February Five

Happy February! Sorry for the absence. And I apologize in advance for the random ramblings today. I'm always inspired and amazed by things, but sometimes it's more difficult to be creative and/or prolific than others. There's no shortage of blog content today though!

I'm loving that the Sailor fixed both my ipod and Flash Player on my computer. That man is a whiz. You Tube is back in business on the trusty old Toshiba.

1. Peter Frampton makes it into the February Five...He's top of mind because he's coming to the Palace on February for his 35th Anniversary Tour.

2. Bell Invito Stationary, meaning "Write Often" in Italian. The company creates gorgeous, high quality letterpress stationary. Mix and match cards, envelopes and liners. Here's my fave from the signature collection:

Look at that liner! Looove. Price: $110 for 10.
Fortunately, the i-pezzi collection ("the pieces") is much more reasonable...

3. Old or new??? We've just started our home search. Again, I guess. It's totally frustrating for someone who's completely impatient and who has champagne taste on a beer budget (as my dad always used to tell me).  Even though everyone keeps saying that this is the time to buy, there aren't a lot of places on the market in the area where we want to live.

We looked at an older home last week from the 1920's- a charming cottage, just what I thought I wanted. But it had small bedrooms, no closet space and suspect cracked plaster. Definitely needed more work than we were prepared to put into it. On the other hand, newer homes have more 'curb appeal' from the start and are easier to maintain. I just can't get excited about the cookie-cutter suburban neighborhood models though. Keeping my fingers crossed that something like this sweet little place pops up on the market soon...Too much to ask?

4. A blog post entitled The 20 Most Life Altering Concepts I've Embraced showed up on my reader around the beginning of the New Year. I've read through it a couple of times since then because, while the ideas aren't new or genius, it's important stuff that I shouldn't lose sight of.  Here are the two concepts that seem to be my biggest challenges these days. Focus on the task at hand. Happiness is (partly) a choice.

Oh, and this one too. So much of my time is taken up with nonsense I want to cross off on my To Do list. I have to work on this...In fact, everyone should.

5. There's been lots of advertising lately about the new JCPenney, which launches today. (Yes, the advertising- with those insanely annoying screaming people.) Hopsy from Monograms and Manicures has been raving about the deals she's recently found there, so I popped into the store yesterday to see what was new. Seems like they have great prices, a good selection and decent quality. I picked up a belt and some bath towels. But I'm thinking of going back for a new swimsuit for vacation. At $21 for a top or bottom, it's quite a deal!