Monday morning inspiration

Feels like a long time since I've done my Monday morning inspiration! That whole month of alphabeting kind of got in the way... It was a good break from the "usuals," but as I thought of items to share that have crossed my path recently, a few immediately came to mind:

Hointer. OK, so cool new companies might come along fairly frequently these days, but this one really caught my eye. Cool use of technology to hit a niche market and I am intrigued to see where it goes long-term. Right now you can only buy denim/jeans this way, but who knows what the future holds? Next time I'm in Seattle, I'm checking them out!

Back Bay Pottery. It's not every day I find an Etsy shop where I want one of everything. Well, maybe not EVERYthing, but quite a bit. Rainbow beads? Sure. An owl spoon rest? Well, if you insist.

rainbowbeads

Corgis are on my mind. I've even set up a board on Pinterest for the occasion, and just might have started following too many Corgi-loving Instagrammers, too. I'm trying not to get too carried away, as adding a new pup to our household is not at the top of anyone's list. I've been in this spot before and it didn't turn out so well (Ruby, dear Ruby), so we'll go in with eyes wide open... like these sweet Corgi pups! Ha.

corgipuppy

corgirunning

Also on my mind... are reasons to blog. I've mentioned Narelle at Solid Gold Creativity before, as her posts are often thought-provoking. This one jives with some of my thoughts post-A-Z challenge (I have a reflections post still to come...), about why blog in the first place?, and the connections made possible through blogging.

As often happens, soon after reading Narelle's blog post, this quote then made itself known to me:
"No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader. For me the initial delight is in the surprise of remembering something I didn't know I knew. I am in a place, in a situation, as if I had materialized from cloud or risen out of the ground. There is a glad recognition of the long lost and the rest follows." -Robert Frost

I'll leave you with one last rainbow for the day; this rainbow salad from Food&Wine practically leaped out of my computer, grabbed me by the shoulders and shouted, "Make Me! Soon!" So I shall, and I'll tell you all about it too. The entire slideshow of vegetarian dishes is really quite enticing, it's got me quite inspired to try a few.... beet gnocchi, anyone?

I hope your Monday is off to an inspired start, and the rest of the week follows appropriately!

A-Z blogging challenge: R is for Rainbows

cupcakes

sneakers

crochet

house

cake

buttons

nails

cookies

swimmers

oreos

cake

glasses

quilt

leap

If the pictures above don't make you smile? Well, I'm not sure what to say about that. I love the whole spectrum of color that rainbows represent.

What's this A-Z business about? Check out my kick-off post. And stay tuned for the random joy and nonsense I concoct during the month of April!

A-Z blogging challenge: J is for Jello

I know. You were expecting JOY. But don't you know, Joy and Jello are practically synonymous?

As a child of the '70s and '80s, jello was kind of a big deal. I can remember the first jello salad I was allowed to concot, on my own, probably around the age of 10 or 11. It was quite the responsibility. I think I went for blueberry, with blueberries IN it, and a whipped cream outline around the base. I fretted over getting the jello out of the green plastic ring. Remember these:

Yes, items from my childhood are now being sold as vintage on Etsy. Sigh.

Anyway, once I moved past that first blueberry salad-cum-dessert, I am sure I created a few dozen more during my teen years. I always focused on a good flavor-texture combo, unlike one of my grandmothers, who was notorious for her shredded carrot and orange jello salad or her lime-celery-nut jello salad. But she was aiming for a smidge of health (let's disguise the vegetables with jello)... I, on the other hand, was not.

During my college and post-college years, I sadly turned my back on jello as not chic enough to make or serve. Yes, I was one of those silly people. (And no, I didn't do jello shooters. Just wasn't my thing.)

But somewhere along the way, I let go of the "not chic enough" and went back to the "how fun!" Having a kid and watching him be just as fascinated as I was with the wiggly and wobbly pieces, maneuvering them into his mouth as a toddler surely must have influenced that. And what's not to love about the colors! I hadn't considered the whole layered thing growing up, and rarely have the patience for it now, but I still think it makes for great sport.

rainbowjello

jelloeggs

cloudjello

I sense that the jello Easter egg molds will be on my shopping list for next spring... And how fun, the sky-cloud comb!

What's your favorite jello flavor? Combination? 

What's this A-Z business about? Check out my kick-off post. And stay tuned for the random joy and nonsense I concoct during the month of April!