A tag, a feature, an award... and some Sex

... not in any particular order. It's a busy, busy morning here on the MODKID front. Lots of stuff happening, lots of stuff to talk about and lots of people to thank.



So I went on a girls' night out last night and saw SATC. **I loved it!** I won't give any spoilers here because I know there a few of you out there who haven't seen it yet, but I'll tell ya that I cried in 3 separate occasions. I wonder if any of you cried during the same spots. That was balanced by a lot of laughter though, so all in all it was a great flick! Oh, and having cosmos with the girls beforehand totally set the mood. :) Thanks so much, Dawn, Lisa, Donna and Kelly! I had a blast!!!

A huge thanks to the fabulous Beki of PamperingBeki for featuring my Etsy store in her love list! If you haven't checked out the feature yet, hurry on over there and scroll down to the bottom of the posting for a special deal from yours truly. ;)

Another special thanks to the sweet Katarina of LikeFlowersAndButterflies for bestowing me the Arte Y Pico Award. I am honored! That link will take you to the Arte Y Pico blog, but it is all in Spanish (the originator is from Uruguay) so if you cannot read Spanish, the gist of it is that this award recognizes a blog’s creativity and overall contribution to the blogger community. Again... super flattered!

So, now, I have to select 5 recipients. This is a hard one for me, because I have sooo many favorites and pretty much everyone in my blogroll deserves an award for creativity and blogging excellence, but I will force myself to choose 5:

1. Daria of Boutique Cafe (love ya, girl!)
2. Shawn of DoodleThoughts (a new read for me... fellow MMF designer)
3. Monica of HappyZombie (never disappoints)
4. Almost Mod... the Marimekko Blog (lots of great creative ideas!)
5. Caroline of JCarolineCreative (super creative and a barrel of laughs!)

WAY TO GO, Bloggers!!! :)

And last but not least, I have been tagged by Lisa of GirlIndie to list 5 unimportant things about myself. You guys are probably sick of me listing these random facts. I have done them soooo many times. So I thought I'd make this a short one and spice it up a bit (of course!) by listing 5 totally random *HEARTS* and 5 totally random *HATES* (I know "hate" is a strong word, so I only use it on special occasions). ;)

I *HEART* Sex And The City
I *HEART* Stephen Colbert
I *HEART* Chocolatinis
I *HEART* my wacom tablet
I *HEART* ceviche

I *HATE* green pepper
I *HATE* Country Music
I *HATE* wearing flats when I'm out with Jon or really tall friends
I *HATE* mornings (anytime before 8 am)
I *HATE* exercising

If you haven't partaken in this meme yet and would like to give it a whirl, consider yourself tagged. And please leave a comment so I can check it out.

So there ya have it... how's that for knocking out my blog to-do list all in one fell swoop?

I've Got Tunes!

YAY! I finally got around to creating a playlist for my blog. These are some of my ultimate favorite songs... hope you like them!

I do not have the playlist on "autostart" because chances are most of my visitors won't like what I like and I get annoyed when I have to listen to stuff I don't like so I don't want to put you all through any unnecessary torture. You'll have to press the PLAY button on whichever song you want to hear... or just play the first one and the rest will follow automatically. :)

ENJOY! >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

My Song?

I was tagged by Chelsea weeks ago (sorry!) and then by Michelle probably weeks ago too and most recently by Dayna to choose a song that best describes me, or my life or my state of mind. And girls, I just want to say to all of you that I was not ignoring your tag at all. It's just that you have no idea how hard this one was for me. I still don't know! LOL!

If you had asked me this question back when I was 16 or 17, my answer would have been real easy. I probably would have said "Punk Rock Girl" by the Dead Milkmen, seeing as I was quite the rebel in my teenage years and hung out with a very "questionable" crowd back then. My mom still cringes when she remembers some of the clothes I used to wear back in high school. Oh, and don't get me started on my hair, my nails, my lipstick... LOL! Well, my life is quite different now. My hair is a normal Loréal shade and my clothes are no longer ripped (on purpose). But this left me still pondering the "My Song" question.

