The Best of Summer

It just wouldn't be summer without glasses of refreshing iced tea for me. I like lots of ice in a moisture beaded glass filled with a slightly sweetened golden amber liquid. That is summer and I make it by the gallon.

I can't say that I get my tea from any of the tea vendors on the handmade sites like Artfire, Zibbet or Etsy. My coffee and tea comes from a roasting house in New Jersey with an online presence at CoffeeBeanDirect.com. The selection of coffee and teas goes from everyday to gourmet and all of it is great quality combined with pricing that I can't find anywhere else, local or online.

The selection of teas include black, green, herbal, white and flavored. My usual order is for black tea, nothing fancy and I get a different type each time so I can work my way through all the choices. You get lots of information about the products they have to help you make your decision on what to get.

If you want to know more about this awesome business you can look around the website - Coffee Bean Direct or check them out on Facebook.

Summertime

It is definitely summertime here in the Valley of the Sun. The temperatures will be in the triple digits for the next couple months. I have found things to enjoy here despite the blast furnace temperatures that you just have to figure out how to survive. As part of an EtsyBloggers carnival for the month of July I have been asked to name 5 of the most enjoyable things about summer.
Here goes-

1. I like it when the days are longer in the summertime. Not getting dark until 8:00 or 9:oo pm lifts my spirits and I can be busy much longer. I am the type that when the sun goes down I want my pajamas and a book. My day is done.
2. Here in the desert we experience one of the most awesome things that makes the heat bearable if only for a short time. I am talking about the monsoons. You can see the clouds build all through the hot afternoon and wait hoping for the rain. Sometimes the storm kind of falls apart but other times you get to see the lightening, hear the thunder and be amazed by the heavy downpour that can be so heavy at times that I can't see my back fence only about 20 feet away.
3. One of my favorite holidays is in the summer. That is the 4th of July. This day brings to mind barbecues and fireworks. I think everyday should end with fireworks but then again that would mean the display wouldn't seem so special so I take that back.
4. Our wedding anniversay is in July on the 24th, so summer time is a time for celebrating that. This year will be our 33rd and the longest lasting marriage in our families. Dinner, romance, maybe and an overnight trip somewhere, what is not to like about that?
5. The last great thing about summer is the clothes. You can get rid of all the layers of winter and wear simple, beautiful things like sundresses. I have found some lovely ones window shopping on Etsy for this post.

Take a look and tell me what you think. Clicking on the picture will take you to the shop I found then in.


I love the flow and shape of these dresses. They can be found in the shop Chic Complement on Etsy.

Summertime

To me the best part of summer is the long evenings. The light fades gently and the heat of the day begins to fade. The activities that keep you busy during the day slow down. The perfect way to spend the warm end of day for me would be on a big front porch with a cool drink watching fireflies come out and children playing. Of course I don't live in a place where that happens but maybe I will some day. When I do I will need one of these beautiful fans to help cool me off. One of them is handmade and the other vintage and both are available on Artfire.

The fan above is from the shop Vintage Intent.

I remember getting fans like this when I was a kid.
The paper always seemed to tear after a few uses.
It is amazing to me that it is all in one piece.

The fan below is from Southern Charm Soap Company.
I love the colors in this piece.
The tassel with the charms is a lovely way to complete the fan.

Soon To Be In My Shop

These two scarves will be in the shop soon. I need to measure them and get descriptions written. I wanted to share their pictures with you today.

I am feeling better about my pictures lately. A lot of that good feeling comes from using tips found in the etsy.com forums. I have a nice Nikon D70 camera and am learning new things about how to use it every time I take pictures.

When my husband bought the camera he got an extra light to go on the top of it. When I first started taking pictures for etsy I used that light source inside because he said it would be all I needed. Somehow those pictures were never ones I was really proud of.

Over and over I kept reading that the best shots were taken outside in natural light. I tried this on the last several things I have photographed and have seen a huge difference. To tell the absolute truth, I am not really happy about needing to go outside though. You see, I live in the Phoenix area and it is so hot all summer that it is not much fun going outside. Even early in the morning it can be closing in on 100 degrees by 9 or 10 am. When it gets cooler in the fall and winter I am sure I will be more enthusiastic about it.

New Look

I wandered around the backyard this afternoon playing with the camera. I took shots of birds, flowers and trees. Then when I was going through them I decided to change my banner and avatar. I wanted something brighter for summertime. I am pleased with the way they turned out. You can see them here on the blog and in my shop on etsy. If you are in the mood let me know what you think.