inspire me monday - the messy room

Did you ever read The Berenstain Bears books?*

They were my brothers and my favorites growing up and for whatever reason, the book "The Berenstain Bears and The Messy Room" is one that always stuck with me (we also had the book on tape version.)

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The story is the tale of Brother and Sister's messy room and how they clean it up--moral after the story and all. But there is a dark part in the book when Mama Bear gets so fed up with the mess in Brother and Sister's room that she goes through with a giant box and starts throwing things out.

My craft room/the guest room has been a candidate for Mama Bear's rage lately. With a few craft shows, little time and other excuses, the craft room became the messy room.

And I feared that the mess, as it seeped out of the room and into other parts of the house, would turn the husband into a Mama Bear-box totin' guy threatening to throw everything out. He confessed earlier this week that the mess was stressing him out a little bit. **

I don't think I blame him.

So on Saturday I took the plunge. Turned on some music, piled my hair into a bun and began to sift through the insanity.

The end result?

A clean craft room, a spic n' span guest room that is a tad, well, inspiring.

*This is important: how do you pronounce Berenstain? "Bear-en-steen" or "Burn-steen." This is a silly argument in which both the husband and I believe that we're right. We even watched an episode on YouTube and it didn't help. 

**please not that I am not a messy person. I always do the dishes, clean the bathroom once a week and clean laundry only piles up weekly occasionally. 

inspire me monday - or not

So this weekend left me a little less than inspired.

I set up shop at my first market, an outdoor, year-round (in Seattle-- I know, crazy town) flea and craft market in Fremont (super indie/hipster neighborhood).

Well it didn't go exactly as planned.

I was there from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

And I made 4 sales.

Four. 

And one was my mom.

Halfway through I redid my display, making it so people didn't have to walk into my tent to look at the handcrafted goods.

People said they liked me stuff, they tried it on, modeled for their friend, held in their hot little hand... but that was it.


But still, it was a little upsetting.

Other vendors told me today wasn't a good sales day, that no one was doing well. (Musta been the sun, one lady said. Seattleites aren't used to it.)

And I'm fine now. I'm not going to be successful everytime, and I'm competing against antiques and the best gyros I've ever had. And I definitely don't blame people for throwing cash at dang good delicious eat-in-five-minutes fair food. (I mean, I couldn't even resist.)

So I'm going back next week. It'll be another crowd, another day and perhaps things will be different. Or perhaps the Fremont Market isn't for me.

But what's inspiring me right now is a few little prints from Etsy that remind me that there are going to be days like today and market experiences like the one I just had.

Let Things Go by CherryRunWay

Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This by AshleyG

only hope by tankandtink

Just Keep Swimming by BubbleWrappd

what do you do when things don't go exactly your way?

inspire me monday - portland

warning: lots and lots o' photos

The husband and I trekked down to Portland for my first time ever.

And I loved it.

We took the train down (which made me feel like it was 1915) and is honestly the least stressful way to travel: Giant seats? yes. Wifi? yes. Reading and not feeling like je vais vomir**: heck yes.

and no traffic. sigh. It was utterly relaxing and breathtaking.

Once we got in to Portland, we stayed in a little funky boutique hotel: (ready tiny rooms and shared bathrooms.) We ate a ton, hit up Powells (which was so amazing for the book nerd I am), ate more, sampled beer (which is practically eating), ate more, sampled more beer, walked around and just enjoyed each other and no responsibilities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Little did I know that I chose to go to Portland the weekend that West Elm was hosting a pop-up Etsy shop. Like what? Did they know I was coming? So I dragged the husband to the event where there was free treats (nom) and ah-gorgeous little booths. Lovely.

The husband limited me to one purchase (which was wise because I have a handmade addiction) so I snagged a little print from Mary Kate McDevitt. Do yourself ALL a favor and check her shop out.

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Yeah this is pretty much me. I love love love getting things done and checking them off my to-do list.

But this inspired me because the shops there were inspiring and as I walked around, admiring their goods and their displays, I kept thinking to myself: I can do this. I can do this.

I came away with a fresh sense of dedication and excitement for my shop.

Other Portland etsy shops there that you should check out:

Verabel + Fox

zanna
annajoyce

e.soule

satsuma press

Moufelt

** that's French for "I'm going to vomit" It's such a nasty thing but it just sounds better in French, you know?

inspire me monday - color

 Right now I'm thinking a lot about color

       the colors in my shop

             the colors of my accessories

I don't know if I have a favorite color because each color has so many different hues. I could never settle on just one.

Right now, though, here are a few of my favorites:

aqua:

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yellow:

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navy:

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and the best is when they're all paired together:

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What inspires you today? Link up!

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inspire me monday - words of affirmation

If you're like me you think Monday came too soon.

And you need some strong words to encourage you and get you going.

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What words inspire you?

inspire me monday

I'm not usually inspired by Mondays.

I'm tired and sloughing off to my day job.

And drinking cup after cup of coffee.

If you're anything like me, you need a little pick me up.

I'm inspired by pastel colors this week:

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do you guys like pinterest? there's lots of inspiration there. you can find me there as rougeandwhimsy.