I thought about asking Jon if he could think of a song that best described me, but I knew he'd give me a smart ass answer being that he loves to make fun of all blogging-related matters. He would probably say that the song that best describes me is "I'm Only Happy When It Rains" by Garbage because he claims that I am always bitching about something and I seem to rather enjoy it. LOL! Well, he's always bitching about my bitching, so there. ;) Then he would probably say that another song that best describes me is "Rich Girl" by Gwen Stefani because I am always dreaming about what I would do "if I had all the money in the world." But as much as I'd love to "clean out Vivienne Westwood in my Galliano gown" I really don't think that I would use my money to "get me four Harajuku girls to inspire me..." NOPE!

So, that still left me with no song. My life is not what it used to be so it is a lot harder to pinpoint something like this. And it's not that I am "complicated" or "multi-faceted"... it's actually quite the opposite. I think my life is actually too simple and normal for there to be a song about it. hee hee. I always had a certain title that sort of "defined" me. Like, I've been the "Goth chick" or the "College Student" or the "Graphic Designer" and whatever I was doing at the time I did it full-force. I threw my whole self into it. Now, it's a bit different because I have two little ones that depend on me and one not-so-little-one that also depends on me quite a bit! LOL! So, I have to be a "mommy" and a "wife" foremost, but I also want to be a "designer" and a "photographer" and a "seamstress" and a "blogger" and a "traveler," and even though I don't always enjoy it, I also have to be a "cook" and a "maid" and a"chauffeur" on a daily basis. So, is there a song about that? If there is, I haven't found it yet.

I didn't want to totally disappoint those who so kindly tagged me, so I will share with you a playlist that I have put together to "inspire" me and "motivate" me when I work or play. This is a playlist of my favorite songs... some are from the 80's, others from the 90's, and a few are more current. I play this on my iTunes at home when I want to sew for hours on end... and I also play it on my iPod when I am out & about driving the kids to their various activities or running errands.

Now, mind you, this list has over 100 songs (it literally goes for hours!) but since I didn't want to make this posting a mile long, I will only share the first 12 songs. I think you'll get the gist of my music style...

1. Special (Garbage)

2. Malibu (Hole)

3. It's My Life (No Doubt)

4. Temptation (New Order)

5. Battersea (Hooverphonic)

6. Blackout (Lush)

7. Feel Good Inc. (Gorillaz)

8. Crazy (Gnarls Barkley)

9. Teardrop (Massive Attack)

10. Glory Box (Portishead)

11. Black Steel (Tricky)

12. Kiss Off (Violent Femmes)

...

The Perfect Day

Ever have one of those kinds of days where you look around you and everything seems to glow? Yesterday was like that for me. My day started out great: I completed a custom order in record time, drove to the post office and visited a couple of my favorite quilt shops in the morning. Then, after lunch, I surprised Sophie & Sydney with a new bucket of sidewalk chalk. I couldn't believe I found this for $1 but they acted like I handed them Disney World in a bucket. Gotta love kids! My friend, Kristen, told me earlier that if we got the chalk wet, we could get the most vibrant colors, and she was right! K, the girls thank you for that awesome tip! :)




We went outside to play and I cuddled up on my favorite lounge chair. The weather was perfect: sunny and just a little breezy, not too hot and not too cold. As the girls created their masterpiece (nice, but not as cool as this guy's work) I rinsed some berries so that I could prepare my family's new favorite Summer dessert: berry parfait. I cannot believe how often I find myself making these! And I love them & crave them so much that I even named one of my new Summer custom designs after it.

But as I sat outside staring at this shiny colander full of gorgeous, perfect berries, that weird "glowing" experience started to happen. The grass was glowing, the sidewalk art was glowing, my daylilies almost looked fake... like they were plugged in or something! Even the kids were glowing! I ran inside to grab my camera because I wanted to capture the glowing beauty.


Hmmm... maybe I should do a series of designs inspired by flowers...

The Cool Desserts Collection!

