NaBloPoMo - Bats and Swallows

November is National Blog Posting Month and we are participating this year as we did in 2007. The idea is to post every day for a month. Since I have already missed two days, I'd better get started.

I thought I would use the opportunity to share some inspiration.

Bats and Swallows is a mesmerizing blog serving up evocative and ethereal images unencumbered by words:

Be sure to scroll down to view the videos The Outside House, The Lodger and Noir Comme L'Age. Astonishing, unsettling and dream-like.

Noir Comme L'Age

I love this blog.

Sharon

Maija Lepore Marie Antoinette giveaway day

Look what I received in the mail yesterday!


Look at the creative gift wrapping! (By the way, I will be putting the beautiful tissue paper, glittered star and pink seam binding to good use.)




Maija at Maigirlz Madness made three different pieces to commemorate Maria Antoinette's birthday and I was the lucky recipient of this one. The altered canvas has all kinds of beautiful details and tiny surprises. More can be seen here...

Thanks so much, Maija. It was such a treat receiving this.

Sharon

PS. Here is a link to a Wikipedia entry on Marie Antoinette. Although the article is flawed, click on the Discussion tab at the top of the page. There are some interesting clarifications here, especially about her alleged "Let Them Eat Cake" quote. Fascinating!

Vintage Cashmere in Atlanta

A shout out to our dear friend and fellow Willows, Jen Sertl of Angelina Accoutrements, who has a trunk show at Mark Shale in Atlanta this weekend. Jen designs the most beautiful, sensual women's clothing and accessories, all repurposed from vintage cashmere.

To make her goods even more enticing, 10-20% of each purchase
from the current offerings page of her web site is donated to Amani ya Juu, a ministry that teaches sewing skills to refugee women in Nairobi, Kenya so that they can provide for themselves and their families.

Good luck in Atlanta Jen!

For more information, contact Jen here.

Sharon

Winslow's Home & Farm

I have been meaning to do a post on Winslow's Home & Farm, a wonderful new St. Louis store, for a long time. Now that our products are being sold there, all the more reason!

Winslow's is a true general store. You can walk in and purchase items as diverse as a ticking striped market bag, all-natural suntan lotion or a Swedish salad spinner (all of which I purchased on my first visit). In addition to carrying merchandise of the magnificent as well as the mundane type, Winslow's is a restaurant, with a rotating dinner menu, yummy breakfast and lunch entrees (and great coffee, of course) and the most mouth-watering, gorgeous and delectable baked goods I have had in St. Louis.

If you are in the area, drop by if you can. It really is a wonderful experience and unique in St. Louis.

Thanks to Tyler of Periwinklebloom for the use of her wonderful photos.

Sharon

Secret Leaves is big in Bulgaria!

We are featured in two magazines right now--one of them, interestingly, is a Bulgarian publication called Intro. As nearly as I can tell, it is a cross between Vanity Fair, People and InStyle. So there we are, four full pages of color photos, wedged right between Snoop Dogg, Metallica and a bunch of pretty Bulgarian boys wearing the latest edgy fashions.

Sadly, as it is in Cyrillic (or some other language that we can't read), we have no idea what it says. No matter...the spread looks great and we are very grateful to Tanya at Intro for featuring us and for sending us a copy of the mag all the way from Bulgaria.

We are also featured in the September/October issue of St. Louis At Home magazine. It is a gorgeous issue and we are thrilled to be included.

A big thanks to editor Christy Marshall, writer Stefene Russell and photographer Whitney Curtis of At Home for the wonderful job they did on the feature.

Love to all,
Sharon and Ann