An idle weekend

Saturday and Sunday were pretty mellow, unplanned to say the least. Take a peek at one lazy Sunday through the lens:

Morning :: Raindrops greeted me in the morning, making little clinking sounds as they hit the pavement. I poured myself a cup of water and filled it with ice, hoping it would wake me up a bit. And trust me-- it did!

Mid-morning :: Got to plan out the week's blog posts and start allotting time to put together a few!

Afternoon :: My little blog-planning session was cut short when I saw these little eyes staring at me, waiting to play. Who could resist such a cute little face? Well obviously, I can't :)

Evening :: Sat down for a bit and read some of my Frankie magazine. It's issue 50, so I'm a bit behind on reading the latest one. I hope to finish it soon!

Late evening / night :: Worked on my crocheting; I finally learned the basic stitches and began on my very first project -- a granny square! So excited!!

xoxo, Nat

Happy 2013!

Happy 2013! I hope you all are having a good New Year's, and enjoying the start of another great year!
I've even put together my 2013 resolutions -- take a look:

1. Blogging consistently. I'm really trying to work on this along with putting together quality posts. Quality over quantity!
2. Thrifting more! I do love a great vintage find, and I really want to thrift more in 2013. 
3. Improve my photography. While it's ok now, it's just ok. Not amazing, not horrible, just average. 
4. Read more! A good book and a comfy reading nook = a well spent afternoon. And I'd love to squeeze in a few more off those!
5. Learn how to crochet. I've gotten hooked (no pun intended) after seeing Rebecca crochet 52 granny squares. They are so pretty and I want to learn just so I can create a granny square blanket of my own! In fact, I even bought a book along with 6 skeins of yarn. A bit much? 
6. Visit more new-to-me places. There's a lot to explore where I live, and I'd love to visit new shops and restaurants! 
7. Take a year-long challenge. This year, I've decided to take on a 365 everyday photo challenge. I've heard it can be a bit difficult at times, but I'm interested to see at what point I'll start running out of ideas! And when I do, I'd love to take a look at some photos on Pinterest for inspiration and giving them my own twist!

What are your 2012 resolutions? I'd love to hear them!

xoxo, Nat

etsy story

Etsy: Handmade goods, vintage, supplies.

I've been a member on the handmade online marketplace since March of last year, and have always been as obsessed with it as much as the first day I discovered it. There are so many beautifully made items, and such talented sellers! It's no surprise that a few weeks after discovering it, I felt the uncontrollable urge to sell there also. Behold my ever-morphing shop: Modern Buttercup.

The community there is so nice and welcoming, the staff friendly, and the customers a dream come true. It was like heaven. As my shop continued to grow (and shrink), I learned a great many things and found out that soap is hard to sell, jewelry had a very saturated market, and graphic design services sold well, but clients were hard to reach.

And despite the little things that bugged me, I continued to sell with hopes of doing well. But then, too many changes were made, tons of sellers began to pour in, and slowly things started to dry up. 

It was only about a month ago that I decided to close it down. It was a really hard decision to make, but it was then I realized that it was hard to leave because it was so nice to be part of that little tight-knit community and it's lovely sellers -- and not to be part of that was kind of crushing. (Not to be dramatic or anything)

But now, I thank my lucky stars that I'm doing well where I am now, with my own little independent design shop of my own, free of listing fees and SEO worries. 

I'll always continue to shop on the site as it continues to grow, and who knows? Maybe I'll open up shop again someday. But for now, I'm going to enjoy life as it comes and pour my heart into blogging.