Candle of the Week-Spiced Cake

Want to know more about my candle obsession?  Well good because you were going to find out anyway.  Every day that I burn a candle, which is most days, I like to open up my cupboards filled with candles and sniff out the specific one that fits that day.  My mood, the weather, what I plan to do that day all fits into choosing the perfect candle.  My husband laughs at me, but often asks me to help him pick out one too when he goes off into his "fortress of smallitude".  When you pick the right candle it can emphasis a mood, just like music.

A daily update is a bit too much (even for me).  Instead I want to sum up the week that was with the candle that helped set the mood.  I'll make sure that you know why I love it and where to find it.  Unfortunately there will be times when it is a discontinued candle or one that is very hard to find.  Sorry but I have too many like that to exclude them from my choices.  Instead you might be able to find something similar from another company.

Such is the case with this week's candle. 

Smell it!

Spiced Cake is kinda like Carrot Cake but without the carrots or nuts.  Instead it is all about the exotic fall spices like nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon.  Not too sweet but certainly a treat!  I enjoy it during the early fall season because it isn't as musky and dark as some of my later fall scents.

Get it!

Spiced Cake is no longer available through Patriot Candles (a surprisingly good but cheap brand that can only be found at Walgreen's).  However I've heard that many other companies have this scent too.

Why I recommend Patriot Candles

Well it seems to only be the generic jar candles, not the pillars or anything fancy, that works the best.  But if you get the ones pictured above in their two largest sizes you will be pleased with your purchase.  They burn well, especially for a cheap candle.  Most of their scents fills up a medium sized room and even when left alone for a long time they rarely develops large flames.  I have found the occasional bad scent or a wick that just won't burn right but nine out of tens times I'm shocked that they are so cheap.  The best time to get them is when they go on sale.  The very best time is during their Black Friday sale when I've seen them for as cheap as buy one get two free!

Wedding Bells Galore!

This has been the summer of weddings, none of which I have been able to go to.  So here's a whoop and hallar for the new Jenny Heglund, Lindsay Swan, and the future Sarah Mcdonald and Allison Molitor!

I certainly have been busy lately.  I've been working on some jewelry for a couple of weddings that are coming up.  My cousin Sarah and her boyfriend Zach, and my good friends Allison and Anthony are all tying the knot in October.  Living so far away and being broke means that I will have to miss both weddings but I'm sure that they will have a wonderful time.

I also got in a 'little' shipment of pearl supplies thanks to my mom owing me for a bit of jewelry that I made her.  They are quickly becoming beautiful pieces and I will share a few pics next week.  Meanwhile I've been working at one job, searching for a second job, and just trying to keep my sanity in tact with jobs in general.

The good news is that I'm also back to editing my books and I'm trying to get in the habit of updating my blog again.  I really missed this over the past few months and I have some great new ideas that will start up this week.  I hope that everyone is having a great fall!

Like They Used to...The Brothers Grimm

For they had ready red-hot iron shoes, in which she had to dance until she fell down dead.

Amputated toes, pecked out eyes, entrails on the floor, and torture that even Dick Cheney would have disapproved of.  If you think that all fairy tales were intended to be pleasant then you must have skipped over these ones.  The brother's Grimm were a twisted pair and it is no wonder that their ingenous tales have been dumbed down through the centuries into the Disney fair that they are now.  Don't get me wrong, I still love Disney movies but you have to read the originals to truly appreciate what those two German brothers did.

Let's not argue over who had the first Cinderella story.  Egypt, China, Greece, France, all claim to have told the original version 2000 to 3000 years ago.  What it really comes down to is that by the early 1800s Cinderella and many other fables had spread to Germany where they were collected by the Grimm's brothers and turned into a series of short stories.  Most were meant to impart morals or warnings for not being good.

One interesting thing of about the Grimm's tales is that even when they were published they were seen as being too gritty and raw for children, which is who they were marketed to back then.  In fact before they were released the second time the brothers were told to go back through their stories and change all of the evil mothers into evil step-mothers to somewhat lesson the shock of how they treated their daughters.  That is why there is no one like them around now.  I'd love to see someone create this gore and have the gall to market it to children!

Not all 210 fables are worth reading, some are repetitive and others don't seem to make much sense.  However if you have a stout stomach and perhaps a bit of a macabre sense of humor I fully suggest finding a copy of the Grimms Fairy Tales that hasn't been 'translated' into something for little kids.  How to tell?  Look up the last few lines of Snow White and search for some version of the phrase at the top of the blog.  If instead you see 'happily ever after' then you know you have the wrong book!

Next Time: The German-Irishman who has stolen my heart...

Finally, FALL!

No, my area doesn't look like this, yet!

