Gingersnap

While little Olivia dreamed of salmon treats and chasing mice, the UPS man delivered a large heavy box to our residence.  "I don't know what's in it," said the man in brown. "But it is heavy!" Oddly enough, I didn't have to sign for it and admired that big box for a bit. A good friend of mine had thoughtfully purchased a cat tree for Olivia, but I didn't expect for it to be so huge... And one that must be built. I'm not a construction, hands on genius, but thankfully Rob was there to help assemble the big tower of cat scratching and infinite play time. With very basic instructions, we were good to go. Except the manual at times left off things that we had to figure out on our own or we had to use judgment. A bit of easily resolved frustration. Leaving things out of the equation- mainly the fuzzy cylinders and two medium sized scratching sticks, not everything was going to be screwed into the cat tree. We "finished...

Went strolling through the Fairfield Commons Mall searching for the perfect gifts for Mom and brothers. Fruitless and empty handed, I ventured into two of my favorite shops, Nirvana and SHE Fashions (formerly Sleepy Hollow) looking for bargain deals. Of course, I knew that there would be more "presents" for me here and not my family. Still, nothing wrong with harmless window shopping! Belly Dancing wear on sale! Sweet! Ummm yeah. Could totally see Mom and brothers enjoying these things. Nothing in my color spectrum unfortunately- only purples or darker blues for me! Not that I planned on making purchases for myself. But can't help imagining how amazing at home belly dance training would be if I wore something similar to what the other Shimmy ladies are wearing! Bob Marley! Yay! Except Mom isn't necessarily big on reggae and my brothers probably aren't interested in a dread locked Rastafarian rapping about peace and love. Though one brother might love the "gre...

An incredibly fun night for the last First Friday spectacular in downtown Dayton. From jewelry to handbags, paintings, and ornaments galore- many amazing potential gifts from local artisans were on display. The jewelry was to die for! All of this popping bling for the ears and neck at prices lower than an upscale retail jewelry store. After sightseeing at DVAC, I explored one of my favorite downtown places, Cachet G, an upscale international boutique/gallery- where I got this necklace so long ago! Yvette Louise Walker Dalton, the artist for the month was inspired by her trip to South Africa. Look at the shapes and bold colors of these expressive faces! One customer was mighty pleased with his purchase of a beautiful King Tut statue. There is such a great downtown spot! The kind shopkeeper sells masks and objects from various parts of the globe- notably Africa as well as fashionable wear, jewelry, shea butters, soaps, and the Carol's Daughter line! Batiks! And before leaving out of ...