Quirky

Do you know what I love? Shops that are different. Shops that are fun and offer up the unexpected. I’m so tired of the same old stuff. That’s why I LOVE Quirk Gallery here in my hometown of Richmond, Virginia. (Or RVA, as we locals call it) Although I have to admit, I didn’t know that it existed until we moved back to town a few years ago. I’m learning so much about my city and its people now. There’s like this whole other side to Richmond that I never knew about it. It’s actually kind of cool. And cool is exactly what Quirk is. Their online shop is full of unique finds. Trust me, if you need to buy a gift for a friend that is hard to buy for, there is no way you will walk out of Quirk, or click on a new page, without a gift in hand. Some of my faves? This Richmond tote is so super cute!

And check out these cork toast coasters! Too cute to pass up and they would totally complete “the look” for your next cocktail gathering.

And this is just an itsy bitsy sampling of what they have in store. Their jewelry collections are killer too. You must must must check them out. I know that I’ll be headed there for future events and birthdays. Way to go Quirk. In a world full of too many big box stores, you are a breath of fresh air. (even if it is 100% humid, nasty, sticky air) RVA loves you!

P.S. This is the first of many more favorite local spot posts to come! This city is chock full of hidden gems. I can’t wait to keep discovering more. Stay tuned.

Life happens

Hey everyone! I’m back. It’s been far too long. It’s been a crazy couple of weeks around here. My sister and her family were in town last week and I’ve been super busy getting City Girl Sweets and City Girl Sews ready for fall. I’ve been sewing like crazy and loving every minute of it. I wish there was some way to combine my two businesses somehow. But how do you combine candy and sewing?? lol Oh well, they’ll have to remain separate for now. We’re getting Jack ready for his first day of school next month. He’s two and a half and will just be going two days a week. It’s hard to believe. He’s growing up so fast! Yesterday I took him to see his first real movie in the theatre. It was Shrek, whatever the latest one is. He was so excited. I was terrified. I went with a friend so that made it less scary. She brought along her four year old son who is an old pro at the movie going experience.

Jack and Kelton at the movies

He (my friend’s son, on the right in the picture) was so quiet and well behaved, I almost forgot he was there. Jack on the other hand, everyone knew he was there. It’s not that he had a crying fit or anything, he just had no concept of how many other people were in the theater with him. Let’s just say that he wasn’t using his inside voice. I suppose it could have been a lot worse. He could have been a popcorn hogger. Turns out he doesn’t like the stuff and he barely ate any of the m & m’s that he made me buy for $4.50. So I took care of both of those for him. I’m such a good mom. The movie was free, so it wasn’t a total loss. I think we may wait a bit longer until we take him to another movie. Like when he’s 12. How old was you son or daughter when you took them to see their first movie? When my husband and I were living in Seattle, they had special auditoriums in select theaters that offered special viewing rooms called “Crying Rooms”. Genius right? All of the new parents with screaming infants could sit together in a room with soundproof glass and not worry about disrupting the movie for all of the other patrons. We never went, but it seemed like an awesome idea.Anyway, just wanted to pop in and say hello. I’d love to hear what you guys have been up to this summer. Have you done anything fun with your little ones?

xoxo

S

fav etsy shop of the week: paint me a picture

Alright you guys, here’s my fav Etsy shop of the week! paint me a picture

I am constantly looking for art for my walls and have the hardest time finding anything that doesn’t look like something I would find in a dozen other homes in my neighborhood. Honestly, my best finds are usually at Target. So I was psyched to find Paint Me a Picture. So here’s the deal: Lindsay creates one-of-a-kind artwork that is really affordable. It’s that simple. My kind of girl! Her work is super super cute too!

I love this one.

and this one….

I keep picturing these mustache ones in my bathroom. I think it would be so cute! What do you guys think? Are you loving them as much as I am? Mustaches are suddenly so in right now! A completely random trend don’t you think? Be sure to check out her shop for lots more! Ta ta.

xoxo

-S

I’m still here!

I bet you thought that I forgot about you guys? Nope. My hubby had this past week off from work and I just kinda got caught up in other things. But I’m here now with some exciting news. City Girl Sweets has debuted a new flavor. Butter Rum! I know, right?!?!? It is so good you guys! I can’t wait for you to try them! Click on over to Etsy right now. They’re debuting at a special price ($6.95) for a very limited time.

I also opened up my second Etsy shop this past week. City Girl Sews. Now I have a shop for each of my passions, confections and sewing! City Girl Sews features my quilted vinyl wallets. I absolutely love them. They’re so soft and squishy. I plan on featuring more sewn goodies in the future, but for now I am busy sewing these little cuties.

That’s about all that’s been happening around here lately. I’ll be back really soon for my Fav Etsy Shop of the Week post! I hope you guys are all having a relaxing weekend! I’m off to pour myself a glass of pinot!

xoxo

S

Scrapbuster ~ Potholder Tutorial — Fresh Lemons Modern Quilts

I just found this adorable potholder tutorial over at freshlemonsquilts.com. Even though I’ve done it a bunch, I have such a big fear of doing binding. Think I might be brave though because these are way too cute to pass up.

Adorable right?? I love the bold colors. It’s so fresh and fun!

