moon

the other night, the moon was huge and super bright.

that's all, just wanted to share :).

♥,
melissa

new fabulous items just listed!

if you've looked in my shop at all today, you might have noticed something exciting: nearly 20 new items, mostly from my new and popular 'kabuku' line!

some of my favourite newbies:

'vintage crane' wall scroll

'tropical blossom' kabuku necklace

'plum branch' kabuku necklace on one of my new 18" gunmetal chains (also sold separately)

'chakra flower' kabuku necklace

'winter wonderland' is back for the holiday season!


a new style of ring: rectangle wood pieces for the perfect kabuku look

and finally...

kabuku wrapped bangle bracelets! these are $20 each and are in very limited quantity currently (i only have 2 of the purple, one of the red, and one of the branches). hopefully i will be able to get ahold of more bracelet blanks soon, because i love these!

whew, well, i've spent the entire day either taking pictures or sitting on the computer listing these new beauties, and i think i deserve a break! time for me to go relax and drink one of these delicious hot chocolate things i whip up :).

♥,

melissa

little things

brandon and i found this little guy hanging out on our patio a few nights ago. look how tiny he is!

he was a sweet little guy, too. didn't even pee on me! :p

and i spotted this creepy baby scorpion on our house. it's getting cold outside... what's he doing out in the open?!

♥,

melissa

get 'em while you can!

head on over to the clearance section (where everything is half off!) in my shop if any of these cuties catches your eye... once they're gone, they're gone!

♥,
melissa

emerald orchid

my newest beauty from my 'kabuku' line, available here .

♥,
melissa

fallen

one of our sage bushes in the front yard. the recent rains knocked the flowers right off the bush.











♥,
melissa

meet pete

we have a little roadrunner friend who hangs out around our house. he's an interesting little guy! i love his call - it sounds like a dove, only almost electronic sounding, as it echoes. i call it the "electronic dove". we named him pete, who knows why :p.

i'll miss pete when we move!

♥,

melissa

almost a sakurashroom

while cleaning up our yard yesterday to prepare for our realtor to come over (our house is now on the market!), i spotted this little cutie. i am a sucker for mushrooms - i think they're so adorable! i hate the way they taste, though :p. i couldn't help but notice that if it bears a stricking resemblance to a cherry blossom! if only it had one less "petal" ;).

oh, would you please wish me luck on selling our house and getting our new one? i'm extremely nervous about it (i'm a total worry-wart!). we found a house we want near austin, where i grew up, so i hope we're able to snag it in the same timeframe as we sell our current house! keeping my fingers crossed!

♥,
melissa

little odd things

i've got this little teak wood box in my bedroom where i keep all kinds of little treasures from throughout the years (do any of you do this?). i came upon it the other day while i was cleaning, and, as i sometimes do, i opened it up to explore its contents.

inside are some of my favourite kinds of stone (obsidian, jasper, aventurine, hematite, carnelian, and citrine mostly), old tea tags (i collect the pretty or cool-looking ones after i drink my tea), some old coins, a tiny gold japanese fan, an origami dragon someone gave me way back in high school, a charm with the virgin mary i once found, and other little things. you might think these things are of no importance, just junk maybe, but to me, each thing in that box represents a memory of something happy. and every time i think to take the box off the shelf, sit down on the bed, and open it up... well, it's like a little treasure chest from my past, and it always makes me smile :).

when i first saw the film 'amelie', one of my favourites, i was surprised to discover that a character in the movie did the same thing. it was kind of neat to realize i'm not the only silly person who collects tiny wonders.

just wanted to share :).

♥,
melissa

back from oregon!

we just got back from our trip to oregon! it was really great to meet my friend lea in person and spend lots of time with an old friend from high school, brittany, and her partner, daphne. i can't even being to explain how breathtaking oregon is... from the mountains, to the trees, to the ocean, everything is just magical, if you ask me. and the weather! oh man, brandon and i did not want to come back to hot and humid texas after experiencing the fabulous oregon climate!



anyway, here are some pictures from our trip. if you're my friend on facebook, you can see the whole album (i took a lot of photos!).





me on the plane! this was my first time flying, believe it or not! (ps - that necklace is a new 'kabuku' piece of mine which will be available in my shop soon ;D).





mt. hood, as seen from the plane, as we descended into portland.



portland, as seen from a viewing area on top of a big hill.



oregon sunset.



ecola state park. it was so moody and perfect with the mist and the cold air!

the water was so cold on my feetsies! it felt awesome!

the astoria bridge, as seen from the astoria column.

the columbia river gorge.

me and brandon in front of multnomah falls in the columbia river gorge. i'm a sucker for waterfalls!

we had such a great time! thanks to brittany, daphne, and lea for showing me and brandon a great time - it was our favourite vacation so far! you guys are the best!

♥,

melissa