The Art of Doing Stuff

This is my new favorite blog! Karen writes a blog called The Art of Doing Stuff. She put a pond in he backyard, made several styles of bird bathes, redesigned the interior of her home and on and on and on. I'm pretty sure you will love her sense of humor, too!

The Switchboards

As a small business owner, it's really great to find free resources and reach out to other small business owners.

A couple of years ago I stumbled onto a site called The Switchboards. It's a great site with a forum where you can connect with women form all over. They have topics like "Swap It" where you can exchange promo material, "Barter is better" where you can exchange a purse for a necklace if you like and a "Link Exchange" where you can trade links on your web site for links on someone elses web site.

For me it's been a wonderful way to introduce some new people to Boutique of the Week.

Do you have a favorite boutique in your city? I'd love to here about it. Leave me a comment!

Happy Memorial Day!

I hope you have a nice Memorial Day tomorrow! The weather is pretty good in the midwest. It's aways hit and miss here for the holiday. Pools open this weekend here, but you won't catch my day-glow body near a pool until that water has had a couple of weeks to warm up! (That's unless my daughter can convince me otherwise.)

Here is a nice little t-shirt to get you in the holiday mood. It's from a little boutique in our directory called Renegade Handmade, and is sure to bet you in a BBQ frame of mind!

Photo: www.renegadehandmade.com

Fly Away!

Just in time for summer flyin'! We love these all cotton airplanes. They come in several fun colors and have embroidered details. (Plus, they feature all soft body construction, so maybe Mom won't mind too much if you fly them in the house!) Visit Allen Ave. to find out how to get one of your very own.

Photo: http://www.allenave.com

Here Comes the Bride

I know, I know, another post about paper stuff. Well, it's getting to be wedding season and nothing beats a letterpress wedding invitation. Head on over to 9MonkSpot to see all of their beautiful invitations and save the date cards.

Photo: www.9SpotMonk.com

For the Love of Calligraphy!

I came across some beautiful calligraphy today while I should have been working. It's done by Cathie Hong. She's a self proclaimed "artsy-craftsy" girl with an amazing design aesthetic! Check out more of her thoughts, photos and inspirations on her blog Ampersandity.

Photo: http://www.ampersandity.wordpress.com

Cateyes

I haven't purchased these yet, so I can't tell you where they are on-line. There's only one pair, and they need to be mine! My husband says he thinks his mom owned the same pair in the 60's. I'm not sure if they will make me look 20 years older or not. I hope they don't, but I will love them just the same, even if they do.

Can't wait to meet you in person, Cateyes!

Spoonflower

Everyone can create their own fabric thanks to Spoonflower. You can use doodles or something your 18 month daughter drew. How much fun would it be to wear something your created with fabric you created? They also have contests. This week's contest is called Tessellations. To vote, click here. Here is one of my favorites. It's called Blue bird & morning glories by zeppomarks.

Photo: http://www.spoonflower.com

Boutique-Style Kimono Pajama Set

Adorable! How else can you describe this jammie set from The Bitty Bean Baby Boutique? They aren't constructed until you order them, so give yourself a little time. If you want these for a boy, just let them know. Bitty Bean will find some fabric your little man will love. They can also be made with short sleeves and shorts. Perfect for summer!

New Leggings at Kind!

Aren't these just nice and springy? Feral Childe Lederhosen Leggings from Kind boutique. They feature hand-drawn and screen printed mountain sketches. Nice!

Photo: http://www.kindboutique.com

Untraditional Easter

Looking for an Easter item that isn't so sugary sweet? I'm lovin' these Bunny Doll Tee's from Lark! They are available for girls from age 3 to 7. If you still like the thought of sweet gifts, you could toss in a package of Peeps, too!

Photo: http://www.larkmade.com.au

Write On

My daughter is a little like me. She has her favorite type of things to buy and she keeps buying them and buying them, even when she has enough. I do it with t-shirts and cardigan sweaters, she does it with stuffed animals, journals, markers and pens. (She's nine.)

