Cake Pops and Reindeer Treats....

Finley got a Cake Pop Bakery last night for Chanukah!  She's been asking for one forever, and she often quotes the commercial (at least I think that is what she is doing!!) 

She tells me "Mum, you can EAT all the FUN that you make!"

She was really excited to open her first gift :)

She was though dissapointed, upon seeing the black and white Manual/Recipe book.  She said "Where are all the fancy color pictures?  This is supposed to be an Activity Kit they said!"

It's hard to explain to her that Infomercials, as amazing as they seem (I am personally addicted to them) that sometimes they....well....embellish a little ;)

Anyhow, we'll be making Cake Pops this weekend to hand out as Christmas Treats for the neighbors.  Anyone ever make any?  Any tips?  Where do I find replacement sticks?  I can't wait to try it!  I am most definitely going to be reading up on some Bakerella tutorials!

Finley also came home from school with this really neat idea they made at school.  Check out how easy and fun this would be to do with your child!  Mix glitter and oats.  Done!! :)

I thought I was all done with my Christmas shopping (I may have gone a little overboard this year.  Mr. SLD tells me it's ok since I'm still new to this.  But I think he's just hoping that I got him a lot of gifts ;)  I actually went overboard on Finley, but shhhhhh.....we don't need to tell him that ;)

Anyhow, I thought I was done with shopping, until last night I got into bed with Finley to read her bedtime books.  We started one book and she stopped me and said "Mummy is this book by Jan Brett?  I really love her books, and she is a very good artist."

Huh?  How many kindergartners know books by their author/illustrator!!??

She told me she loves some of her books she's read at school, like "The Mitten"

I guess I better go shopping and see if I can find some Jan Brett Books in this tiny town! :)  When a 5-year old asks for books by author, I figure I have to comply with the request, no?! ;)

xo,
Shari

When Good Ideas Turn Bad, and how to Change the World

Random title, I know.  But stay with me :)

I've been envisioning this dress for a year.  A Double Bubble, cinched Waist Dress.  I have literally been dreaming about how great it would be.

We finally made one.  Harp music is floating through my head....I LOVE it!!!

 

Now, it's time to get Finley in it.......

MASSIVE FAIL!!!  LOL!!!

I guess some dreams should NOT be turned into reality! ;)

Embrace your imperfections and learn from them :)  I try to teach that to Finley EVERY SINGLE day.  She is one of those kids whose biggest fear is the fear of failure.  So much so, that she would rather not even try sometimes.  That makes me sad, but she is a pretty special kid, and even though she'll sometimes be terrified to try something new, other times she'll surprise us with the amazingly fresh ways that she thinks.

For example.....last night we had Family Game Night.  We were playing an I Spy game (the kid is a champion).  But for some reason last night she wasn't in the lead.  She would barely pipe up when she saw a match!  And Mr. SLD and I were occasionally trying to let her get the matches before us so that she could earn the points.

Well, at one point the three of us were all staring at the cards, and there are obviously two bumblebee matches.  No one says a thing, and Finley finally points at them with her arms, saying "It's....it's....!!!" And there we are, trying to give her the chance to say it, so we're saying "Name it, and it's your win!!" and she doesn't name the match.

We ask her why and she says to us "I just wanted one of you guys to get the match.  So I just pointed at them....waiting for you to see it."  Our hearts melt.  

So I say "Finley, why did you do that?  Why didn't you call out the match so that you can win the stack?" and she replies with....

"Because I am so Kind."

WHOA.  First laughter, then the tears roll.  Who knew that raising a five year old could be so emotionally gratifying and complicated at the same time?  We want to instill in her the desire to win and try her best, and yet at the same time, she's also managed to keep her kindness at the forefront.

I am amazed at the beauty that is a five year old.  When I think about that kindness, in a world when all is not always kind, I feel at peace.

It's there, you just have to look for it.  You can change the world with Kindness.

xo,

shari

Tonight and other stuff....

I love life these days.  I don't know if it's the 'merry' in the air, or the fact that Craft Fair season ends tomorrow (I love them, but I love my weekends more ;) but things just feel happy, and merry, and bright.

Tonight Finley drew this.  It made my day :)  And, as any pretend tiger mom like me would do, I immediately added three books about the Solar System in my Amazon.com cart.  LOL.  "But really," I explained to Mr. SLD...."This is how passion starts!!"  :)

I also tried to capture a picture of my Christmas tree and some of it's ornaments tonight.  I am still trying to figure out my new camera, but I did the best I could.  I've only done Christmas a few years now since I married Mr. SLD (I am Jewish.)  But Christmas is part of his traditions so we do that, along with Chanukah each year.

