Beautiful Beaded Beads

Speaking of treats, a few weeks ago I treated myself to not one, but two pairs of impeccably made beaded bead earrings from tqbdesigns. Lisa Gastelum is the artist/designer who makes these beautiful pieces ~ each bead is woven by hand using a traditional gourd stitch ~ many of the metal components are handcrafted as well. Lisa has a large selection of unique styles and colors to choose from ~ the hard part is making a choice! Visit her website and her blog to see more of her work or treat yourself to something special at her etsy store.

Below are a few more examples of Lisa's work ~ these are even more beautiful in person! All images shown are from tqbdesigns ~ beautiful photography as well!

{pendant necklaces}

{lovely linked bracelet}

{next on my wish list!}

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Dog Day Afternoon

Sprocket certainly enjoyed his 2nd birthday this past Saturday. As it was a glorious spring day, we set out for a shopping spree at 3 Dog Bakery on the Plaza ~ Sprocket made several new friends and picked out birthday treats to share with his closest friends, Grrrdy & Speck. Grrrdy is one of Sprocket's sisters ~ you can read more here; Speck is Sprocket's best buddy and adopted brother.

After shopping we headed to Sprocket's sister's house for a birthday visit ~ Grrrdy had a treat to share too!

After chowing down on the birthday cake, Grrrdy & Sprocket played party games and chased each other all over the yard.

Playing ball and chasing things makes one thirsty, so drinks were served up next.

After all of the fun & games, Sprocket had to say his goodbyes & thank yous to Grrrdy and her family as he had one more friend to celebrate with before the day ended.

{Sprocket & Speck sharing the last treats of the day ~ what a happy day!}

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Terrible Twos

Guess who's 2 today?

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Tax Time ~ ugh!

April 15th snuck up on me this year ~ I am ashamed to admit that I have had to get an extension and prolong the misery! I have devised a rather inventive way to organize my taxes ~ out of necessity rather than cleverness.
Over the past several months we have been working on a large home project ~ fixing the cause of sagging ceilings and flooring the attic so that it can be used for storage. Because of this project, the rest of my house is filled with all sorts of items I plan on putting in the attic ~ BUT, the stairsteps are all cleared off to allow the contractors access to the attic thus providing me with the only available space to organize my paper work. Unfortunately, the system is not dogproof, nor did it ensure my success at completing my taxes on time. Curses!

{Synchronicity Stairstep Organizational System}

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Scottish Scrapper Makes Headlines Again!

Only a week after being featured on Scottish Terrier & Dog News ~ Sprocket (aka The Scottish Scrapper or The White Tornado) is making headlines again! After a short, but speedy run in the backyard, Sprocket returned with a mysterious bloody gash under his left eye. After a trip to the neighborhood vet, he returned to his home with some medications and a staple under his eye. No comment has been made regarding the cause of the injury.

According to Speck (Sprocket's older black coated sibling), "That dog has been getting into trouble since day 1! He will do anything to get attention!"

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Happy Easter!

Hoping you are all having a wonderful Easter day! Here is a postcard and two advertising cards I picked up in the last month or two to celebrate the holiday. That's a cricket on that chick, not a cockroach, right?!

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