Seriously. No jokes, it’s the last. I just wanted to hold out until this gift was opened to share this with you. I know I said we don’t normally celebrate Valentine’s Day, but I couldn’t resist a little something anyway for the husband. I got an adorable little card with a doggie on the front to go along with this:

Yup, got it custom made by DolaMakes. I asked Lola to take the Shout It Out Love Hand Painted Dish Set design and create some mugs for me. She and Don did an amazing job and they turned out beautifully. After moving and settling in we realized that we didn’t have anything for our coffee or tea. I was able to stall and hold the hubby off on purchasing any since I had something special in mind. Do you love them? Check out the other hand-painted wares at DolaMakes for gift ideas.

Confession time. I have been true to my indie supportin’ and lovin’ ways. Yes, I’ve purchased a couple of handmade goods recently for myself and I will share them with you. I really do fight the urge and don’t shop much but I have been spoiling myself recently. I am truly in love with everything I’ve acquired. Here’s the first thing:

My New Bag!!!

After moving from Hawaii I really didn’t have anything to put all my stuff in. I have wanted this bag for so long now and I finally did it. Okay, gals…you know how hard it is to find the right bag. It has to be a certain shape. A certain size. A certain color or pattern. The handles have to be a certain length. There has to be pockets. And so on. Anyway, I ordered my bag from DrikaB and it’s great! I got it within a couple of days and began using it the next morning. It’s roomy, feels comfortable on my shoulder and has pockets. Oh, and it’s super cute! Check out her shop for my bag and a couple other pouches. She’s great and answers any questions you may have right away. Love it!

ps - don’t mind my pale hand. My hands are always, I mean always, freezing so I apologize for the icky hand in the photo.

On a gloomy day filled with off and on rain here on Oahu there is some sunshiny happiness. Yes, it came to me in the form of 3 packages in the mail. I apologize ahead of time for the bad photos that I took. I just wanted to get them posted to share with you.

Here’s the loot:

Look at Punky. He’s a sock monkey (check the pink mohawk and earrings!) that Vanessa (of Gerbera Designs) made just for me! I even got a couple of pockets, button hair pins, a book and even a card and candy. Isn’t she the sweetest?

Some bath and body goodies from Mimie’s shop. mi SPA has some of the yummiest products. I got a couple of pure lavender soap bars, lychee sugar mochi body polish, a sake dry perfume sample, beer shampoo bar sample, green tea whipped body butter sample and an asian pear lip balm sample.

Here’s my order from Papered Together. I am soooooo in love with my new cards. Krista is super talented and I was more blown away by the beauty of these paper products than I imagined I could be. Excellent quality papers, designs and printing. I purchased a hedgehog set and a set of 6 cards (including: How Much I Miss You, Giraffe Hello, Happy Birthday Guys, We Belong Together, I Love You Origami, I Feel So Empty). I also received a sample of the hedgehog coaster. Hey, even Krista’s business cards are pretty!

I am one lucky gal! I’m glad that there were no bills in my mailbox today…

Here’s what I got in the mail a little while back. How cool is the wrapping? Yup, it’s a subway map for New York (LOVE NY!). Where in New York did my package come from? Brooklyn! And what was in my package? My new tote bag!!!

Isn’t it awesome? Katherine at Reiter8 rescues old sailboat sails or sail material and turns them into tote bags. These totes are quite unique and sturdy enough to carry, well, you know…everything that us gals toss into our bags (not that they are just for gals)! There are even pockets divided into 3 sections for you to (attempt to) get organized.

Another great things about these bags? I love the color combinations that Katherine uses for her bags - Greens and browns, oranges and reds. The big “star” or number “8” on the front side is eye-catching and the simplicity of these graphics are pretty hip!

Check out Reiter8. This is definitely a purchase you can feel good about. Hey, you’re helping to recycle!

Here’s an “8” bag in Green and Brown and there’s a shot of the inside:

Reiter8 is offering Free Shipping as a special summer gift to its customers!

On Saturday I came home to this package. Cute, right? Well, then I opened it up and what was in there????

It’s Lucille!!!

See how she’s hanging out in the yard enjoying the shade?

She came to me all the way from Australia! I adopted her the other week and couldn’t wait for her to arrive.

Check her out on my laptop…

If you would like to see more of Lucille’s siblings and friends head on over to Hop Skip Jump. The lovely Fiona creates wonderful dolls (monkeys, kitties, bunnies) and you are sure to fall in love with them like I have.