of prep time and then "open shop". 

Perhaps you are wondering exactly what I will be making? I'll give more details later as I finalize what I want to make, but the primary craft will be sewing. 

Aaaaaand we're back!

Hey there blog-land.

I apologize for the extended absence. I'm still here!

What has been going on with me lately? 

•  I've read some new books
•  For a while there work was on a weird schedule. Some evening tasks, some travel. I thrive on routine and find it difficult to do normal things if I don't get home at the same time every day. 
•  I turned a quarter century old
•  Weekends have been fun filled with lots of adventuring and time with new friends

Lately, I have been getting into the groove and have really been enjoying Florida life. Not that I was miserable before or anything, but in my last few moves I have found that it takes about a year for me to feel comfortable and at home in a new place. 

Who knows the exact formula for how this works, I think it has something to do with becoming comfortable with new traffic patterns, not needing a GPS to get around, finding and becoming part of a new church, and having a group of friends locally. 

This whole process could probably happen faster were I a bit more proactive. I could have jumped in with both feet, joined groups immediately, and invited people over for dinner or movie nights much sooner. For me, these steps are not always easy. I like to say that I enjoy having new friends, but I do not always enjoy making new friends. I wish I could get past that awkward stage of not knowing someone else's sense of humor and views, or wondering if they will understand your sarcasm, or even wondering if there is anything you have in common. 

Whenever and wherever we move next I think I will push myself to find community more quickly. Though I have to say, it is a relief to know that we are parked in the same place for several years. I love being able to put down some roots. And to be honest, I think it would be sad to leave a place that I wouldn't miss. 

Here's to contentment with life!

January Beach Day

Florida living sure has it's perks. December-March around here are perfect. For the most part we had a lazy MLK weekend, though on Monday we made time to visit a local state park.

Hugh Taylor Birch State Park was a nice combo of beach and woods. Here are a few snapshots from my phone:

The water was so blue that day, and very cold. We noticed that over half the cars in the parking lot were from Quebec, so I'm sure they thought it was plenty warm.

This tree is magical. It's called a banyan tree. The large branches put down these root/vine things (sorry for my lacking botanical knowledge) which eventually hold up the rest of the tree. This thing is mind blowing. 

David had to climb :)

Walking around and exploring this tree made me feel like I should be inside some sort of fantasy novel. I think everyone needs to see a banyan tree at some point. 

Ready for the weekend

Home. Home for the weekend. I've already got on my comfy loose jeans and favorite t-shirt. Redbox sent me a free rental code and I am ready to chill. A cup of tea is in order here shortly.

But first, brainstorming a few to-dos for this weekend

• Hang pictures and anything else that belongs on the wall, not the floor pile where they currently reside
• Look into frames for one of said pictures 
• Finish up the last of the wedding thank-yous
• Reorganize kitchen, but only if I feel like it (this is probably the item on the list that will actually get done)

Happy Friday to all! 

Me. On a weekend. A while ago. 

Christmas is Coming!

So, how are we doing Christmas this year?

We have the milestone of our first married Christmas, and I'm relishing decorating our home and celebrating the season with out going overboard.

First things, first. Our tree.

Please enjoy the look of this tree. I think Charlie Brown would be proud. The story here...we were debating about our tree. At the apartment there isn't really space to store an artificial tree (plus I don't want an artificial tree) and the real ones are expensive, and again the space situation. So when we saw this Norfolk Island Pine we thought it was a perfect compromise. And it's a live tree, David thinks we can use it next year, ha! 

This plan seemed all well and good until I put the tree in our apartment. Suddenly this pine did not look so much like a Christmas tree. Alas. We decorated the tree, covered it in lights, and put on our ornaments. This was a great lesson in why the varieties of trees use for Christmas have been selected. This one cannot hold up ornaments to save it's life. Please note the droop of the tree. I love it anyway. Even if it won't get me on the cover of Better Homes and Gardens. 

I think this nativity is my favorite Christmas decoration. Growing up, a friend of my mom's gave me a new piece for Christmas each year. Not pictured: the shepherds and wisemen. 

