When it Rains, it POURS!

I did not grow up camping. We went on vacation, stayed in hotels, and hung out at the beach on nice days. I always thought it was fun.

Enter my husband. He grew up camping and absolutely loves it. I, though baffled at sleeping outside, agreed to try it for the first time last year. We headed out to Nova Scotia with my in-laws for a week of hot sun and the beach.

It rained for 90% of the trip. They had *never* had that happen before. I did still have fun, but it was cold & wet. Blah. They promised next time would be much better.

That brings us to this year. My family always goes to Maine so we decided to head there this year. We also decided to go camping, thus making the trip affordable. We packed up with anticipation and headed out early this morning. Twas a beautiful, hot, humid day (my favorite kind).

We got to our first campsite on the beautiful Sebago Lake. Got set up, settled in, and headed straight for the beach. Beautiful day, nice water...ahhhh...

Then the thunder started. And the lightning. And then the monsoon. Seriously. We're maybe near the end of it now, but judging by the amount of water in our canoe, it looks like we just got about 2" of rain in an hour. The true miracle is that my son slept through it!

Of course, now he's wide awake, so we're heading into town for supplies. All of this just leaves me with one question:

WHY DOES NATURE HATE ME?!?

On the Road Again...

We're traveling this Fourth of July, off to a (hopefully) relaxing vacation of camping in Maine. Our Featured Shop series will continue tomorrow with more fun Etsy finds!

In the meantime, may all my US friends have a safe & happy Fourth of July! All my international friends, have a happy Wednesday. :)

Me, I'm going to try and convince young Indiana Jones in the backseat to go back to bed...

Christmas in July on Etsy! Featured Shop: CharmsbyDiana

Welcome to Day 2 of our Christmas in July on Etsy shop specials! With a random mouse-click, today's featured shop is Charms by Diana.

I had never visited Diana's shop before, but right away I was taken in by her lovely banner and gorgeous bridal jewelry! Wow!

White twisted pearl 18 inch Swarovski pearl necklace

That necklace is absolutely stunning. If I were marrying my husband again, I'd probably put it on the short-list of what to wear. Her shop doesn't stop there, though. She also has adorable wine glass charms...I might have already added 2 to my favorites. Good thing, too, as they're Buy One Get One Free for her Christmas in July sale!

Nautical Wine Glass Charms, Set of 8

How cute are these?? Admittedly I'm quite partial to the beach, especially since I'm packing for our vacation there right now! (Gotta love the power of scheduling your blog posts.)

For a second pair, I'm totally thinking of these pretty, classic Christmas ones. I do so love Christmas!

Christmas Wine Glass Charms, Set of 8

But her store doesn't end there. She also has little cupcake toppers! Eeek!

Cake Topper Cupcake Parasol Set of 12 in Baby Blue

Seriously, how cute would these look at a baby shower? She has colors for various occasions and even does custom orders.

So, to summarize today's shop:

Charms by Diana
Handmade Bridal & Fashion Jewelry, Party Supplies & More

Select items are marked down or BOGO plus free shipping worldwide if you use coupon code CIJ2012 on all purchases in July. All wine charms are BOGO!

Go, shop, find pretty things, and tell Diana that Caffeinated Papercuts sent you! <3

Please note: I have not received compensation in any way to write about this shop. All views are my own personal ones and not from a script. I'm just that opinionated.

Christmas in July Sale on Etsy! Featured Shop: Caffeinated Papercuts

Happy July everyone! I admit, I'm immensely biased in thinking that this is the best month of the year...warm weather, vacation time, longer days...oh yeah, and my BIRTHDAY! :D

Happy birthday to me...presents for you...today kicks off my series on some of the shops participating in the big Christmas in July sale on Etsy. They'll be easy to find, just search for 'christmasinjuly' or 'cij' and be amazed by the goodies that pop up! Some have coupon codes, some have already marked down what's on sale, and all are amazing. It's the perfect way to jump-start your holiday shopping.

Today's shop spotlight is my own shop, Caffeinated Papercuts. (Hey, it's my birthday, I get to be a tad self-centered today.) I've been working like mad to get the shelves stocked before the sale begins. Our sale will begin on July 12th...unless of course you 'like' us on Facebook. There you will find a coupon code for the pre-sale in celebration of our hitting 100 fans by my birthday! That coupon goes live on July 10th, letting you skip the lines and shop early. The coupon ends at midnight on July 11th to make way for the public sale on the 12th. Yup, no double discounts. Sale ends July 22nd at midnight!

So, what's the sale? All right, you're hearing it here first: 30% off the whole store. Yup, everything; coasters, cards, magnets...time for them to get new homes!

I've been getting our new holiday merchandise up and listed this past week, along with new coasters, recipe holders, and bottle cap magnets. I think they came out adorable, but I might be a tad biased...

Red & Black Penguin Gift Tags

Snowy Forest Winter Wishes Holiday Card

Pink Owls in Pink & Green Trees Handmade Tile Coasters

Strawberry Recipe Clip with 3 Recipe Cards

Holiday Upcycled Bottle Cap Magnets, Set of 4

All right, that's about as much self-promotion as I can handle today...I'm off to eat some birthday cake. :)

To all my USA friends, have a wonderful Fourth of July!