I jotted down some thoughts and resolutions for 2007, but I think the big one for the year is this: To leave things better than when I found them.

This applies, of course, to my home which could use a little love and attention… but I hope it also carries over into other areas of my life. To leave things better. Things like lost puppies, countertops, friends, people, projects, even me. I want to be conscious of taking a moment to make a small improvement here or there. Wow. If I made that a habit, I could make a lot of tiny little differences in my life, in someone else’s life.

I have a big wish list of projects for the year – some are frivolous and fun, others are almost necessities (eh-hem, the great closet re-do of 2007 springs to mind).

My job is spinning into high gear again, and I know my free time is about to disappear. I need to take what little extra time I have and pour into the important people and projects in my life. Having this little space here is important to me, but I want it to be a lot more than it is right now. I am hoping that when I return to it I will have the time and extra mental space to pour into it and help it flourish.

In the meantime, I will continue to try to steal extra moments to make things, dance around the living room, take some pictures, and spend time with the important people in my life.

Hope to be back in the spring.

Posted by The Little Happy Ones at 11:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

I'm heading out on a business trip for the next couple of days. I thought there might be some snow, but it sounds like it might end up being very cold rain instead. I'll be back this weekend, and hopefully getting down to some serious Christmas prep. Hope all the little elves out there are feeling merry in their workshops!

(Notes on the photo: I love silver charms! They make a great way to personalize a present or even a sewing project.)

Posted by The Little Happy Ones at 07:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's been quite busy here. I have lots of fun things to share, but I'm going to resist the urge to spill everything right now. I'm off to visit my sister for the long weekend. A certain nephew is turning one. Hope everyone has a lovely fourth!

Posted by The Little Happy Ones at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On Sundays, I drive about 45 minutes north to spend time with my family. We go to church, eat a relaxed lunch at our favorite Chinese restraunt, and hang out while I do laundry. It's especially nice as they have a large screen TV, and we rent a lot of movies.

But our new hobby (and one that even Mr. Bunny Slippers has joined in on once) is looking at model homes. My parents have been wanting to remodel their house for awhile, so they go under the pretense of looking for decorating ideas. But I've always loved open houses and house hunting even when it was just for pretend. When I was little, we used to go on walks as a family and I would beg and plead to go into any open house we came across. I would march straight to the master suite, and announce "this is going to be MY room." Now, it's more of a drag to really look for a house as everything is still SO over priced in Los Angeles. This past weekend, I saw some sad $1.6MM houses with rather scary bathrooms that hadn't been redone since the 60's. (And no, of course that isn't in my price range.)

But there is something about the model homes with their uniform exteriors, shiny new floors and appliances, and postage stamp backyards that I find really enjoyable. I even enjoy the fake family pictures they put on the mantles. And they always set up the most divine vignettes for reading. It's like an invitation to use your imagination.

There's also a certain fun to choosing your favorite model and features. "Heavens no, I'll have to take the 'Tuscany' model - I simply can't deal with that funny shaped balcony on the 'Palo Verdes.'" "We'll need to get the tile upgrades. This won't do at all." I could do this every weekend. And I don't ever feel sad that I can't really live there... there's usually something weird about the community (bad location, houses too close together, tiny yards) that makes it not entirely ideal. It comes just close enough to set the stage for some first class daydreaming.

Posted by The Little Happy Ones at 08:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

It seems like I’ve been away for ages although I suppose two weeks is not really an eternity. I was on my vacation (which was lovely) and then abruptly returned to work (which was not). There are some vacations which I think sort of stick with you… you come back relaxed and refreshed and everyone comments on how nice that must have been, you seem so much better, etc. And then there are vacations which sort of fall off abruptly and you feel so spoiled for thinking I must go back on vacation, I deserve just a few more days, etc.

Anyway, I have returned and have been quiet this week, since I’m feeling quite stuck and restless. I tried even to do everything in a different order when I got back to see if that helped (shower before coffee, more reading before work, etc.) but that only worked on Monday. I have interesting ideas swirling around in my head, but as soon as one comes close something happens to upset my mood and I can hardly be prodded off of the couch.

