Grateful...

*Grace
*Blessings
*Marriage
*Friendship
*Family
*Second Chances
*Mercy
*Forgiveness
*Bridges

*Love...without it all of the above wouldn't be nearly so sweet

Let it Snow!

There are many holiday traditions around the world -- but all celebrate in the spirit of giving. That is why the designers at Bijou & Co. are most excited to announce our newest launch, Christmas Around the World. Reaching across countries, a portion of the proceeds will benefit the International Children's Hospital. So you know that your bid goes beyond the custom -- it's helping to heal a child. And, after all, what better Christmas gift can you give, than the gift of hope? Bid early. Bid often. Make a difference.

Beginning on September 9th, search BijouCo on eBay!

Here is just a small peek at the many festive outfits and accessories that you will find as we journey to Christmas Around the World!



Here's my contribution for the launch.

Up for your consideration is this adorable 3 piece set perfect for the upcoming holiday season!

Each piece is listed separately and 20% of the proceeds will be donated to theInternational Hospital for Children

Would love for you to visit

How'd I get to feel so old?

Okay, so last week I went back to school...
Full time...

and I got flashbacks.

it was almost a decade ago, when I was single, didn't know what I wanted from my life.

I cared too much about my hair, make up, clothes, what people thought of me...okay I still care...no such thing as totally together, right?

Then I see those, their first college experience. And think, wheph! Thank God I'm married and have figured out a little bit better who I am. Thank God that a decade ago I was smart enough to stick with the guy that was crazy enough to ask me to marry him.

Perspective, is a crazy thing. Wonder what I'll be thinking of the me that I am now a decade from now?

Hopefully it's full of "thank God I'm where I am now"'s.

Puppy Love

Got these new cutie dog loving designs up on ebay! Click on photos :)










Catch 'em while you can!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Just Because...

This is one of my favorite pics, our last vacation...standing in the middle of a narrow road on the way from Kalapana to Volcano on the Big Island.


July was a looong month! And worth it...

Thank God for the patience, kindness and general compassion of those I both live with and work with.


How did I get to this point of my life? To be so blessed and to know that I'm driving out of a place that was dark, dreary & unpropitious ... into one that's full of light, love & God.

Totally by God's grace.

My prayer is to be able to take the tools that were made available to me...
to be able to get out of that dark, dreary and unpropitious place
and share them with others so that my life can be a blessing to others.

Because of this,:
~reading to retain knowledge long enough to hopefully ace test
~writing papers
~fighting morning traffic (something I pretty much never had to do with my current position)
~and much prayer for endurance
is on the horizon.

Meanwhile, I'm gonna enjoy these last few weeks and try to rearrange my life to make room for the exciting new path that's being set before me...and fit in a bunch of time at my sewing machine.

Maybe a quilt is in the future? :)

~Back To School~

Each school year thousands of memories are created.

Some of them are saved in a folder, journal or scrapbook...

But one of the most important memories you will look back on in the years to come will be your child’s school picture. Y

Bijou & Co presents Create Your Own School Picture. From July 24 – 31, our talented group of designers will be listing amazing back to school outfits. Perfect for the first day or school, or school picture day! Not only will you receive a one-of-a-kind boutique outfit, but you will also receive an original 11x17 artist portrait of your child wearing her custom boutique design.

What could be better?! The perfect outfit and the perfect photo. Two memories rolled into one.


Here's my Listing...



...and on that note...

Just a few more weeks & I'm gonna be hitting the books, wheph!

Sweets Dream

This is a sweet creation made of Japanese Import fabrics.

Check it out
here!

WE LOVE MUD

Please check out this blog...



http://welovemud.blogspot.com/


Here is my contribution. A u pick it, custom made with Japanese Import Fabrics.

Please visit my listing here.


And for the
compete list of auctions...

Time is precious...have a blessed weekend.

Journal Entry...Grace & Ordinary Miracles

The plan is to daily write a little in my journal...some weeks have much more success.

Some days, it's harder to find the bits of grace and "ordinary miracles"...

Today as I reflected on this week, I found myself being very thankful and humbled by it all.

