Soon it's gonna rain...

STORM WATCHER, by lewfoster

What a storm, eh folks? You know, I don't think I've seen this much wind and rain since December 14th, 2002. Know how I know the date so precisely? It was the very day of my wedding to my dear husband Mark. The rain and wind started first thing in the morning, and was so furious that it was actually raining sideways. SIDEWAYS. The storm caused such a hardship for some of our family members that they were unable to attend, as they had to travel so far. Some folks barely made it to the end of the ceremony. Our reception hall was without power for most of the afternoon, and they had to set up in the dark (which fouled up the seating arrangements, which is a fiasco I care not to expound upon).

There is an Irish superstition that rain is lucky on your wedding day. If that's the case, then Mark and I should be set for LIFE. Seven years - so far so good!

Days like this make me want to curl up on the couch and watch Merchant Ivory films (hopefully the power will stay on through all this wind!). Enjoy these items from our friends at Etsy, inspired by "rain"...

Why does it always rain on me
by lunetmuse

get off my cloud earring
by sirenjewels

PDF-Amigurumi Happy Weather Mobile Pattern
by AmyGaines

Crystal Rain Earrings

by LizardiBridal

Raindrop - silk-lined clutch bag
by redrubyrose

The day It Rained For Romance Art Deco

by JANETLILY

RAINY DAY WITH MY UMBRELLA silver necklace
by LycheeKiss

AAAAAAANNNNND she's over it.

oh, boo-frickin-hoo sign, by gotmojo

Okay, for those of you who have been reading the blog these past two days and have wondered, "What in the (insert favorite expletive here) is wrong with Annmarie?" I would like to state for the record that I am now officially over it.

Done with the gloomth psycho-betty sturm und drang.

Done with worrying about things that are out of my control.

I only can say that life sure throws you curve balls from now and then, and you gotta be ready to SWING, sister! You have to be willing to surrender your fear and have faith. Spring always follows the winter, etc. etc., blah blah blah. Maybe some of it was PMS, I don't know...

ANYWAY

Here are a few goodies from Etsy that illustrate my new mood - enjoy!

Suck It Up And Get Over It, by figure22

Happy Place Found hand painted glass, by geekdetails

PUT ON YOUR BIG GIRL PANTIES AND DEAL WITH IT, by pizzazjewelry

And my new personal favorite - this is SO ME!!

I'm Wearing My Big Girl Panties And They Are Starting To Bunch Sign, by icehousecrafts

(plus, icehousecrafts is vamp friendly - we love that!)

FALL in Love!

Autumn Leaves print, by sarahsetsy

Today is officially the first day of autumn, and I couldn't be happier! Fall is my favorite time of year - the weather finally starts cooling down and turning crisp, the trees turn heartbreakingly beautiful colors, and Starbucks starts making their Pumpkin Spice and Gingerbread lattes.

Celebrate the autumnal equinox in style - decorate your home with fall colors and spiced candles, get out your favorite throw blankets and cozy sweaters, and relax over a yummy latte or cup of chai tea to some lovely classical piano music. Ahhhhhh, heaven.

Here are some beautiful items to get you in the mood from some of our friends at Etsy - all on sale TODAY!!

Pumpkin Soaps by thesoapseduction

Orange Pumpkin Scarf/Boa by kiamichi7

Autumn spice necklace by sparklecouture

Autumnal Fire Stacking Set by CreationsbyCat

And this seller, who has the most ethereal and lovely costumes I've seen in quite some time - BEAUTIFUL!!

November Fairy Costume by TheBohemianGoddess

ORANGE you glad...

Feeling very orange today - inspired by a beautiful treasury I saw on the front page of Etsy this morning. I decided to do a bit of surfing through the Etsy pages myself with the search term "orange", and came up with these goodies...

Orange Chalcedony Earrings

by JCGemsJewelry

Fire in the Sky 8x10 print

by consideringnature

Autumnal Romance Ring

by vividcolors

Reclaimed Wool Sweater Brooch

by thejunebride

Silhouette and Japanese Beads Vintage Necklace

by mtuent

And because this little guy was too cute to resist (and is a perfect portrait of me before my morning coffee:

Terrorables Radtard the Bear

by theringleader

Thank you so much to all these sellers for quenching my thirst for orange in such unique and beautiful ways! I hope it makes your day bit more JUICY!

- Annmarie

Southern Gentleman and His Lady - By JeweledAmbrosia on Etsy

Jeweled Ambrosia is a shop on Etsy that is a collection of beautful composition jewelry pieces, a lot of which are inspired by the Twilight book series by Stephenie Meyer.

I originally became acquainted with Lisa and Jeweled Ambrosia when she was so kind as to feature one of my jewelry items on her blog: http://www.littlelovables.blogspot.com/. She has since been one of my favorite sellers, and we have even traded items in our Etsy shops.

Southern Gentleman and His Lady is a necklace inspired by the character Jasper in Twilight, and is a gorgeous and elegant statement piece for anyone's jewelry wardrobe.

09/09/09 SALE AT JACK & ELLA DESIGNS

Today, we are promoting our own Etsy shop, which is having a 09/09/09 sale! All items in our shop are $9.99 or less TODAY ONLY (sale ends 12:00am PST 09/10/09). Stock up and save on all our designs, including mother's jewelry and bridal party jewelry.

We are also still running our Weekly Twilight/True Blood Giveaway. Visit our store at jackandella.etsy.com for details!

Etsy Twitter Team Shop of the Week: Beautiful Bridget

Beautiful Bridget is this week's Etsy Twitter Team Shop of the Week, and is home to beautiful crochet designs - hats, scarves, neck wraps and more. Each exquisite item is hand made by Kimberly Ferrugia, and each is unique and truly one-of-a-kind.

Please visit Kimberly's shop at http://beautifulbridget.etsy.com/