LimeVine's new launch, Quench, started today and I have 3 offerings for it as part of a new series, The Cool Desserts Collection, inspired by my favorite summertime sweets! I have something for every taste here... some customs and some OOAKs. So take a peek! :) (click on each image to visit that particular auction, or scroll below to see all auctions)





To see all MODKID Boutique auctions, please click here. The other LimeVine designers have some fabulous offerings as well, so you should check them out! To see all LimeVine QUENCH auctions, please click here.

Well ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! :)

A week or so ago, I was browsing through Michelle's blog and I came across this post. I won't lie to you, my jaw dropped and I began drooling. I followed the link to see what other styles they had and I stopped clicking when I saw this one. It just so happened that Jon came home right when I had this gorgeous bracelet on my screen. "What are you looking at?" And I said jokingly, "My birthday present!"

Well, I never in a million years would have guessed that he took me seriously! I mean, what kind of ROI is he gonna get out of this gift?!? (If you read my previous post, you know what this comment refers to) LOL!

I am floating right now... I just keep staring at it, so I wanted to share with you guys...





Isn't it gorgeous?!? Thanks, hunny! I LOVE YOU!!! (not that you'll ever read this... LOL!)

Tagged! Seven Random Things

I have been tagged again! This time by a brand new blogger and old friend of mine, Aida of annabella*designs. I feel like the most popular kid in school all of a sudden. You know... the one that doesn't get picked LAST for sports or for any team-related activity. And this is a brand new feeling for me, because I was quite the DORK in school ... definitely not COOL.

Anyway, I am supposed to share seven random things about myself that most people don't know. Jon's gonna love this one... he claims I already share too much on my blog! LOL!

1. I have been skydiving AND scuba-diving and I am a certified PADI scuba diver. (I haven't done either in a few years though -- it's just too dangerous and when you have kids it puts everything into perspective.)
   
   
2. English is my second language. Spanish is my first and French is my third. (Although it's been so long since I spoke French that I have almost lost it all.)
   
   
3. I love condensed milk so much that I can actually eat it right out of the can ... and I have! (many times!)
   
   
4. When I was 3 years old, I was hospitalized for the croup and I lived in a plastic bubble for a couple of months. I have some very distorted memories of that time.
   
   
5. I have traveled to 21 countries and hope to visit a lot more in my lifetime!
   
   
6. I am deathly allergic to cats and lately have developed an allergy to pretty much all furry animals. :(
   
   
7. I have a terrible case of insomnia (and have had it for years) and often times I lie awake at night dreaming up new designs or running through my to-do list over & over again in my head. It's maddening!

OK. Those are my seven random facts. Now I am supposed to tag 7 people. How do I not tag someone who's already been tagged?? Oh well, I'll give it a shot: Tuesday, Lovelyn, Em, Judy, Michelle, Ash & Jeana.

I've been tagged...again!

My good friend Judy (of willarie) has tagged me to show my office right here on my blog! ACK! I guess that means I gotta clear all these papers off my desk, huh?! Well, I needed a good excuse to file and dust, so here it is... my workspace!


Yes, I know. Not very exciting, but that's where I spend an ungodly amount of hours every day! Too many if you ask Jon... and the kids. I work on a Mac and she is like my 3rd child... if I could take her with me everywhere I totally would, but unfortunately she is not portable, so here she stays every day perched on her little silver foot lookin' purdy. Ain't she sweet?

I have all my sewing books and other miscellaneous resource materials on the top shelf...

I keep some office supplies and spare sewing supplies in an old Manila cigar box, compliments of my father in law. I love the rustic look of it... it's got so much character!


I am a huge The Nightmare Before Christmas FREAK, so of course I have to have Jack, Sally & friends here with me at all times.

And last, but not least, some of my most favorite people keep me company and provide loads of inspiration throughout the day: from left to right: Mr. Jack Skellington, Sophia as Cinderella, the fabulous Frida Kahlo (in candle format) and none other than the über-cool Salvador Dali.

So, that's it! Hope you enjoyed the tour. I will be sharing my sewing studio project next, so stay tuned.