I haven't decided yet if I'm going to tell her about this adorable journal from Henry Road or not. She just bought mini-journals at her school book fair yesterday.

Maybe I should have one of my own!

Photo: http://henryroad.com

Easy Cheese Danish Anyone?

Mmmm... I love finding a super yummy, super easy breakfast treat! I found this recipe over on The Adventures of Kitchen Girl blog and I must say, she knows her stuff. Try it yourself, I think you'll agree!

This is her recipe:

Ingredients:

2 cans ready to use refrigerated crescent rolls

2 8-ounce packages cream cheese or low fat cream cheese

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

1 egg white

Glaze:

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 Tablespoons milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 13 x 9 in. baking pan. Lay a pack of crescent rolls in the pan and pinch the openings together. Beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and egg together until smooth. Spread the mixture over the crescent rolls evenly and then lay the second pack of crescent on top of the cheese mixture and brush with egg white. Bake for 35 - 45 minutes until the top is golden brown. Top with glaze after cooling for 20 minutes.

Photo: http://kitchengirljo.blogspot.com

Kiss Me, I'm Iowish!

Here's a shirt for my friends in Iowa to scoop up!

Photo: www.raygunsite.com

Things I Could Eat With a Spoon

Anything from Tea Pony. I have a friend who just had the most adorable baby girl! (Congratulations, Jenny!) I think her tiny little bundle could use one of these outfits in a few months. I love the illustrations on some of their dresses. It just doesn't get any cuter!

Photo: www.teapony.com

Spring... Where's Spring?

Here in my little corner of the world, we have had snow on the ground since before Christmas. For those of you keeping score at home - that's almost two months.

That's why I'm so excited to see everyone's spring lines coming out. Can you just image? Going outside without a coat, hat, mittens and snow boots? Sleeveless even! I CAN'T WAIT!

Here's a little eye candy from Sarah Seven to hold you over for another month or so. Beautiful!

Photo: Zachary Bascom

New Stuff at Night Owl

I'm in love with their "Cute off the Press!" stuff. Night Owl Paper Goods makes adorable wooden notepads, journals and cards. Very out of the ordinary and just plain awesome!

Great Blog Alert! Smitten Kitchen

Even if you aren't a foodie, you will appreciate the beautiful photos on Smitten Kitchen. I just found this blog last week. ( I know, where have I been?) I've already told five friends about it.

I'm not much of a cook. My hubby does most of the cooking and I'm on clean-up duty, which is fine with me! I don't enjoy planning a menu the way he does. It's fun to cook on occasion, but the day-in, day-out stuff gets to be a bit much.

Deb at Smitten Kitchen takes the most amazing photos to go with each recipe. Even if it's something you think you might not like, the photos almost make you change your mind! Head on over to her blog to find Chocolate Souffle Cupcakes with Mint Cream, Ginger Fried Rice or Walnut Jam Cake. I'm hungry just thinking about it!

Johnny Cupcakes in Omaha!

As you may or may not know, I'm a big fan of Johnny Cupcakes. I love the "I started this as a joke from the trunk of my beat up '89 Toyota Camry" rags to riches story.

We featured Johnny Cupcakes on Boutique of the Week a while back.

Well it turns out, Mr. Johnny Cupcakes himself is doing a college lecture series and is coming to Creighton University in Omaha next Thursday, Feb. 18th. His lecture focuses on starting a brand and business (both web based and retail) with little or no start up money, entrepreneurship, the importance of branding, small business management, product development and marketing as well as communication and graphic design.

If you can't make it to a lecture, check out the web site. They sell pretty nice stuff!

Scout: Dry Goods & Trade - sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY

If you live in Omaha, NE - I have a little bit of insider information for you. Well it's really not so insider, but it's good just the same.

Usually there is a $1 sale at Scout on Sundays! Today it's Sanctuary pants, Sam Edelman shoes and vintage dresses. They are open til 5:00!