There are quite a lot of wonderful, happy things that have happened over the past two weeks...
…romantic dinners for two, long walks along the beach sort of stuff…
…watching Mr. Bunny Slippers video tape our entire vacation with his own running commentary and discovering another side to his sense of humor…
…eating delicious room-service pastries and smothering rolls in blackberry jam…
…frequently feeling that we fit in better with the senior citizens on the trip than we did with our 20-something counterparts – and feeling ok about that…
…paying the extra money so we could get the commemorative cup with flashing LED lights and debating whether we needed a set of eight…

And since I’ve been back, I’ve had quite a few splendid ideas about things I want to make and do… everything is coming along in fits and starts. Of course, I mustn’t actually start on any of these new ideas until I’ve finished some time sensitive stuff first (um, Back-Tack anyone?) including a few special birthdays. Why is it that brilliant ideas show up to tempt you away from what you were supposed to be doing?

I finally found materials for my glass/ceramics painting projects. This mirror was only $4.99 so I figured it was worth if it even if it ended up being a practice mirror. The little cup is meant for toothbrushes, but I’m going to turn it into a pencil cup with a little paint. Right. Oh, of course, – I’m not supposed to think about that right now.

Posted by The Little Happy Ones at 08:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I'm heading out momentarily for a much needed vacation. Yay!

See you all next week (assuming of course that our ship is not attacked by pirates).

Posted by The Little Happy Ones at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On Saturday, I was left to my own devices. So after dawdling around drinking far too many cups of coffee, I put together a little list of errands I’d like to run. It sounded perfectly lovely on paper.

Off I went to the fabric store to hunt down some inspiration for my Back Tack III project. I didn’t find a thing. (A bit of trivia - the fabric store near my place is the one Kara Saun takes Jay to in the Project Jay special. Oh yes... I usually feel a little lame when I can't find anything there...)

Then I headed over to Paper Source. I am always reading on other people’s sites about how lovely and divine this place is. I have decided that this is clearly because they do not have to go to the Beverly Hills location. The store itself is lovely, but it is located around the corner from Rodeo Drive. I'm sure this is very nice for the store and for people who like upscale shopping, but I'd just as soon not have to dress up to buy my stationary, thank-you-very-much. I’d been there once before, but never on a busy Saturday. And I had forgotten how out of hand that place was until I was already there surrounded by cell phone wielding, purse-dog carrying women. (My apologies to anyone who carries a dog in a purse – I'm sure your dog loves it! It’s just not my sort of thing.) I’m not big into parallel parking anyway, but it’s somehow worse when the street is lined with Ferraris.

I think I wore the wrong flip-flops for this occasion.

Luckily, this tin of labels was there and worth the drive alone. I've had a crush on them ever since I saw them mentioned over here.

To top it all off -- on the way home, I scoured several newsstands and finally found copies of Blueprint (discovered here) and Marie Claire Idées (discovered here).

As if those labels weren’t enough, I went home and made some like this (very much inspired by these expensive ones):

And I printed out the mailing labels from here.

And now all I want to do is label things.

P.S. - speaking of amazing labels, I just found some new ones to admire.

Posted by The Little Happy Ones at 06:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I’m back from my inadvertent break, and geez – I am so ready to bump that last photo off the top of the page. (Not the best picture… and I spend a lot of time in that spot, so I’m happy to look on something else for a change.)

Luckily, I got home on Friday to some fabulous mail – my “favorite sewing, recipe, & paper project club” (Amy’s mailorder) and my Aranzi Aronzo Post Club vol. 22. This postcard cracks me up. I really love the little Aranzi Aronzo characters, but I’ve never really understood this yellow guy with the long nose/beak. I find it really odd that he appears to be eating a bunch of roses with similar little faces on them. I don’t know how they come up with this stuff, but it brightens up my mailbox nonetheless.

Today, my boyfriend and I went on a 2-part mini-adventure to the Gardens of the World and the mall.

