Today's good mail.

I just love my new ring from SD Marie Jewelry! It's one of her bead rings, but I requested one with just five beads. I absolutely love the sweet and simple look. It's hard to tell from my photo, but this thing is teeeeeeny. Just my style!

And now I'm obsessed with this one from her shop:

Don't you just love the open front? So pretty.

Speaking of pretty, I thought I'd post this pic I snapped of Julia a couple days ago. My girl is getting so big! (it looks better if you click it)

In that photo, can't you just tell that she's thinking "why are you doing this to me?! Just take the picture!" lol

And the winner is...

Congratulations to Lesley of Words & Eggs! You will be receiving a pair of penny lane blossom alligator clips from h0neyburn. :) I'll be in touch soon!

P.S. You should all go check out Lesley's blog because it is so cool! (especially for vintage book lovers like me!)

A couple more...

I am really happy with these! They are so light you can barely even feel you are wearing a necklace. In the shop now. :)

Almost ready.

I've been working on my textile necklaces for a looong time. It's about time they actually get into the shop, wouldn't you say! Keep an eye out for their arrival!

**Do make sure to enter to win a pair of pretty flower clips from h0neyburn here. I'm picking the winner tomorrow!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Waitlisted.

Well. I got waitlisted. I did not get into Chicago's September fair. :( However, there's still a tiny chance I will be contacted by Renegade if a spot opens in a shared booth and they feel my work fits with the other vendor's work . Either that, or I have to find someone who was accepted and see if that person would be willing to share with me.

Sooo.... if any of you were accepted and wouldn't mind having ponder and stitch in your corner, pleeeease send me a convo!

****crickets****

Do I hear crickets? lol

Anyway, congrats if any of you applied and were accepted!

The mailman was good to me today.

Just in case I *do* get accepted to the Renegade Craft Fair, I knew I wanted a cute, vintage money box. I was lucky to find this one here and let me just say, I LURVE it! It's in awesome condition, inside and out!

It even came with the original key. Score! The seller was extremely helpful and sweet, too. Even if I don't get into the fair, this box is sure to come in handy. :)

A new dainty cuff and a coupon code! (and wish me luck)

I just finished this dainty cuff. I rarely make them in the dainty strand size anymore because it can be really hard to get the stitches so near the edges on such skinny strands. I love how this mustard one turned out, though! In the shop now. :)

Also, I have a new coupon code for my blog followers! Just enter BLOGFRIENDS at checkout and you'll get free shipping. This offer is good through Monday, June 27th.

And now I need some good luck vibes thrown my way! I think this Friday is when I find out whether or not I was accepted into the Chicago Renegade Craft Fair. I can't even tell you how nervous I am. **crosses fingers**

I'll leave you now with a couple photos I snapped of Finn yesterday.


I know, my cat pics are probably getting boring. But he's my little gentleman and sometimes I can't resist. ;)

Happy Wednesday!

My two favorite low-calorie snacks.

First, the sweet snack. Go out and get yourself a pack of JELL-O Temptations in Lemon Meringue Pie flavor. Oh my gosh, they are SO good. Each cup is only 100 calories! I've not tried the other flavors yet, but I think they all had more calories than the lemon one. Besides, I don't even NEED to try the other flavors. These are that good.

Now for the savory... I absolutely love the Lean Cuisine "snacks" line. Well, the only flavor I've tried is this one:


These are so good! The box comes with six rolls, wrapped in groups of three, so two separate servings. Each serving is only 200 calories, and these rolls taste great! The outsides get all crispy in the microwave.

Great, now I've made myself hungry. Not a great idea to post about this when I'm actually out of both snacks! ***waves fist in air***

Happy snacking. :)

More of a garage sale score than I thought!!

Remember this chair I got for $3.00 at a garage sale last month?

Well I was just looking closely at the bottom of it and noticed this name above the original label:

So of course I hopped online and searched for Herman Miller chairs and found that this exact chair was designed by Eames for Herman Miller. Look at THIS!

Major score, huh?! So, I decided to peel back that label to see if the Herman Miller stamp was under it. Yep:

Best $3.00 ever! I'd say this is now my best thrifty score ever. Before this, it was this:

Yes, my Cathrineholm bowl I got at the thrift store for $2.00! I have been a lucky girl.