For the details, go check it out at Scrapbuster ~ Potholder Tutorial — Fresh Lemons Modern Quilts.I’d love to see photos if any of you try it out! She has some absolutely gorgeous quilts for sale in her Etsy Shop too. Her work is flawless! Sigh. I’m so envious. I’m the worst kind of quilter…the impatient kind. I want the end product like yesterday, so I end up cutting corners which results in a not-so-perfect quilting project. I’m working on becoming more patient…but man…being patient takes too long.

mini side project

I needed a creative outlet yesterday so bad! So I headed into the craft room to check out my fabric stash, which by the way is a complete disaster. I’ve had buntings and banners on the mind lately…so I found some burlap and some cute red fabrics and dove right in.

It’s not complete yet, but I’m really happy with how it’s coming out. I’ve already scouted out the perfect spot for it in the living room. Burlap is such a pain in the butt to work with though. I searched the house for something that I could use to keep the edges from fraying. I ended up using nail polish top-coat and it worked like a charm! So I cut the hearts out and ironed them onto the burlap rectangles.

Now I’m in the process of hand-stitching around the hearts with embroidery floss.

When the stitching is all done I’m going to string the rectangles on some twine and call it a day! It’s the perfect rainy day project…although yesterday wasn’t rainy. It was REALLY hot though and there was no way I was going outside, so it might as well have been a rainy day. More pics to come when it’s finito!

Fav Etsy shop of the week: Nest Pretty Things

Nest Pretty Things is one of my fav Etsy shops. I have yet to make a purchase but I am constantly browsing her work. I have a few pieces that I am coveting. Who am I kidding? It’s more than a few, more like a few dozen. Her designs are just gorgeous! You’ve got to check her out.

Seriously? This is beyond words! Completely original. Love it! It’s so me and definitely way up there on my “must have” list. Honestly, I am in awe. I don’t consider myself to be totally creatively challenged…but listen, it took me MONTHS to design the packaging for my caramels. It was agonizing. I think if I had an infinite amount of time, I would still be working on it…tweaking this and that, reconsidering fonts. It was a disaster. So anyways, my point is, I am amazed at how creative some people are. I could never dream this up….but she did for me…so that’s cool. So perfectly whimsical, original. It just makes me smile.

These are gorgeous as well! I’m loving the yellow against the blue! The holidays will be here before we know it. Her stuff is really reasonably priced. Her stuff would make awesome gifts. Shoot, her packaging is freakin adorable too, you wouldn’t even have to wrap. Sold! Last year my family did this whole “handmade” Christmas things. It sounded like a really fun idea until like a few days before Christmas. We were all scrambling and freaking out. Well, at least I was. Very stressful. But I’m a huge procrastinator. I hate that about me. This year I’m still doing handmade…just not handmade by me! I’ll be supporting fellow artisans and saving my sanity. We all win. Anyhoo, please check out Tamar’s shop. I know you’ll love it! Ooohh, I almost forgot. She also has a children’s shop. You can find it here. Happy browsing guys! ♥♥ -S

How did i not know about this????

So last night I was up late in to the night on my iPad. I stumbled across Lark. WHAT!?!?!! How could a store this cute exist without my knowing of it?

How cute would these be on some old jars? They would be gorgeous additions to rustic wedding favors!

 

Ok, wait a minute. I have to regain my composure.  I haven’t felt this way about a store since I first discovered Cath Kidston several years ago. Ok, breathing steadily now.

 

I know, right??? So not fair. Why are all of these amazing stores in other countries? What is wrong with the United States? Do we not have good taste? Oh, they’re having a huge sale too!! It runs from June 29th to July 1st. Go now…QUICK!!. www.larkmade.com.au

 

 

 

 

Oh how I miss Castle

Since having a baby, I don’t get to watch a huge amount of tv like I used to. Now the tv is tuned to Sprout pretty much 12 hours a day. The only I can watch anything meant for people older than 10 years old is if I DVR it. So thank God for my DVR. But it’s summer and there isn’t really anything good on anyways. I miss the fall shows already. I know, I know. I still have like three months before they come back. But I’m already jonesing for “Castle”. If you have not seen this show, you are missing the best show on television, hands down. Nathan Fillion is cast as Rick Castle. And Stana Katic (gorgeous as always) as Kate Beckett. She and Fillion are perfectly cast together. Somebody knew what they were doing. Genius.

His character is so completely charming and handsome.

 

Swoon!

And don’t get me started on the chemistry between Nathan and Stana Katic. It is electric! The best chemistry I’ve seen on television. Great, now I’m missing it even more! Anyway, it was coming on Monday nights @ 10pm on abc, but I’m not sure if that’ll stay the same this fall. Wait I just checked. Yep, it’ll be the same and the premiere date is September 19. Not too bad. You’re welcome abc…for the plug 🙂

letters to juliet

I recently had to “renew” my bundle with Verizon FIOS. When I called to see what the deal was, they offered me six free months of Showtime. Sweet! I don’t usually subscribe to the movie channels because our cable bill is already through the roof. So I jumped at the chance to have some movie channels for free for six months. It turns out it is three free months and not six. But it’s free….so I’ll take it. I’ve been wanting to see “Letters to Juliet” for some time now. When I turned it on, it only had about twenty minutes left…but man….now I’m dying to see the rest!

 

I love Amanda Seyfried. She’s such a talented actress. And the movie had such a gorgeous setting. Italy. It is my dream to visit one day. Such a beautiful country!

Isn’t it gorgeous??  Hmmm…my husband and I still haven’t been on a honeymoon. Hmmm…..

I can’t wait to see the rest of the film. I think I will check to see if it is available OnDemand……after I research some Italy vacations online.