Ok, in spite of the fact that the camera battery charger is still MIA (and therefore I cannot put up any new photos, including those of the fabulous prize package I’ve put together for you), the Pay It Forward contest must go on!

Bit of history…. I won this PIF contest a couple of weeks ago and, as part of winning, I must now hold my own contest.

Here’s what you’ll win: a bit of vintage, and a bit of new. A bit of crafty, and a spot of tea. A bit of silly, and a mystery item from the contest that I won.

That’s the new rule that I’m instating here. If you win, you must choose one item from the package to pass on to the person who wins YOUR contest. It can be the same item that I pass on to you or it can be something else entirely. Your choice.

Other rules:

1. Respond here with your name and email by Tuesday the 16th of September. Also please share your favorite aspect of Fall. Mine is the smell of freshly picked organic apples. Yum.

2. A random comment will be chosen on Tuesday using a random number generator. I will contact you for your mailing address and send you out your prize. If you’re local, I’ll contact you to set up a coffee date.

3. You agree to choose one item from your package to add to the package you will create for the winner of your contest.

That’s about enough rules, huh? Time to comment and get on the PIF train.

Once upon a time, there was a brand-spankin’ new festival planned for the city of Portland, Maine. Picnic: Music and Arts Festival is happening this Saturday, September 13th in Lincoln Park.

Come see yours truly in good old booth 64, as well as these talented folks. And of course, many many more.

If you wonder where I am this week, I’m buried under a pile of new vintage goodies for the fest. I’m a bit crazed, but I can’t wait.

See you there!

Happy Friday everyone! It’s a lovely sunny day here and I’m celebrating by putting my feet up and catching up on email. And doing a little thinking, always a dangerous thing.

Tomorrow is my birthday and it seems I’m turning a bit older. Apparently, this happens every year. My 32nd year will be celebrated with a prenatal massage (yes!) and dinner out with Neil. Dash will be home with his grandparents, which is close to the best thing ever for him.

Any talk of birthdays always makes me think of birthdays when I was a kid. Big parties, presents, and a day that was all about me. And how I wanted wanted wanted things for my birthday (and sometimes even got them) and how it’s really not like that anymore. Adult birthdays are less about presents and more about spending time with the people you care about. For instance, no one really asks what I want for my birthday anymore, nor do they expect to hear that I want a Strawberry Shortcake doll.

But when it comes down to it, wanting doesn’t go away, does it? I still want all kinds of things. An elliptical machine, a new house, a housekeeper, and this beautiful thing from Ban.do:

These are the kinds of wants that come with explanations like, “with an elliptical I could work off all the baby weight after Pickle is born,” or “we have a lovely home but it’s not quite right for our growing family,” or “If we had a housekeeper I could spend more time with my family or building a business,” or “with that peacock feather thingy in my hair, I’d be unstoppable.”

And it all seems so rational, right? But they’re still just wants. I could get by without them, I just don’t want to.

It makes me wonder… if I made up a list of every single thing that I want and I somehow got them all, a near impossibility… how long would it take me to start wanting something new?

What about you? What do you want? How do you cope with want vs. need vs. just chilling out about it?

Gosh and golly, before I forget…. I won a contest! More specifically, I won THIS contest from All Star Me.

Woo hoo! Magnets (really good ones, by the way), books, strange glass pig, and much much more. Such a fun thing to find in the mail.

So, as the rules go, it’s my turn to put together a Pay It Forward contest for all of you. I’m still putting it together but I know it will be a mix of vintage and new goodies. You’re gonna want it. Promise.

Stay tuned….

[Edited to add: Um, this contest might be postponed since Dash has disappeared the camera battery charger. Or maybe I could just describe each item in vivid, mouth-watering detail and you could all use your imaginations. What do you think about that?]