okay, i am an etsy junkie. i’ve actually started getting all of my gifts from etsy, whether it be vintage or handmade. i buy handmade and vintage for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is to promote smaller businesses and stop putting money in the hands of large corporations. oh, you saw me at target last week? target doesn’t count, yo. that would be like saying i’ve decided to stop breathing air, okay? anyway, i buy handmade and vintage to help my etsy friends, and to further my eco-conscious practices. vintage clothing means no new resources were wasted in the making of the product, and i like that. and vintage stuff is cu-ute! i mean, have you SEEN gemma bird and miss james from bleubird vintage???? yeah, vintage stuff is amazing, especially great retro clothes (i know what you’re thinking, james is about the most beautiful woman alive, and gemma is so cute she could be a gap baby model. but vintage isn’t just for the stunningly gorgeous and thin. i wear it, so that just proves my point).

so i’ve gotten quite a few requests for my favorite etsy stores, and i’m going to give you some of that list today. i’ve had nothing but great experiences with EVERY seller i’ve ever dealt with on etsy, but i only have so much time to write. in fact, ezra is losing his mind as i type this, probably because i’m sitting eight feet away form him and papa is holding him, not me. now, i’m nursing ezra on my lap while typing up this post. good thing i love this little man more than my own life. i’ve decided to make this a weekly thing, so next monday, i’ll feature more of my favorite stores (don’t hold me to that, i’m known to be flaky with my blog).

1. yoginix – heart to heart, useful art

these magnets are so cute! and they’re so well-made, with a lot of care going into the construction. becky, the owner, has lots of different sets of themed magnets. she’s got the cutest set with owls on them, and she even has a set of “dexter” magnets! um, that kicks ace! not only does her store have adorable magnets, but she also carries other cute knick-knacks for the home. becky is such a kind soul, and she loves making these for people to adore. she surprised me with a set that had pictures of the boys on them, and it made me cry. she has such a good heart, and that’s why i patronize her store. i’d buy dirt from her if she sold it.

2. Rosemary’s Cuppa

this is my dear friend abra’s store. i found abra through her blog, got to know her better through IG, and now i think that she might be the most adorable human on earth. she has two beautiful daughters, and i swoon over them on a daily basis. please go read her blog, better than cupcakes, because it is oh-so-wonderful. anyway, she makes beautiful skirts for little girls that will make you want to either a.) be five again, or b.) have a little girl if you don’t already. she’s so kind, and so very well-spoken, and she’s also got great style. her two girls have some stellar style as well, no doubt handed down from their wonderful mama. not only does she have skirts for sweet little ladies, she has vintage duds for us older little ladies (that makes us sound older, not younger, and shorter, so remind me not to use that phrase again).

3. ilivetocreate jewelry and cards

okay, so this jewelry? you’re going to want all of it. literally. Michelle has adorable cards, too. but i’m partial to her sweet vintage necklaces. she has a pair of aqua filigree earrings in the store right now that are calling.my.name. i met this sweet lady on instagram, and she is just about as sweet as they come. once i saw her jewelry, i was just blown away. sweet as pie AND amazingly creative and crafty? she’s like a unicorn disguised as a person. michelle is one of those people you want to call your friend.

4. city light photography

diana, the owner of city light, also has an amazing blog, our city lights, which you need to check out. in her store, you’ll find notecards and postcards adorned with the beautiful pictures she takes. and when i say they’re beautiful, i mean it. they have this vintage feel to them (think i like vintage or something?), and they also always have a unique perspective. i love how they all kind of have a mellow vibe to them. oh, and diana has the coolest glasses i’ve ever seen. her husband writes for mcsweeney’s, too (never read it? you are soooo missing out).

