Thoughts & Things Thursday #9... on a Friday

A quick piece of the busyness that is my life right now (also known as why T&TT is on a Friday!): Yep, life happens. I stayed up until 5:30am on Wednesday eve cleaning the house, then trying to finish up graphics and other related items for the Help a Heart event and giveaways. Not to mention going to bed at 4am on Sunday eve taking and editing pics and post things in the shop! Factoring in waking up around 7am daily for work and working 10 hours a day, this made for an extremely sleepy girl on Thursday eve. Last night, I decided to actually go to bed on the same day I woke up for once this week! I'm very pleased with the new format of T&TT... but it does take more time! I swear, blogging is at least 40% selecting and editing pictures. Anyone else feel that way?

Alright, enough of my rambling. On to this week's lovely links!

1. Zali blogged about visiting Dreamland... which included seeing a baby tiger!

2. Crazy cute kitty-eared Blythe dolls (via Violet)!

3. I love this dress San snapped a picture of at the Anime Weekend Atlanta convention! You can also see her cute outfit and lots more in her part one and part two posts.
4. As I mentioned, I like seeing people's studio/living spaces (especially since I'm still setting up mine). Loved Kaelah's office/studio tour!

5. Kate Gabrielle also shared her studio space. So dreamy!

6. Looks to me like Dorien and her very fortunate friends and family may have had the most delicious birthday feast ever.

7. Chantal is doing a little series on making her own flavored bubble teas! She shared her recipe for orange chai bubble tea... very cool.

8. If you couldn't tell from the events I've blogged about in the past, I'm a huge fan of craft fairs. One of the best parts is seeing the displays. Naturally, I loved seeing Erin's Sunshine and Carousels show setup as well as some of her favorite booths.

9. Carrie shared her gorgeous butterfly photos from the Pacific Science Center right here in Seattle. I think it might be about time for me to visit again!

10. Kaylah's Shedd Aquarium photos from her Chicago trip are stunning! Wish I'd known about it when I was in Chicago for training last year. It's hard to pick a favorite, but it just might be that smiling stingray.

11. Alexandra posted this beautiful Alice-inspired photo shoot on Violet's blog. I love seeing different Alice interpretations. The mad hatter's makeup is my favorite.

12. There's a fun Halloween terrarium project up on the Etsy blog! It's kind of like a diorama for grown-ups. Don't you think? Anyone remember having to make those for school?

13. Eeka put together a mouth-watering collection of cupcakes and cakes with hidden shapes inside! I'm not sure I have the patience to make any of those... but I'd be more than happy to look at and gobble them up!

14. Have you seen Hint Mints? They come in gorgeous cases. They've released several mini-series, with the case designed by various artists. My favorites are the James Jean and Audrey Kawasaki series (via Drop Dead Kawaii)!

15. Check out all of the beautiful stations at Anna's salon! She just did a makeover on her station table.

16. Hayley shared another delectable Halloween recipe... witches stew cookies! Mmm...

And More Goodies!
+ I like Erin's post on how to give a compliment. Super simple, right? Then why don't we do it more? I know I generally feel terribly awkward... but I am trying to be better about it. =)

+ Anyone fellow Seattleites fans of Twinkie Chan? I'm psyched that she'll be at Plush You's grand opening on Friday, October 12! I could not care less about meeting most traditional celebrities, but I am excited to meet Twinkie! Hehe. Plus, a whole show on plushies... it's hard to beat that.

+ Any of you subscription box junkies (or wannabe junkies, like me) heard of Conscious Box? It's all about eco-friendly, conscience-friendly goodies each month. It's rated very highly, and I've thought about it for me or as a gift but haven't dived in yet. Then I saw that they released a special one-time box offer for the Super Mystical Magical Mystery Conscious Box! Sounds pretty epic, doesn't it? $19.95, free shipping, and stuffed full of leftover goodies they had. Win!! Wanted to share the link on here since they're limited... and I'll share my review when I get mine, of course.

+ I've never linked a sponsor post here before, but they're also usually pretty standard. I love how Zie changed it up this time by including a fun autumn element! You can visit to see all of her sponsors' favorite thing about fall... and catch a sneak peak of something I'll be posting here soon!

+ I loved Allie's article on the importance of thoughtfulness in the dating world.

+ This little blue owl bank from Urban Outfitters is so adorable! Jessie included it in a few rooms she 'styled' for Violet's blog.

+ Jenny shared her kitchen must-haves... so many good ideas!

+ Three years after her dad passed away, Hannah made this incredibly thoughtful, beautiful gift for her mother on her parents' 25th wedding anniversary.

+ I have to admit that I can absolutely relate to Meg's very honest post about the imperfect ponytail. I am so terrible with anything hair-related, it's just sad. Curls come out uneven and take forever, braids take even longer, and forget any sort of fanciness beyond that. Hehe. I would be beyond ecstatic if I had hair like Kaelah's every day, but it's never going to happen. Anyone else have the same problem as Meg and me?

+ This story reveals a few harsh truths... first, about that iconic photo that I'm sure everyone in America has seen, and secondly, about our culture's sad reaction to the truth.

And of course you should visit these Kelsea Echo Studio jewelry giveaways on Icing and Write, The Marvelous Flight of Cara, and The Cookie Button! Just sayin'. =P

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Thoughts and Things Thursday is a weekly feature where I share links to articles and posts I enjoyed reading, artists I discovered, pictures I came across, and more. These may include things I found funny, heartwarming, sad, ridiculous, interesting, heartbreaking, or just important to share. Some are themed, others miscellaneous. They are things that got my attention and what I thought of them. You can read all of my T&TT posts here.