I sum up my year with the word grateful (because I repeat it every day that I wake up). I am grateful for my friends and family. I am grateful for my fun job and all your custom orders and signs I made this year and well, a bunch of other stuff too with a list too long to type out. lol
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Happy Hanukka to all that celebrate! Have a fabulous rest of the season.
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ok, I must admit, I love the Christmas season. It's a time to bring out all that blingy stuff and decorate and I even got my garden art and cat involved this year. Tho I must admit the cat wasn't too fond of the hat and scarf so I put it on my geesha girl outside. She didn't seem to mind.
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Well, what a year it was. Thank you for all of those that ordered via the website and saw me at shows and purchased from my retailers. I have finished up the last of the custom orders this week and taken them to the post office playing santa's helper. Hope everyone enjoys their holiday season and their gifts you ordered.
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With only 3 weeks till Hanukkah and only 28 days till Christmas, I am working to get my custom orders out and shipped or delivered this week early. It's nice when folks already know who and what they need signs for even before December comes rollling around because I can get a jump on them over Thanksgiving. I know, most of us aren't that organized right? I did manage to get most of my shopping done already, somehow (only because I need to ship gifts and want to be ready and not fight the crowds later).
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When you are a small business you sometimes need to hire cheap labor to use in photo shoots. My dog Buddy seems to be asking me to "talk to the paw" while he gets annoyed with me and the flash on the camera. He only sits for so long before starting to bark and getting my other dog involved in the process. Maybe I will ask the cat if I can work with him next time instead.
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You know, sunshine bring the people out and, well, a cool breeze helps with great smelling festival food and unique art and craft booths. The Juno Beach Art Festival was a great success and I now have a huge appreciation for those crafters that do this every week. It is a labor of love for sure and for those of us who love people and being out in the sun, it's just perfect. Couldn't of asked for a better weekend with great welcoming booth neighbors too.
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Come join us, this weekend, November 12th and 13th in Juno Beach (at the beach) for the 10th Annual Juno Beach Art and craft festival! It will be from 10am-5pm both days and the weather report calls for sunny, 80 degrees and zero % chance of rain. Well, we couldn't ask for better weather now can we? Hey, it's Florida and pretty much like this year round which we love.
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Every have one of those manic Mondays? Well, yes, I had one. Here is "baby" my cat who started my day by drinking out of my morning cup (don't worry, it's just water verses coffee), then making a welcome sign later in the day but spelling it welcowe the M became a W somehow) and I couldn't sleep in for the life of me with this new time change so I was groggy all day. Well, thank goodness I made it to Tuesday!
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Poor Florida Gators got chomped by the Bulldogs yesterday. I don't really follow footbal,l but every now and then, I love a good game and of course I like to watch the cheerleaders do their thing as well. It's been decades since I was a pop warner pom pon waver but I have always liked watching the pro and college girls on TV (vs. the actual game!). oh and the tailgating food isn't too bad either.
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I never grew up really been a Jimmy Buffett fan (yes, I just typed that!). At one point in college, I even attended a Jimmy Buffett concert and only knew one song (Margaritaville of course) while everyone else had their parrott head garb on and sang all the words to everything.Well, thank goodness moving to an Island where his songs are played everywhere, every day, at some beach bar, changed all that. I am a fan now!
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I saw my first Christmas tree displays up yesterday and had to ask myself what month and date it was! Halloween items are not even on clearance yet but Christmas things are already pushing out the summer and spring patio furniture and BBQ items. Don't stores know that we like to celebrate the summer months as long as we can and just want to get thru Halloween before the holidays are all over us? Plus it's still 90 degrees out!
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October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month. I know far too many women that have been effects with this terrible cancer but thankfully have survived but not before going thru chemo and radiation and the horrible side effects that comes with it.
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Some research says that half a glass of wine a day may add five years to your life but if you drink beer, you’ll live only 2 1/2 years longer. I want to know if anyone has done a study on the very popular island Cruzan rum though! That that is a study that I am interested in.