OK, now I have to tag someone. From the looks of it, most of you have been tagged already, so I will throw out s a couple of names and if you've already been tagged, sorry... Kristen, Ash and Megan. Let's see those workspaces, girls!!

A Peek Inside...

...my sewing studio! I've been asked before to share pictures, but it was always too messy to show... hee hee! So I took a couple of hours this weekend and cleaned it up for you guys (ain't I nice?).

What's that funky pattern covering up the window, you ask? Well, I was getting a ton of glare from the sun peeking in and I just couldn't get anything done, so in order to block out all light I took a large piece of cardboard, cut it to size and covered it with this funky vintage fabric from the 70's. Yes, I am in a dark dungeon now, but at least it's a pretty, colorful, psychedelic dungeon! ;)

And just so the fabric wouldn't get lonely, I paired it up with a lava lamp. The problem is... the only two outlets under my desk are taken up by my sewing machine & serger. Guess I gotta go invest in an extension cord.

Here's a fun game for ya: how many things can you spot from the store IKEA? Yes, I'm a big fan of affordable minimalist furniture! OK, I'll help ya out: the table and chair are from there, as well as these (they're spice jars but don't they look better as button jars?):
Oh, and this too:
Of course, no sewing room is complete without "the stash":


And the fruits of my labor:


Well, that's the end of the tour! Hope you enjoyed it! Come back anytime.

My Ten Most Favorite Things in the Whole World
(well, besides my children and my husband and peace and love and freedom... yada yada yada)

1. Lindemans Lambic
A delicious fruity beer from my favorite European country... Belgium! I've been infatuated with it for about 15 years now... and in my mid-20's I was actually quoted at a party saying "My doctor said My Lambic!" ... yah, dorky! My favorite flavors are Framboise (raspberry), Cassis (currant) and Kriek (cherry).

2. Philosophy 3-in-1 Shower Gels
Well, if I can't eat it I might as well bathe in it, right? I discovered them about 2 years ago while shopping at Sephora in Orlando and my bathing experience has never been the same... hee hee. These 4 pictured to the right are my favorite flavors, I mean, scents.

3. The KONE
Ohmygosh, what an invention! I got it for Christmas from my mom and haven't stopped using it (or staring at it) since! It's a mini-vac that looks like modern art! It's the epitome of "functional art"...LOVE IT!

4. My iPod
No, it's not one of those fancy-schmancy new ones. It's just that plain old mini that came out like 3 years ago, but I LOVE IT! It goes with me wherever I go and lets me tune out the rest of the world... with some sweet tunes! ;)

5. My Bernina
Of course, I could not leave my sewing machine out of this list. It has been my best buddy for so long now! Yes it is old and a bit worn out, but heck, so am I. But it is a workhorse, and heck, so am I. We are perfect together. What a sweet inheritance from my MIL... RIP.

6. My Pentax SLR
I take all my pictures with it... well, except for this one (it would have to be a pretty amazing camera if it could take pictures of itself!). It was a b-day gift from Jon last year... hmmm... I wonder how he'll top that this year?!

7. My Mac
Another one of my "best buddies". It's slim and slick and oh, so fast. And that 21-inch flat panel is not too shabby either! And YES! That's what it looks like, baby remote on the side and all!!!

8. Nana Thai
It's this little Thai restaurant in Bloomington that I have become totally addicted to. Since we don't go in there too often (cause it's a royal pain with the kids!) we do take-out and oh what a treat it is when Jon shows up with two Nana Thai brown bags!! They make the BEST Yum Nua ... YUM!

9. Iced Mocha
If not available, I'll take a Starbucks' Frapuccino, or a Barney's Coffee Cooler... just mix some chocolate & coffee together and throw them on ice and I'm good to go.

10. The Office
No, not my physical office, but the NBC show! I fell in love with the original BBC show and when we borrowed the complete DVD set from a friend, Jon & I watched them marathon-style one weekend. We just couldn't stop. And I hadn't laughed that hard in ages. When they decided to make an American version we were both very skeptical... but alas, here we are! BIG FANS!