I love shops stuffed to the brim with wonderful wares (what a surprise, huh?)  and Fishs Eddy  of NYC doesn’t disappoint.  They carry a fun assortment of lovely dishes, flatware and glassware. Some of my favorite dish designs include the bulldog , spot on dinnerware (how fun would that be to pair up with bright solid plates?) and dirty dishes by Cynthia Rowley … because some dishes are meant to be dirty (he he)

I must always make a stop at my favorite NYC shoe shop, Infinity Shoes.  Thanks to them, I’ve become an official collector of Miz Mooz shoes because I always end up purchasing 2 pairs every time I visit. (thankfully that’s only twice a year) This time my friends, Michelle and Jenny came along for the festivities and we all walked out with snazzy new soles. Michelle picked out these cute Oreo Boots and Jenny .

Whenever people ask me if I visit New York for business or pleasure, I always have to say both.  Even though I sell my goods to various stores at the gift trade show during the day, I always have fun dining out with my artist friends (Amy Peters , Michelle Allen & Jenny) in the evenings. One of our first stops was Carmine’s in the theater district.  They serve HUGE family portions of Italian .

It takes about 20 people to keep our catching fireflies locations and a.i. paper design studio running smoothly through the bustling holiday season. Each year we have a little party to show appreciation to our dedicated and hard working staff.  This year we hosted at our home. Samson is just waiting for his new playmates to arrive along with our cheerful snowman made by Carol Roeda Studio. Our staff kicked back with some drinks .

The lanes of Twelve Mile were lit up with lots of bright floats for the 2nd Annual Lights Parade last Saturday.  Here are a few shots of the festivities that passed by our storefront.

All I have to say is… these people obviously have a LOT of time on their hands and must LOVE Christmas.  Thank goodness they’re not my neighbors, but I have to appreciate the abundance of creativity that has gone into these quite amazing light shows. And you wonder what goes into displays like this…  pure craziness (as you’ll see below)  I mean, I get frustrated when only half of my light strand lights up!

Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, I spent Sunday afternoon adding a little sparkle to our humble abode.  So I pulled out the pansies and filled our flower boxes and urns with various evergreen sprigs, holly berry twigs and pine cones.  For some other cool winter container ideas check out this Cottage Living Magazine article about flower boxes.

Whenever I head to Chicago on business, I try to schedule an afternnon of play which usually means taking a short EL ride to a delightful little shoping district on Armitage Avenue. There are loads of lovely boutiques.  Some of my favorite stops… art effect – they carrie lots of sweet things (including my designs) 1154 Lill Studio -an innovative design-your-own handbag studio Lori’s Shoes – loads of cool soles Two super cute pet .

How can I put this?  Lush is like a amazing farmer’s market stand but instead of stocking ripe tomatoes and crispy cucumbers they specialize in bubble bars, bath melts, sensational soaps and lavish lotions…. I mean just look at their display… it makes me drool. They also publish an entertaining catalog/newsletter called Lush Times that is chocked full of fun stories and in-depth descriptions of their large variety of products. On my latest trip .