Remember to visit your neighborhood garage sales, even if they look really bad after the initial drive-by. Seriously! :D

A sweet and simple giveaway for you!

Nicole of h0neyburn is giving one lucky ponder and stitch reader a set of two penny lane blossom alligator clips. So pretty! These would be great for a bridal hairstyle or even used with some nice boho summer braids.

Entering is easy! Just leave a comment with your favorite item from Nicole's shop. That's it! I'm partial to this cute peasant top, myself.

I'll randomly choose the winner on Monday, June 27th at 5:30 p.m. central time. Good luck to all! You can also visit Nicole's blog and facebook if you'd like. :)

Happy Monday!

Sunday sunshine.

Kitterson is just hanging out in the windowsill right now. It's pretty nice outside, so I think I'll take a stroll.

Oh, see those curtains behind him? They are my new (on clearance for $14.99!) curtains from Urban Outfitters. I don't see them on the site anymore so I must have snagged the last eight panels.

They have a paisley design and I LOVE the teal. It looks like they are still available in pink. I also love how light and gauzy they are- perfect for summer!

Here's to enjoying the last day of the weekend!

Coolest ever weekend vintage score!

Let me be clear- this was not a thrift store score, so it was a pretty penny. I could NOT resist, though. I mean, the vinyl is in almost mint condition!

I absolutely LOVE the clean lines...and I love that the wooden part is just one curved piece.



AND the antique store where I got this had an identical chair in orange, the same orange as the chair in this post. I realllly want to go back and buy that one, but I'm not sure I'm prepared to be that big of a spender today.

Love. This. Chair. It's comfy, too!

******UPDATE******

I went back and bought the orange chair. I just don't come across stuff like this every day so I decided to just do it. Here's a pic:

This one has great vinyl, too! There is a bit of a scuff on the wood on the side, but it's no big deal at all. Yay!

Wordy (and nerdy).

I just bought this shirt and am SO excited to get it. My someone is a librarian, you see. Plus, I really do love the library! I couldn't NOT get this shirt. From AlisonRose.

I would also love one of these (or all of these) ideal bookshelf prints from jane mount:


I've been wanting this print from edubarba since the second I saw it. I kid you not, I was able to spell this word when I was no more than four years old. It's true - ask my mom! I just have to own this one day!:


Last but not least, I've always been a nerd and I've always had a thing for mugs. I think this one is pretty much me:

From DailyGrinder.

Any other nerds out there? I can't be the only one...

And the winner is...

Congratulations to the winner of heartsabustin's full moon necklace:

Amanda!

I will be contacting you shortly. :) Thanks to everyone who entered!

Weekend vintage score!

How cool is this vintage laundry sorter?! I got it this weekend at an antique/vintage flea market. This thing is SO neat. It's really big and in almost perfect condition.

The top flap opens to reveal three separate sections inside:

And the sections are labeled COLOR, MISC and WHITES.

It's on wheels, too, and it folds up when not in use!

I'm hoping it helps make me want to do laundry. We'll see.

Now off to work I go!

Let's jump right into a new giveaway!

This giveaway is now CLOSED!

The super sweet heartsabustin has generously offered to give away her full moon crackled quartz necklace to one lucky ponder and stitch reader! It really does look like the moon, doesn't it?!

Entering this giveaway is simple! All you have to do is go to heartsabustin's shop and post your favorite item in the comments. That's it! I think my favorite item is probably this one. Love that pop of color!

I'll randomly pick the winner on Wednesday, June 15th at 7:30 a.m. central time.

Good luck, everyone! :)

Chicago Botanic Garden weekend!

I had so much fun at the Chicago Botanic Garden yesterday. I didn't get the best pics this year, but I got a few decent ones! Click photos to zoom for a crisper look!











All photos below this point were taken by my boyfriend. I love this one because it reminds me of waving a sparkler in the sky at night on the 4th of July, especially when you zoom for the close-up:



I can't believe I'm posting this pic of my super sweaty disheveled self here, but my boyfriend took it so it's special to me.

If you've never seen them, here are my photos from last summer's visit.