Pouches. {and a giveaway}

Who knows if there's still someone who reads my blog.... but it's ok, I write it anyway, whenever I can! :)

The little struggles of my everyday life didn't stop me from working in my little shop. I've been recently inspired by super cute fabrics and I ordered some directly from Japan! I think they have some of the cutest prints and the quality of their cotton is incredible. I have made a few pouches, all listed in my SHOP.

There will be more to come!

If you want to WIN my Ladybug Ruffled POUCH {together with other amazing prizes} you can enter the giveaway below!!

Good Luck!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cross-Stitch Love

First of all...thank you to all who entered my Giveaway!!! I've contacted the winner and sent her the Pumpkin Spice Cup Cozy! I can't wait to hear from her and see if she likes it.... :)

In the meantime I've been cross-stitching a lot!!! Yesssss!!! It has been such a long time... I used to cross-stitch more often when I was younger {before having sweet little babies}, it was my favorite hobby, it relaxes me and gives satisfaction once the work is done. I remember, while studying at the University, I had a little project waiting for me after every exam.. I couldn't wait to finish to study just to be able to cross-stitch without any worries! 

I would have liked to share pictures of my last work... but I'm not done!!! That's why I checked online for beautiful works made by other people.... I picked a few to share with you:

Look at this amazing girl.... isn't she so pretty???

www.crossstitchingart.com

...and Super Mario!!!!! This was the game I spent hours playing when I was little! 
www.momcents.org

This is an incredibly cute Hoop Art work.. I like the simplicity of the stitches..

www.craftsy.com

These little mice are just so adorable!!!!!

www.bolitadepapel.wordpress.com

This one also reminds me of my childhood!! Iridella {her name in Italian...}

www.rosaka.deviantart.com

I could go on and on and on... there are so many great cross-stitchers out there!!!! 

I also found many web-sites where you can buy patterns... my favorite is DANCE NEEDLE on Etsy, they have adorable kawaii style easy patterns. 

If you are looking for something FREE there's always Pinterest!! That's where I found mine... click HERE to display a lot of free patterns!

There is also another interesting web-site called MYPHOTOSTITCH.COM , where you can upload any picture {for free} and it will transform it in a cross-stitch pattern!! Isn't it cool?? 

Well, that's all I have for now!!! If you are a stitcher like me, I hope you will enjoy a nice cup of tea sitting in your favorite spot on a chilly afternoon, with in your hands your favorite work ready to be stitched.

Happy Fall to you All!!!

xoxo,

Fall Cozy Giveaway

...Ready??...Set... GO!!!!

It's time for a Giveaway!! I haven't done one in a long time!!!! I hope you will participate in many and spread the word for me... it would help my little business to be known around the world. :)

I'm giving away one of my favorite cozies.... the Pumpkin Spice cup cozy! I thought it would be a good way to celebrate and welcome Fall... what do you think? 

*Please, enter the giveaway in the "rafflecopter" below the picture*

a Rafflecopter giveaway

xoxo,

Indian Summer

Happy Fall everyone!!!

I found this beautiful picture online.. it reminds me of Colorado during the time of Fall. I love it!

And with the picture I want to share also a poem... I like the way it describes Fall. I hope you enjoy it too!

Autumn

© Julie L. O'Connor

There's a crispness in the air that greets the morning sun, a feeling of anticipation, a new day has begun.
Harvest days are ending, winter is drawing near, yet in between is surely the most special time of year.
They call it Indian Summer, and it seems to fit the bill, for it's as if the Lord took a feathered brush and painted all the hills.

Now as I sit contented, atop of one of these, a book in hand to pass the time, the sound of a gentle breeze,
I can almost imagine an Indian child upon this mountaintop, looking down at the land of her forefathers, lost within her thoughts
For in every persons lifetime some heartache may occur, but on these hills in quiet solitude, God helps us to endure.

So I say that the eyes are a window, beauty is found within the soul, and upon the hills of Autumn, that are strewn with red and gold.

Source: Indian Summer Poem, Autumn http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/autumn-indian-summer#ixzz2fxBOpmHx 
#FamilyFriendPoems 

xoxo to you all,

Cappuccino with Nutella ~recipe

Yesss!! The title is right!! Have you ever tried coffee with nutella?? The first time for me was last July in Brazil. Me and my husband stopped in a café and that's what I ordered.... right away!! It's useless to say that it was de-li-cioussss... The inside of the cup was completely spread with Nutella, the coffee and milk was hot and covered with a big cloud of sweet whipping cream! I remember I was so tired that day... I really needed that treat!