Each year since doing Christmas, I sweetly "complain" to Patrick about how ugly his ornaments are that he brought into this marriage.  Granted, I brought none.  Is that so mean or what?  ;)

But as a little girl, I kind of secretly always wanted to have and decorate a pretty Christmas tree.  Oooh, my tree would be so pretty!  But, by the time I got the chance, I didn't realize I'd have to contest it with someone who has his own Christmas traditions since childhood.

And my five year old, who this year INSISTED she select a new tree topper for the tree.  Yup, that's the result right here.

But, I also have to deal with the hand me down ornaments, (aka the "rejects" that didn't make the cut of his mother's tree) have somehow ended up in our Christmas box that we pulled out this week.

This year was the first year Mr. SLD allowed me to create a "color theme" with the balls.  (Is that what they're called?!  It suddenly doesn't sound right :)  Finley picked Ice Blue and Purple.  I bought into it until I got home and promptly went back to the store in exchange of my dream color combo.....red and purple.  :)  Ahhhhh, it is so pretty :)

And no, we are not watching some R-Rated movie.  LOL.  Somehow it appears the Music Channel on the TV happened to show some image of whoever was singing like this when I snapped the photos. ;)

But amidst my finally pretty Christmas tree....I still have to contend with these less than pretty ornaments, that my husband simply will not let go of.  Seriously, there is a 6 inch stuffed red heart with fuzzy cotton and a santa beard and face on it.  There is also a plastic bear playing golf.  They are far worse in person than how I explain them ;)  Am I alone in that I want a really pretty tree?  I seriously have no clue!

But....here is the dreaded Bicycle ornament.  WTH?  It doesn't even look like an ornament!  Nor does it have a place to hang it from so it just sits there, deep in the tree.  I don't know why, but I don't care much for it.  I have a lot of other ornaments that Mr. SLD forced me to hang onto, and I tried to take their pictures.  But..... Oooopsie, turns out I hung them too deep in the tree and you can barely see them anymore ;)

 

An ornament I do love is the Acorn Skier Guy Finley brought home from art class last week.

And I am a fan of the elephant ornament I bought a few years ago to improve the tree.  Finley has always loved elephants, and they remind me of the month I once spent volunteering in an African village in December 1999.  One night we had to chase (Literally!  Chase!!) elephants from a local farm because the elephants were eating the entire crop!  

So we decided that each year, we as a family, would continue to add ornaments that are meaningful to us.  We will create our own memories in each.  Then, even the ugly ones will start to look pretty :)  I guess most people have been doing that most of their lives, but this is still pretty new to me!

Well, anyhow, I just felt like sharing random moments from this week and tonight! :)

Oh, and here's another random moment.  I grabbed a bottle of Diet Coke from the garage tonight.  It's frozen!!!

 Merry and Happy.
xo,
shari

It's really true! I'm on Zulily!

I've hesitated writing this blog post.....I needed to see it before my very eyes to see it and realize that it's actually happening!  But sure enough, it's happening!  My 3-day shopping event on Zulily launched this morning and I couldn't be more excited.

I'm excited because of all of the obvious stuff...obviously!  I mean, they have 4 million active users and they are the second largest site of this type (after Groupon)! But, I am mostly excited because it's an unexpected, completely unimaginable event to be happening to me.

I remember over a year ago, I received my first order from Zulily (I bought Finley a few princess costumes) and inside of my package came this pretty blue postcard that thanked their Zulily customers so much.  I pulled it aside and kept it in my desk drawer, having gained inspiration from it that I need to always remember that my customer's happiness is the most important part of my business.

I then designed a postcard, inspired by that card (which I actually don't have currently printed), but I used it for quite a while in my packages.  It featured this photos of a friend's daughter wearing SLD, and that friend was the one who urged me to go out and do this business.  I keep this card tacked up on my little bulletin board in my studio.  (Thank you Ashley, again).

I find it funny/odd/unreal/bizarre (insert any similar adjective.  Wait, is that an adjective?  I moved back to Canada from Israel in Grade 2 and never quite caught up in my English grammar type words!), that here I am a year later, up all night folding and packing dresses, for the very same company that I, myself, have shopped from, and who made me remember to always remember how important my customer's are. The whole thing is just freaky to me :)

Zulily approached me not to long ago for this event, and in a very short time (for me!),  I put together this collection of 14 pieces that I am really excited about.  I hope you love it!!  Here are some model shots that my amazing friend and photographer, Mindy Baker, shot, of her adorable daughter Sarah, plus a few of her friends.

Enjoy!!

xo,
shari

     

Black Friday through Cyber Monday at SLD....

