Happy Spring!!

Hello everybody!! Happy Spring!! This is my most favorite time of year! I'm just stopping in to say "congratulations" to Tammy!!! She won those awesome earrings from my last post!

We are packing up to head down south to visit my family for a week! *Yay* I can't wait to see them! A friend of ours will be coming to stay with Ozzy & Lita while we are gone. I sure will miss them. So, I won't have a give away this week, but look out when I get back!!!! I'm going to visit my favorite bead shop down there and I've been saving up my $$$ to shop!!! So this Spring & Summer you can expect some really awesome new things from me. I can't wait to see all of the new beads/stones he has. But before I go, I just have to share this awesome little "Red Cedar Weed Pot" that Greg Gallegos of Natural Selection Studio made especially for me! It's awesome:So I hope everybody has a wonderful week & I'll be back in two shakes of a lamb's tail :)
♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"Happiness is a sunbeam...When it strikes a kindred heart, like the converged lights upon a mirror, it reflects itself with redoubled brightness. It is not perfected until it is shared." ~ Jane Porter

Critters, Flowers & Free Earrings!

The Squirrels are driving me "nuts"! They have managed to destroy every feeder in my yard! I did a head count yesterday and there were 17 of the pesky little fatties munching away. We really enjoy the birds, but I don't know what to do about all the squirrels! Any suggestions??? Katie??? Jen???? Any other of my little country girls??? I caught this little fellow this morning making a fast getaway down the handrail of my porch! And Melanie, I already thought about trapping them and floating them down the river on the wine bags, but I live in the forest and they'll just keep coming back :)Although, I don't mind the white ones, since they are a "novelty" around here. We have 1 that lives in our yard, but he don't really seem that interested in the feeders. He stays on the ground to munch, along with the doves & the chipmunks :)And the Jonquils are just everywhere around here! They are so beautiful!! So with that being said, I'm wrapping it up for a couple of hours and heading outside. But before I go, I have to share this week's give away:These gorgeous "Earth & Sky" earrings! All you have to do is comment on this blog post for a chance to win them! The drawing will be Monday! Good Luck & have a great day!

♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

“You can't be friends with a squirrel! A squirrel is just a rat with a cuter outfit.” ~ Sarah Jessica Parker

Luck of the Irish?!!

Well I don't know if Melanie is Irish, or not, but she is the winner of the awesome little "Good Night & Good Luck" necklace from last weeks post! Wayne liked the idea about using the wine bags for packing material {he's just practical like that}. He felt bad for Ozzy to just imagine him floating down the river on a bunch of inflated wine bags {and I assure you, Melanie, it would take a lot more than 3 to float his fat butt these days ~ hee hee}. So "Congratulations" Melanie!!! Your awesome little necklace will begin its journey to you tomorrow! And no, I'm not sending it in an empty wine bag :)

And, if you're Irish or not, you're still getting lucky this week! You get a 20% discount from my Etsy shop, just by typing in "Pinch Me" in the "comments to seller" section @ your time of purchase. I'll send you an updated PayPal invoice for the discounted amount. No worries if you pay before you get the invoice, I'll certainly refund the difference promptly through PayPal. Don't forget to type in "Pinch Me" though, since this offer is only for my little blog reading peeps {you!!!} Discount is available through Midnight Friday {March 20th}, which just so happens to also be the first day of Spring!!! *Yay*~:DAnd my little flowers are popping up all over the place!Well, I gotta run ~ I'm having "Music Monday" @ my house tonight!!! I cooked a roast with all the fixings {onions, celery, carrots & potatoes} overnight in my slow cooker and it's soooooo good! I'm just going to keep it warm all day long and make a big pot of rice to go along with it for everybody to enjoy. I'll certainly have some pictures to share either tomorrow or Wednesday, so don't forget to check back.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!
♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"This day is a happy one for America. In some places Americans get a little too happy." ~ President George Bush, greeting Bertie Ahern at the White House on St. Patrick's Day 2004!

An Awesome Find! And More New Stuff!!

I just had to stop in and share this awesome recycled rice sack bag that I just got! It's the best! Really big & roomy and I love the "bucket" style. If you've been looking for a larger tote, you won't be disappointed with this one, I promise:Plus, the fish are just the cutest things ever! Well, besides this:Another one of my designs for the "Keep It Simple" series. It's called "Molecule". Isn't it great! I also made this really awesome little necklace:It's called "Elements" ~ it's just so simple and earthy. Great for Spring & Summer! I don't know about you, but sometimes during the Summer I get hot wearing necklaces, but this would be perfect. It's very dainty & lightweight.

So, other than making new things, I've been totally changing the look of my website {blah} that stuff takes forever! Please do check it out and let me know if it's a pain in the butt to maneuver, or if you like it better, or not so much.

Well, I'm calling it a day! My fingers hurt from typing and my "refresh" button is just about worn out. I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend!

♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"Plastic Bags Blow" ~ www.reusablebags.com

Happy Thursday!!!

