Dec 31st 2009 02:15:31 pm

It is hard not to feel a little overwhelmed by the end of one decade and the beginning of another. I feel the need to do something spectacular to mark the occasion, but this blog post will have to do. I got the idea of a top ten list from a friend on Swap-bot, and I liked it so much that I thought I would bring my list over here to my blog. My intention was to write ten things I hope to do in the next ten years… but my list sort of morphed into a group of somewhat broad resolutions or focal points. Some of the items may be a little vague and/or a little cheesy, but they are my sincere thoughts about what I hope to accomplish in the next ten years. I want to enjoy this decade as much as possible!

Improve Swap-bot – This item is always on my to do list! I want to keep working on the site to make it more fun and functional, but also continue to foster a community that promotes creativity, friendship, and understanding.

Buy a home – one of the worst parts of 2009 was that we had to sell our cute house in Eugene. I miss it and I look forward to buying a house again (or condo/apartment, if we stay in NYC for a while). I miss doing home improvements!

Exercise every day – this sounds intense, but I have a broad definition of exercise. Walking to the grocery store, doing chores, and shopping count as exercise to me. I would also love to train for another big road race – maybe a full or half marathon!

Make art – I want to make time to explore my creativity just for fun. This includes crafts, painting, web design, etc. Anything that lets me create something that I love. Paid graphic design work sort of counts toward this goal, but I also want to do things just for me.

Make more money – This one sounds shallow, but when you are making dangerously close to to zero dollars per year, I think it is ok to have a monetary goal on your list! I am a professionally trained and experienced graphic designer… anyone need any design work done?

Reproduce – Yep. I want to have some babies and I better get on it! This will definitely be my last decade of fertility (unless there are some major medical advancements), so Travis and I need to start seriously planning our family asap. I am a little nervous, but mostly excited!

Reduce my internal negativity – I beat myself up over the most stupid things. I need to stop. I don’t want to feel stress over things like how I look or whether I just said something silly. Time keeps passing more quickly; there is no longer time for those trivial concerns.

Promote peace – this is an abstract concept, but it is important to me. I want to promote peace and understanding in all of my personal interactions and also on a broader scale. I am committed to a personal mission of spreading peace, love, and happiness for all.

Fall in love everyday – with my sweet, dear husband, of course, but also with my family (including Crusher!), and friends, and with life in general. I want to focus on noticing and appreciating the things I love about every person in my life – including YOU!

Experience wonder – this one is a little vague, maybe… I just want to appreciate all of the small, but amazing things in life and experience joy as often as possible. I want to discover things I am passionate about and explore the world.

What are your plans for 2010? What do you want to accomplish or focus on in the next ten years?

2 Comments » Categories: Swap-bot, Thinking, holidays

Dec 29th 2009 01:49:14 pm

We are back from our Christmas trip to Kansas City to visit our families. We had a wonderful time, but it is hard to go back to reality and back to work. I want to go back to the cookies, and shopping, and laughing!

We did so much during our week-long trip, it is already hard to remember everything… We started the week at Chipotle, then went to Round Rock and ate S’mores, went to see Avatar with 3D glasses, then shopping, D’Bronx pizza, a KU basketball game, frozen yogurt, Archivers, Houlihan’s, Mario Kart on the Wii, “getting to know you” on Christmas Eve, presents and stockings on Christmas morning, family time, Target sales, lots of snow and lots of dogs in coats, then a pizza party, First Watch, and finally ended with more Chipotle and a delayed flight.

It snowed a lot while we were in Kansas. I don’t think I have seen so much snow in years! Crusher actually got pretty used to it and liked playing outside… he looked fantastic in his new winter coat!

p.s. I forgot to add that you can find lots more photos in my Christmas in KC 09 Flickr set and on Travis’ Flickr.

3 Comments » Categories: Christmas, Crusher, Family, Trips, holidays

Dec 25th 2009 06:20:16 am

1 Comment » Categories: Christmas, Cute Things, Family, Just for Fun, holidays

Dec 22nd 2009 11:59:40 am

It has already been a whirlwind of a trip filled with lots of family, food, frolicking dogs, a trip to the woods complete with S’mores and Oceola cheese, Avatar in 3D, a trip to the mall, “authentic” NY-style pizza, Wii games, holiday donuts, and tons of fun, of course! We are having a great time.

