Oof.

I was hoping to have more here this year but have been very busy with the printing. And when I'm not at the day job or working for the weekend job, I'm trying to do nothing. (Nothing sometimes = a beer on the couch while zoning out to South Park. Need to get to knitting again, holidays are coming up.)

But alas.

Seriously, i've "worked" the past 2 weekends, and have 2 more coming up. Longing to sleep in, but with the temperatures the way they've been, even with the portable a/c unit, the mornings are the only good time to print. And there's been a wedding, personalized cards for a photographer in PA, cards for a friend in NYC, experiments, etc.

I do love it though. : )
And am very much looking forward to winter- sleeping in a little, enjoying a nice long morning, and then getting up to go print.

Anyhoo. What has been going on?

I turned XXIX and got sick with a horrible sinus infection a couple of days before so was totally miserable that week, and I even had 3 days off from work to celebrate ME and it was terrible. Then that week my girlie doctor told me she wants me to lose weight, to get back where I was 2 years ago. (If I didn't like her so much I'd call her a total bitch and be looking for a new dr. But a good dr. is hard to find, and she is pretty cool. And okay, fine, she's right. Still.)

But my bday wasn't a total dud: my brother and his Ashley came over to grill dinner and my mom baked a rhubarb crumble. It was a nice dinner but I was just wiped out.

 I have a thing for fun make-up palettes

and am trying out a dry-shampoo for those 

'i really don't want to wash my hair' days.

There's been a make-do area in my kitchen area: an old aquarium stand with a crappy shelf laying on top of it, serving as a little "this is where i keep my tea pot and sugars" area. And yeah, it was probably as bad as you're picturing. But looking on crateandbarrel.com they had this lovely tall and narrow wine shelf thing that would have been perfect... except it was over $500. Bah. And all the bakers racks I'd seen were too country, too 'vintage wine country,' or too traditional - so not us. But then I saw a simple  little white cabinet, glass doors, 2 drawers, would look great in that space... for under $150! Sold! And i got it 2 days later. Crazy fast $1 shipping. : )

Well, then I had to put it together.

 Fuuuddddgggge. NOTHING came pre-assembled.

1 cocktail (Pimms & Ginger), 10 minutes of music, and almost all of Gordon Ramsay on Master Chef, it was completed!

And it's perfect. Little (and I do mean little) drawers hold teas and sweeteners, and as it's mounted to the wall, nothing jiggles when the doors open or close. Only thing I need to change- add 1 more shelf (crap, and i was at Lowe's this morning too) so that I can hold ALL my tea things and not have anything stacked. But it looks nice, right? Surprisingly, even T likes it.

Since inviting has been rather busy this month (had to make project sheets to keep everything straight- it's been wonderful!) I've been taking any help I can get. Business Partner's been coming out again, and when photographing and posting in the afternoons when it's too hot to print, these two have been helpers:

The Emma's "helping" cut paper? Uh, okay. 

She also keeps an eye on the computer while I'm out  printing. 

I come in to wash my hands and see her either on my desk or on my chair, supervising. 

 Darcy "helping" me with etsy.com listings.

And see? Been busy, and this isn't even everything I've worked on this month! (But I'm really not complaining. I *challenge* you- let's see how many orders I can handle. Hit me with your best shot. And, uh, the holidays are coming up. Really, they'll be here before we know it! Shop early and you'll be less stressed later!)