I find Gardens of the World pretty entertaining, because it is really trying to be a much bigger experience than it really is. I’m a huge fan of gardens. I’ve never been a big nature person (two words: hello bugs). Frolicking around a well manicured garden is as close to the great outdoors as I usually get. Some gardens are so well-ordered and maintained that wandering amongst the foliage feels magical, almost meditative. Gardens of the World is not like that. It’s a fairly small space (4.5 acres) that contains a pavilion/bandstand, several man-made waterfalls/fountains, a replica of a California mission, and a Japanese pagoda with a blue roof. My favorite part is the ornate gate at the front. Such a tease! Don’t get me wrong – it’s lovely for an outdoor picnic or a little stroll. But it’s not the place to feel like you’re entering a new world – or even a different neighborhood for that matter. It’s free, entertaining, and more peaceful than say, wandering around the mall – so we dropped by for a few minutes. Turned out that was just long enough to get crossed up in what looked like a wedding (but was actually an extremely lavish Quinceanera). We ended up getting stuck in the California mission building as a stampede of teenagers in formal wear paraded inside. Um, awkward.

Posted by The Little Happy Ones at 10:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I found the bunny! (If you don't know what I'm talking about, click here for the story.)

Here he is relaxing at home with his new buddy, Little Yellow Chick. Thank you to Jessica who kindly left a comment suggesting I check the grocery store. Sure enough, the sad looking Easter Bunny was waiting just two doors down from El Pollo Loco next to the baskets and candy. As I stood in line, I wondered if the other people knew how exciting this was – I was on a secret bunny rescue blogging mission! (Yes, I just typed that.) I hesitated before putting the bunny on the conveyor belt (what if he gets dirty?!) and cringed when the grocery bagger stuffed him brusquely into a plastic bag.

I don’t normally fall for random grocery store bunnies (especially when so many talented people out there make such wonderful home-made versions), but there really is something about the too short arms and legs, giant head, and bewildered expression that did me in… he looks a little alien even, which I love. And maybe he will inspire me to create some new little happy creatures…

So now that my bunny and I are happily reunited for $4.32, I thought I would confess to some other “not so very grown up” things that I’ve been daydreaming about lately:

1) Children’s composition notebooks at eeboo.com via shelterific via weewonderfuls

2) “Ewe’s Fluffy” T-Shirt at Delia’s

3) Squirrel Place Card Holders at Plum Party

Posted by The Little Happy Ones at 08:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

(Click on photo for larger version.)

As I wandered outside to get the mail, I noticed this tiny flower on the bush out front. Yep, this is the same bush that’s about ready to fall over any second.

Here in Southern California, it’s really hard to get excited about the seasons. Really hard as in nearly impossible. This flower is probably all the notice we’re going to get.

Posted by The Little Happy Ones at 07:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This little elf guy in the picture is having the time of his life. It’s 2004. He’s in Alaska, and he just rode up a steep hill through a forest in a golf cart. On more than one occasion, he thought he was going to fall down the mountain on his head, but the trees were very beautiful and this view awaited him at the top. He’s having a great trip.

Tomorrow I’m going on a trip and, well, I really struggled to find a picture since all I intended to write was that I’m going on a trip tomorrow, and I have to get up very early in the morning. I should say very early in the morning for me. Wake up times are all relative, and I’m sure that I will be getting up quite late compared to many people out there. It's a quick day trip for business (not to Alaska), and I won't be riding in any golf carts.

In general, I’m quite lousy at looking after myself, so early morning plane rides are one of the few times I actually succeed in planning ahead. It’s before 8 PM, and the coffee pot is programmed which never, ever happens although it would make so much sense if it did. Hair is washed. Toenails are painted (which is just silly since I’m wearing tennis shoes). Tomorrow’s outfit is laid out. Boarding passes are printed. I'm ready to curl up all cozy and relaxed on the couch for the evening.

I feel like any little edge I can give myself on these early days might help. I so wish that I could do this sort of thing all the time instead of rushing around like a loony. It feels good to be able to relax – I've got to start doing this more often.

Posted by The Little Happy Ones at 08:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ok, so this is not healthy to admit, but I’m slightly obsessed with a stuffed bunny rabbit that I saw at El Pollo Loco. (I’m checking right now and discovering that El Pollo Loco exists only in California, New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. So for anyone who doesn’t know, El Pollo Loco is a fast food chain restaurant that serves chicken and burritos.) Traditionally, it is not a place to look for stuffed bunny rabbits.