5. nan lawson illustration

nan lawson draws the most amazing pictures i’ve ever seen. she draws people and things, and they’re always quirky and whimsical. i’ve been eyeing this picture she has of richie and margot from “the royal tennenbaums” for months, and i don’t think i can wait any longer: i’m totally buying it. she has another one called springtime girl that i adore, and one called hipster kiss that is too adorable for words. i could go on and on about how many great illustrations she has for sale, but you truly need to see nan’s art for yourself. but don’t blame me when you buy 14 different prints because they’re so amazing. for more information, go to nanlawson dot com.

alright, i made it through a whole post without having to stop, save it, and then just delete it because it took too long to get back to! victory is MINE! or at least it is tonight. go check out these etsy peeps, m’kay? they are way cooler than i’ll ever be, and they would love your business. and who doesn’t love a handmade gift? maybe paris hilton, but she’s a douche.

so florida decided to skip spring and go right to hot-as-Hades summer weather. and i want to stab my face with a hot poker. but i don’t need a hot poker, because all i have to do is go grab a branch from outside and it will double as a fiery hot poker in a pinch. i would love to say we’re getting outside and doing all these lovely spring things the rest of the blogosphere is blabbing on about, but i can’t. because instead of being “snowed in”, we’re now what i affectionately call “the-sun-is-scorching-my-skin-and-burning-my-eyeballs in”. it’s the opposite of being snowed-in. and i hate every second of it.

let me give you a rundown of a typical trip to the grocery store….

i start out by getting in the least amount of clothing legally allowed, and really it’s not much because i am disgusted with my body right now and wouldn’t want to subject anyone else to the scary rolls under my armpits. well, the armpits need to be hidden anyway because they’re like faucets that have been left on. so i usually put on a light skirt and tee. i have to put the baby in even less, because i wear him and if he’s in anything more than his cloth diaper, he looks and feels like he’s running a high fever. that, and he’s sweating profusely all over the front of my shirt, making it look like my boobs are sweating when i take him out of said babywearing device.

once we’re clothed appropriately, i walk out the door with henry and ezra. i’m holding ezra, so i have to prepare myself and him for the inevitable blinding that will occur once we walk out onto the surface of the sun. i usually just squint like someone with a matured nervous system does, but ezra’s head flails around and he looks like stevie wonder while playing a particularly raucous piano solo. he almost falls out of my arms every time we walk out the door. then we reach the car. i open the back door and have to wait at least a minute to let the heat come out, or i think i would literally cook my children from the inside out. oh, and i’m already sweating like the giant sweathog that i am by this point. i never wear makeup, like, ever. because it’s sliding down my face by the time i put the key in the ignition. but i digress. okay, so i have to put ezra in his car seat, making sure not to let the metal parts touch his skin, or i would brand the poor kid with the orbit symbol. i get in the front seat, and have to wipe the sweat from my brow immediately. usually by now, i’m wanting to just go back inside, run for the a.c., and rip my clothes off as i run to the front door. but we have no toilet paper, food, clean clothes….so i guess i HAVE TO go. sigh. so i forge ahead like someone stranded in the desert with no other choice but to keep going. now, i’m hallucinating that in my rearview mirror, there’s a pool behind my car. i get out, run behind the car as i’m stripping naked, and the neighbor has to once again yell that “there’s no pool there, tricia. it’s just another hallucination.” they put aluminum foil on their windows for this very reason. like i said, my body SCARES PEOPLE.

once we’re in the car, i pump the a.c. like it’s my job. it actually cools down the car pretty quickly, but not before my sunglasses have completely fogged up, due to the drastic change in temperature from my freezing-ass house, to the outside world, or hell’s waiting room. i lean back in the seat, and feel my entire back becoming soaked from the sweat that was pooling on my spine and is now making it look like i shat up my back.
henry is begging for water.
ezra’s soft spot is caving in.
now we’re at the store.
the refuge of the store is great. until you realize that you’re in a grocery store during snowbird season. i have walked quickly to the cart round-up, only to wait behind 974985 sun-burnt people in Hawaiian shirts and Crocs. at this point, i want to spit fire, and i’m fairly confident that i could actually shoot fire from my eyeballs because i’ve been outside today and i know the heat had to go somewhere.

then i get what i came for, and prepare myself for the journey back home. and now, i’ve got groceries to load and unload. my husband usually finds us all naked in the deep freezer when we get home from a trip to the grocery store.

the caped crusader’s loyal sidekick. notice the very serious scary face.

protecting his cardboard box house from the evil intruders, the build-a-bear clan.

ezra having a very serious conversation with mr. teddy. negotiations were made.

ezra could not be bought. “i’m done with you, you filthy bear.”

this face. i could eat this face.