melissa

These shoes are Nike Free Mary Janes. They have great reviews & seem like a good pair of shoes for the summer. We're going to Hershey Park & Knoebels this summer so I need some good walking shoes. These come in all kinds of colors & patterns but I found these on sale for the cheapest I've seen any. I can't decide between the black or the white pair. Which should I get?!

I am giving away this lovely 5x7 print by Kurt Halsey. It came with a set I bought but I already have this print, so now it can be yours! Go here to leave a comment and enter to win it.

I bought most of these prints months and months ago. Today I finally got them all framed and hung on the walls. Hanging them was tricky. We live in an old house and the wall is not flat and it is slanted. The floor is also a huge slant. So they are not even, but I don't really care. I'm just glad they are finally all hung up!

The four large frames (3 above the bed and one above the nightstand/shelf) I got at Michaels Craft Store today. I bought mattes for three of them, the one came with a matte. The three 5x7 frames I got at the Dollar Store. They were an ugly color so I painted them black with acrylic paint. I also cut mattes for them.

Artwork Info:
The large birdcage print is an original screen print I made.
2 prints are by Kurt Halsey
2 Prints by Boy Girl Party. They are actually post cards.
1 Print by At Whim
the one print is a card from Syko and I loved it so much I framed it!

We went to The Book Thing in Baltimore today for the first time. I found the site online awhile ago and forgot about it until recently. I checked out their website, read some newspaper articles, and reviews about the place. I got so excited that I just had to go there today. It is a bookstore where all the books are 100% free and you can take up to 150,000 books per day per person! It is about 45 minutes from my house and is somewhat close to the Baltimore Zoo.

We got there and they have a parking lot, which was great, and the area feels safe (most of Baltimore is kind of scary). As you can see from the photo, they have a huge garage full of recently donated books that still need to be sorted and put on the shelves. I donated a huge box of recipe booklets someone gave me and some cookbooks I didn't need. I felt less guilty taking their books since I donated some too! We go inside and the first room has cookbooks, art, hobby, and similar kind of books. The next room is pretty big and has all the romance novels, mysteries, fiction, and some other random topics. Then there are two smaller rooms with a wide range of subjects. I was surprised at how clean and well organized the place is. I was going to take some photos but since they are only open weekends it was pretty crowded and people would probably find me creepy taking pictures! But, Here are some I found on flickr (click on them for credits). I think these were taken at their previous location, but it looks about the same
There are wooden bookshelves lining the place and all the books are neatly placed. Its well lit and just wonderful. I brought along a huge tote bag and had it so full it was too heavy to carry.

I got 17 novels and 2 vintage craft books. If anyone lives in the area you should definitely go there if you love books or know someone who does. It is great! I put Otherwise Engaged on BookMooch (book trading site) because I forgot I already have it!

The 2nd Craft for China auction is now live and ready for bids! You can go here to see all the great donations and bid. All of the money raised will go to sponsoring Emma & Gracie for another year and sponsoring another orphan in China. For more info visit the site: craftforchina.com

I just joined book mooch and was wondering if any of you have an account? What you do is add books to your inventory that you are willing to send to other people for free. You get points for adding books and sending books. Then you can use those points to get books from other people. It's pretty cool. I don't like to give books I like away, I always imagine my kids using them someday. But, I added some books that I don't want/need. I added some novels and some knitting books. My account is here. Check it out and if you sign up let me know & we can swap books!

Here is my wish list for books to read during the summer:

Love the One You're With, Remember Me?, and Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea
This is the list so far, but there are a bunch more I want.

You've probably seen Margaret Keane's paintings before. They're from the 60s and the girl have huge eyes. I find them creepy but cute at the same time. She's really famous and her paintings sell for thousands. I was on eBay the other night and found this print for sale. It reminded me of Gracie & Emma so I had to have it. It is huge and came with another large print (this one) for free!

I need to get a better frame. I'm saving for vacation, so I'm trying to be good with money. I got this cheap frame to keep it protected & displayed until I can get a nice frame. Right now it's propped up on my dresser because I'm not sure where to hang it. The other print is safely covered and rolled up. I tend to buy lots of art then never get around to hanging it!

My Bella turned six years old today. This is her 6 years ago...

She got her name from the giant belly she had as a pup...

Today she got a new bone and dressed up for birthday pictures.

Pretty cute huh? I think she enjoyed it, too bad she has no idea what a birthday is...