However, they had a bizarre display advertising their catering services which had sort of an Easter theme (ok, a blatant Easter theme - see Easter egg paper plates above as reference). And there sitting next to the pictures of chicken and macaroni and cheese was this perfectly adorable little Easter Bunny. My boyfriend, of course, did not understand the fixation but indulged me while I snuck a photograph. Ok, like 5 photographs. (Hey, lighting conditions weren’t exactly ideal and I didn’t want my special bunny picture to be all blurry.) I even convinced my boyfriend to ask the person at the counter if she knew where the bunny came from, but this elicited a shrug and a slightly horrified look indicating that we were as insane as we felt.

Oh, bunny – I wish you could come home with me.

Posted by The Little Happy Ones at 07:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

(Click on photo to enlarge.)

It is raining like crazy outside. I really lucked out; yesterday was beautiful just long enough for my family to take me to the Wild Animal Park for a little pre-birthday celebration.

Here are some things from this weekend that are making me happy:

• Thoughtful presents from my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew -- my sister even made me a personalized box filled with goodies and decorated with a photo she took of a rhinoceros (my favorite animal). I lucked out in the sister department.

• This picture I took yesterday of a bunny and a duck hanging out together. My brother-in-law gets credit for spotting these little guys.

• Seeing this Panda-head souvenir cup in my sink this morning and remembering funny times yesterday

I’m off to put on my fuzzy socks and curl up on the couch. Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do when it’s raining?

Posted by The Little Happy Ones at 08:00 PM | Permalink

I haven’t been to a lot of art openings, but when my friend, Melissa, told me about the Mr. Winkle show over at Icon Gallery, I knew I had to go. If you don’t know who Mr. Winkle is, go over to his site right now! I mean it. His site isn’t the best, but that’s ok. Mr. Winkle is still special.

I first found out about Mr. Winkle in a 2003 newspaper article, and for some strange reason, I still have the clipping. Per the L.A. Times, Mr. Winkle is…
“A 5-pound dog about the size of a large squirrel, with fluffy apricot-colored hair, bright-as-glass button eyes, a koala bear's ears and a perfectly rounded little cherry-red tongue that peeks from one side of his mouth as if it had been sewn in place for optimum adorable effect.”

I will admit that I own one of his books and keep it at work for days where I need a little pick me up.

So, of course, I went to his show. Sadly, Melissa couldn’t make it, so I had to convince my boyfriend that this was really important. Really important. Like, important enough to sludge our way into Hollywood and ruin an otherwise lovely Saturday afternoon.

We make our way to a trendy loft building in the middle of a bunch of warehouses, and discover that we have to call upstairs to be buzzed in. An authoritative sounding woman answers. I am frozen. I didn’t expect this to be quite so hard. I collapse into silent giggles as my boyfriend says “yes, we’re here to see the Mr. Winkle.” He, of course, had intended to say "yes, we're here to see the Mr. Winkle show," but the lady cuts him off before he gets to that part.

We laugh hysterically (but quietly) as we ride the elevator. We try to stop laughing as we wander the hall looking for suite #312. In a small studio, the woman who buzzed us in sits at a round table surfing the internet. She nods at us. The room is tiny. We are the only ones there except for this silent woman. 20 or so framed photos of Mr. Winkle are hung on the walls. The concrete floor is decorated with a lone flokati rug and couch. There is a lawn chair on the balcony. I feel as if what I’m seeing makes no sense at all.

We tiptoe around the room taking in the photos of Mr. Winkle – which were great, by the way. There was one photo of him curled up in a little bowl on a nightstand with his furry little head propped up on a plastic cup. This one alone was worth the trip. But Mr. Winkle makes you want to laugh and gasp and scream “oh, he’s SO cute!” And yet, standing in this awkwardly silent room, I feel like I’m supposed to be dignified, mature… I feel rebellious letting out a serious-sounding, hushed whisper “Oh, yes, that pose is lovely. I agree.”

I’m not sure I’m cracked up for the LA art scene.

Posted by The Little Happy Ones at 08:23 AM | Permalink