Vase Heaven!

I just came across Jamali Floral & Garden and am in love! They offer amazing vases that can even make me look like a florist, garden supplies and chic party decor at very reasonable prices. Super fun to check out their inventory and read their blog.

If the World was a Village of 100 People

I was doing a little fall cleaning of old documents and found this. Great food for thought on a Sunday morning! Please note that the numbers are 20 years old...but still interesting.

In the world today, more than 6 billion people live.
If this world were shrunk to the size of a village of 100 people, what would it look like?

59 would be Asian
14 would be American (North, Central and South)
14 would be African
12 would be European
1 would be from the South Pacific

50 would be women, 50 would be men
30 would be children, 70 would be adults.
70 would be nonwhite, 30 would be white
90 would be heterosexual, 10 would be homosexual

33 would be Christians
21 would be Moslems
15 would be Hindus
6 would be Buddhists
5 would be Animists
6 would believe in other religions
14 would be without any religion or atheist.

15 would speak Chinese, Mandarin
7 English
6 Hindi
6 Spanish
5 Russian
4 Arabic
3 Bengali
3 Portuguese
The other would speak Indonesian, Japanese,
German, French, or some other language.

In such a village with so many sorts of folks, it would be very important to learn to understand people different from yourself and to accept others as they are. Of the 100 people in this village:

20 are undernourished
1 is dying of starvation, while 15 are overweight.
Of the wealth in this village, 6 people own 59% (all of them from the United States), 74 people own 39%, and 20 people share the remaining 2%.
Of the energy of this village, 20 people consume 80%, and 80 people share the remaining 20%.
20 have no clean, safe water to drink.
56 have access to sanitation
15 adults are illiterate.
1 has a university degree.
7 have computers.

In one year, 1 person in the village will die, but in the same year, 2 babies will be born, so that at the year's end the number of villagers will be 101.

If you do not live in fear of death by bombardment, armed attack, landmines, or of rape or kidnapping by armed groups, then you are more fortunate than 20, who do.

If you can speak and act according to your faith and your conscience without harassment, imprisonment, torture or death, then you are more fortunate than 48, who cannot.

If you have money in the bank, money in your wallet and spare change somewhere around the house, then you are among the richest 8.

If you can read this message, that means you are probably lucky!

(The statistics were derived from Donella Meadows "State of the Village Report" first published in 1990)

If I were still a little girl...

...then I would love Birdies Big Girl Shoes. I was just at Target and came across this super cute book. It's all about how Birdie would love to wear her mother's Mary Janes and strappy sandals. When given the chance, she realizes she has plenty of time for big girl shoes and loves her barefoot shoes the best. For all of you shoe lovers out there, this is a super cute book for the little ones in your life!

September Creative Challenge

I have been a major slacker when it comes to crafts lately, so I have been living vicariously through my good friend Michelle. She has taken on the September Creative Challenge and is doing something creative every single day this month. I have loved following her blog thewholeenCHELLEada as well as her friend Debbie's blog Inspired Honey Bee.

As I love camping, I thought I would share Michelle's adorable s'more craft which is just one of the many cute projects she has done this month.

Ziplist

I recently started using a website called Ziplist which might be the greatest invention ever. From any website I can add a recipe to my virtual recipe box OR I can save one directly from Martha Stewart online. From there, I can add all of the ingredients from a recipe to my shopping list or enter my own grocery list. This list can be emailed to yourself, printed or accessed through your phone. You can also instant message (through programs like gchat) items to your grocery list. This can have multiple users adding items-so for example, your husband can just instant message "milk" to your list. Finally, you can sort items by category (which is editable) or you can sort it by aisle by entering the name of the grocery store you shop at. Amazing!

Happy Flowers!

My friend and amazing florist Anna, from Anna Mara Flowers in Portland, Oregon, made these beautiful floral bouquets. I love the color and texture, but most of all, I love how they seem to just make you want to smile!

Congrats to Lacey and Sam! To see more of their pictures visit Anna Mara's blog.

I'm loving this punch of color

On Darcy's Wedding Ideas (a Martha Stewart daily email), she sent out this "monochromatic magic" picture which I love! For more color ideas you can visit her online posting.

Lonny Magazine

For those of you who were heartbroken when the last Domino Magazine hit the shelf, I have good news! Enjoy Lonny Magazine for chic decor and fashion to style your life by.

Making a list and checking it twice!

Wow, the holidays are REALLY here! To help keep you sane and organized, Woman's Day Magazine came up with an amazing 6 week holiday check list. To view the list please visit their website and enjoy the holiday cheer.

Is it springtime yet?

I know we are headed into the winter months, but as California girl living in Portland I need a little sunshine! Nothing makes me think of spring time more than flowers and my favorite is the gerbera daisy. Here is an adorable table runner style centerpiece that I found at Real Simple online. Directions are available on their site.

Photo by James Baigrie