3 Comments » Categories: Christmas, Family, holidays

Dec 19th 2009 07:59:08 am

3 Comments » Categories: Christmas, Crusher, Cute Things, Just for Fun, holidays

Dec 15th 2009 04:24:01 pm

…but you could use it as one.

I have been wanting to do a “beauty recommendations” post for quite a while. (It was on my list of things to post about in November for NaBloPoMo, but I didn’t quite fit it in.) I am not exactly skilled in the area of beauty and make-up, so I love reading recommendations from real people on what works and what doesn’t. And even though I am no where near a make-up expert, I thought I would write about a few of my favorite products.

A little back story: I would describe myself as low-to-mid-maintenance, definitely not high maintenance. Most days, when I work from home, I don’t wear make-up. When I do wear it, I keep things fairly natural. However, I do love trying new products and probably put too much faith in anti-aging lotions. The things listed here are products which I really love, are easy to use, and that I have purchased MULTIPLE times. They are things I would highly recommend!

Philosophy Purity Made Simple – This is a face wash that also easily removes all of my makeup – including eye makeup – and leaves my face feeling clean, but not too dry. I have tried MANY different types of face cleansers and I keep coming back to this one. Another plus, the large bottles last a very long time!

Creme de la Mer – The price tag on this face cream is a major turnoff, but I still list it as one of my favorite products. I love this lotion in the winter when my face gets really dry (in the summer, it can be a little too rich). You can use it at night or during the day and I have not found another lotion as comfortable and replenishing as this. A note on the price: I was given my last small jar of La Mer as a birthday gift from my sweet parents last February and I still have some left! It lasts quite a while!

Blistex Herbal Answer – I have written about the wonder of the Herbal Answer before, but it is worth repeating. This is my favorite lip balm ever! I have not seen it in stores for a long time and I think you can only purchase it at Drugstore.com, but it is worth it. I keep these all over the house and in all my bags.

Fresh Sugar Roll-on Deodorant – I have been trying to make the move to more natural deodorant, but it has been difficult. I’ve tried Tom’s of Maine and La Vanilla natural deodorants, but they do NOT keep me odor free. I am not an expert on “natural” products, so I am not sure how truly safe fresh’s deodorant is, but I love the scent and it works! I just wish it was a little less expensive.

Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick – I really love bobbi brown makeup and this foundation stick is one of my necessities. I use the #2 Sand color. I don’t use it as full foundation, but instead as a subtle concealer. I have been using this product for over seven years and I am only on my second stick! It last a really long time!

Benefit Benetint – I don’t really understand lipstick-it always wears off and leaves a gross ring around my lips-so instead, I use this red stain on my lips. It is pretty, but totally natural looking. This is one of Benefit’s very first products and it has won a ton of awards. You really can’t go wrong with it.

Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Pink – This is a great blush for people who are scared of blush like me. It has a very subtle shimmer and the multiple colors allow you to customize the intensity. You can also use it as an eyeshadow. I have also tried the bronzer shimmer brick and it was ok, but the pink is just so effortless and pretty. (oh-so-subtle Rachel gift idea alert – I recently dropped and destroyed my pink shimmer brick and would love another one!)

Yves Saint Laurant Touche Eclat Radiant Touch – I love this product!! It is the best, most fool-proof concealer I have ever used. I use my Bobbi Brown foundation stick as my first step, but I wait until the very end on my makeup routine to use the Luminous Radiance color Touche Eclat around my eyes and nose to reduce darkness and redness. Like magic, it disappears into your skin, but also covers flaws perfectly.

Bobbi Brown Nude Eye Palette – There are probably a million different nude eye palettes in the world that I could use, but I trust Bobbi Brown. Her nude palettes all come with a base color, a crease color, shimmery highlight colors, and a liner color. They always seem to work with my skin tone and are totally understated and natural – which is perfect for me because I am not very good at applying intense eye color.

Fresh Supernova Mascara – Of all the dozens of different brands of mascara I have used, this is the only one that truly goes on smoothly. It is not waterproof, which may be a deal breaker for some, but I love it.

So, what do you think of my recommendations? Do you like any of the same products? Dislike any of them? What other items are your must-have, go-to beauty favorites?

