little.black.sheep.shop

Discounted John Mayer!!

Are you a fan of the J.M.?

iTunes is offering a discounted rate on his Room for Squares album...

A must-have album for most music libraries.

So pick it up soon if you haven't already! $6.99 for this album is a STEAL!

 

Click on the iTunes button above to go directly to this album in the iTunes Store.

(I've been listening to John Mayer for almost a decade now. I started listening to his CDs back when he still had some lingering childhood "puppy fat" on his face - and I distinctly remember a friend of mine burning a CD for me to listen to because I couldn't find his CDs in any music store, no matter how hard I looked... aaaaah memories...)

-h-

Special Centerpieces

Here are pics of some of the photo luminaries I put together (with assistance from my hunny + one of my sisters) for my Mum's 60th Birthday Dinner...

 

 

We were all really pleased with how they turned out. The dining area had low levels of light, so these glowing luminaries were perfect centerpieces for the evening and brought a stir of chatter from the guests as they perused all the pictures.

Want to recreate this project for your own dinner or event?

Just follow these easy steps!!

Materials

Identical photo frames

Printable vellum (either inkjet or laser, depending on your printer)

Scanner

Photo software

Votive candles and votive glasses

Bookbinding tape or colored duct tape

 

Directions

1. Scan in your old photos.

2. Use photo software to change the color of the photo to either black and white or sepia tone. I used sepia tone since we were using unfinished wooden frames.

You will need to be sure your orientation is the same for each luminary. So you need at least three portrait-oriented pictures or three landscape-oriented pictures. If your pictures aren't the same orientation, use a photo cropping tool accordingly.

3. Print your images onto vellum, following the manufacturer's instructions. You will likely need to allow the vellum to dry before moving to the next step.

4. Cut your printed photos to size so they will fit inside each frame.

5. Place the vellum inside the frame first, and THEN put the glass in. This will keep each piece of vellum snugly in place and will prevent the vellum from being burned or marred by the candle.

6. Construct your luminary by placing three frames side by side. Cut your tape of choice slightly smaller than the height of your frame and seal two of the frame "seams" together using the tape. Use a bone folder to rub the tape and ensure it is firmly affixed.

7. For the third and final corner of the luminary, you will need to fold the frames into the triangle shape. Then, place the tape inside the luminary on the third and final seam, again using a bone folder to be sure the tape is properly affixed.

AND... Tadaaaaa! Total time spent: 45 minutes to an hour.

Put candles in glass holders inside each luminary and enjoy the warm glow and fond memories!!

 

 

Here is this project on MS's website too.

Here is a list of the exact materials I used for my project:

Photo Frames from IKEA

HP Inket Printable Vellum

Apple's iPhoto software

White duct tape

(Many thanks to my sister, Ailsa, for sending these pics to me!)

xxoo!!

Masquerading Wine Bottles

My Halloween present to ewe + yours...

 

Festive wine bottle labels for your Halloween party!

 

First up....

 

 

   

Next...

 

 
 

And finally...

 

 

Enjoy!

Happy tricking + treating!!

Shades of gold

Got a l'il dirty planting our new golden cypress trees...

 

 

 

And paused to take in the amazing changing colors that have taken hold in the trees surrounding "our" pond...

 

 

 

The iPhone camera sucks... It is absolutely stunning in person.

Note to self... must make a decision on a new camera soon... at least before autumn has passed!

Citrus Weekend

We went to pick up five Golden Cypress youngsters that we'd ordered from our favorite local nursery on Saturday...

And somehow we wound up being offered ripe Satsuma oranges and fresh kumquats from trees growing right in the nursery's garden! 

 

  

What a treat!

The orange was SO delectable (seedless and sweet), that we couldn't resist in taking one of the young orange plants home...

 It's a small little thing... here's Riley sniffing one of the unripe oranges...

 

 

 

While we were there, I also spotted a Meyer Lemon Tree. The lemons have a lovely smooth skin and an incredible scent. The one we selected and brought home had 7 (Yes - SEVEN!) ripe lemons on it!

 

 

 

 

I already nabbed one to use in the kitchen. Now I'm busy thinking of all sorts of things I can make and bake with these yellow goodies!

 
Don't forget... fall is a great time to get awesome deals at your local nursery.

Our favorite is Cooper's ... the Cooper family and the other employees always take great care of us and provide an endless stream of gardening knowledge and know-how. The people of Columbia can trust they will always be in good hands there.

All of the plants we purchased came from Monrovia.

Many thanks to both of these great companies for helping to continue to make gardening a pleasure for me!!

