.. Tasty Penguins ..

Um...cute! Alright, so I really don't like olives. But a lot of people do and YOU may be one of them. If so, try making these adorable edible penguins. Arrange them around an igloo cheeseball and I'm sure even people who don't like olives will just have to try one. Recipe by Valerie Cuff on AllRecipes.com

Ingredients

• 18 jumbo black olives, pitted
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 18 small black olives
• 1 carrot

Directions

1. Cut a slit from top to bottom, lengthwise, into the side of each jumbo olive. Carefully insert about 1 teaspoon of cream cheese into each olive. Slice the carrot into eighteen 1/4 inch thick rounds; cut a small notch out of each carrot slice to form feet. Save the cut out piece and press into center of small olive to form the beak. If necessary cut a small slit into each olive before inserting the beak.
2. Set a big olive, large hole side down, onto a carrot slice. Then, set a small olive onto the large olive, adjusting so that the beak, cream cheese chest and notch in the carrot slice line up. Secure with a toothpick.

= My Latest Bedding Finds =

The online children's boutique, Dimples and Dandelions carries a lot of baby room furniture and decor. These are my favorites.

Jewell's Picks & Pics: Monsters

For a girl, I'm unusually drawn to monsters. I love making monster noises, reading books about monsters, and acting like a little "Wild Thing." Here's some cool things I found:

Crankypants


Nini's Handmades
Happy Family
Jayne Danger

Nissa Lisa

And here's me, with my Christmas stocking, necessarily stuffed with plush creatures.

Gift Idea

Land, Sea, and Air 3 Pack by Kate Durkin

{ Special on Tags }

Order now and get a special deal on a set of 8 letterpress gift tags from The Paper Nut Etsy shop. Free shipping! Yay.

*Pom Pom!*

Google "How To" videos on how to make a pom pom, because it's pretty darn easy and a perfect way to instantly become an ultra cool holiday decorator. Above image from Etsy shop Glitter for Breakfast

* Viva Terra *

"Eco Living with Style." Viva Terra. Yup. Some lovely stuff. Especially this fabulous "Gustavian Vintage Bed"!

- Downloads from Mibo -

For only a few dollars you can download these amazing calendar and paper animal files from Mibo Studio. No shipping cost, and you can print as many as you want! Christmas gifts taken care of! (But don't even think about reselling them). I will definitely be ordering these.

xx Knock Knock...Who's There? xx

Just look at all these cute wreaths from Knock Knocking. What an adorable idea! And we need a little Christmas year-round, so how fun to have a wreath that works in April!

{ Sunshine & Ravioli }

Place your orders! I usually hesitate to order anything online because I hate to pay for shipping, but this is one online shop you will want to order multiple things from, and so it makes it all worth it. Wedding? Party? Birthday? Baby shower? Christmas gifts? Surely you have needs in some of these categories. Check out Sunshine & Ravioli. So many cute things! They make me feel all warm and fuzzy, like I'm shopping in a cozy little beach town home decor shop.