Friday, December 30, 2011

Happy New Year! 20 % off!

Hope everyone had a beautiful Christmas! We have been on vacation and I will be posting pictures soon. 


In the meantime, my entire Etsy shop is on sale- 20% off- now through January 2nd! 
Just enter coupon code HAPPY2012 at check out. 

I went to some fabulous antique and vintage jewelry stores in New York and Asheville, and will soon have some new one of a kind reconstructed pieces in my shop! 

Happy New Year!

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Branson Trip- The National Institute of Marriage...and Elenowen!


Earlier this month, we headed to Branson, Missouri for an intimate gathering at 
The National Institute of Marriage. Five years ago, Jeff and I were in the middle of what was about to be a very bitter divorce when we decided to make one last effort to try to save our marriage by attending an intensive at NIM. We had heard about the success rate, and although we were not feeling very hopeful, we thought we'd give it one last try. In 6 years, we had been through 5 different marriage counselors. The last one (a Christian counselor) actually "fired" us when she told us there was nothing else she could do and told me it was "okay" to get divorced- I had tried everything. I filed soon after that and the ugly process began. We had already invested several thousands of dollars when Jeff heard about NIM and asked me if I would go. I said no several times, before finally agreeing to it.

We attended a 4-day group intensive (5 couples) and it was life-changing. We left Branson filled with hope and equipped with new communication tools that literally transformed our relationship. We called off the attorneys and worked hard to implement what we had learned. Our relationship was healing, and we were falling madly in love with each other again. We vowed not to keep it a "secret," so we told everyone about NIM and even started hosting classes with NIM videos at our church. We sponsored and mentored several couples to go and shared our testimony at several events. 

A few years later, Jeff was offered a spot on the board, and about a year after that took the spot as chairman of the board when the current leader, Jack Herschend, retired from the duty. Jack (Herschend Family Entertainment- Silver Dollar City, Dollywood, etc.) is truly one of the loveliest people you will ever meet- and this dinner was to honor him.

After several people (including us) spoke we were given a private concert by one of my favorite duos, Elenowen. We thought that their music and lyrics would be so fitting to a marriage ministry; raw honesty about the challenges they face yet still filled with hope. Josh and Nicole were amazing and so nice, too! We heard some of our favorite songs from "Pulling Back the Veil," plus their new single 
No Such Thing as Time and several new songs that have not been released yet. They even treated us with their version of "Falling Slowly" which is the song they performed for their blind audition on NBC's The Voice.




Here is the new video for No Such Thing as Time... I love all the images of their sweet life together. Makes you believe in love!


More highlights from our weekend: Branson Landing and The Christmas lights at Silver Dollar City...


Photo: Branson Tourism Center


There's a frog on our balcony! 
Our view from the main house at NIM- a place where miracles are born.

Monday, December 19, 2011

FREE PRIORITY MAIL UPGRADE TODAY

There's still time to order for Christmas! Place your order in my Etsy shop today (December 19) and I will upgrade your shipping to USPS Priority Mail with no additional charge! No coupon code needed!


Thursday, December 15, 2011

West Elm Event


Whew! I haven't posted anything in 2 weeks, but so much has been happening! Here are some photos from the West Elm/Etsy Handmade Holiday Workshop that took place on December 1st. Better late than never! It was a great event and we donated a Christmas tree complete with handmade ornaments to a local charity. The West Elm crew was wonderful, I met a lot of great people and hung out with some  fellow Etsians (see below- click on their name to check out their Etsy shops)

Next week, I will write more about a couple of weekend trips-
one to Branson, Missouri and my 50th birthday in New York City!


West Elm Orlando

My table! I loved using West Elm pieces for my display!

 Decorating Christmas ornaments

The Christmas tree for Great Oaks Village 

Tanya from Indo Bay

Gina from Nina Mantra
Vanessa from Marina at Makina