Festive Treatery

I LOVE these creative ideas for ghoulish treats & eats...

Click on each picture for the recipe...

Vampire Bites

 

Graveyard Cakes

Link to "the Cool Whip" version.

Dancing Bones Brownies

 Fiery Eyes Ghost Cake

Of course... there are always those tasty Pumpkin Pancakes I made a few weeks ago...

 

 Boo-tiful Cake

 

 

Invisible Pops

 

Brainy Cupcakes

 

Skull Madeleines

(each photo belongs to its respective site)

The Last Beekeeper

I watched "The Last Beekeeper" on the Planet Green channel yesterday...

 

And I was absolutely mesmerized.

It's a documentary that follows several beekeepers in different parts of the nation as they try to figure out why so many of each of their colonies are randomly dying. 

You may have heard stories in the news in the last few years that have mentioned the unexplained decline in bee colonies over the last few years. The film documents how beekeepers and experts across the nation have been baffled by the unexplained deaths and are scrambling to figure out whether disease, parasites or maybe even stress are to blame for the hemorrhaging loss of their financial investments.

 

Apparently, the current "bread & butter" of beekeepers is not in harvesting honey - these days, beekeepers travel thousands of miles across the country with their hives to get paid for their bees to pollinate crops. Some crops, such as almonds, rely solely on bees... so more and more beekeepers have been forced to abandon the honey industry, which turns little profit, for the larger promise of pollination contracts.

 

If you have a chance to catch this flick, please give it a chance. It is surprisingly moving and inescapably captivating.

Getting ready to treat...

Hello spook-ers and goblins and creatures of the night!

I can't believe Halloween is less than a week away.

(Where has this year gone?!)

This will be our first Halloween here at the house. And although construction in our neighborhood isn't finished, I'm hoping that we at least get a few trick or treat-ers. We've got a GIGANTIC bowl ready for candy & treats of all kinds, with the hopes that "they will come." We just have to go out and buy the goodies!

Haven't decided what I'm going to "be" this year. I love my hair stylist's idea of going as Flo the Progressive Insurance girl. But there's also Judge Judy or Paula Deen.... hmmm...

I'll let you know what I finally decide on. (Hopefully I won't wimp out!)

Oh... and I'm sure you've noticed that I updated the blog colors this week. Tres Halloweeny!

Happy Sundays to you all...

xxoo!

 

Fashion Ego + Window Shopping

So I watched last night's Project Runway this morning while enjoying my morning soy latte...

And I noticed one of the designers is not like the others.

Here are just a few things this one designer has uttered about her competitors:

 

Everyone else just seems like ...they're cracking jokes every five minutes and ...a stitch will take them five minutes and then they wonder why they can't finish in time.

There are moments when I look around and the level of creativity or craftsmanship hasn't increased in any way. They're getting by on just...doing the bare minimum and I try to top what I did the previous challenge. ...Clothes should be well-made.

 

Ummmm... can we say EGO??!

Why is this girl always talking in "me versus them" speak?

Yes, it's a competition. Yes, you have opinions and have a right to voice them.

But who's going to want to work with you in the future if you keep ranting about how you think you're better than everyone else? 

That's right... I'm talking about you, Irina.

I am hoping she encounters some form of humility in future episodes...

(But of course, she'll probably win the whole darn thing! If we base it on past seasons, it seems the rudest people are always the ones who win.)

Ugh.

***

Anyhoo...

I occasionally go "window-shopping" for clothes online... perusing the likes of anthropologie, White House Black Market, and some of my other favorite online shops.

Here are a couple of my favorite finds this week:

 

For me, a lot of pieces in anthropologie's collections are hit or miss... but I would snatch up this top and jacket in a heartbeat... if I had nothing else to spend my hard-earned money on, of course! 

 

And I really love this pretty navy dress. It's fall-ready when paired with some cute tights and a cardigan. But you could also let it out of your closet again in the spring with a denim jacket and some flip-flops.

The detail in the front by the bosom is just so lovely.

J'adore.

 

Finally... anyone who knows me well, knows I am a lover of layers and stocking up on versatile pieces. So I really loved every item from this look from White House Black Market.

(Even the hat!!)

Ok... enough daydreaming. Off to have a productive Friday!

xxoo

Sunny Puppy

Someone got scrubbed at the kennel before coming home...

 

 

Someone was sporting a cute bandana when we picked him up...

 

Someone spent the day seeking out our sunniest spots...

 

Srsly. So sweet.

(A big thank you to everyone at Westcott Acres for taking such good care of Riley for us!)