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What is better than a weeks vacation in Saint Thomas at a gorgeous villa called Sea Dreams? Well, nothing! My friends Joyce and Nick have a fabulous place they rent out on the island of Saint Thomas and as an added bonus, the give my custom frames with Sea Dreams on it for their vacation guest to take home after their stay is over. There is so much to do on that island and staying in a nice villa with it's own pool is just the thing to do for this upcoming holiday season. Better book early, their calendar is filling up. Just playingJimmy Buffet in your stereo and drinking a margarita isn't gunna do it, you have to go to the island mon and ENJOY!
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Arrrr!I almost skipped right over an international holiday today. It's talk like a pirate day: well who knew this?Ok, so it's a little goofy but who couldn't use a good laugh on a monday right? I know a few pirate terms and if I worked in a regular office, that would be a great place to test out my lingo but I am sure that would get old after say 10 minutes (plus I would have to google more pirate terms). Dave Berry, that national syndicated humor columnist, even wrote a book avaliable on Amazon for $10 about how to be a pirate just in case you need it for next year.
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One of my favorite things to do is walk on the beach and look for shells. It doesn't really matter what beach but obviously some beaches are way better than others like the beaches of Sanibel and Captiva, FL. You need to get up pretty early to beat the heat and the "Sanibel stoopers" to try to find the treasures that the sea washes up. My husband calls me the "shell snob" because when I first started shelling years ago, I would be interested in every shell I saw. Now, I had to focus in on the pretty, whole and colorful shells only as to not bring home bags and bags of white shells.
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I think it just might be over 100 degrees (or at least feeling like it these days) mostly everywhere in the US it seems! Boy it's HOT! It makes me appreciate my air conditioner, shorts and flip flops, cold showers and ice tea with plenty of ice. My dogs are even addicted to eating ice even though they inside enjoying the air conditioner too. I even shaved my one of my big dogs earlier than normal due to this heat. Poor guy, it's like he is wearing a wig all over his body.
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I can understand having a Christmas in July party if you live somewhere where July is cold but everyone I know and talk to is burning up from the heat, especially in the mid west. Ouch it's hot! I was just seeing retail TV commercials stating it's time for their Christmas in July sales event which reminded me I needed to order my return address labels now for our holiday cards! Only 5 months till Christmas. Where did the year go? Geez! Wonder if Kenny Chesney will be inviting me to his Christmas in July party while he is in concert in Seattle? he he he....
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I didn't get married with my toes in the sand at a sunny beach on a Caribbean Island but at a winery in Napa Valley near my home town. I didn't really think that my wedding would actually be a destination wedding when I was a little girl dreaming about it, but as I grew older, it seems to be a fabulous idea when the time came 31 years later. I think our guests were happy to attend our wedding then keep the mini vacation going, wine tasting in Napa afterwards (and I know the plane tickets were much cheaper than a flight to an island!). After living in the Caribbean and attending many beach weddings there, a beach wedding may have been an option for me 12 years back except when you are getting married in California, in April, the weather can be very unpredictable and well, hey, my huband and I loved wine so much, the winery theme just stuck (rain or shine)..... but we got shine on our day, whew!. Now we know why June is the most popular month to get married because in most places the weather is warm and nice in the month of June either on a beach or in a vineyard.
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The phrase "island Time" means a later time than what the universal clock might be saying, maybe even by a day or two (as I experienced with some island construction workers). Living with an "Island Time" mentality is a great thing to strive for at home just like the Selvys are doing with there new signs I made them. It is also great when you are on vacation just as long as YOUR "Island Time" matches up with the REAL "Island Time", time. Got all that? lol
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Getting married in July on a beach in Hawaii sure would be romantic don't you think? Heck, any beach would be fabulous this time of year. I can hear the ukulele strumming now and see everyone in their sundresses and shades with leis.
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I just found this article pulling up some research and loved reading it. Living on an island or in the islands has it's ups and downs, like this article says but it IS magical, I agree!
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December is the number one month for getting engaged according to Brides Magazine BUT June is the number one month for getting married (followed by October). The summer months are very busy with beach weddings but even if you don't have a wedding at the beach, you can bring the beacy feel to your banquet hall, guest tables or church. Why not send your guests home with a little starfish wedding favor or palm tree? Bride and Groom signs are a hit at the head table too.