When I came home I tried my own version... I didn't have whipping cream that day.. so I simply made a Cappuccino {coffee and milk with a luscious foam on top} with Nutella.

All you need is:

• Espresso Coffee
• Milk
• Nutella
• Sugar
• (+ whipping cream, as you desire)

Spread a layer of Nutella inside your mug, or coffee cup, letting it gently overflow. In the meantime make the espresso, sweeten it the way you like, warm up the milk and foam it {you can use THIS type of frother}.  Pour the coffee followed by the milk in your cup....and voila'!!!! Enjoy your treat!! And remember to have a spoon with you to "clean up" your cup from the remains of melted Nutella...

 my Cappuccino version...

 

from the Brazilian café.... isn't it to die for????? :)

 

Have a great Sunday!!!

 

xoxo,

 

 

 

 

Typewriter & necklace GiveAway!!

It was yesterday when I was speaking to my son about typewriters... he was asking me about how they work, how can they print the letters on the paper, how hard you need to push the buttons... I was able to explain every detail, as I used to have one when I was younger. I remember changing the ink tape, sometimes a fancier one that could also type in red! He was fascinated by my story... a little 9 year-old who has only known computers keyboards that don't need any ink to type and that are so easy to use.

Well, this morning I was happy and surprised to see this Giveaway going on at lisaleonard.com . She's giving away one of her beautiful necklaces {if you are not familiar with her work you MUST check out her shop!!} AND a vintage typewriter!!!! I just entered to win... and I really hope I do, so I could show my son that typewriters are REAL!! :)

 

lisa's adorable necklace

the typewriter!!

 

Are you a fan of vintage things?? If you are as romantic and sentimental as me... you should enter the giveaway!! Follow her instructions HERE .

 

xoxo,

 

 

 

弁当 ... {Bento} ~ Feature Post

No... I don't study Japanese and I probably never will. I think it's nice to explore different cultures..

I was recently inspired by a super cute etsy shop I discovered via instagram. It's called BentoAday.. it sells adorable little lunch boxes {=bento}, together with little forks, tiny sauce bottles, everything you need to make a school lunch incredibly cute!

I read on wikipedia that Japanese housewives often spend time and energy on a carefully prepared lunch box for their spouse, child, or themselves. Many American women do the same! Especially during time of school... this type of lunch boxes would make me excited to prepare a lunch for my children and I know that they would be excited to eat it!! It's really something I want to buy... it's on my wish-list {I need to make some money and sell something from my shop first!}. Just go take a look and you will fall in love with the cuteness sold by April Crosier in her BentoADay shop!!

 

strawberry bento boxes

 

cute little small sauce bottles

 

panda food picks

 

..and there's many many more things...!!!

 

Here's a few cute images of bento box lunches I found online:

 

 

Some are just amazing!!!!! So.. what are you waiting for? Visit her shop and get inspired!! :)

 

xoxo,

 

P.S

You can now follow me on INSTAGRAM!!

 

 

Ruffles.

Days are passing like a lightning, between school, daily chores, meetings... I haven't yet found much time to work on my SHOP as much as I would like to. It has been closed for the whole summer, as I was away from home and I had no internet connection {a little difficult to be able to communicate with the rest of the world nowadays...}. I'm trying to add new items.. I'm in love with ruffles right now! It's actually the very first thing I learned how to sew with my sewing machine. When I first bought it I had no clue how to use it, I invited over a good friend mine {who is an incredible seamstress} and while showing me all the different buttons to click and turn, she decided to teach me how to make ruffles. It remained stuck in my head since then! I think of her now while making this new kind of pouch: the Ruffled Pouch! :)

What do you think? It's colorful and also very soft, as I layered the fabric with fleece. I like how puffy it feels at the touch! My plan is to make more, with different color fabrics... soon soon!

my Ruffled Kitty Pouch

 

Well, I hope you are enjoying your week as much as I am. Until next time...

 

xoxo,

 

 

Brazil.

I think I've said it before... thanks to Pope John Paul II and his World Youth Day pilgrimages I've traveled the world. I've been to France, Israel, USA {many years before I could even imagine I would get married and move to the US!!}, Canada... I have participated to many pilgrimages. My last one was in 2000, in Rome... until this summer... after 13 years.. Pope Francis met the youth of all over the world in Brazil. It has been an amazing experience.
I was not too excited to go, I have to say.. first of all because I didn't feel like leaving my children for 2 weeks far far away from me, and also because I didn't really care about visiting a place where they speak Portuguese {a language to me completely unknown}.
Today I can say I'm very happy I had the opportunity to go. Me and my husband were in charge of a group of youth... listening to their experience was the thing that I liked the most, the way they struggle in their life and how God is helping them. We were all there together to see the Pope and have a meeting with Christ. It has been a blessing.
I also liked the country very much! It reminded me a little bit of Italy {except for the jungle!!}, the people were incredible, and the Portuguese... well, I started learning it!!! I'm still studying now... it's so similar to Spanish and Italian, I think I'll be able to speak it.. it's gonna be a piece of cake! ;)

I didn't take many pictures but I picked a few I could find online to show you the beautiful places I visited. My eyes has seen all this {and more}...

