Just a quick note to let you know about two online boutiques that I have been exploring lately  – first up is Jen Altman‘s pop up shop called ‘the favorites’ where she has a beautiful selection of prints from her past collections available for a limited time…

from jen’s feather & bone collection, now available in the favorites.

And field & sea‘s etsy boutique is filled with some great new handmade treasures like little reminders,  printed cards, script beads and kraft stickers…

It occurred to me the other day that once upon a time, when I was much more organised, I used to have a collection of special little gifts for spontaneous gift-giving. I think these two boutiques are the perfect places to find such treasures. Also, how cool are the script beads? I know I’ve featured them before, but they still make my heart flutter.

How incredibly gorgeous are these translucent porcelain cups by stepanka? They even have little rainclouds in the bottom…

Go and check out the rest of stepanka’s creations – no doubt you will flip out like I did when you find the abc cups, the polka dot cups, and double cup set.  I was going to save them for my upcoming holiday gift ideas bonzanza but I couldn’t resist! They are too darling and I want all of them.

xx

PS Cath just posted the next incredible sequel to her Spain adventure in the (blog)house guest quarters, it will brighten your day for sure! Click here to read her post. Thank you dear Cath.

PPS it is so rainy here!

Last week on my etsy favourites post I mentioned there was something in  sadie olive that I really really wanted. Today reader Judith reminded me in a comment that I had not yet revealed what it was, and that although she wasn’t losing sleep over it still, she was curious. So, Judith, this post is for you! And for anyone else out there who was curious about my ‘must have’ item. It was in fact these sweet little antique s&p shakers – are they not the most darling things you have ever seen?

I just bought them. Because well, I think I will sleep a little better now that I know they will soon be mine.

People. Friends. Strangers. I have something to tell you:  I am suffering from a very serious case of procrastination, possibly the most serious case I’ve ever had. And it comes at the worst possible time in my life. What I need to do is fairly straightforward from here on in: I need to sit and write. No going and making some tea and indulging in a slice of apple cake on the side. No checking your blogs and seeing what you are up to. No replying to emails that have nothing to do with the job at hand. And certainly, certainly no browsing through etsy to enhance my favourites list…

gorgeous antique frame and lotus plates from etsy boutique finding fabulous.

But I did. And then the procrastination got worse – I decided to compile a post of some of my favourite etsy shops du jour. Why why why do I do this to myself – not only have I spent a number of precious moments away from my work and deadline, I am tempted by every single item in these stores. In fact, I have purposely not included some items that I actually completely adore in the hope that you won’t see them and I can buy them myself. Even though I am the last person in the world who needs any more little stylish things on my props shelves.

I won’t drag this on any longer. Here are my absolute favourite etsy shops du jour. Make sure you browse through each one as I have no doubt you will find something wonderful.

1. antique goodies galore in sadie olive, I have my eye on something in particular and I am hoping with all my heart I can 1. resist it altogether or 2. someone else buy it for me or 3. just press the ‘add to cart’ button and be done with it.

2. Love, adore, am smitten with etcetera etcetera… vintage seller finding fabulous. From the 1950′s English flashcards, to the hand carved clogs, to the wooden spools to the vintage woven picnic basket and so on! What a great place to find some Christmas presents.

3. Nature Design – beautiful wooden things like chopping boards, interesting cups and spoons, and my favourite – simple wooden blocks. I like them natural but I also thought these would make a great gift if you hand painted them.

4. High Street Market in Philly is awesome – so many great finds. I recently bought a vintage globe from them and it arrived just the other day. I adore it, and it sits proudly on my desk. There are loads of old globes here in Europe but this one really caught my eye. I actually bought it for one reason, see if you can guess:

Can you see it? Yes, it’s Tibet. I bought this globe because it still has Tibet on it, the way it should be. And isn’t the colouring just perfect? I’ll take a photo of it in situ soon so you can see it on my desk.

Okay that’s it, I really really need to get some work done now. Hmm but wait…

…smores with homemade maple marshmallows, anyone?

1. I’m loving this version of ‘going up the country‘ (originally by the ’70′s blues band Canned Heat) by Kitty, Daisy and Lewis – 3 young siblings from England. It totally gets me jivin’, check it out…

2. This sweet little vintage tin from etsy shop monkeys always look…

3. And you. You inspire me, but not just this week, all the time.

It is a beautiful day here in Amsterdam. The air is lovely, I went for a nice ride this morning and I feel so much more rejevunated than I did yesterday. So much so, that in between my work I have decided to blog my little heart out today, as there is much I want to share with you. So! today there will be a few posts coming your way, thanks in advance for stoppin’ by to say hi.

xx

PS Last weekend I went on a fabulous boat ride around Amsterdam with some friends! My dear (blog)house guest was one of those friends. Zoë took loads of great pics and wrote a wonderful post about it this week, it’s in the guest quarters right now, please click here to read Zoë’s post. (yes that is me in the cowboy hat. I love that hat!)

We all loved the idea of hanging out in one of the above tree-hugging abodes, so I thought it would be fun to theme this week’s etsy favourites with this in mind! So come with me, let’s spend a lazy afternoon picnicking at our dreamy location…

The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of being miles away from civilisation is food. I thought we could bring our tasty provisions in these beautifully woven baskets from The Bent Tree Gallery. Let’s fill them with afternoon treats like an assortment of our favourite French & Dutch cheeses, a couple of baguettes, freshly picked grapes, figs, dates, strawberries, pears and some fresh herbs from the vegetable garden.

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The Bent Tree Gallery has lots of great things for our picnic in the trees, including this handy wine bar. oh I adore this creation! We can have one for a lovely bottle of chilled rosé, and another for le champagne.

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Now we’ve arrived at our dreamy destination! That didn’t take too long did it? But before we get too comfortable, lets go for an afternoon walk – we can take one of these hiking sticks carved from maple, handcrafted from featured etsy seller bearpaw rustics. oh and let’s just have a peak inside this charming birdhouse nestled on a nearby trunk, perhaps there is someone home.

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When we get back we can play a few rounds of my all-time favourite card game - crib! And what do you know, I found a beautifully handcrafted one at bearpaw rustics…

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Well after all this glorious tree dwelling, I’m feeling so relaxed and rather sleepy, are you? Shall we stay for the night? Lets…

…because I just so happened to bring a couple of these soft, organic wool travelling mattresses made by Monikaw, just in case we decided upon a spontaneous treetop sleepover. And of course, I brought enough food for a delicious breakfast in the branches.

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Oh that was such fun! We might have to do it again sometime. Thanks for joining me for this specially themed installment of…

… helpful cards for the tongue tied, created by Vancouver-based Field and Sea. There are 20 cards in each pack and among the messages are “You’re right, I’m wrong” (ooh how I’d like to receive that one), “Let’s go puddle jumping”, (perfect for this rainy day in Amsterdam), “I‘ve lost my way” (totally), and “I have lost the right words. Will these do?” (you read my mind!). The idea is to slip these little thoughts into pockets, between the pages of books, or beneath your sweetheart’s pillow.

I often find myself tongue-tied, so these would be perfect. But I also have times where my tongue won’t stop unraveling… any solutions for this predicament?