Well, I think Ozzy could have argued this statement yesterday! It's usually Wayne or I who decide when to take a rest when we are on a hike. But yesterday Ozzy made the call! He just laid down right on the trail and took a rest. Even Lita wasn't trying to make him get up. All in all, it was a very trying hike to say the least. We did the "Coontree Loop Trail" ~ the most difficult one we've done so far, plus it was almost 5 miles, which is probably a little much for Ozzy to handle. It was lots of climbing up, up, up to the top of the ridge and then back down, down, down. But he sure loved it when we got towards the end and he could play in the water:It really was a great hike {once it ended} ~ we all had a good time & the weather was perfect!So between the hike yesterday & my exercise class this morning, I feel refreshed, renewed & inspired! I started a new line for the shop ~ it's called "Keep It Simple". I'll be making lots of really cool, really simple Spring & Summer jewelry for the line and it will all be under $35! That way, you can have some really cool "one of a kind" jewelry for your Spring & Summer wardrobe and have plenty of money left over for those Pina Colada's @ the Cabana! {Wow, did I just say that! ~ Summer here I come!!}

This one is called "Simply Organic" and is made with an awesome Tagua Nut!And this one is simply called "Simplicity" ~ made with an awesome carved shell pendant :)

And if you haven't done so already, don't forget to give me some ideas for those empty wine bags. Leave your idea in the comments on last Monday's blog post for a chance to win this awesome little necklace! The winner will be drawn this coming Monday {March 16th}. Good Luck everybody!!

Happy Thursday!!! ♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"Looking forward to things is half the pleasure of them." ~ Lucy Maud Montgomery

The Sky!!!

Check out the treasury I made on Etsy yesterday! It's just chock full of awesome stuff! And speaking of awesome stuff, Ms. Katie {BlackStar.etsy.com} was the winner of the little Happy Buddha Necklace from last week's post! Congratulations, Katie! I know you'll love this little guy. Please do check out Katie's shop when you get a minute. She makes some really cool stuff.The Moon has been amazing the last few nights! I guess that's why I've been thinking a lot about moons, stars & suns lately. So this is a little bracelet that I made today, totally inspired by the moon. I named it {most appropriately} "That's Amore'" ~ of course, it's for sale in the shop if you want to see more of it. So last night Wayne got out the telescope and I took some pictures of the moon through the lens. They're not "perfect" of course, but I was pretty impressed with the outcome:And the rest of the evening was pretty great, too! Wayne and I get in the hot tub and we can come up with some silly things! As of late, we've been buying the "Fish Eye" wine in the box. Well of course, the box wine has a plastic bag inside of it with a spout. So last night, after the wine was gone {no we didn't drink a whole box last night!}, Wayne inflated the bag and we were using it for resistance and doing arm & leg exercises with it. Then we start thinking about what other things we can do with it {you know, recycling}, and here are a few things we came up with:

• Use about 50 and make an inflatable bed
• Use about 100 and make a raft
• Use about a gazillion and insulate the house
• Fill them with water and take them in the backpacks {best idea}

and we went on & on. So here's todays challenge! Give me an idea for the wine bags and I'll let Wayne pick what he thinks is the best and the winner will get this:It's called "Good Night & Good Luck". So, with that being said I'll leave you with this aweswome picture of the Sky and I'll say to you "Good Night & Good Luck"!!!Happy Monday! ♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"May life's greatest gifts always be yours ~ happiness, memories, and dreams." ~ unknown

I wish I were an Elephant...

....just so I could remember "everything". I used to be able to remember every single thing, even things I didn't want to. Now I have to write certain things down, or I will totally forget. Usually when I'm thinking about more than 1 thing, plus I always have that record player going in my head, which further adds to the memory loss :) It's not that bad, though (yet). I almost forgot to post today and let you know what I'll be giving away next Monday! By the way, that little elephant is one that belonged to my Grandfather. It was in a fire at some point {I'll have to ask my Mom, or my Aunt, if she knows when} and that's why his little trunk is kinda messed up. Anyway, he lives safe & sound in my curio cabinet now, along with lots of rocks & crystals ~ I always smile when I look at him......the same way I smile when I look at this little fellow! So, he is the give away for this week! Just click on the picture of him to see more details. Of course, all you have to do to win this "Happy Little Buddha" is comment on this post. The winner will be announced Monday {March 9th} ~ Good Luck!!!!

I hope you are having a wonderful week ~ Happy Wednesday!!
♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet." ~ Emily Dickinson

Hello Snow!!!

Woo-hoo ~ we finally got some snow that actually hung around for a little bit! We were beginning to wonder if this Winter was going to just pass us by. I took this picture on the way up to "Caesar's Head State Park", but as soon as we crossed into South Carolina, the roads got really bad. Apparently they don't have the equipment to keep the roads {at least this road} clear. Right after we went around this curve there were a couple of trees down and the road got really slippery. So, we just turned around and came back home. Luckily, the roads were good enough around here for the mail person to come:And Ozzy & Lita had a blast! Lita kept running Ozzy up under the bushes and snow kept falling on his head. He didn't seem to mind, though :)So after a hard day of play, we are getting in the hot tub to watch the sunset. But first, I have to congratulate Julie of "Gypsy Moon Designs". She was the winner of the "Peace" bracelet from last Wednesday's post. Be sure and check out my blog post this coming Wednesday {March 4th} for your chance to win something awesome!!! I want to also take this chance to congratulate one of my dearest Etsy friends, Ginger Wagner {msbelle} She is the "featured seller" right now on Etsy!!! Yay, Ginger!!!! You are so deserving of this! Your work is awesome. Enjoy the ride :)

Happy Monday!!
♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"The innocent brightness of a new born day is lovely yet." ~ William Wordsworth