 

Rio de Janeiro

 

the ocean near Paraty

 

 

Paraty

 

this is me and my husband in Paraty...

a picture I took in Rio --->

 

 

..this is to give you an idea of how many people were at the meeting with the Pope in Copacabana!!! :)

 

 

The next pilgrimage with the Pope will be in 3 years in Poland... will I be there? Hopefully with my kids, but only God knows... :)

 

xoxo,

 



 

Beautiful Colorado!

It's true. I've been silent again. Life is very different from usual these last weeks. I'm still alive, though... and still in Colorado! The beautiful picture below will prove it! Last Sunday we went hiking with our children and our friends up on a mountain to find this gorgeous lake...

 

 

 

 

 

Right now I'm getting ready to go to Brazil to participate to the World Youth Day 2013 with Pope Francis! The very first WYD I went to was actually in Denver in 1993 (I was still very young, living in Italy, having NO IDEA I would have found my husband in that same place 8 years later!).

 

I will probably write again after that and will share my experience... and lots of photos!!!! :)

 

xoxo,

 

Best Summer Drink ~ Lemon Italian-Ice Recipe

What can I say.. summer heat is on and it's time to get refreshed with a delicious drink!

Today I want to share with you a secret recipe of the most delicious "Italian-ice"... in Italian it's actually called GRANITA {probably because it's as hard as granite??}, it's a very popular homemade summer treat. You can eat it by itself in a cup or enjoy it in a drink. It's really good mixed in a glass of ice-tea... but my favorite way to eat it is in a big glass of Coke! {did you know I'm addicted to Coca-Cola?}.. just add a few big chunks to your drink, they will replace the ice-cubes and will slowly give a lemony flavor... :)

Ok, here is the recipe:

Lemon Italian-Ice  { a.k.a. ~ Granita di Limone ~}

• 4 big lemons
• 4 cups of water
• 1 cup sugar

Boil the water with the sugar, until dissolved. Let it cool down.

Squeeze the lemons and add their juice to the sweet water.

Pour the mix in a container (preferably with lid) and put it in the freezer until completely frozen (it should take a couple of hours).

Take it out of the freezer 20 minutes before trying to serve it... it will be very hard! Use a strong spoon to scrape the ice.

Serve it in bowls or in your favorite drink.

 

Enjoy!!!

 

 

xoxo,

 

 

Our One Day Camping Experience..

Well, here I am!! This is my first summer post from the beautiful Colorado! Yes.... I made it... I didn't get lost in the forest... :)  I say this because for the first time, me and my husband decided to break our 18 hours usual road-trip {from Cali to Colo}spending one night in tent!!! I think it was a great idea because we all had a blast!

We are not campers, we have 0 experience. The only two times we went camping in the past we were with friends who put up the tent for us, cooked for us, brought all the tools and food... basically everything. This time it was just us. It was our adventure.

We found a camping ground on Lake Tahoe {huuuge lake!! so gorgeous!}, we built our tent and made the fire. I cooked sausages, fresh corn, melted fresh mozzarella and in the morning I even made espresso!! Everything on our camp-fire... so much fun!

We will definitely do it again... it's also much cheaper than to spend a night in a hotel, as we usually do.

Here's some of the pictures I took:

 

 

Hope you're having a great week-end!!

 

xoxo,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Mail ~ Cute Shop Feature

It doesn't happen very often to receive what people call Happy Mail... in my case it was a lovely package from an adorable Etsy shop: Annabell & Louise Designs. I recently won a gift card giveaway from their shop and I ordered a whole bunch of super cute items!!! I want to share some with you.. I love them all!

 ...I like sewing very much, and my sewing machine... I HAD to have this necklace!! It reminds me of my grandma's old sewing machine....

 

 These earrings are big and bright!!! Perfect for summer! They are made of wood and they are soooo light! I love wearing them...

I'm also in love with this ring... isn't it precious?
I took these pictures and shared them on my instagram page (Do you have an instagram account? Follow me HERE!!).

You can find more of Annabell and Louise's lovely items in their SHOP. They have different type of necklaces, rings, hair-clips... go check it out!!!

Hugs,