Early fall has started to sweep into my life.  This is part of why I wanted to move to Maine, I wanted to try out their famous fall weather.  What surprises me is how many of the locals are not only indifferent to the scenery but hate the fall season.  Those Mainers are officially dubbed as being crazy in my book!  But I'm a bit crazy as well and today you are welcome to come in and find out a bit about that side of me!  I am a woman filled with rituals and with fall being my favorite season it is overflowing with 'firsts' and fun little things that get me into the spirit.

The first official sign of Fall is when one tree, any tree decides to give it up overnight and change colors.  The darkening of a few leaves just won't do it for me.  I want something bold and dramatic.  Something that screams Fall every time that I walk by.  This started in college and is now one of my favorite traditions.  This year it was a little spindly tree, not that remarkable except for how early and quickly it turned from deep green to an almost blood red.  This happened over three weeks ago and the other trees in the area are just starting to catch up!

I love Woodwicks!

The second step is my candles.  I put away all of the Mango Breeze, Melon Madness, and bright summer scents.  Then comes out the wonderful smokey and dark fall candles.  Cider is always a favorite but other scents include Bonfire, Gingerbread, and almost anything with Cinnamon or Nutmeg.

Next I like to set out my handmade gloves, hats, scarves and coats.  I've always known that I'm not a 'shoes' kind of girl.  I usually buy one or two pairs a year and only if my sneakers and hiking shoes from last year have given out.  What I am instead, is a coat girl!  I own at least 5 coats, multiple sweatshirts, and more jackets than pairs of pants!  Now is the time to dust them off and pray for those crisp autumn days.

Then there are the cocoas, ciders, wassil, and hot tea drinks!

That apple tasted even better than it looks!

Maine has added a few more exciting things to do.  Apple picking, corn mazes, and leaf peeping (sounds dirty huh?).

Now you can understand why I love seeing that first tree change colors!

What about you guys?  Do you dread this season as the death of the trees and the first sign of winter or do you pack on the mittens and go hiking for that first fall tree?

Wire Willow Part 2

My newest Wire Willow Designs from my Etsy store!

Somekind of Normal

I keep waiting for things here in Bangor to get into a some kind of pattern so that I will no longer feel like I am stumbling along here.  How is it that it took less time to settle into Maine the first time than it has when I just moved a couple of hours north?  Then again hind sight is a bit rosy and I'm not so sure that I did settle into Maine as quickly as I seem to remember.

I'm going to be working some night audits again which should help me get around to posting my blog more often,  I have to admit that night audits not only help me get things done but they somehow remind me that I should be keeping up on here.

As I mentioned last time I am now starting up with an Etsy shop for my jewelry.  I'll soon post pictures of the latest set of jewelry that is now in my shop.  It has been a lot of fun and I am so proud of myself that I've been able to keep plowing along and posting new items.  The more I have up for sale the more likely it is that I'll sell something.  I have had one sale so far (thanks again Penny!) but I know how hard it is to really get these things up and going.  Most people who post to Etsy aren't able to make it past the first few hurdles.  The first step is making something unique and the second is making sure that it can be found.  The third is where it gets really hard, patience.  I'm not always good at that last step.

For now I just keep looking up my etsy shop and smiling with the knowledge that so far I'm passing one of the biggest hurdles...I'm not giving up.

Wire Willow Shop is Now Open!

First Jewelry items on my Wire Willow Shop!

In between moving to a new area in Maine, starting a new job, and hosting various family members on vacation I somehow got talked into opening my own Etsy site.  Yeah, I'm still not sure how that happened, but it did.

I've been making beaded jewelry since about 4th grade and selling it at my parent's store back home.  I usually made enough to go out to a movie once a month and not much more.  About five years ago I learned how to incorporate wire into my jewelry and it just took off from there.  I love giving jewelry as gifts to family but have been convinced by others that I should share what I make on a much larger scale, we'll see.

Mostly my etsy shop will be a fun way to brag about what I'm making and show family back home my latest designs, hey I might even sell something!

My Cross Stitch of Waterhouse's 'Psyche Opening the Golden Box'

The thing that I'm really curious about is my cross stitch projects that I'll be posting.  I love making huge cross stitch projects, most of them represent my favorite pieces of art.  I'd never thought that there was a market where people would want to buy finished pieces, I believed that they were just a bit too old fashioned.  Well it turns out that cross stitch is posted and even sold on etsy so again, we'll see.  For the right price I'd be willing to share my hard work with others, the one above took me over 700 hours to complete.  For right now let's just admit that I mostly posted it for bragging rights. 

So please run on over to my new etsy shop and see what I have to offer and check back soon as I will be posting many more items in the weeks and months to come.