Have you been getting your shopping on?  Every year I get the urge to be part of those midnight doorbusters...until 9pm Thursday night rolls around and instead I get into my jammies and forget all about it! :)

The beauty about internet shopping is you don't have to get out of your jammies....so today I plan to do some holiday shopping from my warm, cozy home, rather than brave the snowy outdoor crowds.  Plus, the biggest shops we have in town is Staples and a small Kmart. ;)

So....here's what SLD has to offer you in Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and through to Cyber Monday shopping!  Yup, FOUR whole days of discounts!! :)

**Spend $20-$39 and receive 15% off with code black20
**Spend $40-$79 and receive 20% off with code black40
**Spend $80-$119 and receive 25% off with code black80
**Spend $120 and up and receive 30% off with code black120

Here are a few of my favorite items in my shop right now ....  enjoy!!

Have a great weekend!  And go get your shopping on!!

xo,
shari

**Please be sure to use the correct code.  If you make a mistake I'll be in touch to make any corrections.  Thanks!

Thanksgiving thanks....

We should pretend Thanksgiving is every day.  Really.  Think about how much happier we all would be?  :)

I actually never grew up with Thanksgiving.  I know, I'm Canadian, and we have Thanksgiving in October.  But both my Mum and Dad were immigrants to Canada later in their lives, so they never really picked up on Canadian traditions.  Which is probably why I had never carved pumpkins until a few years ago, or why I had never had a s'more in my life until just recently.

Now I am addicted to carving pumpkins for hours :)

Anyhow, I should say, that I'm thankful for all those things, and for how my Mum and late Dad raised me and my sister. Here is a photo of me and my dad, and my favorite Grover doll that I took everywhere.

I was brought up quite modestly, and my parents taught me the value of hard work and loving life.  I am thankful for everything that I have.

When my dad was growing up (he was born in Yemen but at age four he and his family walked as Bedouins for four years through the desert to reach Israel so that they could be free to be Jewish.  Can you believe it?!  Makes me so thankful for a roof over my head, freedom to be who I am, and warm food in my belly).

When my dad was growing up, cats and dogs were usually stray and not something one could afford or want to have as a pet.  So I am so thankful that my husband brought home our dog Maddie and taught me about the joy of having a pet, and the unconditional love they provide.

Here is Maddie on the second day we had her. 

 

Which leads me to how thankful I am that my husband brought me to Jackson Hole, WY nearly ten years ago and introduced me to a whole new way of small town life.  He also introduced me to snowboarding, which I am not sure I am so thankful for ;)

I am more than anything thankful for the amazing daughter, Finley,  that I have been gifted with.  And the unconditional love that my husband and I ooze toward her.

I am thankful for her health, amidst a few frightening times, when I have never felt worse in my life thinking that something could be wrong with my child.

I am thankful for my entire family, and though they all live so far away, I am thankful that we also get to see them as often as we can.

I am thankful that my beautiful Mum, who dedicated herself tirelessly to taking care of my father when he was ill for so many years, and who has since been a widow now for nearly ten years, has found happiness again with her sweetheart from 40 years ago.  She moves to Australia this week to spend half her year with the man who proposed to her forty years ago but she never married because of different religious beliefs.

I am thankful for my mother in law , who is a world adventurer and is already eager to take Finley on adventures reserved just for she and Finley.  She's already been to all seven continents...so I am thankful that Finley will have a loving and experienced adventure guide.

I am thankful for my father and mother in law, who will undoubtedly teach my child about the world through art and culture and books and smart stuff that only they know about. 

I am thankful for my friends back in California, who I am lousy at keeping in closer contact with.  But I am thankful that they forgive me for that nevertheless.

 

I am thankful for my friend Ashley (pictured above) who convinced me to push my creativity to the limits, and how it resulted in my first mosaic/patchwork dress, and turned my life completely around.  It has allowed me to try new things every day, meet new people, and ultimately has allowed me to meet all of you across the miles.  Though we have not met in person, I feel I've learned enormous amounts from my friends and customers at SLD.  I am so thankful for you.

 

I am thankful that my husband lost his job in California, and that we decided to shortsale our home there, so that we could move our little family back to Jackson Hole and create a even more beautiful life together.

 

I am thankful that in Wyoming, Finley has the opportunities to see and experience the beauty of our country, and experience and enjoy seasons and all that mother nature has to offer.

 

I am thankful for Ellen, who started working with SLD over a year ago, and has now become a dear friend and adviser.

I am mostly thankful for two people in my life.  My incredible husband, who cleans the house so that I rarely have to, who cooks, takes Finley to the bus stop each morning, who bakes me cookies each night (though my belly is starting to wish he would stop that ;) and who will do anything to make our family happy.

And I am thankful for my princess.  For which there are no words to describe the joy, love, and magic that she has brought into my life.

Happy Thanksgiving to you.

xo,
Shari