little.black.sheep.shop

Video Clip of Riley

I'm trying out a new video app on my iPhone... it's ok, but not great. Here's a choppy (and short) video I took of Riley this Saturday when we were out in the snow...

Hopefully embedding the video worked so you all can see it!

Warm Fuzzies!

Nothing like waking up to your house alarm blaring. Ahhh... Mondays.

One of my sisters (and her hubs and dogs) are coming into town for Thanksgiving this year - and I'm uber excited! So we've been planning our Turkey Day menu, cleaning the house, preparing the guest room, and tying up loose ends on tasks and projects we started in recent weeks.

Three cheers for productivity!!!! :)

* * * * *

While doing some shopping this weekend, I found myself whistling holiday tunes without realizing it. And while I start to consciously prepare for the holidays, I can't help but think of all the simple things each of us can do to provide some relief and happiness to others. I believe that is truly what makes this time of year feel magical...

If you want to do something to warm someone's heart this year, there are a lot of options. I've included some ideas here for you...

ONE: Collect Plastic

Gather plastic bags from your house and your neighbors' houses to donate to your local food bank. They are always in need of plastic bags to package up all the food they give to those in need. If you have any food you can donate too, that would be great!

If you want to get your neighborhood involved, visit my previous post for an idea of small flyers you can distribute to get everyone to save their bags for you to pick up and donate. :)

TWO: Give Your Time

Give some of your time by finding a volunteer opportunity near you. There are soup kitchens, food banks, children's hospitals, hospices and more! The needs of all of these groups are so varied, you are bound to find something that will work for you. There are a lot of websites out there that will help you find an opportunity that you'll enjoy and that will make the most out of any special skills you may have. VolunteerMatch is one and Serve.gov is another.

 
THREE: Run for a Cause

Sign up for a charity walk or run! The money raised for these events go to really great causes. And event coordinators ensure participants have a really great time while they're there. AND... you always get a goodies bag to take home with you! Not a bad deal if you ask me. A simple Google search will find upcoming runs and walks in your area. :)

FOUR: Save a Life

No need to don your super-hero spandex for this one. Simply donate your blood or sign up to be a bone marrow donor! This is really giving the gift of life... and I can't think of a better way to help someone else. Visit www.givelife.org for more information... I really love the banner I saw when I recently visited the site... "Starve a Vampire. Donate Blood." Ha! Very cute, especially with all the vampire frenzy going on right now!

If you are interested in joining the bone marrow registry, visit the DKMS website for more information. The initial commitment is simply a cheek swab! They will even send the swab kit to you. If you ever match anyone who is looking for a donor and you still wish to donate, you can either donate your blood or your marrow itself. Really an amazing thing that could save someone's life.

 

FIVE: Gifts that Give

When purchasing gifts this year, consider gifts that automatically give when you make a purchase.

For example, Feed Projects offers a variety of merchandise that, when purchased, will help feed the hungry. All of the money goes towards this cause... and you get some really nice merch in exchange! A pretty good deal if you ask me!

The purchase of the original feed bag feeds one child for an ENTIRE YEAR! Wow. 

 

Another cool one is the Kenya bag (which I LOVE). It feeds 2 children for a year:

 

 And for those of you who have or know kiddles, they now have this adorable bear...

 

I love it all. Please consider these as options to give to friends... and their bags make great gifts for "green" friends who who are avoiding plastic bags.

Another great company under this "umbrella" is Tom's Shoes.

Every time a pair of Tom's Shoes are purchased, a pair is donated to a child in need. Incredible. And if you don't dig any of their shoesies, they have other merch that you can purchase... and a pair of shoes will still be donated! LOVE IT!

 

AND MORE...

There are, of course, countless things you could do - these are just a few ideas. If any of you live in the Columbia area, the Salvation Army is doing Angel Trees in a few local malls again this year. You select the name of a child from the tree, purchase the gift they are asking for, and return both to the tree. It's a really neat way to make this Christmas a special one for a child in need.

I really hope you all are doing well - and are able to spend quality time with friends and family this week. Ciao for now!

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!)

The shop preparing for fall!

Although part of me will be very sad to say goodbye to summer and all the great things it brought me this year

(yes, including you, precious little flutterbys)...

part of me is DYING to get jumping into fall!

 

There's something about the cool, crisp mornings...

And adding pumpkin spices to my lattes...

And pulling out my thick, cozy socks to keep my feet warm in bed...

 

It all means we can decorate for fall +

the holidays are just around the corner!

 

Woohoo!!

Check out the newly discounted autumn-inspired pieces in my shop...

 

The Autumn Leaves Modular Trivets

 

 

The Seasonal Spice Sachet Sets

 

 

And... the ready-to-frame

Scarf & Mittens Sketch

 

Happy happy Thursday!!

Little birdies and exploding dishware...

I know I haven't posted in a while - my hunny and I have been catching up on movies neither of us have seen - and TV shows he wasn't able to keep track of while in "the desert," as he calls it. Throw in a little yardwork + shopping and suddenly a week passed by before we knew it!

 

Anyhoo... just wanted to share some news from this last week.

