ch... ch... ch... changes...

in the last little while, we've had a lot of changes around our life. we've done half the renovations on our new house, and the mini started to walk (and now run!) .

we've been adjusting to the quirks of the new house and the new neighbourhood. i started running again. we bought a new laptop.

in the next few weeks, there will be even more changes happening for us - i will start my new job at my organization's north office which is closer to home, hopefully enabling me to spend more time with my mini, but also brings a new learning curve - and a little stress and anxiety as i look towards a new set of responsibilities and leaving a team that i love. the second half - and the more intrusive half - of our renovations will hopefully start in late september and then we are DONE with home improvements. we are going to start working on a new household budget to even further work on reducing our debt load (thank goodness, i am definitely employing some retail therapy as all these changes happen. sorry, beb!) we are heading into fall as well - which i am definitely looking forward to (chunky warm sweaters, jeans and the crisp, clean air in the mornings when we go for our runs).

i've also decided to close up my beloved triplestitch shop. i've already closed my destash and my graphics shops. while i love crocheting and making things that aren't metal-related, i just don't have the time or the energy to promote it as much as i do my jewelry. so once the pieces currently in my shop sell/get traded/expire, i'm going to rethink my marketing plan for muffintop, and work on integrating some more metal clay pieces into my fall collection.

change is hard, even when it's GOOD change. but we're are definitely up to the challenge.

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the tradeaholics' august's design challenge!

yup, i'm promoting myself. my clear quartz gemstone stacking ring set is my entry into the tradeaholics' august design challenge! the theme this month is "a diamond in the rough" - and seriously, i found it so inspiring!

you can check out the other entries and the voting here - http://bit.ly/9AV6Uu

and yes, this time around you can vote for one or more entries! i love it when we have these challenges - everyone is so creative and it is inspiring! (not that i want you to vote for me, but you can if you want.)

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our run to the farmers' market.

yesterday morning, our run (yay - we did our distance!) took us to the farmers' market, despite the almost oppressive heat. not only do i love the fact that we're buying locally grown produce, but it ALWAYS tastes amazing. the mini ate half a fresh nectarine from one of the vendors, and sampled organic basil leaves (which she LOVED). a word to the wise though - don't run while your stroller is laden with all those goodies, it really makes you unbalanced!

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team jacob.

it's settled. the mini is definitely team jacob. we've been attempting to watch "new moon" and every time the mini sees jacob and the wolves, she goes CRAZY. she loves those wolves! and seriously, she calls them "puppies". really? this kid is fearless!!!!!

i think maybe a "team jacob" onesie is in order?

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