5 Comments » Categories: Favorites, Just for Fun, Make-up & Beauty

Dec 15th 2009 02:06:31 pm

This article was originally published on…

The One of a Kind Show and Sale is a yearly event that happens in Toronto, Vancouver, Chicago, and for the first time this year, New York City. (You can read Sarah Moore’s review of the Chicago show here.) On Friday, I braved the super-cold temperatures and headed out to Pier 94 to check out the show, which was described as an “an extraordinary holiday shopping show featuring the best in fine art and fine craft from hundreds of unique artists, artisans, and designers from across North America.” I was very curious to find out what the event had to offer.

My first stop once I was inside the doors was the crafting area. A bunch of cool, crafty companies were hosting “make and take” projects and I wanted to get in on the fun. I stopped by the ReadyMade and Janome booth where you could work on gift tags or sew pillows on Janome sewing machines. I also got to sign up for a complimentary, one-year ReadyMade magazine subscription just for attending the One of a Kind Show! Sweet!

Next, I stopped by the Hello Craft area, where they had all sorts of craft supplies available, including a button maker! Hello Craft is a nonprofit trade organization dedicated to the advancement of independent crafters and the handmade movement. The Hello Craft representatives, Sara and Kim, were so kind and informative that I decided to purchase a Hello Craft membership on the spot!

Then, I headed to the Etsy DIY area. Etsy had adorable fabric ornament kits that you could work on there, or take home to make later. (They had the custom fabric for the ornaments printed at Spoonflower.) I grabbed a kit for later and chatted up the Etsy representatives. They explained how Etsy was excited to be sponsoring both the DIY area and an Etsy Pavilion at the One of a Kind Show because they wanted to help the new wave of crafters break into the more traditional and established arts and craft world. It was great to see such a large website supporting their users in a tangible way!

At the Etsy Pavilion you could find twenty-four juried Etsy vendors all in one area. They also had a welcome booth with lots of information about Etsy.com and some free swag. There were plenty of unique crafts within the pavilion, but my two favorite booths were Gock’s Frocks felted wool clothing and Jill K. Davis Jewelry.

Kristen Gocker Hallagan of Gock’s Frocks makes adorable children’s clothing, stuffed animals, scarves, and more out of fabric and recycled, felted wool sweaters. She works on her craft full time, but has just started branching into the craft show scene. I bought a cute, felted wool flower pin from her that I plan to put on my plain black coat.

Jill K. Davis makes unique and charming silver and gold jewelry that often features a picturesque little house. I was enamored with her detailed work, and promised myself that I would purchase one of her amazing necklaces in the future!

Outside of the Etsy Pavilion there were hundreds of other vendors ranging from jewelry and fashion to food and photography. I kept track of all of my favorite booths, including the one above: Smitten Kitten. The Smitten Kitten booth immediately drew me in. It was all pink and colorful, but the beautiful statement necklaces are what really caught my eye. My little photos above do not do them justice. The designer, Amy, creates the necklaces using chunky, colorful beads and silk kanzashi flowers she has folded using vintage scarves. Oh, how I wanted one! Sadly, the prices were a bit too high for me on the necklaces, so I settled for a very cute, bright pink kanzashi flower pin.

I had a lot of fun checking out the Apexspire Jewelry booth. Above is a photo of Karen Clark, the designer of Apexspire. The understated beaded necklaces and earrings were both simple and detailed at the same time. I had a hard time deciding on only one item, but finally bought a very sweet pair of aquamarine bead earrings.

One of my absolute favorite booths at the One of a Kind Show and previously at the Brooklyn Flea, is the photography of John Murphy. Murphy creates vivid, striking photographs using small sets he constructs in his studio. He then frames the surreal images in super-bright, hand finished frames. I would love to own one of Murphy’s pieces, but for now I am making due with his Flora & Fauna stationery set.

Last but not least on my list of favorite vendors is the Rogue Confections booth. This booth blew me away with the beautiful design of both the environment and the intricate patterns printed on the handmade Belgian chocolates. I was amazed to learn that founder, Sherri Adler, was doing the initial launch of Rogue Confections right there at the One of a Kind show – everything about the booth was extremely professional and lovely. The free samples of the chocolate were delicious, and I will definitely keep the box sets in mind for future gift giving.