 

First, the baby finches who were nesting on our front porch flew the coop... literally. We didn't see them head out - they just weren't there one morning! I was taking down the nest this past week and was surprised to see that one of the eggs didn't hatch... such pretty, tiny eggs...

 

 
Just after I was getting over the disappointment of not seeing the fledglings try out their wings for the first time, we spotted a goose couple and their five brand new baby geese toddling along behind them!!! They seem to not really be bothered by us - and were even pecking around on the ground (likely picking up grubs and insects) right next to our house when we returned from running errands one day. I managed to nab a picture before they got too far away. (You can see the little light colored babies as smudges between the pile of rocks and the adult on the left.) 

 

 

We've seen them hanging around the neighborhood... Too cute!!

Finally... I discovered that our plates MUST be replaced at some point soon after one of them exploded - rather violently - in the microwave the other day. Will be sad to see our colorful plates go - but looking forward to picking out new dishware that WON'T shatter suddenly when nuked!!

 

 
Yikes.
 
So - I'm off to make our favorite Mexican "green sauce" now - and will probably do a little more vegging out before I do anything particularly productive this week. I'll admit - it's been nice hanging out with the hunny. But I'll be ready to "get back into" things when the time comes! :)
 
Hope all is well with each of you!
 
xxoo

Lost with Riles

Riley + I watching the LOST finale last night...
 
 

 

He demanded belly rubs.
 
I caved.

Once upon a dream...

I knew when we moved to our new house in Columbia last fall that we would be close to nature. (We have protected wetlands (that includes trees and a somewhat-scummy "pond") behind our property and there are wooded areas all over the place.)

And now that spring is... well... springing, there is a flurry of activity around our house. I have seen cardinals, blue jays and black birds building nests in the area - not to mention ants, spiders and wasps **shudder**, although I've tried my best to make our house as uninviting to six- and eight-legged visitors.

Well... I am so excited to announce that we have not one, but TWO bird-couples nesting on our property!

One pair (I think they're Robins) have built a nest in our front porch, nestled in the corner. The other pair I've identified as Carolina Wren built theirs in a wicker basket on our deck in the backyard. See!

 

 

 

If you look closely in the bottom picture, you can see a hint of mom (or dad's) eyes & beak peering out at the very bottom of the opening (right where those two twigs run parallel horizontally).

Not only that - but I actually saw a pair of rabbits scampering into the woods today! Actual fluffy, wild rabbits!!

Kind of makes a girl wanna bust out her best Sleeping Beauty impression and serenade all the an-er-mals!!

I know you, I walked with you once upon a dreeeeeeam...

It's a boy!

Our local zoo has announced the arrival of a new baby giraffe! Meet Lewis... who is only one inch shorter than me!!


 
I was SO excited to hear this news - giraffes are one of my absolute favorite animals. A visit to our zoo is definitely in order! :)

Here's a link to some footage of the wee one.

:)

Hint hint!

My pups, Riley, very sweetly put his paws on my chair yesterday morning... he looked up smiling at me with his little tail wagging away. "Hello!," I said. He proceeded to climb into my lap and spent the entire morning laying across my legs!
 
(He usually doesn't pull these type of guilt-trip-enducing stunts until 5 'o-clock rolls around. I think he knew it was Friday and was trying to convince me to play hookey so we could play ball with him outside.)
 
 
 
You can see his shoulders and part of one of his ears in this photo... Too cute!
 
It WAS an absolutely gorgeous day - so I will admit I considered his suggestion! But, alas, people were relying on my work. *sigh* Maybe next time, Riles!!

I'm really looking forward to the Heart-y Sale that starts tomorrow (for those of you who have asked, I'll likely be launching it mid-day). And I've finally got my camera back up & running so I'm going to have a photography marathon over the next week or so to update all the pics of my pieces in the shop. (Yaaaay!)
 
Well, I'm heading out to enjoy some excellent local live bands. I can't think of a better thing to do tonight! Hopefully we'll find a table outside so we can enjoy this incredible weather we're having. Hope you all have fabulous evenings ahead of you as well!
 
:)
 

Have you heard?

Have you heard of the growing obsession called amigurumi? My sister recently introduced me to these sweet little knitted or crocheted creatures…

 

 

...And I finished my first one the other day!

 

 

His name is Toadstool Turtle. How cute!! And I finally got a chance to use those tiny little buttons I bought last fall… for his sweet little eyes.

 

My twin sister was my personal amigurumi teacher & coach – and we both started our own turtles the same day while I was visiting my family over the holidays. I took my turtle back home with me – unstuffed, unsewn, and in pieces. We found out later that we both finished our turtles on the same day – just 14 minutes or so apart! It is SO cool that our turtles are twins because she & I are twins too – also just 14 minutes apart! I love that!!

 

So I don’t think Toadstool Turtle will be available in the shop – he’s too special! As I continue to take on this new hobby, though, I will offer future amigurumi creatures for sale.

 

I was surprised at how little time it took to pick up this hobby. I have knitted before – but this was my first time crocheting. If you have any girl friends looking for something new to do when you get together… this is a great idea! There are some great books out there (I’ll add a few of the ones I like in my bookworms list). I’ll post some helpful information that will help you start your own little group!

 

Xxoo!