Christmas in July

Want a fun way to beat the heat? Stay indoors, crank up the A/C (or the biggest fan you can find), and do some online shopping on etsy.com. So many creative artists are offering incredible savings---discounts, free shipping, buy 1 get 1, etc. You can type in "CHRISTMASINJULY" to the search box on the main page to find all participating sellers.

50% off both of these featured bags!

Sylvia-Louise Handbags is getting in on the action too. One-of-a-kind handbags 25-50% off! Shop our Sale Section for amazing discounts. New items will be added throughout the sale. Our sale runs through the end of the month. Get a jump on your Christmas shopping and maybe get a little something for yourself! 

What's in yours?

A weekend away and my bag is full! I wanted to show you everything I carried with me. 

It isn't always this heavy, but almost.

My laptop.

My latest crochet project---a baby afghan---and the bag I keep it in.

My bulging wallet, glasses and sunglasses.

Notepad, pens, gum, mints and 3 mentos.

A measuring tape, hair clip, a ring, and an assortment of chapsticks---including my favorite Burt's Bees Honey.

CD's for the road trip and CD's to upload on my computer.

My coin purse where I keep extra safety pins & reusable shopping bag.

Lotion and my makeup pouch with tissues, headache medicine, hand sanitizer, mirror, more chapstick, hair ties & bobby pins.

I always have a book handy, usually a Jane Austin. 

Currently it's Sense and Sensibility.

My leather card holder and a stack of business cards.

A beanie. 

You never know when you're going to have a bad hair day.

A flashlight & multi-purpose tool in case of emergencies.

Secretly, I might be a boy scout.

And of course, my camera.

So, what do you keep in your handbag?

Etsy Front Page Feature

So excited to find our Tour of California Messenger on the front page of Etsy! And of course, the theme was THE TOUR DE FRANCE!

Thanks to beezus417 for curating the treasury!

More things cycling

Some years ago my brother got his first road bike. This past week he acquired a few more two-wheeled pedal-turners. His new fixed gear bike is a beauty. She's matte black and very sleek.

While visiting San Diego last holiday weekend we decided to load up and go for a spin. We finally have enough bikes for those who choose to to ride. We are DEFINITELY not professionals, but we enjoyed our leisurely ride around Coronado. (I forgot to take any shots of us actually riding---I'll have to borrow some from my sister.)

After a great little ride of course we needed some refreshment. El Zarape called to us and we responded. It had been longer than I care to remember, but the potato rolled tacos were EXCELLENT! Usually a drowned vegetable quesadilla in green salsa is my menu choice.

A perfect morning.

J'Adore Le Tour de France

It's July. And that means that it is The Tour de France. The Tour is a bigger event than the Super Bowl, the World Series, and probably the Olympics for our family. (And we follow all of those too.) We watch every stage for 3 weeks. If it is a good stage we'll watch it twice. When cable doesn't carry tv coverage, I will get up at 5 am, or 4 am, or 3 am (if it's an important mountain stage) to watch streaming coverage on the internet. We watch the recaps on the rest days. We play the fantasy cycling challenge. I won from our league last year. We follow other bike races too, but this is the grand daddy of them all. Some day I'll attend The Tour de France in person.

Two of my favorites: Lance Armstrong and Thor Hushovd

Cycling has a way of getting into your blood. The sport is absolutely fascinating! There are so many components and intricacies. It's a team sport with individual pursuits. Or and individual sport with team support. There are competitions within the competition. Sprinters, climbers, contenders for the general classification---I LOVE it! I especially love me a good sprint. (So sad that Tom Boonen isn't in The Tour this year.) And I admire the professional bike rider above any other professional athlete. Does any other sport require the dedication to workout 2-6 hours a day sun & heat, rain or snow & cold? Sometimes riding hundreds of miles? Or how about dragging their bodies over mountain peaks in the Alps or Pyrenees? These men have metabolisms resembling a hummingbird, and when racing a 3 week stage race will consume 7,000-9,000 calories a day and still look almost gauntly. They have amazing resilience, strength and dedication.

I am glad to see the popularity and understanding about the sport of cycling gaining in popularity in the USA. Yes, it gets a bad rap with doping scandals, but the sport and a majority of the riders are cleaner than any other professional sport and have better controls in place. That's all I'm going to say about that.

So I'm wearing my yellow LIVESTRONG bracelet and following every bit of cycling coverage I can get until July 25 when the race concludes on the Champs Elysees.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY USA!!!

In honor of the 4th of July we are having some FANTASTICALLY FABULOUS sales promotions.

If you head on over to our FlyAKite shop USA residents get FREE SHIPPING on their entire purchase! WOW! What a great time to stock up for all those upcoming special occasions. Nothing tells someone you love them more than giving them a one of a kind greeting card.

And if you're looking for a little something special for yourself, our Sylvia-Louise Handbag shop has discounts 25-50% off in the SALE SECTION! We've never had such deep discounts before. The discount is reflected in the list price. How can you pass this up?

The sales for both shops run July1-July5! The entire holiday weekend! (But if you're reading this on Wednesday, the sale is already in effect. *hint*hint*)

All purchases will be packaged and shipped on Tuesday July 6th! Happy shopping! And HAPPY BIRTHDAY USA! Thanks for giving us freedom and an excuse to have a sale!

Gladiolus

Gladiolus (from Latin, the diminutive of gladius, a sword) is a genus of perennial bulbous flowering plants in the iris family. Sometimes called the sword lily, the most widely used English common name for these plants is simply gladiolus (plural gladioli, gladioluses or sometimes gladiolas).

I don't care what you call them, but to me they always remind me of home. My dad has grown gladiolas (my personal spelling preference) since we moved into the house on Moundglen Lane (also my personal spelling preference---since every street sign in the neighborhood spells it differently). They flowers don't last long, and they have no fragrance. I love them. 

The pink are my favorite. Dad would always gather a huge vase full for my mom to put in the house. Once, when I was 8 or 9 we strung a bunch of white blooms together to make a lei for Hawaiian dress up day. I remember feeling very special since all the other Highlands Hooters had plastic rainbow colored leis on. (Side note: before the elementary school changed the mascot to a hawk, it was an owl, and we were The Hooters.) 

I couldn't resist taking pictures when I was home this past weekend. My dad has always worked hard to have beautiful flowers in the yard. He's been successful, except for a few rose bushes. His tulips are to die for. He also grows a variety of vegetables. We've always had tomatoes---it's a family tradition. He grows fantastic green beans, cucumbers, peppers, strawberries (not so numerous as before), and new this year . . . 

. . . ONIONS. I had no idea that onion plants grew this tall, or had such a pretty flower. Now when the tomatoes are ready all we need is some cilantro, chiles and lime. Nothing like home grown produce.

I have no idea what this flower is called, but I thought it photo worthy.

And I just like how this photo turned out. So there.