Up to Lately

I've been having some fun in the office lately.

One thing I have been wanting to add to my shop is simple gemstone pendants so the stone is the star! 

These are my first additions including riverstone, rhodonite, black onyx, fancy jasper, white howlite, turquoise howlite (dyed) and mahogany obsidian. They will come with a black cord.

This inspirational necklace was a custom order. The request was for a handstamped Live Your Dream necklace with purple incorporated into it. 

So I dangled amethyst in front of the message with sparkling sterling silver. I love the result and now feel inspired to create more necklaces like this!

I also cooked with coconut oil for the first time. We recently purchased a huge vat of organic coconut oil to use as a moisturizer but then a bloggy friend sent me this recipe from Sweet Potato Soul. It called for coconut oil! 

They are roasted with coconut oil, paprika, cinnamon and cayenne pepper. Sweet and spicy!!!

Well that's it for now. Still waiting for Spring! Thank you for stopping by and have a great week. ~Val

What a Week!

I added this new amethyst necklace. It has a great edgy look with the oversize chip beads! Available here.


One day when coming home from work this week there were 4 police cruiser with lights flashing on my peaceful street. There was no indication of an accident or someone in distress so this was quite odd! Turns out they just successfully completed a foot chase of a 24 year old heroin addict responsible for recent break-ins in the area. I live in a nice family oriented neighborhood so this caught me by surprise. Since I only have a cell phone, I never received the warning phone call from the police to be aware!!!

Anyway, the kid apparently ran through my backyard and hid under my neighbor’s swing set just before I got home. The scary part is that when I read the article in the local paper the next day, the police are quite sure there are a few more individuals responsible for the break ins…….they are still free! Yikes! Luckily I have great neighbors and we do keep an eye on each other.

On a positive note, Jim gave me a gorgeous bouquet for our anniversary!

I always love these lilies that look so perfect that they appear artificial!

Also this week I graduated from a Bronze Powerseller to a Silver Powerseller on eBay!!!! Woohoo! I have been super busy. Monday thru Friday starts with the alarm beeping at 5:20am to package up orders. Then I go to my full time job and when I get home I work in my home office until 7pm! My days are long but it is very rewarding and I am so proud of the business I have built. It started as a hobby in January 2007 and I never would have expected to be so successful!

The cold weather bedding came out! Each year I have a goal of not turning on the heat until November 1st…..this never happens. I have already turned it on and started burning up expensive heating oil!!!

I made this delicious soup! It doesn’t look too pretty due to the spinach! I wanted to use up salsa that was in the fridge and I thought…Mexican style soup! It was super simple….2 cans of veggie broth, can of corn, can of black beans, can of chopped tomatoes and a bag of chopped spinach.

I mixed them all together on the stove and added the salsa, black pepper, crushed red pepper and chili powder for heat!!!! I was afraid it was going to taste bad with too much spinach but it was perfect. The white stuff is melted shredded cheddar. Mmmmm! I bought canned soups in the past but I think I am just going to stick with homemade soups going forward. They are so easy and serving size portions can easily be stored in the freezer for a future dinner!

I hope you all have a great week! Thank you for stopping by! ~Val