*side note ~ thanks to the handful of people reading my blog for indulging me*

1. Forgiveness, finding to strength to forgive and how amazing it feels to receive it...it was there in abundance this week.
2. Friendship, spent a lot of time with friends this week. Moments shared listening to the
music of Jack Johnson & Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds, folding a crazy amount of t-shirts, singing & getting some much needed clear headed advice.
3. Talking with my husband late into the wee hours of the morning till we couldn't keep our eyes open.
4. Learning of several "accidents" where my friend's loved ones were saved from being seriously injured.
5. Family, and all that it brings. The constant lessons learned and remembering that their love is what brought you to this place.
6. Music...the ability we call have to make it, enjoy it and be moved by it.
7. Prayers being answered in ways that find me grateful that I have found my faith.

SENTIMENTS

Happy one Year Anniversary BIJOUCO !

We're celebrating with a big launch on ebay with a lot of special guests! This is going to be amazing!

I invited a few of my friends:

**
sweetteaboutique. I love Nicki! She was such a generous lady. Nicki, if you are reading this...thank you from the bottom of my heart!

**
Twolittle*angels Cynthia is an amazingly generous person! And our love of ravioli and thai food has bonded us for life...LOL. Cynthia, thank you for being there to encourage and answer all my questions! Thank you :)

**
Winipoo Kirsten is amazing! and makes the most gorgeous and fun jewels! Thanks for making the m2m jewels for my sets Kirsten!

Jason Mraz...Such a Talent!...ugh I'm gonna miss his Concert

My husband & I saw Jason Mraz years ago with our good friends.
And he is AMAZING! We still talk about that night.

Well, wouldn't you know...he's going to be back in Hawaii the weekend we're going to be on Kauai for another Ukulele Festival?

Sigh...I love my work & I'm excited about our Festival on Kauai, it's always so great! ...Still I do also really love Mr. MRaz.

Jason, if you're reading this post...okay, long shot I know...
Please come back again soon!!!!

Here's a clip of one of his new songs, Live High. You can find it on itunes.

you can turn off my music player below. Enjoy!

I love her Work!

A friend just shared this NicholeV's work with me.

SHE IS AMAZING! WOW!

Check out her
site it's inspiring.

I couldn't get any images to post here, just have to go & take a look see for yourself . I promise it'll be worth it!

There's a link to her blog too...scroll down to blogs I love.

From the Heart...

This was a labor of Love.

Love the fabrics, colors, design...please stop in and take a peek at
my quilted creation.

Hope it finds a happy home.

My talented friend and Molly of MollyODesigns has tagged me.
Thanks Molly.



Here are the rules:
1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.


Feel free comment...LOL...or not...

Hold on to your seats, this may end up being a novel.

1. What I did in college
I majored in vocal performance.
My fav. class was music theory.
My worst...music history. My brain can't hold places, dates and all other necessary bits of info needed to pass a history class with flying colors.
The best thing I got out of the whole experience? ... my handsome husband.

Thank God for him...he saw me, the real me...and still wanted to spend the rest of his life with me.
the man deserves a medal...LOL...or at least a triple scoop hot fudge brownie sunday with whipped cream, peanuts and a cherry on top.

2. Geography is like Greek to me
My lack of knowledge in this arena is shameful!
Really, a 4th grader would be able to school me on this topic.
But I can find my car in a parking lot, navigate around Ala Moana Shopping Center and find my way around a new town (without getting lost)...and hey isn't that more important than knowing all the states and their capitals?

3. I've lived
on this island for my whole life. Yup, it's true.

4. On Stage
I was in the King & I (my director, Greg Zane was in the broadway cast) and Nine (found one of my dearest friends in that show...hi Lorelle!). Loved doing the musicals!
Thinking of auditioning for a show this year. Haven't auditioned in almost 10 years. But this one is worth the stress, time and possible total embarrassment of auditioning with hundreds of other people and being the worst one there!
wow! wait...has it been that long???

5. Fabric, Food, Friends & Family
I love 'em all! Especially the later two...

6. Chocolate
Must be the dark stuff. Some of the best? Dove, Ethel M's and Godiva.
Ohh and with almonds and macadamia nuts...

YUMMY!

7. Last one!
Other things I would love to do if there were 48 hours in a day?
Watercolor Paint
Golf
Write Music
Read more!
Take a cooking class
Design Fabric
Yoga
Go on a date with my husband & or talk on the phone till 6 in the morning like we used to do.



Okay, gonna tag seven people...lol...if you've done this one already or just don't wanna, feel free to ignore. Have a happy April!

Nicki
Kirsten
Shea
Helen

Marco Polo!

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter! I know mines was one to remember.


Here's my newest listing on ebay.