I got the supplies to make a memory wreath at my bridal shower. My mom always put one out at Christmas in our house. The idea is that you add little trinkets from vacations, major events, or whatever else. I was gifted with a few quilted yo-yos in fabrics that relate to our interests so we started with that and we'll add another item or two each year. 

Right now I'm knitting my Christmas stocking. It won't be done in time, but I'm okay with that. I was going for a candy cane look, but when I look at this all I can see is Cat in the Hat. 

A couple years ago I made David this stocking and have been gifting things in it ever since. The stocking is my favorite gift part of Christmas so I love to make luxuriously large ones. 

This month we have been reading this devotional by Ann Voskamp most days. I tend to get swept up in all the other aspects of holiday cheer that sometimes I miss the fact that we are celebrating Christ's birth. The devotional has been helpful in keeping me a little more centered. As far as recommendations...this is written in a very poetic style. Sometimes it is difficult to process and challenging to read aloud. All the same, I am glad we are doing this together. 

This year I tried to get fancier with cookie decorating. I'm learning the in's and outs of royal icing. Be on the lookout for improved cookies next year.

Hope you enjoyed the tour of our celebrations and decorations this season. Have a very merry Christmas!

Thankful

This Thanksgiving was the first that I did not spend with extended family. Normally Thanksgiving is hosted at my parents house and I'll spend the day before and day of Thanksgiving cooking and prepping food with my mom. The day of, we watch the parade and shortly after, family members start to arrive. Then we drink mulled cider, snack on pumpkin bread, and generally catch up. Thanksgiving with family is one of my favorite days of the year.

This time around it wasn't in the cards to fly up to Maryland. We did get to spend the day cooking, parade watching, and spending time with new friends. This was also our first married Thanksgiving. Somewhat of a bitter-sweet Thanksgiving with more emphasis on the sweet.

Oddly, I didn't take any pictures of the food, but David and I made macaroni and cheese, stuffing, candied sweet potatoes, an apple fig pie, and a pumpkin pie. Even though we weren't hosting, I also made a turkey breast specifically so we could have leftovers. We'll finally finish the thing off today.

Now, I have got to share what David was thankful for this year. We were invited to celebrate with one of David's co-workers. I've posted about the banana farming before and it's the same people. Recently for their farm they purchased a fire-weeder. If you are wondering exactly what this is, I didn't know either. But here are some pictures of David fire-weeding on Thanksgiving. He was definitely thankful for that.

Basically, it's a hose of fire that kills weeds

All the cars that passed by slowed down to see what we were doing. I suggested that they should sell tickets to let people use the fire-weeder

David with the assist

I love that he has a huge smile in every picture. Fire-weeding was definitely a Thanksgiving first for us.

Another family tradition is the annual Thanksgiving walk. We do a short stroll around the neighborhood between dinner and dessert. This year after dinner we walked through rows of banana trees. Keeping up family tradition with a bit of a Florida twist!

Florida Safari

This past weekend we went on a little adventure. Our friend Susanna (former grad student at David's station) was down and it ended up being her birthday weekend, so it was a perfect time to do something new. David, Susanna, other grad students, interns and I went to Lion Country Safari.

Lion Country Safari is one of those places where you could drive through and see different animals up close. The day was a little rainy and you had to keep windows closed, the pictures might not be the best, but we theorized that because it was a little rainy and hence cooler, the animals were a little more active than they might have been otherwise.

Water Buffalo

Some kind of large antelope

The Lions! I was hoping the wouldn't be behind a fence, but alas that was safest.

Two lions rolling around like little kitties. 

Gemsbok (I think)

Really cool cattle breed

This guy!

Could not miss the giraffe feeding opportunity

David of coarse did a little tug of war with his lettuce piece.

And who knew we would get to see an alpaca fight during the walk through part of the park?

