Friday Finds: The Best of Etsy Week 1

What are your plans for the weekend? Joe and I are hoping to sleep in this weekend. Joe's also planning to make BBQ pizza! Not pizza with BBQ toppings, but literally a pizza cooked on the BBQ. Lets see how it turns out! I've decided that in celebration of my love of Etsy craft-makers, I would start a segment featuring my favorite items from the week. And, I guess I'll start off with a ring that made me literally think "Oooooo." I love with this sapphire engagement ring by Sunday Owl. It's rustic and romantic, and would be perfect if your love is the vintage type. (photo credit: The Sunday Owl Etsy) Other finds: Adorable hedgehog print. If you have kids, this Alice in Wonderland cut-out set is awesome! Rustic and vintage utensil rack in baby blue. Navy blue back-pack perfect for college attendees. Coral and spotted pouch. An artist teddy the child in your life will love forever. Follow me on Pinterest to see more of my favorites!

To Autumn

Do you ever get distracted?

I took some new photographs of my photo earrings yesterday, and halfway through I ended up taking photographs of the props I was using!

I'm not complaining, I love autumn, especially the changing of the leaves; these photographs turned out to be my welcome to autumn!

ZoiShop Earrings!

After much work, I finally listed the first eight of my photo stud earrings!

I'm so stoked!

They're petite and delicate and each pair features a mini-print of one of my original photographs.

To view all eight, click the photo below:

Book Review: South of the Border, West of the Sun

In his poetic book about star-crossed lovers, Shimamoto and Hajime, Murakami is at once innovative and zen-like in South of the Border, West of the Sun. The start of the novel drags on, while we learn about Hajime's past; one that has led him to a happy, yet unfulfilled life as husband, father of two, and successful business owner of two Jazz bars. Although these stories are necessary to understanding our protagonist, the book doesn't pick up until about halfway through, when Shimamoto, Hajime's childhood best friend, reappears one night and changes his life forever. Their relationship is at once intriguing and never feels forced; Hajime and Shimamoto are simply better together. You can't put the book down during the last few chapters, but the ending leaves you wanting more; more answers; more interaction; more of a definitive ending instead of the poetic ones that are signature Murakami. South of the Border, West of the Sun is not for the faint of heart. Expect a sad tale of true love that's even more distressing than Katniss and Peeta's, but that leaves you cheering on the lovers just as much. At only a little over two-hundred pages, the book is a quick and easy read; and can easily be finish in less than a week if you read even a little of it every day. The translation isn't the best, as Murakami's imagery is excellent but the words don't always transpose into English the correct way, diminishing the impact of several key moments. There was also an evident grammar mistake within the text, which turned out to be a turn-off. But looking past these details, you're looking at a few hours of a unique read that will leave you thinking about your own life, and what makes happiness work. Length: 213 pages Favorite Quote: "The cement that makes you up has set, so the you you are now can't be anyone else."

2013 Calendars

I am so stoked to have released the first eleven ZoiShop 2013 loose-leaf calendars! They're available in two sizes, 4x6 and 5x7. Each calendar comes with thirteen pages-one cover page, and twelve calendar pages. This year, I wanted to make sure to bring back my jellyfish photo calendar, my most popular.

These are just my mini calendars though, I'm working on releasing poster-sized calendars I hope to have listed before the end of the month!

ZoiShop on Society6

I've been working on adding a ton of new prints on the ZoiShop Society6 shop. You'll find iPhone cases, t-shirts, cards, and photo prints I don't sell anywhere else!

Photo Prints: Starting at $18 USD

iPhone Accessories: $35 USD

T-Shirts: $18 USD

ZoiShop Bookmarks!

A lot of people think that paper books are a dying breed. I admit, I even have a Kindle and love my reader. But that doesn't mean that I don't believe in hard copies of books. Our new bookcase is full of them. I had wanted to create photo bookmarks for a while, but I couldn't figure out how to go about creating something that I could make at home, and not have to order via the Internet. I finally decided on laminating! And so far, I really like the way my new bookmark line at ZoiShop has turned out.

Like to read? Give them a peek if you get a moment. They're affordable and make a great gift for yourself or a loved one!