Another Snow Day

It's been wonderfully Wintery and snowy over the last few days.  Not just the old waking up to a blanket of snow, but the really cozy, satisfying snowing-through-lunch or snowing-through-hot-chocolate-breaks.  Just glorious.

So usually when it snows, I start roasting squash like there's no tomorrow.  The same way, I suppose, that my friends & family back East run to the store for the staples -- bread, milk, eggs.  But I wasn't prepared, and I ran out of squashes to roast on the first day of snow, so I had to move on to the next best thing -- making kale and putting it in things.

L: Kale chips with sea salt and garlic.
R: Soup with rice, celery, garbanzo beans, carrots,  and of course kale; topped with scallions.

Even the pets got into the cuddling mood.  It should be noted that Ike & Olivia have NEVER been this close to one another without growling-snarling-swiping, so this was quite exciting for ol' Momma.

L: Ike & Olivia
R: Beatrice the hamster

I've been taking more than my usual hot chocolate breaks, thanks to the vegan-friendly Starbucks hot cocoa mixes I recently found.  Life-savers, really.

Lots of packages to ship out today!  It's a good thing to be staying busy, even though I wouldn't argue with another lazy day on the couch, under blankets, watching horrible TLC shows on Netflix.

I hope everyone reading this is staying warm and cozy, and getting to enjoy some nice Winter weather, too.

Self-portrait Advice?

So I felt like I needed a model for my necklaces.  I wanted customers to see how/where they hang, what they look like on an actual human... but having mostly male friends, and no money to hire real models leaves me with two options: my dog, or myself.

Yes, I did actually try to get my dog to model a necklace.  He wasn't too into the whole "sitting still" thing, or the whole "wearing a necklace" thing, either.  Imagine that.

So my only other immediate option was myself.  Oh, dear.

Believe it or not, this was the best shot I could get of myself.  I kind of look like I just discovered my boobs, or maybe like I spilled curry down the front of my shirt.  But my hair looks good, and you can see the necklace, so it's a go!

If there's anyone out there who takes their own "model" photos, please, some advice??

Do cute dogs make you smile?

I know, this is ridiculous...

ridiculously cute, of course!

As if my dog weren't cute enough, I went and put him in his skeleton jammies.  He took it upon himself to sit down on the pillow like it was a little doggy-sized recliner, and to watch his neighbors walking by through the window.

I hope y'all had a fun weekend?  Mine was... eventful (we'll leave it at that).  One of my Chicago Flag Necklaces went off on its way to China on Saturday, and that's pretty cool, isn't it?  I've officially crossed international borders!

Chicago Flag Necklace

I think I'm going to hang a map near my desk, with those red pins to stick in to every state my jewelry is shipped to.  I've always wanted to stick pins into a map for some good reason, so there it is.