WHAM

And finally, the ever popular strangle-you-with-my-own-neck technique. Don't worry about these guys, they survived and their fight cooled off by the time we left

Finally the sign for the park, probably would have made a great first picture. Ah well.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this place for a fun afternoon. The park was a little pricier than most activities we would do so it's probably not something we'll go to again, but for sure a fun one time thing. A season pass would be well worth it for families with kids. 

One time on vacation when I was younger (I think maybe Canada?) my family went to a safari park. Have you ever been to one of these? What did you think, cheesy? fun? better/worse than a zoo? 

A few more things

Just a couple more pre-wedding snapshots I thought were worth sharing

Me with my new best friend. I can't even describe how excited I was for this wedding gift. My bridesmaids pitched in and got me a Kitchen Aid mixer together. I was shocked, awed, amazed, thrilled. Since before I met David I've been dreaming about a Kitchen Aid mixer, so this was awesome. The mixer has already been put to work making donuts, crusty bread, banana bread, whipped cream, and cheesecake. Wow, listing all that together in less than a month sounds really unhealthy. But don't worry, I've been exercising too. Last week I dedicated a run to wine and cheesecake. 

This is the back of Emily's head

We played around with her hair to figure out a simple cute style. All we did was make a low ponytail, flip it through once, flip it through again, and tuck in the ends and secure with bobby pins. Easy peasy. Also, to me this looks like a way that Mary Crawley from Downton Abbey might wear her hair. If Lady Mary would wear her hair like this, we should too. 

Allie was our manicure expert and did a stellar job helping with all the nail doing. I got in trouble because I kept touching things or almost touching things and messing up my drying nails. Oops. Also here you get to see Emily's face, she has a nice face and the back of the head picture did not do it justice.

This picture of my mom is the only picture on my camera from the day of the wedding. (Doesn't she look pretty!). Love the slippers with the dress look. She did remember to change shoes before the ceremony if anyone was wondering. 

What's on Your Bookshelf?

Over on Modern Mrs. Darcy there is a link-up to share bookshelves. Either what is on yours, a list of favorites, or just a look at the way you store books.

Here are a few snapshots of mine:

This first one, the bookshelf by the stairs is multi-purpose. It is for games, old textbooks and notebooks, and some fiction and non-fiction thrown in there. The middle shelf is currently where I'm throwing all the stuff I don't know what to do with.

This next shelf is in the corner of my bedroom. This is my most loved little spot that I almost never use. Knitting and books all in one corner...what more could one want. This shelf is mostly fiction. I've probably read about 70% of these books, so I've still got a nice handful of fiction passed down from mom that is on my to-read list. The bottom shelf is my collection of A Series of Unfortunate Events. 

Finally,  this bookshelf, is in the corner of what I call the office/dining room/kitchen storage area of the apartment. Please note the food processor attachments and exercise ball. This shelf is for cookbooks, scrapbooks, yearbooks, Norman Rockwell books, Bibles, a little more fiction that has yet to be read, and a few other odds and ends. 

Hope you enjoyed the bookshelf tour. What is on yours?

Some More Wedding Prep

For wedding favors David and I decided we would like to bake cookies for our guests. Chocolate Chip is a classic, and I have a recipe I've used at parties a few times that has gotten rave reviews, so our troops spent an evening and morning mixing, measuring, baking and bagging cookies. Since baking is one of my top loves in life I was in heaven at this point. 

We also tied people's seating cards to apples, which turned into quite a project in itself. BIG thanks to Allie and Mom for getting those done while I was throwing flour and sugar around the kitchen. I'll let the pictures tell the story from here. 

Random, but I couldn't not take a picture of this chicken dish my mom made. YUM. 

My arm was so tired after all the mixing. 

As you can see this wasn't the healthiest thing anyone has ever eaten.

Me enjoying my life

Allie and Mom hard at work. Allie was one of my bridesmaids. BFFs since kindergarten.

Looks like David is doing some measuring.

The final step in our assembly line, bagging.

She was good at honoring my bridezilla request of trying to have different apple varieties at each table. Thanks Allie!

We may have all eaten more than the recommended number of cookie servings in a day. This is evidence that Erik was kind enough to make sure the cookies would be safe for guests.