Sometimes Your Office is Your Home

An odd title for a blog post I suppose, but "office" is the scavenger hunters' theme this week at ESN and it occurred to me that back in spring of 2002 I spent more time at my office than I did at home.  Not because I was so busy with work, but my house was on the market and there were so many showings and week-end open houses that I pretty much took up residence in the "shop".  You see, my office was in a large area of the interior walls of a college football stadium, in the "PC Repair Shop".  I was the only woman in a shop of about 8 guys and my office was in the back, and they all worked at the repair benches that ran along the walls.  While their areas looked very much like work areas, mine looked like an apartment, small fridge, clothes hanging from the pipes overhead and my dogs beds and food dishes, with wooden pallets as doors on my modular unit to keep the dogs with me, as the rest of the area was wide open space with shelves and tools of the computer repair trade. So, if your office is going to become your home for awhile you may as well be comfortable right?  Decorate!
Le Petit Marché has some really nice collectible knick knack sorts of things if you should ever find yourself living in your office for awhile  Here is but a few examples to liven up your "office apartment".  These are geared towards guys, but girls love motorcycles and boats too!

Hand Crafted Motorcycle Replica Model   

                Handmade Metal Model Sail Boat

Even Dolls Need a Nice Jacket for Snow

Well, finally Valentine's day is over and it seems no one is worse for the wear.  My boss forgot to make reservations at a nice place so he and his wife had pizza at Old Chicago's, nothing says I love you baby like a pizza I guess.  I was home alone and had a petite steak with butter and red wine mushrooms and sweet potato fries, NOW that was a dinner! :) And we had snow, which is the theme for the scavenger hunters at ESN this week.  We only had about an inch down here but it flurried for some hours and was quite nice to be inside so I had time to look for wintery, snowy type items to finish up this weeks theme.  I found this really nice item at Nancy's Doll Closet, it's for the American Girl Doll or any other 18 inch doll.  Perfect for snowy, cold wintery weather!

Pink Toggle Jacket for American Girl Doll

Nancy also has some really cool winter boots that would go nice with this little winter jacket, come visit her store and all the other great merchants at Ecrater Stores Network for all kinds of goods that will delight you all year long not matter what the weather!

Let It Snow... Somewhere Else!

I have a great sweatshirt with a picture of a grumpy old chickadee or sparrow or some kind of angry looking bird with a pile of snow on his head with swirling snowflakes around, and the caption is "Let it Snow  Somewhere Else".  I'd say; my sentiments exactly except I can't complain much, we don't have any snow down here and the northeast is getting hammered along with parts of Minnesota and South Dakota and probably lots of other places I didn't see on the news.  It's just bitter cold here, around 22F at the moment.  The scavenger hunter theme this week at ESN is "snow", very appropriate for many areas in the nation right now.  I myself was finished with winter after our first snow back in umm, well, whenever it was.  It's time to start thinking of retiring to a warmer climate....I know Christmas is over but Le Petit Marché has the cutest little snow globe, and Christmas is just 10 months away already.  So have a look, it might just be something you'll need for next Christmas.  It's from "Things Remembered" and it plays "Jingle Bells".  And who knows, in the dead heat of summer, you might like a little Christmas snow to look at and enjoy!

Things Remembered Musical Snow Globe

The Love Just Never Stops....

I for one am just about all out of love and hearts for this month of February, and it's still a week before Valentine's day, which February is all about; love, hearts, cards, flowers, candies and a whole lot more.  But at least today is the last day of the scavenger hunter theme of "love" at Ecrater Stores Network.  And one of my esteemed fellow store owners is all about love, I mean it really.  She is Embroidery Fashions Boutique.  She embroiders love all over her tee shirts, aprons, caps, cotton canvas bags, you name it.  Her items love fishing, love pasta, love my big sister, love daddy, love bingo, love hunting.  I bet she can embroider love on just about anything!  Here are a few of my very favorite items that she carries.  And if you still need a Valentine's day gift for someone visit the rest of the merchants at ESN, many of them have great gifts for this special day.

Duck Hunters Love Redheads and a Good Blow     Cotton Canvas Love the Beach Bag 

                           

Get Your Love On!

Hey everybody, it's February the month of "love", which is also the scavenger hunter theme this week at ESN.  I personally can't speak much to love, oh sure, I've been in love, I've even been married thinking that being married meant love.  Well, I'm good at getting married, staying married proved to be a far more daunting task than what I seemed to be able to deal with.  But I love a lot, things like flowers, and freshly mown grass, a blue sky that never seems to end, animals of all kinds, especially puppies!  Love is an excellent wine, an exquisite meal of your favorite dishes (or comfort food!) Love is the perfect set of kitchen knives! Really, to make the perfect meal you have to have, and to love, the perfect set of kitchen knives.  Honestly.  Le Petit Marché doesn't have any knives or love to sell, but I do have some lovely fashion/costume jewelry that can help you love the way you look for a night on the town in this month of love and hearts.  Put a couple of these lovely cloisonne bangle bracelets to accent any outfit.  I have many color schemes and you can wear one, two, three or more and make a bold statement.  Come on get your love on!

Cloisonne White, Red and Green                         Cloisonne Red, Green and White

                                                              

 

Hearts in February, but Lavender is Nice Too!

Well, February is here already and this weeks theme (I missed Monday) at ESN is "hearts".  Plural.  Go figure.  I've a bad cold at the moment so I'm a bit of a cranky pants, but I'll give this hearts thing a shot.  As everyone in the world knows (whether celebrated or not) St. Valentine's day is February 14th.  A big deal for the merchants here in the US.  Flowers, chocolates (in heart shaped boxes of course), stuffed animals of every sort and color holding a plush heart saying silly things like "Monkey Love", "Bee Mine" (on a pink and black bumblebee of course).  Lacy red and white, pink and white, black, red and white, the color scheme is endless; lingerie in heart shaped patches where the sun don't shine.  Then there is the "greeting card" aisle in the grocery (or anywhere you shop for cards) where it looks like the "Saint Valentine's Day Massacre" took place.  It drips in reds, pinks, whites and tons of humans pouring over cards to find the perfect one for their valentine.  I don't "do" Valentine's day, as I don't have anyone to get all silly over or he me.  Maybe I'm jealous.... ahh, nope!  The Farmer's Almanac suggests giving your sweetheart a lavender plant, that way she can enjoy it indoors then when the weather warms she can move it outdoors and enjoy it there too.  Now, that's for me! But for those who are in search of something "hearts" for your Valentine, Le Petit Marché has this adorable

Heart Shaped Glass Crystal Dish With Lid

You can fill it with those cute little heart shaped candies with the silly sayings on them.   Many of the ESN sellers have a lot of heart stuff in their stores, but if your Valentine is a crafter, she may very well enjoy this lovely crafters book from Bargain Express.

Great Works of Heart Craft Book Hardcover Leisure Arts Memories

I bet it's got some stuff you can make with lavender in there too!  Check out all the ESN merchants for your Valentine's day shopping, never know what you might come across!