Overall, the One of a Kind show was a lot of fun and I got to check out a bunch of new crafters and network with many creative folks. The only downside is that I overheard a lot of the vendors express disappointment with the level of shopper turnout. A few people told me that they had talked to more press representatives and shop owners than actual holiday shoppers.

Did you attend the One of a Kind Show in any of its locations? What did you think? Did the number of shoppers pick up on the weekend in NY? Did you buy any holiday gifts or something for yourself at the show?

No Comments » Categories: CraftCritique.com articles, Crafts, New York

Dec 13th 2009 10:13:32 pm

So… I think my blog is finally back up thanks to Travis and his tireless work trying to get everything fixed after our blog “emergency.” Travis is amazing and he will probably need to correct me on some of the details, but basically Media Temple – the supposedly big time, awesome hosting company where we store all of our blogs – was hacked. Some jerk stole some of their passwords and started overwriting important files. It affected all of the “Lamble Family” blogs (including this one, obviously), Roundrock Journal, and the Swap-bot blog. Ugh. The Swap-bot blog is the worst because now our users think that the actual site was compromised – which it was NOT. The actual Swap-bot.com site is hosted at a completely different company which has nothing to do with the current blog mess, but it is hard to convince people of that when they see “hacksor” on our official blog page. Anyway, we are slowly getting back to normal, but this situation was a huge setback, both personally and for Swap-bot. I already feel like I can barely keep my head above water and unexpected problems like this really cause me to feel completely overwhelmed.

It also didn’t help that last week, right after our big Swap-bot press in the NY Daily News, one of our ad networks (which we use to publish ads on Swap-bot) started serving up a horrible, bogus ad that made it appear that the viewer had contracted a computer virus. The ad didn’t actually spread a virus (it just sold anti-virus software), but it really frightened our users. We shut it down quickly and are no long using that ad network, but it is just another thing that is out of our control and yet causes huge problems. It also hurts to shut down an ad network because it means we could potentially be shutting off an opportunity to increase our extremely miniscule profits. Swap-bot has gotten to be so much work that it is very difficult to justify continuing to do it basically for free. We have to figure out a way to make it support at least one full time person (me) or we are going to have to let it go. Sad. Pay accounts and more direct advertising sales are both options, but both require a lot of work and it is hard for me to stay on top of things as it is. Basically, I am feeling overwhelmed and need to re-evaluate how I am spending my time…

This weekend was packed with holiday shopping and computer work. Next week, it is work, work, work (with a bit of holiday partying in the mix) – I have a tremendous amount to accomplish before Christmas!

11 Comments » Categories: Feeling Sad, Swap-bot, Travis, Website

Dec 10th 2009 02:09:44 pm

This article was originally published on…

No Comments » Categories: CraftCritique.com articles, Crafts, New York

Dec 9th 2009 12:35:40 pm

That is me posing in front of a giant Martha Stewart Living magazine cover at the Martha Stewart Holiday Craft Sale on Saturday. It was really rainy and cold on Saturday, but my friend, Lisa, and I made it to both the Holiday Handmade Cavalcade and the Martha show. I have written a review of the two shows for CraftCritique.com that should be published soon, so i don’t want to spoil the surprise… but basically I loved the Handmade Cavalcade even though it was super-crowded, and the Martha show was totally intimidating and pricey. It was really fun to see inside the Martha Stewart office building, though!

I had intended to go to the Bust Craftacular sale on Sunday, but I was worn out from battling crowds the day before and opted to stay home and relax instead.

On Monday, I went to Etsy Labs Craft Night for the first time in over a month. Even though I had a ton of work to do on Monday, I am glad I took a break and went. We made needle-felted ornaments with Nguyen Le from KnitKnit. It was a lot of fun and I like my little ornaments. I think I may go buy myself a needle-felting needle and some wool to make more little things! (The photo below was taking with my iPhone. I’m sorry for the low quality.)

Tonight, Travis and I are heading to Spacecraft in Williamsburg, Brooklyn for the Hello Craft One of a Kind pre-show party. I haven’t been to Spacecraft, but have been wanting to check it out! Should be fun!

1 Comment » Categories: Crafts, New York