Lucky me, I got to work with Cynthia of twolittle*angels (aren't her little girls adorable!)

Check out our listings by searching "Marco Polo Monkey"...click on the the photo below to find my listing.

Nothing better than fresh cut FABRIC!

Sandi Henderson's Ginger Blossoms Fabric is so beautiful, that it stirred up the desire to make a quilt. It's been years that I've made one! I threw in a couple of other non GB fabrics to the mix.

The plan is to send it to auction in a week. Wish me luck!

Here's a peak at the fabric...

New Beginnings

This has been such an amazing week! Full of blessings for my family.

I've been holding back listing this set, but thought that it was a perfect reflection.

New Beginnings, such a wonderful place to be!

Just want to say thank you to my family and friends, old & new, for being a part of my life. You all mean more to me than you'll ever know.

Just like living in Paradise

Living in Hawaii, I often take for granted the beauty that surrounds me.

When is it that it strikes me? When I hop on a plane, spend 30 minutes in the sky and land on our Big Island where we have active volcanos and resorts that make you swear you're in heaven.

This is when I have a chance to stop & smell the gardenia, explore the new Queens' Shops at the
Waikoloa and let me senses take in the lux
hotel where we stayed for two nights.



Working in these surroundings is a real treat! Sorry no pics of the actual concert. Was too busy working. But in case you're wondering what I was really doing, here it is.
Click here There was an amazing turn out. All the entertainers were incredible & we gave away upwards of 14 ukulele. All free! Can't beat that!

Found this amazing boutique at the Queens' Shops and found something I loved so much, just had to buy!



Then jumped on a plane, went about my plans, took a two hour nap, drove to a friend's house, completely oblivious to the sunset...then today, worked a full day, missed another gorgeous sunset.

Hmmm...

Live, Laugh, Love

The ladies of Bijou & Co. are doing an amazing launch with Sandi Henderson's much anticipated Ginger Blossom Fabric Line.

Here are two of mine for this week. Click on the photo to a link to my auction.
Be on the look out for a quilt! (if all goes as planned)

Hapa Hale

Thanks to my friend Kym, Leigh of Hapa / Hale graciously asked to feature me on her blog :)

Pop on over to her
Gorgeous Blog of all things Hawaii.

Beads and Tunes

Check out my friend MollyODesigns etsy store.
She's clearing out her office...which means you can find some gorgeous beads at some amazing prices.
Pass the word along.


Guess who's gonna go see Jack Johnson and Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds at the Kokua Festival?

*one of my fav Jack Johnson tracks* note: turn off project playlist before clicking on the videos.



*and one of my fav Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds tunes*



Life is good.

This one is a Keeper! ~~ YUMMY ~~

This recipe is a take on the
60 Piggies baked goodness Banana Chip Muffin.

In case you were wondering why I decided to do this...
1. Nicki's blog was so inspiring
2. The pantry was full of the right stuff
3. I felt a need to celebrate getting over another nasty cold! Tonight was the first time I felt like I actually had any energy to accomplish anything.
4. The pictures posted on 60 piggies were just too gorgeous & if baking up her yummy Banana Muffins could buy me a piece of that happiness, I was all for it.
5. It makes incredibly happy to see my husband loving my cooking/baking.

Here's my version of Banana Bread/Muffin ...had to make loafs, since we don't have muffin tins. :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Banana Mac Nut and Dark Chocolate Bread/Muffin

3-5 bananas
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 c canola oil
4 eggs
1/4 cup sour cream
1 t vanilla
2 1/2 c flour
2 t baking soda
pinch of salt
1 cup chopped macadamia nuts
3/4 cup chopped Dove Dark Chocolate

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. grease 2 mini loaf pans.

Mash the bananas, mix with sugar, add oil, then eggs, then vanilla & sour cream then add dry ingredients all together. mix well.

Stir in chocolate & mac nuts and ladle into loaf pans. Bake for 45 - 60 minutes. Check to see that your banana creation has cooked through. A good test...hit the center with a butter knife & if it comes out clean, take it out of the oven.

Love is...

Marriage is not a ritual or an end.
It is a long, intricate,
intimate dance together
and nothing matters more
than your own sense of balance
and your choice of partner.

- Amy Bloom -

Photos of my friend's wedding and brides maid's dresses made by yours truly. Click on the photo for a larger view.

Welcome to My Blog

After much thought, and a day of bed rest...the decision was made to start a blog.

Hope you enjoy it!