morning's light

bolig liv pages

Lisbeth Harbo (of Switzerland) completed a magazine swap with me by sending an issue of Bolig Liv for me in exchange for an issue of Real Simple from the U.S.

I love the pages in Bolig Liv....and it was the first time I perused the magazine in person. Here are the pages I lingered over most often.

yummmm...birch bark handmade soap

long, LONG, intense day.  Stopped in at a great little restaurant called "My Place" then arrived home to find a package of the most yummy smelling soaps ever.  Sherrie Graham and I exchanged parcels.  Bars of her handmade soaps made their way from Nova Scotia to Wisconsin, and an adorable Orla Kiely tablecloth is on its way to Nova Scotia as we speak, umm..type, you know what I mean! 

The sample bar of peppermint poppyseeds smells divine!

I could pretty much eat the Cafe Mocha bar.

The Fragrance-Free bar will be the perfect addition to my bathroom - perfect for guests.

The Lavender Bath Bar will soothe me into restful sleep.

And if I could turn a soap into a fragrance to wear daily, it would be the Oatmeal, Milk & Honey bar. Divine! I'm swooning over it.  I'll either have to make the one bar last forever or I'll have to order a lifetime supply from Sherrie!

She did not ask me to mention the soaps here.  I just had to tell you about them before all the soaps are put to use.  

It's Friday night.  Last night I went to bed - no lie - at 6:45 PM.  Who DOES that??  Apparently THIS GIRL!  I woke up refreshed...at 11:45 PM.  Went back to sleep until 3 AM.  Watched CSI's 200th episode before heading to the gym.

Tonight is another workout, while tomorrow is IKEA...again.  My friend Kathy has a three month old son who needs more storage for his clothes 'n such.  So reluctantly I will walk around the many floors that make up IKEA and may have to buy a little something.

Can't think beyond that, so I'll stop here.  Have a great weekend!!

rummaging rewards

The weekend flew by but was full and happy.  How was yours?

FRIDAY  Left a comment on Chez Larsson's post to do a casual swap with someone.  I'm in the U.S. and love Scandinavian style decor magazines and French magazines.  You can still get in on the swapping by leaving a comment on this Chez Larsson post.    Then went out with FreakyBlair to play cards at a local cafe.  By relaxing there for three hours, we were witnesses to quite a bit of drama.  Didn't know my little city had that much drama in it.

SATURDAY Met up with Kirsten to visit a private school's annual barn sale/fundraiser.  I found a few French books and a wire basket while Kirsten found an antique rake (a little hand-held one). We checked out a public school's sale across the road and I found this adorable little desk for three dollars.  Not yet sure how or where I'll use the desk but am happy with the purchase!

 

At a craft festival, Kirsten and I each bought a ring from a local artist. The rings were adorable and quite the bargain in the ten dollar range. 

SUNDAY  Church then lunch and a movie with a friend.  Saw the Simon Pegg film How to Lose Friends and Alienate People.  I saw Simon Pegg months ago in Run, Fatboy, Run and enjoyed that movie a whole lot more. 

the photo arrived..the photo arrived!!!

Arriving home late last night, I found REAL MAIL waiting for me.  An envelope from Austria?  Are you kidding me?  That meant the photo from the Scent of Water Photo Swap had arrived!  Could I BE more giddy?!

Ta da!

a beautiful photo displaying the theme of simplicity.

a double sided, laminated collage that is adorable! 

The colors and items are very much who I am. She did a great job! 

Thanks, Claudia!

"pay it forward" gift swap

What a great idea!  Continuing on from kittythimble's post about this, I'm now a part of it...here's how it works.

I will send a handmade gift to the first three (3) people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don't know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

What a great idea!  Continuing on from kittythimble's post about this, I'm now a part of it...here's how it works.

I will send a handmade gift to the first three (3) people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don't know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

green green green {mellow + yellow swap}

opened my mail yesterday to find a very green, springy treat from marty.  we're part of the mellow+yellow swap organized by marta - author of the m.writes blog. 

the goodies included little spools of ribbon all pretty in green paper and ribbon and a tiny green sharpie - to accompany the kate spade book and the notepaper! 

I hope there'll be another swap again soon!

whirlwind

Thursday was a *whirlwind*.

Long story short: I joined swap-bot to begin swapping parcels with people around the country and internationally.  Started out with a beginner swap to gain a good rating so that I could participate in more swaps.  Two people sent items to me and I was to send to two people.  I sent to one correct person + one incorrect person.  So yesterday was a rush to Target to purchase more items and then a rush to the post office to mail off the parcel to the correct person.  THANKS Jessica for being so understanding.

From there, drove quickly to the gym to meet up with Kathy for a long workout and then a soak in the hot tub - rapidly becoming my favorite way to wind down after a long day.  There I saw the gym bag of a friendly college student - a green tote bag looking gym bag.  My gym bag is about 10 years old and has no fancy pockets for a cell phone, water bottle, etc. 

Had dinner and then tried to track down the bag at various stores.  No luck.  Now it's The Thing I'm looking for.    Any hints on where to find a non-boxy looking, pretty gym bag?

This weekend will be fun.  Family time + "Brenda & Tuck" (chuck) are visiting + youth ministry meeting + running powerpoint + finding time to drive to Milwaukee to see the movie "Sweetland" - a film that's been brought back three times to this vintage cinema....and apparently people applaud after every showing of this film.