Simply XSBaggage

Friends and Dinner

I'm really stretching out this Birthday thing as long as I can this week. And I say, hey, why not?! Last night I met my girlfriends for a delicious dinner at a great local Italian restaurant. 

That's me on the left, in the pink jacket. Next to me is one of my best friends, Nancy. We've been friends since we were 10 years old! That's 39 years people!! I really cherish our friendship and the fact that we've stayed in touch all these years. Sitting across from me is my sister, and I was so glad she was able to join us. She really deserved a night out, as she works some incredibly long hours. Next to my sister is my good friend Patty. We met when our boys were in Catholic School together. They became best buddies and so did we! 

It felt good to get out of the 'work clothes' (read: sweats), and put on some 'girly' clothes for an evening out. Dinner was delicious and so was the dessert and coffee!:

I'm going to need to take a lonnng walk today to try to burn some of that off. It was worth it though. Rhubarb crisp with vanilla ice cream. mmmmm....

In business news, because yes, I do have a business to run here, I'm having a little sale over on Etsy. One of the members came up with the idea to hold a site-wide pre-summer clear out sale and I'm joining in. Kind of like a summer yard sale, but for art and art-related items. Hence, the name, 'Yart Sale'. 

  

I've marked down some items here and here.

If you're looking for a bargain, now's the time to find them. These items will only be on sale until June 20th. Also, I may be adding in new items throughout the sale period, so be sure to check back again. 

My husband still owes me a Birthday dinner out, (I had a migraine on my actual birthday), so trust me, I'm not done with this Birthday thing yet! 

Button Bobbies and Pocky

There goes my self-diagnosed 'Crafters ADD' again! But isn't it fun to come up with new stuff? I generate so many wonderful fabric scraps and I just hate to throw them out. They're too pretty! But I think I've found a new solution: these little 'Button Bobbies' ponytail holders. Aren't they cute? Wear a ponytail but still look stylish! Love that!

And the Strawberry Pocky? I've been eating really healthy for the last week, really I have. But, okay, I was looking in the cupboard for something, and there it was. I bought it last summer and forgot about it. And I only had 4 pieces, so not as bad as it looks. Really.

Today is my youngest son, Jeff's, Birthday! He's 23 now, and I am so proud of the young man he has become. We're taking him to dinner tonite to celebrate. Those of you who have young kids and think you'll never have any quiet time ever again, well, take it from me you will. Those years of having kids around the house seem now like just a flash in time.

Traditions

We made it through Christmas! It's such a busy time of year for everyone and I so appreciate having some time to spend with my family. My sister, Carla, came over one afternoon last week and we carried on the long family tradition of making Bratzli. Now many of you readers, if not all, have most likely never heard of these Swiss cookies. So here's a quick introduction to them.

You mix the 2 pounds of butter (yes! 2 pounds), 10 eggs, sugar, vanilla and flour the day before making the cookies.

Next, you roll all that dough into buttery little balls about the size of a quarter. You do this until you have a sea of little dough balls lined up and waiting.

And then, well then, you get to put them in the hot Bratzli iron 4 at a time. Close the lid, watch the butter run out, open the lid, and there they are! Hopefully, golden brown. Although we (as in I) kept getting distracted so we ended up with a lot of darkys. oops! (My sister and I actually prefer the darker ones).

I was so happy and excited to be able to share these treats with my family! We all look forward to having them and it brings back a lot of fond family memories for all of us!

Overload

I've been working long hours in my studio this week. Catching up on orders and getting my Etsy Store ready to be on the Showcase, a fab new advertising promotion that the techies over there offered to sellers. My Etsy Store will be part of an advertisement over at boingboing.net for the next three days. I wanted to make sure that I am well stocked and ready. My portion of the ad started at midnight last night and I can already see an increase in page views! Let's hope that calculates into sales!

I listed this handbag over at Etsy yesterday. It's called 'Emma' Pacific Blue.

We had our 'Family Night Dinner' this week, it was our new Grandson, Isaac's first one of many. I thought we needed to celebrate that, so I picked up some cupcakes.

mmm...cupcakes...

Grandpa Paul got some quality time with him. (Even though he slept the whole time). It's still such a wonderful thing just to hold him.