Here's a twist ... a long overdue post to start the week on a fresh note! Miles of inspiration from Beckman's Handcrafted Gift Show at Merchandise Mart in Chicago (miles of walking too - kudos to the gal who decided to pack her chic, comfy walkin' boots!). Final result: February is 'facelift month' for the shop (no comment on a 'lift' for the shop's owner!). Add a lovely mix of new wildflower and orchid cards from Notable Greetings, tiny lace bowls and delightful fairy houses from Black Cat Pottery, and a special delivery of red clay tiles from David Ellison, custom teabag favors from Diane Bowman, and you've got yourself a perfect gift-stop on the way home!   

Okay truth be told ... I know less about computers and 21st century communicating than what goes on under the hood of my Ford Escape. I'm not exactly sure why people are interested in what server I'm using ... that sounds a bit forward to me! But today the question was rifled my way and I had no time to duck behind someone who knew the answer. Curses!
On the ride home (in the car of which I have no mechanical knowledge!) I made a mental list of my current insecurities ... front and center: 'modern technology', followed closely by my inability to recite the names of former U.S. presidents. I decided this was the day to lean on a higher power... my computer,  to assist me with my techno crisis. No worrries about feeling inept with a monitor staring back at me, the computer wouldn't judge ... that much I DO know!
Tonight I'm bonding with my new best friend: Tech Terms.com. We can't dish the dirt over a favorite bottle of wine, but I'm memorizing some great computer lingo to impress my peers: 'A server serves information to computers that connect to it'. Brain surgery? I think not.

There are days to blitz through paperwork and days for scrubbing the windows top to bottom ... and then there are days to sew buttons. Okay, by virtue of my responsibility detour today, the bills fell by the wayside while I puttered in pearl and plastic, the blue the brown and the milky white beauties piled high in my bottomless button box. I'm looking for a little reassurance here ... I was after all, creating a project to sell in the shop! Resourcefulness, yes?  Inspired by a tote sewn with rows and rows of hand stitched buttons given to me by my lovely friend Judy, I just had to try my hand at the button game. Success came at 4:30 when the eye of my needle virtually disappeared (progressive lenses be damned!), and I had to call it quits noticing that I was actually morphing into crazy button lady. If I spoke to one black button with a perfect rhinestone center, I promise it was the ONLY one to which I uttered a compliment - really. Tonight I have my version of an accomplished day - four straight rows of collected buttons sewn artfully by hand on a rectangle of natural muslin, destined to become a clutch purse for sale on the prettiest shelf in the shop.