For Japan With Love

This is such a difficult time for Japan. But if we think about it, this impacts all of us (humans!).

So when I saw this post earlier today, I knew I had to share and be part of this.

Thank you Utterly Engaged and Ever Ours for coordinating this Bloggers Day of Silence initiative.

Donate if you can by going here.

cupid choices...

Swissmiss made me laugh (a loving laugh, of course) today with her "Pick Your Cupid" post.

Illustration by designer Ji Lee. Image via Swissmiss

I though the "Desperate" was hilarious! Which one is yours???

love and a comeback.

It's no secret I've been gone for a while. For a reaaally long while.
Many things happened (and some didn't, both fortunately and unfortunately) and time was just getting the best of me. All the time. For a long time.
It felt as if my plug had been pulled or my auto-pilot mode had been activated. It was definitely not intentional...but it happened. But since I believe we are always there (even when we're not), I would always hear that little voice calling me back...
And so here I am. I've missed this lovely place and I missed all of you!
And today is a good day. It's lover's day!
I think that any day that celebrates life's most important sentiment (in my opinion!) is a good day.
It's a great day!

Hope everyone has been well and loved.
It sure feels good to be back. And it sure feels good to wish you all a Happy Valentine's Day!

So here's an image that really caught my attention about a week ago while browsing Twig and Thistle. Not much more needed to say, right?

via Twig and Thistle

Love to All, today and always...

thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is, as we know, around the corner!
This year we will have some friends over celebrating the day with us as well...and they have kids too...so I'm definitely excited about getting a few fun decorations out for our feast!

When browsing Ms. Amy Atlas' blog, I came across the lovely ensemble below!
How cute is this for a kids table??? I loved it! And from the looks of it, very easy to make.

image from Fiskars via Amy Atlas

I may just take some of these lovely ideas...How about you? What are your plans for Thanksgiving this year?

feature: halloween

Ok - we're less than a week from Halloween and I have not posted anything halloweenish...
I don't really like scary, so I've never been big on Halloween.
But I'll tell you, I may just have to change my mind on that. And I credit all of that to Gabriella's post  (Designs by Nina) on her incredibly awesome Halloween dessert table!
When I first saw it really blew me away! The whimsy of it, the details, the colors...perfection!
This has definitely opened things up for me and it surely has given me a new lease on Halloween!
Who knows...I may be planning a spooky part after all!
Without further ado...enjoy some of the pictures from her post, which you can check out here!

Designs by Nina Designs by NinaDesigns by NinaDesigns by Nina

rainbow happy

Rainbows have been following me this week... It started with Joanna's post (A Cup of Jo) on Monday and since then I've seen a rainbow of some sort (some real and some animated!) everyday of this week. I'm finally catching on that it is a sign that I should do a rainbow post to break this streak of no-posts that has been going on for way too long! That's not to say I haven't been busy busy...I've worked on a baby shower, still working on a halloween party and started designing for a boy birthday (one of these rare chances!)! Now I'm all about finding the time to post all of this...

{intern} help wanted!

Ok - so things are really getting crazy over here!

Let me clarify...the good kind of crazy! But since crazy means one (read "I") can't do it all by oneself (ready "myself"), I am looking for an illustrator intern who knows what he/she is doing and who would work with me creating some designs for Petite Marie's upcoming projects.
It would be unpaid, but he/she would get exposure on the blog AND as A Cup of  Jo's  Joanna said on this post, "tons of gratitude"!
Do any of you know anyone who might be interested?
If so, let me know...

Thank you so so much in advance!!!

PS: After looking at it again, I thought the picture I posted yesterday went beyond the "halloweenish" look I was going for...so no pic...