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Sometimes rules are made to be followed and this sign says it all doesn't it? There are so many things to do at the beach besides pick sand out of your toes and apply sunscreen. My favorite, besides picking up sea glass and shells is people watching!
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Happy Earth Day. Try to pick up one piece of random trash today while you are walking on the beach or in your neighborhood to do a small part to celebrate and keep the place we live, cleaner. I think I will take a bag with me on my walk and see if I can pick up small pieces of trash I might see. Hey, at least use your recycle bags when you shop today, that is a good start!
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I am a small business however I have to use some big businesses to get my shipping to my clients. Just yesterday I was trying to ship an oversized custom Oval water scene piece to a client in Chicago and went to Fed Ex to take care of this. Now, I had been in before to already check the price, see about a box size and have them pack it for me so as to give the client an accuate quote for the shipping. No big deal. However, when I went back to take care of actually shipping it yesterday, no only was this Fed Ex place out of the large bubble wrap but the box I needed. The clerk explained to me that someone had placed the order but she didn't know when they would be getting it in.
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I think my cat secretly can read and knows that last week was all about making doggie signs. He has been "more than normal for a cat" just staring at me and following me around to every window in the house to...stare more at me. Cat's are a funny bunch of creatures. I get dogs but cats, they are a whole different story. He is still cute, even if he stalks me most of the day.
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Just try today to focus on your tasks at hand, not think about the past or look into the future and to what needs to be done. Easier said than done for most all of us, including myself. I think it's a women thing to think way ahead of the week, month, year and worry about what needs to get done and what we haven't done but why do we do this so much? I recently read the serenity meditation prayer again this week when I came across this picture of an order I did during the holidays for someone who is a recovering alcoholic. It's so powerful and one that I think I could and should be read on a daily basis! We could all use to focus on Just Today, TODAY!
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One of this weeks orders is going to Oregon to be a gift for a new breast cancer survivor who has just completed treatment and is cancer free. This is the first survivor sign I have done but I had a good time thinking about the pink and purple colors that this lady would be seeing when she opened her gift. What an accomplishment. I will be shipping it in pink bubble wrap as well. Pink is my favorite color too and what a nice cause and way to show love.
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FINaLLY, I got to actually see my favorite Island Boy in concert last night. Kenny Chesney kicked off his 2011 Goin' Coastal concert tour in Palm Beach, FL and I was there, front and center to see him. This is the closest I have come to being near him I guess if you don't count 2 years ago when our boat was about 100 yards from his boat in St. John on Cinnamon Bay over Thanksgiving break.
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Peace, Love and Sandy Feet is one of my favorite sayings. I even have a sign saying just that next to my computer that I purchased in Key West last year. A day doesn't go by when I don't read it.
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One of my favorite guys and Country Music's biggest star, Kenny Chesney, has put his house/ villa up for sale in Saint John, USVI. The price to live like a rock and roll star is only $9.9 million. It's a seven-bedroom, seven-bath property has a three-car garage, spa, and outdoor pool with a water slide. Nearly 8,000-square feet, the house sits on 1.6 acres of hilltop overlooking Hawksnest Trunk Bay and the north shore. Somehow 9.9 million seems like a great deal for that house after looking at pictures of it and geez, Kenny Chesney lived in it so that in itself is worth a couple of million right. He also just bought a huge house in TN it looks like too. Guess someone is into the RE market right? Good for him, he deserves it.
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Okay, campers, rise and shine, and don't forget your booties (er, I mean, flip flops) 'cause today is Groundhogs Day. Am I right or am I right? Or am I right? Don't you just love Ned Ryerson on that movie? He is my favorite! I see that the movie will be playing all day long today on probably every channel.
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ok, so It took me a little while to get my groove going this new year and get the blog thoughts flowing but hey, it's still January right? I guess that should have been a resolution of mine to start off the year right. Now I am well into working on Valentine's Day orders since that day is only 3 weeks away (can you believe it?). I just love this time of year and seeing all the cute boxes of heart candies in the stores and the love cards that fill the shelves plus making signs that say I love you isn't too bad either. Really gets you in the mood for some chocolate. Did you know girl scout cookies are now on sale. I perfer a thin mint over a box of candy any day!
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